text:
By: Aderia
₪҉₪Evior slowly let out his breath, so quietly not even he could hear it. He could hear the wind as it flew uncaringly through the bitter stone canyon. He stood, albeit under the guise of his chameleon power, in plain sight. He could hear the target's uneven breathing as it made its way towards him with unsure steps. The echoes of tumbling stones rang through the air.Another silent breath passed in and out of his body. He stood on the narrow footpath leading to the bottom of the canyon, blocking his victim's path. If he was right, it was a nasty fifty foot drop to the bottom of the canyon.He felt the heavy footsteps of his target vibrate the ground nearby. His eyes broke open with ice cold clarity and precision shining in them. It was time to act.You were created to be perfect…In the same instant, Evior dropped his camouflage and with a flick of his whip, he nicked his target's neck. The victim, a muddy green armored Skakdi, started to fall without time even to leave the world one parting cry of surprise. The Skakdi's now empty eyes hadn't even registered what had hit him.…Anything less is unacceptable. The repulsive thud of metal on hard packed dirt and stone sent rahi birds flying from their perches. With a quick dismissive glance, Evior took aim and let loose a bolt of energy to disintegrate the remains of his target far below.
₪҉₪"You were created to be perfect. Anything less is unacceptable." With these words, a pair of luminous black eyes snapped open for the first time. As they blinked rapidly, bringing a whole new world into focus, a keen, sharp, even hungry intelligence could be seen shining raw in them. This did not go unmarked. At the sound of the same cold voice, the young eyes glanced around to find the speaker. "You are Evior." And Evior abandoned searching the multiple masks that surrounded him to look down at himself. He saw a broad, strong torso covered in tough armor the color of ebony, and four strong limbs with evident strength built into their lengthy expanse. Funnily enough, Evior didn't feel remotely as strong as he thought he looked. "This is yours," This time Evior had learned to follow his audio receptors to the source of the voice to the speaker standing immediately to his left. She was holding out a polished metal object to him. He looked up at her, squinting as the lights from above reflected off her armor into his face. "It's your Kanohi Shelek." Mask of Silence, Evior startled himself as the knowledge sprang up unbidden. Instinctively, he brought the mask up to his face and inhaled sharply as it magnetized itself to his face with a snap. But his sharp inhale soon came sighing back out of him as the strength he'd felt was absent rushed to fill his body. Slowly and rather unsteadily, Evior sat up, swinging his legs to dangle over the edge of the large metal table he was on. He pressed his hands flat against the cool metal on either side of him to steady himself, looking around. He opened his mouth to ask, "Who are all of you?" but only a erratic rasping noise came out. Evior frowned, and his frown deepened as hushed chuckles reached his ears. "We are friends," The speaker answered. "You may call me Makuta Gorast." Confused, Evior glanced around. Did she just…"Read your thoughts?" She finished for him with a grin that would scare anyone else. "You see, Evior, we Makuta were made to be the most powerful beings in our universe." She gestured to the other beings around her, whom Evior realized must also be Makuta. Gorast continued in his head. We are feared throughout the world and we let no one stand against us. We have more powers and abilities than there are islands in the Silver Sea; of those, you have access to most. You see, we are perfection creating perfection.Nodding at her words, Evior hopped off the table, immediately stumbling backwards and having to grip the edge of the table for support. To her fellow onlookers, Gorast held up a hand to stop anyone from aiding their new creation. "If he cannot learn to stand on his own, how do you expect him to be effective in any sort of combat or mission?" Evior looked down at himself, trying to decide how to best balance himself to stand. Through quick trial and error, soon he stood on his own two feet without the support of the table. "Very good. Now follow me," Makuta Gorast commanded as some of her Makuta comrades shifted apart to let her through. Evior studied how she walked, trying to process how to apply those same movements to himself. "Gorast," Another Makuta spoke up for the first time. "Don't push him too hard. He woke up not even five minutes ago, and you want him to learn to walk? You haven't tested reflexes, motor control, or anything else yet, and you've barely told him about himself. Isn't that a bit out of protocol?"Evior studied this new speaker. He was clad in contrasting bone white armor edged dangerously with black and touches of red, and had piercing, focused eyes that seemed to take in everything. Beneath Evior, his legs began to tremble, so he sat back down on the table. Now he watched Gorast. Everything had gone silent, and Gorast turned slowly in place to look at the new speaker from across the lab. But Evior saw the expression on her mask and registered it as mounting anger that was being suppressed, and it flashed dangerously in her eyes. "The last time I checked, Krika, it was me, not you, who was head of this project. But if you think you can do a better job than me…" She trailed off in a rather threatening way. Almost faster than the eye could follow, Gorast snatched a large test tube off of one of the counters near her and whipped it at Evior as she snapped, "Heads up!"And without thinking, Evior's head ducked down, not up. But he was okay with that because he ended up not getting hit by the flying projectile, and watched as it shattered against the far wall. When he whirled to look at Gorast again, she had a round, opaque object in her hand, about as large as her fist. "Now catch," She ordered, and threw the object to him, without nearly as much force. Evior traced its path in the air, and then instinctively reached out to snag it as it came within his reach. "Excellent," Gorast purred. "Reflexes and hand-eye coordination, check. I hope you took notes". The rest of the observers exchanged glances. "Well, if that's that, I'll be going. I have better things to do with my life than to play mother goose."
₪҉₪As he neared the top of the canyon wall, Evior shook off the scenes in his mind's eye from years ago, bringing himself back to the present. From using so many of his powers, watered down versions of the abilities of the Makuta, in such rapid succession, he had developed a throbbing headache and felt considerably fatigued. He would need to wait a few hours before he could teleport off of this island. He began wrapping up his whip, which he had been cracking and swishing idly on his trek out of the canyon. Before going on a mission that required a kill, he treated his weapon with concentrated Doom Viper venom, allowing for quick, clean death in less than four seconds. Even though he was immune to the fatality of the venom, he wasn't immune to the nauseating effect it had after a period of extended exposure. For the next half an hour, Evior followed the canyon rim towards the coast of the island. Going towards the coast, the canyon became more and more shallow and narrow until it ceased to exist. Evior looked up and saw the little bit of civilization on the island ahead of him. It was a small, rowdy town with almost no permanent inhabitants. Mostly everyone was simply passing through on business, because the island sat in the midst of a few trade routes. The suns were setting as Evior pushed open the door to a rusty, rundown looking pub.The few populace in the pub, none of them bothered to spare him a glance. Not that Evior minded. Most of his missions were on islands with even less population on them; ergo it was rare the need to converse with beings other than the Makuta presented itself to him. Evior took a seat quietly in a shadowed corner of room, resting his feet up on one of the spare chairs at his empty table. He hoped to catch a short rest before continuing his business. His eyes began to lose focus and slowly drift shut."Can I take your order?" A gruff voice cut through Evior's wandering thoughts.Evior opened one eye to peer at whom he assumed to be the tavern's owner. He found himself looking at a native of Stelt, one of the upper class. He sported dented and tarnished armor and a sneer on his face."I just need a short rest from the road," Evior told him with a dismissive gesture. "Nothing else.""I'm 'fraid that's called loitering," The Steltian glowered down at him. " 'S not allowed.""Hmmm," Evior bothered to open his eyes and look around the pub. "It doesn't look like anyone else has a problem with me being here.""Well I do, 'n I'm th' owner of this here joint. I'm gonna have t' ask you t' leave if you insist on this opposition." The owner replied.Exaggeratedly, Evior got to his feet, almost drawling, and drew himself up to his full height. He was about as tall as a Vortixx, with the added muscular build of a Makuta. He looked down on the pub owner, even though they were physically the same height. "By your leave, then." He flourished a cold mocking bow and pushed his way past the Steltian through the door.Evior made his way to the scarcely used harbor, where one small dinghy was being unloaded and a few larger boats were sitting unoccupied. He located a bench and settled down, closing his eyes, drowning out all background noise, and waiting for his headache to subside. He had just found the beginnings of sleep when something rammed into his outstretched legs. It hurt."What in Karzahni's twisted name-" He thundered, leaping up. A Matoran pushing a small warehouse cart had run into him. The cart was piled with crates so large the Matoran had no hope of seeing over or around.He rounded on the petrified looking Matoran. "What do you think you're doing? Is it too much to ask for, getting a decent rest around here? I have half a mind to blow you and your cart halfway into next year!"Evior stopped, actually looking at the pitiful Matoran for the first time. He was a stout little fellow, covered in grimy looking grey and black armor. He stood his ground, which Evior realized he admired. "I-I'm sorry!" The Matoran squeaked."Sorry?" Evior repeated lamely, his anger sputtering out instantly. "Oh. Okay then." It hadn't crossed his mind that someone could besorry for something so small like running over someone's foot with a cart. For him, "Sorry" was what he would say if he was late reporting after a mission. Yet this little being was sorry for something so trivial, and Evior had blown up in the Matoran's face. With what might be comparative to embarrassment, he turned abruptly and walked away.Evior ducked into the nearest empty warehouse. Ignoring his headache, which had actually started to recede, he pictured his destination in his mind's eye. The warehouse around him started to slide out of focus, growing more and more blurry, almost pixilated. It was irritating, but Evior was used to the process of teleporting.He blinked.
₪҉₪The heavy door to the record room in Destral's fortress swung open, and an almost perplexed Evior came striding out. He had filed his report, just as protocol required. But usually one of his commanders, one of the Makuta, was always there to debrief him or send him straight out on another mission. Evior took a sharp left down the nearest cold stone corridor, initiating a low key heat vision sweep in order to locate one of the Maktua. After what could only have been three minutes of walking, he had to switch off his heat vision because it was too draining. Evior thought of himself as a Matoran version of a Makuta. If a Makuta's power level was that of a Toa's, Evior's power level was that of a Matoran. Matoran had trace amounts of their given elemental energy inside of them, just as Evior had trace amounts of Kraata power inside of him. The difference was that he could access his power. Of course not to any great extent, but some was better than none. As he pushed open the door to the debriefing room, Evior was startled to find a meeting in session. Four pairs of eyes met his own luminous black ones. "Sorry," he mumbled. This word had new depth for him, ever since he'd heard that Matoran in the harbor use it so sincerely. "Stay, Evior. I was just about to send for you." Makuta Gorast called him in from the corridor. In the room, Makuta Gorast, and Makuta Mutran stood around the table, along with two other beings that Evior had never seen. The four of them stood in a way that obscured whatever was on the table from Evior's sight. Evior crossed the room to join them at the table even as they shifted to make room for him. And what he saw on the table caused something to jump inside him, although he didn't know what. Even though covered by a respectful white sheet, unmistakable, lying on the metal lab table, was a body. Evior looked up into Gorast's eyes, and saw that she was trying to read his expression. He himself didn't know what he was feeling, so he doubted she could know. "Don't be so uneasy, Evior," Gorast told him, with the slightest hint of that feral smile. He looked around at the other masks. Makuta Mutran, of course, he knew. But the other two he did not recognize. One was a rusty red armored colossus with a savage's dancing light in his eyes. His companion was a lanky vixen, and her dark mottled armor suggested she could have been a Vortixx at one point. She radiated intensity that bordered on insanity. Even though Evior did not recognize the beings themselves, he did know their Kanohi. Slowly, he pieced together why he was feeling so on edge. The rusty titan wore a Kanohi Tryna, and his friend sported a Kanohi Iden. A Mask of Reanimation, and a Mask of Spirit, also sometimes called the Mask of Possession, and a dead body on the table. Makuta Gorast nodded towards both the body and the strangers at once with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Evior, we have a new mission for you."
₪҉₪A/N: So this was one of those Short-Story-turned-Epic plotlines. This actually was the first chapter to a totally different Epic that I had planned, but the story had other ideas. So now it's become a preview of an upcoming Epic that I'm currently writing, titled Faux. R&R, and be on the lookout for the rest of Evior's story!(Edit: Epic is posted, go check it out!! Link)
Edited by Aderia: Toa of Ducklings, Mar 06 2012 - 03:42 PM.


text:
Councilman Rick Wood hopping mad at E. Sierra Community Bank
When Mammoth councilman Rick Wood gets angry, he does not pull many punches.
Wood is angry.
At Wednesday's town council meeting he jumped all over the Eastern Sierra Community Bank, and urged its current customers to "use your best judgment as whether you ought to continue."
At the heart of his rant was the bank's policy toward seven unsold condominium units at Aspen Village – the condo project on Old Mammoth Road built with the assistance by Mammoth Lakes Housing (MLH).
Wood, an attorney, acknowledged before he began his remarks that he is the counselor to MLH and therefore he has a seat on its board.
He said the bank is suing MLH for foreclosure on those units because of no sales on those units for the last two years.
"With respect to the Aspen Village condominium project, Mammoth Lakes Housing developed 24 residential units and has sold 17 of them, but has not sold one in the last two years.
"That, of course is consistent with the economy and the real estate market we've experienced over last couple of years.
"What the public doesn't know, and the council should know, is that the construction loan for that project was made by Eastern Sierra Community Bank, which has a local branch and which touts itself as Mammoth friendly.
"That loan, as a result of the fact that there have not been sales, has not paid, principle or interest, in about a year.
"We wrote to the Eastern Sierra Community Bank to try to renegotiate the terms of that loan so that we can get those units sold.
"The problem is that the units are too expensive, and that the bank dictates the prices of the units."
Bank President Chris Courtney said Wood has his facts all wrong, but would not comment directly until the bank's attorneys had a chance to look at Wood's remarks.
"We were looking for the day to set the record straight, so bring it on."
Wood said he was optimistic that the units would sell if at current market levels.
"We live in a world of foreclosure now," he said. "I'm disappointed in Eastern Sierra Community Bank, which in my judgment is not acting wisely.
"If they were to allow the prices to go down, the loan could be paid. If the prices can go down to a market level, I believe that the units would sell very quickly.
"From a community perspective it is a very unwise thing to do when it depends on deposits from customers, including businesses in this community, to fund the loans that it makes.
"I do not get the thinking of bankers, and it doesn't seem to matter whether it's a gigantic bank like CitiBank or whether it's a small bank like the Eastern Sierra Community Bank.
"I'll keep you informed," Wood said, "and for those of you who bank with that bank, you can use your best judgment as whether you ought to continue."
The bank, meanwhile, notified the gist of Wood's rant to its regional headquarters, but had no response by press deadline Thursday afternoon.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Roland TD electronic drum kits: what's new in the latest releases?
SuperNATURAL Sounds and Behaviour modellingRoland's new "behaviour modelling technology" has been added to the new range of TD kits which has been created to even further improve the already fantastic response found on older TD kits. This also creates a more realistic snare sound and feel particularly on transitions between rimshots and headshots. Even the response of positional hits such as buzz rolls and ghost strokes have been improved to sound even more authentic than TD kits of old.
Roland's new SuperNATURAL technology is now found on the mid range kits (TD-11 and TD-15). This is technology usually found on Roland's flagship models which creates a much more natural decay and organic tonal changes. This kind of technology will be very noticeable for experienced drummers particularly on cymbal sounds where the decay can be key.
The Kits Themselves
The TD-11 range
- Roland TD-11K V-Compact Series Electronic Drum Kit (check out our bundle with a monitor amp, headphones and accessories)
- Roland TD-11KV V-Compact Series Electronic Drum Kit (check out our bundle)
- Roland TD-11 Drum Sound Module
The TD-15 range
- Roland TD-15K V-Tour Series Electronic Drum Kit
- Roland TD-15KV V-Tour Series Electronic Drum Kit (check out our headphone bundle and amplifier bundle)
- Roland TD-15 Drum Sound Module
Plus with more advanced practice tools such as "time check", "quiet count" and "warm ups" the TD-15 even further reduces the need for expensive lessons. The TD-15 is also now compatible with the Air Recorder and V-drums Friend Jam for iPhone making it probably the worlds most versatile mid-range electronic drum kit.
The TD-30 range
- Roland TD-30K V-Pro Series Electronic Drum Kit
- Roland TD-30KV V-Pro Series Electronic Drum Kit
- Roland TD-30 Drum Sound Module
As with the TD-11 and TD-15 kits the TD-30 features the new superNATURAL technology and behaviour modelling which when combined give the most realistic playability and sound available on any electronic drum kit today.


text:
Select Search
World Factbook
Roget's Int'l Thesaurus
Bartlett's Quotations
Respectfully Quoted
Fowler's King's English
Strunk's Style
Mencken's Language
Cambridge History
The King James Bible
Oxford Shakespeare
Gray's Anatomy
Farmer's Cookbook
Post's Etiquette
Brewer's Phrase & Fable
Bulfinch's Mythology
Frazer's Golden Bough
All Verse
Dickinson, E.
Eliot, T.S.
Frost, R.
Hopkins, G.M.
Keats, J.
Lawrence, D.H.
Masters, E.L.
Sandburg, C.
Sassoon, S.
Whitman, W.
Wordsworth, W.
Yeats, W.B.
All Nonfiction
Harvard Classics
American Essays
Einstein's Relativity
Grant, U.S.
Roosevelt, T.
Wells's History
Presidential Inaugurals
All Fiction
Shelf of Fiction
Ghost Stories
Short Stories
Shaw, G.B.
Stein, G.
Stevenson, R.L.
Wells, H.G.
Walt Whitman
> Prose Works
Library of Congress
The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth, have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.
1855 Preface to
Leaves of Grass
Prose Works
Walt Whitman
The Good Gray Poet also contributed to the greatest prose of American letters with his war diaries, Prefaces and
Democratic Vistas
in this complete
Prose Works
, the companion volume to Bartleby.coms
Leaves of Grass
Bibliographic Record
. Specimen Days
A Happy Hours Command
Answer to an Insisting Friend
GenealogyVan Velsor and Whitman
The Old Whitman and Van Velsor Cemeteries
The Maternal Homestead
Two Old Family Interiors
Paumanok, and My Life on It as Child and Young Man
My First ReadingLafayette
Printing OfficeOld Brooklyn
My Passion for Ferries
Broadway Sights
Omnibus Jaunts and Drivers
Plays and Operas Too
Through Eight Years
Sources of CharacterResults1860
Opening of the Secession War
National Uprising and Volunteering
Contemptuous Feeling
Battle of Bull Run, July, 1861
The Stupor PassesSomething Else Begins
Down at the Front
After First Fredericksburg
Back to Washington
Fifty Hours Left Wounded on the Field
Hospital Scenes and Persons
Patent-Office Hospital
The White House by Moonlight
An Army Hospital Ward
A Connecticut Case
Two Brooklyn Boys
A Secesh Brave
The Wounded from Chancellorsville
A Night Battle, over a Week Since
Unnamed Remains the Bravest Soldier
Some Specimen Cases
My Preparations for Visits
Ambulance Processions
Bad WoundsThe Young
The Most Inspiriting of All Wars Shows
Battle of Gettysburg
A Cavalry Camp
A New York Soldier
Home-Made Music
Abraham Lincoln
Heated Term
Soldiers and Talks
Death of a Wisconsin Officer
Hospitals Ensemble
A Silent Night Ramble
Spiritual Characters among the Soldiers
Cattle Droves about Washington
Hospital Perplexity
Down at the Front
Paying the Bounties
Rumors, Changes, &c
Summer of 1864
A New Army Organization Fit for America
Death of a Hero
Hospital ScenesIncidents
A Yankee Soldier
Union Prisoners South
A Glimpse of Wars Hell Scenes
Items from My Note Books
A Case from Second Bull Run
Army SurgeonsAid Deficiencies
The Blue Everywhere
A Model Hospital
Boys in the Army
Burial of a Lady Nurse
Female Nurses for Soldiers
Southern Escapees
The Capitol by Gas-Light
The Inauguration
Attitude of Foreign Governments During the War
The WeatherDoes It Sympathize with These Times
Inauguration Ball
Scene at the Capitol
A Yankee Antique
Wounds and Diseases
Death of President Lincoln
Shermans Armys JubilationIts Sudden Stoppage
No Good Portrait of Lincoln
Releasd Union Prisoners from South
Death of a Pennsylvania Soldier
The Armies Returning
The Grand Review
Western Soldiers
A Soldier on Lincoln
Two Brothers, One South, One North
Some Sad Cases Yet
Calhouns Real Monument
Hospitals Closing
Typical Soldiers
Three Years Summd Up
The Million Dead, Too, Summd Up
The Real War Will Never Get in the Books
An Interregnum Paragraph
New Themes Entered Upon
Entering a Long Farm-Lane
To the Spring and Brook
An Early Summer Reveille
Birds Migrating at Midnight
Summer Sights and Indolencies
Sundown PerfumeQuail-NotesThe Hermit-Thrush
A July Afternoon by the Pond
Locusts and Katydids
The Lesson of a Tree
Autumn Side-Bits
The SkyDays and NightsHappiness
ColorsA Contrast
November 8, 76
Crows and Crows
A Winter Day on the Sea-Beach
Sea-Shore Fancies
In Memory of Thomas Paine
A Two Hours Ice-Sail
Spring OverturesRecreations
One of the Human Kinks
An Afternoon Scene
The Gates Opening
The Common Earth, the Soil
Birds and Birds and Birds
Full-Starrd Nights
Mulleins and Mulleins
Distant Sounds
A Sun-BathNakedness
The Oaks and I
A Quintette
The First FrostMems
Three Young Mens Deaths
February Days
A Meadow Lark
Sundown Lights
Thoughts Under an OakA Dream
Clover and Hay Perfume
An Unknown
Three of Us
Death of William Cullen Bryant
Jaunt up the Hudson
Happiness and Raspberries
A Specimen Tramp Family
Manhattan from the Bay
Human and Heroic New York
Hours for the Soul
Straw-Colord and Other Psyches
A Night Remembrance
Wild Flowers
A Civility Too Long Neglected
Delaware RiverDays and Nights
Scenes on Ferry and RiverLast Winters Nights
The First Spring Day on Chestnut Street
Up the Hudson to Ulster County
Days at J. B.sTurf-FiresSpring Songs
Meeting a Hermit
An Ulster County Waterfall
Walter Dumont and His Medal
Hudson River Sights
Two City Areas, Certain Hours
Central Park Walks and Talks
A Fine Afternoon, 4 to 6
Departing of the Big Steamers
Two Hours on the Minnesota
Mature Summer Days and Nights
Exposition BuildingNew City HallRiver Trip
Swallows on the River
Begin a Long Jaunt West
In the Sleeper
Missouri State
Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas
The Prairies
On to DenverA Frontier Incident
An Hour on Kenosha Summit
An Egotistical Find
New SensesNew Joys
Steam-Power, Telegraphs, &c
Americas Back-Bone
The Parks
Art Features
Denver Impressions
I Turn SouthAnd Then East Again
Unfulfilld WantsThe Arkansas River
A Silent Little FollowerThe Coreopsis
The Prairies and Great Plains in Poetry
The Spanish PeaksEvening on the Plains
Americas Characteristic Landscape
Earths Most Important Stream
Prairie AnalogiesThe Tree Question
Mississippi Valley Literature
An Interviewers Item
The Women of the West
The Silent General
President Hayess Speeches
St. Louis Memoranda
Nights on the Mississippi
Upon Our Own Land
Edgar Poes Significance
Beethovens Septette
A Hint of Wild Nature
Loafing in the Woods
A Contralto Voice
Seeing Niagara to Advantage
Jaunting to Canada
Sunday with the Insane
Reminiscence of Elias Hicks
Grand Native Growth
A Zollverein Between the U. S. and Canada
The St. Lawrence Line
The Savage Saguenay
Capes Eternity and Trinity
Chicoutimi and Ha-Ha Bay
The InhabitantsGood Living
Cedar-Plums LikeNames
Death of Thomas Carlyle
Carlyle from American Points of View
A Couple of Old FriendsA Coleridge Bit
A Weeks Visit to Boston
The Boston of To-Day
My Tribute to Four Poets
Millets PicturesLast Items
BirdsAnd a Caution
Samples of My Common-Place Book
My Native Sand and Salt Once More
Hot Weather New York
Custers Last Rally
Some Old AcquaintancesMemories
A Discovery of Old Age
A Visit, at the Last, to R. W. Emerson
Other Concord Notations
Boston CommonMore of Emerson
An Ossianic NightDearest Friends
Only a New Ferry Boat
Death of Longfellow
Starting Newspapers
The Great Unrest of Which We Are Part
By Emersons Grave
At Present WritingPersonal
After Trying a Certain Book
Final ConfessionsLiterary Tests
Nature and DemocracyMorality
. Collect
One or Two Index Items
Democratic Vistas: Paras. 129
Democratic Vistas: Paras. 3059
Democratic Vistas: Paras. 6089
Democratic Vistas: Paras. 90119
Democratic Vistas: Paras. 120132
Origins of Attempted Secession
Preface, 1855, to First Issue of Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, N.Y
Preface, 1872, To As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free
Preface, 1876, To the Two-Volume Centennial Edition of L. of G. and Two Rivulets
Poetry To-Day in AmericaShakspereThe Future
A Memorandum at a Venture
Death of Abraham Lincoln
Two Letters
. Notes Left Over
Nationality(and Yet
Emersons Books, (the Shadows of Them
Ventures, on an Old Theme
British Literature
Darwinism(then Furthermore
The Tramp and Strike Questions
Democracy in the New World,
Foundation StagesThen Others
General Suffrage, Elections, &c
Who Gets the Plunder?
Friendship, (the Real Article
Lacks and Wants Yet
Rulers Strictly out of the Masses
MonumentsThe Past and Present
Little or Nothing New, after All
A Lincoln Reminiscence
Book-ClassesAmericas Literature
Our Real Culmination
An American Problem
The Last Collective Compaction
. Pieces in Early Youth
Dough-Face Song
Death in the School-Room (a Fact
One Wicked Impulse!
The Last Loyalist
Wild Franks Return
The Boy Lover
The Child and the Profligate
Lingaves Temptation
Little Jane
Dumb Kate
Talk to an Art-Union
Wounded in the House of Friends
Sailing the Mississippi at Midnight
. November Boughs
Our Eminent Visitors
The Bible as Poetry
Father Taylor (and Oratory
The Spanish Element in Our Nationality
What Lurks Behind Shaksperes Historical Plays
A Thought on Shakspere
Robert Burns as Poet and Person
A Word about Tennyson
Slang in America
An Indian Bureau Reminiscence
Some Diary Notes at Random
Some War Memoranda
Five Thousand Poems
The Old Bowery
Notes to Late English Books
Abraham Lincoln
New Orleans in 1848
Small Memoranda
Last of the War Cases
Elias Hicks: Portrait in Old Age
Notes (Such as They Are) Founded on Elias Hicks
George Fox (and Shakspere
· [
Top 150
] ·
World Lit


text:
Categories --> Maker --> MAC Knives
Page 1 of 1
In the early 1960s, Mr. Kobayashi embarked on his quest to create the world's finest kitchen knife. He pioneered many concepts that have become "standard" today – molybdenum, tungsten high alloys for increased strength, toughness and hardness; thin blades for less resistance and greater precision; sharper than razor edges; and ergonomic designs for maximum performance.
MAC knives are still handmade without the use of robotics, automated production lines, computers, or lasers. Unlike many other makers, Mr. Kobayashi has steadfastly refused to eliminate production steps, outsource to China, switch to less expensive materials, or in any way to compromise the performance of his knives for the purpose of decreasing costs. He is extremely proud of MAC's reputation as one of the world's finest knives and his passion is the enjoyment of those who own his MAC knives.


text:
Samantha & Scott needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 324 designs submitted by 47 freelance designers.
Evolutionary Enterprises (EEI)
The logo he has now doesn't serve him well. The two "e"s are facing with their backs opposite each other, which indicates opposition instead of having a coordinated effort or action communicated by it.
To create, maintain, and manage a direct sales system which trains and empowers people to achieve their goals and financial success by encouraging them to help others do the same, thereby perpetuating itself into continued future expansion.
1. To create and maintain an army of seasoned and well-trained sales managers and superstar reps, capable of quickly putting together an effective and productive direct sales team that can get any product to market in such large volumes that the company can pick and choose the Fortune 500 Companies it wishes to work for.
2. To perform beyond expectations and so pleasing our client companies and generating referrals in abundance with other potential client companies.
3. To create substantial financial rewards for all concerned in the endeavor.
Large, established/Fortune 500 companies who require a skilled sales force to handle their own large volume of sales.
A company such as T-Mobile, would hire Evolutionary Enterprises and their sales team to sell their service.
So, although the sales people and the employees are "rockstar's", the logo and brand needs to communicate that they are a large well established sales organization (which they are), which cater to large Fortune 500 companies.
Logos He Likes
http://empowersales.com - competitor's site.
http://www.clear.com - for the simplicity and the sphere.
Logo he likes is at: http://empowersales.com. This is a company which offers a similar service to Evolutionary Enterprises, Inc. EEI's logo has to be at least as slick as that and appropriate for business cards, signs, t-shirts, website and all branding.
Client wants it to be cool, sleek, stylish, professional, and appropriate for Fortune 500 companies. EEI is a well-established, solvent, large corporation with offices all over the country, so the logo must represent that. Client has no other requirements or suggestions as far as color or whatever. I suggest white, black, silver, or some combination of that. A splash of color would be fine if appropriate.
He likes the idea of using a "star", and/or using a sphere of some sort like clear.com. He would like to see some spherical ideas since he is unsure which way he wants to go.
The logo must be able to work both with the full, written out company name of "Evolutionary Enterprises, Inc" and their tagline "Envision...Expand...Evolve..." and also without the text using just the logo symbol.
The logo will most likely be on a dark website like empowersales.com, so it should be simple enough so that the colors can be inversed.
A couple additional notes:
1. use color if you can.
2. we want to use their initials, a star, and a sphere or some combination of the three. you could have two opposing e's that form a star, or initials someone in a sphere, etc.
3. lowercase initials don't work for us. the look too much like a small web company.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
By Benjamin Forgey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 30, 2005; Page N01
It is in many ways a beautiful building, the new Music Center at Strathmore, a treat for the eyes and other senses. Also for the mind.
With its elegant 1,976-seat concert hall and plentiful complement of classrooms and rehearsal halls, the center, opening this week, is yet more proof of the expanding cultural ambitions of Washington's suburbs.
Located in Montgomery County, just a few miles north of the District line, the $100 million center is a traditional urban institution in a fast-changing suburban setting. It'll contribute most significantly to the cultural life of its home county, of course, but, with the Baltimore Symphony treating it as a "second home," it'll add choices for many music lovers in the metropolitan area.
The architecture itself will be an attraction, eventually. In an age of prominent, in-your-face, innovative civic architecture, the center is a deceptive exception. For one thing, it hides its innovations with a graceful, easygoing architectural manner.
For another thing, the excellent new facility literally hides its architectural charms from much of the general public. Fronting a nondescript suburban lane and practically invisible from nearby Rockville Pike, the center is perhaps the most inconspicuous important civic structure in the Washington region.
Furthermore, the center turns its worst face forward: Its most visible elevation, the one on Tuckerman Lane that most passersby would interpret (wrongly, as it turns out) as the front door, is a rather humdrum affair. With high, narrow windows set in a handsome limestone skin, it might casually be mistaken for an updated 1930s federal courthouse annex.
Things get a lot better behind this cautious facade, as dramatic photographs of the center's swooping roofs and splendid glass walls invariably show. But to see the building at its best a visitor has to get up close and then get inside.
Fortunately, neither is a major problem. The center is strategically located close to major roads -- the Beltway, Interstate 270 and Rockville Pike -- and to mass transit. The Grosvenor Metrorail station is nearby. Actually, it's about a 300-yard walk from the station exit to the concert hall entrance but county officials expect at least 15 percent of the audience to arrive by train. On warm evenings, the percentage of transit riders is likely to be appreciably higher, for the walk is quite pleasant . . . but that's getting ahead of the story.
To comprehend the center's architecture and curious layout, one has to start with the distinctive challenges of the site. From the beginning there were two big advantages: the favorable location, vis-a-vis transportation, and the fact that the land was publicly owned, having been acquired by the county back in 1979.
Along with 10 acres of grass and trees, the acquisition included an early-20th-century mansion. Renamed Strathmore Hall, the hilltop house with the throwback "English Georgian" style was transformed into Montgomery County's first arts center, opening in 1983 with a varied program of exhibitions and (small) musical events.
Clearly, the Music Center represents a huge leap in scale. But where and how to build an enormous new building -- two connected buildings, in fact, one for concerts, the other for education -- on a 10-acre site dominated architecturally by a historic mansion were hard questions, to say the least.
If you were to place the concert hall out by Rockville Pike, so its glory would be proclaimed daily to thousands of commuters and travelers, you would compromise -- perhaps destroy is the better word -- the parklike character of the place. You would forever overshadow the mansion and its historic setting. And you'd be putting a lot of unwanted distance between the building and the Metro station and parking lot.
For these reasons, the Rockville Pike location was quickly dismissed by all concerned, leaving only one reasonable alternative: The new buildings would have to be squeezed into a narrow valley to the mansion's east. William Rawn, for one, enthusiastically embraced the valley site, which is a very good thing because Rawn, principal of William Rawn Associates of Boston, was selected to be the chief designer of the new facility. "Above all, I wanted this concert hall to say it's part of a park," he said.
That Rawn Associates, with the assistance of Maryland's Grimm + Parker Architects, succeeded in making this wish a reality (for the most part) has to be counted as a large victory for site-sensitive design. Rawn argued forcefully and successfully that the main lobby of the concert hall be placed at the north end of the building, away from the road and facing parklike surroundings, so that on both arrival and departure, concertgoers would be conscious of the green space all around.
This was a counterintuitive decision, for in conventional thinking the north side would be considered the rear of the site, while Tuckerman Lane would be considered the front. Also, the north location added significantly to the distance of the walk from the parking garage and Metro station.
But it was a wise decision, for it enabled the architecture to unfold gracefully onto the land. This is a long structure. From end to end the two connected buildings measure more than 400 feet, with the concert hall taking up nearly two-thirds of this length. By placing it to the north, Rawn had the chance to make the hall's roof the center's chief expressive device -- that long, supple, bending silhouette that pays elegant homage to the rolling terrain.
Curving lines and forms were a way to relieve the severity of the buildings' basic rectangular shapes -- the concert hall is at heart a "shoebox," the classic acoustical form, and the education building is sort of a typical suburban public school turned on end. (Rawn once described his design effort as "fighting the rigidity of the shoebox.") Thus, like the concert hall, the "schoolhouse" got its own curved roof -- shorter, steeper and more dramatic.
They're all over the place, these softening curves. The steel and glass pedestrian bridge from the parking lot over Tuckerman Lane -- which is the way most folks will get to and from concerts -- bends subtly, like a path in the woods. Inside, stairwells are curved where possible. Corridors, too. The west elevation of the concert hall, which could have been severity itself, was given a striking profile. Three bulging, stepped facades made mostly of glass, so that people on three levels are in direct visual contact with the spacious surroundings, greatly enliven the architecture. (The glass is subtly treated with ceramic frit to minimize heat gain from the western sun.)
Transparency is another enlivening device. Rawn knew that to entice people into enjoying the long walk, he first had to make the walk as enjoyable as possible -- hence the curves and the glass. Second, he had to provide a memorable destination. This comes in two parts. Maybe three. There is the lobby, with its soaring, inward-angled, white-trussed glass wall, a space that dramatizes the natural setting. For good-weather nights and days, there are outdoor terraces at both orchestra and balcony levels.
And then, of course, there is the concert hall itself. Architecturally, the Strathmore room is on a par with the best new concert halls in the United States. (Its acoustics, of course, remain to be heard. The Baltimore Symphony will provide the first test on opening night Saturday.)
Strathmore isn't as visually exhilarating as Frank Gehry's expressionist Disney Hall in Los Angeles or as consistently poetic as Rafael Vinoly's Kimmel Center concert hall in Philadelphia, but it has its own inimitable character. With rich birch veneer floors and walls (interspersed with tightly woven bronze grilles), comfortable wood-backed seating and pleasant dimensions (a mere 75 feet, for instance, from stage front to the edge of the first balcony), this hall is intimate and warm. It's soothing and yet somehow lively.
Not surprisingly, curves abound. Orchestra seating is arranged in shallow arcs, with wide aisles bending in opposite directions. Balcony and box railings are all gently rounded. Box seats are cantilevered from the walls in a staggered pattern for visual liveliness. Sight lines, from seat to stage and also from seat to seat, are excellent. This will be a good place for audience-watching. Architectural details are simple and fine -- note, for instance, the wooden exteriors on the metal-framed balcony railings, or the patterned glass sconces, set in wood. Designed in close collaboration with acoustician Lawrence Kirkegaard, this is a concert hall that, unlike many, looks like a place where music is meant to be made.
The educational facilities add an important dimension to the center, giving it an extended community presence throughout the week. (This is one of the main reasons, not incidentally, that both the county and the state were willing to put up $50 million each to pay for the place.) The classrooms are not extravagant but first-rate. One has a sprung floor for young dancers, and two have extremely high ceilings to provide good rehearsal acoustics for bands, orchestras and choirs. Not incidentally, the educational activities will keep the center humming throughout the day.
On a pleasant afternoon, even older, non-musician types might enjoy a visit to the attractive cafe that is a feature of the concert hall's main concourse. The cafe provides good views from the inside to the outside, which is one of the rare treats of this particular concert hall. And, if you were to take your sandwich outside and find a comfortable spot on the Strathmore hill, you definitely will enjoy the view back to the building. It's the best -- and in fact the only -- place from which to truly appreciate the architectural rhythms of this welcome, but hidden, new cultural treasure.


text:
Professional & Special Needs Services
We have found 12 items matching your search query.
Occupational Therapy
North Fulton, Atlantadistance: 5,896 Miles
Whether your child has a Sensory Processing Disorder in which the world is too loud, tight, scratchy, and bright; an ADHD diagnosis and you would like to avoid medication; or you j
Scholarship Consultant -Personalized Scholarship Assistance
Powder Springs /Atlanta, GAdistance: 5,926 Miles
College Scholarship Consultant Elisa Turner provides comprehensive, one-on-one scholarship counseling services to help high-school and college students navigate the complicated sch
School Counselor Online
Mount Airy, GA, USAUnknown
College/Career Counseling, Transcripts, Assistance with College Applications, Essays, and Interviews, Personal Portfolio, Individual and Group Consultation available.
Education Play Station
The Education Play Station, located in Adairsville, GA, will be conducting an open house on Thursday, July 28th from 5:00-8:00 p.m. for all 2011 classes. This will be a fantastic o
College and Career Counseling
College and/or Career Counseling for juniors and seniors in high school.
The Education Play Station
127 Summer Street Adairsville GA 30103Unknown
The Education Play Station is a school designed primarily for homeschool families.
Kid's Creek Therapy
3905 Johns Creek Court, Suite 250, Suwanee, GA 30024Unknown
Kid's Creek Therapy – Pediatric Speech, Occupational & Physical Therapy
Hayden's Way: A Unique School for Unique Children
1055 Powers Place, Alpharetta, GA 30004Unknown
Multisensory tutoring and classes
Licensed and Certified Speech-Language Pathologist
1593 Asheforde Drive, Marietta, GA 30068Unknown
Provide Speech/Language Evaluations & Therapy to children – Preschool through Adolescence.
Everything you need for Home Education in Florida A-Z
Evaluations, Hassle Free, Transcripts, Report Cards, All Forms, Free Seminars, Sr. Graduations, more


text:
Hearts ... to the new members of Bluffton's Town Council. Ted Huffman and Karen Lavery will be sworn in as the newest members of Town Council at Tuesday's meeting. They have been preparing to take their places on council since the Nov. 8 election results became final. Both are political newcomers with lots to offer and lots to learn. We wish them much luck and hope they bring enthusiasm, perspective and new ideas to the council.
Perry cancels Bluffton campaign stop
Darts ... to the Rick Perry campaign for canceling the stop at Squat & Gobble in Bluffton in favor of hitting The Beacon in Spartanburg. We know Perry did not fare well in the Iowa caucuses and even reassessed his campaign the next day. But with the South Carolina primary just less than two weeks away, Bluffton would have been a wise spot to make an appearance at. Bluffton has become a favorite campaign stop for GOP candidates.
Gamecocks have record season
Hearts ... to the South Carolina Gamecocks and coach Steve Spurrier for its bowl game victory and for its record 11-win season. The SEC is a tough conference and the Gamecocks played well to make us proud. Larry Taylor of Beaufort enjoyed watching his son Devin in the Capital One Bowl. Clemson also should be congratulated for its winning season and for representing the state well all season long. Here's to next season!
You can't win if you don't play
Darts ... to local entities who did not apply for community development block grant funding. Or to those who did not respond to questions about if they applied or not. Beaufort and Jasper county communities are absent from a list of grant winners from across the state. Some entities sat out the latest round of community development block grants provided by the federal government through the S.C. Department of Commerce. Grants totaling $2.2 million and affecting an estimated 23,000 residents went to 11 recipients.Beaufort County, city of Hardeevile and town of Ridgeland officials did not respond to questions about whether they had applied for the CDBGs.
Bluffton teams looking good
Hearts ... to the Bobcats basketball teams. The boys won the Bobcat Classic Dec. 30 with a win over Friendship Academy of Washington, D.C. And the girls finished as runner up, falling in the championship to Kecoughtan of Hampton, Va. C.J. Frazier was named the tournament MVP. Bluffton's Tibra Wheeler and Shakeria Kitty were named to the all-tournament team.
In the meantime, the wrestlers are in action and have scored several key wins this season.
Go Bobcats!


text:
Commission Chairman Keith Collins said the panel is seeking more detailed information on the effects of tighter payment limitations, and agricultural program experts have been invited to present their views on the topic.
Lange, an economist who previously directed the NCC's Economic Services Department, said his presentation will focus on "the potential for extraordinary damage to U.S. agriculture and our rural economy from arbitrary and unwarranted limits that deny eligibility for farm program benefits in a global arena that is replete with subsidies.
"Such unilateral limitations have the effect of constraining the productive power of U.S. agriculture," Lange noted. "Any reduction in agricultural productivity has a profound impact on all sectors of U.S. agriculture as resources are pushed to less rewarding activities, and all consumers face higher prices for agricultural commodities."
The 2002 farm bill created the Commission to conduct a study on the potential impacts of further payment limitations on agricultural producers and others. The Commission has met several times since January 2003 and solicited written public comments during February 2003.
At its most recent meeting, the Commission concluded that input from agricultural program experts would be important as it completes its assessment. The Commission is scheduled to complete its study after the public workshop.
Other experts invited to make presentations include: representatives from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri and Iowa State University; Bruce Gardner, distinguished university professor, University of Maryland; Roger Johnson, commissioner of Agriculture, State of North Dakota; Daryll Ray, professor and Blasingame Chair of Excellence, and director of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee; and Daniel Sumner, professor and Frank H. Buck, Jr. chair in Agricultural Business, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, and director of the Agricultural Issues Center, University of California.
Each presenter will provide comments to the Commission followed by questions from and discussion with the Commission. After the presentations, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to provide comments. The workshop will be held in room 107-A at the USDA Whitten Building, Jefferson Drive, Washington, D.C. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 17. To register to attend, call or email Shirley Brown at (202) 720-4164 or [email protected].


text:
OTTAWA, Aug. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - Itinerary for the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, for Monday, August 21, 2017:
Ottawa, Ontario
Private meetings.
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office
For further information: PMO Media Relations: firstname.lastname@example.com, 613-957-5555RELATED LINKS
Browse our custom packages or build your own to meet your unique communications needs.
Fill out a CNW membership form or contact us at 1 (877) 269-7890
Request more information about CNW products and services or call us at 1 (877) 269-7890


text:
2013 has just begun, and you might have started planning and making list of games you will buying this year. But wait guys don't be in too much hurry, we are here to spoil your party and your future planning process related to video-games
Think we will see these games, thing is they will be next gen consoles games.JMT
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes(even though H.K want to release early)
R.Y.S.E ( This will be released w/ Kinect 2 just so their is no lag issue's)
i just hope crytek uveils something related to R.Y.S.E at E3 2013..... keeping my finger cross.....
Wait, this dude wrote an 8 item list article all on ONE page?? What sorcery is this?!


text:
The White House says President Barack Obama's decision on a possible military strike against Syria will be guided by America's best interests, suggesting the U.S. may act alone if other nations won't help. Local representatives, including Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand, weighed in on the potential military action.
The White House says President Barack Obama's decision on a possible military strike against Syria will be guided by America's best interests, suggesting the U.S. may act alone if other nations won't help.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Thursday that Obama believes there are core U.S. interests at stake in Syria. She said countries who violate international norms about chemical weapons must be held accountable.
The White House was responding to a failed vote in Britain's Parliament on Thursday to endorse military action against Syria over an alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus last week. That means Britain won't play a direct role in any U.S. attack.
The defeat dealt a major blow to Obama's efforts to build an international coalition for a strike against the Syrian government.
Local representatives weigh in on the Syria conflict
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer:
"A limited action to knock out his capability of delivering chemical weapons in the future could be appropriate, but we have to be very careful not to let our involvement escalate. America needs to focus on domestic issues such as jobs and the middle class."
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand:
"This is a heinous and despicable act that cannot be ignored. I expect that the Administration will work with an international coalition to act with a limited, tactical response to make it clear to Bashar al-Assad that this behavior is unacceptable."
U.S. Rep. Chris Collins:
"The images coming out of Syria are deeply troubling. There is also no question that the circumstances on the ground are complex and any military response by the United States will not only impact the ongoing civil war within Syria but possibly have ramifications throughout the region. For those reasons alone, I believe the President has an obligation to consult Congress and communicate with the American people about what our response should be.
"President Obama himself wrote that 'the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation' in a 2007 response to a Boston Globe questionnaire.
"It is my hope that President Obama will remember these words and call for Congress to reconvene for discussion should he deem military action in Syria necessary."
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning:
"This is a very dangerous and complex situation. There are no good options for the United States due largely to the failure to have a consistent policy regarding engagement in the Middle East over the last several years. I am waiting for the White House to give Congress a clear definition of the objectives and parameters of our potential involvement. Our goal must be to deter the use of chemical weapons and any weapons of mass destruction."


text:
Ichi is a professional and responsive retina ready one page HTML5 portfolio template which has been built using the new Twitter Bootstrap3 framework.
The template comes complete with Ten Colour Schemes in both Light and Dark Styles, Three Intro Sections: Parallax, Slider and YouTube Video.
The template also includes Parallax Sections, CSS3 Animations, Counters, Pie Charts and a Working Contact Form. Ichi also includes the excellent premium plugin, Ultimate Grid Responsive Gallery which was featured on Code Canyon.
- Internet Explorer 9+, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome
- Bootstrap3
- Well Documented Code and Css
- Html5 & Css3 Styling
- Responsive Design
- Retina Ready
- Css3 Animations
- Parallax Sections – images included
Three Home Page Introductions
– Slider
- Light & Dark Styles
- Ten Colour Schemes
- Ultimate Grid Responsive Gallery – $7
- 369 Font Awesome Icons
- PreLoad Me Preloader
- Pie Charts & Statistics Counter
- Working Ajax Contact Form
- Google Font Replacement
- Blog and Single Blog Page
- Psds of elements: status gif, blue overlay for background sections and map pointer.
– Parallax
– YouTube Video
I have also included a read me pdf help file to guide you through the code. I hope that I have covered everything but if there is something that you would like to know then I am happy to help out.
If you decide to purchase this template, please rate it. Many thanks!
2nd September 2014: Updated: gridgallery.js & YTPlayer.js - details in updates.txt 26th February 2014: Fixed bug in team modal boxes where links were unclickable. - details in updates.txt 20th December 2013: Added accordion and tabs, improved pricing tables.


text:
Who doesn't love pizza? Everyone in our family certainly does. But if you're looking for a fun new twist on traditional pizza, this is it. This recipe is a healthy foods combination … we love black beans in almost any recipe but this is a real crowd-pleaser. And it's a fun food for the kids.
Pizza How-to:
- Make a corn muffin batter.
- Spread in a shallow baking dish.
- Add black beans and cheese topping. Bake at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes.
- Garnish with chives or scallions and serve with a sour cream/Greek yogurt topping.


text:
The car:
2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
The power:
563 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque from a 6.2-liter V-8 engine mated to a carbon-fiber driveshaft and a seven-speed, dual-clutch automated manual transmission moving the rear wheels
The speed:
Zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds
The bragging rights:
The quickest car currently in Mercedes' stable
The price:
The Roadster starts at $198,675 including destination and a $1,700 gas-guzzler tax. As tested: $242,675
The details:
The SLS Coupe goes topless. Mechanically, the cars are identical, with the roadster adding just 88 pounds in the form of minor structural reinforcements and a power-operated soft-top roof. Heck, even trunk space is about the same. Even better is that the roadster's roof disappears in just 11 seconds and drivers can operate it up to 30 miles an hour.
According to an AMG engineer, the SLS was originally designed to be a roadster, so structural rigidity was part of the car's DNA from conception. That the SLS Roadster is being made available only now is merely a marketing move by Mercedes-Benz; AMG says it's been ready since the coupe was launched in 2010.
As with the coupe, all SLS Roadsters have five transmission settings: Controlled Efficiency, which starts the car in second gear and keeps things gentle and soft; Sport, which increases shift times by 30%; Sport+ and Manual, which shift the car in a scant 100 milliseconds; and Race, which is essentially a launch control system that will hurl you at the horizon like you slept with its girlfriend.
The test car seen here also came with the optional $2,500 AMG Dynamic Suspension, a feature with three stiffness settings: Comfort, Sport and Sport+. Other options include the $12,500 carbon ceramic brakes; $14,400 worth of carbon fiber draped over every imaginable surface including the engine bay; $3,400 wheels that are 19 inches in the front and 20 inches in the rear; a $6,400 Bang and Olufsen sound system; and a $2,500 system called AMG Performance Media, a frighteningly distracting software system that tracks and displays on the navigation screen data such as engine output and throttle position, a g-force meter and laps times.
Aesthetically the SLS remains the same, though the side profile is arguably better looking on the roadster because the rear half of the roadster's greenhouse is shorter than the coupe's, which makes the decklid on the roadster seem longer and flatter for more balance with the long hood up front.
Oh, that hood. Longer than a summer day in Stockholm, it harkens to a lost era of motoring when cars had similar proportions; an endless expanse of metal hiding immense, burly power, followed by a passenger compartment and trunk that seem only an afterthought. It's hard not be swept up in the romance of driving a roadster like this. It is utterly seductive. Although little rivals the grace and drama of pulling up to your destination in the SLS Coupe and sweeping open its signature gullwing doors, the SLS Roadster gives you a timeless, open-top experience better suited to drinking in the unapologetic sound of the SLS' V-8.
What's interesting about the SLS, in both coupe and roadster form, is that it isn't a particularly good-looking car. Even the paint on the model I tested, which should be named Indiscretion Red, couldn't hide a blunt front end and large rectangular grille that is highlighted only by a dinner-plate-size MB logo. The rear is wide and low and looks slightly alien, like that baby Will Smith delivered in the first "Men in Black."
But taken as a whole -- the long hood, the high beltline and cabin that envelops the passengers, the vehicle's width and proportions -- this car has road presence you'd expect on something that costs as much as a small condo. Returning to a car with a more conventional shape is a downright disappointment: You immediately miss the mini flight deck out front, and the mere act of driving no longer feels special.
The drive:
The flip side of having such an expanse of car in front of you is that it takes a little getting used to piloting the SLS. But it's worth the time. Once you adapt, you are treated to a very capable driving experience.
Because the car was engineered from conception to be a convertible, it has all the structural rigidity you want. The car stays securely planted on the road and moves with athletic deliberation. The engine is mounted behind the front axle for optimum weight distribution, so despite that long hood, it's easy to point the car quickly.
But the best feature about the SLS Roadster, one only heightened when you drop its roof, is the engine. One of the most powerful naturally aspirated V-8s on the road, it's loud and proud and has none of the staid refinement you might expect from a Mercedes; this engine did not go to finishing school like the others. The sound is deep, throaty and gloriously unrefined. Someone at the company is a NASCAR fan and is channeling their inner Kyle Busch, aggressive tendencies and all.
The roadster is quick off the line and accelerates forever, and when you do finally lift your foot off the throttle, you're treated to some of the most delicious exhaust overrun -- that profound popping and cackle -- that you can find this side of a racetrack. You can keep your gullwing doors; putting the top down and bathing in the roadster's aural moxie is a fine trade-off for me. Also laudable about the SLS Roadster is its approachability. You can use this car as your daily driver and pay no toll of practicality as you do with other supercars. It's comfortable, quiet (when you want it to be) and easy to manage around town.
I have only a pair of complaints about this car. The first is the gearbox. I'm not sure whose stopwatch said shifts happen in 100 milliseconds when the transmission is in Sport+ or shifted manually, but that timepiece probably needs a new battery. Even though this is a dual-clutch setup, tugging on the paddles doesn't compel the car to shift as immediately as I'd like. This was especially noticeable when downshifting.
The second complaint is relatively minor, but it's noteworthy because this is a car that can cost a quarter of a million dollars. Mercedes-Benz recently updated the design and layout of the center console for many of its cars. It's an intuitive, classy and aesthetically pleasing space for the controls for the stereo, climate and navigation system. The same basic layout is on almost every 2012 Mercedes, from the C-Class sedan to the CLS sedan/coupe thingie to the new SL hard-top convertible. But not on this SLS Roadster (or the coupe). Instead, the most expensive vehicle in the company's lineup has the previous, and now outdated, layout.
Perhaps Mercedes figured no one would notice. With an engine that sounds like this and a convertible top to drop when you need a breeze, it's likely you'll never even look at that center console.
The take-away:
I'm sorry sir, I'm having trouble hearing you complain about no gullwing doors over the roar of my V-8 and the extra-legal speeds blowing through my hair.


text:
The historic centre of Florence - so small and enclosed in a few roads - in reality hides many treasures that few other cities in the world can be proud off. Millions of people come from all over the world to admire the David or to be touched in front of the Venus of Botticelli.
And all this can be visited in a few steps!
Here's a possible 1 day road map to see the most beautiful works of art in Florence: a city so small, but so intense!
Start your "renaissance" walk with a visit to the Academy Gallery, where the original copy of David by Michelangelo is found. You will quickly discover why it is the most famous statue in the world.
After visiting the Academy Gallery, walk towards the Cathedral, cross via Calzaiuoli, Florentine 's famous shopping destination, and arrive in Piazza Signoria (10 minute walk) where you'll find the Uffizi Gallery. A two hour visit is enough to fall in love with the paintings and elegant halls of the most important gallery in Florence.
A plate of pasta and a good glass of red wine will give you strength to continue the tour of the museums.
While visting around "Piazza della Signoria" take a jump to the Museum of the Bargello that includes the best of the Italian Renaissance sculpture.
After the Bargello, go towards the other bank of the Arno passing over the Ponte Vecchio. On the itinerary you're following the ancient route that the Medici did when returning to their residence in Palazzo Pitti. Within the residence of the Grand Duchy, visit the Palatina Gallery to admire the paintings by Raphael, Titian and Rubens.
Once out from Palazzo Pitti, have a rest on the sloping side walls of the squares. Many people love sitting here on the ground at sunset and relax with a drink in their hand. Now you're just ready again to go through the square and arrive in Santo Spirito (5 minutes): paradise of economical good restaurants and inns! A tasty dinner awaits you!


text:
New Modest Mouse
Head over to http://www.ampcamp.com/mp3_of_the_day.php to download the new Modest Mouse song. I'm a fan.
Labels: Modest Mouse
The Official Blog of St. Louis Underground Radio...
Head over to http://www.ampcamp.com/mp3_of_the_day.php to download the new Modest Mouse song. I'm a fan.
Labels: Modest Mouse
Labels: Bittorrent, Experimental
On March 1, 2007 the US Copyright Office stunned the Internet radio industry by releasing a ruling on performance royalty fees that are based exclusively on the number of people tuned into an Internet radio station, rather than on a portion of the station's revenue. They discarded all evidence presented by webcasters about the potentially crippling effect on the industry of such a rate structure, and rubber-stamped the rates requested by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
Under this royalty structure, an Internet radio station with an average listenership of 1000 people would owe $134,000 in royalties during 2007 - plus $98,000 in back payments for 2006. In 2008 they would owe $171,000, and $220,000 in 2009.
In other words, if they are allowed to stand these rates are a death sentence for independent Internet radio stations. The only stations that would survive would be those who can afford to operate at that kind of loss, such as AOL (who would owe over $20,000,000 in 2006, far in excess of their income from radio).
1. Sign this online petition and open letter to the US Congress.
2. Send an email to your members of Congress. You can use our suggested text, or write your own.
3. Print out the email (you'll get a copy) and mail it to your Congresspeople. Follow up with a phone call. You can look up their addresses and phone numbers here.
4. Write a letter to the editor of your favorite magazines and newspapers. If you know someone in the media, let them know what's going on. Have them read my post below, if you like.
5. Don't panic. Together we can save the medium that we all love. We have the passion to make it happen!
6. Digg this post to help spread the word.


text:
- Home »
- Catalog »
- Shop Dirt Gear »
- Boots »
- Mens Motocross Boots »
- Answer Motocross Boots - Mens
Motoworld Racing - Answer Motocross Boots - Mens
Shop MotoWorld Racing for the best selection of mens Motocross boots from Answer Racing.
MotoWorld Racing was started in 1993 with a vision to offer hardcore Motocross enthusiasts the best quality mens riding boots, gear, apparel and products they can trust at the lowest prices online.
This category is empty.


text:
Please select Condition:
The device you are selling is:
Please select payment method:
Unlike many other recyclers, our prices are guaranteed rather than 'up to' prices. Provided your device is received as described, you'll receive the full value. Please click here for more details..
Great service. The returns posting pack arrived swiftly and had very clear instructions on what needed to be done. I returned this to the company and payment came through very quickly. The rates offered were very agreeable. Thank you Mazuma.
The IMEI number can be found printed on the back of the device.
It is usually listed as 'IMEI' and consists of 15 digits starting with 01, 35 or 98.
Our price promise guarantees you receive the full price quoted for your sale provided it meets our Terms & Conditions of Supply.
Once we receive your phone or device, if we find they do not meet our Terms & Conditions of Supply and the order value needs to be amended, we will email you a revised offer for your approval. If you are not completely satisfied with the revised offer, you can request to have the revised phone or device returned to you FREE of charge.
Revised orders will be automatically processed for payment if you do not reply to our revised offer email within 7 days.
Price promise does not apply to blocked (registered lost/stolen) phones or devices.
The value of this device is dependent on whether it is unlocked or locked to a particular Network.
Please select which Network your device is locked to or select Unlocked if it is not Network locked.
This is the device you are selling based on your selections.
Your bank must accept Faster Payments (most do). If not, a BACS transfer will automatically be made.
Your cheque will be made payable to the name registered in your Mazuma account and can be banked into any UK bank that you hold an account with.
For security reasons, your card will need to be activated once received. Once activated, it will take Argos 24hrs to credit the card. Credit cannot be used online.
The value of this device is not dependent on which UK Network it is locked to.
Value quoted applies to any UK Network or Unlocked (SIM FREE).
The value of this device when faulty is not dependent on which UK Network it is locked to.
If so please enter it into the field below, otherwise skip this step and provide it at a later date.
Each handset should:
Faulty examples:
Need help with something? Let's chat.
Part of the EcoRenew Group
© Mazuma Mobile 2018Registered in England No. 5909550


text:
It appears this may have happened due to the Research In Motion acquisition, but perhaps there were other reasons. It's amusing how at first they wanted to make the development of QNX more "transparent" and now it's back to being proprietary, and hobbyists are no longer permitted access to the following components, as mentioned on their site:
QNX6 microkernel, userland, libraries, GUI (Photon) and other aspects of the QNX Neutrino operating system.
The only portions left available are a few drivers, the ported NetBSD networking stack, and some other community initiated Foundry27 projects. A lot of technical sites covered the opening of QNX6 development and source, but, none have mentioned this recent relapse of the project, no longer is it open to study by hobbyists.. at least in source form. Very unfortunate.


text:
On first inspection, Houston Dynamo defenders Corey Ashe and Jermaine Taylor may not look like similar players. Ashe is short and blazingly fast. Taylor is wide-shouldered and physical.
But they have demonstrated this season that quality two-way play at left back comes in all shapes and sizes.
With Ashe away with the US national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Dynamo's 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union last weekend showed that while the package may be different, Taylor's capable of delivering the same results.
In Saturday's win, Taylor was not shy about joining the attack on the left side, looking to work with Andrew Driver to pressure the Union's right flank. The result was a game-winning assist to Ricardo Clark that showed Taylor has much more to his game than usually meets the eye.
READ: From steady to starter? Warren Creavalle makes his case for Houston
"Maybe most of the people don't expect a left back like me to go up in terms of the attack," the Jamaican international said. "I'm capable of doing it so it's just a matter of getting the chance to get up there and doing whatever I need to do offensively and defensively."
Added center back partner Bobby Boswell; "It doesn't surprise me because I think he's a good player. I've been fortunate to have some great defenders around me in my career and I think he's one of them."
Taylor's left back performance should not surprise. After all, three of his five career assists are as a fullback, two from left back, as well as it being his usual position for the Jamaican national team.
However, Taylor's regular position is considered to be center back, the position he was signed to play upon arrival in 2011 and primarily plays for the Dynamo. But after a foot injury slowed his initial time in Houston, he took a back seat to the likes of Boswell, Andre Hainault and now-Stoke City man Geoff Cameron.
READ: Eric Brunner says New England match is a "six point game"
Looking for time on the pitch, Taylor found it on the flanks and showed quickly that his versatility should not be underrated just because of his build.
"I think last year, through need, we played him at a lot of different positions and he showed how valuable and flexible he was," head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "When needed he's been asked to play different positions and doesn't say a word, just goes about his business and does very well."
With Ashe likely away for another two games it's reasonable to assume Taylor's home for the immediate future will be on the left. While it's not his "home," having a player that can adapt is something the Dynamo are happy to have.
"I know he likes to play in the middle, he considers himself a center back and not an outside back, but he fills in when the job's needed," Boswell said. "He's a great defender and a lot of fun to play with."
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.


text: CLEA initiated a project to develop a statement of best practices in 2001 by appointing a steering committee chaired by Roy Stuckey. Each new draft was posted on the internet and suggestions for improving the document were widely solicited. Many people made suggestions, and some even drafted segments that were incorporated into the document. As the document evolved, presentations about it were made at a variety of meetings and conferences, and the document was the subject of a national conference at Pace University School of Law in March 2005, as well as several CLEA-sponsored workshops.The product of the drafting phase, Roy Stuckey and Others, Best Practices for Legal Education (2007), can be viewed or downloaded below. While supplies last, hard copies can also be obtained free of charge by emailing Roy Stuckey.CLEA created the Best Practices Implementation Committee to develop strategies for persuading law schools to implement best practices for legal education. The Committee is co-chaired by Carrie Kaas (email@example.com, Quinnipiac) and Lisa Bliss (email@example.com, Georgia State). If you have any ideas that might help the Committee succeed, they would be glad to hear from you..PDF of FULL BOOKBest Practices (Full book in English)Best Practices (Full book in Russian).PDFs by CHAPTER (English)Cover and front materialChapter One: Reasons for Developing a Statement of Best PracticesChapter Two: Best Practices for Setting Goals of the Program of InstructionChapter Three: Best Practices for Organizing the Program of InstructionChapter Four: Best Practices for Delivering Instruction, GenerallyChapter Five: Best Practices for Experiential CoursesChapter Six: Best Practices for Non-experiential Teaching MethodsChapter Seven: Best Practices for Assessing Student LearningChapter Eight: Best Practices for Assessing Institutional EffectivenessChapter Nine: Components of a "Model" Best Practices CurriculumConclusion: The Road AheadAlso visit the Best Practices Blog. The Best Practices Implementation Co-Chairs are Carrie Kaas (Quinnipiac) and Lisa Bliss (Georgia State).


text:
Eurostyle Brinley Dining Table
Featuring the ultimate in simple chic, the Brinley dining table is a classic clear glass and stainless steel design. Its charming appeal complements any decor and presents a graceful allure that captures the eye from the first moment. You, your family and guests will appreciate its timeless yet refreshing aesthetics. Brinley collection Clear tempered glass top Brushed stainless steel legs
Do you know? is a nice product. Many peoples are waiting to buy with best price on black friday or cyber monday But Many peoples don't know may be out of stock before that times Then you should to check amount product in stock and buy . If you think it has low in stock.
The hot deals of the day is 's with discount prices. If you would like to order. Please check the product's features. And compare prices before deciding to buy .
Related items of Eurostyle Brinley Dining Table
Shopping Tip to buy Eurostyle Brinley Dining Table
Good luck!! Congratulations on your searching. I like to help you to find . Please enjoy with your shopping! or If you want to buy Eurostyle Brinley Dining Table. Please click Go to store button. When you're in order page. Please check the terms and conditions of sale, the refund policy and the delivery details. (Be aware of the full cost of your Eurostyle Brinley Dining Table purchase. Additional costs may include: currency conversion, taxes, postage and shipping fees.)
Good offers for you
Other Reviews
Review #1
I love love love this product. This is a wonderful dining table. True to size, comfortable, Very pleased. I got this for my 25 year old daughter for work. She loves it! She ordered two more in different colors.
Review #2
I got the and it is so chic! I love the dining table details and the quality is pretty good as well. I also like the size in general, I like how the color is versatile enough to wear for all the seasons. I especially love it. Definitely would recommend!
Review #3
Quick shipment. dining table exceeding my expectations. Color is great. I have had it for a week and I have received so many compliments. I love it. Overall a great purchase for its price. The quality of the dining table is excellent.
Online Shopping Tips
Shopping Online: Tips for the holidays
The holiday season is upon us, and that means millions of people will be shopping for gifts online. Though online shopping peaks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can be a safe shopper year-round. Here are some tips to remember:
-Always use a credit card. Never use a wire-transfer or a non-credit card method to buy anything online. Laws allow you to challenge any disputed item that shows up on your credit card bill, and most credit card companies have what's called a "zero liability" policy that doesn't hold you accountable for charges made if your card is lost or stolen.
-Make sure you're using a secure site when paying for something. The site you're visiting may not have an "https" in the URL, but you should see one when you go to check out. As an example, when you shop at Amazon, you only see www.amazon.com in the URL. But when you go to pay for the items in your shopping cart, you're taken to a secure version of the site. You can see that the checkout page begins with "https," a sign that you're on a secure site.
-When in doubt, do some research! If looking at a website that seems sketchy, pause for a second and do some research on the company before you buy. The Better Business Bureau offers a list of accredited businesses on its website. You can also Google the company. You may find customer reviews and experiences that could help you determine if the site is legitimate. If in doubt, don't buy.
-Finally, don't click on links directly from e-mails. Businesses love to send e-mails touting their latest sales. But so do scammers! If you get an e-mail from the Gap advertising 30% off, don't click directly from the email. Instead, type in the Gap's web address directly into your browser and then search for the deals. This helps prevent you from clicking on a link from a phishing email.
Online shopping is fun and convenient. Just make sure you're doing it safely and securely, and you should be fine.


text:
Bill Cosby still thinks America is funny — like the name-calling over health care and the way we drink so much water from plastic bottles that could be toxic — even though he says the nation has some serious problems it needs to tackle.
The 72-year-old who has long drawn laughs for his wisecracks and deadpan observations will receive the nation's foremost humor prize Monday at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Sinbad and other top entertainers will line up to honor him with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
It's a prize Cosby has turned down twice before because he said he was disgusted with profanity and N-words thrown around by performers honoring Richard Pryor, who was the first recipient in 1998.
"I told them flat out no because I will not be used, nor will Mark Twain be used, in that way," he told The Associated Press from his home in New York.
The profanity bugs Cosby. He always kept it clean with the family laughs on "The Cosby Show," portraying a middle-class black family and everyday life, from 1984 to 1992. And he's not impressed with today's comedians who can't help but curse.
It took a chat with Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser this year at Sen. Edward Kennedy's birthday celebration for Cosby to accept the award this time.
"What I wanted was to associate my work with why I do what I do," he said.
For a man with a master's degree and doctorate in education, his life is about more than laughs.
So Cosby helped craft the tribute show — airing Nov. 4 nationwide on PBS — to capture his overarching emphasis on taking education seriously and telling stories that teach something in the process. He's planned a special nod to his beloved Central High School in Philadelphia, with fellow alumnus James DePreist conducting their alma mater.
Producers of the show are worried it won't be funny, Cosby said. But he said there will still be plenty of entertainment.
Cappy McGarr, one of the show's executive producers, said they're thrilled with the lineup, which also includes Carl Reiner, Wynton Marsalis, and "Cosby" co-stars Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The producers shape each show around the honoree and have had Cosby on their list for years. McGarr explained the tribute to Pryor aired for a different audience on Comedy Central and wasn't meant to be offensive, but the show has aired on PBS ever since.
He said the producers were grateful Cosby finally accepted.
"He is a comic genius," McGarr said. "He just has a wonderful reflection of funny ... and is an absolute master at taking an ordinary human condition and giving his take on it.


text:
marrsx4 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 69 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
Jumpstart Talking
Jumpstart Talking – We get your kids to talk. This is a new program that brings together art, play, education and speech language pathology to develop the communication skills of late talking toddlers (2-3 years old).
In some respects it is an alternative to preschool for parents who don't want to worry about their late talker getting lost in the shuffle. We use small groups as opposed to the large groups you see with preschools. We use licensed speech language pathologists as opposed to teachers. We use a longer session that utilizes various types of fun and engaging activities as opposed to the typical sterile activities found in most therapeutic approaches.
This program is going to be part of an existing practice. Overall the practice is seen as being prestigious yet fun. The therapists are seen as being the experts at what they do. They are also seen as having an uncanny knack for engaging children and getting them to make progress.
Part of the philosophy is that parents should not wait and see if their child is going to grow out of a communication delay. They also need to put their child in situations that will enrich their lives and give them the best chance to succeed.
Generally speaking this needs to appeal to affluent parents of 2-3 year old late talking children. More specifically it needs to appeal to the mom. She is concerned about her child's development. She wants him to talk like the other kids. She doesn't want to put her child in a program where he'll get lost in the shuffle. She doesn't want her child to feel left out. She want's something to help her child that will also be fun.
Files need to be compatible with adobe CS5 for windows. I need one to be vector and all to be in formats that can edit if needed. I prefer original artwork that does not require me paying licensing rights to a third party.
Also, I try to give a lot of feedback. I will try to let you know what I do and don't like. If you have not heard from me and you're still in the contest it is because I haven't thought of anything helpful to say yet.
I'm not a big fan of using the star ratings, especially if I haven't given you any feedback. I don't like the star ratings because I find designers with designs that have a lot of potential drop out without giving their design time to develop fully. So please bear with me if I don't star your design. Again, I'll try to give you helpful comments.
Please feel free to ask questions.
Good luck!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Healthy Bean and Vegetable Whole Wheat Wrap
Do you need an idea for a quick, easy meal that does not require cooking? Well these wraps are super nutritious and easy as 1-2-3 to put together and get on the table. My kids love wraps and this one is definitely healthy and filling.
- 1 can Vegetarian Refried Beans (Low fat)
- 1 10 pack of Low fat Whole Wheat Tortillas
- 1 Tomato (diced)
- 2% Sharp Cheddar Cheese(Lowfat)
- 1 Avocado (chopped)
- Shredded Romaine Lettuce
- 1 bunch Cilantro (optional)
How to Make:
Warm refried beans of med. heat and then remove or microwave them (optional- heat your burrito at the end instead). Next, take a tortilla (warm if desired) and lay out flat on a large plate. Now spread a layer of beans on the tortilla and then add vegetables (I put the veggies I know my child will eat and maybe a little bit of something new). Last I will add the cheese and wrap it up (either use a paper towel to wrap it or a toothpick if it will not stay closed). You can either serve or warm up burrito in microwave for 10-30 seconds.
Serve with a side of fruit and you will have a meal that is healthy, and has protein, fiber, whole grains, vegetables and fruit! And you get a healthy 1 dish meal your family will love without cooking a thing! This has become a favorite lunch or dinner at my house.
When you first serve this, if your kids are not used to this type of food, I would recommend trying it with only lettuce or a vegetable he/she likes and if you need to put just a bit of a low-fat salad dressing on top to give it a little more flavor that they are used to eating.


text:
The evening before Mike D'Antoni was due to arrive in Los Angeles as the new coach of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant was still talking about Phil Jackson.
Jackson's effect on the Lakers superstar runs deep, so much so that Bryant said his former coach's teachings still influence every aspect of his game.
"I'm basically the baby zen master," he said.
When asked if he would have been a member of five NBA championship teams if it weren't for Jackson, Bryant didn't hesitate.
"Probably not," he said.
Standing by his locker Tuesday night following the Lakers 84-82 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant offered some insight into to what made Jackson such a successful coach.


text:
WWF International President's Award
International President's Award
The WWF International President's Award aims to recognise young people who are already active in conserving the natural environment, achieving significant success and/or innovative approaches, and whose efforts are influencing and inspiring others.
WWF International President Yolanda Kakabadse, who initiated the award, said: "This Award shines a light on brilliant young people who are working hard to protect the natural world. We desperately need young leaders and pioneers joining the nature conservation movement and sharing their passion and skills". She added that there are countless examples of such actions around the world, and WWF hopes that by showing what can be achieved this will encourage others to take up the
"My dearest wish is that it inspires others with the energy and ambition to achieve great heights" she said.
The annual WWF International President's Award acknowledges and encourages outstanding achievements of young people under the age of 30 who are making strong and compelling contributions to nature conservation, and helping improve the lives of local communities.
Nominations are invited via WWF offices around the world.
Recipients of the International President's Award
2016 - Brighton Kaoma (Zambia)
2015 - Isak Utsi (Sweden)
2014 - Carmen Maria Araceli Monges (Paraguay)
2013 - Kerstin Forsberg (Peru/Italy)
2012 - Dawa Steven Sherpa (Nepal/Belgium)
Read the article


text:
12 June, Beijing, People's Republic of China – A National SAICM (Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management) Planning and Inception Workshop was held in Beijing on 12 June 2012, with the participation of UNITAR. The main objectives of the workshop were to launch China's SAICM Quick Start Programme Trust Fund project, entitled "Enabling Activities for the Development of a SAICM Implementation Plan as a Key Contribution towards an Integrated National Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals in the People's Republic of China", and to establish a project steering committee. The project aims to strengthen capacities for national implementation of SAICM.
The workshop was attended by more than twenty representatives of government, industry organizations, and academic and research institutes related to chemicals management.
The workshop focused on planning for two key project activities:
- Drafting the National Profile to Assess Infrastructure and Capacity Needs for Chemicals Management through a process which involves all interested parties at the country level; and
- Finalising coordinating mechanisms including the terms of reference and workplan for developing the National Profile and implementing the project.
The workshop also provided an opportunity to give presentations on SAICM and the international context for sound chemicals management.
The National Planning and Inception Workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of PR China in collaboration with Peking University, with technical support provided by UNITAR, and financial support provided by SAICM's Quick Start Programme Trust Fund.


text:
Cameron baseball player raising money for breast-cancer victims
Cameron High School baseball player Austin Standridge is trying to make some noise — this time off the field. The Yellowjacket athlete is trying to help raise money for breast-cancer victims.For each home run that Standridge hits this fall, money will be donated to the LeFlore County chapter of the American Cancer Society. It's his Future Farmers of America (FFA) project.Donations may be made by either donating so much for every homer Standridge hits or a one-time monetary amount. All funds will stay in LeFlore County.For additional information, call Standridge at (918) 649-4063, Johnny Baker at (918) 647-2233, Cameron High School at (918) 654-3412 or the Cameron Booster Club at (918) 721-4005.Just a Reminder About Next Week's ColumnSince Monday is Labor Day and The Poteau Daily News will not publish a Tuesday morning paper next week, next week's Diamond Notes Column will appear in the Wednesday, Sept. 7 edition.ScheduleSoftballTodayHowe at Wister, DH, 4 p.m.Pocola at Panama, 4 p.m.Keota at Arkoma, 4 p.m.Panola at Leflore, 5 p.m.Buffalo Valley at Whitesboro, 4 p.m.Bokoshe at McCurtain, DH, 4 p.m.Heavener at Westville Tournament, TBA.Spiro and Antlers at Wilburton, 4:30 p.m. (Spiro vs. Antlers, 5:45 p.m.; Spiro vs. Wilburton, 7 p.m.)Talihina at Red Oak, 4 p.m.ThursdaySpiro at Poteau, 4 p.m.Bokoshe at Cameron, DH, 4 p.m.Talihina at Whitesboro, 4 p.m.Clayton at Leflore, 5 p.m.Red Oak at Panama, 4 p.m.Heavener and Sallisaw at Muldrow, 4 p.m. (Heavener vs. Muldrow, 4 p.m.; Heavener vs. Sallisaw, 5:15 p.m.)Howe and Checotah at Wilburton, 4 p.m. (Howe vs. Wilburton, 4 p.m.; Howe vs. Checotah, 5:30 p.m.)Pocola at Keota, 5 p.m.Wister at McCurtain, 4 p.m.FridayMcCurtain at Howe, DH, 5:15 p.m.TuesdayPocola at Poteau, 4 p.m.Spiro at Panama, 4 p.m.Talihina and Bokoshe at Wister, 4 p.m. (Talihina vs. Wister, 4 p.m.; Talihina vs. Bokoshe, 5:15 p.m.; Bokoshe vs. Wister, 6:30 p.m.)Battiest at Howe, 4:30 p.m.Kinta at Leflore, 5 p.m.Smithville and Stigler at Heavener, 4 p.m. (Smithville vs. Heavener, 4 p.m.; Smithville vs. Stigler, 5:15 p.m.; Stigler vs. Heavener, 6:30 p.m.)Panola at Whitesboro, 4 p.m.Arkoma at Gans, 4 p.m.BaseballTodayKinta at Leflore, 5:30 p.m.Whitesboro at Red Oak, 4 p.m.ThursdayWister at Cameron, 4 p.m.Kinta at Howe, 4:30 p.m.Whitesboro at Buffalo Valley, 5 p.m.FridayEagletown at Leflore, 4:30 p.m.Whitesboro at Clayton, 4 p.m.TuesdayHowe and McCurtain at Leflore, 3 p.m. (Howe vs. Leflore, 3 p.m.; Howe vs. McCurtain, 5 p.m.; McCurtain vs. Leflore, 7 p.m.)Crowder at Cameron, 4 p.m.Whitesboro at Panola, 5 p.m.


text:
Judge Calls Copyright Troll's Bluff
from the well,-this-could-be-interesting dept
If the John Doe defendant refuses to settle, or Plaintiff has been unable to serve the complaint within the 120 days required under Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, subject to any extension granted by the court, with whatever information is provided by the ISP, Plaintiff dismisses the complaint against that defendant without prejudice to Plaintiff's ability to commence a subsequent action against that defendant. In this fashion, Plaintiff has initiated hundreds of lawsuits in various district courts throughout the country, but has not yet proceeded to trial in any case.The judge talks about a small group of (anonymous) defendants who have fought the case. He goes through a similar analysis as other judges about whether or not the joinder of so many defendants makes sense, and whether or not the process of never following through to trial makes sense. Like many other judges, he's concerned:
...the joinder of multiple John Doe defendants could very well lead to litigation abuses. The purpose of the joinder rules is to promote efficiency, not to use federal district courts as small claims collection agencies, by putting economic pressure on individuals who do not have substantive liability.However, rather than just dismantling the cases and blocking discovery, Judge Baylson has decided to hold a "bellwether" trial involving just the five users who challenged the subpoena, to test the claims of the troll, Malibu Media -- and then notes that if it sees Malibu Media continue to act like other trolls, "picking off" individuals for confidential settlements, "the Court may draw an inference that Plaintiff is not serious about proving its claims, or is unable to do so."
The bellwether trial, then, will test Malibu's claims in court and see how well they do in front of a judge... for the first time for this type of copyright troll:
...the Court assumes that Plaintiff will welcome this opportunity to prove its claims...That said, the court notes that it may seem unfair to "punish" the people who fought back and put all the others on hold, but notes that, given the circumstances, this makes the most sense:
The Court also acknowledges that the five John Does who will be defendants in the Bellwether trial are, in a sense, being penalized for filing motions challenging the third-party subpoenas presently at issue, given that all proceedings against the remaining John Does will be stayed until further order of the Court. In the Court's view, however, under the present circumstances, this is the fairest and most efficient means of resolving these actions. These defendants have objected to Plaintiff's strategy and two of them have filed declarations asserting that Plaintiff's claims are false. A Bellwether trial is the best means of testing the viability of Plaintiff's claims, as well as Plaintiff's sincerity in pursuing them.And, of course, he notes that should Malibu's case fail, they'll have some remedies as well:
In the event Plaintiff's allegations cannot be sustained, the five John Does will have adequate remedies to recover most, if not all, of these litigation expenses and/or damages from Plaintiff, such as a Rule 54 motion for costs, a lawsuit for abuse of civil process, a Rule 11 motion for sanctions, and a motion to recover excessive costs under 28 USC § 1927. More fundamentally, as mentioned above, because this is a copyright case, a successful defense will likely result in an award of attorney's fees to any John Doe who prevails...In other words, these defendants really will need to prove that Malibu's evidence is weak, but if they succeed, the copyright trolling strategy could be in trouble. This case suddenly becomes a key one in the whole copyright trolling area -- and as such, I imagine that we'll see some interesting folks take an interest in the case. We'll certainly be watching it closely.


text:
By: Dr Lynda Kelly, Category: Museullaneous, Date: 20 Oct 2011
Some notes and commentary from this article published in Volume 30, Number 1 edition of the Exhibitionist. Thanks to Gretchen Jennings for passing it on and to the seven respondents in the article for their considered comments which I've shamelessly borrowed!
The Spring Edition of the Exhibitionist addresses the topic Is it a museum? Does it matter? More details are on their website here
What did a bunch of museum studies folk think about where museums and museums studies is headed: How Do Museum Studies Programs Address the Nature of Museums Today? Here's my notes and commentary.
General themes:
Overall areas for study in museology are:
I'm thinking that the key qualities of a museum worker for the 21st century are being networked, connected, open-minded, critical, curious and conscious of sustainable work practices. We will be discussing these in more detail at the ICTOP 2011 conference, The Museum Professional Network: Careers, Connections and
Community, being held in Toronto from 24-26 October. Follow us on Museum3.org or #ictop on Twitter.


text:
From Imperial Wiki
The A-wing is a starfighter fielded by the Rebel Alliance. It is among the fastest and most maneuverable interceptors in the Alliance's arsenal despite it's lackluster durability.
The A-wing was originaly designed by Incom as a stunt-ship; the Alliance saw it's incredible maneuverability and equipped it with twin blaster cannons and a concussion missile launcher.