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When you use Probolan 50, you increase your muscle mass, you turn your fat into pure muscles. Everyone will envy you.
So a letter we received from Tom, 20-year-old men who tried Probolan 50 for the first time some time ago, began. Many other letters of thanks we received from our regular customers had the similar beginning. Do you know why they wrote these letters to us? Tom explained it this way:
You must publish my letter on your website. When I visited it for the first time and just had a glance at what is written there, I didn't believe in what you lied to me - rapid gain of muscle mass and effective fat into pure muscles conversion. Only natural ingredients of Probolan 50 were supposed to guarantee remarkable success. It sounded like fiction. I decided to order just one box to try this product, "it won't kill me" - I thought. Now I know that I would regret it if I didn't made this decision.
After four months of the cycle, the results exceeded my expectations. I accomplished what my friends worked for a year or more. Jealousy in their eyes is the best recommendation (not to mention the increased female attraction).
I hope you do publish my letter. If anyone gives thought whether they should buy Probolan 50, I'm sure that I can convince them! All in all, everyone wants to gain great results in a short time. Probolan 50 does it! I send my pictures before and after Probolan 50 treatment - you must show them!
Such wer Tom effects during Probolan 50 treatment:
1 month
2 months
3 months
The first step of each training cycle is to build muscle mass. This will also be the first of the direct effects of Probolan 50 that you observe while using it. In a very short time you'll have to get used to having to buy clothes in a larger size, because the old will no longer fit for you. In addition to the weight gain, Probolan 50 also increases strength, power and performance you squeeze from your muscles.
An increased metabolic rate of fat into muscles conversion will be the second effect you will notice after using Probolan 50. By controlling the testosterone and estrogen economy, your body starts natural fat burning and develops pure muscles. You won't believe that excess fat can disappear so quickly. What's more, visible to the naked eye muscles appear after a short period of using Probolan 50.
In the course of years of research, aimed at developing Probolan 50 formula, safety and efficacy took the priority. Scientists have spent years before they were able to create a natural formula that meets all the strict requirements. Probolan 50 efficacy and safety have been confirmed in independent clinical studies. You can be 100% sure the product can successfully be taken with other supplements, and in contrast to their low-cost substitutes, doesn't cause erection problems.
Get it before others will do it© Probolan 50 2014 All rights reserved
5 closely guarded secrets of an athlete silhouette, which nobody reveals to you!Why do some people perform better than others while working out? Why do the same exercises for two different people give two completely different effects? This is because some people know something you don't know. These people don't want you to find these 5 highly effective methods to have a muscular body. We aren't afraid to reveal them. Now this secret is within your reach! Achieve a better outcome; achieve what you have always been dreaming of! |
16-week cycle
6 packages
1 week - 2 CAPS/DAY
2 week - 2 CAPS/DAY
3 week - 3 CAPS/DAY
4 week - 3 CAPS/DAY
5 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
6 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
7 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
8 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
9 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
10 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
11 week - 4 CAPS/DAY
12 week - 3 CAPS/DAY
13 week - 3 CAPS/DAY
14 week - 3 CAPS/DAY
15 week - 2 CAPS/DAY
16 week - 1 CAPS/DAY


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subset: commoncrawl


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Awesomenauts welcomes "space butterfly prophet" Genji
Awesomenauts is soon to introduce a new contender to its ranks, the gluttonous monk Genji.
Genji rounds out the Awesomenauts roster to 13 and is the first true support character since Voltar. He specialises in shielding allies and banishing enemies, making him perfect for neutralising attacks. He's currently in closed beta, and will be rolled out alongside a balancing patch.
Genji is an Entin, a race of caterpillars who nearly wiped themselves out through starvation; only a group of religious ascetics survived. Genji was one of these Popae monks but was caught feasting on rationed supplies, so has been sent on pilgrimage to rediscover his faith. He is voiced by Jesse Cox.
In other Awesomenauts news, the unusual MOBA has managed 500,000 sales and spawned a Pro League, with a new tournament taking registrations until March 5.


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August GDT
"{Doing Life} in beautiful sunny South Africa. Loving wife for 31+ years. Keen Photographer. Energetic Hiker/Backpacker. Ad hoc Race Walker. Addicted to Spinning. Scrapaholic. Committed Scrapbook/Card Teacher. Card creator. Mosaic Enthusiast. PA/Secretary/Bookkeeper. Chocoholic. And the crochet bug has bitten lately. Right now I would love to be outdoors blending with nature. And last, but not least, addicted to Blogging where I have made such wonderful creative friends in cyber space www.desiref.blogspot.com ."
You will be able to check out Desire's work on our next challenge Sunday the 7th.
Until then... thank you to our DT Lori and Tina for giving us some inspiration. :)
Until then... thank you to our DT Lori and Tina for giving us some inspiration. :)
Rainbow in the pictures :) and I just may have all 7 colors of the rainbow on my layout
Okay everyone... get those "colorful" layouts linked up! Have fun!!
All weekly challenges will be due SEPTEMBER 2nd.


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Who Is Sai?
[Editor's note. Swami talks about God, the religion of Love, and His Avatar-hood. He explains why He materialises rings, etc., and gives them to people, and He explains what "Sai Baba" means.]
God is inscrutable. He cannot be realised in the outer objective world; He is in the very heart of every being. Gemstones have to be sought deep underground; they do not float in mid-air. Seek God in the depths of your self, not in tantalising, kaleidoscopic nature. The body is granted to you for this high purpose; but, you are now misusing it, like the person who cooked his daily food in the gem-studded gold vase that came into his hands as an heirloom.
Man extols God as omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent, but, he ignores His Presence in himself! Of course, many venture to describe the attributes of God and proclaim Him to be such and such; but, these are but their own guesses and the reflections of their own predilections and preferences.
Who can affirm that God is this or that? Who can affirm that God is not of this form or with this attribute? Each one can acquire from the vast expanse of the ocean only as much as can be contained in the vessel he carries to its shore. From that quantity, they can grasp but little of that immensity.
Each religion defines God within the limits it demarcates and then claims to have grasped Him. Like the seven blind men who spoke of the elephant as a pillar, a fan, a rope or a wall, because they contacted but a part and could not comprehend the entire animal, so too, religions speak of a part and assert that its vision is full and total.
Each religion forgets that God is all forms and all names, all attributes and all assertions. The religion of humanity is the sum and substance of all these partial faiths; for there is only one religion and that is the religion of Love. The various limbs of the elephant that seemed separate and distinct to the eye-less seekers of its truth were all fostered and activated by one single stream of blood; the various religions and faiths that feel separate and distinct are all fostered by a single stream of love.
The optical sense cannot visualise the truth. It gives only false and fogged information. For example, there are many who observe My actions and start declaring that My nature is such and such. They are unable to gauge the sanctity, the majesty, and the eternal reality that is Me. The power of Sai is limitless; It manifests for ever. All forms of 'power' are resident in this Sai palm.
But those who profess to have understood Me, the scholars, the yogis, the pundits, the jnanis, all of them are aware only of the least important, the casual external manifestation of an infinitesimal part of that power, namely, the "miracles"! They have not desired to contact the source of all power and all wisdom that is available here at Brindavan. They are satisfied when they secure a chance to exhibit their book-learning and parade their scholarship in vedic lore, not realising that the person from whom the Vedas emanated is in the midst, for their sake. They even ask, in their pride, for a few more chances!
This has been the case in all ages. People may be very near (physically) to the Avatar, but they live out their lives unaware of their fortune; they exaggerate the role of miracles, which are as trivial, when compared to My glory and majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant upon which it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these 'miracles,' I laugh within Myself out of pity that you allow yourself so easily to lose the precious awareness of My reality.
My power is immeasurable; My truth is inexplicable, unfathomable. I am announcing this about Me, for the need has arisen. But what I am doing now is only the gift of a 'visiting card!' Let Me tell you that emphatic declarations of the truth by Avatars were made so clearly and so unmistakably only by Krishna. In spite of the declaration, you will notice in the career of the same Krishna that He underwent defeat in His efforts and endeavours, on a few occasions; you must also note that those defeats too were part of the drama that He had planned and that He himself directed. For example, when many kings pleaded with him to avert the war with the Kauravas, He confessed that His mission to the Kaurava Court for ensuring peace had 'failed'! But, He had not willed that it should succeed! He had decided that war would be waged! His mission was intended to punish the greed and iniquity of the Kauravas and to condemn them before the whole world.
Now, I must tell you that, during this Sai Avatar, there is no place for even such 'drama' with scenes of failures and defeats! What I will, must take place; what I plan must succeed. I am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear, or bend.
'Willing' is superfluous for Me. For My grace is ever available to devotees who have steady love and faith. Since I move freely among them, talking and singing, even intellectuals are unable to grasp My truth, My power, My glory, or My real task as Avatar. I can solve any problem however knotty. I am beyond the reach of the most intensive enquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognised My love and experienced that love can assert that they have glimpsed My reality. For the path of Love is the royal road that leads mankind to Me.
Do not attempt to know Me through the external eyes. When you go to a temple and stand before the image of God, you pray with closed eyes, don't you? Why? Because you feel that the inner eye of wisdom alone can reveal Him to you. Therefore, do not crave from Me trivial material objects; but, crave for Me, and you will be rewarded. Not that you should not receive whatever objects I give as sign of grace out of the fullness of Love.
I shall tell you why I give these rings, talismans, rosaries, etc. It is to signalise the bond between Me and those to whom they are given. When calamity befalls them, the article comes to Me in a flash and returns in a flash taking from Me the remedial grace of protection. That grace is available to all who call on Me in any name or form, not merely to those who wear these gifts. Love is the bond that wins grace.
Consider the meaning of the name Sai Baba. Sa means 'Divine'; ai or ayi means 'mother', and Baba means 'father'. The name indicates the divine mother and father, just as Sambasiva, which also means the divine mother and father. Your physical parents exhibit love with a dose of selfishness; but, this Sai "mother and father" showers affection or reprimands only to lead you toward victory in the struggle for self-realisation.
For this Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind, as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illumining the Atmic reality of each being in order to reveal the Divine that is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common divine heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal, and rise into the Divine, which is his goal.
I am the embodiment of divine love; love is My instrument. There is no creature without love; the lowest loves itself, at least. And its self is God. So there are no atheists, though some might dislike Him or refuse Him, as malarial patients dislike sweets or diabetic patients refuse to have anything to do with sweets! Those who preen themselves as atheists will one day, when their illness is gone, relish God and revere Him.
I had to tell you so much about My truth, for I desire that you should contemplate on this and derive joy therefrom, so that you may be inspired to observe the disciplines laid down by Me and progress toward the goal of self-realisation, the realisation of the Sai that shines in your hearts.


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iTapArcade.com — electronic handheld games
Games! Games! and More Games! for Circuit Playground Express and CircuitPython in 2019
Posted by iTapArcade.com LLC on
Embedded Games and Bluetooth Game Controller using Circuit Python and Circuit Playground Express In 2019 iTapArcade plans to focus on getting makers excited to code in CircuitPython based on creating embedded games and wirelessly interacting with mobile games leveraging CircuitPython and CircuitPlayground Express. We plan to add bluetooth to the current Game Shield Kit for Circuit Playground Express. Here are several items of what's to come in 2019: Bluetooth for your existing Circuit Playground Express (CPX) board turning your CP and CPX into an interactive BLE wireless controller for PC, MAC, and Mobile Games like Timberman Handheld electronic games using as many...


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Sat, Oct 15
|Little Sprouts Play Cafe, Mequon
Mequon Open Play (EARLY CLOSE)
Closing at 11:30a. Open play are reservations for safe and fun group play. These sessions are open to children & guardians that want to play in a group setting. It's the same drop-in play we know and love but please note, we have a limited number of children and online reservations are encouraged.
Time & Location
Oct 15, 2022, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Little Sprouts Play Cafe, Mequon, 1406 W Mequon Rd, Mequon, WI 53092, USA
About the event
Reserved open play are reservations for safe and fun small group play. These sessions are open to children & guardians that want to play in a small group setting. Tickets are for 1 child + 1 adult. If you need to bring extra adults, an extra ticket MUST be purchased.
The Nitty Gritty
Join us anytime during this Open Play time. We are a socks-only space for ALL guests - meaning we will ask you to remove shoes before entering our play area.
The time block of open play is a larger duration of time. Of course, you can come at the start and leave at the end of the reservation block. However, we hope this gives you some flexibility within that time to come and go when most convenient to you within this time.
Tickets are fully refundable if cancellation request is received at least 48 hours before the start of the play. If cancellation is requested within the 48 hours prior to the play, tickets will be refunded in the form of a credit for play equivilent to the original ticket bought. This credit must be used within 28 days of the canceled ticket. If play is canceled 2 hours or less from the start of the play, tickets are not refundable (some exceptions may apply).
1 Child +1 Complimentary Adult
Ticket is good for 1 child + 1 adult. If extra children and/or adults are attending, an extra ticket needs to be purchased for them. These open play reservations are for safe and fun small group play. These sessions are open to children & guardians that want to play in a small group setting.
$15.00Tax: +$0.83 WI TaxSale ended1 Child (6-12months) + 1 Adult
This ticket is ONLY FOR CHILDREN UNDER 12 MONTHS OLD. This includes one child and one adult only. If another child and/or adult are attending they must purchase another ticket corresponding to the additional child's age.
$6.00Tax: +$0.33 WI TaxSale ended+ 1 Adult
This ticket is for an extra adult only. All kid tickets include 1 complementary adult. Any extra adults need to purchase a ticket.
$6.00Tax: +$0.33 WI TaxSale ended


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About Privnote
Have you ever wanted to send confidential information within your work environment, to family or friends, but were afraid to do so over the internet, because some malicious hacker could be spying on you?
Privnote is a free web based service that allows you to send top secret notes over the internet. It's fast, easy, and requires no password or user registration at all.
Just write your note, and you'll get a link. Then you copy and paste that link into an email (or instant message) that you send to the person who you want to read the note. When that person clicks the link for the first time, they will see the note in their browser and the note will automatically self-destruct; which means no one (even that very same person) can read the note again. The link won't work anymore.
If you have any questions, feel free to submit your inquiry via e-mail to [email protected], and remember to check our Frequently Asked Questions first.
If you are concerned about Privacy issues, please read our Privacy Policy.


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Author: Karin Wahl-Jorgensen
Professor and Director of Research Development and Environment, School of Journalism, Cardiff University
New contagious diseases are scary. They frighten us because they are unknown and unpredictable. The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus has received extensive media attention, coverage that can tell us a lot about how uncertainty in the face of such an epidemic can all too easily breed fear.
For about a decade, I have been studying the role of emotions in journalism, including in the coverage of disasters and crises. Media coverage is vital to our shared conversations and plays a key role in regulating our emotions, including fear.
While fear is an emotion that we frequently experience as individuals, it can also be a shared and social emotion, one which circulates through groups and communities and shapes our reactions to ongoing events. Like other emotions, fear is contagious and can spread swiftly.
Media coverage sets the agenda for public debate. While the news doesn't necessarily tell us what to think, it tells us what to think about. In doing so, the news signals what issues merit our attention. Research has consistently shown that when issues receive extensive media coverage and are prominent in the news agenda, they also come to be seen as more important by members of the public.
The current outbreak has been much more prominent in media coverage than recent epidemics, including Ebola. For example, a Time Magazine study shows that there were 23 times more articles in English-language print news covering the coronavirus outbreak in its first month compared to the same time period for the Ebola epidemic in 2018.
'Killer virus'
My own research suggests that fear has played a particularly vital role in coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. Since reports first started circulating about the new mystery illness on January 12, and up until February 13 2020, I have tracked reporting in major English-language newspapers around the world, using the LexisNexis UK database. This includes almost 100 high-circulation newspapers from around the world, which have collectively published 9,387 stories about the outbreak. Of these, 1,066 articles mention "fear" or related words, including "afraid".
Such stories often used other frightening language – for example, 50 articles used the phrase "killer virus". One article in The Telegraph newspaper was typical of this fear-inducing language, in describing scenes on the ground in Wuhan shared on social media:
Mask-wearing patients fainting in the street. Hundreds of fearful citizens lining cheek by jowl, at risk of infecting each other, in narrow hospital corridors as they wait to be treated by doctors in forbidding white hazmat suits. A fraught medic screaming in anguish.
Tabloid newspapers such as The Sun and The Daily Mail, were more likely to use fear-inducing language. For example, The Sun's coronavirus liveblog routinely refers to the virus as a "deadly disease".
Many stories offered local angles by reporting on fears in local areas affected by the outbreak. In the UK, this led to a particular focus on Brighton, where several cases have been reported. For example, a story in The Times suggested:
Conversations about miniature bottles of antibacterial hand sanitiser are normally far from a mainstay of lunchtime pub chitchat. However, such is the anxiety over the coronavirus that locals in The Grenadier in Hove yesterday readily admitted to changing their hand-washing routines.
Other reports localised the story by discussing the impact on Chinese-owned businesses. The Manchester Evening News, for instance, reported that: "The fear of coronavirus is hitting businesses hard, with some reporting a 50 per cent drop in custom since the outbreak. And Chinese Mancunians report suffering more racial abuse."
A number of stories, by contrast, sought to temper fears and provide reassurance. For example, Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsein Loong was widely quoted in cautioning against panic:
Fear can make us panic, or do things which make matters worse, like circulating rumours online, hoarding face masks or food, or blaming particular groups for the outbreak.
Fear can be catching
Research on coverage of earlier disease outbreaks show a similar emphasis on fear. In the case of the SARS epidemic in 2003, a study by historian Patrick Wallis and linguist Brigitte Nerlich found that "the main conceptual metaphor used was SARS as a killer".
Along the same lines, media scholars Peter Vasterman and Nel Ruigrok examined coverage of the H1N1 epidemic in The Netherlands, and found that it was marked by the "alarming" tone of its coverage. Like the coronavirus, these historical outbreaks were characterised by uncertainty, breeding fear and panic.
To put these observations into perspective, it is instructive to look to a comparison to coverage of seasonal influenza, which is estimated by the World Health Organization to kill 290,000 to 650,000 people around the world every year. Since January 12 2020, world newspapers have published just 488 articles on the seasonal influenza without mention of the coronavirus.
In sharp contrast to coverage of this novel coronavirus, fewer than one in ten stories about flu (37 of 488) mentioned fear or similar phrases.
The prominence of fear as a theme in reports of the coronavirus suggests that much of the coverage of the outbreak is more a reflection of public fear than informative of what is actually happening in terms of the spread of the virus.
Former US president Franklin D Roosevelt probably overstated the case when he famously said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Yet at a time rife with misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories, it is worthwhile remaining alert to the dangers of this contagious emotion in the face of uncertainty.
Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Professor and Director of Research Development and Environment, School of Journalism, Cardiff University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


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Earth Mechanics Inc. (EMI) is a geotechnical and earthquake engineering consulting firm specializing in transportation infrastructure. Founded as a California Corporation in 1989, EMI has accumulated over 29 years of experience completing over 1,000 projects including bridges, freeways, roadways, tunnels, transit, rail, high-speed rail, wharves, and port facilities. Highlights of EMI's project experience include the first design-build segment of California High Speed Rail and the new east spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
EMI provides full-service geotechnical and earthquake engineering consulting, from subsurface investigations and testing at certified in-house soil and rock mechanics laboratories, through foundation design and construction support. EMI technical staff has strong experience with state and federal codes and guidelines from numerous agencies including Caltrans, FHWA, AREMA, AASHTO, TRB, ATC, and the California High Speed Rail Authority. For projects that call for state-of-the-art solutions, EMI has the leadership, experience, and technical expertise to provide them.


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Wow, it sure has been a while! In my defense, I've seen a few westerns - one of which I do intend to review - but the catch is either they've been extremely hard to find (Corbucci's The Specialist) or just not even worth reviewing (Seraphim Falls - serious disappointment for me). Or just too weird. Plus, well, I'd really rather not get into another debate about "is it a western?" by reviewing There Will Be Blood or something. =P
Although I do hope to review Django The Bastard (aka Stranger's Gundown) when I get the chance, that was pretty good. But that's for another time.
I know I promised "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone" by Enzo Castellari, but it's a tad on the hard to find side. So, instead, we get something that's got tomahawks being thrown, silver being mined, innocent people getting harassed, and a LOT of cinematic fog.
Dudes and (possibly?) dudettes, I present to you...
Mannaja (1977)
The Stats:
Director: Sergio Martino
Cast: Maurizio Merli, John Steiner, Philippe Leroy, Donald O'Brien, Sonja Jeannine, and Salvatore Puntillo
Type: Late-Era Spaghetti Western (dreamier mood, stronger violence)
Supercool Trivia: Because the studio where the film was being shot was being renovated, the decision was made to add lots of extra fog to hide the repair work being done.
Availability: Amazon US - Amazon.de - Amazon.de (SEPARATE RELEASE) - Amazon.fr _-_ You can also find this as part of a Spaghetti Westerns pack with Django, Djangokill (If You Live...Shoot!), and Run, Man, Run! which seems to be pretty widespread
The Content:
Spaghetti Western Gunshot - CHECK!
Town Run By Corrupt Owner - CHECK!
Bounty Hunter Hero With Revenge Driven Backstory - CHECK!
Twisty-Turny Plot With Lots Of Betrayal - TOTALLY CHECK!
Strange Music Score by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - CHECK!
Sexy Females With WAY Too Much Eye Make-up - CHECK!
Goofball Chubby Guy - CHECK!
Betraying Second-Hand to Bad Guy - CHECK!
Rainy/Muddy Town ala Django - CHECK!
Stagecoach Robbery - CHECK!
Slowmotion Intercutting - CHECK!
Hand-to-Hand Brawling With Specific Quality - CHECK! (lots of mud and wooden objects)
Guy Chased By Dude On Horseback - CHECK!
Bad Guys Torture Hero/Leave For Dead - CHECK! (buried up to neck with knife at his throat)
Hero Recuperates In Cave (possibly with help from low-life sidekick type character)- CHECK! (and sort of check)
Member of Town Working With Outlaws - CHECK!
Woman With Dreams of Traveling Elsewhere - CHECK! (also tells the hero about those dreams!)
Group of Traveling Musicians/Dancers/Etc. - CHECK! (dancers)
Evil Bad Guy With Gimmick - CHECK! (attack dogs)
Hero With Gimmick - CHECK! (throwing axes)
Silver/Gold/Coal Miners - CHECK! (Silver)
Vague Use of Government/Military - CHECK! (Government Contracts, Military Escorts)
Music Montage Sequence With Lyrics While Hero Gets Ready - CHECK! (Like A Snake!)
Good Guy Screws Bad Guy On Ransom/Make-A-Deal/Sharing Loot - CHECK! (if you don't see this coming, I'll be amazed)
Saloon Getting Busted Up - CHECK!
Atmospheric/Foggy/Dramatic Final Shodown - CHECK! (Foggy)
(there's probably more, but hell, I'm tired)
The Review:
One of the interesting things about the italian western genre, especially in its waning years around 1975-1979, is that there would still be occasions where the story was as cliche as you could get, yet the execution of the film would make it worth watching. Although Mannaja has its problems, I found it to be one that was indeed worth watching.
Yes, as I hint at, this film is covered, soaking, perhaps even designed piece-by-piece with cliche in mind. Although Sergio Martino was known to be great at doing Giallo films (the only one of his I've seen, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardth, is amazing and highly recommended for fans of dark thrillers), it kinda shows he wasn't really all that enthusiastic for the genre of the western. Mario Bava, the godfather of the Giallo genre, was the same way. But the cool aspect in what Martino does is he brings to the film a sense of tone, visceral strength, and a mood for the entire film that delivers on the violence you want in the movie and the twisty-turny plot (despite being quite predictable). In a way, he uses this cinematic quality to fake you out a little bit when you're expecting the next turn to happen, giving you enough doubt that it may not happen the way you expect. And once or twice, it does happen differently than you expect, but generally it goes the same way. You know the hero will get captured and tortured at some point - you know the supposed main villain of the town is nothing compared to his second in command who obviously is a jerk - you know that the good people will get screwed over - so on and so on.
The story begins with Mannaja (Blade) hunting down Bert Craven, a man wanted for $5,000. After cutting off his prey's hand, Mannaja captures him and takes the man along. In the middle of a storm, the two come across the town of Suttonville, which is obviously run by some pretty oppressive types. After a nasty run-in with the town owner's (McGowan's) second-hand Voller, Mannaja earns $5,000 in a card game and lets Craven go, saying he was in it for the money, not for Craven's head. The prey leaves and the hunter stays, setting the plot into motion with twists and turns. Mannaja is after the town owner for what he did to his father years ago, but will current events change his plans for revenge? And what of the mysterious ability the local bandits have of stealing the silver mined by the town owner's workers before it can reach the U.S. Government? So it begins and the plot/story/scenario goes into its usual motions.
So how does the cinematic style and visual look help make the movie watchable then? Well, for one the action scenes are pretty fast-paced. The editing is very tight, inspired more by the flavor of the Italian Polizio genre (which Martino did a couple of movies in), and the rhythm and pacing of both the action and the drama/intrigue sequences move at a pretty good clip. Action-wise, it's also where staging and choreography is key to making the scene work. Even the big brawl where Mannaja has his fist-fight with four of the corrupt townsfolk, there's a sense that things are in good hands and you won't see sloppy stuntwork or choreography they just came up with a couple of hours earlier. And the big riot set-piece with the miners revolting against their new masters is a pretty epic sequence, despite having very little story consequences. If you want an action-packed spaghetti western, this one has got lots of shooting in it and some just frankly well-staged sequences. It gives you the excitement and the thrills you desire.
The film's also pretty to look at. The director of photography, who doesn't appear to have done much else that's really popped up on the radar (except for Stelvio Massi's Mark Il Poliziotto Spara Per Primo), really knows how to take the locations they're using and make them look gorgeous. The panorama views, especially during the stagecoach robbery, are awesome and you can see that James Mangold probably studied the way that scene was shot quite closely for his 3:10 to Yuma remake. (I recognized at least 4 exact camera angles) On top of that, the foggy sequences are some of the coolest mood scenes I've seen done in that kind of thick fog, even just a simple camera angle of the town setting a mood and giving you something gorgeous to look at artistically and dramatically. The opening chase (which can be found on YouTube) is fantastic and leads up perfectly to the visceral and disturbing dismemberment of Craven's hand (shown in the video - fair warning!). Even the best spaghetti westerns (except the Leone stuff) can sometimes get a little dull here and there in some of their scenes, but Mannaja is visually interesting constantly. Even the few interior sequences have a couple of good movements, good tricks, or just fine composition. In terms of crewmen and the craft of making movies, Mannaja is definitely more than competent.
And despite the characters being pretty stereotypical, the actors bring some depth here and there. Donald O'Brien as Craven, who returns later in the movie (at the moment you want him to most - won't spoil!), is a shifty type who is always a bit untrustworthy but yet he has a knack for looking like someone so pathetic you can't help but feel sorry for him living on his own on the run in such rough conditions. Maurizio Merli is also great as the leading man, although I suspect he's better suited for the Polizio genre (something about him doesn't say "grizzled outdoorsy type), and there's a sense of believability you don't usually get with a Giuliano Gemma or Fabio Testi. This guy's a facebreaker, you can see it in his eyes, and it's a pity the material doesn't allow him better opportunities. The two lady characters, Debra the town owner's daughter and Angela one of the dancers, aren't given much to work with but Debra has a couple of good bitchy moments and Angela's suitably adorable so that the audience wants her to get with the hero and things to be happy. (of course, it's a 70s spaghetti western; don't expect that to happen) Overall, the cast isn't the problem either. They do good.
I guess it's time to get to the problems, then. Unfortunately, the plot ambles...a LOT. The second act has little-to-no meat in it, there's a tiny hint of a character arc which is unfortunately not lived up to in the ending, and a lot of stuff seems to go in a loop. Political statements about oppression and exploitation of laborers is thrown in, but mostly for visuals and one kick-ass action scene. The back and forth battle between Mannaja and Voller has a couple of good moments, but not enough to keep their conflict interesting throughout the film. And despite a great plot-twist later on of making Mannaja blinded by sunlight while buried up to his neck in the sand, at the end of the movie you're left feeling a bit empty inside. Not much gets fleshed out and it's just a lot of cliches and a couple of unique executions to old ideas. There's no catharsis and there's no statement to the movie. A lot of it stems from the shifting morality of the main character, who seems first driven by money, then revenge, then justice, then revenge again. There's lines he won't cross in his line of deathdealing, but because of it his character becomes a bit stale.
As a sidenote about that, there's been a lot of talk recently amongst screenwriters about how "the character arc" has become a tad overrated in today's Hollywood filmmaking system, and most moviemaking businesses around the world, where you have to make the hero or heroine or villains transform in some way to make the development of the storyline interesting. The backlash is, for the most part, welcome and it's true, today we get a bit of an overdone feeling of "it must transform." (i saw a great blogpost about classic films with no character arc) Having said that, Mannaja is the kind of case where the movie could use a little bit of the 90s/00s type of "and the person learns/transforms/makes a decision/etc. because of *blank*" to help spice up the plot and make the story more interesting. As I said, it's really a lot of cliches and although the cliches can sometimes be entertaining as hell and if they're done well there's no problem, but in this case I felt there being a lack of substance. Say what you will about how slow The Great Silence is or how silly Indio Black is, but you feel a sense of a journey into something, that there's an eventual point to the movie that the director or screenwriters are working towards. Some spaghetti westerns don't need that point, but Mannaja could've used it in my opinion.
In any case, do I recommend the movie? Yes. It's still well-made, the cliches are lovable because they're kind of cute and charming to see after so many films of this genre, the action scenes are worth it because of how good some of the stuntwork is, and it's in spirit a different kind of spaghetti western because it intends to do something a little darker and more visceral. Perhaps a bit more brutal, too. Martino, as said, was known for the giallo genre, which for those who don't know is a very gritty sub-genre of horror and thrillers. He brings that quality here with the few violent kills he throws in here and there, along with the general sense of "everything burns and is destroyed" that haunts the third act of the film.
Well, granted, it's not as warped or subversive as Djangokill or Four of the Apocalypse. But those are in a different league, which makes Mannaja enjoyable because it's the inbetween half-way point of just a typical violent western and the more strange/brutal stuff that Fulci or Giulio Questi would go into.
I guess that's it for now. Tune in next time, chaps!
The Images:
If you dug this movie...try Keoma! (which I'm really tempted to watch after this flick - given they both have Guido & Maurizio De Angelis scores)
Also, if you want to see more of my (Futsin's) opinions, you can check out my blog. Do keep in mind I cover a strange variety of topics. o_o


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I have keen interest in design patterns. I have been reading a lot about them. Specially, from HEAD FIRST. Can I write about design patterns in my resume?
I am a fresher. Going to sit in on-campus placements.
Though I think that would impress the interviewer if i am able to defend his questions but, on the other hand I think there can be three points I am worried about:
- He might ask too deep questions to show me that I have written a wrong point.
- He might not know about design patterns.
- Besides he may ask of design patterns that are not in Head First.
- he bounces on J2EE design patterns, which I am afraid to study right now.
Anyways, what i am asking is. do the people who come to on-campus placements for taking interviews have any knowledge about design patterns? If they do, then how much. I am a bit afraid to put this on my resume.


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Batik Maxi Dress - Jet Chain
This favorite and best-selling batik maxi dress is handmade by skilled Malaysian artisans using a wax-resist technique of fabric dyeing called batik Malaysia. Now available in our NEW print, Jet Chain - inspired by our artisans using a hand-drawn link of wax that connects us all.
Batik Print: Hand-drawn wax resist motif with 2 color layering of batik in grey and black.
Material: Hand-drawn and hand-painted on viscose.
Design: Our sleeveless batik dress features a V-shaped neckline with pleats at the chest, sewn as A line at the skirt, and includes a knee-high side slit. Complete with a narrow tie belt, it offers versatile styling options at the front, back or side of dress.
Unique Variations: Each piece is a work of art, with colors and prints that may vary from one another. This distinctiveness arises from the meticulous hand-printing and hand-painting that is bestowed upon each fabric.
Artisan Craftsmanship: Crafted with pride by artisans in Malaysia, this batik dress is a collaborative masterpiece brought to life by a team of 24 dedicated artisans and seamstresses.
Care Instructions: To preserve the beauty of your batik maxi dress, we recommend:
Machine wash with cold water with mild detergent and gentle softener
Hang to dry to maintain the fabric's integrity
- Use a warm iron if necessary
Model Information: Our model stands at 170 cm tall and is wearing a size S. For detailed measurements, please refer to our size chart.
Sizing: Available in sizes XS - L.
This modern batik dress looks beautiful on literally everyone who wears it. A sustainable dress for all body types. This will be your favorite dress for anytime of day or night in this elegant black batik design.
Hand wash or machine wash in cool water, hang to dry.
We ship locally in Malaysia and globally.
In-store Pick-up
For customers who wish to order online then pick up items at store, please select self pick-up option at checkout.
Our store available for self pick-up is:
The Row, Kuala Lumpur
58 Ground Floor, Jalan Doraisamy, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Open from Monday - Sunday 9AM - 6PM
Tel: +603-2382 0370
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Batik Boutique is an award-winning social enterprise created to do good as we do business.
To date, we have worked with over 300 artisans, empower over 150 women with marketable skills and impacted the lives of more than 1,500 local beneficiaries through our business model.
Head over to our 'About Us' section to know more


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Luxury entrepreneur Stephen Hung has purchased the largest Rolls-Royce Phantom fleet in the world, placing an order for 30 Bespoke Extended Wheelbase Phantoms for his Louis XIII hotel in Macau. This transaction represents the world's single largest order of Rolls-Royces ever. Two of the fleet will be the most expensive Rolls-Royce Phantoms ever commissioned.
The deal was formalised on 16th September 2014 at a signing ceremony at the Home of Rolls‑Royce at Goodwood in West Sussex, England. The signing ceremony was attended by Rolls-Royce CEO, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Louis XIII Chairman, Stephen Hung, the Board of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Louis XIII executives and a representative from Graff Diamonds.
"Macau is rapidly evolving into the luxury capital of the world and we are honoured to have the opportunity to add to Macau's many distinctions, the world's largest fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, including the two most luxurious vehicles Rolls-Royce has ever built. Louis XIII and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars share the same philosophy: to deliver the perfect experience to the world's most discerning customers," said Louis XIII Chairman, Stephen Hung.
"We at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are delighted and honoured that Mr Hung has commissioned Rolls-Royce to provide the largest single order of Phantoms in history. The Louis XIII fleet of Phantoms promises to be one of most impressive sights ever seen in Macau when they arrive at the Louis XIII hotel in 2016. Mr Hung's commission reaffirms Phantom's pinnacle position as the motor car of choice for those seeking to experience the finest luxury the world has to offer," commented Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Each of the 30 Rolls-Royces has been extensively customised by Rolls-Royce's Bespoke design team at Goodwood working hand-in-hand with Mr Hung and Louis XIII to create truly distinctive vehicles. Newly created bespoke elements have been applied extensively both to the interior and exterior of the cars including bespoke clocks designed and created by Graff Luxury Watches. The two most expensive Phantoms will additionally feature external and internal gold-plated accents.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has also helped to design the parking and driveways to house the fleet at Louis XIII and will train Louis XIII's chauffeurs from Macau in the appropriate driving and handling of the unique vehicles.
The Phantom fleet will chauffeur the guests of Louis XIII, located on the Cotai Strip in Macau, when it is opened in the first half of 2016.


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FreedomPop, a company that sells wireless hotspot devices with free mobile data, is planning to offer a full-blown cellular service with free voice calls and text messages this summer.
According to AllThingsD, FreedomPop has been amassing a pile of refurbished phones that once ran on Sprint's 4G WiMax network, such as the Samsung Galaxy SII and HTC Evo 4G, and plans to sell them for under $200 with no contract. In exchange, FreedomPop subscribers will get 500 MB of data and 200 voice minutes (via VoIP) per month, plus unlimited text messages.
FreedomPop hopes to make money by selling add-on services, such as unlimited calling, additional data and faster connection speeds. As AllThingsD's Ina Fried points out, it's a strategy reminiscent of dotcom-era companies like NetZero, which gave away basic dial-up Internet service for free. (Incidentally, NetZero rose from the dead recently with free wireless Internet service, but it only lasts for a year before customers must pay for subscriptions.)
Is FreedomPop worth considering? Sure, but only if you're keenly aware of its hidden costs and gotchas. And from what I've seen of FreedomPop's existing free data service, the company seems to try its best to keep potential users in the dark.
Here are a couple things to know about FreedomPop's free data service, which is already available today:
- If you use less than 5 MB of data in a given month, you get charged a $0.99 "Active Status fee."
- By default, when you reach your final 100 MB of data in a given month, FreedomPop automatically charges $10 to fill your plan back up. To avoid the automatic charge, you must change your billing settings on FreedomPop's website.
Finding the above stipulations on FreedomPop's website isn't easy. There's no mention of them on the home page, nor on the terms of service page that's linked from the home page. You'll only find them on a separate "Service Plan, Equipment, and Payment Terms" page, which is linked from the main terms of service. Even then, the part about extra fees is buried beneath six other sections of legalese.
FreedomPop does give subscribers a chance to opt out of automatic refills on the final service activation page, but the wording ("To ensure uninterrupted service, top up my freedompop account") is vague. It doesn't say that the charge is recurring, nor does it mention the 100-MB trigger.
FreedomPop also peppers users with additional offers during the sign-up process, while engaging in some classic sneakiness: On one page, an offer for 2 GB per month is advertised as "100% FREE" and selected by default, while the fine print mentions that a charge of $17.99 kicks in after one month. Another page offers faster speeds for $3.99 per month with a big green "Get Offer!" button, while the option to pass is presented in tiny text.
Other aspects of FreedomPop's service are hidden from prospective customers as well. You can't find out the cost of the devices without going through the sign-up process, during which you must enter an e-mail address and mailing address. And while FreedomPop's home page advertises 4G speeds, users must pay $3.99 per month extra to guarantee the full speed that the network allows.
The fees themselves don't bother me too much. They're no worse than the below-the-line fees and value-added services of major wireless carriers, and if you're mindful of FreedomPop's policies, it's certainly possible to get free data. I've used the service in Cincinnati, and it works.
I just wish that FreedomPop wasn't so sketchy in the way it presents its services. It'd be easier to get excited about the upcoming free wireless service if the company was more transparent. Instead, I'm wondering what other new ways FreedomPop will invent to extract money from unsuspecting users.
UPDATE: FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols wrote in to address a couple of the points above. First, he pointed out that users receive an e-mail alerting them to the $10 automatic top-up after they sign up. FreedomPop began sending those e-mails to new users about 2.5 months ago. Second, starting last month, FreedomPop began waiving the $0.99 "Active Status fee" for new subscribers, and will eventually be doing so for existing users. It seems FreedomPop is working to address criticisms, but the company still has more work to do on being up front about the cost of the hardware and other fees before people sign up, not after they've handed over personal details and/or payment info. That issue, combined with the additional services that FreedomPop tries to sneak past new users, is what ultimately leaves a sour taste, not the fees themselves.


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If you deliver training on webinar platforms, you need to understand how people learn. The content is important, but it is only half of the instructional design task. This post summarizes some learning research and offers some tips for delivering effective webinars.
It has been over six years since I designed and delivered my first webinar/conference call, "Designing Effective Technology Training Workshops for Nonprofits" with NTEN. Because webinars were a new medium to trainers, I used Richard Mayer's research on multi-media learning based on understanding how the brain works and the ability to pay attention to guide the instructional design. His research shows that professional development learning experiences need to be as interactive as possible to boost retention.
The research indicates that the human brain, on average, has the capacity to pay attention for about 10-12 minutes within an hour. Human attention peaks at about about 12 minutes, particularly if it is a lecture. The learners will space out and come back to attention but not as at the high level at they did at the beginning of the presentation.
Mayer's research is from the 1990s, but the finders were recently validated again in a study from Carl Wieman that college students learn more, attend class at higher rates and are more engaged in their education when teachers take a more interactive approach in the classroom.
Last week, I was an instructor for NTEN's Technology Leadership Academy for a session on Nonprofit Technology ROI Methods. It was delivered in two sessions. The first 90-minute webinar to introduced the content. Effective webinars need to have "processing" or "interactivity" breaks for participants to digest the material or else they not pay attention to the content. An easy way to do this is to pause or take a breath after ten minutes to answer questions or give participants something active to do rather than passively listen.
Since the NTEN Academy is a peer exchange program, I did more than simply chunk content and encourage interaction through polls, the backchannel chat, and people talking on the phone line every 12 minutes. I set up opportunities for people to apply what they just heard through reflective questions. I also used composite scenarios based on real-life nonprofits needing to apply ROI techniques to technology purchase decisions. This approach means the instructor takes a "guide on the side" approach versus "expert on the stage." And, of course, it takes more preparation time than slapping together a powerpoint.
The second session used a conferencing software that allowed the whole group to break into small group discussions on the phone line. This mirrors what you might do in a face-to-face workshop. Present a concept for 15 minutes, break people into small groups with a particular exercise to apply the material, and then come back as a full group for a report out. The software let the instructor to "listen" in on the peer group discussions and be "on call" if a small group has a question. This is similar to what you may do in a face-to-face small group design, but not having eye contact or being able to read body language requires rethinking how you design a small group exercise using this software.
Here's some reflections:
1.) Small Group Composition: How you select people to put into small groups may or may not be important to a small group exercise. With icebreakers, for example, you can use counting off or alphabetical order. But in other instances, you need to do a little social engineering. The software allows you to do this in real-time by asking participates to self-select. For the technology purchase decision ROI exercise, we had a list of different types of technology purchases. What happened is that we had an uneven number of people across the small groups. While it might be more work, it is better to pre-assign the participants to a specific group based on a survey.
If you use a survey ahead time, you can do more fine-tuning. For this exercise, it would have been helpful to have people in each group with some prior real life experience designing an ROI study.
2.) Exercise Task: Having the ability to break into small groups, provides an opportunity to use Peer Assist or After Action Review models. Peer Assist brings together a group of peers to elicit feedback on a problem, project, or activity, and uses insights from the participants' knowledge and experience. This would have required identifying a handful of participants who were considering an actual technology purchase to be "peer assisted" in each group. Each person who was seeking peer help, would introduce their problem and participants could self-select which group they would join. With a small amount of time, focusing on one person's actual problem takes less time. This would require clear instructions on the outcome of the peer coaching and to provide some instructions on the right balance between listening and telling.
3.) Facilitating Virtual Small Groups: The webinar software has the ability for participants to ask the instructor to come to their group if they have question. The webinar dash board shows which groups have "raised their hand" signaling the need for the facilitator. Good practice is to separate technical support questions from content questions and NTEN staff did a great job of this. When I use this technique in a face-to-face workshop, I "bumble bee" around and listen to the discussion. I'm mainly listening for where groups get stuck or derailed from doing the exercise and occasionally step into the "expert" role of providing advice, if needed. The problem with using this technique with the software is that participants don't know the instructor is present and when you make your presence known, it can be awkward. This can be handled by telling participants the facilitator will be checking in the group.
4.) Time Keeping: As I have learned from many years of facilitating the social media game workshop, a longer exercise needs to have the steps broken downand the facilitator needs to time each one to keep the group moving forward. The software has a countdown feature that was helpful – so it is mportant to make sure that the time you allot for each chunk of the exercise is the right amount – not too much and not too little. This can be tricky, but better to err on the side of simplicity.
A bonus delivery tip
Presenting a webinar doesn't allow you to get real-time energy from people in the room as you would if you were presenting in person. Without this, your presenting style can get flat. To keep the energy, have a stuffed animal and pretend you are presenting to it. It will not only keep your energy up, but your audience engaged.
What are your tips and tricks for designing and delivering effective webinars?


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Resident Evil® Revelations returns redefined for PC complete with high quality HD visuals, enhanced lighting effects and an immersive sound experience. This latest version of Resident Evil Revelations will also deliver additional content including a terrifying new enemy, extra difficulty mode, integration with ResidentEvil.net and improvements to Raid Mode. Raid Mode, which was first introduced to the series in the original version of Resident Evil Revelations, sees gamers play online in co-op mode or alone in single player taking on the hordes of enemies across a variety of missions whilst leveling up characters and earning weapon upgrades. New weapons, skill sets, and playable characters including Hunk, take the Raid Mode experience to new depths.
The critically acclaimed survival horror title takes players back to the events that took place between Resident Evil® 4 and Resident Evil® 5, revealing the truth about the T-Abyss virus. Resident Evil Revelations features series favorites Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, plus their respective BSAA partners - Parker Luciani and Jessica Sherawat. The action begins on board a supposedly abandoned cruise ship, the 'Queen Zenobia', where horrors lurk around every corner, before players head for the mainland and the devastated city of Terragrigia. With limited ammo and weapons available, the race is on to survive the horror of Resident Evil Revelations.
Key Features
- Enhanced visual and aural fidelity – Resident Evil Revelations brings spine-chilling fear complete with high quality HD visuals, enhanced lighting effects and an immersive sound experience.
- Classic survival horror gameplay returns – the campaign mode's single player experience sees gamers investigating a range of different locations including the dark confined spaces of a cruise ship and the treacherous snow covered mountains. With limited ammo and weapons, fight off infected enemies that lurk around every corner.
- Hell just got hotter – Infernal Mode, a new difficulty mode for the re-mastered HD edition, is not just more challenging than Easy and Normal modes but also remixes enemy and item placement, so even those familiar with the game will discover new terrors.
- Meet the Wall Blister – A brand new enemy, the Wall Blister is a mutated creature borne from the T-Abyss virus that spreads through water, adding to the horrors that lurk around every corner.
- Residentevil.net support – Resident Evil Revelations will take full advantage of Residentevil.net with content available to users once the game launches. Earn weapons and custom parts and use them in-game, collect figures that can be used in dioramas and check your stats through the online web service.
- Improved Raid Mode – New weapons, skill sets, playable characters including Rachel and Hunk and enemies exclusive to this mode are added for the this latest version.
- Use your equipment – Analyze enemies and investigate areas with the Genesis scanner to reveal hidden items.


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Cranberry juice shows promise blocking Staph infections
Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection.
The data was reported in a poster presentation at the American Chemical Society's national meeting in Boston on August 23, 2010, by Terri Camesano, professor of chemical engineering at WPI. "Most of our work with cranberry juice has been with E. coli and urinary tract infections, but we included Staphylococcus aureus in this study because it is a very serious health threat," Camesano said. "This is early data, but the results are surprising."
The virulent form of E. coli that Camesano studies is the primary cause of most urinary tract infections. Strains of S. aureus can cause a range of "staph infections" from minor skin rashes to serious bloodstream infections. One particular strain, known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a growing public health problem in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions because it doesn't respond to most antibiotics.
To cause an infection, bacteria must first adhere to a host, then gather together in colonies to form a biofilm. In the current study, Camesano recruited healthy female students at WPI to drink either cranberry juice cocktail or a placebo fluid that looked and tasted like cranberry juice. The subjects provides urine samples at prescribed intervals after drinking the juice or placebo, and those samples were incubated in petri dishes with several strains of E. coli and a single strain of S. aureus. Camesano's team stained the bacteria with a special dye, then used a spectrophotometer to measure the density of the bacterial colonies in the dishes over time. Their analysis showed that the urine samples from subjects who had recently consumed cranberry juice cocktail significantly reduced the ability of E. coli and S. aureus to form biofilms on the surface of the dishes.
"What was surprising is that Staphylococcus aureus showed the most significant results in this study," Camesano said. "We saw essentially no biofilm in the staph samples, which is very surprising because Staph aureus is usually very good at forming biofilms. That's what makes it such a health problem."
With E. coli, Camesano's focal point is the small hair-like projections known as fimbriae, which act like hooks and help the bacteria latch onto cells that line the urinary tract. Camesano has shown that exposure to cranberry juice causes the fimbriae on E. coli to curl up, blunting their ability to attach to cells. S. aureous, however, doesn't have fimbirae, so there must be other reasons why the cranberry juice affected its biofilm formation in the study. "These results do create more questions than answers," Camesano said. "We believe this is an important new area to explore, and we are now thinking about how best to proceed."
Since bacterial adhesion is required for infection, Camesano hopes that better understanding of the specific mechanisms and forces involved in biofilm formation will help inform future studies aimed at identifying potential drug targets for new antibiotics. The data may also be useful in studies aimed at engineering the surfaces of invasive medical devices like catheters to make them more resistant to bacterial adhesion.


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Collision Center
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The assessment process will allow us to get an understanding of:
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Once we have completed the assessment, we will be able to provide you with a clear estimate for the price of the repair and get to work bringing it to fruition.
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In the case of an accident, your vehicle can be affected in a number of unique ways, that's why we are proud to offer our clients a myriad of unique repair services. No matter the extent of damage, we have the tools and equipment required.
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BillboardIn its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends. |
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I danced from 9 PM to 6 AM at Big Dance last night, for the 8th year in a row. After that many, staying up all night doesn't really seem like quite such a big deal anymore. It can still be fun, depending on who you've got there with you, but it's not the same kind of challenge it once was. Unfortunately, this year I was disappointed because a number of people I was hoping to see weren't there, and some people I would have liked to have around longer left "early." This is more of an issue at Big Dance than at regular dances, because by 5 or 6 AM, I really just want to zone out in nice "comfort dances" with favorite partners. Not to disparage any of the lovely people I did get to dance with, of course (thanks go to Rebecca for the Lullaby Gauntlet, and to Lara for the last waltz). But hopefully a lot of you people who do stay all night at these kinds of things know what I'm talking about. So I'm afraid I came away kind of less satisfied this year than others. That said, though, there were some definite highlights to the night.
First of all, major props go to Bob for organizing probably the best contra dancing I've ever seen at Big Dance. This is in terms of dancing, rather than music (since we had canned music, rather than live bands like we used to in the past), but the dancing is definitely the greater achievement. Bob has been working tirelessly to evangelize contra dancing around here, specifically in the Stanford community, and it really seems to be paying off. We only did 4 contras, and it was relegated to the fencing room (we didn't even get to use the gym this year), but we had a fantastic turnout, with lots of people who have had at least basic exposure to contra, and the dances went very well. We did real dances, too -- nothing very complex, but not too dumbed-down or anything, either.
In terms of performances, Decadance stole the show (though I quite enjoyed Swingtime and The Knotts Dance Company as well). First up was a lindy-hop/hip-hop combo sort of thing (lindy hip? hop hop?) which was very cool. But David's choreography to Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" was just an incredible piece of silliness that made me happier than anything else all night. Guys lindy hopping with each other, girls lindy hopping with each other, pillow fighting, all sorts of craziness. It was glorious. Deca is doing some sort of un- Spring Show on June 9th, so I'm hoping I'll get to see it again there.
I joined the flag waltz competition with Louisa, which turned out to be based on flag football. A decent idea for when the field was narrowed down to fewer people, but we got caught in a vicious mob right at the beginning and were out. Around 5 AM there was a tacky tango competition. I wasn't in that, but it was quite amusing to watch. Neal and Rainbow won that hands down. Her feet didn't touch the floor at all during the elimination round, but then during their solo he refused to dance and stood there like an obstinate pole while she danced around him. Funnier than it sounds, I suppose.
Anyway, I got to bed a little before 7 in the morning and slept till 1. Would have been convenient to have had all this while I was still on Ireland time, but I'll be back on track from this faster than from the jet lag.


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At Sun Microstamping Technologies, faced with aging lubricant applicators and a light fog in the workplace, vice president of operations Steve McKenzie recently tasked manufacturing manager Mike Erodenko and toolroom manager Mike Brennan with finding a more economical and reliable applicator, and a to reduce the associated costs. Brennan suggested applicators that he had previously utilized, and Erodenko started the project to accomplish this task.
Control—that's what Erodenko sought when he set out to replace the aging pneumatic mist oilers used to lubricate dies running in the company's 48 high-speed presses.
"We had several of the old-style oilers," he says, "and while they were able to spray intermittently, we struggled to make them operate that . So, they stayed on all of the time, flooding our dies with atomized oil that ran all over the tools, presses and onto the floor. The pressroom looked and smelled bad, not to mention how much lubricant was being wasted and the time and costs associated with cleanup."
A New, Cleaner Day
high-speed progressive stamping
Sun Microstamping specializes in high-speed progressive stamping, supplying the automotive, medical/dental and lithium-battery markets, among others. Shown are door-contact sensors, battery-cell components and electrical connectors for vehicles.
"With the help of our local distributor, Randy Whiteside (Press Masters, Smyrna, GA)," Erodenko says, "we hooked up with Minster to help with the press repairs, and with Pax (Celina, OH) to upgrade our die-lube systems."
Launching its collaboration with Pax, Erodenko sent the company samples of the die lubes it applies. He sought a recommendation on one lubricant-application setup he could use throughout the shop.
Sun uses three lubricants to cover its array of high-speed progressive-stamping work. While primarily a supplier of electrical components for the automotive industry, recent growth has come via the medical/dental market and in the stamping of components for lithium-battery cells. The lubricants on its shelf:
• A light vanishing oil used for light-gauge parts that the shop "stamps, packs and ships," Erodenko says;
• A middle-grade slightly heavier lubricant used primarily to stamp silver-plated parts for relays, "which can be a little abrasive to our tooling," says Erodenko; and
• A heavy 940-SUS viscosity oil for heavy-gauge stamping and for coining.
The Pax solution: An airless spray system (Pax model 2-2 pre-pressurized setup—two distribution pumps, a 2-gal. reservoir and two piston-style spray nozzles on magnetic mounts, that run from shop air at 30 to 125 PSI. The piston nozzles, say Pax officials, are specifically designed for vanishing oils, to prevent dripping, but also can spray thick lubricants. Since launching its new lubrication program, Sun has installed the system on 18 presses.
Changeover a Snap
Pax 2-2 pre-pressurized lubrication system
To avoid flooding its dies with lubricant and reduce lube consumption, Sun installed the Pax 2-2 pre-pressurized lubrication system on 18 of its high-speed presses. Featured is a 2-gal. reservoir and two distribution pumps, with a maximum spray rate of 300 cycles/min.
The system's design makes reservoir refills and changeover from one lubricant to another a snap. Erodenko explains that with its previous lubrication systems, it had to shut off the presses because the tanks were pressurized with air. "We had to depressurize the tanks, fill them with oil, repressurize and then restart," he says.
"Now, the new systems have a little reservoir not pressurized with air," continues Erodenko. "The operators can fill it up with oil while the press runs, so there is no downtime due to low or no oil. The units also are easier to maintain and clean out. To change lubes, there's a drain plug on the bottom of the reservoir that makes it quick and easy to drain, clean and refill."
Better Control
"We're getting much better control of where we're applying the lubricant," Erodenko continues, "and use several different nozzle designs based on whether we want a wide spray, pinpoint spray or something in between. While before we were flooding the tools, now we get the lube—without excess—in the right place at the right time.
"Sometimes we don't need much lubricant at the front half of a die," Erodenko adds, "while at the forming area you may need more lubricant."
On some presses, Erodenko wired the system controls into a cam system on the press. In other cases, they're wired to SmartPac units (on Bruderer presses), "so that we can set them up to spray after so many counts at a certain angle on the press," he says. On units not wired directly to the press, Erodenko installed optional timers to set the time between sprays.
A benefit to using the timers rather than directly wiring the units to the press controls: "We can easily pick the system up and move it—pumps and nozzles—to a press that we have not yet retrofitted with the Pax system," Erodenko adds.
Erodenko also notes the improvement in the shop environment—no more smoke or mist in the air. And, the distribution pump is adjustable, "so we can cut down on the amount of oil sprayed each cycle and the rate at which we spray—once every 10 press strokes, 50 strokes or 100 strokes," he adds.
Custom Lubrication Application
…pays off more than just by reducing consumption and eliminating oil cleanup. "In some cases, it allows us to perform more work in the dies, streamlining process design for stamping complex parts," Erodenko says. "With more control over lubrication—where and when—we avoid a lot of headaches and redesign time to make something work."
Lubrication system with a pair of piston-style nozzles
Each lubrication system includes a pair of piston-style nozzles suitable for spraying light vanishing oil as well as heavy-duty oil. Here, spray nozzles, mounted to magnetic bases, apply lubricant directly onto punches from the side of a die installed on a Bruderer 30-ton high-speed press.
Erodenko describes one recent case where his crew relied on the Pax lubrication system to eliminate a pesky slug-pulling problem.
"On one of our particularly challenging tools, used to stamp the lead frame for telecommunications connectors at 300 strokes/min., we had been spraying the oil directly into the tool from the side, our common practice. The tool stamps very thin material (0.007 in.) and features extremely tight tolerances on the punch-die clearance (5 percent). We were pulling slugs and experiencing misfeeds.
"We moved the spray nozzles to the bottom side of the strip," Erodenko continues, "to only lubricate the bottom of the strip. This prevented oil from saturating the punches and sucking the slugs up out of the die. This job does not run often enough to justify spending a lot of time and money on engineering, so this is a perfect example of how the flexibility and precision of the lube system pays off." MF
Original Source – www.metalformingmagazine.com