text:
Wishing I was at TechEd 20101
Quite a few of my SQL cohorts are milling around NOLA this week learning all sorts of things. Some of them might even be work related. And what can I say, I'm jealous. I've heard rumors that there is a nightly trololo choir on Bourbon Street similar to the SpectroMagic parade at Walt Disney World, complete with fiber optic lights and kilts. I suppose we'll have to convene a trololo committee with Brent Ozar (@BrentO) leading it in order to organize that for November's PASS conference.
In related news, I'm glad to hear that Tom LaRock (@SQLRockstar) has come out of the closet and told us where he will be hanging up his chaps. I'm happy to report that Tom has landed with Confio, makers of Ignite. He is an awesome addition to any company, but I do hope they have enough bacon on hand to keep him satisfied.
Need to build a presentation for PASS AppDev VC0
After my startling findings using AppFabric cache and tweeting about it, I've been called to the mat by none other than two SQL stalwarts, Buck Woody (@buckwoody) and Steve Jones (@way0utwest). Apparently they require proof-of-life for such claims and I've been debating on how best to present it. I could
1) Write a blog post about it
2) Write an article about it
3) Create a presentation
The fact is, there is just way too much information to make a single blog post about it. I would have to break it up into multiple parts and I wouldn't be able to do it justice. Similarly, for an article, I still feel as though I'd be leaving information out. I have to give the back-story as to the problem we are trying to solve. While it can be done, I feel as though I would spend as much time writing about the problem as I would at what I did to solve it. AppFabric Cache should be the star.
I've decided that making a presentation for the AppDev Virtual Chapter at PASS would be the best route. This way I can spend a few slides on how things work today using diagrams and pretty pictures, and then delve into the meat and potatoes of how I used AppFabric Cache to do the work of 60+ servers on one laptop.
Now the fun part is going to be de-classifying the information and make it generic enough for public consumption.
Alternatively I suppose I could make everyone wear a pair of these censor glasses…
AppFabric Cache POC finished!!!0
I finally got the entire project running and got the metrics I needed in order to do my presentation next week. I managed to take 15.6 million records and push them into the cache, performed 6.3 million key lookups, and 800k region lookups with tags in just under one hour. All on my laptop!!! This same workload was captured from an hours worth of processing from 64 application servers with 5 database servers. So far, I'm very much impressed. More details of this to follow when I can produce examples for public consumption.
AppFabric Caching Admin Tool0
I ran across this nifty Codeplex project the other day which puts a nice graphical interface onto the AppFabric Distributed Cache PowerShell scripts. Now instead of opening up a PS window to get everything started, I simply launch this tool and it starts up the cache for me. It allows you to manage items at the Cluster, Host, Name, and even down to the Region.
To download, go to http://mdcadmintool.codeplex.com/releases/view/44428
Windows Server AppFabric RC released0
The release candidate of Windows Server AppFabric is now available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=a9b94a33-2ec2-4439-902f-813539cf42d2
Please remember that if you are running previous versions such as Beta1 and Beta2 that you will need to uninstall the AppFabric Beta first, and then remove any RC versions of .Net before attempting the install. Please read the ReleaseNotes.docx for more information.
Velocity is now part of AppFabric0
The project codenamed "Velocity" has now become part of Windows Server AppFabric. Windows Server AppFabric has three core capabilities: Caching (from "Velocity"), as well as workflow and service management (from "Dublin"). More info can be found at the Microsoft Windows Server Developer Center: Windows Server AppFabric


text:
Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'What's Your Name' Allegedly Used By Pittsburgh Steelers to Make Fun of Baltimore Ravens Quarterback
The rivalry between pro football's Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens featured a twist from the classic rock world Sunday night, with the Steelers accused of referring to opposing quarterback Joe Flacco as a "little girl" via a Lynyrd Skynyrd song played over their stadium's sound system.
According to Yahoo Sports, during the Ravens' final drive of the game, which was held at the Steelers' Heinz field, the scoreboard flashed a page comparing the performance stats of Flacco and Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger. Pretty standard stuff, but it was the song playing while those stats were on the board — Skynyrd's "What's Your Name?" — that got a rise out of Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
Why was Harbaugh so incensed? Well, if you're a Skynyrd fan, you know the song includes the refrain "What's your name / Little girl," which the coach took as an implied shot against his quarterback's manhood. According to Baltimore Sun reporter Kevin Van Valkenburg, Harbaugh "was livid," and "so fired up in the locker room after the victory, he actually pulled me aside to explain this, unprompted."
Of course, excitability seems to run in the coaching Harbaughs, and the Ravens went on to win the game anyway — and Flacco, for his part, claimed not to have any idea that there was even a song playing on the stadium PA.
So all's well that ends well — and if the Steelers' scoreboard operator meant to question Flacco's manhood with his song selection, he's wisely keeping mum about it this week. Either way, something tells us we won't be hearing Skynyrd at Heinz Field again anytime soon.
Of course, as discussed in our interview with Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw, you can totally count on hearing his band's 'Renegade,' which over the years has become the Steeler defense's rally song.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Rosewill is actually a division of NewEgg. This being the case doesn't detract from the quality and performance that Rosewill have become known for. They are essentially a budget-minded alternative to the other manufacturers of cases, fans and peripherals. Today we will be taking a look at Rosewill's Ranger case. This is a mid-tower case that is fully featured and it also comes with a really nice looking paint scheme.


text:
Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
Friday February 8, 2013 11:13 am
Rumors of iPhone 5S and 4.94-inch iPhone 6 surface
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors
The rumor mill is churning again, and it's saying that not just one, but two new iPhone models may see daylight in 2013. The two iPhones are rumored to be the iPhone 5S and a new 4.94-inch iPhone 6 (or iPhone +.)
This information comes courtesy of laoyaoba.com and a source claiming to have seen the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 at Apple suppliers. The source also claims the iPhone 5S resembles the iPhone 5, and that the iPhone 6 is the lightest and thinnest iPhone to date.
The report states that Apple is planning to bring the iPhone 5S to market this year, no surprise there. The larger iPhone +, however, is supposedly to be released as a backup against the rising popularity of larger Android phones.
Hit the source to see mocked images of what a bigger iPhone would look like.
Read More | Macro
Latest Gear Live Videos
- Subscribe:
- YouTube
- iTunes High Definition
- iTunes Standard Version
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.


text:
76 's
Check out now. Fast, Easy, Secure Checkout.
Primary Material: Glass
Size: Standard
Color: Red
Nice size and looks great!
100% perfect very well made love it
Thank you very much for these great earrings! They are beautiful and very well-made, and perfect for Link cosplays.
Shipping was really fast and the necklace is gorgeous!
Amazing! Such good quality and it arrived very quickly despite coming from the US at Christmas time. Very pleased and very good purchase! Very happy! :)
Thank you for stopping by my shop, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via the link to the right and I would be happy to help!
After 2 weeks your items will automatically renewed for another 60 days and $0.23 per item will be added to your billing ledger.
While you were away our TOU was updated,
read the terms of use here.
*No action is required on your part.


text:
"Team Disc Qualified" has organized a course development day at the Trey Deuce Disc Golf Course on Saturday, September 21. "We would love it if people want to help with the work day to come sweat with us to prepare for Texas Teams," stated Ray Brandon, club president.
Members of the club and other local area disc golf enthusiasts are joining together to help carry out the course designs for Trey Deuce's two 18-hole disc golf courses. For more details about the project, see the September 19 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald.


text: I share what Soul guides me to share about every two weeks. I don't consider this channeling, for my Soul and I are One. The Ascension Notes include the latest energies and each word carries high dimensional energy that flow into you as you read, helping you during this time of Transformation. The Notes are very grounding and practical. They are your potential and the information is not to be stuck in your intellect, but felt in your Heart.


text:
Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft #1 Out April 8 (Hey That's tomorrow!)
on April 7, 2010 at 5:03 am
Posted In: Uncategorized
From Image Comics comes "The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft #1" which comes out April 8th. This four part mini-series Written by Mac Carter, Art by Tony Salmons and Covers by Adam Byrne, comes out April 8th, 40 pages. It's[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…


text:
Rollover to Zoom / Click to Enlarge
(sku: A05127)
Product on Promotion - MASSIVE SALE UP TO 50% OFF
Product Description
A wide selection of clan crested cap badges.In ancient times, a Chief wore in battle a distinguishing badge on his helmet, a device which his followers could recognize in the turmoil of action. This is known as the Crest of the Chief and appears at the top of his Full Coat of Arms. Anyone bearing the same name as a Scottish Chief is a Clansman of the Chief and has the privilege of wearing his Crest surrounded by a Strap and Buckle Garter to denote his Clan Allegiance. The great Scottish Clans contain families who bore a different surname but were descended from the Chief through the female line. They are called Septs. Therefore anyone who has an ancestor bearing a Sept name or the Clan name itself has the privilege of wearing or displaying the Crest Badge.
Occasion : For all type of events
Style : Traditional decorative badge
Size Type : Diameter approx. 3.5''
Design : Scottish Clan Crested Badge
Product Style : Traditional decorative badge
Standard UK Delivery - £6.50
Standard EU Delivery - £14.99
Standard North America Delivery - £24.99
Standard Rest of the World Delivery - £24.99
More info>>
© 2020 Heritage Of Scotland. All rights reserved.
eCommerce by FM Retail
Enter your e-mail address and receive information about promotions & discounts. Also receive your 10% discount code!


text:
If you're a fan of Disney and subscribe to Netflix, then you're going to love the news that the two companies have entered into a multi-year content deal in the US. That's right, you'll soon be able to watch first-run live-action and animated films from The Walt Disney Studio.
But the good stuff, like theatrical releases from Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Disneynature, etc., won't be made available until 2016 because Starz currently holds that contract through 2015.
First-run films will be available to stream roughly seven months after their theatrical debut, reports the WSJ. It's unclear if Lucasfilm's catalog is included in any of the deals. We're waiting to hear back.
It's worth noting just to be clear that Netflix snagged this deal out of the hands of premium-TV networks like HBO.
Starting today, however, you'll be able to watch such classics as Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland. It's unclear if all of the Disney content will be streamable, though. We've reached out to Netflix and Disney for comment. Direct-to-video releases will begin streaming in 2013.
Netflix currently offers some Disney-related content but not all of it. This new deal will let subscribers access Disney content earlier through a pay-TV window on any number of devices, like your tablet or phone. [Press Release]


text:
Steamed kofta of spinach and paneer in a roasted red pepper gravy
Is it just me or are people less obsessed with being thin these days? Is it my age (thirties), where people grow into themselves more, or is it my life stage (mum of toddler and prefer sleep, family time, me-time and just some food over the less necessary stuff)? I don't know but mostly, people say they need to lose weight but eat the brownie anyway, right? I made some a really gorgeous batch the other day with saffron, rose, cardamom and pistachio and nobody said no.
However, my body has a way of telling me that I need to be kinder to it and right now; I have gone off my food (as in the taste rather than eating itself). If you have ever watched a cheesy television serial and I am old enough to admit to recalling the crashing sounds and multiple replays of dramatic scenes in Dallas (and every Bollywood serial I come across) then this is what is playing in my mind right now. I, Deena, have gone off the tastes in my food.
At first I thought it was the onset of a cold. But it didn't appear. Then I thought perhaps it is just over-working and exhaustion. But then I realised that I do feel hunger, it is just that I am not enjoying eating so much. I want to feel the thrill. But I am not.
SO, I have surmised that there are many culprits to this condition of mine; exhaustion, A LOT of cooking recently (maybe too much of my own cooking), overindulgence and heavy tastes, eating more functionally than socially (a lot of eating alone or in a desperate rush). Explains a lot doesn't it?
You know I have been putting myself into solution mode more and more these days and not focusing on the problems, 'think solutions, not problems' – chant, chant, chant. My solution is this steamed kofta of spinach and paneer in light and easy roasted red pepper gravy. It is the curry that thinks it is naughty, but really is quite virtuous. Deceptively simple, ridiculously soothing and fun to eat too! I like that I want to get my fingers into them, but should really wait for the gravy to join the kofta. Let me know if you do a better job at waiting to scoff the lot together, won't you.
for the full recipe head over to great british chefs


text:
Just an idea ... What if the OA generating agent provides a mapping list of prefixes, versions and namespaces he has used to create the OA annotation ? Something that corresponds to Jena's PrefixMapping factory classes. Ultimately, only the generator knows what standards and version he was using when creating the annotation, so let's provide him means to simply document that ? best regards Lutz > > > On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Robert Sanderson <email@example.com > <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com>> wrote: > > > To try and express a concrete example of Antoine's concern, if I > understand correctly... > > A client is trying to render an annotation that uses OA and OAX. > With just the link to OA Core, you can't determine which version > of OAX is being used, as it is likely not in step with OA. > Now add in DC, Prov and two community specific extensions and that > little modelVersion really doesn't do us any good at all. > > > That is a problem indeed. > > > Maybe we do drop it under the not-really-useful-to-anyone test? > > Or include a timestamp and leave it up to other systems to > determine the version of all of the namespaces that was in use at > that time? > > > I am not sure that would work. Applications come and go. I would > prefer having a serialization that is more explicit - includes the > version of the model - and survives the application. > Plus who knows, maybe some applications will be able to > consume/produce multiple versions at one point so the timestamp would > not help. > > Paolo > > > On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 12:23 PM, Paolo Ciccarese > <firstname.lastname@example.com <mailto:email@example.com>> wrote: > > > > On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 2:08 PM, Antoine Isaac <firstname.lastname@example.com > <mailto:email@example.com>> wrote: > > Hi Rob, > > Thanks for the explanation. Indeed it's a tricky issue, and > it's maybe good to work on it after the dust has settled a bit > on the others. In fact the fact that we're discussing a lot > does not create a mindset that helps conceiving that OA will > be much more stable than now, one day ;-) > And of course we'll need some time to look at available > receipes around us. > > Trying to react at some points: > > - namespace: indeed it's imperative to use only one namespace > for each vocabulary. The DC solution I've mentioned is no > exception. As I understood, it, the time-stamped URI are in > fact rather version "numbers", not property URIs that would > replace the canonical one in RDF graphs. > > - "using the URI of the core spec". Are you meaning the option > that Bob and Paolo mentioned, i.e. have > http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509.html as the > value for oa:modelVersion ? Indeed even if I fully accepted > using oa:modelVersion, I'd still have doubts about that one. > ".html" indicates a document, not a version of an ontology, > which in my mind is a bit more abstract. I'd rather use > "http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509". It looks > like splitting hair, but already avoids a lot of ambiguity. Of > coruse then best practice would recommend that if looks up the > URI you can serve the corresponding version of the spec, i.e., > http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509.html and, say > http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509.rdf > > > I could work with > "http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509" . I was using > the .html as, right now, it resolves... for human consumption at > least. > > > - the point on serializedAt, serializedBy is very interesting. > Indeed if the property had been "oa:serializationModel" then I > might have been less anxious about it. When properties look > like humble "short-cuts" of some more complex paths. I'm less > enclined to think that you wanted to solve the vocabulary > versioning problem within the entire graph... And it seems > like it would be less vulnerable to corner-case but real > situations, e.g. if a same annotation happens to be serialized > using different models at different times. > (but that being said, I still don't think it's optimal ;-) ) > > > I could go wither way. I would not mind to change "modelVersion' > to "oa:serializationModel" or similar as it is specifying better > that is a serialization thing and not a property of the Annotation > itself. > > Paolo > > > Antoine > > > > Hi Antoine, > > There's actually very little about modelVersion. > Basically, we wanted at least an identifier to allow > systems to determine whether they have encountered a > draft, stable, or subsequent version of the model. The > easiest way to do that was to have a pointer from the > annotation to some resource that identifies the model version. > > We discussed this issue at the first f2f meeting with Dan > Brickley, regarding FOAF and namespaces. He strongly > recommended to only ever have one namespace, and hence we > didn't use that as the identifier. > Another suggestion was to use a datetime for the model > (which would need to be different from the annotation's > timestamp as clients may create new annotations after a > revision to the model). This would allow the use of > Memento, for example, to retrieve the schema or > documentation that was in use for that point in time, > rather than the current schema/docs. > > The reasoning for putting it on the annotation is the same > as the serializedAt, serializedBy, and mimetype going on > the annotation. > > Overall, it's a tricky problem! We didn't want to make it > very heavyweight, but thought it should be addressed. > And of course we agree that the model should be as stable > as possible, and only the most important changes should > break backwards compatibility to the stable spec. > > We do foresee the OAX schema changing more rapidly than > the Core. This issue of versions and maintenance is the > main reason for the split. Given that, however, using the > URI of the Core spec doesn't seem sufficiently granular? > > Rob > > > On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 7:45 AM, Antoine Isaac > <email@example.com <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> > <mailto:email@example.com <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com>>> wrote: > > Hi, > > Sorry in advance for yet another long trolling, but I > wanted to discuss for a while. > > Is there somewhere a documentation on how this > versioning info ended up modelled this way? > I understand the requirement, but I have doubts > whether it should be handled like this in the core of the > OA model. > > > (1) It should be quite a minor requirement. > > The requirement is crucial in theory, but it's best > tackled by not raising the issue that motivate it in the > first place. The best practice is really to keep a > vocabulary as stable and backwards-compatible as possible! > > Of course it's difficult when the model is still being > worked on. But once an "official"/"stable" version is > released, any change that is not backwards-compatible > should be strongly discouraged--at least when it would > impact a lot of existing data. > > > (2) It's questionable whether a domain model like OA > should support vocabulary-level versioning. > > The problem of data and model versioning applies > across the board, for every data that is created. If you > want to apply it to OA, you may want to have it for the > other vocabularies used with it: DC, etc.... If all of > them included a specific versioning mechanism, > interoperability would just vanish. > In general one would count on specific representation > feature in the data model (like named graphs in RDF) or a > very specific "meta-domain" vocabulary like PROV or the > Resource Map part of OAI-ORE [1]. Possibly in combination... > > The awkwardness of trying to address at the OA level > shows in the issues raised by attaching the version data > to the Annotation resource. Why should it be considered a > property of the Annotation? And how to interpret it when > consuming data from different contexts? (E.g., if two > annotations "with different models" share a same target > with its Selector.) > > On a different level, the current solution may fall > short when elements remain stable across versions. How > should one decide if two statements with a "same" property > are directly interoperable or if they shouldn't be mixed? > Will the vocabulary include some time-stamped resources > for each element, as in DC [2]? > > > I'm ready to accept that there are alternative views, > or even scenarios I would have overlooked. But meanwhile I > am truly convinced that the current situation is sending > quite bad signals... > > > If we really want to say something about versioning > data then I'd rather: > > - keep track of the version information at the general > vocabulary level (OWL ontology files published at > different URIs with version info in it like owl:versionIRI > [3]) > > - recommend the use a meta-level scheme (PROV, > OAI-ORE, Named Graphs, whatever) for linking data graphs > or "records" to these versioned ontologies > > And then leave to the people who don't trust OA to be > stable the burden of exploiting that in the way they see fit. > All others will be alright never have been presented > this data (especially if is represented in a inappropriate > way). > > Antoine > > [1] http://www.openarchives.org/__ore/1.0/primer > <http://www.openarchives.org/ore/1.0/primer> > [2] Cf. > http://dublincore.org/usage/__terms/history/#__tableOfContents-003 > <http://dublincore.org/usage/terms/history/#tableOfContents-003> > . Of course not many really use it outside of the DC > documentation... > [3] > http://www.w3.org/TR/owl2-__syntax/#Versioning_of_OWL_2___Ontologies > <http://www.w3.org/TR/owl2-syntax/#Versioning_of_OWL_2_Ontologies> > . This could be also handled with > http://www.w3.org/TR/swbp-__vocab-pub/ > <http://www.w3.org/TR/swbp-vocab-pub/>, possibly with > Memento-like http redirections. > > > > > +1 > > I am currently using that URL as the model version. > > Paolo > > > On Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 4:31 PM, Bob Morris > <firstname.lastname@example.com <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> > <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com > <mailto:email@example.com>> > <mailto:email@example.com <mailto:email@example.com> > <mailto:email@example.com > <mailto:email@example.com>>>> wrote: > > Is there, or could there be declared, a suitable > value of > oa:modelVersion corresponding to > http://www.openannotation.org/__spec/core/20120509.html > <http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/20120509.html> > > (how about, dare I say it, use that as the value)? > > In our annotation generation and consumption > components, RuleML > rules, SPARQL queries from forms, ...., we are > starting to move from > AO to OA. Embedding an oa:modelVersion in our > annotations would help > us keep track of exactly where we stand, > especially as OA evolves and > we find we need to make changes. We have several > parts of our system > that all need to be using the same annotation > vocabulary. I guess we > don't need a standardized oa:modelVersion, but we > are also beginning > to think about the scope of our collaboration with > others working on > the same kinds of biodiversity data annotation > using OA. The more > agreement on modelVersion the less confusion... > > Bob > > > -- > Robert A. Morris > > Emeritus Professor of Computer Science > UMASS-Boston > 100 Morrissey Blvd > Boston, MA 02125-3390 > > IT Staff > Filtered Push Project > Harvard University Herbaria > Harvard University > > email: firstname.lastname@example.com > <mailto:email@example.com> <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com > <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com>> > <mailto:email@example.com <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> > <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com <mailto:email@example.com>>> > > web: http://efg.cs.umb.edu/ > web: http://etaxonomy.org/mw/__FilteredPush > <http://etaxonomy.org/mw/FilteredPush> > > http://www.cs.umb.edu/~ram <http://www.cs.umb.edu/%7Eram> > <http://www.cs.umb.edu/%7Eram> > > === > The content of this communication is made entirely > on my > own behalf and in no way should be deemed to express > official positions of The University of > Massachusetts at Boston or > Harvard University. > > > > > -- > Dr. Paolo Ciccarese > http://www.paolociccarese.__info/ > <http://www.paolociccarese.info/> > > Biomedical Informatics Research & Development > Instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School > Assistant in Neuroscience at Mass General Hospital > +1-857-366-1524 <tel:%2B1-857-366-1524> > <tel:%2B1-857-366-1524> (mobile) +1-617-768-8744 > <tel:%2B1-617-768-8744> <tel:%2B1-617-768-8744> (office) > > > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message is intended > only for the addressee(s), may contain information that is > considered > to be sensitive or confidential and may not be > forwarded or disclosed to any other party without the > permission of the sender. > If you have received this message in error, please > notify the sender immediately. > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Dr. Paolo Ciccarese > http://www.paolociccarese.info/ > Biomedical Informatics Research & Development > Instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School > Assistant in Neuroscience at Mass General Hospital > +1-857-366-1524 <tel:%2B1-857-366-1524> (mobile) +1-617-768-8744 > <tel:%2B1-617-768-8744> (office) > > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message is intended only for the > addressee(s), may contain information that is considered > to be sensitive or confidential and may not be forwarded or disclosed > to any other party without the permission of the sender. > If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender > immediately. >Received on Monday, 5 November 2012 12:25:03 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 16:38:20 UTC


text:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's office denied he knew anything ahead of time about an operation to jam traffic on the George Washington Bridge. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the official who ordered the closing of lanes on the George Washington Bridge last year clashed Friday over precisely when Christie learned about the controversial incident.
In a letter to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (.pdf), a lawyer for David Wildstein — the Port Authority official who actually ordered the event — says "evidence exists tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the Governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference."
In a statement Friday afternoon, Christie's office said that rather than call Christie's behavior into question, the letter "confirms what the Governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with."
Christie's statement goes on to say he denies "Mr. Wildstein's lawyer's other assertions," which primarily have to do with Wildstein's attempt to force the Port Authority to pay his legal bills.
The main disagreement appears to stem from the sequence of events.
In his statement Friday, Christie said he didn't know about what's come to be known as "Bridgegate" beforehand. In his Jan. 9 news conference — the one Wildstein alludes to — he said that "I had no knowledge of this — of the planning, the execution or anything about it — and that I first found out about it after it was over."
Christie doubled down on that assertion late Friday night. In a statement issued to "clear up any lingering confusion," a spokesman said, "Governor Christie has said each time he has been asked that he first learned about the closing of the lanes on the George Washington Bridge from press accounts after the instance was over."
It's that second contention that Wildstein contradicts in his letter, saying flat-out that Christie knew about the incident as it was jamming traffic between New York and New Jersey from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12.
"Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the Governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some," the letter says — although it gives no hint of what that evidence might be.
A new allegation claims New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sanctioned a road closure as political payback. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports.
Wildstein's letter was first reported Friday by The New York Times and subsequently obtained by NBC News.
Christie — who's considered a serious contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination — has repeatedly denied having ordered the closing of two of three local access lanes from Fort Lee, N.J., to the bridge, which is one of the busiest in the world. The closing froze traffic for four days — allegedly in retaliation over the mayor's refusal to endorse him in the 2013 governor's race.
It's the latest piece in a puzzle that has been emerging over the past few months of Christie as a swaggering political bully.
Emails came to light early this month revealing the involvement of Christie aides in closing the bridge lanes, ostensibly so that the study of traffic patterns could be conducted. But the emails indicated that the action was actually aimed at Fort Lee Mayor Chris Sokolich over his refusal to endorse Christie for re-election, which he easily won in November.
Then, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she had met with investigators and had turned over documents alleging that two Christie Cabinet members threatened to withhold relief aid for reconstruction after Hurricane Sandy unless she approved a redevelopment project favored by the governor. A spokesman for Zimmer told NBC News on Friday that the U.S. attorney for New Jersey had served a subpoena on the city for documents relating to those allegations.
Numerous other state and federal agencies are investigating Bridgegate, and 17 allies of Christie — as well as the governor's office and his 2013 re-election campaign — have been ordered to hand over documents related to the scandal by Monday.
At least four Christie associates have resigned, have been fired or have had their ties to the governor cut, including Wildstein.
Mel Evans / AP
David Wildstein after a hearing Jan. 9 at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton.
"These are serious accusations, and they certainly add to the speculation people have about the governor," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the Democratic co-chairman of the legislative committee investigating the bridge scandal.
Wisniewski said on MSNBC's "Hardball" that Wildstein was among those who'd been served subpoenas, but he urged caution, saying the narrow wording of the subpoena could have allowed Wildstein to legally withhold crucial documents.
"I don't know what these documents are that Mr. Wildstein or his attorney say that contradict the governor," he said.
But other Democrats wasted little time jumping on the new accusation Friday.
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said the latest bombshell might have sunk Christie's presidential ambitions.
"It certainly seems Wildstein's attorney is suggesting the governor was not telling the truth," Pallone said on MSNBC's "PoliticsNation."
"There's so much coming out," he said. "All of these things are making it more and more difficult for Governor Christie to run."
In a statement, Mo Elleithee, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said Christie has "repeatedly said that he had no knowledge of the lane closures. Today's revelations raise serious questions about whether that is true."
"I know it's Super Bowl weekend and Chris Christie doesn't want to talk about anything but the game, but it looks like he's going to need to change his plans," Elleithee said.
Michael Isikoff and Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News contributed to this report.
Investigate this!
Read and vote on readers' story tips and suggested topics for investigation or submit your own. Click here to read more about this tool.
This story was originally published on Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:43 PM EST


text:
It's the word that drives fear into the hearts of most single men. No, we're not talking about the L-word. We're talking about the W-word: we.
In this exclusive sneak peek from Thursday's episode of Men at Work (10/9c on TBS), Milo's (Danny Masterson) new girlfriend, Molly (Sarah Wright), asks, "What are we doing next weekend?" and promptly asks Milo to come with her to Cape Cod to visit her parents.
Save these shows: 12 bubble shows we hope will survive
Naturally, the one-two punch of "we" and meeting the parents rings some serious alarms for his friends. "You met this girl three weeks ago and you're already losing yourself," Tyler (Michael Cassidy) says. "You're not Milo. She's not Molly. You're... Miley."
Watch the exclusive clip to hear Tyler's full thoughts on the subject:
Men at Work airs Thursdays at 10/9c on TBS. Do you think Milo should slow down things with Molly?


text:
ESP Careers: Custodial and Maintenance Services
One Education Workforce Serving The Whole Student!
About Us and Our Work
- 84% of us work in school buildings.
- 56% have responsibility for school safety.
- 94% of us work full time.
- 60% of us are male.
- On average, we have been NEA ESP members for 10 years.
- Our average age is 52.
We are committed: On average, we have been in the ESP field 12 years. 91% of us currently plan to stay in the ESP field, and 78% plan to stay in our current jobs until retirement.
We are many: Approximately 368,000 custodial and maintenance services ESP work in the nation's K-12 public schools, making up 16.9% of the U.S. K-12 ESP work force.
We have specific job requirements:
- 50% of us had to meet specific requirements to get our jobs. 20% of us have special licenses, and 17% have special certificates.
- 27% of us must take classes or examinations on a regular basis to keep our jobs.
Our Workplace Conditions and Issues
We need better job guidelines.
24% of us have no job description at all. For those of us who do have a job description,
69% of us have no say about our job descriptions, and
59% often or sometimes must perform work outside our job descriptions.
We're worried about privatization and the contracting out of custodial services. As school districts seek to control expenses, our workloads are increasing, as are inequities among workers in our job group. We're concerned about safety. We work with hazardous chemicals, on ladders and staging, and with electrical hazards.
We need health and safetly information training to keep up with new equipment and work methods, useage of new chemicals, and with changing government regulations.
We are also responsible for the security of students, which means that we often deal with troubled students. We need training on how to respond to situations involving bullying, harassment and threats of violence.
We value opportunities to decide how to do our jobs. We would like more opportunities for advancement, and professional development.
How We Help Make Public Schools Great For Every Student
We help by keeping schools clean and safe for students, staff and the community. In addition to the duties most often associated with our jobs, we perform a dizzying array of other tasks, such as clearing snow, making electrical repairs, cleaning up spills, painting, maintaining boilers and many other necessary activities.
One of our most important responsibilities is to ensure proper indoor air quality, uniform temperatures, and healthful ventilation for our school communities.
Custodial and Maintenance Services ESPs: Who We Are
- Building and Grounds Maintenance Staff
- Custodians and Housekeepers
- Mechanics (except vehicle) and Repairers
- Laborers, Helpers, and Warehouse Personnel
- Nonmanagerial Supervisors
Additional Resources
Visit the ESP Publications page and download a copy of the Who We Are brochure to learn more about ESP Careers!
How We Advocate For Students
- ESPs Meeting the Needs of the Whole Student
- ESP Coloring Book (English)
recommended for pre-k to 5th grade
- ESP Coloring Book (Spanish)
recommended for pre-k to 5th grade
- ESP Superheroes Poster
- ESP Superheroes Handout Cards
- ESP Ensuring Student Success Poster
- ESP Ensuring Student Success Handout Cards


text:
Eugenio Petullà
Firefox Tech Speaker
I'm a Web Deveoper specialized in Computer Science @ University of Rome. Arduino and longskate lover Eugenio works at LUISS ENLABS, the startup accelerator based into the central station in Rome. I'm also a mentor for I-Lab, the startup's campus of LUISS University.
I worked for a company for a year, developing websites from scratch. After some time I discovered CMS and I beacme freelance just in order to better follow the community of WordPress that I founded.
At the age of 25 I discovered the startup movement in my city and choosed to suddenly beacame part of the game. At moment I'm the IT mentor of one of the biggest University Accelerator based in Rome and I like work for young guys and startups, helping them to take better decision in software developing and spreading the verb of open-source/open-web.
In 2014 I decided to start develop open web apps for Firefox OS and now I'm totally in love with Mozilla philosophy so I dedicated to Firefox one of my tattoo.
In 2016 I was a speaker for WordCamp Turin and OSCAL, one of the biggest European Open Source Tech event.
In 2017 I was invited to speak about WebVR and A-Frame at FOSDEM Mozilla Devroom.
Access Groupsnda
Skillsarduino, c, css3, html5, javascript, jquery, php, rust, web app, web design, webvr, wordpress
LanguagesEnglish, Italian
Vouched By
Daniele Scasciafratte
Eugenio have a past as Mozillian and activity during events, now help the Italian community as speaker/developer and also as TechSpeaker


text:
Gun Control Supporters Rally In Alexandria | Politics
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA9) -- As the Senate considers proposed gun legislation, gun control supporters are keeping the pressure on.
Rallies were held across the country on Saturday, including one in Alexandria, which has been traditionally hostile to more gun laws.
Peter Reed, who lost his daughter, Mary, in the Virginia Tech massacre, spoke to the crowd on stage.
"Stand up to independence and vote for background checks to save lives. i say to the world you may be one person, but to one person, we may be the world," Reed said.
The vigil was modest but the emotions were very real.
"I have not forgotten. We have not forgotten," he added. "And I know that none of you will ever forget."
He was joined by several hundred gun control activists from Virginia who pulled for gun control measures.
"We need to do something about this. we need to take action as individuals and as moms," said an attendee.
"We're a church in the community who have young people who go to schools following some of this senseless gun violence. we've had young people frightened about what may happen when they go to schools. we have a responsibility to continue to place community interest above our self interest," another said.
But many of the Democrats acknowledge that gun control is a tough sell in Virginia.
"Even those in loud near and a few in Fairfax County are opposed to it. the Virginia legislature is dominated by them today."
In fact, some against gun control faced off with the ralliers but that didn't stop activists from sending tweets, text messages and voice mails to their lawmakers during the event.
The gun control activists are hoping they will overcome in their efforts to pass gun control legislation in Congress.


text:
Unofficial Opinion 93-16
A member of the Lee County Board of Education may hold over in office until his successor is elected and qualified in an upcoming election.
You have asked my unofficial opinion as to the effect of Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. II on a member of the Lee County Board of Education, where no successor for this office has yet been elected because of an election contest. It is my unofficial opinion that the member of the Board may hold over in office until his successor is elected and qualified.
The facts underlying your request are as follows. The Lee County Board of Education is an appointed board which, pursuant to Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. II, is now transitioning to an elected board. However, an election contest was filed in relation to the election of one board member and new elections are yet to be held, so that one seat on the board will not be filled by election by December 31, 1993. The elections for this office are now presently set for January and February, 1994.
The particular provision of the Constitution which [*2] is implicated here provides that:
Each school system shall be under the management and control of a board of education, the members of which shall be elected as provided by law. . . Any board of education to which the members are appointed as of December 31, 1992, shall continue as an appointed board of education through December 31, 1993, and the appointed members of such board of education who are in office on December 31, 1992, shall continue in office as members of such appointed board until December 31, 1993, on which date the terms of office of all appointed members shall end.
Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. II. The General Assembly has moved to implement this constitutional provision through a number of statutes, but no specific provisions have been made to address the circumstances facing the Lee County Board of Education now. See O.C.G.A. § 20-2-51 et seq.
However, the General Assembly has provided as a part of the general laws of the State that:
All officers of this state shall reside in this state at such places as are designated by law and shall discharge the duties of their offices until the successors are commissioned and qualified. . . [*3]
O.C.G.A. § 45-2-4 (Emphasis added). This office has previously opined that this statute is applicable to members of local boards of education. Op. Att'y Gen. 75-15 ("As local board members are public officers, their terms shall also continue until their successors are commissioned." [Citations omitted]).
That opinion is based upon, and consistent with, a series of opinions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. See, e.g., Clarke v. Long, 152 Ga. 619 (1922); Stephenson v. Powell, 169 Ga. 406 (1929); Kidd v. Nelson, 213 Ga. 417 (1957). Most recently the Supreme Court has addressed the issue of an incumbent holding over in office in the case of Garcia v. Miller, 261 Ga. 531 (1991). In Garcia the Court held, in interpreting Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VI, Sec. III, Para. I in the context of whether superior court judges could continue to hold over in office after the expiration of their terms and before elections could be held:
All officers of this state, except public officers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, "shall discharge the duties of their offices until the successors are commissioned and qualified." O.C.G.A. § 45-2-4. "[I]t is better [*4] for society that the act de facto stand than that the business of society . . . be all wrecked, because parties did not know that the term of office of the public official expired the day before." Smith & Bondurant v. Meador, 74 Ga. 416, 419 (1885). An office is not vacant so long as it is filled by "'an incumbent who is legally qualified to exercise the powers and perform the duties which pertain to it.'" Pittman [v. Ingram], 184 Ga. [255] at 257 [1937] (quoting Shackelford v. West, 138 Ga. 159 [1912])."
Garcia at 532.
Recognized in the Supreme Court's opinion is the strong public policy that an office should not go vacant to the detriment of conducting public business. Last year, in relation to the constitutional amendment in question, the Attorney General addressed the public policy reasons behind providing a transitionary period for the implementing of this amendment:
The policy reason for allowing the veteran board members to complete the transition to elected boards could well be to avoid the "sweeping away of the total [school board] but rather [have] an orderly transition which protects the tenure of previously . . . appointed officials . . . and [*5] assure the City that experienced and qualified personnel continue in office during such transition period." Jackson v. Inman, 232 Ga. 566, 578 (1974) (Nichols dissenting).
Op. Att'y Gen. 92-34. This recognizes the sound public policy reasons for permitting the incumbent member of a local school board to continue in office pending the transition to a completely elected board.
Therefore, it is my unofficial opinion that a member of the Lee County Board of Education may hold over in office until his successor is elected and qualified.
Prepared by:
Senior Assistant Attorney General


text:
Welcome to the PWInsider live coverage of Combat Zone Wrestling's Best Of The Best 11, live from the Flyers Skate Zone in Vorhees, NJ.
Tonight's card features…
Best Of The Best Opening Round: Sami Callihan (CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion) vs. Drake Younger vs. Trent 7 vs. MK McKinnan
Best Of The Best Opening Round: Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Samuray Del Sol
Best Of The Best Opening Round: AR Fox vs. Lince Dorado vs. ACH
Best Of The Best Opening Round: Alex Colon vs. Willie Mack vs. Greg Excellent
Plus the Best Of The Best Semi-Finals & Finals!!!
CZW Wired TV Title Match: Jake Crist (Champion) vs. Dave Crist
Ultraviolent Encounter: DJ Hyde vs. Matt Tremont
Contract signing between Danny Havoc & Drew Gulak!!!
Larry Legend comes to the ring and introduces CZW Owner DJ Hyde, who comes out with the Best Of The Best Trophy. Hyde puts over the tournament as the top tournament in the world, saying that whoever wins will truly be the "best of the best.†Larry Legend then introduces all the participants in the tournament, Callihan and Younger get into it briefly before the photographers snap the group portrait.
Match #1 - Best Of The Best Opening Round: Sami Callihan (CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion) vs. Drake Younger vs. Trent 7 vs. MK McKinnan
The first tournament match begins with Callihan attacking Younger and Trent attacking McKinnan, Trent and McKinnan battle on the arena floor. Callihan then nails Younger with a saito suplex, McKinnan then nails Younger with a missile drop kick from the top rope. Trent and McKinnan continue their battle in the ring now, Trent then catches a diving McKinnan with a leg lariat. Callihan returns to spit in the face of Trent before they exchange chops, McKinnan and Younger now battle on the arena floor. Callihan catches Trent with a bicycle kick and a death valley driver, Callihan gets the near fall with a rope assisted splash. Callihan then knocks Trent out of the ring before taking him out with a suicide dive, Younger then does a moonsault off the top rope and to the arena floor that takes out Callihan and Trent. All four competitors are then involved in a tower of doom spot, Trent then gets near falls on all three of his opponents. Callihan then destroys Younger and Trent with Inzaguri's, Younger recovers to hit Callihan and Trent with exploder suplxes. Younger then hits a running fireman's suplex that drops McKinnan onto Callihan and Trent, Trent recovers to hit Younger with a snap dragon suplex and stalling pile driver. McKinnan and Trent then duel in the center of the ring, McKinnan then nearly eliminates Trent after a tornado DDT. McKinnan then meets Callihan on the top rope and a fight ensues, Callihan gets behind McKinnan to super kick his leg and knock him off the top rope. Callihan then nails McKinnan with a double under shoulder breaker, Younger then breaks up the stretch muffler to hit Callihan with a tiger bomb. McKinnan slows his momentum by nailing Younger with a shining wizard, McKinnan then does a cannonball senton on his opponents as they tried regrouping outside of the ring. Younger gets up first and he re-positions the ring steps, Younger then smashes Callihan's face on the ring steps. Callihan escapes the Drake's Landing to hit Younger with a brain buster on the ring steps, the referee then counts out both Younger and McKinnan.
Eliminated: Drake Younger & MK McKinnan
Trent and Callihan are the last two while the crowd chants "bullsh*tâ€, Callihan and Trent then exchange some forearm strikes. Callihan gains the edge by hitting Trent with a bicycle kick and several chops, Callihan then gets nailed with a lariat and a spinning pile driver from Trent. Trent goes to the top rope and Callihan nails him with a kick to the head, Trent then head butts Callihan off the top before hitting him with a frog splash. Trent then picks up a tired Callihan to nail him with another pile driver, Trent then starts trading taunts with the crowd. Callihan recovers to crush Trent with a saito suplex, Callihan then hits Trent with a Forearm To Remember. Callihan locks in the Stretch Muffler and Trent eventually taps out.
Winner: Sami Callihan
After the match, Drake Younger hits the ringside area and CZW security holds him back.
Match #2 - Best Of The Best Opening Round: Best Of The Best Opening Round: Alex Colon w/Chrissy Rivera vs. Willie Mack vs. Greg Excellent
The action begins with Excellent easily winning a battle of strength over Colon, Mack then wins his battle of strength against Colon. Mack and Excellent then easily over power Colon in the lock up, Excellent then starts dancing to Brodus Clay's theme song and he gets drop kicked by his opponents for his efforts. Colon then gets the best of Mack by nailing him with a scissors kick, Mack responds by catching Colon off guard with the pounce. Mack and Excellent then have a battle of the big men, Colon interrupts and his opponents nail him with a modified 3-D. Mack then destroys Colon and Excellent with multiple avalanche splashes in the corners, Colon then nearly rolls up Excellent. Colon then tries to keep Excellent down with a variety of kicks, Mack returns and catches Colon with a leaping inzaguri. Excellent then nails Mack with a Samoan drop, Excellent then stacks his foes in the corner before taking them out with the Rick Roll. Excellent and Mack battle on the top rope with Excellent winning, Colon then kicks Excellent in the head. Excellent recovers with Colon on the top rope fighting with him, Excellent then power bombs Colon off the top rope and onto Mack. The three competitors then take sips from their respective sodas and they spit them in each other's faces, we then have a three way chase around the ring. The referee takes away the sodas and he gets soda spit on him for his efforts, Colon strikes next by catching Mack with the Inquisition. Excellent then grabs Colon to hit him with a tiger driver on the ring apron, Mack then takes Excellent out with a suicide dive. Excellent and Mack battle back into the ring, Mack then drops Excellent with a t-bone cuplex after getting a face full of boob. Mack then gets the three count on Excellent after hitting him with a frog splash.
Eliminated: Greg Excellent
The action resumes with Mack nailing Colon with a standing moonsault, Colon then escapes a choke slam attempt to hit Mack with a spin kick and super kick. Colon then catches Mack a springboard tombstone pile driver for the three count.
Winner: Alex Colon w/Chrissy Rivera
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Use our reports with online gambling where you can play casino games or bet on different kind of sports!


text:
Provided by: libsvga1-dev_1.4.3-31_amd64
gl_setwritemode - set the font writemode flags
#include <vgagl.h> void gl_setwritemode(int m);
Sets the writemode flags for the font routines. It must be the sum of exactly one choice out of the following two groups: WRITEMODE_MASKED WRITEMODE_OVERWRITE (default) If WRITEMODE_MASKED is set, only foreground pixels of the font are used for write operations; the screen background is not erased. FONT_COMPRESSED FONT_EXPANDED (default) If FONT_COMPRESSED is set, text writes will use the compressed bit-per-pixel font rather than the expanded font (which would be slightly faster).
svgalib(7), vgagl(7), svgalib.conf(5), threedkit(7), testgl(1), gl_colorfont(3), gl_expandfont(3), gl_font8x8(3), gl_hline(3), gl_line(3), gl_setfont(3), gl_setfontcolors(3), gl_write(3), gl_writen(3).
This manual page was edited by Michael Weller <firstname.lastname@example.com>. The exact source of the referenced demo as well as of the original documentation is unknown. It is very likely that both are at least to some extent are due to Harm Hanemaayer <firstname.lastname@example.com>. Occasionally this might be wrong. I hereby asked to be excused by the original author and will happily accept any additions or corrections to this first version of the svgalib manual.


text:
date(redirected from acquaintance rape)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
?Note: This page may contain content that is offensive or inappropriate for some readers.
A particular day of a particular month and year.
[L. datum, (document) issued]
Patient discussion about date
Q. How easy is it to tell about the baby's birth date? Is it reliable? Hi everyone! My sister is being diagnosed as pregnant. She has a very regular menstrual cycle and her hormone levels are good. How easy is it to tell about the baby's birth date? Is it reliable?
A. My friend got the due date of birth by doctor and it goes very near by, just the difference was for 5 days from the date. Since you have very regular menstural cycle, it would be easy for the doctors to calculate the birth date. And you can rely on the birth date being calculated by the doctors. It can be calculated easily. You need to find the 1st day of your last period then count back 3 months and add 7 days. Now you get your date.
Q. I m WPW PATIENT NEED FOR UP DATE TREATMENT
A. The current preferred therapy for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is catheter ablation. This procedure involves inserting a tube (catheter) into an artery through a small cut near the groin up to the heart area. When the tip reaches the heart, the small area that is causing the fast heart rate is destroyed using a special type of energy called radiofrequency.
Catheter ablation cures this disorder in most patients. The success rate for the procedure ranges between 85 - 95%.
ask your doc about it.
Catheter ablation cures this disorder in most patients. The success rate for the procedure ranges between 85 - 95%.
ask your doc about it.
Q. How many women actually give birth on their EDD (expected delivery date)? I am pregnant and my EDD is January 22nd. I was wondering what are the chances I will give birth on that day exactly?
A. If it's your first pregnancy, you probably will give birth after your EDD, as first pregnancies tend to be longer. Your EDD is after a full 40 weeks of pregnancy. It is most common to give birth between 38- 42 weeks of pregnancy.More discussions about date


text:
Gotham at War:Books About New York City During Wartime
Foreign soldiers haven't set foot in New York City since the Revolutionary War, but each of America's wars have made their mark on Gotham. Now, amid talk of going to war with Iraq, historians and curators are looking back at New York City during wartimes past. Three books on New York during wartime have just been published, a downtown exhibition compares the city's rebirth after the revolution to the recovery after 9/11, and a new Martin Scorsese movie takes place in Civil War New York. A look at New York City, war by war.
You can sort the list by clicking on the categories at the top of the list.
Check out the Feature Archives!
$app = JFactory::getApplication(); $menu = $app->getMenu(); $menu_items = $menu->getItems('menutype', 'mainmenu'); var_dump($menu_items); * */ ?>


text: NEWS Michelle Williams To Star In New Broadway Version of 'Cabaret' 9/5/2013 by Associated Press FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME AP Michelle Williams Michelle Williams will make her Broadway debut next year in a role best known by Liza Minnelli - fishnet-and-bowler hat wearing chanteuse Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The Roundabout Theatre Company confirmed Wednesday that the former "Dawson's Creek" and "Brokeback Mountain" star will join Alan Cumming in the revival. Williams takes over after Emma Stone withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. Previews will begin March 21 with an opening set for April 24 at the Roundabout's Studio 54 theater on Broadway, the last home of the show, which ran for more than 2,000 performances from 1998 to 2004. It won the Tony Award in 1998 for best musical revival. Cumming, who will be reprising his 1998 turn as Master of Ceremonies, recently ended a one-man "Macbeth." Also reprising their parts from the 1998 production: Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, who will direct. Marshall will also choreograph this time as well. Set in 1931 Berlin, "Cabaret" centers on the world of the indulgent Kit Kat Klub as it becomes intertwined with the world outside, which gets more precarious on the brink of World War II. The songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb include "Willkommen" and "Tomorrow Belongs to Me." "Cabaret," both the Broadway show and 1972 film starring Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York, are based on the 1951 Broadway play "I Am a Camera," which, in turn, was based on Christopher Isherwood's book "Goodbye to Berlin." In addition to Minnelli, the part of Bowles has been played by Jill Haworth, Gina Gershon, Melina Kanakaredes, Natasha Richardson, Jane Leeves, Lea Thompson, Alyson Reed and Judi Dench, among others. Williams' film career took off with 2005's "Brokeback Mountain" and received her first of her three Oscar nominations for her performance as the rejected wife of former real-life partner Heath Ledger's cowboy. She's earned two other nods, for "Blue Valentine" and "My Week with Marilyn." Her other credits include "Shutter Island" and "Land of Plenty" and was directed by Raimi in his recent film "Oz: The Great and Powerful." FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME


text:
Resources also have properties to configure. The following properties are associated with the resource types shown.
ncpus, importance
Solaris 10 8/07: Specify the number of CPUs and, optionally, the relative importance of the pool. The following example specifies a CPU range for use by the zone my-zone. importance is also set.
zonecfg:my-zone> add dedicated-cpu zonecfg:my-zone:dedicated-cpu> set ncpus=1-3 zonecfg:my-zone:dedicated-cpu> set importance=2 zonecfg:my-zone:dedicated-cpu> end
Specify the number of CPUs. The following example specifies a CPU cap of 3.5 CPUs for the zone my-zone.
zonecfg:my-zone> add capped-cpu zonecfg:my-zone:capped-cpu> set ncpus=3.5 zonecfg:my-zone:capped-cpu> end
physical, swap, locked
Specify the memory limits for the zone my-zone. Each limit is optional, but at least one must be set.
zonecfg:my-zone> add capped-memory zonecfg:my-zone:capped-memory> set physical=50m zonecfg:my-zone:capped-memory> set swap=100m zonecfg:my-zone:capped-memory> set locked=30m zonecfg:my-zone:capped-memory> end
dir, special, raw, type, options
The fs resource parameters supply the values that determine how and where to mount file systems. The fs parameters are defined as follows:
Specifies the mount point for the file system
Specifies the block special device name or directory from the global zone to mount
Specifies the raw device on which to run fsck before mounting the file system
Specifies the file system type
Specifies mount options similar to those found with the mount command
The lines in the following example specify that /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s2 in the global zone is to be mounted as /mnt in a zone being configured. The raw property specifies an optional device on which the fsck command is to be run before an attempt is made to mount the file system. The file system type to use is UFS. The options nodevices and logging are added.
zonecfg:my-zone> add fs zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set dir=/mnt zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set special=/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s2 zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set raw=/dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s2 zonecfg:my-zone:fs> set type=ufs zonecfg:my-zone:fs> add options [nodevices,logging] zonecfg:my-zone:fs> end
For more information, see The -o nosuid Option, Security Restrictions and File System Behavior, and the fsck(1M) and mount(1M) man pages. Also note that section 1M man pages are available for mount options that are unique to a specific file system. The names of these man pages have the form mount_filesystem.
To add a ZFS file system using the fs resource property, see Adding ZFS File Systems to a Non-Global Zone in Oracle Solaris ZFS Administration Guide.
The lines in the following example specify that the dataset sales is to be visible and mounted in the non-global zone and no longer visible in the global zone.
zonecfg:my-zone> add dataset zonecfg:my-zone> set name=tank/sales zonecfg:my-zone> end
The lines in the following example specify that /opt/sfw is to be loopback mounted from the global zone.
zonecfg:my-zone> add inherit-pkg-dir zonecfg:my-zone:inherit-pkg-dir> set dir=/opt/sfw zonecfg:my-zone:inherit-pkg-dir> end
address, physical, defrouter
For a shared-IP zone, both the IP address and the device are specified. Optionally, the default router can be set.
The defrouter property can be used to set a default route when the non-global zone is on a subnet that is not configured in the global zone.
Any zone that has the defrouter property set must be on a subnet that is not configured in the global zone.
When shared IP zones exist on different subnets, do not configure a data-link in the global zone.
For an exclusive-IP zone, only the physical interface is specified. The physical property can be a VNIC.
In the following example for a shared-IP zone, the IP address 192.168.0.1 is added to the zone. An hme0 card is used for the physical interface. To determine which physical interface to use, type ifconfig -a on your system. Each line of the output, other than loopback driver lines, begins with the name of a card installed on your system. Lines that contain LOOPBACK in the descriptions do not apply to cards.
zonecfg:my-zone> add net zonecfg:my-zone:net> set physical=hme0 zonecfg:my-zone:net> set address=192.168.0.1 zonecfg:my-zone:net> end
In the following example for an exclusive-IP zone, a bge32001 link is used for the physical interface. To determine which data-links are available, use the command dladm show-link. The data-link must be GLDv3 to be used with exclusive-IP zones, and non-GLDv3 data-links appear as type: legacy in the dladm show-link output. Note that ip-type=exclusive must also be specified.
zonecfg:my-zone> set ip-type=exclusive zonecfg:my-zone> add net zonecfg:my-zone:net> set physical=bge32001 zonecfg:my-zone:net> end
In the following example, a /dev/pts device is included in a zone.
zonecfg:my-zone> add device zonecfg:my-zone:device> set match=/dev/pts* zonecfg:my-zone:device> end
name, value
Solaris 10 8/07: New resource controls for this release are zone.max-locked-memory, zone.max-msg-ids, zone.max-sem-ids, zone.max-shm-ids, zone.max-shm-memory, and zone.max-swap.
The following zone-wide resource controls are available:
zone.cpu-shares (preferred: cpu-shares)
zone.max-lwps (preferred: max-lwps)
zone.max-msg-ids (preferred: max-msg-ids)
zone.max-sem-ids (preferred: max-sem-ids)
zone.max-shm-ids (preferred: max-shm-ids)
zone.max-shm-memory (preferred: max-shm-memory)
Note that the preferred, simpler method for setting a zone-wide resource control is to use the property name instead of the rctl resource, as shown in How to Configure the Zone. If zone-wide resource control entries in a zone are configured using add rctl, the format is different than resource control entries in the project database. In a zone configuration, the rctl resource type consists of three name/value pairs. The names are priv, limit, and action. Each of the names takes a simple value.
zonecfg:my-zone> add rctl zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> set name=zone.cpu-shares zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> add value (priv=privileged,limit=10,action=none)zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> end
zonecfg:my-zone> add rctl zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> set name=zone.max-lwps zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> add value (priv=privileged,limit=100,action=deny) zonecfg:my-zone:rctl> end
For general information about resource controls and attributes, see Chapter 6, Resource Controls (Overview) and Resource Controls Used in Non-Global Zones.
name, type, value
In the following example, a comment about a zone is added.
zonecfg:my-zone> add attr zonecfg:my-zone:attr> set name=comment zonecfg:my-zone:attr> set type=string zonecfg:my-zone:attr> set value="Production zone" zonecfg:my-zone:attr> end
You can use the export subcommand to print a zone configuration to standard output. The configuration is saved in a form that can be used in a command file.


text:
The Avante POP Displays Advantage
- High value permanent POP Display design and manufacturing, starting at under $200
- Providing small production runs, often with only 50 units
- Stunning, prize-winning creative ideas– our Point of Purchase displays get attention and sell your product
- Fast turn around for projects – experts at software design, rapid prototyping, and manufacturing in our facility
- Factory direct pricing available on every project
- Deploy faster with our ready-to-assemble packaging and shipping expertise
About Avante POP Displays
Avante POP Displays is a point of purchase display manufacturer, specializing in custom POP displays and retail display products with innovative and effective ideas on how to keep your costs down and sales up!
Digital Signage- a growing phenomenon! Avante is now providing digital signage solutions that provide more than ten times the eye-capture of conventional signage.
Customer Testimonial
"Their skill set and attitude to succeed have combined with their creativity and ingenuity to meet each of the challenges that we've brought before them."
Michael Moss
Marketing Manager
Getting Started
Call us toll free 1-877-407-8655 or Contact Us, we would like to hear your ideas and discuss your retail store display needs.
Latest News
The consumer has found your product – that's half the battle won. Now is the time to really push your message forward with an interactive point of purchase display. There are several obstacles that can deter the consumer from purchasing your product: Continue reading →
The post How an Interactive POP Display Can Get You The Sale appeared first on Avante POP Displays.
Cost is always a huge determining factor when making important purchasing decisions and when it comes to product marketing many people think that corrugated POP displays are the more cost effective option. It cannot be argued that when you compare the per unit price and Continue reading →
The post Corrugated POP Displays – Not as Cost Effective as You Might Think appeared first on Avante POP Displays.
Showroom Point of Purchase Displays When most people think of point of purchase displays, they image the floor and counter units that accent the aisles of the local supermarket or specialty store. But what if your company manufactures or distributes Continue reading →
The post Showroom Point of Purchase Displays appeared first on Avante POP Displays.
Video Signage
Getting customers to purchase a product is no small task. Consumers need to understand a brand or product, what it does, what it stands for and how it will improve their lives. Avante's wall point of purchase displays with integrated multimedia players are perfect for telling a brand's story and showing the great benefits and features of your product.
- Captivate Your Potential Customers and Tell Your Brand's Story
- Our Wall Multimedia POP Displays start at less than $200! These need not bust your budget
- Custom 3D Die Cut Profile Advertising Signs Portray Your Brand with Eye Catching Looks
- Digital Signage in Retail is Catching On and Avante is a Leader
Call an Avante representative today and see how your company can benefit from state of the art wall POP Displays with Integrated Multimedia Signage.


text:
Of course, if you're looking for a book that carries you along with the plot, a good place to start would be Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy. A copy of the trilogy's concluding, Clarke-nominated volume Monsters of Men had been sitting on my desk for several months, and I'd held off on reading it less because I was concerned that Ness would fumble the conclusion of his high stakes narrative than because I was hesitant to expose myself, for the third time, to the sheer concussive force of these novels. Even the series's most ardent supporters will gladly acknowledge that the Chaos Walking books are manipulative, and that they achieve that manipulation by launching what amounts to an assault on the senses. Events pile one on top of the other at breakneck speed, life and death usually hanging in the balance. Emotions are always pitched at the edge of hysteria, veering wildly between love, hate, rage, terror, and bone-deep frustration. Dialogue is shouted and screamed, usually over the din of a battle, an explosion, or heavy machinery. The Chaos Walking books are loud and fast and relentless, and though as soon as I turned Monsters of Men's first page I was committed to reading through to the end, it was a bit of a wrench to actually take that first step.
Monsters of Men picks up where the previous volume, The Ask and The Answer, left off, which is to say in deep shit. No sooner have protagonists Todd and Viola managed to overcome their two antagonists--Mayor Prentiss, the genocidal dictator who has named himself leader of New World's human population, and Mistress Coyle, a politician deposed by Prentiss who has turned to terrorism in order to unseat him--than their situation is complicated by the arrival, on the one hand, of an army of the planet's native species, known as Spackle, bent on ridding their world of humanity, and on the other hand, of a scout ship from the convoy of colony ships carrying Viola's people, now only a few weeks away. As Prentiss and Coyle squabble for supremacy and try to curry favor with the delegates on the scout ship, the humans on New World have to defend themselves against the Spackle's terrifyingly effective attacks. Todd ends up back by the Mayor's side as Prentiss marshals the human forces against the Spackle, while Viola tries to help the delegates strike the proper balance between involving themselves in a war not of their making and standing back as the human population is slaughtered, while also introducing them to the concept of Noise, the projective telepathy that afflicts every living being on New World except human women. As he did in The Ask and The Answer, Ness opens up the novel's perspective by adding, to Todd and Viola's narrative strands, one narrated by a Spackle called The Return who had been enslaved by humans and is the only survivor of the slaves' murder, ordered by Prentiss, and who bears a particular resentment towards Todd.
Monsters of Men is a war novel, with all the ugliness and messy compromises that entails. The murderous, psychopathic Mayor is the only one who has the strategic acumen and command presence to fight the Spackle. Viola, in order to save Todd, forces the hand of the convoy delegates when she uses their weapons to attack the Spackle. Prentiss and Coyle, forced on the same side, scheme against and undermine one another, trying to gain hearts and minds as well as strategic advantages for the time when the Spackle are defeated and the colony ships arrive. Viola, Todd, and The Return have to choose between their loved ones and the greater good, between vengeance and forgiveness. The war story, however, is merely the latest and most effective lens through which Ness can examine the themes that have informed Chaos Walking from its outset, chiefly the tension between individualism and conformity, and the meaning of leadership. Through The Return's eyes, we see Noise as it was meant to be used, as a facilitator of communication that makes of the Spackle simultaneously a hive mind and a closely-knit and harmonious group of individuals. For humans, Noise brings about chaos, destroying privacy without creating unity. Only the Mayor, who understands Noise better than almost any other human, learns to control his Noise as the Spackle do, but he uses that ability to shut down his noise, to weaponize it, and finally to control others--techniques that he teaches to Todd in Monsters of Men, to Todd's mingled horror and delight. When Ben, Todd's adoptive, presumed-dead father, reappears after having been held prisoner by the Spackle, he has learned their way of using Noise, and tries to convince the other settlers that the key to living with Noise is not to tamp it down but to open themselves up to one another. Though the novel ends with tentative peace between humans and Spackle and with a more sane leadership having emerged within the human population, Ben's approach to Noise is only beginning to make inroads among the colonists. This is an appropriately open-ended, yet profoundly hopeful, ending to a series that has delivered such a merciless pummeling to its main characters. Monsters of Men proceeds towards its ending with all the subtlety of a freight train, and the tragic events of the book's final chapters, as well as the way Ness finds to get around that tragedy, are easy to predict. They also, however, make for a fittingly thorny conclusion to the series--enough of a happy ending to satisfy readers who want Todd and Viola to finally rest from battle, but not so happy as to seem out of place in the trilogy's grim universe.
When I wrote about The Knife of Never Letting Go, the first Chaos Walking book, I lamented that Ness's choice to give Noise only to men, as well as his choice to tell that part of story solely from Todd's perspective, had the unfortunate consequence of playing into well-worn stereotypes of women as alien and other. The Ask and The Answer and Monsters of Men downplay the importance of the gender divide between those who have Noise and those who don't, to the extent that it seems likely that Ness had exhausted his arguments on the matter of gender in the trilogy's first volume. By the time Monsters of Men draws to a close, the important division is not between men and women but between the Noisy and Noiseless, and between those who choose to tamp down their Noise and those who "open it up." That the former division still falls along gender lines, however, means that there remain unfortunate implications to the trilogy's worldbuilding that Ness doesn't engage with, as in this exchange between Ben and Todd:
"I think it could be the way forward for all of us," he says with his mouth, croaky and crackling. He coughs and lets his Noise take over again. If we can all learn to speak this way, then there won't be any more division twixt us and the Spackle, the won't be any division twixt humans. That's the secret of this planet, Todd. Communication, real and open, so we can finally understand one another for once.Ben has, quite literally, forgotten about half the human race, and when it's pointed out to him that his plan for peace and harmony leaves out that half, he essentially waves his hand and says that he's sure a solution can be found. But that's where the novel leaves it. What was needed--particularly in light of the fact that Viola, in a neat reversal of The Knife of Never Letting Go, reacts to Todd's tamping down of his Noise by saying that she doesn't recognize him anymore, and is rightly chided for wanting to have all the power in their relationship--was an example of a woman, ideally Viola, who develops Noise, but this doesn't happen. Instead the novel ends with Ben's idyll--which might include women, but even if it doesn't will not be any less idyllic--held up as a desirable goal, which implicitly reinforces the "humans = men" message of the first book. In the end I have to conclude that Chaos Walking would have been a much stronger story if Ness had dropped the gender divide between Noisy and Noiseless--if Todd had grown up believing that Noise was ubiquitous because the Mayor had killed all the Noiseless, men and women, in Prentisstown, then learned that some humans get it and others don't, regardless of gender. As it stands, the gender division leaves an unpleasant aftertaste to what is, in all other respects, an enormously satisfying and important work of science fiction, one that deserves more attention and discussion within our community, not just the YA field.
I clear my throat. "Women don't got Noise," I say. "What'll happen to them?"
He stops. I'd forgotten, he says. It's been so long since I've really been around them. He brightens again. Spackle women have noise. And if there's a way for men to stop having Noise--he looks at me--There must be a way for women to start.
If the people who have been obsessively following Chaos Walking and feel a little bereft at its conclusion are looking for a new trilogy, they could do worse than Holly Black's The Curse Workers. Though Black's books proceed with less sturm und drang than Ness's, they touch on some of the same themes, and even have slightly similar male protagonists--both determined, fiercely devoted to their loved ones, wracked with moral quandaries while trying to do the right thing, and dumb as a bag of hair. In the first Curse Workers book, White Cat, we're introduced to seventeen-year-old Cassel Sharpe, the only non-magical member of a family of "workers," people with magical powers who can, according to their innate skill, manipulate luck or emotion, take away memories, and even kill. Just as Ness used an SFnal setting to tell a story that veered from classic Western to war narrative, Black uses her fantasy setting to tell a crime story. In her world, prohibition of alcohol was accompanied by prohibition of working, a ban that has remained in force into the 21st century, and that like its counterpart helped to create an organized crime empire. Cassel's mother, an emotion worker, is a con artist, his oldest brother Philip is a "laborer" for the Zacharov crime family, using his power to affect physical matter to break legs for his bosses, while his death worker grandfather is a retired assassin. The association between working and organized crime has only deepened the public's distrust of workers--because working is done with the hands, going out ungloved is a major taboo, and people wear charms meant to ward off the different types of magic. It's not only because of anti-worker prejudice that Cassel works so hard to seem normal and fit in at his prestigious boarding school, however. Three years ago, Cassel came to holding a bloody knife over the body of his childhood sweetheart, Lila Zacharov, the crime boss's daughter. His family hid the body and hushed up the crime, but Cassel remains wracked with both guilt and incomprehension, and determined to hide his true nature.
It will probably come as no surprise--though it takes him an absurdly long time to figure it out himself--that Cassel turns out to be a worker after all, that Lila isn't really dead, and that Cassel's family turns out to have been lying to him about many things. At the most trivial level, White Cat is about Cassel learning to understand his nature on these levels--to recognize himself as a worker, learn to use his powers, and break his family's hold on him. What both White Cat and its sequel, Red Glove, are really concerned with, however, is Cassel's struggle to understand what kind of person he is. Raised to believe in a con artist code that sanctifies the bonds of family while viewing all outsiders as fair game, Cassel is stunned by the realization that his family has failed to stick by that code when they manipulated and took advantage of him, but remains sufficiently bound by that code that he can't find it in himself to take appropriate revenge on them. Meanwhile, at his school, Cassel has to deal with a more normal, law and order brand of morality . To compensate for his lack of magical abilities, Cassel has become a talented grifter and con artist. While the kids around him tolerate and even make use of his criminal proclivities--for example when Cassel becomes the school's bookie--the narrative constantly makes us aware that Cassel and his family are on the other side of the divide that these fundamentally law-abiding kids draw between acceptable and unacceptable criminality. By the same token, Cassel has trouble thinking about relationships in terms that are not exploitative or at least mercenary--in his world, kindness and affection always have an ulterior motive, and the people who claim to care about you always want something from you.
An important sub-plot in both books is that anti-worker prejudice has boiled over into even more restrictive legislation mandating worker registries and mandatory testing for children, and Cassel's school is wracked by opposition between students who support the laws and those who insist that possessing magical powers doesn't equal misusing them. There's a rich seam of irony in Cassel's support for the latter, and his anger at the politicians who despise him and his kind, even as he becomes more aware of, and involved in, the Zacharov criminal empire. Throughout both books Cassel struggles with irreconcilable moral codes, and with situations that force him into shady and occasionally immoral behavior. He also has to confront his own failures of conscience--when he discovers, in White Cat, that though he hasn't killed Lila he is responsible for others' deaths, or when he realizes, in Red Glove, that his resistance to the temptation of Lila, who has been made to love him through magic, has reached the breaking point. In both books Cassel, who is starved for trust and genuine affection, finds himself reaching out to outsiders--non-workers and law-abiding citizens--and tentatively forming friendships based on something other than mutual self-interest. Though Black takes advantage of Cassel's dimness and lack of self-awareness to make it clear that he is a better person, and that he is more loved and more worthy of being loved, than he gives himself credit for, the mistakes he does make, and the choices he is forced into, are heady enough to make for a rich reading experience.
If there is a major flaw in The Curse Workers it is Lila, who, though she makes for an intriguing romantic foil for Cassel--the two have definite chemistry, but they bring out enough of each others' worst qualities that it's hard to root for their happy ending--spends too much of the series being acted upon (for example the love curse that skews her relationship with Cassel in Red Glove, and which he high-handedly tries to fix at the novel's end by getting another emotion worker to remove all of Lila's feelings for him, real and magically-induced). There are hints at the end of Red Glove that Black may be on her way to giving Lila a more active role, while folding her into the trilogy's overarching theme of moral choice, as Lila officially joins her father's criminal empire, though it remains to be seen how this will play out. In fact, a lot depends on the series's final volume, and on how it resolves the issues of Cassel's moral conflicts and his uncertainty about the kind of person he is. One question lingered over my reading White Cat and Red Glove and marred my enjoyment of them--how was Cassel compelled to kill, and what level of responsibility does he bear for those deaths? Red Glove in particular sees Cassel, perhaps understandably, holding off from confronting that question. Though the series's concluding volume will obviously center on Cassel finally staking out his own moral code, and coming to an understanding of the kind of person he is, I don't think that can fully be accomplished without this missing answer, and I hope that Black isn't planning to continue writing around it. Judging by the strength of White Cat and Red Glove, however, I'm optimistic that Black can bring her story to a satisfying close.
Another similarity between Cassel in White Cat and Todd in The Knife of Never Letting Go is that they both start their stories as outsiders who are ignorant of the most important truths about their lives. Because of their outsider status, Cassel and Todd develop worldviews and moral codes that the books' readers can, for the most part, sympathize with. As part of their process of learning to understand their world, both Cassel and Todd realize that the people around them don't share their--which is to say, our--values, and that their entire community operates according to a code that they can't accept. This is, of course, such a common trope of YA that it's nearly become a cliché, which is one of the reasons that I was so pleased to realize that Frances Hardinge's Gullstruck Island (The Lost Conspiracy in the US) rejects it so completely. Gullstruck Island is a novel about, among other things, the unspoken codes that govern communities, and it depicts those codes, conventions, and worldviews as something that is imbibed at a very young age and on a very deep level. Its characters are governed by the rules that don't need to be spoken but which are nevertheless perfectly clear, and it is only with some difficulty that they manage even a partial escape from their influence.
Gullstruck Island is a lush, jungle-covered, volcano-strewn paradise. Two hundred years ago, the island was home to several tribes, the most powerful of which were the Lace. When the colonizing Cavalcaste arrived on Gullstruck, the Lace counseled and guided them, among other things advising them not to build settlements in the area known as the Wailing Way, for fear of angering the volcanoes. When this advice was ignored, the Lace priests began kidnapping and sacrificing people from the Wailing Way to the volcanoes, hoping to appease them. Instead they were discovered, the priests were killed and the temples were destroyed, and for the last two hundred years the Lace have been relegated to an underclass, feared and despised by both the Cavalcaste the other tribes--who have since intermarried--and reduced to eking out a living by selling shells and fish. Gullstruck is also home to the Lost, people who have the ability to send one of their senses, such as sight or smell, away from their bodies. The Lost's abilities enable communication and commerce between the far-flung communities on Gullstruck, so the birth of one is a great boon to their community. Gullstruck Island begins with a Lost inspector arriving at the Lace village of Hollow Beast to investigate whether Arilou, a young girl, is indeed a Lost, the first Lost born to the Lace in many years. What we soon realize is that the entire village is pulling a scam. Though Arilou was once genuinely believed to have been Lost because of the unresponsive behavior that might indicate wandering senses, it now seems more likely that she is simply retarded. Unwilling to give up the advantages associated with possessing a Lost, the villagers have spent years perpetuating the lie that Arilou is one, to which end her younger sister Hathin has been pressed into service as Arilou's caretaker and "interpreter," and the person chiefly in charge of maintaining the charade.
Deception and concealment are thus quickly established as important themes in the novel, as is the theme of deeply ingrained customs that outsiders might find counter-intuitive. The Lace, for example, have the custom of smiling at all times, which very nearly gets Hathin in trouble when, in times of stress or danger, she finds it impossible to keep a grin off her face. This is also, however, a custom that we are likely to find as strange as the other inhabitants of Gullstruck, and it alienates Hathin from the readers. It is therefore a perfect encapsulation of how Hardinge constructs the Lace and the other Gullstruck cultures--as something deliberately foreign and sometimes offputting (it is no coincidence, I think, that of the four novels discussed in this post Gullstruck Island is the only one not told in the first person) that nevertheless, upon closer examination, reflects the humanity of the people participating in it. The novel's early chapters reveal that not only are all the Hollow Beast villagers in on the Arilou scam, but that, fearing that a stray Lost might send their sight or hearing their way, they never speak the truth that all of them have guessed about Arilou. As Hathin runs around trying to cheat the inspector's tests, she talks to the other villagers in code, pretending that her sister is Lost with such fervent dedication that it becomes hard to tell fact from fiction. When the Lost inspector dies suddenly, the Hollow Beasts are terrified that they'll be blamed for his death (and suspect that one among them is responsible for it). They decide to concoct a story in which they are left blameless, but this backfires when it's revealed that all of the Lost on Gullstruck died at the same time--all except Arilou. The Hollow Beasts find themselves blamed for murdering the Lost, and when an angry mob attacks the village Hathin is forced to flee, with Arilou in tow, even as anti-Lace sentiment begins sweeping the island.
One of the consequences of writing a novel driven by cultural differences, and a point of view character who is not ignorant of her own culture--who is, in fact, so steeped in that culture that she participates in it unthinkingly and has to make a conscious effort to suppress its customs and conventions--is that Hardinge spends a lot of time explaining that culture to us, the readers. Though chock-full of events--the scam on the inspector and subsequent escape from Hollow Beast are only the story's first act, and are followed by Hathin and Arilou fleeing from a bounty hunter, joining up with fellow Lace and taking a vow of vengeance against the people responsible for the massacre at Hollow Beast, scamming a Cavalcaste governor into creating a safe zone for refugee Lace, and learning the true fate of the Lost, all before the denouement even starts setting itself up--Gullstruck Island spends a lot of time in what can only be called infodumps, explaining customs, traditions, and beliefs, and of course describing Gullstruck itself as Hathin makes her way across it. Gullstruck is a such a fascinating and vividly drawn setting, however, and Hardinge's construction of its geography, cultures, flora and fauna, and mythology is so imaginative, yet at the same time consistent, that the novel might almost be worth reading just for those infodumps, but happily Hardinge is also quite skilled at packing a lot of punch into a single paragraph. When Hathin escapes from Hollow Beast ahead of the bounty hunter, she recalls a folk tale about the island's volcanoes, into which have been encoded instructions for navigating the caves that are the village's emergency escape route. The single scene thus provides the thrill of escape, a bit of background about Lace culture and Gullstruck's traditions regarding the volcanoes, which are revered as deities with short and explosive tempers, and reinforcement of the theme of concealment, as vital information is encoded in a seemingly meaningless bit of folklore. These multiple levels of storytelling persist throughout the novel, resulting in a thrilling adventure, a magnificent feat of worldbuilding, and a chewy morality tale, all packed into a scant few hundred pages.
Another interesting aspect to the novel's worldbuilding is the fact that, despite telling a fantasy story in which magic obviously exists, Hardinge never comes down on the side of one or another of her invented cultures. One of the major points of dispute between the Cavalcaste and the tribes is that the former practice ancestor worship, and set aside large and ever-growing tracts of land as cities of the dead where their ashes may lie undisturbed, while the latter scatter the dead's ashes, and the Lace even believe that a person's name should never be spoken after their death. In the early parts of the novel we witness Lace and Cavalcaste characters contemplating each others' death rites with disgust--the Lace believe that the Cavalcaste's dead are imprisoned, while the Cavalcaste can't fathom life without the protection of their ancestors--while many of the Cavalcaste's actions, including their arrival on Gullstruck and persecution of the Lace, turn out to have been driven by the need to acquire more land for their dead. At the end of the novel, these lands are returned to the living, but this is painted as a purely practical decision, not confirmation of the tribes' beliefs. In fact, there is never any indication that there is an afterlife at all in the Gullstruck universe, and the novel leaves it as entirely plausible that both groups' beliefs are equally illusory. Similarly, the Wailing Way, source of all the strife between Cavalcaste and Lace, turns out to be in the lava path of a nearby volcano, but though Lace characters speak to the volcanoes as people and make offerings to appease them, and though the volcano's eventual eruption is interpreted by many of the characters as its angry response to being encroached upon, Hardinge leaves room for us to disagree--to view these beliefs as folklore that the tribes have developed around the observed facts of their environment. This, incidentally, means that though the Lace priests were right to warn the Cavalcaste about building in the Wailing Way two hundred years ago, their choice to enforce that edict with murder can't be so easily validated.
This ambivalent space that Hardinge builds around her invented cultures, and her depiction of them as something unspoken but omnipresent, creates a level of sophistication in Gullstruck Island that I'm not used to encountering in YA fiction, and that puts it head and shoulders above the other books discussed in this post. Hathin, who has spent her life in a role that forces her to be as invisible as the rules that bind her, the enabler of a lie that no one will acknowledge, has imbibed that role so deeply that at the novel's outset she feels a profound sense of personal failure at events that she has no power to control, such as the inspector setting tests for Arilou that she can't cheat. Over the course of the novel she comes into her own, but still within the confines, and using the tools, of Lace culture. At the novel's end, however, she has to find a way to reconcile that culture--and the sacred vow of vengeance she's taken agains the person responsible for Hollow Beast's destruction--with her own values, which she has, at that point, learned to recognize and pay attention to. If there's a flaw in Gullstruck Island it is that with everything that happens in it, with the enormous amount of information thrown at the reader, and with the distance that Hardinge's third person narrative imposes on us, Hathin's own growth can sometimes seem a little perfunctory. In particular, her struggles with her desire for revenge and with her inability to kill are glossed over a little too quickly--especially when compared with Todd, Viola, and Cassel's struggles with similar issues. That said, I can't help but feel that this is a less important--if only because it is so very common--lesson than the one that is unique to Gullstruck Island--that irrational traditions can still be valuable, that tradition shouldn't be allowed to rule our lives, that just because a belief is false doesn't make it less powerful, and that it's important to question your beliefs, especially when it comes to other cultures and your own.
All told then, I think my YA binge can be summed up as a success: I've finished a fascinating and engrossing trilogy, started another one, and discovered a wonderful new writer and a strong contender for one 2011's best reads. Most importantly, I feel energized about reading again, and eager to branch out into other genres and modes. There's never any shortage of talk about what it means that so many adults enjoy reading YA fiction, and what dire things this bodes for literary culture and culture in general. But though I wouldn't like my reading diet to consist entirely, or even for the most part, of YA, I think that the experience of the last couple of weeks demonstrates why I sometimes find it necessary to return to these books--because they remind me of why and how I became a voracious reader in the first place, and give me the chance to once again lose myself in a book the way I did as a child.