text:
Roland E. Collons (1903-1989) graduated from the University of Chicago, class of 1926 in petroleum geology and spent three years in Oklahoma and Kansas doing exploration and scouting work. With the stock market crash in 1929, petroleum exploration slowed down and Collons returned to Chicago to begin research and writing for investment houses. In the late 1920s and early 1930s working as investment analyst and as a railroad finance specialist, Collons was in contact with top railroad officers and eventually went to work for the Illinois Central in 1936 doing historical research and publicity writing. Because his job involved much research and travel he began to assemble and construct railroad scrapbooks. He wrote a study of the "Casey Jones Story," which was published by
In 1939 as the Great Depression continued to curtail transportation, the Illinois Central reorganized its departments. As the newest hire in the public relations office, Collons was terminated. Considering his work and years of experience, he became somewhat bitter toward the railroads and all work on his scrapbooks was suspended. Collons abandoned his interest in railroad lore almost entirely for this period of time, occasionally taking a train photograph on vacations and reading works by railroad historian, Lucius Beebe. In 1964, Beebe selected 59 of Collons's images for his book on passenger trains,
In the early 1940s an opportunity arose, after inheriting some money, for Collons to open a menswear store in Jefferson City, Missouri. This business was successful for the next twenty years. "Rip" Collons, as his retailing peers referred to him, won the Brand Names Foundations "Retailer of the Year" award in 1956 and 1957, and was written up in the
Collons also had an extensive book collection of over 650 books relating to railroads and American history. Wanting his scrapbooks and photographs to go to an institution where they would be used for research, on the suggestion of Lucius Beebe, Collons donated his collection to the DeGolyer Library in 1964. Roland Collons died in Sacramento, California, on December 22, 1989, leaving a legacy of historical railroad research behind in his scrapbooks and negatives.
Collons, Roland, and Quentin Reynolds. 1939. The man at the throttle was Casey Jones.
Collons, Roland, and Quentin Reynolds. 1939. The man at the throttle was Casey Jones.
Retail Promotion News, Men's Wear Edition. 1957. James Lee says "Hats Off" to award winning Rip Collons.
The collection consists of 104 scrapbooks (86 US and 18 foreign) with canvas covers, containing 15,338 prints, 2,446 clippings and 10,798 negatives. Collons made most of his photographs between the years of 1926 to 1939. The Collons scrapbooks reflect his emphasis on the "total" railroad, the property as a whole, including the right-of-ways, stations, bridges, engine houses, freight yards, etc. He made numerous views of roundhouses and coal chutes.
Collons saw track layout and depots as important as the trains, thus creating a collection that has a unique coverage. Collons wanted to show a continuous, almost "moving" picture of the railroad line under study, the important main lines, and also the branch-lines and industry as a whole. He photographed almost every major US railroad, but primarily emphasized the Chicago area, with some attention given to Omaha, Kansas City and other major cities throughout the United States.
Besides his photographs, he supplemented his scrapbook images with earlier material from
The negative collection housed in 8 metal drawers (two rows per drawer) consists of two sizes: 3 x 5 inch and 3.5 x 5.5 inch. From 1930 to 1933, Collons produced 3 x 5 inch negatives made with an Eastman "2-C Special" camera. He created an index with numbered and dated negatives, listing the subject matter, and a description of the location. In 1934 to 1939, Collons used a 3.5 x 5.5 inch or postcard size camera and began a new index and filing system.
Two folders contain drafts, photographs, and printed articles of Collons's published works, 1936-1958, including "Casey Jones Story," published in
The collection is organized into 4 series:
Collection is open for research use.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the DeGolyer Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
Roland E. Collons photographs of railroads, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
Gift, Roland E. Collons, 1964.
Collons's alphabetical order by railroad has been maintained with occasional edits for clarification and standardization. Some of the scrapbooks are wrapped in acid-free covers and all are housed in acid-free boxes.
Two smaller collections (formerly A1985.1172c and A1984.0441c) containing articles and drafts were added to consolidate the collection.
Finding aid by Susan B. Schmidt, November 2007.
Edited by Anne E. Peterson, November 2007.
Lara Corazalla, 2007.
Each of the eighty-six scrapbooks focuses on a railroad line or a railroad subject, and contains an assortment of articles, many from
Each of the eighteen scrapbooks focuses on a railroad line in that country, and contains an assortment of articles, many from
The black and white prints for the following lines are of mostly locomotives, railroad depots with interiors and exteriors images, and freight yards.
Unidentified prints of miscellaneous locomotives pulling in and out of stations, freight yards and depots. The negative numbers refer to Collons's numbering system.
Index Note Cards: There are two index note card sets, both legibly handwritten with extensive notes on each negative giving the following information when known: railroad line, locomotive number and type, location with description and date. Not all 10,798 negatives have a corresponding record.
Negative Drawers: The negatives are housed in 8 metal drawers.
These two folders contain drafts, photographs, and printed articles of Collons's published works, 1936-1958.


text: Le 30/11/2009 19:24, Jud Craft a écrit : > On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 10:46 PM, Bojan Smojver wrote: >> Rudolf Kastl writes: >>> intel (i965) works fine... >> >> You are lucky. Major regressions there in F-12. On my hardware, this used to >> work when nomodeset was passed to kernel. Now, it doesn't any more. With KMS, on >> the other hand, hibernate/thaw or suspend/resume causes the whole system to go >> berserk after a few cycles. So, I'm back to metacity and 2D. Bugs filed, of >> course, etc. > > I've got a i965, and while I admit that it's still a little rough, it > works mostly fine, with KMS and 3D doing fine. Compiz and GNOME Shell > are pretty functional, and suspend and hibernate are nearly flawless > (or at least as flawless is on Linux). > > The only real problem is a conflict with rendering in Qt-demo, but...alas. > For the Qt-demo rendering issue on intel, it is fixed by Qt 4.6.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
RUFC - Time of Year, Time to Review
Well as we near November we once again have to look at the horizon. The league position is mid table. We`re out of the Carling Cup and the JP Trophy and so on the horizon, there`s the "C" word.
The FA Cup is coming and with it there will be the usual chants from the terrace of "We`ll win the cup!" when we know we haven`t got a chance! In fact it seems like an eternity since we last had a decent FA cup run. I think it`s about time we DID have one.
I believe the priority lies with the league but teams get in the habit of winning and, hopefully, we`ll get the winning habit back in the league and continue it in the cup. This can also lift interest in the town and increase some revenue. You can`t underestimate the revenue value of a cup run away from bread and butter games. A cup run also grabs the imagination and may even bring back those lapsed supporters.
A few more without victories and, heaven forfend, but the season could be all but over. November could be pivotal in how we will face the rest of the seasons
Don't forget, you can also follow Vital Rotherham on Facebook and Twitter!
Vital Rotherham on:
Vital Rotherham on:


text:
List of Development Committee Statements
Development Committee Communiqué
The global economic environment, so important to the economic fortunes of the developing
countries, is stronger today than it has been in many years, with stronger and more broad-based
growth across most of the industrial and emerging economies. In the major industrial countries,
low interest rates have been supported by an environment of low inflation and improved fiscal
policies, especially in the United States. And just two years since what was widely believed to be
the most challenging situation in global financial markets in fifty years, private capital flows are
returning to emerging market economies. Signs of greater differentiation by investors between
countries are emerging, and we are seeing a welcome increase in the share of flows in the form of
direct foreign investment.
For all that it would be a serious mistake to consider that all of the risks and challenges were
now behind us. Structural reforms will be needed in many emerging economies for a strong and
more inclusive recovery to be sustained. The rise in the price of oil has the potential to affect the
poorest countries adversely. And, perhaps most important, this time of extraordinary economic
prosperity in the US and other countries is still a time when fully half of the world's people live on
less than two dollars a day. The overarching global imperative to work to combat poverty and
support successfully economic development in the poorest countries must gain added urgency
today, when HIV/AIDS, conflict and other catastrophes are helping to reverse years of
development gains in many of the poorest countries. Mortality rates in a number of African
countries are now rising rapidly, after several decades of decline, and adult life expectancy is
returning to levels not seen since the 1950s.
It is a central lesson of history that rapid economic growth is absolutely essential to rapid or
long-lasting reductions in poverty. But history also teaches that growth requires more than a
stable macroeconomic environment. Three other elements are also crucial First, governments need
to put in place the institutions and rules that will allow markets to function well. Second, they
need to make public investments with particularly high social returns, especially girls' education
and basic health services, including immunization coverage for all children. And third,
governments need to promote an effective rule of law, through good governance, transparency,
and support for the emergence of a healthy civil society. This basic framework for promoting
human development can and must be our touchstone as we chart a course for the development
institutions going forward.
Framework for Operational Reforms in the MDBs
The World Bank and the regional development banks remain at the core
of the international effort to address the formidable economic and development challenges facing
developing, transition, and emerging economies. The MDBs have compiled an impressive track
record of adapting and improving their operations in order to improve their effectiveness
in promoting poverty reduction and economic growth. The challenge now is to build on that
progress and to press forward with the substantial additional work necessary to strengthen the
capacity of the institutions to deliver enduring results.
The United States remains committed to working with Management and other members to
strengthen the MDBs going forward, to improve their impact, sharpen their focus, and ensure that
the institutions are effectively positioned to meet new challenges and new expectations. We
encourage the Committee to engage on this issue in a collaborative spirit.
We believe the contribution of the MDBs to development progress can be strengthened by a
shift in emphasis in several key areas:
Global Public Goods
We welcome the growing recognition of the need to pay greater attention to development
investments providing cross-border benefits. Global Public Goods tend to be underfunded and
undersupplied, particularly in those areas where the most benefits would accrue to developing
countries. We believe the World Bank and the regional development banks can make a major
contribution in this area in ways that complement established priorities for poverty reduction.
We believe there is considerable scope to expand MDB investment in three core
areas: (1) stemming the spread of infectious and childhood diseases, (2) protecting the
global economic environment, and (3) creating developmentally relevant knowledge in sectors
such as agriculture. To be effective, selection of priority areas for increased Bank engagement
must remain firmly grounded in the traditional criteria—consensus on need, value
added, catalytic role, and comparative advantage.
HIV/AIDS must certainly be a particularly high priority component of any program to
address communicable diseases. The epidemic's catastrophic impact now in Africa, where it is
reversing the hard-won economic gains of so many countries, also threatens much of Asia and
other regions. We therefore commend recent efforts that will substantially strengthen the Bank's
engagement on this most urgent issue, particularly the World Bank's pledge to triple its
lending for communicable diseases and its recent provision of a $500 million program to combat
HIV/AIDS in Africa.
There is also an urgent need for the Bank and its partners to accord major attention to other
more easily preventable infectious and childhood diseases that continue to pose fundamental
health risks and cause early death, squandered potential, and stunted development.
The diversity of institutional arrangements needed to address the variety of important global
public goods is great and underscores the importance of effective donor collaboration. We see
responsible selectivity and partnerships as fundamental to an expanding program of Bank support.
In assessing its options for such a program, the Bank should accord high priority to working with
its partners to identify those public goods in which it clearly has a comparative advantage as well
as those areas that are best addressed by other institutions, including UN agencies.
While the Bank's regular lending can continue to address Global Public Goods at the country
level, the Development Grant Facility (DGF) already complements country lending with broader
effect. We believe it is an appropriate vehicle for expanding the Bank's support for core Global
Public Goods such as combating infectious diseases, protecting the environment, and promising
agricultural research. To that end, we see a compelling case for an early increase in DGF funding,
targeted to these areas, and urge the Bank to identify internal resources for this purpose.
We urge the Executive Board to follow up on our Development Committee discussions with
the aim of integrating a selective but action-oriented Global Public Goods agenda into the Bank
Group's Strategic Framework. We would like to see this issue placed on a "fast
track" and suggest an interim Management report to the Board by the end of the year.
We also favor inclusion of the Bank's operational program for Global Public Goods on the
agenda of our April 2001 Committee Meeting as a progress report and with the option remaining
open for additional Ministerial consideration.
Intensifying the Fight against Financial Abuse
We accord major importance to greater and more concentrated efforts to combat financial
abuse and to strengthen the role that the World Bank can play in more systematically
incorporating financial abuse concerns in its work with member countries. There is a natural fit
between the World Bank intensifying its financial abuse work and its mandate in areas of financial
sector reform, promoting good governance, and fighting corruption.
Abuses such as money laundering, inadequate bank supervision, and corruption undermine
the credibility and efficiency of the international financial system. They also pose a threat to our
development agenda in that they lead to distortions in the allocation of resources, curb
productivity growth and incomes, and undermine financial systems and institutions. Combating
these abuses is an integral part of effective development and institutional capacity building that
requires action at both a country and a global level.
The Bank is uniquely well placed to work with the International Monetary Fund, the regional
development banks, and member countries to strengthen its analytical and diagnostic work on
financial abuse issues, including in its Country Assistance Strategies, social and structural policy
reviews, and stand alone financial sector analyses. The Bank's engagement in assisting countries
design and implement programs of corrective action also provides clear value added, and it
conforms well with the growing international consensus—most recently demonstrated at the
APEC Finance Ministers' meeting in Brunei, the Okinawa Summit in July, and the Western
Hemisphere Finance Ministers' meeting last February in Cancun—on the need for better
coordinated and more effective international programs in this area.
We urge the Bank, Fund, and regional development banks, and all their members, to work
with us in helping to institutionalize efforts to fight financial abuse as part of their on-going
operations and within the scope of their financial issues mandates. In this regard, we call on the
Fund and Bank to prepare a joint paper on their respective roles in combating financial abuse for
discussion by their Boards before the Spring Meetings and ask them to report to the Spring
IMFC/Development Committee Meetings on the status of their efforts.
The Bank's Role in the Poorest Countries
The enhanced HIPC Initiative is an integral part of the broader development agenda, and
provides a unique opportunity to encourage reform and improve the economic prospects of those
poorest countries committed to sound policies. When combined with the right economic and
social policies, debt relief can make an important difference. The PRSP process is intended to
complement HIPC by establishing the solid policy foundation for HIPC and other poor countries,
and their development partners, to build the growth and poverty reduction frameworks needed to
deliver sustainable results.
The enhanced HIPC Initiative and the PRSP process continue to merit our strong support and
engagement. We welcome the very significant progress made in both areas. We also recognize
that it takes time to develop the appropriate national policies and the right institutions and
practices to reap the full development potential of debt relief. There is much at stake for the
poorest countries; it is crucial to "get it right." While I share the desire to have
eligible countries qualify for debt relief as rapidly as possible, the desire for speed cannot
supersede the need to ensure lasting development results.
We recognize and very much appreciate the priority and work that the staff and management
of both the Bank and the IMF have given to translating HIPC and PRSPs into positive
development outcomes. On my June trip to Sub-Saharan Africa, I was also impressed by the
strong sense of commitment demonstrated by the governments of Mozambique and Tanzania to
establish credible poverty reduction strategies, and the opportunity the framework has opened for
broad civil society particpation in shaping country strategies. The commitment being shown in
other countries, such as Bolivia, is also encouraging.
As the process moves forward, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that one of HIPC's
core< objectives is to enhance countries' future prospects for debt sustainability. There is a need
for a more fully articulated framework to assess the implications of this debt sustainability for the
scale and composition of new lending. Clearer constraints on new public sector borrowing on
non-concessional terms for a period after HIPC debt relief should be considered. Further
restraint on concessional lending may also be warranted, including through greater recourse to
grant financing.
We believe the Bank should take the lead in setting the priority social and structural
conditions to operationalize the new development framework set out in a borrower's PRSP (or
I-PRSP). We therefore support in principle the concept of a discrete instrument parallel to the
Fund's PRGF that would set out and be based on the priority social and structural conditions that
are now often embodied in the PRGF—as long as such an instrument is used selectively and
with appropriate safeguards. The Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) should be the
Bank's principal device for coordination of policy and consolidation of fast-disbursing assistance.
It should not be additional to the currently programmed level of adjustment lending.
We do not believe that it would be appropriate for the introduction of PRSCs to necessarily
lead to a strategic shift in Bank operations to budget support. This would have profound
implications for the Bank and poses a major fiduciary challenge. Administratively, it may be much
easier for the Bank to provide budget support than to try to implement discrete investment
programs. But there is no question that the risks of inefficiency and waste, without adequate
accountability, are also higher. Any assistance instrument, including budget support, needs to be
appropriate to the institutional capacity, accountability, and policy environment of both the
recipient government and the Bank.
It is therefore crucial that any new lending instrument for providing budget support be
carefully structured to:
World Bank Role and Instruments in Middle Income
We very much support the increased priority the World Bank is giving to reassessing its role
in middle income countries and to determining how it can best assist these countries to address
the economic and social weaknesses that constrain their access to private finance. The Bank's
initiative to establish the Task Force on Middle Income Countries is timely and welcome, and we
hope it will lead to a more selective lending framework focused on facilitating graduation. We
expect the Task Force also to consider the potential role for differentiated pricing
according both to country and to the activity being funded.
The Bank retains an important role in supporting long-term development and reform in these
countries, but its activities should be more sharply defined and more
systematically focussed on adding value that the private markets cannot. This means helping
countries to build strong, open financial systems, with the institutional and legal framework for
well functioning domestic capital markets, insolvency regimes, and better corporate governance,
so that they can reduce their need for official assistance over time. It also means helping countries
to improve the efficiency of their public expenditures and to strengthen social sector investments
and targeting to better address poverty and inequitable lack of opportunity. We also believe that
the Bank, and its regional counterparts, should reduce the share and volume of their lending to the
more advanced emerging market countries over time, with graduation as a clear objective.
As with low-income countries, budget support/programmatic lending should be based on
appropriate fiduciary and diagnostic work. Before the United States could endorse a significant
movement by the Bank in this direction in its lending operations, we would need to be convinced
of the merits of this approach in terms of development effectiveness relative to other forms of
lending. Pricing will be a crucial element. We would also want to see a full discussion of the
institutional and operational changes that would be required within the Bank to ensure effective
use of resources, including the monitoring mechanisms, fiduciary framework, and
performance criteria that would accompany such lending.
The Comprehensive Development Framework
The Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) represents a major effort by the Bank to
increase the development effectiveness of its lending. We have long supported the basic principles
that underlie this approach: providing assistance in the context of a clear, long-term strategy;
ensuring borrowing countries' responsibility for making their own choices; selectivity and close
coordination among donors in providing support; and full accountability for results. Effective
donor coordination is vital to development results, and harmonization among aid agencies can
enhance their effectiveness as long as it is based on the highest possible standard.
We believe the Bank and its borrowers were prudent in initiating the CDF as a
"pilot" in selected countries to determine how it would work in practice before
replicating the approach on a more general basis. As the Bank's reports to the Board and to the
Committee demonstrate, the challenges lie where they always have: on the ground, in producing
enduring results. Overall, as the Bank's reports note, it is difficult to draw any definitive
conclusions about the additional development impact of the CDF framework. In large
part, this reflects the difficulty of measuring implementation and results, as well as extracting
"lessons learned", after only eighteen months of operational experience.
The pilot experience underscores the many difficult and complex operational problems that
still have to be to be addressed before the model can be replicated more generally in Bank
operations. These include the major constraints posed by the lack of government capacity, the
lack of involvement and capacity by government units other than finance ministries, and the lack
of cultures supporting participation in many borrowing countries concerned by the reports'
findings on the negative attitudes of some pilot governments regarding the participation of civil
society. As to donor coordination, although many aid agencies have indicated their support in
principle for the CDF approach, old attitudes and ways of doing business strongly persist.
In this connection, we believe a more careful assessment of CDF experience is needed before
an informed decision can be made on use of the CDF as the basis for any significant changes in the
Bank's organization, policies and procedures, and resource allocations. We therefore welcome
and look forward to the longer-term assessment of the CDF DEC and OED are preparing.
We specifically disagree with the view that CDF necessarily requires programmatic
lending. Such lending will be effective only in countries with the capacity and fiduciary
framework to ensure effective resource use. It is also critical that the Bank adhere to its own
fiduciary and "safeguard" policies and not delegate these to borrowing governments.
Environmental and other safeguard standards, along with an accountable process for monitoring
and evaluating compliance, must be maintained at the highest level.
Finally, I would like to add a note of caution about the concept of "country
ownership." There is no question that countries have the ultimate responsibility for their
economic and development management, and that full country engagement and commitment are
vital for aid to have a significant and positive impact. Yet fact that a country "owns"
a particular set of priorities does not in itself automatically validate their economic
It is surely right for the development community to operate with a presumption that
countries should not be forced to adopt policies they cannot support. But it is also essential that
we and the Bank, as stewards of scarce development resources, also own the programs we
support and make our own assistance decisions on the basis of a roadmap ensuring real and
sustainable development results. Where that is the case, we will be enthusiastic and supportive
partners. When it isn't, we should direct our efforts and resources elsewhere.
We look forward to further discussions of appropriate steps to take us closer to realizing the
CDF vision.
IBRD Financial Capacity
Management and Governors have a shared responsibility to safeguard the Bank's financial
soundness and its risk bearing capacity. This is fundamental to our ability to provide effective
support for the Bank's evolving development mandate. We therefore appreciate the Background
Note updating Ministers on the IBRD's Financial Capacity and are pleased that the Bank
continues to operate on a firm financial basis.
We continue to believe that none of the non-concessional MDB windows should
expect new capital increases. We believe that the adoption of more selective, performance-based
lending programs will provide a large and flexible contingent financial capacity for the IBRD and
its regional counterparts to respond effectively to borrowers affected by future disruptions in
private market finance.
We believe MDB financial crisis lending should be limited to exceptional cases: in such cases,
MDB support can be critical to the success of recovery programs by helping to minimize
long-term economic damage, sustain and restore development momentum, and contribute to
intensified economic reform and restructuring. We see the MDBs as particularly well-positioned
to provide significant value added in the effort to: (a) avoid unnecessary contractions in fiscal
expenditure; (b) restructure banking and other financial institutions; and (c) minimize the adverse
impact of the crisis on the poor by, for example, strengthening social safety nets.
The challenge of global poverty can be overcome if countries, supported by the international
community, make the sound policy choices available to them. No country will succeed without
the right policies in place. And the lesson of history is that to be effective, external assistance
needs to be targeted on countries and policies with a genuine commitment and proven capacity to
deliver results.
The task of poverty reduction remains formidable but awareness and concern around the
world on the need to improve the effectiveness of efforts to address the problem have never been
higher. There is also probably more policy agreement on "the right way forward"
than ever before, and commitment to invest in the capacity building needed to enable countries to
apply these approaches in their own country circumstances. The question is how quickly and how
effectively we can all move to translate our knowledge, our concern, and our commitment into


text:
Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is dumping more of his shares in a bit to get rid of them before they settle.
The social not-working giant has seen its share price fall and now many analysts are agreeing with us that they will probably even out at $13 each.
Moskovitz has already sold of a big chunk, but Reuters is reporting that he is keeping up a steady but small flow of daily sales.
This week, Moskovitz has sold a total of 450,000 Class A shares at prices ranging from $19.19 to $19.22 a share. The Dustin A. Moskovitz Trust has only 6.15 million A shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He seems to be keeping his 106.8 million B shares, which can be converted to Class A shares on a one-to-one basis at any time. Class B shares carry more voting power which keeps him involved in the company.
Reuters noticed that Moskovitz has been selling shares at the rate of 150,000 a day since 19 August.
Moskovitz was a roommate of Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's at Harvard University. He left the company in late 2009 to work on his own start-up, workplace software-service Asana.
Other Facebook insiders, including early backer Peter Thiel, have been offloading shares before they lose their value. Thiel, who sits on Facebook's board, sold 20 million shares earlier this month.


text:
Manage your bankroll appropriately. This is a 4 game chase. Using the +1.5 RL you will gain 20-30 units in the first 5-6 weeks of the season. The title of the thread explains it all but here it is again... Early season (meaning April and early May only AND it's a 1 and done. ONCE A TEAM GAINS A WIN, DON'T PLAY THEM AGAIN.) Road Dog In-Division RL (meaning +1.5 or occasionally +2.5 like today with the Marlins) 4 game chase (meaning manage your bankroll so that you don't crash and burn because of lack of funds to chase to completion) system.
You have the rules. Plays may or may not be posted here or elsewhere. Remember, MANAGE YOUR MONEY.
Today's Plays:
Cubs +1.5
Boston +1.5
Marlins +2.5
Phillies +1.5
Seattle +1.5
Remember, manage your money. You may not want to enter into a chase on all of these plays. Set your goals, follow your rules and manage that bankroll. Good luck!
5 Wins yesterday eliminating Cubs, Boston, Marlins, Royals and Seattle from the system.
SF and Philly go to game 2.
BALT +1.5 game 1
POSSIBLE PLAY ON SF+1.5 game 2 (they may not remain a dog)
A win with Baltimore today which eliminates them from the system. That makes 6 wins and 2 teams still in the chase, both at game 2.
SF does not fit the system unfortunately. They are still the dog on the RL but the ML is currently at -103. I'll pass and see if they fit tomorrow with Lincecum v. Beckett.
Remember, manage your money well and it will multiply over time.
Plays for today:
Phillies +1.5 game 2
SF +1.5 game 2
Last 3 seasons I've played it without a loss but you have to follow the rules posted above. This same system was posted here on Covers last season. It seems like it gained 22 units but it may have been more. You can look back in the threads and find it I am sure. You gain approximately 20-25 units but you could gain as many as 30 since there are 30 teams. Please remember, this is EARLY SEASON ONLY.
Another win last night with SF.
TODAY: Game 3 Phil +1.5
Manage your bankroll.
Another win with Phi +1.5.
So first set of series are done and we come away with 7 wins, 5 of them straight up, and no losses with no chases pending. The following teams are no longer eligible for the system:
Cubs, Boston, Marlins, Royals, SF, Phils, Seattle
Looks like we will have 2 plays (game 1) tomorrow:
Another winner with LAA +1.5.
SD +1.5 game 2 for tomorrow
Yes Banny that is correct 8 wins in the first set of series.
Now we are up to 9 wins with 1 chase pending:
SD +1.5 game 2
you call this 'value' ? This happens to be a mild one, most of the +RL you are posting range from a minimum of -160 to well over -200 Do you even take under consideration the SP? or the handicap matchup? Do you even capp the game at large? or is all this in the blind? you consistently mention to "manage your bankroll" are you saying to double down on loses with prices above -160? the sacrafice of a half run just doesn't carry it's value in a ML sport, especially MLB. I doubt very seriously that you played this system for 3 winning seasons as you have stated; if so, back up your results, with documented facts. After in-depth review, I find this system posted "nowhere" on Covers.com last year (as you have stated), I would appreciate the links if you have them available. please continue, and incorporate your MM technique, attached to your loses...I am sure you must realize, regardless of the size of your bankroll, if 3 teams lose, your wiped out- as you stated, "Manage your Bankroll" my best to your system, may you prosper.with it...
A prime example
Miami Marlins +2.5 RL @ -325
a loss would put you at a $975 wager....winning a grand total of $100-
a second loss would put you at a $2925 wager, ect, ect
do you really feel Miami, a team in the lower NL bracket is not capable of losing 2 games to the Mets? realizing your next wager, based upon a loss will cost you close to 6k 'minimum' or; do you feel your going to win every game? as you have for the past 3 seasons? this is only one example, multiply it by 2 loses and your down 9k (based on 1unit=$100 I'm sure your reference of 22units is not based upon $220 rather then $2200
Yeah I realized that after I posted it but I did not post the plays to this system last season on Covers. I posted it on Twitter. I remember now why I did not and have not posted the plays here on Covers which is why many of the others that have systems posted in this forum do not post plays on Covers. They post them on separate spreadsheets and on Twitter so that more control can be had to limit the nonsense. And yes you are right it has not been 3 seasons. I have actually been doing this system since 2007 but I tweaked it 3 years ago to play the RL instead of ML. And I believe you may be lost... this is the systems forums. There is no consideration given to SP and no search for value being done in this forum unless it is part of the system. My system does not claim to find value, only wins. And yes I preach money management. I have done so not only in this post but in other posts as well. As for your "prime example"... Miami was not playing the Mets. They were playing the Nats. And they were not required to win. That's why the +2.5 was bought and not at -325. It was at -180 which is comparable to most +1.5 RL's. By the way, if you'll notice the lowly Marlins covered even using the +1.5 RL but it would have gone to the 4th game vs. Mets (3 vs Nats and then a win with +1.5 vs Mets in game 1 of that series).
It is entirely up to you whether you want 20-25 units in the first 4-6 weeks of the long baseball season. I have posted this system only to share with others what I have profited from these past several seasons. I am not touting and have even stated that a person may not want to enter into more than 1 or 2 chases at a time. This is all part of money management.
The play today is SD+1.5 game 3
and remember... MANAGE YOUR BANKROLL.
Sorry about not posting sooner. Since I quit my job over 2 months ago, the days just blend together and I was on a plane and in the airports most of the day.
As you know, the plays/chases that started today were as follows:
Mil +1.5 winner
Balt +1.5 onto game 2
Min +1.5 onto game 2
Cin +1.5 winner
NYM +1.5 pending
Hou +1.5 pending
Col +1.5 pending
Remember we have SD chase still pending but they won't qualify again until 4/15 when they play the Dodgers.
Yeah you're right Banny. I need to be more attentive to my own system I guess. It's just difficult when all I do is only what I want to do. When I broke free from the prison that is corporate America... well anyway, I won't bore you with stories of freedom, happiness and control over all my time and creativity.
I didn't strike the O's off my list. Sorry. But after today we can strike off the Mets, Brewers and Reds with Colorado and Houston still playing tonight. And of course SD going to game 4 on 4/15.
Teams that have won and are thereby eliminated from our system plays:
San Fran
LA Angels
NY Mets
Chase pending with SD game 4 due on 4/15.
MN +1.5 game 2
Houston +1.5 game 2
Colorado +1.5 game 2
Beautiful day here in Cali, Colombia. Make it a great day wherever you're at!
Yes Oak +1.5 in the late game is correct.
LAD are one of the teams that may not qualify for the system at all. Maybe against the Giants but they don't visit SF until May 3-5. That is the outer edge of this system and they would not have 4 games to complete a chase.
Picked up a couple more wins last night with Oakland and Houston. That's 14 now with SD chase pending and...
COL +1.5 game 3
MINN +1.5 game 3
You could have opted to play TX last night and gained a win. I chose to eliminate TX from the system altogether because there is a good chance they won't have 4 games as dogs that fit the system.
Today COL is not a dog so we will not chase on the 4th game.
The Rays +1.5 currently sit as a dog and could be a play today along with:
all three would be game 1's in the chase.
Watch the lines tomorrow for COL. We could be chasing on game 4 if they are a dog to SD. I'll be unavailable most of the day tomorrow. I am also eliminating LAD from the system altogether as they will probably not see enough games as dogs to qualify.
COL +1.5 is now the dog on the RL. I like it to be even or + money on the ML too.
COL +1.5 would be a game 4 chase tonight. This is where your own opinion would come in as to whether you want to go ahead and chase it tonight or wait until COL is a dog on both. It probably will not be tomorrow with Chacin pitching.


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Dial M for more Murdoch woes
Once he was seen as untouchable, but now the media mogul's troubles keep growing
LAST YEAR Rupert Murdoch's public image received an unexpected boost during an appearance before a House of Commons inquiry when a protester pushed a paper plate filled with shaving foam into his face.
The protester, Jonathan May-Bowles, a self-described comedian, was met with a firm slap from Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, moments before he was restrained by security staff.
The hearing was suspended for 10 minutes. One of the committee, the Labour MP Tom Watson, a long-time critic of the Murdoch empire, left his seat and walked over to Murdoch and his son James. "As he did so, he heard one of the Murdoch aides say: 'Don't worry, this will play well'. Watson poured the mogul a glass of water and told him, 'Your wife's got quite a right hook'," the MP recounts in a new book.
Next week, however, Murdoch and his son can expect no such intervention to help his image when they both appear before the Leveson inquiry. Much of the defence that existed when they appeared before the Commons' media, culture and sport inquiry last July has evaporated, particularly the declaration that they had not known the scale of skulduggery at the News of the World.
James Murdoch had then told MPs, for example, that he had been unaware of the "For Neville" email – one that contained transcripts of hacked voicemail messages. Since then it has become clear that he had known about it.
Now, without some of the executive and board positions in the Murdoch fold that he enjoyed last year, James will face Lord Justice Leveson and his legal team on Tuesday. His father appears the following day, with the inquiry making it clear already that he will be expected to turn up again the day after if questions remain to be asked.
The inquiry was established after the News of the World was found to have hacked into voicemail messages left in 2002 for the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Faced with public outrage, Murdoch closed the paper. With every week that has passed since, the situation has become more critical for the Murdochs, particularly now that lawyers for some of the tabloid's victims have moved to launch legal action in the US.
There, the Murdochs must worry not just about public outrage but also about the real danger of criminal prosecutions under the all-powerful Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Back in the UK, the list of those arrested for suspected involvement in hacking, or in alleged attempts to cover it up, gets ever longer. Three more people were held on Thursday in dawn raids, bringing the number to 49.
In his book, Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain, which he wrote with Martin Hickman, Watson brings the complicated story of the phone-hacking scandal to life. Watson is not unbiased, having been a target of Murdoch papers, which once described him as the "poisonous" leader of "a plotting gang of weasels" in Labour. (In 2006 he and other MPS had called on Tony Blair to stand down, at a time when the former prime minister still had Murdoch's support.)
Illustrating the circulation lust of the former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks, the book recounts her campaign for the public to be told if released paedophiles were living in their midst. Fuelled by the tabloid's hysteria, thugs forced four families in different parts of the UK to quit their homes when the father in each case was wrongly identified as a paedophile.
Besides detailing the extent to which a cover-up has taken place, Dial M for Murdoch tells how the British establishment backed away from tackling the media moguls even after it knew that wrongdoing was rampant.
For Watson and Hickman, phone-hacking is just one of Murdoch's sins. They recount how, for years, he ran "a shadow state" that left a succession of prime ministers determined to keep him on side, no matter what the cost.
"In the end, this story is about corruption by power," they write, one in which personal vendettas were viciously pursued. "They thought they could destroy the evidence, threaten and cover up."
Protected by politicians, "they listened to phone messages, of course, but they also blagged, bribed, spied and bullied, and imposed their will through blackmail, corruption and intimidation."
Watson believes that the scandal is "eating up" the company Murdoch built up over decades, quoting the business writer Michael Wolff's declaration that "an extraordinary corporate death is taking place".
Nevertheless, despite the wounds inflicted, and the certainty of more to come, the empire "stands shaken and ostensibly apologetic, but it is still there and Rupert Murdoch is still in charge".


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Convert therm (thm) versus poundal feet (pdl ft)
in swapped opposite direction
from poundal feet to therms
Or use utilized converter page with the
energy multi-units converter
|conversion result for two
energy units:
|From unit
|Equals Result
|To unit
|1 therm thm
|= 2,503,695,404.36
|poundal feet pdl ft
Prefix or symbol for therm is: thm
Prefix or symbol for poundal foot is: pdl ft
Technical units conversion tool for energy measures. Exchange reading in therms unit thm into poundal feet unit pdl ft as in an equivalent measurement result (two different units but the same identical physical total value, which is also equal to their proportional parts when divided or multiplied).
How many poundal feet are contained in one therm? To link to this energy - therm to poundal feet units converter, only cut and paste the following code into your html.
The link will appear on your page as: on the web units converter from therm (thm) to poundal feet (pdl ft)
Online therms to poundal feet conversion calculator | convert-to.com units converters © 2018 | Privacy Policy


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Low-Impact Exercises
"Though no one can go back in time and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending."
I've always liked this quote. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I stop and realize that although there is nothing I can do to erase the past, I can start at this point and lay the groundwork for the future. You can do the same.
Several years ago, a well-known dietitian conducted a survey of 200 individuals who had successfully met their weight-loss goals. What she found was that each of them had at some point "flipped a switch" — meaning that there was a moment at which the desire to lose weight finally became more important than the desire to overeat and not exercise. That's what I'm urging you to do: Once and for all, decide that your desire to succeed at weight loss is greater than your desire to fail. Then take that desire and turn it into a reality. I know you can do it. Just flip the switch.
Time and time again, research proves that weight loss is truly a matter of mind over body. In one recent study, scientists found that women who successfully lost pounds did so because of their belief that they alone were in control of their weight — and, therefore, of their ability to lose it.
Of course, flipping the switch means not only making the mental commitment to lose pounds, but also having the tools with which to do it. That's why I've come up with the nine tenets every woman needs to know. Read them, memorize them, live by them. They can be your New Year's resolutions, as long as you realize that to be successful, you really must follow them all year round. Remember, you can't change the past, but you can change what your body will look like from this moment on. By starting right now, you will create a brand-new ending.
Here's the thing: Protein is the most difficult food for your system to digest. That means it stays in the body longer, providing a feeling of fullness that keeps you from craving a snack just an hour after your meal.
Many people assume that when you eat protein, it's immediately converted into a usable form of energy, but that's not true. Protein is made up of a chain of amino acids. Think of these acids as individual beads strung together into a necklace. Before your body can use the protein you eat, it must break the string of beads apart. This process takes time, which may be why protein keeps you feeling full longer than other types of food.
Chicken, fish, and lean meat are all good sources of protein. At breakfast, consider having egg whites, soy breakfast patties, cottage cheese (go for 2% fat or less), or yogurt. For one week, try working a little protein into every meal. You'll be surprised how quickly you stop having midday snack attacks.
Top 10 Vitamin D-Rich Foods


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Drawing & Coloring, Spelling, and Story Telling are the kinds of competition which had been held By SIS Palembang at the OPEN HOUSE event on 31 October.
At the first batch of this academic year OPEN HOUSE, SIS Palembang took "Friendship" theme in which we celebrated United Nation Day. This event also symbolized the launching of secondary level at SIS Palembang.
Many students from other schools enthusiastically joined the competition. Although this year was the first time SIS Palembang conducted Story Telling Competition, surprisingly registered participants were more than expectation.
The festivity of SIS Palembang OPEN HOUSE was completed by several booths participation which offered student needs and toys, and the big sponsor of this big event was JM GROUP
Jl. Letda Abdul Rozak No.1
Taksam/Chuan Ho, Palembang
Tel. (0711) 562 6778 / 426 4860, Fax. (0711) 562 6778


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Recently KCLU's Lance Orozco interviewed Prof. Giovanni Vigna to discuss a recent National Science Foundation grant to study trust violations in smartphones. The adoption of smartphones has steadily increased in the past few years, and smartphones have become the tool with which millions of users handle confidential information, such as financial and health-related data. As a result, these devices have become attractive targets for cybercriminals, who attempt to violate the trust assumptions underlying the smartphone platform in order to compromise the security and privacy of users.
The full interview can be found here.


text: Zawadi House offers an airport shuttle (available on request). You can indulge in massages, body treatments, or mani/pedis, and Chungu Mbili Restaurant serves dinner. A bar/lounge and a terrace are other highlights, and rooms at this luxurious bed & breakfast offer up nice touches like Egyptian cotton sheets and premium bedding.


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From: Nathan Akrill (email@example.com) To: email@example.com Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:39:19 -0000 Subject: Hacking Do you have anything involved with hacking? I want to know how to do it
From: cji (firstname.lastname@example.com) To: Nathan Akrill (firstname.lastname@example.com) Cc: email@example.com, security curmudgeon (firstname.lastname@example.com) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:55:34 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Re: Hacking Hi Nathan, http://www.letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=How+to+hack Alternatively, if that proves too difficult: http://www.letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=How+to+use+google Hope that helps! -cji On Thu, 12 Feb 2009, Nathan Akrill wrote: > Do you have anything involved with hacking? I want to know how to do it


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what other color can i get out of it
I have 5 gallons of highland plains fuller Obrien paint. I want to use this as a base for another color to paint my garage. what other colors can I use this as a base for
Thank you for your question. Can you clarify what you're asking in regard to a base color? I'm not sure if you're looking for a color to go with it, or looking to mix with another color.
Thank you,


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Myanmar Border - Mae Sai
Aug 2, 2008
|Our next stop of the day after lunch was at Mae Sai - the border crossing into Myanmar and the place where Callum and I were going to have to cross the border to renew our visa. This was a smooth and pain free situation. Our tour guide took us and two others who needed to do the same to the passport control where we were stamped out of Thailand. We walked over the bridge and took in a surprising site - the river running through the streets of Myanmar! Beneath the bridge obviously due to the season, water was running through at such a speed, covering some shops and cafe places.
We took the time to take a couple of brief pictures before going to the passport control for Myanmar. The people here were very gruff and abrupt, we passed into a building where the door was a curtain and gave our passports to some men sitting at a desk, who put what looked like a big leaflet inside, we then had to go 2 feet away and sit at a desk whilst they processed our forms. This was done then we had to go back to the first man who finished off the process, stamping our passports with a one day visa for Myanmar. On looking at the river gushing through the street and after talking to others and discovering how expensive it was the other side of the border - we decided to go back through the gate to Thailand. All of this happened in only 20 minutes - a very easy border crossing!
We then left here after wandering around for 10 minutes and our guide then took us to see the Akha Hill Tribe people who were only a short distance away. I cant remember where he said they came from but they had been there for around 100 yrs and had moved due to the new laws surrounding opium farming as this was their main source of income. They previously moved around a lot more as they had to keep burning the fields that they were growing it in. We saw some children do a little performance and got to go inside a traditional Akha house. These are fast disappearing as due to the laws against opium farming, the Thai government are helping these people to rebuild their lives, offering education to their children and help with housing - all very interesting :)
We then unfortunately had to spend 3.5 hours getting home :( but I think the day was worth it. It also provided a bonus in that it let us do a visa run without the run :)


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Compared to his later "A" westerns, director Oscar "Budd" Boetticher's The Wolf Hunters is often exasperatingly slow. This was the second of producer Lindsley Parson's efforts to create a series based on the Great White North yarns of James Oliver Curwood. Kirby Grant plays a Canadian Mountie who follows a fugitive to a small fur-trapping community. Most of the action is handled by Chinook, a handsome German Shepherd. Jan Clayton handles the leading-lady responsibilities, while the supporting cast includes Charles Lang and Helen Parrish, who were then husband and wife (Parrish later married TV producer John Guedel, of People are Funny and Best of Groucho fame).
Add this movie to your queue to receive more information about
The Wolf Hunters and we will let you know when it becomes available.


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Continued from page 2
The AWC alleges that in January 2011, Giovannetti purchased 30,000 shares of Lighting Science Group stock at a price of $ 100,000 for a Commerce Square Trading customer without providing to his firm prior written notice of his intention to undertake what FINRA characterized as a private securities transaction, in violation of NASD Conduct Rule 3040 and FINRA Rule 2010.
SIDE BAR: Before you get snared in this FINRA trap, make sure you are familiar with the applicable Private Securities Transaction Rule:
NASD Rule 3040: Private Securities Transactions of an Associated Person
(a) Applicability
No person associated with a member shall participate in any manner in a private securities transaction except in accordance with the requirements of this Rule.
(b) Written Notice
Prior to participating in any private securities transaction, an associated person shall provide written notice to the member with which he is associated describing in detail the proposed transaction and the person's proposed role therein and stating whether he has received or may receive selling compensation in connection with the transaction; provided however that, in the case of a series of related transactions in which no selling compensation has been or will be received, an associated person may provide a single written notice.
(c) Transactions for Compensation
(1) In the case of a transaction in which an associated person has received or may receive selling compensation, a member which has received notice pursuant to paragraph (b) shall advise the associated person in writing stating whether the member:
(A) approves the person's participation in the proposed transaction; or
(B) disapproves the person's participation in the proposed transaction.
(2) If the member approves a person's participation in a transaction pursuant to paragraph (c)(1), the transaction shall be recorded on the books and records of the member and the member shall supervise the person's participation in the transaction as if the transaction were executed on behalf of the member.
(3) If the member disapproves a person's participation pursuant to paragraph (c)(1), the person shall not participate in the transaction in any manner, directly or indirectly.
(d) Transactions Not for Compensation
In the case of a transaction or a series of related transactions in which an associated person has not and will not receive any selling compensation, a member which has received notice pursuant to paragraph (b) shall provide the associated person prompt written acknowledgment of said notice and may, at its discretion, require the person to adhere to specified conditions in connection with his participation in the transaction.
(e) Definitions
For purposes of this Rule, the following terms shall have the stated meanings:
(1) "Private securities transaction" shall mean any securities transaction outside the regular course or scope of an associated person's employment with a member, including, though not limited to, new offerings of securities which are not registered with the Commission, provided however that transactions subject to the notification requirements of Rule 3050, transactions among immediate family members (as defined in Rule 2790), for which no associated person receives any selling compensation, and personal transactions in investment company and variable annuity securities, shall be excluded.
(2) "Selling compensation" shall mean any compensation paid directly or indirectly from whatever source in connection with or as a result of the purchase or sale of a security, including, though not limited to, commissions; finder's fees; securities or rights to acquire securities; rights of participation in profits, tax benefits, or dissolution proceeds, as a general partner or otherwise; or expense reimbursements.
In accordance with the terms of the AWC FINRA imposed upon Giovannetti a $15,000 fine and a three-month suspension in all capacities with any FINRA member firm .


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The words "New Orleans" conjure up some specific flavors, sights and sounds: gumbo, po'boys, jazz, shotgun houses. At the moment, a visionary arts organization, New Orleans Airlift, is working to bring the worlds of music, architecture and art together in a new and creative way. Dubbed Dithyrambalina, the undertaking, the brainchild of artists Swoon, Delaney Martin, Taylor Lee Shepherd and Jay Pennington, is engaging fellow artists, musicians and inventors to create a village of musical, playable houses.
It's actually the second phase of the project. Earlier, Martin and company created the Music Box as a proof-of-concept to create what they term "musical architecture"—structures that can be played. This is not just drumming on a wall—the dwellings had instruments embedded in their walls, ceilings and floors. The project drew a stunning mix of artists and musicians, including Andrew W.K. and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, not to mention some of the leading names in the New Orleans music scene.
A stunning success, the group is aiming to recreate it permanently this time. The initial concept for this second phase involved a single structure designed by Swoon to be built on a fixed location. However, "we don't have the funding for it and need the broad support of coalition of neighbors," explains Delaney Martin. Instead, says Martin, "We're building houses now and deploying them around the city—the inaugural ones have been chosen for their mobility." For these initial structures, the team is working with a variety of organizations.
The New Orleans Master Crafts Guild is at work on one with Swoon, set to be ready next spring. "In essence, their family members have inspired our project," says Martin, who notes many of the organization's current members' relatives have been responsible for the look of the city's built environment for generations. Another collaboration brings the organization together with the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Development & Engagement. That project will push ideas of green building and sustainability further. There's also a partnership with a university in the works, which will experiment with future structures in ways that explore technology and its intersection with music and architecture.
"It's a phased approach," says Martin. "No city or village appears over night. We're slowly accumulating ideas and building styles. Even after we have a permanent site, we'll continue to build new houses and keep it vibrant. We'll grow things in an organic manner and strategic manner."
To learn more and to contribute to Dithyrambalina's Kickstarter campaign, going on now through October 20, visit here.


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Sometime at the beginning of 2008, I had an unexpected dream about Australia. At that time my heart was really still in India, since we just came from mission work in India only some months before. So my heart was not really for Australia and I was not even praying for Australia.
Jeremiah 23:28 says:
" The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD.
So once I read this verse in the Bible, I felt I had to share these dreams publicly.
In this dream, I was walking down a street in Australia and praying and observing what was happening around me. It was as if I could see through walls inside people's homes and hear what they were saying. Inside the homes there were people talking on the phone or listening to radio about Jesus, which was a real surprise to me. They were hungry for God, did not have the typical: 'I'm alright, mate!' attitude, the self-reliant attitude, no, they were very dependent on God, hungry and curious to learn about Jesus, humble, with an attitude of surrender and submission to God and not with independence and rebellion. This really surprised me.
Then I found myself with my husband near a mall, walking closer and closer to it, but walking in total dependence of God and fear of God in our hearts, with our spiritual antennas up to know what God is saying, because we knew in our hearts that anytime a bad thing could happen – like a terrorist act or a natural disaster, and if we walked in tune with the Lord Jesus then we would be protected from all these disasters.
I woke up around 4 am feeling an awe of God in my heart. I have asked God what was this meaning? He told me that He will bring this kind of revival that I have seen in the dream in Australia and that He wants me to pray for it.
This really changed me on the inside, because before this dream, I really struggled to believe that Australians in general will ever change and become humble enough to listen to the Gospel, as I have encountered direct rejections in the past when trying to witness to people, and basically I had no faith in this area. But after this dream, I can believe now that it will happen and I can already see it happening. My husband is regularly going out evangelizing with other men from the house church and they have found that people are much more open to the Gospel, at least they are willing to read the tracts, instead of just give them straight back to you and are sometimes willing to have a discussion about God, which before seemed to be more rare, at least in our experience. People are more hungry for God now here.
So, I would like to encourage the Christians in Australia to believe for this revival and to pray for it, because God WILL bring it.


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BIG, galloping acres with monster mansions have, of necessity, given way to sexy, Dermot Bannon-type extensions and an approach that's tailored to a new, less brash way of being.
Into this world comes the 'small is beautiful' approach that combines the virtue of ingenuity with the frugality of a new decade.
And the approach to our homes is best exemplified by Channel 4's George Clarke's Amazing Spaces. Geordie George deals with summer shacks and the cramming of caravans mostly, but the underlining theme is: ingenious, inexpensive, cheerful living that somehow also conveys a sense of freedom and love of the outdoors. That's true aspirational TV.
Anyway, by a long way round, we come to No 4 South View, at the start of Cork's Ballinlough Road just off the Douglas Road, a dotey little cottage that's a mere five minute trot to town.
Sandwiched into a row of similar houses, it's immediately recognisable because of its white and grey colours — the palette du jour. Look closer though and you see it's common or garden PVC now painted a smart, urban grey, and it's an indication of what lies beyond — a cool, clever but upcycled house that fits right in with the zeitgeist.
This house, which is just on the market with Jeremy Murphy and Associates at €165,000, has a south city location, rear access with garden shed, (more of which later) and is a little terraced house where nothing was thrown out that couldn't be used again.
Immediately inside the door there's a short draught-proofing hallway, with a second door that's only closed at night, and which comes with a cute, hand-printed curtain to screen the view.
And where previously there was a warren of little rooms, now there's a grand open space with furniture used to indicate usage and light floods from back to front. This house may not seem so big from the front, but it's plenty deep at the back.
It's been madeover by its present owner, who retained an existing kitchen and bathroom extension, but went to work on the main structure of the house, knocking partitions in a clean sweep.
Now you have a very cool, very white space that has all the elegance of a gallery, but the comfort of a home. A mix of old and new and all of it found on the cheap, but with an eagle eye.
But there's been investment too, the structure is remade internally and the staircase has been moved and replaced with a simple wooden flight that climbs up to two bedrooms overhead.
The stairwell allows southern light to filter through the bedrooms into the interior of the house, where it's usually dark when extended, but not here. There's light from back to front, with only a partial wall occluding the kitchen from the front door, but the original door frame remains as a memory installation, set with stained glass and in a stripped back wall.
There's one main fireplace with a big stove thrumming with heat and around it, a junk shop find, Edwardian fire surround is placed, but it's painted white and finished in mosaic tiles by the owner — it's really bright and it really works.
A flat-pack room divider encloses the sitting area, (cleverly, there's a screen near the interior door too) and even here, the main sofa was a knockdown find. Behind the divider, the kitchen table is bounded by an assortment of found and antique chairs and the walls are hung with interesting prints, paintings and bit and pieces.
The kitchen is simple with good fittings and enough galley space with a serving peninsula close to the double doors that lead to the garden. The utility, meanwhile, is in a lobby between the main bathroom and kitchen and outside there's a block shed.
With the bonus of rear lane access, there's great scope here for a home office/therapy space and room left over for this terrace home. It really is sweet.
The bedrooms are two simple spaces, with polished floors, and the front room is currently used as an office.
VERDICT: All in, it's a tidy house, but one that's bursting with personality and allure.
© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved


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Instead of doing a bucket list with things I have yet to do, I want to make a list of things I have accomplished in my short time here in the world. I feel like this sort of reflection is good every once in a while.
Here's 23 things I've done within my 23 years.
I have…
- Lived abroad for a year.
- Stood on the ruins of the land where my ancestors once lived.
- Seen the live birth of a precious baby.
- Run a 5k.
- Graduated from college (with honors and no loans!)
- Saved a life.
- Learned more than one language.
- Been to the Taj Mahal.
- Climbed a volcano.
- Seen 3 oceans and stood on the beaches to smell the sea air.
- Been snorkeling with dolphins and turtles.
- I got a tattoo! And then another…
- Played in a waterfall in Hawaii.
- Rode an elephant in India.
- Had my water bottle stolen by a monkey.
- Fallen in love.
- Lived in a convent.
- Ridden in/ driven a race car.
- Dyed my hair purple.
- Had a baby named after me in Uganda.
- Backpacked through Europe.
- Bought a pet.
- Met Betty White.
I still have a lot to do this life, but I don't think I'm doing too bad so far!
What have been your greatest accomplishments thus far?


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May 10, 2012 12:05PM
Watch: Lady Gaga on The Simpsons Preview
She of the meat dress and egg arrival is coming to Springfield.
Lady Gaga — she of the meat dress and egg arrival — will be appearing on the season finale of The Simpsons. Gaga voiced her character for 'Lisa Goes Gaga' earlier this year and wears 18 outfits in the episode.
"Since the very beginning, I've always wanted to have one of the most iconic personalities of our time [on the show], and she's it," Simpsons creator Matt Groening told Entertainment Weekly. "It's very hard to top reality with her, but I'm sure we'll come up with something that is going to be as improbable as her usual wardrobe."
The episode will air in the US on May 20, but until then check out the preview:
Gaga has been on The Simpsons once before, when she was spoofed in an episode last year:
Also, this:


text: Last time I visited Kingman, it seemed to be full of cheap hotel on one long road. Since then Kingman has exploded, with lots more hotels, houses and shops. In fact I didn't recognise the place! This hotel is far and away better than where I stayed last time. It's rooms are spacious, modern and clean. The staff are friendly... More


text: email@example.com (Brett Lymn) writes: > Is there a list out of the kernel with explanations? (apart from the > vague intimations in the GENERIC kernel config comments....) Nope. I think someone was working on a config(9) page, but I don't remember who ended up claiming they would do it. Feel free. :) --Michael


text:
Australia's pet royalty is converging on Melbourne in the search for pedigree perfection. Karen Heinrich reports.
At their best, they are spectacles that are nothing short of Darwinian in all of their preening, posing splendour. At their worst, they're surely the very events that spawned the terms "bitchy" and "catty".
Dog and cat shows, such as the ones now at the Royal Melbourne Show, attract scores of animal lovers who watch, and tens of thousands of committed breeders and "show people" whose animals compete nationwide for the glittering prize of "best in show".
There are millions of dogs and cats in Australia, but, at the top of the pile, are the pampered pedigrees, animals whose owners — invariably breeders — constantly attemptg to create the perfect puppy or kitten according to standards set down by judges of that particular breed.
Thousands of these shows are held around Australia each year, but, with an estimated 5000 dogs on show, the Royal Melbourne Championship Dog Show is the largest in the southern hemisphere. And, as with any competition, the claws come out (though nothing like the allegation at Cruft's dogs show in England earlier this year that the supreme champion — a Pekinese called Dangerous Liaisons — had had a facelift. The allegation was forcefully denied by the dog's owners.)
Carol Slavin, a Latrobe Valley-based breeder and exhibitor of Chinese crested dogs, is used to her tiny, mostly hairless canines being ridiculed by onlookers.
"People look at them and say, 'That's so ugly!' — right in front of me," she says. "The Chinese crested are much maligned as a breed, but they are lovely and touchable." So lovely and touchable, in fact, that Slavin has 12 of them.
"It's a way of life," she shrugs. "They are very more-ish. Once you get a Chinese crested, you can't stop at just one. You become obsessed."
Slavin's Chinacrest Call Me Jinx (Jinx for short) won best puppy in her breed at the Royal last week and, this Saturday, will complete for best puppy in show. "Show dogs have to have a 'look at me' quality," says Slavin. "If they don't have that, no one will look at them."
Jinx, whose mother died from a snakebite when she was four weeks old, was raised by her aunt and sleeps every night on Slavin's bed. "She's got what we call glamour," Slavin says. "And I am sure she knows when she wins."
Sue Huebner, a breeder of Hungarian pulis, has been involved in the dog show circuit for 28 years and has bred about 30 champions. Some of her dogs have competed in international shows like the American one that was sent up in the "mockumentary" Best In Show.
"America is unique in that they have professional dog handlers who make a living from showing dogs, which makes the show scene there a very different environment," Huebner says. "The Australian scene is certainly competitive, but, in the main, it's friendly. Or as friendly as it can be with people who compete against each other week after week."
Huebner has been showing Cordmaker Viva Las Vegas (Vegas for short) since he was four months old. Now 11, he is a large hunting dog with a "corded" coat that resembles thousands of dreadlocks.
"People say 'A Whoopi Goldberg dog!' or 'A Bob Marley dog!' as if I haven't heard each of those said 20,000 times before," she smiles.
To keep him looking his best, Vegas must have his cords tied up whenever he goes out walking. "It's about balancing the spiritual needs of the dog with the need to protect their coat," Huebner says.
Most show dogs, she says, lead "a very pampered existence" compared with the way most people look after their family pet. "But dog shows are as much a beauty pageant as they are opportunities to show how the dogs conform to the standard," Huebner says.
Charmaine Allen, whose Tibetan mastiff, Merlin, won "best in breed" at the 2001 Royal Melbourne Show, says that competition is not so stiff among her breed, given that there are only 45 of the dogs in Australia.
"It's not like the poodles who have to be groomed and polished and puffed," she says. "The upkeep of Tibetan mastiffs is quite easy — unless they need a bath."
Kylee Coleman, whose three Affenpinschers competed at the Royal last week, says that, with her diminutive dogs, "It's wash, dry and out the door in half-and-hour". "It's terrific showing Affenpinschers because there are only 25 of them in the country. But it's a different story in other breeds," she says.
"The schnauzer people are not so friendly; they're a pretty closed group. And, if you're not in the group, you're nobody." Annette Taylor, a breeder and exhibitor of Jack Russell terriers, has been involved in the show circuit for 30 years and agrees that it has become more competitive as the stakes have risen.
"Wherever there's money involved, there's competition," Taylor says. "Some aspects of that competition are not as pleasant as others. As with anything, some people are nicer than others, but it can be quite a spiteful and vindictive scene."
While showing dogs brings big money in the US, in Australia it is basically a hobby and most breeders don't do much more than recover their expenses.
"There's hardly any prize money involved: it's more trophies and ribbons and such," says Bob Bell, the chairman of the Royal Agricultural Show's dog committee. "But winning a 'best in show' prize brings with it prestige, which, in turn, puts value on any stock that you might breed from the winner. It also means that you can increase your stud fees."
Purebred puppies of show quality fetch enormous amounts of money. For some of the more exotic breeds, such as the Hungarian vizsla, Griffon Bruxellois, or Hamilton Stovare, prices of up to $2000 are not uncommon.
Mating is also big business. Owners of stud dogs command hundreds of dollars for them to mate with a bitch, and frozen semen is routinely shipped from overseas in an effort to improve the gene pool in Australia, says Russell Harley, a breeder of Belgian Shepherd dogs.
That's not so common among in the world of cat showing, which is a smaller scene in Australia than its canine counterpart. This year's cat show at the Royal almost didn't happen. The Royal Agricultural Society said it was uneconomical so the Feline Control Council (FCC) stepped in at the 11th hour and took over the staging itself.
There will be 230 cats on show this year, and all eyes will undoubtedly be on the long-haired Persians, considered the supermodels of the cat world.
Days before the show, Persian cats are washed and dried (with so much long hair, it's an hours-long exercise) and their kitty litter is replaced with shredded white paper to avoid their pristine white paws becoming stained.
John Sargent, a breeder of Chinchilla cats and a FCC member who's on the organising subcommittee for the cat show at the Royal, says show cats are generally born performers. Often, so are their owners.
But there is little prize money in cat shows — just ribbons, rosettes and prizes such as cat food from sponsors such as Whiskas. Most exhibitors, Sargent says, do it for the love of it, and the glory.
Still, breeding pedigree cats can be big business. Eileen and Karel Pittaway, a retired couple who have bred and showed short-haired Abyssinian cats for almost three decades, recently sold a male, show-quality kitten to an exhibitor in South Africa for $1500.
That kitten's father is Merindalee Asgood Asit Gets (Goodie for short), who is in the running for cat of the year, a prize awarded to the cat who wins the most shows in any given year.
The Pittaways travel to interstate shows at least five times a year, and compete locally every two to three weeks. Karel Pittaway says, "We like to compete. We love the thought of breeding the perfect kitten, and it's our social life."
"It's very competitive and yes, the shows can get a bit catty," says Eileen Pittaway. "But we do it because we love it."
Throughout the years, the Pittaways have seen and heard it all. "There are lots of stories and rumours of attempted sabotage at cat shows, but there's rarely any proof," he says.
"At one show, a cat was found with a small green pellet in its mouth that was initially thought to be snail bait, but it turned out to be just a piece of the cage the cat had chewed off.
"Then there was a lady breeder whose prized Persian stud cat was stolen, so she took the suspect to court and the judge basically threw it out of court, ordering the person to give the lady her pussy back."
Creating the perfect kitten is a challenge that drives many of these breeders. Each year, the Pittaways' "queen" cats have between them six litters, each of which usually result in up to five kittens.
The best kittens are kept as show cats and the rest are sold as pets for about $500 each.
Alison Hall, a Carnegie-based breeder of Burmese cats, believes she has raised the standard since she started breeding them 30 years ago. "That's the aim of the game," says Hall, whose five-month-old brown Burmese, Wyandra Dream Ofabadgirl, will compete for best kitten at the Royal this weekend.
"When I first got into breeding, the Burmese looked a lot like the Siamese of yesteryear, but, since then, their coats have got better, both in terms of texture and colour, and their eye colour has improved. It's very rare that I breed a cat that doesn't have gold eyes."
The Pittaways' house in Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs is a shrine to the breed that has bewitched them both for more than a quarter of a century. There are paintings, prints and photos of cats, as well as cat mobiles and statuettes. Even the wall clock and the coffee mugs are adorned with cat cartoons. At their front door, one sign reads: "This house is maintained entirely for the comfort and convenience of our cats!"
Eileen Pittaway would have it no other way. "Showing at cat shows is purely a hobby, but a cat owns you — you don't own a cat." Her husband chimes in: "It's like the bumper sticker says: 'Dogs have owners, cats have staff'."
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text:
We recently sent the link to Emachine to a friend who is so mechanically gifted he could build a rocket ship if given enough time and money - he declared the site better than sex. TMI, but we now know where his wife figures into his lineup now.
If you are mechanically gifted, by that we mean taking things apart and getting all the pieces back where they are suppose to be and doing it without a manual, Emachine is the site for you.
How the site works: you download their [free] CAD software system, you draw your part, they price it based on those specs and then they machine it for you. Voile you have your very own part, accessory or whatever it is you need. They will create anywhere from 1 piece to 1,000,000 for you.
How does this relate to home you say? Imagine you can't find the perfect door knocker, or a piece of hardware for a vintage icebox that's built into your 1902 Craftsman Home... with Emachine you could fabricate your own part should you desire.
Materials can very from aluminum, stainless steel, brass, to acrylic and more. Honestly, we were dreaming of a thick acrylic table to fit into a very peculiar area in the hallway, that is if we had enough brain cells to download the CAD software to begin with. It's going to be a long haul if we want anything made.


text:
Monitoring E-Mail with Nagios
Have you ever felt like you were being ignored? Have you ever felt like you were talking but no one was listening? Well, that's how it feels when your e-mail system is broken and you don't know it.
During the past week, I've had a couple system problems that prevented people from receiving e-mail messages that my wife or I sent. The sad part was that we didn't know the messages weren't being delivered. We'd receive a message asking a question, and we'd reply to the sender thinking nothing of it. A few days later, we'd get a phone call from the person asking whether we ever were going to respond.
In our case, two situations were conspiring against us: a change in Comcast's firewall policy and a change in Yahoo's mail delivery policy.
It all began when my wife started complaining that something was wrong with the e-mail system because she'd not heard back from a friend whom she had sent a message the previous day. I sent a quick e-mail to a friend of mine, got a response, and informed my wife that "it worked for me," and chalked it up to her friend not being responsive.
Then, just to demonstrate to her that the mail server was healthy, I asked the server to print out its mail queue. Crap! There were 55 messages in the queue waiting to be delivered. Of course, by this time, even I had noticed that the volume of incoming spam had gone down to none. So, Houston, we had a problem.
After several years of running my own mail server on my home machine connected to the Internet via Comcast, Comcast decided to implement a new firewall policy and started blocking incoming SMTP (tcp/25) connections on its residential users' networks. Of course, I wasn't informed of the change, because I don't use Comcast's e-mail system! Previously, we would send e-mail from our workstations, and our mail server would forward the message through Comcast's smarthost; incoming messages came directly to our server. This configuration had worked for years. But, with the new firewall policy, something broke. Some of our messages were being delivered, and some weren't. I'm speculating that the ones not delivered were going through servers that did sending address verification, and as they couldn't connect back to my mail server to validate my e-mail address, they refused delivery.
So, I decided to take the inexpensive way out. I could have spent an extra $20 a month and gotten a business account with Comcast, which I eventually did, but I didn't at first. I created a VPN tunnel from my home machine to one of my servers on the open Internet. Then, I moved my DNS pointers to point to that machine and had it forward incoming messages through the VPN. I configured my home server to use that machine as its smarthost rather than Comcast's server. Aside from the blatant violation of Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy, this seemed like it would work pretty well.
Then, the other shoe dropped.
My wife and I quickly realized that this was working much better, but it still wasn't quite right. People my wife emailed on a daily basis weren't receiving her messages. The common denominator was that all of these people were using Yahoo e-mail accounts. So, I manually forced delivery of one e-mail messages and saw that Yahoo was deferring delivery due to questionable traffic patterns. And, that made sense; I was trying to deliver 55 deferred messages, probably all at once.
It's important to note that I monitor my e-mail server, and the Exim daemon never sent an alarm, so merely monitoring a service isn't enough. Instead of monitoring the service itself, it's better to monitor the server's function, which is what the rest of this article is about.
I was hesitant to write another article on Nagios, but e-mail is becoming more and more critical, and when it does break, it breaks in strange ways.
Of course, I monitor my Exim daemon as well as my server's route to the Internet. I use a Nagios service check for SMTP, like this:
define service { use generic-service name smtp host_name host.example.com notification_options w,c,r service_description E-Mail SMTP Server check_command check_smtp }
I use a similar check to monitor my Internet gateway. But, as bad as the e-mail situation became, neither of these alarms would have indicated a problem. So, rather than monitoring to see whether a process is running, I set out to begin monitoring the server's critical functions, e-mail transport and delivery.
The first problem I wanted to address was being informed when messages were stuck in Exim's mail queue. I actually thought I'd have to write a custom program to check for this situation. While researching the situation further, I came across a posting from someone with a similar problem. It turns out that Nagios already has a command that performs this check, and I never knew it. Nagios's check commands are in /usr/nagios/libexec/, and let me tell you, there is a lot of gold in that directory.
So, I created an entry in Nagios's checkcommands.cfg file, like this:
define command{ command_name check_mailq command_line $USER1$/check_mailq -w 3 -c 5 -v 9 }
Then, I created an entry in the services.cfg file that looked like this:
define service { use generic-service name mailq host_name dominion notification_options w,c,r service_description SMTP Mail Queue check_command check_mailq }
Finally, I restarted Nagios and tested the new configuration by shutting down my server's outside network interface and attempting to send an e-mail message. Obviously, the mail transport operation failed and I got my alarm.
So at this point, I am pretty sure that if I have another problem with my e-mail system, at least I'll know it in a timely fashion. But, I thought it would be good to put in one more check.
It would be nice to know if my server ever finds itself on a Real-time Blocking List (RBL). Once again, Nagios has a command to check for this situation, but it comes in C source, which I couldn't get to compile. Anyway, I think I like my solution better.
My program looks up the server's IP address at http://www.anti-abuse.org, which, in turn, checks the IP address against several other RBLs at once. I'm probably going to configure Nagios to perform this check a few times a day, at most.
Here's the program:
#!/usr/bin/perl open CMD, "wget -q http://www.anti-abuse.org/rblresults.php?host=192.168.1.1 -O - |"; while () { if (!/listed in /) { next; } if (!/NOT listed in /) { $error++; } } if (!$error) { print "OK\n"; exit 0; } else { print "CRITICAL: $error\n"; }
As you can see, it's not that complex. It simply sends a query to Anti-abuse.org and looks for the results. I hard-coded my machine's IP address in this case, but it would be trivial to use one of Nagios' variables and send the IP address as a command-line parameter to this program. Then, the program makes sure that each of the results indicates that my machine is not listed on an RBL. If this check fails, we set a flag for later use. Finally, I created a checkcommand.cfg and services.cfg entry just as I did above.
Now I find myself in the awkward predicament of having written a program that I can't test. In order to test this program fully, I'd have to get my server on an RBL list, which I'm not about to do. Even so, I believe this program will work.
I don't know about you, but I live by e-mail, so my e-mail system simply has to work. The problems I had recently demonstrated that my monitoring policy wasn't sufficient. I believe that the new policy would have alerted me to the situation in a timely fashion. But, as is always the case, you can't test for everything, so I'm sure I'm missing something.
Mike Diehl is a freelance Computer Nerd specializing in Linux administration, programing, and VoIP. Mike lives in Albuquerque, NM. with his wife and 3 sons. He can be reached at email@example.com
Blocked wget
Here is what I had to change to get this to work. It seems anti-abuse is blocking wget so I had to use the --user-agent option. Also I only check for is listed in and return exit code 2 for Nagios critical. Replace x.x.x.x with known good and bad ip for testing.
#! /usr/bin/perl -w open (CMD, "wget -q --user-agent=\".\" http://www.anti-abuse.org/rblresults.php?host=x.x.x.x -O - |"); while () { if (+m/is listed in /) { $error++;} } if ($error) { print "CRITICAL: $error\n"; exit 2; } else { print "OK: $error\n"; exit 0; }
Your IP will never be blocked because you're checking a non-routable address.... Read RFC1918.
Mail loop test
Checking the daemon running and queue size is nice, but there's more to a correctly running mail server. My Nagios is configured to check a "mail loop" - ie it sends an email with a timestamp to its mailserver and checks later on via IMAP/SSL that it arrived into a mailbox. Such a mail-loop checks the mailsystem in its complexity, including correctly configured DNS, working SMTP, local delivery (including LDAP in my case) and IMAP. Google for "mail loop nagios" for a load of scripts that can be used for this task. And yes, I get alerted via SMS if the loop breaks. Using clickatell.com's http interface for sms alerts.
Umm, this subject is duplicated in Monitoring SMTP damn
Damn this magazine has gone to shit; why don't you just post the Nagios Manual as an article? Damn, sad. Sad shit.
Very interesting
Why don't you just send a cc to yourself?
Very interesting, though.
Plugin sources & error in your script
First, a pointer:
Second, there's a problem with your RBL check script. You don't set the exit code for the CRIT case so perl will exit with "0" in either case. Nagios actually uses the exit code, not the text, so you'll not get an alert.
Also ... while()
Bah. HTML ate my code (which
Bah. HTML ate my code (which it probably did for the author as well:
while(<CMD>), not while()
You can send the alert via a SMS gateway. You can use Kannel software as a gateway and a Siemens M20 or Nokia Premicell devices as a SMSC.
Sure you can test it - pick
Sure you can test it - pick a banned ip and hard code that in!