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Shipping is free of order over 150$ in the Usa
for United States
we have different shipping rate available
Standard 6.00$ ( it will arrive in 7-10 business day)
2Day 35$
1 day 100$
also we offer a calculate shipping from USPS.
for international we offer the calculated shipping from USPS
for any question our email is email@example.com
Thank you.
The ILoveCharacters Team
Gabriele, Lucrezia, Nino, Tina, and Vittoria
If you do not want an item that you ordered and it has not been shipped yet, you can contact us requesting a cancellation of the order.
If it has already been shipped you can refuse the package or ship it back to us for a refund of the item, not shipping cost both ways, once we receive it back.
If you receive a broken item please contact us by email or FB and we will give you all available returning or exchanging options for the item.
All our shipment have a tracking number provided. Please check it to see where and when to expect your package.
If the tracking number shows "delivered" status, please contact you local carrier or post office for the best resolution.
For any question about items that we aren't selling you can contact us and we try to do the best for you. We visit the Parks and Stores on a weekly bases so we have the most recent and accurate inventory available.
We do not accept offers on our products since we have already found our best price to maintain but make sure to check our coupon page to find the perfect deal for you.
All our products are Authentic, New, Never opened, with no defects, and still in the original packing.
We use USPS with the following services: First Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and we ship within 1 business day from the order date and the estimated delivery date at checkout is almost always accurate. We can also use different carriers if requested.
You can buy an item and ship it to whoever you like. Just provide the shipping address at checkout and we will ship it there.
We ship worldwide. You just have to insert your address at checkout.
For international shippings, we mark the package as a gift of $14.99 value to try to help with the customs fees but we cannot guarantee that there won't be anything to pay since it varies form country to country.
We ship all our items properly wrap for ensure a perfect condition during the shipping and delivery.


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The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that masks would continue to be required on all transportation modes through mid-September.
In a post to social media, the agency said the mandate would be in place through Sept. 13.
#BREAKING: @TSA is extending the face mask requirement across all transportation modes thru Sept. 13, 2021. This includes at airports, onboard commercial aircraft, on over-the-road buses, and on commuter bus and rail systems. #MaskUp 😷 pic.twitter.com/NNpJWl7qHx
— TSA_Pacific (@TSA_Pacific) April 30, 2021
Masks will continue to be required at "airports, onboard commercial aircraft, over-the-road buses, and on a commuter bus and rail systems."
"The federal mask requirement throughout the transportation system seeks to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation," said Darby LaJoye, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the TSA Administrator, in a news release. "Right now, about half of all adults have at least one vaccination shot, and masks remain an important tool in defeating this pandemic. We will continue to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the need for these directives and recognize the significant level of compliance thus far."
TSA began requiring travelers to wear masks in airports and during flights on Feb. 1, following an order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 2,000 passengers have been banned from airliners for failing to follow mask requirements, CNBC reported.
According to the announcement, the initial face mask requirement, which went into effect on Feb. 1, was set to expire on May 11.
The announcement comes as many states are ending mask mandates, although most businesses still require face coverings to be worn by customers and employees.
Jeff Tavss at KSTU first reported this story.

subset: commoncrawl


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Opened in 1972, Wekiva Golf Club has grown into one of the most established courses in Central Florida. Its reputation and popularity are due to many factors: a solid course design, course conditions and desirable location within a populated residential community. It is one of the best Orlando golf options. September 29, 2012 Wekiva re-opened their newly constructed greens with Champions Bermuda, one of the smoothest, quickest putting grasses on the market today.
Crafted out of a wooded setting, Wekiva features many doglegs bordered by large stands of trees and no parallel fairways. All holes are very well bunkered with water coming into play on three holes of this Longwood golf course. Its straight forward layout is an enjoyable experience for the recreational golfer as well as a low-handicapper. A semi-private club that welcomes outside play, this 18 hole, 6,850 yard par 72, features beautiful oaks, mature pines and palms; rolling fairways; 80 plus strategically placed bunkers and gentle mounding that highlights both the fairways and undulating greens.
Our Longwood Golf Philosophy
Wekiva consistent service lets our "Member For A Day" philosophy make everyone feel at home. Discover the secret that Longwood golf enthusiasts have known for years.


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I'm aware that accessing someone's conference planner is not the same level of hackery as stealing their credit cards or breaking into their email account. However, I would just like to say that having an event planner where the password is not only the same for every user (until it's changed) but also printed right there on the web page, turns the whole idea of having a password or any sort of security into a big joke. How do we teach librarians what good technology looks like if this is how we make them interact with us? For the record, using just the ALA Staff list, I was able to log in to someone else's event planner in under a minute. The vendors get their password in an email, not much better.
I went to this page from Nicole's post (I'm not going to the conference) just to see if it was really true that the page claims it is "best viewed in IE" which is yet another "tech don't" in the world of 2008 browsers so much so that it calls into question all the rest of the site.
I don't belong to ALA anymore. I did my time, paid my dues, donated a lot of service time to the organization and tried to be gentle and patient as they steered a big organization through the minefield of technological change. The Event Planner has been an outsourced, broken and insecure tool since they started using it. I'd like to see ALA do better, but my optimism that this will happen is flagging.


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Brown, Unions, Already Discuss Renewing Prop. 30 Taxes Beyond 2018
Once again it is time for taxpayers to get a good grip on their wallets because Sacramento politicians are looking to extend the "temporary" taxes imposed by Proposition 30, approved by voters less than two years ago.
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary tax. They are as immortal as a vampire and nearly as hard to kill. Take the "temporary" tax imposed in 1898 to pay for the Spanish-American War. It remained on the books until 2006 when Congress discovered that the Spanish-American War ended a century earlier.
More recently and more relevant to Californians, two decades ago the political establishment — both Republicans and Democrats — backed a 1¼% increase in the state sales tax, a half cent of which was supposed to be temporary. (The tax increase was justified, in part, on the argument that the higher taxes were less pernicious than deficit spending. But this tax package just institutionalized even greater spending and debt.) At the time, to quell opposition, Sacramento politicians went out of their way to draw public attention to the temporary nature of the half cent increase. But within a year of its expiring, it was reinstated and made permanent through a ballot measure whose passage backers claimed was absolutely essential to maintain local public safety services.
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown and his government employee union allies backing Proposition 30 promised the tax increases would be temporary, that the sales tax increase would expire in 2016 and the income tax increase on upper-middle income earners, and above, would expire in 2018. But the politicians, who have been lying in the weeds waiting until closer to the expiration date to spring an extension of the tax increases on unwary taxpayers, are already tipping their hand.
In January, state schools chief Tom Torlakson called for an extension of Proposition 30 beyond its full expiration in 2018. "We need to renew Prop. 30," the Superintendent of Public Instruction told a meeting of PTA leaders.
Now state Sen. Mark Leno has spoken up, telling an education rally at San Francisco City Hall it's time to start thinking about the need to extend the Proposition 30 tax increases. One of the reasons Leno opposes the governor's effort to establish a prudent budget reserve is that such a "rainy day fund" would make it harder to justify a continuation of higher taxes on sales and incomes.
While it is common to question the veracity of politicians, in this case, it would be wise to accept these Sacramento leaders' comments as genuine expressions of their greed for ever greater amounts of taxpayer dollars
Gov. Brown, to his credit, has urged majority Democrats in the Legislature to make due with current revenues and keep faith with the voters by letting the taxes expire on schedule. But even this responsible approach, a reflection of his minimalist approach in his first two terms, may not help taxpayers much as we approach 2018, the year, that even if he is reelected, Brown will end his final term.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento politicians are salivating over the prospect of new and extended taxes. "Shoot for the moon," Sen. Leno told a reporter. "We might not get there, but that's where we have to start."
However, Leno and his colleagues are not shooting for the moon, they are shooting for taxpayers' wallets.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — California's largest grass-roots taxpayer organization dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and the advancement of taxpayers' rights.


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comics lifestyle...
February 13, 2008
a new update from John Weeks in Cambodia, at his fabulous Comics Lifestyle blog.
• Craig Thompson hits yet another one out of the park. (Of course.) Here is this year's Stumptown Comics Fest poster. Take note: Stumptown has moved up from it's early Winter time frame, to April 26 and 27, filling the void of APE's Spring engagement.
• Here's an insanely cool image i lifted from the Comics Alliance website, drawn by Eric Tan, for a benefit for The Hero Initiative, organized by Golden Apple Comics. All part of an event called Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee.
• Sadly, i heard through the grapevine that John Anderson's Comics Alliance website is now defunct. You can find stuff still archived there, and i really hope these stay available. Our little world of comics is so small, that a site like this that contributed a great deal to our community in such a short period of time should live on, at least in archival form. Big ups to John and all the contributors to the site, including Kevin Panetta, Ian Sattler, Greg Bennett, Wayne Beamer, et al.
• Scott Campbell continues to produce astounding work.
Here is his "alternative" cover art for the upcoming dvd release of King of Kong,
This motherfucker can draw, baby!! Check out his blog for more happenings.
From the same deranged group of killer cartoonists, here is Nathan Stapley's cover for the new issue of the anthology Hickee.
• Issue #3 of Marc Mason's Comics Waiting Room is now live, and worth a visit!
• Tom Hart's Hutch Own comic strip is fucking AWESOME! So much so, i heartily recommend it for nothing less than a Harvey nomination!! Check out this sampler page he made, to see more.
Tom writes, "Here you'll see some recent developments like the Rockabilly Kid, Rebelville, Hutch Owen in France, the Dalai Lama goes commercial and the outsourcing to India and China of the writing of TV shows... And also what is currently running and begins today - a long story about a furry mascot ("The Unpajamable Snowman") that morphs into a couple different types of monsters, then goes and wrecks the white house and... well, that you'll have to read in real time."
Download the Harvey Ballot here.
• Clearing out server space as well as my over-crowded desktop.. more random stuff...
Here's another old Christmas card from Center for Cartoon Studies. I think it's by Rich Tommaso.
Pencils of an old pin-up (is that Big Barda?) from Dean Haspiel.
A beautiful cover for a Spanish-language edition of Dylan Horrocks' seminal Hicksville.


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Healthcare Professionals (HCP) compliance with necessary vaccinations ensures the uninterrupted operational continuity of Oaklawn and leads by example in the health and safety of the community we serve. COVID-19 and Influenza are required vaccinations at Oaklawn, EEOC exemption requests will be considered. Please consider this before applying for positions.
Speech TherapistJob Summary: Under general supervision is responsible for providing speech, language and dysphagia services to patients which includes evaluations, planning individual patient care programs, treatments, and home programs. Essential Functions:
Minimum Qualifications: Master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology. Clinical Fellow status or Certificate of Clinical Competence or Current license or eligible for licensure in the State of Michigan to practice as a Speech Language Pathologist. American Heart Association or American Red Cross Basic Cardiac Life Support (BLS) certification within 90 days of hire. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Experience with all age groups preferred. Experience with ventilator dependent patients and modified barium swallow studies desirable. Must demonstrate basic computer skills. Experience with ventilator dependent patients and swallow studies requiring gastrografin, barium, or blue dye preferred. Ability to communicate effectively and organize daily work according to patient needs. Knowledgeable of the principles and practices of communicative disorders including dysphagia, and other disciplines. Ability to evaluate, plan and implement therapy including dysphagia rehabilitation program for individual patients. Ability to explain, demonstrate and teach speech and swallowing rehabilitative measures. Ability to work effectively with others in an inter-disciplinary team relationship. Ability to be self-directing and to seek direction and consultation as needed. Able to communicate clearly verbally and in writing. Knowledgeable of Speech Pathology's professional scope of practice, clinical duties, responsibilities, and treatment practices as stated in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Code of Ethics. Knowledgeable of the impact medications, mental health, physical, and occupational therapy treatments may have on a patient's recovery. Skill to communicate and work effectively with professional, assistive, and voluntary co-workers as a team member. Skill to organize daily work by priority of patient needs. Professional skill level in evaluating, interpreting results of evaluation, planning, and implementing treatment plan for a wide variety of speech and language disorders. Ability to self-direct daily work responsibilities, timeliness in meeting appointments and documentation deadlines, attitude when upset or emotional, professional consultation and direction when needed. Demonstrates flexibility to meet Home Care and Oaklawn needs. Demonstrates interest in personal and professional growth. Working Conditions: Potentially exposed to infectious diseases. Frequent exposure to radiation in a controlled protective setting. May work in an unpredictable home environment with variation is cleanliness, temperature, behaviors, smoke, animals, and other potential hazards. Physical Requirements: Constantly stand, walk, reach, see/visual acuity, handle/grasp/feel, talk/hear. Frequently sit, lift/carry 1 to 25 lbs. Occasionally lift/carry 25 to 50+ lbs. |


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Imagine skating in the same arena as your hockey idols, sitting on the same benches they sit on and looking up to see your face on the arena's JumboTron.
Before the ice went down for another season of Colorado Avalanche hockey at Pepsi Center in Denver, a few lucky inline hockey players were given that exact opportunity.
During the weekend of Aug. 28, the Colorado Roller Hockey Association teamed up with the Avalanche to create the Inaugural Avalanche Inline Summer Shootout. The tournament, sanctioned by USA Hockey, featured 40 teams in seven age divisions ranging from Under 8 to Adult.
While inline hockey can be played almost anywhere you can find a dry, flat surface, rarely do inline players receive the opportunity to play inside the same arena where NHL players grace the ice during the season.
According to Stefanie Metcalf, coordinator of USA Hockey InLine, an NHL team hosting such an event within its home venue is the exception rather than the rule. In fact, this was the first-ever inline hockey tournament inside Pepsi Center.
"I've talked with inline people across the country, and many of them don't realize the ice hockey community is very supportive of inline hockey," Metcalf said. "But still, I haven't heard of this kind of tournament at any other NHL rink."
Each team participating in the sold-out competition was guaranteed three games, including at least two within Pepsi Center, where the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals.
Derek Thede, tournament director for the CRHA, noted that many participants were Avalanche fans, so the chance to skate inside the same arena as their idols made the tournament very appealing.
"I just think the opportunity for these guys to play at Pepsi Center is so unique," Thede said. "The kids are pretty giddy for the whole situation because not too many people get to skate here."
While playing inside an NHL arena was likely the biggest drawing factor for the tournament, it wasn't the only one. The athletes were also exposed to elements they don't always see at other competitions, such as music being played through the arena's loud speakers between whistles and the use of Pepsi Center's JumboTron.
"It was very cool, being in the locker rooms and on the benches," said Scott Dalldorf, who played for OD's Daredevils in the U16 Division. "I liked playing on the rink and looking up and seeing the stands. It was just a really exciting experience."
Like many NHL teams, the Avalanche is always looking for ways to grow other facets of the game. Since partnering with the CRHA a few years ago, the two sides had been searching for the right opportunity to team up. So when the Avs offered the use of Pepsi Center for the tournament, the CRHA jumped at the chance.
"I think every player who plays hockey in Colorado, regardless of if they play street, inline or ice hockey, is important to our organization," said Matt Deluzio, manager of Hockey Programs for the Avalanche. "As far as growing hockey in general, this is just another way to support more hockey players in the state."
And with the vast success of the Avalanche Inline Summer Shootout, the two sides are already planning to make the summer competition an annual event. For a tournament-based organization like CRHA, having a solid relationship with an NHL club is a boon.
"I think it's huge right now, just for opportunities like this," Thede said. "And just from talking to the organization I think this tournament is going to continue getting bigger and bigger."
In the end, the goal is to promote the sport, whether it's being played in the streets, at inline rinks or on the ice.
"There are opportunities all across the country for events like this, not just at the NHL level," Metcalf said. "Maybe if other rinks see what we're doing here, they'll get the idea to do the same thing."


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Celebrations Today – April 25
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
- Arbor Day (Germany)
- DNA Day
- Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
- Flag Day (Swaziland)
- Freedom Day (Portugal)
- Liberation Day (Italy)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
- Parental Alienation Awareness Day
- Red Hat Society Day
- Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
- World Malaria Day
Celebrations Today – USA: April 25
National DNA Day
National East Meets West Day
National Hug a Plumber Day
National Telephone Day
National Zucchini Bread Day
National Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day
National Teach Your Children to Save Day
National New Kids on the Block Day
World Day for Laboratory Animals
World Meningitis Day
Today in US History: April 25
U.S. Declares War on Spain
U.S. Battleship Maine,
Samuel H. Gottscho, photographer, before February 15, 1898.
Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America: Photographs by Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner, 1935-1955
On April 25,1898, the United States formally declared war against Spain. The Monroe Doctrine, which since 1823 had viewed any European intervention in the Americas as a threat to U.S. security, coupled with the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor precipitated the U.S. engagement. Coverage by both the Hearst newspapers and the nascent film industry solidified public support for involvement in Cuba's struggle for independence.
Within months, Spain's overseas empire, which had begun with Columbus' voyages of discovery, finally collapsed under the U.S.' two-pronged war strategy. Commodore George Dewey sailed to the Pacific the day that war was declared. On May 1 the Spanish fleet was defeated in the Philippines. The U.S. Marines and other troops, including Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, helped defeat Spanish forces in the Americas.
Restos del U.S.S. Maine,
William Henry Jackson, photographer, ca. 1900.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920
The U.S. and Spain signed a peace treaty in December 1898. Spain gave up its claims to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Guam and, for twenty million, transferred the Philippines to the U.S. The U.S. emerged from the war as a significant player on the world stage.
- The Spanish-American War was the first U.S. war in which the motion picture camera played a role. See films made by the Edison Manufacturing Company and the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company in The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures. Two special presentations are also available: The Motion Picture Camera Goes to War: The Spanish-American War and the Philippine Revolution and The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War.
- Search the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog for Cuba or Havana to find hundreds of still images related to Cuba and the Spanish-American War.
- Search the Today in History Archive on the term Spanish-American War to learn more about events in the war including the mysterious destruction of the U.S.S. Maine.
- Also, search on Spanish-American War in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 to find recollections by veterans of that war. Or, search on the term Cuban War to hear a tune by that name in Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941.
- A search on Spanish-American War in History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library provides a variety of images relating to that war. A search on San Juan Hill includes images of reenactments of that battle by members of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
- See the online exhibition 1492: An Ongoing Voyage to learn about the origins of Spanish expansion into the Americas and examine the first sustained contacts between American people and European explorers, conquerors and settlers.
Havana, Cuba, William Henry Jackson, photographer, copyright 1900.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920
Ella Fitzgerald
Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald,
Carl Van Vechten, photographer, January 19, 1940.
Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten, 1932-1964
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. She was one of the leading jazz singers of all time. In her lifetime, she won thirteen Grammys—two from the first Grammy Awards in 1958 (best jazz individual and best female pop vocal performer). Her recordings have sold more than 40 million albums.
Fitzgerald's career began at Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater. She soon went on to sing with the Chick Webb orchestra and made her first recordings in 1935. After Webb's death in 1939, she led the band for about three years before launching out on her own.
From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s her career was managed by jazz impresario Norman Granz. During this time Fitzgerald recorded a series of nineteen albums and her inimitable style became nationally recognized. Granz also arranged for her to tour extensively and to work closely with the Oscar Peterson Trio.
Fitzgerald's mastery of "scat," in which the singer improvises nonsense syllables to imitate a musical instrument, is heard throughout her recordings. Although the history of scatting may date back to West Africa, trumpeter Louis Armstrong made it popular in the U.S. When he accompanied blues singer Bessie Smith, for example, Armstrong used his coronet to sound out vocalizations; conversely, Fitzgerald likened her voice to a musical instrument, a saxophone. Through recordings, concerts, and television appearances, both figures brought scat to a broad public audience.
Fitzgerald recorded hundreds of songs composed by great American lyricists such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Richard Rogers. She performed with many great musical talents of her day including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie.
- To locate more photographs of famous singers and other persons prominent in the arts, browse the Occupational Index in Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten, 1932-1964.
- The William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz collection, comprising over 1,600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists, documents the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948, primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C. Search on the names of a favorite jazz artist to find portraits of such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Benny Carter. This online collection also presents Gottlieb's 1946-47 articles from Down Beat magazine.
- Search the Today in History Archive on the terms singer or jazz to find more American Memory material on musical legends like Jelly Roll Morton, W.C. Handy, George Gershwin and Frank Sinatra.
- The Performing Arts Reading Room has custody of the Ella Fitzgerald Collection, donated to the Library of Congress by the Fitzgerald 1989 Trust in 1997. Contact the Performing Arts Reading Room for more information.
- To learn more about the early history of the art form, or listen to sound recordings of jazz and ragtime search on these terms in California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell.
Today in History – April 25-External Links
Today's Weather in History
Today in Earthquake History
This Day in Naval History
Today's Document from the National Archives
Today's Events, Births & Deaths –Wikipedia
Today in History by AP
On this Day -1950 to 2005 – Today's Story–BBC
On This Day: The New York Times
This Day in History –History.com
Today in Canadian History – Canada Channel
History of Britain that took place On This Day
Russia in History –Russiapedia


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Unprecedented move will impact economy and fisheries conservation
Alexandria, VA – September 24, 2012– On September 14, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its recommendations for budget cuts that include withholding parts of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, a move that would have a significant impact on fisheries conservation and the jobs it supports. OMB's action was triggered by the failure of the Congress and the Administration to enact a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion, as required by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
"The angling and boating community was shocked to learn that for the first time in its 62-year history, the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund – the backbone of fisheries conservation in the United States – is recommended for a cut under sequestration totaling $34 million," said Gordon Robertson, vice president of the American Sportfishing Association.
Robertson further said, "This conservation trust fund, established in 1950 with the support of industry, anglers and state conservation agencies, is an outstanding example of what good government should be and is the backbone of the user-pay model of funding conservation in this nation. It is essential that it remain untouched. The sportfishing and boating communities are ready to work with Congress and the Administration to solve this problem."
The Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 placed a federal excise tax on all recreational fishing equipment, which manufacturers pay and is then incorporated into the cost of the equipment that anglers purchase. In 1984 the Act was amended to include that part of the federal gasoline fuel tax attributable to motor boat use. The total annual value of the Trust Fund is approximately $650 million. The monies from the fund are apportioned to state conservation agencies for sport fish restoration, boating safety, angler and boater access and other fishing and boating programs.
"When anglers and boaters pay the equipment tax or the fuel tax they are doing so with the understanding that this money is going to a trust fund dedicated – by law – to the resources they enjoy," said Robertson. "Withholding funds from this essential program at a time when state fishery programs are already struggling to ensure the best quality service to anglers and resource management will only cause fishery resources to suffer even more and cause job losses associated with the loss of recreation fishing boating programs. The sportfishing and boating industries as well as anglers and boaters themselves fail to understand how cutting a user-pay trust fund helps the economy."
Recreational fishing adds $125 billion each year to the nation's economy and supports more than one million jobs. Since its inception, the Sport Fish Restoration Act has pumped $7 billion into habitat restoration, access and boating safety programs.
The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund's older sibling, the Wildlife Restoration Act of 1936, after which the Sportfish Trust Fund was patterned, is slated for a $31 million freeze. That Act is funded by hunters and men and women who engage in the shooting sports and archery, who pay a similar tax to support wildlife restoration. "This level of cuts to conservation programs that pay their own way is unprecedented and all anglers, hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts must speak up to prevent these cuts," Robertson concluded.
Along with these two cornerstone conservation acts, many other critical conservation funds are also listed for significant cuts. Congress, with the cooperation of the Administration, must address the sequestration schedule and they will not occur until after the elections and possibly not until early 2013 and with a new Congress.
"We encourage all anglers to go to www.KeepAmericaFishing.org for information about when Congress may act and when anglers should speak up to maintain critical conservation funding," Robertson said.
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry's trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also gives America's 60 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways through KeepAmericaFishing™, our angler advocacy campaign. America's anglers generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation's economy creating employment for over one million people.


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Discover Things that make me who I am : A, B, C, D, E, F, G
I do have nice handwriting. I think it's a shame that so many kids don't even write notes these days. it's all email and text now.
I used to take part in calligraphy competitions in school :) and we used to compare each other's handwritings ... gone are the days :)
Wow... a firecracker! You have overcome many challenges with that! In this day of typing I have to admit that I miss handwriting. When I find something that a loved one had written to me before they passed I feel a sense of joy in seeing the words their hands have formed. I wonder if there will come a time when no one will see anyone's handwriting... scribbles or not, a personally written note can become a treasured keepsake. :)
When I was in elementary school, we practiced penmanship daily. I actually liked it. Now cursive isn't taught at all. I guess there's no need. I "signed" some e-documents recently by selecting a signature from a drop-down menu.
One of the discussions in the genealogy community is whether future generations will even be able to read old documents, or even our letters and signatures. Will there be technology in place to translate cursive for them?
Visiting from A to Z ~
Wendy at Jollett Etc.
Oh the joys of pen and ink, and cursive writing! I make it a point to write my to do lists on paper. Well written post, good luck with the rest of the challenge!
All I ever did was copy other people's handwriting. I'm pretty sure the way I write now is just a combination of all of those different handwriting styles I copied!
In my family my sister had and has a pathetic handwriting..when recently she joined a school I called her on the first day to know how her day was..she replied that everything was ok but the only misery was that she was asked to practice handwriting..we had a great laugh..but practice really makes it perfect..my daughter has a very good handwriting..it is difficult to distinguish her handwriting with grown ups..
I love caligraphy and whatever i write on my blog usually forms on the page of a notebook. Nice post.
I'm jealous and hopeful. I've always had horrible handwriting. It is something that has been an embarrassment to me.
You're story is pretty encouraging. I think I shall get back to working on my handwriting skills.


text:
An oversized waffle cone. Photo by Keith Syvinski | SXC.
Ice Cream & Sorbet
Category Main Page Articles & Reviews
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July 2005 Last Updated July 2018
This is Page 5 of a five-page glossary of the different types of ice cream. This page explains terms such as sherbet, sorbet, spumoni and tartufo. See many more food glossaries with your favorite foods.
LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE FOODS Take A Look At All Of Our Food Glossaries
Click on a letter to go to the appropriate glossary section:
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SEMIFREDDO or FROZEN SOUFFLÉ The word for "half cold" in Italian, it refers to a class of semi-frozen desserts—semi-frozen custards, ice cream cakes and tarts. Frozen soufflé is the English term. It may look like ice cream but it isn't ice cream per se. Rather, it is more of a frozen mousse, produced by combining equal parts of ice cream and whipped cream.
Semifreddo. Here's the recipe, from Pom Wonderful.
SHAVE ICE or HAWAIIAN SHAVE ICE or SHAVED ICE or SNOW FLUFF Shaved ice, snow ice, Hawaiian snow ice and snow cones (see below) are related products: flavored shaved ice. Some are pre-flavored and shaved (like granita), others are plain shaved ice flavored on the spot with syrup. In the case of shave ice (not shaved ice, a fact that more grammar-conscious people may stumble over), a block of ice is shaved and then flavored with syrup. Shaving produces a very fine, snow-like ice that easily absorbs the flavored syrup poured over it. Shave ice resembles a snow cone; but there's a significant difference: Snow cones are made with crushed, rather than shaved, ice and have a rougher texture. On the Big Island it is also referred to as "ice shave."
Shave ice. Photo courtesy MySipShop.com.
SHERBET A water and fruit-based product like sorbet, with some milk added to provide creaminess. By law, sherbet can contain no more than 2% milkfat, and ranges from 1% to 2%. The milk makes it slightly heavier product than sorbet (see below).
SNOW CONE Compacted shaved ice flavored with a choice of bright-colored sugary syrups, generally served in a paper cone or cup. It is very similar to Hawaiian shave ice/shaved ice (above). The syrups are usually fruit-flavored (apple, banana, cantaloupe, cherry, colada, grape, kiwi, lemon, lime, mango, orange, peach, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry) but can also be spice (e.g. cinnamon) and pop flavors like bubble gum and cola. Snow cones served in a cup are eaten with a spoon; those in a paper cone are eaten like an ice cream cone. They are different from water ice in that water ice is flavored at the time of factory production, while snow cones are shaved and flavored "to order."
Interestingly, snow cones are the descendents of the original "ice cream," which was snow flavored with fruit juice, created 4,000 years ago by the Chinese and learned through trade routes by the Persians 2,500 years ago. See the History Of Ice Cream.
SNOW ICE or HAWAIIAN SNOW ICE or SHAVED SNOW Snow ice is a Taiwanese invention that has taken root in Hawaii. It requires a special machine that shaves the pre-flavored ice into ribbons. Some flavors are water-based and vegan, others have some added milk. Toppings are part of the fun: Colorful garnishes include azuki beans, jellies, mochi balls, tapioca pearls and a sauce of sweetened condensed milk. In addition to classic and exotic sweet flavors, there are also savory flavors such as pickle, sriracha and watercress. Here's more about snow ice.
The difference between snow ice and shave ice:
See frozen custard.
SORBET A frozen dessert generally made from fruit purée or fruit juice; it can incorporate other flavorings including herbs and liqueurs. Sorbet is the French word; the Italian word is sorbetto. Unlike sherbet, sorbet technically contains no milk; however, in some regions of Italy (and in some U.S. recipes as well), milk or cream is used and and there is no separate word to distinguish it (so if you steer clear of milk products, read the label or ask the waiter). Some sorbet recipes also use egg whites. Whereas gelato traces its roots "only" as far back as Renaissance Italy, sorbet dates to ancient Roman times. In the first century C.E., Emperor Nero, who had a hankering for the cold, sweet stuff, had runners along the Appian Way pass buckets of snow from the mountains, hand over hand, until it reached his banquet hall, where it was mixed with honey and wine. Pre-dating Nero, the Chinese have made concoctions from snow, juice and fruit pulp for several thousand years.
SPUMONI A Neapolitan specialty, with layers of three different colored and flavored ice cream: Chocolate, pistachio and cherry are a popular combination. Other flavors can be used, with nuts and candied fruit added to the layers. Originally, in the days before ice cream, spumoni was sherbet blended with a large amount of Italian meringue (cooked, beaten egg white sweetened with hot sugar syrup); the name comes from the Italian word for for foam, spuma. While this photo shows four flavors (cherry vanilla, chocolate and pistachio ice creams, plus raspberry sorbet) in a fancy design, you can make a spumoni terrine by layering chocolate, pistachio and cherry ice cream (3 cups each):
Line a large loaf pan with overlapping pieces of plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on all sides. Soften the ice cream one flavor at a time, until it can be spread in the pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and freeze about 30 minutes; repeat with the other two flavors. In-between layers, you can add candied fruit, maraschino cherries and/or chopped pistachio nuts. Return to freezer until ready to use; slice and serve.
SUGAR CONE The classic ice cream cone, differentiated from the cake cone (or wafer cone) by its pure conical shape, dark color, crunchiness and brown sugar flavor. Sugar cones can be found in chocolate as well (made by adding cocoa to the batter) and decorated—dipped in melted chocolate and/or garnished with chocolate chips, coconut, candies, coconut and other confections.
SUNDAE A name invented in America (although exactly where is disputed—see The History Of Ice Cream) for a dish of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup (generally butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, marshmallow creme or strawberry). Chopped nuts and whipped cream are generally added and a maraschino cherry is placed on top. There are endless variations on the sundae, incorporating fruit, cookies, candy, cake, peanut butter sauce, sprinkles/jimmies, and ingredients too numerous to list.
SUNDAE CONE An ice cream novelty. A scoop of ice cream, typically vanilla, is packed into a sugar cone, covered in chocolate and topped with chopped nuts.
TARTUFO The Italian word for truffle, tartufo is a ball of vanilla ice cream, often with a cherry and nuts in the center, enrobed in chocolate. The word is often misspelled in America as "tartuffo." The first chocolate tartufos (truffles) were chocolate candies, round balls of ganache created just after the French revolution (1799) by French chefs, and were initially given as Christmas gifts. They were intended to resemble the precious Périgord truffles, hunted in forests. The ice cream version appeared around the Victorian era (1837-1901), when the molding of ice cream into flowers, fruits, and other shapes became popular. The coating should be chocolate cookie crumbs or mini chips, rather than enrobing in smooth chocolate, in order to look like the namesake truffles.
TORTONI See biscuit tortoni.
WAFFLE CONE While some people confuse the terms "waffle cone" and "sugar cone"—both have waffle patterns—a waffle cone is the original rolled cone. You can see where the edges overlap. There are other key differences. First, waffle cones are made with brown sugar and are darker in color as well as more intense in flavor. They are harder as well. Sugar cones are made in molds and are softer and less flavorful, with a flaky texture. Toward the end of the 20th century, "supersize me" waffle cones were introduced that are twice the size of the original (see photo at top of page). Waffle cones can be plain or decorated with a chocolate dip, chocolate chips, coconut, candies, coconut and other confections. See photo of waffle cone at top of page. The history of the ice cream cone. See also cone cup and cake cone.
WAFFLE CUP A frozen dessert similar to Italian Ice, but often found in a wider variety of flavors.
WATER ICE A frozen dessert similar to Italian Ice, but often found in a wider variety of flavors.
Go To The Article Index Above
Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
© Copyright 2005-2024 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. All images are copyrighted to their respective owners.


text:
This is the rimmed version of the 9,3x62. Unlike most other cartridges that comes in both rimmed and rimless version, the designer chose to make a greater case capacity instead of reducing the load in order to keep the pressure down. Accordingly the 9,3x74R can be loaded to almost the same muzzle velocity as the 9,3x62 and still be used in combination guns and double rifles. It is not known who designed the 9,3x74R, but it emerged early in the 1900s as a German equivalent to the slightly shorter .400/.360 Westley Richards. The 9,3x74R is considered the Queen of rimmed cartridges, being equally powerful as the now almost obsolete .375 H&H Flanged Magnum. It is very popular in Europe for double rifles and also a good many combination guns have a rifle barrel in 9,3x74R. In England many old doubles in the .350-caliber range has been rebarreled for this cartridge. It covers the same range of game as the 9,3x62, but due to the construction of the rifles it is used in, it is not very useful at long range.
Läs mer om 9,3 x 74 R


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2 Chronicles 34 Bible Commentary
Bible Commentary
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete)
2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 34
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete)
<< 2 Chronicles 33
2 Chronicles 34
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2 Chronicles 34
Before we see Judah and Jerusalem ruined we shall yet see some glorious years, while good Josiah sits at the helm. By his pious endeavours for reformation God tried them yet once more; if they had known in this their day, the day of their visitation, the things that belonged to their peace and improved them, their ruin might have been prevented. But after this reign they were hidden from their eyes, and the next reigns brought an utter desolation upon them. In this chapter we have, I. A general account of Josiah's character (v. 1, 2). II. His zeal to root out idolatry (v. 3-7). III. His care to repair the temple (v. 8-13). IV. The finding of the book of the law and the good use made of it (v. 14-28). V. The public reading of the law to the people and their renewing their covenant with God thereupon (v. 29-33). Much of this we had 2 Ki. 22.
Verses 1-7
Concerning Josiah we are here told, 1. That he came to the crown when he was very young, only eight years old (yet his infancy did not debar him from his right), and he reigned
thirty-one years
(v. 1), a considerable time. I fear, however, that in the beginning of his reign things went much as they had done in his father's time, because, being a child, he must have left the management of them to others; so that it was not till his twelfth year, which goes far in the number of his years, that the reformation began, v. 3. He could not, as Hezekiah did, fall about it immediately. 2. That he reigned very well (v. 2), approved himself to God, trod in the steps of David, and did not decline either
to the right hand of to the left:
for there are errors on both hands. 3. That while he was young, about sixteen years old, he
began to seek after God,
v. 3. We have reason to think he had not so good an education as Manasseh had (it is well if those about him did not endeavour to corrupt and debauch him); yet he thus sought God when he was young. It is the duty and interest of young people, and will particularly be the honour of young gentlemen, as soon as they come to years of understanding, to
begin to seek God;
for those that seek him early shall find him. 4. That in the twelfth year of his reign, when it is probable he took the administration of the government entirely into his own hands, he
began to purge his kingdom from the remains of idolatry;
he destroyed the high places, groves, images, altars, all the utensils of idolatry, v. 3, 4. He not only cast them out as Manasseh did, but broke them to pieces, and made dust of them. This destruction of idolatry is here said to be in his twelfth year, but it was said (2 Ki. 23:23) to be in his eighteenth year. Something was probably done towards it in his twelfth year; then he began to purge out idolatry, but that good work met with opposition, so that it was not thoroughly done till they had found the book of the law six years afterwards. But here the whole work is laid together briefly which was much more largely and particularly related in the
His zeal carried him out to do this, not only in Judah and Jerusalem, but in the cities of Israel too, as far as he had any influence upon them.
Verses 8-13
Here, 1. Orders are given by the king for the repair of the temple, v. 8. When he had purged the house of the corruptions of it he began to fit it up for the services that were to be performed in it. Thus we must do by the spiritual temple of the heart, get it cleansed from the pollutions of sin, and then renewed, so as to be transformed into the image of God. Josiah, in this order, calls God
the Lord his God.
Those that truly love God will
love the habitation of his house.
2. Care is taken about it, effectual care. The Levites went about the country and gathered money towards it, which was returned to the three trustees mentioned, v. 8. They brought it to Hilkiah the high priest (v. 9), and he and they put it into the hands of workmen, both overseers and labourers, who undertook to do it by the great, as we say, or
in the gross,
v. 10, 11. It is observed that the workmen were industrious and honest: They
did the work faithfully
(v. 12); and workmen are not completely faithful if they are not both careful and diligent, for a confidence is reposed in them that they will be so. It is also intimated that the overseers were ingenious; for it is said that all those were employed to inspect this work who were skilful in
instruments of music;
not that their skill in music could be of any use in architecture, but it was an evidence that they were men of sense and ingenuity, and particularly that their genius lay towards the mathematics, which qualified them very much for this trust. Witty men are then wise men when they employ their wit in doing good, in helping their friends, and, as they have opportunity, in serving the public. Observe, in this work, how God dispenses his gifts variously; here were some that were
bearers of burdens,
cut out for bodily labour and fit to work. Here were others (made
meliori lutoof finer materials
) that had skill in music, and they were
overseers of those that laboured,
and scribes and officers. The former were the hands: these were the heads. They had need of one another, and the work needed both. Let not the overseers of the work despise the bearers of burdens, nor let those that work in the service grudge at those whose office it is to direct; but let each esteem and serve the other in love, and let God have the glory and the church the benefit of the different gifts and dispositions of both.
Verses 14-28
This whole paragraph we had, just as it is here related, 2 Ki. 22:8-20, and have nothing to add here to what was there observed. But, 1. We may hence take occasion to bless God that we have plenty of Bibles, and that they are, or may be, in all hands,that the book of the law and gospel is not lost, is not scarce,that, in this sense, the
word of the Lord
is not
Bibles are jewels, but, thanks be to God, they are not rarities. The fountain of the waters of life is not a spring shut up or a fountain sealed, but the streams of it, in all places,
make glad the city of our God. Usus communis aquarumThese waters flow for general use.
What a great deal shall we have to answer for if the great things of God's law, being thus made common, should be accounted by us as strange things! 2. We may hence learn, whenever we read or hear the word of God, to affect our hearts with it, and to get them possessed with a holy fear of that wrath of God which is there revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, as Josiah's tender heart was. When he heard the words of the law he
rent his clothes
(v. 19), and God was well pleased with his doing so, v. 27. Were the things contained in the scripture new to us, as they were here to Josiah, surely they would make deeper impressions upon us than commonly they do; but they are not the less weighty, and therefore should not be the less considered by us, for their being well known. Rend the heart therefore, not the garments. 3. We are here directed when we are under convictions of sin, and apprehensions of divine wrath, to enquire of the Lord; so Josiah did, v. 21. It concerns us to ask (as they did, Acts 2:37),
Men and brethren, what shall we do?
and more particularly (as the jailor),
What must I do to be saved?
Acts 16:30.
If you will
enquire, enquire
(Isa. 21:12); and, blessed be God, we have the lively oracles to which to apply with these enquiries. 4. We are here warned of the ruin that sin brings upon nations and kingdoms. Those that forsake God bring evil upon themselves (v. 24, 25), and kindle a fire
which shall not be quenched.
Such will the fire of God's wrath be when the decree has gone forth against those that obstinately and impenitently persist in their wicked ways. 5. We are here encouraged to humble ourselves before God and seek unto him, as Josiah did. If we cannot prevail thereby to turn away God's wrath from our land, yet we shall deliver our own souls, v. 27, 28. And good people are here taught to be so far from fearing death as to welcome it rather when it
takes them away from the evil to come.
See how the property of it is altered by making it the matter of a promise:
Thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace,
housed in that ark, as Noah, when a deluge is coming.
Verses 29-33
We have here an account of the further advances which Josiah made towards the reformation of his kingdom upon the hearing of the law read and the receipt of the message God sent him by the prophetess. Happy the people that had such a king; for here we find that, 1. They were well taught. He did not go about to force them to do their duty, till he had first instructed them in it. He called all the people together, great and small, young and old, rich and poor, high and low.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear
the words of
the book of the covenant;
for they are all concerned in those words. To put an honour upon the service, and to engage attention the more, though there were priests and Levites present, the king himself read the book to the people (v. 30), and he read it, no doubt, in such a manner as to show that he was himself affected with it, which would be a means of affecting the hearers. 2. They were well fixed. The articles of agreement between God and Israel being read, that they might intelligently covenant with God, both king and people with great solemnity did as it were subscribe the articles. The king in his place covenanted to keep God's commandments with all his heart and soul, according to what was
written in the book
(v. 31), and urged the people to declare their consent likewise to this covenant, and solemnly to promise that they would faithfully perform, fulfil, and keep, all and every thing that was on their part to be done, according to this covenant: this they did; they could not for shame do otherwise. He caused
all that were present
stand to it
(v. 32), and made them all
to serve, even to serve the Lord their God
(v. 33), to do it and to
make a business
of it. he did all he could to bring them to it
to serve, even to serve;
the repetition denotes that this was the only thing his heart was set on; he aimed at nothing else in what he did but to engage them to God and their duty. 3. They were well tended, were honest with good looking to.
All his days they departed not from following the Lord;
he kept them, with much ado, from running into idolatry again.
All his days
were days of restraint upon them; but this intimated that there was in them a
bent to backslide,
a strong inclination to idolatry. Many of them wanted nothing but to have him out of the way, and then they would have their high places and their images up again. And therefore we find that
in the days of Josiah
(Jer. 3:6) God charged it upon treacherous Judah that she
had not returned to him with all her heart, but feignedly
(v. 10), nay, had
played the harlot
(v. 8) and thereby had even
justified backsliding Israel,
v. 11. In the twenty-third year of this reign, four or five years after this, they had
gone on to provoke God to anger with the works of their hands
(Jer. 25:3-7); and, which is very observable, it is from the beginning of Josiah's reformation, his twelfth or thirteenth year, that
the iniquity of the house of Judah,
which brought ruin upon them, and which the prophet was to bear lying on his right side, was dated (Eze. 4:6), for thence to the destruction of Jerusalem was just forty years. Josiah was sincere in what he did, but the generality of the people were averse to it and hankered after their idols still; so that the reformation, though well designed and well prosecuted by the prince, had little or no effect upon the people. It was with reluctancy that they parted with their idols; still they were in heart joined to them, and wished for them again. This God saw, and therefore from that time, when one would have thought the foundations had been laid for a perpetual security and peace, from that very time did the decree go forth for their destruction. Nothing hastens the ruin of a people nor ripens them for it more than the baffling of hopeful attempts for reformation and a hypocritical return to God.
Be not deceived, God is not mocked.
<< 2 Chronicles 33
2 Chronicles 34
2 Chronicles 35 >>
Bible Commentary
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete)
2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 34
Related Commentaries
2 Chronicles 34
John Darby's Synopsis
The Geneva Study Bible
John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete)
Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary (concise)
Wesley's Explanatory Notes


text:
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text:
Leon Trotsky said, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." The same thing might be said about disruptive technologies.
The U.S.. electric system, for example, may not be interested in disruptive technology, but disruptive technology is interested in it. What Uber and Lyft have done to the taxi industry worldwide is just beginning to happen to the electricity industry; and it could shock consumers – particularly the less affluent – as surely as though they had stuck their finger in an electrical outlet.
The disruptive revolution is not only happening here, but also in Europe, as Marc Boillot, senior vice president at Electricite de France (EDF), the giant French utility, writes in a new book.
Ironically, here in the United States, disruption of the otherwise peaceful world of electric generation and sale last year was a bumper one for electric stocks because of their tradition of paying dividends at a time when bond yields were low.
The first wave of disruption to electric generation has been a technology as benign as solar power units on rooftops, much favored by governments and by environmentalists as a green source of electricity. For the utilities, these rooftop generators are a threat to the integrity of the electrical grid. To counter this, utilities would like to see the self-generators pay more for the upkeep of the grid and the convenience it affords them.
Think of the grid as a series of spider webs built around utility companies serving particular population centers, and joined to each other so they can share electricity, depending on need and price.
Enter the self-generating homeowner, who by law is entitled to sell excess production back to the grid, or to buy on the grid when it is very cold or the sun isn't shining, as at night. The system of selling back to the electric company is known as net metering.
Good deal? Yes, for the homeowner who can afford to install a unit or lease one from one of a growing number of companies that provide that service. Lousy deal for the full-time electricity customer who rents or lives in an apartment building.
There's the rub: Who pays the cost of maintaining the grid while the rooftop entrepreneur uses it at will? Short answer: everyone else.
In reality, the poor get socked. Take Avenue A with big houses at one end and apartments and tenements at the other. The big houses — with their solar panels and owners' morally superior smiles — are being subsidized by the apartments and tenements. They have to pay to keep the grid viable, while the free-standing house – it doesn't have to be a mansion — gets a subsidy.
It's a thorny issue, akin to the person who can't use Uber or Lyft because he doesn't have a credit card or a smartphone, and has to hope that traditional taxi service will survive.
The electric utilities, from the behemoths to the smallest municipal distributor, see the solution in an equity fee for the self-generating customer's right to come on and off the grid, and for an appreciable difference between his selling and buying price. Solar proponents say, not fair: Solve your own problems. We are generating clean electricity and our presence is a national asset.
EDF's Boillot sees the solution in the utilities' own technological leap forward: the so-called smart grid. This is the computerization of the grid so that it is more finely managed, waste is eliminated, and pricing structures for homes reflect the exact cost at the time of service. His advice was eagerly sought when he was in Washington recently, promoting his book.
While today's solar may be a problem for the utilities, tomorrow's may be more so. Homeowners who can afford it may be able to get off the grid altogether by using the battery in an all-electric car to tide them over during the sunless hours.
The industry is not taking this lying down: It's talking to the big solar firms, the regulators and, yes, to Elon Musk, founder of electric-car maker Tesla Motors. He may be the threat and he may be the savior; those all-electric cars will need a lot of charging, and stations for that are cropping up. There's a ray of sunshine for the utilities, but it's quite a way off. Meanwhile, the rooftop disruption is here and now. — For the Hearst-New York Times Syndicate


text:
Yesterday I had the privilege of catching a ride with a couple of the Fedora Docs rockstars (Eric Christensen and Zach Oglesby) to Ohio Linux Fest. Zach took the train down from Baltimore, and Eric drove up from Newport News to pick Eric and I up. We then wound our way through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (again), and Ohio. Eric was following directions from Google Maps, and while I had no complaints about the scenic views, there were a few times we all wondered if we were really going to end up in Ohio. (At one point when we came to a narrow one-lane bridge across a swollen river, we even hopped out of the car and took pictures. Unfortunately, my SD card stopped working so I didn't get a good picture.)
Last night we hacked on some of the Fedora documentation until around 1:00am. I fixed up some bad formatting in the User Guide so that it would build again, and fixed a few other minor issues.
This morning, I got up early to help some Fedora contributors with their travel arrangements for FUDCon Milan, and ran the FUDCon planning meetings for FUDCon Milan and FUDCon India. After a quick lunch (thanks to my friends at cloud.com), I headed back upstairs to the docs hackfest room and dove back into fixing up some more docs. This afternoon, I worked on the Cloud Guide, a bit on the Security Guide, and showed some of the other guys some tricks I use for finding invalid DocBook tagging and fixing it. I also helped Clint Savage with a couple of minor RPM packaging problems. Now I'm helping John McDonough proofread a draft version of the Release Notes for Fedora 16.
I'm very much looking forward to the conference tomorrow and the Docs FAD on Sunday.


text:
You are not logged in.
hmm... well that gives me some hope that someday mine might work... ive searched forever - if anyone has any ideas it would make me really happy
Hi I have a Radeon 9250 pci and managed to get the fglrx driver installed by the PKGBUILDs but I cannot get direct rendering to work. Here is my result from running glxinfo:
#glxinfo | grep "direct rendering"
direct rendering: No
I get poor FPS on glxgears (around 75FPS), and on fgl_glxgears:
X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
Major opcode of failed request: 142 (GLX)
Minor opcode of failed request: 5 (X_GLXMakeCurrent)
Serial number of failed request: 32
Current serial number in output stream: 32
Does anyone have any idea why direct rendering is not working?
Let me know if you need more info on my system
Edit: I think I found my problem. Running fglrxinfo:
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: www.mesa3d.org
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.2 (1.5 Mesa 6.2.1)
Mesa drivers are being loaded. Many people seem to have had this problem but I cannot find a solution that works. I tried removing mesa and reinstalling the ati-drivers package but still no luck.
Any ideas?
Try to read here if you find what are you looking for, otherwise try to ask it again in here
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php? … &start=195
(it's easyer to answer if we put all the post about ati drivers in the same place)
AH, anyway, have u tried to read something in here:
A PKGBUILD that may fix the permission problems with ati drivers:
pkgdesc="ATI precompiled drivers for r350, r300, r250 and r200 chipsets. Built for the kernel2612-cko2-swsusp2 pkg in [community]"
makedepends=('rpmunpack' 'cpio')
md5sums=('5187698cee2edf3dee89bc3eee5729c1' '9fd0520f6b25f672f9c1410c013415d5'
'5b86791c3dad330791b7615ea205fe3e' '275238baa6d2db2b96bc8b98275a7928'
build() {
cd $startdir/src
rpmunpack < $startdir/src/fglrx_6_8_0-$pkgver-1.i386.rpm | gzip -d | cpio -idmuv
rm -rf $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/bin/*.bz2
cd $startdir/src/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod
# Patching the drivers to make em works with kernel 2.6.12
patch -p0 < $startdir/src/fglrx-2.6.12-inter_module_get.patch
patch -p1 < $startdir/src/fglrx-2.6.12-new-agpgart.patch
patch -p0 < $startdir/src/fglrx-2.6-agpgart.patch
### For 64 Bit System you must use an this patch too!!
# patch -p0 < $startdir/src/fglrx-2.6.12-x86-64.patch
# Build the kernel module
cp 2.6.x/Makefile .
make -C /usr/src/linux-${_kernel} SUBDIRS="`pwd`" modules || return 1
# Install the kernel module
install -m 644 -D $startdir/src/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/fglrx.ko
# Begin installing things...
install -d $startdir/pkg/usr/X11R6/bin/
install -m 755 -D $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/bin/*
$startdir/pkg/usr/X11R6/bin/ || return 1
install -m 755 -D $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1.2
$startdir/pkg/usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1.2 || return 1
install -m 644 -D $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.o
$startdir/pkg/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.o || return 1
install -m 755 -D $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/fglrx_dri.so
$startdir/pkg/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/dri/fglrx_dri.so || return 1
install -m 755 -D $startdir/src/opt/kde3/share/applnk/fireglcontrol_kde3.desktop
install -m 755 -D $startdir/src/usr/share/gnome/apps/fireglcontrol.desktop
install -m 644 -D $startdir/src/usr/share/icons/ati.xpm
# Remove stuff that we've put elsewhere
rm -f $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.o
rm -rf $startdir/src/usr/{src,share,opt} $startdir/src/usr/X11R6/bin
# Copy all the remaining files
cp -R $startdir/src/usr $startdir/pkg
I tried that PKGBUILD and still no go...:(
However I was looking at the kernel in the PKGBUILD and changed it around, my uname -r shows the kernel as 2.6.12-ARCH
What is the 2.6.12-cko2-swsusp2 and would that matter?
I made my own kernel as the wiki tells to do it...
@OCNubStylee: You have to change the _kernel option to the name of your kernel. 2.6.12-cko2-swsusp2 is a custom kernel from the user repository designed to work with ati drivers.
About using the Agpgart. At first I noticed that after installing the ati drivers dmesg contained the following:
[fglrx] Internal AGP support requested, but kernel AGP support active.
[fglrx] Have to use kernel AGP support to avoid conflicts.
lsmod showed that via-agp was getting loaded even though I didn't explicitly specify it in rc.conf. I blacklisted it in the /etc/hotplug/blacklist and rebooted and finally internal agp support was active.:
[fglrx] AGP detected, AgpState = 0x1f000a07 (hardware caps of chipset)
[fglrx] AGP enabled, AgpCommand = 0x1f000304 (selected caps)
The question is which one is better? Any thoughts?
Michal Stanislawski
Hm... if I don't load my kernel AGP module at startup, I get the following error in my X logs:
(EE) fglrx(0): [agp] unable to acquire AGP, error "xf86_ENOMEM"
(EE) fglrx(0): cannot init AGP
And I have "useInternalAGP" set to "yes"... so, I guess that tells you which is better for me... heh.
-=edit=- dmesg output:
[fglrx] Maximum main memory to use for locked dma buffers: 428 MBytes.
[fglrx] module loaded - fglrx 8.14.13 [Jun 8 2005] on minor 0
[fglrx] AGP detected, AgpState = 0x00000000 (hardware caps of chipset)
[fglrx:firegl_unlock] *ERROR* Process 5172 using kernel context 0
[fglrx] AGP detected, AgpState = 0x00000000 (hardware caps of chipset)
[fglrx:firegl_unlock] *ERROR* Process 5314 using kernel context 0
-=edit again=- Just checked; don't have a process 5172, but process 5314 is X.
Well.. you have to have the agpgart loaded, but in my case hotplug also loaded the motherboard specific driver via-agp. This disabled the internal ati agp support. After blacklisting via-agp internal ati driver works.
Michal Stanislawski
Thanks Michal, but my agpgart module is loaded fine. I blacklisted nvidia_agp in hotplug, just like you blacklisted via-agp, and I get the afore-mentioned errors.
I blacklisted nvidia_agp in hotplug, just like you blacklisted via-agp, and I get the afore-mentioned errors.
there is nothing wrong with this. i don't see the reason why everybody's saying that all agp_ stuff should be compiled as modules and not used. i've built one of those into kernel (_intel), together with agpgart and it works perfectly.
True, iom, it works fine with nvidia_agp modprobed, but now I'm wondering, as stasiek did earlier, if the built-in AGP works better than the kernel module, and could offer a performance increase. However, I can't check, 'cause I get those errors whenever I don't load nvidia_agp, and naturally direct rendering turns off.
Ok, I installed the cko2 kernel, and reinstalled the drivers, however i still get this from fglrxinfo:
display: :0.0 screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: www.mesa3d.org
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.2 (1.5 Mesa 6.2.1)
Why is mesa still loading? :cry:
New ATI-drivers in [community] with fixed permissions (I hope)
Still doesn't work for me...
I think I may have found my problem however. I'm using the PCI version of the radeon 9250, because I have no AGP slot on my motherboard. Instead, I have a Intel Extreme Graphics onboard thing that takes its place. I can't disable it in the BIOS (on windows I just uninstalled the drivers) however I'm thinking there might be a conflict between this and the ATI card. Does anyone know how I can resolve this? (The chipset is an 845G)
does this package need to depend on the cko kernel? I've installed it with nodeps and it seems fine...
I use my own custom kernel...
When I was using KANOTIX Kano had a great script install-radeon-debian.sh for installing Ati Drivers.If you change some lines in the script you can even use older drivers with all patches applied.
Because it is for debian it has to be modified by someone to be useful for Arch users.I can't do it because I am too newbie for it.
You can find it at:
Powered by Arch Linux
Hello again,
Here are some thoughts about the ATI and their drivers for linux:
1) First of all I believe the drivers are crappy all the way and that there is no serious support for linux from ATI
2) I have been trying for the last month to make these drivers work for me but everywhere I go there are problems:
- I use kernel26cko and ati-drivers from AUR and everything installed right but I get random lockupsif i use only fglrx. I tried to add to rc.conf before fglrx agpgart and via-agp which is my chipset and set internal to NO in xorg.conf and I have no 3D accelleration.
- I built my own 2.6.10 kernel succesfully at last and tried to compile the drivers. It compiles, again no 3d acceleration and I have found searching that the drivers require gcc 3.3.x to compile, while I have 3.4.x.During makepkg I found tha it compiles nvidia_agp instead of via_agp which is my chipset !!
3) I even tried the opensource with the latest kernel loading agpgart via-agp and radeon in rc-conf and modifying the xorg.conf according to a gentoo wiki page. Failed again...no 3D accelaration.
4) I quit trying. I will just wait and see if the new drivers (September??) wll have better support for my system.
Powered by Arch Linux
I'm starting to hope the new drivers are worthwhile too -- I just realized that, using OpenGL mode in zsnes, I get around 20 FPS with all smoothing engines turned off.
When I use software render mode, I don't get less than 60 frames, no matter how many features I enable.
That's sad...
They do sound very crap!


text:
What is Block Storage? What is the difference between Block Storage and a Volume?
The Block storage or block-level storage is a technology used for storing data usually on Storage Area Networks (SANs) or cloud-based storage environments. The data is stored in fixed-sized raw storage capacity or volumes. Each volume on Block Storage is independent of its other volumes or even the primary disk of the VPS product. However, data on a volume can only be accessed through a VPS.
One of the advantages of this product is that each Volume appears as a separate Mount Point on your server, and hence can be used as a Local Disk (or Additional Disk).
Thus, Block Storage is a technology for data storage, whereas Volumes are what you purchase and use as additional disks.
This new Block Storage product at <#brandname> gives you scalability and flexibility to use the storage as per your need.
Key features of this product are:
- All SSD Block Storage for high performance
- Highly Available & Remote Storage
- Choose the Exact Size
- Use multiple volumes with a VPS
- Resize existing volumes up to 500 GB with ease (Coming Soon)
- Move volumes to other VPS under your account (Coming Soon)
- Persistent Data Availability - Detach volumes from the server to retain your data
This new Block Storage product is currently available only with VPS USA (SSD) plans.
Although the older VPS USA (HDD) plans support Storage addon, the addons lifecycle is restricted only to the VPS with which it is purchased.
Can I move my Block Storage Volume?
Currently, we do not support the Move Service feature for Block Storage (Volumes). Therefore, you cannot move a volume from an existing customer account to a new one.
Further, if a VPS has a volume attached to it, the VPS' move action will not go through either. To complete the move of such a VPS, its volume needs to be detached. You can contact our Support team for assistance.
What will happen if I delete my VPS order?
VPS and Block Storage (Volumes), although dependent on each other in terms of use, they are two independent products in our systems each having its own lifecycle.
Since volumes have their own expiry dates, deletion of a VPS will not have any effect on the volumes that are attached to it. This feature gives you the flexibility to retain your critical data on volume (persistent data) and associate it with any VPS plan of your choice at a later point.
When a VPS (with a volume attached to it) is deleted we automatically detach any additional volume, thus preserving the volume and its data.
The primary volume (/dev/vda) associated with the VPS will NOT be retained.


text:
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text:
How old are you?
Where do you live?
Do you have any children?
But as the parent of a child diagnosed with PWS, there is one question I do not like to answer.
It is a question comprised of only four words.
A question every parent of every child ever diagnosed with Prader Willi Syndrome will be asked.
The answer to this question will expose the intensity of your child's affliction and define exactly where you are on your journey coping with this bizarre syndrome.
When I hear it, a little piece inside me dies.
"Are you locking yet?"
All children diagnosed with Prader Willi Syndrome will develop an insatiable appetite. For some, this uncontrollable desire to eat occurs within the first few years of life. For others, it is a slow but steady interest in food that builds in intensity over the years until eventually the child is unable to control his eating. In either scenario, the end result is the same, parents must begin to lock their food.
For my son Nicholas, the hunger was like a slow moving hurricane. At first, it was a few light sprinkles, followed by a steady rain, a downpour and eventually...the monsoon.
During his early childhood years, Nicholas was spared from the merciless attack of the constant hunger of this deadly aspect of the syndrome. He was in a way, invisible and safe from the jaws of this voracious animal.
But tales of the incomprehensible struggles of our compatriots moved us. There were descriptions of padlocks drilled into kitchen cabinets and bicycle locks wound around refrigerator door handles. Piles of empty food containers found hidden under beds and heart wrenching stories of the uncontrollable rage of a child who is denied food, screaming from a hunger that is fueled by a ferocious need to eat.
Although Nicholas was not exhibiting this behavior yet, deep down inside I knew it was coming.
For 11 years, I lived with a constant fear, a needling finger of doubt tapping me on my shoulder, taunting me, whispering in my ear...."it's coming"
Every day, I wondered when?
When would my son lose his battle with this ravenous beast?
When would we begin to lock?
This week I received my answer.
During my weekly run to the grocery store, I purchased a large bag of grapes and placed them on the bottom shelf of our refrigerator. I ran upstairs to put away a few supplies. When I returned to our kitchen, there was Nicholas with the refrigerator door open, his hands busily plucking at the bunches of plump fruit.
I stopped short in my tracks, I was speechless and immobile. It was as if I slammed head-first into a concrete wall of a new reality.
For a child without PWS, this raid would seem like typical teen behavior. In fact, had it been Weston pilfering grapes, I would have praised him for choosing such a healthy snack. But this was Nicholas, and this covert act was the first time he helped himself to food in the fridge.
Nicholas was no longer invisible. The beast had found his missing prey.
It was time for us to lock.
I was surprised in my search to find a solution. There were a variety of locks available for purchase online. I bought a simple lock and key mechanism. I realized that as he gets older and hungrier, this may not hold up to his more focused attempts at food seeking. But for now it was a good first step.
It took a few days for the lock to arrive. In that time, I noticed the grapes had completely disappeared. Any reservations I had about locking were quickly dissolved.
When the lock arrived Pete installed it quickly onto our fridge.
The sight of it made me angry.
To me, it was a symbol of hopelessness, a shiny metal reminder of how helpless I was at protecting my son from the torturous hunger that consumes him.
I asked the question that every parent of every child ever diagnosed will ask again and again and again.
In our culture, food is synonymous with love. Holidays, parties and special gatherings are times for over-indulgence, a pouring out of our love for one another. Locking all access to food feels, in a way, like we are denying our son this love, denying him his right to a happy life.
Burning tears blurred my eye sight. I quietly brushed them away as Nicholas came up beside me to inspect Daddy's work.
"What's that Dad?" he asked curiously.
Pete knelt down to speak directly to Nicholas. I was thankful for my husband's bravery.
"Well Nicholas," he explained matter-of-factly, "We need to be sure that no one eats after supper. So we are locking the fridge."
"You are?" he asked.
"Yes," Pete answered.
"Who will have the key?" Nicholas asked and I knew he was worried that perhaps he could find it.
"I will," said Pete.
"Where are you going to put it?"
"In a secret place that only Daddy knows."
"You are?"
"Yes, I am. No one is getting in the fridge all night."
"Oh, thank you!" said Nicholas and he hugged Pete tightly.
Nicholas was visibly relieved, happy I think, to know that he did not have to fight a battle he knew he could not win.
His happy response to our strict food enforcement taught me a valuable lesson.
Sometimes, all I see is his suffering.
I do not see his resilience and his steadfast spirit.
I do not listen to his subtle answers to my difficult questions.
Today he taught me that sometimes simple approaches can solve the most overwhelming challenges.
By locking our food, we alleviated his stress, kept him safe and more importantly respected his need for our assistance.
Perhaps there is no greater love.
Lisa Peters writes about family life at www.onalifelessperfect.blogspot.com. Please feel free to come visit us. To learn more about Prader Willi Syndrome or to make a donation, please visit our national organization at www.pwsausa.org.
Thank you for reading.