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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Christian Ponder's future as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback may have been sewn up without him even throwing a pass.
Ponder was a late scratch for the divisional playoff game against Green Bay on Saturday night, leaving the Vikings offense in the hands of backup Joe Webb, an intriguing athlete that many impatient fans were clamoring for earlier in the season when Ponder was struggling.
In his first extended action of the season, Webb delivered a dreadful performance in a 24-10 loss at Lambeau Field that ended Minnesota's surprising season. He completed just 11 of 30 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception while Ponder watched from the sideline as a late scratch because of a bruised triceps muscle in his throwing arm.
``It was tough,'' Ponder said after the game. ``Obviously, the whole team has been through a lot and for us to get our first playoff experience and everything it was tough. But we've just got to look forward to next year and hopefully we're going to have more opportunities to do it. I've just got to work my butt off to get back here.''
It seems more certain than ever that Ponder will be the guy again when next year rolls around, which wasn't always the case in a rocky first full season as the man. Ponder started out strong during the team's 5-2 start, but struggled mightily during a stretch of four losses in five games that threatened to waste star running back Adrian Peterson's remarkable comeback season. The fans started to turn on him, booing him at the Metrodome and flooding talk radio shows with calls for the supremely athletic Webb to get a shot.
Ponder went six straight weeks with a completion percentage below 55 percent and three times failed to hit the 100-yard mark, turning the Vikings into a one-dimensional offense that relied almost solely on Peterson's individual brilliance.
But with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, Ponder finally started to respond. He completed nearly 71 percent of his throws in a win at St. Louis on Dec. 16, avoided the big mistakes in a win at Houston the following week and came up with his best game as a pro in the biggest game of the season - 234 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Green Bay that go the Vikings into the playoffs.
Ponder badly wanted to try to build on that momentum and the confidence he gained by winning a shootout with Aaron Rodgers at the Metrodome, but his arm just wouldn't cooperate. He tried to get it loose all week and even tested it out on Saturday morning before determining that he could not make the throws he needed to make.
Neither could Webb.
In a curious offensive strategy, the Vikings only ran the read option a few times during the game and mostly on the first drive, instead asking Webb to essentially be Ponder by dropping back and running a more conventional passing offense. Webb's passes often missed Vikings receivers by several yards, which allowed the Packers to load up at the line of scrimmage to contain Peterson.
``There are a lot of plays I would like to have back,'' Webb said. ``I haven't touched the field since August, that's no excuse. I feel our team really came here expecting a victory and Green Bay is a great team and a tough team at home. It was a great learning experience.''
If anything, the performance showed how much better the Vikings offense is when Ponder is taking the snaps, and may have given him an even stronger standing in the locker room, and with the fans.
It also illustrated the glaring need for a capable backup. Ponder battled injuries in college at Florida State and in his first two seasons in the NFL. The Vikings have also been developing McLeod Bethel-Thompson. But they could be in the market this offseason for a quality veteran as well who can step in and run the offense that Ponder runs all season, rather than having a second-stringer like Webb, who has a vastly different skill set and needs major adjustments to the system to have a chance to be effective.
``We mixed some of those read-options along the way,'' head coach Leslie Frazier said. ``But at some point, you would like to complete some passes. Early on we did have them off-balance and had some opportunities in the passing game, but we just couldn't connect.''
AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Green Bay, Wis., contributed to this report.
Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll andhttp://twitter.com/AP-NFL


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Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2008 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today announced the launch of the "Financial Explorer" on the SEC Web site to help investors quickly and easily analyze the financial results of public companies. Financial Explorer paints the picture of corporate financial performance with diagrams and charts, using financial information provided to the SEC as "interactive data" in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).
At the click of a mouse, Financial Explorer lets investors automatically generate financial ratios, graphs, and charts depicting important information from financial statements. Information including earnings, expenses, cash flows, assets, and liabilities can be analyzed and compared across competing public companies.
The software takes the work out of manipulating the data by entirely eliminating tasks such as copying and pasting rows of revenues and expenses into a spreadsheet. That frees investors to focus on their investments' financial results through visual representations that make the numbers easier to understand. Investors can use Financial Explorer by visiting www.sec.gov/xbrl.
"XBRL is fast becoming the universal language for the exchange of business information and it is the future of financial reporting," said Chairman Cox. "With Financial Explorer or another XBRL viewer, investors will be able to quickly make sense of financial statements. In the near future, potentially millions of people will be able to analyze and compare financial statements and make better-informed investment decisions. That's a big benefit to ordinary investors."
David Blaszkowsky, Director of the SEC's Office of Interactive Disclosure, encouraged investors to try out the new software. "Financial Explorer will help investors analyze investment choices much quicker. I encourage both companies and investors to visit the SEC Web site, try the software, and get a first-hand glimpse of the future of financial analysis, especially for the retail investor."
Financial Explorer is open source, meaning that its source code is free to the public, and technology and financial experts can update and enhance the software. As interactive data becomes more commonplace, investors, analysts, and others working in the financial industry may develop hundreds of Web-based applications that help investors garner insights about financial results through creative ways of analyzing and presenting the information.
In addition to Financial Explorer, the SEC currently offers investors two other online viewers – the Executive Compensation viewer and the Interactive Financial Report viewer, also available at www.sec.gov/xbrl. The Executive Compensation viewer enables investors to instantly compare what 500 of the largest U.S. companies are paying their top executives. The Interactive Financial Report viewer also helps investors gather, analyze, and compare key financial disclosures filed voluntarily by public companies using XBRL. To date, there have been 307 such filings from 74 companies. Under the SEC's interactive data filing program, companies may continue to file XBRL data voluntarily, pending anticipated Commission rulemaking.
Unlike most free Internet tools that use adjusted or aggregated data and include disclaimers warning investors not to rely on the information for investment decisions, XBRL data can give investors nearly real-time access to the complete and actual data companies report under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The SEC's interactive data initiative is designed to make financial information more accessible, more understandable, and more useful to investors. It enables public companies and mutual funds to submit information in a standardized, tagged format to facilitate analysis and comparisons. For more information, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- LJ Index, July 2009
- They Said It
- bc—When Integers Aren't Enough
- diff -u: What's New in Kernel Development
- Non-Linux FOSS
- Netbooks—Dying or Evolving?
- EFI-X: When Dual Boot Isn't Enough
- Stop Burning CDs; Burn USB Drives Instead
- Mobile LinuxJournal.com
LJ Index, July 2009
1. Percent of US homes that don't have Internet access: 29
2. Percent of US homes that think the Internet is useless: 12.7
3. Highest average number of spams per user in a single day in 2008 (April 23) at Google: 194
4. Approximate number of spams per second that can be attributed to the McColo ISP (recently shut down): 33
5. Approximate number of spammers responsible for 80% of Internet spam: 200
6. Rank of US in list of "10 Worst Spam Origin Countries": 1
7. Rank of China in list of "10 Worst Spam Origin Countries": 2
8. Rank of Russian Federation in list of "10 Worst Spam Origin Countries": 3
9. Rank of United Kingdom in list of "10 Worst Spam Origin Countries": 4
10. Rank of South Korea in list of "10 Worst Spam Origin Countries": 5
11. Approximate cost per megabyte of RAM in 1957: $411,041,792
12. Approximate cost per megabyte of RAM in 2008: $0.021
13. Billions of dollars of legal music downloads in 2008: 3.7
14. Percent increase in legal music downloads from 2007 to 2008: 25
15. Downloaded music sales as a percent of total music sales: 20
16. Percent of total music downloads that were not "legal": 95
17. Average "step-on-it" factor used during software estimation phase: 2.5
18. Average number of weeks left to complete a software project: 2
19. US National Debt as of 04/05/09, 1:29:32pm CDT: $11,135,460,534,223.90
20. Change in the debt since last month's column: $185,190,792,300
1, 2: Park Associates
3: Google Message Security Data Centers
4: Spamcorp
5–10: Spamhaus
11, 12: www.jcmit.com/memoryprice.htm
17, 18: Common knowledge
19: www.brillig.com/debt_clock
20: Math
They Said It
Don't you wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked "Brightness", but it doesn't work.
Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein.
—Joe Theismann
Downgrade rights are hugely important for Windows 7. Will Microsoft offer downgrades [from Windows 7] to XP? They've not answered that question yet. But it's really important.
—Michael Silver, Garter analyst
One day soon the Gillette company will announce the development of a razor that, thanks to a computer microchip, can actually travel ahead in time and shave beard hairs that don't even exist yet.
—Dave Barry
Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.
—Stewart Brand
The Internet today is an open platform where the demand for Web sites and services dictates success. You've got barriers to entry that are low and equal for all comers. And it's because the Internet is a neutral platform that I can put on this podcast and transmit it over the Internet without having to go through some corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without censorship. I don't have to pay a special charge. But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the Internet as we know it. They say they want to create high-speed lanes on the Internet and strike exclusive contractual arrangements with Internet content-providers for access to those high-speed lanes. Those of us who can't pony up the cash for these high-speed connections will be relegated to the slow lanes....We can't have a situation in which the corporate duopoly dictates the future of the Internet and that's why I'm supporting what is called Net Neutrality.
—President Barack Obama
bc—When Integers Aren't Enough
Most people have the need to do some kind of math when they are using a computer. In shell scripts, you can make integer calculations by using functionality in the shell itself. But what if that's not enough? Luckily, the POSIX standard includes a very useful command-line utility called bc. With this, you can do arbitrary precision arithmetic. Actually, it is a complete, C-like language that can do some pretty sophisticated programming, supporting variables and functions.
In bc, numbers are all represented internally as a decimal number. They have a length, which is the total number of digits, and a scale, which is the number of decimal spaces. You can find these values by using the built-in functions length() and scale(). For example, the number 10.23 would have a length of 4 and a scale of 2. The variable scale holds the number of decimal places to keep when internal functions are executed. The default value is 0. bc supports all number bases from 2–16, with base-10 being the default. The input and output base of numbers can be set by using the variables ibase and obase. All of the basic mathematical operations are supported in bc. You can multiply, divide, add, subtract, do mod and exponentiation. There are all of the standard comparison operations too. Less than, less than or equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to, equal to and not equal to all give results of 0 for false and 1 for true. This is very useful in the conditional statements available in bc.
bc can be used in shell scripts or on the command line as a very effective calculator. It will read from a list of files given on the command line or read from standard input. On the command line, expressions simply can be echoed through a pipe to bc:
echo "1+1" | bc
The above will give the answer of 2. As a more complex example, the sine of 5 can be assigned to a shell variable with the following:
RESULT=`echo s(5) | bc -l`
The -l command-line option tells bc to load the math library, giving access to the trigonometric functions.
As a bit of a contrived example, say there are two values and you need to find out which one has a larger sine. With the math library and the built-in comparison operations, you can do this with the following:
echo "s(5) < s(10)" | bc -l
The result 1 is printed out on standard output, verifying that the sine of 5 is less than the sine of 10. bc can print out a text string telling the user whether the result is true or false with the following:
echo 'if (s(5) < s(10)) print "true\n" else print "false\n"' | bc -l
This prints out the word true. If this string is to be stored in a variable, the newline characters would be removed from the executable line. This value then can be used later in a shell script by saving it to a shell variable.
What if you have a data file of input values and you want to apply some function to them? Say you need to calculate the logarithm base-10 of each value and dump it into another file. The following example takes a list of the first ten numbers, calculates the logarithm base-10 of each number and writes the value into the file output.lst:
LIST="0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" for INPUT in $LIST do echo "l($INPUT)/l(10)" | bc -l >>output.lst done
These examples already have done some useful work, but what if the requirements are more robust? Does this necessitate a move to a heavyweight math program, like Mathematica or Maple? Not necessarily. With bc, you can create and use functions to make more complicated calculations. Even recursive functions can be written, like in this example to calculate a factorial:
define f (x) { if (x <= 1) return (1); return (f(x-1) * x); } print "Factorial:"; factorial = read(); print f(factorial); print "\n"; quit
This can be dumped into a file called fact.bc and run through bc to get the factorial of some number by executing:
bc fact.bc
This script asks the user for a number and then finds the factorial. It can be used without interaction simply by feeding the number in to standard input with a pipe:
echo 10 | bc fact.bc
This prints out the factorial of 10 (3628800) to standard output. But, how fast can such a program be? For a variety of values run on a generic laptop, the following times were measured:
10 0.004s 100 0.004s 1000 0.028s 10000 3.099s
These times were averaged over three runs to account for varying system load. It seems more than fast enough to be useful for a lot of heavy work.
For a more scientific example, the following bc script finds how long it takes for an object to fall from a series of heights:
define t(h) { g = 9.81; return (sqrt(2 * h / g)); }
Now there is no excuse for abandoning a shell script simply because it can't handle some mathematical problem. With bc, you can do a lot of really useful work straight from the command line. Go forth and enumerate.
diff -u: What's New in Kernel Development
Geert Uytterhoeven has replaced the old, dead CVS repository for the m68k Linux port with a shiny new git repository, and added a make install build target, as well as various other code fixes.
Steven Rostedt has updated ftrace to let users turn kernel tracepoints on and off simply by setting values in files in the /debug directory.
Jaswinder Singh Rajput has added some performance-counting features to AMD K7 and later processors. A range of data can be tracked, including processor cycles, number of executed instructions, page faults and context switches. The patches seem likely to go into the kernel soon. Ingo Molnar has given his endorsement and offered some bug reports to which Jaswinder responded quickly.
Matthew Wilcox has done a major rewrite of the MSI HOWTO. The Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI) HOWTO had not been updated significantly since 2004. It provides a mechanism for triggering interrupts on PCI devices, entirely in software. Previously, PCI devices needed to have a physical pin corresponding to the desired interrupt. MSI is much more flexible, and proper documentation will be quite useful. Grant Gundler and Michael Ellerman offered their own technical feedback to the HOWTO, and Randy Dunlap and Sitsofe Wheeler helped polish up the language.
Cheng Renquan has enhanced the KBuild system, so that when viewing help for any given compilation option, the currently selected build choice is visible at the same time. He also made various less user-visible changes, and Randy Dunlap has signed off.
Alex Chiang has submitted a bunch of PCI patches, including code to create /sys/bus/pci/rescan, a user-controlled file that can force a rescan of all PCI buses on the system. He added several other files to the /sys/ directory to give greater and greater PCI control to the user.
It's nice to remove features that no one uses. For one thing, it can simplify kernel code greatly. H. Peter Anvin wanted to remove the zImage build target recently and asked if anyone was still using it. As it turns out, Woody Suwalkski noted that ARM still used zImage. H. Peter probably will remove it from the x86 tree and leave ARM alone.
Bartlomiej Zolnierkiewicz has expunged the IDE floppy and tape drivers from the kernel and the MAINTAINERS file and listed them in the CREDITS file instead. He thanked Gadi Oxman and Paul Bristow for all the work they did in the early days on those drivers.
Michael Kerrisk has removed his name as the official maintainer of the kernel man pages. The Linux Foundation funding has run out, and a supplemental round of Google funding also has run out, so now he'll have to focus on other things. He still plans to support the project as best he can, but he cautions that the man pages likely will be orphaned soon, if no further funding or willing maintainer steps forward.
Non-Linux FOSS
IronPython is an implementation of Python that runs on the .NET framework as well as on Mono. The current version of IronPython is compatible with Python 2.5, and an alpha release of a Python 2.6-compatible version also is available. IronPython is written entirely in C#, and the current version is built on top of the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR).
IronPython features an interactive console that does full dynamic compilation of Python code to .NET. It provides full access to all .NET libraries while maintaining compatibility with the Python language.
There also is a Visual Studio plugin called IronPython Studio that supports the creation of Python-based GUI applications. In addition to IronPython, there are "Iron" versions of Ruby and Scheme (LISP). If you like Python but crave static typing, check out BOO for .NET/Mono.
IronPython is licensed under the terms of the "Microsoft Public License", which was approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) in October 2007. The license allows redistribution of compiled code for either commercial or noncommercial use (similar to a BSD license). For this reason, although it is recognized as a "free" software license by the Free Software Foundation, it is considered incompatible with the GPL. And, if getting too close to Microsoft makes you nervous, be aware that the IronPython Project is hosted on a Microsoft-controlled site: codeplex.com.
IronPython Studio (from ironpythonstudio.codeplex.com
Netbooks—Dying or Evolving?
I'm just as guilty as everyone else that jumped on the Netbook bandwagon when it started with the 7" Eee PC. After a few weeks, the limitations of such tiny notebooks become fairly clear. The Netbook market has evolved to the point that it's almost laughable. What are the latest features of that market? Bigger screens! Ten- to twelve-inch screens are becoming the new rage in the "Netbook" world.
Um, we had 12" screens before. We called them notebooks. I'm not sure if the Netbook fascination is wearing off or if low-power laptops are just going to become the norm. Because "low power" is becoming a misnomer as the CPU speeds creep up on ultra-portables, I think the term Netbook might just die away.
Another option is that something like Android, Moblin or Ubuntu Netbook Remix will standardize the tiny-screen laptop market, and it will become more like a souped-up cell phone as opposed to a stripped-down notebook. One thing seems clear, the days of a 7–9" screen running a customized and minimal Linux distribution are fading away into history. Is the Netbook a dying fad or still an infant going through growing pains? Sadly, I think that depends on how hardware manufacturers choose to push their upcoming models.
I certainly don't have the ability to see the future, but I hope the future of Netbooks doesn't continue along the path of adopting Microsoft Windows. Low-powered hardware just begs to have the Linux kernel running on it. If the interface could be something standard that ran familiar applications, we might have a chance to retake the entire Netbook market. Only time will tell, and only hardware manufacturers can pick the standard.
EFI-X: When Dual Boot Isn't Enough
I recently was contacted by the folks selling the EFI-X. It's a small USB device that allows EFI-booting operating systems to boot on traditional BIOS-based machines. The big selling point for such a device is that it allows native booting of Apple OS X on off-the-shelf PC hardware. I couldn't get any specifics as to why a Linux user would benefit from such hardware, but at the same time, I guess it's useful to know Linux is fully compatible with EFI-booting technology.
So although the $240 it takes to buy an EFI-X module won't really benefit your Linux install very much, if you want to install OS X on your trusty Linux machine, you now can do so. It most likely violates EULA terms with Apple to install on non-Apple hardware, but it doesn't require a hacked and pirated version of OS X to install. I bought an EFI-X, and OS X installed from the retail DVD right next to my Linux install. It takes a separate drive for each operating system, but I now have a triple-booting quad-core computer that cost less than $800. If you don't want to buy Apple hardware, but would like to dual- (or triple-) boot your system, check it out: www.expresshd.com.
Stop Burning CDs; Burn USB Drives Instead
It seems that every week there's a new version of some Linux distribution available. I don't know about you, but I have enough burned "last version" CDs to build a very reflective fort in the backyard. I'm also really bad about labeling CDs when I burn them, so I end up burning the same CD over and over. Thankfully, there is help for people like me—Unetbootin.
I did a video tutorial on this a while back, but the gist of Unetbootin is that you create a bootable USB drive instead of burning an installer CD. The application automatically will download the latest CD image, or you can create a bootable USB drive from an already-downloaded ISO file. Unetbootin even works in Windows, so if you're stuck with only a Windows machine, you can create a bootable USB drive to install our favorite operating system.
The great thing is that USB drives are easily rewritable. Most modern systems will boot from them without issue. The only downside is that it's harder to build forts out of USB drives. So, unless you really want to build that highly reflective fort, I'd suggest checking out Unetbootin.
Unetbootin video tutorial: www.linuxjournal.com/video/creating-bootable-usb-install-drives-unetbootin.
Mobile LinuxJournal.com
After reading all about mobile Linux this month, I'm guessing you might be in the mood to take your Linux Journal mobile too. If you haven't visited our mobile version at m.linuxjournal.com, you missed the chance to catch all the content you find on LinuxJournal.com formatted to fit your mobile device. Even if you have visited us on your mobile device, you may have missed the link to our mobile videos. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, and you'll see a link to our videos on YouTube mobile, which provides our videos in 3gp format for your mobile device. Just think, now you can whip out Shawn Powers' tech tips any time and almost anywhere! Happy viewing!


text:
Capture Your Audience for Business Impact
The use of stories and storytelling has been a powerful communications tool for thousands of years and is becoming even more essential in the digital era. The most effective business leaders, teachers, politicians and religious leaders have always been good storytellers. Learning the art of selecting and delivering the right story will not only have a motivational impact on your people but will help you impact the culture of your organization.
ماذا ستتعلم
Learn how you can leverage the power of storytelling to capture your audience's attention while delivering key messages and takeaways that will prompt action for business impact.
لم تريد تعلم ذلك
With today's technology the amount of time that you have to capture the attention of your audience is dwindling. Professionals that master the art of storytelling can leave a lasting impression on their audience, influence others and engage their colleagues.
كيف ستساعدك
Effectively present a compelling story about your organization, mission, or products that will win over willing cooperation, influence change, and make a memorable impact on others.


text:
OTTAWA — Parents should lose custody of children who suffer from life-threatening obesity, obesity specialists argue in a leading medical journal.
The opinion piece, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Wednesday by Lindsey Murtagh of the Harvard School of Public Health and Dr. David Ludwig of the Children's Hospital in Boston, said putting children with severe obesity in foster care would act in the best interest of the child.
"In severe instances of childhood obesity, removal from the home may be justifiable from a legal standpoint because of imminent health risks and the parents' chronic failure to address medical problems," the article said.
The authors write that improper dietary practices that cause malnourishment and a failure to thrive fall under the definition of neglect and child abuse.
However, Ottawa psychologist Dr. Maggie Mamen says breaking up families is not the solution.
"We need to stand behind parents," said Mamen, who is the author of The Pampered Child Syndrome. She explains that children today have more say in decisions and parents need to regain their confidence to be in control, which includes setting rules and a good example about healthy eating habits and exercise.
"It's a parent's decision what food is placed on the table, what food is in the fridge, what food is brought home from the grocery stores, especially when our children are younger," said Mamen, adding there's no point in nagging children to pursue healthier lifestyles if parents are not.
According to Statistics Canada, 17 per cent of children in Canada are overweight and nine per cent are obese.
Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children recently became the first pediatric hospital in the country to offer weight-loss surgery for 12- to 17-year-olds. So far, Sick Kids has operated on children with a body-mass index of 60. A "normal" BMI is under 25.
Murtagh and Ludwig write that severely obese children who exceed 1000 kilocalories per day are could suffer irreversible consequences like Type 2 diabetes and a significant drop in life expectancy if they won't, or can't, lose weight.
In cases where parenting training and counseling fail, the authors said weight-loss surgery or foster care would be the only alternatives to best serve a child with life-threatening obesity.
Mamen said it's 'tragic' weight-loss surgery for children is being done, but said she hopes it's the last resort for children.
"We have to reinforce that parents are the ones children need to listen to. Otherwise, we stand the chance of giving children the chance to say, 'Don't listen to your parents, listen to the experts,'" said Mamen.
-With files from Sharon Kirkey


text:
Activist Investors Often Leak Their Plans to a Favored Few
Strategically Placed Tips Help Build Alliances for Campaigns at Target Companies
Shares of Rino International Corp. sank 28% in the two days after investment firm Muddy Waters LLC put out a report attacking the Chinese company's accounting.
Three investment firms were ready for the news.
The firms had been tipped beforehand by Muddy Waters about the scathing November 2010 report, according to a person close to the matter,...
To Read the Full Story


text:
Is your pet "going bald?" There are many reasons why a pet might lose fur, but in most cases, it's because the of overgrooming: chewing the hair and breaking it off, or pulling it out completely. Those 12 tiny incisor teeth between the canines (fangs) are designed for grooming, and under normal circumstances, they're used to "comb" through the hair to remove debris, mats, and parasites.
Hair loss from any cause is called "alopecia" ("aloe-pee'-sha"). Sometimes you'll actually catch your pet in the act of chewing, or notice that he's scratching or grooming more than usual, but more often you'll glance down and suddenly notice a bare patch where the fur used to be. Areas where alopecia can develop without you noticing are the tummy, tail base, and front legs. Dogs are especially prone to work intensively at an itchy area and develop raw, open sores called "hot spots." When cats do this, they cause even worse damage because of their rough, barbed tongues.
The first essential step is a trip to the veterinarian's to diagnose the cause of the problem. Far and away the most common reason for both dogs and cats to pull out their hair, especially around the base of the tail, is flea-bite allergy. It only takes a single flea bite to produce an intense and prolonged reaction. Your vet can prescribe an effective and safe flea preventive and help you get rid of fleas and eggs in and around the house, or you can use more natural methods. Once the fleas are gone, the skin will heal up on its own, or you can use homeopathy to hasten the process.
Another parasite that may be far more common than many vets suspect is mites. There are several species of mites that produce a condition called "mange." Sarcoptes mites (scabies) cause unrelenting, severe itching. They are most often found on the belly, but can wander anywhere. Scabies mites prefer warm, moist areas. Cheyletiella ("walking dandruff mite") and Demodex may or may not be itchy, but if the infestation grows out of control, they can cause scratching and hair loss. Demodex is a normal parasite of humans and animals (we have them in the hair follicles of our eyebrows–eew!), but if the immune system is weak, it can explode into a nasty infestation. Sometimes cat ear mites will get into the skin, particularly around the head and neck. All of these can cause animals to lick, scratch, rub, and chew to try to relieve the itching. Strengthening the immune system is the most basic support for a parasitized pet.
Most mites have one thing in common—they are easily transmitted, and they are not picky about where they set up housekeeping. In a household with scabies, multiple animals and people are likely to be infected. Your vet will do a skin scraping and put it under the microscope to check for mites, which are very tiny and hardly visible to the eye. However, scabies mites are very hard to find. It's been estimated that only 20-30% of pets with scabies are ever definitively diagnosed, even by multiple skin scrapings. If there are two or more itchy individuals (of any species!) in the household, treatment for mites may be indicated.
Ringworm (which is actually a fungus) is also frequently implicated in cases of hair loss, especially around the face, feet and ears. It is more common in cats than dogs, and even more so in kittens–but all animals, including humans, can get them. The hair disappears in small patches, and the skin turns dry, gray (or red, especially in people), and flaky. The time between initial contact and the appearance of lesions varies from one to three weeks. Ringworm is extremely contagious! While it doesn't seem to bother the animals much, in people it can be extremely itchy! Treating ringworm can be difficult and time-consuming.There are a number of effective topical creams that can be used if the lesions are small and localized, but a pet with a major infection may need to be shaved and bathed in a special shampoo for a month or more. Alternatively, there are oral medications or herbs that must be given consistently, usually for several weeks. They have serious side effects, so be sure to discuss the options thoroughly with your vet. Homeopathic treatment can be very helpful.
Internal Disease
Along with parasites, the veterinarian will also consider other potential causes of hair loss. Certain patterns, such as symmetrical hair loss along the sides, may point to an endocrine disorder; i.e., a problem with one of the hormone-secreting glands, such as the thyroid or adrenals.
Localized pain may also cause the excessive licking. A brewing abscess is painful, and will inspire a lot of licking before it opens and drains. Hair loss over joints may indicate arthritis pain. I once examined a cat who had suddenly started licking at one particular spot on her right side. As I mulled over which organs were in that part of the abdomen, I became suspicious, and ransome tests. It turned out she had acute pancreatitis, which we successfully treated before it became a full-blown, life-threatening problem.
Contact allergies, while rare, are possible. A new carpet, cedar bed, or different detergent used to launder the pet's bedding can cause a local allergic reaction that causes the pet to lick at the itchy area. Hair loss and rash will occur in the areas where the pet most frequently comes into contact with the material, such as feet and tummy.
Once parasites and medical problems have been ruled out, there are still two major players to consider. The first is diet. Food intolerances or allergies may show up first in the skin, causing tiny red crusty sores that spread or coalesce as the pet rubs or scratches at them. Secondary bacterial infections are common once the skin becomes irritated. Food allergies are much more common in cats than in dogs. Lesions around the face, feet, and ears are typically seen with food allergies. Allergies to inhaled substances, such as dust mites or pollen, may produce identical signs. A diet trial with low-allergen food, skin or blood test (good diagnostics for dogs but notoriously inaccurate in cats), or trial treatment may be used to assess allergies. Treatment consists of improved diet including added essential fatty acids and other natural products.
"Fat Deficiency"
The skin and coat are also the first to suffer when the diet is inadequate in certain nutrients. Pets on all-dry, "light," or "low-fat" diets may develop dry, flaky skin, and the coat may be dull or greasy feeling. The skin may be irritated and the coat may become thin because hair is falling out. Or there may be plenty of fat in the diet, but not the right kind of fat.
Supplementation with essential fatty acids and/or Vitamin E may provide a great deal of relief. Omega 3 fatty acids, in particular, found in fish oil and cod liver oil will help calm underlying inflammation, and condition the skin and fur. There are a number of good products for animals, such as Nordic Naturals Pet Omega 3 or Cod Liver Oil.
Many cat lovers have also found that homemade and raw diets, which eliminate the colorings, preservatives and other additives found in commercial cat foods, has done the trick. Simply getting rid of the dry food in favor of any wet food, such as canned, is the ticket in many cases.
It's All in the Head?
Some herbs have mild sedating or calming effects. There are combinations made especially for animals. These would be appropriate to use if you know what the stressor is, and can dose appropriately whenever the stress will occur. For instance, if your pet gets upset when he's left alone, you would give him the herbs right before you leave for work or school.
Other Treatments
Hherbs can help soothe and heal the skin.
Homeopathy can also be very beneficial in treating alopecia related to itching.
One of the best and simplest modalities for treating stress on the pyschological level is flower essence therapy.
Alopecia is a sign that something's wrong, and it's often uncomfortable for the pet. While it's not always easy to find out why your pet is pulling out her hair, it's very important to get to the bottom of it, and to treat it appropriately.


text: Sara & Nick's majestic movies wedding #Real Weddings: Midwest US#birdcage veil#brooch bouquet#DIY#fascinator#movie theater#movies#ohio#photo booth#pink dress#plus size#ring warming Updated Oct 12 2015 (Posted Jun 27 2011) Offbeat Editors Photos by Vince from Making the Moment The offbeat bride: Sara, hairstylist and part-time Cake Lady Her offbeat partner: Nick, web designer Date and location of wedding: The Civic Theather in Akron, Ohio — April 9, 2011 What made our wedding offbeat: Our planning began the moment we chose our venue. We immediately decided on a movie theme, since we are big-time movie nerds. We DIYed almost everything. Nick designed a Casablanca-themed wedsite and Fight Club-themed invites. I made the bouquets, boutonnières, corsages, cake topper, cupcake tower, centerpieces, my veil, and the bridesmaid's fascinators. I wore a dress that was custom made out of a pair of curtains. Our ceremony was officiated by one of Nick's favorite college professors. We crafted a six-hour playlist for the entire day that included songs and clips from our favorite movies. For our first dance as husband and wife, we recreated the Jack Rabbit Slim's twist contest from Pulp Fiction, complete with trophy. We destroyed a cupcake with a samurai sword. When it was all over, we were biked away on a rickshaw. Tell us about the ceremony: Our awesome officiant helped us build our ceremony from the ground up. We aren't religious people, so we really wanted to avoid mimicking a church wedding. We walked in to "All I Want is You" by Barry Louis Polisar. The ceremony began with a ring warming. Nick's grandpa read a passage from the Bible about Adam and Eve. My uncle chose to read "On Marriage" by Kahlil Gibran. Our officiant called me "Sam" right before it was time for me to read my vows. I was actually grateful for that, because it gave me something to think about other than crying like a baby. We each got a little laugh during our vows: me for promising to keep my fidgeting to a minimum (his pet peeve) and him for mentioning my love of zombie movies as one of the reasons he knew I was a keeper. As we exchanged rings, we promised to treat each other as equals, lovers, and best friends. We walked out to Dean Martin's "Ain't That a Kick in the Head." Our biggest challenge: We were incredibly blessed to not really have any major obstacles, but a minor challenge was that we didn't even know where to begin looking for an officiant. We aren't religious and don't attend church, and we wanted it to be someone who meant something to us. Nick had a professor who was ordained to marry two former students who met in her class. She offered to marry us, and that problem was solved. My favorite moment: Our photographer arranged for us to see each other on the grand staircase about an hour before the ceremony. The entire day was so busy and chaotic, but I have a clear vision of that moment I walked down the steps towards Nick, and as he turned around I saw his eyes get a little teary. We whispered a quick "I love you" and the moment was soon over, but it's still one of my favorite memories of that day. Our wedding day was also my grandmother's 80th birthday. We presented her with a "Birthday Girl" badge at the reception and everyone sang to her. My funniest moment: Our wedding playlist had some movie clips and songs that people probably weren't expecting to hear at a wedding. It was funny to watch the looks on people's faces as they listened to Patrick Bateman praising Huey Lewis' genius before "Hip to be Square" played, or seeing the puzzled looks on some faces as Ash (from Army of Darkness) carried on about his "boom stick." Pulp Fiction-inspired Offbeat reading! We were also pleasantly surprised that almost everyone embraced the silly props for our photo booth. It was heartwarming to see some of our most serious relatives in clown noses, cowboy hats, and feather boas. Was there anything you were sure was going to be a total disaster that unexpectedly turned out great? Many of Nick's relatives don't drink. Not only do they not drink, but they are not comfortable with being around people who are drinking. We debated for a while about whether or not to have an open bar at the wedding. We decided to do it because it was our wedding, and we are social drinkers. It stressed him out a little bit, but ended up going pretty smoothly. Our friends and family members peacefully coexisted for the duration of the reception. My advice for offbeat brides: You can do it all yourself, but you need to DIY early and often. We had sixteen months to plan and I was still crafting the day before the wedding. Also, don't allow yourself to feel defeated if you come up with an amazing, creative, 100% YOU wedding idea, only to go online and find that it's been done before. A lot. We almost didn't do our first dance because we searched for the clip online and found that many, many other people have already done that. Know why other people had that same idea you had? Because it's awesome. Chances are that your guests will still think it's amazing, creative, and totally you. What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? The entire day was a lesson in letting the little things go. Decor disasters, wardrobe malfunctions, and schedule screw-ups happened. I tend to be a bit of a type A control freak, and I could feel myself starting to wig out as these little things added up. I had to step back and remind myself that the only truly important thing was that we ended up married. Care to share a few vendor/shopping links? Dress: Etsy seller PorshesPlace Shoes: Must Have Shoes Necklace: Etsy seller TheRedMagnolia Groom's ring: Etsy seller RenaissanceJewelry Photographer: Vince at Making the Moment Transportation: Rickshaw Willie Enough talk — show me the wedding porn! PREVIOUS Alabama photographer Morgan Trinker is down for whatever ideas you got! NEXT The sexy men of the wedding party, plus major cake geekage Show/Hide comments [ 31 ] I LOVE the way you'd had your hair. It's just perfect and shiny and wavy, like a movie star. *swoons* Reply Wow! I absolutely love the creativity! I've seen movie-themed weddings before, but this one is by far my favorite. The DIY details are amazing! Reply Thanks! It was a lot of work, but every time I look at our photos I know it was 100% worth it. Reply I love the bouquets and buttonieres! I especially liked the goofy props you had going for photos! Reply I'd love if you did a tutorial for your bouquet, especially the one of all the old flower buttons you carried. It is gorgeous! Reply wonderful wedding – so jealous of the venue – Civic Theatre is AWESOME! everything looks so creative and the cake topper with the Goodyear blimp is perfect. this makes me miss Akron – and that takes a LOT of doing! Congratulations! Reply Beautiful and very inspired wedding. Also: "I made the bouquets, boutonnières, corsages, cake topper, cupcake tower, centerpieces, my veil, and the bridesmaid's fascinators. I wore a dress that was custom made out of a pair of curtains." YOU ROCK. Best wishes to you guys! Reply I know I'm not supposed to play favorites but I really think Sara & Nick's wedding is my favorite of everything I've seen so far on OBB. It is a visual feast from start to finish. I'm just so amazed. If mine can be a tiny fraction of their awesome-ness levels, I'll consider mine a success. Wow! Reply I'm now wondering if the dress made out of curtains is a "Gone with the Wind" nod. Because, frankly my dear, that's pretty awesome! Your venue was gorgeous by the way. Reply Could be "Gone With The Wind" or "Sound Of Music"…either way, it turned out awesome. 🙂 Reply It was actually just a coincidence, since I wanted a slight ombre effect to the pink and I couldn't find any fabric that was quite right. My dressmaker actually found a pair of little girl's curtains from Target, so that's what we used. I feel it did have a sort of Gone With the Wind flair to it…it became yet another movie-related detail 😉 Reply Just the blog entry took my breath away and I kind of teared up at the part about seeing each other before the wedding. You can tell in every single photo how much work you put into every detail. Absolutely gorgeous wedding and it looks like it was a lot of fun too. Congratulations! Reply This reminded me of a old Hollywood theme wedding that we did a few years ago. So creative and personal. That's what its all about. Great job! Reply Man that theater is amazing. And that pulp fiction picture – I said god damn! You are a supermodel. Reply So amazing! Congratulations! I grew up in Northeast Ohio, and always thought that if I got married there, I would want it to be in the Civic. Now I'm getting married in Missouri, so thank goodness someone did it! =)Great pics, and fantastic flowers! Reply Absolutely stunning — everything!! "Also, don't allow yourself to feel defeated if you come up with an amazing, creative, 100% YOU wedding idea, only to go online and find that it's been done before. A lot." THANK YOU for this advice!!!! Seriously I am taking this to heart. I've come across this a few times already and I think it's important, like you said, to be yourselves no matter what! Reply I LOVE the bouquets! Any way I could beg you into doing a tutorial on the pink ones? Reply That came up a few times on the Tribe. I would LOVE to do a tutorial, and I still might, but right now I have zero free time. We're moving soon, after the dust settles from that I may be able to crank one out for you ladies. I WAS kind of sad to see them go, so I can make one, photograph it for the tutorial, and keep it for myself lol. Reply Congratulations! What a fantastic, fun wedding. My husband and I met in a video shop so I fully endorse film-themed weddings. I can't believe that fabulous dress was once curtains, too. Reply Chyeaaah! Everything about this wedding was AWESOME! That bouquet is a great alternative to flowers – plus, who doesn't love movies? Reply If I ever get married, I too want to walk in to "All I Want is You" by Barry Louis Polisar. Also, I'd like to have hair like yours! Reply As an Akronite, I passed the Civic that night and saw their marquee…and thought it was some movie/play I had never heard of. I'm totally lame! I had no idea all the gorgeous going on inside! I now want a brooch bouquet! : ) Reply Girl, you and your hubby are made of win! I love it ALL- that dress, those bouquets, that kick-ass location, the invites, and especially the Pulp Fiction first dance! My DF and I looooove Pulp Fiction, so that bit made me grin from ear to ear. 🙂 Also, I am IN LOVE with your photo booth, and may well have to steal the movie quotes idea! How did you set up your photobooth, may I ask? We're thinking we may have to do a DIY photobooth, and I'm a bit stressed about the set-up… Reply That was one of the few things we outsourced. One of our friends is a graffiti artist, so we figured he could handle it. He made a wooden frame, attached cardboard to it, covered it with stuff (mini movie posters of us, stars with the bridal party's names, etc) and it was good to go. It was pretty large, and he assembled it on-site the morning of the wedding. Reply Awesome! 😀 What I was wondering, though, was how did you set up the cameras? Did you just do a corner with laptop and external monitor, or did you have a polaroid and someone taking the photos? Feel free to email me if it's too much info to write here: firstname.lastname@example.com Reply Love this!! Thanks for posting our work – so happy we made the blog again 🙂 🙂 Great job Sara!! Reply I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate movies since the FH is a video production grad/film nut. The tough part is we like such a wide array of movies, picking only a handful would be hard. How do you reconcile Pan's labyrinth with Priscilla, Queen of The Desert? Reply I, too, am in LOVE with your bouquets for your bridesmaids!! I've done something similar with the same color scheme with pearls and crystals, but I must know what you used to make yours! Please share when you get time! 🙂 Beautiful wedding! Reply Love this! So cute….and your names are great too. I'm Sara, he's Nick! Reply love your venue! omg! Reply i wanna see the fight club invites!!!!! Reply Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. If you want to promote your stuff on Offbeat Bride, join us as an advertiser instead.


text:
|Perl: the Markov chain saw
Re: How should Perlmonks deal with Plagiarism?by jimt (Chaplain)
|on Oct 07, 2006 at 12:19 UTC ( #576831=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
You are walking in the land of perlmonks. You come to a fork in the road. One path leads you to the capital city, the other path leads you deep into treacherous woods and certain death. Two monks are standing at the fork in the road, one always lies, one always tells the truth.
You can ask only one monk only one question. How do you determine the correct road to take?
You ask the monk standing on the left, "If I were to ask him which way to go, what would he say?" The monk on the left replies, "That you should take the path to the right."
You start to walk off down the path to the left, but before you go, the monk on the right volunteers, "Dear monk, I would tell you that he would tell you that you should take the path to the right."
You pause and face him. "He answered my question first, and that's what he told me."
"Yes," replies the monk on the right, "That was also me answering your question".
You beat the monk on the right with your clue-by-four, thank the one on the left, and continue to the capital city.
[ed: removed the spoiler tag, since in retrospect I thought it spoiled the joke.]
In Section Perl Monks Discussion


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In one fell swoop, FAU's depth in the backfield as well as its special teams has taken a potentially significant hit.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, running back Travis Jones is no longer listed on the Owls' online roster and is not expected to return to the team. A source told the paper that Jones is expected to leave the school before the start of summer camp.
Academic problems are believed to be at the root of Jones' departure from the squad.
Jones ran for just 85 yards last season, but did catch 18 passes coming out of the backfield. Where his departure will really hurt, though, is in the return game as he led the Owls in kick returns (20 yards) and punt returns (7.9).
(Photo credit: FAU athletics)


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Frugal Friday~
NOTE: I've had a few readers comment about the teeny-tiny thumbnails. I'm so sorry about that! Linky Tools changed their dashboard, and I'm still getting used to it. I accidentally chose the wrong size thumbnails this week when I was doing the post settings. I can't change it now, but I promise I won't have such small thumbnails next week. Time to get out the old magnifying glass, huh? LOL!
Last week's fan favorite was this fabulous hand-painted clock by The Exchange.
First up, an awesome DIY painted Zebra Rug from J and J Home.
Then A Room Full of Good Intentions shared her adorable Summer Pinwheel Wreath. I just love pinwheels...they're so festive!
I couldn't get over this adorable nursery from 5 Days 5 Ways. That chair was a $25 dollar Craigslist find!?!
And finally, since I have back-to-school on the brain, I loved this homework station shared by Mommy Minded.
Now it's your turn!
You know "da rules"...
1. Please link directly to your post and not just to your blog.
2. Please link back the Shabby Nest (you can use the pretty new button on my side bar to make it easy.)
3. Please visit other participants and leave them comments! Help them feel "the love!" And don't forget to "like" your favorite posts so they can become the "FAN FAVORITE!"


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Focus on Fires for 2012 Harvest
AMES- Nationwide, combine and tractor fires are believed to have caused tens of millions of dollars in property losses each year. Harvest is a prime time for agricultural fires, even when the weather has not been warm and dry. This year, the normal harvest dryness will be intensified since Iowa has been experiencing drought conditions. The potential for agricultural fires also is increased above normal, warns Chuck Schwab, agricultural safety specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
"The three parts of any fire fuel, oxygen and ignition source are in Iowa's agricultural fields," said Schwab. "Fuel sources such as husks, leaves, dust and grains are always present when harvesting, and so are many sources of ignition found on combines, trucks and other vehicles that include exhausts, hot engine compartments, bearings and electrical wiring."
Minimize Risk of
Harvest Fires
Schwab says there are several ways farmers can minimize the risk of harvest time fires.
* Clean stalks and debris from the combine often. How often depends upon the wind and field conditions.
* Monitor tractors for similar buildup of dry materials that are a fuel source for fires.
* Watch closely when trucks and other vehicles enter those fields with dry materials. The catalytic converter located on the underside of these vehicles can easily serve as the ignition source.
* Carry a fire extinguisher and know how to use it.
Using Fire Extinguishers
Carrying a fire extinguisher in these vehicles might make the difference. Be prepared for combine fires by carrying two ABC-type extinguishers one in the cab and one at ground level. Use a 10-pound extinguisher in the cab or operator's station and a 20-pound size nearer to ground level. Tractors and other vehicles can have one ABC-type extinguisher and the size depends on the space available.
"Make sure the extinguishers you have on your vehicles are ready and fully charged for use," Schwab said. "Just having the extinguisher is not enough; you should know how to use it effectively."
Ideally it is best to have practiced putting out a fire with an extinguisher in a controlled training session before confronting an actual fire, according Schwab. However, that is not always possible, so he suggests remembering the acronym PASS when using any portable fire extinguisher. PASS stands for
P Pull the pin in the fire extinguisher handle. This allows you to squeeze the handle and release the extinguishing agent.
A Aim the fire extinguisher at the base of the fire. If the spray is not directed at the base, then the chance of extinguishing the fire is lost.
S Squeeze the handle firmly to start the flow of extinguishing agent. Starting and stopping extinguishing agent flow is controlled by squeezing the handle.
S Sweep the fire extinguisher back and forth not too fast or too slowly because it does make a difference in how effective you'll be in extinguishing the fire.
Not all fire can be extinguished by an individual with a portable fire extinguisher. A large 20-pound fire extinguisher does not contain an infinite supply of extinguishing agent. These portable extinguishers only last a few minutes at most and that means the time to control the fire is limited. A fire extinguisher can be effective when properly used if the fire is discovered early, when it is still small.
Fires that have been discovered too late or that have grown too big for a fire extinguisher to handle require a different response. Call for professional help during the first sign of fire. Instead of fighting the fire, retreat to a safe distance and wait for the professionals. In some cases, farmers barely have enough time to exit the operator station before the fire can trap them. Avoid getting caught or trapped by a large fire while trying to extinguish it.
"Personal safety must be the top priority and the equipment that is on fire secondary," said Schwab. "Make smart decisions about safety as you choose to fight or flee a fire. The value of that equipment that is on fire is never worth your life."


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Junior Laura Messina was named NEC Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season after leading CCSU to a 5-1 week and shutting out conference foe Fairleigh Dickinson in a doubleheader on Saturday, the NEC announced Monday.
The Blue Devils went on an eight-win streak, including five shutouts, before falling to Bryant in game two of a doubleheader on Sunday.
Messina, four-time NEC Pitcher of the week and 2013 NEC Tournament MVP, posted a 0.82 ERA this week, pitching five complete games including three shutouts. She went 4-1 on the week improving her season record to 17-9.
Messina struck out an impressive 50 batters in 34.0 innings, lifting her career total to 638. She posted a career-high 15 strikeouts in CCSU's victory over UMass-Lowell on April 10. Headed into this week's competition, Messina had registered just six shutouts and ranked 17th in the nation, she now has nine on the season.
The junior ranks first all-time in five CCSU career pitching categories including innings pitched (638.0), wins (66), complete games (85), shutouts (28) and strikeouts (638).
Messina and the rest of the Blue Devils will be back in action this Friday and Saturday, April 18-19, in two NEC doubleheaders on the road. CCSU will face Saint Francis U Friday starting at 1 p.m. and Robert Morris at 12 p.m. on Saturday.


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And other advanced topics of specialty diving.
If the Question is specific to DIR this would be the place
what is dui
10-21-2010, 19:21
Some like it dark.
Side Mount Diving
06-14-2013, 21:00
Tec Question - etc. And other advanced topics of specialty diving.
Tech Instructor...
11-18-2012, 08:10
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IT environments generate log messages with a variety of functions and significance to an organisation – but they're only useful if they trigger the necessary responses.
Most log messages traditionally come from three types: system logs of servers, network devices, and applications.
To derive actionable, valuable business information from this amount of raw log data, it is necessary to collect, filter, and normalise messages from various sources and store them centrally so that they may be easily accessed for review or archived for compliance purposes.
Find out what sets enterprise-class log management infrastructure apart from log message noise in this whitepaper.


text:
Hidden for centuries behind six magical portals, is a secret so powerful, it must never fall into wrong hands. And now an unsuspecting person has stumbled upon a key...
Long Description:
There is an ancient secret so powerful, it was buried deep beneath a maze of puzzles and pitfalls to prevent anyone from ever laying a hand on it.
Then one man discovered the existence of the secret. In doing so, his life changed forever. He resolved to seek the secret. He wanted to know if the legends were true.
They were.
- An addictive, enjoyable experience
- Easy to pick & play
- A well told, interesting story
- Unique, intutive puzzles that are fun to solve
- Feels like you're actually there


text:
The city will hold two study sessions to review the Montebello Hills Specific Plan and associated Draft Environmental Impact Report.
The first session will be dedicated to the Montebello Hills Specific Plan and the Second Study Session will be dedicated to the Draft Environmental Impact Report.
Cook Hill Properties LLC submitted the Montebello Hills Specific Plan December 2007 to build 1,200 residential homes, a series of trails and a public park on a portion of 480 acres of open space.
Cook Hill is a development consultant for Plains Exploration & Production Co., which owns the property.
The study sessions will provide the public with the opportunity to comment on the proposed project and content of the Draft EIR.
Staff will accept written comments and public testimony during both Study Sessions. All comments will be included in the appropriate administrative records.
The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28. The second meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7. Both meetings will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1600 Beverly Boulevard.
For more information, call (323) 887-1477.


text:
Just a reminder that Friday, May 6, 2011 is Commencement Day here at the University. Ceremonies begin in the Jon M. Huntsman Center with the procession at 8:20 a.m., and the program at 9:00 a.m. As usual Commencement Day will require temporary parking changes in order to accommodate our graduates and their guests on both Thursday, May 5th, and Friday, May 6th.
Graduates and guests are encouraged to use the campus shuttle buses and TRAX throughout the day to travel to the various commencement and convocation events.
Employees who regularly park in the lots around the Huntsman Center and Annex, should park in the Stadium parking lot. All of the regular shuttle routes will operate until 6:00 PM.
University employees are invited to attend the Commencement ceremony. Tickets are not required. The featured speaker will be Mitch Albom, world-renowned author, journalist, musician and speaker.
Additional information can be found on the Commencement 2011 website, and the Registrar's Office Graduation page.
Congratulations graduates!


text:
The bunch that brought you 2008 dud Too Human is now on the public dole, getting a $4 million gummint check the studio says will help it build its next AAA-game.
The Canadian government gave the money to Silicon Knights of St. Catharines, Ontario, under the auspices of a local development grant. Instead of a tax break to lure a prospective business it's a straight-up cash payment to an existing one, and it's legal under Canadian law provided the beneficiary has no competitors in its area. Silicon Knights does not.
The studio's outspoken founder, Denis Dyack, wouldn't say what kind of game Silicon Knights is cooking up, but did say, according to the Welland Tribune that it'll take two to five years to develop. Well, that's only half as long as it took to get Too Human out the door!
"We can only say it's a next generation title and a high production value game," Dyack said. "We are blown away and we're happy with the support we're getting. It is something that couldn't have come at a better time."
Dyack has tied his company's fate to St. Catharines' continued existence before, so, it's probably why the area's MP was persuaded to bring home the pork. Nonetheless, the leader of the local chamber of commerce touted the grant money as a sign of good things to come.
"We are going to be known as the gaming capital of Canada," he said.
Montreal Vancouver might have something to say about that.
Silicon Knights Get $4-million Boost [Welland Tribune via The Escapist]


text:
Friday, February 27, 2009
I'm Just Sayin'
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 11:16 AM 8 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Conversations with Josiah
At bedtime tonight:
Me: Good night, little man. I love you.
Josiah: okay
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:14 PM 4 comments Links to this post
Labels: conversations with Josiah
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wii part II
Do I mention enough how much I love my husband? I do, beyond words, although I do try. (I'll be he's getting nervous if he's reading that. He doesn't read too often, be sure to hassle him for that if you see him. His email is..... Just kidding!!)
Anyway, so we got a Wii. It's a lot of fun. I work out on it almost every day. The kids play on it. Kevin likes playing with the kids. It's been good so far.
Right now, Kevin and Josiah are playing tennis. I like to watch tennis; Kevin likes to play. So he's go Josiah playing. They are tied in the second game at this point.
Saturday, after the kids were all up in bed, I did my wii fit and then Kevin got on to play tennis. He played several games, talking about opponents as if they were real people. Then he started bowling.
Wanna know why?
Because the five year old beats him every game. So he needs to practice, so he can beat his son next time. Huh? I don't get this one.
Oh, Josiah's doing really well at tennis, so I guess I know what Kevin will be doing tonight after we watch 'Chuck.'
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 6:20 PM 8 comments Links to this post
Friday, February 20, 2009
Don't you just feel wiped out sometimes? That's where I am today. Hardly any energy to move. I don't want to do laundry, vacuum, make hair bows, exercise, dust, pick up after children, fight with children, organize one thing, make one bed. I just want to rest. Maybe even sleep. All day.
And I fight guilt for feeling this way. I'm SuperMom after all! I've got 5 kids to dress, feed, get out the door (okay only two of them leave,) entertain, pray for, etc.
And then I remember that God prescribed rest. You know, the whole Ten Commandments thing:
For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.Exodus 31:14-16
I'm not so good at resting on the Sabbath. One of the perils of being the pastoral family. Actually I am not so good at resting, period.
But, I'm not God.....and HE rested.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Genesis 2:1-3
And Jesus, remember him?? Well, he offers us rest!
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:25-27
You know what? I think I may just take him up on his offer today.
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:28 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Thought
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 7:41 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Monday, February 16, 2009
Welp, we've entered the world of video games. Wasn't gonna do it. But there are many things I wasn't going to do once I had kids that I do! Like television. My kids weren't going to watch tv. Can you believe that I can recite the entire PBS schedule? In case you don't believe me:
6:30AM In Between the Lions
7:00 Arthur
7:30 Martha Speaks
8:00 Curious George
8:30 Sid the Science Kid
9:00 Super Why
9:30 Clifford
10:00 Sesame Street
11:00 Dragon Tales
11:30 World World
Noon Super Why
12:30 Sid the Science Kid
1:00 "Big Kid Programming"
2:00 Caillou
2:30 Barney
3:00 Curious George
3:30 Martha Speaks
4:00 Arthur
4:30 Word Girl
5:00 Ruff Ruffman (except on Fridays when it is The Electric Company)
I imagine by this point you are either duly impressed or saddened by my lack of a real life!
So, back to the Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! The kids have had the opportunity to play Wii at friends' homes. Of course they love it. I asked Josiah what he wanted for his birthday and he wanted a Wii. Nothing else. So we talked it over and talked to the kids about asking for birthday money to pay for it. They agreed to it. One huge benefit is not having a bunch of new things lying around the house. (I've just gotten it back under control from Christmas!) Then, we were blessed to find one of the guys from church who wanted to sell his used one.
So, we have a Wii and a few games. And now we are trying to figure out how to regulate it. Josiah would be on it non-stop if we let him. So, all of you Wii owners out there, I am curious to how you handle it in your home. Is it a free for all? Do you limit the time? If you have more than 2 kids, how do you handle the sharing? Any games you LOVE? Any you won't allow in your house? Why for both of these??
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:45 AM 8 comments Links to this post
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Conversation with my sister
Trish: Did you get your new washer yet?
Me: Nope, he'll run out of clean underwear then do something. (note: I was just kidding it's been a crazy busy week!)
Trish: If I was you, I think I would hide what's left of his underwear!
(Have I ever told you how much I love my sister?)
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 9:30 AM 6 comments Links to this post
Labels: converstions with Trish
Friday, February 13, 2009
Did I Ever Tell You About the Time....
If you know my husband at all, you know how the rest of that sentence goes....
"Did I ever tell you about the time Jamie Lee Curtis chased me through the LA airport to get my address?"
And I must admit, she did. I was there and I saw it. I laugh when he tries to leave the story at just that line.
It was 6 years ago, and we were on our way home from China with Miss Livi. We got into LA the night before and had decided not to take the red eye back home. So our flight the next morning left at some ridiculous time in the morning. And we were tired. Livi decided to stay on China time and was up most of the night.
We were standing in the line to board the plane. Off to the side the security people were doing the 'extra' search on a random passenger. As she was taking off her shoes, I turned to Kevin and said, "She looks like Jamie Lee Curtis." (I probably shouldn't mention that she was one of Kevin's objects of lust as a middle school/high school kid, so I won't mention it.) He says he said, "That IS Jamie Lee Curtis." I have no recollection of that at all.
As they were making this woman empty all of her pockets, she noticed Olivia. And started talking to her and us. "Oh, look at the baby! What a cute baby! At the same time, she was brushing off apologies from the security guards. They were just doing their jobs and shouldn't feel badly about it. And then she'd turn back and talk more to Olivia.
I turned to Kevin at one point and said, "You know, she even sounds like Jamie Lee Curtis."
Now, he swears said, "When you are someone, you usually sound like them." Sure, like I'd miss 2 comments like this?? Remember, we were exhausted!!
So we were walking down the hallway and this crazy lady runs up to Kevin going on and on about Olivia and how beautiful she was and how wonderful adoption is..... I was so tired by this point that I just walked on ahead of them and got on the plane and found my seat.
A few minutes later, Kevin came back to our (coach) seats and said, "Jamie Lee Curtis wants us to give her our address. She wants to send something to Olivia."
I am sure I looked completely shocked. I just remember saying, "That really was her!!"
A little while later, a flight attendant came back with a piece of paper to write our address on. She gushed on and on about Miss Curtis and how great she is to have on board. Now I really glad that only Kevin heard my ignorant remarks.
A few weeks later, a package arrived for Olivia with two of Jamie's books in it. Both autographed. They are adoption related as Jamie has adopted children, too.
Let's just say that I am now a fan, too. A bit ignorant maybe, but a fan nonetheless.
*****I forgot to mention that Olivia and Jamie Lee Curtis share the same birthday. So far, our dreams of JLC paying for Olivia's college hasn't come to fruition. Jamie, if you're reading this (yes, I am that delusional) thank you for the books! We didn't know how to get in touch with you!*******
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:56 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Today is the big Valentine's party for Josiah and Charis's preschool class. Talk about excited! They've been counting it down all week! 2 more days till the party. 1 more day till the party. They woke up today reminding me that the party is today. Ella and I were up early and dressed so we could be at school the last hour to participate in the party. We've sent in cookies. We've sent in candy. We've filled out the Valentines. They are all ready, dressed, hair and teeth brushed. There's only one problem. We had a really windy night, and the school's power was knocked out. So there is no party. And, boy, are they disappointed. So am I.
I had plans this morning, too. I was going to pick up a few things at the grocery. I was going to finish a hair bow order. I was going to try to clean up the dining room which is covered with scraps of paper. Okay, maybe not an earth shattering disappointment, but that is the situation.
My husband has been working on a visa for a friend of ours to visit the U. S. since last February. Last night he was given reason to believe that that visit might not happen, or if it does happen it will be much later this year. He was supposed to be here for Christmas. And I don't think words can be given to the disappointment both of these men are feeling.
Disappointments, large and small, are such a part of life. We set our expectations and then something happens that we are not in control of, or prepared for ,and plans fall apart.
But, in the midst of all of this, there is always hope.
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:32 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Shoe is On The Other Foot!
I don't know if I have mentioned often enough how much I appreciate my mom. I must admit that she gets smarter and smarter as I get older. And I KNOW I haven't mentioned enough how much I appreciate my mom (are you reading today, Mom?)
Yesterday, I went into my girls' room and just dumped all the stuff they had lying around into a big pile in the middle of the room. Mom would do that when we were kids. I'd walk into my room to find everything that had been lying around the house and my room all dumped into one big pile. And it drove me crazy!! You know, why couldn't she have just asked?
Now I know the truth. She did ask. She begged. She told, and she demanded. And I ignored. I made excuses. I told her I had cleaned my room when she could plainly see socks, sweaters, little bits of paper, tissues, toys all over the place. Sorry, Mom!
The only thing worse than finding the pile of junk was when I would come home to a perfectly clean room A MOM-clean room. Everything put away. Which meant she had been in there with......the garbage bag.....
And yes, I admit, I do this too. And my kids hate it. But they don't hate it enough to pick up after themselves. Sorry, Mom!
I wonder if my sister and I fought enough while cleaning our room, that we ended up grounded for 3 days??
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 8:48 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Labels: Being the mom, Daily life, Mom
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I've never straightened my hair before. I got it cut today and my awesome hairdresser offered to straighten it!
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 3:53 PM 9 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Birthdays at the Jobe Abode
Normally when people say "poor Josiah" having all those sisters, I roll my eyes. "Poor Josiah" has his own room (the girls all share one.) His own clothes. Boy toys. In many ways, that Little Man has it pretty good. But yesterday was his birthday. And the girls wanted to put on a a show for him. Actually, they like any reason to put on a show. Now, I don't pretend to understand them, or their costuming choices, but here is the best I can do to show you how his sisters celebrated Josiah's birthday. You'll just have to pretend you can hear the soundtrack from HSM3, turned up loudly!!
(This is the dress Olivia wore in a wedding a few weeks ago. I think she has had it on at least once a day since then!)
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 4:04 PM 8 comments Links to this post
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 3:56 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Josiah Is 5!
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 3:54 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Just an observation from this morning....
Posted by Mom to 5...Daughter of the King at 1:07 PM 7 comments Links to this post


text:
Target customers urged to monitor bank, credit card statements
Consumers overload Target's customer account system
Milwaukee-area Target shoppers are finding it difficult to get any answers after a massive security breach.
Credit and debit card information, from more than 40 million Target customers, might be at risk.
VIDEO: Customers find it hard to get help with Target security breach
Experts are warning this could be just the start of the security concern.
The security breech happened as Target shoppers flooded stores over Thanksgiving weekend, and it lasted for more than two weeks.
Now, news of it has shoppers like Julie Gomez on alert.
"I did not use my card today, so that's for sure," Gomez said.
"Have you over the past couple of weeks?" WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott asked.
"Yeah, just a couple of times though, so I'm watching the statements very carefully," Gomez said.
Monitoring bank and credit card statements is exactly what customers are being urged to do.
Waterstone Bank is among many local banks reporting an increase in calls from concerned customers.
"It does put a lot of onus on you to follow up. You have to be vigilant on your credit. You're going to have to monitor this for a while," Waterstone Bank CIO Don Bray said.
The Better Business Bureau warns it could lead to other types of online or email fraud.
"The scammers will come out of the woodwork, and they will try to spoof the name Target. They will try to use a bank account name, or a credit card company name," said Ran Hoth of the Better Business Bureau.
To complicate matters, customers overloaded Target's online customer account system and when callers tried to reach the customer service phone line, calls were getting dropped
WISN 12 News checked late Thursday afternoon and the toll-free hotline was still busy, and people still can't manage your personal credit account online, but Target does have a lot of information posted on its website about the steps customers can take to protect yourself.
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating, and the good news, Target said it has fixed the security breach, and it's again safe to use cards at its stores.
If anyone notices suspicious charges on their credit or debit cards, they should notify their credit card companies and call Target at 866-852-8680.
People can also contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling the FTC at 877 438-4338.