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The range topping Focus SL 1.0 features new Sram Red and Zipp 404's (Warren Rossiter/BikeRadar.com)
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What's new from Focus Bikes in 2013? We travelled to their base in Cloppenburg, Germany to look at the range. Here's what's on offer in the road, urban and cyclo-cross areas.
Focus Izalco Team SL
Focus had huge success with the Izalco
winning Cycling Plus's bike of the year this year, and numerous other awards
worldwide. They haven't rested on their laurels though, and with the imminent
announcement of a return to the ProTour front line with a new team sponsorship
they felt the need to further improve the existing Izalco Team platform.
This has resulted in taking the Izalco
back to the drawing board. The frame has been optimised with regards to its
carbon lay-up, a new BB shell (which switches to the PF30 standard) is now all
carbon, and the weight of the all carbon drop-outs reduced. The frame now also
comes in two guises, one specific to electronic transmissions, one for
mechanical. Even small touches like the seat collar have been looked at with
the new carbon collar tipping the scales at a svelte 14g. The frame weight has
dropped below the magical kilo to a claimed 934g too.
The Izalco team range starts with the SL 4.0 equipped with
new Sram Red and Fulcrum's new CPX2.5 wheelset at £3699, the SL 3.0 with
Campagnolo Record EPS, and Fulcrum Racing Zero's for £5999, SL 2.0 with new 11
speed Dura Ace Di2 and DT Swiss Dicut RR21 wheels at the same price, and topped
by the SL1.0 with new Sram Red and Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels for £6499.
The remaining models under the Izalco banner use the
existing frame from this year, with one significant change. Gone is the 3T fork,
replaced with a new fork designed by the team at Focus for a better integration
into the frame and an all-carbon construction helping to keep the weight down.
The Campagnolo Record EPS equipped Sl 3.0 contunues its Italian flavour with
Fulcrum's Racing Zero wheels
Izalco Ergoride
Ergoride platform takes the lightweight construction and handling
characteristics of the Izalco and adapts it to a lower slung compact frame
shape and a rear end designed to offer improved comfort over rougher road
The range topping 1.0 (£2999) comes with a Shimano Dura Ace 11 speed group,
and Rotor cranks and running on Fulcrum's new CPX1700 wheels. Aftermarket these
will be known as the Racing Quattro's and offer a true aero shape, including Fulcrum's new
hub flange design – all in a tough package (the 1700 in the name denotes the
wheel weight for the pair). The Ergoride comes in three models with an
additional three women's specific models.
The Ergoride 3.0 is available with standard or triple Shimano Ultegra with
Fulcrum wheels and a smattering of FSA parts for £1999
Focus Cayo
The Cayo
Evo was a brand new design for 2012, so for 2013 nothing much has changed,
though thankfully the range has expanded to more finish options and a much
wider price range. We've tested the Focus Cayo Evo recently and been hugely impressed with
its sharp handling and nicely balanced ride. That it can now be had for a
little as £1375 (6.0 Shimano 105 model) is a real bonus.
At the top of the Evo range is the 1.0, equipped with Campagnolo Chorus carbon
and Vision T42 carbon aero wheels it'll set you back £2899.
Culebro SL
By Focus's
own admission the previous aluminium platform was getting a little long in the
tooth so they've had the new Culerbro in development for the last couple of
years. The all-new frame is now completely triple butted, with the main top and
downtubes having a little more shaping in the form of hydrofromed touches. This
has added up to an all-in frame weight of around 1400g, and that's good for what
is essentially an entry level road frame.
The slender seat stays are designed
to offer plenty more compliance over the previous aluminium model. Focus's new aluminium road bike the Culebro has a five model range from the £649 5.0 Sora
equipped model to an Ultegra equipped version at £1399.
The Culebro is offered in two versions
with Ultegra, the range topping 1.0 or in our opinion this more interesting 2.0
with Ultegra mechs and shifters, and FSA chainset and Concept brakes for £999
The new
Planet range from Focus is a series of Cannondale Bad Boy style tough commuter
bikes with the range topped by the very interesting Planet Carbon. Looking at
the all-carbon frame and fork complete with disc mounts front and rear, built with massive clearances for big volume tyres (or plenty of mud clearance) and
you've got what we think is Focus's trial run for an all-carbon cyclocross
bike. Talking it over with Focus's head of road bike development and it turns
out we weren't far from the truth.
The Planet
Carbon comes with Sram's Apex group, fully hydraulic brakes in the form of
Magura's MT2's and a disc specific wheels and all-new Continental Urban tyre
(35c) designed in conjunction with Focus for the Planet range, all for £1459.
The rest of the Planet range features aluminium frames and a price range between
£649 and £999.
All carbon frame, hydraulic brakes, massive tyre clearances, the new
Planet Carbon would be a great basis for a cyclocross bike. As it stands for
£1459 it's a lightweight and tough urban commuter.
Focus have
expanded the Mares line-up with four carbon models, and four aluminium. The carbon
line-up is topped with a team replica model based on the Focus-Rapha bike, as
ridden by Jeremy Powers to US national champ status. The aluminium line-up
includes two disc equipped bikes, the racing focussed AX2.0 and the commuter
ready AX4.0.
The Team
Focus-Rapha matches the spec of the pro bike as closely as possible, mixing
Easton EC90sl tubular wheels, Sram Red, and Easton carbon finishing kit. Making
for a lightweight (for cross) 7kg race rig. The Mares CX1.0 Rapha to give it
its full name will retail for £3999, and in limited numbers.
Bold paint, chromed cables and massive clearances for the CX4.0
You can follow BikeRadar on Twitter at twitter.com/bikeradar and on Facebook at facebook.com/BikeRadar.
You can also improve your fitness and train with us on bikeradar.com/training.
Bron: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikeRadar/feeds/~3/j0sRg_Mpxtc/story01.htm


text:
Listings in Taxonomy and Metadata, Content Services, Consulting Services and Case Management in Kensington
in Taxonomy and Metadata, Security, Search, Records Management, Information Governance, Data Privacy, Content Services, Archiving/Preservation
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10800 Connecticut Ave
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United States

subset: commoncrawl


text:
One of my favorite bloggers, The Librarian In Black (a.k.a. Sarah Houghton) had the opportunity to participate in a "State of the Union Tweet-Up" last night, which she describes in her latest post, "Ms. Librarian Goes to Washington." The event included a tour of the White House, and then Houghton and a select few got to have a Q & A "with Aneesh Chopra, the U.S. Chief Technology Officer, other technology advisor folks, and a surprise visit with Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram." Sarah even got to ask a question about copyright!
I jumped in with the second question and asked how the administration planned to address the failed system of copyright in a digital media age, particularly the restrictive DMCA, and cited how some vendors refuse to sell digital content to libraries. Chopra's practiced very political response was that copyright was a macro-policy issue, and then he talked about the administration's work on sharing and open data standards through leading by example-their work on the Learning Registry and other open education and data initiatives (check out all the stuff at data.gov). He did use the phrase "metadata standards," which literally made me shiver. I guess I am a true librarian nerd girl at heart (as if there was any doubt)! Other questions asked about healthcare records, open data standards, SOPA and PIPA, broadband, delegating some of the wireless spectrum to public safety officials, resources for primary education, and more.
Her blog entry was written prior to the actual address, so it will be interesting to see what it was like to "tweet" with an estimated 50 other people at this constitutionally-required event.
Have you ever participated in a major political event such as this using Twitter or other social media? Tell us about it!


text:
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Eleven-year-old Sy'Keirra English strides confidently to the front of the classroom and greets her teacher in his native language — Arabic.
Atheed Azzet could not be more pleased. It has been three months, and the kids are grasping phrases that few of them had ever heard before he entered their lives.
This tall, slim Iraqi clearly holds the allegiance of the sixth-graders at William C. March Middle School, located in a tough section of East Baltimore. When he beckons, they flock to the blackboard to draw Arabic's unfamiliar swirls and dots. When he approaches in the hall, they utter the greeting "Marhaba," hoping to impress.
Azzet's encouraging manner and gentle eyes belie the roiling story that brought him from Baghdad to Baltimore. It's a tale of harsh prison cells, unspeakable loss, adventures in war correspondence and uncertain days in an unfamiliar land.
Azzet is 38, but he has already lived at least four distinct lives.
After a youth of peace and privilege, he learned just how cruel life could be when lived at the whim of a murderous dictator. Hope returned on the wings of American invaders only to be stained again by the blood of sectarian violence. And then Azzet fled the country his forefathers had built, defended and cherished. As he approaches middle age, he is trying to build a new life — as an American.
He brings all of that with him every Monday and Tuesday to his classroom at William C. March Middle. When Azzet began teaching in August, his sixth-graders knew little of Iraq besides televised images of war. But their curiosity about his beloved country has touched him. He laughs, remembering how one student handed him a list of questions and asked him to fill it out. "Did they watch 'The Simpsons' in Baghdad?" the boy wanted to know.
"I can tell them things about the region," says Erin Divers, a media specialist at William C. March who initiated the search for an Arabic teacher. "But we're really grateful to have a native speaker on board. The kids love him."
Though the number of U.S. schools teaching Arabic has increased in the decade since the Sept. 11 attacks, it's still minuscule compared to the numbers teaching Spanish, French and even Chinese. William C. March is the first Baltimore public school to pilot an Arabic class. Anne Arundel County recently won a $35,000 grant to create after-school Arabic programs.
Divers says that by broadening the students' horizons, she hopes to put them on more even ground with peers from affluent districts.
"I'm very grateful for this opportunity to share the culture I lived in for most of my life," Azzet says.
Though the part-time job is not guaranteed to last past January, it has helped him feel peace and joy that were hard to come by for great portions of his life.
"He wanted to come here, he's a good person and he wanted to do nothing but right," says former Baltimore Sun foreign correspondent Todd Richissin, who worked with Azzet in Iraq and helped bring him to the U.S. "Now, the right thing is happening for him. That is satisfying."
Imprisoned in Iraq
Azzet was reared in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood, the eldest son of an army general and a physics teacher. His grandfather had been mayor of the capital city, and Azzet knew little but peace and comfort as a youth. The family even lived in McLean, Va., for five years when he was in elementary school and his father was stationed at the Iraqi Embassy.
He felt little need to question Saddam Hussein in those years of stability and prosperity. That began to change after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and Azzet's father spoke out against the regime's aggression. Friends warned Ali Azzet that his words were not worth the risk.
"My father was a stubborn guy," Azzet says. "But no one can stand in front of a mountain. Saddam was a mountain."
It was 1996 and Azzet was a senior in college, on his way to class one December morning when a police officer stopped his car. He wondered what was amiss as the man examined his identification papers. Then, four dark vehicles surrounded them. "It's him," the officer said to red-and-white-scarved agents, who seized Azzet.
He later learned that Hussein's henchmen had taken him so they would have leverage when they questioned his father, who was imprisoned the same day. "But he didn't confess any of his friends," Azzet says with pride.
Azzet says he also refused to provide information about his father and family friends. Day after day, he says, his captors slipped a blindfold over his eyes, bound his wrists and dragged him to a room where they barraged him with questions. Had he talked with his father about opposing the regime? No. Well, then, had he overheard the general's conversations with other rebels?
On frigid nights, the guards, stinking of alcohol, cast Azzet outside in scant clothing.
He saw his father twice while in prison, he says, once so the old general could observe that his son really was in custody, and once as they stood together before a military judge. The judge asked Azzet only if he was a member of Hussein's Ba'ath Party. He said he was. The judge then told him he would be executed.
"Congratulations," his father said cryptically as Azzet was hauled from the chamber.
Two weeks later, Azzet was freed as abruptly as he had been taken. The family received no word of his father's fate until three months later, when the phone rang and a voice told Azzet to come and retrieve the patriarch's body. The man who had taught him discipline and self-respect was gone.
Tears well in his eyes as he recalls that day and the last day he saw his father alive. Azzet believes his father said "congratulations" because he had agreed to die so his son would be released.
The family was not allowed to mourn Ali Azzet publicly. They buried him quietly, beside his parents. It was a story all too familiar to Iraqis who lived under Hussein's capricious reign.
"Saddam was the enemy of Iraq," Azzet says. "No son of Iraq would do these things."
'A new birth'
For the next six years, Azzet lived in a kind of haze, irrevocably scarred by his country's ruler but unwilling to leave until he saw Hussein toppled. He carried his father's 9 mm pistol everywhere he went, determined never to be captured again. Azzet lived as quietly as possible, finishing his computer science degree and working for a private company that specialized in translating documents.
Azzet's hopes swelled in late 2002, when U.S. troops began to mass in Kuwait. He welcomed an invasion, believing it would be Hussein's last stand. He remembers walking around Baghdad a week before the Iraqi army surrendered, staring in disbelief at the bodies of Hussein's former security officers. After decades of imposing terror, they had succumbed more quickly than anyone dreamed.
"It was just like a new birth," Azzet says. On the day Hussein was captured, he celebrated by firing six shots from his AK-47 into the air.
Azzet's English impressed a Chicago reporter who spoke with him outside his home during the early days of the war. She referred him to Richissin, who needed a "fixer," one of the natives who help foreign correspondents translate, navigate and talk their way out of hairy situations.
"He was the first person I saw in Iraq wearing a suit," says Richissin, laughing at his memory of their first meeting. But the Sun reporter was quickly impressed with Azzet's grasp of the nuances and colloquialisms of English. It was obvious, he thought, that Azzet had watched plenty of American television.
The men quickly built a rapport.
Richissin was beside Azzet at one of the most difficult moments of his life, the day when he revisited the presidential palace where he and his father had been imprisoned. Nooses still hung from the ceiling, with sweat stains on the rope.
"It was just so vivid," Richissin recalls. "I think that allowed him to wrap his arms around something that he would never have been able to otherwise."
"For a moment, I wished I was there again," Azzet says, "so I could see my father alive."
He pauses as the emotion of the day washes back over him. "I had to go back there to put it behind me," he says finally.
Most of his days as a translator were a lot less solemn. For six months, Azzet worked with a succession of reporters from The Sun and Denver's Rocky Mountain News.
"It was like a dream to work with Americans," Azzet says. "Their enthusiasm about knowing our culture and traditions, how much they wanted to know about people."
While working with journalists, he met other Americans who helped him get consulting jobs in the effort to rebuild Iraq. In the three years he performed that work, he saw terrifying sights as the insurgents grew bolder in their attacks. Once, Azzet says, a U.S. Army Humvee in front of his vehicle flipped into the air, propelled by an improvised explosive device.
His mother asked him to quit.
"Mom, it's an obligation," he remembers telling her.
Leaving his home
As pleased as Azzet was by the fall of Hussein, he was perplexed by American decision-making in the wake of the invasion: Why did the U.S. fail to cultivate the Iraqi army to manage security? Why were the ascendant politicians men who had lived outside the country for years?
Darkness quickly returned in the form of sectarian violence, which erupted right up to the doorstep of the comfortable brick house where Azzet's family had lived for nearly 40 years.
One day, he came home to see a dog feeding on a mutilated body in the street. "We could not live here anymore," he says simply.
First, he sent his mother and youngest brother to Egypt. Three months later, he departed for Jordan, where his uncle was a successful physician. Azzet still harbored dreams of returning home once Baghdad settled. But then a call came from neighbors — the Azzets' home had been ransacked in the night, their two cars stolen from the garage.
Azzet and his mother returned one last time to survey their losses. "We gave away the rest of our stuff to neighbors, we locked the doors, and we left," he says. "That was the last time I saw my country."
He went back to Jordan for a few months, but his mind had turned to the U.S. and its comparative multitude of opportunities. With Richissin, who left The Sun in 2007, nudging State Department officials, Azzet secured a work visa. In July 2008, he stepped off a plane outside Baltimore, where he would sleep on Richissin's couch for the first month.
Azzet expected to get a job working with computers, but he arrived at the dawn of the worst recession the U.S. had seen in decades.
Jason Bridges, a Columbia accountant who befriended Azzet, tried recommending him to various companies. "He has all this education," Bridges says. "But a lot of people just didn't know what to do with his resume. I think it bothered him. It would bother me."
He survived on odd jobs, translating documents, teaching Arabic to adults, guarding warehouses.
Azzet made connections with Baltimore's small Iraqi community, but socializing wasn't always easy either. He didn't have a car at first, and American dating customs were unfamiliar to him. "You know, it's stuff as simple as 'How do you flirt?'" Richissin says, describing his friend's adjustment pains.
A proud teacher
But Azzet's life has eased in the past year. He met an Iraqi woman whose family lives in Northern Virginia, and they married. They live in a White Marsh apartment. His mother, Nawal, came to the U.S. in January, and he expects his youngest brother, Aws, to arrive this year.
Bridges recently hosted the Azzets for Thanksgiving, where they infused the standard meal with traditional Iraqi favorites such as dolmas. "My mother-in-law, who's not easy to please, said it was the best Thanksgiving ever," Bridges notes. "If we had more people like Atheed, it would really help the understanding between our cultures."
This summer, Azzet responded to an advertisement on Craigslist for the teaching job at William C. March. He worried that the students would reject Arabic as a frivolous subject with little connection to their lives. So he couched it practically, telling them that if he hadn't mastered a second language, English, he would have been out of luck when his computer degree failed to pay off.
"After the first two weeks, they began realizing, 'This is an opportunity for us,'" Azzet says. "Now, they want to learn something new every day."
Terrell Carr, 12, likes the way Arabic letters look when he scrawls them on the board. "This is one of my favorite classes," he says. "My top No. 1. When I grow up, I might want to go into the Army and be a translator there."
The only thing classmate Damonte Matthews, 11, doesn't like about Azzet is the swiftness with which he issues warnings for talking out in class. "I've learned a lot from him," Matthews says, before reeling off a string of Arabic words.
Azzet beams, describing how well the students performed during a recent visit to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington.
All is not settled, however.
William C. March Principal Iona Spikes describes Azzet as "awesome" and says that "we absolutely anticipate having him back." But his contract will run out in January, and the school is scrambling to find money to keep him.
Maybe his life will take another turn, something he's used to by now.
It's a Friday in mid-December, the day after the U.S. declared an official end to the war in Iraq. Azzet sits with his mother in the cozy living room of his apartment, watching the news on a flat-screen television with deep ambivalence. He wants to believe that his country can stand on its own feet, that it might be a place to which he could return. But his gut tells him that day lies many years in the future.
"I miss my house, my neighbors, my family," says his mother, a regal woman whose face brightens when she's asked about Azzet's following in her footsteps as a teacher. She is happy to be with her son in a safe place, but really, she never wanted to leave.
"We're always optimistic," Azzet says. "It's normal for any human being. When you're pulled out of your home, you want to go back."
He also misses Iraq every day, even more since he began telling the students stories of his country. He wants to visit his father's grave and pray for him. That inability tears at him more than anything.
"It's not a victory," he says, as images flicker of American troops arriving back from war. "When you say mission accomplished, that means you fight to the end. And it's not the end in Iraq."


text:
Like most lounge musicians, Joe Vento plays requests. It's rare that a guest stumps him. In fact, he claims to have 22,000 songs committed to memory.
He's had plenty of years to learn them. Vento will turn 95 in December.
He performs on a Steinway on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Royal Resort, but he could just as easily play the requests, from "Moon River" to "My Way," on any of about 60 instruments.
Vento took up the violin at age 2. At 6, in a competition against grownups, he walked off with first prize for his rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the accordion. By 11, he was enrolled at the Juilliard School in New York.
In the hotel's lobby, people gather to not only listen to Vento tickling the ivories, but to hear his tales of the countless celebrities with whom he has worked.
"There was one thing about the Rat Pack," he told a recent audience. "They never had a script. You had to be ready to do whatever they wanted to do."
Dressed in a blue silk shirt and a tie adorned with piano keys, he went on to describe Ann-Margret as "a very kind, tender person," Elvis Presley as a "nice man," Frank Sinatra as "staid" and "reclusive," and Liberace as "a humble guy." He said he still cherishes the gold cuff links Liberace once gave him as a gift.
In his younger years, Vento performed music for about 2,000 television shows and movies, including classics such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "The Godfather." He said he keeps performing to keep his fingers nimble.
"Do these look like the hands of a 94-year-old?" he asked between songs. Many of those who have pulled up a chair are on their way to or from dinner at Barrymore, the hotel's restaurant. They slowly fill a tip jar with one- and five-dollar bills, and the occasional twenty.
Vento shows no sign of slowing down. Like music, longevity is apparently in his genes. He said his mother lived to be 107.
The Royal Resort is at 99 Convention Center Drive, less than a block east of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Courtesy of Los Angeles Times


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LOS ANGELES - In 1956, Terry 'Tubesteak' Tracy, freshly fired from his job at a downtown Los Angeles insurance company, bid goodbye to the 9-to-5 life and headed for the Malibu shore, where he built himself a shack out of wood scraps and palm fronds and sailed into surfing history.
He was, according to surfing historian Matt Warshaw, a decent surfer, but his ticket to glory wasn't what he did on a board: It was the aesthetic he embraced. Tracy, better known by the nickname 'Tubesteak,' was the personification of the rebellious surf subculture that emerged in California in the late 1950s. He was an anti-authoritarian sage in Wayfarer shades and Madras shorts who made bumming on the beach the essence of cool and an irresistible draw for a girl he called Gidget.
An impresario of Malibu beach when it became the most famous surf break in the world, Tracy died Wednesday at his home in San Clemente, Calif., of complications of diabetes, said his wife, Phyllis. He was 77.
Although he hadn't ridden the waves in decades, he was revered as an elder statesman of the surfing world, known in later years for the articles he wrote about the crazy parties and beach pranks that became, Surfer's Journal publisher Steve Pezman wrote this week in a tribute, 'anthems to true surfer style.'
The burly bohemian was holding court outside his Malibu shack in the summer of '56 when a petite teenager named Kathy Kohner wandered by to borrow a surfboard. Five feet tall and 95 pounds, she reminded Tracy of a teensy girl he once met who had been dubbed Gidget, a mash up of 'girl' and 'midget.' Inspired by the memory, Tracy later said, he called Kohner that - and the name stuck.
When she told her screenwriter father, Frederick Kohner, about the characters she met on the beach, he turned her stories into a novel, 'Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas,' published in 1957.
With the release of the 1959 movie, which starred Sandra Dee as the title character and featured Cliff Robertson as a Tracy-inspired shack-dweller named the Big Kahuna, the surfer lifestyle blazed by Tracy and others exploded into popular culture, giving rise to a slew of sequels ('Gidget Goes Hawaiian,' 'Gidget Goes to Rome'), musical groups such as the Beach Boys, and a popular 1960s sitcom starring Sally Fields as the fun-and-sun-loving pixie.
Although Tracy claimed the distinction, Kohner isn't sure he was the first surfer to call her Gidget. 'I didn't write it down in my diary, so it's up for grabs,' she said Wednesday. But what is certain, she said, was that 'we've lost one of the legends of Malibu. He just embodied surf culture.' And unlike other Malibu regulars, he was kind to newcomers.
'Some of the surfers would bury my surfboard or disconnect the distributor in my car,' recalled Kohner, who goes by her married name Zuckerman, 'but Terry was always nice to me. I wanted to hang out at Tubesteak's shack, not at the pit with the hard-core surfers.'
The son of a Shell oil company worker and a housewife, Tracy was born in Los Angeles on March 13, 1935, and graduated from Cathedral High School. A football player of some promise, he attended Santa Monica City College but, unable to resist the allure of the beach, dropped out after a year.
At 15 he was surfing regularly at San Onofre State Beach, where he met Miki Dora, whose graceful surfing style would make him a hero of the sport.
According to Tracy's wife, he received his colorful nickname from Dora, who died of cancer at 67 in 2002. Tracy gave various explanations for the name. Sometimes he said Tubesteak was slang for a hotdog, which in turn is slang for a showoff, which Tracy often was. Other times he said the name came from his working at a restaurant called Tubesteak's.
Regardless of the origin, it was, say those who knew him, the perfect moniker for a surfing chieftain with a wry sense of humor and flair for performance
In his book 'The History of Surfing,' Warshaw described how every afternoon at Malibu Tracy paddled into the crowded surf and waited for one long wave. Then he would mount his board and, with onlookers whistling and shouting their approval, strike a series of exaggerated poses, including a stiff-legged move with arms outstretched that he called the Royal Hawaiian.
Upon returning to the sand, 'grinning like Falstaff,' Warshaw wrote, 'Tracy would stop and look up at his still-cheering audience, lift his chin and grandly raise a hand in acknowledgment.'
When his show was over, he resumed his perch by the shack, where he plotted further antics. Most memorably, he once dressed up as Father Junipero Serra and rode down the beach on a donkey.
He left Malibu in the late 1950s after a lifeguard berated him for lighting a fire to melt wax for his board. By then he had a family to support and held a number of occupations over the years, including driving a truck and selling real estate.
He stopped surfing in 1980 when he developed a painful swelling in one of his feet. That was just as well, he told the Los Angeles Times several years later, when he moved to San Clemente, because 'people over 40 who surf look stupid.' He made San Onofre beach his hangout.
'Surfing didn't have a sense of humor until Terry came along,' Warshaw said this week. 'What Terry recognized was that having a good time was the point, not the byproduct, of surfing at the beach. He was the guy who was having the best time.'
In addition to his wife of 54 years, Tracy is survived by seven children, Pamela Guinn, Jennifer Tracy, Jocelyn Graham, and Patrick, Michael, Jonathan and Moe Tracy, all of whom he taught to surf, and eight grandchildren.
--- &Copy;2012 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services


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I wanted to get a copy of Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl , and Walmart had it cheapest - at the beginning of MArch I ordered the "Vocal Collection" (one of several complete series box sets available for it) for about $14. In hindsight, I did everything wrong - the set is manufactured by Anime Works (not much I can do about that though), and I selected in-store pickup for the online purchase so I wouldn't have to pay shipping.
It took nearly two weeks to arrive at the store. I picked it up, but didn't open it for a couple weeks because I was busy with school. When I finally opened it, I found that the tabs that hold the first disc in place were broken, and the disc was loose and scratched up.
I sent an email to Walmart customer service asking if I could get a replacement. I got this gem of a response:
I let them know they had sent me an unedited form letter skeleton, and they issued a return/replacement. I ripped the episodes I needed to make an AMV off the disc and sent it back.Thank you for contacting Walmart.com regarding [Fill in the blank: Example: "your damaged chair", "your late order", "the status of your order", "etc"].
If we have not fully answered your question or you have additional questions, please reply to this email.
Walmart.com Customer Care
Two weeks later, the second copy arrived at the Walmart store. I opened it at the pickup counter, and lo and behold, it was broken in the same way as the first one. I showed it to the employee who got it from the back for me, but he said he couldn't do anything.
I emailed them again, angry I had received two broken copies of the same series, and that I had to drive to the store twice. They responded they were "looking into the issue" and I'd hear back "within a few business days".
After 14 days, I hadn't heard anything, so I sent another email asking what was going on. "We have escalated the issue to a higher department" was all I got in response. I spent another two weeks trying to get information on what the hell was going on but they wouldn't say anything, not even who it was escalated to (I'm pretty sure "escalated to a higher department" is code for "fuck you, we aren't even looking into it"). After my persistent emails, a customer service rep offered to refund the cost if I returned the second copy. I explained I just wanted an undamaged copy, but I'd settle for keeping the damaged one and getting a refund if they couldn't figure out a way to send me one that wasn't broken. The employee said they couldn't do that, so I again asked for another replacement, and they finally issued one.
Surprise, surprise, the third copy (which I also opened in the store) was broken in the same way as the first two. I showed it to about five employees, but they store staff can't help with online orders, and emailed Walmart.com pictures of the broken case on the pick-up counter to prove it was still in the store when I opened it.
At this point I'd driven to Walmart three times, and it wasn't exactly close, so I was probably closing on spending more money on gas than the damned DVD cost in the first place. I sent a complaint to the Better Business Bureau, explaining that I had received three broken copies of the same series, I didn't think that Walmart.com staff were willing to or capable of being helpful, I was sick of driving to the store to get broken copies, and I thought at this point it was fair to receive a partial refund and have the next replacement shipped to my house so I wouldn't have to drive anywhere.
I received a call the next day from a Walmart employee, who nervously indicated they were contacting the manufacturer directly and would have a fresh copy shipped to my house directly off the line, inspected by the factory staff to make sure it was intact. They also refunded me the full cost of the series. Sounds pretty good, right? Wait for it...
Yeah, the fourth copy came in the mail, and the tabs that hold the first disc in place were broken. Fan-goddamn-tastic. Luckily I filmed myself opening it in case it was broken again. I emailed Walmart and the BBB the video. A Walmart employee called me two weeks ago and said they were sorry, they didn't know what had happened, and they were trying to contact the manufacturer. Last week, they called me to helpfully let me know that the manufacturer wasn't answering but they were still investigating. It's been another week with no word. I guess I'll have to update the complaint again tomorrow.
Finally, in comparison, I ordered both volumes of 3x3 Eyes from Amazon last Friday. Two discs arrived on Tuesday, but they were both volume 1. I requested a return/exchange from Amazon, and they immediately refunded me the full cost of the second volume, told me to keep the extra copy of the first volume, and told me to order the second volume again with 1-day shipping and they would waive the shipping fee. Amazon rocks. Walmart can kiss my ass.


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To understand Friday the 13th's fall from grace, scholars have first tried to determine what about the number 13 rubs so many people across so many cultures the wrong way. Some have suggested that its nasty reputation dates back to at least 1780 B.C., when the ancient Babylonian legal document known as the Code of Hammurabi was enacted without a 13th law; this hypothesis has been questioned, however, since the original text did not include numeration. Others have pointed out that 13's younger sibling, the number 12, traditionally signifies completeness: There are 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 months of the year, 12 hours on the clock and 12 tribes of Israel, among other famous dozens. Anywhere outside a bakery, then, 13 is considered a transgression of this rule.
But why are Fridays that fall on a month's 13th day so vilified? According to biblical sources, Friday was the day on which Eve offered Adam the forbidden fruit and Jesus was crucified. Another popular theory links the superstition to the demise of the Knights Templar, a monastic military order whose members were arrested en masse by France's King Philip IV on Friday, October 13, 1307.
Popular culture further denigrated Friday the 13th as early as 1907, when Thomas Lawson wrote a book about a broker who tries to bring down Wall Street on that day. Then, the American cultural touchstone that is the "Friday the 13th" horror film franchise debuted in 1980, forever associating the day with a machete-wielding psychopath in a hockey mask. The most recent installment premiered in 2009.
Over the years, attempts have been made to debunk the notion that 13 is an unlucky number and prove that Friday the 13th is a day like any other. In the 1880s a group of influential New Yorkers formed a club for that express purpose, taking particular offense at the unwritten rule against seating 13 people at a table. (Legend had it that one of the 13 would die within a year, a belief that may have roots in the story of Jesus' last supper, and that one guest would become seriously ill if the meal took place on Friday the 13th.) The group's leader was William Fowler, a Civil War veteran with a defiant fondness for the dreaded figure: He had served with distinction in 13 major battles, retired from the army on August 13, 1863, and leased the club's future headquarters, a Manhattan tavern called the Knickerbocker Cottage, on the 13th day of the following month.
Fowler officially founded the Thirteen Club in 1880 and invited his acquaintances to dine together in groups of 13 on the 13th day of each month. It would take a year for the decorated captain to draft 13 men plucky enough to attempt the feat. Finally, the inaugural dinner took place on Friday, January 13, 1881, in room 13 of the Knickerbocker. Since Fowler and his like-minded recruits hoped to flout as many old wives' tales as possible, they entered by walking under a ladder and sat down to a table covered in spilled salt. Fowler's brainchild became one of New York's most distinguished and popular clubs, attracting nearly 500 members by 1887. Other branches cropped up in other cities, some of which were open to women at a time when men dominated the country's social clubs. By the time the last of the Thirteen Clubs closed in the 1940s, five presidents had been granted honorary membership.
So how unlucky is Friday the 13th, really? Experts say accurate data is impossible to collect since many people around the world avoid certain activities, including travel and surgery, on that day. A 2008 Dutch study concluded that fewer automobile accidents, fires and crimes occur on Friday the 13th, adding the caveat that superstitious would-be victims may simply have stayed out of harm's way. Past Black Fridays notwithstanding, Friday the 13th may actually be a boon for finance: According to CNBC, the market has been up 80 times out of the past 140 Friday the 13ths.


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The NVIDIA NVS 810 graphics board delivers exceptional display connectivity, cost-effective scalability, and image management capabilities that make it easy to drive any kind of multi-display digital signage setup. It's the first of its kind to offer eight display outputs, combined with the world's most advanced GPU architecture—all in a single-slot form factor. NVS 810 is also ideal for creating dense signage solutions, delivering the uncompromised performance and reliability required to deploy demanding content in mission-critical signage installations.
ight mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connectors on the NVIDIA NVS 810 are capable of driving UHD 4K displays at 60 Hz. Plus, it provides advanced features like multi-streaming and stream cloning that enable extremely efficient cable management and display flexibility in complex installations. Key NVIDIA features like bezel correction, synchronization across 8 displays, Warp & Blend, and Mosaic make digital signage easy. This configuration of the NVS 810 includes eight locking mini-DisplayPort to DVI-D SL adapters for installations requiring DVI displays.
Eight Display Outputs
The NVS 810 leverages a dual GPU design to offer eight mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connectors capable of driving true 4K displays at 30 Hz. Plus, it provides advanced features like multi-streaming and stream cloning that enable extremely efficient cable management in complex installations. This version of the NVS 810 includes eight locking mDP to DVI-D SL adapters for installations requiring legacy DVI display support.
Extreme Scalability
The NVS 810 gives you the best mix of performance, single-slot form factor, quiet operation, and power efficiency. Simply combine multiple NVS 810 cards in a single system to create cost-effective, massive signage walls with extreme screen resolution.
Advanced Image Management
Tap into the NVIDIA DesignWorks™ suite of powerful tools to manage images on complex multi-display configurations. Technologies like NVIDIA Mosaic and Warp & Blend help you achieve even the most demanding display configurations with ease.
The NVS 810's dual display engines drive up to eight displays simultaneously and fully supports the next generation Display Port 1.2 standard capable of resolutions such as 4,096 x 2,160 at 30Hz. This configuration of the NVS 810 includes 8 mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapters for customers requiring DVI displays. NVS 810, when used with the nView Desktop Software utility, makes it easy to deploy multiple displays across a desktop or build an expansive digital signage wall.
NVS 810's integrated DisplayPort 1.2 Engine produces phenomenal photorealistic image quality while driving ultra-high-resolution panels (up to 4,096 x 2,160 at 30Hz). NVS 810 also supports advanced Display Port 1.2 features like multi-stream technology (MST) and stream cloning, which enable efficient cable management. MST allows an end-user to drive up to for independent displays simultaneously from any one display port output, while stream cloning enables NVS 810 to clone up-to four instances of each display output to drive a maximum of 32 displays.
End users can securely connect to DVI-D SL displays (this configuration PN VCNVS810DVI-PB) via the 8 included mDP to DVI-D SL adapters. A DisplayPort option, VCNVS810DP-PB is also available and an HDMI option, PN VCNVS810HDMI-PB will be offered in winter 2015.
Enables seamless taskbar spanning as well as transparent scaling of the desktop and applications across up to 16 displays (using two NVS 810 Graphics Cards) from a single workstation or PC while delivering full performance and image quality.
Combines high-definition video processors and software that delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for SD and HD video content. Features include, high-quality scaling, spatial temporal de-interlacing, inverse telecine and high quality dual HD video playback—with low CPU utilization and power consumption.
Dedicated H.264 encode engine that's independent of the 3D or compute pipeline which delivers faster than real-time performance for transcoding, video editing, and other encoding applications.
Reduces visible aliasing and delivers higher image quality without the performance hit by harnessing the power of the GPU's CUDA cores and new film-style AA techniques.
NVS 810's Energy Star compliant design reduces overall system energy costs by intelligently adapting the total power utilization of the graphics subsystem based on the applications being run by the end user. This power-optimized design helps reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increase reliability.
NVS 810's 4GB of dedicated memory delivers high throughput needed to drive hardware accelerated dual HD Blu-Ray video streams or interact with large textured models on up to 8 ultra-high resolution displays.
The NVS 810 is the ideal graphics solution to natively drive 8 displays, providing the optimal balance of performance, form factor and power efficiency when compared to dual graphics card configurations. NVS 810 utilizes the latest NVIDIA Maxwell GPU architecture to deliver higher performance and display resolution compared to previous generation NVS solutions without increasing overall power consumption.
Parallel-computing architecture that enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of the GPU (graphics processing unit). NVS 810 contains 1,024 NVIDIA CUDA parallel-computing cores compatible with all GPU-accelerated web, photo, video applications, as well as next-generation Internet technologies.
Enables data transfer rate up to 8 GB/sec per lane for an aggregate bandwidth of 32 GB/sec bi-directional (16 GB/sec in each direction).
Guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software drivers. This simplifies upgrading to a new NVIDIA solution because the latest driver supports all current NVIDIA products.
Built with a highly reliable, ultra-quiet fansink that efficiently cools the graphics without taxing the system fans resulting in a quieter desktop environment, as well as enabling multi-NVS 810 configurations in workstations and desktop systems.
Compatible with x86 32 and 64-bit microprocessor architectures and operating systems from Intel/AMD and Microsoft/Linux.
NVS 810 is tested on industry-leading business applications as well as certified to work in commercial desktop and workstations from multiple PC System Vendors to provide a highly reliable business environment.
Exhaustive Enterprise Management tools for maximizing your system uptime by enabling seamless wide scale deployment. Allows remote query and control of graphics and display settings for systems spread across installations.
This software utility delivers maximum flexibility for single large-display or multi-display options. This provides unprecedented end-user control of the desktop experience for increased productivity.
Dedicated NVIDIA NVS and PNY support teams for premium enterprise customers that are easily accessible to resolve their unique issues quickly.


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text:
In an initial victory for proponents of comprehensive immigration reform, the Senate on Tuesday easily passed a procedural vote to begin debate on the broad bipartisan measure, with just 15 senators -- all Republicans -- objecting.
Sen. Marco Rubio talks about immigration reform legislation in the Senate and his political future.
The preliminary 82-15 vote -- which required 60 votes for passage -- offers an initial show of strength for supporters of the legislation, although some Republicans who voted for the initial procedural measure say they will not support the final product unless amendments are added to strengthen the legislation's requirements to secure the nation's southern border.
A short while later, a vote on the motion to proceed -- which needed just a simple majority -- passed by a similar 84-15 margin.
The votes came hours after President Barack Obama, flanked by a broad array of supporters in remarks at the White House, urged Congress to act on the legislation and warned opponents that there is "no good reason to play procedural games or engage in obstruction."
"If you're serious about actually fixing the system, then this is the vehicle to do it," Obama said.
A final vote on the legislation is not expected until before the chamber's July 4 recess. Obama said Tuesday that he wants the bill to his desk by the end of the summer.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks Tuesday at the White House regarding proposed immigration reform legislation.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, an outspoken opponent of the bill, acknowledged after the vote that the bill likely has sufficient support in the upper chamber but warned that -- without changes -- it won't survive to a White House signing ceremony.
"This bill is going to pass the Senate, but as written, this bill will not pass the House," Cruz said.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Gang of Eight member and key GOP backer of the legislation, told reporters earlier Tuesday he believes the bill will pass out of the Senate but that it will need substantial Republican momentum to beat back opponents in the GOP-led House.
"If we get just a handful of Republicans I think it probably dies in the House, so I think it's imperative we get close to half our conference" for a final vote, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talks Tuesday about House Speaker John Boehner's view of immigration reform legislation in Congress.
The Senate will now spend the remainder of the month debating and amending the bill, with much of the legislative oxygen being devoted to amendments that Republicans say are designed to woo more support from GOP members.
One such measure is an amendment by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas that would put in place more stringent "triggers" for border security before undocumented immigrants with probationary legal status can apply for green cards.
Speaking with Cornyn at his side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pointed to the Texas lawmaker's proposed legislation as "the key amendment" that -- if adopted -- that would ensure border security to the satisfaction of Republicans.
Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill that he has been in conversations with Democratic members of the Gang of Eight about the amendment, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls "a poison pill."
"I think if they had 60 votes to pass the bill out of the Senate, they probably wouldn't be talking to me," Cornyn told reporters. "But they are, which tells me that they view this as a way to get out of the Senate on a bipartisan basis and give it some momentum and increase the likelihood of a bill passing in the House."
This story was originally published on Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:14 AM EDT


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text:
- Introduction
- Add a GeoJsonLayer to your map
- Remove the GeoJsonLayer
- Add and remove a GeoJsonFeature
- Access the GeoJsonFeatures and their properties
- Style the GeoJsonLayer and GeoJsonFeatures
- See the demo app
GeoJSON is an extension of the JSON data
format and represents geographical data. Using this utility, you can store
geographical features in GeoJSON format and render them as a layer on top of
the map. To add and remove your GeoJSON data to and from the map, call
addLayerToMap() and
removeLayerFromMap() respectively. Similarly
you can add and remove individual features by calling
addFeature() and
removeFeature() and passing in a
GeoJsonFeature object. If you want to access the features, you
can call
getFeatures() to get an iterable of all
GeoJsonFeature objects that have been added to the layer.
You can also set default styles to be applied to features before they are
added to the layer, by calling
getDefaultLineStringStyle() or
getDefaultPolygonStyle() and setting style options on each.
Alternatively, you can set the style for an individual
GeoJsonFeature by calling
setLineStringStyle() or
setPolygonStyle() on the
feature and passing in the relevant style object.
Add a GeoJsonLayer to your map
To add a GeoJson layer to the map, first create an instance of a GeoJsonLayer class. There are two ways to instantiate the GeoJsonLayer.
To import from a
JSONObject, you need the following:
GoogleMapobject where the layer is to be rendered
JSONObjectcontaining the GeoJSON data to be added to the layer
GeoJsonLayer layer = new GeoJsonLayer(getMap(), geoJsonData);
To import from a local GeoJSON file you need the following:
GoogleMapobject where the layer is to be rendered
- Local resource file containing the GeoJSON data
Contextobject, which is required to open a local resource file
GeoJsonLayer layer = new GeoJsonLayer(getMap(), R.raw.geoJsonFile, getApplicationContext());
After you have created the
GeoJsonLayer, call
addLayerToMap() to add the imported data onto the map:
Remove the GeoJsonLayer
Let's assume that you have added this layer
GeoJsonLayer layer = new GeoJsonLayer(getMap(), geoJsonData);
To clear the GeoJsonLayer, call
Add and remove a GeoJsonFeature
A feature in GeoJSON has the type "feature". It contains a geometry, a property member and optionally has a bounding box or an id.
You can create
GeoJsonFeature objects individually, and add them
to the
Let's assume that you've created a feature containing a point at 0, 0 with one entry in its properties and no bounding box.
GeoJsonPoint point = new GeoJsonPoint(new LatLng(0, 0)); HashMap<String, String> properties = new HashMap<String, String>(); properties.put("Ocean", "South Atlantic"); GeoJsonFeature pointFeature = new GeoJsonFeature(point, "Origin", properties, null);
To add the feature to the layer, call
addFeature() and pass in
the feature to add.
To remove a feature after adding it to the layer, call
removeFeature() and pass in the feature to remove.
Access the GeoJsonFeatures and their properties
To access all the GeoJsonFeatures that have been added to the layer, you can
getFeatures() on the
GeoJsonLayer that you
have created. This will return an iterable of
that you can access using a for-each loop as shown below.
for (GeoJsonFeature feature : layer.getFeatures()) { // do something to the feature }
Use the
hasProperty() and
getProperty() methods in
conjunction with the
getFeatures() method to check if each stored
feature has a particular property and access it if it exists.
GeoJsonPoint point = new Point(new LatLng(0, 0)); HashMap<String, String> properties = new HashMap<String, String>(); properties.put("Ocean", "South Atlantic"); GeoJsonFeature pointFeature = new GeoJsonFeature(point, "Origin", properties, null); for (GeoJsonFeature feature : layer.getFeatures()) { if (feature.hasProperty("Ocean")) { String oceanProperty = feature.getProperty("Ocean"); } }
GeoJSON Geometry Click Events
You can use
GeoJsonLayer.OnFeatureClickListener() to listen for click events on the
geometry features on the map. The following example logs the title of a feature when the user
clicks the feature:
// Set a listener for geometry clicked events. mLayer.setOnFeatureClickListener(new GeoJsonLayer.OnFeatureClickListener() { @Override public void onFeatureClick(Feature feature) { Log.i("GeoJsonClick", "Feature clicked: " + feature.getProperty("title")); } });
Style the GeoJsonLayer and GeoJsonFeatures
You can set default styles for a GeoJsonLayer, or style individual features in the layer.
Default Styles
In a GeoJsonLayer, you can set default styles for any points, linestrings and polygons that are added to the layer. Default styles are only applied if the feature does not have a style set for either of its geometries. Any changes you make on the default style will also be reflected in all features that are using the default style.
The steps to apply a default style are as follows
- Retrieve the relevant default style object, this can be one of a
GeoJsonPointStyle, a
GeoJsonLineStringStyleor a
- Apply your desired options on the style.
For example, the following code sample shows how to modify the default point style which will make points draggable with a title and snippet.
GeoJsonPointStyle pointStyle = layer.getDefaultPointStyle(); pointStyle.setDraggable(true); pointStyle.setTitle("Hello, World!"); pointStyle.setSnippet("I am a draggable marker");
Styles specific to a GeoJsonFeature
Alternatively, you can style individual features in the layer. The steps to
apply a style on a
GeoJsonFeature as as follows
- Create the relevant style object, this can be either a
- Apply your desired options on the style
- Pass the style object to
the relevant method on the
GeoJsonFeaturewhich will be either
For example, this is how to customise the linestring style for a
GeoJsonFeature so that its color is red.
// Create a new feature containing a linestring ArrayList<LatLng> lineStringArray = new ArrayList<LatLng>(); lineStringArray.add(new LatLng(0, 0)); lineStringArray.add(new LatLng(50, 50)); GeoJsonLineString lineString = new GeoJsonLineString(lineStringArray); GeoJsonFeature lineStringFeature = new GeoJsonFeature(lineString, null, null, null); // Set the color of the linestring to red GeoJsonLineStringStyle lineStringStyle = new GeoJsonLineStringStyle(); lineStringStyle.setColor(Color.RED); // Set the style of the feature lineStringFeature.setLineStringStyle(lineStringStyle);
See the demo app
For an example of importing a GeoJSON file from a URL and creating a layer
with it, take a look at the
GeoJsonDemoActivity in the demo app
that ships with the utility library. The setup guide shows you how
to run the demo app.


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I am working on a strategy game, and i made a few models of collisions between rectangles in the past but now i need it to be precise and the code to be versatile.
i am not going to show you all my 8 classes, because you're not gonna read them . so, i will simplify it to that:
i have two rectangles, rectangle 1: player, rectangle 2: wall. (doesn't really matter)
every frame, i call the method:
public String collision(int x1, int y1, int width1, int height1, int x2, int y2, int width2, int height2){
and i want it to return right/left/up/down/none. for example, if rectangle 1 collides rectangle 2 from above, it will return up. if it doesnt collide at all, it'll return none.
can you please show me example code, or tell me the theories behind this? i dont have a problem when it is just a big wall, but when it can collide from all directions.... it gets a little harder, especially when Y axis is f***ing in the wrong direction!.
I want it to be good. for example, there are two rectangle colliding horizontally. the left one is controlled by a human, and is moving right AND up. when the rectangle reaches above the other one, it should not jump some distance up or right but smoothly continue moving. it depends on other things, but on this too!
by the way, what do you recommend doing when it does collide and if i detect it? make speed=0 and return the x or y location to the limit of collision?
any help would be very appreciated.


text:
Q & A on the Economic Stimulus Plan
Feb 06, 2009
This is making the rounds on the internet:
Some time this year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
Q: What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A: It is money that the Federal Government will send to taxpayers.
Q: Where will the government get this money?
A: From taxpayers.
Q: So the government is giving me back my own money?
A: No, they are borrowing it from China. Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.
Q: What is the purpose of this payment?
A: The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q: But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A. Shut up.


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Hey everyone,
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I have designed several websites already and am hoping to start a web design business this Summer to earn some money and help others. If you or anyone know needs a lego-related website, I'd be happy to create one for you. I am skilled in custom logo design and have worked with numerous different types of HTML code.
I can create everything from a simple personal gallery of Lego MOCs to an online Lego Store or Blog that contains thousands of web pages and is capable of serving thousands of visitors and customers each day.
If you are interested in my services just comment below, or PM me.


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Return of the Principal‐in‐Chief
According to a Fort Worth Star‐Telegram report, President Obama plans to reprise last year's hotly debated role as Principal‐in‐Chief to help kick off the coming school year.
Will he have the Department of Education once again put out leading and Obama‐aggrandizing study guides? Will he again take personal credit for getting computers and other goodies into your kids' schools? Will this address look as much like a campaign event as the last one? Will he tell all the kids that the really noble thing to do is get government jobs?
We don't know the answers to these pressing questions yet, but we do know one thing: If he really does plan to play Principal — or maybe Motivational‐Speaker – in‐Chief again, it will be both unconstitutional, and unacceptable to a whole lot of people.
For a refresher on last year's spectacle, by the way, check out this terrific "Cato Weekly Video" installment on it:


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Clemson's football program has come under scrutiny by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, but head coach Dabo Swinney says players of all faiths are welcome in the program.
"Over the past week or two, there has been a lot of discussion of my faith," Swinney wrote in the statement, as shared by The Post and Courier. "We have three rules in our program that everybody must follow: (1) players must go to class, (2) they must give a good effort and (3) they must be good citizens. It is as simple as that."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint with Clemson and suggested Swinney was guilty of not fostering a culture with a separation of church and state. The public university already responded to the complaint publicly, stating the operation and management of the football program by Swinney adheres to the Constitution when it comes to separation of church and state. Still, Swinney wanted to have his say and he states a player's faith or lack of faith is never an issue when it comes to putting together his football program.
"I have recruited and coached players of many different faiths," Swinney said. "Players of any faith or no faith at all are welcome in our program. All we require in the recruitment of any player is that he must be a great player at his position, meet the academic requirements, and have good character."
There likely will not be much that comes out of this story as far as Clemson and Swinney are concerned, especially since it appears no players have voiced any discomfort with the way the program is run as far as faith and religion is concerned.


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The Spice Girls reunited on Tuesday to walk the red carpet for the London premiere of their new West End musical Viva Forever!.
"We are so excited and we're so, so proud. Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders have done an incredible job and it's amazing, we've got loads of fans out here tonight"
Wannabe hitmakers Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham all turned out to attend the opening night of the production, which incorporates the girl power group's greatest hits, and they couldn't contain their pride and excitement as they spoke to reporters on their big night.
Chisholm told the BBC, "We are so excited and we're so, so proud. Judy Craymer (producer) and Jennifer Saunders (writer) have done an incredible job and it's amazing, we've got loads of fans out here tonight".
Halliwell, who caught an early preview of the show, reveals watching their songs come to life onstage was "mind-blowing", insisting, "It's a dream come true for the Spice Girls. It's mind-blowing that something that we wrote in a little tiny cold studio, over 14 years ago, and then this West End cast singing our songs, we're so proud".
However, the group didn't appear to be as close as they once were - Chisholm, Bunton, Halliwell and Brown were happy to pose together for photographers, while Beckham opted to stand separately with her soccer star husband David and their kids for the press.
The band last reunited to perform at the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics over the summer.
tagged in Emma Bunton Geri Halliwell Jennifer Saunders The Spice Girls Victoria Beckham Olympics Melanie Brown Melanie Chisholm


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Ridgecrest Baptist Church
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Children's Sunday School Ministries
Date: Sunday, September 27, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Location: Ridgecrest Baptist Church Social Hall downstairs
Our children's Sunday School ministry meets every Sunday at 10:00 am. Currently, the classes are combined and we provide an in depth, engaging and interactive Bible Lesson followed by music and activity. This prepares the children for the Worship experience that will follow at the 11:00am service.Previous Page


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OIF Summary, Dec. 4, 2009: Forces in Iraq Arrest 6 Terrorism Suspects
Dispatches from the Front:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2009 -- Iraqi security forces arrested six terrorism suspects in recent days, military officials reported.
In northwestern Baghdad yesterday, Iraqi security forces arrested three people during a combined operation conducted to find and arrest a suspected member of an explosives cell affiliated with the Jaysh al-Mahdi terrorist organization.
Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a home for the alleged explosives cell member, who is believed to be staging attacks against security forces in the region. Based on preliminary questioning and evidence discovered at the scene, they arrested three people suspected of being criminal associates of the targeted cell member, who was not apprehended.
Also yesterday, Iraqi forces arrested two people in Abu Ghraib during a combined operation conducted to find and arrest an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq explosives expert believed to be building vehicle-borne bombs and planning deadly attacks in Baghdad and Anbar province.
Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a home looking for the suspect, and though they did not locate him, they arrested two people suspected of criminal activity based on preliminary questioning and evidence discovered on the premises.
In Baghdad on Dec. 2, Iraqi forces and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained a suspected weapons trafficker. Acting on a warrant issued out of Bayaa, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police conducted a combined mission and seized various weapons, electronic devices and records.
The suspect is believed to be responsible for selling weapons to various terrorist groups throughout the Baghdad area. Iraqi forces transported him to a nearby headquarters for further questioning.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Labels: Dispatches from the Front, GWOT, Iraq, Military, OIF, Terrorism


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Once you and your baby have become pros at breastfeeding, you'll be able to nurse while talking on the phone, reading a book, supervising your other children, or walking around. For now, though,it's best to start with as few distractions as possible.
Most new mothers first try breastfeeding sitting up in a hospital bed, with the baby supported by a pillow in their lap and cradled in their arms. If you choose this position, elevate the head of the bed as much as possible and place pillows behind you until your back is comfortable. Place your baby on a pillow on your lap (this is an especially good idea if you've given birth by cesarean section, or C-section) so his head is level with your breast. You might put pillows at your sides to rest your arms on so they won't tire in mid-feeding.
At home, you may find an armchair helpful. If you breastfeed while sitting in a chair, be sure it offers sturdy back and arm support and is not too low or high. A pillow or two tucked behind your back can make nursing in a chair more comfortable, as can a low footstool to support your legs. It is always important to make sure that you are comfortable before beginning the feeding.
Whether you are sitting up in bed or have settled into an armchair, keep your back straight but relaxed as you offer your baby the breast. Your baby may find it more difficult to latch on properly if you are leaning forward or back, since this changes the angle at which he receives the breast; your back may soon feel the strain of this as well. If your breasts are large, you might want to place a rolled-up towel or receiving blanket beneath your breast to keep your baby's mouth at a straight-on angle with the nipple, in addition to supporting the breast with your hand.
Once you are comfortably positioned, you can hold your baby in a number of ways. As you practice breastfeeding before leaving the hospital, try several positions (for both your baby and yourself) and ask your nurse or lactation specialist to check your technique. Using more than one position can help prevent nipple soreness and clogging of milk ducts, since different positions drain different areas of the breast more effectively. Some positions also work better than others in certain circumstances.
All of the positions described are for guidance only. There is not an absolute right or wrong way to hold your baby for breastfeeding. Every mother and baby find the positions that work well for them. If you are a first-time breastfeeding mother, however, you may find the following guidance helpful for getting started.
The traditional position is called the cradle hold or Madonna hold. For this position, support your baby on the arm that's on the sameside as the breast you intend to use. Holding your upper arm close to your body, rest your baby's head in the crook of your elbow, support his back with your forearm, and cup his bottom or upper thigh with your hand. His arm may be positioned around your body or tucked slightly under his body to keep it out of the way. Once he's properly supported, rotate your forearm so his entire body turns toward you. His pelvis should be up against your abdomen, his chest against your chest, and his mouth lined up with your nipple. You can now bring your baby's mouth to the nipple (rather than the nipple to his mouth) without making him turn his head to the side. It is important for your baby's head to be aligned with the rest of his body instead of turned off to the side.
A variation on the cradle hold, the cross-cradle or crossover hold involves the same positioning except you support your baby on the arm opposite the breast being used. In this position, your hand supports your baby's neck and upper back, rather than his bottom, and his bottom rests either in the crook of your arm or on the pillow on your lap. Again, rotate your baby's body so it faces you and his mouth is lined up with your nipple. This is a good position for a baby who has difficulty latching on, because you can more easily guide his head into a better position by holding the back of his neck between your thumb and fingers.
Many breastfeeding women find that the clutch hold, also known as the football hold, is an easier position to maintain, particularly for those who have given birth by cesarean delivery, because it keeps the baby's weight off the abdominal incision. The clutch hold may also be useful for mothers of twins since one baby can nurse on each side, for women with large breasts or flat nipples since the mother can see both her nipple and her baby's mouth and can easiily control the baby's head, and also for premature babies. In a clutch hold, your baby is held similarly to how you would hold a handbag clutched under your arm or a football clutched close to your body. To feed your baby in this position, place him beside you—on the side of the breast you will use—with his head near your breast. Tuck his body up against your side, under your arm. Your forearm should support his upper back, and your hand and fingers should support his shoulders, neck, and head. His legs will stretch out straight behind you or, if you are in a chair, you can rest his bottom against the back of the chair and angle his legs straight up. Finally, placing a pillow under your elbow for support, keep your baby's head level with your breast.
You may find that feeding your baby in a reclining position, rather than sitting, allows for some welcome relaxation. Nursing while lying down helps particularly if you have had a cesarean delivery or otherwise feel tired or unwell in the days following childbirth. To do this, lie on your side with one or more pillows behind your backand under your head for support. (A pillow placed between your knees may make you more comfortable.) Keep your back and hips in as straight a line as possible. Hold your baby closely on his side so he faces you with his mouth with your arm around him. Support your breast with your other hand while guiding your baby closer with the arm supporting him.
An advantage of this position is you don't have to get up to reposition your baby on your other breast. Simply place a pillow under him to elevate him until he's parallel with your upper breast and lean over farther to bring the upper breast to him. Or, if you prefer, hug him to your chest, roll over to your other side, and reposition him. You can support your baby by placing a pillow or rolled-up blanket behind his back, thus giving your lower arm a rest.


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We can help. You can overcome drug addiction and have a better life than you ever thought possible!
371 Glassboro Road
Woodbury Heights, NJ. 8097
509 Route 168
Blackwood, NJ. 8012
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Counselors available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.1-800-405-8409
We have addiction treatment specialists available 24/7, ready to help you find the right treatment choice that meets your financial ability.addictionca.com


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The home of champions
Actor Bill Murray loves golf. And he loves golf in Ireland: "My favourite place to play golf is in Ireland. It's the most beautiful country to play golf in. And when you come as a guest, you're treated like a king." But don't just take Bill's word for it. Isn't it time to play here yourself?
May 28-31, 2015
Golfers around the globe will be keeping their eyes firmly fixed on Newcastle, County Down, at the end of May 2015, as the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Hosted by the Rory Foundation (part of the European Tour), will take place at the renowned Royal County Down Golf Club. And just look who's coming to play: Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, and, naturally, Mikko Ilonen will be there to defend his title!
The event in 2015 will be the first time in 76 years that the Irish Open will be hosted at the world-famous links course. Voted best course in the world outside the United States by Golf Digest, Royal County Down is just one of a number of prestigious courses where Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke all honed their impeccable skills.
Northern Ireland has hosted the Irish Open only twice in the last 60 years, but when Royal Portrush hosted the event in 2012, it was the only time the European Tour had sold out before play even began on four consecutive days.
Follow in Rory McIlroy's footsteps at Royal Portrush in Antrim or his home course of Holywood in Down. County Louth Golf Club is where rising star Shane Lowry won his first Irish Open. The 2014 Ryder Cup Captain, Paul McGinley, struck his first ball at the Grange in County Dublin. Still in Dublin, Stackstown Golf Club is where three-time major winner, Pádraig Harrigton, goes to tee off. Darren Clarke was a junior member of Dungannon, County Tyrone, while Graeme McDowell walked the fairways of Rathmore Golf Club as a youngster. Touch the greens in these places, and perhaps some of their skill will rub off on your game?
The late US Open and US PGA Champion Payne Stewart felt right at home when he visited the 19th hole in Waterville – The Butler Arms Hotel: "We get into the pub and get around a piano," said Stewart of his post-round routine. "I bring out my harmonica and the next thing you know it's about 4am!" You see, finishing a round of golf doesn't mark the end of the day in Ireland. Round here we always carry on to the 19th.
Even Rory McIlroy knows that his caddy, JP Fitzgerald, could prove crucial to his game. If you're going to be playing on some of the island's famous championship courses, get a caddy. They know the fairways best, save you plenty of shots, and will probably be the best four hours' conversation you'll ever have on a golf course! Oh, and you never know what future super star you might meet…
Golf's big names have designed in Ireland. Take County Clare's Trump International Golf Links: Greg Norman was a brave man to have challenged his skill to create such a prized course just minutes from the Dr Alister MacKenzie-built Lahinch. Then there's Jack Nicklaus' Kilkenny parkland, Mount Juliet, a constantly ranked must-play.
Nick Faldo achieved drama on Fermanagh's serene Lough Erne; while The Palmer Ryder Cup course in The K Club, Kildare, and Tralee, County Kerry, both enjoy that extra special Arnold Palmer touch. Carne, Connemara, Dooks, Enniscrone, Murvagh and Waterville: Eddie Hackett, Ireland's 'Golfing Saint' turned these greens to golfing gold.
And not forgetting Rosapenna and Royal County Down – the legendary Scot, Old Tom Morris embraced the lie of the land and, over a century later, golfers still can't resist the challenge…
"WOW," was all Tiger Woods could say as the early morning fog cleared to reveal the challenge of the 15th tee at The Old Head Golf Links in Kinsale, County Cork (the southernmost point of the Wild Atlantic Way – and just one of Ireland's many golfing 'beauties'). He has a point: humpback whales splashing in the swirling waters, swooping seabirds and scampering hares – you're at one with nature's immense power on Ireland's links. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the ball...
First up has to be Royal County Down, where the Irish Open 2015 will be played, and where World Number One, Rory McIlroy noted: "The more you play it, the more you recognise it for the class place it is." Two years later, in 2017, Fermanagh's Lough Erne Golf Resort does the honours, with water hazards the key to success on this Faldo-designed Lakelands course.
Dublin's Portmarnock, Kildare's Carton House, Wicklow's Druids Glen Golf Resort, Killarney Golf Club, County Kerry, Kilkenny's Mount Juliet, and Cork's Fota Island are other Irish Open hosts to note if you're looking for a challenging golfing itinerary. And then there's the exquisite Royal Portush: touted as the possible future venue for The Open 2019.
And you don't need to be a member to play our courses, either. All you have to do is find the courses, book your tee times and turn up – or choose an operator to arrange it all for you. One New York Times writer found the whole thing so easy, he quickly realized that he could, in fact, play the entire island as one GIGANTIC golf course. As with all golf clubs, green fees do vary. But will you make as good friends anywhere else in the world? We think not.
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Surnames and Family Research Forum Archive
Re: Addison Ashworth - Calcasieu & Rapides LA
In Response To: Addison Ashworth ()
If you are referring to the Ashworths of Calcasieu & Rapides Parishes in LA - the majority of them were listed in the census as mulatto, and quite a few were Free People of Color. I don't know if there is a connection to the Ashworths of TX but there is a woman who has researched her Ashworth family in TX and they were always called "Redbones", a group of tri-racial isolates with African, Native American and European heritage (see link below to her website)
Paul Heinegg lists:
George3, born say 1785, married Polly Ashworth, daughter of James Ashworth and Keziah Dial of South Carolina, 4 December 1810. George was head of a St. Landry Parish household of 5 "free colored" in 1820 and 10 in 1830 [LA:107, 27].
suggest you post to FPOC forum here for more information.
Messages In This Thread


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By Dr. James Dobson
What Do Your Kids See In Your Marriage? The Quickest Route To The Destruction Of Your Family
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What do we mean by engagement? According to Gallup, an engaged employee will "work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company" as well as "drive innovation and move the organization forward." A disengaged employee is "sleepwalking through their workday, putting time -- but not energy or passion -- into their work" while the worst kind "undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish." In Badgeville's latest employee-motivation infographic, the gamification/behavior-modification company cites a variety of data and industry sources to document the sorry state of employee engagement:
-- 71% of employees aren't engaged. (Gallup).
-- Only 10% look forward to going to work every day (Maritz Institute).
-- Only 19% are satisfied with their jobs (Manpower).
-- Highly engaged employees are 26% more productive than those who aren't, and their companies earned 13% greater returns over a five-year period (Watson Wyatt WorkUSA).
Not cited by Badgeville, Gallup also notes a significant increase in earnings per share (147%) among the companies in the top decile of engagement. And according to Dale Carnegie's own employee-engagement infographic, 80% of employees who are dissatisfied with their direct supervisor and 70% of employees who lack confidence in senior leadership are also disengaged employees.
More money doesn't make people more engaged.
-- 71% of employees say the most meaningful recognition they've received has no dollar value (Cindy Ventrice, author of the book Make their Day: Employee Recognition That Works).
-- 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite lack of appreciation as the main reason (Society for Human Resource Management).
According to our own InformationWeek IT Salary Survey research, the five job factors that matter most to IT managers have nothing to do with compensation. Those job factors are their opinion and knowledge are valued; they're involved in setting company strategy and determining goals; their job is important to company success; their job is challenging; and they relate to the company culture and values.
Back to those workplace and organizational basics I referred to earlier. To understand what I'm talking about, consider two different archetype IT organizations, one at Abundance Corp. and the other at Overlord Industries.
At Abundance, all IT employees have most of what they need to do their jobs: resources, clear priorities, feedback, mission focus. They're able to plan their work and then work on their plan, adjusting along the way.
At Overlord, IT employees are always under siege. When one thing breaks, they go into firefighting mode, and just as they return to their station, the fire alarm rings again. There are no clear priorities; therefore, everything seems to be a priority … so nothing is a priority.
Overlord doesn't give its IT organization enough people or money in the first place, and because no organization can possibly resource "all priorities," what few resources it has seem like even fewer. Planning is a fantasy. Feedback is a joke, along the lines of: "Can't you just juggle 10 balls at a time?"
The lack of workplace basics, in my observation, is rooted in outmoded ideas about power and authority, rooted in bureaucratic organizational structures that have been around since the 1800s. Once your organization (and note that I'm not saying IT organization, but the overall organization) tackles those basics, the rest is relatively easy. No management snake oil needed.


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Busy Basketball Weekend
The college basketball teams ranked No. 3-6 and 8, 10-14, 16-18, 19-21 and 23 are all playing on Saturday. Then on Sunday the No. 1, 7, 9, 15, 19, 22, 24, and 25 teams have games. And there are match-ups on ranked teams all over the place – some on television.
- Colorado at No. 2 Texas
- Georgia at No. 3 Kentucky
- No. 4 Purdue at No. 20 Wisconsin
- No. 5 Duke at No. 17 Georgia Tech on ESPN
- Marquette at No. 6 Villanova
- No. 8 West Virginia at Notre Dame
- No. 10 Kansas State at Missouri
- No. 11 Michigan State at Iowa
- No. 13 Connecticut at No. 12 Georgetown on ESPN
- UNLV at No. 14 New Mexico
- Miss. St at No. 16 Mississippi
- No. 18 Gonzaga at Portland
- Boston College at No. 21 Clemson
- No. 23 BYU at UTEP
- No. 1 Kansas at No. 15 Tenn on CBS
- South Florida at No. 7 Syracuse
- Virginia Tech at No. 9 UNC
- No. 19 Florida State at Maryland
- No. 22 Washington at Arizona
- No. 24 Butler at Detroit
- No. 25 Temple at Rhode Island
That is every-single-team ranked in the USA Today Top 25 playing this weekend. That is nuts. But here are my picks of the bunch.
Duke at GT – GT had one of the best recruiting classes this year, headlined by the want to see GT's super-freshmen Derrick Favors play. Favors was the No. 2 recruit in the nation last year and while he is not getting the headlines like other freshmen (John Wall and Xavier Henry), Favors is averaging 12.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 2.2 blocks per game.
Kansas at Tennessee – Does anyone know what is happening or going to happen to the players arrested? I think they are suspend indefinitely, so this match-up may not be as close as it would be with Tyler Smith in the line-up. Still these are both talented teams, but Kansas is just bigger than Tennessee. Update – Smith has been dismissed from the team.
Purdue at Wisconsin – I know that Big Ten basketball can be very painful to watch, but this is the Boilmakers first real road test at the toughest place to play in the Big Ten – i.e. Duke in ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
UNLV at New Mexico – I know nothing about either of these teams, but there is buzz surrounding both teams. Should be a tough conference game.
NFL Playoffs Getting Started
The first round of the playoffs are also happening this weekend. And there are two rematch from last week with Philly and Dallas and Green Bay at Arizona. A lot people are picking upsets and home teams losing. Here are match-ups:
- NY Jets at Cincinnati
- Philadelphia at Dallas
- Baltimore at New England
- Green Bay at Arizona
Every match-up really could go either way, but here are my quick thoughts.
- New York beats Cincinnati, I have no real thoughts about this game.
- But the Philly/Dallas game is very interesting. Was what we saw last week real with Philly? I am not sure. But I think The Eagles go back to Dallas and upset the Cowboys.
- New England could struggle without Wes Welker, but I am not confident in the Ravens offense. So, I am picking New England.
- Green Bay rolled over Arizona – or did the Cardinals roll-over when they knew there was nothing to play for? I think Green Bay wins again.
The Vikings will play either Dallas, Arizona or Green Bay next Sunday. I fear only the Cowboys – but the Cardinals beat the crap of the Vikings and it is very hard to beat a team three times in a season. But the Purple are playing at home.
Minnesota Timberwolve GM David Kahn Podcast
I listen to a lot of podcasts – ESPN has a ton – and one that I listen to is the NBA Today with Ryan Rusillo. He however is not the reason that I listen. Rusillo just thinks to much of himself and kind of drives me nuts, but he gets a lot of good guests on the podcast.
he latest podcast features an interview with T'Wolve GM David Kahn and they discussed the team and his thoughts on the future of the team. Click here to get to the NBA Today podcast page.


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Pic(k) of the week 4: Keeping Beijing clean
In the second half of January I had two brief 30hr visits to Beijing. I always find it remarkable how the old Peking is a city of extremes... Temperatures often climb above 40C in the summer months, while they dropped to -20C the first night I was there.
In the afternoon I made my way to the" Beijing camera equipment city". A one hour metro ride from my hotel followed by a 20 min walk brought me to a large complex full of official camera stores. No fake stuff here! Everything comes with international warranty.
Just before entering the center, I had a brief chat with a very friendly Beijing street cleaner... Well chat? He didn't speak any English and my Mandarin is limited to Niihau (Hello) and Xie Xie (Thank you). Using sign language, I asked him whether I could take his picture. He smiled and approved. Interesting enough he collects the garbage with two large chopsticks. Very Chinese if you ask me! I do like the shot but wished the blue car in the background was not there. Next time better!
Image details:
Nikon D700 with 24-70 2.8 Nikkor lens
50mm, f8, 1/400s, ISO 200
RAW file processed in Lightroom (LR) followed by a Tonal adjustment with Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0
By the way, I couldn't resist and left the place with a brand new Nikkor 70-200 2.8 VRII lens. Meanwhile I sold my "old" (18months) 70-200 2.8. VR lens in Dubai. More on this exciting lens shortly!
Happy shooting,