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Get Married at the 38th San Jose Annual PRIDE Celebration
The 38th San Jose Annual PRIDE Celebration is here on August 17 and 18 from noon to 7 p.m. at the San Jose Discovery Meadow Park located at West San Carlos St. and Woz Way in the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens.
With so much to celebrate, this year's festival theme, "Strength in Diversity" is woven throughout the weekend's festivities offering variety of food, fun and activities.
San Jose PRIDE President Nathan Svoboda says, "This year's team has made great strides to reinvent Pride with a new mission and forecasting a vision of community and sustainability."
Start the fun on "Community Day" at 12:00 p.m. with local talent, vendors, food, and fun.
Families, youth and the community are invited to enjoy culture, amusement, entertainment and giveaways from an array of diverse vendors showcased in our Kaiser Permanente Health & Wellness Pavilion, Youth Hangout, Rainbow Chamber Business Square, and the Community Resource Area. A variety of art, crafts, jewelry and specially exhibitors are also be available. Patrons can join in Zumba, Cross Fit and Circuit Training demonstrations, courtesy of the Health Trust.
Svoboda adds, "We strengthened our partnerships within the public and private sectors in an effort to offer the Silicon Valley LGBTQ community more resources, access and equality. More work is to be done, but our efforts have been successful so far."
Got engaged? Make history and get married at the festival. San Jose PRIDE is proud to announce this year's featured, Matrimonial Grove offering on-site marriages, wedding planning tips, and more.
On Sunday start "Danc'n in the Park" at 12:00 p.m. join masters of ceremonies Mahlae and Cezon, as they present artists on The Alaska Airlines Stage, to include a drag queen review, local artists like Xavier Tascano, and headliner performances presented by The Water Garden and Splash Video Dance Bar featuring Headliners Jessica Sutta, former Pussycat Doll, Monique Abbadie from "The Voice" and Miami International Dance Music Sensation Sophi. Also Club Papi Productions presents dancing by Bay Area DJ's Joseph Z, OlgaT, and St. John from 99.7 [NOW!].
"The Board listened to community feedback and suggestions and although we are limited financially, PRIDE is has partnered with Club Papi, The Watergarden, Splash and Smashwolf Productions to offer a diverse entertainment lineup that we hope everyone will enjoy over the weekend," tells Svoboda. "I'm excited Kaiser and The Health Trust have returned to support an expanded Health & Wellness Pavilion and PRIDE is thrilled about collaborating with the Youth Space to offer the interactive Youth Hangout."
Sunday's tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate. A VIP experience is also available for $100 which includes up to three alcoholic drinks, catered lunch and dinner.
Volunteers and Fan please visit sanjosepride.com, follow us on Twitter, and "Like us" on Facebook.
All are invited to celebrate "Strength in Diversity" with PRIDE!
For Immediate Release
By Eydie Mendoza
Media Contact:
Nathan Svoboda
(408) 454-8243
The Gay Pride Celebration Committee of San Jose, Inc., known as San Jose PRIDE, is a not-for-profit organization instrumental in community outreach, education, advocacy, building solid partnerships, and has been dedicated to serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community of Silicon Valley since 1975.
Along with our sponsors San Jose PRIDE is Proud to welcome our new 2013 title sponsor Miller Lite and local distributor, DBI Beverage Inc. Rockstar is the official energy drink of the festival where guests can "Party Like a Rockstar;" sample products and purchase variety of flavors during the festival weekend. Health & Wellness Pavilion presented by Kaiser Permanente, the Health Trust and the Santa Clara Public Health Department. The LGBT Youth Space and Outlet present the larger and interactive Youth Hangout.
Sangria is a new refreshing drink offered this summer at pride, courtesy of Barefoot who is the official wine and champagne of the festival. Additional sponsors include the Alaska Airlines Stage, Club Papi Productions, Smashwolf Productions Stage, The Watergarden, and the Capitol Fiat Street Team.
PRIDE peered hotels, Fairmont and Hyatt Place of San Jose, offer discounts to pride patrons and vendor for the weekend.


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One of my readers accurately commented on the previous post that nothing will ever progress towards peace in the Middle East until the essential problems between the Palestinians and Israel are recognized and dealt with. Hiding our head in the sand and acting with political correctness is not only not going to help but is actually setting us ever further away from a peaceful solution.
The redoubtable Pat Condell in another of his videos addresses this precise problem in his own inimitable way. He is rather outspoken, some might even find him offensive, but he speaks the simple truth.
Unfortunately he doesn't provide any solutions – I don't think anyone possibly can – but surely defining the situation accurately is one step in the right direction.

subset: commoncrawl


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Prove you love Jesus!
"If you love homosexuals, support pro-homosexuality laws".
By Julio Severo
In the early times of Christianity, Roman Empire forced Christians to deny Jesus, under death threats. But faithful Christians proved to Jesus their love, not renouncing him or denying him. They were not afraid of being martyred for Jesus' sake.
Yet, do not think that the strategy from darkness does not change. Today, while the State works eagerly to impose capital punishment on the Christian expression and testimony in the society, trendy voices demand another kind of behavior from Christians.
On the homosexual issue, the leftist media and homosexual groups yell, "If you love Jesus, approve anti-discrimination laws" — which sanctify homosexuality making it exempt from criticism. They also aggressively raise "homophobia" charges against Christians, saying, "If you do not approve those laws, thousands of homosexuals will be murdered, and Jesus does not want it. Prove your Christian love!"
If you do not follow their instructions on the "right way of loving Jesus", you are immediately charged of being intolerant. If you dare to say that "you love homosexuals, but that homosexuality is a sin", they will say that you are promoting hate and violence.
What to do when the society, or the spiritual forces manipulating it, craftily uses the words in the Bible to push Christians to approve laws that will eventually make sin sacred and produce persecution and death to the Christian testimony in the society?
If you have ever been led to a situation where words in the Bible were used to force you to follow determined direction, know that you are not the first victim of this exploitation,
And Satan said to Jesus, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone'". (Matthew 4:6)
Answering the devil that was manipulating the words in the Bible, Jesus said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God." (Matthew 4:7 NKJV)
Jesus answered with God's Word because he knew it very well.
The devil twists anything to achieve its intents. This is why certain anti-discrimination laws, which are covertly aimed at promoting homosexuality, are strategically entitled laws of "protection for the homosexual minority". The plot is evident: to frame all criticism to the gay agenda in those laws as a direct assault against the "protection for the homosexual minority"!
This exploitation is purported to leave Christians and others in an unpleasing defensive situation: If you do not approve those laws, you support violence and murders of homosexuals.
Strange voices insistently demand from Christians,
"Those laws are only to protect homosexuals".
"If you do not approve them, you are not a Christian".
"If you do not approve them, you do not love homosexuals".
"If you do not approve them, you do not love Jesus!"
Have you ever heard those voices?
And the shrewdness of those voices does not end there. Thousands of pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality socialist politicians have been elected in the whole world by millions of Christian voters that have been misled by the fraudulent proposals from socialism. Many of those Christians ask the question, "Is it ok for me to vote for a pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality candidate?" Immediately the voices appease them, "Do not worry about the abortion and homosexuality issue. There are things more important to consider. The most important is that this candidate is in favor of the poor. Wasn't Jesus in favor of the poor? If you love Jesus and the poor, vote for him".
The devil is neither in favor of the poor nor of the Bible, but he always manipulate them when convenient. So if you do not know sufficiently God's Word, the world and the devil himself are going to use the words in the Bible to tell you what you should do to prove your love for God.
To answer these attacks, you should know God's Word much more that the world and the devil do.
Then you will not need to follow their orders to demonstrate your love. You will demonstrate it to Jesus. And the world will hate you as much as it hated the One that demonstrated maximum love for all the human beings. Jesus said,
"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." (Mark 13:13 NKJV)
"If you had anything in common with the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But you don't have anything in common with the world. I chose you from the world, and that's why the world hates you." (John 15:19 GWV)
However, the devil and the world make special promises to those that avoid being hated: ignore God's commands. Do the world's will, and its hate against you ends. Approve pro-homosexuality laws, and the world and the devil will praise you. Had not Jesus himself warned about it 2,000 years ago?
"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26 NKJV)
"How horrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you. That's the way their ancestors treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:26 GWV)
In the Roman Empire, the order was,
"Deny Jesus or die!"
The modern order is,
"Love Jesus, but deny his commands. As a reward, everybody will praise you".
The same devil that persecuted and murdered the first Christians is offering a compromise for the modern Christians, "You do not need to deny your love for Jesus. Just deny God's commands!"
If you do not comply, they will spill on you infernal hate and have even the brazenness to defame you as hate and violence promoter. Those that are intolerant, threatening and violent against your testimony will have the cynicism to charge you of intolerant, "homophobic" and instigator of crimes, and your free speech will be speedily beheaded.
Yet, Truth will prevail, because the Holy Spirit is active convincing of sin and unrighteousness.
The true love for Jesus always goes together with God's commands. Jesus said,
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21 NKJV)
About homosexuality, God's command is clear,
"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13 NKJV)
"Do ye not know that unrighteous persons shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who make women of themselves, nor who abuse themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor abusive persons, nor the rapacious, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Darby)
The counterfeit, worldly and devilish version of "love for Jesus" does not contain God's commands, and its use is exclusively to induce, press and mislead the emotions of Christians to approve laws that are not according to God's laws.
Therefore, if you want to prove your love for Jesus, just follow his commands — regardless what the counterfeit versions of "love for Jesus" try to impose on you.
If you want to prove your love for Jesus, tell the truth to homosexuals and the society. Tell that they are in need of Jesus to be saved from hell. And let Jesus use you to deliver men that are captive in the homosexual sin.
If you love homosexuals, let them know that there is a way out from the homosexual sin, even though you are afraid to be morally martyred by anti-"homophobia" lynchers.
The demonstration of this love and the truth implies many risks today, including malicious and criminal charges of hate incitation, intolerance, violence, discrimination, prejudice, "homophobia", etc.
Many Christians, wanting to avoid problems, answer "Yes" to the voice that says, "If you love Jesus or if you love homosexuals, approve laws favoring homosexuality". By their silence to the truth that disturbs the world and the devils, they get false security, comfort and many praises.
Yet, those insisting in speaking the truth suffer viciously by the hate sowers. And the time is speedily coming near when innocent men and women may be condemned to prison for telling that "homosexuality is a sin".
In the presence of the modern haters that use any and every defamation and are ready to throw Christians into the lion's dens, who will be courageous to prove his love for Jesus by following his commands and speaking the truth?
Portuguese version of this article: Prove que você ama Jesus!
Read more:


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Maine bakery changes treat name after getting cease and desist order for calling them Cronuts
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The delicious pastry served up by a Maine bakery is still on the menu, it just has a new name, thanks to a bit of legal trouble.
Little Bigs Bakery in South Portland had been serving up its version of the Cronut — a croissant-doughnut hybrid — until earlier this month when it got a cease and desist order.
It turns out the term Cronut was trademarked by the New York City bakery where the treats were invented.
Little Bigs owner James Plunkett tells WMTW-TV (http://bit.ly/1nJpq3g ) the attention was actually flattering and he considered it a badge of honor.
He held a contest among his loyal customers to find a new name, and they came up with the C&D — it stands for cease and desist.
Information from: WMTW-TV, http://www.wmtw.com


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Want to know how to download eBooks to your eReading devices or Kindle App? Then join us every Thursday from 2-4 p.m. to learn how to use the eBook program Freading, Hoopla and Overdrive.
Any person requiring special accommodations to participate in any class or event due to a disability may arrange for accommodations by contacting the location at which the event is held at least seven days prior to the event.
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Located in a small "Florida Cracker" style building, with an appealing wrap-around porch, the Windermere branch has an interesting history that spans over four decades. Begun as a town library, it became a branch of the Orange County Library System in August 1991. The current building was constructed through the efforts and the generous donations of many Windermere residents, including those of the Franklin P. Chase Family.


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Alumna Eva Kittay (Philosophy, 1978) has been named a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow in the humanities. A distinguished professor of philosophy at Stony Brook University and a senior fellow of the Stony Brook Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, she has been a pioneering scholar on questions of care and disability in the realm of philosophy. Her most recent coauthored book is Cognitive Disability and Its Challenge to Moral Philosophy (2010).
Kittay was named 2003 Distinguished Woman Philosopher by the Eastern Society for Women in Philosophy, and among her numerous honors are a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for Discovery and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Submitted on: APR 15, 2014
Category: Alumni News | General GC News | Philosophy


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Should Forbes Be Valued as Online Business?
The owners of Forbes Media LLC are hoping to convince potential buyers it should be valued like a fast-growing digital media business, but people familiar with Forbes' financial performance say that could prove a hard sell for a company that still has firm roots in a declining print advertising market.
Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com, generated slightly less than $20 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, last year, people familiar with the company's financial performance said. Forbes doesn't disclose details of its financial performance; a spokeswoman says it is profitable and on track in 2013 for its best financial performance in six years.


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- Home
- Downloads – Rules and Results
- Competition
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- Event Promoter
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IASCA is not just car audio competition; Industry members and retail dealers use IASCA's marketing tools to drive business to their stores through shows and clinics. The key to advertising is consistency and IASCA has the tools to get you started!Learn More
IASCA competition ranges from the best sounding to the loudest car audio system, as well as car show judging and lighting contests. Come join us today and show off your ride and system!Learn More
IASCA standards for competition, sound and installations are recognized in over 39 countries around the world. To find out more about IASCA in your country, contact us at memberservices@ iasca.comLearn More
IASCA Worldwide works closely with partners around the globe to help build the mobile electronics industry, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas each year.Learn More


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BLETTEL PHOTO|GRAPHIC is currently located in Sewanee, Tennessee. Woodrow Blettel's photography has appeared in magazines and books from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast.
Much of his work is for universities and colleges and is used in magazines, annual reports, books, admission and fundraising publications.
When not on assignment he turns his camera to the landscape, working in New Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, Tennessee, and Venice, Italy.
Woodrow taught design, pottery, and photography for 17 years before becoming a full-time assignment photographer in 1988.


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Ergh. Match not living up to any kind of hype so far. Fire up, Davis.
Ergh. Match not living up to any kind of hype so far. Fire up, Davis.
Fascist Dictator of the Heath Davis Appreciation Society
Supporting Petone's Finest since the very start - Iain O'Brien
Also Supporting the All Time #1 Batsman of All Time Ever - Jacques Kallis and the much maligned Peter Siddle.
Vimes tells it how it is:
Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-6) 4-4 * Drake
Are the winds of change upon us? For the second time this set, Davis comes out of the change of ends with a much-needed easy service game. Drake starts off by challenging what looked to be a clear winner and was called out - he is ruled correct. Davis again is frustrated by Alfonso Vreeburg's decision not to replay the point. He responds by slamming home a pair of big aces, and then a brave serve-and-volley sets up 40-15. Drake tries to attack a second serve but dumps it into the net to level the set at 4-4.
* Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 4-5 Drake
Davis has his chance here! A slice that falls on the wrong side of the net for Drake gives Davis two break points at 15-40. Drake saves the first by approaching the net after hitting Davis off the court, before he plays an absurd drop shot and then lob to save the second one! Davis puts a backhand into the net to give Drake a game point, but saves that. He earns a third break point after prevailing in a long rally, but Drake draws an error with some top spin. Long game here, but Drake eventually manages to hold after staving off three break points. That could have been Davis' chance there!
Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 5-5 * Drake
I do like that Davis is now coming to the net a bit more often, but it costs him badly as he approaches off a second serve and is passed easily by Drake for 0-30. He draws back to 30-30, but watches as a forehand spirals long to give Drake a championship point. Following the general way this match as gone, Davis saves that with an ace and then escapes with a hold thanks to a couple of mistakes from Drake.
* Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 5-6 Drake
All on Davis to stay in this again as Drake doesn't let the failed championship point get to him and serves it out to love. His net approaches look far more convincing than Davis' as the big man struggles to pass him. Drake's volleying is pretty superb, I must say.
Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-6 Drake
Well after Drake serves that game out to love, Davis manages to hold easily as well as he shoots out to 40-0. Drake refuses to tank this game as he wins a long rally after giving the big man the runaround, but again chooses wrong with the serve as Davis nails ace #21. He's officially passed Spidla, too, with the ace count. All on the line now for Davis! He has to win this tiebreaker.
Gotta do better than the 2nd set breaker here.
Davis 4-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (3-7) Drake
This crowd is deafening at the moment after a set that has had it all so far except a victor! Drake starts with a bang as he slaps a forehand winner past Davis for 1-0, while Heef responds with you guessed it, ace #22. Big opening for Drake, though, as Davis' second serve is met with a big forehand which Davis cannot return to play for the early minibreak. Drake holds both points on serve for a 4-1 lead, before putting a volley mid court and watching as Davis sails a forehand past him to be 2-4 at the change of ends. After that break, Davis makes it 3-4 with ace #23, but he's still that minibreak down and Drake does well to hold his first point after being in a tricky position. He comes to the net more convincingly next to make it 6-3 and bring up three championship points! Davis with the first serve in, but five shots later sends a backhand long and Jefferson Drake is your Wimbledon champion!
Sigh. Hardly a classic. Well done, Drake. Enjoy drinking Mavis Murphy's milk from the trophy.
Thanks for running it, by the way Nick. Is that the end of CW Tennis then?
Sampras-Agassi-like stuff but with more choking.
once you think you're out they pull you back in
I mean, before Harrisburg, it was highly improbable that what happened in Harrisburg could ever happen, but as soon as it did, the probability happened to go up to no less than 100 percent, so it was almost certain that it had happened.
Was so happy when Drake won that third set. The live sim is great provided it doesn't go to five sets. Only so many different ways you can say "Davis held serve."
I wouldn't mind, but "Davis held serve" didn't seem to happen anywhere near enough for my liking.
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Sam is basically right, he's just cranky.
FYI Detox, your stuff sounds incredible. I mean really. I mean like, Album sellingly good.
OK, both of you die and let us know what happens.
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Bill Ford via Crowdrise
March 21, 2012
BENEFITING: Soccer in the Streets
ORGANIZER: Soccer in the Streets
Soccer in the Streets, Inc. wrote -
We're back!! And this year our competition is bigger and better with twice the number of teams as last year. Join us in May as teams of Atlanta's most passionate soccer fans battle it out for the title of the ATL Champions League.
Behind all the fun is a very worthy cause, as our competition is a fundraiser for Soccer In The Streets; an Atlanta based charity empowering kids who lack opportunity, keeping them away from drugs and crime, and instilling the life skills to make them employable adults and good citizens.
Remember, ALL kids deserve a chance!
The Team: $7,904 TOTAL RAISED SO FARJOIN THE TEAM
Donor Comments
Chad Strickland
I expect no less than two goals in extra minutes to win the championship. 8 years ago


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July 25, 2016 - STAMFORD, Conn. and LUCCA, Italy
Tagetik Puts Brexit and Its Impact on Corporate Finance under the Microscope in Upcoming Progressive CFO Webinar
Gary Simon, leader of FSN Modern Finance Forum, to interview Tagetik Co-CEO Manuel Vellutini on how CFOs can manage the current uncertainties of Brexit while assessing risks and opportunities
Tagetik, a visionary leader in global performance management software solutions, will host the webinar, "Brexit: How Should the CFO Respond?," on Wednesday, August 3, at 10 a.m. EDT/ 3 p.m. BST/ 4 p.m. CEST. The webinar's host Gary Simon, finance expert and leader of the FSN Modern Finance Forum on LinkedIn, will interview Tagetik co-CEO Manuel Vellutini on what Brexit means for CFOs in companies around the world.
Topics to be covered in the complimentary, 30-minute webinar include:
- How to plan for a market environment in which so much is yet to be defined
- The role of macro economics in day-to-day business planning
- How to embed risk and opportunity analysis into business planning
- The characteristics of those businesses well-positioned to adapt to Brexit-related change
"Brexit is a profound change for which there is no template. We all will have to deal consequences with the UK vote," said Simon. "While we're still waiting for the dust to settle, CFOs can be working with their boards on risk assessments most relevant to the company's business model; scenario modeling to look at best, worst, and median probabilities; and conducting direct conversations with major customers, suppliers, and stakeholders to gauge their reactions."
"Even companies without direct UK or EU exposure should take into account that Brexit will impact them directly or indirectly. Political and regulatory uncertainty, potential lower growth rates, possible supply-chain disruptions are just a few of the issues finance executives must be factoring into short- and long-term planning," said Vellutini. "Our years of experience in working with global companies, coupled with our knowledge of Europe's financial mechanics, gives us a big advantage in helping our customers address the challenges and uncertainties ahead."
To register for the live webinar, click here.
Request a Demo
Our personalized demo allows you to speak directly with a senior solution specialist and discover the key functionalities of CCH Tagetik.
Would you love to know more about CCH Tagetik?
For more information, please complete the form and a member of our team will reach out to you shortly!


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Wanted to say Merry Christmas to all while I have the chance.
I'm having another surgery on my right calf tomorrow early morning and was told I was not to sit in an upright chair for at least 3-4 days as they are going to do some related checking in lymph nodes that will make that type of sitting very uncomfortable for maybe a week.
So I will be laying in bed watching the game on TV,(Hooray its on NBC this week), and maybe the week after.
Hope you all get lots of nice stuff in your Christmas Stockings. I will be thinking of you and who knows maybe with pleasant thoughts. lol


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Welcome to the DangerDogz Home
Who are the DangerDogz?
Formed by our very own, and sadly, late Patriarch 'Blairgowrie', the DangerDogz came into being in 2006 with a view to flying the IL-2 Sturmovik WWII flight simulator. It now boasts a large membership, primarily from Europe, North America and Canada. Our pilots cover all abilities, ranging from those going through "learn as they fly" (no grading here, it's not Crufts after all!) through to us being proud to claim as our own, past winners of the Joint Ops Virtual Combat Pilot School"Top Gun" competition.
There is however one training routine we would like to make all new members aware of, which is our 'Sufficient Height and Elevation Escape Procedure' known as 'SHEEP'.
You may often hear on comms references to, "having a bad experience while in an inverted SHEEP" or "I got a bad kick back whilst doing a SHEEP" and "I woke up in a field after pulling a SHEEP".
We would like to assure all new and prospective members of a sensitive disposition that no depravity is inferred (except in some cases, but that's another story).
The DangerDogz have many well respected members of both the Vanilla and Modding Communities. Despite the geographical spread and time zones (we have even invented our own), there is one thing that unites the group, and that is a desire to have fun, enjoy camaraderie like being down the pub with your mates and share in the immersion provided by this fantastic simulator. OK, strictly speaking that's three things, but the Dogz never could count. We run both formal and informal events, so informal in fact that when a mission is terminated due to someone crashing on take-off (a less than infrequent event) it can be every man for himself as your wingman lines you up for a kill. We meet multiple times through the week with attendance welcomed, not expected.
The DangerDogz form part of the K9 Squadrons, a loose amalgamation of our own group and the HellHounds. The group stays up to date with the latest official versions of IL-2 as well as HSFX mods and all the extra goodies they have to offer. Some of our members also like to indulge their Biggles fantasies playing 'Rise of Flight' or enjoying the thrust of 'Lock On'. In March 2011 we added the long-awaited follow-up 'Cliffs of Dover'.
What is 'IL-2 Sturmovik'?
IL-2 Sturmovik popped into the collective consciousness at large in late 1998, when an obscure Russian developer Oleg Maddox started publicizing his new project to the flight simulation community (a genre that until then had been dominated by large American publishers).
Of note was the fact that his project focused on the Russian Front of the war, prior flight sims had their sights firmly on showcasing the American and other Western aircraft, and this was met at the time with scepticism. This scepticism initially gave way to great anticipation when the first screenshots and technology briefs were released. I say initially because at that time PC's were relatively limited in their abilities (never mind the fact that the computers that got the Apollo up and down were less able than most pocket calculators) and this perception of the PC's abilities started rumors of IL2 Sturmovik being something of a con.
How much easier for complacent competitors to shift focus away from their own lack of ability to produce such high quality and highly optimized code. Heavens forbid the masses should ever realise...ermm think.. that they had been hoodwinked into parting with hard earned money for a budget release (the budget was in the production not the price of course!).
In 2001 IL-2:Sturmovik was finally released to the public, and boy oh boy did it sweep the competition under the carpet. Some pundits claimed it made its competitors offerings obsolete with its well executed flight modelling and damage modelling. The graphics were the true icing on the cake, with 3D modeling that really brought the flight sim 'to life', with detailed interiors and exteriors that were a credit to the publishers obvious enthusiasm for the genre. And the weapons modelling...
In 2003 IL2:Maddox, via UBI Soft, released its successor. IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles.
They pulled off what could be considered to be a miracle, the defacto flight simulator was improved significantly with improved graphics, flight modeling and weapons modeling and the small and easy to overlook addition of a significant number of new flyable aircraft, including many of Russia's WWII allies.
And again 1C:Maddox continued to listen to its customers and provided unrivalled support for the IL-2 franchise. Several free patches were released that both addressed bugs and limitations, and in some cases corrected historical portrayals of specific aircraft capabilities. They also added several new flyables and non-flyables for free.
The bloodline continued with the release of the "Aces Expansion Pack" followed by "Pacific Fighters" which introduced naval operations and the excitement of trying to land your plane on what seems like a postage stamp of a carrier. These were then followed by IL-2 Stumovik : 1946 which rolled all of the previous updates into one unified package and added still more aircraft types, campaigns and scenarios for building your own missions. The bar had now been set at a height others could only dream of.
This simulator took off again in March 2011 (a full two weeks after the release of 'IL-2 1946' - bit of an in-joke) with a return to the skies of Western Europe with the fall of France and the RAF's fight for survival over the fields of southern England in the Battle of Britain with the release of the next installment in the franchise, 'IL-2 Sturmovik – Cliffs of Dover'. Boasting a whole new engine, enhanced graphics, weather, flight, damage and weapons modelling,
This is where the story takes a sad turn as CloD as it became known rapidly turned into a bit of a damp squib. Problems with many aspects of the game meant that the hoped for (some might say over-hyped) new standard in flight simulation fell rather flat. Shortly afterwards Maddox was bought by 777 Studios (the producers of 'Rise of Flight') and this merger gave rise in due course to 'Battle of Stalingrad' and more recently, 'Battle of Moscow'. Both these simulators are good in their own way but thus far have lacked the content to tempt the majority of our members to switch over (there's a few die-hards out there though!).
CloD however, refused to die. Through the considerable efforts of the the modding community, the game has been repaired, is now fully playable and once again the Dogz can be found roaming the skies of South-East England and Northern France usually in our trademark formation (otherwise known as the 'group gaggle' - often spread over several miles of sky!) More recently we have added our own game servers which are available to the wider community (donations toward the running costs are always welcome but no buttons please!) and we are also participating in the online torm of War campaign as a squadron in our own right.
We haven't forgotten our roots though so although IL-2 '46 is still our main, and most popular game platform, you'll find plenty of people here who are into DCS, or CloD or RoF or BoS or...
So there you have it. This is who we are and what we are about. Thanks for stopping by and reading the blurb. Now, having got that out of the way, welcome to our home on the web, grab a beer and sign up - We'll see you in the virtual skies!
Edited by Jabo
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text:
Fortune magazine's "The World's Most Admired Companies" article focuses on companies that are the most popular workplaces. Most of these employees are paid well. Many of these employees are on the move so relocation is a constant for these companies. With all of these positives, have you ever thought to target these companies in search of business? But how would you start?
Top 10 Most Admired Companies in the World
- Apple
- Google.com
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Southwest Airlines
- Proctor & Gamble
- Coca-Cola
- Amazon.com
- FedEx
- Microsoft
- McDonald's
Human Resources & Your Connections
If you are willing to put the effort into wooing employees from top companies then you should consider two places to begin.
- Connections: list all of your personal connections to employees, executives are a great source, and begin to make contact with them. Consider a phone call then follow up postal effort
- Human Resources: if you don't have any personal connections to employees or executives in your target firm then contact the HR department. Ask if you can provide a free lunch and learn session for employees, provide free estimates, or provide free one on one consultations


text:
Marathons Across in PA & OH Team Up to Show Support for Boston
Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh Marathons Offer Blue "Boston Strong" Wristbands
Officials with the Pittsburgh Marathon announced today a partnership with the marathons in Cincinnati and Cleveland to show their support for the Boston Marathon in light of last week's tragic events.
Read the official announcement below:
DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Teams up with Cincinnati and Cleveland Marathons to Support the Boston Marathon
In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon tragedy on April 15, race directors across the country saw an outpouring of compassion and support from runners who want to help and support Boston during their run in upcoming marathons.
Race directors from the DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon – all events held in May – have joined forces to provide an opportunity for their participants to show support of the Boston Marathon through donations to the One Fund Boston (www.onefundboston.org). One Fund Boston was announced April 17 by Mass. Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, the purpose of which is to raise money to help those families most affected by the tragic events that unfolded during the Boston Marathon.
Each race will purchase and make available at their event blue wristbands inscribed with "Boston Strong." Participants can "purchase" the bands for whatever amount they would like to give as a donation to One Fund Boston. All of the money will be sent directly to One Fund Boston at the conclusion of each respective race weekend.
"Race directors often work together, whether it's sharing best practices to put on a safe and successful race or coming to each other's aid in the wake of a tragedy," said Patrice Matamoros, race director of the DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. "No matter where we start and finish our race, we are one running community."
"Many of our participants have been looking for ways to not only give money to support Boston, but also to wear something during their race to show their support for the victims and the city," said Jack Staph, Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon executive director. "This bracelet will allow them to do both, and we're glad to work with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh on this fundraiser."
"We are so pleased to provide this opportunity for our runners to physically and monetarily show their support for Boston," said Iris Simpson-Bush, race director of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. "Our participants have been genuinely invested in finding a way to help the victims of Boston and I'm sure their donations will speak volumes. I look forward to seeing a sea of blue wrist bands during our race."
All of the races will hold a moment of silence at the start line on race day. The DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon takes place on Sunday, May 5 and information is available at pittsburghmarathon.com. The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon also takes place on Sunday, May 5 with information at flyingpigmarathon.com. The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon will be held Sunday, May 19 and information is available at clevelandmarathon.com.


text:
Middletown man fights to save home from demolition
City says home slated for tear-down before company sold it
A Middletown man knew his house was run-down when he bought it, so he made some repairs.
But the home might still be slated for demolition.
"It's an American dream to own your own home, to give something better for your family and my son," said homeowner Charles Byrd. "It's a home for me and my wife. It's a castle to us."
The Glenwood Avenue home is one of 300 that the city might tear down to combat blight.
Byrd bought the home from the California-based Home America for $5,000, and he said the company never told him about the demolition order.
"I put every penny I could into this home, and now I don't know what to do," Byrd said. "It did say 'as is,' I figured it was as is, just like when you're buying a car."
Middletown law director Les Landen said Home America knew about the home's status when the company sold it to Byrd.
"My understanding is that they signed the certified mail that they had received the notice of demolition sometime in January," Landen said.
Landen said the city is now stuck in the middle.
"Really what we have here is a problem between the person who bought the property and the person who sold him the property," Landen said. "The demolition order was in place when that took place."
But that hasn't stopped Byrd from trying to save his home. He made a teary-eyed plea last week to City Council.
"I'm asking you all for an act of humanity to save my home," Byrd said.
Although council members voted 4-3 to move ahead with demolition plans, Landen said the city would not do that yet.
Instead, Middletown is letting a Butler County judge intervene.


text:
- 3 Beds
- 3 Full Baths
Property TypeResidential – Townhome
SubdivisionRed Canyon Townhomes
Listing Date03/09/20
Year Built1997
Lot Size0.02 Acres (871 SqFt)
Parking2 Car Assigned, Surface
Property Description
This 3-level townhome has been used as a second home (only a few weeks per year) for the past 20 years and is in great condition. It is one half of a duplex building (end unit) with balcony off the master suite. There is a gas fireplace in the living room. All appliances included. Must see, priced to sell quickly!
Presented By
- See Remarks
- See Remarks
- South Facing
- Valley
- Hiking/Pedestrian Trail
- Pets
- Cable Available
- Deck
- Fireplace - Gas
- Multi-Level
- Wired for Cable
- Pets
- See Remarks
- Cable TV
- City Sewer
- City Water
- Electricity Avail.
- Natural Gas Avail.
- Phone Available
- Satellite
- Snow Removal
- Trash Pickup
- Baseboard
- Individual
- Natural Gas
- Ceiling Fan
- Dryer - Electric
- Washer
Financial Information
3 Beds 3 Baths
We get asked this question a lot. Below is a tool that gives you the ability to see what the market is like in your community. Find out what homes like your own are selling for right in your back yard. Simply enter in your address, choose the proximity of the search and find out market data for other homes that are selling near you.
While we'll provide you with plenty of information, this is a snapshot of your market data and there are real people behind the high-tech and automated tools. If you would like more detailed information or help in understanding the results we are here to help.
Until then, enjoy the tools!
The data relating to the real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the Vail Multi-List Service, Inc.
Copyright © 2020 Vail Multi List, Inc. (VMLS). The information displayed herein was derived from sources believed to be accurate, but has not been verified by VMLS. Buyers are cautioned to verify all information to their own satisfaction. This information is exclusively for viewers' personal, non- commercial use. Any republication or reproduction of the information herein without the express permission of the VMLS is strictly prohibited.
Listing courtesy of McNeill Property Management


text:
Elderly Houston-area woman sues Red Lobster after getting drunk, breaking hip
Blood-alcohol was 0.31 when she left restaurant, suit says
An 82-year-old Harris County woman is suing Red Lobster, saying the seafood restaurant got her so drunk she fell and broke her hip and arm in the parking lot.
The suit filed in Harris County Monday says that 113-pound Marlene Spencer had a 0.31 blood alcohol level when she walked out of the Red Lobster on Bay Area Boulevard in Webster on or around March 27.
Spencer, who lives at the nearby Brookdale Senior Living at Clear Lake, fell in the parking lot, breaking her right hip and right arm, and hitting her head on the ground, the suit says.
READ ALSO: Texas man drunk texts officers, 911 to report over-serving at bar
She was then taken to Clear Lake Regional hospital, where she stayed for six days and underwent a total hip replacement, according to the suit.
It was not the first time Spencer or other residents of the senior living center had been over-served at the restaurant, the suit says. Spencer's daughter had multiple conversations with the Red Lobster management about over-serving her mother, according to the lawsuit.
"This was an ongoing problem that Ms. Spencer's daughter tried to quell, but to no avail," the suit says. "This has been a recurring problem with multiple Brookdale residents."
A manager at the Webster Red Lobster directed questions about to the chain's national spokesperson, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.


text:
Hi all,
This is now a 100% pure sale thread as I have all parts on me to construct the drop-ins and post (hopefully) within a week. I've left all my original disclaimer text below for the curious. I have 11 drop-ins left for sale and will be runing abig epoxy batch this weekend so get in now for faster delivery!
This pre-sale is the result of an interest thread which this thread replaces.
I want to get the nitty gritty out of the way first. I like to be honest and up front about everything I do so please read the following carefully!
This is my first manufacture and sale thread anywhere. As such I don't have the reputation of some people here, but we all need to start somewhere. I may do things a little differently than others in order to make this as easy as possible for not only you, but for me as well. I want to keep things simple so that I don't get in over my head, and I want to make sure people get exactly what they paid for. Because of this I am limiting the first run to 50 CNC'd parts. (Upped from 40 just in case.)
With the above in mind here are some details regarding the financial side of this sale:
What do you mean by pre-sale? You pay up front for goods and by doing so your order is guaranteed or you get 100% of your money back – yes, any money lost due to transaction and exchange rate fees will come from my own pocket. More details on this later.
Why do you need the money up front? Because these drop-ins have configurable drivers and optics not all are created equal. As much as I would love to be able to purchase enough drivers, optics and 7135 chips to cover all possible configurations, I simply can't afford to do that. As a result orders are built to specification and I want to know people that have ordered a drop-in are serious about it.
What if you're a bad man and you don't give me what I paid for? I will not accept money via any other means than PayPal and as such you are covered by buyer protection. I certainly do not envisage ever having to go through this process.
So if we pay up front, how long until I can expect to get the good stuff? As already mentioned, orders are built to specification. The CNC order will not be placed until at least 15 payments have been received. This is not because I need the money to order the run, but rather a small guarantee to myself that I don't end up with 20+ P60 blanks and nothing to use them with! It then comes down to CNC turnaround time - this will take no longer than two weeks and I aim to start shipping drop-ins as they are completed, taking no longer than a further 2 weeks in total from the date of material attainment.
Finally, other than the P60 blanks, these drop-ins are hand plated, soldered, pieced together and packed. I'm telling you this as I am only human and small delays can happen, so please keep this in mind. Thanks!
Notes:If you're still with me, here's the good stuff!
I am selling Triple Nichia based P60 Drop-ins.
These drop-ins use Nichia SW45B10L 219 emitters. The data sheet for these beauties can be found here. The emitters are the highest bin, and lowest voltage available. If you want to know what all the fuss is about I suggest you read this thread.
The P60 drop-in itself is professionally CNC machined from pure copper, and electroplated in silver to aid with thermal conductivity to the host. The examples below were hand machined to test critical measurements and the electroplating process only. They are 99% indicative of the final product.
I am offering you a choice of one of five Carclo optics: Narrow Clear (10507), Frosted Narrow (10511), Medium Frosted (10508), Frosted Wide(10509) and Elliptical (10510).
Beam shots of each are below. Please note the distance to the wall is 1 meter and each emitter is being driven at 1.5A (high). There is no tint shift at 1.5A - the wall is simply better lit. For more information regarding current versus tint shift please see vinhnguyen54's tests.
Backyard beam shots showing real world differences between the different optics.
When comparing the optics I find it best to look at the detail in the objects on the edges of the photos to determine what the beam is like, especially the tree in the upper right hand corner. It is roughly 2m forward of the shed.
Because of the design of these drop ins the optics are very easy to swap out. You can purchase additional optics from me at $2 per optic.
The drop-ins will be manufactured using high temperature silicone wire with Arctic Alumina Ceramic used throughout. A sheet of silver foil to help with fit and heat sinking in your host is also included and the drop-ins are a guaranteed fit in Surefire hosts. I don't have any other brands available to test these in yet. If the drop-in does not fit in your host I will gladly refund you your money in return for the drop in, so long as it is still in as new condition.
I've left the driver until last because you have some choice here. I am offering 2 drivers.
- Both drivers are configurable between 380mA and 4560mA in increments of 380mA.
- The LEDs will be driven in parallel and as such the current being supplied to each individual LED is 1/3 of the driver total current.
- Both drivers will be thermally potted internally to help keep them cool and your current up!
- Both drivers are PWM driven.
The rest of the driver details are as follows:
****Driver 1****
Input voltage 2.8V to 6V1
Reverse polarity protection
Low voltage protection
Multimode all with memory (your choice):
Drive levels: 5% 30% and 100%
****Driver 2****
Input voltage 2.5V to 4.5V1
No Reverse polarity protection
Low voltage protection
Multimode with or without memory (your choice):
where Aux0 = 10Hz Strobe, Aux1 = 2Hz Blink, Aux2 = SOS, Aux3 = Beacon
Drive levels: 0.16% (firefly) OR 1.6% (moonlight) and then 30% and 100%.
****Single Mode****
Just specify your desired drive current.
At the full 4.5A these drop-ins are theoretically capable of over 1100 emitter lumens2 of 92+ CRI light.
The asking price is
$125USD to all international customers.
$120USD to Australian based customers.
Both prices include shipping and handling. Additional services are available at added cost. Please PM me if you want to add anything like tracking, insurance or registration.
!!! P60 DROP-IN BLANKS3 are available for $50 with silver electroplating and $40 without. The prices include shipping. !!!
Payment is to be made to modern69messiah{at}gmail{dot}com. Please include in your payment your CPF username and details of your order including:
(1) Your driver preference*
(2) Your mode preference (including memory if applicable)
(3) Your drive level preference (total, not per emitter)
(4) Your optic preference (including any additional optics)
* Please note that when ordering Driver 2 you must specify if you want the firefly or moonlight version of the driver. If you do not specify it I won't start building your order until I can confirm exactly what you want.
CPF Handle: Mattaus
1x Driver 2 (Moonlight) H/M/L @ 4.5A no memory 10507
1x Driver 1 L/M/H @ 3A 10508
1x 10511 optic
1x Silver Blank P60 Drop-in
Total: $302
Feel free to include these details in this thread as well if you wish, but the PayPal notes are how I will keep track of paid orders so it's critical that the details are included there firstly. You don't have to write your order as I have above - just as long as all the information is in there I'm happy!
A list is below for forum members who want a drop-in and already includes those that showed interest previously and have pre-paid already. Once your name is on the list you have reserved the right to a drop-in, however if you take too long to pay (and I will obviously contact you about it) and cannot pay within a reasonable amount of time your place will be lost to someone else. This should only become a problem as the list gets close to full. Once payment is received your name will be marked as so and nothing can take that away from you! Other than you of course
Thanks for looking and if you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to ask below or via PM.
- Matt
1 It is best to keep Vin as close to Vf as possible, with approximately 0.2V overhead.
2 Please note that out the front (OTF) lumens are approximately 30% less than this.
3 The wire hole for these blanks is centrally located. Not so good for Lux-RC modules or boards with off-set holes.
Paid and Available List (ALL GONE - 2 on 'hold')
1) mvyrmnd Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H/L/M/H/Aux0/Aux1/Aux2/Aux3 no memory @4.18A 10507 10509 Shipped
2) Psychbeats Driver 1 LO/HI @3.8A 10507 Shipped
3) OtisCampbell Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H @4.2A no memory 10507 10511 10508 10509 Shipped
4) CarpentryHero Driver 2 (firefly) L/M/H @4.5A no memory 10511 Shipped
5) easilyled Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H memory @3.04A: 10507 Shipped
6) Henk Lu Driver 1 L/M/H @4.18A 10511
7) red_hackle Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H No Memory @2.66A 10511 Shipped
8) Not So Bright Driver 1 L/M/H @4.18A 10507 Shipped
9) and 10) BarryH Driver 1 L/M/H @4.18A 10507 10508 10509 10510 10511 + Plated Blank P60
11) Nfetterly Driver 1 L/M/H @4.18A 10507 10511 10508 Shipped
12) F250XLT Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H @4.18A no memory 10507 10511 10508 10509 Shipped
13) Tain Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H/L/M/H/Aux0/Aux1/Aux2/Aux3 no memory @3.04A 10507 10508 10509 10510 10511
14) Mikis Driver 2 H/M @3A memory 10507 10508
15) ace0001a Driver 1 @3A L/M/H 10507 Shipped
16) Benson Driver 2 (Moonlight) H/M/L @4.5A no memory 10510 10507 Shipped
17) firefighterb Driver 1 L/M/H/Strobe/SOS @4.5A 10507 Shipped
18) tjhabak Driver 1 L/M/H @3.8A 10507 10511 10508 Shipped
19) kyhunter1 Driver 1 @3.8A (single mode) 10507 Shipped
20) PoliceScannerMan Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H no memory @4.18A 10511 10507 10509 Shipped
21) badtziscool Driver 1 L/M/H @4.5A 10507
22) kaien Driver 1 L/M/H @3A 10509 10511 10507
23) and 24) Goldy Driver 1 L/M/H/Strobe/SOS @4.5A 10508 Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H @4.18A memory 10507 Shipped
25) FPSRelic Driver 1 L/M/H @3.04A 10507 Shipped
26) and 27) ^^Nova^^ Driver 2 (Moonlight) @4.18A L/M/H/L/M/H/Aux0/Aux1/Aux2/Aux3 memory 10511 10507 + Unplated Blank P60 Shipped
28) Duglum Driver 2 (Monlight) L/M/H @ 4.5A no memory 10507 10511
29) Obijuan Kenobe Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H @4.18A memory 10507 Shipped
30) Chesterqw Driver 1 L/M/H @4.5A 10507 Shipped
31) Daekar Driver 1 L/M/H 2.66A 10511 10507 10509 Shipped
32) Toytank Driver 2 Firefly L/M/H/L/M/H/Aux0/Aux1/Aux2/Aux3 no memory @3.42 A 10507 10509 Shipped
33) KingCow Driver 1 L/M/H @3.42A 10509 10507 10508 10510 Shipped
34) mohanjude Driver 1 H/M/L @4.5A 10507 10511 10509 10510 Shipped
35) and 36) Flucero28 2x Copper Blank Shipped
37) flashfiend Driver 1 L/M/H @3.8A 10507 10510 Shipped
38) dbleznak Driver 2 (Moonlight) L/M/H @4.5A 10507 Shipped
39) Mike D. Single mode @3.8A 10507 Shipped
40) akajimmy Driver 1 L/M/H @3.04A 10507 10508 Shipped
41) darkangel55555(CPFMP) Single Mode 4.5A 10507 10511 10507 10509 Shipped
42) and 43) TheTest 2x Un-plated Copper Blanks Shipped
44) My brother.
45) thatspec Driver 1 L/M/H @3.8A 10507 10508
46) nbjly Driver 2 Firefly L/M/H 4.18A no memory 10507
47) flat-ray Driver 2 Moonlight L/M/H 10507 10508 Shipped
48) Illumination Driver 2 Moonlight L/M/H @4.18A 105011 10507 10508 10509 10510
49) and 50) on hold.


text:
2012_rel4: Global Mean Sea Level Time Series (seasonal signals retained)
Edited: 2012-08-22
Raw data (ASCII) | PDF | EPS
Similar plots
Global Mean Sea Level Time Series (seasonal signals removed)
Release Notes
2012 Release 4 (2012-08-22):
- Added Jason-2/OSTM GDR cycles 141-145.
To cite these plots or data, please use: Estimating Mean Sea Level Change from the TOPEX and Jason Altimeter Missions." Marine Geodesy 33, no. 1 supp 1 (2010): 435."


text:
Human blood is typed according to whether certain markers, called
antigens, are present on the surface of red blood cells. The ABO system
classifies blood as type A, B, AB, or O based on the presence or absence of the
A and B antigens; the Rh system classifies blood as negative or positive based
on the presence or absence of the Rh antigen (Rh factor).
If red blood cells have:
Rh blood typing determines the presence (+) or absence (–) of the
Rh factor. If red blood cells:
Last Revised:
October 27, 2011
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


text:
The cold air wedge has done it again -- but this time, we should be thankful.
The wedge -- a pocket of cool, damp but relatively stable air that is pushed into the Carolinas Piedmont by high pressure systems over New England -- usually causes us plenty of problems. In winter, areas inside the wedge are prone to ice storms and snow.
In spring, the wedge often contributes to those chilly, rainy days. Does anyone remember the day before Easter?
A wedge of cool air was locked in place Monday across the northern half of North Carolina. While Charlotte was in the lower 80s on Monday afternoon, temperatures were 20 degrees cooler in Raleigh and Greensboro. Computer models, as they usually do, vastly underestimated the strength of the wedge. The models predicted the cool air would remain north of Charlotte.
It didn't. About 11 p.m. Monday, the wedge front pushed south of Charlotte. Dew point temperatures, which measure the level of humidity and instability in the atmosphere, dropped sharply. The wind shifted from south to northeast.
And at that moment, Charlotte was protected from the severe weather to the west.
As is often the case, the wedge of cool air was pushed up against the mountains. Cooler air sinks, and so it often is lodged against the mountains. That is why strong storms dumped several inches of rain overnight in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell and Catawba counties -- areas that were along, or just outside of, the cool air pocket.
So the big question is how long the cool air will remain in place?
Once again, the compute models predict the cooler and more stable air will retreat northward Tuesday. I enjoyed the comment from Justin Lane, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Greer, S.C. Talking about the predicted northward movement of the cooler air, he said, :"I don't have a lot of faith in that."
More likely, it will be late Tuesday night or early Wednesday before that happens.
Eventually, the severe thunderstorms probably will reach the Charlotte region. But the presence of the cool air wedge in Charlotte has prevented a couple inches of rain from falling overnight. That will decrease the overall storm total for the area and lessen the threat of flash flooding from whatever rain falls Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
This time, the cold air wedge does Charlotte a favor
The cold air wedge has done it again -- but this time, we should be thankful.
8 comments:
- Anonymous said...
So - after all the hype we're not going to get any severe storms. What a shocker!
- April 29, 2014 at 8:42 AM
- Anonymous said...
Monday's local TV newscasts were beyond hysterical hype. WBTV was the worst. Shameful and disgusting!
- April 29, 2014 at 9:51 AM
- WeatherTrollsSuck said...
35 have died in the storms that were forecast to hit the Charlotte area and yet these posters are complaining about hype. Why do you even watch the TV or read the paper for weather? Apparently, you are soooo much smarter than the meteorologists that you can predict weather patterns more accurately. Interesting that you trolls never publish your own forecasts.
- April 30, 2014 at 8:42 AM
- Anonymous said...
The point is the Charlotte area did not get severe weather. It was nothing but hysterical media hype. This is a persistent pattern over many years.
- April 30, 2014 at 9:19 AM
- Anonymous said...
@9:19 - No, the point is you should just STOP WATCHING TV WEATHER! Your incessant whining is a persistent pattern over many years.
- April 30, 2014 at 10:56 AM
- Anonymous said...
No "forecast" is accurate beyond a day and a half at most. Much changed in a storm born in Oklahoma on Sunday. Criticism is justified, emotional weather groupies defensive posture notwithstanding.
- April 30, 2014 at 8:44 PM
- Anonymous said...
This column's getting a bit old, isn't it? Think it's about time to take it offline?
- May 10, 2014 at 12:18 PM
- Anonymous said...
"...strong storms dumped several inches of rain overnight in Burke, Caldwell, McDowell and Catawba counties -- areas that were along, or just outside of, the cool air pocket."
Charlotte television stations serve the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton area. These people are entitled to severe weather reporting. If you want microclimate reporting, consult a website.
- May 20, 2014 at 7:43 AM


text:
Consider the $\mathbb{R}$-vector space of sufficiently nice real-valued functions on the unit square $I^2$, where "sufficiently nice" could be taken to mean any one of a number of things - say continuous for now.
In analogy with matrix multiplication, we can define the product of two such functions $F$ and $G$ as
$$(F\times G)(i,j) = \int_0^1F(i,t)G(t,j)dt.$$
We can check immediately that this operation is associative (the proof is exactly the same):
$$((F\times G)\times H)(i,j) = \int_0^1(F\times G)(i,t)H(t,j)dt$$ $$=\int_0^1\left(\int_0^1F(i,s)G(s,t)ds \right)H(t,j)dt$$ $$=\int_0^1F(i,s)\left(\int_0^1 G(s,t)H(t,j)dt \right)ds$$ $$=\int_0^1F(i,s)(G\times H)(s,j)ds = (F\times (G\times H))(i,j)$$
Also, $\times$ is obviously bilinear with respect to usual addition of real-valued functions, and hence defines a ring structure on $C(I^2)$ which is considerably different from the usual ring structure (but addition is the same).
Extending the matrix analogy, we see that each $F$ also defines a linear operator $C(I) \to C(I)$ in the usual way, as
$$F(f)(i)=\int_0^1 F(i,t)f(t) dt$$
for each $f : I \to \mathbb{R}$.
Also, all of this actually generalizes usual matrix multiplication if we subdivide the square $I^2$ into a bunch of small rectangles and let $F$ be constant on each subrectangle, being more or less careful on boundaries.
The only candidate for a unit element for $\times$ is the distribution which has a weight $1$ dirac delta on the diagonal, and is $0$ everywhere else (in other words, the product of the dirac delta with the Kronecker delta! :))
Now my question is: what is this? Is it of any interest, or a mere curiosity? For example, could a notion of "determinant" be assigned to these objects?


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I wasn't joking when I tweeted this. And here I am about to take another MOOC course.
Though I still feel like a cocoon, I'd like to get here eventually.
Learning is rewarding, but it's tiring too.
This MOOC has been one of the best learning experiences in my recent life and I think it had such an impact on me because it required me to apply what I was learning creatively. This wasn't a typical course with a set syllabus where you could check assignments off a list.
I probably should have engaged more in the other channels, but for some reason I found Twitter to be the easiest to engage in. I'll confess that this is most likely due to convenience. In my next course, I would probably choose a different social media to engage with others in the class. But not Facebook. Call me a curmudgeon, but I'd like to keep Facebook in a separate place in my life… like off. Is it right that I don't want to use it? Or should I succumb and become part of the entity?
To be frank and I may lift some of the learning & reflection I've taken from the #edcmooc, Facebook does not make me feel human. I don't feel like I want to know small details from other people's lives or share private parts of my life and thinking with others and if I do maybe on my own terms. I like hearing about people tell me about their lives and their children in person. Maybe this makes me less of a digital native. that I want to carve my own little cubby corner where I can still think and be on my own, so be it. I read recently in a tweet or blogpost of a classmate that they felt that the #edcmooc was both an enriching and lonely experience. I can see that. For me it was less lonely, but by then end I was really jonesing to be 'disconnected' for a bit.
I am glad the designers of the course didn't settle on one channel of social media. If it had been only Facebook I would have been SOL, but I guess that's part of the point to have multiple channels in which to learn.
The flow of good information and thoughts shared by others in this course was overwhelming. I'm still reading through blogposts I favorited from the second week of class. I may never get to all of them, but I am inclined to read the posts of people I connected with in the Twitter feed going forward. This is probably the greatest value I got from the course: connecting with and learning from others.
I'll be honest about one more thing. I took this course, more for the experience of being in a MOOC, not as much for the subject or the prospect of getting credit. This was my first experience in such a large course. I wanted to experience it and analyze it from an Instructional Designer's perspective. I was incredibly curious about how such a course would work, and for the most part it seemed to do just that. Whether it gave use the 'traditional' higher-education experience that was academically rigorous is another matter. You could make that age old argument: "It is what you make of it." While this may apply, I still feel that guidance and feedback from instructors even on a broad scale. On a regular basis would have been more helpful. I did notice a few facilitators really engaging with students in the Twitter and in replies on the forums, but I felt somehow that their feedback wasn't always there. Or maybe i missed them like I keep missing the Easter Bunny.
Would I do it again? Yes. Would it be as engaging and as much fun as in the #edcmooc course? I'm not sure.
The artefact experience and consuming custom created content
I'll admit I probably put more into my artefact that I should have. I was dealing with a topic that I feel passionate about and probably didn't spend enough time killing my darlings. I'm glad that I was able to learn about tools I hadn't used before for creating content like Prezi or Wallwisher.
As I watched many of the videos outside of the assigned clips I realized how much YouTube has been commercializing content, some of which was not meant have a home despot ad attached to it. It reminded me that even though we're creating this content for free, if it's popular, it's becoming a commercial vehicle for someone else.
When you share things online whether it's a quip or a carefully crafted video, you're providing fuel for the machine. Whether it's data to be harvested or attractive electronic flypaper (if your creation is 'good') you're still contributing the lucrative value of web-content. This world of free-wheeling sharing may all seem wonderful and open right now, but I wonder how long this will last. Or will people's expectations and demands for easily accessible content that is ad-free trump the engines that demand ad capital. I'm not sure.
Where do I go from here?
Things I learned about learning from this class:
- Learning is messy. Thanks to @EleniZazani for the image
- Learning makes me feel human
- Learning with others and from them is powerful
- Learning may not bring us to utopia, but it may help us get there
- Cultures need to continue to put a higher value on lifelong learning
I still have links to use, and tools to learn as time permits. I want to use sort my Pearl Trees and really use Storify. I want to explore every tool or website I bookmarked or favorited. And as I wrap this up I realize that I'll probably still be learning from this course three months from now.


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I have five machines all running Crux now, although that number is apt to fluctuate from time to time. With that many machines all updating their ports libraries directly from the Internet, it only makes sense to give that responsibility to one machine, and let the others refresh themselves from it.
And it only makes sense for that one machine to automatically refresh its own tree once a day, or perhaps even twice a day, and serve those ports to the remaining machines whenever they need it. The server doesn't have to do any real compiling — in fact, it's probably not going to do anything at all, just sit and wait for another machine to request fresh ports.
I think I may have found the best use yet for my ancient laptop.
The ironic part is, this is terribly simple to set up. crond can handle the important role — automatically refreshing the system ports — and NFS makes the actual serving of the ports no more difficult than mounting a directory and copying them across. An rsync command from the root account of the client, and it's done. Lower bandwidth and no need to swamp the Crux servers with multiple machines updating individually.
The first step in setting it up is to build a kernel that can act as a server. NFS is activated under the File systems::Network file systems options in the 2.6.28 kernel, and there's a separate option for the server and the client. I've activated both on my machine, but that's also because I use the battered Thinkpad as a way of transferring files across machines, and I want to be able to mount that as a normal user, and read and write to it.
Once the kernel is built, you'll need to set up the server and trigger it as a service. The best place I know for information on setting up an NFS server is the Arch wiki. After that, both portmap and nfs-utils need to be installed on the server. For export options, I used this:
/usr/ports/ 192.168.XX.1/24(ro,sync)
Since there's no need for clients to write to the directory, I set mine to read-only. Other options, for example the ones on the Gentoo wiki, also seem superfluous, and so I don't enable any of those either.
I've had trouble starting the server when I manually enable the network through /etc/rc.local, so I use the same commands in the /etc/rc.d/net service instead — everything from enabling the pcmcia socket with
pcmcia-socket-startup and setting wireless options with
iwconfig, to starting dhcpcd.
Now it's time to set up crond. This is even easier, since there's only one file to make, and one file to edit. Open up /etc/crontab and adjust it to your liking. Personally I just want the ports updated once a day — more than that seems overdone. Perhaps with another distro you might want fresher updates, but in my experience, once a day is more than enough for Crux. Here's what I used to get updates at 7:30 a.m., local time.
30 07 * * * /usr/sbin/runjobs /etc/cron/daily
And in the /etc/cron/daily folder, make a file that says only this.
/usr/bin/ports -u
Don't forget to make that file executable. I wondered for a long while why cron wasn't doing anything, and then I remembered that. 😀
After that, just make sure crond, net, portmap and nfsserver are all triggered in your /etc/rc.conf file, so the entire business is ready at boot.
For clients, I edited my /etc/fstab files to include this line.
192.168.XX.XX:/usr/ports /media/ports nfs noauto,nolock 0 0
I like to mount external files and drives to the /media folder, and symlink into the home directories to access them. The noauto flag doesn't mount it at boot, and nolock helps avoid a weird two- to three-minute delay when I mount the network drives. Notice that I didn't include the users flag, which would have allowed normal users to mount the server too. I see no point in that, since normal users can't synchronize the ports tree anyway because they don't have write permission to the local /usr/ports folder.
Once that's in place, I switch to the superuser account, mount the network drive, and use this to sync the local tree against the server.
rsync -a --progress /media/ports /usr/ports
I can still update my ports tree manually, and I can still edit and maintain ports unique to each machine or keep source files on a local machine (such as the proprietary wireless firmware for my Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG). There are no source packages on the server, no binaries, but the patches and extra files can remain there as well. Best of all, if I need to rebuild a machine, it's easy to get a fresh tree without relying on access beyond my local network.
The erstwhile dealbreaker flaws this machine has — the noisy, small hard drive and the relatively nonexistent RAM — don't really matter in this role. Since the ports tree is only refreshed once a day, and it's first thing in the morning, it can do it's job and be noisy for a little bit, then sit idle and quiet for 23 hours and 55 minutes. (To ease your environmental concerns, the wattage rating on the AC adapter is 60W, which in my mind ranks it about the same as the light bulb in my kitchen.)
And the final touch? Installing cmatrix so the machine has something fun to show, while it's sitting, counting the seconds until the next ports update. Now tell me: Can you think of a better use for an extra 100Mhz laptop? 🙂
P.S.: I suppose you could do this for some other script-based distros, or perhaps use one machine to sync the ABS tree in Arch, and serve it to the rest of your house. Feel free to experiment. 😉


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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is stirring the pot again – this time with Germany's largest bank in his crosshairs – as he attempts to regain his old position.
Today, Berlusconi told CNBC that his resignation, which came in late 2011 when Italian bond yields rose to their highest levels of the crisis (see chart below), was a "coup d'etat" led by Deutsche Bank.
[Berlusconi] pointed the finger at one of Germany's largest banks for the spike in Italian bond yields, which rose above 7 percent in November 2011, forcing him to step aside.
"Deutsche bank imposed a sell-off of all its Italian and Greek government bonds. American and international investors questioned the move," he said. "Some assumed that the German bank had some specific information that nobody else had. It was a huge lie."
His resignation led to the appointment of technocrat Mario Monti as Italian Prime Minister, but Berlusconi said Monti's government had failed by pushing the economy into a worsening decline.
Berlusconi's comments advance a theory put forward by Renato Brunetta, an Italian economist who served in Berlusconi's cabinet as Minister of Public Administration and Innovation until the former prime minister's resignation last year.
Brunetta's claims involve Deutsche Bank's alleged cover-up of billions of dollars of losses on derivatives positions during the financial crisis. Earlier this month, the FT's Tom Braithwaite, Kara Scannell, and Michael Mackenzie reported that story:
The three complaints, made to regulators including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, claim that Deutsche misvalued a giant position in derivatives structures known as leveraged super senior trades, according to people familiar with the complaints.
All three allege that if Deutsche had accounted properly for its positions – worth $130bn on a notional level – its capital would have fallen to dangerous levels during the financial crisis and it might have required a government bail-out to survive.
Instead, they allege, the bank's traders – with the knowledge of senior executives – avoided recording "mark-to-market", or paper, losses during the unprecedented turmoil in credit markets in 2007-2009.
Deutsche Bank's alleged mismarking of derivatives positions as reported by the FT (which the bank denies) occurred two years before the period in which Brunetta and Berlusconi accuse the bank of manipulation.
However, the charge still plays prominently into Brunetta's version of events. Chris Emsden of Dow Jones reports:
Mr. Brunetta sought to link allegations that Deutsche Bank AG (DB) hid potential derivative losses from regulators to the bank's large-scale sale of sovereign bonds issued by peripheral euro-zone nations, including Italy.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating allegations made by two former traders. Deutsche Bank has denied the claims.
Mr. Brunetta said that German bund yields had been inching up in early 2011, highlighting fears of the solvency of Germany's banks. He claimed the banks, "probably with the implicit support of Berlin, decided to transfer the potential crisis of their own private banking system on to countries considered the weakest in the euro area."
As yields rose in peripheral countries, they fell sharply in Germany, allowing Ms. Merkel to seek to "create a hegemony over the euro zone" and turn the focus from banking to public finances, Mr. Brunetta said, describing the operation as "almost a victory in the third world war."
In other words, Brunetta and Berlusconi are saying that Deutsche Bank sought to manufacture a sovereign debt crisis in Italy, which would have the effect of bringing bond yields down in Germany as investors sold their holdings of peripheral bonds, including those of Italy, and fled to the "safe-haven" status afforded by German bonds.
Furthermore, Berlusconi's resignation provided the impetus to install an unelected technocrat, Mario Monti, as prime minister.
The chart below illustrates Brunetta's theory (Italian government bond yields are shown in green and German yields in orange):
Both sovereigns saw yields begin to rise together in the autumn of 2010. However, it wasn't until the summer of 2011 that Italian borrowing costs really took off, and German yields finally began to fall.


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Now she's lived the dream she dreamed.
Pop star Susan Boyle helped welcome Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland by performing with a 800-member choir at an open-air mass Thursday at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park, according to reports.
The 49-year-old Catholic "Britain's Got Talent" breakout star and recording artist performed her hit, "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables," as well as the hymn "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" for the crowd of about 65,000 faithful, People mag reported.
U.S. & World
Last month, Boyle described the chance to sing for the pope as a "great honor" and something she'd always wished would happen in her lifetime.
"It's something I've always dreamed of, it's something I've always wanted to do, and here I am, finally getting the chance," Boyle told Sky News shortly before her performance on Thursday.


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The Elements: A Visual Exploration
- iPad, iPhone
- Paid
- age 12+
App Details
In-App Purchases - No
Screenshots for The Elements: A Visual Exploration
Publisher's Description
Of all the periodic table apps, there is only one which Stephen Fry described as "Alone worth the price of an iPad!". The Elements: A Visual Exploration is not just a reference app, it is a rich and engaging love story of the periodic table, told in words and pictures, and allowing you to experience the beauty and fascination of the building blocks of our universe in a way you've never seen before.
The Elements is based on the internationally best-selling hard cover edition of The Elements by Theodore Gray, Popular Science Magazine's Gray Matter columnist. But it goes way beyond what is possible on paper.
You start off at a living periodic table where every element is shown with a smoothly rotating sample. To read about tin, tap the tin soldier. To read about gold, tap the gold nugget. Immediately you see the sample filling nearly the entire screen, photographed to razor sharpness and rotating around a complete circle in front of your eyes. Beside that is a column of facts and figures, each of which can be tapped to bring up rich detail and current information through the embedded Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine.
Go to each element's second page and you find a fascinating story about the element, surrounded by carefully photographed objects representing it. Every one of these objects, well over 500 in total, is a freely rotatable, live object that you can examine from all sides and pinch zoom to see in unprecedented detail.
Touch the element name at the top of the page and you can see that element's name in over a dozen different languages. Choose one and you'll find that the entire book, stories, captions and all, switches to that language: The Elements includes both the full English original text and over a dozen full translations.
Pinch-zoom or tap any object to bring it up full screen, where you can split into a pair of stereo 3D images. Using inexpensive 3D glasses you can see all 500 objects pop off the screen in 3D, and you can spin the objects, in 3D, with the touch of a finger. You can't get much more virtually real than that.
If you had a bad experience with chem class in school, this book is the antidote. If you or someone you know is afraid chemistry will be their most boring subject, this book will show them that there's a lot more to the periodic table than a bunch of numbers and letters.
"The iPad's splendor and power may be best shown by The Elements... it's not like any ebook you've seen. The periodic table of elements comes to life."
– USA Today
"It's dazzling—it makes science feel like magic in your hands."
– Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing
The full set of features includes:
• More than 500 stunningly photographed, high resolution, rotatable objects
• Detailed and current information from Wolfram|Alpha
• Beautifully composed pages for every Element in the periodic table
• Fun stories and fascinating facts
• All objects pinch-zoom with amazing detail and rotate in 3D
• Engaging introduction explaining the structure of the periodic table
• Fully translated into more than a dozen languages
About the author:
Theodore Gray is a best-selling author and writer of Popular Science Magazine's Gray Matter column since 2003.
Praise for the Hardcover Edition:
"This glorious book is more than just a guide to the elements; it will fundamentally deepen your appreciation of the substances that make up our world."
– Oliver Sacks, Author of Awakenings and Uncle Tungsten
"This is the element book that in style and content outshines all element books! The photographs are fantastic in their mod layout on black. In the accompanying short texts, in a few choice words, Gray sketches utility, delves into history, and isn't afraid to make sharp comments about the world. My reaction: elemental delight."
– Roald Hoffmann, writer and winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry


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Under the best of circumstances, life for Malians has been hard for millennia. The country faces recurrent drought and the Sahara encroaches. The social and economic statistics are poor. That in part was why the country's stable governance for two decades was so remarkable, and its subsequent collapse such a tragedy.
In the capital, Bamako, a political settlement between the military junta that overthrew the constitutional government and an interim civilian government supported by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is still elusive. The interim president has just returned after two months of hospitalization and recuperation in France following a beating by a mob in his own palace. Amnesty International has released a report documenting atrocities committed by junta forces in response to a failed counter coup. The Malian government – a state party to the International criminal Court (ICC) – has asked that body to investigate, prosecute and try perpetrators of crimes in the North because it lacks the capacity to do so.
In the northern part of the country, the radical Islamist group Ansar Dine and other groups have destroyed West African Islamic monuments that are World Heritage Sites – because they were apparently not Islamic enough. And over the weekend, Ansar Dine stoned to death an unmarried couple in front of 300 witnesses, according to graphic and chilling reportage by the New York Times.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS is trying to put together an intervention force of 3,000. Yet, as the president of Chad told the French foreign minister, only France (or NATO or even the U.S.) has the necessary capacity to make such a force effective. According to the press, however, there is little West African enthusiasm for French participation in an ECOWAS force and, presumably, even less for NATO or the U.S. Even with outside assistance, it is difficult to see how even a well supplied international force could impose order on the trackless deserts in the North. It could, however, retake Timbuktu, Gao and a few other population centers. But guerrilla fighting could continue indefinitely.
Conventional wisdom among those outsiders who watch Mali is that a political settlement is needed first in Bamako before the Islamist tide can be rolled back in the North. However, while there may be little West African enthusiasm for a French role in an international military force, Ansar Dine atrocities may generate popular support in France for some form of intervention. Other than providing limited logistical support for an international force, I doubt there would be much political support in the U.S. for involvement in Mali, especially during election season. So, while ECOWAS may be able to broker a political settlement in Bamako, and the ICC acquires yet another African case, for the time being, it looks like there are no limits to the barbarism and atrocities in the North.
More on:


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Similar to what "Toy Story" did with toys, "Wreck-It Ralph" envisions a world where video game characters are actually alive, and free themselves from their game programing each night once the arcade closes. Free to visit other games and do things outside of their structured routines, the characters often demonstrate personality that exceeds their given scripts.
When the villain of the game "Fix-It Felix" chafes at being ostracized from the celebration of the game's 30th anniversary, he sets out on a quest to prove he can be a hero, too.
The result is a fun, funny, family-friendly film that demonstrates the value of challenging the labels that world puts on you.
Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the demolition minded antagonist of the video game Fix-It Felix. While the hero of the game, Felix (Jack McBrayer), gets the medals and the adulation from the residents of the building Ralph has to wreck every day, Ralph is forced to sleep in a rubble pile at the dump, alone. On the 30th anniversary of the game, Ralph feels a little left out. After all, he's a part of the game, too. A major part! After a Bad Guys Anonymous meeting offers him no solace, Ralph decides to show up at the anniversary party uninvited… unfortunately to disastrous results.
So Ralph abandons his post and heads through the surge protector to other video games in search of a medal to prove his worth to the other characters of Fix-It Felix His first stop is the first-person shooter Hero's Duty, where he finds himself unprepared for the fast paced ultra violence of modern video games. His next stop, the kid friendly go-cart racer Sugar Rush, at first seems much more manageable, but in reality will test his mettle most of all.
It's there he meets Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a little girl racing character who is considered a "glitch" by the other characters of the game. Like Ralph, she's an outcast. While initially she intentionally irritates him, it's not long before they realize their common social stigma, and band together to help her win the Sugar Rush nightly race. Vanellope will fulfill her dream of being recognized by the other racers, and Ralph can get his medal to return to his own game a hero.
Standing in their way is King Candy (Alan Tudyk), who presides over Sugar Rush and fears the effect a glitch winning the race might have on the game. Also, unbeknownst to him, Ralph brought a virus into the Sugar Rush world from Hero's Duty. And on top of it all, the clock is ticking. The arcade manager has discovered that the Fix-It Felix game has begun to malfunction, and is calling in a repairman to see if it needs to be shut down for good.
"Wreck-It Ralph" is a humorous, inventive animated action/comedy. It takes its premise, establishes the hero's current state of woe, expertly sets the rules of its colorful world, and then lets the solid story unfold.
The characters are probably the biggest talking point, though. By investing so much time setting up the plight of the hero, "Ralph" comes across as having a lot of heart. Its lovable lug of a main character is easy to feel for. The combination of the repetitive nature of his wrecking role and the rejection he experiences from his game-mates makes Ralph a highly sympathetic protagonist. In Silverman's Vanellope, the movie offers an atypical "cute kid" character. She's a smart Alec most of the time, and certainly a "cute as a button", mildly hyperactive kid character at others, but she's also vulnerable due to the differences she experiences because of her faulty programming. Together, the two of them make for a fun, offbeat tandem. He's the burly but no longer wishing to be brooding brute, and she's the whippersnapper with a touch of sadness to her. Toss in a fun, militaristic turn from Jane Lynch, and an aw-shucks do-gooder Fix-It Felix courtesy of Jack McBrayer, and you have a great mix of animated heroes and heroines, with voices provided solid playbill of actors.
The plot here is really very well done. We all want to see Ralph get his medal, and his travels through different games with different rules allow for easy, natural action set ups. The video game world setting is a perfect excuse for imaginative environments, characters, vehicles and gadgets. The film spends most of its time in Sugar Rush, which is a virtual "Candy Land" full of bright candy cane trees, nestle quick quicksand, and random pools of chocolate. It's the perfect place for an animated film to cut loose and show what it can create onscreen.
It would be easy for "Wreck-It Ralph" to be heavy-handed with its lessons of "be who you want to be", given the program challenging set-up, but instead it opts to keep the preaching to a minimum and let the outcomes of the events impart the desired message. There's a part of me that wishes it had explored its exestential potential a little more fully – "Kid's Films" with rich, intellectual themes are a rarity indeed – but I can't say that I was let down. "Ralph" isn't just a sight and sound experience to kill an hour, it will also touch hearts and teach the children in the audience something about believing in themselves, standing up to society, and being kind to others. All without hitting them over the head about it.
The great characters, amazing setting, solid plot and excellent "message" make "Wreck-It Ralph" a great movie, and a front-running candidate for the best animated film of the year.


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Now you can skip hours of internet research and jump straight to getting answers with our meaningful at-a-glance Demographics Spreadsheet Report. With the most current & most popular demographic data, it's the perfect starting point for your research about Pawnee Rock and the rest of Kansas.
We know Pawnee Rock Demographics, just keep scrolling...
All Pawnee Rock population data above are from the US Census Bureau.
The population data for Pawnee Rock are from the Census' American Community Survey 2018 5-year estimates and the Census' 2018 Population Estimates. The demographic data for Collyer, Dunlap, Fontana, Harveyville, Lorraine, and Lucas are the most current, comparable demographics available from the US Census Bureau, are from the American Community Survey 2018 5-year estimates, and were downloaded on 19 December 2019. Check out our FAQ section for more details.
With 266 people, Pawnee Rock is the 373rd most populated city in the state of Kansas out of 667 cities. But watch out, Pawnee Rock, because Fontana with 263 people and Harveyville with 265 people are right behind you.
The largest Pawnee Rock racial/ethnic groups are White (94.0%) followed by Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More (0.8%).
In 2018, the median household income of Pawnee Rock residents was $38,333. Pawnee Rock households made slightly more than Collyer households ($38,125), Dunlap households ($38,125), Lorraine households ($38,125), and Lucas households ($38,182) . However, 18.3% of Pawnee Rock residents live in poverty.
The median age for Pawnee Rock residents is 38.8 years young.
86% of people CANNOT find the data they're looking for on the US Census Bureau website. Source: Nielsen Norman Group
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