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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Nats close to deal with 106.7 FM
The new radio contract is awaiting final approval by Nats ownership, but the sides already have an oral agreement in place and staffers at the affected stations have been notified of the pending change, according to those sources.
The switch in flagship stations comes after a lengthy attempt by the Nationals to broadcast games on a strong local FM signal. WJFK -- which goes by "106.7 The Fan" -- is a 22,500-watt station based in Northern Virginia that actually has a stronger signal throughout the area than 50,000-watt WFED, which doesn't reach many western suburbs at night.
Though they sought to align with an FM station, the Nationals still wanted to maintain a presence on AM as well. CBS, which owns WJFK, has only one AM station in the D.C. area: WHFS (1580 AM), which has extremely limited reach in the evening.
Thus, the club was able to forge an unusual-though-beneficial arrangement that keeps games on 1500 AM as one of its affiliate networks. WFED is owned by Bonneville International, which recently sold its stations to Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting.
Despite the change, announcers Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler will return for their seventh and sixth consecutive seasons, respectively, behind the microphone. The broadcast's production staff, though, could change.
WJFK, which went to an all-sports format in July 2009, is now the flagship station for the Nationals and Wizards. WFED remains the Capitals' flagship station. "ESPN 980" -- which airs on WTEM (980 AM), WWXX (94.3 FM) and WWXT (92.7 FM) -- has the rights to Redskins and Orioles games.
59 comments:
- MGG said...
This is wonderful news! I don't get 1500 here where I work, but I get 106.7 loud and clear! Can't wait to hear the Nats while I'm stuck at work. Thanks for bringing us this great news Mark.
- February 10, 2011 9:32 AM
Very good news!
- February 10, 2011 9:36 AM
Now that is some welcome news!
- February 10, 2011 9:42 AM
Terrific news for joining the 21st century. Very, very glad that they are keeping Charlie and Dave. Both quite knowledgeable about baseball and they keep things in perspective. I also hope they get to keep the Jack of all things and the rest of the crew.
- February 10, 2011 9:43 AM
This is freaking wonderful! Great job Mark! What about the Jack-Of-All-Trades? Is he gone as part of the production reorganization? Before the Nats first season I met Jack (Wood, I think is his last name) on a flight from Nashville back to DCA. I was wearing an Expo shirt (the one I ordered the day after the contraction fell thru in an effort to advocate for their relocation here) so Jack asked me if I was a fan and told me he'd be part of the radio broadcast team. We spent the hour and half in the air talking about the disrepair of the Expos system, the new acquisitions and our personal excitement to have baseball back in the District.
Great guy and I hope he makes the move with Charlie and Dave. While the TV booth seems to change every year, Charlie and Dave have been with us since Brandon Watson tore up AAA. They are Nats baseball, and every time they mention the Jack-Of-All-Trades, I'm reminded of the excitement and anticipation we had during our conversation way back in the winter of 2005. - February 10, 2011 9:44 AM
Terrific news. This is one more step to becoming a first class baseball franchise. Good radio is very, very important to the fan base.
- February 10, 2011 9:51 AM
The more exposure for Charlie and Dave, the better. Although the Nats have been less than spectacular the last six seasons, they have one of the best radio teams on air. That's especially wonderful in a market where radio is, without question, lousy.
Question for Mark--Will the FM signal have a slight delay? Wondering about listening live at the ballpark. I know this can be an issue. - February 10, 2011 9:56 AM
This is truly good news, a big plus for us in Loudoun County. I continue to think what a huge mistake take that ESPN 980am made in aligning itself with the O's rather the Nats. Less and less people care for the O's in the DC area and this is a short sided step by ESPN 980am.
As a positive note, I heard our own MZ on the Sports Reports last night and I heard more baseball take from 5pm to 5:20pm on ESPN 980am yesterday, since the offseason began. Mark, you are a great addition there! - February 10, 2011 9:58 AM
Do you know yet which spring training games will be broadcast on radio? I need a little baseball fix soon!
- February 10, 2011 10:05 AM
I hope they keep the "Jack of All Things," too!
- February 10, 2011 10:10 AM
- johninmpls said...
This is good news for Nats fans, but I must admit I'm a little squeamish about anything that legitimizes that network's awful programming.
I guess this move means there will be at least 500 hours of broadcasts that aren't manned by brain-dead blowhards. So maybe it's a win-win. Plus, it doesn't put any money in Snyder's pockets, so I guess that's worth celebrating.
Poor DC sports radio. It really is a choice between the lesser of two evils. - February 10, 2011 10:13 AM
- Pete said...
http://www.hark.com/clips/cxknyymjcz-aw-yeah - February 10, 2011 10:21 AM
Very good news. Most of WFED's 50 kW at night is highly directional, meaning you can hear it in Delaware and the Outer Banks but not in Fairfax. Very few fans in Nags Head are inspired to drive to Nats Park for a game.
- February 10, 2011 10:21 AM
Pedro -- Many talk radio stations have a 7-second delay to deal with callers who are challenged to find family-friendly adjectives and verbs. Curiously, Red Zebra (Snyder) has a delay on his FMs, not on the AM station. They may have fixed it recently but that was the case 6-7 months ago. In addition, there is an inevitable lag in the transmission of voice data from the stadium to the studio to the transmitter (or from the studio or transmitter to an affiliated station along the network).
- February 10, 2011 10:29 AM
- DCPowerGator said...
great news, i can't even get 1500 in my capital hill home less than one mile from nats park. still would prefer 980 b/c of their drastically higher quality programming but happy regardless if true.
IIRC 1067 also transmits very strongly to the west, i think i had it on at night practically all the way to charlottesville. this is a good thing, va should be all nats country.
mark - you did an OUTSTANDING job last nite on 980. hope that becomes a recurring gig for you! - February 10, 2011 10:31 AM
- nationals anthems said...
I am so happy! Charlie and Dave on FM - hooray!
- February 10, 2011 10:44 AM
Thank friggin' goodness. Now I can hear the games from the far reaches of that remote outpost known as Fairfax County. One less headscratcher solved.
Q: Does CSN have a working relationship with ESPN980, WJFK, neither or both? WAPO (obviously) has a relationship with JFK, and I now expect AK to be featured with Wise, LaVar/Dukes, Junkies, etc. Will CSN Nationals saddle-up to ESPN980? - February 10, 2011 10:45 AM
How do we find the archives on a non-Apple device to listen to Mark Z's radio from yesterday?
- February 10, 2011 10:51 AM
- Mark Zuckerman said...
Steve M.: You can listen to or download podcasts of yesterday's show at http://www.espn980.com/audiovault/
The Sports Reporters archive is on the right side of the page. I appeared during Hours 2 and 3 of the show. - February 10, 2011 10:55 AM
- Chris said...
Two thumbs up from down here in Fredericksburg!
- February 10, 2011 10:57 AM
- David said...
I asked this in another thread... Is Tom Milone getting a major league invite this year? And if he isn't, why not?
- February 10, 2011 10:57 AM
Charlie and Dave stay, that's all I care about. "Another curly W in the books" for this deal.
- February 10, 2011 11:00 AM
- MGG said...
Hey Mark, I've seen some people linking the Nats to Francisco Liriano. Is this true? Would this be a player the Nats would look at?
I hope not because of his injury history and seems to be on the backside of his career. - February 10, 2011 11:02 AM
"WAPO (obviously) has a relationship with JFK, and I now expect AK to be featured with Wise, LaVar/Dukes, Junkies, etc."
I don't think there is any formal relationship between the Post and 106.7. The radio station hired Wise as an individual, and the Post hired Arrington as an individual. There's no cross-platform branding going on as there would be if there was a relationship between the two media entities. You're not hearing Wise being introduced on 106.7 as "Mike Wise of the Washington Post", he's just "Mike Wise." Likewise, Arrington was hired by the Post mainly for his credentials as an ex-Redskin, not because of his 106.7 work.
Now of course Wise might use his personal connections to get on-air segments with other WaPo reporters/columnists, but of all the sports Wise is weakest on baseball (as is the rest of the Post). So Kilgore and Sheinin might not necessarily end up appearing on his air. As for Boswell, have those two guys (Boswell and Wise) ever even acknowledged the other's existence, much less appeared in the same room at the same time? - February 10, 2011 11:07 AM
Liriano: 27 y/o, last year career high in innings, 201K, 11th in Cy Young. How does that constitute the "backside" of his career? Sounds like somebody else's "backside" is in play.
- February 10, 2011 11:10 AM
Thank God!!!
- February 10, 2011 11:11 AM
- TomL said...
This may be a hard one to answer but I'm an expat and listen to C&D via the mlb gameday app (android version). Any idea if this deal will change anything about that? Last season we had games over that with a "nationals radio network" station identification as well as via AM 950, same station identification
- February 10, 2011 11:12 AM
- JayB said...
Very Very Good News!
- February 10, 2011 11:14 AM
The MLB Gameday app just picks up the local broadcasts for all teams no matter what station(s) they are being aired on. And fortunately there are not any blackout restrictions as with the TV streaming over MLB.com.
- February 10, 2011 11:21 AM
Having it on both stations and both the AM and FM bands is a plus. I use XM to listen to Nationals home games I'm not attending (and to hear the poetry of Vin Scully from L.A. after the local game ends) but when the Nats are on the road I usually listen to the DC-area local broadcast since XM carries the home team's radio feed. When the U.S. FCC and its Canadian and Mexican counterparts still authorized clear channel stations with a frequency all to themselves across all of North America, what was WTOP-AM back then had a non-directional signal which could be heard for hundreds of miles in any direction. The 1500 AM signal is still spectacular when you're driving on I-95; it comes in beautifully across the Carolinas and even into Georgia or northern Florida, but the east-west directional lobe is nowhere near as strong as the north-south.
- February 10, 2011 11:22 AM
What 11:07 Anonymous is saying is that given its current lineup WJFK is unlikely to ever be a significant source of Nats info. Except for Sheehan and Loverro, WTEM has been much in the same position, until the arrival of our esteemed host, although the overall IQ level is much higher. Maybe better on field performance will lead to better on-air coverage but I'm skeptical -- unless 980 gives Mark a slot in every program, every day. WTEM's focus has been on Redskins first, piling on the uizards second, Caps third, and various conspiracy theories fourth. (And, who is the maroon they've put on at 7:00 p.m.? Which rock did he crawl out from under? Yeeesh!)
- February 10, 2011 11:22 AM
"What 11:07 Anonymous is saying is that given its current lineup WJFK is unlikely to ever be a significant source of Nats info."
No, I'm saying it won't necessarily be the Washington Post supplying their Nats info. If the station is carrying the Nats games, they will likely step up their game in talking about the Nats during the rest of their broadcast day, just like they talk about the Caps and Wizards a fair amount because they broadcast their games. Otherwise, it really would be All Redskins All The Time. - February 10, 2011 11:36 AM
"directional, meaning you can hear it in Delaware "
good to know, for back and forth to downy ayshin, hon. hope i can sync charlie and dave to the tv. the delay on the mlb phone app is nuts.
and good to have you on the radio at times. i like loverro on baseball, but as was said above, wtem is about skins. all told, this is a step up - February 10, 2011 11:45 AM
Fantastic News! Great that Charlie and Dave will be back, they are a pleasure to listen to and have made the best of several long seasons of not much to crow about. Now if we can get 106.7 to add some additional Nats talk we are making progress. We deserve a break from the Redskins for part of the off-season. (At least until Danny gets his act together)
- February 10, 2011 12:00 PM
- SonnyG10 said...
Great news for me also, as I live in Reston, VA.
- February 10, 2011 12:31 PM
Mark Zuckerman said...
Steve M.: You can listen to or download podcasts of yesterday's show at http://www.espn980.com/audiovault/
The Sports Reporters archive is on the right side of the page. I appeared during Hours 2 and 3 of the show.
Mark Z. great, I will head over there. Any chance of adding a link on this site to keep only your broadcast archives? With your growing popularity, I expect many of your readers will want to listen online. Thanks! - February 10, 2011 12:45 PM
Question: I live in Nebraska. Will I be able to follow the Nats by accessing WJFK through my computer? Today is going to be a really great day if the answer to that question is "yes." I'll be grateful for any answers or opinions on that matter. Thanks.
fpcsteve - February 10, 2011 1:00 PM
fpcsteve, unfortunately, no. MLB forbids radio stations from streaming their games. They are only available via an MLB subscription.
- February 10, 2011 1:23 PM
Finally. Mark, any word on when there are going to get some restaurants and bars near the stadium. After getting the games on FM, that's the next thing on my wish list.
- February 10, 2011 1:23 PM
- Dan! said...
To Fcpsteve - you can purchase from mlb.com the AUDIO ONLY package that allows you to stream all games, home and away, on your computer. $15 PER YEAR. It is such a good deal I'm surprised it hasn't gone away yet. Hard to find on the MLB.com page, but there.
- February 10, 2011 1:39 PM
Thanks, Sparky and Dan. Trust me, I'll find that deal and subscribe.
fpcsteve - February 10, 2011 1:50 PM
You can also get the MLB At Bat app for iPhone etc for $15/yr or thereabouts, which gets you all the game audio for the whole season.
- February 10, 2011 2:09 PM
For up to date info on what may or may not be happening re development in the ballpark area, your best bet is to check jdland.com. If anything's happening, you'll read it there first.
- February 10, 2011 2:13 PM
Although restaurants near the stadium would be nice, Liriano in a Nats uniform for 3 years would be far better.
Make the deal Rizzo! - February 10, 2011 2:33 PM
MORE GOOD NEWS, McCatty says Strasburg has started throwing a baseball again! If all goes well he should be pitching 5 months from now in the Minors!
- February 10, 2011 2:37 PM
- Jim Webster said...
Good radio news. Now has anyone seen the MASN TV spring training broadcast schedule?
- February 10, 2011 2:50 PM
5 months?? In the minors?? That panzy boy oughta be spinning that curve on opening day.
- February 10, 2011 3:08 PM
Spring training broadcast schedule is here:
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/schedule/broadcast/index.jsp?c_id=was - February 10, 2011 3:32 PM
Speaking of Strasburg, a good topic, Mark, would be "how much of Strasburg's salary do the Nats recoup from insurance?" They do have insurance for most of their players, don't they? Some, like Detweiler, would probably be uninsurable (but in any event not that expensive). But how could you guarantee Werth $126MM without having insurance on at least a portion of it?
- February 10, 2011 3:40 PM
Usually insurance doesn't pay off unless the player never plays in the Bigs again. So let hope they get nothing from him. Most resent example, the O's got a ton of money back on Albert Bell.
- February 10, 2011 3:54 PM
Fantastic news - my son can finally listen to games on the radio when he's falling asleep at night. And it's about time - this has been another area where they're behind the curve in terms of their ability to create exposure.
And no station becomes a "Flagship" unless they're willing to pump up the team/advertise/talk about it. Bishop (a.k.a Lurch) is a very smart baseball guy in the Junks. I'd love to see Wise actually learn something about it. Hopefully they'll replace Arrington/Dukes during drive time/pre-game with someone who knows something about baseball.
This is really great.
Natslifer - February 10, 2011 3:57 PM
- RickH said...
Excellent! I had to listen to games using MLB audio on my phone because I couldn't get the signal well at all out here in western Prince William County.
- February 10, 2011 3:59 PM
Some new links on the Nats website under the Tickets drop-down menu. Of primary interest: 1) Nats Insiders get access to single game tickets begins Feb 17th at 10:00AM, ending on the 20th at 11:59PM. 2) Single game tickets go onsale to the general public on March 3rd.
No indication of when the STH presale will be.
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ticketing/presale_singlegame.jsp - February 10, 2011 4:14 PM
Can't wait!
- February 10, 2011 7:43 PM
- Unknown said...
AWESOME to the FM radio deal! Can't wait. And double-AWESOME to Charlie and Dave returning. They make even awful games semi-palatable.
- February 10, 2011 8:26 PM
Now if we can just get a Nats affiliate in Ocean City for summer beach listening!
- February 10, 2011 10:14 PM
Great news about Charlie and Dave. No one in the business does a better IHOP live read.
But, can we bribe Wilson Ramos to use Wil Nieves' walk-up music for another year of booth salsa dancing? - February 10, 2011 10:33 PM
- NatsFan2 said...
AWESOME! I am not a fan of "the Fan" with their less then stellar broadcasting team. The Junkies are a complete waste of time, Chad Dukes is an arrogant, pompous ass that lends nothing of value to sports programming except an "attitude". But NATS baseball on the radio GREAT!
- February 12, 2011 7:07 AM
- VP81955 said...
The best of both worlds -- a solid FM sports talk that covers D.C. and northern Virginia well (with more Nationals-related programming, I hope), while keeping an AM 50,000-watter with good reach in most Maryland suburbs. (When WJFK had Terrapin rights, many fans complained the signal was next to impossible to hear in College Park and points north.) Also, 1500 AM has a fine nighttime signal up and down the east coast, as I can vouch from my years in Westfield, N.J.
- February 12, 2011 5:48 PM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
...one of the most highly
regarded and expertly designed C++ library projects in the
— Herb Sutter and Andrei
Alexandrescu, C++
Coding Standards
// named parameter version template<typename Graph, typename PositionMap, typename Topology, typename Param, typename Tag, typename Rest> void fruchterman_reingold_force_directed_layout (const Graph& g, PositionMap position, const Topology& space, const bgl_named_params<Param, Tag, Rest>& params); // non-named parameter version template<typename Graph, typename PositionMap, typename Topology, typename AttractiveForce, typename RepulsiveForce, typename ForcePairs, typename DisplacementMap, typename Cooling> void fruchterman_reingold_force_directed_layout (const Graph& g, PositionMap position, const Topology& space, AttractiveForce fa, RepulsiveForce fr, ForcePairs fp, Cooling cool, DisplacementMap displacement); template<typename Graph, typename PositionMap, typename Topology> void fruchterman_reingold_force_directed_layout(const Graph& g, PositionMap position, Topology& space, Dim width, Dim height);
This algorithm [58] performs layout of unweighted, undirected graphs. Unlike the Kamada-Kawai layout algorithm, this algorithm directly supports the layout of disconnected graphs (but see the force_pairs named parameter). It is a force-directed algorithm, meaning that vertex layout is determined by the forces pulling vertices together and pushing them apart. Attractive forces occur between adjacent vertices only, whereas repulsive forces occur between every pair of vertices. Each iteration computes the sum of the forces on each vertex, then moves the vertices to their new positions. The movement of vertices is mitigated by the temperature of the system for that iteration: as the algorithm progresses through successive iterations, the temperature should decrease so that vertices settle in place. The cooling schedule, attractive forces, and repulsive forces can be provided by the user.
The vertices are often placed randomly prior to execution of this algorithm via random_graph_layout.
The graph object on which the algorithm will be applied. The type Graph must be a model of Vertex And Edge List Graph.IN/OUT: PositionMap position
Python: This parameter is named graph in Python.
The property map that stores the position of each vertex. It should typically be initialized with the vertices at random locations (use random_graph_layout). The type PositionMap must be a model of Lvalue Property Map such that the vertex descriptor type of Graph is convertible to its key type. Its value type must be Topology::point_type, representing the coordinates of the vertex.IN: const Topology& space
Python: The position map must be a vertex_point2d_map for the graph.
Python default: graph.get_vertex_point2d_map("position")
The topology used to lay out the vertices. This parameter describes both the size and shape of the layout area. Topologies are described in more detail (with a list of BGL-provided topologies) in separate documentation.
Computes the magnitude of the attractive force between two adjacent vertices. The function object fa must accept four parameters: the edge descriptor, k, the distance between the vertices, and the graph. k is the square root of the ratio of the display area to the number of vertices.IN: repulsive_force(RepulsiveForce fr)
Default: square_distance_attractive_force(), which computes the attractive force asdist2/k
Python: Any callable Python object that matches the signature will suffice.
Computes the magnitude of the repulsive force between any two vertices. The function object fa must accept five parameters: the two vertex descriptors, k, the distance between the vertices, and the graph. k is the square root of the ratio of the display area to the number of vertices.IN: force_pairs(ForcePairs fp)
Default: square_distance_repsulsive_force(), which computes the repulsive force ask2/dist
Python: Any callable Python object that matches the signature will suffice.
Enumerates the pairs of vertices on which the repulsive force should be applied. fp is a function object taking two parameters: the graph g and a binary function object that should be passed each pair of vertices to be considered. The basic formulation of the Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm computes repulsive forces between all pairs of vertices (pass all_force_pairs() for this parameter), which is functional for disconnected graphs but tends to push the connected components toward the edges of the display area. The grid variant of the algorithm places a grid over the display area and only computes repulsive forces among vertices within each rectangle in the grid. The grid variant can be more efficient than the basic formulation and tends to produce better layouts for disconnected graphs, but is not better overall: pass make_grid_force_pairs(width, height, position, g) as this parameter to use the grid variant. Other enumeration strategies may yield better results for particular graphs.IN: cooling(Cooling cool)
Default: make_grid_force_pairs(width, height, position, g)
Python: Unsupported parameter.
Determines the cooling schedule for the algorithm, which affects the rate of movement of vertices and termination of the algorithm. The cool parameter is a nullary function object (i.e., one that takes no arguments) and returns the temperature for the current iteration. When the returned temperature is zero, the algorithm terminates. Cooling schedules should begin with some initial temperature and gradually reduce the temperature to zero.UTIL: displacement_map(DisplacementMap displacement)
Default: linear_cooling<double>(100)
Python: Any callable Python object that matches the signature will suffice.
The displacement map is used to compute the amount by which each vertex will move in each step. The DisplacementMap type must be a property map whose key type is the graph's vertex type and whose value type is Topology::point_difference_type.IN: vertex_index_map(VertexIndexMap i_map)
Default: An iterator_property_map with the specified value type and using the given vertex index map.
Python: Unsupported parameter.
This maps each vertex to an integer in the range [0, num_vertices(g)). This is only necessary when no displacement map is provided. The type VertexIndexMap must be a model of Readable Property Map. The value type of the map must be an integer type. The vertex descriptor type of the graph needs to be usable as the key type of the map.Python IN: bool progressive
Default: get(vertex_index, g) Note: if you use this default, make sure your graph has an internal vertex_index property. For example, adjacenty_list with VertexList=listS does not have an internal vertex_index property.
Python: Unsupported parameter.
When false, performs a random layout of the graph before running the Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm. If true, the algorithm is executing starting with the vertex configuration in the position map.
Default: False.
The time complexity is O(|V|2 + |E|) for each iteration of the algorithm in the worst case. The average case for the grid variant is O(|V| + |E|). The number of iterations is determined by the cooling schedule.
Copyright © 2004, 2010 Trustees of Indiana University | Doug Gregor, Indiana University |


text:
For Immediate Release February 20, 2003
Presidential Remarks 2/20/03 Presidential Remarks from Kennesaw, Georgia
Click here for full transcript
It's important -- it's very important for our citizens to understand the significant change that took place on September the 11th, 2001. Obviously, it changed a lot of people's lives and we still mourn for the families who lost life. But it used to be that oceans -- we thought oceans could protect us, that we were guarded by the oceans; and that if there was a threat overseas, as a result of the protection from the oceans, we could decide whether to be involved or not. It might affect us overseas, but it couldn't affect us at home. And therefore, we have the luxury of kind of picking and choosing gathering threats.
After Secretary of State Powell's presentation to the United Nations Security Council, the world knows that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, even though he said he didn't, and that he is not complying with the United Nations demands to destroy them. He is actively deceiving the inspectors. He is actively hiding the weapons. And so the Security Council, earlier on, gave Saddam Hussein one final chance to disarm, and he's throwing that chance away.
If military force becomes necessary to disarm Iraq, this nation, joined by others, will act decisively in a just cause and we will prevail. (Applause.)
Military action is this nation's last option. And let me tell you what's not an option: Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not an option. (Applause.) Denial and endless delay in the face of growing danger is not an option. (Applause.) Leaving the lives and the security of the American people at the mercy of this dictator and his weapons of mass destruction, not an option. (Applause.)
America and our allies are called once again to defend the peace against an aggressive tyrant, and we accept this responsibility. (Applause.)
We defend the security of our country, but our cause is broader. If war is forced upon us, we will liberate the people of Iraq from a cruel and violent dictator. (Applause.) The Iraqi people today are not treated with dignity, but they have a right to live in dignity. The Iraqi people today are not allowed to speak out for freedom, but they have a right to live in freedom. We don't believe freedom and liberty are America's gift to the world; we believe they are the Almighty's gift to mankind. (Applause.) And for the oppressed people of Iraq, people whose lives we care about, the day of freedom is drawing near.
A free Iraq can be a source of hope for all the Middle East. Instead of threatening its neighbors and harboring terrorists, Iraq can be an example of progress and prosperity, in a region that needs both. If we liberate the Iraqi people, they can rest assure that we will help them build a country that is disarmed and peaceful, and united, and free. (Applause.)
The disarmament of Iraq will also demonstrate that free nations have the will and resolve to defend the peace. By defeating this threat, we will show other dictators that the path of aggression will lead to their own ruin. By defeating the threat of Iraq we will show the world -- we will show that the world is able and prepared to meet future dangers wherever they arise.
Our goal is peace. And achieving peace requires resolve and action by free nations. In a more peaceful world, the American people will not live in fear, and the Iraqi people will not live in oppression.
The United States of America, joined by many nations -- by many nations -- is committed to building a world at peace and bringing a better day. There is no question in my mind -- no question in my mind -- that because of the strength of this country, the heart and soul of the American people, the courage of the American people, the determination of the American people, and the values of the American people, that we can have a more peaceful world, a more just society, and a more hopeful America.
May God bless you all. (Applause.)


text:
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Included Installation Hardware
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Additional information
Brand | Arctic Armor |
Google Product Category | Home & Garden > Pool & Spa > Pool & Spa Accessories > Pool Covers, Home & Garden > Pool & Spa > Pool & Spa Accessories > Pool Covers & Ground Cloths |
Cover Color | Blue Ultra Light, Green Ultra Light |
Step Location | Center End Step +$100, Left Step +$100, No Step, Right Step + $100 |
Pool Cover Style | Solid Safety Covers |
Pool Cover Type | Inground |
Pool Cover Shape | Rectangle |
Pool Cover Size | 12' x 20' |
Deck Anchors
Universal brass anchors or aluminum lawn stakes for securing in-ground swimming pool safety covers. Made from high-quality brass metal (aluminum for stakes) – longer durability in harsh cold weather. Concrete deck anchors are included in the pool cover kit.
Concrete Deck Anchors
The brass concrete anchor is the most common type of safety cover anchor used. The standard cover anchor is threaded and 1/16″ wider at the top. When tapped into the hole, it press-fits into place, holding the anchor body stationary, as you turn the threaded insert up or down.
Using a rotary hammer drill with a 3/4″ masonry bit, place a piece of sturdy tape around the bit at 2-1/4″, so you know when to stop drilling. Hold the drill perpendicular to the deck when drilling, to create a vertical hole. After drilling the hole, remove the dust, then tamp the anchor into the hole, using a tamping tool so you don't damage the keyhole or bend the rim of the anchor.
Wood Deck Anchors
The wood deck anchor has a wide flange on the top of the anchor, to protect the deck and hold the cover securely with more lateral strength.
First, drill a counter-sink hole, 3/16″ deep, using a Forstner bit of the right diameter, so the anchor flange will sit flush into the wood, and not be a toe-stubbing hazard. Next, using a 3/4″ wood drill bit, drill a hole in the center, all the way through the wood. Drop the wood anchor into the hole, and then screw in the brass flange screws, using a #2 Phillips screw head.
Lawn Stakes
This style of cover stake is designed to be installed in the yard around the pool where no concrete or wood decking has been used.
The lawn stakes should be installed sloped away from the pool (as opposed to straight up and down like other cover anchor types), which allows the lawn stake to be straight up and down once the cover is under tension. It is common to need to reinstall these stakes into the ground yearly as they will be loose after a snow load on the cover.
Winterizing Kits
Our Pool Winterizing Kits include all the chemicals and/or chlorine you will need to close your swimming pool this fall! The winterizing kits are made to properly work for a maximum of about 4 months.
Before starting to winterize your swimming pool make sure to have the proper tools on hand. You will need the swimming pool cover, the water tubes (when applicable), the plugs for skimmers, skimmer winter covers and plugs for return jets and your winterizing chemicals. You will also need an air compressor or a powerful shop vac. You need these items for proper winterization.
For more information on how to winterize your in-ground pool kit please check out our blog.
Chlorine Pool Winterizing Kit
- Blue Wave Chlor Burst Fast-Dissolving Shock
- Blue Wave Super Rust & Scale Preventer
- Blue Wave Halt 50 Swimming Pool Algaecide
- Blue Wave Pool Closing Kit Guide
Available in up to 7,500 Gallon, up to 15,000 Gallon or up to 30,000 Gallon
Chlorine Free Pool Winterizing Kit
- Blue Wave Chlorine Free Blitz Oxidizing Shock
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Available in up to 7,500 Gallon, up to 15,000 Gallon or up to 30,000 Gallon
Skimmer Plug Features:
- Easy to install on wide mouth skimmer
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- Freeze and shatter-proof closed cell skimmer plug
- Impervious to mold, mildew, and bacteria
- Chemical, temperature, and UV resistant


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Case study
Carmaker shifts its production model
The client's supply-push production model meant that vehicles were selling at a discount relative to competitors who used demand-pull models. But because this approach was integrated into every aspect of the business, the client needed to transform operations. Bain helped develop and implement production solutions that crossed functional and value chain borders. As a result, the company's performance improved substantially.
- min read


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The French composer Paul
Dukas (1865-1935) was not particularly prolific, his intense self-criticism
restricting the number of works he allowed to be published. His fame rests on a
single orchestral work L'Apprenti sorcier
(The Sorcerer's Apprentice) (1897).
Of his piano works there
are just seven, four of which French pianist Hervé Billaut http://hervebillaut.com has chosen to record for Mirare www.mirare.fr to celebrate Dukas' 150th
Hervé Billaut graduated from the Conservatory of Paris at
the age of sixteen with the highest distinctions, gaining numerous awards
including the Grand Prize at the prestigious Long -Thibaud Piano Competition in
Since then, he has performed all over the world, playing at
the Theatre des Champs Elysées, the Salle Pleyel in Paris or the Teàtro Real in
Madrid as well as in Latin America or in the Far East. He has worked with the
Orchestre National de France, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic and the Quebec
Symphony Orchestra and played under such conductors as John Eliot Gardiner and
Yehudi Menuhin.
This new disc for Mirare opens with Dukas' La plainte, au loin, du faune… (The distant
lament of the faun…) It was
written in 1920, two years after the death of Debussy as a tribute to his late
friend. It opens with a repeated note around which the music develops. It is a
hauntingly beautiful piece which Hervé Billaut shapes quite magically. He has a
crystalline clarity to his touch with exquisite phrasing. One can just detect hints
of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un
The Sonate en mi bémol
mineur (Sonata in E-flat minor) that dates from 1899–1900 is a substantial work lasting around
forty three minutes.
Modérément vite
has a fast, forward moving theme to which Billaut brings a real sense of
urgency. It slows to a more meditative section but then the music begins to
billow up again, this pianist providing a great feeling of drama and tension as
he heads to passages of passion and fire with some remarkably fine, virtuosic passages,
before quietening in the passages that lead to the resigned coda. In four
movements Calme, un peu lent, très
soutenu opens quietly and gently with some lovely little harmonic touches.
The music slowly finds its way around the diffuse theme with Billaut revealing
so many of Dukas' fine ideas. He brings finely controlled dynamics. All is
beautifully phrased, quite exquisite in its gentle, yet heartfelt emotion. This
is an impressively shaped movement with a peaceful coda. Dukas develops his
material impressively in a sonata that really deserves to be heard in the
concert hall
The Vivement, avec légèreté
lifts one out of one's seat with a dynamic, forceful opening that then fairly
rattles ahead with Billaut providing some impressively fine playing, impeccable
phrasing with a tremendously light and agile touch, bringing out so many fine
little details within the tempestuous texture. There is a lovely, thoughtful
beautifully laid out, slower central section before the opening tempo returns
to dash forwards before slowing for the lovely coda.
Resolute chords also open the third movement Très lent – Animé before developing and
slowly revealing the theme, often stormy and passionate. Billaut's wonderful
phrasing and clarity help to reveal the many wonders in this movement. At times
one can sense Liszt (of the B minor sonata) behind certain passages as this
music moves through moments of varying tempi and demanding writing. Dukas packs
so much into this thirteen minute movement. Here is a dazzling display of
pianism yet Billaut never misses any moments of subtle beauty or expressiveness.
There is a brief quieter and slower respite that quickly leads to the coda.
Two years after the sonata, Dukas wrote the
substantial Variations, Interlude et
Finale sur un thème de Rameau. It takes the penultimate piece from Rameau's
Suite in D from the second book of harpsichord works. It opens with a Menuet et Variations de l à XI (minuet
and eleven variations). There is a lovely little minuet that soon moves through
a series of fine variations, at turns gentle and flowing, dramatic and
forceful, harmonically forward looking, fast and light, even a rather gloomy,
dark variation where the theme is hardly recognisable. Billaut's lovely
attention to phrasing and dynamics and, indeed, colours brings some beautifully
rewarding results before we are taken straight into the Interlude where the theme is slowly ruminated on, building as it
develops and running into the Finale,
a buoyant and jaunty variation. There is a moment of more relaxed crystalline
purity centrally before the music heads toward the coda that, nevertheless,
slows before the resolute final chords.
Prelude élégiaque (sur
le nom de Haydn) (Elegiac prelude on the name of Haydn) is built around the
musical notation representing the letters of Haydn's name. It opens quietly as
Dukas spells out Haydn's name with Billaut bringing a quiet dignity to the
music, a stateliness tinged with nostalgic charm. There are some lovely free,
fluent passages as Dukas develops the music around the opening notes but, overall,
it is a contemplative work, from which this pianist draws many lovely moments before
the gentle conclusion.
This is an outstanding release. The Dukas sonata is, in
particular, a very impressive work played with authority and great accomplishment
by Hervé Billaut.
The excellent recording was made in the Church of Le Château
de Rochebonne, Rhône, France where Billaut is Artistic Director of the
festival, Les Rendez-Vous de Rochebonne www.rdv-rochebonne.fr
that he founded with friends. There are informative booklet notes


text:
Poetry Corner: Cancel My Subscription!
An ode to all those who just don't want to hear about it.
by Michael Balter
For telling me what I don't want known
For showing me what I don't want shown
For making me hear the victims groan
Cancel my subscription.
For making me think new kinds of thoughts
For tying my world view up in knots
For trying to turn all my naughts to oughts
Cancel my subscription.
For saying I voted for the wrong guy
Though he promised me the moon and sky
For not even giving him time to try
Cancel my subscription.
I'll find other publications that do
Their best to confirm what I always knew
And assure me all my opinions are true
So cancel my subscription!


text:
Friday Photo Journal - Week 11
Thursday, March 14, 2013
- tiarastantrums said...
I'm hoping to eat some Irish bread on the Shores of England!
- March 14, 2013 at 11:10 PM
- Yolanda Ronaldo said...
Oh no fair you are already having a lovely and flower filled Spring! I am looking forward to seeing more photos ;)
- March 14, 2013 at 11:36 PM
- Buckeroomama said...
Your pictures bring me joy. They do. :)
- March 15, 2013 at 1:57 AM
Love your shots and thanks so much for hosting!
- March 15, 2013 at 6:04 AM
- 4 Lettre Words said...
Smells like Spring. :) Another lovely week, Melissa!
- March 15, 2013 at 6:39 AM
- patty said...
oh that shot with her hair blowing!! so sweet! :)
- March 15, 2013 at 7:03 AM
- Tiffany said...
Another great one! The front door shot cracks me up:) Have a great weekend.
Tiffany - March 15, 2013 at 8:08 AM
- Kim Cunningham said...
I'm really excited for spring as well! I love this collection of yours. Love the hat on your little guy, love the wind blown hair on Little Miss. These are all so happy!
- March 15, 2013 at 9:24 AM
- Pride In Photos Beauty said...
You do such a great job capturing your week in photos!!!
- March 15, 2013 at 9:38 AM
- Gina Kleinworth said...
I just love her curls blowing in the wind. Great week!!!
- March 15, 2013 at 9:54 AM
- Unknown said...
Thank you for sharing your sweet moment.
Have a great weekend! - March 15, 2013 at 12:12 PM
- Mindi @ Simply Stavish said...
Love all your flower shots and can't wait for blossoms here! This week I'll be doing the t-ball thing for the first time and then off to Dallas for Blissdom. Should be a busy week.
- March 16, 2013 at 9:24 AM
- Unknown said...
it looks like a great week for you all down there! loving all the spring blooms! keep 'em coming ... looks like another week of winter here in the 30-40s. and unfortunately, it's snowing, again, and the grass is covered. hahaha i'm just going to laugh and believe spring has got to be coming soon, right?
ps - i love all your weekly photos of your sweet family! - March 16, 2013 at 5:07 PM
- Dylann Andre said...
I always look forward to seeing your shots especially when the subjects are those kids.
- March 17, 2013 at 11:26 PM


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Real-Time Mobile Payment Solutions Are More Important Than Ever Before
For years, you've endlessly heard how "consumer expectations are changing at the speed of light," and how your business has to be agile enough to keep up. As if things weren't complicated enough, the coronavirus pandemic came thundering in and completely changed the rules for how you interact with customers all over again.
Organizations of all types and sizes have had to pivot from in-office operations to remote workforces (almost overnight). Restaurants and retailers have had to drastically reduce their store hours, move to carryout and delivery services, and find creative ways to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.There is no such thing as a "normal" shopping experience right now.
While it all feels like a sci-fi novel that the world would like to put down, businesses do have tools and resources to fight back against the disruption to their operations while they do their part to protect their staff and patrons and help flatten the curve. One simple way to do that is by using a real-time mobile payment solution to complete transactions.
Here's why it matters.
All Money is Dirty Money
A recent study on the germiness of cash and debit cards revealed some shocking results. The average coin has twice as many germs as a subway pole, while payment cards were crawling with more germs than a Penn Station public restroom. No judgment here if that sent you running for the nearest bottle of hand sanitizer.
With so much left to be discovered about how long the novel coronavirus can live on surfaces like cash and debit cards, mobile payments are suddenly much more than just a convenience. Couple that with the physical separation between employees and patrons, and it's clear that mobile payments have become a basic technological need.
Mobile Payments Protect Both Parties
As restaurants and grocers pivot to carryout and delivery, consumers need a fast, contact-free way to pay for their food without handing cash or a card to an employee and then having it handed back to them.
The same thing applies to healthcare providers, veterinarians, non-profit organizations, and other essential businesses that need to collect payments or donations on the spot but have either closed their doors or simply need a contact-free way to accept payments.
Many businesses may not realize that the infrastructure to support on-the-spot payments without exchanging currency could be just a few clicks away.
Agility Doesn't Have to Equal Complexity
Flexible communications platforms like Vonage Business Communications (VBC) are designed to support business-critical applications like mobile payment solutions—without creating headaches for IT or requiring implementation resources.
For example, Vonage Business Communications customers have access to Vonage App Center, an ecosystem of business applications and productivity tools that integrate directly with VBC to streamline workflows and create better experiences for customers and employees. VBC customers can browse and select the apps they need, right as they decide that they need them.
Authvia is one of the many Vonage App Center partners helping businesses pivot and sustain operations during the current public health crisis. Their TXT2PAY solution integrates directly into the Vonage Business Communications application, providing employees with the ability to make real-time payment requests and track successful payments from inside VBC—whether they're sitting at their laptop or taking a curbside payment from their mobile device.
As Chris Brunner, Founder and CEO of Authvia, describes it, "Now, more than ever, customers want transactions to be mobile, fast, and secure. TXT2Pay guarantees that neither the business nor the customer has to touch a physical method of payment. And because the solution is PCI DSS compliant, the customer never has to share their credit card number with the business, ensuring a secure transaction for both parties."
Keep Pressing On
As you bend and flex to support your employees and customers in new ways during this surreal business climate, believe that you will emerge on the other side of this crisis with new tools in hand, unafraid of what the "changing customer experience" world may throw at you.
(Unless it's a debit card. Those things are filthy.)


text:
The contests for Senate and Governor in California have tightened over the final week of the campaign, although the Democratic candidates still retain the lead in both races. Barbara Boxer is up 50-46 on Carly Fiorina for the Senate, while Jerry Brown is ahead of Meg Whitman by a 51-46 margin for Governor.
Boxer leads despite posting atrocious approval numbers in this final poll at 40% of voters happy with her job performance and 50% displeased. Fortunately for her Californians aren't real enamored with Fiorina either- only 42% rate her favorably to 44% with a negative opinion. Boxer's position right now might be a lot more perilous if she had drawn a stronger opponent.
The formula for winning as a Republican in a deep blue state is to get about 20% of the Democratic vote to cross over and to rack up a large advantage with independents. Fiorina is winning only 12% of Democrats and actually trails Boxer by a 50-46 margin with independents. She'll have to outperform her poll numbers on both of those measures Tuesday to have a chance at winning.
The story is pretty similar in the race for Governor. Meg Whitman is winning only 13% of the Democratic vote and trails Jerry Brown by the same 50-46 margin with independents that Fiorina has against Boxer. Despite her profligate spending California voters never warmed up to Whitman- 50% of them express an unfavorable opinion about her to just 38% who say that they like her.
Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in California, appears to be headed for defeat. 51% of voters say they will oppose it to only 44% who plan to cast a yes vote. Polls showed support for the measure over the summer but its popularity has faded as the election has moved closer.
Full results here
Monday, November 1, 2010
2 comments:
Hedging your bets across the board, I see.
- November 1, 2010 at 6:07 AM
As a reader, thanks for this and staying up. Hope you'll get some sleep after Tues and that the biz is doing well. cheers~ - November 1, 2010 at 6:43 AM
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text:
How to raise thrifty and generous teenagers
From piggy banks to that first savings account, many children are taught the value of saving from an early age.
But as they grow to adolescence, following parental advice sometimes gives way to peer or media influences, and those once-thrifty children are now teenagers in a consumer-driven world where spending, not saving, is king.
"Nearly everyone falls into two categories: spenders and savers," says John Cortines, co-author with Gregory Baumer of God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School (www.godandmoney.net). "Spending is easy, so it's up to parents to start conversations with their teens on the importance of saving and, just as importantly, giving."
Cortines and Baumer suggest three ways parents can help teens establish good financial habits before they reach adulthood, and pave the way for those teens to become generous people as well as good savers:
• Help them begin saving for retirement now. Teens who land a part-time job often want to save money to buy a car or they simply want to enjoy a little financial freedom with weekend shopping sprees. Unless they're careful, that money burning a proverbial hole in their pocket is spent before the next payday. Parents can help them think beyond today by suggesting they invest a portion of that income in a Roth IRA. Mom and Dad can even consider matching their teen dollar-for-dollar on their savings. "Explain the wonder of compounding investment returns – how the money they invest as a teen could be worth 10 to 20 times as much when they retire," Cortines says.
• Family philanthropy. Even if the gifts are modest, Cortines and Baumer advocate involving teens in the family giving plan. Encourage them to research charities and apply for "grants" from the family's budget for giving. "The experience of learning about nonprofits will be invaluable," Baumer says. This is also where another portion of the teen's earnings from a part-time job could be placed.
• Let them into your journey. Parents should model what they want their teens to emulate. Cortines said this begins with "letting them see your character as reflected in financial decisions." That doesn't mean letting teens know their parents' net worth or the details of their income. Baumer and Cortines suggest explaining to teens how living modestly has short- and long-term benefits, whether it has allowed an early payoff of a mortgage, or demonstrates that frugal purchasing decisions leave money available for charitable giving.
"If you frame the conversation well," Baumer says, "teens will benefit from seeing your character on display as you navigate your finances."
Once saving and giving goals are fulfilled, teens can then begin to focus on spending.
"But unless spending is kept under control," Cortines says, "saving and giving simply aren't possible at any meaningful level."


text:
Last week we asked you to share your favorite music streaming service, then we rounded up the top five for you to vote on. Now we're back to share the winner and runners-up.
The race for the top slot was a tight one. Grooveshark took home the prize with 31% of the vote beating out Pandora (29%) by a little more than 200 votes. Following Pandora, Last.fm (14%) and Spotify (13%) engaged in a similar neck and neck battle for the third and fourth spots respectively. Trailing behind them was Lala with 5% of the vote, not a bad show for a new and relatively unknown service.
For more information about the Hive Five contenders, check out the full Hive Five. Have a favorite streaming service that didn't make the top five cut? Let's hear about it in the comments. Have a great idea for a Hive Five? Shoot us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com with "Hive Five" in the subject line.


text:
Project with management and technology consultancy BearingPoint identifies new opportunities to increase sales of LV='s 50+ product
London, July 3, 2014 – LV= (Liverpool Victoria), one of the UK's leading insurance and financial services providers, is expecting a double digit increase in annual sales of its 50+ life insurance product after optimizing its media budget.
Previously LV= had monitored sales attribution on a linear, channel-by-channel basis, which often resulted in a sale being attributed to the last media channel that touched a new customer when in reality a customer experienced multiple touch-points across multiple channels during the buying journey. Using BearingPoint's marketing and media optimization solution LV= was able to see that this linear attribution approach created misalignment of its marketing budget across above the line and direct response marketing channels, and for the first time to truly see where its marketing investment had most impact.
Geoff Bates, Head of Marketing Analytics, LV= Life, said: "We selected BearingPoint as our analytics partner because of their strong industry and marketing expertise, and their advanced HyperCube tool which we believe will provide LV= with a unique competitive advantage. Not only do we have a better understanding of the impact of spend across channels on our customers, we now also have an integrated process to plan our spend by working across all our internal teams and media agencies."
BearingPoint's marketing and media optimization solution is powered by HyperCube, part of a new breed of data analytics tools using machine learning and data mining algorithms that go far beyond the capabilities of traditional statistics. Combining this unique analytics solution with BearingPoint's expertise in the insurance industry the project team was able to carry out an in-depth analysis of more than 4,000 variables from LV='s internal systems and external data providers to define the optimum way to allocate marketing investment within and across channels. For example, specific channel analysis of direct mail campaigns revealed that LV= could achieve better efficiency by targeting prospects that HyperCube identified as having a higher propensity to buy. Acting on these findings resulted in saving 57% of the mailing costs.
"What's special about HyperCube is that it analyses all available data – a kind of big data analytics tool for marketing – without the need for hypotheses which typically cause traditional analytics to miss the biggest opportunities. We identify easy to understand business rules that our clients can implement for quick results. We are pleased to have won LV= as our customer, signing up not only for our marketing analytics service but also licensing our software, which demonstrates the confidence the LV= team has in our solution", added Andreas Rindler, Partner at BearingPoint and responsible for marketing and media optimization in the financial services industry.
HyperCube is a software developed through over fifteen years of advanced mathematical research in the scientific field. It has been continuously enhanced to better reflect the needs of various industry segments. Its new non statistical approach is enabled by a state of the art mathematical algorithm as well as massive computing capabilities provided in a cloud computing environment (SaaS). The solution is highly respected by the scientific community. In 2010 it was awarded by the MIT Sloan School as innovative showcase and the international Pasteur Institute declared it as being the best performing data analysis tool.
BearingPoint consultants understand that the world of business changes constantly and that the resulting complexities demand intelligent and adaptive solutions. Our clients, whether in commercial or financial industries or in government, experience real results when they work with us. We combine industry, operational and technology skills with relevant proprietary and other assets in order to tailor solutions for each client's individual challenges. This adaptive approach is at the heart of our culture and has led to long-standing relationships with many of the world's leading companies and organizations. Our global consulting network of 9200 people serves clients in more than 70 countries and engages with them for measurable results and long-lasting success.
For more information, please visit: www.bearingpoint.com
Alexander Bock
Global Senior Manager Communications
Telephone: +49 89 540338029


text:
The Bayou!
The Bayou Bar & Grill offers New Orleans style, Cajun specialties like Muffalettas, Po-Boys, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Oysters, Etouffee, Red Beans & Rice, and much more! Not only can you enjoy great Cajun food inside or outside on the patio, we're Midtown's only true sports bar. So come on down to The Bayou Bar & Grill and "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" Let the good times roll.


text:
This might be considered off-topic, but thought it was worth asking, as I have no idea where else to ask --
I'm trying to make something forcibly eject from a cake. I've done some testing with a can of reddi whip, and I've found that I can get decent distance by restricting the size of the opening. But I'm debating on getting my own whipper, thinking that I can then tint the results, but that I might also be able to charge it more than once to get a more forceful ejection.
Are there any problems with over-charging a canister? In the response to the question about ragged peaks from a whipped cream dispenser, one of the responses said it might be from over-charging the container, so I'm a little concerned. (not that much, as it just needs to shoot out, being pretty isn't necessary, so ragged peaks aren't an issue; the whole thing turning to butter and clogging the canister or being inedible would be)
(I also assume there's a safety margin so it's not an explosion issue if I only double or triple charge it... I seem to remember my mom once double-charging one, when it didn't dispense, only to find out she had clogged it up with home-grated nutmeg; there wasn't an explosion 'til she tried taking the lid off)


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The International Fair which has been bringing in Rome hemp fragrance and taste since 2015: the biggest event in Italy in exponential growth, the only officially recognized as International. In 2017: 7.500m², 120 stands, 23,000 attendances, 6,000 accredited professionals. In 2020: 9,000m², 150 stands, a relevant increase of visitors is expected.
It is a Guarantee of success for exhibitors. Opportunity of knowledge, fun and convenience for visitors. Contribution to the cultural transformation of our society and to the development of such an important field of our economy.


text:
Sold Out
Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Fabric Softener, Lavender, 32 oz.
Brand: Mrs. Meyers Clean Day
This product is unavailable
See more: Housekeeping
Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lavender Fabric Softener reduces static, makes ironing easier and softening clothing and linens. Contains softening ingredients from plant-derived sources, cotton extract, and natural essential oils for garden fresh fragrance. Use 1/2 capful of Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Fabric Softener in your rinse cycle to make clothes fragrant, fluffy and soft, reduce unsightly static cling, and make your ironing easier. Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Fabric Softener is hard working, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly. The formula is made from 97% naturally derived ingredients like lavender oil and orange peel oil.


text:
Iced Pink Lemonade Powder
Iced Pink Lemonade Powder
Click here for Description-Cure Times-Handling
Click here for Description-Cure Times-Handling
Polyester TGIC Weather Resistant Powder Coating For Interior Or Exterior Applications
- Cure Schedule = 400F/10 Min @ Part Metal Temperature
- Gloss Level = 95% On 60 Degree Meter
- Recommended Mil Thickness = 2.0 - 3.0 Mils
- Specific Gravity = 1.48
- Theoretical Coverage = 52.3 Sq. Ft.
- Salt Spray Results = 500+ Hours
Disclaimer: Powder Buy the Pound does not guarantee the color you see on your screen in your powder-coated jobs. Colors may vary from the actual product due to your screen resolution, viewing device and other settings outside our control. It is strongly recommended that you powder coat a sample, before applying the powder on your actual job.
Total : $0.00
Volume Price : Per Pound
Packaging Options Qty
Powder by the pound:
with Heavy Duty Bag
with Heavy Duty Bag
Powder by the pound:
with Heavy Duty Bag
Powder Container 1 lb (Per Container)+$3.99
Powder Container 1 lb (Per Container)+$3.99
Other Options
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Please enter a quantity.
Total : $0.00


text:
Walls Team 1
Peter White
Walls WP is designed for industrial, oil and gas, manufacturing, mechanical, power and energy, engineering & Multipurpose Business. It has 100% responsive design and tested on all major handheld devices, the theme also responsive and high quality in any browsers.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident.
Walls Construction Template continues to grow ever day thanks to the confidence our clients have in us. We cover many industries such as oil gas, energy, business services, consumer products.


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Promote your brand along with its good reputation on social media and other platforms. However, things get a bit complicated when you have to deal with bad reviews.
First, keep a good reputation by being honest, transparent, setting clear expectations for your customer, and by being in business because you genuinely want to help people around you. It goes without saying that shady practices are a no-no.
Second, you have to prevent any dissatisfaction by a customer from escalating by addressing every complaint you get. It has to be fixed at this level immediately while the customer is still trying to reach out to you. Because once they have felt frustrated and think they have to warn others about your practice, things can get messy.
Nonetheless, you have to set your radar for negative reviews. One good way to do this is to set up Google alerts for your brand terms and name.
What else can you do to safeguard your brand?
Claim your brand name
Build a consistent identity
Whether your brand is your name itself, your business name or your product name, you need to make sure that no one else can misrepresent you online by owning a piece of your brand. Make sure that you own domain names and usernames associated with your brand.
Suggested tools:
Build a consistent identity on major channels:
Publish content regularly:
The content you publish will define and reinforce who you are, what you stand for, and what your business is all about. This will make up the values associated with your brand. Anything inconsistent with these values will not be immediately convincing to your customers who know you.
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Remember my post from last month when I ask you all to vote for my card? Well it worked! Thank you so much, it is very much appreciated. As a result, myself & 9 other lucky Demos get to hop along with Kylie
Once again our theme is "Love".
Warning – you may need sunnies!
My card is one I've sort of been working on for a couple of days not knowing how to finish it or where to go & just sitting on my desk. Does that ever happen to you?
The background has been created by wetting a piece of Shimmery White CS with an Aqua Painter & then adding Bermuda Bay & Daffodil Delight Re-Inkers, still with a wet Aqua Painter. I love watching the colours flow.
The heart is from the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits,while the flowers are from Jar of Love while the sentiment is from Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set.
Don't forget to pop back tomorrow to check out Day 3 of my Christmas Cards.
Below, you will find a Roll Call. All you have to do is click on the names to take you over to their post. Don't forget to leave a little "love" while visiting.
Until next time, Happy Stampin'
Roll call for this hops –


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By Christopher Caile
On November 8, Richard Kim, Hanshi, known affectionately to many as O'Sensei, passed away. He was 83 years old. The world has lost another great master.
Kim was not my teacher and I was not part of his organization, but over a few years I got to know him quite well. What follows are some of my personal memories of Kim, and reflections on how and what he taught me and many others. Hopefully this will give you a sense of the man. I will leave it to others to adequately detail his life.
Kim is best known for his books "The Weaponless Warriors", "The Classical Man," and the series " Kobudo - Okinawan Weapons Series 1-3." For years his column "The Classical Man" was featured in Karate Illustrated. He was also a teacher to thousands of students through his Zen Bei Busen organization which has approximately one hundred martial arts schools across the United States, Canada and Europe.
I had the honor of building a relationship with Kim that began in 1991. It started with a letter to him about the history of some kata. We had a lot in common including the arts we had studied and many teachers we had both known, and thus we often spoke. Soon afterwards he invited me to meet him at his summer camp held annually in Guelph, Ontario, not too far from where I lived. Over the next eight years I got to know Kim quite well.
If you met Kim on the street, the image of a karate master would be the farthest thing from your mind. His hair cut short in a crew cut and dressed with a bow tie and suspenders, he looked more like an accountant or professor.
I found Kim to be very open, someone who genuinely wanted to help others. He had a huge, generous heart, with no sense of arrogance about him. When talking to him, he talked to you as an equal, with total concentration. You always went away feeling somehow acknowledged. This was a great gift.
Kim's personality also had a lightness about it, a youthfulness of heart. Despite his age, he had a joyful spontaneity and enthusiasm -- especially when discussing the martial arts that he loved.
What really struck a listener, however, was his knowledge. He was the ultimate Classical Man. He was also brilliant. He had a Ph.D., and was fluent in five languages. It was often recounted that in his youth he had gone directly from the third to the seventh grade, graduated college by the age of 18 and earned his Ph.D. not long afterwards.
As a teacher he was a living encyclopedia of martial arts information and history, someone who had lived in Japan and China and knew Okinawa and Asia. More than one martial arts authority has said that Kim was the most knowledgeable person on the martial arts that they had ever known.
Concept Of Kata
Sensei Kim on the Guelph College Campus accompanied by his long time friend and associate, Sensei Leong.
Sensei Kim teaching a kata seminar
Sensei Kim teaching a sai technique
Taking a seminar break
Kim ran summer and winter camps that were attended by hundreds of students drawn from his many affiliated karate dojos plus an occasional guest, such as myself. From our many conversations at camp always came the unexpected -- added information, untold stories, explanations and insights. He liked the stimulation and it got him off the track of his usual stories that he had told so many times before.
Kim's daily summer camp schedule began at dawn with Tai Chi and the basics of Pa qua (a Chinese internal martial art) along with deep breathing exercises. After breakfast there would be a seminar, each day focusing on a different kata. But there was always more -- kata applications, concepts of strategy, distancing and body alignment, pressure points, exercises in movement, kicking techniques taken from Muay Thai, center line theory, punching exercises from boxing as well as joint locks from Daito-ryu -- an almost overwhelming mix that somehow Kim related back to the kata or subject of the day.
While most karate organizations teach specific renditions of kata, Kim taught different renditions of the same kata drawn from their original teachers. This provided a unique historical perspective, something that not only provided insight on the development of kata itself, but also taught students something about the master from whom the kata were drawn. In all over 70 empty hand and weapons kata were taught.
Kim believed, however, that the essential kata were few -- Chinto, Bassai, Seisan, Gojushiho and Konku. "They are all that are necessary to know to become a karate master," he would often say.
One unifying element that ran through all of Kim's teaching was the acknowledgment of the importance of spirit. It was part of his teaching of technique and kata just as it was the center of his many nightly lectures, although in his lectures the concept of spirit took many forms.
Kim used kata as the principal method of teaching karate. He felt, however, that in the West much of the understanding of karate kata had been lost. His teacher, Yoshida Kotaro, had said, "kata was a way to reach the silence between the thoughts."
Kim often related karate kata to the classical sword arts (kenjutsu). "In kenjutsu there is a moment of truth when you actually face death," he would say, "something that is lost in kendo and other modern 'do' arts."
"In karate kata you can kill your opponent in your mind. You can't do this practice fighting," he would say. "In kata when you hear 'Yoi' (prepare), you fully commit yourself to give up your life in your mind. You become committed to death."
Reaching this higher spiritual plain comes through training in kata, within which you train for life and death. When people begin karate training it is all physical. At that level, when sparring, the strongest always win. At the higher level, however, spirit becomes more important. If you can give up your life and are willing to die, this provides a tremendous advantage, for in battle you must break the other's spirit. And, Kim would often add, "Never fight with someone committed to die in battle."
Those who have written about kata in the West, Kim said, usually do not understand its full meaning. They often quote the saying, "There is no first attack in karate" (Karate ni sente nashi). But this is only a beginning level of understanding. Real karate and kata is to train your intuition, to respond to the intention of attack with a full blitzkrieg of techniques. "Thus kata deals with the most primeval element - kill or survive," he would say. "You must practice it with full commitment. You must win." This is the truth of life and death combat. "The winner in war is always right," something that seems brutal, he would say, but is the truth.
Thus when you begin kata, Kim would say, you must transport yourself onto the field of combat -- see, feel and smell the enemy and the attacks -- act as if each second were your last -- totally commit to action. This is "Karate ni sente hissho" - "hissho" meaning "guaranteed to win."
Karate masters, Kim would say, learn to go into an Alpha brain wave state -- a state in which you lose yourself and become totally attuned to your environment and your attacker -- in which you become one with the enemy and intuitively connected to his every nuance.
Recently when Peter Urban (an American pioneer of Goju ryu karate and former student of Kim and Gogen Yamaguchi) was asked what the most valuable thing was that he had learned from Kim, he answered, "My value system." When asked "what belief system?" he replied, "Today is now."
Urban was also asked to sum up his training with Kim in the early 1950's. Urban answered with a single word: "Uncompromising."
Spirit And Health
At summer camp during evening lectures, Kim's focus often changed. He complemented the daytime physical aspects of his teaching (techniques and kata) with comprehensive discourses on the esoteric and spiritual side of karate. Kim often said, "Developing spirituality is the unique contribution of the martial arts."
The ultimate goal of Kim's teaching was, I believe, to help his students build a strong, positive and healthy spirit while nurturing the body internally for health and long life. Toward this end Kim prompted his students to develop an ego free attitude -- to look at the world from a larger perspective, to have an open mind, positive attitude, flexible outlook and spiritual source of strength.
Kim understood the intimate connection between mind, body and spirit, and he taught his students how to use their minds to mold their attitude, outlook and spirit and to harness the energies of the body (chi) for health and healing. He also taught how the subconscious mind could be used to program the self towards any end. His goal was to provide simple and useful tools for his students to strengthen their spirit, change their lives, and mold their minds.
On this journey of self-discovery Kim guided his students through a travel log of subjects and insights. While sometimes controversial, he was also riveting. He would regale you with stories of Zen masters, tales of famous samurai, Zen teachers and his own World War II episodes. Everything was punctuated with Kim's sense of humor, an occasional chuckle and ability to laugh at himself. Sometimes Kim's jokes were bit off color, but the humor and the sparkle in his eyes were always present.
There were so many stories, verbal snap shots of great budo masters with whom he had associated -- of Shanghai, China, and about his teachers and stories of Chojun Miyagi (the founder of Goju karate) who had studied at the Shanghai Martial Arts Academy (where Kim visited during WWII while serving in the Japanese army) -- of Yokahama, Japan, where Kim met a young Peter Urban and guided him to study karate and not boxing (Kim was Urban's first karate teacher) -- of Okinawa and Kim's tales of Gichen Funakoshi and Hohan Soken using visualizations in their practice -- of Tokyo, Japan and Mas Oyama and Kim's stories of Oyama's strength and his ability to bend a coin between two fingers. I always wondered if Kim's focus on helping his own students with their lives, spiritually and physically, resulted from a very personal trial. He often spoke of his wife having survived cancer. She believed, he said, that healing required three mental ingredients: A fighting spirit, a willingness to learn and change, and a spiritual resource, such as a belief in God. "These change your mental vibrations."
While Kim respected modern medicine, he also had some healthy skepticism, believing much was not yet understood -- that Western doctors did not fully understand nutrition or the power of the mind and that much of what that goes on in medicine today is not all scientific, but a little magical too.
About nutrition Kim said many things. He believed in the importance of reducing red meat in the diet, and taking herbs and supplements. But his cardinal rule was, "If you have 70% fruits and vegetables in your diet, the other 30% doesn't matter."
Kim also believed, at least in part, that illness reflected the body's state of energy and that when the life force was disturbed or not properly flowing, illness would result. He also understood various energies as vibrations -- sounds, emotions, prayer, external and internal energies -- things that could be harnessed to affect the energies of the body.
Kim would say that everyone inside had kindling, and if you pull energy into your body and concentrate, you will produce a glow of energy. He taught how to circulate this energy, balance the endocrine system, use the "Six Healing Sounds", use colors for healing and many other techniques. He also discussed the body's Chakra system and how to use its energy.
Kim was a strong believer in the power of the subconscious. He would say that we live in energy. The subconscious brain (right) is its source, something that never rests, and the conscious brain (left) can communicate with it. If the subconscious is programmed it will work for you. Thus, you can create yourself through your own thought -- but to do so you must achieve an Alpha state (brain wave) to communicate. He would say "You are in charge. It is the most important thing in your life. If you give yourself an order your body will follow."
Kim also often talked about the power of thought -- how thought influenced or prompted emotions, and that every emotion was communicated throughout the body (by neuropeptides) and affected every cell in the body. He would say, "To heal you must emotionally generate the right neuropeptides to open the lock to healing."
Buddha taught, he said, that "Everything begins and ends in thought," to which he often added, "So, what you plant in your head is what you get."
One of Kim's concepts that I always liked was how words affect our very lives and future. He would often summarize this in the following:
"Words become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become character. Character becomes destiny."
I always viewed Kim's teachings as a natural balance (yin and yang). The hard physical martial arts were balanced with the softness of internal spirit, discipline and self-regulated health. Kim's goal, I think, was to promote the development of a balanced and total human being.
Words Of Wisdom
Here are a few of the many sayings that I enjoyed from Kim over the years. I took them from my notes. I believe they are his own words, but Kim may have taken the words from other sources. I think the first one was adapted from the Bible:
"The secret of life and karate is to see what you really see." "If you can change the way you see the world, the world will be different. This is a lot easier than changing the world." "The first step in discipline is to delay gratification." "In Kata you must go where fire can't, and weapons can't hurt you." "All of us carry our raft today that we crossed the river with yesterday."
"The secret of life and karate is to see what you really see."
"If you can change the way you see the world, the world will be different. This is a lot easier than changing the world."
"The first step in discipline is to delay gratification."
"In Kata you must go where fire can't, and weapons can't hurt you."
"All of us carry our raft today that we crossed the river with yesterday."
I learned a lot from you, Richard Kim. Along with many others I will miss your advice, your knowledge and your spirit.
I would like to thank Don Warrener and Masters Publications for several photos used in this article. I would also like to thank Debbie Bilton, Eileen Dennis and Barbara Smith for their many helpful suggestions on what to include in this article.
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About The Author:
Christopher Caile is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of FightingArts.com. He has been a student of the martial arts for over 40 years and holds a 6th degree black belt in Seido Karate and has experience in judo, aikido, diato-ryu, boxing and several Chinese fighting arts. He is also a long-term student of one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qigong. He is a personal disciple of the qi gong master and teacher of acupuncture Dr. Zaiwan Shen (M.D., Ph.D.) and is Vice-President of the DS International Chi Medicine Association. In Buffalo, NY, he founded the Qi gong Healing Institute and The Qi Medicine Association at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has also written on Qi gong and other health topics in a national magazine, the Holistic Health Journal and had been filmed for a prospective PBS presentation on Alternative Medicine. Recently he contributed a chapter on the subject to an award winning book on alternative medicine, "Resources Guide To Alternative Health."
To find more articles of interest, search on one of these keywords: Richard Kim, Kim, karate, judo, aikijujutsu, self-defense
Read more articles by Christopher Caile
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Eisner Awards FAQ
What are the Eisner Awards?
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the comics world. Named for the pioneering comics creator and graphic novelist Will Eisner, the awards are given out in more than two dozen categories during a ceremony each year at Comic-Con International: San Diego.
How are the nominees selected?
The nominees in each category are chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges who meet in San Diego in the spring of each year.
Who selects the judges, and on what basis?
The judging panel, which changes each year, consists of five or six people representing various aspects of the comics industry. Usually included are a comics creator, a critic/reviewer, a graphic novel librarian, a comics retailer, a scholar, and a member of the Comic-Con organizing committee. The judges are selected by a special awards committee within Comic-Con International. This committee is open to input from a variety of sources.
How can works be submitted for consideration by the judges?
In early January a Call for Entries is issued that specifies the process for submission and lists the expected categories. The Call for Entries is available in PDF form on the Eisner Awards webpage and is also sent out via mail and email to publishers.
What are the basic qualifications for submission?
Printed works must have been distributed in the United States between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. Online material must have been first published in that same time period.
Who can submit material for consideration?
Publishers are invited to submit up to five eligible nominees in each category. Creators who self-publish their works or who have reason to believe their publisher is not submitting their work can also send in nominations.
Do I have to send multiple copies of everything being submitted?
No, only one copy of each comic or book is needed, no matter how many categories it is being submitted for. For online material, providing appropriate URLs is a must, but printouts can also be helpful for the judges.
What if I submit something in the wrong category?
Publishers/creators can suggest the categories for their submissions, but the judges have the discretion to determine the most appropriate categories. Each year, some categories are added and others are combined or dropped, so the final category list will reflect the publishing patterns of that year.
Are works published outside the U.S. eligible?
They are if they were distributed in the United States. These works are eligible in all of the regular categories as well as in the specific categories of Best U.S. Edition of International Material.
What qualifies to be a digital comic or webcomic?
For the Best Digital Comic category, works must be longform—that is, comparable to comic books or graphic novels in storytelling or length. Webcomics similar to daily newspaper strips, for example, would not be eligible. Digital comics should have a unique URL, be part of a webcomics site, or otherwise stand alone (not be part of a blog, for instance).
Who votes for the Eisner Awards, and how are votes cast?
Voting is open to comic book/graphic novel/webcomic creators (writers, artists, cartoonists, pencillers, inkers, letterers, colorists, translators); all nominees in any category; comic book/graphic novel publishers and editors; comics historians and educators; graphic novel librarians; and owners and managers of comic book specialty retail stores. Once the nominees have been chosen (usually in May), voting opens on the online ballot site, and registered voters are able to cast their ballots.
Where and when are the winners announced?
The winners are announced in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. The awards ceremony is held on the Friday night of Comic-Con in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
What does it cost to attend the Awards ceremony?
The ceremony is open to anyone with a Comic-Con four-day or Friday badge. There is also a special seating area for those with Comic-Con Professional badges.
If I am a nominee, do I get preferred seating?
Yes, all nominees, presenters, sponsors, and special guests have VIP seating in the front area of the ballroom. All nominees who wish to attend the ceremony should contact Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada in advance of Comic-Con to reserve VIP seats.
How can my company become a sponsor for the awards?
Sponsorships are available to any company that would like to support the Eisner Awards program, with the exception of publishers whose works are eligible for nomination. Sponsorship information can be obtained from Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada by emailing: firstname.lastname@example.com
What's it like to attend the Awards ceremony?
You'll get a souvenir program and a complimentary copy of a Will Eisner graphic novel as you enter the ballroom on Friday night. During the course of the evening you can expect to see top creators from the comics industry as well as comics-related celebrities onstage to announce the nominees in each category and hand out the trophies to the winners. The onstage festivities and nominated works are projected on giant screens in the beautiful Indigo Ballroom. Be sure to hold onto your program so that you can keep notes on titles that pique your interest. In addition to the Eisner Awards, you'll see presentations of the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award, the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, and the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. No-host bars are available both inside and outside the ballroom area, and at the conclusion of the awards, you can mingle with the greats of the comics industry at the afterparty in the ballroom foyer.
Is there somewhere I can see the nominees besides at the ceremony?
All the nominated works are on display in the Art Show, in the Sails Pavilion of the Convention Center.