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SYDNEY, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Third-seeded Sara Errani beat her doubles partner Roberta Vinci in opening-round play Sunday at the Apia International Sydney tennis tournament.
Errani converted four of her 12 break opportunities in defeating Vinci 6-4, 6-2. She took just less than half (36-of-73) of the points off Vinci's serve while saving four of the five break points she saw on the day.
Errani and Vinci, ranked No. 1 in the world as a doubles team, will look to defend their 2013 Australian Open women's doubles title when the year's first tennis major begins next week.
Madison Keys posted the first upset in Sydney, taking out seventh-seeded Simona Halep 6-1, 6-4. Keys had Halep on the defensive throughout the match, winning four of her eight first-set break chances and three of the four she had in the second set.
Wild-card entrant Ajla Tomljanovic ousted Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday's other main-draw pairing. Tomljanovic had seven aces and won two-thirds of the points on serve.
World No. 5-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed and defending champion at the Apia International, one of two final WTA warm-ups before the Australian Open. She and Errani, No. 7 in the world singles rankings, are two of six Top 10 players in the tournament.


text: Sorry for the inconvenience but the website you are attempting to reach has been turned off due to a security related issue. This has been done to all Drupal 6 sites. "An emergency change advisory board convened to discuss this security incident, and it was determined that continued use of Drupal 6 websites pose a significant security risk to the University."

subset: commoncrawl


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Many photos of Maine Coon Cats, Kittens, and Breeding Cats Gallery
Maine Coon Health, Genetic Testing, Cattery Tour, Color and Pattern Descriptions, Kitten Rearing, CFA Cattery of Excellence, and Helpful Tips for New Maine Coon Owners.
Welcome to Congocoon Maine Coon Cattery
Click on the beautiful Maine Coon Female named "Dancer" above to enter our site.
To go directly to Available Maine Coon Kittens, please click below!
You are visiting - www.congocoon.com - Please bookmark our site!
Here at Congocoon Maine Coon Cattery we strive to offer quality Maine Coon Kittens to loving homes.
All of our Maine Coon Cats are genetically tested. We have Maine Coon Cats and Maine Coon Kittens in a variety of colors.
As a Maine Coon Cat Breeder we prefer to place Maine Coon Kittens locally, but will ship.
We have placed Maine Coon Kittens in many states including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina
Washington, Oregon, California, Wisconsin, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana,Virginia, Kentucky,
New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada,Ohio,Oklahoma,Pennsylvania,Mississippi and Vermont!
We have also placed Maine Coon Kittens in Canada, Belgium, Germany, France and other countries!
Our Maine Coon Kittens are vet checked, well socialized and are striking examples of the Maine Coon Breed!
If you are looking for a Maine Coon Cat or Maine Coon Kitten please email!
Congocoon Maine Coon Cattery
849 County Road 285, Stevenson Alabama 35772
Thankyou for visiting us!
With over 30,000 clicks per month, You have helped us to be one of the Top Maine Coon Sites on the Web!
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Please check the button and let us know! : )
Stud Cats
Retired Studs
Breeding Queens
Retired Queens
Kitten Photo Gallery
Adult Cat Photo Gallery
Tour The Cattery Garden
Bernese Mountain Dogs
Available Puppies
Feline Health
Great Feline Sites
Email Mitzi
Largest Domestic Feline!
Maine Coons are considered the largest of the domestic felines. Some neutered males can reach almost 30lbs!
Average size varies for a male from 15-24lbs, but also larger than average is often the case.
Females although smaller than the males, can often get as large ast 16-17lbs, but taking longer to reach that adult size.
The males seem to grow and quick rates and even yearlings are in the double digits, with adult size generally being reached at around 5 years old.
Considered the Gentle Giants of the cat world, Maine Coons are gentle, and doglike in nature.
They much prefer to be where the action is, and if you have small children expect your CongoCoon to be right in the mix!
As seen on You Tube, below is a sample of our CongoCoon Maine Coons in video!
Where did Maine Coons come from?
Although of unknown origin, Maine Coons were found as barnyard cats in Northeast USA, hence the name Maine Coon.
The Coon part comes from the chirping sound similar to a raccoons voice, and their love of water.
Also typical of a Raccoon, although breeding between cats and raccoons is genetically impossible.
Maine Coons are impressive with those gorgeous tips on the ears, rumored to have come from crossing with the North American Lynx, resulting in Lynx Tips!
And with tufts of hair between the toes, adapting them to a climate befitting this rugged cat that can walk on snow.
At Congocoons we strive for that wild rugged look in our kittens and cats!
Maine Coon Poly Toe!
What about those toes! Where did they get all those toes?
The Poly Gene which produces the multi toed foot is in many breeds of cats including Maine Coons and non-pedigreed cats.
We here at Congocoons love the Poly Toes, and know many of you also love these big snow shoe feet!
They pose no health concerns, other than a claw that may need to be trimmed more often.
We are centrally located between Knoxville, Nashville, Atlanta and Birmingham!
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From Blah to Aah: Products You'll Love
Are your creative juices frozen up? Are you struggling to drive the winter doldrums out of your designs? Here are some products that may be just what the doctor ordered! Let these goodies lift your layouts above January's clouds.
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These die cuts from Minnesota-based The Scrap Shack are some of the most intricate we've seen.
Use Reminisce's versatile rub-ons (like these from the Live Out Loud collection) to delineate journaling, highlight photographs or enhance embellishments.
Fancy Pants Designs's ready-made embellishments in The Daily Grind collection could be just the finishing touch your design needs.
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By Hannah Margaret Allen, our guest blogger from the lovely blog hm who loves offering advice, loves saying "love," and never, ever, ever argues with her parents. At least not while writing this article. My lovely loves, it has been too long. My hope is that the holiday break was filled with movie watching, cookie eating, friend hopping and perhaps the occasional date or four. The year is now yours to claim. You know the ropes because you've been at it for at least half a year now. Your midterms or finals are over for a spell, and you are getting ready to take a deep breath and get comfortable. Then those tricky parents show up.
How do you actually deal with your parents? How do you handle being told what to do? How do you react to being coached, reminded or scolded? How respectful are you required to be? Each breed is different, and each relationship is unique. Here are the basics, in my opinion:
• Always listen. Listening is a big issue with kids. When my mom and I get into it, which unfortunately still happens as a 22-year-old, it's typically because she told me to do something, and well, I didn't. You all know that pain don't you? I told you to clean your room/empty the dishwasher/fold your clothes, but alas, you forgot. This could also be used when discussing bigger issues. The times I have listened to my parents and did what they suggested have always turned out better off. My mom for instance, is always getting me to apologize to this person, calm down or respond with kindness. It almost always works.
• Think about their position. When you take a second to think about what they are dealing with, how they have sacrificed for you (even if they aren't the best parents, they still had you) or what they are trying to teach you, it usually ends up being more positive. I get so annoyed when I am told to do something (I'm the most stubborn girl you've ever met), but when I realize that my dad is hounding me on something because he want to help me, I realize that I am being ridiculous.
• Talk to them. Be open and honest with them. They are, in fact, real people. They may be busy with work or home stuff, so ask them about it and see where you can help. If you're bored, call them up and check in. If you're getting picked up from school, actually answer them when they ask how your day was. It's nice when you can communicate, and they might in return have more sympathy for you because they know how busy school is/hard friends are being/etc.
• Don't talk to them. By this I specifically mean: don't talk back to them. I am guilty, guilty, guilty of this, and it is not pleasant. If I could learn one thing at an early age it would be to know when to stop talking. There is no way you can/should argue with everything your parents have to say. Sometimes they are going to be annoying, bite your tongue. Sometimes you are really going to be offended, and if you can't stop yourself—go for it, speak up. Just realize that you may have consequences. I would have saved many-a tear if I had just moved on.
Parents are tricky. With age you see from their perspective more, and it's extraordinarily enlightening. Heck, I'm only 22, and I already see and understand it more fully. Be as kind and grateful as you can. Realize that they love you. And then move out at some point! It's the circle of life, cue The Lion King soundtrack.
Like always, email me if you have questions/concerns/want to chat: firstname.lastname@example.com
**Also note that there are many parental relationships that these bits of advice wouldn't help in any sort of way. Some parents aren't good parents, some are the best. If you or someone you know is dealing with physical or verbal abuse from a parent, contact help.


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German Copyright Troll Sends Thousands Of Shady Demand Letters To Users Of Streaming Porn Site, Redtube
from the this-again? dept
Online porn is big business, perhaps not so much for pornographers as it is for copyright trolls and anxious government entities. Urmann and Colleagues (U+C), a German copyright troll, is continuing the settlement letter tactics it began last year. The difference this time is that rather than pursuing downloaders via torrent tracking and threatening to out them as porn watchers if they don't pay up, U+C is now targeting viewers who have streamed allegedly infringing content from porn aggregator Redtube.
Tens of thousands of German internet users have been sent threatening letters by a law firm apparently acting on behalf of a rights-holder, on the basis that they watched copyrighted material on the pornographic video-streaming site Redtube.According to the source article, a Cologne-based lawyer estimates that, based on the number of calls he alone has received, U+C has targeted 20,000-30,000 viewers.
The letters, issued by law firm U + C on behalf of Swiss firm The Archive AG, demand €250 ($344) per watched clip. The films in question include titles such as "Hot Stories" and "Amanda's Secrets."
There are multiple problems with what's going on here. First of all, The Archive AG is itself a "copyright protection" company, meaning it's acting on behalf of the porn producers through U+C, rather than producing the porn. Beyond that, the titles listed in the letters (Miriam's Adventures, Amanda's Secret, Dream Trip, Hot Stories) show up in searches only a) as part of articles detailing U+C's actions or b) as the unrelated names of websites and blogs. If this porn exists other than on Redtube, it's not easily located on the web.
Furthermore, U+C offers no proof that these titles were uploaded to Redtube without permission. On top of that, there's plenty of legal questions surrounding the supposed illegality of viewing infringing streams, especially since users are never fully in possession of the infringing content. Even if they were in possession of the video (however temporarily), German law allows for "private copying" without legal penalty.
Then there's the question of how U+C obtained IP addresses. Data on streaming viewers isn't as easy to obtain as it is with torrent services.
As for how the viewers' IP addresses were identified, that also remains a mystery for now. The itGuards "Gladii" software mentioned in court records is reportedly only designed for monitoring file-sharing networks. File-sharing is easier to monitor in this sense, as IP addresses are there for the harvesting unless the user deploys a VPN or proxy.According to the source article, U+C apparently misrepresented Redtube as a file sharing site ("swap meet" in the original article) in order to obtain court orders demanding the release of subscriber IP addresses.
Some have suggested that users were targeted with malware that harvested their IP addresses. If so, this would be a new low for a particularly obnoxious facet of the copyright industry.
What this looks like is Prenda-type tactics. Misrepresentation to the court. Possible honeypot deployment (the porn titles seem to be nonexistent). Shakedown letters sent en masse. And, going one step further than the most infamous of porn copyright trolls, the possible deployment of malware to track IP addresses. (Google currently indicates that Redtube "might be hacked.")
With the ownership of the disputed clips almost impossible to verify and U+C's tactics crossing the line from "shady" to "possibly illegal," lawyers in Germany are advising recipients of the demand letters to ignore them for the time being and by no means encourage U+C by paying the legally dubious fee. Of course, it will probably take more than this to discourage U+C. Settlement letters are generally issued on the same principle as mass mailing: a 1% response rate is more than enough to cover the expenses incurred.
Filed Under: copyright, copyright troll, germany, streaming
Companies: porn, the archive ag, u+c, urmann and colleagues


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Host: Joan Neuberger, Editor, Not Even Past and Professor, Department of History
Guests: Daina Ramey Berry, Associate Professor, Department of History
Leslie Harris, Department of History, Emory University
When most people think about slavery in the United States, they think of large agricultural plantations and picture slaves working in the fields harvesting crops. But for a significant number of slaves, their experience involved working in houses, factories, and on the docks of the South's booming cities. Urban slavery, as it has come to be known, is often overlooked in the annals of slave experience.
This week's guests Daina Ramey Berry, from UT's Department of History, and Leslie Harris, from Emory University, have spent the past year collaborating on a new study aimed at re-discovering this forgotten aspect of slave experience in the United States.
Download audio (right click to save)


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We will find a soultion
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News Roundup: The Libyan War
Saturday's mission was aimed at clearing the way for imposition of a European-led no-fly zone over the North African country. Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters the Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from one British submarine and a number of American destroyers and subs.
[Breaking News And Commentary]
The Libyan war: Pentagon: 112 cruise missiles launched from US and UK ships and subs, hitting 20 sites 19 Mar 2011 [Now, that's change we can believe in! See, Bush bombed Iraq on 19 March 2003; Obama bombed Libya on 19 March 2011! See the change? --Lori Price commentary]
First wave of allied assault: 112 missiles --The Pentagon spokesman said the success of the mission was not immediately clear [*duh*] adding that additional attacks would commence later. 19 Mar 2011 The Pentagon says U.S. and British ships and submarines have launched the first phase of a missile assault on Libyan air defenses, firing 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles at more than 20 targets along the coast.
Saturday's mission was aimed at clearing the way for imposition of a European-led no-fly zone over the North African country. Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters the Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from one British submarine and a number of American destroyers and subs.
U.S. Launches Cruise Missiles Against Libyan Air Defenses 19 Mar 2011 The U.S. Navy fires the first U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles against Libyan leader's Muammar al-Qaddafi's air defenses Saturday, a military source tells Fox News. The U.S. military strikes clear the way for European and other planes to enforce a no-fly zone designed to ground Qaddafi's air force and cripple his ability to inflict further violence on rebels, U.S. officials said.
Britain strikes Libyan air defences 20 Mar 2011 British missiles have pounded Libyan air defences as military intervention kicked off, with Prime Minister David Cameron urging an end to the "appalling brutality" of Muammar Gaddafi's regime. As the action to enforce a UN resolution began, a British submarine fired Tomahawk missiles at Libyan air defence targets, as part of an attack with US forces that saw more than 110 missiles fired. The coordinated attack from ships and submarines hit more than 20 targets onshore as part of the action to stop the Libyan leader's forces
crushing an uprising, according to a top US military officer.
US Navy vessels launch missile strike against Gadhafi's limited air defenses in Libya 19 Mar 2011 The U.S. military attacked Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses Saturday with strikes along the Libyan coast that were launched by Navy vessels in the Mediterranean. A senior military official said the assault would unfold in stages and target air defense installations around Tripoli, the capital, and a coastal area south of Benghazi. That's the rebel stronghold under attack by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Three US submarines ready for Libya action - official 19 Mar 2011 The U.S. Navy has three submarines outfitted with Tomahawk missiles in the Mediterranean prepared to participate in operations against Libya, a U.S. defense official said on Saturday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three submarines, including attack submarines Newport News and the Providence, were joined by two Navy ships. The submarines were equipped with Tomahawk missiles that can cripple aircraft or anti-aircraft defenses in a no-fly operation, the official said.
Clinton warns Iran over meddling in Persian Gulf [OMG!! Hello, Pot? This is Kettle...] 19 Mar 2011 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Iran on Saturday to stop meddling in Bahrain and other Arab states in the Persian Gulf, but also called on the kingdom's leaders not to use force against anti-government protesters. Clinton said the United States "has an abiding commitment to Gulf security" and that "a top priority is working together with our partners on our shared concerns about Iranian behavior in the region."
Terrorists 'R Us: Revealed: Afghan chief accused of campaign of terror is on US payroll --Witnesses back leaked UN reports detailing claims of rape and murder against feared Tajik warlord 18 Mar 2011 An Afghan warlord backed by US special forces faces persistent allegations that he launched a two-year spate of violence involving burglary, rape and murder of civilians, desecration of mosques and mutilation of corpses. Yet, despite repeated warnings about the atrocities Commander Azizullah is alleged to have committed, he has remained on the payroll of the US
military as an "Afghan security guard", a select band of mercenaries described by some as "the most effective fighting formation in Afghanistan".
Several dozen arrested at anti-war rally outside White House marking Iraq war anniversary 19 Mar 2011 Several dozen anti-war protesters, including the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War, have been arrested outside the White House. Saturday's arrests are part of demonstrations in Washington and throughout the country to mark the eighth anniversary of the Iraq war. The demonstrators cheered as Daniel Ellsberg, the leaker, was arrested.
Japan fights to stop meltdown 20 Mar 2011 Japanese engineers battled to avert a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant yesterday as unusually high radiation levels were recorded in food products and water for the first time. Rescue teams, including a 46-member team from SA, continued their desperate search for survivors after the earthquake and tsunami left over 7000 dead, 10000 missing and 450 000 homeless. Crews working in highly toxic conditions at the nuclear plant yesterday connected a cable which they hope will power electric pumps to cool fuel rods at risk of a catastrophic radioactive fire.
Radiation found in food as crews tend to reactor 20 Mar 2011 Japanese crews fighting to cool overheating reactors laid a power line into a stricken nuclear power plant yesterday as the government revealed abnormal levels of radioactivity in milk and spinach. The Fukushima No 1 plant was crippled nine days ago by a terrifying earthquake and tsunami which, according to the latest police tally, left at least 18000 dead or missing in Japan's worst natural disaster since 1923. Just under 7200 were confirmed killed, lost to the tsunami or interred in the wreckage of buildings.
Unemployment rises in nearly all metro areas --Unemployment rose in nearly all of the 372 largest U.S. cities in January compared to the previous month 18 Mar 2011 Unemployment rose in nearly all of the 372 largest U.S. cities in January compared to the previous month, mostly because of seasonal changes such as the layoff of temporary retail employees hired for the holidays. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose in 351 metro areas, fell in only 16, and was unchanged in 5. That's worse than December, when the rate fell in 207 areas and increased in 122.
Berlin's polar bear star Knut dies 19 Mar 2011 Knut the polar bear, who became a global media sensation as a cub after being rejected by his mother and reared by hand, died suddenly for unexplained reasons on Saturday, the Berlin Zoo said. Knut, who shot to fame as a highly photogenic, snow-white cub in 2007, was aged just four years and three months, well below the average life expectancy for polar bears of
around 35. He was found floating dead on Saturday afternoon in the enclosure he shared with three other bears including his mother Tosca.
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Former Sen. Scott Brown is officially considering a run in New Hampshire.
The Massachusetts Republican, who has been hinting for months he would challenge Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is expected to announce the formation of an exploratory committee in a speech to a New Hampshire GOP conference Friday.
An exploratory committee allows him to hire staff and raise money for a run in this fall's election, an advisor said. The advisor confirmed that Brown had cancelled a planned trip to Iowa next month, where he was scheduled to headline a GOP fundraiser.
In addition to Brown, plenty of potential 2016 candidates will make appearances at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, N.H., this weekend, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Brown has long owned a vacation him in the Granite State, but sold his Massachusetts home and moved there full-time in December. He has continued to work out of the Boston-based law office of Nixon Peabody LLP, as he is not licensed to practice in New Hampshire.
Republicans are hopeful Brown may lead a charge to flip the Senate this year. Democrats hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate, including two independents who caucus with the Democrats, but are defending 21 of the 36 seats up for reelection this year.
The GOP has strong chances to pick up seats in South Dakota and West Virginia, with opportunities in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, and North Carolina, while Democrats are eyeing openings just in Georgia and Kentucky.
Brown, who was elected to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat in the Bay State in 2010, has proved his ability to win over Independents and independent-leaning Democrats, even in a state as blue as Massachusetts.
Still, Brown's opponent in 2010, Attorney General Martha Coakley (who is running for governor this year), was considered a weak opponent who ran a lackluster campaign. And while Shaheen is seen as a target because of her support of the Affordable Care Act, she served as New Hampshire's governor for three terms and defeated incumbent Sen. John Sununu, 52 percent to 45 percent in 2008.
Early polling shows Brown easily defeating his primary opponents, but has Shaheen leading Brown by margins ranging from 5 points to as much as 13 points.
[CNN] [Bloomberg]


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In 1997, I realized one of my childhood dreams. (Not the one where I'm being chased by Count Chocula.) I flew to New York from Chicago, where I was working as a performer at Second City, to interview for a writing position at "Saturday Night Live." It seemed promising, because I'd heard that the show was looking to diversify. Only in comedy, by the way, does an obedient white girl from the suburbs count as diversity. I arrived for my job interview in the only decent clothes I had: my "show clothes"—black pants and a lavender chenille sweater from Contempo Casuals. I went up to the security guard at the elevator and I heard myself say, "I'm here to see Lorne Michaels." I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. This must be how people feel when they really do go to school naked by accident.
I went up to the seventeenth-floor offices, whose walls were lined with archival photographs from the show—Jane Curtin ripping her shirt open on "Weekend Update," Gilda Radner in a "Beach Blanket Bingo" sketch, Al Franken's head shot! Then I sat on a couch and waited for my meeting with Lorne. About an hour into the wait, some assistants started making popcorn in a movie-theatre popcorn machine—something that I would later learn signalled Lorne's imminent arrival. To this day, the smell of fresh popcorn causes me to experience stress, hunger, and sketch ideas for John Goodman.
The only advice anyone had given me about meeting with Lorne was "Whatever you do, don't finish his sentences." A Chicago actress I knew had apparently made that mistake, and she believed it had cost her the job. So, when I was finally ushered into his office, I sat down, determined not to blow it.
Lorne said, "So, you're from . . ."
The words seemed to hang there forever. Why wasn't he finishing the sentence? If I answered now, would it count as talking over him? I couldn't remember how normal human speech patterns worked. Another five seconds went by, and still no more sentence from Lorne. Oh, God! When I flew back to Chicago the next day, they were going to say, "How was your meeting with Lorne Michaels?" And I would have to reply, "He said, 'So, you're from,' and then we sat there for an hour and then a girl came in and asked me to leave."
After what was probably, realistically, ten seconds, I couldn't take it anymore, and I blurted out, "Pennsylvania. I'm from Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia," just as Lorne finally finished his thought—"Chicago." I was sure I had blown it. I don't remember anything else that happened in the meeting, because I just kept staring at the nameplate on his desk that said "Lorne Michaels" and thinking, This is the guy with the Beatles check! I couldn't believe I was in his office. I could never have guessed that in a few years I'd be sitting in that office at two, three, four in the morning, thinking, If this meeting doesn't end soon, I'm going to kill this Canadian bastard. Somehow, I got the job.
During my nine years at "Saturday Night Live," my relationship with Lorne transitioned from Terrified Pupil and Reluctant Teacher, to Small-Town Girl and Streetwise Madam Showing Her the Ropes, to Annie and Daddy Warbucks (touring company), to a bond of mutual respect and friendship. Then it transitioned to Sullen Teen-Age Girl and Generous Stepfather, then to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jackson, then, for a brief period, to Boy Who Doesn't Believe in Christmas and Reclusive Neighbor Who Proves That Miracles Are Possible, then back to a bond of mutual respect and friendship.
I've learned many things from Lorne—in particular, a managerial style that was the opposite of my usual Bossypants mode. Here are some Things I Learned from Lorne Michaels:
(1) Producing is about discouraging creativity.
A TV show comprises many departments—costumes, props, talent, graphics, set dressing, transportation. Everyone in every department wants to show off his or her skills and contribute creatively to the show, which is a blessing. You're grateful to work with people who are talented and enthusiastic about their jobs. You would think that in your capacity as a producer your job would be to churn up creativity, but mostly your job is to police enthusiasm. You may have an occasion where the script calls for a bran muffin on a white plate, and people from the props department show up with a bran cake in the shape of Santa Claus sitting on a silver platter that says "Welcome to Denmark" on it. "We just thought it would be funny," they say. And you have to find a polite way to explain that the character is Jewish, so her eating Santa's face might have negative connotations, and the silver tray, while beautiful, is creating a weird glare on camera, and maybe let's just go with the bran muffin on the white plate.
And then sometimes actors have what they call "ideas." Usually, this involves the actor talking more, or, in the case of a more experienced actor, sitting more. When an actor has an idea, it's very important to get to the core reason behind it.
(2) Figure out if there is something you're asking the actor to do that's making him or her uncomfortable.
Is the actor being asked to bare his or her midriff, or make out with a Dick Cheney look-alike? (For the record, I have asked actors to do both, and they were completely game.) Rather than say, "I'm uncomfortable breast-feeding a grown man whom I just met today," the actor may speak in code and say something like "I don't think my character would do that." Or "I've hurt my back and I'm not coming out of my dressing room." You have to remember that actors are human beings. Which is hard sometimes, because they look so much better than human beings. Is there someone in the room the actor is trying to impress? This is a big one and should not be overlooked. If a male actor is giving you a hard time about something, immediately scan the area for pretty interns.
(3) The show doesn't go on because it's ready; it goes on because it's eleven-thirty.
This is something Lorne has said often about "Saturday Night Live," but it's a great lesson in not being too precious about your writing. You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke until the last possible second, but then you have to let it go.
You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute. (And I'm from a generation in which a lot of people died on waterslides, so this was an important lesson for me to learn.) You have to let people see what you wrote. It will never be perfect, but perfect is overrated. Perfect is boring on live television.
What I learned about bombing as an improviser at Second City was that, while bombing is painful, it doesn't kill you. What I learned about bombing as a writer for "Saturday Night Live" is that you can't be too worried about your permanent record. Yes, you're going to write some sketches that you love and are proud of forever—your golden nuggets. But you're also going to write some real shit nuggets. You can't worry about it. As long as you know the difference, you can go back to panning for gold on Monday.
(4) When hiring, mix Harvard nerds with Chicago improvisers and stir.
The staff of "Saturday Night Live" has always been a blend of hyper-intelligent Harvard boys1 (Jim Downey, Al Franken, Conan O'Brien) and gifted, visceral, fun performers (John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks, Horatio Sanz, Bill Murray, Maya Rudolph). Lorne somehow knew that too many of one or the other would knock the show out of balance. To generalize with abandon, if you had nothing but Harvard guys the whole show would be made up of commercial parodies about people wearing barrels after the 1929 stock-market crash. "Flenderson's Poverty Barrels: Replacing Clothes Despite Being More Expensive Since . . . Right Now. Formerly known as Flenderson's Pickles and Suspenders: A Semiotic Exegesis of Jazz Age Excess and the Failings of the Sherman Antitrust Act."
If you had nothing but improvisers, the whole show would be made up of loud drag characters named Vicki and Staci screaming their catchphrase over and over: "YOU KISS YOUR MUTHA WITH THAT FACE?"
Harvard boys and improv people think differently because their comedy upbringing is so different. If you're sitting in the Harvard Lampoon Castle with your friends, you can perfect a piece of writing so that it is exactly what you want and you can avoid the feeling of red-hot flop sweat—especially because you won't even be there when someone reads it. But when you're improvising eight shows a week in front of drunk, meat-eating Chicagoans you experience highs and lows. You will be heckled, or, worse, you will hear your heartbeat over the audience's silence. You will be bombing so hard that you will be able to hear a lady in the back putting her gum in a napkin. You may have a point to make about the health-care system in America, but you'll find out that you need to present it through a legally blind bus-driver character or an exotic dancer whose boobs are running for mayor. (I would like to see that sketch, actually.) Ultimately, you will do whatever it takes to win the audience over.
If Harvard is Classical Military Theory, Improv is Vietnam.
This is all to say that Harvard boys and people from Second City or the Groundlings (the L.A. improv group) make beautiful comedy marriages. The Harvard guys check the logic and grammatical construction of every joke, and the improvisers teach them how to be human. It's Spock and Kirk. (I guess if you want to tie all my metaphors together it would be Spock wearing a baldric and staying up all night to write a talk-show sketch with a mentally ravaged Rambo Kirk.)
I have tried to apply this lesson when hiring people for "30 Rock," and it has worked well so far. Our current staff makeup is four Harvard nerds, four performers turned writers, two regular nerds, and two dirtbags.
(5) Television is a visual medium.
Lorne has said this to me a lot. It basically means "Go to bed. You look tired." You may want to be diligent and stay up with the writers all night, but if you're going to be on the show you can't. Your street cred with the staff won't help anybody if you look like a cadaver on camera.
(6) Don't make any big decisions right after the season ends.
This is the same advice they give people who've just come out of rehab. After a gruelling period of work (or what passes for gruelling work in our soft-handed world), you will crave some kind of reward. But don't rush into a big decision, like a new house or a marriage or partial ownership of a minor-league baseball team, which you may later regret. The interesting thing about this piece of advice is that no one ever takes it.
(7) Never cut to a closed door.
Lorne said this once in exasperation over some sketch I can't remember. The director had cut to a door a moment too soon, before the actor entered, and in that moment Lorne felt we had "lost the audience." This can mean a lot of things. Comedy is about confidence, and if people in the audience sense a slip in confidence they're nervous for you and they can't laugh. Lorne would have preferred that the camera cut follow the sound of the actor knocking on the door. Which is to say that the sketch should lead the cutting pattern, which is to say that content should dictate style, which is to say that in TV the writer is king.
Or—and this is a distinct possibility—it doesn't mean anything and he was just in a grouchy mood.
(8) Don't hire anyone you wouldn't want to run into in the hallway at three in the morning.
This one is incredibly helpful. We work long hours on these shows, and, no matter how funny someone's writing sample is, if that person is too talkative or needy or angry to deal with by the printer in the middle of the night, steer clear. That must be how I got through that first job interview. I was not dynamic, but at least I wasn't nuts.
(9) Never tell a crazy person he's crazy.
There were many times in my nine years at the show when I couldn't understand why Lorne didn't just tell people to knock it off. Eccentric writers would turn in sketches that were seventeen minutes long, immature performers tried fits and tears when their sketches appeared later in the show than they'd wanted. My instinct would have been to pull these culprits aside and scold them like a schoolmarm. "Please explain to me why your sketch should get to be three times longer than everyone else's." "How dare you pitch a fit about what time your sketch is on? Some people didn't get to be in the show at all." But there is not one management course in the world that recommends self-righteousness as a tool.
Lorne has an indirect and very effective way of dealing with the crazies. It is best described by the old joke that most people know from "Annie Hall." A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, "My brother's gone crazy. He thinks he's a chicken." And the psychiatrist says, "Have you told him he's not a chicken?" The man replies, "I would, but we need the eggs." Lorne knows that the most exhausting people occasionally turn out the best stuff. How do I explain the presence of crazy people on the staff if we're following Rule No. 8? Easily: these crazy people are charming and brilliant and great fun to see at three in the morning. Also, some people arrive at the show sane, and the show turns them crazy.
In fairness to others, I will use myself as an example. In October, 2001, Manhattan was a tense place to work. One Friday morning, I was sitting in my tiny dressing room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza trying to write jokes for "Weekend Update." I was reading a thick packet of newspaper clippings, looking for something fun to say about Afghanistan, the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, the anthrax postal attacks: it was grim. Then Lester Holt came on MSNBC on the TV hanging in the corner and said, "Breaking news. Anthrax has been found at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. C.D.C. officials are investigating the potentially deadly substance, which was found in a suspicious package addressed to NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw." If you have decent reading-comprehension skills, you will remember from the beginning of this paragraph that I, too, was at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. "Nope," I thought. "I give up." I put on my coat, walked downstairs past my friends and co-workers without saying anything. I walked right past the host for that week, sweet Drew Barrymore, without telling her what I had heard. I just went to the elevator and left. Then I walked home and waited to die. Several hours later, Lorne called and said gently, "We're all here. You and Drew are the only ones who left. And Drew came back a few hours ago, so . . . we're ordering dinner, if you want to come back in." It was the kindest way of saying, "You're embarrassing yourself."
I got back to work that evening just in time to find everyone assembled on the studio floor. Andy Lack, the head of NBC News, was giving the crew an emergency briefing. Nothing is scarier, by the way, than a bunch of adults being very quiet. Lack explained that the C.D.C. would be "swabbing" workers from the second floor to the sixth floor. (Remember all those fun catchphrases from 2001? "Swabbing," "cutaneous," "Cipro," "I am Zoolander.")
As I watched from the audience balcony, I felt tremendous affection for everyone there. It was as if we were all a family and, if we had to go, at least we'd all go together. I guess I forgot that just a few hours earlier I had booked it out of there, leaving them all to die. (I have a uniquely German capacity to vacillate between sentimentality and coldness.) The point is Lorne did not do what I would have done, which is to say to me, "You're being crazy. Get back in here. Do you think you're more important than everybody else?" He also didn't coddle me, which is what I would have done if I were trying to overcompensate for my natural sternness. "Are you O.K.? If you need to take a couple of days off, I'm sure we can manage, blah, blah, blah." Instead, he found a way for me to slip back in the door as if my mental breakdown had never happened. "We're ordering dinner. What do you want?" He knew how to get the eggs.
People sometimes ask me about the difference between male and female comedians. Do men and women find different things funny? I usually attempt an answer that is so diplomatic and boring that the person will just walk away. Something like "There's a tremendous amount of overlap in what men and women think is funny. And, I hate to generalize, but I would say that at the far ends of the spectrum men may prefer visceral, absurd elements, like sharks and robots, while women are more drawn to character-based jokes and verbal idiosyncrasies." Have you walked away yet?
Here's the truth: There is an actual difference between male and female comedy writers, and I'm going to reveal it now. The men urinate in cups. And sometimes jars. One of the first times I walked into the office of my old boss Steve Higgins, he was eating an apple and smoking a cigarette simultaneously. (When I started at "S.N.L.," you could still smoke in an office building. I might not be young.) I had been there only a few weeks, and Steve had been very encouraging and supportive. I forget what we were talking about, but I went to get a reference book off a high shelf in his office. When I reached to move a paper cup that was in front of it, Steve jumped up. "Don't touch that," he said. "Hang on." He grabbed the cup, and a couple of others like it around the office, and took them out of the room to dump them.
"Oh, yeah, that's pee in those cups," my friend Paula Pell later informed me. I could not believe it. I had come from Second City, which was by no means clean—it would not be unheard of to see a rat giving birth in an overstuffed ashtray, for example. But I had never heard of anyone peeing in a cup except at a doctor's office. Maybe you'd do it on a road trip if it was too far between rest stops. I had definitely never heard of anyone peeing in a cup and leaving it on a bookshelf in his office to evaporate back into his body through the pores on his face.
I told a male co-worker about what I had seen. Was it not the grossest thing he had ever heard? He answered matter-of-factly that he occasionally did it, too. He said it was just something guys did when they were too lazy to go to the bathroom. The bathroom, I should point out, was about as far away as you are from this magazine. I started to feel as if I were from space.
I called my boyfriend, Jeff, back in Chicago. "You grew up way out in the country with a bunch of brothers. Did you ever pee in cups and, like, leave them around?" Jeff was incredulous. "What! No. That's disgusting." A thousand points for Jeff.
Once I became aware of this practice, I started noticing cups in other places. In the "Weekend Update" offices—which were like the smarter but meaner older brother of the regular writers' offices—there weren't any cups. There was a jar. It was a jar of piss with a lid on it, and, judging by its consistency, I suspect that the writers sometimes spat into it. Or that one of them was terribly ill. You could see it when you came in the door, backlit by the afternoon sun, and at first I thought it was a test. If you saw the piss jar and dared to ignore it and continue into the room, you were welcomed. "Welcomed" is too strong a word. You were . . . one of the guys? Nope, you know what? I'm just projecting. It couldn't have been a test, because they really didn't give a fuck whether you came into the room or not.
Not all the men at "S.N.L." whizzed in cups. But four or five out of twenty did, so the men have to own that one. Anytime there's a bad female standup somewhere, some idiot Interblogger will deduce that "women aren't funny." Using that same math, I can deduce that male comedy writers piss in cups.
Also, they like to pretend to rape each other. It's . . . don't worry about it. It's harmless, actually.
To continue with this science of broad generalization, pissing in cups may show that men go into comedy to break rules. Conversely, the women I know in comedy are all dutiful daughters, good citizens, mild-mannered college graduates. Maybe we women gravitate toward comedy because it is a socially acceptable way to break rules. Have you left me for the cheese tray yet?
If you have not, now I will tell you the story of my proudest moment as one of the head writers at "S.N.L." At the beginning of each season, the staff would write commercial parodies—the fake commercials that you have enjoyed over the past thirty-six years, such as "Schmitts Gay" and "Colon Blow." I wish I had written either of those, but I didn't. (I did write "Mom Jeans," "Annuale," and "Excedrin for Racial-Tension Headaches," if that helps.)
Each writer would submit two or three commercial-parody scripts, and the producers and head writers would then pick which ones would be shot. In a normal show week, every sketch is read aloud by the cast at a "table read" in front of the whole staff. The room is packed with writers, designers, stage managers, musicians, etc., so you have a nice big audience. Everyone can hear where there are laughs, and everyone has a sense of which sketches could work. The commercial parodies didn't get that treatment, and choosing which ones to produce always brought out the worst in people.
I would read the packet of forty scripts and pick the ones I liked. Dennis McNicholas, the other head writer, would pick the ones he liked. Not surprisingly, we each preferred the ones our friends had written. There was an unspoken rule that you never pushed for your own pieces, ever.
Then we would each separately corner the producers—Steve Higgins and Tim Herlihy—and try to get them to agree with us. We would continue this square dance of selling each other out for a week or so, only to find that Jim Signorelli, the long-standing director of the commercial parodies, had already started shooting the ones he liked, without asking us. It's a miracle anything ever got done.
There was one parody script that I really fought for. It was back when "classic" was a big advertising trend. Coke Classic. Reebok Classic. The very funny Paula Pell had written a script called "Kotex Classic." The idea was that Kotex was trying to revive those old nineteen-sixties sanitary napkins that hooked to an elastic belt. It featured the women in the cast enjoying fun "modern gal" activities with giant sanitary napkins poking out of the tops of their low-rise jeans. It seemed to me to be an excellent parody of nostalgia-based marketing while also being a little shocking and silly. I kept bringing it up in meetings only to be told that it would be "too difficult to produce." Paula and I weren't sure what that meant, so we kept pressing. Finally, Steve Higgins and Jim Signorelli sat down with us and asked us to explain the idea. "How would we see the pad? Is it a thing that comes up the front? Would we have to zoom in on it? Wouldn't the girls have to take their pants off? Would we see blood?"
For me, this was what Oprah would call an Aha! moment. They didn't seem to know how cumbersome a sanitary-napkin belt was. It was the moment I realized that there was no "institutionalized sexism" at this place—sometimes the guys just literally didn't know what we were talking about. In the same way that I was not familiar with the completely normal custom of pissing in jars, they had never been handed a bulging antique Kotex product by the school nurse. But they trusted Paula and me, so we made the commercial, and the commercial worked.
Two things were reassuring about this. One, that we were heard. And, more important, I realized that during all those years when I was sure that boys could tell when I had a maxi pad the size of a loaf of bread going up the back of my pants they actually had no idea. ♦
1I say Harvard "boys" because they are almost always male, and because they are usually under twenty-five and have never done physical labor with their arms or legs. I love them very much.


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Lance McWilliams necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 87 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
Zoom Boom Golf
I am the founder of 15 Minute Golf and I am going to change the way golf is being taught. Zoom Boom is a golf swing aid that teaches the golfer the proper feel of the swing.
You have Better Balls, Better Clubs and Better Courses and the Average American handicap has not changed in the past 30 years. What does that tell you? Golf is being taught wrong.
I am not looking for clip art. I want something that knocks my socks off. Our tag line is "Your Club Head Goes Zoom, Your Golf Ball Goes Boom"
First and foremost have fun and I am looking forward to seeing what ya'll come up with.
Take Care
Target audience is golfers who want to improve or are just getting started.
We want the WOW factor, something that stands out. Our color is an electric green, but your green does not have to match exactly. My web site is 15minutegolf.com.
The main requirement is for you to have fun and see who can blow me away. I am sure you all will.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Warm sunshine and muggy conditions continue in the South Florida forecast Thursday as rain chances stay very low.
A refreshing ocean breeze will stick around Thursday, providing relief to beach-goers. Highs will be around 85 as passing clouds and an isolated shower are possible tonight with lows dropping to 76.
Friday brings a transition to the pattern as isolated, afternoon showers re-enter the forecast. It'll be partly sunny with isolated showers and highs around 86.
By the weekend, an approaching cold front will trigger scattered showers and storms each afternoon. Saturday and Sunday will see showers and storms possible throughout the day. Highs will be in the mid 80s.
More Weather Content:


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Soriano delivers heroics in Jeter's return
NEW YORK -- Bob Sheppard's legendary voice played over the public address system and Derek Jeter strode to the plate as a sellout Yankee Stadium crowd rose to its feet. The Yankees' captain stepped into the box, took the first pitch he saw from Rays starter Matt Moore and deposited it into the right-field seats for a solo home run.
And that wasn't even the defining moment of Sunday's game.View Full Game Coverage
NEW YORK -- Bob Sheppard's legendary voice played over the public address system and Derek Jeter strode to the plate as a sellout Yankee Stadium crowd rose to its feet. The Yankees' captain stepped into the box, took the first pitch he saw from Rays starter Matt Moore and deposited it into the right-field seats for a solo home run.
And that wasn't even the defining moment of Sunday's game.View Full Game Coverage
Alfonso Soriano capped off an impressive day at the plate with a walk-off single to center field in the ninth inning, scoring Brett Gardner from second base and helping the Yankees avoid a series sweep with a 6-5 win.
"It feels great," Soriano said. "First win. Comeback. It's a very exciting moment to get back to the Yankees, having a game-winning hit. It's a very special moment."
After going 0-for-8 in his first two games back in pinstripes, Soriano showed why New York acquired him from the Cubs on Friday. The left fielder also hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the third inning, and he finished the afternoon 4-for-5 with the homer, three RBIs and two runs scored.
His third-inning blast was his 18th of the season and his first with New York since the 2003 World Series.
"He had a big day for us, as well. The game-winner, the two-run homer, the couple hits that he had," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've talked about trying to get some right-handed bats here because against lefties, at times, we've run out five and six left-handers against lefties. You get two [right-handers] that have had a lot of success against lefties and it changes your lineup."
Soriano provided the game-winning hit, but it was Jeter who made the most noise in the Bronx on Sunday. Playing in his first game since July 11, the shortstop -- who missed the Yankees' first 91 games with a broken left ankle and the last 12 with a quad strain -- finished his second game of the season 2-for-4 with a home run, a single and two groundouts while scoring two runs and playing nine innings in the field.
"It feels good to contribute," said Jeter, who said he felt fine physically after the game. "The first of anything is difficult to get -- first hit, first home run, first RBI, first game is difficult for me to get. It feels great to contribute, but more importantly, we won.
"I wouldn't feel good if we lost this game."
Luckily for Jeter, the Yankees didn't. His first-inning blast sparked a three-run inning, giving the Yankees an early lead against Moore and the Rays.
"As soon as he hit it," Moore said, "I knew he drilled it."
Jeter's home run was the Yankees' first home run since the All-Star break and the first by a right-handed hitter since Jayson Nix hit one on June 25. Entering the game, the team had hit just one right-handed home run since May 15.
"He's a movie is what he is," Girardi said. "We hadn't hit a home run since the All-Star break, we hadn't hit a right-handed home run in months and for him to come out and do that his first AB -- he's a movie."
Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who drove in New York's third run of the first inning, finished the afternoon 4-for-4 with four singles and an RBI, tying his Yankees career high for hits in a single game.
"With Jeter coming back and Soriano finishing the game like that, it feels like a new team that was born today," Ichiro said. "Maybe this will be many more to come."
The game almost didn't have a storybook ending, though. Yankees starter Phil Hughes struggled despite the early cushion, allowing a run on three hits in the second inning and giving up a monster go-ahead, three-run home run to Rays right fielder Wil Myers in the third inning to let Tampa Bay take a 4-3 lead.
Soriano's home run in the bottom half of the inning put New York back on top by a run, but Myers took that lead away from the Yankees again in the fifth inning, hitting his second home run of the game to tie the score at 5. It's the first multi-home run game of his career.
Hughes failed to finish the fifth inning for the seventh time this season, lasting just four-plus innings while giving up five runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out four.
"I wasn't able to hold a lead twice, something us starters take a lot of pride in. To not be able to do that is disappointing," Hughes said. "I'd rather it be this way than the other way around. The guys played well, and obviously we got a spark from Jeet today, and that was huge."
Jeter played a role in the ninth inning, too. After Gardner walked and moved to second on a wild pitch, Tampa Bay reliever Jake McGee intentionally walked Jeter. McGee struck out Cano to record the inning's first out, but he wasn't able to do the same to Soriano as the veteran knocked in the game-winning run.
The Yankees looked like the Yankees of old on Sunday. Former outfielder Hideki Matsui was in attendance to be honored before the game, Jeter hit a first-pitch home run, closer Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth and Soriano came through with the clutch hit, all of which added up to a much-needed victory.
"When I see Mariano pitching, and Jeter hitting and me, it feels like old times, but the present," Soriano said. "We played together for three years and now, after 10 years, we come back and we are still playing together. It's very good. It makes me feel a special place for those guys, because those guys are future Hall of Famers, and I feel blessed and lucky to play with those guys."
Josh Vitale is an associate reporter for MLB.com.


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High School Recruits
Under NCAA rules, after Sept. 1 coaches may respond to emails from seniors and juniors in high school. They may only mail responses to freshmen and sophomores. You may call any of our coaches, however, NCAA rules prohibit them from returning your call unless you are a senior in high school.
Four-Year Transfers
Under NCAA rules, Saint Louis University may not respond via e-mail or phone to four-year college transfer students before the student obtains a release from the first college. The release must be faxed to the Saint Louis University Athletics Department at (314) 977-3264.
Required Fields are in Bold


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IRONMAN Germany GmbH
Höchster Str. 90
65835 Liederbach
Managing Director: Oliver Schiek
Trade register district court Frankfurt am Main HRB 102537
USt.-Id.-Nr.: DE 219106550
If you have any questions please read through the FAQ's
If you can't find the answer to your question please email the race office.
If you need to withdraw or transfer please find all information and proceed here.
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +49 (0) 69-300 643 2-0 Monday to Friday between 9am-4 pm (CET)
Please note that we have limited access to the phone during race week.
Pro Athletes
If you're interested in booking an EXPO booth at the IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau, please write an email to


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Fire & Ice Custom Fabrication
DreamScheme Studios was recruited in 2011 to design and create the three main hero characters for FIRE & ICE, a magnificent live stage show production which is also the basis for a film and video game. The producers were preparing to take the show nationally and required updated and improved charcters (helmets, weapons, suits of armor) to take the production level up several notches.
Below are several photos showing the production of these helmet and armor sets. The design and fabrcation team consisted of: Rod Ford, Chuck Westfield, Cristofer Adrian, with additional help from Julie and Nancy Goodson, Joseph Bosse and Max Ford.
We were commisioned to create THREE separate characters: GHOST, SHINE, AND BLAZE.
The character of SHINE is meant to be a Steampunk aesthetic combined with a swashbuckler (aka Han Solo) style. He was to have a flight-mask breather on his face. The rest was up to us:
Once the sculpt was completed, our team created an RTV rubber mold to allow a urethane and rubber urethane moulding reproductions.
Using the urethane resin prototype casting, we toyed with the idea of giving him leather accents, but later decided to keep the helmet bare.
Final design and color pallete for Shine.
Once the color scheme was determined, a rubberized urethane casting of the helmet was made, detailed, and painted. Then it was lined in foam and lenses installed. The rubberized urethane proved to be a tricky format, but in the end it produced a helmet that is indestructable and easily reproduceable.
A shoulder and shins were then fabricated from thermal formed plastics. The emblem on Shine's shoulder represents his race and status.
In the producer's notes, Ghost is described as a cross between a grim repear a a ninja, fast and sleek, with elements of batman and Halo-esque design aesthetics.
Here's the intial sculpt in progress.
The helmet went through a hard plastic resin prototype phase before becoming a rubberized urethane final helmet (unbreakable). The visor and helmet liner were installed and the helmet fully painted.
The body armor was created as a flexible, articulated armored suit.
Like the other characters, GHOST has custom laser cut insignias of his race on his right shoulder, left shoulder is his team designation.
Blaze was described as a cross between a classic Knight and Optimus Prime, with futuristic elements of a War-hammer style warrior. This was to be the central character, LARGE and Impressive. He was, by far, the most difficult to fabricate from scratch.
Noel helping with the molding stage.
Shoulders in progress. I kept directing Chuck to make the BIGGER ever half hour. These shoulders determined the final size of the chestplate and other body parts.
Max is hellping produce the foam sculpting armature for creating massive shin armor.
What you see in the photo below is the urethane mold negative for the kneeguard and the foam armature for the shins (before clay was sheathed over the surface).
This is the shin guard with a layer of sculpted clay. This is our prototype which we eventually simplified into a buck to produce thermal formed duplicates (lighter and easier to wear than our initial rubber versions).
The forearms were sclupted in clay, and molded to producea flexible, durable, wearable armor.
You can see the BOOT that was sculpted for blaze in this shot, along with the shin and arm molds in progress.
Nancy working on the mothermolds for Blaze's body parts.
The chestplate for blaze was created from scratch using the same techniques shown above.
Chuck and Rod de-molding the chestplate mold.
This shows our first version of the shoulder bells, which were cast rubber urethane. They were heavy and clumsy which led us to create an internal armature. We eventually abondonned the rubber version of the shoulders and opted for thermal formed shoulder bells which were a fraction of the weight but equally strong when utilizing the identical armature system.
This belt buckle was first draw as a vector file in CAD software, then laser cut in 1/4" acrylic, molded, then positive flexible parts were made, painted, and assembled.
Our suit was shipped to the production team for final assembly onto the soft suit components they had prepared separately. In these test shots, Blaze is missing his cape,his undersuit, gloves, buckle, skirt covering, weapons etc...Final pics COMING SOON!!!


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Paul Cramer necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 93 diseños de 20 diseñadores freelance.
The holding company is Cramer Decker Industries - http://www.cramerdecker.com
Founded in 1981, Cramer Decker Industries has been a world leader in gas containment and delivery technologies for well over two decades. Today, Cramer Decker operations service approximately 25,000 customers in over 100 countries and territories around the world, offering over 12,000 products for sale in five separate markets:
· gas and cryogenic industry
· propane industry
· scuba diving and recreational water sports industry
· medical respiratory industry
· emergency medial response industry
With over 80,000 square feet of warehousing and distribution facilities in Southern California, Northern California and Maryland, Cramer Decker maintains the largest product inventories in each of the industries that we serve.
*****(MESSAGE/EMAIL FOR MORE LINKS/DETAILS and PHOTOS)********
Cramer Decker Industries is comprised of five divisions:
· Industrial Gases
· Watersports
· Medical
· Propane Equipment
· Emergency Response
The appearance, structure and content of the site should convey to the user that Cramer Decker Industries is a global holding company and/or conglomerate comprised of separate operating divisions (each of which have a variety of brand names) serving wholly distinct and unrelated industries, but, that all of the divisions have common and/or related products (in different forms) which bind the divisions together at the holding company level.
The target audience is comprised of two groups: (1) customers who are seeking information specifically with regard to the company's brands or products; and (2) suppliers, investors, bankers and other unrelated third parties that are seeking to understand Cramer Decker Industries' corporate structure and its rationale, and the synergistic relationship of its businesses, brands and products.
Need professional splash/landing page illustrating the following information in a simple, clean, and corporate design. The initial landing page should provide the overall message that we are a company of brands and divisions. After selecting option from Our Company/Our Divisions, we need a design for example subpage providing more details to that specific section.
INSPIRATION http://www.harsco.com
Flow Chart - http://www.daksol.net/dev/cramerdec…-chart.jpg ). Message for Link
1. Cramer Decker logo
2. Our Company
a. At A Glance
b. Our Brands
c. Our Partners
d. News
e. Careers
f. On The Web
g. Contact Us
3. Our Divisions
a. Industrial Gases
b. Watersports
c. Medical
d. Propane Equipment
e. Emergency Response
4. "Gas Containment & Delivery Technologies"
5. Product/application photos: http://www.daksol.net/dev/cramerdec…_files.zip (75mb)
(message for link)
· spacious and simple design, NO CLUTTER
· abstract layout using shapes, patterns, etc
· modern, contemporary, forward-felling design
· euro-style concepts
· creative usage of eye-catching, vibrant photography
· photos/images that seem to extend beyond their boundries and appear to float off the page
· creative layout ideas - less standard layouts
· a sense that the page is expanding outward, or coming to you off of the page
· a heavy feeling, which gives one the sense of being weighed down (i.e. an overuse of space and color on the page)
· overuse of dropdown menus, we want to the site to be easy to understand and navigate, with an intuitive design


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DataPoints is a periodic publication of the AOC Office of Court Research to inform the court community about empirical trends in the California judicial branch.
DataPoints: Procedural Fairness and Effective Court Practices in Small Claims Cases
Even before the increase of self-represented litigants in family law and other civil cases, small claims court required litigants to assume the primary responsibility for preparing and presenting their cases. This issue of DataPoints is the first of four looking at the experience of small claims litigants. It reports descriptive information on small claims litigants: their levels of education, income, previous experience in court, and the types of cases in which they're involved.
DataPoints: Improving Asbestos Case Management in the Superior Court of San Francisco County
Asbestos litigation creates unique challenges for the courts. This issue of DataPoints describes the measures taken by one court to streamline case management and improve service to the public.
DataPoints: Trial Court Caseload Increases to over 10 million Filings
An overview of the major trends in trial court filings found in the 2010 Court Statistics Report.
DataPoints: Highlights from the Study of California Class Action Litigation
An overview of the major findings from the first interim report.
DataPoints: Civil Filings Fuel Continued Growth in Trial Court Caseload
The release of the 2009 Court Statistics Report shows civil filings driving the growth in California Superior Court caseload.


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Timocratic necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 403 diseños de 78 diseñadores freelance.
Cloud City Dev
A young, hip, and hungry Ruby/Rails development shop building prototypes and MVPs (minimum viable product) for San Francisco and Silicon Valley start-ups (and start-ups to be). While professional and very good at delivering what our clients need, we are not in the slightest bit corporate.
We obsessively keep up with they latest and greatest technologies and use them as a competitive advantage to build awesome things. We are very much part of the "less is more movement" and think everything should be done simpler.
This is my view walking home every day: http://www.google.com/images?q=sutr…ower%20fog. While it may not be as iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge to outsiders, the shape is very distinctive (almost hints at Burning Man, which is another big thing for SFiscans) and recognizable to locals.
And this is the inspiration for the company name: http://www.headlineshirts.net/cloud…shirt.html I am not looking for an overt Star Wars reference in a logo, but if a little subtle one slipped in there, I wouldn't mind.
Serial entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley/San Francisco who are always trying to build the next big thing. Very up on social media (Web 3.0), the latest business crazes, and the happenings of the tech world.
Our branding will fit the tower rising out of the clouds as the masthead of the website - I need the logo version of that.
I really like how http://thoughtbot.com/ has a very identifiable logo that they can tweak for different formats and sizes, even down to the favicon size.
I will likely commission more work adapting the winning logo across our branding - such as a new website. I understand that it is additional work to adapt the branding to different sizes, I am looking for something with a clear enough identity I can see how that will be done.
While I want it to be recognizable as Sutro, maybe a direct translation to a logo is tough. Experiment and be creative - is it easier and more iconic if you ax the middle leg and make it a silhouette, or does it work better in detail and sketchy? I'm betting I'll select chic and clean, but I am trying 99designs to see some a range of design directions.
I've attached a rough ugly sketch of the portion of the tower I think important.
Also there is zipfile from another designer with some good ideas in them (fully paid for), but nothing that quite settled on what I was looking for. I think the vector work of the tower is to detailed/complicated/literal for this project.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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We are better together when we are surrounded by great team members with responsibilities that contribute to effective collaboration to deliver projects.
We are Creative planners with the ability to interpret all technical manuals and schematics including engineering orders and supporting the installation of various systems.
We are contemporary chartered engineers, qualified and have gained professional competencies through training and monitored professional practice experience.
To offer high quality, cost effective and innovative technical consultancy services.
To be the global leader of technical consultancy services.


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While the so-called "investigation" into the deadly attack on a U.S. government compound in Benghazi has been widely blasted and ridiculed as a "whitewash" and a "cover up" for failing to even raise serious questions about the "Benghazigate" scandal, the report still exposes a series of the Obama administration's lies. It also highlights the absolute disaster left in the wake of Obama's unconstitutional war on Libya — chaos and carnage that have largely been ignored by the establishment press even after the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other Americans.
Unsurprisingly, no top officials were held responsible yet for the American deaths or the lies as a result of the inquiry. The investigation did, however, confirm that the U.S. government-supported "revolution" in Libya was led by known jihadists who fought American troops in Iraq. Additionally, the report helped put the spotlight on the tragedy wrought by NATO forces and their Islamist proxies on the ground as part of Obama's unconstitutional United Nations-"approved" war to topple dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
One of the key points buried in the 39-page report, for example, confirms that many of the "rebel" leaders unconstitutionally supported by the Obama administration with arms, money, air power, and more were well-known Islamic terrorists who had previously battled American troops in other nations. "Jihadis from Benghazi engaged in Afghanistan against the Soviets and took up arms against U.S. forces in the post-2003 Iraq insurgency," the report explains. "Many of them reemerged in 2011 as leaders of anti-Qaddafi militias in eastern Libya."
The report also documents some of the facts regarding the Obama administration's lawless support for the "rebels," though it barely scratches the surface in terms of the true extent of that backing. "Stevens' presence in the [rebel-held] city [of Benghazi] was seen as a significant sign of U.S. support for the TNC [Transitional National Council] and a recognition of the resurgence of eastern Libya's political influence," the report explains, omitting any mention of the weapons and air support offered to the Western-backed revolutionaries. "Stevens' mission was to serve as the liaison with the TNC in preparation for a post-Qaddafi democratic government in Libya."
The true purpose of the U.S. government compound that came under attack, according to security officials quoted in news reports and by numerous analysts, was originally to help the "rebels" overthrow the existing government. When the first phase of "regime change" was completed with the torture and execution of former U.S. government ally Gadhafi at rebel hands after his convoy was hit by NATO missiles, the compound's mission shifted to accomplishing the same goal in Syria: the overthrow of the existing dictator to be replaced by a coalition of Islamic extremists and proxies of the Western establishment. The report, of course, does not mention that.
However, there were also some interesting facts about the compound and the attack presented in the inquiry. It confirmed, for example, that the U.S. government mission in Benghazi was "never a consulate," contrary to the incessant claims made in the establishment press. "The unique circumstances surrounding the creation of the mission in Benghazi as a temporary mission outside the realm of permanent diplomatic posts resulted in significant disconnects and support gaps," the report explains, pointing out that the new Libyan regime was not even officially notified about the existence of the compound.
Another key point in the report once again exposed the administration's falsehoods about an alleged "protest" outside the compound that became violent — claims parroted by disgraced U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and other officials on numerous occasions, well after they were shown to be false. "The Board concluded that there was no protest prior to the attacks, which were unanticipated in their scale and intensity," the investigation confirmed, echoing findings that were already well-known for months among analysts and observers following the scandal.
Also documented in the investigation was the total chaos and lawlessness left in Libya following the administration's war, which Obama purported to "authorize" based on a UN "writ of the international community" without ever consulting Congress, much less obtaining a declaration of war as required by the Constitution. In fact, the establishment press and the Obama administration have both been busy trying to paint the bloody war as some sort of "success" to be emulated. The report, however, offers another picture of the aftermath.
"Throughout Libya, the security vacuum left by Qaddafi's departure, the continued presence of pro-Qaddafi supporters, the prevalence of and easy access to weapons, the inability of the interim government to reestablish a strong security apparatus, and the resulting weakness of those security forces that remained led to a volatile situation in which militias previously united in opposition to Qaddafi were now jockeying for position in the new Libya," it explains.
Violence, meanwhile, was widespread as Islamic extremists whom the U.S. government once helped Gadhafi suppress continued their meteoric rise to power with Obama's assistance. "Frequent clashes, including assassinations, took place between contesting militias," the report notes. "Fundamentalist influence with Salafi and al Qaeda connections was also growing, including notably in the eastern region."
The report also documents a long list of alarming attacks aimed at mostly Western targets in the area prior to the attack. "At the time of the September attacks, Benghazi remained a lawless town nominally controlled by the Supreme Security Council (SSC) — a coalition of militia elements loosely cobbled into a single force to provide interim security — but in reality run by a diverse group of local Islamist militias, each of whose strength ebbed and flowed depending on the ever-shifting alliances and loyalties of various members," it explains.
However, despite grains of truth, the unclassified version of the Benghazi report offers a shockingly inaccurate picture of the events leading up to the so-called "revolution," portraying it as merely a spontaneous popular uprising against despot Gadhafi. In reality, as The New American documented extensively, much of the campaign was orchestrated by foreign powers using deception and Islamist groups officially designated as terrorists, some of which, such as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, were openly affiliated with al-Qaeda (LIFG).
Consider that among the first tasks undertaken by the "rebels" was the creation of a new central bank to displace the regime's unique state-owned monetary authority, which was planning to create a gold-backed currency to displace the U.S. dollar. Before going on a murderous rampage and exterminating dark-skinned Libyans in what human rights groups called "ethnic cleansing," the Western-funded and -armed "revolutionaries" also made sure to set up a controversial new oil company, too.
In terms of blame for the attack in Benghazi, the report concluded that the only real responsibility for the death of four U.S. government personnel lay with the unidentified terrorists who staged the attack. "Identification of the perpetrators and their motivations are the subject of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation," the report explains. However, the board did say there were "lessons to be learned" from the ordeal; namely, that taxpayers should give the State Department more of their money.
"Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place," the investigation found in one of the most widely cited conclusions, as if that were the real scandal or problem.
The report noted that even though U.S. diplomatic personnel in Libya repeatedly requested more security assistance, the amount of security personnel at the compound was "inadequate." Reliance on local Libyan "militias" for protection, some of which the report said were known to be Islamist and extremist, was also a bad idea, the investigation concluded.
"Over the course of its inquiry, the Board also learned of troubling indicators of February 17's [the umbrella group for militias that was supposedly helping protect the compound] loyalties and its readiness to assist U.S. personnel," the report states. "Board members found that there was little understanding of militias in Benghazi and the threat they posed to U.S. interests."
Finally, the new regime installed by NATO powers and Islamist proxies on the ground failed miserably in terms of protecting American staff, "reflecting both weak capacity and near absence of central government influence and control in Benghazi," the investigation noted. That was hardly surprising: The new rulers — mostly a coalition of Islamic extremists, former Gadhafi officials, militia chiefs, and NATO-backed figures — are still fighting off forces loyal to the late dictator and cannot even maintain security in the capital city of Tripoli, much less the vast countryside.
The supposed "inquiry" relied on interviews with over 100 people, a review of documents, and video surveillance, the report states. Among the recommendations offered in the report was increased security for American personnel in high-risk areas and, of course, ever greater sums of taxpayer money for the Obama administration's foreign policy operations around the world.
"At the same time, it is imperative for the State Department to be mission-driven, rather than resource-constrained — particularly when being present in increasingly risky areas of the world is integral to U.S. national security," the report states, essentially saying that taxpayer funds should not be a limiting factor as the Obama administration engages in its largely unconstitutional "foreign policy" activities. "One overall conclusion in this report is that Congress must do its part to meet this challenge and provide necessary resources to the State Department to address security risks and meet mission imperatives."
Notably absent from the recommendations was any suggestion that the U.S. government should stop arming, funding, and training self-styled al-Qaeda leaders. Another glaring omission on the list: a recommendation that the president discontinue his lawless so-called "foreign policy" of variously coddling and backing brutal dictators before waging unconstitutional wars on them, which countless experts, officials, and lawmakers have identified as extremely dangerous to Americans and national security overall.
In the wake of the report, at least four State Department officials have announced their resignations, which analysts say was an effort to protect higher ups from responsibility. The unconstitutional wars, lawless foreign intervention, and support for violent jihadists that happen to be fighting against dictators currently out of favor with the U.S. government, however, will undoubtedly continue unabated — at least until the money runs out.
Analysts say that as long as the Obama administration refuses to rein in its lawless wars and meddling in foreign nations, the blowback resulting from such behavior will continue to claim American lives and haunt both the nation and the world. Critics of interventionism and unconstitutional UN-ordered military scheming, however, know that no amount of increased security or taxpayer funding will be able to stop the consequences and blowback associated with such out-of-control policies.
Photo: AP Images
Related articles:
Benghazi Report Ignores WH Lies, Obama Gunrunning to Jihadists
Libya: Now What?
Report Exposes More War Crimes by Obama-backed Libyan Rebels
Despite Violence, UN & Obama Hail Libya Election
Libyan Rebels Accused of "Ethnic Cleansing," Black Genocide
NATO, Rebels Accused of War Crimes in Libya
U.S. Officials Celebrate Killing of Former Ally Gadhafi
"Libyan Rebels" Create Central Bank, Oil Company
Gadhafi's Gold-money Plan Would Have Devastated Dollar
Al-Qaeda and NATO's Islamic Extremists Taking Over Libya
UN, Obama Fighting Alongside Al-Qaeda in Libya
Benghazigate: The Disaster That Should Have Sunk Obama — and Still Could
Obama vs. the Brass: Benghazi Cover-up, Agenda to Gut Military?
Benghazi Backfire: Was Obama Arming Jihadists?
Lawmakers Grill Obama: Was Lax Security at U.S. Libya Post a Political Ploy?
Obama Scandals Around Libya Attack Keep Growing
Intervention in Libya Led to Attack on U.S. Consulate, Ex-CIA Chief Says


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More than 200 teens and preteens in 29 teams representing 19 Buffalo & Erie County Public Library branches will compete in the 15th annual Battle of the Books at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 3 in the Erie Community College South Campus gym in Orchard Park.
The teams, made up of youngsters entering sixth through ninth grades in September, will answer trivia questions based on five books each member has read – "Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading" by Tom Greenwald, "Hero" by Mike Lupica, "Juniper Berry: A Tale of Terror & Temptation" by M.P. Kozlowsky, "Savvy" by Ingrid Law and "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.
The competition is free to the public.


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Embroidered Archive Logo Cotton T-shirt
All orders will be fulfilled by Burberry Limited and shipped from the UK. When you place your order, you accept Burberry's Terms and Conditions and confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Size Guide
Use the Size Guide to choose the best fit for your measurements.
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- A T-shirt in cotton jersey highlighted with an embroidered logo originally found in the Burberry archive.
- T-shirt length: 71.5cm/28.1in. This is based on a size UK S as proportions change slightly according to size.
- Model's height: 178cm/5ft 10in. Model wears size UK S.
- 100% cotton
- Machine wash
- Imported
Item 80205761


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Development opportunities for smart metering services in private customer interface
Aalto, Joni
Permanent address of the item is
Summary ViewShow full item record
Alternative title
Energianhallintapalveluiden kehitysmahdollisuudet pienasiakasrajapinnassa
The European Union has set ambitious energy efficiency targets, which include for ex-ample commonly known "20-20-20"-targets. In order to achieve the targets the Euro-pean Union has set directives that have led the member countries of the European Union to set a legal framework for the installation of smart meters. Among other things, the smart meters provide opportunities to develop new services that enable more efficient energy usage for the consumers. Informative billing, based on the actual consumption and the internet services that enable the consumer to monitor the hourly consumption data are two examples of these services. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate development opportunities for smart metering services in the private customer interface. Home Energy Management System, HEMS, is one example of smart metering service. During this work, a small-scale pilot study of HEMS was successfully carried through in a co-operation with a service provider. Pilot included five private households and provided customers with real-time consumption monitoring and enabled market price based steering of reserving electric heating. The customer feedback was collected with interviews and metering data was collected to calculate the potential savings. According to the customers, they did not change their energy consumption behavior significantly during the pilot. The steering of the electric heating enabled savings of 2.4-3.6 €/month when calculated with spot prices. To get a wider perspective about the customer needs for smart metering services a customer sur-vey was carried through. The survey included 187 customers who were using the current internet services provided by the DSO. There is a high interest towards real-time consumption monitoring and HEMS, but the willingness to invest is limited. The HEMS concept was evaluated based on the feedback from the customer pilot and from the survey. The results can be used when developing future smart metering services by designing the services according to the concrete needs. HEMS system that would enable to control a large number of HEMS-units collectively could enable bene-fits also for the market actors. Therefore the potential benefits were evaluated also from the supplier and the DSO perspective. The evaluated benefits were small related to the required HEMS-units that would be needed to achieve them. With the piloted cost level of HEMS, the incentive for suppliers or DSOs to offer energy efficiency service like HEMS for the private customers is reduced if there is no possibility to have additional benefits around the service or it is not required by the legislation. This would mean that HEMS is mainly a business opportunity for service providers. The pilot could be further utilized by providing the pilot customers with dynamic pricing rates. Additionally it could be used to demonstrate direct load steering, and to develop the control methods for a large number of HEMS. /Kir12


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Core Curriculum Second Grade - Pro
iOS iPad Education
Learn about the Webber Core Curriculum Vocabulary Cards 2ndGrade app by downloading the FREE APP. You can purchase the remaining three decks for each grade level through in-app purchases. Separately, each deck is $2.99. ALL DECKS include DATA TRACKING for monitoring student progress.
Educators unable to make in-app purchases through their school districts can purchase Core Curriculum Vocabulary Cards-PRO Version and receive all four decks (Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science – including data tracking) for $8.99.
Each of these educational apps from Super Duper Publications introduces and teaches students 100 core curriculum words they need to know across four subject areas (Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math) to experience success in the classroom. Each deck also includes four entertaining games that reinforce and motivate students to learn the vocabulary.
Get FREE Social Studies cards when you download 2nd Grade!
Games and Activities:
In each game, players may choose to read the prompts or tap the cards and listen to the prompts.
•Secret Decoder – Student reads or listens to the prompts and answer choices, selects an answer, and then slides the Secret Decoder over to check his/her response.
•Multiple Choice – This game has two ways to play. The "Word" game gives the student a definition, and then the student chooses the matching vocabulary word. The "Definition" game gives the student a vocabulary word, and then the student must choose the matching definition.
•Matching – Student chooses a red question card and a blue answer card. If the vocabulary word and definition card match, the student taps "Match." If the cards do not match, the student taps "No Match."
•Drag 'n Match – Student drags a vocabulary word card over its definition card, or vice versa, to make a match.
Deck Features:
•Has 100 pairs of illustrated vocabulary and matching definition cards (200 cards total)
•Presents 25 vocabulary words and their definition at each grade level for Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math. (100 words per grade level with no duplicates across grade levels).
•Includes audio of all text for non-readers.
•Allows an unlimited number of students to play
•Advances cards and/or player(s) manually or automatically
•Has option to have correct answers read back to students after an incorrect choice.
•Turn Sound Effects On/Off
•Includes all text and picture images from each set of the Webber® Core Curriculum Vocabulary Cards
Data Tracking lets educators and parents:
•Score student responses manually or automatically.
•Track extensive data for an unlimited number of students.
•Receive feedback for correct and incorrect responses.
•View a student's results for all sessions at any time.
•Examine and evaluate student progress over time using graphs.
•Email, print, and share session results.
What's New
Resolves an issue that prevented deleting players


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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Blugolds.com) - With 10 RBIs on 11 hits, three doubles, three runs scored and five walks drawn during the week, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (11-1) senior first baseman Sarah Fern (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center) has earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III Player of the Week honors for the period stretching from March 18 through March 25.
The last time a Blugold earned NFCA Player of the Week honors was in May 2012 when Amanda Fischer (So.-Wausau, Wis./West) received recognition for her performance for the week ending April 29.
Fern and the Blugolds finished 7-1 last week with the sole loss coming against then No. 8 ranked Tufts University. In the eight games played, Fern posted four multi-hit games with her best effort coming in a 3-for-4 performance against Plymouth State with two doubles and four RBIs.
Her one home run over the eight contests came against SUNY-Geneseo in a 2-for-4 showing with three RBIs.
On the week, Fern helped the Blugolds take victories against Benedictine (3-0), Wellesley (10-4), UMass-Boston (4-0), SUNY-Geneseo (8-7), Plymouth State (15-0), Allegheny (10-2) and Ramapo (3-2).
Up next for Fern and her squad are Friday match-ups against Gustavus Adolphus and Simpson, followed by Saturday showdowns with St. Scholastica and Central.
The Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III Player of the Week is voted on by the NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee featuring eight representatives from the eight Division III softball regions. Player of the Week honors reflect performances from the previous week of play.
For more information about the NFCA, visit www.nfca.org. For more information about Louisville Slugger, visit www.slugger.com.


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Vita Coco Now In NFL Territory With Signing Of Davis, Fitzgerald, Decker, Hester
Special to NYSportsJournalism
August 27, 2012: Vita Coco, one of the growing brands in the burgeoning fresh coconut water category, has moved into NFL territory, signing four players who will tout the product in upcoming marketing.
New to Vita Coco's endorsement roster are TE Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals), Eric Decker (Denver Broncos) and Devin Hester (Chicago Bears).
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The four players will be featured in Vita Coco's multi-media U.S. campaign, to include digital media, radio, outdoor and retail now through the end of the year, according to the company.
All marketing will come with the company's on-going tagline: "Hydrate naturally."
The brand's first NFL endorsers join as Vita Coco spokespersons Joakim Noah of the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Texas Rangers all-star outfielder Josh Hamilton, surfing champion Kelly Slater and award-winning singer Rihanna.
Sales of coconut water products doubled in the U.S. and Europe in 2011, with the U.S. market estimated to be $110 million, according to industry Web site BeverageDaily.com.
Among others in the category are PowerCoco, whose endorsers include Carmelo Anthony of the NBA's New York Knicks; and Zico, whose Web site features 70 athlete endorsers, such as Olympic decathlete Bryan Clay, Boston Celtics all-star Kevin Garnett and surfer Bethany Hamilton.
"With all the talk about natural hydration, I had to try it for myself. Now I keep a few cases at home and in the locker room fridge."
Vita Coco, which seeks to replace sports drinks such as Gatorade in locker rooms, said that the mission of its athlete roster is to "educate consumers about the importance of natural hydration."
"I've started drinking all-natural Vita Coco, and I can feel the difference in my training," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "With all the talk about natural hydration, I had to try it for myself. Now I keep a few cases at home and in the locker room fridge to stay hydrated and avoid cramps. It really works!"
Vita Coco said it is available at more than 60,000 stores across the country.
Power Player: How Athletes Are Driving Coconut Water Growth