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As we discussed in a previous post, content protection is a key tool that can be used to monetize premium video online.
Adobe offers a couple of ways to achieve this; which one you use will depend on your specific needs, content and infrastructure. In this post, I describe some of these options at a high level, hopefully addressing some of the misconceptions (or is it FUD?) that exist out there.
For those of you who use Flash Media Server to stream content to Flash Player, in addition to advanced features such as Dynamic Streaming you have the option of also using the built-in content protection features. These are in vary broad use today by some of the leading streaming content providers around the world, [[[[including Hulu, Amazon and M6 —- TBD can we use these here? It is easy for anyone to see that they are using RTMPE so we're not giving anything away that could help a hacker]]]].
The first of these features is RTMPE, the encrypted version of Adobe's Real Time Media Protocol. RTMPE provides session-based protection, which means that all data between client and server is encrypted using a different key that is negotiated for each "session". RTMPE will encrypt all data that goes in the "pipe", whether it's video content, data or headers. This is used to block tools that intercept the stream or try to impersonate a valid client in order to make unauthorized use of the content, such as making an unprotected recording (aka ripping).
In addition, FMS also supports SWF Verification, which is used to limit playback of the content to only the video player applications (SWF) that have been authorized. This works best when used in combination with RTMPE: once a secure tunnel has been established between client and server, the Flash runtime computes a hash of the video playback SWF that's running and then sends that hash securely to the server, where it is compared against a list of approved SWFs; if there's no match, the connection is rejected.
If this isn't your first time on this blog, you've probably seen other posts regarding Flash Access. To recap, Adobe Flash Access is an advanced content protection solution that we are rolling out in the first half of this year and will work with Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0. (This product was initially launched under the name Flash Media Rights Management Server, but the 2.0 version will adopt the new name and a much improved architecture.)
Unlike the features described above, content protection using Flash Access is not tied to FMS; while you can use both products together to get all the benefits of streaming plus advanced control over content consumption, you can also use each one independently. For instance, you can use Flash Access to protect progressive downloads or with the upcoming HTTP Dynamic Streaming (formerly "Project Zeri").
With Flash Access, the operating principle is a bit different than with RTMPE. The content is persistently protected, ie it is encrypted once and remains protected wherever it goes. This makes it cache-friendly: whether the content is cached at the edge on the CDN or in the browser cache, it is encrypted and does not represent a security risk. Flash Access also allows you to define a number of usage rules, which are enforced by the client and can help support your business model, whether it's video on demand, rental, subscription or download to own, to name a few of the more popular models out there.
This requires a few changes to the content workflow: encoded content must be run through a "packager" that encrypts the content. The packager is fileformat-aware: rather than blindly encrypt headers and metadata, it creates a valid file (e.g. F4V) with an encrypted payload. This means that the files can be streamed or downloaded like any other file over any protocol, whether it's RTMPE, HTTP or something else.
However, once the content arrives in the player, you have the bits but not the rights to play the content. This triggers a request to a "license server", hosted either by the content distributor or by a service provider on their behalf. The license server will only issue a content license, which contains the key necessary to play back the content, to clients "in good standing", ie it will reject attempts from rogue clients.
SWF verification is also supported, but now the "whitelist" of approved SWFs can be included in the content license and is enforced by the client. All the the really sensitive operations, such as cryptographic operations or rules enforcement, happens in the native code in the runtime where it is difficult to hack. The application or ActionScript code acts as a sort of remote control, triggering operations such as license acquisition and registering to receive events that may be surfaced to the user.
I hope this provides a good overview and helps identify when each technology may be most appropriate. If you'd like to learn more about the content protection features in FMS, check out the article on Adobe Developer Connection. You can also find more details about Flash Access, including an in-depth whitepaper, on our product page at http://www.adobe.com/products/flashaccess.
Twitter: @florianatadobe


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Playing music in Cakewalk Music Creator 6 with a computer keyboard
Have you ever wanted to play music with your computer keyboard when you don't have a regular MIDI keyboard at hand? This time-saving feature is usually available at most music creation software, but unfortunately, it isn't built as part of Cakewalk Music Creator 6 Touch.
That's why I found out a way to use your regular computer keyboard as a MIDI keyboard that would be recognized by Music Creator 6, so you can compose some quick musical experiments even when you are on the go! The following sections will detail the steps to get this nice feature working on your music creation software.
How to make Cakewalk Music Creator 6 Touch to recognize your computer keyboard as MIDI input
The procedure to have your keyboard recognized as a MIDI keyboard in any music creation software would follow these steps:
- A virtual MIDI keyboard should capture the keystrokes from your computer keyboard and turn then into MIDI.
- This MIDI information should be rerouted from the output of the virtual keyboard to the MIDI input of your music creation software.
Getting your keyboard to work with Music Creator is easier than it seems, once you have the following two software programs:
- VMPK. It is a useful open source project that stands for Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard. VMPK will recognize the keystrokes in your computer keyboard as MIDI input. It can be downloaded from here, where other detailed usage instructions are available.
- loopMIDI. This program, created by Tobias Erichsen, provides a reliable and extremely simple way to reroute your virtual MIDI cables. It works from Windows XP to Windows 8 systems, supporting both, 32 and 64 bit systems. It can be downloaded from the author's website here.
Detailed steps to use your computer keyboard as a MIDI input in Music Creator 6 Touch
Once you have Cakewalk Music Creator 6 Touch installed in your computer, as well as the other two previously mentioned programs, you just need to follow these steps to start playing and recording music from your computer keyboard.
First, run loopMIDI by executing loopMIDI.exe. Click the plus (+) symbol to add a new loopback MIDI port. In the example, we created a new MIDI port with its default name, loopMIDI Port. Don't close loopMIDI, since you'll need this program to be running as a background process in order for the MIDI reroute to take effect.
Then, run VMPK.exe to execute the Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard software. It will start capturing the keystrokes from your computer keyboard as MIDI input, as long as its window is selected and has focus as an active window. Select Edit > MIDI Connections to configure the MIDI output of this program.
We want the output of this virtual keyboard to go towards our recently created virtual loop MIDI port. That's why inside the VMPK MIDI setup menu we should be selecting the name of the new loopMIDI port as an Output MIDI Connection – in this example, we select our previously created port named "loopMIDI Port" and hit OK.
Here's where Cakewalk Music Creator 6 Touch comes into play. We are already recognizing the keystrokes from our computer keyboard, and sending them to a new MIDI port that would reroute them as a MIDI input. So the next step is to configure Music Creator 6 to use this virtual port as its MIDI input. Inside Music Creator, open the preferences menu by selecting Edit > Preferences.
Inside the Music Creator preferences window, select Devices under the MIDI section. The top list will display all available MIDI inputs under the Inputs label. Look for the name of the virtual MIDI loop port you just created – loopMIDI Port in our example – select it by checking the box at the left of its name, and click okay.
And that's all! Cakewalk Music Creator will now recognize your keystrokes as MIDI input (as long as your VMPK window is the selected, active window, and as long as the loopmidi software is running,) allowing you to record (and even step-record) the notes of your songs directly from your computer keyboard.
Even when nothing can replace a full music keyboard, this is a quite time-saving solution if you don't have a MIDI keyboard at hand or if you are composing music on the go.

subset: commoncrawl


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Warning Letters Under UK's Three Strikes Plan Unlikely To Be Sent Out Before 2016 -- If Ever
from the let-the-beast-die dept
Techdirt readers may recall that over three years ago, the UK's Digital Economy Act was passed in totally disgraceful circumstances. Since then, almost nothing has been heard about it, as British civil servants grapple with the fact that this poorly-drafted law is almost impossible to implement in any sensible way. If you were wondering what is going on behind the scenes, James Firth has put together a fascinating post piecing together the information that he was able to glean. The main point is that the UK's "three-strike" warning letters won't be going out for years:
Assuming a 2015 general election [in the UK], and factoring-in time to establish the necessary body or bodies to oversee the operation of the notification and appeals systems, it will be 2016 at the very earliest -- and possibly 2017 -- before the first warning letters go out.
In other words, it's likely to be six or seven years after the Digital Economy Act was passed that it starts to come into operation, if ever. What makes that particularly ridiculous, is that the pioneer of the three-strikes approach, France, is clearly backing away from it. For the UK to plough on with an outdated and discredited scheme regardless, is just farcical. But it gets worse:
Government advisers are aware that the creative industries are not currently on the point of extinction due to online copyright infringement, and are also aware of the concerns raised by ISPs and civil rights groups.
That is, the delay in implementing the law has meant that the claim that piracy would kill the UK copyright industries if left unchecked has been shown to be demonstrably false, removing what little justification there ever was for bringing in such disproportionate and vindictive legislation. Given that fact, and the evidence from France that three-strikes simply doesn't work, there is only one sensible option here: for the UK government to stop wasting the public's money and to repeal the entire misbegotten law immediately.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+
Filed Under: copyright, digital economy act, three strikes, uk


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The Two Week Spotlight Tour for Dixie Moon by Shirleen Davies kicks off this week! Check out the schedule below, and enter the giveaway!
September 28th
Books by Centeno
Babs Book Bistro
September 29th
Around the World in Books
September 30th
Cassandra M's Place
October 1st
Lola White
October 2nd
Apocalipstick the Book
October 5th
Boom Baby Reviews
October 6th
CD Yess Writes
October 7th
October 8th
Eager Reader
Kelly Smith Reviews
October 9th
Lady of Books
Gabe Evans is a man of his word with strong convictions and steadfast loyalty. As the sheriff of Splendor, Montana, the ex-Union Colonel and oldest of four boys from an affluent family, Gabe understands the meaning of responsibility. The last thing he wants is another commitment—especially of the female variety.
Until he meets Lena Campanel...
Lena's past is one she intends to keep buried. Overcoming a childhood of setbacks and obstacles, she and her friend, Nick, have succeeded in creating a life of financial success and devout loyalty to one another.
When an unexpected death leaves Gabe the sole heir of a considerable estate, partnering with Nick and Lena is a lucrative decision…forcing Gabe and Lena to work together. As their desire grows, Lena refuses to let down her guard, vowing to keep her past hidden—even from a perfect man like Gabe.
But secrets never stay buried…
When revealed, Gabe realizes Lena's secrets are deeper than he ever imagined. For a man of his character, deception and lies of omission aren't negotiable. Will he be able to forgive the deceit? Or is the damage too great to ever repair?
Shirleen Davies writes romance—historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense. She grew up in Southern California, attended Oregon State University, and has degrees from San Diego State University and the University of Maryland. During the day she provides consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses. But her real passion is writing emotionally charged stories of flawed people who find redemption through love and acceptance. She now lives with her husband in a beautiful town in northern Arizona.
Author links
Buy Links


text: EXCELLENCE DE L'AGE YOUTH REVEALING BODY CREAM from Decléor Paris is a silky, nonsticky cream that works to give skin immediate firmness and elasticity, while providing instant and lasting hydration. It contains manilkara extract as well as essential and plant oils to restore the skin's youthfulness and enhance its radiance. The cream restores the skin's suppleness and leaves it firmer, more nourished and rejuvenated. Visit decleorusa.com.


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"Dancing with the Stars" standout Mel B gave her best shot at co-hosting the show alongside Tom Bergeron, but might have lost out on the job due to excessive butt-pinching.
Mel B tells PopcornBiz that she was one of a "bunch of people who auditioned" for the co-host spot held for many seasons by Samantha Harris. But old habits wouldn't die for the former Spice Girl.
During her dancing days, Mel B used to sneak up on Bergeron and pinch his butt on live television before going to check out her judges' scores. It always got a laugh and a grimace from Bergeron who never lost a beat while speaking to the camera during the attacks.
This little habit continued during Mel B' try-out for the hosting spot.
"When I did the screen test for the new host, that's all I kept doing to him. I kept pitching his butt," she admits.
While great live television, it might have led to a few uncomfortable moments and no doubt severe pain to the backside for Bergeron after a couple of shows. The job went to former dancer Brooke Burke, who has yet to goose Bergeron while the cameras are rolling.
No hard feelings. Mel B has her own hosting gig for the show "Dance Your A** Off" on the Oxygen network. And she loves Burke's work. "I think she is amazing," Mel B says of Burke. "She's a doing a fantastic job."
So is her former partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy who is still in the running with Erin Andrews. "Max is my boy, I would love for him to win it," she says.


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Marvel. SUCKFEST. Saw all the Avengers and Spidey stuff. Oh boy, is it bad. Articulation on the Avengers stuff has been cut way back across the line. Most have no body, wrist or ankle movement. The Spidey stuff all has T crotches. On the plus side, there are lots of vehicles coming out for the Avengers movie. The Justice jet gets an IM style repaint, there's a new Cap vehicle that looked like a small tank with wheels, the Quinjet and the ****ing HELICARRIER!Helicarrier is three feet long, has the usual firing missiles and ****. Looks pretty good but is only big enough for the Quinjet to fit on it's runway. The Quinjet is pretty big. Only one figure can fit in the cockpit but it has other openeing panels and stuff. There were no new Avengers figures apart from what has already been seen.The Spidey stuff is horrible, just repaints of the same buck. Lizard is ok, but the design of his head is crap. He doesn't have the long snout. Massive fail.Read more:Red Shadows - U.K. Toyfair 2012
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Some trailers take two seconds of material and stretch it into a minute and a half. Others, like this one from the new Gerard Butler movie "Machine Gun Preacher," are all about cramming, cramming, cramming.
Let's see, you've got crime, religious redemption, family melodrama, civil war, famine, starvation, violence, vengeance, guilt, and....whoa. And this is the trailer, mind.
Director Marc Forster - who did "Quantum of Solace," an unfairly maligned movie in our opinion - certainly has an eye for epic scope, and Butler seems serious about getting back to some acting again following whatever the hell "The Bounty Hunter" was.
U.S. & World
Plus, it has Michelle Monaghan who, in our opinion, isn't on screens nearly enough.
"Machine Gun Preacher" opens everywhere November 18th.


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UFO Update
Posted by dandare on January 26, 2008
Ok.. the usual weekly update, has gone out the window, with the present Stephenville ufo sighting taking up most of my time. This update is following on from the last one – 13th january (i think).
To start us off, the dorito UFOs are back again (labelled by the local media, need i say more) in "Shape of things to come?" which were seen in Dudley (expressandstar.com, posted 11th january,2008).
However, by the 16th january the same media put out this article "Is there plane truth behind the UFOs".In the article, it mentions, that a sonic boom was also heard in the area, and there were reports of a Typhoon Eurofighter not working properly, making the pilot drop 30,000 ft (which is why the boom was heard).
The aircraft is similar to a triangular shape… many people rang the police, but of course the MOD denied that a fighter plane was in the area. The article then goes on to mention previous sightings.
The stockportexpress.co.uk mentions "Lantern lights caused UFO mystery" (posted 16th january 2008).
yorkshirepost.co.uk features "The truth is out there….but its a bit of a let down" (posted 22nd january,2008). it says "The Ministry of Defence is about to open its UFO files, but the contents threaten to reveal more about Cold War blunders than extraterrestrials" (extract from article).
The baycitytribune.com talks about "Asking UFO question produces some anxiety" (posted 21st january,2008).
It mentions "Unless something out of this world landed on the front lawn in the middle of the day with scores of people observing, most of us would be loath to face the public by saying you believe in UFOs.
Discussing UFOs and aliens also tends to make people feel like they're crossing a forbidden theological topic.
And, finally, some folks would rather say no to UFOs and avoid giving the subject much thought.
Unless the aforementioned example of the front-lawn spacecraft landing applies, UFOs are out of sight and out of mind for many" (extract from article). How true….
At chad.co.uk there is "Balls of fire UFOs caught on video" (posted 15th january,2008). The video is below…. i'll leave it up to you; what do you think this is? from shirebrook.
Also worth a look -although the video is from the tv(with a camcorder), at an angle, it is worth listening too
From ufoinfo.com there is "UFO sighting report- Puerto Rico" (posted 19th january,2008). Giant ufo over Guanica (seems to be the in thing at the moment).
Whilst searching the internet, i found this interesting video "Chupacabras:Fact and fiction" from http://inexplicata.blogspot.com/ . The artwork for this is outstanding.
Ok… i couldn't do it; the next article is "Texas UFOs reminescent of Pheonix lights of 1997" (posted 21st january,2008).
"Report a ufo sighting" (from MUFON) a quick video
Next we have, "Extraterrestial beings caught on tape" they cry; i cry for another reason? (posted 18th january,2008 -by that reliable source Pravda RU;i think not).
The video is below…. oh dear!
On a more serious note, the BBC has "Help sought over bright light" (posted 17th january,2008).
At wired.com "Lake erie UFOs are stars on you tube" (posted 11th january,2008). Related videos to this article, can be seen below.
Although caution, must be made… for instance, the second one could be a hoax; and anyway, what are they? if not. My gut instinct, says that it is a hoax, but that is all.
Finally "Life on mars, the proof" (posted 23rd january,2008). I'm afraid it is not; the process of taking the photo is a long and complex one…. it takes at least 2 minutes to do (as it is a panoramic view), and this shot from the article, is only of a small part of the overall scene.
This entry was posted on January 26, 2008 at 11:21 pm and is filed under "Flying Saucer", are we alone?, Dorito ufo, extraterrestials, flying Disk, news, newspapers, out of this world, science, ufo, ufo updates, ufo video, ufo's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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I met Nelly Yusupova as we were recruiting software engineers to teach computer science in the NYC schools. She's a software engineer and entrepreneur with a passion for sharing what she knows with others. A few weeks after we met Nelly came to see me to tell me about a two day bootcamp she runs called TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs.
TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs teaches entrepreneurs how the software design and build process works. Nelly had observed, as I have, that entrepreneurs who are not deeply technical spend too much money, time, and effort trying to get their ideas turned into software products. Many hire the wrong people, get a product that doesn't meet what they wanted, and worse of all, many get ripped off in the process. The idea behind TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs is to help entrepreneurs avoid these mistakes. The agenda/curriculum for the two day bootcamp is here.
There are bootcamps coming up in Phoenix, the Bay Area, and NYC:
Phoenix, AZ Apr 05-06
Silicon Valley, CA Apr 13-14
New York City, NY May 04-05
The NYC bootcamp is at Columbia University and there is a week left to get an early bird discount. Here are the details of the NYC bootcamp:What: TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs 2 day bootcampWhen: May 4-5Where: Columbia University: Uris Hall, Room 301Register: http://www.techspeakforentrepreneurs.com If you are a non technical entrepreneur, I strongly advise you to get technical. And TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs is a good way to start on that journey.
Read more posts on A VC »


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Pubic Lice (Crabs)
What Are They?
Pubic lice are tiny insects that can crawl from the pubic hair of one person to the pubic hair of another person during sexual contact. People also can catch pubic lice from infested clothing, towels, and bedding.
Once they are on a person's body, the insects live by sucking blood from their host. Pubic lice are sometimes called "crabs" because when seen under a microscope they look like tiny crabs.
What Are the Symptoms?
Pubic lice can cause intense itching. A person who has been exposed to pubic lice may notice tiny tan to grayish-white insects crawling in their pubic hair. He or she may also see tiny oval-shaped, yellow to white blobs called nits clinging to the hair. Nits are about the size of a pinhead, and are the louse eggs. Nits can't be easily removed from the hair with the fingers — "nit combs" made especially to remove the eggs are sold at drugstores and many grocery stores.
Someone who has been exposed to pubic lice may not notice symptoms for a few weeks. The primary symptom of pubic lice is itching, especially at night, but lice can also leave bluish-grayish marks on the thighs and pubic area from bites.
What Can Happen?
It's unusual for pubic lice to create any serious health problems, but the itching can be very uncomfortable, and it's easy to transmit pubic lice to others. The female louse survives an average of 25 to 30 days and each can lay 20 to 30 eggs. Lice can also live away from the body for 1 to 2 days. So it's important to get properly diagnosed and treated, or it can take a while to get rid of them.
How Is It Treated?
If you think you may have pubic lice or if you have had a partner who may have pubic lice, see a doctor or gynecologist right away. If the doctor diagnoses pubic lice, you may be prescribed medication or told to buy an over-the-counter medicine that kills the lice and their eggs.
The important thing to remember is that the treatment you use may need to be repeated after 7 to 10 days to kill any lice you didn't get the first time. And anyone who is treated for pubic lice should be tested for other STDs as well.
You will also need to dry clean or use very hot water and a hot dryer cycle to wash and dry all your bedding, towels, and recently worn clothing to properly kill the lice and their eggs.
Anyone with whom you've had sexual contact (oral, anal, or vaginal) in the last month should check for pubic lice immediately. Properly using condoms every time you have sex is always important. But while condoms help protect against other STDs, they do not cover the entire pubic area, so someone who has pubic lice can still pass them to a partner.


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Claris Health Support Center
1609 S. Barrington Ave.
Los Angeles
Saturday, April 6th, 2019 - 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Description of Opportunity
Help make Claris Health's clients feel loved and supported by helping out at an upcoming parenting class. Volunteers will assist during the class and then help clients shop for baby supplies in the Claris store. Note: there are several parenting classes throughout the month on selected Wednesday or Saturday mornings at either the Support Center or Inglewood Clinic.
Sign up below to request information about getting involved at this ministry, and someone will follow up with more information and the dates for upcoming parenting classes.
Questions? Contact the volunteer team leader
The volunteer team leader is Niki.


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Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
Set forth below are the procedures that must be followed for concurrent long and short positions and hold-open accounts.
A. Concurrent long and short positions in the same commodity and month may be held by a clearing member at the direction of a customer or on behalf of an omnibus account; however it shall be the duty of the clearing member to ascertain whether such positions are intended for offset or to be held open prior to final transmission of position data to the Clearing House.
B. Concurrent long and short positions in physically delivered contracts that are held by the same owner during the current delivery month must be offset by transactions executed in the market, by allowable privately negotiated transactions, or fulfilled through the normal delivery process, provided however that trades may be transferred for offset if the trade date of the position being transferred is the same as the transfer date. Such positions may not be offset via netting, transfer, or position adjustment except to correct a bona fide clerical or operational error on the day the error is identified and provided that the quantity of the offset does not represent more than one percent of the reported open interest in the affected futures contract month. For the purposes of this rule, the current delivery month for energy futures contracts commences on the open of trading on the third business day prior to the termination of the respective futures contract, including the termination date. The current delivery month for metals futures commences two business days prior to the first business day of the delivery month.
C. Clearing members which, pursuant to this rule, carry concurrent long and short positions, must report to the Clearing House both sides as open positions. When either side or both sides are reduced in accordance with Section B. of this rule, the open positions as reported to the Clearing House must be reduced accordingly.
D. The Exchange takes no position regarding the internal bookkeeping procedures of its clearing members which, for the convenience of a customer, may "hold open" a position only on their books. However, the clearing member must accurately report to the Exchange and the Clearing House, as appropriate, large trader positions, long positions eligible for delivery and open interest.
Pursuant to an offer of settlement Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC ("Morgan Stanley") presented at a hearing on June 6, 2012, in which Morgan Stanley neither admitted nor denied the rule violations upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the NYMEX Business Conduct Committee ("Panel") found that for trade date November 17, 2011, Morgan Stanley overstated open interest in the physically settled December 2011 Crude Oil ("DEC11 Crude") futures contract by 13,267 contracts, or 51.6%, one day prior to the expiration of DEC11 Crude. For purposes of NYMEX Rule 854, the current delivery month for energy futures contracts commences on the open of trading on the third business day prior to the termination of the respective futures contract, including the termination date.
The Panel found that as a result, Morgan Stanley violated Rule 854.
In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Morgan Stanley to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $50,000.
June 8, 2012


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Our normal service is order delivery within 3-4 working days if the order is placed before 2.00pm, and 3-5 working days if the order is placed after 2.00pm. This allows 24-48 hours for the technicians to mix and complete your custom filled spray paint order and then to send the order out with the courier. The courier will usually deliver within 24-48 hours, so a normal total of around 3-5 working days should be expected.
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text:
Beatbox Is Rockin is an amazing fast-paced oldschool electro dance hiphop track on the cutting-edge back in 1986 — A MASTERPIECE. It has all the elements to be electronic and rap: Pounding, dance break-beats from a drum machine; vocoder (either Roland or Sennheiser, pictures below); multi-layered one-shot synth stabs; sampled human beatbox snippets triggered from a sampler; and multi-tracks of real human beatbox. The Fat Boys are fondly regarded as a seminal part of early rap music recording history (click here read Fat Boys wikipedia).
Fat Boys – "Beatbox Is Rockin"…
Artist: Fat Boys
Title: Beatbox Is Rockin
Year: 1986
Label: Sutra Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.
Fat Boys – "Beatbox Is Rockin" (mp3)


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Airlines & Airports
|November 07, 2013
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair Make Mobile Boarding Pass Service Available Through Passbook
|Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair have made travel even easier for the airlines' passengers by making their Mobile Boarding Pass service accessible through Passbook on iOS, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place with no more hunting through your wallet or bag for gift cards, coupons, passes, or tickets.
Passbook lets you scan your iPhone or iPod touch to get to your flight. Users can store any number of the Cathay Pacific or Dragonair Mobile Boarding Pass in Passbook and access them easily, without having to use any other mobile app.
After checking in for their flight online, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair passengers can retrieve their Mobile Boarding Pass by clicking on the relevant hyperlink provided by SMS or email. Then by simply clicking the "Add to Passbook" badge, the boarding pass is stored in Passbook. Those who check in via the Cathay Pacific/Dragonair mobile site or mobile app can simply click the "Add Boarding Pass to Passbook" button on the check-in confirmation page.
Passbook has the advantage of being both convenient and easy to use. Integration with the location and time-aware functions of iOS devices allows Passbook-enabled boarding passes to "pop up" at the right time. Customers will see their boarding passes appearing automatically on the mobile device's "lock" screen when they are near to the originating airport and closer to the time of departure. The boarding pass can then be opened up with a simple pinch on the notification alert directly from the home screen, meaning passengers don't need to scrabble around to find the right SMS or email.
At the airport, passengers can simply scan the boarding pass with the Passbook barcode when proceeding through immigration, security and the boarding gate.
With more and more passengers taking advantage of the Mobile Boarding Pass service for their journeys, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair are pleased to be able to make the travel experience even more stress-free through Passbook. Making the Passbook function available to customers using iPhone or iPod touch is part of the airlines' continuing drive to develop a world-beating suite of online and mobile services that will simplify the overall travel experience.
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair launched the Mobile Boarding Pass service in late 2011. It is currently available in 22 Cathay Pacific destinations and five Dragonair destinations and is progressively being rolled out to more ports.


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Posted by Editor on 03/14/08
Bike Summit 2008
ave the Date - April 25th - for Bike Summit 2008 in Toronto!
Join leading thinkers, practitioners and decision-makers who are on the fast track to creating bikeable communities. Bike Summit 2008 will be held on Friday, April 25th in Toronto.
Enjoy innovative and forward-thinking sessions that will:
Share international and Canadian best practices and perspectives on putting policy into action.
Build local, regional and provincial momentum and leadership for bikeable communities.
Engage key stakeholders on how to effectively implement policies and strategies to realize and maximize the value of bicycling for transportation, health, tourism, recreation, economic development, energy conservation and the environment.
Highlights of Bike Summit 2008:
The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) and the Clean Air Partnership are partnering to host this one-day Summit, covering topics such as public policy, economic incentives and disincentives, business support, infrastructure policies and design, and government support.
Speakers will include:
City of Seattle Senior Transportation Planner Peter Lagerwey
Peter's work with the Seattle pedestrian and bicycle program spans more than twenty years. Seattle's pedestrian crash rates are the lowest in the country. Bicycling Magazine recognized Seattle as one of the most "bicycle friendly" cities in America four times. Peter was the project manager for the new Seattle Bicycle Master Plan which calls for installing more than 400 miles of bicycle facilities over the next ten years.
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Randy Neufeld
Randy served as CBF's executive director from 1988 until 2004, and is currently CBF's Healthy Streets Campaign Coordinator. Randy is also Founding Chair of the Thunderhead Alliance, the national association of state and local bicycle advocacy organizations.
Alta Planning Principal Jeff Olson
From 1993-98, Jeff served as the New York State DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager, and has worked on numerous trail and bikeway planning and design studies throughout the United States, and was the creator and founder of the Millennium Trails program for the USDOT. He has served on the Pedestrian Committee of the Transportation Research Board and was a co-founder of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP).
Vélo Québec's Executive Director Jean-François Pronovost
Jean-François and Vélo Québec work closely with the Quebec government promoting cycling throughout Québec and designing guidebooks and technical standards to assist planners and engineers. This partnership is also responsible for funding and developing the Route Verte - a 3,000 km network of trails, paved shoulders and shared, low volume roads for bicyclists that is already attracting millions of dollars of business every year.
London Cycling Campaign's Chief Executive Koy Thompson
London Cycling Campaign (LCC) is the largest urban cycling organization in the world. Since 1978, the LCC has been improving facilities, providing information and raising the profile of cycling across London in order to make it a world-class cycling city. In 2008, the British Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Government will be investing £140 million over the next three years to boost cycling nationally.
Bicycle Trade Association of Canada's Director of Advocacy Usman Valiante
Usman's role within BTAC is to foster partnerships and relationships across the bike industry, governments and advocacy groups and to promote public policies at all levels of government with the objective of getting more Canadians to cycle more often. By vocation Usman is a senior public policy analyst, commercial strategist, negotiator and advocate. His career focus has been on the development and evaluation of public policies and commercial programs regarding the environment. Usman is an avid bike commuter and recreational mountain-bike racer.
To register and for more information please visit TCAT's website at Bike Summit 2008
Thanks for reading about Bike Summit 2008 and please pass along this information to others who may be interested.
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Product DescriptionFor more than 90 years, Schlage has built a legacy of providing security, quality and innovation to homes and businesses. With products that meet the highest industry standards, Schlage hardware is made to protect your home and give you peace of mind that only comes with products that stand the test of time. Security, quality and convenience – it is easy to see why Schlage is the most preferred residential door lock brand by consumers* and brand most used by builders.** (*Nooro Research , independent research funded by Ingersoll Rand Co., 2011 **Builder Magazine, 1998 – 2011)
Limited Lifetime Mechanical & Finish Warranty & 1 Year ElectronicsPlease Note: This item has exposed screws
No additional Coupons/Discounts will be allowed on Schlage Products due to our extremely discounted every day prices.
- Item #
- Model #
- Brand:
- Schlage Door Hardware
- Collection:
- Schlage Decorative Door Hardware - Century Collection
- Category:
- Door Hardware
- Sub Category:
- Door Knobs
- Color:
- Bronze
- Specific Finish:
- Aged Bronze
- Function:
- Single Dummy
- Base Material:
- Zinc
- Mount Type:
- Surface
- Theme:
- Transitional
- Other part numbers:
- California residents:
- see Proposition 65 information


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"The Church of the twenty-first century will be, as it has always been, a Church of many cultures, languages and traditions, yet simultaneously one, as God is one—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—unity in diversity." — Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity In Diversity
Dear friends in Christ,
We are delighted that you are interested in accessing information about the Subcommittee's work to assist and support pastoral care to diverse ethnic communities of African-Caribbean, Brazilian and European Catholics as well as to people on the move such as: mariners and fishers, airport workers and travelers, circus and traveling show folks and migrant farmworkers.
The Catholic Church affirms the gifts and contributions that newcomer immigrants, refugees and people on the move offer and she encourages them to fuller participation in the evangelizing mission of the Church. The Subcommittee on PCMRT is committed to carry on its mandate "to support the pastoral care of migrants, refugees and travelers" by working directly with and under the direction of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and collaboratively with other USCCB committees.
+ Most Reverend Joseph J. Tyson
Bishop of Yakima
Chairman, Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers
Thank you for visiting our web page. I am pleased to have the opportunity to provide you with information on the Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers (PCMRT). Take a moment to browse and see the dynamic facets of the Subcommittee's work.
The Subcommittee on the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers is one of the five subcommittees of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. Bishop Joseph J. Tyson, chairman of the Subcommittee on PCMRT and the bishops of this subcommittee, endeavor to enflesh its mission to support the pastoral outreach to new comer immigrants, refugees and people on the move Catholics from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. As staff to the Subcommittee, I assist the bishops in their work as part of the team in the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church.
I hope that you will find the web page a practical resource tool, and that it will serve as a catalyst in welcoming and receiving newcomer immigrants, refugees and travelers so that they become active, integrated members in the local church and community.
We would like to hear from you on how we may further enhance the
webpage, so please do not hesitate to contact us. Do visit often!
By accepting this message, you will be leaving the website of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This link is provided
solely for the user's convenience. By providing this link, the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops assumes no responsibility for,
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Juicy Couture Women's Rectangular Sunglasses JU566FS, 56/17
Product Details
Juicy Couture is the world's most irreverent, fun, and on-trend lifestyle brand for women and girls of all ages. Whimsical, confident, and feminine with an edge, Juicy Couture was founded in Los Angeles by two fashion-obsessed best friends. Known for making the track suit an icon of casual luxury, today, Juicy Couture is a global phenomenon with an assortment that spans fashion apparel, handbags, jewelry, fragrance, eyewear, shoes, intimates, swimwear, yoga and baby. The eyewear line exudes a casual attitude and features whimsical details like charms, colorful lenses, and logo elements.
- Lens Width: mm
- Bridge Width: mm
- Bridge Shape: Single Bridge
- Hinge Type: Regular Stop Hinge
- Temple Material: Acetate
- Front Material: Acetate


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Forts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite are excellent examples of early coastal defense structures, comprising 2,279 acres of uplands and tidelands along the north side of San Francisco Bay extending west from the Golden Gate Bridge out to the Pacific Ocean. This land, strategically located in Marin County, commands early observation of the Bay entrance. The fortifications proposed for construction on this land were to augment those at the Presidio of San Francisco, in order to prevent successful passage of hostile ships through the Golden Gate into the San Francisco Bay. During the period between the two world wars (1918-1941) the fortifications at Forts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite were continually modified to keep abreast of the increased range and firepower of naval ships. During World War II (1941-1945) these fortifications were modernized with anti-aircraft defense systems and defense against motor torpedo boats. From World War II until the present, batteries of ground to air missiles were provided on these three forts to defend the San Francisco Bay Area against hostile aircraft.
During World War II, Fort Baker was designated Mine Command Headquarters, responsible for laying protective minefields across the Golden Gate (by 1945, its waters were laced with 481 submerged mines). The small, makeshift Boat Repair Shop struggled to maintain the vast mine flotilla at the outset of the war, necessitating a major expansion that added a new, sizeable Marine Repair Shop and 100-ton launchway in 1943. Several WWII-era buildings remain, including the Cable Tank Building (1940), the Mine Storehouse (1940) and the Marine Repair Shop. Just beyond the marina lies Battery Yates (1903), its six rapid-fire guns once poised to defend against enemy vessels entering the Golden Gate.
Today, the Travis Sailing Center occupies several historic WWII waterfront
buildings, where they conduct sailing lessons, operate a marina and
undertake small boat repair using the lone surviving boatway in Fort
Baker. The Bay Area Discovery Museum for Children also occupies several
of Fort Baker's historic buildings, with plans to convert the remaining
structures into a retreat and conference center, scheduled to open in
Forts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite, partially administered by the National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, are located on the north side of San Francisco Bay extending west from the Golden Gate Bridge out to the Pacific Ocean, in Marin County. All three forts are within walking distance of the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, accessible from the Alexander Ave. exit of Hwy. 101 north. Follow signs for the visitor center--turn left onto Bunker Rd., proceed two miles to Field Rd. The visitor center is open daily 10:00am to 5:00pm, except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Please call 415-561-4700 or visit the park's website for further information.
World War II Home |
List of Sites | Maps|
Learn More | Itineraries | NR Home
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Essays: Seacoast Defense | Mobilization| Port of Embarkation| Shipbuilding| Women at War| Preservation
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1As when brushwood is set ablaze,
or fire makes the water boil!
Then your name would be made known to your enemies
and the nations would tremble before you,
2While you worked awesome deeds we could not hope for,*
3such as had not been heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen,
any God but you
working such deeds for those who wait for him.a
4Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we might be mindful of you in our ways!
Indeed, you are angry; we have sinned,
we have acted wickedly.
5We have all become like something unclean,
all our just deeds are like polluted rags;
We have all withered like leaves,
and our crimes carry us away like the wind.b
6There are none who call upon your name,
none who rouse themselves to take hold of you;
For you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our crimes.
7* Yet, LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you our potter:
we are all the work of your hand.
8Do not be so very angry, LORD,
do not remember our crimes forever;
look upon us, who are all your people!
9Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become wilderness, Jerusalem desolation!c
10Our holy and glorious house
in which our ancestors praised you
Has been burned with fire;
all that was dear to us is laid waste.
11Can you hold back, LORD, after all this?
Can you remain silent, and afflict us so severely?
* [64:2] The translation here omits some words repeated in the Hebrew from 63:19 ("would that you would come down, with the mountains trembling before you").
* [64:7–11] The motifs of father (63:16) and creator (clay and potter, 29:16; 45:9) are adduced to move the Lord to action in view of the damage done to his "holy cities" and "glorious house."
By accepting this message, you will be leaving the website of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This link is provided
solely for the user's convenience. By providing this link, the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops assumes no responsibility for,
nor does it necessarily endorse, the website, its content, or
sponsoring organizations.


text:
At-the-Mall Makeover
You've spent the day shopping in frenzied department stores and you're running late for a date with your guy or some other p.m. appointment you want to look awesome for. The problem: Your hair has fallen flat, your eye makeup has suffered a meltdown, and since you've learned it's best to tote less when you holiday shop, the only thing you're packing is a lip gloss. Don't fret — instead, check out these artful freshen-up strategies.
Blot away oil-slicked skin.
If your face is shinier than the patent-leather pumps you just picked up, make a beeline for a bathroom stall. Since you don't want to wash away what's left of your makeup, tear off a piece of toilet-seat-cover paper and use it to dab away grease gently. Caveat: Don't rub or you'll smear off every trace of color.
Look for lotion.
Hit the beauty floor of a department store and seek out the one product that can cover the most get-gorgeous ground: moisturizer. You can use this multitasker to smooth dry skin on your face, clean up old makeup, and even calm frizzy hair. So pick a beauty counter selling skin-care items and use a sample of their latest silkener to lube up liberally.
Snag samples and do a speedy makeup job.
Next, get to work using the cosmetic color testers to foxify your face. Play up either your eyes or your lips using a bright or bold hue — emphasizing just one feature is a fast way to look hot and p.m. appropriate, says makeup artist Robin Nardaez, of NYC's Borja Color Studio.
Get blown off.
You can revive limp long-past-their-prime locks with a blast of warm air from the hand dryers found in most public rest rooms, says Lisa Chiccine, senior stylist for Avon Salon and Spa in New York City. Aim the nozzle toward your tresses and finger-tousle while the hot air hits them. To give definition to frizzed-out curls, wet your hands and use them to scrunch your twirls as the air blows. Note: If the nozzle won't turn upward, you can bend at the waist, flip your hair over, and massage your roots to amp up the volume.
Plump up your pucker.
The paper towels in rest rooms are just rough enough to polish your pout perfectly. First, wipe away any cakey leftover lipstick residue, then rub a towel over your lips to exfoliate dry, chapped skin and bring a natural, just-kissed flush to the surface.
Speedy "Yikes...I Overslept!" Strategies
By the time you finally hear your alarm, you realize it's been buzzing for more than an hour. Now how the hell are you gonna pull it together enough to look bright-eyed and beautiful when you're nursing a school-night hangover and have to be at work ASAP? Don't panic. We have sneaky tricks to resuscitate your look on the double.
Wake up your complexion.
Give your tuckered-out skin a jolt with a splash of very cold water to bring color to your cheeks, then dab moisturizer on your cocktail-dehydrated epidermis. We like Chanel Precision Energizing Radiance Lotion, $36. Don't forget to fix red eyes with a squirt of eye drops.
Forget foundation.
Since you don't have time to apply base expertly all over your face, apply concealer just where you need it — over blemishes, under-eye circles, and any red areas, says Sephora makeup artist Charlie Green.
Work second-day makeup.
Slept-in eye makeup can look inexplicably great, says Nardaez. So if you couldn't muster the motivation to clean your face before you crashed, use it to your advantage in the a.m.: Dampen a cotton swab, then clean up any smudges and go.
Put color in your cheeks.
You tend to look pasty after a night of revelry, so enliven your skin with a peachy shade of rouge to avert "someone had a late one" comments from your coworkers. Use a cream blush, which looks more natural than a powder when you're going for a lot of color. We like BECCA Creme Blush in Byzantine, $27.
Create a stylishly sloppy mane.
Since you don't have time to shampoo, blow-dry, and style your strands, sweep them into an easy updo. Put hair in a ponytail, then pull it through again, stopping halfway, and leave some pieces hanging loose, says Chiccine.
Getting Decked Out Deskside
The only date you have planned for the night is with your remote control until your coworker springs a last-minute invite to a hottie-filled happening. There's no time to go home and primp, so what's a girl — whose morning makeup is all but a memory — to do? Try this advice to go from rundown to ravishing.
Switch your style.
Revive a tired workday do with a quick coif change. If your hair's been up all day, the pony holder or clips should have given your mane some sexy texture, so shake it out and scrunch the crown to emphasize that volume. But if you've worn your locks down all day and they're looking a bit bedraggled, try switching your part or sweeping your hair into a twist to make it look more party-girl pretty. If you don't have a comb, try a plastic fork, which is also really good for teasing your roots, says Chiccine.
Darken your lids.
You can make your regular daytime eye shadow look sultry and nighttime trendy by wetting the applicator before you apply it. Just go over your lash lines, then smudge the color across your lids, says Nardaez.
Take a utensil to your lashes.
Curled lashes make eyes look big and bright, but who carries a curler around? No need to! A metal spoon from the office break room can fill in. Hold it against your desk lamp to warm it, then place the back of the spoon under your upper lashes and press up lightly as you partially close your lid.
Shine, shine, shine.
If there's one bit of beauty loot you should make a permanent place for in your desk drawer, it's shimmer powder. When impromptu p.m. outings arise, use it to add radiance to your collarbone, shins, cheekbones, and even your hair. We love Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Collection Flawless Glow Face Bronzer, $17.50 and Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Makeup Loose Shimmer Powder, $18.
Erase your cuticles.
If you haven't tended to your talons in weeks and your cuticles are overtaking your nails, use the eraser tip of a pencil to push back the overgrown skin gently, then buff your nails to a shine with a tissue.
Highlight your pout...literally
Desperate times call for desperate measures. On those occasions when you find yourself stuck without lipstick and craving some color, dot a nontoxic pink highlighter over your lips and lightly rub them together before the color sets. Yes, a Cosmo editor has actually done this and it looks good — like a pink popsicle stain. We swear!
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
beauty,hair remedies for busy girls
Posted by Make him fall in Love With You at 12:03 AM
Labels: beauty, hair remedies for busy girls
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Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State baseball team fell short on a comeback attempt losing 12-10 in 10 innings to Dallas Baptist at Presley Askew Field, Sunday, April 7. The Aggies fall to 18-15 on the year and 4-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Patriots move to 17-15 overall and 5-4 in league play.
NM State was down 9-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth but tallied six runs in the inning. The Aggies sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth marking seven walks and six runs on two hits. DBU stopped the Aggie rally as the NM State offense left the bases loaded with the score at 9-6.
Starting pitcher Michael Ormseth worked 2.2 innings and struck out two batters before relief pitcher, left-hander Trey Higginbotham jumped on the mound to work 3.2 innings. Righty Evan Mott wrapped up the game for the Aggies working 3.2 innings as well as he struck out five batters, following last night's save. Mott was credited with the loss and is now 0-2 on the year, while DBU pitcher Aaron Gilbreath earned his first win of the season.
After a Patriot run in the top of the eighth took the score to 10-7, NM State crossed the plate three times off four hits and two errors in the bottom of the inning. The Aggies had a chance to pick up the win in the bottom of the ninth inning with bases loaded and no outs, but three consecutive Aggie batters went down swining. DBU then took advantage of the momentum shift and hit a two-run shot in the top of the 10th to take a 12-10 lead before the Aggies left two runners aboard in the bottom of the inning.
The Aggies return to action next week at Presley Askew Field facing Sacramento State in a three-game series starting, Friday, April 12.


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U.S. reaffirms: No weapons will go to Ukraine
WARSAW — As President Obama prepared to meet with Ukraine's president-elect for the first time Wednesday, the U.S. continued to rule out providing weapons to help Ukraine fight against pro-Russian insurgents.
Petro Poroshenko, the chocolate magnate who will be sworn in on Saturday, has said he will ask for U.S. assistance, including training and advice to modernize Ukraine's military and a grant of military equipment.
State Department spokesman Jen Psaki reiterated this week that "we'll continue to review their requests" but that the U.S. policy hasn't changed regarding lethal weapons. When asked by a reporter here Tuesday whether the U.S. will provide such aid, Obama pointed out that during the Crimea crisis the U.S. provided non-lethal assistance.
While Russian activity will be a prime topic of their meeting, he added, he and Poroshenko will also talk about energy supplies for Ukraine and efforts to rebuild its economy. "We're going to spend a lot of time on the economics of Ukraine," Obama said.
Still, Obama used his visit to Poland – a crossroads of the old Cold War – to intensify a new-style standoff with Russia over Ukraine. In meetings with Polish and Eastern European leaders, Obama unveiled a $1 billion plan to bolster security for NATO allies and warned Russia that further aggression in Ukraine will bring more sanctions.
The package — dubbed the "European Re-Assurance Initiative" by aides — is "a powerful demonstration of America's unshakeable commitment to our NATO allies," Obama said after meeting with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.
During a day of meetings with various leaders, Obama said European security "is a cornerstone of our own security and it is sacrosanct."
Under the $1 billion plan, parts of which must be approved by Congress, more U.S. troops would be rotated throughout Europe. There would be more land, sea and air military exercises and training missions throughout the continent. Assistance would also be available for non-NATO nations on Russia's border, including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
Russian activity in Ukraine will also be the major topic when Obama attends the G-7 summit Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels.
The president's trip wraps up Friday in Normandy, France, with a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The ceremonies feature a number of world leaders — including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has clashed with Obama over Ukraine.
Obama and Putin don't have a formal meeting scheduled, but Obama said he is sure he will bump into his Russian counterpart.
He called on Putin to encourage violent separatists in eastern Ukraine to "stand down." The president said that "responsible behavior by the Russians" could help rebuild American-Russian relations that have been "shattered by Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine."
"But," Obama added, "I think it is fair to say that rebuilding that trust will take quite some time."
Obama also said that "further Russian provocation will be met with further costs for Russia, including, if necessary, additional sanctions."
Obama stopped in Poland to help commemorate the 25th anniversary of the nation's first free elections as the Soviet Union and the Cold War collapsed — making Poland a perfect place for Obama to talk about national self-determination in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
World War II began after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, yet the Poles wound up as Soviet vassals.Poland played a major role in breaking up the Soviet Union after the birth of the Solidarity labor movement led by dock worker Lech Walesa.
Since it gained independence in 1989, Poland has been a particularly popular stop for presidents in the post-Cold War era — though Obama does have his share of local critics.
Walesa himself, a former president of Poland, told a Polish television network last week that Obama has not been robust enough in the Ukraine crisis.
"The superpower has not been up to the job, and therefore the world is at a dangerous point and maybe it really is the case that lots of bad things are happening in the world because there is no leadership," Walesa said.
Dorell reported from McLean, Va.


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It's Sunday night and I'm not raiding
I love raiding. To quote myself (I have a bad habit of doing that): "I live for raiding." But tonight I'm not raiding because I decided that I needed to take a break, to get that feeling back. Too much of a good thing spoils you and, trust me, when it comes to raiding, I'm as spoiled as it gets. Just ask my raid leader how often he gets emails containing my kindergardenish temper tantrums. (I bet he's lost count.)
My very first raid? It was Gruul's Lair. The small family guild I was part of (even though I totally wasn't family at that time – I was the random weirdo member) raided with a larger guild. (The larger guild ended up more or less absorbing the little one and thats how I ended up in my current guild in case you were wondering and I'm sure you weren't.) I had no idea what I was doing. I posted on big guild's forums letting them know that they'd never heard of me before but that I wanted to go to the raid. Being the uber shy, nervous wreck that I am, I had the entire guild charter memorized before posting and was utterly and thoroughly intimidated. (Funny how things change, now I whine about how it needs to be updated and more stringent.) They were nice people, though, the large guild. They were welcoming and didn't seem to care that I was a weird stranger and quite possibly the biggest wow n00b they'd ever had in their raids. The raid leader welcomed me personally and made quite an impression. Most. hyper. person. to. post. in. a. thread. EVER.
So raid night comes along. The minutes before the raid are… fuzzy… Nerves, probably. I don't remember, but I'm sure I was terrified. I lived on campus at the time and VoIP was blocked, so I couldn't log into vent (actually, it was teamspeak at the time). Everything had to be typed out to me. I was healing, but wasn't specced for it (I wasn't specced for anything, really) nor did I know about great things like healbot or downranking. It's good thing we didn't record stats back then… *shudder*
We killed King Maulgar. How we did that with me in the raid, I have no clue, but you'd be amazed at how well so-called "casual" guilds are able to work around newer or clumsier raiders. I got my first epic that night, my tier 4 shoulders. The other paladin passed for me. This was quite possibly one of my most exciting WoW moments. It seems so trivial now, but your first epic will always be your first epic.
The guild was still learning Gruul, so the rest of the night was wipe after wipe. At the time, I didn't care, I was so happy to be in a raid, nothing mattered. I remember the raid leader whispering me, asking me how I was holding up. I told him I was having fun. "Oh yeah, wiping is fun!" he exclaimed. (Out of context there are more than one ways to interpret that, but rest assured, he was really checking that I wasn't turned off raiding, not blaming me for the wipes.)
So what if we wiped? I was so thrilled at being given the opportunity to see this content and I loved watching 24 people interact happily with each other. The guild had great chemistry and even though I couldn't hear their voices, their emotes and goofing off in /say were hilarious. I was too shy to jump in, but even from a distance, it was wonderful. I fell in love, both with raiding and with the guild.
Nearly, two years later, I'm still in love with raiding, most of the time, although the magic has changed. Seeing content, playing with people I adore and getting new purples are all things I take for granted. What I love now is playing my class, trying to get the most out of my paladin and focusing on a fight. Most of the time. Sometimes I don't feel challenged and that's when I get raid burnout.
I'm still with that guild, a full member now, and was even an officer for about a year and half before stepping down. We're a bit of an old married couple, the guild and I. Sometimes we bicker and I wonder if I still belong, if I'm even still wanted, other times I couldn't be happier and prouder to have it's name under mine. But on nights like this, after I decide not raid for a week or more, I start to think about why I love raiding so much, where that love came from and what my goals are as a raider.
When I resigned as an officer, I stopped doing anything that was remotely connected to guild leading/management. While I still believe that it is the wisest course of action for now, there is one thing I'm realizing I need to do. Not for the guild, but for myself. That thing is to bring my enthusiasm and love of raiding back to our raids, spread the feeling around. While the very details of my first raid are fuzzy in my mind, the warm welcome I received from the team, the concern the raid leader showed for my comfort and the amazing chemistry in the group are deeply etched into my memory. Now I need to share that, in hopes that others discover the awesomeness that is raiding.
If any of you brave readers have made it to the end of this text wall, whether you're an officer or not, I want your take home message to be this:
1) welcome new raiders warmly
2) take time to feel people's pulse during raids, especially new or shy people
3) make your fellow raiders laugh
4) show that you're having a good time
It can have a much larger impact than you think.
Before I get even more sentimental, it's time for bed. I'm sticking to leveling lowbies for now, in hopes to be back in a week or two with my passion for raiding back in full swing.Explore posts in the same categories: Guild thoughts
Tags: first raid, passion for raiding, raid burnout, raiding, sentimentalityBoth comments and pings are currently closed.
4 Comments on "It's Sunday night and I'm not raiding"
October 26, 2009 at 1:21 am
My favorite thing about being an officer was always bringing in completely new folks. I loved paying them special attention, giving them tips, making sure they were feeling okay, helping explain any fight nuances to them. It's my motherly side I guess, but hands down, that's my favorite part about officeering. I think I'm finally starting to realize though… that you don't even need to be an officer to be all those things for someone who is new!
October 26, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I remember your first raid. Me + Jojo were totally talking about your greens very quietly. Good times.


text:
Journal of the Senate of Texas being the First Called Session of the Forty-Third Legislature Page: 6
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Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of Texas being the First Called Session of the Forty-Third Legislature, legislative document, 1933; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142183/m1/6/: accessed August 11, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.


text:
Automotive Tech Guide
Brings Out the Smile in You
Brings Out the Smile in You
You just forked out an incredible amount of money for that shiny new car of yours and one of the first additions you are thinking of putting in your car is a GPS unit. You're thinking a good GPS unit will go a long way in helping you save traveling time and fuel, but you have absolutely no idea where and what to look out for. To compound your purchase quandary even more is the concern of budget after having spent a considerable amount of money on deposit and downpayment. Affordable GPS units are the only ones you can look at.
Good Affordable
Now, cheap GPS units are a dime a dozen, but to find one that sells on a low-price proposition without a hefty penalty on features and software upgradeability is not easy. For a GPS device, software upgradeability is vitally important, especially in sprawling cities such as Singapore where roads are frequently altered and added to ease traffic conditions and to cater to development projects. It's a good thing then that we recently tested the Holux GPSmile 53CL car navigation system, because there is a good chance you will end up buying one - if not at least give it a strong consideration.
For its price of SGD$499, the Holux GPSmile 53CL is expectedly compact, but its screen, which measures 3.5 inches across diagonally, is decently sized such that you do not need to strain your eyes to make sense of things. As long as the unit is not mounted ridiculously far away from where you sit, you should have no problem reading map illustrations, road names and directional prompts off the screen. There's also no need for you to worry about the volume of the integrated speaker either. Unless you're the sort who drives with either the windows down or with your sound system at insane decibels, audio alerts and instructions from the Holux will be audible to you.
Ready to Use
Powering the navigation software in our test unit was MapKing! 2007 (Build 0817), which in this part of the world, represents simplicity and ease of use as it's widely used here.
Together with the built-in Mediatek MT3318 GPS chipset, the Holux GPSmile 53CL did not take long to acquire GPS signals and was reliable in guiding us to our destinations. A fairly fast 400MHz Samsung processor and sensitive touchscreen ensured that we did not experience undesirable lag from both the navigation software and supplementary applications such as the MP3 player, photo browser and eBook reader that read off SD cards that you may insert into the onboard SD card slot. Brightness of the screen and default speaker volume are both adjustable, but strangely enough, the MP3 player does not allow you to move forward within tracks; it's either to the next or previous music file.
Since it's essentially a Pocket PC, it can also be used to synchronize files and new maps can be used either by saving them into the SD card directly or through Holux GPSmile 53CL's SD card slot that is a card reader when connected to a PC via mini-USB cable.
Quick Setup
Given that it only weighs about 170 grams, there is no need for an elaborate mounting bracket to get the whole system up and running, and there's certainly no need for you to engage a professional for installation. What you get is a simple suction arm that is ended with a holder to let you mount the Holux within sight and reach. It might not look much but it was more than up to the task of keeping it pointed at us when we were out on the roads for trial runs. Its compact size and two chargers for power via wall plugs and car socket make it easy for drivers to chuck it into glove compartments for safekeeping and for convenient portability.
So there you have it, the Holux GPSmile 53CL is wallet friendly, software upgradeable (at least it is so for maps), compact and portable, responsive, and boasts music and photo support. Budget hunters who are considering to get an affordable GPS navigation system will have one more fine selection to choose from.


text: Dr. Jha is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. from University of California-Davis in 1998, and received her post-doctoral training in the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University (Durham, USA) in functional neuroimaging. Her research centers on the cognitive neuroscience of attention and working memory. Using functional MRI, electroencephalography (EEG), and behavioral measures she has demonstrated that there are two complementary processes that aid "tuning" attention systems to better maintain information over time. There is an active effortful enhancement of neural representations of items that should be maintained in working memory (the memory items), as well as a selective suppression of items that may be very distracting and lead to memory errors. In recent research, she has been exploring how these tuning features may be damaged in disorders of attention, such as ADHD. In addition, she has conducted an NIH-funded project to investigate whether attention training may lead to improvements in attentional tuning. Specifically, she has examined the role of mindfulness meditation training in altering functioning of alerting, orienting, and conflict monitoring subsystems of attention.


text:
With the tests used in combination, the chances are probably greater for the patient to receive just the right treatment. The study is being published in the October issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Measurement of the concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is today a routine clinical method for determining the degree of steroid-sensitive inflammation in the airways in asthma. For many years a count of eosinophil granulocytes in the blood has also been used to support a diagnosis of asthma.
These two methods were previously thought to signal the same inflammation process in asthma. In the new study, researchers investigated the importance of these two clinically used inflammation markers with the help of information from a large American population-based database (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) where 12,408 individuals aged 6–80 were included.
The scientists were able to determine that the association between FeNO and blood eosinophils was very weak. Instead, they observed that simultaneously elevated levels of the two markers, in a synergistic way, but independently of each other, increased the likelihood of individuals reporting, for example, asthma symptoms or asthma attacks in the last year.
The results supported the researchers' hypothesis that the two markers represent two different inflammation processes.
"We therefore propose that both of these measurements be carried out in combination in order to better understand the inflammation in asthma patients. They thus constitute a better platform for selecting the proper treatment for these patients", says Kjell Alving, professor at the Department of Children's and Women's Health, Uppsala University.


text:
Following up on yesterdays 18 Rooms with Capiz Shell Pendants & Chandeliers, you might be thinking of buying one for yourself. Did any of the applications change your mind about how you think of the look? Not so kitschy, correct?
Here are 16 different capiz shell pendants & chandeliers to consider hanging in your home, above the dining table, bathtub, or stairwell. I love the gray. And of course, I'd never turn down a piece designed by Verner Panton. Most of these capiz shell lamps are quite affordable, hailing from Horchow, West Elm, and similar stores.
2. Dolce Capiz Shell Chandelier
3. Arteriors Home Southampton Shell Chandelier
4. Rectangular Bronze Capiz Chandelier
6. Oly Studio Serena Chandelier
7. Large Rectangular Capiz Pendant
8. Alessandra Capiz Shell Chandelier
9. Handcrafted Capiz Light in Tide Pool
10. Verner Panton Fun 11 Pendant
11. Verner Panton Fun 1 Pendant
14. Worlds Away Capiz Shell Chandelier
15. Aurora Capiz Shell Chandelier
16. Island Paradise Capiz and Topaz Pendant
• • •
Shop lighting at Switch Modern >


text:
June 13th 1918
Dear sister and Pa:
I really do not know what to write about as I told you every bit of news of interest in my last few letters. It is almost time for bed as tomorrow we expect to be busy hiking for about ten miles. As yet I have not received any mail but expect to get some within a day or so. Cigarettes tobacco and candy are very scarce as I doubt if any tobacco can be gotten in France. The weather is still continuing to behave good wish helps us as their isn't very much pleasure in drilling in rain.
Must close now will write you again tomorrow, I am.
Your Brother
© Copyright 2011 by Lanny & Patti Brown, All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.


text:
케인&린치2(Kane and Lynch 2) 도그데이즈(Dog Days) 치트키(Cheat), 트레이너(Trainer), 언락(Unlock)조건 모음
Cheat Key
-구해지는 대로 등록하겠습니다.
3가지 기능을 가지고 있으나 프로모션버전인 만큼 1가지 기능만 동작합니다.
-어떤 무기든지 무제한 총알(unlimited ammo on all weapons)
Unlockable - Achievements List
|How to unlock:
|Welcome to Shanghai (Bronze)
|Complete 'Welcome to Shanghai' on any difficulty.
|Street War (Bronze)
|Complete 'The Details' on any difficulty.
|Death Sentence (Bronze)
|Complete 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' on any difficulty.
|Nowhere to Hide (Bronze)
|Complete 'Laying Low' on any difficulty.
|Baby be Safe (Bronze)
|Complete 'Coming Home' on any difficulty.
|Lost Love (Bronze)
|Complete 'A Thousand Cuts' on any difficulty.
|Double Cross (Bronze)
|Complete 'The Deal' on any difficulty.
|Slow Train to Hell (Bronze)
|Complete 'Out of Shanghai' on any difficulty.
|Bring It Down (Bronze)
|Complete 'Air Strike' on any difficulty.
|Kill or Be Killed (Bronze)
|Complete 'Resurrection' on any difficulty.
|Catch! (Bronze)
|Push your human shield into an opponent in Story Mode.
|Can It! (Bronze)
|Kill 10 enemies with exploding canisters.
|Mexican Showoff (Bronze)
|Kill 5 enemies while downed before successfully recovering.
|Sichuan Specialist (Bronze)
|Escape the restaurant in 'Laying Low' without being downed on any difficulty.
|Hand of God (Bronze)
|Complete a Story Mode mission without dying once on any difficulty.
|Chinese Waltz (Bronze)
|Kill 5 enemies without losing your human shield.
|Dance Off! (Bronze)
|Execute 30 enemies while holding them as human shield.
|Trigger Happy (Bronze)
|Kill 5 enemies in 15 seconds with any pistol whilst not dropping your health below 90%.
|Double Happiness (Bronze)
|Kill 6 enemies in a row with a shotgun - all of them as one shot kills.
|Steady Hand (Bronze)
|Get 5 headshots in a row using the same clip.
|A Little Help From a Friend (Bronze)
|Complete 1 mission in Co-op.
|No Going Back (Bronze)
|Complete 5 missions in Co-op.
|Giving a Hand (Bronze)
|Finish 30 enemies your Co-op partner shot 'Down Not Dead'.
|Got Your Back (Bronze)
|Revive your Co-op partner 10 times.
|Welcome (Bronze)
|Successfully escape once in Acrcade Mode or in any Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|Doing Good (Bronze)
|Successfully reach round 5 in Arcade Mode.
|Greedy (Bronze)
|Earn at least $5,000,000 in every level in Arcade Mode.
|Lightning Looter (Bronze)
|Reach $8,000,000 in under 6 minutes of actual playtime in Arcade Mode.
|Safe Crime (Bronze)
|Finish 5 rounds in a row without getting any penalties in Arcade Mode.
|Battle Hardened (Bronze)
|Complete one session in each Multiplayer Mode (Ranked Match).
|Addict (Bronze)
|Win 20 sessions of Cops & Robebrs (Ranked Match).
|The Cleaner (Bronze)
|Escape as a traitor with 50% of any level's total loot in Arcade Mode or Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|Escape from...Anywhere (Bronze)
|Successfully escape 25 times in Arcade Mode or in any Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|D.I.Y. (Bronze)
|Escape with more than $2,500,000 in a round of either Arcade Mode or Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|Putting on the Ritz (Bronze)
|End a round as Criminal Expert in a Fragile Alliance Ranked Match.
|Blackjack and Hookers! (Bronze)
|Accumulate $25,000,000 in your career (Arcade Mode and Multiplayer Ranked Match).
|Rat Killer (Bronze)
|Kill the Undercover Cop as the last surviving criminal and escape (Ranked Match).
|Law Enforcer (Bronze)
|Win as the Undercover Cop by killing all criminals yourself (Ranked Match).
|Harry Houdini (Bronze)
|Escape from being held as human shield in any Multiplayer mode (Ranked Match).
|Unfinished Business (Bronze)
|Kill a yellow carded criminal whilst Down Not Dead (Arcade Mode and Multiplayer Ranked Match).
|No I in TEAM (Bronze)
|Earn the Criminal Loyalty level in Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|There's an I in TRAITOR (Bronze)
|Become Scum in a Multiplayer Mode (Ranked Match).
|You Want Blood? (Silver)
|1000 kills.
|End of the Road (Silver)
|Complete Story Mode in Co-op.
|Love of Money (Silver)
|Successfully reach round 10 in Arcade Mode.
|Most Wanted (Silver)
|Accumulate $50,000,000 in your career (Arcade Mode and Multiplayer Ranked Match).
|Alpha Male (Silver)
|Have the most kills in a Cops & Robbers Ranked Match.
|Dog Days (Gold)
|Complete Story Mode on any difficulty level.
|Dead Men Rising (Gold)
|Complete Story Mode on Extreme.
|Mastermind (Gold)
|Become a criminal Mastermind (Highest Rank) in Multiplayer Ranked Match.
|Love of the Game (Gold)
|All Multiplayer Modes trophies unlocked.
|Blood On Your Hands (Platinum)
|Earn all Trophies.


text:
REAL ESTATE- ON THE BLOCK- The new old: Efficient craftsman lands in Belvedere
Address: 664 Tyree Lane
Neighborhood: Belvedere in Charlottesville
Asking: $549,000
Assessment: $543,600
Year Built: 2008
Size: 4,133 fin Sq. ft. / 504 unfin. Sq. ft.
Land: 0.131 acres
Agent: Gregory L. Slater, Real Estate III, (434) 981-6655
Curb Appeal: 8 out of 10
Tucked off of Rio Road and bordering the Rivanna River, the Belvedere development is currently home to five families– including its first move-in buyers, the White/Harris family profiled in The Hook on September 18 in a story entitled, "Lonely utopia? Belvedere's first family digs its new digs".
Although the development is new, its roots are old: the property was once the site of Dunlora plantation, as well as a 224-acre estate purchased in 1788 by a free African-American woman named Amy Farrow, according to Steve Thompson of Rivanna Archaeology.
Over two centuries later, 30 acres of the historic African-American property are part of Belvedere, whose developers plan to erect an interpretive kiosk to explain this untouched patch of grass and trees. The developers also have big plans for a retail center, dog park, organic farm, and more new homes.
Alas, the current state of the economy and the financial woes of the development's two original builders has slowed progress. Potential Belvedere buyers might find good deals– but they may also want to gain confidence that the housing market will turn around so that the Belvedere vision will eventually be realized, lest they end up living eternally in an unfinished construction zone.
For now, lead developer Stonehaus Inc. is proudly showcasing Phase 1, which includes this house, a spacious three-bedroom home on a narrow lot.
Pitched as a turn-of-the-century Craftsman-style home for the buyer who wants to bypass turn-of-the-century wiring, it boasts plenty of attention to detail. Like all Belvedere houses, this one is EarthCraft certified, with extra insulation, an on-demand water heater, and two heating/cooling systems with three zones, allowing for targeted comfort and efficiency. There's a security system and audio wiring throughout the house, as well as fiberoptics.
The red oak-floored downstairs is user-friendly, with a mudroom (complete with a bench and four cubbyholes) plus a glistening, spacious kitchen with granite-topped counters, an ample island, and stainless steel GE appliances (but fridge and freezer are not included).
A breakfast area flows into the family room with a built-in bookshelf and a gas fireplace. The floor plan also includes a living room, a formal dining room with two-tone walls and crown molding, and– most endearingly– a butler's pantry with loads of shelving, a small sink, and a built-in wine rack.
A staircase with a square picket railing leads up to three carpeted bedrooms on the second floor. The two identical bedrooms at the front-end of the house sport walk-in closets that say, "thank you, Mom" all over them. At the top of the staircase lie a full bath and a laundry room, which means no trudging to the basement in your slippers and skivvies.
The expansive master suite is designed with white ceramic floor tiles in the bath and a tan geometric tile border along the jetted tub. Rounding out the picture are a glassed-in shower and his-and-her sinks along with his-and-hers walk-in closets.
The third floor, however, is perhaps the most interesting. Since the house was stick framed, the top ceiling is the same pitch as the roof, with dramatic angles and four beams dividing up the ceiling like knife slices in a pie– although a natural wood finish might have been preferable to white paint. With a private bath and three alcoves with window seats, the finished attic is spacious, full of natural light and possibilities: Office? Playroom? Ginormous bedroom?
The house is finished off with a separate two-car garage with a one-bedroom apartment overhead. When the Board of Supervisors approved Belvedere, they did so on the condition that the subdivision provide affordable housing. At $549,000 (lowered from $559,000), this one, like many Belvedere properties, does not seem to qualify. Instead, the developers offer the garages as a way for homeowners to offset the cost of steep mortgages, although none of the five families have done so at this time, though one Belvedere homeowner reportedly uses her garage apartment for a massage business.
For all of the Craftsman detailing and the historic site, this house lacks some character of an older home. It's like the perfect guy with perfect manners: you know you're supposed to love it, but somehow a few flaws would make it seem more special. Maybe all the house needs is that first family to add a little Crayola to the playroom walls.
Each week, a brave local seller invites the Hook to provide an impartial, warts-and-all look at their real estate listing. E-mail yours today!


text:
Binlor Ironshield
|Binlor Ironshield
|Initial worship
|Prep penalty
Missing info
Binlor Ironshield is the god of mining. He is found in a subdungeon with an ENDISWAL glyph. Once you mine a few walls, you reach some gold. Don't fall for it it, keep mining to reach his altar.
There are two main strategies with Binlor. You can either stay with him, which is only to be done if there are no other gods to convert off to, or the optimal strategy of using him as a piety farm. If you decide to stay with him, just keep using boons to pump magic resistance, the best boon being stone heart, and destroy walls to negate the level up penalties. Save some piety for the endgame. When you're fighting the boss, use stone skin before every hit. This is especially nice if you already have stone form as it will give you resists and might. If you are going to convert off, rack up 100 piety, take 5-10 stone hearts to kill monster resistances, and then rack back up 100 to convert in. Remember, if you are in a level without a lot of walls, don't use too many stone hearts as you might run out of walls to convert.
With BLUDTUPOWA or Rock Heart at your disposal, Binlor can generate absolutely massive quantities of piety. In fact, you're more likely to run out of walls to destroy than anything else.
Binlor also has a strong synergy with attacks that cause knockback, such as if your character is a Half-Dragon or has a Bear Mace. With Stone Form and Stone Fist, every attack in which you can bash the target into a wall will give you Might, piety, and a large amount of knockback damage in addition to your normal attack damage, and the resistances you get from Binlor (or just from destroying walls with ENDISWAL) will help you survive any retaliation. If you take this approach, it's a good idea not to take too many boons from Binlor so that you have enough walls left for your knockback strategy.
If you plan on staying with Binlor, desecrating a Mystera altar is usually well worth the negatives. Since Binlor's only chance of punishing you is a -10 on level up, you effectively earn +55 piety on any desecration. Mystera's punishment is 15% resistances to all enemies, and you can nullify this with 3 uses of Stone Heart (while beefing up your magic resist by 9%). Just make sure you have enough walls to compensate, and that you're not already at a high enough level to waste the punishment invulnerability.
Binlor is an extremely safe deity to convert to in the endgame, if you would otherwise be dealing with an unmanageable amount of piety fines (e.g. a GG worshipper who has a large stock of potions). In this respect, he is second only to The Earthmother. Even if you have no way of generating more piety with him, he can be worth converting to at level 10 for a last-minute boon and a boss fight free of divine restrictions on your behaviour.
Binlor removes all your resistances when you desecrate his alter or otherwise anger him. For characters without resistances, this means Binlor can be angered or desecrated freely and he is incapable of actually punishing you. While there are a few cases of characters that can ignore a deity's punishment, this is the only one that actually comes up with any frequency in practice.


text:
Life happens when you least expect it. Which is to say that serendipity can be a wonderful thing. Most researchers will tell you, in fact, that many scientific and medical breakthroughs (penicillin, anyone?) were the result of happenstance.
The unexpected happened or something zigged left when it should have zagged right, and rather than bemoaning what went wrong, the smart folks ran with the moldy bread. Often to grand results.
This all came to mind today via the 2010 version of serendipity: links that turned up in my inbox. The first came from Maggie, a former student that we first met here, where, a few months out of college and teaching English to unappreciative French teenagers in Lyon, she raised the question of whether growing up meant making peace with life's uncertainties. Which may be how she found herself an accidental tourist at a distant relative's dairy farm outside Skiberdeen, Ireland, thanks to the cloud of volcanic ash that left her stranded at the Dublin airport.
Faced with an uncertain future at the airport bar, she decided to call her long-lost cousins who invited her and her traveling companion to spend an epic week at their farm on the edge of the sea, where they ran with the cows, toured "the most beautiful coastline I've ever seen," and drank minute's old milk out of an old Irish Whiskey bottle. She called it the best phone call she had ever made:
My relatives live in the same farmhouse that's been in the family for five generations and probably longer. It's a dairy farm, and their cows produce some of the milk for Dubliner cheese (best cheese in the world). Across the field, you can see the quaint little stone church where my great-great- grandmother was baptized. From the top of the hill, you can see the westernmost point of Ireland (and nearest point of Europe to America), Fastnet, which is a lighthouse on a rock 8 miles from the mainland into the Atlantic. Alan, one of the sons, used his friendly connections to get us on a boat out to that rock, which is probably the coolest thing I've ever done in my life (though the choppy boat ride back was terrifying). The day before, his older brother Kevin took us on a 6-hour driving tour around the area, pointing out memorials and giving us history/Irish language lessons along the way. Good stuff.
That other link? That one was for a delightful piece in the latest Oprah magazine by Elizabeth Gilbert (Full disclosure: I may be the only woman in American who still has not finished "Eat, Pray, Love." Please don't hate me.) In an essay essentially about her mother, she revisits the time her mom turned Gilbert's absolute and abject disappointment at not being chosen for the lead of the third-grade play — it was about a lemonade stand – into a show stopping two-line triumph:
Opening day: The play droned to life. Bored parents fanned themselves in the audience, straining to hear mumbled lines. When I exploded onto the stage, as confident as (and dressed rather like) a drag queen, I could feel the crowd pop awake. Towering over the cast, I sashayed toward the lemonade stand and drawled languidly, "May ah have an oatmeal cookie and a glass of lemonade?" (The honeyed Southern accent had been my mother's brilliant, last-minute suggestion.)
The audience hollered with laughter. Still in character, I drawled my next and final line ( "Thank yoooouuu!") to the three dumbfounded stars and began my exit. But—not so fast. The audience was still laughing, still loving this 8-year-old Blanche DuBois. And that's when I had a clarion revelation: They still need me! This is when I made the charitable decision to give the crowd just a little more Mrs. Fields. Instead of heading for the wings, I swished back to center stage, dropped an imaginary quarter on the lemonade stand, and ad-libbed, "Keep the change, sugar. "
Afterward, Gilbert was allowed to " revel in exactly one hour of triumph," then it was back home to do her chores. What was significant, she writes now, was the critical survival lessons she learned from her mom. Chief among them – at least as far as our accidental post is concerned:
If life gives you lemons, don't settle for simply making lemonade—make a glorious scene at a lemonade stand.
Which brings us back to that idea of serendipity – or its converse: the five-year plan. Maybe you should ditch it. Because sometimes, you're most likely to find what you're looking for when, you know, you just stop looking for it.