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Habari Media: Adrian Hewlett
How a passion for sport created a world leader in online marketing.
Some entrepreneurs struggle to survive, let alone grow, in many of South Africa's highly competitive sectors. These entrepreneurs may also experience difficulty in breaking through today's advertising clutter to communicate to their chosen customer groups. Habari Media's Adrian Hewlett has impressively demonstrated how to break away from competitors, while creating online advertising services that allow clients to break through the clutter and reach online consumers more creatively and effectively.
Hewlett completed his studies at UCT just as the dot.com bubble was gaining momentum. His "heavy involvement" in the local rugby club at the time led Hewlett to an interest in sports marketing and landed him a part-time job with then recently launched Rugby365.com. When the Internet bubble burst, Hewlett found himself marketing manager of a dot.com business with no money.
He moved strongly into sales to raise revenues. While Hewlett's passion for sport became a passion for online advertising, he knew he wanted to do something for himself – to create an organisation "the way a business should be run." The opportunity arrived when, in 2004, he won the local advertising sales account for MSN.co.za and negotiated an exit from Rugby365.com – with the MSN account. Hewlett gets a"real kick out of being responsible" for his own destiny. The calculated risk of "finding a client and working from your bedroom" gave him exactly that and thus Habari Media was born.
Hewlett may have won MSN's business through excellent salesmanship and dedicated focus, but he learnt quickly that relationships and delivery were key to keeping the business. Within two years, Habari Media had become the most successful sales house globally, with 100% of their available space sold – this for an organisation, Microsoft, which had a policy of not doing business with start-ups.
Read Next: Four 'treps are patiently building their empire, one brick at a time.
Hewlett then extended the MSN contract to other African countries (Nigeria has as many online users as South Africa) and subsequently landed careerjunction.co.za. Habari Media now represents the largest online audience in South Africa with 3,4 million users. The other lesson Hewlett learnt after a few months was the need for multiple revenue streams, both to cover increasing operating costs and to balance out possible downturns in certain sectors. As a consequence, he has learnt as much as possible about below-the-line marketing and created a promotions division as part of the business, Habari Direct. Hewlett believesthat one needs to "think big and act big" to grow your business:
"If you think they are bigger and better than you, then they will be."
Habari Direct has invested in a set of leisure and lifestyle partnerships that allow it to link unique lifestyle rewards to client promotions. One recent campaign Hewlett executed with Kellogg's included anoffer of free pedicures and manicures to Kellogg's Special K consumers, for which Habari Direct directly contracted over 350 beauty therapists – not atypical agency practice.
Habari Media's online advertising sales business employs some of the most creative and effective international best practices to ensure clients don't land up with a "Christmas Tree" site. Hewlett warns entrepreneurs against advertising below the "fold" of a website or using flashing (or green) banners that may irritate users rather than nurture strong and positive brand associations. Research has found that the brand recall from online advertising can be twice as good as TV advertising and eight times as good as press. He suggests that when advertising online the brand should achieve a consumer frequency of five views per user in order to have brand impact.
Hewlett offers an Egyptian example of a rich media online advertisement for Coca-Cola that allows Internet users to play a game, watch a TV commercial, enter a competition or listen to a jingle, without leaving the page on which the online "banner-type" advertisement has been placed. In this way, online advertising can be both effective and captivating as part of an integrated communication strategy for launching a new product or engaging existing customers.
Media companies are well known for educating, entertaining and encouraging their customers to invest in their media offerings. Habari Media created a unique platform through an annual Digital Symposium to assist advertisers to better understand the opportunities for online and mobile advertising. Hewlett acknowledges that advertising agencies, which in Europe are responsible for most online advertising, have been relatively slow in South Africa to embrace online advertising. It is with this in mind that Habari Media is supporting The Bookmarks, South Africa's first online creative awards created by the On-line Publishers Association.
Some people have questioned the number of South Africa's online users, suggesting that the market is too small to be significant or profitable, especially given the low bandwidth speeds and penetration. Hewlett disagrees strongly, arguing that, with over five million Internet users, South Africa has almost as many online consumers as taxpayers.
This Internet population is greater than that of Austria, Finland, Greece or Romania. Hewlett also believes that the growing number of online consumers is a very appealing market. As Hewlett looks forward to greater bandwidth during the coming year, he doesn't necessarily expect these developments to dramatically grow the number of Internet users.
He suspects that the South African Internet population may climb to eight million, with the real change being a significantly enhanced user experience. Hewlett is confident that the future of the Internet in South Africa will see double the number of page impressions (meaning longer time online and greater engagement) and double the online spend.
As the online and mobile environment in Africa changes, Hewlett believes that Habari Media is well placed to take advantage. He points to his business's great reputation and long-standing relationships in the market; his strong sales team; his organisation's ability to learn from its mistakes and grow; and his team's speed to market. Although Hewlett believes that "no-one can sell your business like you," he has focused strongly on developing and retaining good people.
Read Next: Profiting from Durban July
In addition to competitive salaries and social activities, Hewlett believes that he is able to hold onto good people partly because he "really likes the people who work [for him]" and the culture celebrates top performance throughout the business. One piece of advice Hewlett received was not to takehis "foot off the client stuff".
Although he still regularly visits clients and supports his sales team, Hewlett is now spending more time managing his team and focusing on the "people issues." Having pursued his love of sport into the Internet boom and then online advertising sales, Hewlett has demonstrated how to deliver superior performance, develop a winning team and build a successful multi-divisional and multi-national entrepreneurial business. Contact: +27 21 487 9100; www.habarimedia.com
Alan Knott-Craig On Learning To Overcome Your Fears And Building Successful Businesses
After Alan Knott-Craig ran some of South Africa's well known companies like Cellfind, iBurst and Mxit, he's on a mission to broaden South Africa's wireless internet network with HeroTel.
We interview entrepreneur Alan Knott-Craig, who after running well known South African companies like Cellfind, iBurst and Mxit founded HeroTel, which is a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) and his strategy is to buy up smaller WISP companies to create a broader network.
Ian Fuhr Explains Why He Likes To Launch Businesses In Unfamiliar Industries And How He Made Sorbet A Success
Ian Fuhr, a serial entrepreneur is not scared of opening businesses in industries he knows nothing about.
We interview entrepreneur Ian Fuhr, who founded the Sorbet Group in 2005 which has now grown to over 200 stores in South Africa with stores in the UK. Ian is a serial entrepreneur who has launched many successful companies in industries he knew very little about.
How Pepe Marais Went From Bankruptcy To Founding Joe Public And Becoming An Entrepreneurial Success
After being bankrupt in 2009 Pepe, along with his partners, turned their business around to being one of the best advertising agencies in South Africa.
We interview entrepreneur Pepe Marais, who co-founded Joe Public, one of the biggest independently owned advertising agencies in South Africa. After being bankrupt in 2009 Pepe found his life's purpose and not only turned his business around, but his entire life. It's all documented in his booked titled Growing Greatness, which is a must read.


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geomarine needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 77 designs submitted by 31 freelance designers.
Looking for a logo for a new environmental consulting and mapping company to use on business cards and web.
Geo Marine LLC
Desired Color Scheme:
blues and greens
Desired Style:
clean and professional
Accepted File Formats:
Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai); Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
Geo Marine LLC, an environmental consulting and mapping company, is looking for a crisp, clean logo. It will be used for business cards and letterhead. The logo theme should integrate a globe and a wave, or ocean theme in the design. Preferred colors are blue and green.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Help Resources
- Installation Issues
- ACA Issues
- General Issues
6:30 AM to 5:30 PM Mountain Time
(GMT-6; GMT-7 Autumn/Winter)
Monday through Friday
Phone: +1 801 477 4700
Fax: +1 801 337 7410
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
9:00 AM to 5:30 PM Central European
(GMT+2; GMT+1 Autumn/Winter)
Monday through Friday
Phone: +31 10 282 3500
Fax: +31 10 282 3560
Email: email@example.com
Online: www.skimgroup.com
Lighthouse Studio is our flagship software for producing and analyzing online and offline surveys. It contains modules for general interviewing, choice-based conjoint, adaptive choice-based conjoint, adaptive choice analysis, choice-value analysis, and maxdiff exercises.
This survey will illustrate how Choice-Based Conjoint surveys work. It involves choosing food for dinner at a baseball game. You will take a quick 9-question CBC questionnaire, and then, using simple addition arithmetic, we will analyze your results and place the results into a "what-if" market simulator to see how your results stack up against others who have completed this survey.


text: The 2018 BMW M4 is the high-performance version of the regular 4 Series. It comes as a two-door coupe or convertible. It is powered by a standard 425-hp, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine mated to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. Adaptive LED headlights, adaptive M suspension, and unique 20-inch wheels are also available.


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HOUSTON - Kevin Durant was in uncharted territory on Saturday night, playing in his first game without friend and teammate Russell Westbrook.
Durant knew it would be different, but vowed to do whatever he could to carry his team through this difficult period.
He delivered on that promise by scoring 41 points and helping Oklahoma City fight off Houston's late rally to beat the Rockets 104-101 for a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series.
"I didn't feel the same," Durant said. "And I knew I just had to give my all from here on out ... every game is for him."
Durant checked his phone moments after leaving the court and smiled recalling the text messages he received from Westbrook.
"He texted me at halftime and right after the game," Durant said. "Just said congrats and that he loved me."
Durant scored 27 points in the first half, and the Thunder led by 26 points before a big third-quarter rally by the Rockets put them within striking distance.
Houston regained the lead with about 4 minutes left, and was up with less than a minute remaining. But Durant hit a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim before falling in, to put Oklahoma City on top 100-99.
"We didn't want to give up any 3s," Houston's James Harden said. "He just made a lucky shot. It was good defence. It just went in and took some of the energy out of us."
A turnover by Harden gave the Thunder the ball back and Derek Fisher made two free throws to push the lead to three. Harden made a layup, but Reggie Jackson hit two more free throws after that.
Houston had a last chance, but Carlos Delfino's 3-pointer fell short.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks was impressed that his team was able to win despite losing its All-Star point guard.
"It's been an emotional time the last 48 hours," Brooks said. "We all love what Russell (Westbrook) is about. He's got probably the biggest heart I've ever been around."
Fisher said it was difficult getting through these last couple of days, but the 16-year veteran said he was there to help the younger guys deal with the loss of Westbrook.
"We're still grieving, so to speak, as a team," Fisher said. "But that's why I'm here, and that's why this is a team. Injuries and bad things happen in sports, but we still have to figure out a way to get things done."
Harden scored 30 points for the Rockets in the first playoff game in Houston since 2009. The Rockets will be at home again for Game 4 on Monday night.
Westbrook was injured in Game 2 and had season-ending right knee surgery Saturday. It was the first time Durant had played a pro game without Westbrook, who hadn't missed a game in his career before Saturday.
Durant's 41 points equaled a playoff career high, and he also had 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He sat down for just 44 seconds on Saturday.
"Kevin has done a great job of being a playmaker all season long," Brooks said. "He's an amazing scorer, and he sets up a lot of guys to get easy buckets."
Jackson made his first career start in place of Westbrook and had 14 points, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Chandler Parsons had a tying 3-pointer for Houston with 5:46 left, and Delfino put the Rockets in front for the first time since early in the first quarter when he connected from long range to make it 94-93 about 2 minutes later.
Ibaka made four straight points after that, ending with a reverse layup, to make it 97-94 with about a minute and a half left.
Harden hit a pair of free throws. Then Francisco Garcia's 3-pointer put them up 99-97 with 45 seconds left, before the clutch shot by Durant.
The Rockets rallied from a 15-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter in Game 2. But they weren't able to hold on and Oklahoma City got the 105-102 win.
It was much the same this time, as Houston went up late only to fall again.
"We've got to find a way to win those games," Houston coach Kevin McHale said.
Harden complained that he and his teammates were sluggish and lacked energy early. He knows that won't cut it if they expect to win on Monday.
"We have to have that energy from the beginning of the game to the end of the game," he said. "We can't have droughts. You have to play a solid game for 48 minutes."
Westbrook's absence didn't seem to bother Oklahoma City early, as Durant had the big first half and the Thunder looked to be in complete control.
Things changed in the third quarter when Durant was limited offensively and Houston outscored the Thunder 27-14 in the period.
Houston point guard Jeremy Lin, who bruised a chest muscle in Game 2, started but scored only two points in about 18 minutes.
Parsons scored 21 points, and Garcia had 18.
After a big run got Houston within eight in the third quarter, Garcia and Harden made 3-pointers around a dunk by Durant to whittle the lead to 80-76 entering the last quarter.
Durant was scoreless in the third until his dunk with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Thunder led by 19 points when the Rockets used a 16-5 surge to get to 78-70 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third. The Rockets harassed Oklahoma City into three turnovers in that stretch, and Durant went cold as he missed four shots.
NOTES: Garcia and McHale received technical fouls in the first quarter. ... Pitching great Roger Clemens and Houston Texans star receiver Andre Johnson attended the game.


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Believe the hype. Just under the wire before Nintendo's patent attempt on the phrase, it is in fact "on like Donkey Kong" in Colorado's ski country. A November to remember.
As a result of the 20-inch wallop that crashed through town Tuesday night (and 92 inches of snow to date), Breckenridge Resort saw the earliest opening in history of the T-Bar lift serving Peak 8's Horseshoe Bowl on Wednesday. Crowds waited as long as 45 minutes in the singles line for the opportunity to sample the thigh-deep snow. Fortunately, the mid-mountain snow base surpassing 50 inches already will allow ski patrol to open additional runs and the Rocky Mountain SuperChair by Friday, spreading the crowds out among more than 500 skiable acres. The 6 Chair should be open by Saturday along with several more runs.


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Can Harry Redknapp guide QPR to promotion?
When Harry Redknapp took over at QPR in January he described the job as his biggest challenge in his managerial career.
Despite making a few singings Redknapp couldn't prevent the Hoops from relegation back to the Championship after just seasons in the top flight.
And now the ex-Tottenham man faces a tough task on gaining promotion from one of the most competitive leagues in world football.
In gaining promotion a lot depends on the strength and depth of the squad, QPR have some quality players in their side, however they may prove difficult to keep hold of.
Players such as Brazilian international Julio Cesar, who was one of the best performers last season, Loic Remy, who impressed in his short spell at the club, and Adel Taarabt will have a hole host of clubs seeking their signatures.
But, for QPR, these stars are vital players for the club in their hopes to bounce back to the Premier League.
Furthermore the club have a few players on loan which they will have to make a decision on, the players include Djibril Cisse, Alejandro Faurlin and the controversial character Joey Barton - who has been at Marseille.
Redknapp again is expected to be given financial support from chairman Tony Fernandes, however the QPR boss' most important task will be getting a team together that want to play for one another and most importantly the club itself.
Bouncing back from a very disappointing season won't be easy for the west London side especially in such a competitive league but with an experienced squad and a few new faces Redknapp will be eyeing a very quick return to England's top flight.
Write for GiveMeSport! Sign-up to the GMS Writing Academy here: http://bit.ly/12evFlH
DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.News Now - Sport News


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Journal Article
© Jan 2008 Volume 5 Issue 4, Editor: Charles Despres, pp347 - 550
Look inside Download PDF (free)
In the new era of the knowledge economy, knowledge‑based work has replaced regular, sequential work with its characteristics of flexibility, complexity, and high uncertainty (Shieh‑Chieh that knowledge is one of the most competitive resources for the dynamic global business environment (Sharif 2005). Within this context, an organisation's ability to effectively implement knowledge‑based activities becomes increasingly vital for the development and sustenance of competitive advantage (De Carolis, 2003; Grant, 1996). Fundamentally, knowledge‑based activities include the creation and integration of knowledge, the accumulation and utilisation of knowledge, and the learning and sharing of knowledge and together, these comprise knowledge management (Shieh‑Chieh management (Szulanski, 1996; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000). Egan (2003) argued that the effective flow of knowledge is only sustainable through people. Geraint (1998) contended that too much faith has been invested in technology at the expense of people issues. Despite the fact that factors affecting the behaviour of knowledge sharing have been quite heavily investigated (Wasko and Faraj, 2000; Ardichvili al. dimensions have been conducted (Fu and Lee, 2005). This paper looks at how organisations can become more sophisticated at supporting knowledge sharing, by identifying antecedents of knowledge sharing. The basic premise of this paper is that effective knowledge sharing has three interrelated links. The first link relates to knowledge values held by organisational members, i.e. learning orientation which describes three organisational values routinely associated with the predisposition of the firm to learn: commitment to learning, open‑mindedness, and shared vision. The second link relates to market orientation which typically focuses on three components: customer focus, competitor focus and inter‑functional coordination. The final link relates to the organisations' absorptive capacity which is defined as 'the ability to recognise the value of new external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends'. The paper also argues that the successful sharing of knowledge requires enablers in the form of information technology infrastructure, a reward system that reinforces and encourages knowledge sharing activities and a positive social interaction that creates trust among organisational members. The paper represents work in progress. The final version of the proposed model will be tested in technology parks in Australia and Malaysia.
Keywords: Knowledge sharing, learning orientation, market orientation, networks, reward, technology
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statsample 0.8.0
A suite for basic and advanced statistics on Ruby. Tested on Ruby 1.8.7, Ruby 1.9 and JRuby 1.4 (Ruby 1.8.7 compatible) Includes: * Descriptive statistics: frequencies, median, mean, standard error, skew, kurtosis (and many others). * Imports and exports datasets from and to Excel, CSV and plain text files. * Correlations: Pearson's r, Spearman's rank correlation (rho), Tetrachoric, Polychoric * Tests: T, Levene, U-Mannwhitney, One-Way Anova * Regression: Simple, Multiple, Probit and Logit * Factorial Analysis: Extraction (PCA and Principal Axis) and Rotation (Varimax and relatives) * Dominance Analysis, with multivariate dependent and bootstrap (Azen & Budescu) * Sample calculation related formulas * Creates reports on text, html and rtf, using ReportBuilder


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DIRECTV's FREE HD TV Apps are interactive features that let you do all of the below without missing a second of what you're watching on TV. Just press the RIGHT arrow button on your remote to do the following:
To access TV Apps just press the RIGHT arrow on your remote. And then use your UP and DOWN arrows to highlight the one you want and press SELECT. To exit a TV App, just press EXIT or BACK on your remote.
Requirements: TV Apps require a Genie (model HR34 and later, model C31 and later) or a DIRECTV HD DVR receiver (model HR21 and later) or DIRECTV HD Receiver (model H21 and later) and Internet connection. The receiver must be connected to the Internet.
Troubleshooting tip: If you're having difficulty accessing TV Apps, first check that you have the correct receiver type and confirm that your broadband connection is working. Next, press EXIT on your remote to clear any onscreen elements and press the right arrow again. Graphics may take up to 30 seconds to load depending on your broadband connection.


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Evan Lambert joined the Local 6 News team in June 2012.
His career in broadcast journalism began before he graduated high school as a reporter and anchor for Teen Perspective 2News, a teen news show at the ABC affiliate in his native Baltimore. It was there that he developed a passion for story-telling and all things news.
His passion transitioned from a hobby to a career in college. Evan is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Go Terps!
While at the university, he was a reporter for the college's weekly news program, Maryland Newsline on UMTV. During college, Evan had the chance to work in almost every capacity in front and behind the camera.
Evan's other professional experience includes internships at WPTV in West Palm Beach, and abroad in Madrid, Spain. One of Evan's most memorable assignments was covering the execution of D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad.
While he's not in the newsroom, Evan likes to spend time running and finding the best places to eat.
Follow Evan on Facebook or Twitter @EvanLocal6.


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IRONMAN UK is one of the most popular IRONMAN races in the world. Over 2,000 athletes have already signed up for this world class event, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on July 20, 2014. With direct flights to Manchester from Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, IRONMAN UK looks forward to welcoming you to Royal Britain. Here are 10 reasons to put England on your itinerary this summer.
1. Race in England
Enjoy the breathtaking English countryside on a new and extended two-lap bike course that now ends with T2 at Reebok Stadium, making athlete logistics easier than ever before.
IRONMAN legend Craig Alexander will be part of the 10 year event celebrations, so don't miss out on this opportunity to gain an insight into his life as one of the most successful athletes of his generation.
2. Bring the Kids
IRONMAN UK Hosts the world's largest IRONKIDS race on Saturday 19th July with 2,000 kids aged 3 to 14 in Bolton town centre and finishing under the iconic IRONMAN finish arch. Get your kids part of the action!
3. See and do
Bolton is central in the UK so once the race is over, you're in the perfect location for visits north to Scotland, south to London and west to Wales.
4. Have a pint and watch the footie
The British are renowned for their obsession of football, and a visit to England wouldn't be the same without a visit to the pub. Combine the two and soak up the atmosphere of the World Cup Final in a British Pub for a Sunday roast and a pint of bitter on July 13th.
5. Best of British sport
It's a world class sporting extravaganza in Britain this year throughout July including:
- Tour De France, July 5-27: The Tour De France kicks off in Britain, with stage 1 taking place from Leeds to Harrogate
- The Open Golf, Royal Liverpool, July 17-20: Watch the world's best golfers, including Tiger Woods, tee off just an hour away
- Glorious Goodwood, July 22-26: Horse racing at its best, and the Queen and family are sure to be cheering on their steeds)
6. Visit a royal residence
The Queen opens up her home to the public in the summer, but if Buckingham Palace isn't the top of your royal residences to visit, there's always Kensington Palace, Tower of London, Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace instead. Here's the UK's top ten of royal residences to visit.
7. Visit the capital
Whether it's a musical, opera or music festival that takes your fancy, a trip to London can't go without a show in London's west end. As the fashion capital of the world, a shopping trip is essential and you'll be sure to find something to suit every style and budget, from the department stores of Harrods and Selfridges to the vintage markets of Portabello Road.
8. Qualify for Kona
IRONMAN UK has been analyzed as one of the best opportunities worldwide to qualify for Kona. Check out the analysis here.
9. Loosen up your limbs
By the time you've raced IRONMAN UK and ticked off some of the most famous landmarks in the world, head to the ancient Roman Baths in Bath to wind down and relax.
10. Ready for more?
Haven't had enough? IRONMAN Switzerland is only a train ride away.
IRONMAN UK takes place in Bolton, England on Sunday 20th July 2014. The event comprises a 2.4 mile swim in Pennington Flash, a 112 mile cycle through the spectacular Lancashire countryside before finishing with a 26.2 mile looped marathon course in and around Bolton town centre. It is renowned for it's fantastic atmosphere with thousands of spectators lining the streets and cheering the athletes all the way to the finish line in Victoria Square.
Among the 2,000 athletes on the start line, one of the event's oldest participants Howard Glass, aged 73, will be crossing the pond from Palm Beach, Florida to take part in IRONMAN UK 2014.
For further information and online entry please click here.


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For nearly two years I worked in support of Vanity Fair writer Seth Mnookin on a book called The Panic Virus, which comes out today and which the Wall Street Journal says "should be required reading at every medical school in the world."
The book is about the autism-vaccine scare and why it's managed to rage so hot for so long despite any evidence (and really, there is no evidence) linking vaccines to developmental disorders. A large part of the answer has to do with an intellectual trend of our time that privileges personal intuition over scientific evidence, and which denigrates experts as elitists. The media has had a role, too, giving airtime to people like Jenny McCarthy and reporting "both sides of the story" long after it became clear that there was really only one. The consequences of this scare have been tragic. Immunization rates have fallen in many parts of the country (typically affluent liberal enclaves) and kids are dying of infectious diseases like whooping cough and Hib that should be ancient history in America.
I wore a lot of hats in the making of this book: researcher, transcriber, editor, collaborator. Throughout it was a privilege to work with Seth Mnookin, whose commitment to getting the story right and telling it fairly was inspiring. So, The Panic Virus, on sale today. Go grab a copy.


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People Overestimate The Value Of Content; Underestimate The Value Of A Service That Makes It Useful
from the time-to-understand-the-difference deptA silly mini-battle broke out among some bloggers over the weekend concerning some new RSS-feed aggregation site. It's a battle that plays itself out every few months or so, and which we've tried to discuss a few times in the past. What happens is that people get angry because this aggregator (or reader, or browser or whatever) is actually able to build a business around other websites' content. And that gets plenty of folks, including those who I quite frequently agree with, like Mathew Ingram and Tony Hung, to complain that the service has somehow "crossed a line" by building a business "on the backs" of other people's content.
The problem, however, is that this is simply untrue. If it were true, then a ton of online sites would be guilty of the same thing -- including Google. But the reason it's not true is quite simple to understand: if all they were doing was reusing other people's content, then there would be no incentive or reason for people to visit these sites. Why go to these sites when you could just go to the original sites? The reason that people go to these sites, and the reason why these sites can build a business, is because they add value to the content in the form of some sort of service that does more with it. They're not building businesses "on the backs" of others' content, they're building services that people find useful as a way to find, interact with, share or comment on that content.
Unfortunately, though, as we see time and time again, people seem to overvalue the content and undervalue the service. That's why you have newsapers that sue Google, even as it's bringing them more traffic. They overvalue their own content, and undervalue the service that Google is providing: making it easier to find their content. The same is true of just about every other service that kicks off this kind of debate. The service is making it easier to consume, read, share, comment on, organize, find or interact with the content. Otherwise, it wouldn't get any users. The content is important, yes -- and valuable too -- but don't underestimate the value of the service that it performs on that content. So the next time one of these fights breaks out, pay attention to whether people are unfairly blaming a site for "stealing" content, and notice if they're undervaluing the service itself.


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Check availabiliy at the world's Wedding and Destination Wedding Venues. Hold or book time instantly so that you can save the date for your perfect wedding day. Whether planning a destination wedding in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Florida or even a wedding on board a cruise – you can find out instantly if your wedding date and time are available then place that date on hold or book it right from this site.
Not sure where you want to get married yet? Browse our wedding venues to find more information on the wedding destination, government requirements, wedding packages and available wedding options. The Wedding Day Calendar gives you instant answers, any time of day or night.


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Garvey Traditional Scone Mix
You've never made scones quite like these – soft, light and flaky, with a taste and texture somewhere between a biscuit and a shortbread cookie. This baking mix is a family recipe from Washington-based Garvey's, which prides itself on using the finest organic ingredients.
- Easy-to-use mix produces scones that are tender and light with a slightly crisp exterior.
- Made with the highest-quality organic flour.
- Sweetened with organic evaporated cane juice.
- Enjoy for breakfast or teatime, served with butter, jam, clotted cream or lemon curd.
- 9 oz. (makes 8 scones).
- Made in USA.
- Certified Organically-grown Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Monocalcium Phosphate, Salt, Baking Soda. No Preservatives.
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3–5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $26 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
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The Odyssey of Captain Beefheart: Rolling Stone's 1970 Cover Story
"Uh oh, the phone," Captain Beefheart mumbled as he placed his tarnished soprano saxophone in its case. "I have to answer the telephone." It was a very peculiar thing to say. The phone had not rung.
Beefheart walked quickly from his place by the upright piano across the dimly lit living room to the cushion where the telephone lay. He waited. After ten seconds of stony silence it finally rang. None of the half dozen or so persons in the room seemed at all astounded by what had just happened. In the world of Captain Beefheart, the extraordinary is the rule.
This article appeared in the May 14, 1970 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.
At age 29, Captain Beefheart, also known as Don Van Vliet, lives in seclusion and near poverty in a small house in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Although it appeared on several occasions in the past that he would rise to brilliant stardom as a singer and bandleader, circumstances have always intervened to force him into oblivion. In his six years in the music business he has appeared in public no more than 25 times.
Captain Beefheart Dead At Age 69
Since virtually no one has ever seen him play, stories about his life and art have taken on the character of legend, that is, of endless tall tales. People who saw him at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco three years ago will now tell you, "I heard that he's living in Death Valley somewhere" or "Didn't he just finally give up?" But there is considerably more to the man that the legend indicates.
The fact is that Don Van Vliet is alive, healthy and happy and putting together a new Magic Band to go on tour soon. As his recent album Trout Mask Replica testifies he is one of the most original and gifted creators of music in America today. If all goes well, the next six months should see the re-emergence of Captain Beefheart's erratic genius into the world and the acceptance of his work by the larger audience it has always deserved.
The Art of Music: Captain Beefheart
The crucial problem in Beefheart's career has been that few people have ever been able to accept him for what he is. His managers, musicians, fans and critics listen to his incredible voice, his amazing lyrics, his chaotic harp and soprano sax, and uniformly decide that Beefheart could be great if he would only (1) sing more clearly and softly (2) go commercial, (3) play blues songs that people could understand and dance to. "Don, you're potentially the greatest white blues singer of all time," his managers tell him, thinking that they're paying him a compliment. Record companies eagerly seek the Beefheart voice with its unprecedented four and one half octave range. They realize that the man can produce just about any sound he sets his mind to and that he interprets lyrics as well as any singer in the business. Urging him to abandon the Magic Band and to sing the blues with slick studio musicians, record producers have always been certain that Don Vliet was just a hype away from the big money.
But Beefheart stubbornly continues what he's doing and waits patiently for everyone else to come around. He has steadfastly refused to leave the Magic Band or to abandon the integrity of his art. "I realize," he says, "that somebody playing free music isn't as commercial as a hamburger stand. But is it because you can eat a hamburger and hold it in your hand and you can't do that with music? Is it too free to control?"
Rolling Stone's #58 Greatest Album of All Time: Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, 'Trout Mask Replica'
Beefheart's life as a musician began in the town of Lancaster nestled in the desert of Southern California. He had gone to high school there and became a friend of another notorious Lancasterian, Frank Zappa. In his late teens Don Van Vliet listened intensively to two kinds of music — Mississippi Delta blues and the avant-garde jazz of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Although he was attracted to music and played briefly with a rhythm and blues group called the Omens, he did not yet consider music his vocation. He enrolled at Antelope Valley Junior College in 1959 as an art major, but soon grew suspicious of books and dropped out. For a brief while he was employed as a commercial artist and as a manager of a chain of shoe stores. "I built that chain into a thriving, growing concern," he recalls. "Then as a kind of art statement I quit right in the middle of the Christmas rush leaving the whole thing in chaos."
In the early Sixties Don Van Vliet moved to Cucamonga to be with Frank Zappa who was composing music and producing motion pictures. It was at about this time that Van Vliet and Zappa hatched up the name Captain Beefheart, "But don't ask me why or how," Beefheart comments today. The two made plans to form a rock and roll band called the Soots and to make a movie to be named Captain Beefheart Meets The Grunt People, but nothing ever came of either project. In time Zappa left for Los Angeles and formed the Mothers. Beefheart returned to Lancaster and gathered together a group of "desert musicians." In 1964 the Magic Band was ready to begin playing teen age dances in its home town.
The one stage appearance of the first Beefheart ensemble was bizarre to the point of frightening. All members of the Magic Band were dressed in black leather coats and pants with black high heel boots. The lead guitar player had a patch over one eye and long dangling arms that reached from his shoulders to half way below his knees. At a time when long hair was still a rarity, the Captain sported long dark locks down to his waist. It was simply outrageous.
The band was an immediate sensation in Lancaster and very soon its fame began to spread throughout Southern California. Beefheart's brand of abrasive blues-rock was truly a novelty to young listeners in 1964. Record companies interested in the new sound began to take notice. In mid 1964 Beefheart entered into the first of a long series of disastrous agreements with record producers.
His first release on A&M was a new version of "Diddy Wah Diddy" made popular by Bo Diddley. It featured his own style of frantic harp playing and an incredibly "low down" voice hitting notes at least a half octave lower than the lowest notes ever sung by any other rock performer. The record was a hit in Los Angeles and for a while it appeared that Beefheart was going to be a brilliant success in the music business.
But it was not to be. Beefheart recorded an album of new music and took it to Jerry Moss of A&M (Alpert and Moss). Moss listened to the songs — "Electricity," "Zig Zag Wanderer," "Autumn's Child," etc. — and declared that they were all "too negative." He refused to release the album. Beefheart was crushed by this insensitivity and abruptly quit playing. A&M released the remaining single it had in the can. The words to "Frying Pan" now seemed strangely prophetic: "Go down town/ You walk around/A man comes up, says he's gonna put you down/You try to succeed to fulfill your need/Then a car hits you and people watch you bleed/Out of the frying pan into the fire/Anything you say they's gonna call you a liar."
The record went nowhere and neither did Beefheart. For almost one year he lived in retirement back in Lancaster.
The second break in Beefheart's career arrived in 1965 when producer Bob Krasnow of Kama Sutra agreed to release the same material that A&M had rejected. Beefheart reassembled the Magic Band and returned to the studio to record the twelve cuts of Safe As Milk (Buddah BDS 5001), an album which is one of the forgotten classics of rock and roll history. Even though the album had been delayed for a year, it was still far ahead of its time. It featured the unmistakable Beefheart style of blues and bottleneck guitar, the first use in popular music of an electronic instrument called the therimen, and the first effective synthesis in America of rock and roll and Delta blues.
For the first time also, Beefheart was able to demonstrate the power and range of his voice. On one song, for example, Beefheart's vocal literally destroyed a $1200 Telefunken microphone. Hank Cicalo, engineer for the sessions, reports that on the song "Electricity" Beefheart's voice simply wouldn't track at certain points. Although a number of microphones were employed, none of them could stand the Captain's wailing "EEEE-Lec-Triccc-ittt-EEEEEEEE" on the last chorus. This, incidentally, can be heard on the record.
With an excellent album under his belt Beefheart felt confident enough to go on the road. In early 1966 he went on a tour of England and Europe where Safe As Milk had attracted considerable attention. When he returned to the States he played gigs at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and the Family Dog in San Francisco. Well received in the burgeoning psychedelic rock scene, it seemed once again that Beefheart was on the verge of success. The Magic Band was scheduled to play a gig at the Fillmore and to appear at the Monterey Pop Festival, both of which could have been springboards to the top.
Then disaster struck. Beefheart's lead guitar player suddenly quit the band leaving a gap which could not be filled. The unusual nature of Beefheart's songs make it necessary for him to spend months teaching each new musician his music. The departure of the lead guitar destroyed Beefheart's chances in the San Francisco scene. The Monterey Pop Festival went on without him. Those who attended it never knew what they had missed.
From this point in the story, events become even more chaotic and difficult to unravel. Beefheart returned to Los Angeles and tried to put together a new band and a new set of songs. His producer, Bob Krasnow, was to arrange the second Beefheart album on Buddah. According to sources in the Los Angeles record industry, Krasnow deliberately allowed the option on Beefheart's contract with Buddah to expire. When this happened he signed Beefheart to a personal contract and then sold the rights to Beefheart's next album to both Buddah Records and MGM. Tapes of the album were then made at two different studios, apparently at the expense of both companies. When the sessions were finished in the summer of 1968 Beefheart left for a second tour of Europe.
In Beefheart's absence Bob Krasnow released the album Strictly Personal under his own label, Blue Thumb, without Beefheart's approval. As lawsuits filled the air, Beefheart himself was left in bewilderment. The record had been electronically altered through a process called phasing which totally obliterated the sound which he had been striving to put down. "That's the reason that album is as bad as it is," he sighs when asked about the incident. "I don't think it was the group's fault. They really played their ass off — as much as they had to play off."
But despite the electronic and legalistic hanky panky surrounding its production, Strictly Personal is an excellent album. The guitars of the Magic Band mercilessly bend and stretch notes in a way that suggests that the world of music has wobbled clear off its axis. Beefheart's singing is again at full power. In songs like "Trust Us" and "Son of Mirror Man — Mere Man" it sounds as if all the joy and pain in the universe have found a single voice. Throughout the album the lyrics demonstrate Beefheart's ability to juxtapose delightful humor with frightening insights — "Well they rolled around the corner / Turned up seven come eleven/That's my lucky number, Lord/I feel like I'm in heaven."
The unfortunate fact about the second album was that few people were able to get into it. Apparently, the combination of Beefheart's musical progress and Krasnow's electronic idiocy made the album too much for most listeners to take. Strictly Personal sold poorly and did nothing to advance the band's popularity.
To this day there exists a strange love/hate relationship between Beefheart and Krasnow over the record. Krasnow claims that Beefheart still owes him $113,000 and that as a result of Beefheart's disorganized way of handling money, he has been thrown in jail twice. Beefheart, on the other hand, usually cites Krasnow as a charlatan and pirate — the man most responsible for destroying his career. At other times, both men speak of each other with genuine respect, sympathy and affection. "I'd really like to have him back with me," Krasnow said recently. "He's actually a good man," Beefheart will tell you.
Most of the Captain's relationships with those close to him are of this sort. Everybody's despicable villain one day, a marvelous hero the next.
The current focus of Beefheart's love/hate dialectic accounts for much of his current activity and inactivity. This time the prime protagonist is Frank Zappa.
Zappa has always had a great admiration for his old friend from Lancaster — an admiration often bordering on worship. Like so many of those around Beefheart, Zappa considers the man to be one of the few great geniuses of our time. When the smoke had cleared from the Blue Thumb snafu, Zappa came to Beefheart and told him that he would put out an album on his label, Straight Records. Whatever Beefheart wanted to do was O.K. and there would be no messing around with layers of electronic bullshit. The result was Trout Mask Replica, an album which this writer considers to be the most astounding and most important work of art ever to appear on a phonograph record.
When Beefheart learned of the opportunity to make an album totally without restrictions, he sat down at the piano and in eight and a half hours wrote all twenty-eight songs included on Trout Mask. When I asked him jokingly why it took that long, he replied, "Well, I'd never played the piano before and I had to figure out the fingering." With a stack of cassettes going full time, Don banged out "Frownland," "Dachau Blues," "Veterans' Day Poppy," and all of the others complete with words. When he is creating, this is exactly how Don works — fast and furious.
"I don't spend a lot of time thinking. It just comes through me. I don't know how else to explain it." In his box of cassettes there are probably dozens of albums of Trout Mask Replica quality or better. The trouble is that once the compositions are down it takes him a long time to teach them to his musicians. In this case it took almost a year of rehearsal.
Trout Mask Replica is truly beyond comparison in the realm of contemporary music. While it has roots in avantgarde jazz and Delta blues, Beefheart has taken his music far beyond these influences. The distinctive glass finger guitar of Zoot Horn Rollo and steel appendage guitar of Antennae Jimmy Semens continues the style of guitar playing which he has been developing from the start. It is a strange cacophonous sound — fragmented, often irritating, but always natural, penetrating and true. Beefheart himself does not play the guitar, but he does teach each and every note to his players. The same holds true for the drums. Don does not play the drums but has always loved unusual rhythms and writes some of the most delightful drum breaks in all of music.
On Trout Mask Replica Beefheart sings 20 or so of his different voices and blows a wild array of post-Ornette licks through his "breather apparatus" — soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone and musette. When Beefheart inhales before taking a horn solo, all of the oxygen in the room seems to vanish into his lungs. Then he closes his eyes, blows out and lets his fingers dance and leap over the keys. The sound that bursts forth is a perfect compliment to his singing — free, unrefined and full of humor.
Trout Mask is the perfect blend of the lyrics, spirit and conception that had been growing in Don Van Vliet's mind for a decade. Although it is a masterpiece, it will probably be many years before American audiences catch up to the things that happen on this totally amazing record.
For the first time in his career, Beefheart was entirely satisfied with his album. Zappa had made good his promise to give him the freedom he required and in fact issue the record in a pure and unaltered form. Nevertheless, the Beefheart/Zappa relationship is presently anything but an amicable one. Beefheart claims that Zappa is promoting Trout Mask Replica in a tasteless manner. He does not appreciate being placed on the Bizarre-Straight roster of freaks next to Alice Cooper and the GTO's. He constantly complains that Straight Records' promotion campaign is doing him more harm than good.
Straight Records on the other hand claims that Beefheart's problems are all of his own making. He refuses to go on tour and procrastinates about making a follow-up album. "What can we do?" a Straight P.R. man asked me. "Beefheart is a genius, but a very difficult man to work with. All we can do is try to be as reasonable as possible." Straight's brass recall that during the recording of the parts of Trout Mask which were done in Beefheart's home, Don Van Vliet asked for a tree surgeon to be in residence. The trees around the house, he believed, might become frightened of the noise and fall over. Straight refused to hire the tree surgeon, but later received a bill for $250 for such services. After the sessions were over Beefheart had hired his own tree doctor to give the oaks and cedars in his yard a thorough medical check up — his way of thanking them for not falling down.
In another classic story of this sort, Herb Cohen of Straight recalls that one day he noticed that Beefheart had ordered 20 sets of sleigh bells for a recording session. Cohen pointed out that even if Frank Zappa and the engineer were added to the bell ringing this would account for only 14 sleigh bells — one in each hand of the performers. "What are you going to do with the other six?" he asked. "We'll overdub them," Beefheart replied.
The fact of the matter seems to be that precisely the same qualities of mind which make Beefheart such an astounding poet and composer are those which make it difficult for him to relate to Frank Zappa or anyone else in the orthodox music business. Like many notable creative spirits, Beefheart's personality is not geared to the efficient use of time or resources. For this reason and for the reason that he has often been burned by the industry, Beefheart is very suspicious of those who try to influence the direction his career takes. To see why he has such continual trouble adjusting to the practicalities of his vocation, it will do well for us to look briefly at the incredible story of Beefheart's life before he became a musician.
Don Van Vliet was born in 1941 in Glendale, California, to normal middle-class parents. He grew up without problems as any child would in Glendale — until the age of five. It was then that he decided that civilized American life was a gigantic fraud. Don noticed that this society had established a destructive tyranny over nature; over all the animals and plants of the Earth. He also became aware of the fact that America extended this tyranny over each man and that it was apparently out to include him in "the great take over." They wanted to teach him proper language, social rules, arithmetic and all of the other noxious techniques required to live in this country. Young Don suddenly rebelled and refused to go along.
Looking back on it now Beefheart recalls one day of enlightenment. "My mother, who I called 'Sue' rather than 'mother' because that was her real name, was walking me along a path to school — the first day of kindergarten. We came to an intersection and she walked right out into the way of a speeding car. I reached up with both hands and pulled her out of the way. She could have killed us both. It was then that I thought to myself, 'And she's taking me to school.' "
So Don did not attend school, at least not regularly. Instead, he took up sculpting all the birds of the air, fish in the sea and animals on the land. Because he refused to come out for dinner, his parents were obliged to slide his meals under the bedroom door to him. It was Don's belief that he could re-establish ties to everything natural through the art of sculpture. Soon he was good enough at what he was doing to attract the attention of professional Los Angeles artists. One day during a visit to the Griffith Park Zoo he met and befriended Augustonio Rodriquez, the famous Portugese sculptor. Together they did a weekly television show in which Don would sculpt the images of nature's art while Mr. Rodriquez looked on.
Understandably, Don's parents were concerned about the unusual inclinations of their son. When at age thirteen he won a scholarship to study art in Europe, they took strong steps to discourage him. "My parents told me all artists were queers," Beefheart recalls. "They moved me to the desert, first to Mojave and later to Lancaster."
But even though Don's life as a sculptor had ended, he never gave up the vision of art and nature that he had discovered early in life. Neither did he forsake the wonderfully unstructured consciousness with which he had been born. "I think that everyone's perfect when they're a baby and I just never grew up. I'm not saying that I'm perfect, because I did grow up. But I'm still a baby."
Beefheart still believes that in nature all creatures are equals. Man in his perversity forgets this and builds ridiculous hierarchies and artificial systems to set himself apart from his roots. "People are just too far out. Do you know what I mean? Too far out — far away from nature." He still sets out sugar for the ants, creatures that he considers most similar to man in their mode of life. "If you give them sugar," Beefheart contends, "they won't have to eat the poison."
In songs like "Wild Life," "My Human Gets Me Blues," and "Ant Man Bee" Beefheart presents with great subtlety the truths which students of ecology are just now beginning to recognize. "Now the bee takes his honey/Then he sets the flower free/But in God's garden only man 'n the ants/They won't let each other be." It is entirely possible that it is in this area that Beefheart will eventually attract a wide audience. If those who are delving into ecology would listen carefully to Trout Mask Replica, they could advance their understanding by leaps and bounds. Beefheart has lived these crucial lessons from his very first days.
Another definite carryover from Beefheart's unusual childhood can be seen in the marvelous quality of his lyrics and poems. Since young Don Van Vliet decided that civilization was a trap, he refused to use civilized English in a linear, logical way and learned the entire language as a vest and amusing game. As a result, virtually everything that he says or writes turns out to be poetry. In a conversation with Beefheart the entire structure of verbal communication explodes. A barrage of puns, rhymes, illogicalities, absurd definitions, and unending word play fills the dialogue with a wonderful confusion.
"You can't make generalizations," he said to me during one such conversation.
"Why not?" I replied taking the bait.
"I wonder if anyone's ever made General I. Zation?" he continued, this time apparently talking about the sex life of some unknown military hero. "If all the generals came in here right now, I bet they'd bring those IZATIONS with them." Could he be talking about some secret weapon? There was no time to think about it, for in a flash Beefheart had gone on to a discussion of people who were "trying to put bandaids on The Flaw." The Flaw?
I have seen several occasions in which visitors to Beefheart's home have totally freaked because of this manner of talking. Not many people, after all, feel comfortable listening to the English language collapse before their very ears.
All of this wonderment, of course, comes through very clearly in Beefheart's lyrics. In "My Human Gets Me Blues," for example, the Captain sings, "I saw yuh dancin' in yer x-ray gingham dress/I knew you were under duress/I knew you under your dress." One way of getting into songs like this is to understand that Beefheart is primarily fascinated with the sounds of words and their many ambiguities rather than the explicit meaning of terms. He believes that all truth comes from playing rather than from planning. Playing is what children do, what lovers do, and what musicians and poets ought to do, if they could escape the chains of structure and see the light. In both his music and his lyrics Beefheart is constantly engaged in an ongoing process of play. Behind the onslaught of words stand certain insights that Beefheart wishes to communicate.
The secret is, however, that they can be communicated only after the listener surrenders his neurotic reliance on words and established forms. "I'm trying to create my own language," Beefheart observes "a language without any periods."
In his discouragement with the music business Beefheart has now turned much of his energy to writing as an outlet for his creative demon. The closets of his house are strewn with thousands upon thousands of poems and at least five unpublished novels. The song "Old Fart At Play" from Trout Mask Replica is a tiny excerpt from a long novel of the same name which Beefheart hopes to publish soon.
The formlessness and intensity of Beefheart's music have often led people to conclude that he is merely another product of the drug culture. Sadly, much of the promotion material on him in past years has implied that he is the king of the drug heads and hip freaks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Don Van Vliet does not use drugs and does not allow members of the Magic Band to do so either. Like his friend Frank Zappa, Beefheart admonishes everyone to stay away from LSD, speed and marijuana. The reason for this is not only that he believes that drugs have harmful and irreversible effects, but also that each person has the power to get "there" all by himself.
In my conversation with the man, Beefheart would often smile broadly and tilt his head far back on his neck and say, "You know, I'm not even here. I just stick around for my friends." Moving his hand up and out from his temple and wiggling his fingers (the Beefheart — "Far Out" sign) he would then say, "You're not even here either. You know that. Don't kid yourself. You just stick around for your friends too."
Like Socrates, Beefheart believes that everyone knows everything he needs to know already. What he tries to do is to make them realize this. Most people, he reports, fight it every inch of the way. They refuse to be free even when they see what it's like. "They just have too much at stake."
The absolutely boundless character of Beefheart's mind has taken him into investigations of extra-sensory perception, clairvoyance and even reincarnation. In addition to the ability to answer the phone before it rings, Beefheart is apparently able to foretell parts of the future. On all of my visits to his house in the San Fernando Valley, Beefheart told me that he knew in advance that I was coming. On one occasion he was able to prove it to me by showing that he'd put on "The Florsheim Shoe" and bright red socks which we'd joked about on my earlier visit. "I wore them just for you," he said holding out his foot. Beefheart also maintains that he has led previous lives. At present he believes that he is a reincarnation of a man named Van Vliet who was a friend of Rembrandt's. "Van Vliet was a tremendous painter who could never finish anything. Rembrandt used to write him letters saying, 'I'm pretty good, but if you ever got it together ... wow!' "
In order to pursue the possibilities of this previous existence, the Captain has recently begun painting again. Like everything else he does, his paintings are simply astounding. During one of our conversations he went to a two foot tall stack of poster paper and pulled out one of his recent works. Holding it under his chin and peering over at me, Beefheart asked, "Well, what do you see?" I stared into the splots and blobs of yellow, green and red and had to confess that the painting said nothing to me. With that Beefheart reached around and pointed to a small object in the middle of his masterpiece. "See the little finger with the decal ring?" he asked. I looked carefully. Sure enough, there in the midst of the chaos — a little finger with a decal ring! "Is that what it's about?" "It sure is," he replied.
What, then, of the future of Captain Beefheart? What are the chances that he will leave his self-imposed house arrest and begin to spread his music and magic more widely into the world?
At present the Captain stands at a crucial turning point. On the face of it everything seems to be in his favor. His new Magic Band is probably the best he's ever had and may be one of the best in the country. He has recently added drummer Artie Trip, formerly of the Mothers of Invention, who provides exactly the right blend of rhythmic novelty and imagination to the group's sound. Zoot Horn Rollo and Rockette Morton, musicians that Beefheart taught from scratch, have reached musical maturity and are eager to get out before the public. Both of them are remarkably talented and love the music they play with an unwavering passion. The Captain himself is clearly at the peak of his creativity in terms of both composition and performance. His new songs in rehearsal — "Woe Is A Me Bop," "Alice in Blunderland," and others — are even better than the tunes on Trout Mask Replica. I have heard the new Magic Band play this music in the shelter of Beefheart's living room and, believe me, it's simply incredible.
Beyond this, Beefheart now has around him a group of associates that he should be able to trust. His new manager, Grant Gibbs, is both honest and thoroughly sensitive to the special needs and foibles of his artist. Previously an unbiased observer of Beefheart's career, Mr. Gibbs is now trying to untangle the web of contractual knots which the Magic Band had stumbled into over the years. Although Beefheart thinks otherwise, Straight Records is probably giving him as good and forthright a deal as he'd find anywhere in the business. And there's no dearth of opportunities either. Beefheart is very much in demand both in the United States and in Europe. Offers for a tour of England and the Continent have come from five different agencies in recent weeks. He could also do well touring college campuses and jazz and pop festivals in America. All Don has to do is say yes.
At the point of decision, Captain Beefheart wavers erratically. He hires and fires musicians with great abandon and then says that the group is not yet ready. He also creates imaginary enemies in his mind and then spends his days trying to figure out ways to fight them off. During the writing of this article, for example, Van Vliet became convinced that I was public enemy number one. For days he brooded about the crimes that I was supposedly committing against him. What Beefheart cannot seem to understand is that he has nothing like the number of foes he thinks he has. There are literally dozens of people who would do anything to enable him to perform on stage again. All those who may have had evil designs on him have long since retired in frustration.
Fortunately, it appears that Beefheart is regaining the necessary confidence in himself and his surroundings. He has recently married a lovely girl named Jan who is a constant companion in the wild and delightful realm of Beefheartism imagination. He has also made tentative preparations for a tour and a new album. All of it hangs on choices that he will make in the next several weeks.
But who knows? Perhaps 1970 will be the year that we finally catch a glimpse of the man behind the Trout Mask. Maybe this will be the year that all of us can experience the amazing wisdom and humor that Captain Beefheart has in his grasp. Clearly though, it's strictly up to him.


text:
Recently noticing that while making or receiving a call, the net connection on the Galaxy S2 is lost. Once the call is over, the connection is restored automatically. OS is android 2.3.6 (gingerbread).
can anyone please help if it is a handset problem or any setting that needs to be updated.


text:
From ForensicsWiki
RAR Archives (Roshal ARchive file format) is a proprietary format for storing information created by Eugene Roshal. The format is currently handled by Alexander Roshal, Eugene's brother.
The file has the magic number of:
0x 52 61 72 21 1A 07 00
which is a break down of the following to describe an Archive Header:
- 0x6152 - HEAD_CRC
- 0x72 - HEAD_TYPE
- 0x1a21 - HEAD_FLAGS
- 0x0007 - HEAD_SIZE
The RAR format is comprised of many sub-formats that have changed over the years. The different formats and their descriptions are as follows:
- 1.3 (Does not have the RAR! signature)
- There is difficulty finding information regarding this sub-format. Please update if you know something.
- 1.5
- Utilizes a proprietary compression method that is not available to the public.
- Considered the root model of subsequent formats.
- A detailed list of information can be found here.
- 2.0
- Utilizes a proprietary compression method that is not available to the public.
- Based off of version 1.5 of the RAR file format.
- 3.0
- Utilizes the PPMII and Lempel-Ziv (LZSS)] algorithms.
- Encryption now uses cipher block chaining (CBC) instead of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
- Based off of version 1.5 of the RAR file format.
- 1.3 (Does not have the RAR! signature)
This only way to create a RAR file is using the Winrar software. There are several implementations of the process to open a RAR file (commonly known as the "unrar" process). Some of them are:
- unrarLib
- RAR file unarchiver written in C
- Easy implementation with a header file and the source code file
- Information Link
- WinRAR
- Only software that can create and open a RAR file
- Distributed by a proprietary license
- WinRAR executable for Windows
- UnRAR
- Created by Eugene Roshal for opening up RAR files only
- May not be used to reverse engineer the RAR file format and create RAR files
- Source code provided for people to implement/integrate methods of opening RAR files
- Additionally, implementations of UnRAR are available for a plethora of operating systems
- Download Link
- The Unarchiver
- Utility made for Mac OSX to open a multitude of files, including RAR files
- Very handy for dealing with multiple file types
- Source Code Download
- Information Website
- 7-Zip
- Utility made for Windows applications to open a multitude of files, including RAR files
- Download Link
There is a lot more software to open RAR files, but have been omitted due to redundancy.
See Also
- Wikipedia: RAR
- RAR File Format Information
- RAR File Format Technical Information for Version 4.11 File:RARFileStructure.txt


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- Home
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- I Am New
I Am New to FBCG
Visiting a church can sometimes be a little overwhelming. If this is your first time as a guest, you may have lots of questions such as what time is service, is there praise & worship, where can I park, are there classes for children, etc. This section will give you all the details about what you can expect!
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- Inside FBCG
Inside FBCGFirst Baptist Church of Glenarden is so much more than Sunday service. We are a Bible-believing, Bible teaching church that offers biblical instruction 7 days a week. With more than 100 ministries, there's something for everyone at FBCG. We're only as strong as everyone working together to advance God's kingdom. So get connected, be connected and stay connected.
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- Who We Are
Who We AreFirst Baptist Church of Glenarden has grown tremendously since its inception in 1917. This year we're celebrating 99 years of ministry. What makes us tick is our love for Jesus and God's people. The impact of our ministry reaches locally, nationally and internationally.
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- Messages + Media
Messages + MediaOur mission is to develop dynamic disciples. You'll find a number of resources to help you along your journey to becoming a follower of Jesus, from messages on CD and DVD and so much more! If you have questions to particular challenges in life, more than likely you'll find the answer here.
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- Our Campuses
Our Campuses »Visit PageOne church ministering at three campuses describes FBCG! While ministry takes place at each campus, the buildings are as distinct as their architecture. The Worship Center, Ministry Center and Empowerment Center are located just 7 miles apart in Upper Marlboro and Landover, Md.
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- Contact Us
Contact Us »Visit PageWe'd love to hear from you. If you have any questions or need to speak with someone, phone us at 301-773-3600 or send an email to . Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Spiritual Encouragement
Spiritual EncouragementThe Bible is filled with truths on dealing with anger, unforgiveness, grief, addictions, relational, spiritual and mental health issues. If you find yourself challenged in one of these areas, First Baptist Church of Glenarden offers a number of ministries to help make you complete and whole as the Lord intended.
DISCLAIMER: The information included on this site is for spiritual edification only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Should you seek the spiritual counsel and/or encouragement from the following ministries, please note that the advice of lay leaders is NOT intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. The counselor is not a psychotherapist or a physician, nor is s/he trained in diagnosing psychological or medical conditions. We strongly encourage you to talk with your healthcare provider about any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
HEALING TRANSITIONS AND BEREAVEMENT MINISTRYThis ministry gives hope to those suffering from serious or terminal illness, or grieving the loss of a loved one. Members are trained in the areas of prayer, healing and grief support.
HTB MEMBERS MEETING DATE/TIME: 3rd Saturday at 9 a.m. (MC)
PRAYER/TRANSITIONS SUPPORT:Email for appointment.
GRIEF SUPPORT:Adults, Mondays 7–9 p.m. (MC); Children, Sundays noon service (WC)
Encouragement Coaching
LIFE BUILDERS MINISTRYThe Life Builders Ministry offers spiritual, emotional and personal encouragement to individuals by helping them apply biblical principles to their everyday life situations. This occurs during one-on-one sessions with trained encouragement coaches. In addition, "Saturday Night Live" (SNL), a proactive event held several times throughout the year, allows a person to process God's Word in their life in a group setting.
MEETING DATE/TIME: 3rd Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
MarriageFor marital counseling, please call the church at 301-773-3600 to schedule an appointment with our Couples Ministry director and assistant director, Ministers Skip & Beverly Little. Please note that due to the church size, this service is only available to First Baptist Church of Glenarden members.
Sexual Addiction – SAMSON'S DILEMMA
Men learn how to put proper boundaries in place in order to free them from sexual temptation. Through this small-group study, Samson's Dilemma teaches men how to be victorious against Satan.
MEETING DATE/TIME: Every Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Life-controlling Problems
TURNING POINTThis ministry offers a safe, healthy environment to help individuals overcome life-controlling problems, such as substance abuse, anger, addictions, etc., in a small group setting. Turning Point also has separate classes for adults and youths ages 13-17.
MEETING DATE/TIME: Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Sexual Abuse
TAMAR MINISTRYIf you've been sexually abused, Tamar provides spiritual healing through a peaceful environment. Women learn to trust one another and to be open about their past experiences.
MEETING DATE/TIME: 1st Saturday at 10 a.m. & 3rd Friday at 7 p.m.
SPIRITUAL CARESThroughout our lifetimes, we all go through highs and lows in the cycle of life. Our Spiritual Cares team is trained to provide biblical counseling in the areas of marital and family relations, parenting, grief, anger and unforgiveness, as well as spiritual discouragement.
If you are experiencing challenges and need to speak with someone, please call the church at 301-773-3600 to schedule an appointment with a member of our Spiritual Cares team. Please note that due to the church size, this service is only available to First Baptist Church of Glenarden members in good standing who are active in a ministry, regularly attend Bible study, participate in The Institutes and tithe.


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Johnson: Wrong on Clinton emotion
Sen. Ron Johnson on Thursday said he "probably speculated and I shouldn't have" when he charged a day earlier that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used emotional appeals to avoid tough questions during a Senate hearing on Benghazi, Libya.
"I probably speculated and I shouldn't have," Johnson (R-Wis.) said on CNN"s "Starting Point." "The bottom line here, again, the reason it makes a difference is, the American people deserve the truth from their president and from this administration, and they haven't gotten it yet. And I'm going to continue to try to figure out what the truth is."
Story Continued Below
( Also on POLITICO: Earlier: Johnson: Clinton evaded with 'theatrics')
Johnson on Wednesday elicited a forceful response from Clinton during a series of questions concerning what caused the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi .
"With all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead Americans," Clinton said, adding,"What difference, at this point, does it make?"
Following the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Johnson told BuzzFeed: "I think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead Americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions. It was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me."
But on Thursday, he said that while he shouldn't have "speculated" about Clinton, he still wanted to answers regarding what happened in Benghazi last fall, as well as what could be done to prevent another such attack.
"Well, listen, I was responding to a question, maybe I shouldn't have speculated," he said at another point during the CNN interview. "I agree with Secretary Clinton. We need to understand what happened so we can prevent it in the future. But again, we do need to get to the bottom of what actually happened. What is the truth of the matter here? Did the administration mislead us? I absolutely believe they did. That's [important] for the American people to understand."
Several days after the attacks, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice went on the Sunday talk shows and said that, according to the best information available, the violence appeared to be the result of a "spontaneous" outburst — an assessment the administration later walked back. Johnson's line of questioning touched on that sequence on Wednesday.


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It was a cool start to the morning Sunday in South Florida but a warmer afternoon was expected with temperatures reaching back into the upper 70s.
High pressure has regained control and will leave dry air and plenty of sunshine. Mostly clear skies will prevail overnight with temperatures not as chilly. Overnight lows will reach the lower 60s.
High pressure sticks around for quite a few days leaving dry air and stable conditions. A warming trend is expected throughout the work week with temperatures reaching the lower 80s again by Tuesday. Mostly sunny skies will stay until Thursday when there will more humidity in the air. Warm temperatures in the 80s stick around through next weekend.


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Who: Steve Birger, 56, Weston
From: After owning and operating Stevie B's Rib Cafe in Weston, Pembroke Pines and Boca Raton, for the past 28 years
To: Prakas & Co. as a licensed Real Estate sales associate and restaurant specialist
Start date: April of 2013
About: Prakas & Co, established in 2000 is a real estate brokerage firm that focuses on restaurant, nightclub and hospitality properties throughout Florida and other high-profile properties throughout the country.
Job duties: description: I joined as a sales associate specializing in selling, leasing, site selections and consulting for restaurants.
Experience: Worked as the general manager for Chicago 's "That Steak Joynt," steakhouse, located next door to the famous Second City comedy club. I was behind the development and expansion of the celebrated Planet Hollywood restaurant chain in South Florida and internationally. Other restaurant chain expansions include Stevie B's Rib Café (Chicago), Wish's Pub, The Official All Star Café in South Beach, Stevie B's Rib Café in Weston, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines and Boca Raton.
Education: Bachelor of Science in hospitality management from Florida International University.
Awards: Named one of Chicago's up and coming restaurateurs by Restaurant Hospitality Group Magazine for Stevie B's Rib Café and Wish's Pub concepts and Stevie B's went on to win "Best Ribs" in Chicago and garnered much acclaim; youngest member on the board of the Chicago Fine Dining Association;
Why the move: All the years of the physicality and emotional ups and downs of the restaurant business were enough - after 33 years it was time to try something different where I could use my wealth of knowledge. It was a natural transition. I moved into this area of the business because I love the "art of the deal." I'm able to understand the seller and buyer from so many years of being in both positions.
Top goal in your new position: To farm the Fort Lauderdale market and become the "go to" guy in area if you want to open a restaurant.
Industry wisdom: What I've learned so far is that this job requires great patience as opposed to what I've been doing where you have immediate feedback every night.
On the side: Married to Alena Birger and we have two children; in my free time I enjoy writing.
firstname.lastname@example.com or 954-356-4662, Google+ and Twitter @mindingyourbiz


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In 2012, National Ministers' environment choices left us 100% poorer - or pooer, in the case of our impure, faecally-contaminated rivers
Three years ago, new to the job, Trade (and former Conservation) Minister Tim Groser said our brand would be built on "world class environmental standards":
Conservation Minister Tim Groser, in a speech in July, made the link between the state of the environment and our economic prosperity.
He said of New Zealand's place in the world: "The point of difference is not price or volume but rather brand value based around world class environmental standards." With food in particular, demand for sustainable environmental practices was growing, he said.
The Prime Minister picked up on the theme in a November speech to Federated Farmers - after the Guardian's criticism of the blow-out in our greenhouse gas emissions. Key also noted moves by US and British supermarkets to stock only sustainably produced products ... But Key didn't go on to outline any Government initiatives towards sustainability ...
And yet here's Groser in 2012 - yesterday - accusing people like, well, me of using that same brand as a "stick to beat New Zealand", and calling it "deeply unhelpful".
This followed dummy-spitting at water scientist Dr Mike Joy, by corporate lobbyist Mark Unsworth (economic "sabotage"), and talkback host Sean Plunket ("traitor").
In 2012, this government's economic focus has been more determined, and more desperate.
It has cost us, environmentally and economically, and it also came at the cost of evidence-based decision-making. Environment science (on freshwater, climate, critically endangered sealions) was ignored; environmentalists and New Zealanders with real concerns were marginalised by Ministerial hyperbole (special mention here to Phil "they are not really New Zealand" Heatley: "they are not really New Zealand. They have concerns but they are not really middle-class New Zealand").
In breach of Parliament's standing orders, and sub judice rules, Heatley was joined by Mr Joyce and Bathurst Resources, telling people like, well, my employers Forest & Bird to butt out.
So - since it's the time of year for list making - let's. Let's write it all down, and ask:
Is this the government you voted for?
Is this the New Zealand you want?
Water quality. To the fracas surrounding Mike Joy, add removal from the Land and Water Forum of enforceable National Water Quality Objectives: "After four years immersed in the issues, it was the logical body to do this critical work. Instead, Environment Minister Amy Adams put the job in the hands of a seemingly secret group of officials."
Meanwhile, the Horizons regional council, backed by Environment Court, has gone ahead and done exactly that - set regional water quality standards, backed by land use limits, in (to rule them all) the One Plan. Successful appellants, Fish & Game, are now left defending Fed Farmers' further appeal alone. In a letter released under the OIA, DOC declined to become involved. (In the letter, Director-General Al Morrison says this was his decision.)
In Environment Canterbury: "The Government suspended democracy and restricted legal action in Canterbury to protect an agriculture boom potentially worth more than $5 billion to the national economy, documents reveal."
Environment Minister Mrs Adams, a Canterbury farmer herself, wants better cost-benefit analysis from councils. This is the One Plan issue; the issue the Feds are complaining about.
She will change the RMA to require it: "I want communities to be asking themselves, 'OK, we can improve our water quality in this way and at this rate and it will have this impact on our GDP and jobs, or we can do it on this track and on this time and it will have that impact'."
But when it comes to environment reporting, which is also cost-benefit analysis (riffing off the Minister - "we can grow our economy in this way and at this rate, and it will have this impact"), five-yearly reports are abandoned, and in a broken election promise, this function will not be given to the PCE.
Marine critically endangered species. On a motion at the IUCN to protect Maui's dolphins, of which an estimated 55 dolphins remain: "Some 576 members, including governments and NGOs, voted for the motion. New Zealand is the only country to vote against. It was initially believed two countries opposed to the motion, but it has since been revealed that New Zealand had two votes."
Government has just finished consulting, after reopening submissions, on a Maui's threat management plan. I commend the science to them!
Sadly, when it came to sea lions, Primary Industries David Carter ignored the science, excluded DOC, and wrote to a marine scientist saying "not to bother him".
National was the only party - the only party - in Parliament which refused to meet, and declined to join, the Shark Finning Alliance. All other Parliamentary party spokespeople publicly pledged and signed a written commitment to ban this unsustainable, wasteful killing of marine ecosystems' top predators. Sharks are the wolves of the sea.
Environment legislation. Despite last minute changes, National also passed an EEZ law that does not comply with international law, and leaves offshore regulation weaker than that on land, under the RMA. At the time of writing, Mrs Adams had not ruled out the possibility of unlawfully permitting oil exploration (meaning it could happen "as of right", without consent), by way of new regulations.
And no sign yet of a Marine Reserves Bill, which was supposed to be a companion package, and introduction of which had been promised this year.
Rod Oram slated the idea of gutting the RMA (so did I). On the Crown Minerals Act, too, government is stealthily unpicking the law's fabric.
Economic winners and losers: climate. Biofuels and solar energy grants were cut (not picking winners?) - but when it comes to indefinitely subsidising polluting industries (picking losers!), billions are being poured in to the roads of National significance, and ETS amendments and subsidies, which were tersely criticised by the Sustainability Council's Simon Terry, and PCE Jan Wright who, in incredibly strong language for her, called the changes a failure and a farce (and was accused by government members of politicisation for doing so).
New Zealand has just had the dubious distinction of achieving both first and second place in 'climate fossil awards' from talks in Doha, for hampering the talks.
And the Guardian declares New Zealand one of the "four horsemen of geoengineering", joining Britain, Australia and Canada in opposing a moratorium.
2012 saw us slipping in the environment rankings, to fourteenth according to the Yale-Columbia Environmental Performance Index, from first in 2006; and eighth according to the World Bank, from second in 2009.
Ministers are tiptoeing away from that brand, saying that they now want to write a New Zealand story.
The trouble is, I think I just did.
This is our National story.


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In yet another fragile peace accord in Somalia, the government and opposition parties yesterday announced an agreement designed to halt months of escalating fighting. But the war-torn country, an Al Qaeda front in Africa, braced for fresh violence as Islamist insurgents vowed to continue fighting and executed a United Nations aid worker.
According to the official Chinese news service Xinhua, government and opposition representatives met on Monday to discuss a peace agreement.
Joint committees from the Somali transitional government and the opposition coalition Monday met in Djibouti for the first time and formally signed an 11-point communiqué "to help start effective implementation" of the peace agreement, reports from Djibouti said.
In the communiqué received here Tuesday, the two committees, who met in Djibouti from August 16-18, said they adopted "Terms of Reference for both Committees" and discussed practical means of implementing the Djibouti peace agreement initiated on June 9, which called for a cessation of hostilities effective 30 days from signing of the agreement and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia within 120 days after a UN force is implemented.
The peace accord, like many others, was not expected to hold. Promptly reacting to yesterday's deal, a faction of Islamist insurgents vowed to fight on, reports Bloomberg.
Somali Islamic insurgents fighting a United Nations-backed transitional government have pledged to unite rival factions to drive Ethiopian troops from the east African nation, a spokesman for the rebel group said....
"We will continue fighting against the Ethiopian forces who invaded our homeland aggressively until they withdraw from our country," [Abdilkadir Ali Omar, the deputy chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, said].
Thousands of Ethiopian troops have been on the ground in Somalia since 2006, deployed to fight off Islamist insurgents trying to seize the capital. But neither the Ethiopians nor a June peace accord has stemmed the violence, the Associated Press reported.
Somalia's government struck the deal in June with a relatively moderate faction of the country's Islamic insurgency. But Somalia's more hard-line opposition leaders never took part in the agreement, which has had little effect on the ground.
As a result, violence in Somalia has mushroomed in recent months into an Iraq-style insurgency, with nearly daily bombings and a growing spate of kidnappings. More than 8,000 civilians have been killed and at least 1 million uprooted by the violence since early last year, according to Al Jazeera. There are doubts that this week's accord will fare any better in bringing peace, a fact driven home by the death of a United Nations worker.
A Somali working for the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) has been killed after being abducted in southern Somalia.
Abdulkadir Diad Mohamed was abducted by unidentified men in the town of Dinsor and killed after trying to escape, the Rome-based agency said on Monday.
The death of a WFP worker also highlights the growing humanitarian crisis that threatens the entire Horn of Africa, Britain's Sunday Herald reports.
The very people trying to help Somalia's hungry millions are now being targeted themselves. Twenty aid workers have been assassinated so far this year, the majority in the past two months, in what humanitarians fear is an "orchestrated campaign" of terror....
Getting food into Somalia is becoming impossible. Around 90% of the UN World Food Programme's (WFP) deliveries are supposed to come by ship, but rampant piracy off the Somali coast has meant most shipping firms are too scared to deliver food. European navies have been escorting WFP shipments since November, but since the last Dutch escort at the end of last month no other country has offered to help.
What food is inside the country is either too expensive or cannot be safely delivered to those most in need. Roadblocks set up by militia groups regularly attack aid convoys and five drivers working for the WFP have been killed this year.
With the crisis growing, a new strategy for stability that emphasizes local governance in Somalia is needed, reports The International Herald Tribune.
Part of the problem, a rising number of Western academics and Somali professionals argue, is that the bulk of outside efforts have concentrated on setting up a strong central government, which may be anathema in a country where authority tends to be diffuse and clan-based....
But there may be another answer: going local.
Many Somali intellectuals and Western academics are pushing a form of government that might be better suited to Somalia's fluid, fragmented and decentralized society. The new idea – actually an old idea that seems to enjoying something of a renaissance because of the transitional government's shortcomings – is to rebuild Somalia from the bottom up.
It is called the building-block approach. The first blocks would be small governments at the lowest levels, in villages and towns. These would be stacked to form district and regional governments. The last step would be uniting the regional governments in a loose national federation that controlled, say, currency and the pirate-infested shoreline, but did not sideline local leaders.


text: Preee 968 Posted August 8, 2012 A guide on how to fit an ESP Button in your Ford Focus -Preee First of all i did not write the attached guide , this was done by some clever Russian guy , i will attach his guide as a pdf file which i have translated to English , i have not altered it in any way i have just followed it but adjusted a few things for my own fitting. The Russian Guide ----- in Downloadable PDF translated to English >>>ESP-button.pdf This guide does not ADD ESP to your car it just allows the Focus ST quick turn off button. Under take any changes to your car at your own risk. Tools required. Approx time 3.5 hrs much of it panic :) Finis-order code = > 1492837 silver button ESP various screw drivers Drill and bit 3mm scotch locks insulation tape 3 core 10 amp wire 2 meters long Socket set Pliers USB internal connector block for the required pins shrink warp soldering iron 3 pairs of clean boxer shorts :) Back ground First brought this button last year hoping it would be like the Fiesta and simply plug and play as i found i had the wiring in my Titainum. Not so , second attempt was to try Ford , they could not activate it via IDS and also said they would not activate it !!!!. A lot of searching let me to a Russian web site , where i found the guide , wow scratching my head and translating i thought , no no , to hard to do. Well i translated the full guide although not perfect and decided to give it a try :) I fitted the switch in reverse order to the guide as i found that easier. First of all the Proof. I will not go into the Full Guide i will just put what i found out while doing it. Seems although i had the wiring inside the car , it stopped at connector C111 so i did not have the ST wiring loom under the bonnet. So the only thing of use was the connector inside my car next to the heated rear screen. You need 5 Wires to complete this MOD. -1pin -> the 1 pin block S111-> the F19 (10A) fuse under the bonnet -2pin -> Earth -3pin -> backlight button connected to side lights circuit -5pin -> the 5 pin block S111-> the 8 pin Connector C830 (connector ESP); OFF button Light signal from GEM -6pin -> the 10 pin block S111-> the 38 pin Connector (connector block s830 ESP).Main Signal to GEM S111 is the connector under the bonnet behind the battery which needs to be drilled to allow the fitment of 2 wires to Pin 38 and pin 8 . Pin 1 on the switch connects to the Green/Yellow wire on Fuse 19 on the ABS in the Fuse box under the bonnet. Most of the time taken was removing the battery and battery box and gaining entry to the underside of the fuse box. As there are no pins to attach too in S111 i had to think hard , i finally found an old USB header block , Internal plug 8 pins , i removed a pin and tried it on the pins in S111 , perfect fit , so i set about drilling the back of the S111 to allow me to insert the pins. That's the tricky part and please take your time on this. Solder my wires to the pins and wrapped in shrink wrap for protection.Inserted them into the correct 38 and 8 sockets , held them in place while i push fitted S111 back into place so they did not come out. Secured the wiring again. next was the Pin 1 feed from the Fuse 19 , i scotch locked into this wire. Secured all wires and then feed them all through the large rubber gromet next to S111 . Removed glove box and radio surround and fed the wires through to the switch. I cut the three wires and taped them up as i did not want any part of the circuit going some where i did not know and scotch locked the wires as per the guide to the back of the plug. And tested :) The pins i used. and some more pictures. 1 Lenny reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites