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A tribute to Cody's five-year anniversary should also celebrate the people behind Cody, and in this particular case, our illustrious Quizmaster, Ned Gulley.
The N-Queens problem (N stands for Ned, of course) is a well known computing challenge. If you are unfamiliar with this problem, refer to Problem 113, incidentally written by... You guessed it.
This problem is the real deal. Given a positive integer, n, representing the number of queens and the size of the board, return the number of possible solutions, s, and a list of the solutions, q.
q shall be an array with s rows and n columns, such that each row represents one solution. The column indeces of q shall represent the column indeces of the positions of the queens in the respective solution, while the values of the array elements shall represent the row indeces of the positions of the queens in the respective solution. q does not have to be sorted.
Note: All symmetries/rotations count as individual solutions.
Input: n = 4
Output: s = 2, q = [2 4 1 3;3 1 4 2]
This was a fun problem, but I think lookup table solutions are possible given the way the way the test suite is configured. Maybe you could add a string parser to see if the test suite correct solutions are included in the answer code?
7760 Solvers
Create a cell array out of a struct
345 Solvers
232 Solvers
Change the sign of even index entries of the reversed vector
282 Solvers
Integer Sequence - II : New Fibonacci
205 Solvers


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To Kill A Mockingbird – The Stage Production
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
– Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Last night we went with our small group to see the stage production of "To Kill A Mockingbird". We have watched the movie version of this with Gregory Peck as a family tradition for as long as I can remember – every year on Halloween.
Reading this book is a treasure of wonderful word images and emotional stimulation – evoking both humor and sadness. I wondered what the stage version would be like – and although it had elements from both the book and the movie – it was different – more raw – and fragile – like looking at something you've seen a hundred times in a fresh new way – through a different lens.
The stage version had the grown-up Jean Louis Finch (Scout) narrating the story throughout the play of the memories of her hometown and how she remembers it – as a little girl. It was rich to see her remembering certain things as new characters came in the story. Things she didn't understand as a little girl – when recalled by the older version of herself – made total and complete sense to her years later. And things that were above her at the time – were looked back on with clear reflection, humor and understanding.
In the courtroom scene – I noticed how the older Jean Louis was remembering and her eyes had much emotion when looking at Tom Robinson – the man accused of raping a white girl in Macomb Alabama, in 1935. Condemned before tried – the "no-win" situation troubled her even when looking back at the scene years later – and that was a very moving part of the story for me.
The other thing that stood out in my mind was when the father, Atticus says to Boo Radley, a reclusive next door neighbor who finally "comes out" to rescue Scout and Jem from the very angry and abusive Bob Ewell – "Thank you, Arthur. Thank you for my children". It is in this simple statement that brings solemness to seclusion – and dignity to the bizarre and different. The reclusive "monster" that supposedly lived next door to them – turned out to be the hero of the story and in fact – saved their lives – defending them against an evil force – when they could not defend themselves.
I am forever in awe of the wonderful story this is – told from a child's point of view – or at least a grown-up "child" remembering her dear old lawyer father in a southern town during the depression of 1935. Rich imagery and word pictures – a father full of conviction and integrity – teaching his children to stand for what's right and to have courage in the midst of sure defeat. I take something new away from this great classic every time I see it.
Below are some of the wonderful quotes from the book. I hope they will inspire you to read this book, see the movie – or take in the live production when you get the chance.
God Bless
- "'Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it."
- "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.
They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
She seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl.
So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses…. That proves something – that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown," said Dill. "Yes, sir, a clown…. There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off." "You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them." "Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks."
The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it – whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks. ~ spoken by the character Scout
The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning: he went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me – he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn't see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn't? Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.
When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they're not attracting attention with it. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand. ~ spoken by the character Atticus
Related articles
- Movie Review | 'Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird": Inside an Influential Novel (movies.nytimes.com)
- Film: Movie Review: Hey Boo: Harper Lee & 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (avclub.com)
- What happens when scout are walking home from the pageant in the book to kill a mockingbird (wiki.answers.com)
- In to kill a mockingbird what's the reason for atticus telling the kids it's a sin to kill a mockingbird (wiki.answers.com)
- "To Kill A Mockingbird" Turns 50 (popcrunch.com)
- Book Review> Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee (marissamullins.com)
- ArtsBeat: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Author Repudiates Journalist's Memoir About Her (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Harper Lee to disclose why she stopped writing after 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (windsorstar.com)

subset: commoncrawl


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|We forgot the boots!
Lucy's outfit from last year still fits and she still wants to wear it. So she is back as Winnie the Pooh.
|Winnie is playing Eeyore, I think
|Teaming up to fight crime! Or find a pot of honey...
They went to a party where Iron Man met up with a ghost he knows. They got along well.
|You don't want to trick these two!
Hopefully we will have a positive report on trick or treating by tomorrow.


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If a mix of fit, intellectually precocious kids sounds good, UB's Early Childhood Research Center is for you
BUFFALO, N.Y. — If the goal is to raise healthy, active children, comfortable and capable in the 21st century global village, the University at Buffalo's Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC) believes in starting early.
After building a distinguished track record enriching young children's lives by taking cues from some of the most cutting-edge early childhood education around the world, the ECRC raises the bar even further this semester with a blend of physical and mental stimulation suitable for candidates who can navigate the global village.
ECRC is offering a new program to teach non-native language — Mandarin or Spanish — to children between the ages of 2 and 5. It also has expanded its weekly movement activities for toddlers and preschoolers to include yoga, dance and creative movement classes.
Kelly Roy, PhD, clinical assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education and director of UB's ECRC, sees the mind-body continuum clearly. What makes it truly exciting for her is the chance to incorporate current knowledge of brain development into a curriculum that molds these life values into children under the age of 5.
"We have these amazing teachers with diverse perspectives and knowledge who can bring their cultures, languages and passion for their areas of expertise to our children," says Roy.
"What an opportunity for our children. It's also great for adults preparing to be teachers who practice with us, as well as the researchers who are studying methods."
Roy has worked with young children from all over the world for more than 30 years.
"I've studied the research. I understand how progressive, high-quality, early childhood experiences can positively impact someone throughout their life," she says. "It's such a great opportunity that we have here at UB to bring passionate teachers committed to early childhood education together with world-class researchers studying how best to teach. We all collaborate here at the ECRC to use all that we know about young children and how to teach them to provide unique opportunities and curricula for them to learn through play, as well as prepare our next generation of teachers.
"I'm amazed at our teachers and little friends every day!"
Roy has been director of the program, which combines the study of child development, teaching and its impact on families with practical experiences for professionals in training and researchers, since 2009. The ECRC has had a multicultural focus since its inception in 1932, engaging teachers and students from all over the world. That same multicultural principle has guided the new program to teach non-native language.
"Watching them develop expressive language in two languages as virtually native speakers is just incredible to me," she says.
"This program gives young children opportunities to learn additional languages when they're toddlers and preschoolers, when it's easiest for them. It also has the biggest impact on their brain development.
"It's incredible to watch a toddler from Western New York begin to do activities directed in Mandarin when it's completely new to them," she says. "I knew the importance of the early childhood stage of development after having worked in this field for more than 30 years. But this program has given me a whole new respect for how important effective teaching is at this stage, as well as how smart the little ones are."
The expanded variety of weekly movement activities for toddlers and preschoolers ties in as well with Roy's studies of the outdoor environment for young children that support the evidence that children need to keep moving, learn positive ways to relax and de-stress, and learn healthy ways to express themselves. Roy's research includes developing a scale that rates how much children learn outside and how children with developmental challenges can become self-determining.
"Our dance and yoga teacher conducts many of the classes outdoors," says Roy. "We get outside and move around, even in the snow. The children love it and benefit from it in a variety of ways."
As with all ECRC programs, the classroom curriculum and practices are rooted firmly in mainstream, professionally respected research.
The center's dance teacher did a pilot study of imagery and dance with 4 year olds last semester, Roy says.
"She worked with them to see themselves, in their mind's eye, performing tasks from stories, such as flying over their home, or running across a finish line, or relaxing under a tree," she says.
"Her results were surprising in that she found that the children did use imagery to help with skill development, even as preschoolers," Roy notes. "There has not been published work in this area previously with children this young. Elite athletes and dancers use imagery to build skills, but it has not ever been studied with young children."
Teaching sometimes exotic and unfamiliar international languages to these preschoolers is another example of how the ECRC takes an educational task others might shy away from and makes it fun.
"One of the languages we're teaching is Mandarin," says Roy. "Preparing children to speak a language that is becoming one of the most important languages globally in business and commerce is essential."
One of the ECRC teachers is a native Mandarin speaker. She plans lessons every day that include cultural activities, songs, games, writing and stories, in addition to other expressive language activities.
"Given that we just celebrated the Asian New Year," Roy says, "it's been impressive how the children have participated and enjoyed the activities."
The ECRC also teaches children basic Spanish through play activities.
"Again, offering an introduction to a language so widely used worldwide is a great benefit to our children and community," says Roy. "In addition to the immediate benefit to their abilities to learn many topics better, fluency in multiple languages can open doors for opportunity in their future."
The ECRC roll call also includes numerous children learning two languages simultaneously between home and school.
"It's interesting to see how they're supported in our setting," Roy says. "They're toddlers who come from a home where one language is spoken, and we speak English at the ECRC. They begin with us, sometimes with no English of any kind.
"Within an incredibly short time — sometimes a couple of weeks — they begin understanding some English through our songs and routines. Within two or three months, we generally see them begin to use common phrases, as they do at that stage of development in their native language. They then develop expressive language in two languages as virtually native speakers."
All of this learning takes place through teachers and children from different countries and perspectives playing together.
"To watch this develop every day is just astounding," says Roy. "It truly gives you a sense of hope and an idea of the potential of the human mind and spirit."
The Early Childhood Research Center offers educational services for children from 2 to 5 years of age, including language and movement, in addition to the other areas necessary to have a great start in school.
Mandarin and Spanish, in addition to dance, yoga, creative movement and swimming, are offered during the center's afternoon program, held from 1-4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
Children can attend at least two days per week, while some attend four or five days throughout the academic year. There is also a summer program for school-age children, in addition to the preschool classes.
To contact the center, call 716-645-2379.
Media Contact Information
Charles Anzalone
Senior Editor, Law, Social Work and Education
Tel: 716-645-4600


text:
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50 Beautiful Diwali Greeting cards Design and Happy Diwali Wishes
Happy Diwali Greeting cards & Diwali wishes: Diwali / Devali / Deepavali is a festival celebrated in India by decorating their houses with clay diyas and beautiful rangolis in front of the house. This year Diwali is celebrated on October 18'th (Wednesday) in South & North India. Diwali is more like a get together of families, elaborate feasts with mithais, bursting of colourful crackers and so on. It's a fun filled day, so lets make this diwali even more fun by sending these diwali wishes g... Read Full Post >


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Sheryl Sandberg set off a firestorm this week as she hit the press to publicize her new book "Lean In."
She's tackling the sensitive subject of women in the workplace.
Business Insider covered her appearance on "60 Minutes" last night.
Sandberg is doing two things, one good for the workplace, one not-so-good:
- She's inspiring women, particularly young women with young families.
- She's handing an excuse for any male-dominated companies to validate their misogyny.
We've talked to a number of women returning to work after having a baby and they love Sandberg. The message they hear is "You have power. You are in control of your career."
Frankly, that's not a message this group of women usually hear. They've been told that leaving at 5 p.m. to pick up children from daycare means the end of their ambitions. Period.
What happens when women (and men) stop believing that? Suddenly 50 percent of the workforce feels empowered to take charge at work and still attend soccer games. And that shows the other 50 percent they can do the same.
That can only be good for everybody.
On the other hand, Sandberg's message also includes a dark belly of blame. If a woman's career isn't taking off, it's tempting to say she isn't stepping up enough.
In certain industries, particularly the high-tech industry, that's dangerous. The tech industry already has a notorious streak of misogyny within it, where woman are viewed as alien, or as objects, and not as people, friends, coworkers. equals.
Just this week, for instance, the MIT Media Lab embarrassed itself by issuing wristbands with sexist quotes at its SXSW party.
That's not an isolated incident. Women gamers face ongoing sexual harassment. Women programmers have it even worse, as the Twitter hashtag movement #1ReasonWhy shows. Women programmers took to Twitter to vent their frustration.
The men in these industries don't need a reason to pass over a woman for a promotion, but Sandberg gives them one anyway: "She didn't lean in. She didn't prove she wanted it."


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Capital Credits
It pays to be a member of an electric cooperative
What are capital credits?
Because a cooperative is incorporated as a not-for-profit business owned by its members, it does not technically earn profits. Instead, any revenues over and above the cost of doing business are considered "margins." These margins represent capital furnished by the members to the cooperative for use as operating capital. This capital allows your cooperative to finance operations and construction, with the intent that this capital will be retired or returned to you in later years.
What's the difference between allocated and retired capital credits?
Allocated capital credits appear as an entry on the permanent financial records of the cooperative and reflect your equity or ownership in the cooperative. When capital credits are retired, a check or credit is issued to you. These payments generally are made to members after a specified time period. Each cooperative maintains its own policy on when capital credits are retired.
How are capital credits calculated?
All members who purchase electricity during a year in which the cooperative posts margins earn capital credits based on how much electricity they purchase in that year. The more electric service you buy, the greater your capital credits account — although the percentage will remain the same. The sum of your monthly bills for a year is multiplied by a percentage to determine the allocation of your capital credits.
What percent of my bill is returned as capital credits?
The percentage of your total payment that is allocated as capital credits varies from year to year, depending upon the margins of the cooperative. Capital credits are only allocated for a year in which your cooperative earns margins. Since capital credits are a member's share of the margins, no credits are allocated for a year when there are no margins.
Do I have to be a member for an entire year to earn capital credits?
No. Capital credits are calculated based upon a member's monthly bills. If you are billed for service for even one month, you will accumulate some capital credits, if your cooperative earns margins in that year.
Can I use the capital credits I have allocated to pay my electric bill?
No. Allocated capital credits may not be used to pay current bills. Your electric bill is due now, whereas you may not be entitled to receive your capital credits for many years.
What happens to the capital credits of a member who dies?
The capital credits of a deceased member may be paid without waiting for a general retirement. However, these estate payments are not automatic. A representative of the estate must request the credits by submitting verifying documentation required by your cooperative. Ask your cooperative how to submit a claim for a deceased member.
Will I receive a capital credits check or credit every year?
Not necessarily. The cooperative's board of directors must authorize a retirement before you receive a check or credit. When considering a retirement, the board analyzes the financial health of the association and will not authorize a retirement if it is not financially advisable.
What happens to my capital credits when I leave the cooperative?
Your capital credits remain on the books in your name and account until they are retired. Because payments generally are made years after you earn them, you should ensure that your cooperative has your current mailing address after you leave. If members who leave the cooperative do not later claim their capital credits, your cooperative makes a good faith effort to notify members or their estates that their capital credits are available.


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|Version 3 (modified by cmlenz, 14 years ago) (diff)
Frequently Asked Questions
Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about Markup.
What is Markup?
We like to call it a "toolkit for stream-based generation of markup for the web". The largest feature provided by Markup is an XML-based template engine that is heavily inspired by Kid.
Why yet another template engine?
We'll let Ryan Tomanko, the author of Kid, answer this one:
"There's at least four billion and nine text based template languages for Python but there aren't a lot of options that fit nicely into the XML tool-chain. Or, if they do fit nicely into the XML tool-chain, they don't fit nicely with Python."
See his blog post for the details.
So then why not just use Kid?
We think that Kid represents a huge step forward for XML-based templating in Python. Match templates and the generator-based processing model are extremely powerful concepts.
But arguably Kid also has some basic design problems. For exampe, Kid generates Python code from templates, which adds a lot of complexity to the code and can make the process of locating and fixing template errors a true nightmare. A syntax error in a template expression will cause an exception that points somewhere in the generated code. In addition, as Kid is based on ElementTree, and the ElementTree API doesn't provide location information for parse events, exceptions reported by Kid often don't include information about what part of the template caused the error.
We felt these problems would best be addressed by developing a new engine form scratch, as opposed to trying to "fix" Kid.
What are the main differences between Kid and Markup?
Markup executes templates directly, there's no code generation phase. Expressions are evaluated in a more forgiving way by walking the AST. Template variables are stored on a stack, which means that some variable set in a loop deep in the template don't leak into the rest of the template. And even though Markup doesn't generate Python code for templates, it generally performs better than Kid (up to 2x in our tests).
Markup does not depend on ElementTree. It uses Expat for parsing XML, and is based on streaming slightly abstracted parse events through the processing pipeline. It uses XInclude (instead of Kids' py:extends) to allow template authors to factor out common bits. For match templates, it uses XPath expressions instead of the ElementTree API.
What other stuff is in the toolkit?
Beyond the template engine, Markup provides:
- a unified stream-based processing model for markup, where
- streams can come from XML or HTML text, or be generated programmatically using a very simple syntax.
- XPath can be used to query any stream, not just in templates.
- Different serialization methods (XML and HTML) for streams.
- An HTML "sanitizing" filter to strip potentially dangerous elements or attributes from user-submitted HTML markup.


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Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, the day is nearly here when we will unveil Book Two of the four book compilation series called REAPERS WITH FANGS. The sequel to Reapers With Issues follows the Grim Reaper on his journey through middle management Hell.
Don't forget to visit the REAPERS WITH ISSUES website and sign Grim's DEATH BOOK. Now onto a preview of:
Death's bag landed with a thud, dumping its coconut scented contents and nearly a pound of beach sand onto the cold, office floor. "When was someone going to tell me about this?" Grim asked the three Horsemen scrambling to form a line in front of him.
"What 'this' are you referring to?" Famine asked, backing away slowly.
Grim stepped forward and shoved a pink, bubble gum scented memo into Famine's bony hand. "THIS is what I'm referring to. This memo that's nearly two weeks old. I count on you three to cue me into this kind of thing when I'm gone. I shouldn't have had to hear this from Lucifer."
Pestilence flinched at the word "Lucifer," but said nothing. War looked to Famine who, after returning a stony glare, reluctantly answered. "No one wanted to bother you. We all agreed you needed the break."
"So you thought waiting until I got back from vacation to walk into this mess was the better idea?" Grim asked as he snatched the memo from Famine's hand and tossed it atop a monstrous stack of waiting paperwork.
"No, that's not what we thought at all," Famine explained. "We agreed we'd do some recon first and get a handle on who this Ashli person was before we decided whether or not you should worry."
Grim startled. "Worry? Why? Who is she?"
Without saying a word Pestilence slowly lifted Grim's mug off his desk and then went for coffee just as Famine produced a silver flask from deep inside his cloak.
"That good, huh?" Grim asked, not convinced he wanted to know.
"I'm not sure "good" is the word you want here," Famine said as he poured a stream of red, viscous liquid into the steaming cup of coffee. Pestilence blew the billowing smoke away before handing the mug to Grim who promptly set it on the desk behind him.
"I'm not a Cherub, Fam. You don't have to pussy foot around me. Just tell me straight out who this Ashli person is."
Famine took a quick sip from the flask, steeling his courage before he spoke. "From what we've been able to gather Ashli is…well, let's just say word around the Cloud is that the boss has got himself a new girlfriend."
Grim stood frozen for a moment before he snatched the flask from Famine's hand, tipped it back and sucked it dry.
"We're still not sure what this is, so I see no reason to assume the worst," Pestilence said in an attempt to put Grim at ease.
"Bunch of bullshit is what it is," War blasted. "Give me five– no, four thousand real Reapers and we'll take care of business no problem I guaran-fucking-tee it. We don't need no Bible bitch tellin' us how to do our jobs. We–"
Famine backhanded War into silence just as Grim dropped the flask to the floor. "Wait–what's he talking about?" Grim asked, wide eyed. "What did he mean by, 'telling us how to do our jobs?'"
Famine hung his head and sighed. "Yeah…I hadn't gotten to that part yet."
"So what are you saying?" Grim asked. "That I finally got Skippy and his shih-tzu out of my department and now….now I've got the girlfriend setting up shop here? Are you telling me she is actually in command of the OHD??" Grim's shocked reaction forced his eyeballs to pop out of his skull and roll along the floor.
Famine picked the eyes and his flask up and set them all on the desk. "I'm afraid that's the way it looks," he reluctantly replied.
"Well that's just fucking great," Grim said as he ripped off his best tanned meat suit, stopping short of revealing a heart-shaped tattoo with the words Fran Forever emblazoned across the bicep. A tattoo that for the life of him Grim could not recall getting. "I need to sort this shit out so give me a few minutes alone, please. Pronto."
Famine nodded and then led the Horsemen out of the office. As soon as he was alone Grim headed straight to the closet to change into his regular uniform. His official cloak, Grim decided, would put him in the right frame of mind to deal with the fact that once again, God pulled the rug out from under him.
As Grim slid on the heavy, black robe he set to putting this new dilemma into perspective. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, he thought. Anything had to be better than Jesus and his Reaper disaster. After all, the Big Guy never kept a woman for long, and he was sure it would only be a matter of time before this new one grew tired of his continued absence. Running the Universe for an eternity isn't the nine to five job most women think it is.
Still, there was reason for concern. Even though this wasn't the first time God took a mate, it was the first time in at least two thousand years he'd been this public about it. As Grim could recall, Lucifer was the reason behind God's last romantic debacle. Grim wondered just how deep into Ashli's pie his demon colleague's fingers were, and just how bad the blowback to the OHD might be if God found out.
His mind racing with new concerns, Grim threw open the office doors and called for his Horsemen. "Have any of you spoken to Lucifer yet?" Grim asked once they arrived. "He's the one who forwarded the memo. He's got to know how this happened."
"We…didn't think it was such a good idea," Famine tentatively began. "We didn't know how much of this action originated from the Southern offices, you know, considering how Jesus' Reaper solution went down."
Grim ran a bony hand back and forth along his spinal column. "I do know what you mean, but it seems like a lot of risk, even for Lucifer. This isn't Jesus and his shih-tzu we're talking about, this is the Big Man and his woman. Anyone remember Lilith?"
"Come on, Boss," War interjected around a wad of chew. "You know you can't trust ol' whistle britches, especially when there's a female involved. Don't matter who she is. He nails 'em faster than Jesus to a cross."
Hearing his Horseman echo his thoughts reinforced Grim's suspicion of Lucifer's role in Ashli's sudden appearance at the OHD. Determined to get answers, Grim reached for a phone that rang as he grabbed it. "Hello?"
"Why Grim! You're back!" Lucifer announced with mock cheerfulness. "What's the good news?"
"You tell me. I've been skull deep in sand for the past two weeks."
"Hmm…how very odd. I'd have thought your ponies would have alerted you to the magnitude of the situation by now."
Grim shot his Horsemen a look of death as he spoke. "Never mind all that and just answer a question for me. Did you have something to do with this Ashli bullshit or not?"
"Hold your Horses," Lucifer snickered. "The answer's no, I had nothing to do with this. Although I wish I had, because this is more glorious than any plan I could have concocted."
"Plan? What fucking plan are you talking about?"
A sudden, thunderous crash resonated throughout the office followed by a sulfurous puff of smoke. Lucifer appeared at Grim's side. "Sorry about the theatrics Grimmie old boy, but I just had to be here when you got the news."
Grim rubbed his skinless temples in exasperation. "Fuck the news and just get to the plan."
An expression that was both gleeful and menacing at once took hold of Lucifer's face as he stared into Grim's and said, "I can sum up the plan in one word-


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Careers at L'Oréal
Bring along your talent, entrepreneurial spirit and drive to make an impact on the lives of billions of people around the world. At L'Oréal we give you the tools to develop yourself as you help develop our portfolio of powerhouse brands.
Put yourself in the drivers seat and discover an all new career website built around you. Quickly search for jobs or share some details about yourself to discover the opportunities best suited for you. And along the way, you'll discover the passion and drive from our employees and uncover why working for the market leader in this industry is so incredibly worth it.


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Version 3.0. Make sure you post in this one a lot so it doesn't go away!
Edit (James): Added a poll so it doesn't go away—phpBB bug.
Some of the reasons I love this game:
-It helped transform me into a real RTK player, someone who tries to use strategy for victory. Previously on IV, I use to gather the most absurd sized army on the planet and conquer cities, adding new additions to my forces and completely abandoning the city to move on. I called them "raiding parties" but it was more like "total destruction parties." I could clear the map and then spread out into the cities, but never develop them. On VI, you had to hold a city after you conquered it and couldn't simply move out. This made me be more patient and turned me into as much of an economic and trickerous strategy player as a military brute. From there on out, I've taken into consideration turning and planting officers, spying, sabotage and many other things in every RTK game that I play, as well as the benefits of fully developing the land.
-The officers are represented very well on RTK VI. Because of the dreams, they get a proper personality profile and on this game, officers are actually loyal to who they are suppose to be loyal too, unlike any other RTK game. This makes officer interaction more fun for me and heightens the duels when you can get two familiar officers together such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the 200 A.D. scenario. It strenghtens what the family bonds were really like then and makes it fun to be the head of a clan with your bevy of extended family members and loyal retainers. Even in the new RPG-ish games, I don't think the officers have ever been more accurately portrayed than in RTK VI.
-The full-map view. I love the map on this game. I get to look out over the entire country of China while I execute my commands and get a look at every event taking place. The newer games have a decent map view that focuses in on the castle much more. They're nice, but I prefer to be able to look at the whole land at once and see my flag spread over castle after castle.
-The character portraits and stats are some of the best I've seen. When I think of Cao Cao in my mind, the portrait used in VI is always the image that comes to mind and that rings true with most officers. The stats are also some of the best all around, though a couple characters such as Cao Ren, Hong, Yue Jin, etc. got shorted, they still did a decent job, though I like how they did it on X as well. Still wish there was an option to edit stats.
-Civil/Military phase. I'm huge on organization, so I find it nice to have it where you can complete all of your common tasks and order all of your military attacks at once, but carry out those assaults in a separate phase. Maybe less realistic, but a function I found interesting and a good addition to the game.
-Introduction movies/events. Something new from RTK IV. I loved watching the little movies that introduce the scenario from each ruler's perspective, even if I have them all memorized now. Getting to watch the characters move around and see certain ones in unique robes was a nice addition. It made sending an envoy and conducting duels more real and better to see them from a 3D perspective.
-Speaking of duels, RTK VI has the best of the series. Some skill and luck are involved in them and you have some decent control over the character. X also has great duels and in a way it's a throwback/upgrade of the RTK VI system.
Ok, that's probably enough for now.


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It's been a looooong time since my last entry. I will readily admit to the fact that the reason I began to post on this blog was personal and cathartic. I had a ton of anger and rage that I just had a need to channel and this was the safest way to do so and not get my big ass locked up. Up until this morning, the rage and anger had subsided. I've been blessed to have wonderful people in my life as well as a woman with whom I've become very close. In fact, for the first time in my life, I can actually say that I am in love. The reason being, I am, for the first time in my life, in a committed relationship clean and sober. That is to say, I am able to see things and people for what and who they are rather then what I, in my high and drunken stupors, imagined them to be. OK, enough of the warm fuzziness of recovery. It's time to for me to forge ahead into the meat of the matter and the reason I felt a need to write this entry.
Let's begin with the title. I like to give a bit of an explanation about the title especially if it presents itself as cryptic or misleading. This one qualifies. The shark reference is a nod to jumping the shark as in the Happy Days episode when the Fonz, while water skiing, jumped over the shark in the cage below the surface. It's my understanding that this is the episode, for which this phrase was coined, and became part of the pulp culture, so to speak. The horse reference is a nod to an earlier entry in which I stated that I would ride the "deal site" horse until it died and then eat it. Well I'm happy to proclaim the fuckin' horse is dead and the shark ate him. I can't eat him, I'm watching my figure and cannot afford the calories.
Let us allow this entry to serve as a public statement and promise to my entire staff that…..
I've been running deals of various amounts and in different forms for nearly 3 years. In the beginning, I saw it not only as a means to raise working capital in a very challenging economic environment but as a wonderful form of mass marketing. A form of marketing that not only required $0.00 outlay of cash on my part but also paid me in advance for future dining by new guests in my establishment. It worked! My email list of guests jumped from 1500 or so to over 3000 in the past couple of years. Each new guest willfully requesting to become a part of the list. I use this list to directly market to my customers by way of Constant Contact and it is absolutely invaluable in every way imaginable.
In recent months however, I've had a great many conversations with my front of the house team led by my very professional, accomplished and highly respected General Manager and Wine Director Marcello. In each and every one of these conversations it has been brought to my attention that the attitude and overall personality of the guest I am attracting with these deals is in a free fall sort of decline. A decline that is having a very negative effect on the entire staff in terms of moral and happiness while at work. This, of course, cannot be allowed to continue, I told myself. I need all of these folks to be in high spirits. I also need them to feel an overall sense of appreciation not only from me but from our guests. If this is not happening it is ultimately my responsibility as the owner of this restaurant to step in and correct the problem to the best of my ability and with as much tact and sensitivity as possible. I've tried, I really have, but to no avail. I am left with only this to say.
Please be advised, this DOES NOT apply to all deal site users. 99% of these deals have been redeemed with great satisfaction and in many instances with a return visit. No disrespect is intended to those of you who have purchased these deals and used them happily, following the rules set forth. We appreciate you and look forward to serving you always!
In fact, this only applies to a small minority of deal site users. For the most part, these sites have served to expand my customer base and reward a good number of my current guests as well. In addition to providing me with much needed capital. Capital used to make improvements in the restaurant and build an addition that serves as dining space as well as a private dining room for a variety of events.
OK, now that I've been able to explain how much I value those that use these deal sites for their intended purpose, (that purpose being a win/win for all three, the guest, the establishment running the deal and the deal site itself.) I will now say what needs to be said to the small minority of folks that have ruined it for the whole bunch. Ready?
YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME! Did ya get that? I mean it, STAY AWAY! Please call or email the deal site and tell them you want a refund. I cannot believe the entitlement and general attitude of "me, me, me" that you people exhibit in public. Forget about my restaurant and my staff for a moment. This is not about us. This is about you fools. I am told over and over again by my staff, how abusive some diners can be when they simply do not have the means or even worse, have the means but not the willingness to act in a civil fashion in a public place. Are you people not embarrassed by your behavior?!!? It puzzles me as to who would, if anyone, want to sit at a table with you idiots. You are, as a group, abusive, mean, nasty, despicable human beings that should not be allowed to walk amongst other more evolved people, much less omit the vile stench of your attitude toward those that serve you in a public place, such as my staff of professionals of whom I am very proud.
I am recently most proud that none have them have taken it upon themselves to punch you in the fucking face for treating them as you have. I have actually had some of you tell my manager, point blank, that he is here to work for you and he should do as he is told, BY YOU! Are you fucking kidding me?! This gentleman and his team do not work for you – you entitled neophyte jag-off! They don't even work for me. They work as independent contractors for the same restaurant for which I work. The fact that I own the restaurant does not make me any less of an employee of the establishment. It simply makes me responsible for everything that goes on within.
We, as a team, have experienced lies of epic proportion, in order for you, the entitled, dishonest, sneaky folks that you are to get your way regardless of the needs of other diners not to mention the overall health of the restaurant. I place very clear and specific restrictions on each of the deals that I run. These restrictions are as follows; 1.) the diner must call the restaurant directly and speak to a staff member to make a reservation. Online reservations are not permitted for tasting menu deals. 2.) one deal or certificate may be redeemed per table per evening. 3.) the deals are not redeemable with any other offers. 4.) a limited amount of these deals (tasting menus only) will be honored on Friday and Saturday evenings. (6pm or earlier or 8 pm or later) That's it! There is no hidden agenda. There are no cloak and dagger games being played. I mean no disrespect when presenting these restrictions. They are simply necessary to have in order to insure a fair and just means of redeeming these deals and still allowing the operation to survive and dare I say it????? PROFIT!
Yes, that's correct, I need to profit as well as offer these deals. The problem is this. Those of you of whom I am speaking, have exhibited breathtaking disrespect for my team and also happen to be the same assholes that could care less if my restaurant lives to see another day after you have redeemed your deal. The details are not of concern to you. You want what you want, when you want it and you have no interest in hearing an explanation of why your demands may be somewhat unreasonable. The disclosed restrictions, the needs of other deal site users that actually use the deal as intended (respectfully) and the basic human rights of my staff BE DAMNED!
Last night was the final straw. I awoke at 6 am as I do each day to find a text, an email and a missed call all from the same person. This woman took it upon herself to get the message to me at all costs that her dining rights have been irreconcilably denied and therefore her experience ruined. Not to mention the experience of her esteemed, food savvy guest. This couple had a deal site tasting menu certificate. Not a big shock we took 14 of them last night. This is wonderful in my eyes as we are reaching guests that for the most part, are learning of us for the first time after over seven years at this location. (We have been able to see repeat visits from over 20% of our deal site first time guests. This is a number not often seen. quite a blessing not to mention a testament to my staff and their professionalism.)
Back to our "happy couple." The woman informed me, by way of all three communications, that my manager is, and this is a quote, "a complete asshole that does not belong in his position nor does he deserve to work with the public in any way shape or form" This statement, as it turns out, was the least offensive of all the ridiculous things stated as fact in her opinion about my restaurant. Now Marcello, while not always warm and fuzzy, especially when abused by a diner in the way in which he was abused last night, is ALWAYS professional and accommodating in every way.
He represents my restaurant and our product with such pride and integrity that one might mistake him for the owner. Please allow me to state for the record that I do not subscribe to the "customer is always right" philosophy. This is an antiquated, flawed business philosophy that allows a guest to dictate what an establishment should provide rather then enjoying what the establishment is best suited to provide. Not to mention what that operation is known for providing. Pure nonsense! A practice seen only in those establishments that lack either the strength of their convictions or a lack of confidence in their own product…..or, even worse, BOTH! Needless to say, we are not one of those establishments.
We try very hard to provide a wonderful experience for all of our guests. We do so with a strict attention to the important point that when we veer from what we are known to provide best, we inevitably welcome trouble. The most common instance of this is when we let the guest drive the experience. This woman was trying to do just that. They arrived 45 minutes late for an online reservation with a tasting menu deal certificate for which the kitchen was not prepared. We routinely prepare for at least 2 or 3 tables that pop up as a result of an honest mistake either on our part or as the result of a miscommunication with the guest. We take full responsibility and do our best to accommodate. Sometimes we are simply full and do not have the capacity to make last minute changes to facilitate the needs of a single guest. In such a case we offer alternatives, extensions of expiration, application of face value to be used that evening but in a different capacity, etc…. at times, such as last night, this is simply not good enough for the guest and things unravel.
I did not bother Marcello with this situation today as it is his well deserved day off and I want him to relax. I took it upon myself to speak with all of the staff that worked last night and each of their descriptions of what happened was identical with the exception of, you guessed it, our deal site folks.
It seems the lady was much more upset in the beginning then the gentleman and was very vocal. After addressing the table and explaining that since they did not do what was asked on the deal and call to alert us to their tasting menu, we could not produce an additional menu of this type. I do not give a shit if anyone understands why I made this restriction a part of the deal.
It just is. I will not and cannot disclose my business model to everyone that buys a deal. Now the man, and I use that term in jest, becomes aggravated despite Marcello's best attempts to make reasonable amends for the situation. This fool begins to shout in the middle of MY DINING ROOM at the gentleman that runs the entire operation, demanding that what he and his dining companion want, must be provided. In doing so, they disturbed other guests, belittled my manager, his staff and my restaurant. Still, in the end, they were given everything we could give them to try and make them happy. As these pricks dined on my cuisine, served by a professional team in a comfortable environment, (all at a 50% discount mind you), they were texting and talking on their phones all night long. Very loudly might I add, making a point to be loud enough to let my staff know that they were going on opentable and Facebook to slander the restaurant in grand fashion as they dined.
To this couple I offer you this. FUCK YOU!!! As well as everyone else that thinks as you think and acts as you act. This is an grown up restaurant for those that know how to act in public. It is for those that want to and are able to act civil towards one another and towards those that work very hard to serve them. We greatly appreciate all of our guests that enjoy dining in our restaurant, especially nowadays, when there are so many great options. I made a mistake riding this horse as far as I did. I have my reasons. I also have a couple of regrets – not the least of which is the stress I put on my staff in order to accommodate the small minority of deal site folks that simply don't deserve to be accommodated.
Gentlemen of the staff of Restaurant Michael, I am very sorry that you had to endure this silliness. I would like to thank you for doing so and for being the professional, dedicated people that you are. I am very fortunate to have the privilege to work beside you. Please do not be discouraged. 99% of our guests appreciate and love the service you provide. It is that 99% that inspires me to continue providing the product we provide. Be proud of yourselves and rest assured, I certainly am proud of you! I will not allow anyone to abuse us as professionals not to mention as human beings.
Wanna hear the kicker? The guests from last night were industry people. A cook that works for a very close chef friend of mine and his bitch girlfriend. – twenty-somethings with no balls, no respect and no class. I weep for the future of our nation…… Make no mistake, had I been here last night you would all have cause to weep for them.


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Sports and Prestige Cars For Sale in Preston, Lancashire
Capitol Car Centre (cc4cars.com) is one the best-known sports, prestige and performance car dealers in Lancashire, with over 60 quality used sports, prestige and performance cars in stock. Capitol Car Centre is known for the range of choice and quality of its used car stock and has one of the best selections of quality used sports and prestige cars including such marques as Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Land Rover, Lexus, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and Lexus, Hyundai and Volkswagen.
Looking For Your Ideal Car in Lancashire?
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If you already have a car and would like us to consider a part exchange please call us or alternatively for a quick valuation go to our used car part exchange page and fill in the quick used car part exchange valuation form and we'll give you a guide as to the value of your current vehicle.
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text: These might not have much appeal to everyone, but growing up to this show during the 90s was unquestionably one of the most creative and mind-wrenching things to watch as a teenager with no internet. Racy would definitely be one way to describe Rocko's Modern Life (likewise for Ren & Stimpy), and with adult themes and dark humor, it was really an eye-opener in my teen years. The illustration work and animation style of the cartoon is described as a "wonky bent feel" and a "reality that is 'squashed and stretched' into a twisted version of real life". Each episode title card was in fact an original painting.


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So I just finished watching this show, and to be honest I didn't like it. The majority of the matche didn't seem to click in my mind and a lot of the time the crowd didn't seem that into the show. The best part of the show was the begining of the DVD with the Xposed segments that featured promos from various wrestlers on the show and helped setup angles. Excalibur is the MVP of the Xposed segments because of his INXS refrence in his promo with Beef Wellington.
Cheech vs. Cloudy
-A lot of hype for this match, but this match wasn't as great as everyone was saying it was. A lot of it felt like a sloppy Americanized lucha match with the ammount of armdrags done. The selling was decent, both guys sold the more brutal spots till the end when they walked back. My biggest complaint with the match was the way the match ended with a second rope powerbom which didn't seem to have as much impact as some of the other spots done.
Rating: *1/4
Shane Storm, Jigsaw, and Mike Quackenbush vs. Icarus, Gran Akuma, and Hallowicked
-This match also fell short. The only person in this match who looked ontop of his game was Quack, as his offense was really fun to watch. There where some spots that came off really well, while there where a lot that suffered due to slow setups and mis-communication. The Rudos team on offense didn't really do much for me as they didn't do much to try and get heat. There are fun CHIKARA matches out there, but this wasn't one of them in my mind.
Rating: *1/2
Kings Of Wrestling Interview
-This was a really good setup for the match with Chris Hero and Claudio Castanoli against BLK Out members Eddie Kingston and Sabian. The promo centered around Hero taunting Kingston for his personal problems and not being at the show, but Kingston comes out ready to fight Hero and Hero and Claudio taking off. Chris Hero does a good job here heeling it up, and Kingston did a good job in his roll.
DJ Hyde vs. John Dahmer
-Hyde and Dahmer have feuded before in 2003, teamed up in 2004 I believe, and now they're at odds again. This match was really terrible. Most of the match was slow, and uninteresting. A lot of it was just them chopping eachother in the begining which killed any heat they had going into this. The only redeaming quality was a fan getting chopped in the back of the head at one point on accident. Sloppy, slow, boring, crap.
Rating: -**
Team Masterbation(Excalibur and Beef Wellington) vs. Franky The Mobster and Larry Sweeney
-This was mostly a comedy match, but it fell flat in my mind. The begining promos where nice, but the match didn't do much for me. The ending was pretty funny, with Beef Wellington and Excalibur trying to set up their finisher, and Beef climbing a scaffold like thing setup for the main event and refusing to come down because he's afraid of heights and costing his team. Really disapointing match.
Rating: *3/4
PWG Title Match: Joey Ryan vs. El Generico
-Lots of people where shitting on this match, but I honestly don't think it was that bad considering that Joey was in bad shape. While it was slow at some parts, it was still a fine match. The expectation levels of many fans where pretty high, and I had a feeling that it would disapoint because of the other matches that have been built up. Aside from the botched Duff Drop, this match was ok. It would of been better if the crowd went along by giving Joey a ton of heat, and if the ending sequence was executed perfectly. Their PWG match was worlds better than this.
Rating: **
Pandora's Box(Adam Flash and Sonjay Dutt) vs. Sexxxy Eddy and Nate Webb
-I have not been a fan of the entire Pandora angle, but I enjoyed Sonjay making a comeback and his heel act. He did a good job at getting heat from the crowd by name dropping Jeff Jarrett. This match was alright, but it still didn't feel like it clicked. The ending with Sonjay doing a moonsault onto Sexxxy Eddy's crotch was sick though. Decent match.
Rating: **1/2
After the match, Maven Bently(CZW promoter) came out with members of the BLK Out, Joker, Toby Klein. and Necro Butcher come out and hold a 10 Bell Salute to Eddie Guererro. During this, a fan yelled out "fuck that!" during the tribute. After the 10th bell ring, everyone turned their attention to the guy and got in his face. He was standing next to some girl who looked cracked out. Zandig got on the mic and threw the guy out which got a huge pop. After that, they brought in the family of Chris Cash and presented them with a check from the profits made from the Cash Memorial Show and where presented with a flag that was flown in Iraq.
CZW Jr. Heavyweight Title Match: 2/3 Falls Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match: Niles Young vs. Derek Fraizer
-This match was pretty weak in my mind. A lot of highspots that took quiet an ammount of time to setup and there where points where both guys didn't sell much. It's bad enough that the match was a match that had spots that took too much time to setup, and parts where things just got dumb. Mostly Derek Fraizer setting up Niles in the corner, setting up two chairs and had him lay on the chairs that where spread apart, went on a scaffold and stomped his head. I didn't like this match at all, but some of the spots where neat.
Rating: *1/4
CZW Tag Team Title Match: BLK Out(Eddie Kingston and Sabian) vs. The Kings Of Wrestling(Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli)
-Finally things start to get good. This match was probably my MOTN. Hero and Claudio worked over Sabian really well and did some funny stuff and did a great job being heels. The story with Hero and Kingston was great. Some really cool spots include Claudio setting up Sabian on one of the scaffolds, and Hero running up to the corner and putting a cravate on him. Lots of good stuff here. This match is worth checking out.
Rating: ***1/4
After the match, Chris Hero goes on a rant on American Dragon and ROH and issues the famous open challenge to him.
CZW Ironman Title Match: Chris Sabin vs. Kevin Steen
-Another fun match, but it could of been better. Some parts of the match where a little off, but it didn't effect the match that much. Kevin Steen was doing a good job at being cocky and arrogant, and Sabin pulled out some really nice looking highspots. The finish saw Sabin trying to hit a Tornado DDT from the corner, but it got countered half way through when Steen flipped Sabin upside down and hit the Package Piledriver.
Rating: ***
After the match, Kevin Steen had an argument with Santa Claus.
CZW Heavyweight Title Match: Super Dragon vs. Ruckus(W/ Robby Minero)
-This match was a letdown. I expected a lot from this but it didn't deliver, mostly because of Ruckus looking injured. Dragon tried his best, but Ruckus was out of it. During the match, Dragon hit Robby Minero with a Curb Stomp on the entrance ramp. The crowd heat in this was pretty cool, with fans going at it with duel chants. Another note, during the match Ruckus went to the top rope for a moonsault, and hit his head on a scaffold platform that was setup for the main event. Dragon wins with a Psycho Driver that looked like an Electric Chair Driver.
Rating: **3/4
After the match, several CZW staff members and BLK Out members came to check on Ruckus and took him to the back. Then the DVD showed the cage setup.
Cage Of Death: Team Zandig(Zandig, Nick Gage, and Justice Pain) vs. Team Joker(Joker, Necro Butcher, and Toby Klein)
-The cage setup was like this: The cage had eight sides that surrounded the ringside area with a barbwire spidernet setup on one side and glass setup on another side with tables underneath and two scaffold platforms across the ring from eachother. I'm not a fan of hardcore matches, but this match was pretty good for what it was. If you enjoy a lot of sick spots, you'll like this match. At one point, Necro Butcher was thrown out the ring by Justice Pain, which looked extremely sloppy. Necro got up and then beat the crap out of Pain. Hilarious moment. I wont spoil the entire match, but the spots where pretty cool looking. The finish saw Zandig having Dewey Donovan set up two tables and lighting them on fire, and getting Joker on one of the scaffold things and hitting a MotherF'nBomb through the flaming tables.
Rating: **3/4
After the match, Zandig brought out Lobo, talked about taking it old school. He says ok. Zandig talks a lot. End of show.
Overall this was one of the most disapointing shows in CZW history in my mind. It's a shame that Ruckus was injured as him and Dragon could of had a great match. The show before, Night Of Infamy 4, was a lot better than this show and is worth seeking out. I wouldn't get this show unless you're the type who wants to see every COD or every CZW show.


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|Avocado with Bell Peppers and Tomatoes
In May of last year, feeling sluggish, I decided to look for some kind of cleanse. You all know me if you read this blog with any regularity, I'm not really into extremes. I wasn't looking for something all liquid, or meals that consisted of cayenne pepper and water. I wanted substance, I wanted to be healthy.
I ended up stumbling upon Whole Living's 28-Day Mind and Body Challenge. It's a cleanse they rework every year in January that focuses on clean, healthy eating. I want to say in advance, that these posts are in no way affiliated with the magazine, I just like to give credit where credit is due.
The detox omits alcohol (uh-oh), caffeine (how will I survive?), dairy (not too bad), processed foods (try to avoid those anyway), added sugars (oh I just might miss you), and gluten (this one is always the most difficult for me).
Last year, I ended up energized and held on to changes I made in the couple of weeks I stuck to it, long term. I'm hoping to hang onto them longer this year.
|Roasted Peppers, Cauliflower, and Almonds
As you know, my commitment to local is always tempered with moderation. In looking at this cleanse, there are a lot of recipes that I can't keep entirely local, but I'm trying to at least keep one local ingredient in the mix. A lot of this stuff is out of season as well, but again, moderation tends to be key.
I'm going extreme for a few weeks, while again, against my moderate mantra, I need a shock to the system every once in a while. You want something a little less shocking? I love what Winnie over at Healthy Green Kitchen is doing with her "One Simple Change" Fridays.
I have to add that when I started this yesterday I also did something for my mind. I started my day off slow, chopping, blending. I reveled in the sun of my kitchen, turned on music, and began my day in a more positive frame of mind. I mean, this is for the mind as well, right?
So my produce bins are packed, I have some shred of motivation. Want to see what I'm eating? Here are the links for yesterday, since these recipes are not my own, but they're definitely worth sharing!
Antioxidant Smoothie
-made with frozen Cider Hill Farm blueberries and raspberries I froze last summer.
-Green Jasmine Tea from White Heron Tea in NH. (Yes, this is cheating, but one cup of green tea a day is helpful and healthy.
Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes
-Sadly, the only thing local in this one is the garlic from Tendercrop Farm.
Roasted Peppers, Cauliflower, and Almonds
-Again, all purchased from Tendercrop Farm in Newbury, MA, but none is their own produce. They work with quality providers in the winter to provide other options they can't grow here in January, and I'd rather support them with dollars since I believe in their local meat/produce options at other points of the year. Local folks, here's a secret, many times their produce (theirs or otherwise) is cheaper (and MUCH higher quality) than what you can pick up at the local grocery store.
Various things - almonds, fresh fruit, and veggies with natural nut butters.
So wish me luck. I predict some crankiness from the lack of coffee and bread. I also predict a little burst in energy and much more awareness of what I'm eating than I have had in several months. I also predict that by the end I will have not sworn off bread, pasta, or wine for all time. That's just not going to happen.


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RICHVALE — A handful of issues are creating a bottleneck for improvements to the state's water supply, the top official of Metropolitan Water District said Thursday in Richvale.
The gathering was the annual landowner meeting for Western Canal and Richvale Irrigation districts.
Metropolitan provides water to 19 million people, about half the population of California.
The goal for his agency, said General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger, is to "solidify" water supplies to sustain the economy of Southern California in the future.
The proposed twin tunnels to bypass the San Francisco-San Joaquin Delta have included $200 million spent on studies, Kightlinger said.
"We have taken a long, hard look at this. Hopefully there will be a decision point, rather than paying more money to study it."
Kightlinger said it almost sounds fictional, but Gov. Jerry Brown was the same man in charge when the Peripheral Canal was on the table in 1982. And here we are 30 years later with a similar proposal, he commented.
But before that, the idea was discussed in 1930 and again in the 1960s, Kightlinger said.
In the 1960s, Metropolitan Water District lobbied against the canal proposal, Kightlinger said, believing it could be put off for a few decades while other water remedies were sought.
In Metropolitan's view, climate change is real.
"We will get more rain than snow," and snowpack will become less available as a water storage system for the state, Kightlinger said, which means more storage is essential. "But right now we can't even use the storage we have" without a way to transfer it from one place to another.
Also, restrictions for fish have meant that 800,000 acre-feet of water was not delivered this year, he continued.
This year, he predicts, the federal Central Valley Project will deliver 20-25 percent of water deliveries, and 35 percent in the State Water Project.
Lack of water will "wreak havoc on farms," he said.
Kightlinger said issues need to come in their proper sequence — fix conveyance, and then work on storage.
After the meeting, Kightlinger was asked about Sites Reservoir, which is a proposal to build storage near Maxwell to be filled with water from the Sacramento River.
That plan has been on paper for more than a decade, and a Joint Powers Association in Northern California will release environmental documents on the plans this summer.
Kightlinger said Sites is one of many ideas in the works for several water storage concepts. The project, he said, is very similar to Diamond Valley Lake, near Hemet in Riverside County.
Like the Sites proposal, Diamond Lake was built between the saddles of two mountains, and does not dam a river.
Kightlinger said there is also the option of building more storage in other areas of the state, but none of the options are viable without a way to move water.


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CLP Holdings is one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. Incorporated in Hong Kong in 1901 as China Light & Power Company Syndicate, through CLP Power Hong Kong, the group operates a fully-integrated electricity generation, transmission and distribution business supplying 80% of Hong Kong's population.
Outside Hong Kong, CLP holds investments in the energy sector in Mainland China, Australia, India and Southeast Asia. Its diversified portfolio of power generation assets uses a wide range of fuels including coal, gas, nuclear and renewable sources. Its clean energy portfolio, which accounts for over 18% of the total equity capacity at end-2011, includes hydro-electric, solar, wind and biomass plants. The company is the largest external investor in the Mainland's renewable energy sector and the largest investor, foreign or domestic, in India's wind sector. In Australia, its wholly-owned subsidiary TRUenergy is one of the largest integrated energy companies providing gas and electricity to over 2.8 million customers.
Powering Asia Responsibly encapsulates the company's belief that a sustainable business is one that lasts for hundreds of years. Within this context, the company strives to produce a reliable and quality product that society values, and to deliver long-term economic value to capital providers while meeting stakeholders' expectations on social and environmental responsibility. It is committed to integrating socially and environmentally sound practices in its business.
CLP is listed in the Global Dow, a 150-stock index of the world's leading blue-chips, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific), the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific 40 Index (DJSI Asia Pacific 40) and Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index Series.
CLP published its first environmental report, entitled Environmental, Health and Safety Review, in 1997. The company issued its first Social and Environmental Report in February 2003, which was published annually until the Sustainability Report replaced it in 2008. Its independently-verified Sustainability Report provides a range of information that spans from major stakeholder engagement activities to safety and environmental performance, such as emissions, waste and water discharged. Its 2010 Sustainability Report won the Globe Award for Sustainability Reporting, a coveted international award initiated by the Globe Forum. In 2011, CLP adopted the International Integrated Report Council's framework on corporate reporting and incorporated the social and environmental aspects of its business into its Annual Report.
The company's successful performance is evident in the 13% increase in operating earnings for 2011 while maintaining a carbon intensity of 0.8kg CO2 per kilowatt-hour.


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SafekiddaBudding Enthusiast
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tommy1340millar reacted to a post in a topic: Mk 2.5 58 - Retrofit Bluetooth & Usb Questions
Anyone Know Where Stock Microphone Wiring Loom Terminates?
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus ClubIn case anyone is interested I found it. You need to pull the A pillar off, starting from the top, it just popped off. The wiring terminates in a block inside there, red/white and black.
Anyone Know Where Stock Microphone Wiring Loom Terminates?
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus ClubThanks both, I've also already had the stereo out and couldn't see any wiring that matched the colours of the microphone. I suppose the best option is to try and remove the side panel in the passenger footwell to see if I can see what comes down the A pillar, any tips for this appreciated!
Anyone Know Where Stock Microphone Wiring Loom Terminates?
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus ClubJust had it out today actually. I had my light out and couldn't see anything obvious. You don't happen to know how I get access to the wires that come out of the pillar do you? If I can locate these hopefully I can locate the red-white and black cable... Or even where I can locate wiring diagram...
As per the title, on a 58 focus that has the place for the microphone built in to the light fitting. I can see a red/white and a black cable to attach the microphone it looks like it goes left (passenger side) and presumably it goes down the left pillar. Anyone know where I can locate it ? Thanks.
Problem With Rain Sensing Wipers
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus ClubOK, I shall put her in her place, then realise I'm being a nob and it's only some !Removed! windscreen wipers :) I clearly got out of bed the wrong side and took offence to being called a control freak [which is probably true].
Problem With Rain Sensing Wipers
Safekidda posted a topic in Ford Focus ClubMorning all, I've had my focus for a couple of weeks and I'm having a problem with the rain sensing wipers, I keep turning them on but when I get back in the car they're turned off. I keep telling my wife to leave the stalk 1 notch up, I saw her using them this morning so reminded her again that she never need worry about windscreen wipers again, but it didn't wash (no pun intended), she told me to stop being a control freak and that she prefers to use them normally. Is there anything I can do about this? :)
Mk 2.5 58 - Retrofit Bluetooth & Usb Questions
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus Clubbump
Mk 2.5 58 - Retrofit Bluetooth & Usb Questions
Safekidda replied to Safekidda's topic in Ford Focus ClubBy the way, to save somebody else some pain here's some other links I've found: Bluetooth fitting guide: (thanks to DaveRushton) http://dc121.4shared.com/doc/858qrNBX/preview.html USB fitting to glovebox guide http://www.fordxr5turbo.com/forum/index.php?topic=12187.0 USB fitting to central console (armrest) guide: http://www.ford-focus.dk/Forum/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?42141 With USB installed, updating stereo with ford software: http://www.ford-mobile-connectivity.com/downloadsUpdates To remove the stereo there's some guides on youtube, and to remove the glovebox see the second link above, and to remove the light fitting, pull out the clear plastic face to get to the bulbs, then use a screwdriver to release the metal clip and pull the light fitting out, then you can undo two screws to pull out the plastic surround which has the microphone fitting in (this is of course if you have the correct light fitting with space to fit a mic).
Mk 2.5 58 - Retrofit Bluetooth & Usb Questions
Safekidda posted a topic in Ford Focus ClubHi all, First post! I've just bought myself a 58 plate Titanium, I'm massively pleased with it, I made sure it had some of the gadgets I wanted such as cruise control, parking sensors etc. knowing that I could have a go at retrofitting the bluetooth myself (and for an added bonus get USB support! - fingers crossed). I know this is a heavily discussed subject, but please bear with me, I have done my research. So, I have the Sony single CD (no DAB) with MP3 support, and I've checked the firmware (press and hold 1 & 6 together then turn on stereo) and it's 05-03-03 so I think I'm also good for USB support. I've also got the correct light housing for the microphone and it looks like I have a wire stowed up there to clip the microphone into. I've taken the glovebox out and I'm pretty positive I don't have the wiring loom for the bluetooth/VC module so this is the only sticking point so far. I'm just about ready to email Ford Parts UK to get a quote and place an order and could do with a few pointers before I go ahead. Any help is hugely appreciated. I have the microphone wire, where does this come out? I had a 3 pin black and red socket taped to the existing AUX input cable, it had white/black, yellow/black, and black cables attached. Is this it? Once I've confirmed, how am I going to attach this up to the new wiring loom? I found an excellent guide to fitting USB in the glovebox with an original bezel to hold the USB here http://www.fordxr5tu...p?topic=12187.0 It says the the Nokia bluetooth module has been replaced with a Novero (1726157 Module (AU7T-19C112-AR) is this OK for my stereo and will it give me full USB/ Voice control support? Once I've got it all installed what do I need to ask Ford to program with the WDS, I've seen various things posted, but I get the feeling I'd turn up and they wouldn't know what I was on about? Can anyone tell me exactly what to ask for? I've gathered part numbers from all over the place, it looks like they get replaced with never versions, can anyone confirm the below? Bluetooth: 1726157 Module (AU7T-19C112-AR, 2010 Module Bluetooth BT/VC+USB Connect) 1353218 Module Bracket 1355147 Screw For Bracket x 2 1318965 Steering Control Stalk 1532666 Bluetooth Mic 1467152 Retrofit patch loom for universal fit. (there seems to be different versions of this for focus/fiesta??) USB: 1543691 USB cable 1543450 USB socket 1550778 Glovebox bezel Finally if anyone can recommend anywhere to get hold of some of the parts other than Ford Parts UK that would be appreciated, I've not had much luck sourcing stuff on ebay.


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Remember the uber-secret Ford "Bobcat" dual-fuel engine — the one that squirts a shot of E85 directly into the cylinder chamber to create diesel-like performance out of a gasoline engine? Thanks to PickupTrucks.com, we've got this exclusive first look!
These CAD renderings, brilliantly pilfered from presentations given by Ford last month to the Department of Energy and Society of Automotive Engineers by PickupTrucks.com, show the first detailed look at the new engine that's expected to achieve fuel efficiency gains of somewhere between 25-30% over a standard gasoline engine. That'll even be a 5-10% increase over the EcoBoost engines!
PickupTrucks.com claims, through a load of math-type stuff, that:
"...an experimental 3.5-liter GTDI EcoBoost engine modified with E85 direct injection and gasoline port fuel injection run on a dynamometer achieved a BMEP score of 305 psi (27 bar), which translates to approximately 553 pounds-feet of torque and 316 horsepower at 3,000 rpm (flat torque curve from 1,500 to 3,000 rpm). The experimental engine was limited by the engine block's ability to handle higher compression ratios."
That means it could have been even higher! For comparison purposes, a standard GTDI EcoBoost engine on a dyno was rated at 17 bar, which translates to approximately 350 lb-ft of torque and 300 HP at 4,500 rpm. Wowzers.
And at first we were just impressed with those pink double Air/Water-heat exchangers sitting on top of the engine.
But what's really cool about this technology is it's precisely how Ford expects to rech the new 2016 fuel economy numbers just announced by the Obama administration. No neutered hybrid pickup trucks needed. [PickupTrucks.com]


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Here's to the lingering Halloween decorations that are still out there, scattered on people's lawns and dangling from trees and bushes.
Image by timeinabox.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Here's to the lingering Halloween decorations that are still out there, scattered on people's lawns and dangling from trees and bushes.
8 comments:
- Jay's Shadow said...
I still have the jacko I used on my scarecrow sitting out front. I tried to leave the whole scrarecrow up,but the misses wouldn't let me. I even offered to put a santa hat on top....
- November 22, 2011 at 7:48 AM
- Joel said...
The walkway down the street is still haunted by a 4 foot, gauzy white ghost-on-a-post, complete with the three black ovals for a face. I'm hoping he hangs on through December.
- November 22, 2011 at 9:51 AM
- Countess VonRauber (Heidi) said...
Up till Sunday, I still had a full size toe pincer lying in the middle of my front lawn ;) What's really funny is that there are a lot of houses for sale on my street right now, so I can only imagine what the perspective buyers throught when they saw the coffin ;)
- November 22, 2011 at 9:59 AM
- Anonymous said...
Great photo. Rather sums up the end of Halloween 2011.
- November 22, 2011 at 11:24 AM
- MorbidMariah said...
My yard is finally empty of decorations, but the carport is littered with some still. (up in front of the car, where nobody else can see the mess). I still have to do the Tetris-like organization of the shed. Ugh.
- November 22, 2011 at 11:56 AM
- Wikkedmoon said...
I have decided to leave the scarecrow up all winter. It just looks right. My banshee is still on front porch and I've decided to put a winter scarf and maybe a knit hat on her for Christmas. Happy Turkey Day to all.
- November 22, 2011 at 5:28 PM
- Marrow said...
So cool that you posted this now.
I JUST saw one of these 'lingerers'. Very, very special considering Halloween decorations are a rare sight in NZ, let alone ones in late November.
And this wasn't just any decoration. A life sized demon hanging from a porch with huge black winds flapping in the (insanely stong) wind.
I want to send gifts to the owners. Lots of gifts.
- November 23, 2011 at 1:05 AM
- The Creeping Cruds said...
Headed out of town and havent been back for a while. The pumpkin graveyard will be in full effect when I get home Sunday.
- November 23, 2011 at 3:30 PM


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Norway's Aamodt Takes Super G Gold, Rahlves 8th
Snowbasin, Utah Feb. 16, 2002 (AP by Bob Baum)--He's called the Baby Shark, a rather strange nickname for a shy, humble guy who once studied ballet. Put him on skis, though, and it's obvious the moniker is a perfect fit.
Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway captured his second gold medal in four days, beating the favored Austrians to win the super giant slalom Saturday. He now has seven Olympic medals, a total unmatched in Alpine skiing history.
Aamodt, whose first name rhymes with Shaquille (as in O'Neal), maintained his balance on a treacherous hairpin turn that wiped out many of the favorites and ruined the medal hopes of American Daron Rahlves.
Aamodt has had quite a week at the Salt Lake City Games.
He was fourth in the downhill last Sunday, missing a medal by 0.37 seconds. He won the combined event on Wednesday, and won his first Super G race in six years on Saturday.
``The combination gold was the important one for me, I was the favorite. When I managed to win that, it gave me a lot of confidence,'' Aamodt said. ``Today was just a bonus.''
Aamodt, 30, who also won the Olympic Super G in 1992 and was a bronze medalist in 1994, won by a tenth of a second over Stephan Eberharter of Austria. Another Austrian, Andreas Schifferer, took the bronze medal.
Eberharter, who got bronze in the downhill, has dominated the speed races on the World Cup circuit this season in the absence of injured teammate Hermann Maier, the 1998 Olympic champion in Super G.
He had been favored for gold in both the downhill and Super G at the Salt Lake City Games. In a rare display of emotion, Eberharter threw his helmet and skis to the ground in the finish area Saturday.
Eberharter partly blamed his defeat on the Austrian coaches, saying they failed to warn him about the tricky turns near the bottom.
``There was a lack of communication. I got every information possible at the start except what would happen if I entered the final steep slope a little too tight or a little too fast,'' he said. ``I was going too fast, so I couldn't get through those two gates cleanly. I definitely lost gold there.''
Rahlves, the reigning Super G world champion, had several bobbles and went wide around several gates--leaving a plume of snow in his wake--and finished eighth.
``Obviously, a big disappointment,'' said Rahlves. ``This is the one I wanted to win, but I just made too many mistakes.''
Rahlves skied tentatively at the section leading onto Rendezvous Face _ the spot at which the racers first came into the view of fans at the bottom of the course _ and several other top skiers faltered there.
The racers barreled off Buffalo Jump, the steepest section of the course, when they quickly had to make a blind left turn and then a sharp right onto Rendezvous Face.
Eberharter slipped trying to make that right turn, losing valuable moments but managing to stay on course. Didier Cuche of Switzerland was not as fortunate, slipping at that spot and missing a gate.
``It's definitely the trickiest and toughest Super G course I've ever skied on in my life because of the terrain and the way they set the course,'' Rahlves said.
Aamodt, who has an unprecedented 17 medals in the Olympics and world championships, finished the icy course in 1 minute, 21.58 seconds. Eberharter's time was 1:21.68 and Schifferer's was 1:21.83 _ just 0.09 seconds faster than downhill champion Fritz Strobl, yet another Austrian.
``To win a Super G after 10 years in the Olympics is just a dream come true,'' Aamodt said. ``I've worked hard all my life. I love skiing. I love competition. That's the secret of my success.''
Rahlves, who stunned Austrian crowds last year by capturing the world championship there, finished in 1:22.48. He finished 16th in last weekend's downhill.
Thomas Vonn of the United States came from the 33rd starting position to finish ninth in 1:23.22.
The Super G was the lasst Olympic men's race at Snowbasin. After the women's Super G on Sunday, Alpine competition shifts to Park City for the women's slalom Wednesday.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press


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Arab Glitch: A Film Series
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
6:30 p.m.
Hutchison Hall Hubbell Auditorium
The University of Rochester Film and Media Studies Program is proud to present Laura U. Marks, Dena Wosk University Professor with the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University.
Laura U. Marks is curating a program of experimental media works from the Arab world that show the physical nature of digital media, which, in many Arab countries, refers to problems with bandwidth, power cuts, and pirated media.
The "Arab Glitch" program will consist of five films:
Gheith al-Amine, T.S.T.L. (Lebanon, 2011, 5:00)
Ahmed El Shaer, Home (Egypt, 2006, 6:00)
Raed Yassin, The New Film (Lebanon/Egypt, 2009, 9:00)
Ahmed Nagy, The Holy Zero (Egypt, 2010, 30:00)
Rania Stephan, The Three Disappearances of Souad Hosni (Lebanon, 2011, 70:00)
Laura U. Marks is the author of The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses (Duke, 2000), Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media (Minnesota, 2002), Enfoldment and Infinity: An Islamic Genealogy of New Media Art (MIT, 2010), and many essays. She has curated dozens of programs of experimental media art for venues around the world. Since 1992 Marks has been writing about and programming experimental moving-image works from the Arab world, and she is now working on a book on the subject.
The screening will be followed by a talk.
The event is free and open to the public.


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Florence — After a number of public and school board meetings, construction and architectural evaluations, lawyer consults and a years-long lawsuit, Florence-Penrose School District officials feel the long-awaited repairs at Florence High School and Husky Stadium soon may be completed.
The problems at high school began shortly after the state-of-the-art $18 million facility was built in 2006 and cracks appeared in several places, including the track and a significant shift in the commons area. Husky Stadium was closed in April 2011 when safety officials deemed it unsafe because the stairs, leading up from the track, moved away from the wall, and a barrier wall shifted forward. About four-and-a-half to six inches of movement was documented.
Contractors initially worked with the district to make repairs, but after problems became more severe, they told the district there was a two-year statute of limitations and they had no further obligation to make fixes.
In the summer of 2010, the district hired legal representation to file a lawsuit against the soils engineer CTL/Thompson; MGA Structural Engineers; Acorn Construction Company; and architects Christiansen, Reece & Partners, P.C.
The district settled out of court in 2013.
"By the time we paid everything that had to be paid to our lawyers and all of the peripheral stuff that had to be done in preparation for the lawsuit, we ended up with $1.7 million," Covington said. "We originally sued for $9 million."
Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti said the $9 million would have fixed the structures to their brand-new condition.
"The $1.7 allows us to fix the recommended, high-priority repairs that Vertex Engineering has recommended," Vendetti said.
The board expects the stadium repairs to cost about $500,000. They will decide during Monday's meeting whether or not to move forward with the repair.
Vendetti said engineers have determined that there wasn't as much movement down the hill as there was "sluffing up," pushing up the front walkaway. Based on those findings, the engineering company, Vertex, said the stadium is not ADA compliant because of egress from the track to the stadium, the retaining wall and a "hump" in the walkway.
Covington said there are probably some voids underneath the stadium that need to be filled, but the front walk has heaved up and is no longer level, causing a potential safety hazard. The front retaining wall has heaved and broke, as well.
"The fix is to go in there and drill piers underneath that front walkway," Covington said. "I don't know if they will take it completely out, put piers down there and then repour that walkway, but they're going to have to send piers down all the way to bedrock — about 30 to 40 feet."
He said if the board agrees to move forward with the recommended fix, the hope is to have the stadium open before the May 25 graduation.
Repairs inside the school itself should be done this summer.
"There has only been one issue that we really were convinced was a safety issue, and that was the wall in the gym," Covington said. "As soon as we were aware of that, the board approved administration go ahead and do what needed to be done to fix that; everything else pretty much is cosmetic."
He said most of the repairs have taken place during school breaks.
Repairs that are completed include the heaving and cracking in the commons floor, carpet should be installed within a month; steel structural beams in the hallway by the wrestling room have been rewelded; cafeteria doors have been adjusted; and the wall in the gymnasium was repaired.
Expenses accumulated from repairs were covered by the lawsuit.
The only project left to do inside the school is to readjust the HVAC equipment in the basement.
Engineers believe there are a few contributing factors to the school's problems, however, Covington said widespread rumors that the school was built on an old dump site are false.
"The dump was quite a bit further south," he said. "I was out there when they were actually digging the basement area, and it's solid under there."
Engineers believe some of the issues could stem from water movement, he said.
"They haven't been able to come up with a definitive cause," he said. "One of the big theories in the beginning was when we built the school, we were in our third or fourth year of a pretty heavy drought, then right after we built the school, we had a year that was really wet."
He said companies have drilled holes around the school and a number of measurements have been taken.
"At some point, we probably are going to go and do some dirt work around the school to try and do a little sloping away from the school," he said. "I don'think we're positive that's what the problem is, but it's enough of a maybe that we could do some work so that water that does fall will flow off a little better and hopefully that will help."
He said grants are available that could help offset that cost.
Vendetti said the engineers also point a finger at highly expansive soil; when the piers were drilled for the building, bedrock could have been punctured, releasing aquifer; and the nature of the footprint of the building.
"When you cut the top off of a hill and then put a heavy structure there, and it isn't used to having that kind of weight and coverage, it changes the runoff," she said. "There are several contributing factors."