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Please,contain your excitement. But there's big news: It looks like San Francisco is going to become home to a big new regional government center housing a bunch of important agencies you've probably never heard of.
One of those agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, voted 12-2 Wednesday to buy the building at 390 Main St. for $105 million, and spend as much as $75 million more to fix it up.
This came after a two-hour closed session meeting and a 90 minute public hearing at which a couple of dozen people, including Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and council members Rebecca Kaplan and Larry Reid, implored the commission to stay in Oakland.
The commission, the Bay Area's regional transportation planning and financing agency, now resides in the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, a modern, curvaceous building at 101 Eighth St. — across the street from the Lake Merritt BART station — in downtown Oakland. It shares the building with the Association of Bay Area Governments, a regional planning agency.
But the agencies hae outgrown the space, and started looking for a new home about a year ago, focusing on Oakland and San Francisco.The Bay Area Air Quality Management District expressed interest in joining the house-hunting, and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, which must have its offices in San Francisco, said it would be interested in sharing space in the city.
Working with a commercial realtor, the group settled on two possibilities: 390 Main St., and an Oakland building that would be built at 1100 Broadway and connected to the old Key System headquarters, which would be restored.
The transportation commission staff recommended 390 Main St., even though it's four long blocks from BART, saying it was the best deal, was available immediately for work on improvements, and could be in use by December 2012.
But Oakland officials said they didn't get a fair shot. Their site, they said, sits right above the 12th Street BART station and is located close to the Federal Building and the University of California headquarters. It would also contribute to downtown Oakland's development.</p
>"Most people probably don't really care," Quan said, "but I'm trying to boost the Oakland Renaissance, trying to reduce our unemployment. The point is that Oakland is trying to boost its chances."
While Oakland's campaign didn't convince the commission, it may have won ABAG over. According to spokeswoman Leah Zippert, the commission's executive committee "politely declined" to participate in the building purchase last Friday, choosing to send a delegation to the commission meeting to ask questions before joining the move to San Francisco. The matter is no yet scheduled for discussion by the ABAG board.


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Hello people. How are you all?
I was a old Pokemon player who played the red, blue, yellow, silver and gold versions.
I quit after Ruby/Sapphire and I was playing tons and tons of World of Warcraft.
After 5 years if playing that game I decided to quit gaming all together and started tot focus on a certain real life issues that needed to be resolved.
Now, things start to improve slowly and after trying out Pokemon Black/White a year ago, I decided to try out Black/White version 2.
I'm hoping to create a powerful team and play a lot of games with others. I'm at this moment ordering a wireless game router because the router supplied by my own ISP doesn't support gaming on wi-fi connections coming from Wii, playstation and xbox even when it has a Wi-fi connection of it's own... :-/
I hope I haven't lost my pokemon skills, I'm going to pick up Tepig as my starter Pokemon. :-)
I hope I have tons of fun on these forums, Thanks for reading! :-)

subset: commoncrawl


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The Basics: Using the Crowd Calendar to Decide When to Visit Disney World
This is a continuation of our Back to Basics Series. Scroll to the bottom to see our other Basics posts.
Are you planning a vacation to Disney World? Wouldn't it be cool to just pick up and go right now? In my mind, I'm there already with nothing to do to but have fun. Unfortunately, a reality check reminds me that we all have jobs, many need to consider school schedules, and finances and budgets need to be in order. Given all of these considerations, how can you possibly make an informed decision about the best time for your Disney World trip?
Well, today is your lucky day because this article focuses on TouringPlans.com's Disney World Crowd Calendar, a powerful tool designed to help you make a decision about when to go so that you spend the least amount of time in line. Plus, see a handy summary of how specific holidays and Disney World special events affect how much time you'll be in line.
[Even more luck! If you are planning a trip to Disneyland or Universal Orlando—TouringPlans provides Crowd Calendars for these destinations too.]
Deciding When to Go: First Considerations
First and foremost, as with any trip, there are two basic factors that are crucial to deciding when to go to Disney World and that provide the context for using the TouringPlans Crowd Calendar. These are: (1) when you can afford to go and (2) when your schedule allows you to go.
In terms of when you can afford to go, maybe your goal is to save up first, or you are expecting a work bonus to put toward vacation, or your budget will be a bit more flexible once that car loan is paid off. As for schedule, you likely need to work around school vacations, a project at work, or family obligations.
Another potential factor is Disney World's schedule. Is there a special event or time of year you would like to visit? Is it a must-do or just a bonus if it lines up with your other best times for vacation? Also keep in mind that peak crowds bring peak prices at Disney World resorts.
Considering these factors is bound to narrow down the time when you will take your vacation, and this is when TouringPlans' Crowd Calendar can become an integral part of deciding when to go. Matching up all of these factors—budget, schedule, and what you'd like to experience at Disney World—with the Crowd Calendar is an excellent way to pick the best week for your vacation.
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Universal Orlando Releases 2016 Celebration of Harry Potter Schedule
If you've been anxiously awaiting an official 2016 Celebration of Harry Potter schedule of events from Universal Orlando, you can relax because your owl has arrived! Universal has just announced the full rundown of public happenings during their annual Wizarding World weekend, which runs January 29-31, 2016.
Activities over the three day Celebration of Harry Potter include Q&A sessions with cast members from the hit movies, panels with artists who worked on the films and parks, and special demonstrations and exhibits relating to Potter lore. In 2016, the Music Plaza stage in Universal Studios Florida will be dedicated during the day to kids activities, in addition to hosting the headliner events in the evenings, while Toon Lagoon amphitheater in Islands of Adventure will reopen during the daytime for sessions aimed at adult fans.
All of the below listed activities are open to all park goers, including annual passholder, without needing an extra ticket. One thing you won't see on the list is autograph sessions with the film stars. After the intense demand for limited autograph tickets last year, Universal has restricted the signings solely to those who purchased special hotel packages (which sold out long ago).
Here is the full schedule of 2016 Celebration of Harry Potter activities:
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Dress for Success: Top 5 Must-Pack December Clothing Items and Special Tips
It's no secret that I dress for success when I plan my outfit choices in Walt Disney World – no detail is left out. While this usually refers to some light DisneyBounding, it means something a little different in December, when a cute dress and Mickey ears isn't enough to get you through the cold evenings in the parks. Thanks to the fantastic holiday offerings, December is one of the most exciting times to visit Disney World. You've got Magic Kingdom's Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP), Epcot's Candlelight Processional, and Hollywood Studios' Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. On top of that, the resorts and parks are decked out in their holiday finest, so even if you don't want to spring for the extra cost of a party ticket to MVMCP, you can still enjoy the ambiance during the day. Just make sure, as you're planning for your holiday trip, to give serious consideration to the weather. As unlikely as it sounds, Florida gets COLD at night in December!
I know what you might be thinking, "I'm from [insert cold state here — mine is Michigan]; Florida doesn't even know what cold is! I walk eight miles uphill both ways through six feet of snow just to get to the Disney Store!" Okay, that might not be exactly what you thought, but it is pretty close to my viewpoint on the subject before my first December trip. Luckily, I followed the advice of others and (even though I scoffed) I packed for the cold weather. And thank goodness I did! Based on that experience, I'm going to give you a breakdown of my 5 must-pack items for cold weather, some tips specific to nighttime holiday entertainment options, and a few final pieces of advice so you can dress for success on your holiday adventures in Disney World!
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Lessons from My 1st runDisney Event
Committing to run your first big race is a bit overwhelming, particularly when it's a runDisney event. There are a lot of things you don't know as a novice, things that a more experienced runner might not even think about. If you're thinking about registering for a runDisney event – particularly a future Princess Half Marathon – here are some things I learned from my first Glass Slipper Challenge.
Find Your Perfect Fit
While runDisney offers a lot of special opportunities, not every event is right for you. It's not always easy to find extensive information, and even consulting other runners may not give you a clear picture of what to expect.
Running challenges – like the Glass Slipper Challenge – look like great fun when you're signing up months in advance, but don't forget that you'll actually have to RUN those races eventually, and running for consecutive days can take a big toll on your body. You still want to enjoy your race AND your vacation, so be confident, but also realistic before you decide to be Dopey. There's always next year!
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How to Enjoy Universal Orlando's Harry Potter Celebration 2015 without a Special Package)
TouringPlans is happy to welcome Dani Dennison-Perez to the blog. Dani also writes for Orlando Informer and ThisFloridaLife.
A Celebration of Harry Potter 2015 is on the horizon. Potterheads, Muggles, and everyone else are anxiously awaiting its arrival much like young little witches and wizards waiting their turn to cross onto platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express on their first trip to Hogwarts. This event officially debuted last year and seems to be a new annual tradition (we hope). This year's A Celebration of Harry Potter will take place January 30 – February 1, 2015.
Much in the same vein as Disney's Star Wars Weekends, A Celebration of Harry Potter brings together celebrities from the movies, special shows and Q&A sessions, and exclusive exhibits. What's more, it brings in a nice hefty revenue stream for Universal Orlando and Loews Hotels as vacation packages with special benefits are sold at a mind baffling rate. But what if you weren't able to snatch up one of those enticing packages? You can still find ways to revel in the celebration.
Last year I decided not to purchase any of the packages and went about the whole thing very casually. No planning, no forethought, just showed up…. And I got nothing accomplished (though I still had fun). Here now are my tips, just keep in mind, this is based on my experience last year. Some things may be changing this year, but I am confident the same tips will apply.
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Wearable Halloween Costumes + MNSSHP Experience
With Halloween creeping closer and closer, it's finally time to start getting those costumes ready. Today, I'll be sharing my experience attending Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, as well as what costumes we wore. Now, let's grab our candy buckets and be on our way!
We attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on September 19, so we were ahead of the game when it came to costume planning. Our family is pretty low maintenance when it comes to Halloween costumes, and as we'd be running about all night, we dressed for comfort. We decided on a group costume, so off to Neverland we went. First up was our little pixie, Tinker Bell.
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The Disney Dazzle: Wishes Fireworks Cruise
Today, I'm going to share my experience attending the Wishes Fireworks Cruise. I first went on this cruise in 2011 and again in September 2014. This most recent time, it was a birthday surprise for my dad. If you know me personally, you will understand just how hard it is for me to keep a secret. The cruise can be booked as early as 180 days in advance, but mine was booked about 90 days beforehand. That's 90 whole days I had to keep my lips zipped…I barely made it! After a fun day at the parks and a delicious dinner at The Brown Derby (Yes, he was spoiled rotten!), we arrived at the Contemporary. We led my confused dad through the lobby and outside to the marina. He had no clue what this birthday surprise could be!
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Mark Your Calendar: The List of Unofficial Disney Events
The Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World celebrate different events throughout the year: Valentines Day, Halloween, Christmas, New Year's, and much more. These official Disney events only celebrate a particular calendar holiday. What about celebrating something more unique? That is when unofficial Disney events come into play. Throughout the year, there are special unofficial events take place at Disney parks. These events were created by fans, for fans, to show off their Disney side in a different way. Here is a list of the most well known unofficial Disney events and their affect on crowd levels.
Dapper Day
This is a day to go to Disneyland and look your best. Lots of people come to the parks dressed up in stylish fashions from the past to the present. Started in 2011, Dapper Day is quickly becoming one of the most popular unofficial Disneyland days. There are not only events at Disneyland Resort and Disney World but Disneyland Paris as well. I have never been but a lot of my friends have gone and they always tell me that they have a great time.
Dates, Parks, and Crowd Levels:
- Friday, September 12 – Disneyland (5/10) and Disney California Adventure (2/10)
- Saturday, September 27 – Disney's Hollywood Studios (4/10)
- Sunday, March 1, 2015 – Disneyland (8/10) and Disney California Adventure (6/10)
- Saturday, March 14, 2015 – Magic Kingdom (7/10)
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Epcot After Hours Wind Down Review: La Cava del Tequila and Spice Road Table
Recently, we brought you the first word on Epcot After Hours Wind Down, a brand-new after hours program that began on April 17 at World Showcase in Walt Disney World's Epcot park. Because we are will to sacrifice almost anything — including sleep, brain cells, and our livers — to bring Touring Plans readers complete coverage, my wife and I volunteered to be opening-weekend guinea pigs for this new food and alcohol tasting adventure (it's a tough job, but someone has to do it…). Now that our hangovers have cleared, enjoy this exclusive in-depth Epcot After Hours Wine Down review, covering the experiences offered at Mexico's La Cava del Tequila and Morocco's Spice Road Table.
La Cava del Tequila Wind Down Review
Since I developed a new appreciation for tequila while reviewing Universal CityWalk's Antojitos, I chose to attend the Wind Down tasting at Mexico's La Cava del Tequila, long one of my favorite bars inside any theme park. The tasting sessions are scheduled to begin at 9:20 p.m., but because we watched IllumiNations before from near Morocco (on the opposite side of the World Showcase lagoon), I didn't arrive until approximately 8 minutes into the session. I suggested that they hold the start time until at least 15 minutes after the closing fireworks, but until that change is made I strongly suggest watching the show from a spot nearby your selected tasting venue.
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Epcot After Hours Alcohol Tasting Events Begin April 17
Do you like Epcot? Do you like staying late at Walt Disney World theme parks? Do you like adult beverages? If, like us, your answer to all three questions is "heck yes," then Epcot has a new treat for you. Beginning on April 17, several venues around World Showcase will begin holding Epcot After Hours Wind Down alcohol tasting events on select nights after the park officially ends operations for the day.
The after hours events will run from 9:20 p.m. (immediately after the end of IllumiNations) until 11:00 p.m., and are scheduled to run every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. Each tasting session will cost $35 per person (plus your park admission), and includes wine or spirits samplers and small bites at one four different locations.
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Zong Jobs Regional Manager Administration
Zong is the fastest growing telecom operator providing cutting edge digital technology to over 26 Million subscribers nationwide. Zong empowers people & businesses with ground-breaking communication and customer services. Our aim is to provide seamless connectivity anywhere, anytime.
Job description
- Location: Karachi
- Last Date To Apply: 23rd October, 2016
Job Responsibilities:
- Responsible for all office administration related services in South Region including facilities management, fleet management as well as hospitality related matters
- Managing all owned and rental properties of CMPak
- Responsible for acquiring new locations and making lease agreements
- Compose RFPs and define scope of work while starting renovation projects
- Monitor and supervise renovation projects ensuring quality of work as per defined company standards
- Make analysis report of monthly budget utilization
- Achieve financial objectives by anticipating requirements, submitting information for budget preparation, scheduling expenditures, monitoring costs etc.
- Review weekly reports of south regions and submit final reports to HQ
- To administer SLA with all internal customers/ Vendors and provide full support to other departments
- Liaison with the government authorities for local administrative matters
Education (Degrees | Certification | Diplomas | Trainings):
- MBA or equivalent
Experience required:
- 7 years of relevant experiance in office administation role
Skills – Generic:
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Good communications and presentation skills
- Ability to work independently Apply


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Fonzworth Bentley: The Interview
The following is the full transcript (with minor edits for length and clarity) of Christian M. Chensvold's interview with Fonzworth Bentley for his "Elegance in Black" article for the Los Angeles Times. The interview was conducted in December, 2004.
Q: Why do you think there's been a revival of African-American elegance?
A: I look at this time period we're living in as the Golden Age of Disrespect. It's really sad. I just got off the phone with my editor at Random House. I'm working on a book about how to raise a lady and a gentleman. It's going to go through topics from dressing appropriately to, you know… What I think is so important now is cell phone coverage, people on their cell phones. They're not just anytime minutes, they're any anytime. There's nothing worse than being in line and somebody's on the phone like, "Yeah man, I gotta go pay my child support after I leave here." I don't need to hear that. And the phone should just be off at the dinner table. I'm really gearing this book not just for adults, but for teens and young people. We live in this video age where people play video games and don't read, and they don't know our history. I'm really proud that it's gotten to this point where you pitched a story and it's worthy to be covered. And a lot of that has to do with folks such as Andre and myself being dressed. The reality is when you're dressed in a suit and tailored clothing, you really have a different demeanor. You're going to use less profanity. You're going to walk with your back a little straighter. You're going to inherently start opening the door for the lady. You're just going to innately start to do these things.
Daddy Emmett, my great-grandfather, was a deacon in the church. And he was just the most elegant man I'd seen. He always walked with a cane or an umbrella, which is where my love of umbrellas has come from. On the elevator he'd hold the door open with the umbrella, run and get the door for a lady, get to the stairs and walk down before she gets to the stairs. You know, you're supposed to walk in front of the lady or hold her hand so if she were to fall she would fall on you and not face flat with you walking behind where you can't do anything. The reality is, hip-hop being a driving force in pop culture — if you look at the Grammys, the guy who got the most nominations was a hip-hop guy. Kanye doesn't dress like a traditional hip-hopper guy. He's wearing polos and flipping the collars up with cashmere sweaters. I just like being dressed, and I feel comfortable being dressed. You really dress for the type of success that you want to be. And the reality is, I want to be at the big table talking about the big deal and talking the big money. And this is the way I want to be dressed to be at those meetings. The way I'm dressed is the reason I got in the game. I was able to get past the velvet ropes in New York City because of the way I was distinctly dressed.
The club is a really good barometer a lot of times – I'm just kind of ranting — but when you're in the club and everybody has on their white tees and jewelry and velour, and I have a suit on. Other men can hear and see when a lady is giving you a compliment, like, "Oh, you look so nice." And that one time when [the men] put on their nice cardigan or dress shirt or blazer, not only do they feel different, they're going to get compliments. I'll never forget, I was in an elevator in New York City going to see my accountant, and I was with a friend of mine who had on sneakers, jeans and a hoodie, and this older woman got on the elevator and she was like, "Wow, you look so nice and so smart and so different than everybody else." She felt she was giving a compliment, but the other guy that was with me, he didn't look like it but he was with me, and he got offended kinda, you know what I mean?
Q: For what reason?
A: The reality is, he had on a $2,500 Versace hoodie, some $300 [inaudible] sneakers that come from Japan, and some decent jeans that cost $350, so technically he was — well I mean it wasn't as expensive as my $2,500 custom-made footwear — he was expensively dressed, but he just disappeared. This is a guy who has kind of thrown away that type of stuff and now is putting on blazers because he gets a different level of respect from the status quo, if you will.
Hip-hop is growing up, for one thing. When I was running around with Puff Daddy and what have you, in suits and stuff, someone that was dressed and talks — people know that I went to Morehouse College and I've got a BS and a degree and whatever — someone like me wasn't normally welcomed necessarily in "the 'hood." Someone like me would get smacked upside the head and get sent out, like, "You're a nerd, you're a cornball." But because I was kind of framed with Puff, with the security, with this ghetto-fabulous energy… When he walks in the room, he has the celebrity girlfriends, he beat the trial, he ran the marathon, he's walking in with all that energy, and his assistant is this guy in a suit and he talks with "formal English" if you will, and I was let in. It was embraced by the ghetto of the 'hood, if you will. I started really pushing him to get dressed up in suits. I would always call him The Chairman instead of Puffy, because if you call him The Chairman, he's going to walk with his back a little straighter and he's going to be like, "Oh yeah, I really am the chairman of the board, not just Puff Daddy."
Q: One of the things that's come up in this story, talking to professors and writers about this, is this notion of upholding, especially before the Civil Rights Movement, a sense of black dignity, and often by having to look better than the mainstream in order to get respect. That must be part of your motivation as well.
A: It is. I get so many compliments from older black people who go, "I really love what you're doing. It makes me proud." You know what I mean? The reality is, I haven't really cut out much art yet. My umbrellas hopefully are going to come out at Bloomingdale's, been doing some recording…
Q: Let me ask you some specific stuff, and a little bit tougher stuff: You were talking about the name The Chairman you gave Puff Daddy, and I believe he's the one who gave you your nickname. But in your New York Times Magazine profile, they wrote, "How seriously can you take a guy who's name is Fonzworth Bentley?" Why are you a public figure under that name, rather than your real name, and is it a barrier to being taken seriously?
A: I don't think so. The thing is, it's kind of like in hip-hop you're gonna get a nickname, that's just the way it is. His name is not Puffy.
Q: Right, but they're also making records under their names. And you initially came into the public light not for being a dancer, singer or actor, but as a style icon with a name that isn't your real name.
A: First of all, if you look at the roots of where "Farnsworth" comes from, it comes from a Sidney Poitier-Bill Cosby old black film. It's something that's kind of funny and kind of quirky, and I think it almost allows me to get into your heart. When you sit and talk to me, there's a whole bunch of serious stuff I'm talkin', and there's a lot of experience I'm coming with. I've studied the Harlem Renaissance. You look at the way Andre and I walk around — I look like a James Van Der Zee photograph, you know? Which is real serious. Even with my "How to Raise a Lady and a Gentleman," I'm not doing a very preachy-preachy book: This generation don't want no preachy-preachy book. They definitely don't want to hear nothing preachy-preachy from an adult. They're gonna listen to me because I'm fun, I'm in the cool hip-hop videos, they see me dancing and doing my thing, but they know there's definitely something very different about me when they hear me speak. The bottom line is I want you not to be intimidated to the point where you don't want to get the information. I'm also going to be doing a lot of poems. For instance, here's one to teach someone how to use their silverware: "When you see a lot of silverware no need to be confused/You've just received an appetizer, the outer silver's used/Just 'cuz you're a left-hander and the drinking glass is closer/The water glass you should be using is always on the right corner." So really Dr. Seuss-it, if you will.
Q: Also in your New York Times Magazine profile, you corrected the way the reporter was spooning her soup. In this day and age, with so many things ailing the black community, how important is choosing silverware when people aren't getting an education, there are drugs on the street, and the whole litany of things that are far more pressing? You're saying this is the foundation? What would Al Sharpton say? Would he care?
A: He may not, but I have some issues with him. How seriously can you take him? A lot of people… He's a very serious man, and he has a very serious history, you know what I mean? I always knew I wanted to be part of hip-hop in some capacity. Some people drop out of school, go buy equipment, because we're in a technological age right now. You buy equipment and you can do all this stuff at your house. You get a demo and get it to an executive the best way you can. What I decided to do was work on being the best Derek Watkins that I could possibly be, and find a more creative way to get in the game. Why? Because everybody is doing that. Everybody has pro tools. Everybody is working on a clothing line. Everybody's doing it. But I was like, "If I could be the assistant to a mogul who's doing all of the above, then I can really sit back, while helping him improve himself and his brand, and sit back and see what I think I can lend myself to first."
Q: I just read your Houston Chronicle profile, and I know you have the umbrella line and a part in "Fat Albert," and you talked about your book deal, but what do you really want to do?
A: I want to inspire artists to be the best they can be, across the board. And to dream big.
Q: Like a Tony Robbins motivational speaker?
A: Inspire people through my art. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I went to Morehouse College. I didn't know a single person when I got to New York City. But because of the way I dressed and was working on being the best person I could be, I got myself in the position where Sean Combs wanted me to be his assistant. Because he wanted to dress like me. He wanted to work on his wardrobe. I wasn't really capable of being an assistant. I wasn't organized enough, necessarily. But I forced my way and made myself be able to do that so I could get the other things. The bottom line is, I humbled myself. I had no problem getting the coffee and packing the bags so that I could get myself in the position to do something better. I've got assistants coming up to me all the time, literally all over the world, like, "I never would have wanted to be an assistant until I saw what you did with being an assistant."
Q: You want to inspire people with your art. What form do you see this art taking?
A: Well Kanye West just signed me to a record deal, you know what I mean. I just acted in "Fat Albert," and I'm about to close a UPN television deal. I'm going to be acting.
Q: Can you give details on the UPN project?
A: It'll definitely be a sitcom.
Q: And you'll have a lead role in it.
A: Yeah. It'll be about me, basically.
Q: Will you be playing yourself or a character?
A: I don't know if I can talk about that yet. It's not bad, you know what I mean? The genetics project got published in JAMA, but it looks like I veered off far from that and I'm doing pretty well.
Q: Do you worry at all about overexposure? Paris Hilton became an icon despite not doing anything. You have a lot of projects going, but if you want to be like the Rolling Stones and rocking 40 years from now, you have to give the public something. It really is about making art that makes the public want you and not get tired of you. There are so many one-hit wonders in every genre. Is this a concern for you? How do you plan to find your longevity?
A: That comes with how I position myself. I have a younger brother at USC Film School doing exceptionally well as a director. This is a dream we've always had. Him learning that from the arguably the best school in the world, I feel I'm always going to be able to write, do films and television shows as long as I live. It all really has been a plan, and it's working well. You look at a lot of artists that we've gotten tired of, and I think it's a concern of all people. You've got to be concerned. The reality is with the paparazzi the way they are, and people doing reality shows. Somebody shoots you with a camera and you're on TV and you don't even want to be, you know what I mean? I don't go out as much, and just try to pick and choose good things. For instance, I could basically do a whole bunch of stuff for "Access Hollywood," but what I've chosen to do is just the big events. I'm just going to do the fashion for the Golden Globes, Oscars and Grammys. You ain't gonna see me on "Access Hollywood" every day of the week, because that's just too much.
Q: How did the masses respond on your Courvoisier tour, when you went into nightclubs for the "gentleman's makeover"? Did they just go along with it, or do you think you really enlightened some young men?
A: I really think I did. We had manicurists set up, and we'd give everybody a smoking jacket, and we'd see that they learned how to tie an ascot or bow tie. I would walk over to the guys while they're getting a massage or manicure and say, "Are you cool? Are you comfortable? Have you ever had anything like this before?" They were like, "This is kinda cool." Before I ever got my first manicure, it was intimidating for me to be going in there to get somebody doing that, because first of all it's all women in there. And then the smell's kinda funny. But all the guys went away with learning how to tie an ascot or a bow tie, and doing a little bit of "luxury" something that they haven't done before. The bottom line is you gotta start somewhere. Yeah, there's a whole bunch of work to do. There's a lot we have to do about education.
I try to be as well read as I can, but I only get to the [NY] Times like twice a week. I don't read the Times everyday, I just don't. And there's some things, a lot of times, I definitely don't understand. And a lot of people get intimidated by that, but you really have to read and see… Like, when the candidates, during that time, I would read all the different columns and read the editorials, and I would get a highlighter pen, and the stuff I didn't get, I would go ask somebody.
Q: When I first became aware of you, there was talk of the "Gentleman's Movement." Now the press seems to be focused more on you as a person. Is there really a movement happening?
A: I would say definitely. Let me tell you, no one wants to put an album out, get on the stage and rock more than I do. I want to do that real bad. That's not going to happen till '06, because I'm really taking the time to focus on this book. Trust me, I want to. And I literally had to go pray over this one — I'm keepin' it all the way real with you. I can't go with what's necessarily going to make me hot, or what's going to be the most fun thing. This book is more important to the community.
Q: Again on the tough side, there was talk around town that it's really not about the movement with you. You're in it for yourself, for self-promotion. How do you respond to that?
A: Again, I would have to answer with what I just said to you. I just signed a record deal with Kanye West who's one of the biggest producers in the game right now, and he's very excited about my project and working with me. And I was working on songs and records before I got to him, and I'm not doing that until '06. Why am I not doing the album first, and then pushing the book?
Q: And the book ties into your being a social reformer. Are you comfortable with that term? You want to bring about change, right?
A: I definitely want to bring about change. And the reality is, I think people in the public eye don't want to embrace that they're role models. When I sign an autograph, I never just put my name. I always put "Follow your dreams," "Stay focused in school." Just find somebody with an autograph of mine and you will see that. And it takes a lot longer to do that, trust me. The people that say I'm in it for self-promotion? Whatever. They should be the first people to get my book.
Q: What about pretension? People who say they're tired of the umbrella, the bow ties, the ceremonious door-opening and rising when a woman enters the room?
A: Black people love to celebrate. I think it has to do with our roots. And it's so funny, because one of the only restaurants I've been in where I've seen a woman walk to the dinner table and all the gentlemen stand up, is at Cipriani's. I'm not sure if that's some Italian culture thing. I'm from Atlanta: I grew up with white folks and black folks and that was it. Which is why I chose to go to New York. And there's something just very classy about that. And it's not just on the men. A lot of the problem is the women. Women help men treat them not so well. In the days of old, when there wasn't as much integration, if you will, and everybody kind of checked on everybody's kid. Like somebody down the street might spank your kid. I think it's about everybody doing checks and balances on each other. And to those that say they're over the… you know, tell 'em to grow up.


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I owned a bottle of Armani Attitude...but ran out.
Loved it. but not worth the price tag to replace it.
What I liked about it was...
I loved the over the top, Dark, artificially amped-up, rich, masculine, leathery, sweet (but NOT A*man type gourmands, tho). You know... like What DARTH VADER would wear to seduce someone kind of scent !! LOL
Would love some suggestions. No "niche" though, K ?
Love ta hear it...


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It's been a while, as usual. Well, here's a major update for you. I've been working on the site for several days just trying to get it up to date, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the news portion.
Many of you may know about the two documentaries being made on the topic of online worlds. I was interviewed by both of them, as it happens. Avatars Offline will be screening at GDC–and that will be my first chance to see it, too! Daniel Liatowisch interviewed me many months ago and I don't remember what I said. I hope nothing embarrassing.
The other one is called Real People, Virtual Worlds, and Tracy Spaight interviewed me for it at the recent UO Faire here in Austin. He's got a video clip of part of my interview up on the website, retelling "A Story About A Tree."
There's also action on the print front. I got permission from Computer Games to reprint the interview with Mark Asher, so that's up here now. But there's also a question and answer I did for the IGDA website on junior designers up too. There's a new book forthcoming, by Mark Stephen Meadows, called Pause & Effect which is on interactive design in general. I'm interviewed in it, as are other folks such as Harvey Smith. I also answered a brief interview for Eric Zimmerman (he of SiSSYFiGHT fame) and Katie Salen for their forthcoming book from MIT Press entitled Game+Design: An Interactive Design Handbook.
There's more possible action on the book font, but nothing I think I can talk about yet.
In music news, once again, I've been asked if my music could be used on the soundtrack of those snowmobiling shows in Canada done by Lucas Productions Video. Once again, I said yes, sure! I also recorded a bunch of new pieces for them. No word yet on whether they'll get used or where or when. Since the last update, I've gotten a full digital home studio up and running, so recording those new pieces wasn't too hard. Audigy sound card, new mics to replace ones lost in the fire so long ago, new software–so I'm working on two CDs at once. One will be called "Longitude" and will feature all-new songs. The other has no title as of yet, but will be a collection of instrumental guitar work.
I should have updated the "Books Read" page because I have a backlog of literally dozens to include. But I didn't just because I don't know that anyone cares, and the backlog is so darn huge. Some of the notable things along those lines though–traded a few emails with Vernor Vinge after reading True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier, because he wanted to know about real-world antecedents to his story. I pointed him to the Online Worlds Timeline… also been trading emails with folks at the Oxford English Dictionary, trying to get Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer and Habitat credit for the VR use of the word "avatar." the OED tried to credit it to Neal Stephenson and Snow Crash…
I'm in two writing workshops now. One is still Turkey City, birthplace of cyberpunk, yadda yadda yadda. The other is an offshoot called Tryptophan. This forces me to write fiction twice as often. However, since I'm going to actually try to publish some of those stories, I won't be posting them on the website. What did get posted? Ah, glad you asked. Here's a brief list:
- Gaming Links were updated to break up the "specific online worlds" section a bit, add a bunch of columns mostly over at Skotos, and add a recommended reading section.
- The Case For Art is a reprint with permission of an essay that was published on Biting the Hand last year.
- Junior Designers is the aforementioned piece on what a junior designer does, written for the IGDA.
- What Does It Take to Make a Successful Persistent Online World is the joint presentation from GDC 2001 that Rich Vogel and I did. (Not the design patterns one, the slides for that are already up).
- The Computer Games interview, as mentioned above.
- I updated the page on the USC talk with a scan of an article on it that has some photos.
- Added A Philosophical Statement on Playerkilling to the Essays section.
- Also added What My Job Is to the essays section.
- Many new "gaming snippets" covering:
- Is the future in smaller muds?
- Playing to bake bread
- "Cooperative games don't have to be static…"
- The future of online worlds is "pvp"
- The evolution of UO's economy
- SWG design process
- "Doomed, you're all doomed" (my favorite snippet!)
- Nerfing
- Twinking
- MUDs versus MMORPGs
- Playing as intended
- What is the appeal of MMOs?
- Should we pursue balance?
- Tabletop RPGing is basically dead
- Sex and violence in online games
- Content creation
- Database deflation
- The Online Worlds Timeline saw significant updates, as usual, as I cleared out six months worth of submitted material. Major new additions this time around:
- Much new info on TradeWars, courtesy of John Pritchett
- Much new info on the early days of Kesmai, courtesy of Kelton Flinn
- Finishes off the year 2001 with a lot of game closures… 🙁
- The year 2002 now has entries
- Publication dates for numerous books including "True Names", "Johnny Mnemonic", Shockwave Rider, Neuromancer, Otherland, and Wyrm
- Release dates for films including eXistenZ, Lawnmower Man, and WarGames
- The usual tiny trickle of people from PLATO days with minor corrections
GDC is coming up again, and I'm going to be there, running around like a checking with its head cut off. I'm doing a tutorial with Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel on running a Live service. I'm doing a panel with Gordon, Jessica Mulligan, and Rich Lawrence on 3rd generation online games. I'm doing a design lecture with Rich Vogel on "storytelling in the online medium," and a production lecture with him as well. Plus there'll be a MUD-Dev dinner, as usual, and I think also a storytelling designer's dinner.
Which reminds me–that exact same dinner gathering at the last GDC led to hosting a two-day workshop on exactly that with a whole slew of folks here in Austin, in October of last year. Among the attendees: Steve Meretzky, David Perry, Ellen Guon Beeman, Particia Pizer, Eri Izawa, Warren Spector, Mark Terrano… and uh, more other folks than I can remember. It was great. I believe that at some point the transcripts of the sessions will be made public.
I'm sure there was more news, but if I keep going, I'll have to change the date on the news post to tomorrow. So I'll stop now… 🙂


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i do this question correctly but i am confused about something in (c)
i don't understand why it shouldn't be
why the surface area S is treated as a constant? S is a function of r and h, S changes as r or h changes. Although V is a function of r and S after expressing h in terms of r and S, then S is not a variable?
for example, the perimeter P of a rectangle is given by and its area , then and if i differentiate both sides then should it be or ?
any explanation will be appreciated! thanks.


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Most people know the North End as Boston's Little Italy. But, Italians did not start moving into the North End in any significant number until the 1880's – some 260 years after the North End's earliest residents. The Italians were only the last of a series of ethnic groups to inhabit this area of Boston.
Originally, the North End was a suburb for the Puritan families who migrated to Boston during the 1630's. At that time, the North End was isolated, virtually an island surrounded by water on three sides, connected to the rest of Boston by a small neck of land.
Over time, was the land connecting the North End to Boston was filled-in, but the North End remained geographically isolated until the completion of the Big Dig in 2007. In recent history, and prior to the Big Dig's completion, easy entry to the North End was blocked by the elevated Central Artery (Route 93).
By the mid 1640's the North End had evolved into its own distinct community. By 1649, it was large enough to have its own church, the North Meeting House (later called Boston's Second Church).
In 1659, the North End established its own Burying Ground, Copp's Hill. Copp's Hill took its name from William Copp, a shoemaker who had owned once owned the land. Copp's Hill was also home to a free black population, many of whom are interred in the Burying Ground.
The area around the North Meeting House developed into North Square, which quickly became the center of North End life. At that time, North Square was only one block from the harbor.
Increase Mather, the minister of the North Meeting House, had his home in North Square. It, along with the Meeting House and a number of surrounding buildings, was destroyed in the fire of 1673. The Meeting House was rebuilt and subsequently torn down by the British and used for firewood during the Siege of Boston between 1775 and 1776.
The Paul Revere house was constructed in 1680 where Mather's home had once stood. Revere purchased it in 1770 and lived here until the 1780's, when he moved a few blocks away to a house with a harbor view. The Pierce / Hitchborn house, next door to the Revere House, was built around 1711. These houses, along with the Old Corner Book Store and Old State House are the oldest remaining structures in Boston.
The opulent Clark-Frankland and Hutchinson mansions were build just off of North Square after 1710. Hutchinson's mansion was gutted in 1765 in protest over the Stamp Act. Both the Clark-Frankland and Hutchinson mansions were torn down in 1834 to allow for street widening.
In 1890, Rose Fitzgerald (Kennedy) was born at 4 Garden Court Street, just across the street from where the Hutchinson mansion had stood. Rose later married Joseph P. Kennedy and was the mother of President John F. Kennedy, and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy. There is a plaque marking the site of her birth on Garden Street just off of North Square. In the mid 1800s, North Square was also home to two Bethels – churches specifically built to minister to the needs of sailors.
In 1721, the construction of the Anglican Christ Church (Old North) began and was completed in 1723. In 1775, the Christ Church belfry was used to hang the "two if by sea" lanterns that warned Patriots of the British march on Lexington and Concord and was the start of Paul Revere's Ride.
The Charles Bulfinch designed New North Congregational Church on Hanover Street was built between 1802 and 1804. The Church was originally Congregationalist, but it switched to Unitarian in 1813. It was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boston in 1862. It is the last Bulfinch designed church standing in Boston.
After the American Revolution, the North End began transitioning to a largely working class neighborhood with the influx of labor associated with the shipping industry. Wharfs and warehouses were built to support maritime trade and shipbuilding. And, along with the often drunken and violent sailors, came the requisite gamblers, whores and criminals. To proper Bostonians, it became a dangerous slum, a place to be avoided.
From early on there was an Irish population in Boston. Their numbers were small, but grew to about 7,000 by 1830. The Irish population really swelled during the Great Potato Famine when a reported 13,000+ Irish moved to Boston during 1847 alone. The North End was their primary destination.
By 1850, over half the North End's population of 23,000 was Irish. This peaked at about 15,000 in 1880. With the influx of new ethnic groups, many of the Irish moved to the South End. By 1890, North End's Irish population had dropped to 5,000 and by the turn of the century it was down to 3,000.
In the 1870's, the North End became home to an Eastern European Jewish population. In the early 1900s, Jews made up almost one third of the North End's population, many settling along Salem Street. By the 1920's, most had moved to Boston's West and South End, then on to Dorchester, Brookline, Newton, Chelsea and Revere.
The last ethnic group to settle in the North End was the Italians. Immigration started in the 1860s with a small group from Genoa. This was followed by and influx from other Italian regions including Sicily, Milan, and Naples. Each regional group settled in its own distinct North End enclave.
By 1900, the North End Italian population had reached 14,000. By 1920, this number grew to 37,000, with its peak of more than 44,000 in 1930. The North End was now almost completely Italian – and very crowded.
The census puts today's North End population at about 10,000, of which only 40% are of Italian descent. The remaining residents are a mix of young professionals, college students and others. North End politics are still dominated by Italian Americans.
The North End remains Boston's Little Italy. It retains a wonderful and distinct "Old Word" feeling and boasts fantastic collection of new and old Italian restaurants, cafes, bakeries and markets. It is one of the most European-feeling neighborhoods in America.
It is the oldest neighborhood in Boston. Having existed for over 375 years, is home to some of the most important and historic venues in America as well as some of the most significant Freedom Trail sites.
For more historical information, visit this wonderful five part series by Guild Nichols.


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21 Nov. 2008 NaNoWriMo update
It occurred to me, since I mentioned it a couple times before, that people might actually want an update into my progress on the science fiction novel I started writing for National Novel Writing Month this year. I'll provide a complete, but hopefully brief, overview:
I came up with the initial concept for this story about fifteen years (plus) ago, and I called it Messiah. At the time, it was conceived of as a comic book or graphic novel. It didn't actually go anywhere at the time — all that got made was a nifty character design picture for one of my main characters, Faith, drawn by a friend, a weapon design drawn by me, and some ideas floating around in my head. Since then, the idea has percolated and matured inside my skull over the course of years.
My very first NaNoWriMo, in 2003, saw me take a whack at writing this as a novel with no real preparation at all. I got through something like 12K words, then got derailed by events in my life that distracted me for five days (someone visited me from out of town). Once I had time for NaNoWriMo again, I just couldn't get back in the right headspace to do any writing, so I only managed about another 3K that month. I'm guessing on the numbers — I don't really recall too clearly what progress I made. The good news, however, is that it helped me work out some more details about what was going to happen in the story.
I promised myself I would eventually start over from scratch and write the entire story, but decided that I'd plan ahead before tackling it again. I want to do it right, you see. Intervening years saw me writing a whole bunch of other stuff instead of this tale, because I never got around to planning for it. during that time, I also conceived of another story that involves a revolution on the surface of Mars, shortly after it is first colonized.
Earlier this year, in discussion with a friend, I came up with some more ideas for the Mars story, one of which was to make it the prequel for Messiah. Despite there being some absurd period of time between the two (no fewer than fifty years, possibly more than 150 years), one of the main characters in the Mars story is also one of the main characters in Messiah, in fact. The events I have in mind for the Mars story, now, also serve as background for the events in Messiah, and all of these connections were things that occurred to me in large part because of those discussions with a friend.
About a week and a half before the end of October, that friend started telling me that what I should write for NaNoWriMo this year was Messiah. He was quite insistent about it, and told me that the reason I should write it — despite my protestations that I didn't have time to properly plan for it — is that he wanted to read it. Persistence won out, and I finally caved to the pressure. In retrospect, now, I'm glad I did, even though I'm still going to have to go back and do some serious outlining and rewrite the thing again.
Over the course of this month, I've written a lot of stuff that is going to have to be either rewritten or just basically thrown out. Every single scene I've written, though, contains something that will make it into the final form of the story or inspires something that will end up in the final form of the story. Once again, however, I've realized that I need to properly plan ahead, with a detailed outline, and tackle this project "from scratch". All the work I've done so far on it is, in effect, idea development — not actual prose for a first draft, even though it looks suspiciously like prose for a first draft. It could be prose for a first draft, but I need to get the story right, and not just long.
I knew I would be leaving town for a week plus at the end of the month before National Novel Writing Month began this year. I did some quick arithmetic and determined that about 2,381 words per day would put me over 50K by the time I leave town (tomorrow morning), so I rounded up to 2,500 and decided that would be my personal daily goal since I don't know how much writing I'll be able to get done next week, if any. Despite a couple periods of a few days of basically no writing, thanks to both two and a half days spent in a yurt (with electricity but no Internet) in the middle of the woods and my determination to make up for days that I spent not writing when I got back to writing, I managed to hit my 50K mark before leaving town. In fact, I hit that mark one week ago, last Friday night. Since then, I have only written about 10K more words, but I'm still working on the story, and I figure I'm likely to write another 5K tonight if I can make it to a write-in this evening.
Despite my realization that the whole novel needs to be started over again, I want to continue to increase my word count. I have a couple reasons for that. One is that every bit I write this month helps me flesh out ideas that will be developed in the next attempt at writing this novel (which, by the way, looks like it's going to be long). The other is that I'm part of an inter-city "war of the words".
The "war of the words" thing is an annually pursued rivalry between the town where I live, Fort Collins, and a neighboring town, Greeley. Each year, people from both towns sorta "talk smack" at each other on the NaNoWriMo online forum, and brag about how much better the writers in their own town are better than those in the other. This ends up being a great motivator for people to get more writing done on both sides of the divide, of course, and in general we're all very good-natured about it. It's all in good fun, in other words.
In the first week or so of the month of November, people who want to participate in the contest declare themselves part of it, so that each town gets a "team" built up. The word counts of the people in each team are counted toward the comparison at the end of the month that determines which town's team won. This year, we actually kinda have two contests in parallel. In one, the winning town is the one whose team has the highest average word count. In the other, the winning town is the one whose team has the highest percentage of participants who passed 50K this year.
Fort Collins has one writer at nearly 160K already (in fact, he appears to have finished the first draft of his novel at his current word count, so he probably isn't going up any further). Greeley's top performer is just past 100K. Fort Collins is, I think, notably ahead on both percentage who are above 50K and average word count, though a lot of people tend to make dramatic improvements in their word counts in the last few days of the month in a sprint for the 50K "finish line", so that could easily change. If I had to make a prediction, though, I'd say that Fort Collins will win this year, unless a bunch of prolific Greeley team members have just decided they will intentionally avoid updating their word counts on the site until the last couple days as some kind of strategy to keep Fort Collins people from feeling they need to write more to keep up, or something like that. I really don't think that's happening, though, in part because it would really be against the spirit of the whole thing to try to win by tricking the opponent into doing badly.
These wars of words have been going on for a few years now. In fact, I think the first one was 2005, my first year participating in NaNoWriMo in the Fort Collins group, though I don't think I can claim any credit for the beginning of the tradition. Despite the competitive atmosphere, there hasn't been any meanness to the rivalry that I've seen, which is great — and probably mostly due to the great examples set by the MLs (the people who manage the regional NaNoWriMo business, "Municipal Liaisons"). Fort Collins' ML in 2005, Robin, really set things on the right foot in that regard, and our current MLs (we have two now) since Robin moved out of town have done an admirable job of keeping things amicable. Similarly, the current ML for Greeley (Skye) has done a great job of keeping things friendly, setting a good example, and she's such an energetic, enthusiastic, and friendly type that it'd be difficult for anyone to develop a spiteful and mean spirited rivalry toward her and the region she represents anyway.
. . . and that's pretty much what's going on in National Novel Writing Month for me this year.


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Tap into the Health Zone as StaciJoy travels down the path of sibling loss with Zander Sprague, the GO TO speaker, author and coach for sibling loss. Learn more about his book, "Making Lemonade: Choosing A Positive Pathway After Losing Your Sibling". Understand the importance of the healing process after the loss of a sibling, and how you can help others who might be experiencing this pain. The show winds down with a lesson on mindfulness meditation and the experience of Holosync meditation sounds.
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As you may remember in my last Tyson Breakfast Bowls post, they are great for fast, on the go breakfasts! Last week Buddy had special testing for "challenge" classes starting next year. (Special advanced learning classes.) We all got up a little late because we were out the night before for a movie premiere. I wanted to make sure that Buddy got a good breakfast but was quick and easy to get ready. In comes Tyson Breakfast Bowls! I didn't get a picture of my husband with his because my camera battery died before he got out of the shower, but he took his on the go to work! Here's a little picture story about breakfast.
Hey guys, we're having Breakfast Bowls for breakfast!
Ok, here is your breakfast and vitamins:
Monkey says "These again?" (Don't be fooled, she ate it all up)
Buddy is really happy to have two Breakfast Bowls of his own:
Little Man was loving it:
A quick breakfast was a success. Mommy didn't get to enjoy any this time because we ran out, but they do taste good and would have loved to have some myself. I love that it takes only 3 minutes and 15 seconds to make a TysonBreakfast for the kids to eat and be ready to get out the door. In the time the breakfast bowls are heating up I can cut up strawberries and get their daily vitamins together.
We don't know, yet, how Buddy did on his testing, but I felt good having sent him out the door with something other than sugar laden cereal. He says he felt good about his tests. Here's hoping he makes it in! We did get his report card back for last quarter and his teacher finally gave him E's (exceeds standards) on his report card. The great part was not only was it in math, where we know he exceeds, but he also got it in reading!
If you want to get some Tyson Breakfast Bowls for on the go breakfasts, go ahead and visit your local Sam's Club! I know I'll be hitting ours soon to get some more. They're a great hit in our house.
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are my own.


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Thursday, July 21, 2011
The most beautiful girl in the world
Not even if the hyper-competent female character is also physically attractive.
Not even if the hyper-competent and physically attractive female character is in a book written by a female author.
Not even if the hyper-competent and physically attractive female character is in a book written in first person pov by a female author.
In news that may come as a shock to some of you, writers are human beings. We make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are in our writing, and sometimes those mistakes we make in our writing involve our characters. We love them, and so we tell you - the reader - about how they made the honor roll and got the lead in the school play, and not about the time they snuck out, got drunk, and came home coated in vomit and sporting an embarrassing tattoo. When that happens, that's a failure of characterization on the part of the writer.
But sometimes, the character is hyper-competent. Characterization can fail here, too - a woman who has never before seen a sword or been in a military environment who picks up a broadsword or rapier and is the best knight in the land? Completely unbelievable. But this is equally unbelievable when the character who does this is a man. Even if his name is Galahad. A someone who trained - and seriously - with a sword for many years, I can assure you that gender is no inherent guarantee of skill. Unearned competence is writerly failure - earned competence, even in the extreme, is not.
Let me repeat - earned competence is not a sign of a Mary Sue, even if that competence causes someone to be the best person in the story (or in the world of the story) at Thing X. Even if she's a cute competent woman, with a cute girl- or boyfriend, who is also competent and desirable in the world of the story. (Is there a problem if everyone, including vowed celibates, eunuchs, people in committed relationships, and people of noncompatible sexual orientations spend the entire book trying to tap that? Probably.)
Why am I wearing my rant pants on this? Well, partially because as a red-headed woman with central heterochromia and skill with a sword I am an actual person who can check off a fair amount of boxes on the Mary Sue test. And yes, I'm mildly annoyed about this. I am a character, dammit, not just a collection of characteristics. (Rant for another day: a character who is a survivor of sexual violence or abuse gets a tick box on the Mary Sue check list? What the fuck is wrong with people?)
But mainly, it's because I see this idea more and more - particularly in relation to point of view characters in urban fantasy, but not solely there (I can't be the only one who has seen references to Hermione as being Rowling's Mary Sue, can I? And no, she's not: earned competence, people. Hermione studies her ass off.), the idea that any time a woman writer writes a woman character who is really good at something, who is the hero of her own story, that character gets dismissed as being simply a Mary Sue. It's as if the idea that there might be competent women out there is harder to believe in than dragons or AI.
A writer can fail in characterization in a lot of ways. But writing a smart woman, who's really good at what she does? That's not failure. That's something to aspire to.
9 comments:
Well said!ReplyDelete
Yeah! Rock ON! Thank you, Kat.ReplyDelete
*begins a slow clap* Amen to that.ReplyDelete
Yeah, it's much better to stick to realistic portrayals of women. a) I am/ look fat. b) I have an eating disorder. c) The reason I'm successful is that I have issues with my father. d) I always was a "tomboy", but now I'm using make-up, and this is called "girl power." d) Marry me?ReplyDelete
Grrr. I wish I could comment longer and read this blog post and the linked pages in more depth, but I have a train to catch. But I will come back to this!
So you did some fencing? I've been training with the foil for the last two years and I believe it has improved my writing. :-)ReplyDelete
Marcos - I'm not competing right now, due to injury, but I've been a foil fencer for most of my life. I'm not surprise to hear you say you think it has improved your writing, as I definitely believe the way I think when I'm in training helps me as a writer.ReplyDelete
Good luck with both!
I so enjoyed this post. It frustrates me when people put down a character, or reject her as unrealistic, or have an irrational resentment towards her simply because she is beautiful or accomplished.ReplyDelete
Women are not rendered less real if they are gorgeous or if they can do things well. I feel like, sometimes, writers (including myself!) lean on flattened characters of certain types (the bookish, ignored girl; the body-obsessed and downtrodden woman), and people accept the shorthand of those characters because they deem them socially correct.
The Mary Russells and Aislinns of this world need representation too.
Thank you! And the thing is, when I look at the women I actually know, the ones I call friend and sister, they are accomplished, and beautiful. They are not perfect (neither am I, and neither, I hope, are the characters I write) but they are people who do amazing things. I don't understand the hostility towards this in fiction.ReplyDelete


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What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
My boyfriend and I have been seeing each other for about 2.5 years. About 2 years ago, due to his financial situation and my loneliness, I asked him to move into my home with me. I should state that it was a mutual asking for the living arrangements. At the time, we wanted to live with each other. My boyfriend was not financially able to continue to live on his own at that time b/c of his profession and debt at that time. My husband of many years had recently passed away.
Both my boyfriend and I are in our mid 50's.The house is paid off and fully in my name. There was never an agreement between us that he would pay rent or anything like that when he moved in. We were going to live together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Not tenant/landlord.
My boyfriend has paid some of the household bills while he has lived there and also made home improvements to the house and yard.
For at least the last six months, we do nothing but fight and argue. I want to end our relationship and move him out of the house. He doesn't want to leave even though he says himself there is absolutely no future for us together.
For at least the last month, he has made my life nothing but miserable and I want him to move out of my house. He refuses. He said that I have to evict him and that's going to take at least 60 days before they move him out of the house. He has family members that he can move in with, he just wants to continue to live with me. Not sure why when neither one of us want to be with the other person anymore.I think it is because he is still not financially stable enough to live on his own.
How can I get him to move out of my house ASAP? We have no Landlord/Tenant relationship and he was never asked or volunteered to pay rent. We live as a couple in the home. When he had extra funds, he paid some of the utility bills or bought groceries. What I'm trying to point out, is that we were living as a couple with the intention of having a future together, not any type of rental agreement for him to stay there. He has no furniture or any other basic belongings at my house except his clothes.
Can I put his things out on the porch or in one section of the house today, change the locks today and give him a specific time frame to remove his belongings or they will be destroyed....or do I have to go through a formal eviction process to get him out of the house. We don't love each other and there's no future for us now, so I don't see why I can't just kick him to the curb.
Any information would be helpful and appreciated.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?


text:
Rachel Rosenthal
About Rachel
Rachel Rosenthal is a comedian, improviser, and improv instructor with over 15 years' experience. She is also a free-style rapper. Rachel performs and teaches weekly at The Peoples Improv Theater where she was named the 2014 Teacher Of The Year. Once called an "improv whirlwind" by The Huffington Post, Rachel tours nationally and internationally teaching and performing with many groups including, free-style rapping Hip Hop comedy team, North Coast, who was named one of the "Top 10 Comedy Shows in NYC" by Time Out NY. She also performs weekly at Reckless Theatre with house team, Nemesis. Rachel is also a writer, storyteller and actress and has been featured on VH1, MTV, and on several podcasts and radio shows including "This American Life," "Risk!," Slate's "The Gist," and WBUR's "You're the Expert." More at www.theraeroshow.com.


text: Recently, i have been dabbling in a bit of protein purification and on a coomasie gel i have only a few proteins, one in particular is stronger than the others. I wish to show that this stronger band is the protein responsible for activity I am detecting in the fraction. Is it feasible to simply elute this band from the SDS gel and assay this for activity, i.e. is there a simple way of eluting the protein directly from the gel with a good chance of renaturing the protein? Thanks in anticipation Karen Spink E. mail pdxkgs at pdn1.gene.nottingham.ac.uk


text:
Scout Challenge PING
Four more years of Obama and it will be "Are you gayer than a Boy Scout". I don't see why the POTUS has to chime in on every little liberal project they have cooking. The BSA is a private organization and he shouldn't be pressuring them to change anything. Keep the Scouts the way they have always done it.
A shadow of their former selves. I have my grandfathers scouting manual and it's nothing like todays. I pulled my son out and taught him myself.
very-boring show


text:
Motobecane Motivo by Miguel Angel Iranzo – Dandy gentleman want to be chauffeured but that's just because there isn't a experience suitable to the life-style. Bentleys and exotic imports tend to be way to flashy. They desire something more refined and subdued like the Motobecane Motivo. The electric scooter rides a person around in style. The particular in-wheel motors are run by a removable, chargeable suitcase wrapped in high-class walnut. Not as unpalatable as its Japanese comparable version and no where near because brash as an American chopper.
Design by Miguel Angel Iranzo [via]


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The Champlain Valley
Area Health Education Center
The number of regional AHECs in the state, which provide educational services to health professionals and students in their local communities, will consolidate from three to two. This is the first such redistricting of AHEC regions since the Vermont AHEC Network was established in 1996. The official dissolution date for the Champlain Valley AHEC – December 1, 2017.
For more information about AHEC services available in your community visit:
- Southern Vermont AHEC www.svtahec.org
- Northern Vermont AHEC www.nvtahec.org
- UVM AHEC Program www.vtahec.org
To learn more about the reasons for restructuring the Vermont AHEC Network, please click here.
Champlain Valley AHEC Retrospective Video!
At our final annual meeting in May we celebrated almost 20 years of service to our communities with a retrospective slideshow that highlights some of our health care workforce programs through the years. It has been a wonderful reflection for our staff and board members, both current and former, on the impact of our efforts to help to ensure the future of health care for our communities. See the Champlain Valley Retrospective Video


text:
$6.5 million debt issue could fund Victoria County projects
March 17, 2014 at 4:03 p.m.
Updated March 16, 2014 at 10:17 p.m.
Victoria County officials plan to take on $6.5 million in new debt this spring to rebuild roads, renovate new properties and expand courtrooms.
During Monday's commissioners court meeting, the county's financial advisor, Bob Henderson, said the county could take on the debt as a multimillion-dollar bond issue and keep the tax rate at the same level. However, they would need to whittle down the $7.3 million-project list.
County Judge Don Pozzi said he wants the $6.5 million debt issue approved by June.
"We have projects that are moving forward already," he said. "The interest rates will likely rise; now is a good time."
The county already spent $305,150 to purchase the Goldman Street Hartman Distributing building and will likely spend another $600,000 to renovate it for office space and the justice of the peace Precinct 1 courtroom. Both expenses would be paid for with the bond.
To expand the courts housed at the Bridge Street courthouse, commissioners are considering spending $2.5 million to remodel the historic fire station on the same block. Other projects that could be funded through the multimillion-dollar bond are the $1.46 million rebuild of Canal and Old Bloomington roads in Precinct 1, asbestos abatements, a generator for the emergency operations center and new offices for justice of the peace Precincts 2 and 4.
As of Monday, the commissioners have not voted on which projects they would pay for with debt.
The county has an AA bond rating from Fitch Ratings with about $8.3 million in outstanding debt, $925,000 of which will be paid off by 2016. The fund balance, as of February, was about $13.3 million.
Henderson said the county has "done a tremendous job" during the past decade surviving the financial crisis, rebuilding its fund balances and increasing its bond ratings.
The county is in a good position, from a financial perspective, to address needs for capital improvements to spur growth and maintain services, Henderson said.
Any projects not funded out of the bond issue could be paid with commissioners' approval out of the fund balance.
Ernie Byrd, a Victoria County resident, spoke during Monday's meeting against taking on more debt.
He said the courtroom expansion could be resolved with more efficient scheduling and balked at the estimates to renovate the Hartman Distributing building.
"You could have built a heck of a building right over here for $1 million," Byrd said.
The state dictates any changes to the historic downtown block with the courthouse, and the new justice of the peace Precinct 1 office needs to be in the precinct, Pozzi said.
Once the debt is approved, the county will have three years to spend the money and can recoup the cost of purchases made 18 months before.
Pozzi lost his run for re-election in the March primary and would not comment whether he wants to move forward on the projects because of new leadership coming in.
"It would be my hope that this commissioners court would move Victoria County forward in the right direction," Pozzi said. "This is a necessary part of that process."


text:
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Serving Our Community Since 1995
With over 60 employees and 30 vehicles, J & D Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. is Southwest Florida's trusted leader for residential and commercial air conditioning sales and service.
As a family owned and operated company, we pride ourselves in honesty, integrity, and quality workmanship. At J & D Heating & Air Conditioning, we're committed to your comfort. And, since 1995 we've treated our customers like the most important people in the world... because they are.learn more
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Guaranteed Departures with minimum of 4 persons
Are you a sole traveler? Are you looking to meet new friends and have a social holiday?
Are you flexible with travelling dates? Are you looking for a cheaper and more affordable tour option to meet your budget? Definitely Tanzania Travel company is a solution to your needs. A shared safari is ideal for you! You can also add a Zanzibar & Tanga Coastal beach extension to your shared safari.
Write us give us your travel dates and your budget for the affordable rates per Pax.
Proposed itinerary for our shared group safari packages:
- Arusha Snow crest Hotel or similar.
- Endoro lodge or Kirurumu Tented Lodge at Tarangire
- Manyara Wildlife Safari Campsite at Lake Manyara or Endoro Lodge at Karatu.
- Lake Manyara – Serengeti Mapito Tented Camp at Ikoma, Serengeti
- Serengeti Mapito Tented Camp
- Ngorongoro Farmhouse
- Ngorongoro – Arusha.
Day 1
Meet and greet at the Kilimanjaro international airport by our safari guide and our representative. We will transfer you to the Snow Crest Hotel. Our safari consultant will come to meet you and provide you with a safari briefing.
N.B.: If you arrive in another airport than Kilimanjaro we'll arrange a connection flight to Arusha either on arrival or the following day (at extra cost). From Nairobi also road transfers in private or shared vehicles is possible ( contact our reservations) . Dinner and overnight
Day 2
Your Tour starts with the drive to Tarangire, Tanzania's third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population.
Baobab trees are the dominant feature of the park, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. Animals concentrate along the Tarangire River, which provides the only permanent water supply in the area. There is a great diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, and cheetah and about five thousand plus elephant heads.
Overnight at Endoro lodge at Karatu or Kirurumu Tented Lodge at Tarangire.
Full board accommodation.
Day 3
After breakfast we depart for Lake Manyara. Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, the park is recognized for its incredible beauty.
You can see many game animals such as Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, hippo and others.
Overnight at Manyara Wildlife Safari Campsite at Lake Manyara or Endoro Lodge at Karatu.
Full board.
Day 4
After breakfast drive to Serengeti National Park. Picnic lunch en route on a kopje (rock outcropping) in Serengeti then continues further into the Serengeti for game drive..
Overnight at Mapito Tented Camp at Ikoma, Serengeti.
Full board.
Day 5
Early wake-up calls with a cup of tea or coffee. Morning game drives to see also nocturnal predators returning from hunting and animals waking up in early morning light. Picnic bush breakfast en route.
A full day of game drives around Serengeti. Depending on the time of year and the migration of the herds you can expect to see wildebeest, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes and many birds and other species.
Overnight at Mapito Tented Camp at Ikoma, Serengeti. Full board.
Day 6
After breakfast proceed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend into the crater for a magnificent game drive bush picnic lunch at the Ngorongoro Crater floor. Ngorongoro is described as one of the wonders of the world. It is also the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and a natural sanctuary Amphitheatre for some of Africa's densest animal population.
Ngorongoro is the only place where the black rhino can be observed in their natural habitat.
As very few animals migrate in and out of the crater with its 2000 ft. high walls, you can expect to see lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes, many birds and other species.
'Big Five' can be spotted during one game drive only and this is only for the lucky ones!
Overnight at Ngorongoro Farm house
Full board.
Day 7
Morning breakfast then drive to Ol doinyo O'rok for your gift and souvenir shopping before you return to Arusha. Transfer to the airport or extension to Zanzibar and other destinations in Tanzania.
Zanzibar Extensions or Arusha Overnights possible. Please enquire.
Breakfast included
Add a week in Zanzibar or Tanga cost to your holiday? Contact us
on firstname.lastname@example.com
NB: All accommodations subject to availability; might be changed to others in the same category if need arise!
Ask us about this safari or to book now
- Airport transfers
- 01 x HB in Arusha
- Transport and wildlife drives in SAFARI CONVERTED 4WD Land Cruiser or Land Rover with photographic open roof.
- Services of a professional & English speaking safari guide
- All park entry fees
- All game drives as specified in itineraray.
- 1 lt. bottle mineral water per person / day during game drives
- Coffee/Tea with picnic lunches
- 5 nights FB safari lodges / tented camps as specified in itinerary
- Flying doctor insurance (first aid on the spot and rescue flights)
- International flights
- Items of a personal nature i.e. beverages, laundry
- Tips for safari guide
- Personal Travel insurance
- Visa fee 50 US$ /100. please check visa guidance on our visa to Tanzania page
- Drinks and beverages in lodges
- Hot Air Balloon Safari at Serengeti (499 USD per person)
- Booking
- FAQs
- Packing List
- Check for Booking Conditions


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Name/Value Pairs – A pretty bad idea in XML as in Relational !
January 21, 2011
Today's topic is "Name/Value Pairs" – a data modeling approach that is also known as Key-Value Pairs (KVP) or Entity-Attribute-Value model (EAV).
In the relational database world, the Name/Value Pair approach is sometimes used when the number of required columns in a table is very large, unknown, or changing over time. In that case it is difficult to define a table with a fixed set of columns. That's when some people resort to Name/Value Pairs.
To give an example, consider the following record from a traditional database table with columns id, firstname, lastname, company, and dateOfBirth:
(1, John, Doe, IBM, 1978-11-05)
In a Name/Value Pair table, the same information would be stored across four different rows with columns id, name, and value:
(1, firstname, John)
(1, lastname, Doe)
(1, company, IBM)
(1, dateOfBirth, 1978-11-05)
The flexibility of this table is wonderful (at first!), because you can store records of pretty much any format in such a table, even if the set of required fields is not known in advance or growing over time. Instead of defining fixed column names, you simply stick the field names into the column name and pair them up with a value.
BUT…. it's well understood that such Name/Value Pair tables have serious problems that cause a lof of headache over time. In particular:
- It's very hard to define constraints for Name/Value Pair tables, because the logical meaning of the column value changes from row to row. Data quality is hard to enforce.
- Writing business queries against Name/Value Pair tables is complex and often requires many self-joins. Reporting queries with many predicates are particularly difficult and inefficient.
- Column statistics that usually aid database optimizers in the selection of good access plans often do not work well for Name/Value Pairs.
- Mixing values of different data types in the column value causes further complications. The column value needs to be of type VARCHAR which means that correct numeric or DATE comparisons are not straight forward, may require casting, and it's difficult to define adequate indexes. Note that the numeric comparison value > 5000 is not the same as the string comparison value > '5000'. The latter would also be true if value contains the string '7'. A workaround is to define multiple value columns, one for each required data type, but this leads to sparsely populated columns with lots of NULL values. It's just not pretty.
Others have blogged extensively about the problems with Name/Value Pairs in relational databases long before me, and here are some examples:
- http://decipherinfosys.wordpress.com/2007/01/29/name-value-pair-design/
- http://geekswithblogs.net/darrengosbell/articles/KVPsInDatabaseDesign.aspx
- http://www.ibridge.be/?p=15
What I actually want to write about is the use of Name/Value Pairs in XML.
But.. wait a minute! Why would anybody use Name/Value Pairs in XML? XML is extensible and flexible by design, so there isn't really a problem with being constrained by a fixed set of fields. New XML elements and attributes can be invented and added as needed, specifically to deal with variable and evolving data formats. Many applications use XML exactly for this reason.
However, I have seen various cases where people have decided to model their XML with Name/Value Pairs. As a simple example, the following XML document describes a car with Name/Value Pairs:
<object type="car">
<field name="brand" value="Honda"/>
<field name="price" value="5000"/>
<field name="year" value="1996"/>
This XML document uses generic and non-descriptive element and attributes names, such as object, field, name, and value. This defeats the purpose of XML as a markup language where tag names should be used to describe the meaning of the different data items. This is similar to column names of a relational table, which should describe the data in the columns.
In this example, the values "brand", "price", and "year" are metadata and should really be tag names, because they describe the intended meaning of the values "Honda", "5000", and "1996". Here is what this XML document should look like:
The problems with using Name/Value pairs in XML are similar as in relational tables:
- For the XML document with Name/Value Pairs in red above, it is impossible to define an XML Schema that enforces, for example, the following rule: If the attribute "name" has the value 'price', then the attribute "value" in the same "field" element must be numeric and greater than 0. In contrast, this rule is easy to define in an XML Schema for explicit tag names.
- Let's say you often search by "year" and want an XML index to support such searches. If you use Name/Value Pairs, most databases will not allow you to define an index on only those "value" attributes where the "name" attribute in the same "field" element has the value 'year'. As a result you will likely index more data than needed, which means your index is larger and more expensive to maintain than with explicit tag names. Insert, update, delete performance will suffer.
- Writing XPath expressions against Name/Value Pairs is complex and less efficient.
Not yet convinced? Try to write an XPath that retrieves the year of all the Honda cars that have a price greater than 5000. For Name/Value Pair documents the query would look like this (yikes!):
/object[@type="car" and
field[@name = "brand" and @value = "Honda"] and
field[@name = "price" and @value >= 5000]
For corresponding documents with explicit tag names, the same query is much simpler and will be faster:
/car[brand="Honda" and price >= 5000]/year
I rest my case.
15 Responses to "Name/Value Pairs – A pretty bad idea in XML as in Relational !"
February 4, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Agreed, using Name/Value pairs defeats the whole point of using XML!
Unrelated, I just started the architecture phase of a project in which I plan to leverage DB2 pureXML…and I discovered your book a few days ago…what a pleasure to read..I will be reading that for the next few days before I move forward..excellent work.
June 7, 2011 at 1:28 pm
I agree. However what you need to appreciate though when 'tutting' at the perceived ignorance of those who are producing these unclear schemas is that the Name/Value pair format is what is returned when you query
NAME, VALUE table data using the : –
FOR XML clause
When FOR XML SqlClient.SqlCommands are used in .Net and combined with ExecuteXmlReader and XmlDataDocument
it quickly and (otherwise) extremely elegantly returns XML data from a SQL Server database into an XML document – it makes writing web services a cinch.
The only acceptable alternative I can find is to produce the XML in the CLR environment which will be more computationally expensive and also take me a lot longer. I've spent 4 hours trying to find an elegant way to achieve it in T-SQL (which shows just how much I do agree with your statement).
I cite http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4234704/sql-table-key-value-pairs-to-a-xml
I rejected manual concatenation using a TSQL function which was suggested there as it gets entitized when added to my parent FOR XML statement.
I'm now going to spend another 2 hours writing my own XML output mechanism in .Net – purely so I can name the tags correctly. Most .Net / SQL Server developers aren't going to be so fanatical about the output when so much time investment is needed.
So, as a DB2 'bod' I expect you'll agree with me that Microsoft are responsible for this evil plague of poor XML schemas – for not allowing us to use columnar data as XML names.
(Even PIVOT on SQL Server won't let you use a sub-query to get your column names but instead insists they are fixed).
Keep up the good work.
November 24, 2011 at 8:36 pm
I completely agree with you. Though we have two use-cases where we are using it.
First, We have a generic cache solution to cache web-services where we need a generic way to store keys to search later based on these keys. The keys vary for different operations. Here we are using 5 name-value pairs but not as attributes. What we have is like CustNo1234String. This works well for us.
Second, We have WSDLs which has fixed contracts. Here, we have a requirement to keep adding new fields with every release and these releases are quite fast (twice a week). Changing the web-services that is consumed by multiple consumers is pretty difficult. Here we have the Operation request and response divided into 2 structures. and . Base changes once a year with major release and we rationalize the group and include them in at that time. All the new fields we add in the group which is name value pair like DOB12012001Date. is a repeating structure. doesn't helped us much since there are restrictions to have mandatory elements preceding element types. We are using XSD 1.0 and our tool doesn't support XSD 1.1.
Are you referring to using name/value as attributes is a bad idea or using it in any way a bad idea? Do you really think above use-cases are bad designs and we can improve it without using it?
September 12, 2012 at 11:55 am
It should be kept in mind that there's a certain "sweet spot" between "value-key pairs" and going straight to tags. When I worked on XML output of a natural language processor, and I saw a lot of code like ""; when I first started working with the data, I thought, "this is stupid!", and proceeded to convert the tags to tags.
It turned out to be a big mistake: the section names weren't set in stone; many times, I would have to filter out invalid XML characters–and I could never seem to get all of them–and it would have been *easier* to index than to index the XML tags. And for everything else–I appreciated the flexibility, and the consistency, from their value-pair decisions.
Of course, this is a special case–natural language processing is a complex endeavor; the flexibility was needed; and since the processing was of transcribed medical records, we didn't have the "field" nonsense described in your post–xml tags were typically things like "section", "medicine", "procedure", and so forth–and the XML was almost literally a parse tree of natural language (so it was easy, even natural, to traverse tags like "location" and "problem" to get "left elbow injury"). But having the trio of "type", "name", and sometimes "value", made more sense than I originally recognised!
(And the same thing can be said of my attempts to parse the original text into something that the UI could use. I started out specific, only to realize that I ought to have been more general.)
February 17, 2013 at 6:37 am
how to unmarshall such a type of xml in java
February 17, 2013 at 10:11 pm
Hi Matthias,
XML format which you described
Say if we are not having the specified XSD and we are supposed to develop all Bean classes ourselves, Then what should be the appropriate approach to unmarshall such a format of XML.
February 17, 2013 at 10:14 pm
I am unable to paste xml directly so i removed the tag
object type="car"
field name="brand" value="Honda"
field name="price" value="5000″
field name="year" value="1996″
March 8, 2013 at 2:57 am
The (unstated) downside of this approach is that the parameter names are now part of the XML Schema. So every time someone thinks up or needs to send a new parameter, the schema has to be revised and reissued.
Depending on the version scheme, this may involve new namespaces, and incompatibilities between older and newer applications, even in messages where the new parameter is not being passed!
A good rule of thumb … if the number of possible parameter types is not absolutely fixed for all time, be very leery about any design pattern that hard-wires parameter names into your schema.
Presenting the parameter name as a value inside a element nicely sidesteps this problem.


text:
Join us for a movie by the pool at the Rec Center! Our feature for August will be "Moana"!
Bring a blanket to sit by the pool or your swimsuit to take a dip! Swimming will
continue through the end of the movie. All ages welcome. Non-swimmers and children under 48" must be within arm's reach of an adult (18+) at all times.
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$7 for Rec Center pass holders
*$2 Off Presales, purchased the day before each movie!
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text:
There are tons of rules that are learned while playing online text games. Some are written down and some not. What unspoken rules can you add to this article?
Select a Game World
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text:
Sandra Bell Joins Prospect Mortgage as CFO
Nov 01, 2012, 16:33 ET from Prospect Mortgage
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sandra E. Bell has joined Prospect Mortgage, LLC ("Prospect" or the "Company") as Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Bell will oversee all financial activities of the Company.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090617/LA34214LOGO-b)
"The breadth and depth of Sandra's experience will be a tremendous asset for us as we continue to grow and diversify the Company's operations," said Ron Bergum, Prospect's Chief Executive Officer. "She is a valuable addition to an already deep and experienced executive management team. We are building a world-class organization and Sandra's participation further enhances our ability to execute our strategic vision."
Ms. Bell brings almost 30 years of business experience in the financial services and energy industries, both as a public company Chief Financial Officer and investment banker. Most recently, Ms. Bell has been providing strategic financial advisory services to senior executives and private equity investors in evaluating M&A opportunities, defining strategic decision frameworks, assessing capital execution strategies and supporting IPO preparation activities, including strategic consulting work performed for Prospect this year.
Ms. Bell previously served as Chief Financial Officer of PHH Corporation, a publicly traded, multi-divisional financial services company engaged in the private label mortgage services and fleet management businesses. While at PHH, her responsibilities included treasury, cash management and banking relationships, strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, investor relations, accounting and public reporting, audit and tax.
Prior to PHH, Ms. Bell was the Chief Financial Officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati from 2004 through 2006. Her additional leadership positions include roles as Chief Financial Officer of two publicly registered companies, and more than 21 years on Wall Street financing energy companies, including a 13-year career at Deutsche Bank Securities.
"We are very pleased and fortunate to add Sandra to our dedicated team," said Bergum. "She brings the expertise necessary to help position the Company for the future."
Prospect Mortgage is a top ten national home purchase lender offering a full range of quality home loans, including FHA and VA, conventional, jumbo and super jumbo, renovation, and more. It is backed by Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with approximately $5 billion of assets under management and offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami. For more information about Prospect Mortgage, visit www.MyProspectMortgage.com. Visit Prospect on Twitter at www.twitter.com/myprospectmtg and follow the company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prospectmtg.
SOURCE Prospect Mortgage


text: > On 09/26/2013 09:33 AM, Gabriel de Perthuis wrote: >> Default to 1M, to match the amount available to the bootloader on a >> partition table with modern alignment constraints. > > Well, I'd really prefer having this on-demand only by explicit use of > "pvcreate --bootloaderareasize". The bootloader area is supposed to > be used in specific situations only and we normally don't want it to > be created for all PVs by default... There isn't any support for adding the area to existing PVs (though there is enough room). I don't see a downside to having the area ready in case it's needed.