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"I Have Heard That Song Before"
"What a beautiful melody!" Taking a solitary stroll through a forest in order to get away from the pressing affairs of state in his palace, the king was captivated by the strains of the melody coming from some distant, invisible, shepherd's flute. He hummed the tune to himself on his way back to the palace, but by the time he got back into the business of ruling his country he had completely forgotten it.
Haunted by the memory of the beautiful melody, the king was unable to resume his usual routine. Watching his ruler's growing aggravation, one of his advisors suggested a plan for enabling him to hear the melody once again. A royal proclamation would be issued throughout the land, offering a generous reward to the shepherd who could play the desired tune for his majesty.
Shepherds by the dozens lined up in front of the palace, each awaiting his turn to play his favorite melody for the king in the hope that this was the one his majesty had heard and the reward would be his. One after the other they departed the royal chambers in disappointment, as the king positively declared that the tune he played was not the one that he heard while walking in the forest. One frustrated shepherd got up the nerve to challenge his sovereign:
"Is your majesty capable of playing on this flute the melody he heard?"
When the king replied in the negative, the shepherd closed in with what he thought was a victorious thrust.
"Then how can your majesty be so certain that the melody just played is not the one he heard?"
"My dear fellow," parried the king, "I may not have such a fine ear for music as to be able to play that melody, but when I hear it once again you may be sure that I will recognize it!"
Both Pesach and Shavuot celebrate great moments in the history of the Jewish nation. The "Season of our Freedom" offers us an opportunity to relive the great Divine revelation enjoyed by our ancestors on the eve of their liberation from Egyptian bondage, when the Almighty Himself slew the firstborn of their masters and did a "pass-over" on the Jewish homes. This was a powerful experience of intimacy with Hashem. There was, however, one problem with it. Jews had not really prepared themselves with spiritual growth for this Divine revelation. It was handed to them on a silver platter by the Creator, who had fulfilled His promise of liberation. When one is not properly prepared through his own efforts, it is impossible for him to internalize such an experience and truly incorporate it into his consciousness. This is why the liberated slaves had to wait seven weeks until they reached the "Season of the Giving of Our Torah." During these weeks, they would grow spiritually day by day, and thus properly prepare themselves for the next great revelation at Sinai which they would be capable of internalizing and incorporating.
But why is it necessary to first be exposed to a "silver platter" revelation which cannot be internalized, if it will not last?
The parable of the king supplies the answer. If someone has never before heard the sweet melody of Divine revelation, he is incapable of searching for its replay. Only after the Heavens had virtually unfolded before our ancestors on the first Pesach Eve were they capable of envisioning what spiritual horizons they could reach. Then they could begin a seven-week process of growth through effort, confident that when they would hear the sweet melody of the Divine voice speaking to them at Sinai, they could say, like the king, that they had heard this song before.
This concept, prevalent in the writings of Chassidic masters such as "Bnei Yissaschar," is applied as well to solving another dilemma:
While yet in his mother's womb, our Sages teach us, a Jew is taught the entire Torah by an angel. When he is about to enter the world, the baby is gently struck by that angel and caused to forget all that he learned. If it is the will of Hashem that we gain Torah knowledge through our own efforts, what purpose is there in prenatal education doomed to be forgotten?
Torah knowledge is not like any of the human sciences and philosophies. It is Divine in nature and cannot be acquired through ordinary human effort. Only if a Jew has once heard the melody of Torah before birth is he capable of recognizing it when he eventually learns it through his own efforts.
We connect these two epic seasons of revelation - Pesach and Shavuot - with the counting of the days and weeks of the Omer. These days and weeks help us relive the days and weeks of the move our ancestors made from a transient "silver platter" revelation to a lasting earned one. So when we finally reach the last station in this growth, we too are capable of making it a permanent part of our consciousness.
"Return us to Your Torah," a Jew prays three times a day. How can you return to where you have never been? The answer is that we have all heard the melody of Torah before. Our souls heard it at Sinai, and we learned it in our mother's womb. That is why a Jew prays only for Divine assistance in achieving what that king sought - an opportunity to hear that melody again - so that we can gaze with wonder and joy at the déjà vu experience and proudly proclaim: "I have heard that song before!"
Produced by Ohr Somayach Office of Communications, Rabbi Eliezer Shapiro, Director
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
HTML Design: Michael Treblow
Publications like this are available via E-Mail, as part of Ohr Somayach's "OS-SPECIAL" list.
To subscribe, send the message "sub os-special {your full name}" to [email protected]
Ohr Somayach Institutions is an international network of Yeshivot and outreach centers, with branches in North America, Europe, South Africa and South America. The Central Campus in Jerusalem provides a full range of educational services for over 685 full-time students. The Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE) of Ohr Somayach offers summer and winter programs in Israel that attract hundreds of university students from around the world for 3 to 8 weeks of study and touring.
Copyright © 1996 Ohr Somayach International. Send comments to: [email protected]


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The fonds consists mainly of items related to Gaston's writing activities dating from 1981. It includes hand-written and word-processed correspondence between Gaston and friends, editors, publishers, and other writers; galley copies, published copies, manuscripts and drafts of unpublished and published books, articles, short stories, plays, radio plays, reviews, and poems; clippings and photocopies of reviews of Gaston's work; pen and ink drawings by Gaston; author photographs, contact sheets, and negatives; miscellaneous notes by Gaston on his work, thoughts, and readings; notes and memos related to Gaston's work as a teacher; an address book; a VHS video tape; promotional materials for Gaston's books and public appearances at readings and festivals; and ephemera such as tourism brochures.
The materials were received from the creator in two accessions. The first accession consisted of 12 boxes containing records of Gaston's work and writing from 1981 to 2005, including materials relating to all his published works up to Sointula (2004). The second consisted of five boxes containing materials relating mostly to the period from 2006 to 2008, covering the creation and publication of Midnight Hockey (2006), Gargoyles (2006), and The Order of Good Cheer (2008). The creator had arranged the materials in the fonds generally by individual work, and this arrangement has been maintained. Original file titles, where available, have also been retained. The fonds has been divided into 8 series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Writing; Series 3. Promotion, reviews, awards and honours; Series 4. Biographical information and photos; Series 5. Professional activities and teaching; Series 6. Screenplay adaptation of Sointula; Series 7. Ephemera; Series 8. Books
Gaston, Bill

subset: commoncrawl


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Plumbing the Possibilities: Outdoor Living Spaces
(BPT) – The trend toward outdoor living spaces that mimic the look, comfort, convenience and functionality of indoor spaces doesn't have to stop at the backyard grilling station. A growing number of homeowners are exploring new additions to their outdoor spaces, including outdoor showers and powder rooms, and even garage entertaining areas anchored by sinks and wetbars!
While traditional plumbing techniques might once have limited just how homey you could make outdoor versions of kitchens and bathrooms, modern up-flush plumbing cost-effectively solves many problems. Above-floor macerating plumbing systems, like those from SFA Saniflo, U.S.A., allow the easy addition of a sink, shower or toilet outside, regardless of where plumbing lines are located inside. They also eliminate the need to cut through concrete if you'll be placing your project inside a garage or on a concrete patio. Finally, the compact systems fit perfectly into smaller spaces, such as inside cabinets in an outdoor kitchen or in an outdoor powder room.
Here are four water- and drainage-dependent, outdoor living features that are more possible and popular than ever, thanks to up-flush plumbing.
Outdoor kitchens are in high demand, and have evolved to be true mirrors of their indoor counterparts. In addition to cooking facilities, such as a grill, cooktop, or pizza oven, today's outdoor kitchen incorporates running water.
While a sink is an obvious necessity in outdoor kitchens, traditional plumbing can limit the location, configuration, size and capabilities of the space. Up-flush plumbing affords homeowners greater flexibility in designing an outdoor kitchen.
For example, using a Sanivite drain pump to remove wastewater more than 150 feet horizontally allows homeowners to install their outdoor kitchen where they desire, rather than having to rely on gravity and grading to move water. The pump is also capable of draining up to three separate fixtures, meaning you can have a sink and a dishwasher in your outdoor kitchen.
If you have a pool or are lucky enough to live near the beach, an outdoor shower can keep sand and other messes from getting tracked into the house. However, traditional plumbing practices can limit where you can locate your outdoor shower. Up-flush plumbing systems use pumps to move wastewater away from the drain, so you can locate an outdoor shower where it's most convenient.
Products like the Sanishower fit into a small footprint and its low profile is easily concealed beneath the shower floor. Yet the system can handle drainage of up to 20 gallons per minute.
Whether you would like to add a wetbar to a patio or tucked into a corner of the garage, up-flush plumbing can make the process easy and cost-effective. Above-floor plumbing can handle wastewater removal in spots where no drain is present or possible. This means you can easily install a wetbar on a wooden deck, concrete patio or anywhere else where installing a traditional drain would be costly and inconvenient.
Powder Rooms
When is an extra bathroom ever a bad idea? Imagine hosting a backyard barbecue or pool party without the need to make guests traipse through the house to reach the facilities, or wait in line inside the house while missing all the fun going on outdoors. Exterior bathrooms can solve those dilemmas, and up-flush plumbing can make it easy to add a toilet and sink outside the house.
While tying into existing traditional plumbing lines might require you to snuggle your outdoor powder room against the side of a house, above-floor plumbing allows you to position it virtually anywhere that's convenient and appealing for your needs. The Sanicompact is a decorative one-piece system that combines a classic china toilet bowl with a built-in macerator/pump that can handle drainage from the toilet and a nearby sink.


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Need Help or Advice?
Call the Insight team
01273 475 500
Need Help or Advice?
Call the Insight team
01273 475 500
The stainless steel Pig Nose Screw (also called Snake Eye Screws or Two Hole Screws) continue to be a favourites with designers and architects who often choose them for their aesthetic appeal. You will see fixing screws of this type used throughout the London Underground and in many public spaces and buildings.
Stainless steel, pig nose, countersunk, self-tapping security screws provide a medium level of security due to the need for specialist tooling to loosen them and the higher torque that can be applied when installed, making them harder to undo.
These countersunk self tapping anti tamper screws can be used for a wide range of applications, and can even be used as a direct replacement for woodscrews if required.
Because thes screws feature a countersunk head, when installed the top of the head will be flush with the receiving surface making them ideal for panel fixing and lots more.
Our stock range of Snake Eye Screws are manufactured from weather resistant Stainless Steel, making them a great choice for applications outdoors as well as indoors.
Other Snake Eye / Pig Nose Screws available from stock include -
Snake Eye Machine Screws / Pig Nose Bolts -
Pan Head Machine Screws
Countersunk Machine Screws
Raised Countersunk Machine Screws (Electrical Screws)
Snake Eye Self Tapping Screws -
Pan Head Self Tapping Screws
Countersunk Self Tapping Screws
Note: a matching Security Driver (which must be ordered separately), is required to install or remove these screws,
please see the Two Hole Driver Tools chart for the full range of tool sizes and options available
...for other types of Security Fasteners - click on the individual links across the top of the page
...or to see All Security Screws and Fasteners - click on Start Selection Again
...for Bespoke Manufactured Screws - ...Contact us
Step 3 - now select the size you need by clicking on the appropriate 'Eye' logo (stock items) below:
Product code: SF-PFTHCS08H
1 - 5£32.74 ex VAT
6 - 19£31.59 ex VAT
20 + Call 01273 475500
Select Driver Tool Type & Size Required
from the chart below and add to your basket


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i have been having a problem since i got SBC DSL. i was constantly getting the message that no connection was available while i was surfing...even tho i mite be streaming audio or video with no problem. also many times i would click a link and nothing would happen for 20 seconds or so. i found the fix below and so far it seems to have worked. maybe this will help someone else.
Open the registry and Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\WebCheck
Look for these two entries in the right pane. Double
click on each and modify its value to 'Auto'
That's it.


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Private Investigation Services
For Companies and Individuals
Results Results Results
With a track record of 96% in Surveillance and over 90% in all other activities, getting a Result for you is almost a foregone conclusion.
With over 15 years experience we have done everything from catching Cheating Partners, Insurance Assignments to Employee Absenteeism.
We work for private clients, small to medium-sized businesses and half our work comes from solicitors and barristers.
They are all repeat business.
Reputations matter, which is why we make extra special efforts to get you the results you need.
Local To You
With 110 branches Nationwide there is always a branch and team near you with local knowledge for when surveillance on the ground is required.
For cases that stretch internationally we have correspondent agencies abroad.
For database work such as background checks we have a centralised, firewalled computer system linked to some of the most information packed databases in the UK.
And our international partners have the same.
That enables background checks on Foreign Nationals as well as UK residents particularly effective.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Anything you discuss with us is in total confidence.
All our lines are secure.
Any team members or leaders don't know who you are.
The only person who has access to your file is our MD, Marzio D'Allessandro. No-one else does.
This prevents leaks or other problems many other agencies have via receptionists, case managers and other office staff, whose out of office activities can sometimes get back to the wrong person.
Not with us.
Our computer system client files use proxy server firewalls which are of the most secure type, effectively protecting our network resources by filtering messages at the application layer.
It is well known that hackers attack PI Agency databases looking for client files. The reasons are obvious. And 99% of PI agencies do not invest in expensive hardware to prevent such attacks but they happen.
In the 15 Years we have been in this Industry we have never been hacked.
But we have heard horror stories of those who have.
That's how seriously we take your privacy.


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Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch SV (old version)
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch is a patented design initially created for our Orangutan Robot Controllers as an alternative to bulky mechanical switches. The switch is intended to be the main power switch for a DC device requiring up to several amps of current. Please see the detailed description for product details and limitations. This item is the 4.5-20 V standard-voltage version.
Description | Specs (0) | Pictures (4) | Resources (4) | FAQs (0) | On the blog (7) |
Discontinuation notice: We have released improved versions of these switches in several different power levels and with substantially expanded operating voltage ranges. The new Mini Pushbutton Power Switches are available in an LV version that operates from 2.2 V to 20 V and an SV version that operates from 4.5 V to 40 V. The new Big Pushbutton Power Switches have the same operating range as the Mini SV but offer more current: up to 8 A for the MP version and up to 16 A for the HP version. The new versions also offer reverse voltage protection and more control options. The size and pinout of the new versions are different, as is the amount of current they can deliver, so please check the product pages of the new versions carefully to determine if they can work as a substitute for the old switches in your application.
These older switches are now only available by large-volume special order. Please contact us for more information.
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch is a compact, solid-state power switch controlled by a momentary pushbutton switch. Because the switched current does not flow through the mechanical switch, a large variety of small, low-power switches can be used to control a substantial amount of power. The use of momentary pushbutton switches also allows multiple switches to be used in parallel to control the power to one load. The solid-state switch also allows the load to turn off its own power, which can be beneficial when used with battery chemistries sensitive to over-discharging. Please note that this switch has several drawbacks when compared to mechanical switches, so please be sure you fully understand this product before using it in your system.
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch is available in two voltage versions: standard voltage, 4.5-20 V and low voltage, 2.5-7.0 V. Please be sure to select the correct unit for your application. The two versions look very similar, but they can be differentiated by the color of the LED that illuminates when the switch is on: the SV version has a green LED and the LV version has a red LED.
Benefits and Limitations
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch works well in its intended application as a DC power switch for small robots, but because it is fundamentally different from a mechanical power switch, the benefits and drawbacks of the components must be fully considered.
Benefits over mechanical switches:
- Compact size
- Allows multiple (parallel) switches for improved user interface
- Better turn-on characteristics than a bouncing mechanical switch
- Limited LC spikes for low-resistance loads
- Allows self-shutoff
- Breadboard and perfboard compatible
Drawbacks compared to mechanical switches:
- Switch is one-directional (inherent body diode in MOSFET)
- Limited operating voltage range
- Switches DC only (does not maintain state through power disruptions or excessive noise)
- No complete isolation in off state
- Dimensions: 0.4" x 0.9" x 0.125" (without header pins and pushbutton installed)
- Operating voltage: 4.5-20 V (SV version), 2.5-7.0 V (LV version)
- Maximum current: 10 A (see MOSFET datasheets)
- Weight without included pushbutton: 0.030 oz (0.85 g)
- Weight with included pushbutton: 0.035 oz (1.0 g)
- Draws very little current in off state (typically under 0.01 μA)
Typical Applications
Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch on a solderless breadboard. |
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch can fit in an 18-pin DIP (dual in-line package) footprint, making it compatible with solderless breadboards and perforated printed circuit boards with standard 0.1" spacing. For such applications, the included male header pins can be soldered to the switch PCB as shown in the picture to the right. Alternatively, wires can be soldered directly to the switch PCB for non-breadboard applications. For high-current applications, make sure that the wires can safely carry the current. Two pads/pins are provided for each of the power nodes, and multiple pads should be used for applications drawing over 5 A.
The included pushbutton switch can be used to trigger the switch. Alternatively, a separate pushbutton, such as a remote panel-mounted unit, can be used instead. Multiple pushbuttons can be wired in parallel for multiple control points, and each of the parallel pushbuttons will be able to turn the switch on or off. The latching circuit performs some button debouncing, but pushbuttons with excessive bouncing (several ms) might not function well with this product.
Principles of Operation
The Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch has two main components: a P-channel power MOSFET that switches the load current and a latching circuit that controls the gate of the MOSFET.
Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch block diagram. |
The overall switch performance is determined by the MOSFET characteristics, which are specified in their datasheets. The standard voltage version uses the FDS6679AZ (421k pdf); the low-voltage version uses the FDS4465 (141k pdf). The latching circuit is designed to operate over a wide range of voltages and to draw very little current in the off state (typically under 0.01 μA). In the on state, the switch pulls the MOSFET gate to within 0.2 V of ground so that the MOSFET's Vgs can be approximated as the supply voltage.
Pololu Pushbutton Power Switch OFF input detail. |
The latching circuit controlling the power MOSFET includes an OFF input that can be used by the target device to shut off its own power. The internal structure of this input is shown to the right. Applying more than approximately 1 V to the OFF pin will cause the power switch to turn off. The maximum voltage for the OFF pin is 30 V independent of the switch voltage (VIN).
Characteristics at Limits of Operating Range
The switch operating range is limited by the ability to change state reliably. At low voltages, the switch is difficult to turn on, and the switch will turn itself off once the voltage falls far enough (typically 3 V and 1.5 V for the SV and LV versions, respectively). At high voltages, the switches become difficult to turn off. The reliability of turning off is affected by a combination of the supply voltage, the amount of bouncing on the pushbutton switch, and the amount of noise on the supply line. For applications at the high end of the operating range, tests should be performed to ensure that the device can properly turn off.
People often buy this product together with:
Pololu Adjustable Boost Regulator 4-25V |


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Toshiba Tecra X40-E Laptop Intel Core i5 8250U,1.6 GHZ,8GB,NO HDD, 14 inch,Webcam,Windows Pro Missing kbd keys
You are viewing a Hobbyist unit.
All items are sold 'as is,' and if the item is typically expected to come installed with an operating system such as Windows or Mac OS, please note that it is not included so please do your due diligence.
Usual operational accessories are also not included i.e adapters for laptops, or necessary cables etc
These items often represent great value for the Good Ol Kiwi fix em up/number 8 types, who dont mind a small project or arent bothered about cosmetic discrepancies.
The nature of our business means we may even be able to source some brand new parts for you if required, or have in stock second hand that arent on our website.
If you would like to drill down a bit more, or wouldnt mind a few more detailed pictures of the issue in question then please dont hesitate to live chat us on the website or contact us via email at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Lou Gramm Teases New Foreigner Music, Dreams of Vegas Residency
As Foreigner prepare for the unveiling of a musical based around their classic songs, original singer Lou Gramm has teased the possibility of new material.
Gramm, who left the band in 2003, said he and band leader Mick Jones worked on "six or seven songs" for a new record before Gramm left the group. "They were pretty damn good — I still have the demos," the singer said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "I sent them to Mick and he's excited about them, too. So there is talk about him and I working on those songs again. You've got to be working on them for some purpose, right?"
Both Gramm and Jones have previously expressed interest in revisiting shelved Foreigner demos, though a release of any new material from the songwriting duo has yet to come to fruition.
After Gramm's departure, Jones hired Hurricane singer Kelly Hansen to take over Foreigner's vocal duties. The move initially angered Gramm, though he's softened in recent years, even joining the band for occasional reunion performances recently.
Discussion of the unheard Foreigner songs comes just as the musical Jukebox Hero prepares for its debut. Featuring at least 16 of the band's classic tunes, the stage show's plot centers on a fictional character named Ryan, a rock star who has to save his rust-belt Pennsylvania hometown after the local factory is shut down.
The musical, which had limited workshop performances in Calgary and Edmonton last year, premieres with a five-night run in Toronto starting on Feb. 20.
Both Jones and Gramm will attend opening night, where the two will join the cast for an encore. Jones has been involved in the project from the get-go, but Gramm only heard about it two weeks ago during a phone call with Foreigner's management. "I was surprised, but it's exciting," the singer admitted. "I hope I won't be sitting there criticizing the vocals: 'He didn't make that high note, did he?'"
As for Foreigner's own live performances, Gramm revealed that he dreams of reuniting with the group for a Las Vegas residency. "I think it could be done," he said. "Perhaps if it was done modestly and with a little time to rest between shows. No grueling bus tours. Casinos have beautiful rooms with the best acoustics, and we could perform a week or 10 days. I haven't floated the idea, but I may at some point."
Gramm recently retired from live solo performances, but he left the door open for occasional shows with Foreigner.


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No slurping or spitting!
This is a compendium of wines that were mainly drunk with food, friends and family, between October 2012 and mid-December 2012 – so as you can imgine, not a massive list as it's only a few weeks since the last report. I would have liked to include notes on lovely bottles of white and red 1962, plus (of-course!) my magnum of 2008 Montrachet – but it was my birthday party and I was too busy… 🙂
- Regional Wines (5)
- Villages Wines (21)
- Premier Cru Wines (7)
- Grand Cru Wines (5)
2010 Buisson-Charles, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is quite dark red cherry with perhaps a raspberry acompanyment too. A ripe entry with more succulent sweet fruit than you have right to expect in all but the warmest vintages. Succulent is the perfect word, I think. Like the nose, the fruit is a deep red cherry with a furry, slightly grainy hook of tannin. Outstanding Bourgogne.
2010 Jean-Marc Bouley, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune
Medium-plus colour. Not super-concentrated aromas but the delicate dark red berries are rather precise. The obvious first impression is the tightening of your cheeks due to the forward acidity, only afterwards do you get your reward of an intense, rather concentrated fruit, it's like a summer-pudding – to which you might normally add a little cream or sugar! I'm certainly enjoying it, and returning to it (often!). It's lovely, but I'd say drink it in it's first three years to avoid it becoming harsh as the fruit fades, but it has a lovely fine and transparent fruit finish. Day 2 the last 1/3rd of the bottle seemed more balanced – certainly a super Bourgogne.
2010 David Clark, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
A little reduction hangs around for no more than 2-3 minutes – good! Round, with reasonable depth, the aromas give little of their mixed parentage away, though eventually I try to convince myself that the red fruit might have some gamay about it but you'd only spot it with 20:20 hindsight! The high-toned fruit in the mid-palate seems pure pinot to me – and lovely it is too. The tannin and acidity form good supporting roles; just a hint of bitter chocolate effect in the finish – most-likely barrel-derived – but the succulent flavours over-ride it. Lovely wine, brilliant PTG.
2007 Mugneret-Gibourg, Bourgogne
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts a little disappointing with a note that has me recalling paint – it takes a while to fade, leaving quite an understated and slightly nonedescript red cherry – a long wait brings a little more focus. The flavour has the focus with decent acid cherry flavour, limited depth but the balance and overall impression is quite positive.
2010 Herve Murat, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Les Herbues
Deep, perfumed nose, probably a few stems here – but very modestly so. In the mouth this is wide and filled with high-toned red fruit – probably a little CO2 to lose given the edge to the texture. There is just a faint astringency to the tannin but it drags across your tongue rather than offering a grain. The fruit in the finish is an unusually direct morello-style cherry edged with a little herb. Very interesting and a wine that I'd definitely buy again. Day two and it has become withdrawn and a little sullen – most of its interest has diminished. Drink-up on day 1!
2009 Alex Gambal, Bourgogne Chardonnay
Nice enough, balanced enough, concentrated enough. It misses a single but rather important virtue – personality.
2010 Pierre Amiot, Morey St.Denis
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has a powdery dark fruit, not quite musty, but it anyway gets cleaner and glossier in the glass. Hmmm – this is lovely! – Smooth entry, beautiful acidity and showing an intensity of fresh, darkly-fruited flavour. The tannin's not particularly grainy though shows a little stickiness. Just a little creamier flavour in the finish. 'Yum' certainly covers it…
2010 Bart, Marsannay Les Champs Salomon
Medium, medium-plus colour. The aromas deliver a big punch of sweet, toasty oak – the dark elements behind seem a little more cola-like than fruit. After 1 hour the toast has faded a little but not the sweetness or the cola, even the last drops in the glass are broad and indistinct. Nice balance, decent acidity and understated tannins. It is the flavours that are largely unsatisfying – reflecting the nose they are sweet and broad with almost something tasty and interestingly focused in the mouth-watering mid-palate – almost. No obvious faults here but it's not really to my taste – I think you guessed that! This is not an expensive bottle – but no excuses – I expect it will improve over the next 2-3 years but the style will surely still shout louder that the place.
2010 Jean-Marc Bouley, Volnay Vieilles Vignes
Deeper colour than the Poulleau. The nose is a little spritzy/cola – CO2. I give the bottle a few shakes to release the gas and leave it to rest for an hour. The fragrance improves to a deep, dark cherry-skin but never the cliché of floral delicacy that the Poulleau offers. Here is depth, density and concentration wrapped up in a super-smooth, beautifully mouth-watering package – just very lovely – though shaded to the dark-red/black spectrum versus the pure red of the Poulleau. Just very fine wine.
2010 David Clark, Côte de Nuits Villages
Medium colour – one might say relatively pale for such a youngster. Quite shy but some pretty red high tones peek through – strawberry. Quite smooth, then the acidity is next in-line before a twist of understated tannin. Clean and tasty with fresh red-fruit flavours. Understated, modest and elegant. Drinks all too quickly…
2010 Digioia-Royer, Chambolle-Musigny
Deep colour. The nose starts with a little cola from the CO2, but as it fades dark fruit comes to the fore with a delightful aroma of black cherries and violets too. Despite the nose cleaning-up, the palate needs longer for the rasp of gas to leave. Dark flavours that hint towards reduction – though it's far from obvious – with an extra depth of fruit flavour in the mid-palate, just accented with a little cream – seemingly from fruit not barrel, plenty of extract in the finish too. That said there's a espresso-like bitterness in the finish, perhaps a hint of salt too – it is very well-judged oak after-all! An hour after opening, this is really very fine! Day two it's a stream-lined, silky beauty – yum!
2008 Prince Florent de Merode, Ladoix Les Chaillots
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is very shy, just faint red cherry and occasional slightly lactic notes. In the mouth there's a smooth entry and a quite impressive, acid-led, intensity yet there is concentration to balance. High-toned fruit almost tends to esters, but remains tasty. The tannin is slidy/sticky rather than grainy. Even before you see the price this is very moreish. Exceptional quality for the price.
2007 Fourrier, Morey St.Denis Clos Solon VV
There's plenty of CO2 to purge from the bottle, you can even 'smell' it, so the bottle is shaken 3 or 4 times to release some of it, then rested a couple of hours (Fourrier Shake™). The colour is just a little more than 'medium' in depth, the forward nose grabbing you with dark-skinned fruit notes over a more reticent powdery, redder fruit – eventually a liqueur-cherry starts to show itself – to be honest I can't 'see' Morey, but it's begging to be drunk! The entry seems a hint saline or with just a slight edge to the acidity, but behind is a palate to luxuriate in, with smooth, relatively concentrated dark-red fruit. There's still a very slight 'prickle' at the back of the palate – so not all the gas is gone yet – but the finishing flavour has both depth and interest, coupled to a twist of old-vine creaminess. A finer wine than many that carry a 1er Cru label!
2004 Fourrier, Chambolle-Musigny VV
I really do think that there's sometimes a little pyrazine here – auto-suggestion or real? I don't know, it's anyway not consistently there – but fortunately (if/when I spot it) it is on a subtle 'additive' level (say 1 from 10, maximum), and nothing to 'sniff' at! There's mainly a darker aroma with just the faintest edge of savoury leaf aroma though eventually there is even a little acid-redcurrant, which is very nice. In the mouth this has concentration, width and a good level of acidity – the tannins are a little sticky and bitter. To 'augment' the bitter finishing flavours the acidity here is a little sharp. I think the loss of its lush and sweet young fruit has certainly compromised it for (enjoyable) current drinking.
1996 Jean Grivot, Nuits St.Georges Les Lavières
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has the merest hint of maturing leaf, but is more about faint spice and red berries. Decent acidity and nice flavour – it's not yet 'too thin' – though the tannin suggest wait another 3 to 5…
2010 Michel Noëllat, Vosne-Romanée
Medium, medium-plus colour. The aromas are of barrel spice and (much fainter) vanilla – there's just a suggestion of background reduction enhancing the depth of the nose too – whatever all that-lot sounds like, it's quite appealing. Understated concentration – the acidity slowly wells bringing more fruit-flavour – again accented with vanilla. Very good texture with fine-grained tannin. The overall impression – regardless of all those barrel descriptors – is a wine of sweet succulence and deliciousness!
2010 Philippe Livera (Domaine Tilleuls), Gevrey Chambertin Clos Village
Quite deeply coloured. The nose instantly brings one word to mind – wow! Deep, cushioned a little spicy with an espresso top. Despite the significant contribution from the barrels, this is setting high expectations. In the mouth it's clear that the wine can't deliver those grand cru expectations, but here is good concentration, a little (okay, quite a lot) astringent tannin and nice, ripe fruit flavour. The acidity is understated and mouth-watering. This is rather barrel-influenced, as you will have gathered, it's also reasonably structured but it's also very good.
2010 Philippe Livera (Domaine Tilleuls), Fixin
Quite deeply coloured. The nose is deep with dark cherry fruit and subtle oak spice. Lithe, growing in intensity with a fine acidity which is tempered with a ripely grained tannin. So a wine with intensity, rather than concentration of flavour – yet at it's level, this is well-made, clean and tasty but with no lack of character. A very good buy.
2010 Poulleau Père et Fils, Volnay Vieilles Vignes
Bright, medium, medium-plus colour. High tones, with a growing floral note – quite nice. This is quite fine; lovely acidity and tannin with a little drag but little grain – the fruit is red shaded and grows in intensity through the mid-palate – give it time, and there's a clear strawberry note. Good finishing flavour with a well of acidity, and decent focus too – a good Volnay.
2010 Rossignol-Trapet, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts with a faint whiff of toasty oak with some higher tones. Time blows away the toast, still with a little high-toned spirits but a slowly growing red fruit and mocha note too – the last drops in the glass are beguiling acid-red notes. In the mouth you need a little time for this to fill out, but even then I feel that it is 'a bit thin' yet, the balance is fine, and there's a nice edge to the tannin. There's good intensity and an unexpected extra dimension of flavour in the mid-palate and a long, slightly coconut edged, mineral finish. I have enjoyment and disappointment in equal measure. This really needs to add weight to be a rebuy, but the glass is emptying quite easily. Day 2, and the wine has filled out more – acceptably so – the tannin seems more to fore too – but this should be hairy forearmed Gevrey! Okay – good!
2009 Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée La Brunelle
Medium, medium-plus colour. What can I say about the nose? Coffee/mocha, cola, a hint of spritz – I'm not sure that I dare put it in my mouth. I did – mistake! Round, a little fat, no definition, more mocha and cola flavours – where's the acidity? – omg! Glass not finished. Day two (in the fridge overnight): less perverse in all dimensions – I actually managed a second glass – but no more…
2008 Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée La Brunelle
Medium, medium-plus colour. As anticipated there's a dark undertow to the nose, an oaky undertow, but it is relatively subtle. The fruit smells sweet, a litle high-toned, and is coupled to an interesting peppery note, plus, if you wait long enough there's a beautiful, almost haunting, redcurrant note too. In the mouth this has nice freshness – it's also a universe away from the tart acidity of some 08s. There is a little tannin which feels predominantly oak tannin rather than grape-derived; that tannin brings a bitter-chocolate quality to the finish – which sits well with the subtle creamy dimension of the fruit. Overall, I think the oak is blurring some of the wine's clarity / definition, bringing something of a soft-focus, but this oak will fade, and what lies below is very tasty and very interesting indeed.
2006 Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée La Brunelle
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is interesting; dark and hinting at the leafiness that may eventually come, slowly softening to show a fainter red fruit – acid cherry is the last note. The wine starts with a slightly brusque Gevrey impression before softening with air, there's fine acidity that peaks in the mid-palate with (again) a nice creamy aspect to the fruit. I have the impression that it has lost its fat, but the concentration is quite enough to offset. Nice, the oak is but a memory at this age…
2010 Vaudoisey-Creusefond, Pommard Croix Blanche
This started way too unripe and acidic – or so it seemed. I ate something and there seemed better, indeed acceptable balance. The nose is high-toned with occasional flashes of perfect red fruit. Eventually there is some sucrosité to the flavours, despite plenty of acidity – but the acidity coupled to the (admittedly understated) astringency of the tannin is quite mouth-puckering. I can drink it, I can even appreciate it, but I can't bring myself to recommend it…
2010 Buisson-Charles, Meursault Vieilles Vignes
Medium yellow. The nose has a lovely depth of sweet peaches and fruit-loaf that pull your nose in deeper. If anything the nose makes you think this might be a little fat and sweet – but no – the balance is lovely: beautiful acidity counterbalances a wine with depth and richness yet minerality too. Lovely mouth-watering flavours in the finish. Benchmark!
2010 Benjamin Leroux, Auxey-Duresses
Drank over two nights, this wine was lovely – a bit plumper if allowed to get too warm, but I only allowed that once! Medium-pale yellow. The nose has some depth of ripe lemon and even a few spice accents that might have me thinking of Meursault. Smooth and concentrated. The acidity wells up from the core of the wine and almost, but not quite, takes over. Fresh it is, but not mouth-puckeringly so. Good depth of ripe fruit in the mid-palate that has a sherbet edge to it the first hour it's open. The texture gets smoother and smoother too, so there's probably a bit of CO2 sitting below the surface. Tasty, good value wine.
2010 Morey-Coffinet, Chassagne-Montrachet
This has the aroma of a patisserie shop bursting out of the glass, musky creme anglaise and some depth – I can't really pick anything fruit-related. Textured, cushioned and with perfectly understated acidity but very efficient acidity. The flavours are also largely of creme patissiere – only at the end of the mid-palate did I think I'd spotted some deep fruit extract – but it was fleeting as the creme is the main note in the finish too. With aeration I can almost convince myself there is some minerality in the finish – almost. I quite like a bit of this in my 1er crus where the extra concentration of fruit/minerality acts as a foil – that level of buffer isn't found here, so it's certainly a fun wine, but was a bit wearing.
1er CRU WINES
2009 Bouchard Père, Beaune 1er Beaune du Château
DIAM 5. Wow – this has a real slug of overt toastiness on the nose – even after one hour it is the boss of the show – only the last drops in the glass begin to offer a cleaner red fruit note. In the mouth this has great acidity, well-controlled tannin and an extra (besides oak) width of flavour in the mid-palate – but oops, that's oak creaminess too. This has an effervescent balance for a 2009 and plenty of sweetness to the flavour – but I think I need to turn to something else tonight if I want to see something from the Côte d'Or. This wine has a great record age 3 with me – maybe the other half of this will have magically transformed when I return tomorrow…
2010 Louis Chenu, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Hautes Jarrons
Medium colour. The engaging nose has a pretty depth of red fruit aroma. I've had more concentrated villages but this would knock the spots of most of them, with its elegance but also an insinuating complexity of flavour borne on fine acidity – it's a very lovely drink indeed. A honey of a wine that's destined (chez nous) to have a short but fulfilling life!
1972 Gagnard-Delagrange, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
Barely medium colour. The nose starts with a sweet strawberry jam before building a little struck match – there is width and interest – in a word 'satisfying', in two 'very satisfying!' There is just the right amount of 'fat' to the texture given the fine, smooth acidity – should you wish to search, you can still discern a faint but fine-textured tannin. The sweet fruit has a high-toned impression – plum-skins plus a gentle lift from the phosphorous on the nose, becoming faintly less ripe into the finish – but to add interest.
2007 JF Mugnier, Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos de la Marechale
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is of punchy red fruit and a hint of kirsch. Smooth, good concentration and with understated but balancing acidity. The tannins of Nuits are largely tamed, there's just a little stickiness to them, but you really couldn't say 'rustic'. The finishing flavours have a hint of cherry-stone bitterness to them. This is a good wine but clearly a wine that needs more time than the Fourrier of the other night – so leave it in the cellar for a while!
2010 Michel Noëllat, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Lavières
Medium, medium-plus colour. The very shy nose has a hint of savoury to it, perhaps vaguely reductive – either that or oaky! In the mouth this is very well balanced, there's a nice intensity and good acidity too. The fruit is a little dark shaded and perhaps shows a little Lavières earth. The tannin is quite polished and far from grainy, though seems to speak a little more of barrel than grape, likewise, the flavour in the finish is quite creamily barrel inflected (as opposed to old-vine cream). I like many aspects of this wine, and the bits I'm less fond of will probably fade as the oak influence subsides – perhaps 6-12 months should be enough. On day two there was little to dislike so 6-12 months sounds about right.
2010 Jean-Marc Pillot, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Clos St.Jean
Medium-plus colour. High-toned dark fruit with herbs – seems quite Chassagne. If the nose hints at Chassagne, the flavours shout it – sweet dark fruit with a spicy depth and eventually a little barrel flavour as you hit the end of the mid-palate into the finish. Very good length too. Actually, it's so Chassagne that I'd wait at least a year or two to tone it down – but very tasty it is…
2010 Maratray-Dubreuil, Ladoix 1er Les Nagets
Medium yellow colour. The nose offers faint patissière with ripe lemons and seems quite concentrated. In the mouth this has quite some richness – the acidity plays understudy to that ripe concentration, and as the primary fruit shrinks with age this may well enjoy better and better balance – but for now, keep it cold or it is ponderous. Just a little creamy padding to the fruit in the finish, maybe with a hint of salt too. More-ish, very, very tasty wine which I'd drink again, but maybe wouldn't buy again.
1961 Corton-André, Chambertin Clos de Bèze
An impressively deep colour – amber at the rim, but certainly no brown – looks rather glossy in the glass too. The aromas are almost overpoweringly of saddle leather, perhaps polished wood and a faint undertow of mushroom. Those notes largely influence the flavours too, yet this wine has silk and weight plus a beautiful acidity. I can only be sure about this wine with extended aeration – so more tomorrow. Day two: Of-course the angels had drunk too much – the smell of rancio and leather still shouts 'do not put in mouth' on day two. Such a shame that (most probably) the cork let this wine down as the depth and shade of colour plus the concentration, balance and texture were first class – shame!
1996 Pierre Damoy, Chapelle-Chambertin
Medium-plus colour. Deep, almost liqueur nose, a slowly developing leaf note stays very much in the background – eventually something more beefy presents itself, perhaps brett, but we'd finished most of it before then 😉 Padded, concentrated, with a lovely core of intense fruit – there is even a floral element in there that implies whole clusters. The acidity is uplifting, but not obviously of 1996. Very understated tannin. This is a full and frank wine that entertaining as it is today, still needs 4-5 years I think – hopefully that brett doesn't get worse!
2008 Prince Florent de Merode, Corton Clos du Roi
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose has a little rhubarb and a faint orange character – not exactly 'comely' though I suppose it reflects quite a few from the vintage. Eventually there is a dense red fruit aroma. Intense, very decent concentration – even for a GC – very good but far from over-done acidity. Understated tannin and the flavour is rather good, certainly considering the expectations set by the first aromas. Actually this is a wine I'd happily drink again – I'm not sure I'd buy a lot more at the price of many Grand Crus, but this wine was always something of a bargain…!
2007 Prince Florent de Merode, Corton Clos du Roi
Medium colour. The nose is a little estery though smooth and red too. In the mouth the fruit is not bad, but it's quite high-toned to match the estery nose – nice ripeness though and understated tannin too for a Corton. The acidity is fine enough – understated but silky. A wine that is a bit of a curate's egg; a little estery but it has a comfy texture and decent balance too. Perhaps not a bottle for the long-term(?) but it's tasty enough today – that said, I've the impression that this is more of a good premier cru level wine.
1990 Michel Juillot, Corton-Perrières
Medium, medium-plus colour at the core, lightening towards the rim. The fruit on the nose has a baked impression that seems a bit unruly if you swirl but has a nice florality if you you're less energetic! After an hour-or-so, the nose becomes a little brighter and spicier – it's quite engaging! On the palate there's a depth of flavour and good intensity too. I like the general balance but it's best not to search out the tannins, because if you find them there's a little astringency and bitterness to them – drink normally and you'll hardly notice. The finish is reasonably long and quite subtle. Tasty enough wine but with the combination of 'grand cru' and 1990, you (I) would be forgiven for expecting a little more.
2010 François Raveneau, Chablis Valmur
Medium lemon yellow colour. The nose pulls you in with fine minerals, a little lemon fruit, green herb and the impression of a waxy silkiness. In the mouth this is super-smooth, with a very fine, though not amazing, intensity. The flavour is long, majoring on mineral elements rather than fruit – as you would hope – and holds beautifully. The acidity, despite the wine's intensity, is just a hint understated – though far from lacking. Just a super-competent wine, rather than the epiphany that prices suggest/promise…
Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?
There is one response to "The others tasted…"
Just to say thanks for the notes, and that my experience of the David Clarke PTG 2010 almost exactly mirrors your own. Looking forward to the Cote de Nuits now !


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Kodak C875 Design
Just about small enough to squeeze into most pants pockets, the Kodak C875 measures 3.6 x 2.5 x 1.4 inches and has a solid, well balanced overall feel. With card and batteries, the camera weighs just 8.4 ounces and has a functional design with a solid grip that makes it easy to "one-hand." Nice metal accents on the camera give it slightly higher-end look, though with a 1970s sensibility.
The telescoping lens takes up the right side of the camera's front panel, surrounded by a steel ring and a thick, plastic lip. When the Kodak C875 is powered on, the lens extends outward, and retracts when the camera is turned off. An automatic, shutter-like lens cover slides out of the way when the camera is powered on, and automatically closes to cover the lens when the camera is switched off. Also on the front panel are the flash, AF assist / self-timer lamp, and microphone. A solid handgrip provides a good hold, compliments of the camera's battery compartment, making it easy to shoot with one hand.
On the right side of the Kodak C875 (as viewed from the rear) is the SD/MMC memory card compartment, beneath a hinged, plastic door. Opening the door reveals the actual card slot, as well as the USB/AV Out shared connector jack. The DC input is just below the card slot. Directly above the compartment is a metal eyelet for attaching the wrist strap.
The opposite side of the Kodak C875 is featureless.
On the Kodak C875's top panel are the camera's speaker, Drive button, Flash button, Power/Mode dial, and the Shutter button.
The rest of the Kodak C875's controls are on the rear panel, along with the 2.5-inch LCD monitor. A series of raised bumps serves as a thumb rest on the right side, reinforcing the front handgrip. In the top right corner are the zoom buttons, which control both optical and digital zoom in Record and Playback modes. Lining the right side of the LCD monitor are the Delete, Information/Display, Menu, and Review buttons. The joystick in the middle right of the rear panel navigates through menu settings, and confirms selections when the stick is pressed in. The Share button is on the bottom right of the camera back.
On the bottom panel of the Kodak C875 are a tripod mount, dock jack, and battery compartment. The plastic, threaded tripod mount is just off-center from the lens and too close to the battery compartment for quick battery changes while working with a tripod. The battery compartment features a locking, hinged door, which slides forward to open. The dock connection jack connects the camera directly to the EasyShare dock for quick image downloading.
Kodak C875 External Controls
Power/Mode Dial: On the right side of the Kodak C875's top panel, this notched dial places the camera into Favorites, Custom, PASM, Auto, Scene or Movie modes.
Shutter Button (see image above): In the center of the Power/Mode dial, this button sets focus and exposure when halfway pressed, and fires the shutter when fully pressed. In Playback mode, pressing this button returns the camera to the selected Record mode.
Flash Button: To the left of the Power/Mode dial, this button cycles through the Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, and Off flash modes.
Drive Button: Directly left of the Flash button, this button cycles through the Kodak C875's First Burst, Last Burst, and the two-and 10-second Self-Timer drive settings, before returning to the normal single-shot mode. There is an option here to take two pictures with the 10 second timer turned on, great if someone blinked during the first exposure.
Zoom Lever: Tucked in the upper right corner of the Kodak C875's rear panel, this lever controls the optical and digital zoom in any record mode. In Playback mode, the lever controls the amount of digital enlargement applied to captured images, to a maximum of 8x. Pressing the W of the Zoom Lever while in playback mode will give you an index of your pictures, Pressing T will bring you back to your previous screen.
Share Button: Located between the optical viewfinder and speaker, this button lets you tag images for printing, emailing, or as a favorite image. (A heart icon appears on "favorite" images.) Pressing this button automatically displays the Share menu with the following options:
- Print: Designates the number of copies of the current image to be printed.
- E-Mail: E-mails a low-resolution copy of the image to a recipient, based on a saved address book.
- Favorite: Marks the current image as a "favorite."
- Print All: Prints one copy of each image on the memory card or internal memory.
- Cancel Prints: Cancels a print order.
Delete Button: Adjacent to the top right corner of the LCD monitor, this button calls up the Delete menu in Review mode. You can delete individual images or all images on the card. There's also an option to cancel.
Information/Display Button: Below the Delete button, this button controls the information and image displays on the LCD monitor.
Menu Button: Next to the lower right corner of the LCD monitor, this button displays the settings menu in Record modes. In Playback mode it give you the picture viewing menu.
Review Button: Directly below the Kodak C875's Menu button, this button activates Playback mode when pressed in any record mode. Once in Playback mode, pressing the button again, or the Shutter button, returns to the Record display.
Joystick: Located in the right portion of the rear panel, the joystick navigates through menu options in any settings menu. Pressing the joystick in confirms menu selections. Moving the joystick up or down or left and right in Smart Scene mode lets you select what scene you want. In PASM mode, moving the joystick left and right selects among available options, including Mode, Aperture, Shutter speed, EV compensation, ISO, and focus method. Moving it up and down allows you to select either P, A, S, or M modes.
In Playback mode, the joystick scrolls through captured images, when moved left and right. For captured movie files, pressing the joystick down begins or pauses playback. During movie playback, moving he joystick up and down adjusts the playback volume. Pressing the joystick right once during moving playback will play the movie at 2X speed, press again for 4X speed. Pressing the Joystick left will reverse the movie with the same 2X or 4X speed options.


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This report follows an alarming pattern in which the WWC allows the evaluation of the research to include a testing instrument developed by the authors of the education program as a valid measure of success. Out of the 35 studies reviewed, only one (Ross, Nunnery, & Goldfeder,
2004) met WWC standards. And guess what:
The STAR Early Literacy test and STAR reading test are the only outcomes reported in the study. The STAR tests are developed and distributed by Renaissance Learning, which also distributes Accelerated Reader/Reading Renaissance.
The test is a computer-adaptive, norm-referenced test that measures student reading comprehension. It is designed for students who have at least a 100-word reading vocabulary and can be used with all students in grades 1–12. Students read passages of text and fill in key missing words from a set of options (modified cloze procedure).
What's surprising is that even using their own testing instrument, Accelerated Reader didn't perform all that well.
Comprehension. Ross, Nunnery, & Goldfeder (2004) reported a positive and statistically significant effect of Accelerated Reader/Reading Renaissance on third grade student performance on the reading comprehension measure (Star Reading test). In WWC computations, this positive effect was not statistically significant, but considered substantively important according to WWC criteria (an effect size greater than 0.25).
General reading achievement. Ross, Nunnery, & Goldfeder (2004) showed that Accelerated Reader/Reading Renaissance had positive and statistically significant effects on the general reading measure (Star Early Literacy test) for kindergarten, first, and second grade students. According to WWC analysis, the average effect size across grade levels was statistically significant.
With respect to general reading achievement, to get statistically significant results, the WWC had to average the performance of grades K-3. None of the grades individually had sufficient students to achieve a statistically significant result.
Yet on the basis of this one small study using a questionable testing instrument, the WWC concluded that Accelerated Reader has "potentially positive effects" for reading comprehension and general reading, earning the coveted green box and +?.
This seems like extremely flimsy evidence to me and it seems to send a message to publishers on how to cook the books to get the thumbs up from the WWC.


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L.Z.Z. Littlething
L.Z.Z. Littlething, also known as Lzz or Lz (born 3 May 1986[1]) is a male gay fox who lives in Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada.[1]
Lzz was obsessed with the Nickelodeon show Invader Zim, so he painted his fur lime-green. The word "temptation" appears in German on his chest.
Second Life[edit]
Lzz used to be an avid Second Life player, co-creating the club The Foxes Den with Shaden Blackburn. After some differences with Shaden, he met with Zakk Jigsaw, which who he opened Zakk's Furry Nightclub. He used to hang out at Center of Gravity, a sim owned and operated by Matti Deigan. However, Linden Labs later permanently suspended his account over a dispute, and he became disillusioned with the game.
Before the suspension, the Foxes Den was moved to Larkspur Island before being dissolved.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 L.Z.Z Littlething's profile on slprofiles.com. Retrieved July 22, 2008
External links[edit]
- L.Z.Z.'s profile on Slprofiles.com
- L.Z.Z. on YouTube
- L.Z.Z.'s products on xstreetsl.com
- hawtfoxbuttboi (L.Z.Z.) on Fur Affinity
This stub about a person could be expanded. |


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Merging takes a pathname with unfilled components and supplies values for those components from a source of defaults.
If a component's value is nil, that component is considered to be unfilled. If a component's value is any non-nil object, including :unspecific, that component is considered to be filled.
Except as explicitly specified otherwise, for functions that manipulate or inquire about files in the file system, the pathname argument to such a function is merged with *default-pathname-defaults* before accessing the file system (as if by merge-pathnames).
22.214.171.124 Examples of Merging Pathnames


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Some years ago I wrote a serial post called the Wide Angle Scream where I discussed the various Simon and Kirby double page splashes that were published over the years. I did include one Stuntman double page splash that had not been published (Terror Island) but there were two others that I did not discuss. Actually it is a not quite accurate to say these wide splashes had not been published as they were included in Joe and Jim Simon's "Comic Book Makers" (colored, I believe, by Greg Theakston) and more recently in "The Simon and Kirby Library: Superheroes" (colored by yours truly). At the time I did not have scans of the original art and "Terror Island" was the only spread that I had a reduced size copy of. Now I would like to return to these unpublished Stuntman splashes as a crossover with my serial post Speaking of Art.
Stuntman Comics #3 (intended) "Terror Island", pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
Enlarged view
As mentioned above, I had discussed the splash for "Terror Island" previous but a few comments about the original art seem appropriate. This splash is missing a heading at the top of the page. One probably was present as there appear to be stains left by rubber cement. The Stuntman logo is a recent addition as the original also fell off. But most noticeable about the original art is the damage found along the margins of the illustration board. In Joe Simon's autobiography "My Life In Comics" he writes:
The spreads had been kept in the attic where they suffered decay at the hands of the weather and damage at the paws (and teeth) of marauding squirrels.
While I am sure that this original art, and the splashes for "Jungle Lord" and "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" spent some period in an attic, I doubt that the damage that they show was due to squirrels as I found no sign of marks from teeth or claws. Rather I believe that the heated conditions frequently found in attics has left the illustration boards brittle. Comic book collectors are familiar with the brittle pages sometimes found in golden age comics caused by the presence of acid in the newsprint paper. The illustration boards that Simon and Kirby used probably did not have as much acid as found in comic book newsprint but there seems to be enough that these art boards typically yellow with age. In the case of the Stuntman original art the heat has accelerated the detrimental effect of the acid making the boards brittle. Most of the damage occurs at the corners which would be expected since that is where the boards are most likely to hit up against more unforgiving objects. The boards are not actively crumbling but must be handled with care.
I should also mention the Stuntman Comics issue number I have assigned these pieces to. Simon and Kirby only used double page splashes in the centerfold of the comics. That way there would be no problems aligning pages properly with the rather primitive publishing methods used for comic books of the day. Only two issues of Stuntman ever reached the newsstands. A third issue was mailed to subscribers but it was much reduced in size and contents. Most importantly the third issue did not use a wide splash. The three unpublished Stuntman wide splashes would have appeared in Stuntman Comics issues #3, #4 and #5 if not for the unfortunate sudden cancellation of the title. I have assigned the different splashes to the intended issues based on completeness of the art. The splashes for "Terror Island" and "Jungle Lord" were both completed. However on "Terror Island" has story art at least some of which was completely inked while the story art for "Jungle Lord" on received outline inking without any spotting. As we will see the inking of the splash for "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" was never finished and therefore it was worked on last.
Stuntman Comics #4 (intended) "Jungle Lord", pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
Enlarged view
Like "Terror Island" the inking of "Jungle Lord" appears to have been completed. Only a small area in the lower right corner seems to have only received outline inking. The board is stained in this area so it seems that originally a square piece of paper or stat covered the area until it was lost when the rubber cement failed. The Stuntman logo is a new addition to replace the original which also seems to have become detached.
Previous Stuntman double page splashes had been visually complex but in "Jungle Lord" Simon and Kirby have distilled it to the essentials. Or as essential as could be expected with five main characters. A dramatic fight scene between Stuntman and a gorilla is balanced with a humorous scene of a skinny individual in a Tarzan suite carrying off a similarly clad Sandra Sylvan while below the ironically named Don Daring bridges the two. While visually complex would be done in the future ("Social Night in Town" and "Remember the Alamo") simpler designs like this one would dominate.
Stuntman Comics #4 (intended) "Jungle Lord" close-up, pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
All the unpublished Stuntman double page splashes had terrific inking, not surprising since Jack was doing his own spotting. But in my opinion "Jungle Lord" has the best inking of the three. Jack used his blunt brush in a free but controlled manner that is just marvelous to behold.
Stuntman Comics #5 (intended) "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc", pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
Enlarged View
Clearly Kirby was working on "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" when Simon and Kirby received the news that Stuntman had been cancelled. Three of the figures appear to be fully inked, one (the Tumbler) may be almost but not quite completed (mainly work is lacking on his left forearm) and two only have outline inking. Stuntman figures large, probably the largest figure in a splash that Kirby ever drew during the period he partnered with Simon.
Stuntman Comics #5 (intended) "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" close-up of Lash, pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
Standard inking procedure for Simon and Kirby was to first provide simple line inking. Because Kirby's pencils were pretty tight this task could be assigned to a less talented artist. It is interesting to compare the lined inked Lash with an unfinished Boys Explorer page that did not progress beyond the line inking (Jack Kirby's Austere Inking). The lines found in the Boys Explorer page show little variation in width almost as if they were made from wire. On the other hand the lines used to construct Lash show variation in thickness line as compared to line and also along the length of a line. The difference is not great but it does suggest a more talented hand did the line inking for the Stuntman #5 splash. Although it is hard to be certain, but I believe that on this splash Jack did the line inking himself.
Stuntman Comics #5 (intended) "The Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" close-up of Stuntman, pencils and inks by Jack Kirby
The figure of Stuntman is almost certainly complete, it is hard to imagine how anymore spotting could be applied without having a detrimental effect. While the spotting does not have quite the bravura brushwork as found in the "Jungle Lord" splash it can still take the breath away.


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Category Posts Widget is a light widget designed to do one thing and do it well: display the most recent posts from a certain category.
Term and Category based Posts Widget
A premium version of that free widget available at tiptoppress.com created for big WordPress sites.
Premium features
- Auto-sizing Grid layout
- Custom field support in the Template
- Shortcode support in the Template
- Image-Slider (or News-Ticker)
- Asymmetrical list layouts
- Full background images
- Masonry responsive grid layout
- More complex filter (ANY, NOT, AND, …)
- Custom Post Types, Events, Products support
- All free features
- E-Mail support
- More examples on the demo pages
- Template to arrange the post details.
- The Template text can be a post details placeholder, plain text, HTML or a font-icons.
- Font-icon support.
- 'Load more' button / Ajax API
- Item Title heading level buttons
- Excerpt length and item title in lines (line-clamp)
- Shortcode (Easily change all Shortcode options in the customizer).
- Date range filter
- New date format: Time since plublished
- Filter by post status: Published, scheduled, private.
- Multiple shortcodes at the same site or post.
- Add option for post offset (use two or more widgets after another).
- Admin UI: Buttons in the editor toolbar to insert shortcode.
- Option to touch device friendly "everything is a link".
- For editing shortcode adds a Customizer link to the admin-bar ("With one click to the Customizer").
- Set thumbnail width & height / image crop with CSS (object-fit).
- Fluid images (max-width in %).
- One thumb dimension can be left empty.
- Option to set mouse hover effects for post thumbnail.
- Set a default thumbnail.
- Hide widget text or text, if there is no post.
- Option to hide posts which have no thumbnail.
- Option exclude current post.
- Option show post author, comment's count, post date.
- Admin UI: Set / find thumbnail size buttons: +, ¼, ½, 2x, -, ratio and Media sizes
- Admin UI: Buttons to easy add post details placeholder.
- Multi sites support.
- Full documentation
- Shortcode: Use [catposts] in the content and edit in the customizer
- Formatting date and time: See Formatting Date and Time
While using this plugin if you find any bug or any conflict, please submit an issue at
Github (If possible with a pull request).
Automatic installation
Automatic installation is the easiest option as WordPress handles the file transfers itself and you don't need to leave your web browser. To do an automatic install of Category Posts Widget,
- log in to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Plugins menu and click Add New.
- In the search field type "Category Posts Widget" and click Search Plugins.
- Once you've found plugin, you can install it by simply clicking "Install Now".
- Then, go to plugins page of WordPress admin activate the plugin.
- Now, goto the Widgets page of the Appearance section and configure the Category Posts widget.
Manual installation
- Download the plugin.
- Upload it to the plugins folder of your blog.
- Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
- Now, goto the Widgets page of the Appearance section and configure the Category Posts widget.
Template, placeholder and post detail
Here You can control the Post Detail parts, which appears as part of the post item. All post detail will placed as placeholder. The text in the Template area can be a post details placeholder, plain text, HTML or HTML for SVG icons.
For more layout options please try our premium widget: Term and Category based Posts Widget.
Use SVG icons
For SVG font-icon HTML we recommend the WordPress Dashicons, which are included as default and can be used without any font-icon including.
How to use Page Bilder plugins like Divi, SiteOrigin Page Builder or Elementor
Read more about Page Builder plugins at our FAQs
The font-size is different from that of other widgets or Theme elements?
Use the option: 'Disable only font style' in the General panel.
I want the title as a link pointing to the selected Categorie page?
Is just a single category selected in the Filter panel: Enable the check box "Make widget title link".
Is 'All categories' selected in the Filter panel: Use the text field 'Title link URL'. -
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_FUNCTION in /home/www/blog/wp-content/plugins/category-posts/cat-posts.php on line 58
Some of the features that were used in that version needs PHP 5.3+.
We apologies for any headache this may cause you, but frankly it is better for you to check with your hosting company how can you upgrade the PHP version that you are using, and not only in order to use this plugin. PHP 5.2 should be considered insecure now, and for your own sake you should upgrade.
PHP 5.2 is very old and any support for it from the php developers had ended more then 5 years ago php.net/eol.php.
We know there are peopel how use PHP 5.2 wordpress.org/about/stats and we can't imagine this people will have no other problems, if they don't update. -
You check the PHP version with phpversion(), but the widget don't work
Check also the .htaccess file, if there is an entry for an older PHP version.
Contributors & Developers
"Category Posts Widget" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Мүчөлөрү"Category Posts Widget" has been translated into 11 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.
Translate "Category Posts Widget" into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
4.9.17 – Juli 08th 2024
- Fixed Sanitize text field
4.9.16 – March 26th 2024
- Fixed Deletion failed
4.9.15 – May 2 2023
- Fixed Image size
4.9.14 – May 1 2023
- Fixed Array string keys
- Fixed Date since published
4.9.13 – July 22 2021
- Fixed Line number with WordPress 5.8
4.9.12 – July 20 2021
- Deprecated jQuery warnings
4.9.11 – April 15th 2021
- Wiget title heading level buttons
- Add sticky posts at start
4.9.10 – December 15th 2020
- Fixed Missing load more button
4.9.9 – December 9th 2020
- Load more placeholders
4.9.8 – November 30th 2020
- Date since published for n-days
4.9.7 – November 21th 2020
- Item title in lines (line-clamp)
- Fixed Column layout
- Fixed Image Html rendering
4.9.6 – November 16th 2020
- Item title heading level buttons
- Excerpt-more link placeholder
- Native WordPress filter CSS classes
- Rework thumb handling
4.9.5 – May 12th 2020
- Fixed Widget_Title filter missing parameters
4.9.4 – March 2th 2020
- Fixed Delete global click event
4.9.3 – March 18th 2020
- Fixed Mouse hover icon and post format indication
4.9.2 – Mai 23th 2019
- Fixed Starts with post
- Fixed Replace the figure-element
4.9.1 – Mai 17th 2019
- 'Load more' button / Ajax API
- Data range filter
- Text, if there is no post
- Excerpt length in lines (line-clamp)
- Image crop with CSS (object-fit)
- Fluid images (max-width in %).
- One thumb dimension can be left empty
- Admin UI: Button to easy add post details placeholder
- Admin UI: Set / find thumbnail size buttons: +, ¼, ½, 2x, -, ratio and Media sizes
4.8.5 – April 02nd 2018
- Fixed Tabs not working
4.8.4 – April 02nd 2018
- Fixed Make widget SiteOrigin Page Builder Compatible
4.8.3 – March 03th 2018
- Fixed Updated widget with zero for the thumb dimensions caused a JavaScript error
4.8.2 – January 30th 2018
- Fixed Adding the widget with the customizer only the title is shown
- Fixed Recognize "Empty lines" > Next line is a paragraph in the Template in widget areas
4.8.1 – January 25th 2018
- Fixed Recognize "Empty lines" > Next line is a paragraph in the Template
4.8 – January 22th 2018
- SVG font-icon support for post formats
- Template to arrange the post details
- Premade Templates
- Date format: Time since plublished
- Filter by post status: Published, scheduled, private
- Hover effect: SVG font-icon
4.7.4 – October 21th 2017
- Bugfix for filter by post status (note private)
4.7.3 – October 10th 2017
- Add option to filter by post status
- Fixed footer section do not change when switching to and from "all posts"
4.7.2 – February 25th 2017
- Add option to disable only the font styles
- Fixed if option 'Everything is a link' no closing anchor tag
- Fixed if option 'Everyting is a link' wrong layout
- Fixed when a manual excerpt is provided, use it instead of generating an automatic one
- Fixed if option 'Disable the built-in CSS' the thumbnail client-side cropping isn't disabled
- Fixed if option 'Disable the built-in CSS' title class is not rendered
- Fixed when having multi shortcodes, clicking on a checkbox label marks in any of them selects the one in the "first"
- Fixed if option 'CSS crop to requested size' for multi shortcodes
- Fixed for CSS animation
4.7.1 – December 20th 2016
- Support multiple shortcodes in content
- Add option for post offset (use two or more widgets after another)
- Fluid images for Responsive Layouts
- Set a thumbnail as default thumbnail
- Add option to enable excerpt filters from Themes and plugins
- Add option to disable social buttons, banner, … in the excerpt
- Add dropdownbox entry for 'all' categories
- Add option to disable subcategories
- Add insert shortcode buttons to the editor toolbar
- Use WP user profile for settings ('auto close' and if the shortcode button appears in the editor toolbar)
- Simple API for external use
- Support localization with translate.wordpress.org: Portuguese (Brazil) thank you Henrique Vianna and German by Daniel Floeter
- Remove allow_html option (Instead we recommend to use the manual excerpt or we support this option furthermore in the Term Posts Excerpt Extension for the premium version)
4.6.2 – August 28th 2016
- Fixed only five widget instances can be costumized with shortcodes.
- For editing shortcode adds a customizer link to the admin-bar if page/post is in edit mode.
4.6.1 – June 5th 2016
- Add shortcode [catposts] edit options only in the customizer
- Keep panels open after save.
- Option to hide social buttons on output.
4.1.9 – May 5th 2016
- Fixed undefined constant.
4.1.8 – May 3th 2016
- Add mouse hover effects: blur
- Add option to choose allowed HTML in the excerpt
- Add Jetpack 'Sharing – Show buttons on posts' support
- Fixed division by zero bug (for small uploaded images)
4.1.7 – April 14th 2016
- Fixed division by zero bug.
4.1.6 – April 13th 2016
- Add option CSS cropping for thumbnails.
- Add option to set mouse hover effects for post thumbnail.
- Add option to change the excerpt more text.
- Add option to allow links in the excerpt
- Add filter 'widget_title' for the title
- Add option to hide post titles.
4.1.5 – February 4th 2016
- Support for multi sites.
- Support for localization.
- Area UI.
- Meet new plugin author mark-k
- Added option exclude current post.
- Added option to hide posts which have no thumbnail.
- Added option to make the widget date link to the category page.
- Added option to link to the category page below posts list.
- Added option show post author.
- Added option to format the outputted date string.
- Added option to hide widget, if category have currently no posts.
- Fixed hide title bug.
- Added option to put thumbnail on top.
- Added option to show/hide the title.
- Fixed no background bug.
- Added PHP5 Constructor.
- Added Option to allow/disallow widget CSS.
- Now, compatible with WordPress 4.3.
- Meet new plugin author kometschuh
- Added CSS file for post styling.
- Now compatible with latest versions of WordPress.
- Fixed random sort bug.
- Added option to change ordering of posts. Defaults to showing newest posts first.
- Fixed a bug in the thumbnail size registration routine.
- Added support for WP 2.9's post thumbnail feature.
- Removed support for Simple Post Thumbnails plugin.
- Added option to show the post date.
- Added option to set the excerpt length.
- Added option to show the number of comments.
- Really tried to fix bug where wp_query global was getting over written by manually instantiating a WP_Query object.
- Fixed bug where wp_query global was getting over written.
- Updated to use the WP 2.8 widget API.
- Added support for Simple Post Thumbnails plugin.


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Draft Stopper 3 inch Large Diameter Colonial Blue Pick a Length
Extreme heating fuel prices make draft stoppers even more important this year! Keep outside problems out of your space! Stops cold and heat at your door. Also useful to keep noise, allergens, light, odors, and dust out of your environment. Very attractive addition to your home. Draft stoppers made by Maine Sales in the USA are high quality and designed to provide a proper seal.
- Large effective draft stopper to stop drafts.
- Heavy enough to stay in place no matter the weather.
- Traditional one-sided draft stopper for the best seal. They are all we will make, other styles are ineffective.
- Quality product. Grown and sewn in the USA – All-natural chemical free clean buckwheat hull filling.
- Looks good while making your home comfortable.
- Please measure for the proper fit.


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What Happens When My Kids Need Their Own Health Insurance?
As parents we provide for our children's basic needs. That includes health insurance, so they have access to the medical care they need, when they need it. However, kids grow up, and there comes a time when they need their own health insurance. Here is some information that could help you and your child with the transition.
At What Age Do Kids Need Their Own Health Insurance?
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health plans and insurers that offer dependent child coverage are required to make that coverage available until the child turns 26, as stated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This rule applies to both married and unmarried children and all employer sponsored and individual health plans. It doesn't matter if the child is not living with the parents, is not attending school, is not financially dependent on the parents, or is eligible to enroll in an employer sponsored plan, as stated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
What Happens With Health Insurance When a Child Turns 26?
Dependent child health plan coverage ends on your child's 26th birthday (although some employers and insurers may offer some leeway). At that point, he or she qualifies for a Special Enrollment Period. This is a time outside open enrollment when you can sign up with a health insurance plan. The 120-day Special Enrollment window begins 60 days before your child's 26th birthday and ends 60 days afterwards (30 days afterwards if buying an individual plan not on the ACA marketplace). The window may be different if your child is enrolling in an employer's health plan, in which case it is usually 30 days after losing the previous coverage.
What Are Your Child's Options for Health Coverage After Age 26?
The Affordable Care Act created exchanges that make it possible to shop for and compare health plans in one place. Other options when your child is losing coverage under your health plan include:
- Employer sponsored health insurance: This is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to obtain health insurance.
- Spouse's health insurance: If your child is married, he or she may be eligible for coverage under a spouse's health plan.
- COBRA: The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives workers (and their families) who lose their health insurance benefits the right to continue coverage under the group health plan, under certain circumstances for a limited period of time. This type of health coverage is expensive. The employer does not cover any portion of the premium, and there is an additional administrative fee of up to 2%.
- Individual health plan: This can be an affordable option through the exchanges, depending on how much your child makes. With an annual salary of approximately $50,000 or less for a single person, lower premiums and tax credits are available.
If your child's 26th birthday is approaching, now is the time to plan for health insurance coverage in the future. Our experienced agent will be happy to help you find an affordable plan that meets your child's healthcare needs.