text:
The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...
FAY KANIN: Emmy-winning screenwriter Fay Kanin has died at her home in Santa Monica, Calif., the Writers Guild of America announced.
She was 95.
The cause of her death Wednesday was not disclosed.
The New York-born scribe was a former WGA West vice president and past Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president.
Kanin began her five-decade-long screenwriting career in 1942 with the comedy "Sunday Punch," co-written with her longtime writing partner and husband, the late Michael Kanin, and Allen Rivkin.
Fay and Michael Kanin were one of the most successful wife-husband screenwriting teams in Hollywood, co-writing a string of screenplays for films such as "My Pal Gus," "Rhapsody," "The Opposite of Sex" and "Teacher's Pet" -- a Clark Gable-Doris Day comedy that earned an Oscar nomination in 1958 for Fay and Michael Kanin.
Later in her career, Kanin transitioned to television, emerging as a prolific writer-producer of some of the small screen's most distinguished projects, including TV movies such as "Tell Me Where It Hurts," which won two Emmy Awards in 1974, "Hustling" and "Friendly Fire," which won an Emmy in 1979.
She partnered with Lillian Gallo in 1980 to form the production company Kanin-Gallo, making TV movies such as "Letting Go" and "Fun and Games." She also penned and co-produced "Heartsounds," which was nominated for outstanding drama/comedy special in 1985.
A member of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute, she co-chaired AFI's Center for Film and Video Presentation, as well as chaired the National Film Preservation Board in Washington. Fay Kanin earned honors from the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters, the American Women for International Understanding, and the Crystal Award of Women in Film, among other organizations.
"Known for her signature style and wit, Kanin remained an articulate industry spokesperson and leader on a variety of issues important to creative artists, including film preservation," the WGA said in a statement on its website.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Kanin was "committed to the Academy's preservation work and instrumental in expanding our public programming. A tireless mentor and inspiration to countless filmmakers, Fay's passion for film continues to inspire us daily."
Kanin is survived by her son, Josh; his wife Laurie; two grandchildren, Laurel and Jessica; two step-grandchildren, Michael and Eddy; and great-grandson, Justin.
Funeral services for Kanin will be held Sunday at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood.
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL: Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones and Mumford & Sons are to be the headlining acts at the Glastonbury Festival in England on the last weekend in June.
Arctic Monkeys will play Friday, the Stones on Saturday and Mumford and Sons on Sunday.
About 135,000 people are expected to attend this year's sold-out event, which will also feature performances by Kenny Rogers, Public Enemy, Primal Scream, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Elvis Costello, Professor Green and Dizzee Rascal, the BBC said.
Rita Ora, Jake Bugg, Rufus Wainwright, Billy Bragg, Portishead, Smashing Pumpkins, The XX, The Lumineers, Alabama Shakes and Foals are also part of the lineup.
"We've tried or talked about getting the Rolling Stones to play Glastonbury throughout my entire life -- I can't remember a year it hasn't been wished upon," Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis said. "It is such an honor to have them. I get the sense they are excited too; there's been a real buzz about it from both camps."
The festival was not held last year because of the Summer Olympics.
KRISTEN BELL: Hollywood actress Kristen Bell announced via Twitter she has given birth to her first child, a daughter she named Lincoln.
"Lincoln Bell Shepard is here," Ball's fiance, Dax Shepard, tweeted Thursday. "She has mom's beauty and dad's obsession with breasts. Hooray!!!"
"My new roommate poops her pants and doesn't pay rent...basically Dax pre-sobriety," Bell wrote. "Welcome baby Lincoln."
Shepard, 38, is a cast member of TV's "Parenthood."
Bell, 32, is one of the stars of "House of Lies."
JENNI 'JWOWW' FARLEY: Former "Jersey Shore" star Jenni "JWOWW" Farley is to play a recurring role on the Web version of the drama "One Life to Live," producers said Thursday.
The soap opera, which was canceled by ABC in 2011, is starting back up April 29 on Hulu, Hulu Plus and iTunes, thanks to The Online Network.
Farley taped her first scenes Thursday at the show's studio in Stamford, Conn. The reality TV personality plays Nikki, an employee at the trendy nightclub Shelter.
"As Shelter's newest barmaid, club owner Blair Cramer [played by Kassie DePaiva] knows that it's best to keep an eye on Nikki so things don't get out of control," producers said in a release.


text:
The success of road teams in the NFL playoffs this month has impressed the oddsmakers.
Philadelphia is a 3-point favorite at Arizona in the NFC title game next Sunday, according to the early odds. The Eagles' domination of the defending champion Giants in a 23-11 victory at Giants Stadium led to that line.
Philadelphia was a 5-point underdog in that game.
The Eagles routed the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving night.
Host Pittsburgh is a 5-point favorite over Baltimore in the AFC championship game. The Steelers beat San Diego 35-24 on Sunday, one day after the Ravens won 13-10 at top-seeded Tennessee.
In the divisional round, the Steelers were favored by 6 over the Chargers, and the Ravens were 2 1/2-point underdogs at Tennessee.
Pittsburgh won the AFC North and Baltimore was second, earning a wild card. The Steelers won both regular-season meetings, 23-20 in overtime and 13-9.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I decided to give some of my user base something that they have been asking for for a long time… the ability to run MDT/LiteTouch deployments entirely from removable storage media. I had avoided doing this in the past as we made significant use of the MDT database in selecting hardware-specific support applications (such as Dell QuickSet). However, with MDT 2012 (and the general deprecation of hardware-specific support software under Windows 7), I have decided to abandon the MDT database. This makes generation of offline MDT media much more feasible.
"I should be able to get this done in a few hours!", I thought. Ha! Four days later…
Gotchas in adding LiteTouch Offline media to a previously online-only environment:
Expiring stale media:
One of the leading arguments we make to persuade users to adopt the use of LiteTouch is that "we keep it up to date for you". What about offline media? How to we ensure that that stays current? One of the Brad Tucker, Deployment Guy, has a solution for that:
The problem there is that his script was developed for the SCCM ZTI scenatio, not LiteTouch. However, with a little work I was able to adapt his script for use in LiteTouch. The script body is available below. To run it, I needed to modify the "winpeshl.ini" file in %ProgramFiles%Microsoft Deployment ToolkitTemplates as follows:
[LaunchApps] %SYSTEMROOT%System32wscript.exe,X:DeployScriptsZUVMExpiredMediaCheck.vbs %SYSTEMROOT%System32bddrun.exe,/bootstrap
The script referenced above (ZUVMExpiredMediaCheck.vbs) needs to be defined in the "Extra Directory to Include" field in the WinPE section of the Media set in the Deployment Workbench. You need to include the "DeployScripts" folder structure in the Extras directory, too.
WinRE installation problems:
Since deploying MDT 2012, I finally worked though the problem of including both WinRE and MS DaRT tools into the LiteTouch boot media, and in the WinRE environment installed with the operating system. However, with offline media the inclusion we would not want to copy the LiteTouch WinPE instance to disk. Two reasons. Firstly, the OS Deployment option simply would not work (Offline media would not be available), and secondly, we just included a script to disable the media. To solve this problem, I needed to set the "PrepareWinRE" Property in the CustomSettings.ini file for the media set to "NO".
MS DaRT Integration Problem:
When testing LiteTouch from a fully offline machine, I started to get a "network connection not available" error pop up at seemingly random places after starting up the boot media. Eventually I realized that the error was coming from the DaRT Remote Connection tool that starts up with WinPE. While this error does not cause any problems with actual deployment, I don't want it causing end-user panic, so I decided to see if I could disable the feature. According to documentation, I need to generate a "DartConfig.DAT" file using the DaRT configuration tool. DartConfig.DAT is a binary configuration file (not plain text). It's options are not documented anywhere, so you really do have to run the GUI tool to generate a new DAT. You then are supposed to drop the DAT file into "%ProgramFiles%Microsoft Deployment ToolkitTemplates", and update your boot media. A few problems with this:
- If you want different configuration files installed into your WinPE instances, you will either to switch out the DartConfig.dat in the Templates directory each time you update boot media, or run the updates from a different MDT instance, or edit the LiteTouch boot WIM files each time you update the boot media. There is no way to specify different DartConfig.dat files per deployment share or media set.
- The Deployment Workbench does not consistently insert the DartConfig.dat file into the LiteTouch boot media. If you update your DartConfig.dat in the Templates directory, then update your boot media, there is no guarantee that your DartConfig.dat will get updated. The only sure-fire way to get a new DartConfig in your deployment share seems to be to force regeneration of the boot media (i.e. you need to throw out your existing boot WIM files, not update them). The situation is worse with offline media sets. Rather the workbench will copy any existing boot WIMs from the root deployment share to serve as a baseline image when generating offline boot images. Thus, to update DartConfig.dat in a media set, you need to delete both the root share boot WIMs, and the offline boot WIMs prior to updating media.
- You might think that you could work around that whole one-template-per-workbench problem by including a per-media-set DartConfig.dat in the "Extras" folder that you can optionally include in each media set or deployment share. After all, the media update procedure appears to add the extras after the templates. But if you did think this, you would be wrong. The update apparently will not overwrite existing files within the source WIM.
- You might, out of sheer desperation, decided to remove DaRT from the offline boot media by deselecting the component from the WinPE properties of the media set. This also will fail. The workbench will report that "DaRT cannot be removed from the media. Use the -Force option to regenerate the media." Presumably the error is suggesting that you should add "-force" to the Update-MDTMedia PowerShell Cmdlet that is used to update the media set. Sadly, "-Force" is not a valid flag for this cmdlet.
Ultimately, I just used imagex to mount the LiteTouch Offline boot media, and switched out the DartConfig.dat file using a simple "copy" command. Now I just need to remember to do that every time.
UserExit Script – Required Modifications:
Back in 2008 I added a UserExit script to LiteTouch to generate a semi-unique computer name by taking the last eight characters of the computer's MAC address, then appending a hyphen and a date string. It turns out that the routine in MDT that captures the MAC address (presumably ZTIGather.vbs) will not succeed unless the computer has a functional Ethernet connection. Grrr… When testing LiteTouch offline, we were getting computer names like "Address%-1214". Percent characters are not valid in computer names so, I needed to update our UserExit to use other semi-unique system attributes such as "Serial Number" to "Asset Tag" if the MAC is not available. I also added a fallback string of "UVMLT" if none of those variables are found. The new script is available below, along with a sample call to the script from CustomSettings.ini.
' // **************************************************************************** ' // File: ZUVMExpiredMediaCheck.vbs ' // Version: 1.0 ' // Purpose: Check to see if stand-alone media is expired ' // Actions: Shuts down WinPE if media is older than iExpAge variable months ' // Otherwise, script exits with Return 0. ' // Usage: cscript/wscript ZUVMExpiredMediaCheck.vbs ' // (to be added to winpeshl.ini, before bddrun.exe) ' // **************************************************************************** Option Explicit ' // Declare Variables: Dim cFiles Dim dtCreationDate, dtEndDate, dtXMonthsAgo Dim iExpAge Dim oDiskDrive, oDrives, oExec, oFile, oFSO, oShell, oWMIService Dim sCommand, sComputer, sExpText, sSysRoot, sUSBPath ' // Initialize Variables: ' Media Expiration Age, in months: iExpAge = 4 ' // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // Function: Converts the WMI date query response to a simple date format. (e.g. 09/21/2010) Function WMIDateStringToDate(dtmInstallDate) WMIDateStringToDate = CDate(Mid(dtmInstallDate, 5, 2) & "/" & Mid(dtmInstallDate, 7, 2) _ & "/" & Left(dtmInstallDate, 4) & " " & Mid(dtmInstallDate, 9, 2) & ":" _ & Mid(dtmInstallDate, 11, 2) & ":" & Mid(dtmInstallDate, 13, 2)) End Function ' // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // Find the environment variable %SYSTEMROOT% for location of LiteTouch Executables. Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") sSysRoot = oShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%SYSTEMROOT%") ' // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // -------------------------------- ' // Find driver letter for USB Media Set oFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Set oDrives = oFSO.Drives For Each oDiskDrive In oDrives If oDiskDrive.DriveType = "1" Then sUSBPath = oDiskDrive.Path End If Next ' // -------------------------------- ' // ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // Media Check - Check for Applications.xml presence and age. sComputer = "." Set oWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\" & sComputer & "rootcimv2") ' Query WMI for creation date of the Applications.xml file on the USB Drive: ' NOTE: Do not add the wbemFlagForwardOnly (Decimal 32) flag to this query. While the query would run faster ' with the flag, we also will not be able test for empty queries. Set cFiles = oWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * From CIM_DataFile Where Name = '" & sUSBPath & "\Deploy\Control\Applications.xml'") ' // ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // If Applications.xml file is not present, this is not offline media. Exit script. if cFiles.Count = 0 then Wscript.Quit(0) end if ' // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' // If the Applications.xml file creation date is more than "iExpAge" months ago, shutdown WinPE. For Each oFile in cFiles dtCreationDate = WMIDateStringToDate(oFile.CreationDate) dtEndDate = DateAdd("m", iExpAge, dtCreationDate) ' Set the date iExpAge months ago from today dtXMonthsAgo = DateAdd("m", -iExpAge, Now) If dtCreationDate < dtXMonthsAgo then ' Expiration Text, to be displayed to the user if older than iExpAge months: sExpText = "This LiteTouch Offline Media expired on: " & dtEndDate & chr(13) _ & "Refresh your media using the README file located here:" & chr(13) _ & "\files.uvm.edusoftwareWindows_Deployment_Services" MsgBox sExpText,vbMsgBoxSetForeground,"Expired Media" 'Shutdown WinPE immediately: sCommand = sSysRoot & "system32wpeutil.exe shutdown" set oExec = oShell.Exec(sCommand) Else ' If the media is fresh, run LiteTouch Offline. WScript.Quit(0) End If Next ' // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' // ZUVMUserExit.vbs ' // Custom Function library for use with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit ' // Currently includes "GenUniComp" - a function for generating unique computer names ' code adapted from source content: ' http://blogs.technet.com/benhunter/archive/2007/03/17/understanding-bdd-rule-processing.aspx Function UserExit(sType, sWhen, sDetail, bSkip) UserExit = Successfs End Function Function GenSimDate(sSimDate) 'Generates a simple date string in the format of YYMMDD Dim dNow, sYear, sMonth, sDay dNow = Date() sYear = Right(cStr(Year(dNow)), 2) sMonth = cStr(Month(dNow)) sDay = cStr(Day(dNow)) GenSimDate = sYear + sMonth + sDay End Function Function CleanMac(sMac) 'Strips colon (:) characters from the variable passed to this function. The passed variable is presumed to be a Mac address. Dim oRegExp Set oRegExp = new RegExp oRegExp.IgnoreCase = true oRegExp.Global = true oRegExp.Pattern = ":" CleanMac = oRegExp.Replace(sMac, "") End Function Function GenUniComp(sMac,sSerial,sATag) 'Generates a hopefully unique computer name by: ' Selecting from available MacAddress, SerialNumber, or Asset Tag then ' triming the right eight digits from the value and appending a hyphen with the current date. Dim sSimDate, sUniVal oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: sMac value in UserExit script is: " & sMac,LogTypeInfo oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: sSerial value in UserExit script is: " & sSerial,LogTypeInfo oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: sATag value in UserExit script is: " & sATag,LogTypeInfo if InStr(sMac,"%Mac") = 0 then oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Using Mac Address to generate computer name",LogTypeInfo sMac = CleanMac(sMac) oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Cleaned sMac values now is: " & sMac,LogTypeInfo sUniVal = sMac elseif InStr(sSerial,"%Serial") = 0 then oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Using Serial Number to generate computer name.",LogTypeInfo sUniVal = sSerial elseif InStr(sATTag,"%Asset") = 0 then oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Using Asset Tag to generate computer name.",LogTypeInfo sUniVal = sATag else oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Using Fallback Computer Name",LogTypeInfo sUniVal = "UVMLT" end if oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: sUniVal now set to: " & sUniVal,LogTypeInfo sSimDate = GenSimDate(sSimDate) GenUniComp = Right(sUniVal, 8) + "-" + sSimDate oLogging.CreateEntry "ZUVMUserExit: Unique Computer Name will be: " & GenUniComp,LogTypeInfo End Function
Calling the GenUniComp function from CustomSettings.ini:


text:
Aprés Ski in Arrowtown
Arrowtown is the perfect place to enjoy the company of friends and family after a day on Queenstown's skifields.
1 / 6
Charming Arrowtown has dining options from a casual meal beside an open fire, to a fine dining experience. Whether you want to drop in for a coffee, a local Central Otago wine, a boutique beer, or stay for a few days, you won't be disappointed by the extensive selection of fresh and appetising fare on offer.
Arrowtown's main street is picture perfect. Its buildings including its cafes, restaurants and shops exude character of a by gone era dating back to the heady days of the 1860's gold rush.
Drop in to the historic Lakes District Museum, which doubles as Arrowtown's information centre, to learn more about the district's fascinating history. The museum has maps on many of the cycling and walking tracks departing from Arrowtown. The Chinese Village, featuring remains of miners' huts, is just five minutes walk away, beside the picturesque Arrow River.
While exploring Arrowtown's alleys and courtyards, it's easy to be drawn in to the warmth of the restaurants, bars, the boutique cinema or the individually owned shops which sell quality New Zealand made products.
Arrowtown, nestled in the hills close to the Coronet and Remarkables skifields, and nearby Cardrona is only 20 minutes drive from Queenstown. For those wanting to base themselves in Arrowtown, there is a range of accommodation to suit all budgets and styles.
For more information visit www.arrowtown.com.


text:
General Hospital actress Kirsten Storms has been keeping two big secrets (those soap opera stories are rubbing off on her!)! Kristen and her former co-star Brandon Barash tied the knot back in June and are now expecting their first child together!
Brandon fessed up the big news to People this afternoon. The newlywed dad-to-be shared "We're having a little girl in January. It's been the most amazing couple of months of our lives. We kept things quiet because of everything that can go wrong during the first trimester. Kirsten did have a rocky [time] and we were in and out of the hospital."
Brandon and Kirsten had a good laugh when they figured out where they conceived their little miracle. "We calculated that we conceived the baby in Tony Geary's (Luke Spencer) guest room!"
Brandon is over the moon about the marriage and baby news, "It feels like a fairytale — we are so lucky."
I'd be willing to bet that they're going to have to hide Kirsten's pregnancy on General Hospital since her character Maxie Jones is giving birth to a baby this week! It might be hard to explain another rapid pregnancy…but then again it IS a soap opera and anything goes!
Photo Credit: Getty Images


text:
Find everything you need to track your success on the road.
Manage your payment options, review trip history, and more.
Select your preferred language
Change your location
Riding with Uber
Your ride, on demand
Whether you're headed to campus, German Vilage, or to CMH, the Uber app connects you with a reliable ride — from low-cost to premium — in minutes. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go. And payment is completely cashless.More about your ride
Get a fare estimate
Earn Money
Drive with Uber in Columbus
Earn money on your own terms. Full-time and part-time driving opportunities for independent contractors in Columbus give you the flexibility to work as much or as little as you want. Uber takes care of all the details so you can focus on driving your car when it works for you.Become a driver
Helping Cities
We're here to serve
Uber is passionate about making your city better. That's why we partner with thousands of locals who keep Columbus moving. Together we're energizing the local economy, helping make streets safer from drunk driving, and fostering a less congested environment.How Uber helps cities
Want to work with us in Columbus?Uber Corporate careers
Still have questions? We're here to help.Help & Support
Uber is not a transportation provider. Flat rates apply to direct trips between specified locations. Additional stops may result in a higher fare. Applicable tolls and surcharges may be added to your fare. At times of intense demand, our rates change over time to keep vehicles available. There is a surcharge of $3 from Port Columbus International Airport on uberX, uberXL, UberSELECT, and UberBLACK. Booking fees may be higher than the published amount for certain services or trips.


text:
Welcome to the Kumoricon Forums! Remember: Have fun! – Forum code of conduct.
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
A question set for any potential Relations Directors who will also be running for other departments:Do you feel you will be able to simultaneously fulfill the duties of multiple departments? Or would you instead prefer one department over another?
Copied (and one-word modified) to the other currently relevant Q/A thread.Quote from: MichaelEvans on September 13, 2009, 08:09:11 pmA question set for any potential Relations Directors who will also be running for other departments:Do you feel you will be able to simultaneously fulfill the duties of multiple departments? Or would you instead prefer one department over another?
I think this is the right place to askAs a Yoji I was often unaware of who VIPs were and sadly I don't think we provided the VIP service that we intended (priority seating, no waiting in lines, etc) how do we plan to rectify this next year?
Changes to Relations for 2010Dealer's Hall and Artist Alley:Ok, my assumption is that people don't come to a come to buy what you can get in a mall. So far, the poll and associated thread I am running are confirming that: http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=11234.0 Yes, it's a small sampling and I appreciate more input. There are a few simple ways to ensure more diversity of items and also to make us a more tempting show for some of the more specialty vendors:Shrink Dealer's and Increase Artist Alley - Our attendee to Dealer ratio is crucial for getting in the more desirable, less generic vendors. Also, AA stuff is always going to be unique. I intend to shift at least three booths to AA, I may do more. There are certain vendors I am courting for next year. I went through the dealer's hall at CCI and took contact info from some booths that I thought would be relevant to Kcon interests. I cannot guarantee getting them, but I intend to try. Also, I want to cap manga selling to local vendor's only. We will always want to support Dark Horse, Cosmic Money, Kinokuniya and other local businesses. We have enough local to fill the manga needs in Dealer's, there is no reason why anyone trucking in should just be selling manga. Now, some booths sell a mix of stuff and some might have a few manga here and there. I was thinking of making a 'no more than 15%' rule on manga for non-local vendors. This increases diversity while helping local stores. This year, for budget control, power drops will be available at an additional cost as opposed to included.Also, chairs in dealer's in the blank areas. We kind of have a funky setup in there with gaps between booths. Some people took advantage of this and used it as hang-out space. Sounds good to me. I was thinking about dropping some chairs in there and, if available from our pipe and drape company, smaller tables. (This assumes we leave vendor's hall in the same location. I am 99% sure we will. But, we will of course look at every possible option to make the best use of space possible.) Hang out space should be marked off with tape to make it clear what areas are ok to be in and what areas need to be clear for traffic flow. Hired in security. Sorry to have to bring this up, but at least 4 groups of people got into dealer's hall overnight that should not have. If we want vendors back, we need paid security this year. The security flaws are not exactly a secret at this point. This is a significant hit to my budget, but, a necessary one. Charity Auction:We did not meet our goals for last year. However, I still think the idea of advertising our lots is a good one. Next year, I think we just need to do it sooner. I had about 60 lots photographed and in an online gallery, but it kinda takes time for word about that to spread around. So, this year, it just needs to be done a lot sooner. I also intend to have charity auction drop offs at mid-year events. I would like to thank P:ear for having come by our event personally this year, and I hope to see their involvement in coming years. 1 Band, 2 Bands, No Bands?: I've been floating the idea of having only one band. Some other people brought up having no bands. This needs to be explored. Taking the stress off of Main Events means more time for the dances. If people prefer dances to concerts, well happier attendees for less cost = win. I am still committed to have some live music and have some ideas on that. However, I cannot discuss those ideas directly as it would involve getting certain guests. Anyway, I intend to try to get as much feedback as possible as to how to proceed with this. No hard decision has been made on this yet. I am just trying to figure out what is best for our attendees. Guest Relations:This went well this year, I felt. However, I could have informed our Guests of Honor better about Kumoricon and Portland. The only real change I want to make is a special newsletter for the GoHs highlighting stuff to do in Portland and at the con. Due to attendance cap, professional security and the corresponding tighter budget, I may wind up having one or two few Guests. 'Fewer Guests' is not a platform I am running on, but is the reality of the situation. Japanese Version Of The Website:Some of you may remember this being a 'campaign promise' from last year. I had meant to do this over Xmas break last year but storm damage to my house kinda killed the time I had planned to use to do this project. Again this year, I do hope to make a Japanese version of the site. I did get some copy written up last year. Industry Relations: I was pleased with the prize support we got for this year, but hope to do better next year. I intend to keep my policy about being picky about what goes into swag bags. Kumoricon is a not a free direct-marketing form for just anyone. If the swag item is not of direct benefit to attendees, it needs to be offset by something like a charity auction donation.
I would like to propose:(a) that the Disabilities Advocate (or whatever the title may be) be empowered to form an advisory committee. (b) that the committee consist of (i) attendees with disabilities, including: visible mobility impairments; mobility impairments not immediately visible; other types of chronic health concerns, such as asthma or diabetes; and mental health, learning, and/or behavioral disabilities;(ii) staff with disabilities, including as many of the above categories as we have staff who self-identify with them;(iii) facilities liason;(iv) someone representing Reg.How do you feel about this? Should I make a formal proposal, or is that not needed?Would you support this proposal?
Thanks for the details.Yes, I would strongly concur that someone with legal expertise and advocacy expertise be involved, if such a committee is ever formed.Of note is that I was not envisioning the setting of policy by this committee. Rather I was envisioning the obtaining of feedback from those who have tried to attend the con and/or work for the con in prior years, and/or who intend to in forthcoming years, whose experiences within con may be impacted by any type of disability; perhaps the processing of that feedback into a summary; and brainstorming possible ways to address the information that was thus accumulated. Drafting policy was something I saw as incumbent upon the board, not empowered to this committee.Does that make sense?Please help me understand. If Relations is not in charge of this type of work, is it Ops?Thank you!
As usual, Pocky Club needs to know, what is your favorite flavor of Pocky.(apologies to Rathany, whom I know is allergic).


text:
Visit campus to learn what Hawkeye has to offer you!
Registration for Summer/Fall 2019 is now open. Register today for best selection of classes.
Register Today
Keep your kids entertained this summer with STEM activities that are fun, productive and creative! Registration is OPEN!
Learn more
Students Page
Faculty & Staff Page
Alumni & Donors Page
Make a Gift
Update your contact information and tell us your story. We're so excited to hear from you!
Update Your Contact Information
Sunday, January 26, 2020
You are considered enrolled even if you stop attending classes. Non-attendance and non-payment does not withdraw you from your course(s).
See Tuition Refund Policy for Credit Classes


text:
ProDermagenix Advanced Anti-Aging Serum
Description: ProDermagenix Advanced Anti-Aging Serum uses state-of-the-art firming ingredients to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, age spots, dark circles, puffiness under the eyes and more. The serum achieves noticeable results you can see and feel with an advanced combination of skin tightening crystals, moisturizing agents and vitamins. Once applied, the serum stays smooth and flexible - and does not break or flake like some other brands on the market. ProDermagenix Anti-Aging Serum also mimics the mechanical action of a surgical facelift by gently pulling the skin tighter, which smoothes out the surface of the skin for a youthful, radiant appearance. Clinical studies have shown ProDermagenix helps reduce deep wrinkles by 50%, while some may fade completely. Study results also showed the serum to add more moisture to the skin, keeping it there for longer. Active Ingredients: Vitamin E - moisture Shea Butter - moisture Skin Tightening Complex - reduces fine lines & wrinkles. For a limited time, Splash readers can receive a FREE TRIAL! Click on the link to experience youthful beauty today!
Price: $89.95


text:
This weekend, for the first time in history, same-sex marriage will be debated in a party platform, as Democrats hold their first meetings to decide their official positions in advance of their fall convention.
Los Angeles Mayor and convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa and Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schulz have both said they expect marriage to be in the platform. Rep. Adam Schiff got the entire California Democratic delegation on on board last week, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who signed Freedom to Marry's Democrats Say I Do petition.
The Democratic group Third Way issued a memo Friday morning showing that same-sex marriage has reached a tipping point following President Obama's final evolution in support earlier this year. With Gallup showing 65 percent of Democrats in favor and Pew showing a 10-point surge in support since 2008, the memo said more Democrats support same-sex marriage than consider themselves pro-choice.
The memo predicted six "marriage moments" over the coming year, with the Dem platform being the first. The rest are, an expected Supreme Court decision, probably in October, just before the election, to hear at least one marriage case, possibly including California's Prop 8, led by the Ted Olson/David Bois team. In November, voters in four states — Washington, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota — will vote on marriage initiatives. In February, the Supreme Court could hear arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act. In the spring, the group predicts more state legislatures, possibly in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Illinois, could approve same-sex marriage. By June, the group predicts a Supreme Court decision.
Former Clinton aide Richard Socarides speculates on how Chief Justice John Roberts might rule on DOMA in the wake of his deciding vote to uphold Obamacare. Socarides thinks Roberts could side with marriage, given his youth and his concern about his legacy.
"The question is whether a decade or more from now Chief Justice Roberts really wants to be leading a Court that embodies the last vestiges of anti-gay discrimination in the country, even as fewer and fewer Americans oppose equality," Socarides wrote. "A ruling in favor of gay equality is possible, perhaps even likely, with or without the swing vote of Justice Kennedy."


text:
Conservative MP for Chesham and Amersham
MPs have voted on funding and giving permission for a new high speed rail network, connecting at least London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Sheffield, Leeds, and Manchester.Photo: Jon Curnow
TheyWorkForYou has automatically calculated this MP's stance based on all of their votes on the topic. You can browse the source data on PublicWhip.org.uk.
Note for journalists and researchers: The data on this page may be used freely, on condition that TheyWorkForYou.com is cited as the source.
For an explanation of the vote descriptions please see the FAQ entries on vote descriptions and how the voting record is decided
Profile photo: © Parliament (CC-BY 3.0)


text:
Samsung announced their new Samsung Wallet today. The video above is from frAndroid, and here's Simon Sage's background on it from Android Central:
Samsung has announced a new API for developers to help manage event tickets, boarding passes, memberships, and coupons. Samsung Wallet will be a new application which brings all of these types of content into one place. Time and location-based push notifications will help users get a hold of the ticketing information.
If that sounds -- and looks -- familiar, it's because Apple already announced it back in June of 2012 as Passbook.
It's not the first time Samsung's copied an Apple product, it's probably not even the hundred-and-first, though given their bolder, more authentic releases over the last year, it did seem to be something they were growing out of. Apple isn't adverse to copying features from Android either, though historically they haven't been as consistent or blatant about it.
Like with black slab designs I'm pretty much over any obsession with who's copying who, but I do think this smacks of laziness and a lack of pride.
I'm happy for Samsung users that they'll get to enjoy a feature that's been nifty, if limited so far, on iOS 6. But it shows Samsung really doesn't give a shit. Passbook is certainly not the only way to tackle a digital wallet, and it may not even be the best way. By relentlessly copying, Samsung isn't moving the technology forward. They're not raising the bar. They're not making a wallet interface and experience so good anyone is begging for Apple to copy them.
I own a Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, which have LG and Asus designs, and Google software, and I'm currently waiting for an HTC One (love HTC). I have little interest in Samsung products, and it's mostly because of stuff like this. And I want to have interest in Samsung. I want a better Samsung.
Obviously Samsung's making all the money in Android these days, and their upcoming Galaxy S4 will no doubt be an unprecedented hit, so they probably don't care.
But they really, really should.
Source: frAndroid via Android Central


text:
2014 Tour Down Under: Stage 6: Daily Wrap up by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen
Submitted by admin2 on Sun, 01/26/2014 - 00:50
|Follow cyclingfans on Twitter and never miss a race. Cyclingfans.com: The #1 destination on the internet for live race coverage.
-For more Tour Down Under videos click here.


text:
Visit our main website at www.StDavids.com
Pronounced: am-KNEE-o-sen-TEE-sis
Editorial Staff and Contributors
Amniotic fluid surrounds the baby during pregnancy. Amniocentesis is the removal of a small amount of this fluid for testing.
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Amniocentesis is most often done to see if there is an abnormality in your baby's genes (DNA). It can also be done to see if your baby is developing correctly. Later in pregnancy, it can be done to determine the maturity of your baby's lungs.
Factors that indicate that you may need this procedure include:
Depending on your risk factors, cells in the amniotic fluid are tested for:
Amniocentesis may also be done:
Problems from the procedure are rare, but all procedures have some risk. Your doctor will review potential problems, like:
Factors that may increase your risk of complications include:
Be sure to discuss these risks with your doctor before the procedure.
You may be given a local anesthesia. This numbs a small area in the abdomen where the needle will be placed.
First, an
ultrasound will be done. This will help
to choose a safe spot to insert the needle. Your abdomen will be cleaned. Next, a very thin needle will be inserted through your abdomen into your uterus. A few teaspoons of amniotic fluid will be removed.
After the needle is removed, the doctor will make sure that your baby's heartbeat is normal. In most cases, an ultrasound will be used throughout the procedure.
About 45 minutes
You may feel cramping when the needle enters your abdomen. You may also feel pressure when the fluid is withdrawn.
A test showing a healthy baby is ideal, but you will need to be prepared if the results show otherwise. If the test shows that your baby may have a genetic disorder, you may need to make tough decisions regarding your pregnancy. If you do continue with the pregnancy, then you will need to address your child's special needs. Your doctor can help you understand the pros and cons of having this test. Your doctor will work with you on options that are best for you after you know the results.
It is important to monitor your recovery. Alert your doctor to any problems. If any of the following occur, call your doctor:
If you think you have an emergency, call for medical help right away.
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Publishing. All rights reserved.
Women's Center of Texas12221 N. Mopac Expwy.Austin, TX 78758Telephone: (512) 478-3627Map & Directions


text:
Hope College biologist Dr. Gregory Fraley is conducting research that he hopes will help lead to a better understanding of eating disorders.
His research is into the role that brain circuitry plays in food intake in mammals. It's work that has recently received support through a three-year, $240,301 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
"There is a very strong relationship between the onset of puberty and eating disorders," said Fraley, a neuroscientist and associate professor of biology. "So this research investigates one brain circuitry that overlaps both. If we can understand the circuitry, perhaps we can understand what goes wrong when teenagers develop eating disorders."
"If we can understand the biology, then we can start addressing solutions," he said.
The research focuses on a neuropeptide, GnlH. Fraley noted that GnlH has been found to have an effect on food intake but its specific functioning is little understood. He will be exploring questions such as whether or not the neuropeptide has a direct effect or if GnlH in turn triggers other neuropeptides that themselves play a role.
Hope students regularly work with Fraley as collaborative researchers during both the school year and the summer. He will be pursuing the new, NIH-funded project with two being supported full-time for several weeks during each of the next three summers.
He noted that the new project picks up a research strand that began as a collaborative faculty-student project in his laboratory nearly nine years ago, during the 2004-05 school year when he was a new faculty member conducting research with then-freshman Marlie Johnson, who went on to graduate in 2008, subsequently earned her DVM and is now a practicing veterinarian in Montana.
"She and I were the first people to describe this particular brain system in mammals," Fraley said. "And it has generated so much interest that I'm going back to it again."


text:
More Popular Issues
See how voters are siding on other popular political issues...
Last answered 7 hours ago
219,961 votes
22,170 votes
Distribution of answers submitted by Australian voters.
Data includes total votes submitted by visitors since Jul 12, 2016. For users that answer more than once (yes we know), only their most recent answer is counted in the total results. Total percentages may not add up to exactly 100% as we allow users to submit "grey area" stances that may not be categorized into yes/no stances.
Choose a demographic filter
- Conservatives
- One Nation
- Arts Party
- Labor
- Reason Party
- Liberals
- Greens
- Animal Justice Party
- United Australia
- Nick Xenophon Team
- Liberal Democrats
- Pirate Party
- Katter's Australian
- Socialist Alliance
- Democratic Labour
- Science Party
- Australian Christians
- Christian Democratic Party
- Nationals
- Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
Data based on 30-day moving average to reduce daily variance from traffic sources. Totals may not add up to exactly 100% as we allow users to submit "grey area" stances that may not be categorized into yes/no stances.
Learn more about Mandatory Vaccinations
In 2015 Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that parents would no longer receive welfare payments if their children were not vaccinated. People who object to vaccines for religious purposes can continue to receive payments if they are affiliated with a religious group whose governing body has a formally registered objection recognised by the federal government. 97% of children in Australia are vaccinated. See recent vaccination news


text:
Are One Direction Feuding Over Their Musical Direction?
Are One Direction feuding about their musical direction?
Rumors started swirling that the boy band was dealing with internal strife over Harry Styles wanting to ditch their songwriting team and write more of their own tunes and shift towards a more rock direction.
Oh, it's always Hazza's fault when these rumors start.
Actually, it's not anyone's fault, since the rumors have been shot down and shut down as totally false and complete BS. Whew.
A report suggested that Hazza clashed with his band bros, since he wanted them to sound "cooler" on their summer stadium tour. Uh, we weren't aware of some "lack of cool" issue with 1D's sound…
The source said, "Harry loves being in the band and respects and loves his bandmates. But he's very ambitious and thinks they should be growing up more and becoming more credible. He thinks their next album is the perfect time to create a much edgier and more rock 'n' roll image and he's already writing songs that he wants them to include on the record."
That insider claimed there was a fear that if Hazza didn't get his way, he'd go solo. Ugh, not that story again...
Also, 1D did co-write most of the tracks on 'Midnight Memories' so there is no issue with their sound and style. Rest easy, Directions. The boys and their (one) direction are unified.


text:
This surely has to be a mistake: "Tomahawk's Sidney Peterson, 18, joined the Army National Guard after graduating from Tomahawk School. Her father, Rick, 28, soon followed in her footsteps."
When I was in the Navy I had a recruit whose mother had him at age 11. But a father at age 10?
10 Year Old Father?
Forum for discussions about Tomahawk and the Northwoods.
3 posts • Page 1 of 1
- NurseNell
- Contributor
- Posts: 236
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2001 1:01 am
- Tie to Tomahawk: Resident 1980 - 1989, retired here 5/2012
- Location: Tomahawk, WI
10 Year Old Father?
More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.
Friends never lets friends drive drunk.
More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.
Friends never lets friends drive drunk.
- Administrator
- Posts: 679
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2001 1:01 am
- Contact:
Re: 10 Year Old Father?
Ooops. I thought he sounded like a very young dad at the correct age of 38, but obviously 28 is incredible. I've fixed it... It's a wonderful story. Hope many of you enjoyed reading the entire version in the newspaper. Thanks Nurse Nell, and hoping all is well with you.
Kathy Tobin
Kathy Tobin
- Regular Contributor
- Posts: 692
- Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2001 2:01 am
- Tie to Tomahawk: vacation
Re: 10 Year Old Father?
Welcome back Nurse Nell! I've missed your insights to the message board.
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
3 posts • Page 1 of 1
Return to "Tomahawk and the Northwoods"
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests


text:
Bioshock wrote:Salary Cap...
Things change and we have no idea what the next CBA holds. All we know for sure or at least a 99% certainty is that Crosby will be re-signed. And even knowing that, we have no idea at how much. Will he take a discount? Will he take cap Max? Something in between?
Like everything else going into the summer, Who the **** knows?
To this point there's no way I think Crosby can ask for league max. I'd really want him to take a bit of a pay cut if I was Shero. Due to his injury situation, and prior history I don't think you can lock up that much of the cap in a guy that now has a checkered injury history that has kept him out for long periods of time. That's just me though and likely if Sid wants maximum salary he will get maximum salary. I probably ask him to take a pay cut down to 7.5M, 8M at the most but heck that's why I'm not the GM.


text:
Scraffito C 5×10
Product Code: SC-510C
This product can be ordered as monochrome in any of our existing glazes. Scraffito tile patterns can also be hand painted, using a technique called Polywash. You may use any of our existing Watercolors for the overglaze color. Using the lighter Watercolors for the overglaze shows underglaze details more clearly.


text:
About Me
- Nena Zin
- Puchong, Malaysia
- Graduated from the Squires Kitchen of International School of Sugarcraft & Cake Decorating (Professional Courses for theory and practical techniques from United Kingdom). Serves as a consultant to entrepreneurs specializing in bakery and creating own Pastries, Bread, Cake, Royal Icing, Fondant, Cookies & Chocolate Recipes.
Products we made!
now its your turn to make them
.join us now.
new class. new price. tools provided. choose your own date & time.
call/message/whatsapp : 012-2264533 (Nena Zin)
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Red Velvet Cake
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Log Out
Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy have changed. We think you'll like them better this way.
Join with bear Medicinewalker and together lets start the day of in a positive motion. Sending all our prayers upon the Sacred Winds to the Ancestors...join in to raise the vibration and send a healing thought out to the universe.
Share a laugh , a morning brew, and a Morning Blessing. We are all One...we are all Related.
Mitakuye O'yasin
bear Medicinewalker


text:
With a little help from the kernel
[ Disclaimer: simplified, high-level view ahead. ]
When a program reads or writes data at a given virtual address, it uses instructions telling the CPU to do so. When the CPU doesn't know the address, it faults. When it knows the address, but its access rights don't allow the read or write operation the program wanted, it faults, too. Operating systems do trap these faults, and the system kernel handles them, allowing the program to continue.
As a virtual address can point to a various range of different things, the kernel keeps track of what address ranges are backed by what. The most typical backing is physical memory: a given virtual address corresponds to a given physical RAM address.
Other typical backings include zero-memory (memory full of zero), copy-on-write, file-backed mappings (mmap with a file descriptor), etc. Or a combination of those.
When a file is mapped into memory by a program, the program may access data from that file through "standard" reads/write to memory, and the kernel does its job of getting the data from disk, putting it in physical memory, and telling the CPU to look there.
When physical memory becomes short for the demand, the kernel may choose to throw away anything that it can get back in physical memory later, like file-backed mappings, which can be read again from disk when needed. Another strategy is to move parts of physical memory to disk. This is "swapping" or "paging".
Anyways. When faulty.lib loads a library from a Zip archive, it reserves (shared) memory for the uncompressed library, and marks it as non-readable and non-writable. When code or data from the library is accessed, the kernel handles the CPU fault, and ends up throwing a segmentation fault signal (SIGSEGV) to the process. The process handles the signal, and fills the memory buffer with parts of the uncompressed library that are necessary, and flags them with the appropriate access rights. On further accesses to the same location, the already uncompressed data will be accessed directly.
The downside of this approach is that besides paging/swapping, there is no way to get rid of the unused parts in case of memory pressure. And since Android devices don't do paging/swapping, it's effectively wasted memory.
The facility we're using on Android for that shared memory, ashmem (currently in staging for mainline kernel), has a mechanism that could almost help us: a program can "unpin" ashmem ranges, indicating to the kernel memory regions it is allowed to throw away when it is under memory pressure. Further accesses to memory that the kernel threw away are like accesses to anonymous memory for the first time: zeroed-out.
If the program does NULL checks, it can figure whether the kernel may have thrown data away. But in faulty.lib's case, that's not quite possible. Any part of the code in a library may directly jump into a region that the kernel freed, and the resulting zeroed-out memory will just be executed instead of being filled.
So, in faulty.lib's case, it would be interesting if the kernel had a special backing for such userspace-filled memory regions, where it would consider throwing them away like it does for "unpinned" ashmem. Afterwards, accesses to these memory regions would trigger some signal for the program to fill the memory again.
The current proposal, now part of a plumber's wishlist thanks to Lennart Poettering, involves a new flag for
madvise() and would make the kernel send a
SIGBUS signal to a process when memory is accessed after the kernel has thrown it away. This proposal has received some interest from Andi Kleen.
And it would be useful for more than just faulty.lib: application caches (images, network, etc.) (although ashmem fulfills that need to some extent), JIT code, live decompression of content other than libraries, you name it.
2012-05-14 18:21:42+0900


text:
SKY REPORTER: June 2012
by AMNH on
Sky Data
Friday June first, sunrise is at 5:27 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. That evening the Sun located in the constellation Taurus sets at 8:21 p.m.
On June 20, our longest day of the year, sunrise is at 5:25 a.m. and sunset arrives at 8:30 p.m. On this date the Sun is above the horizon for 15 hours and six minutes.
The last day of the month the Sun is in Gemini, rising at 5:28 a.m. and setting at 8:31 that evening.
In New York City at the start of June the Sun is above the horizon for 14 hours, 55 minutes. On the longest day June 20 that number rises to 15 hours and six minutes. Then time between sunrise and sunset begins to diminish and we lose three minutes of direct sunlight by the end of June. On our first day of summer Earth's northern rotation axis is at its maximum tilt toward the Sun. The Sun's position at solar noon that day reaches its annual peak of 72.7 degrees of arc above the horizon at our location.
Average overnight temperatures in Central Park rise from 59 degrees Fahrenheit on the first of June to 67 degrees on the last day of the month.
Principal Phases of the Moon are:
|Full Moon
|June 4
|Last Quarter
|June 11
|New Moon
|June 19
|First Quarter
|June 26
Sky Cast
On June 1 the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Saturn are all above the horizon at sunset. Mercury and Venus are near each other low in the west as twilight fades. Both are too close to the Sun to be casually observed. Mars is high in the southwest during early evening and does not set until 1:45 a.m. the next morning. Saturn is near the meridian after sunset on June 1 and remains above the horizon until 3:21 a.m. Uranus is near the border between Pisces and Cetus and rises at 2:30 a.m. Neptune, now considered the most distant of the Sun's family of planets, is in the constellation Aquarius and rises at 1:08 the morning of June second. Jupiter is now also visible before dawn rising at 4:42 a.m.
During the evening of June 1 the waxing gibbous Moon is near the border of Virgo and Libra, 17 degrees of arc southeast of Saturn. First magnitude star Spica, 260 light years from us, appears five degrees south of the slightly brighter spectacularly ringed planet.
The evening of Sunday June 3, a bright waxing gibbous Moon (indistinguishable from a Full Moon by most observers without the help of optical aid) is in Ophiuchus, about five degrees north of first magnitude Antares, brightest star in Scorpius. Antares is a red supergiant in the last stages of its existence, located about 600 light years from Earth.
June 4 is the night of the Full Moon, traditionally known as the Full Strawberry Moon or Full Rose Moon.
This year's long anticipated Transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun occurs in the early evening of Tuesday June 5, beginning with first contact of the Venusian disk with the Sun's apparent edge at 6:03:50 p.m. EDT. Second contact, when the planet's outer edge reaches the Sun's disk, is predicted for 6:21:22 p.m. Regardless of our local weather, you're welcome to join us at the American Museum of Natural History beginning 5:30 that afternoon in the Cullman Hall of the Universe. We'll be watching the transit event in real time via NASA simulcast from a high altitude site on Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii. The event is free with Museum admission. Enter at 81st Street (Rose Center – Hayden Planetarium). I look forward to seeing you there.
Astrophysicist Jackie Faherty provides more Transit details and NASA's transit/eclipse guru Fred Espenak gives additional information at his website.
Transits of Mercury and Venus were first predicted by Johannes Kepler 385 years ago based on his laws of planetary motion. These are rare events, occurring in pairs separated by more than a century. During the 18th and 19th centuries Transits of Venus held promise for triangulating the distance to that planet thereby determining the size scale of the Solar System. However, a visual distortion called the "black drop effect" attributed to Earth's atmosphere, small telescope size, limb darkening of the Sun's edge, or some combination of these, prevented precise timing required for such measurements.
In a way, the transit of Venus is similar to annular eclipses of the Sun such as that seen last month. During an annular eclipse the amount of sunlight reaching observers is significantly diminished but not entirely blocked. During such events the moon is too far from Earth to completely obscure all direct sunlight, as would be the case in a total solar eclipse. As a result a bright ring of light is visible around the eclipsing Moon. During transits of the Sun Venus, although four times the diameter of the Moon is many times further from us than our lunar neighbor and the Venusian disk looks tiny compared with that of the Sun. Nevertheless, Venus does block some light and the brightness of the Sun is diminished by a miniscule, but measureable amount. Timing the event's stages from widely separated points on Earth, could allow us to determine Venus' distance from us, thereby assigning a specific value to relative distances of other planets. That scenario would be practicable if not for the black drop effect that often seems to smear views of the Venusian disk immediately after second contact and before third contact of the planet's edge with that of the Sun. During past centuries some astronomers travelled thousands of miles eager to discover the size of the Solar System and were frustrated by the annoying black drop. These distortions are not always seen, but have been also reported in several space satellite observations of Mercury's solar transits. However, highly precise determinations of Venus' distance are now made using radar.
However, transit observations of distant stars currently provide great results discovering and learning about extra-solar planets. The Kepler space observatory (see our September 2011 and January 2012 posts) facilitates using this technique in the quest to find planets orbiting stars beyond the Solar System. Observations of this month's Venus Transit from above the atmosphere using the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as studies of future transit events seen via Cassini mission cameras orbiting Saturn, are expected to help refine details of Kepler mission extra-solar discoveries.
Care must be taken during any attempt to directly view solar phenomena, otherwise blindness can occur. Repeating our advice from last month, only observers experienced with high quality solar filters, or capable of safely projecting the Sun's image onto a surface to view the transit indirectly, should make such an attempt. Otherwise, it is advised to follow the event via internet or television.
The evening of Friday June 8 at 10 p.m. the brilliant star Arcturus with an apparent magnitude of -0.05 is at the meridian at an altitude of 68 degrees above the southern horizon. This star, one of the brightest in our sky, is about 37 light years from us.
Our earliest sunrise for this year is on Wednesday June 13th at 5:24 a.m.
In darkening twilight on the evening of Friday June 15, Mercury is low in the west. This elusive planet is now in Gemini and sets at 10:02 p.m. Mars then is in Leo and sets at 1:06 a.m. the morning of Saturday June 16. Next in the zodiac planetary progression is Saturn, seen among stars of Virgo and setting at 2:29 a.m.
At 12:16 a.m. June 16, Neptune in Aquarius rises at 12:16 a.m. It is followed into the eastern sky by Uranus on the border between Pisces and Cetus at 1:39 a.m. Next, Jupiter arrives in the eastern sky at 4:00 a.m. Then at 4:39 Venus makes its appearance above the east-northeast horizon.
Five a.m. in the twilight sky of Sunday June 17, a very thin crescent Moon is about three degrees to the upper right of Venus, becoming increasingly apparent in the early morning sky after its recent transit of the Sun. Jupiter, on the early morning of the 17th, is one degree of arc to the upper right of the crescent Moon.
Waning crescent Moon viewed from the International Space Station September 5, 2010. Credit: NASA
Summer starts in the northern hemisphere Wednesday June 20 at 7:09 p.m. At that time the Sun is directly above a point in the Pacific Ocean 593 miles west-northwest of Honolulu, about halfway between Kauai and Midway Island. The Sun is then in eastern part of Taurus, close to that constellation's border with Gemini.
A half hour after sunset on June 21, the thin two day old crescent Moon is eight degrees above the western horizon and about seven degrees to the lower left of Mercury. Binoculars are a considerable help when searching for this planet.
The evenings of June 25 and 26, the waxing Moon is near Mars. Wednesday June 27 we have our latest sunset of the year at 8:31p.m. and during the evenings of the 27th and 28th the gibbous Moon is in Virgo near Saturn and Spica.
Sky Lore
In Africa within the Great Zimbabwe stone city it is believed early second millennium ancestors of the present day Shona people marked astronomical events such as the solstices with an observatory structure comprising a ring of stone walls over 200 feet in diameter, containing platforms and petroglyphs oriented to rising and setting of bright stars as well as the annual north-south traverse of the Sun. Richard Wade of the Nkwe Ridge Observatory in South Africa proposes that a large conical tower in the complex was constructed around 1300 A.D. to align with a supernova said to have occurred at that time. The Sena people of Zimbabwe have an oral tradition indicating their ancestors migrated to that region from the north, attracted by an unusually bright star seen in southern skies.
Brilliant Arcturus in the constellation Bootes has many mythological associations. In Shawnee legends it is linked to a warrior named White Hawk, who one day came upon a circular pattern of footsteps made in a forest clearing. He was mystified by the lack of any foot prints leading to the circle. After days and nights of observing he discovered the prints were made by a group of young women who descended and departed from the clearing in an airborne basket. Myths tell that these dancers were associated with the circlet of stars forming the Northern Crown, Corona Borealis.
The name Arcturus is derived from its ancient Greek description, The Bear Guardian, or Bear Driver. It alludes to the star's proximity to stars of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Great and Little Bears.
In 1933 beams of light from Arcturus were focused on photoelectric devices at four observatories to help inaugurate Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair. It was thought light from this star, emitted during the city's Columbian Exposition in 1893, had been en route to Earth during that entire 40 year interval. Now thanks to distance refinements provided by the European Space Agency's Hipparchus astrometry satellite launched in 1989, we know light from Arcturus arrives at Earth after a journey of 36 years eight and a half months.


text:
Miscues doom Rangers in 6-3 loss to Brewers
MILWAUKEE – A couple of catchable balls in the first inning led to a rare losing streak for Texas.
Yuniesky Betancourt's eighth homer of the season capped a five-run first inning Tuesday night and the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Rangers.
Aramis Ramirez also homered for the first time this year and NL batting leader Carlos Gomez added a two-run double for Milwaukee, which rebounded from a four-game sweep by visiting St. Louis last weekend.
"We really shouldn't have been in that (5-0) hole," Texas manager Ron Washington said.
Mitch Moreland homered for the Rangers, who lost consecutive games for the third time this year. They also lost their season-high fourth straight on the road.
Justin Grimm (2-2) gave up five earned runs on eight hits in five innings after entering the game with a total of six earned runs allowed this year. The right-hander struck out seven and walked three.
"(The first inning) was long. Too long," Grimm said. "Balls were finding grass and not gloves. I made a couple of good pitches and I made a couple of bad ones. It was a little frustrating. It was just that one inning there."
After back-to-back singles by Norichika Aoki and Jean Segura in the first, Ryan Braun drove in Milwaukee's first run with a single over the head of Nelson Cruz in right field.
"Cruz thought he was closer to the wall," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "He jumped a little too soon and didn't come up with the ball."
But because Segura thought Cruz was going to catch the ball near the warning track, he was headed back to first when he saw Braun rounding the base for what turned out to be a long single.
Segura's mistake did not cost his team, however.
One by leftfielder David Murphy later in the inning did.
With two outs, Gomez blooped a two-run double to left-center. Murphy got a bad break on the fly ball hit to his left, and then it bounced passed him as he ran toward it.
"I lost it," Murphy said. "I don't know exactly what I lost it in. I tried to change direction just because I was unsure where the ball was. I slipped. I picked it up again. I went after it, and then I lost it again in the window or whatever that is up above the seats (behind home plate). It was an unfortunate play."
Betancourt followed with his two-run homer, also to left-center, to give Milwaukee a 5-0 lead.
He leads the Brewers with eight homers after hitting seven last season.
"Leave the ball on home plate and I swing," the Milwaukee first baseman said.
Milwaukee's Wily Peralta (3-2) gave up three runs - two earned - and five hits in six innings. The right-hander, who turns 24 on Wednesday, struck out two and did not walk a batter.
"Great sinker, great fastball," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "Had a good change-up and got some outs on it. His slider was a little inconsistent but this was a great game for him. This is a good lineup to go through and I really thought he made some great pitches when he needed to."
Three relievers followed with an inning each for the Brewers, including Jim Henderson in the ninth for his seventh save.
"After a rough five games, it was a good start," said Gomez, who is hitting .449 during his career-high 13-game hitting streak. "It brought the energy back to the team."
Texas got its first run in the second when Moreland hit his fifth homer, a solo shot to left-center. It was the only hit for the Rangers in the first four innings.
In the sixth, Texas added two more runs. Adrian Beltre hit a grounder to Ramirez at third that bounced off his glove and allowed Jeff Baker to score from third. Cruz's sacrifice fly scored Elvis Andrus and cut Milwaukee's lead to 5-3.
Ramirez made it 6-3 with his homer to left off reliever Jason Frasor.
Milwaukee's Tom Gorzelanny pitched the seventh and Brandon Kintzler the eighth.
NOTES: Milwaukee is 10-3 when scoring first. ... Braun extended his interleague hitting streak to 29 straight games dating back to June 17, 2011 at Boston. . The last time these teams met was June 13, 2010, at Miller Park. ... Grimm has 16 strikeouts in his last two games — both losses. ... This is the sixth time and first since 2006 that Texas played a different opponent on three consecutive days. The Rangers hosted Boston on Sunday and played the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday.


text:
Main Content
The Burning Crusade expansion was one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history. Having sold over 2.4 million copies on the first day, it was truly a record-breaking success. Grab one of these T-shirts and pay homage to the game that over 8 million people immerse themselves in daily!


text:
One day soon, some glossy, button-down dude in a new BMW will slide up next to a smallish razor-cut Cadillac — and scoff.
Where are the gold hubcaps and vinyl top, he might wonder?
Then the "lowly" Caddy will disappear with a deep, street-scouring growl and two hazy strips of tire rubber.
Bimmer Bob won't have a clue that he just encountered a 2016 Cadillac ATS-V, a 464-horsepower, corner-bending, asphalt-eating coupe about the size of a 3-series BMW.
It may be General Motors' best-kept secret.
Though few people seem to realize it, Cadillac hasn't been the cushy national sedan of Florida since Wild Bill Clinton prowled the White House at night.
For more than a decade now, Cadillac has gotten steadily better at seriously tweaking suspensions, steering and horsepower.
In fact, the CTS-V sedan is probably a better performing and handling car than BMW's vaunted M5.
But none of that has pumped up Caddy's bottom line or its lingering grandad-and-gold-chains image.
So far this year, sales of all models of the truly good CTS are down 39 percent as buyers continue their migration to crossovers. Meanwhile, the slightly smaller ATS struggles with a 15 percent decrease.
Maybe the V can bring some heat.
Certainly, no one will mistake the one I had recently for a sandy South Beach cruiser, even with my buzzed-off gray hair poking over the steering wheel.
In metallic gray, the coupe looked like a lean, lethal bar-room brawler dressed in dark slacks and a $200 silk shirt.
Unusual vertical headlamps — a contemporary Cadillac trademark — provided a steely glare, while a bold chain-link silver grille flashed a bit of bling.
Extremely short overhangs and a slightly raised hood gave the car a purposeful look, as did functional vents at the front of the hood.
The mostly flat sides appeared to be tighter than a plastic surgeon's smile, sliced lightly by a sloping character line that darted through the door handle to the extremely vertical taillamps. A gunslinger top that stretched out and down like a hatchback complemented the edgy body nicely, I thought.
And the taut mix of steel and aluminum looked pretty darn menacing crouched atop fat 255/35 tires up front and 275/35s in back, on 18-inch alloy wheels.
None of it — not a single vent or grille — was for show.
Under the hood
Beneath the aggressive hood lived a grumbling 3.6-liter V-6 with twin turbochargers and direct fuel injection.
Sadly, the eager engine was tied to an eight-speed automatic, which was pefectly functional but kind of tamped down the fun factor.
In multiple, uh, test runs, I never noticed any turbo lag. Boost came on so fast under full throttle that the rear of the car sometimes squatted and squirmed oddly — as if it were grappling with the sudden outburst of power.
The power band felt potent, popping necks — ouch — away from stops and sprinting with that sandpaper growl to 60 in 4.2 seconds, according to Car and Driver.
The V felt especially stout from about 3,000 rpm on, though it tended to get kind of coarse as it approached its 6,500 rpm red line.
As you might expect, fuel economy was not a priority. The souped-up six manages to get 16 miles per gallon in town and 24 on the highway, according to the EPA.
However — and you might want to sit down for this — when the road started to bend and curve, I thought the ATS-V felt more composed than the last M3/M4 I drove.
Like the Bimmer, the Caddy corners flatly with grip that will reshape your liver. But the ATS-V felt slightly more natural than the BMW, though both rely on far too many electronic suspension devices to save us from ourselves.
The steering in the ATS, for instance, was quick and precise, transmitting road feel better than the BMW.
And while just as heavy as the BMW at about 3,800 pounds, the Caddy seemed to turn into corners a bit more crisply.
It did not ride any better, though, stumbling some over midsize bumps and getting downright rough and rowdy on bad pavement.
But, hey, what do you expect? The V truly is not a luxury car, though you might think otherwise when you see the car's heavy-metal window sticker — $76,940 on the one I had.
Just keep in mind that the ATS-V's base price is about $4,000 less than the M3/M4's.
Inside view
The black interior in my ATS was good, not great — and I was OK with that. A lot of the little Caddy's expense probably covers the cost of its fine new rear-wheel-drive platform, which will be shared with the next-gen 2016 Chevy Camaro.
A deep, graceful dash in pliable black plastic curved over a black-faced instrument panel. The material trimmed the door tops as well, along with dashes of suede.
A large center stack in piano black was topped by Cadillac's cursed CUE infotainment system, housed in an 8-inch display screen shaped like a large, slightly disagreeable iPad.
In the past, the touch pads beneath various functions — such as sound-system volume and the climate-control fans — were a major pain even when the car was sitting still.
Back then, I sometimes drove with Whitey Morgan and the 78s deafening me and the fans blowing gales of hot air over me in July.
In the ATS-V, they seemed a bit more functional, though I still vastly prefer real buttons and switches.
At least the seats fit the car's raw personality. The form-fitting Recaros in mine had leather bolsters with stitching on their edges and firm grippy suede centers to hold you in place if your drifty urges get the better of you.
Ignore the back seats or reserve them exclusively for exes. They are cramped even on short trips, and crawling under the front-seat shoulder belt to get in may almost make you see the wisdom in four doors.
But the ATS-V is meant to move you, not a carload of deadbeat buddies.
Somehow, Cadillac needs to get the word out about the ATS-V and its other special sedans before GM's truck-happy managers lose interest in the cars.
- AT A GLANCE: 2016 Cadillac ATS-V coupe
- Type of vehicle: Midsize, rear-wheel-drive, four-passenger coupe
- Price as tested: $76,940
- Fuel economy: 16 miles per gallon city, 24 highway
- Weight: 3,760 pounds
- Engine: Turbocharged, direct-injected 3.6 liter V-6 with 464 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque
- Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
- Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds


text:
Detecto's model 448 features a height rod in inches and centimeters, wheels in back for easy transport, and a handpost, which is an important aid for the elderly or weak individuals. The platform cover is easily removed for cleaning. The die-cast beam can be easily read from either side.
Detecto continues to set the pace in the clinical scale industry, backed by over a century of leadership. Every Detecto physician scale features a time-honored reputation for rigid construction and precision engineering. This assures an unbeatably rugged product that guarantees accuracy and durability. All Detecto scales are tested with weights traceable to the U.S. Bureau of Standards.
Handpost - An important aid for the elderly or weak individuals
Handpost - An important aid for the elderly or weak individuals
10 1/2" x 14 1/2" / 267 mm x 368 mm
30" - 78" and 76 cm - 198 cm


text:
Several City departments and outside agencies are involved in Lakewood's property development process. For specific information, visit the Property Development Information page.
Planning- Development Review
Comprehensive Planning & Research
Planning - Comprehensive Planning and Research - Information and services for the City's long-range planning, including population and demographic information, Lakewood Comprehensive Plan, Corridor Plans, Neighborhood Plans, Light Rail Station Plans and more. Police - Code EnforcementLakewood Code Enforcement officers work closely within the community to protect public health, safety and welfare, enforcing City codes relating to nuisance and land use violations. The officers' mission is to enhance and safeguard the quality of life in our community through education, guidance and enforcement of City codes.


text:
Monday, June 21, 2010
We Like To Party!
Party food photos!
Cheese Crackers - no, LITERAL Cheese Crackers! Parmesan and cheddar cheese, grated, plopped on a lined baking tray, and melted violently in a hot oven. Peel, slice, and serve the hardened, crispy, tasty goodness!
Kangaroo Balls!
Then my interest in snapping photos diminished as guests started arriving, but here's the rest of the goodies as laid on the table - from the top: Fried Chicken Fingers, Warm Beet Medley with lots of extra veggies like fennel, a yummy cos salad with snow peas and capsicum and stuff, Veggie Frittata, Kangaroo Balls, and Ham & Veggie Frittata.
A final plateful...
The final flourish - Chocolate Zucchini Muffins!
... and lookit! Leftovers the next day!
Now, wasn't that more fun??
7 comments:
- Paleo Grrrl said...
Looks yum-oh! I love the idea of a paleo dinner party, I should throw one. Looks like a lot of fun.
Sorry to hear that your weight loss is still not happening. Keep your chin up and push through; things always get better in the end :)
Be happy and eat well x x x
- June 22, 2010 at 12:30 PM
- Christian Dean said...
Any chance there is a recipe for the cheese crackers? Those look rather tasty...
- June 22, 2010 at 8:48 PM
- Jezwyn said...
Thanks, PG :)
Christian, the recipe is there in the post - sprinkle grated cheese on a lined baking tray, and melt in the oven til golden. Then peel the hardened cheese off the pan, slice into crackers, and serve. It really is that ridiculously simple :) Add some herbs or spices for a flavour kick.
- June 22, 2010 at 11:35 PM
What does a diet that's 90% fat look like?
And good luck with the weight loss! You are an inspiration.
- June 23, 2010 at 1:48 AM
- Jezwyn said...
Thanks, Anon! I guess persistence is as admirable a quality as any - there's no way I'm giving up even if my body is thwarting me! Yesterday's effort has showed some progress, so fingers crossed it continues...
I get my 90% cal from fat in as primal a way as possible, which means that I'm not taking the easy way via tasty dairy calories, but instead consuming small servings of actual fats (coconut oil, cacao butter, pork fat) and also some nut butter for the flavour. I spread my daily calorie allotment over five tiny meals to help stave off hunger, though I'm not usually hungry by the time the 3hrs are up.
This morning I had 100cals from coconut oil and 100cals from macadamia butter, then three hours later a hard-boiled egg and 15g salted butter. It's time for my third meal, and I'm going to repeat my coco-maca spoonfuls. I'm heading off to a facial and yoga so I'll be packing up 200cals of cacao butter to snack on in three hours. I'll be home quite late but will bring my day's total up to 1000kcal if I'm hungry. I'm a little bit nervous about yoga and whether I'll find the energy to hold the poses, but it's a relaxed class so I can let my leader know and I'll take breaks if I need them. I'm doing a LOT of walking today (to and from work, then it's a big walk to the salon, and back again via yoga = more than 2hrs on foot all up) but I did eat a bit more than I planned to yesterday since my yummy ham hock was about to pass it's due-by date and I hated to waste the meat whilst I snacked on the fat. So at least I'm not running low on protein today - a risk of the fat fast.
Note that I've been getting a good 70% of my calories from fat for a good year or so now, so it's more the caloric restriction that impacts me during the fast. I'm intrigued to know whether my protein intake has been a problem in the past... Overall, my money is on the calorie issue, even though the GoWear Fit told me I was burning at least 2200kcal per day, and I've rarely eaten more than 2000kcal on average... Bah! Science is fail. Fat is win.
- June 23, 2010 at 2:56 PM
- azurelily said...
Hello! Perplexed I am! I have been Paleo for almost 6weeks. Strictly paleo, minus an occasional choc bar. SIX weeks. I have done research beyond research. I'm getting discouraged because in the first 4days I gained 4lbs and still have not lost them.So, not only have I just not lost weight-but I gained it and haven't lost what I gained. I feel good and the last two days I ate some refined foods and it was disgusting!! I mean-ew gross. I am glad to be doing Paleo, even the family is joining me. And, I walk daily some days 3miles, some day 6miles+...how can I be the only person in the world to have gained weight??!! :/
- July 25, 2010 at 3:22 AM
- Jezwyn said...
Hi Azurelily,
You're certainly not alone. I have never broken from primal eating and yet I've gained all my weight back due to a hormonal problem driving over-eating. If it were impossible to gain weight, we would be able to eat all we want of meat and never gain. It's not true - our bodies are made to store excess energy for later.
If you give me a bit of a sense of what you're eating and how much (and when) then I could have a go at pointing out a possible culprit if it's diet-related. 4lbs isn't much - and if you've been walking a lot after being mostly sedentary before, it could even be muscle mass or just stored glycogen in newly-used muscles. If you continue to gain, then it's probably something else, but 4lbs isn't cause for alarm just yet.
- July 28, 2010 at 3:41 PM


text:
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation. Here is a collection of resources about his life and theology. View Collection
Controversy: Tabletalk May 2012
A collection of articles from the May 2012 issue of Tabletalk magazine. Sign up for a free 3-month trial. View Collection
Law & Gospel
A collection of resources related to the biblical understanding of the relationship between God's holy law and the gospel of grace. View Collection
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis was a twentieth-century novelist, Christian apologist, and lay theologian. November 22, 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of his death. View Collection
Is God in Control?
When pain, suffering, and natural disasters occur, how can we know that God is really in control? Is He really sovereign over all things, including evil? View Collection
Understanding Justification
"We are either justified by a righteousness that is in us or by a righteousness that is apart from us. There is no third way." (Sproul) Learn more about this important doctrine. View Collection
Inquiring About Christianity
Serious answers for serious inquirers. Who is Jesus and what did He do? Can I know truth? What is the gospel and why is it good news? View Collection
For the Sunday School Teacher
For more than 40 years we've been equipping Bible study leaders to be a better communicator of God's Word. View Collection
For the New Christian
We are committed to help the growing Christian become grounded in the Scriptures in order to love the Lord God with their heart and mind. View Collection
New to Reformed Theology
Reformed theology is nothing less than a journey into the marvelous grace of God. May God grant you eyes to see why the apostle Paul would proclaim that "from him and through him and to him are all things. To … View Collection
Essential R.C. Sproul
Get to know Dr. R.C. Sproul's passion for the holiness of God and His holy Word through these timeless series, lectures, and articles. View Collection


text: Ivermectin products offer the broadest spectrum of parasite control for many gastrointestinal round worms, lung worms and sucking lice, and mange. The handy paste tube allows easy dosage. Just turn the knurl nut on the plunger to the weight marking you want and depress plunger. 0.25 oz. tube will treat approximately ten 125 lb. goats.


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Firefly is an obvious one that was taken off the air way too soon, after, what, 14 episodes only? "I aim to misbehave."Another obvious one for folks around my age was Freaks and Geeks when it first came out- it was canceled after 12 episodes but fan-campaigning led to the network eventually airing the remaining 3.
Pushing Daisies... :(
My Mount Rushmore for shows like this are Firefly, Veronica Mars, Crime Story, and Pirates of Dark Water. They last one frustrated me to no end when I was 7 or 8 years old. They canceled the cartoon when the heroes had I only found seven of the 13 treasures!
Sonic SatAM?
The worst part is I was a big fan of the Archie Sonic comic for a while, yet still I'll never get to see Sonic's story end, nor do I even care to see it in its current form anymore...Also I know you're totally talking about Sonic X don't you dare bring that up DAMN YOU!!!!


text:
(Director James Horton, Mayor William Bell, Sr., former Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr., former Mayor Bernard Kincaid, Executive Director Fred Spicer)
Arrington Plant Adventure Zone Ribbon Cutting
On Thursday, April 26, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens gathered with local dignitaries for the ribbon-cutting of the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone. The newest garden at Birmingham Botanical Gardens is an inclusive space that will serve all of the Birmingham community, but will be a new center for Plant Adventures. The garden's namesake, Dr. Richard Arrington, Jr., joined current Mayor William Bell and former Mayor Bernard Kincaid at the celebration. Birmingham Parks and Recreation Commissioner Larry Cockrell delivered the invocation before District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director Fred Spicer and each Birmingham mayor addressed the crowd. Light refreshments were served following the ceremony in the Hodges Room and the Rushton Garden.
(Andrew Krebbs, Tricia Noble, James Horton)
(Larry Cockrell, Richard Arrington, Jr., Fred Spicer)
(Valerie Abbott, Larry Cockrell, Martha Espy)
(Fred Spicer, Richard Arrington, Jr., Valerie Abbott)
(Henry Ray, Tricia Noble, Lou Willie)
(Birmingham Parks and Recreation Commissioner Larry Cockrell, former Mayor Bernard Kincaid, District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, former Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr., Mayor William Bell, Sr., Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director Fred Spicer)


text:
Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe is the Song of the Summer
CARLY RAE JEPSEN's hit track CALL ME MAYBE has been named the Song of the Summer by Billboard magazine.
The Canadian pop star's first single, which spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on America's Billboard Hot 100 chart, topped the publication's list of popular songs from summer 2012.
The feat makes Jepsen the first artist to claim the title with a debut record since Katy Perry released I Kissed a Girl in 2008.
Perry appears in this year's (12) top five with her track Wide Awake at number four, behind Maroon 5's Payphone at two and Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know at three.
The top five is rounded out by Ellie Goulding's Lights.


text:
Looking for design inspiration? Browse our curated collections!
Boundary: Bleed area may not be visible.
Click and drag to re-position the image, if desired.
The watermark at the lower right corner of the image will not appear on the final product.
by Granger
Case Style
Image Size
The image is near the edges of the product but doesn't cover the entire product. Some of the background color may appear around the outside edges of the image.
Background Color
Doyle: Sherlock Holmes iphone x case by Granger. Protect your iPhone X with an impact-resistant, slim-profile, hard-shell case. The image is printed directly onto the case and wrapped around the edges for a beautiful presentation. Simply snap the case onto your iPhone X for instant protection and direct access to all of the phone's features!
Ships Within
1 - 2 business days
There are no comments for Doyle: Sherlock Holmes. Click here to post the first comment.
Protect your iPhone X with an impact-resistant, slim-profile, hard-shell case. The image is printed directly onto the case and wrapped around the edges for a beautiful presentation. Simply snap the case onto your iPhone X for instant protection and direct access to all of the phone's features!
Average Rating (4.93 Stars):
Gerrit DeJonge
July 19th, 2019
Johnny Dilda Jr
July 18th, 2019
Judy Losapio
July 18th, 2019
Judy Losapio
July 18th, 2019
DOYLE: SHERLOCK HOLMES. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty locked in mortal combat at the Reichenbach Falls. Wood engraving after a drawing by Sidney Paget from the 'Strand' magazine for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Adventure of the Final Problem,' 1893.
Welcome to Granger Art on Demand! Spice up your home or office with a compelling selection of fine art and photographs available as customized, professionally framed prints, canvases, and more! To license high resolution images or for other professional inquiries, Visit us at GRANGER - Historical Picture Archive (Granger.com) Email: firstname.lastname@example.com For educational use: Visit us at Granger Academic (GrangerAcademic.com) GRANGER.COM Background: In 1769 Reverend James Granger, an avid print collector, published his 'Biographical History of England.' The book was notable for its extra leaves, left blank for the reader to embellish with illustrations from their own collection. Collecting prints to...
Our return policy is very simple:
If you're not happy with a purchase that you made on FineArtAmerica.com, for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date. As soon as it arrives, we'll issue a full refund for the entire purchase price. Please note - Fine Art America does not reimburse the outgoing or return shipping charges unless the return is due to a defect in quality.
Fine Art America sells thousands of pieces of artwork each month - all with a 100% money-back guarantee. We take great pride in the fact that hundreds of thousands of artists have chosen Fine Art America to fulfill their orders, and we look forward to helping you select your next piece!
All iphone x cases ship from our production facility within 1 - 2 business days of your order.


text:
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has assured fans the group has no plans to split up, insisting he already has an idea for a new album.
Devotees of the My Hero hitmakers were left panicking earlier this year (12) when Grohl ended the group's extensive world tour by announcing he wasn't sure when the Foo Fighters were going to play again.
The former Nirvana star quickly made it clear that he was talking about a break, not a split.
And now he tells Rolling Stone magazine, "People should never be afraid that Foo Fighters are ever going to break up. It's like your grandparents getting divorced - it's not gonna happen."
Grohl is already thinking about the band's next release and admits it might coincide with a movie, now that he's a bona-fide documentary maker on the back of his upcoming debut Sound City: Real to Reel.
He adds, "(I have) a concept for the next album we've never done before. And who knows? There might be a f**king movie to go with it."


text:
Andrew B. Busch is the founder of andrewbusch.com, a research and consulting firm.
Busch has appeared for the last three years on CNBC's "Closing Bell" with Maria Bartiromo and is a CNBC contributor. He is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Dow Jones, The Associated Press and The Globe and Mail.
Previously, he was the global currency and public policy strategist for BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group. Busch is a senior fellow on economic issues for the Illinois Policy Institute and an American Action Forum Expert.
He consults with the staffs from the U.S. Treasury, Congress, and the White House on economic and financial market issues; he has met and advised the last three U.S. Treasury secretaries, including Tim Geithner. Busch also was an advisor on the economy and the financial markets to Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Busch is a recognized expert on the world financial markets and how these markets are affected by political events. He spoke at the Pacific Economic Conference in Russia on the global credit crisis, and met and consulted with the governor of Primorsky Territory and the mayor of Vladivostok over the future direction of the Russian economy.
He is a prolific writer whose views appear daily in his newsletter, the Busch Update; monthly, he writes the Busch GPS: Global Political Strategy; and his book, "World Event Trading: How to Analyze and Profit From Today's Headlines," has been translated into Mandarin and Japanese.
He joined BMO Financial Group in 1990 in the foreign exchange trading room of Harris Trust and Savings Bank, which merged with Bank of Montreal's room in 1995. Prior to joining Harris, Busch traded foreign exchange at Northern Trust Company.
Busch graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in economics from Ohio Wesleyan University and received his MBA from the University of Chicago.
Follow Andrew Busch on Twitter @abusch.


text:
I decided to use the same general approach as my previous interpretation of DC Heroes, depicting little kids idolizing their favorite characters. Each piece is a framed 9" x 12" watercolor/pencil original. They'll be up for sale at the event. Here they are below:
|"Spinning Plush Kick!"
Huge thanks to Eric Phan for organizing the art portion in this event – and of course, to Kwestone for inviting me to participate & for always being incredibly supportive. Please be sure to check out his amazing pieces for the show on his blog at:


text:
Message Board
Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Barnett has written!
Author Barnett's Book Reviews
Point Of Dreams
Melissa Scott & Lisa A Barnett Tor, Dec 2001, 15.95, 352 pp. ISBN: 0312875894 In the city-state Astreiant, it is the time of the year when ghosts are visible so city lawyer Kurin Holles expected to see the apparition of his lover, but the specter fails to appear. Kurin knows the most likely reason is his beloved is magically unable to return, which leads to the conclusion that her death was caused by a murderer. Adjunct Point Nico Rathe asks...


text:
I want
{{ option }}
{{ option }}
Learn More
"We firmly believe that if it's not right for the Customers, it's not right for the company, and we are so proud to be part of creating a company with such integrity."
Jim and Kathy Coover, Isagenix Co-Founders
Standing Out in the Crowd
Isagenix Associates are people who love our products and want to earn money while helping others feel their best. Many of our top earners did not have any previous experience in network marketing. They are passionate, motivated, and hardworking people who are improving the lives of millions by helping them enjoy optimal health.
Our Impact
Become an Associate
Interested in doing business with us? We invite you to learn more about the tools we offer, how to get started, and what it takes to succeed.
Learn More


text:
1 medium Idaho potato, peeled
3 oz grated parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour, or more as needed
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup liquid from rehydrating the porcini (see above)
2 tbsp butter
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 oz shiitake mushrooms (can be dried and rehydrated) - separate caps from stems and slice the caps (but keep both)
handful of parsley stems
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 oz prosciutto - doesn't have to be top quality, as it will be cooked
1/2 cup greens (we used arugula, but spinach or swiss chard might be more appropriate)
2 tbsp grated parmesan
First, make the gnocchi. Pour boiling water over the porcini and let them rehydrate for 15 minutes. Cook the potato in boiling salted water until tender. Mash it (or put it through a ricer, I just don't have one). Put in the refrigerator to cool, about 15 minutes. Drain your porcini, being careful to reserve 1/2 cup broth, stick on a food processor and blend until smooth.
Remove your potato from the fridge, dump it onto a clean work surface, form into a little volcano shape. Sacrifice the porcini paste, parmesan, egg, salt and pepper to Cthulu by throwing them into your volcano. Then destroy your volcano with your hands and mix it all up. Then add the flour and knead into a dough, using more flour if needed (I think I ended up using almost double the original amount). Divide the dough into quarters, wrap each in saran wrap. Clean the work surface. Take one of the quarters, roll it into a tube about as thick into your finger, and then cut into gnocchi side pieces. Indent each piece with a fork if you're feeling fancy; I quickly tired of this process and just made them into pillow shapes. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and set aside.
Start boiling water for your gnocchi. It is helpful to have two people at work here - in this case, I was on gnocchi duty, and Better Half made sauce. If you're doing it yourself, I guess you should probably do gnocchi first, because they'll re-heat in the sauce). When your salted water is boiling, add the gnocchi in batches. When they float to the surface, remove them with some kind of implement and drain.
Now, the sauce.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pan and saute onions, mushrooms, garlic, parsley stems and shiitake stems. Cook until soft but not brown, approx 4 minutes. Add wine and porcini liquid. Bring to a boil then simmer until reduced to about 1/3. Add cream, reduce again "until the sauce coats the back of a spoon". This part, we had a hard time with, because it didn't seem to reduce. The recipe says you then strain it into a bowl and set aside. I dunno that you need to strain it, because everything in it is delicious.
Anyhow, in your newly empty saucepan, heat remaining butter (1 tbsp) until it begins to brown and add the chopped shiitake mushrooms caps. Saute 2-3 minutes. Return cream sauce to pan, along with prosciutto, greens, and half the parmesan. Cook 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add gnocchi to your cream sauce. Add remaining parmesan and parsley.