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Getting Muddy: Revisiting Rosalind Krauss' "Nostalgie de la Boue"September 20, 2007
I'd like to open with a story of sorts – about my first encounter with postmodernism (though it was more than fifteen years before I heard the word) when I was a child growing up in the London suburbs. My grandparents, active in the local Music and Drama Society, had taken me, twice, to see their friends and acquaintances perform Tom Stoppard's one-act the Real Inspector Hound. My initial response of naive confusion when two of the audience members, talking with rude volume, revealed themselves to be theatre critics, was compounded as they berated the actors from their seats and later strode onto the stage itself and became inseparable from the drama, finally becoming victims in the Agatha Christie-like play they are supposed to be reviewing. But it was funny – if you haven't seen any of his plays, Stoppard has Wilde's talent with farce and wit, and often manages to fold in parody (though here it is at the expense of characterization) – and humor is a sure draw for children, so I opted for a second night of it to avoid an encounter with the dragon babysitter. This time I could anticipate and compensate for the vertigo of watching the superimposition of roles. I remember distinctly wondering if I was now allowed to go on stage, too?
One of the things that inspired me to start this project was rereading Rosalind Krauss' essay "Nostalgie de la Boue" from the journal October's Spring 1991 issue. As it brings up a number of threads (nostalgia, camp, obsolescence) that feed into thinking about my love of decay, I want to run through it here.
First, some fast background on the author (itself a loaded term) and October. Krauss was a rising star in art criticism, when, in 1976, she left that most prestigious and intellectual of magazines, Artforum, to found October. 1991 saw her at the height of her powers, about to accept a tenured position at Columbia, watching her revolution become the academy.October, a paper journal issued quarterly, was named for the Eisenstein film that celebrates the Russian Revolution while simultaneously practicing film theory past the point that the Bolshevik leaders could tolerate. With a non-doctrinaire focus on "small r" revolutionary art theory/practice, the journal reasserts the relevance of the historical avant garde (the cascade of early twentieth century movements, artists, critics, and manifestos) by building what we would now call a remix of poststructuralism, contemporary art, and a historicized take on the early modernists. Its success marked the rise of the academic mode of art theory and a separation from the rocket of the 1980's art market that crashed a decade later.
The instigation for Krauss' essay is the famous show "High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture" at New York MOMA, that brought graffiti and other expressions of popular culture into the Museum's hallowed halls, causing a minor uproar in 1990.
In the show's catalog, the agents of MOMA put down Surrealism and its focus on the unconscious as "meaningless", dissing it with the phrase "nostalgie de la boue" which the catalog says involves "a yearning to wallow in what is seen as low and filthy". The expression, which literally translates from French as "nostalgia of the mud", is, oddly, not used in France, but has a life and meaning only among English speakers. The same dubious phrase shows up being used by Andrew Ross, a famous Cultural Studies critic to dismiss the historical avant garde as not being seriously engaged with popular culture — they weren't really hip, they were just slumming. In both cases, nostalgia is invoked to disqualify their targets as worthy of serious consideration; however, as Krauss points out, nostalgia ends up as the main relationship to the past that their stories use. It becomes crucial. In all this we need to remember that Krauss is a big fan of historical context, partly a Marxist influence via earlier critics like Walter Benjamin and partly through the New Historicism that arose from the writings of Michel Foucault.
Then she invites us to consider a few of the tenets of Cultural Studies: 1) that consumption (and we're talking ideas here, not hamburgers) is not a mirror of production – meaning that you can't say that there is a monolithic culture machine out there cranking out images and programs which we all consume like sheep; rather, 2) that consumers are critical users who can rewrite and remake culture (though the MOMA curators prefer to see it more in terms of distinct subcultures rather than individual users). Oddly, though, with all this cross-pollination among equal subcultures, it always seems to be the High Art crowd, be they Pop artists, Surrealists, or Cubists, who are gaining inspiration from waning elements of popular culture, and not the other way round.
Now comes the first major conclusion. Krauss says that MOMA is implicitly claiming that "high art's creative consumption of popular culture is…nostalgia" and gives lots of examples. Then she points out that Ross identifies the same instinct for popular culture on its way out as camp, and camp is really nothing more than an ironic posture within nostalgia. For Ross (and Krauss), "camp taste works, then, as a peculiar celebration of marks of disempowerment within a media or commodity culture" that arise because components are becoming obsolete. Acknowledging and celebrating this cycle in the end denies the whole premise of modernist culture here: that taste is universal and timeless. So creative nostalgia ends up being a crucial postmodern tactic.
Her second conclusion is to find something rotten in the underpinnings of the whole series of arguments. If this form of cultural recycling (taking the outmoded and remaking it into what is cool) can allow consumers to cut themselves free of the realm of production, then what kind of sense does it make to talk about production vs. consumption? Are they two separate spheres anymore?
This last point is really irritating to me because it makes one generalization – it's too messy to make clear distinctions anymore – where a number of useful threads could be teased out: the separation is alive in what economists call consumer goods (a factory in China makes a toaster, I buy a toaster); the separation is strong in broadcast culture (CNN or Sony Pictures don't take a lot of input from me); the separation is complicated within the networks of service industries (as a graphic designer, am I producing or consuming images?); and finally within remix culture, like Wikipedia or YouTube, or zero-sum shopping, like buying/selling used toys or vintage clothes on EBay, the distinction becomes nearly meaningless. Notice anything about that continuum? There's that transition from big money to no money. And a shift from a one-way to a circular mode of consumption. This circularity and recycling isn't the same as the 1960's get-out-of-the-rat-race-and-become-self-sufficient ethic because the former still had that modernist obsession with purity and simplicity, while the latter embraces ambiguity and complexity, providing points for personal intervention in the cycle.
Which brings me back to The Real Inspector Hound: it was exactly the outmodedness of the Agatha Christie drama that allowed me to want to step on the stage myself: not to passively participate, but to help remake it.
For those of you with access to JSTOR, the online journal archive, Nostalgie de la Boue can be found here.


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When your social profile is doing well, with high numbers of users and high levels of engagement, it can difficult to know what to do when you reach a plateau. A social media specialist will analyse your profile and industry to identify suitable new audiences that you are not yet engaging with but could do, in your target country/language. They will compile details of this potential new audience in a PowerPoint report, and will also deliver a basic engagement strategy proposal.
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We will ask you to provide us with details about your current audience, industry and any keywords (in your target language).
A social media specialist will analyse your industry for suitable new audiences and analyse their discussions in relation to your organisation and industry. We will deliver a report covering these new potential audiences and provide a basic engagement strategy proposal for your chosen profile.
Webcertain Group is passionate about generating business growth for its clients in any part of the world. A team of native speakers of all the world's major languages works together to achieve client objectives - no one understands working with different cultures and the nuances of language in the globe's search engines better than the Webcertain multilingual teams. Webcertain operates in 44 languages.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Wyoming Gubernatorial candidates at the monthly Sheridan County Chamber luncheon.
D.A.R.E. graduate Emily reads one of the award-winning essays at Woodland Park.
Sheridan City Council Discusses Drug Testing Policy 03/01/10
Construction on North Main in Sheridan is underway.
Amazing shot by JR Cadot to win home court for region 9 tournament
Streetscape walk through on North Main - Sheridan WY
Sheridan Memorial Hospital Open House


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Writing, Books and More
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The Spiritual Life: lessons from the Vineyard on how to grow in the Christian life through obedience, self-denial and prayer
The vineyard is the spiritual life of the Christian. The Lord has prepared the ground by removing stones and tilling, planted her in fertile soil and given her all she needs to be fruitful. At the first sign of fruit, she is pruned, channeling all of His grace, all of the growing energy into the fruitful branches.


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Spot a Salmon
Spot a Salmon is a project based on local Salmon counts outside of the Portland area. The local salmon count is sourced from the Army Corp of Engineers RSS feed stored as JSON. Additional aspects include use of SVG animations to fire off different Salmon Spotting Spots based on user selection on the map, and the addition of geolocation that tells the user how far they currently are from each salmon spot respectively.


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Our laundered linen jacket is a delightfully decadent everyday essential. Featuring a shaped back and front hemline and full-length sleeves with button cuff detail. This gorgeous jacket is a versatile wardrobe must-have that can be worn with anything.
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text: Dining Room > Dining Room Collections > Hamlyn 5pc Dining Item successfully added to cart! Hamlyn 5 Piece Dining Set SKU: HAML01 The Hamlyn dining collection features a gold and brown tone marble top with a metal base in a bronze metal finish. The collection includes 4 metal base chairs in a broze metal finish and an upholstered seat. 1 Hamlyn Table$299.99 4 Hamlyn Side Chair$359.96 Sold Separately $659.95 You Save $159.96 $499.99 Add to Cart Item In Stock Hamlyn 5 Piece Dining Set Quantity: Price: $499.99 CONTINUE SHOPPING PROCEED TO CHECKOUT Alternate Collections Package Information SKU: HAML01 Finish: Bronze Style: Traditional Group: Hamlyn Type: Casual Product Detail 1 Hamlyn Table Length: 44 Width: 44 Height: 4 Hamlyn Side Chair Length: 19 Width: 18 Height: 41 Related Items Hamlyn Bakers Rack $299.99


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I'm a fan of silly investment goals. Just aiming for the big goals 10K – 100K – 1M or anything of the sort is great in theory, but a bit demotivating at start, because the first big goals take the longest, and the big goals often seem so far off, that they seem impossible to achieve. So, take joy in the little things!
Since the end of the year is nearing, then I'm starting to write in some final numbers to look over goals and returns for the year and I noticed that both Twino and Mintos portfolios are both earning just over 30 euros per month, which means an euro every day. It might seem small, but I mean – if you found an euro or two on the ground every day to work you'd be pretty happy, no? Also, that's just enough to buy a latte every day forever 😉
On a more serious note, both Twino and Mintos have clearly done well this year, finishing at 10M/month, which is finally starting to make the totals for P2P lending in the Baltics look nice. The ease of use, and lack of overall attention you need to pay on the investments is nice for any passive investor, but there are of course changes happening constantly that you should keep an eye out on.
Twino is by far the most hands off part of my P2P portfolio. Due to overall lack of any detailed info about clients, it's as much of a set-and-forget as possible in P2P. It does seem like there is an increasingly large amount of investors' money available because you're unlikely to see any higher interest loans available listed on the market. I assume without an autobidder it's near impossible to invest into them.
Overall, I've kept to my strategy of mainly 13% interest rate longer-length loans. Largely because I don't see myself needing the money any time soon, and secondly because a large part of those loans gets bought back due to the buyback guarantee, meaning if I did need to get the money out it would be reasonably easy.
Mintos however has been a bit more hands on. Since the interest rates that different loan originators offer change rather often, you must keep an eye out on what's happening. This means tinkering a bit here and there with the interest rates in the autobidder and due to high demand for loans it's rather difficult to get into them even with the autobidder set, it seems.
My recent strategy has been picking up loans on the secondary market. There are always people leaving the site and selling their investments, some people even sell things at a discount when they're delayed (yes, even buyback loans), so there is potential there. It does however take some time, because you have to do the purchases manually.
Overall I can't say that I have any big complaints about either of the sites. Current plan is to slowly keep increasing both portfolios until they are both bigger than my position in Bondora (which will happen rather soon), making them the 3rd and 4th biggest P2P positions in my portfolio (currently led by Omaraha and Crowdestate). Definitely nice to see good diversification options on the market!


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Howdy friends and happy Tuesday to you all! I am recovering from a very NASTY stomach bug that had me down and out Sunday night and all day yesterday. It was NOT fun and hubby was home sickie-poo too! Not to mention that my router burned out and I was a sick mess of a gal with NO INTERNET! Yes! Needless to say I had a bit of a meltdown, temper tantrum, crying attack and hubby went out and bought me a new router and set it up, LOL. Yes he is a Saint, I know, I know but trust me at least I worked all day while he laid on couch and groaned (yep just like a guy) LOL. So I'm feeling a bit better today which is good cuz' I have a TON of stuff to get done before I leave including laundry and having friends over this evening for dessert. Yikes! Then I'm leaving around 6 am Wednesday morning for South Carolina to my friend Pat's house, hopeful to not have much crazy traffic and arrive by 1 pm. Ok not much chitter-chatter today sorry---I gotta run and get more stuff done, LOL. Being sick definitely slowed me down at a very inconvenient time—it's always inconvenient to be sick 'eh?
-SCACD has some awesome new goodies that you must see!!! Including fabulous new Make It Crafty Stamps HERE! They are delish! Do you love Viva Décor Pearl Pens? Then you need the new Magic Pearl Pens—beautiful opalescent colors!
-Don't forget to enter for my Blog Candy HERE and see the other candies you can win at Copic Creations too!
-And oh yeah---my NEW traveling companion is below---he LIKES hanging out with me!! You will see him LOTS with me this summer so stay tuned. Cuz at the end of summer someone will win a HUGE $150 craft prize from me if you can keep track of all the places he has been 'kay? So keep your eyes peeled, LOL! Why Waldo? Well my friends always say "Where in the world is Suzanne today" so that's KINDA how he came into my possession (winking at my Michigan gal pals)!
Today I'm sharing a card I made using a fabulous new set from Gina K called "By the Sea" illustrated by the talented Theresa Momber. I made this card for a challenge I hosted for StampTV called Free For All Friday last week—you can still join in on the fun HERE until Thursday night! My challenge was TO MAKE A SCENE using at least 3 stamps! Gina's sets allow you to do that easily and you can mix-n-match too! I had fun creating this—I kept my dad in mind while doing it as it reminds me of him.
I paired up the pelican, sailboat, birds in sky and beach grass stamps for my scene. I used Basic Grey's"Granola" patterned paper for my color scheme, I liked the more masculine colors as this card is for my father for Father's Day. I distressed and inked all my edges and added some sea-worthy accessories like twine, Magic Mesh for sea netting and some rustic metal accents.
The image was colored with Copics and I cut out my pelican and popped it up with dimensionals. For the water I used Crystal Lacquer which is a clear glaze and while it was wet sprinkled Deco Art's Glamour Dust in it so the sparkles are suspended in the glaze. To create the cloudy blue sky I used on of my most beloved tools by Ranger called the Inkssentials Blending Foam Tool---I use it everyday.
I always have fun creating but lately I really have been having a BLAST making my projects. I'm so happy with my family, my life and my friends that I hope it shows thru on my projects---I think if I'm not enjoying it or having fun you will definitely know. So I hope you like this one & it gives you some ideas! And don't forget to join in on the challenge too! Have a great Tuesday!


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Install WordPress automatically through c-Panel. 1-click installation.
Download Free Flexibility Theme – Download
** I highly recommend to upload the file using FTP uploader (preferrable Filezilla). This is because the file won't be stored into wp-content/uploads, smart blogger can download your file if you were uploaded through plugins in WP-Dashboard.
Sample of my Website built with Flexibility Theme -A nice Adsense Customization theme.
[1] Best Free Online Dating Reviews
(1) Permalinks Setting.
|1.For One Keyword domain per site :
2.For A Domain With few categories. Example, a site with Primary keyword is Personal Finance might want to have few categories such as "Find a job", "Retirement Planning", "Getting Out Of Debt", "Investment Planning" and so forth. Set Permalink with the command;
(2) From you WP Dashboard, Point to Plugins, click drop down menu, select Add New, Search " plugin-central " without quote. Install & Activate plugin-central.
Add the following plugins: Updated As At March 03.2015
All In One SEO Pack
All in One SEO Pack Importer
All In One WP Security
Better Blogroll
broken link checker
BulletProof Security
Contact Form 7
Google XML Sitemaps
Google sitemap generator
Google translator
Link to Your Content
Simple Image Widget
WP Edit
WP Super Cache
Wordfence Security
bad behavior
strictly auto tag
wp touch
Simply Show IDs
SEO SearchTerms Tagging 2
WP to twiiter
WordPress SEO (Yoast)
wp optimize
wp google plus
seo image
link privacy
(3) Add the following plugins manually: Also, add manually if any of the above failed for a reason.
statpress or WP Google Analytics or Statcounter
WordPress SEO by Yoast
(4) Download : Privacy Policy, Terms Of Use And Disclaimer.
-Create a new page for each separately.
-Edit with Notepad as shown image below.
Edit Page Menu – Top Menu Bar
Note: No want Menu appear on Top , add " exclude-page "or " http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/exclude-pages/ "
If you would like to add Footer link, change yourdomain to your URL link and paste into footer.
Footer Links:
Sitemap | Privacy Policy |Terms Of Use |Contact |Download |
What if you didn't find the footer link? Mouse pointing to appearance, click editor, select footer and paste the above code into any space of your chosen.
(5) Download – WordPress SEO by Yoast
Fully edited by me. All you just need to do is edit 3 settings with your site Title , Description and Meta Keywords. I save the setting by clicking on SEO – "Import & Export" , then select export the setting for new blog.
Useful Tool:- Custom Image [ Save as Jpeg only ]
(6) Latest Update: Recommend – Spam free protection.
*Commend spam blocking that uses anonymous password authentication to achieve 100% automated spam blocking with zero false positives, plus a few more features
I had tested it and managed to stop the auto-commenting.
Extra Download Free Themes :-
Listbuider Themes – Sample Website
CPA Instruments Themes


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Schoolroom or Classroom
The most desirable setup for medium to large-size lectures. Requires a relatively large room. Tables provide attendees with space for spreading out materials and taking notes.
Appropriate for large sessions and short lectures that do not require extensive note-taking. This is a convenient setup to use before breaking into discussion or role-playing groups because chairs can be moved.
E-shape, U-shape and T-shape
Appropriate for groups of fewer than 40 people. These are best for interaction with a leader seated at the head of the setup. Audiovisual is usually best set up at the open end of the seating.
Ovals and Rounds
Generally used for meals and sessions involving small group discussions. A five foot round table seats eight people comfortably. A six foot round table seats 10 people comfortably.
Generally used for meals and sessions involving small group discussions. A five foot round table seats eight people comfortably. A six foot round table seats 10 people comfortably.
Conference and Hollow Square
Appropriate for interactive discussions and note-taking sessions for fewer than 25 people. Many hotels have elegant "boardrooms" for 10 to 20 people, equipped with full audiovisual capabilities, a writing board, cork board and a flip chart.
Stand-up social function where beverages and light foods are served. Foods may be presented on small buffet tables or passed by servers. May precede a meal function.


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National Register Home
Connect with Us
- NR Facebook Page
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National Register
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places Program
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
|Property Name
|Memorial Building
|Reference Number
|Street Address
|340 1st Avenue East, Dyersville, IA
|Multiple Property Submission Name
|Listed 04/09/2013
|Areas of Significance
|Link to full file
|The Memorial Building is locally significant under Criterion A as it is associated with the growth and development of governmental facilities in Dyersville. The Memorial Hall was designed as a multi-purpose building with city functions such as police, fire, and municipal offices; and social spaces such as the large community hall and gymnasium. The building also functioned as a memorial building, overseen by the local American Legion, which was housed in several rooms on the second floor. The building served as the political and social center of the community from its construction in 1929 to the present day. The renovation of the exterior in 2004 removed unsympathetic aluminum storefronts of first floor and installed new windows and doors that alluded to the original fenestration pattern of the building without replicating it. Most of the significant interior spaces remain intact including the central hall and stair, former American Legion rooms, and community hall. Most of the original functions except the American Legion, fire station and post office are also located within the building. While the basement and first floor interior have been remodeled, the second floor retains a high degree of integrity with a large community room with original stage, wood doors with decorative surrounds; and former American Legion rooms with an original vault with decorative door surround, and a built-in cabinet. Despite alterations, the Memorial building retains sufficient integrity of design, workmanship, materials, feeling, association, location, and setting to be eligible under Criterion A.
Properties are listed in the National Register of Historic Places under four criteria: A, B, C, and D. For information on what these criterion are and how they are applied, please see our Bulletin on How to Apply the National Register Criteria


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The data centre system segment is expected to grow 0.3% in 2017. While this is up from negative growth in 2016, the segment is experiencing a slowdown in the server market.
"The strong USD has cut $67 billion out of our 2017 IT spending forecast. We expect these currency headwinds to be a drag on earnings of US-based multinational IT vendors through 2017," said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.
Driven by strength in mobile phone sales and smaller improvements in sales of printers, PCs and tablets, worldwide spending on devices (PCs, tablets, ultra-mobiles and mobile phones) is projected to grow 1.7% to reach $645 billion in 2017.
This is up from negative 2.6% growth in 2016. The tablet market continues to decline significantly, as replacement cycles remain extended and both sales and ownership of desktop PCs and laptops are negative throughout the forecast, the findings showed.
Through 2017, business Windows 10 upgrades should provide underlying growth, although increased component costs will see increase in PC prices.


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So Danny and I have tried creating and maintaining a blog so many times that I've lost track -- quite frankly it's something that we've tried a bunch of times beginning in high school, though I think the first iteration of Chenzen may have been in college when we first purchased the domain. In any case, here we are again trying to see if we can get it going.
This time around though, I don't think we're going to try any scheduled posting or any of that nonsense. We've gone that route before to little or no avail, so at least I propose that this is just a once in a while type of thing where if ever the mood hits, we'll post something.
Whether it's about Danny's music, programming, my photo hobby, or perhaps even more personal things in our lives; I hope that we'll have the motivation to post it here. If not, then nothing lost or gained in my opinion.
Now with that intro out of the way, let's do what most blogs aim to do -- talk about absolutely nothing of real importance. Like maybe about blogs. Yes - there's something very meta about talking about blogs in the first blog post on this newly created blog.
Having mainly used Wordpress before, I've been growing more and more dissatisfied with it. It feels like it's being designed to cater more towards fully fledged sites and less about blogging, which I totally understand and yet am still disappointed about. That being said, I've been following the ghost project for quite some time since their Kickstarter and I've since deployed it several times, but I don't think I've made it past 1 or 2 posts with it. And with every new deployment, the version number keeps jumping, so I get to experience new features, designs, and whatnot. Maybe this will be the first time I get to actually using it more frequently (though my gut says probably not). I actually turned my j-katz.net blog into the chenzen.org which was running ghost before, but I have nuked whatever was on it and am now running the latest and greatest version of ghost. You'll notice that both domains go to this site -- I haven't forwarded the domain from j-katz because I was lazy and so both domain apexes go here instead. I may never do it cause it's kind of whatever.
I realize that at this point in internet history, if I actually want any of this to be read, I should post on Medium or something. I find some inner satisfaction in knowing that I can own a domain and have total control of the content though. Even if that means just setting up some blogging platform on some random AWS server and pointing to it from GoDaddy DNS servers. I also don't really feel like the content on here will be worthwhile to many anyway since like I mentioned earlier, this is going to be more of a just "if we feel like it" type blog anyway.
Oh yeah - I spent a few hours searching for a theme that I liked and they all suck. Too many stupid overly gratuitous animations and crap. All I wanted was a simple design that had a top cover image and allowed me to have full-width image inclusions. I ended up sticking with the default Casper theme because honestly I like it and it does its job well. I could probably easily modify it to do what I want as well -- I just thought some random scrub on the internet that wasn't me would've done it already without all the other frills and shit, but apparently that's impossible to find.
Ok, well my rant is over now. If anyone ever reads this, I applaud you because this was a huge waste of your time. And mine. But mainly yours.
Over and out,


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To fix the prior installation issues, I spent a lot of time with a small screwdriver, a Dremel tool, and even a hex wrench to remove any wet core material I found and create a void between the fiberglass skin layers. I could then fill the void with epoxy to seal the remaining core and create a better mounting surface for the through hull. Before adding the epoxy my wife and I, for good measure, packed the holes with silica gel (a desiccant) to pull out any possible residual moisture in the core.
We let that sit for a day or two as we worked on cleaning up the other through hull holes and located parts for another unexpected project.
Yesterday we continued work on these two through hull holes. We started by removing the tape and silica gel we had packed into the holes. Did I mention that the location of these two through hulls is in one of the least accessible parts of the boat, directly underneath the stairs that lead from the salon to the starboard hull. The only access is via a cabinet door under the desk and that door leads to a chase that runs aft under the stairs. And these holes are located just about a full arms length from that cabinet door. Add in the air conditioner lines, raw water pumps, and other hoses and wires that are run through this space, and working in it can be...well...a challenge.
|View from the access location.
The short black posts are the wrapped PVC pipe
in the holes in the hull.
Using my Dremel tool, I drilled several holes through the inner skin of the hull and into the area where I had removed the balsa core material so I could inject epoxy into the voids. I then took some plastic (trash bag actually) and wrapped two small pieces of PVC and inserted them into the the two holes. These would create a mold for the hole I want to remain and allow me to inject epoxy into the voids without it all spilling through the holes and ending up on the ground.
I mixed up some West System G-flex thickened epoxy, placed it in a syringe, and began injecting the stuff into the holes. I started at the bottom injection hole and would squirt epoxy in until I saw it come out the next two holes above it. I then took some cellophane tape and covered over the lower hole and started injecting from the next holes up in order to try and prevent any air from being trapped inside the repair. Oh, and to see the holes, I needed to use an inspection mirror attached to a flexible shaft that I could wrap around whatever was convenient or have my wife hold and position to get a look at my work. It took about two full West System epoxy syringes worth of epoxy, and I have no idea how many colorful metaphors, to fill the area around each hole.
|The holes sealed and ready for replacement through hulls.
The epoxy takes between 7 and 10 hours to cure, so I couldn't see the results of all the work until this morning. When I got up this morning, I was a little concerned how easy it would be to remove the PVC "molds". Luckily, they slid right out and exposed a very nice cylindrical hole lined with epoxy. The results look very nice and I'm sure this will keep the core sealed and provide a good structure for re-mounting the through hull. Hopefully we can get some of those re-installed tomorrow.


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#DopeRecipe: The BEST Low-Carb Pizza EVER!
|Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Shrimp Low-Carb Pizza
One of the hardest things about going low-carb is having to exercise extreme moderation or eliminating altogether some of my favorite things in the world.
Like hunks of Celebration and Chocolate Marble cake from SusieCakes.
And Pizza.
Not to say that I haven't been to SusieCakes since starting my meal plan (Samuel's birthday was definitely the 3rd), but I kept it reasonable. Instead of a lifetime supply of cake in the form of one gargantuan (albeit delicious) slice of cake, I had a cupcake and kept it moving.
But the one thing I hadn't been able to do? Pizza. I love me some pizza - Pizza Hut or Blaze Pizza used to make a weekly or bi-weekly appearance prior to the #mealpreplife. And as much as #iffym (if it fits your macros) is a thing for me, some foods just make it really difficult to bounce back and round out macros for the day.
You guessed it - for me, Pizza is one of those foods.
So I took to the internet, wondering if there was such a thing as low-carb pizza that actually tastes like pizza. Not some protien-crust infused monstrosity that I'd have to delude myself into thinking tastes like protein - but a legit delicious crust that looks, tastes, and feels like pizza crust.
And I found it!
I discovered tons of low-carb and keto websites talking about something called "Fat Head Pizza", and I'm not gonna lie to you guys - I didn't have the desire to research the backstory on why it's called that, the documentary it came from, or why any of that even matters. Sometimes, I just need the solution.
So without further delay, I'm gonna hit you with the recipe and how-to for my newfound favorite pizza crust that allows me to enjoy a MUCH more reasonable version of one of my favorite fork-less foods.
|Top Row: Ingredients for my Jamaican Jerk Pizza. Bottom Row: Ingredients for pizza crust.
Ingredients for Pizza Crust
+ 170g (6oz or 1 and 3/4 cups) mozzarella cheese (I used Market Pantry Part-Skim Low Moisture)
+ 85g (3oz or 3/4 cup) almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour/Meal)
+ 2 tablespoons cream cheese
+ 1 egg
+ optional: seasonings to taste (I used a pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt, garlic, and dried basil)
Ingredients for Pizza Topping
So far, I've made 3 pizzas using this crust recipe - Ham & Cheese, BBQ Chicken, and a spinoff of CPK's Jamaican Jerk with Chicken and Shrimp. This is where your personal preferences come in to play. To keep your carb count lower, avoid tomato and pizza sauces with tons of sugar - although I've used BBQ sauce and Pineapple Habanero sauce and still managed to keep things reasonable (under 20g of carbs per slice). As an example, I'm going to share with you what I used to craft the BBQ Chicken Pizza:
+ 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (same as used in the crust)
+ 368g (approximately 4) cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
+ 4 tablespoons Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
+ 1/4 green bell pepper, sliced
+ 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara, cooked (to thicken)
Tools & Utensils
+ small microwave-safe bowl for mixing crust
+ non-stick or silicone spatula for mixing
+ baking sheet or pizza pan (here's the one I have - it's amazing)
+ measuring utensils or food scale
+ cutting board and knife (for toppings prep)
+ cheese grater (if not using pre-shredded cheese)
Instructions for Pizza Crust & Toppings
The key to this pizza is to fully prepare the crust and toppings first. Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
While your oven is heating, take the time to prep your toppings. If you're going to be using meats like chicken, shrimp, sausage, etc - cook them first. For my BBQ Chicken Pizza, I cooked the boneless, skinless chicken thighs on the stove, then chopped them and mixed in the Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce. Sautee any veggies (I did a quick sautee on the bell pepper as well), and shred cheese (if necessary). Also prepare your sauce over low heat. Set aside.
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese, almond flour, and cream cheese. Do not mix - just toss the bowl in your microwave on HIGH for 1 minute ONLY. Remove the bowl after 1 minute and stir with a non-stick spatula. If your cheeses have sufficiently melted enough to soften and start taking the shape of a dough, do not put it back in the microwave. If it has not, put it in the microwave again for another 15-20 seconds - but no more than 30. It's super important to not overcook the cheese in the microwave. I find that 1 minute is enough time.
|Mix. Knead. Roll. Bake.
Once your cheeses have melted, begin mixing to form dough. Fold in 1 egg and your seasonings (optional). At this stage, I find it works best to knead the dough by hand. Kneed the dough into a ball.
After mixing your dough, grab two long (at least 16-20 inches) sheets of parchment paper. Place the dough between the two sheets, and use your rolling pin to flatten the dough into a circular crust (or shape of preference). Feel free to roll the dough as thick or thin as you like - I prefer the dough on the thin side to make more generous slices.
Once you've achieved the desired thickness, remove top sheet of parchment paper, and place the crust (with parchment paper still underneath), onto your baking sheet or pizza pan.
|Crust looks like this while baking
Bake on 400F until the crust begins to brown (about 12-14 minutes for thinner crust).
|After baking: top side
|After baking: bottom side
Remove crust from the oven and set aside to cool for a moment.
DO NOT turn your oven off yet.
Gather your sauce and toppings that you had previously prepared. For my BBQ Chicken Pizza, I spread the Tomato Basil Marinara evenly around first, following up with mozzarella cheese.
After that, I distributed the BBQ Chicken and bell peppers.
Once your pizza has been crafted, pop it back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes - enough to melt the cheese down. That's why it's important to prepare your toppings ahead of time - the amount of time required for them to cook in the oven would cause the crust to burn.
|The finished product.
Remove, cool a little (until the cheese stops actively bubbling), slice and enjoy!
|A lil' closeup on BBQ Chicken Pizza realness.
Macros for my BBQ Chicken Pizza (per slice - makes 8 'large size' slices):
+ 258 calories
+ 22.6g protein
+ 9.1g carbs
+ 15.4g fat
+ 5.2g sugar
Compared to a generic/general large slice of BBQ Chicken Pizza
+ 350 calories
+ 19g protein
+ 41g carbs
+ 13g fat
+ 6g sugar
|A cross-section of the crust. Looks, feels, and tastes like regular crust.
Tip: If you want to further cut carbs and fat, try experimenting with 2% mozzarella on top of the crust and eliminating sugary sauces.
But overall, we're talking less calories, A LOT less carbs, a little less sugar, and more protein. Not a bad deal at all! And not to mention - it tastes GREAT! I'll take this pizza over Pizza Hut ANY day. Plus, it doesn't leave me feeling heavy and sluggish...and it's KID & GROWN FOLK TESTED! I gave the BBQ Chicken and Ham & Cheese pizzas to my newphews over the weekend, and they LOVED it. Samuel loved all three - BBQ Chicken, Ham & Cheese, and his favorite is the Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Shrimp. My sister was mad skeptical at first - but she sho' did grab a slice of BBQ Chicken when dropping off my nephews, and a slice of Ham & Cheese when picking 'em up. Lol.
If you try this one out - let me know on Instagram or in the comments below!


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In Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" (1836) and Carver's "What We Talk about When We Talk About Love" (1981), both writers implement their genre and style of writing on how the couple in their short fictions interacting and treating their love relationship. It is also depicting how their styles of writing fiction affecting the love relationship between the couples in the story—Mr. Hoper and his fiancée, Elizabeth in Hawthorne's fiction and Mel McGinnis and his second wife, Teresa in Carver's fiction. Moreover, it makes the couples in these two different stories having very different characteristics toward his/her own partner caused by two factors: the different genre and style of these two writers and the different cultural-historical background.
In "The Minister's Black Veil", Hawthorne presents the female character, Minister Hoper's wife, Elizabeth, as a disloyal pledged wife when she decided to leave Hooper in his misery in the middle of social exclusion (6). Regarding that this Hawthorne's fiction is one of the romanticism fictions in that time, the story having a tendency to become a heroic story and it is supported by the endless misery of the main character. Moreover, in order to dramatize the misery of the main character, Hawthorne makes the depiction of Elizabeth as a betrayer and a weak girl. By making that depiction, on the other hand, the reader will have an assumption that the Minister Hooper as a heroic, idealistic and sympathy needed character and made him the victim of his fiancée too.
Her disloyalty and weakness are also presented when Elizabeth is crying after she cannot convince her fiancée to unveil his black veil and then leave him forever (6). It is quite illogical how a minister's pledged wife just leaves him after only one failure trial of convincing her fiancée. While, as we know that for Christian believers, moreover for a minister like Mr. Hopper, doing such a thing could become a big dishonor but, it seems like it doesn't becoming a serious problem for them. Even, after that conversation that leads to Elizabeth departure, no one of them is trying to find each other in order to searching for the way out to save their future marriage. This illogical situation, once again, is one of the results from the romanticism influence of this story which more concerning imagination over reason and intuition over the fact (Manggong: 2016) as long as the story can be built as interesting as it can be.
On the other hand, if we analyze from the cultural and historical background, the way they lived their love relationship is quite relevant with the American condition in that time when the toleration was not that popular and having a real impact like it does nowadays. If this story happened in the America lately, Hooper's choice to wear the black veil over his face would not become that controversial as in 1836. Elizabeth and the other townspeople would not exclude him with his progressive views that actually could not fit with the American values in those years. It is also relevant to Randa G. Keeley argument which is written on her thesis "Merging The Public And Private Spheres: The Representation Of Gender In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown","The Minister's Black Veil," And "The Birth-Mark":
"This fits in with what has already been stated in this paper in regard to humiliation, because it seems that Hooper is unable to convince the remaining townspeople of his progressive views. Consequently, he has been embarrassed in his profession because he is an unsuccessful minister, but even more he is unsuccessful in relationships as well against mid-nineteenth-century standards." (Keeley: 42-43)
Besides the toleration issue, another cultural background which is affected this couple's love relationship in this story is the feminism. In 1836, the American woman emancipation movement had a big impact on the American society that time in spite of the fact that the movement is not as massive as the first wave of the United States feminism movement, twelve years later in 1848. The majority of Americans who joined the antislavery and woman's rights causes in the 1830s—in many cases the same individuals—came usually from deeply religious, reform-oriented families. That historical fact supported the theory that Hawthorne's depict the couple, Father Hooper and Elizabeth as the feminist that is indicated by their deeply religious background, especially, Father Hooper as a progressive-viewed minister.
On the other hand, we may have an assumption that the male-centric and male-domination issues of this story affect the couple, but actually, it is only caused by the heroism of the male main character, Mr. Hooper. More than that, Hawthorne also implied the other feminism implementation on Mr. Hooper – Elizabeth love relationship like the other romanticism fiction that is having some implicit symbols. This Hawthorne style of writing also supported by the argument of Randa G. Keeley who wrote the thesis about three Hawthorne's short stories and one of them is The Minister's Black Veil. She argues in her thesis:
"The men in Hawthorne's stories are governed by their egos and as a result are unable to leave behind contemporary mid-nineteenth-century values that stand in their way of establishing a more progressive society. Likewise, each story depicts female characters that are malleable and easily adjust to the changes in society. Therefore, Hawthorne seems to favor women in his stories, and more specifically their gendered character, over the men." (Keeley: 65)
While in "What We Talk about When We Talk about Love", we can see a whole big different type of lover couple from the previous couple in "The Minister's Black Veil" short story. The different is caused by the two factors that were mentioned before: the different genre of these two short stories and also the cultural and historical background difference. Like Hawthorne's "Minister Black Veil", this Carver's fiction also depicting the couple as the part of the genre, style, and cultural and historical background representation.
In the Carver's fiction, actually, there are five couples that involved in the story. They are Mel McGinnis and his second wife, Terri; Nick the narrator and his, wife Laura; Teri and his former boyfriend, Ed; Mel and his former wife, Marjorie; and the old couple who became Mel's patients. From all those five couples, Mel McGinnis and his second wife, Terri is the most dominant couple character in this short story and could be analyzed deeper than the other couples. They become the most dominant couple is caused by the genre of this short story, the contemporary genre which doesn't have any heroic or anti-heroic character like the Minister's Black Veil has. Because of it, the focus of the story would be topic-centric rather than a certain-character-centric. As the result, Mel McGinnis and Terri having the largest portion to affect the story because they are more experienced on the topic of the story, which is love, rather than Nick and Laura—in spite of Nick himself is the narrator of the story.
On the other hand, Mel and Terri love relationship, analyzed from the genre of the story, is far more realistic than the Mr. Hooper and Elizabeth love relationship. Despite that he is considered as the contemporary fiction writer, Carver included some realism value in some of his works that make the story become more realistic rather than blurring the lines of reality and mixing the fantasy and nonfiction like the common contemporary works. That argument is relevant to Brian Charles Seemann's argument in his Thesis:
"Carvers status in American literature comes from the credit he receives for rejuvenating the short story in the latter part of the twentieth century alongside other writers admired for their realistic viewpoints and the inclination to capture an arresting essence of life drawn from classic realism." (Seemann: 1)
Carver's style of writing that influenced by classic realism made the couple in the short story seems to be more faithful and tolerance to each other. Different from Elizabeth and Hooper, Mel and Terri represented the common couple in the real life. Like the other realism fiction, the story is told like it was, focus on lives of ordinary people and rejected heroic and adventurous (Manggong, 2016). In this story, even Mel and Terri having so many disagreements, they still love each other because the high toleration like the other American people nowadays. In so many occasions, Mel argued his wife, but after that, immediately he shows his affection towards her:
"Honey, I'm just talking." Mel said. "All right? I don't have to be drunk to say what I think. I mean, we're all just talking, right?" Mel said. He fixed his eyes on her.
"Sweetie, I'm not criticizing," Terri said." (4)
But actually, that is the reality and the common sense of love when someone would not stop to love his partner because of one clash in an occasion. Oppositely from the unrealistic relationship of Hooper and Elizabeth, Mel and Terri having the tendency to be more tolerant and more forgivable to each other.
Related to the historical and cultural background, Carver presented Terri as someone who has a big impact on her relationship. Relevance to the rise of woman's right by time to time until nowadays on the top of the amount of existence, on this Carver's fiction, a woman is depicted far more independent and stronger than the depiction of Elizabeth in Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil". Seemann in his argument in his thesis that supported the theory of feminism in the Carver's fiction:
"Characters react to conflict and despair in an assortment of ways, but one identifiable trait in many stories throughout each collection is the determination and intuitiveness of women … feminine impact evolves throughout Carver's work, and looking at these women creates a better awareness of the effect gender has in Carver's stories" (Seemann: 3)
Terri depicted as someone who can keep her point of view, nonetheless of her husband disagreement when they are talking about love. She also in several occasions, is depicted stronger and more mature than her husband, mainly while they are drunk. While Mel is getting drunker that caused the cursing and digressing while he talked, Terri seems to be having more control to her consciences, even she is trying to take care of her husband, yet she is in the middle of drinking the alcohol too.
As the conclusion, by comparing both short stories, Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" and Carver's "What We Talk about When We Talk about Love", firstly, we can conclude that two contradictive genres of these two short stories—romanticism and contemporary-classical realism, making the characteristics of the couple toward his/her own partner are different. As the result, the couple characteristic in the Carver's short story is far more common and make-sense than the couple in the Hawthorne's short story. Secondly, the two massive different historical and cultural backgrounds also affected how the couples' characteristics are built. Considering that Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" is written in 1836 while Carver's "What We Talk about When We Talk About Love" is written in 1981, makes each of the stories have the different American society value—especially related to feminism and toleration issues. Even in the early nineteenth century, the period when Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" is written, some of feminism and toleration movement is promoted and having the real impact on the American society, the period when Carver's fiction is written is even giving the feminism and toleration movement at their best that never reached before. It makes the female in the couple, Terri in Carver's fiction having a big influence in her relationship unlike Elizabeth in Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil".
Carver, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. 1981. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1982.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil." Comp. Roy Harvey Pearce. Nathaniel Hawthorne:Tales and Sketches. New York: NY: The Library of America, 1996.
Keeley, Randa G. "Merging the Public and Private Spheres: The Representation of Gender in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and "The Birth-Mark"." Order No. 1499030 Texas A&M University – Commerce, 2008. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 21 June 2016.
Lestari Manggong. "Week 1, Literature in America: Nineteenth Century to Contemporary Period." American Literature Lecture. Universitas Padjajaran, Jatinangor. 2016. Lecture.
Seemann, Brian Charles. ""what is it?": Exploring the Roles of Women Throughout Raymond Carver's Short Fiction." Order No. 1439078 Wichita State University, 2006. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 21 June 2016.


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minted. a review of sorts.
sometimes the stars align and good things happen. things that seem insignificant in the grand scheme of it all, but nevertheless, they take a weight off your shoulders and put a smile on your face. with zoey's bday coming up and funds on the
nonexistent low side, I knew I'd have to get creative and plan a party that was easy on the bank account – free location (beach), little to no decorations (balloons) and thrifty food/drink options (lemonade + cupcakes.) I had the party favors figured out (hello, dollar store!), but the invitations were still on my list. do I make my own? send out an evite? a mass text? and then that aligning business happened and I'm not even kidding, a day or two later I was contacted by minted with an offer to write a review in exchange for a generous credit to their site. to be honest, I'd never heard of minted, but after perusing the site, I got excited! not only are the products unique and beautiful, but this is a company that has built a marketplace/community for independent artists. it's a place where creatives can gain exposure and build their businesses… and I'm all about supporting that. plus, this answered the invitation situation! minted invitations FTW! I've narrowed it down to sweet shop and fancy flamingo, but I think the flamingo is winning. what do you think?
(check out more customizable birthday invitations here!)
in addition to a vast array of invitations, minted offers home décor items, fabrics, photo & art gifts and even business cards! they also sell limited edition art prints. I've shared a few of my favorites below.
mom's rule no 4 (customizable!) / rainforest / super imagination girl (customizable!) / California map (foil stamped)
how cute is the super imagination girl print? it reminds me so much of zoey. I can even have it customized with red hair! I die.
anyway, I hope you'll consider minted the next time you're planning a party or looking for a unique gift idea… I have a feeling you won't be disappointed.
ps. they even have a blog for all things crafty and diy! enjoy!
and happy Friday!


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Disney's Big Hero 6 takes an obscure Marvel Comics property and reimagines it as an animated adventure about a boy and his pet robot and the tech-enhanced team of friends they build together. Much of the early marketing for the film has focused on the relationship between the protagonist Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and his pet robot Baymax (Scott Adsit) – but Big Hero 6 has more to offer than just that, and the crowd at NYCC '14 was happy to learn.
Below is the recap of what footage we saw, and what we learned about what will be Disney Animation's most technically intricate film to date.
- Clip 1 – Hiro and his brother Tadashi visit the scientist factory and meet the other (future) team members and Baymax.
- Clip 2 – Baymax has a low battery, so Hiro sneaks him into the house past his aunt. A comedic sequence ensues with Hiro trying to sneak a delirious (drunkenly so) Baymax up the stairs, using the house cat as cover.
- Clip 3 – Hiro and Baymax do an armor upgrade for Baymax, along with inputing him with martial arts training. With the upgrades complete, they then sneak out into the streets to hunt for the mysterious villain in the Kabuki mask using rogue nanotech as weapons.
- Clip 4 – The Big Hero 6 team (pre-armor stage) escape in a car from Kabuki man and his nano machines. A pretty epic action/chase sequences ensues.
- Voice actors Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch), TJ Miller (Transformers 4), Genesis Rodriguez (Identity Theif), directors Don Hall & Chris Williams and host Chris Hardwick were all in attendance.
- Genesis Rodriguez was on a robotics team in real life – so Honey Lemon and working with Disney/Marvel was a "dream come true" for her.
- TJ Miller was on Battlebots team – his robot just curled into fetal position
- Jamie Chung: "Gogo is the Clint Eastwood of the group."
- Cast recorded their parts a year ago
- TJ Miller was just on @Midnight – describes recording in soundproof booth. They could improvise with the lines. Says even thought script changes and is "malleable" they get time to see how the characters and story develop.
- TJ Miller jokes working with Disney/Marvel isn't a dream come true for him; says that seriously it was overwhelming to see both logos while screening the film a few days ago.
- Scott Adsit and Ryan Potter took the stage after clip #2 screened.
- Adsit jokes that he has tried to get into the NYCC main stage for years – so it's "mind-blowing" to be a part of this sure to be iconic Disney character.
- Adsit and Hardwick joke about knowing each other 12 years and how this will change their relationship dynamic.
- Potter jokes that Hiro is smarter and handsomer than he is; but Hiro is a genius with a good heart and a lack of direction in life. Baymax and the team help to put him on the right path.
- Baymax ended the panel by doing an interactive scan of audience to check our health. It accurately identified one cosplayer with a hatchet in his head.
- Panel ended with a screening of a new Big Hero 6 trailer.
Even though the Marvel Comics connections are being downplayed (except for in the trailer we saw, which proudly name-drops Marvel), Big Hero 6 definitely carries the signature of a product that is truly the best of both the Disney and Marvel worlds. It has the heart and fun soul of a great Disney story, with the action and adventure of a Marvel Comic book movie.
While Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy have been the Marvel films dominating the 2014 conversation, we may ironically get our most special surprise yet with Big Hero 6.
Big Hero 6 will be in theaters on November 7, 2014.


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Benefits of Planting Trees in Your Yard
December 26th, 2016
Planting Trees in your Yard – The Benefits
While you probably think about planting trees for Arbor Day, you may not know just how much of an impact tree planting can have on your lawn and energy consumption as well as the environment.
Trees can provide shade for your home and lawn as well as a barrier against cold winter winds. They also filter water and air to reduce soil erosion and greenhouse gases. And did you know that trees have also been shown to reduce stress? Many urban residents find themselves calmer and happier when they are around trees.
But can all these benefits of planting trees actually be seen in your yard? Learn more about sustainable gardening and how your landscaping choices can make a lasting impact.
Energy-saving benefits of planting trees
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a young, healthy tree can provide a net cooling effect equivalent to ten room-sized air conditioners operating for 20 hours a day! While it will take a few years for a newly planted sapling to reach the point where it can cast shade on your home, it's a relatively low-cost investment, and you'll find it's worth the wait.
Dr. E. Greg McPherson of the Center for Urban Forest Research says that a new tree planted on the western side of your home will reduce your energy bill by about three percent in five years and by close to 12 percent in 15 years. Plus, shade isn't the only way planting trees can reduce your family's energy consumption. Trees located on the north and northwest sides of your home can block frigid winter winds and lower your heating bill.
Benefit of trees on the environment
While planting trees can certainly have a positive impact on your energy bill, sustainable gardening can also positively impact the environment. Trees absorb greenhouse gases like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. They also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis. Wondering how that relates to you? Just one tree can clean about 330 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which provides enough oxygen for a family of four!
One of the reasons planting new trees is seen as sustainable gardening is because they act as air and water filters. In a study conducted by the USDA, it was found that trees were able to remove more than 1,800 metric tons of air pollution from New York City. The roots filter groundwater and control run off and erosion by holding soil in place. They also cool down the air, and not just with shade. The transpiration process they go through releases moisture into the air, producing a cooling effect.
Maintaining your trees and lawn
Trees are beneficial to the aesthetics of your lawn, your home's energy bill, and your family's overall health. For all these reasons, it's important to properly maintain your trees and the soil they grow in. You don't want to over-shape new trees or prune too much when you first plant them, but you will have a much healthier tree if you trim back dead branches over the years. There are several options when it comes to outdoor power equipment to maintain the trees you've planted. Chainsaws and pole saws are great choices for cutting down large limbs. They also work well for pruning, whether you need to allow for new growth or prevent branches from hitting obstacles like houses or power lines. There are even battery-operated, cordless saws available to reduce your carbon footprint even further.
The shade from the trees you've planted will help improve water conservation, so you'll maintain a lush and green lawn with very little maintenance. However, you should still mow high and often, to avoid roots and promote new grass growth, being especially careful around the base of your trees. You may even want to spread mulch and compost to the drip line and maintain the edge with a string trimmer.
Make sure you know the best time to prune your trees to allow for optimal re-growth, and evaluate your outdoor power equipment at the start of each maintenance season. That way you'll have all the trimmer parts, chains, gas, stabilizers and mower blades you may need to take care of your lawn throughout the warmer months.
Looking for more ways to make your lawn a sustainable garden? Try using compost and other natural fertilizers, avoiding pesticides, and watering with collected rainwater!


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The Annual Leave Exchange Program provides an option for eligible career employees to receive a lump sum payment in exchange for a portion of the annual leave that would otherwise be advanced at the beginning of the 2011 leave year. APWU-represented part-time flexible employees may exchange a portion of the leave they are expected to earn during the 2011 leave year. Annual leave earned and accumulated through the 2010 leave year, which ends December 31, 2010, cannot be exchanged for cash. Exchanging next year's annual leave for cash is strictly a voluntary action. The exchange option is not intended to discourage an employee's use of annual leave. Any leave exchanged will not be available for use in leave year 2011.
Eligible Employees
Employees eligible for the Annual Leave Exchange Program include the following:
n Career nonbargaining unit employees from rate schedule codes (RSCs) D (levels 1–8), E, F, S, U, V, and Z (levels 1–11) who have an annual leave balance of at least 160 hours at the end of the 2010 leave year.
n Career bargaining unit employees — full-time employees, part-time regular employees, and APWU-represented part-time flexible employees — from the following RSCs who have an annual leave balance of at least 440 hours at the end of the 2010 leave year and have used less than 75 hours of sick leave during the 2010 leave year:
n National Postal Mail Handlers Union — RSC M.
n International Association of Machinists — RSC T.
n American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO — RSCs C, N, and P (for C and P, only if provided for in the successor agreement to the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement).
n National Postal Professional Nurses/APWU — RSC G.
n Operating Services Division Agreement — RSC K (only if provided for in the successor agreement to the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement).
n Fraternal Order of Police, National Labor Council, USPS No. 2 — RSC Y.
PostalEASE Elections
Employees who meet the eligibility criteria and want to exercise this option must use PostalEASE to make elections. For the election to be considered timely, employees must complete their entries in PostalEASE by 11:59 p.m. Central Time, December 15, 2010.
You may contact the Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC) for assistance if any of the following conditions apply:
n You are deaf or hard of hearing.
n You cannot use the Internet, employee self-service kiosk, Intranet, or telephone for a medical reason.
n You receive a message in PostalEASE directing you to contact the HRSSC when attempting to make a change.
Just call the Employee Service line at 877-477-3273. When prompted, select 5 for the HRSSC. Then select "Benefits" to speak with a representative who will assist you. To reach the HRSSC using TTY, call 866-260-7507. Leave your name and e-mail address or telephone number where you can be reached along with a message indicating your call is regarding a PostalEASE issue.
Payment by Lump Sum
For bargaining unit employees, payment under the Annual Leave Exchange Program will be a lump sum calculated on the employee's base salary as of the first day of the 2011 leave year (January 1, 2011) and included in paychecks dated January 21, 2011. For nonbargaining unit employees, the lump sum is calculated on salary as of January 15, 2011, and included in February 4, 2011, paychecks.
Letter Soon to Be Mailed to Eligible Employees
The Eagan Accounting Service Center (ASC) will mail a letter providing details of the eligibility criteria and instructions for using PostalEASE to make annual leave exchange elections to eligible employees at their addresses of record during November 2010. Undeliverable letters will be returned to the employing office of record. When an office receives a returned letter, the office should encourage the employee to update his or her address. Employees should update their addresses via LiteBlue at https://liteblue.usps.gov by clicking Change My Address under the "My HR" tab. Employees with access to Employee Change of Address on the Postal Service™ Intranet (Blue page) or to an employee self-service kiosk should use those entry methods. Employees who cannot use these methods should submit an updated PS Form 1216, Employee's Current Mailing Address, to the HRSSC.
— Compensation, Human Resources, 11-18-10
Please Post on All Bulletin Boards Through December 15, 2010.


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11-16-16 BZA Meeting Cliff Notes
NextEra and their team of paid experts gave the usual story of how great and beneficial wind energy would be for the county. The benefits ranged from the county and participating landowners receiving monetary rewards to "green energy" and to property values being not only unaffected but enhanced due to wind turbines. Their sound expert and their doctor both stated how the operation of modern turbines ran well within the current federal and state recommendations. Approximately 5 individuals spoke in favor of the project during the public comment portion of the meeting with only one believed to actually live in Rush County. The other four speakers were from different counties.
For the opposition presentation, Ted Hartke from Illinois spoke. Ted gave a very personal and powerful speech about actually living in the shadows of 500' tall turbines. He described how he, his wife and two children started to have issues sleeping soon after the turbines around his home began operating. Ted and his family eventually moved all of their beds into the living room because it was the area least affected by the sound (but even that did not work). The family eventually abandoned their 3,000 plus square foot home after 11 months and moved into a mobile home further away from the turbines. Ted talked about how his kids started to suffer at school due to sleep deprivation and how his marriage started to deteriorate. After his presentation, over twenty different individuals spoke against the project stating many reasons why they did not want the wind turbines. The reasons ranged from reduced property values, to concerns for the health, safety, and welfare of families, and the disagreement with the tax abatement for large companies.
When it came time for the BZA members to vote, they wisely decided to table the vote until the December 14th meeting. This meeting will be held at 7:30PM in the courthouse assembly room after the regularly scheduled APC/BZA meeting. During this portion of the meeting, no public input will be allowed. The BZA will have discussion among themselves and then each will cast their vote.


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Well… God, you continue to amaze me! You really don't have to, but I'm Grateful! What was suppose to be my wife and I going to the doctor for a check up, ended up being a 65 hour labor saga. It was long. Reaaaaaal long. (Now it doesn't feel so long). I watched my wife be a human pin cushion and go through gruesome contractions, but at the end of the journey, We received the best gift.
As I look at you, I realize, everything I thought was love was nothing compared to what I have in my heart for you. Now, I love your mom with EVERYTHING, but you are our star. Watching you come into this world was amazing. I gained a special respect for your mom. She was a real MVP, but I think just to see your face was worth everything.
I had to sit back one day while you were sleep and just look… And wonder…what your ancestors were thinking. How their blood runs through your veins. How much you look like them. How much you remind them of there parents. I wonder what the Rev. would say, and W.A, and Ms. Madlen. They, for sure, are pleased.
From the top of your head to the souls of your small feet, you have the protection of the Lord. You have a devine destiny. I'll stop at nothing to make sure you always remember that.
Above everything, you will always be my darling girl. I may fuss, yell, even have to jack you up (lol), but you will always have my heart. True be told, I didn't really know how to pray until I found out you were coming. You will hear your mother use the word "Tarry" a lot lol. Well, I tarried until you came into this world and I knew you were safe! Funny thing is, you already know I have your back! You know my voice. When I say Calm down, you open your bright eyes and look, then proceed to try to kick me in the face (You are your mother's child)
Thanks for making me a better man and striving to be the best dad I could ever be. IT won't always be easy, but It will be binding. You, me, and your mom are the best unit that God could've ever made. We love you girl! I love you Girl…


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MFG.com is the world's largest contract manufacturing marketplace and manufacturer directory. For buyers, MFG.com is a resource to find new suppliers (contract manufacturers) and to receive competitive quotes on custom manufactured parts (RFQs). For suppliers, MFG.com is a sales and marketing resource that connects contract manufacturers with new customers at the exact time the customer has a need.
In 2016, over 2,000 buyer companies sourced more than 9,000 parts on MFG.com's marketplace. However, simply joining MFG.com as a supplier member does not guarantee success. There are three critical activities each supplier must perform to be successful in acquiring new customers and winning business on the MFG.com marketplace:
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The three sections of this guide discuss the business perspectives of each of these critical activities. In addition, it illustrates how the MFG.com platform can support these activities and increase your effectiveness in winning both new customers and job orders.


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and decided to have a conversation about their experience.
see deal
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine$16.94on Amazon
Here is the result of that conversation between a Warhammer newbie and a Warhammer veteran.
Colin Moriarty: So Anthony, today I went and played a little Warhammer 40k: Space Marine. And I know you are our resident Warhammer nerd.
Anthony Gallegos: It's true. I've been looking forward to a game like Space Marine for a long time. Developer Relic knows the franchise inside and out thanks to their work on the Dawn of War franchise, but I have to admit I've been cautiously optimistic for this third-person shooter/hack and slash game for a while. The reason? They're best known for making real time strategy games. This is a huge departure for them.
Colin Moriarty: I know it. Relic has been dealing with this 25 year-old license for nearly a decade, and fans of Warhammer really seem to respect the work they've done with the Warhammer games. But a third-person shooter is certainly different than what they've done before. Yet, I was somewhat impressed with elements of their game, and am interested to see more.
Anthony Gallegos: Yeah, although it's not exactly just a third-person shooter. So much of the tabletop game is about melee combat, and Space Marine emphasizes this as well. Yes, you shoot guns while you close the gap, but you're also constantly using your chainsword (exactly what it sounds like) to rend those who stand before your holy might. Err... sorry, I got a little carried away thinking about the lore...
Colin Moriarty: Well the lore is what's really important to fans like yourself, right? From what you've seen and played, do you think that Relic's extensive experience with the Warhammer license has carried itself over to Space Marine? Does the game ooze Warhammer enough for you to be satisfied, apart from how you may feel about the gameplay itself?
Anthony Gallegos: Totally. I don't think it's the greatest thing ever at this point, but it's clearly a love letter to fans. Every minute I'm constantly seeing armor, weapons and minute details that remind me of the models I've spent hours painting. As far as gameplay is concerned, I think it's OK, but nothing special. Clearly other games have had better shooting or better combat, but I'm hoping that when it's combined together with the lore that it'll be enough. I don't need it to be great, I just need it to not be bad.
Colin Moriarty: Well from what I've played, I don't think you have to worry about it being bad. But as I played it, and as I watched it being played, I couldn't help but wonder where Relic's inspiration was for a game like this came from, especially because it's so different from their normal bread and butter. To me, the game screams Gears of War, what with its third-person shooting mechanics and brute force melee options. Do you think that's a fair comparison?
Anthony Gallegos: I think it's like Gears in so much that it has a hulking lead character and involves third-person shooting, but that's about it. It doesn't have a cover mechanic (because space marines don't take cover, dammit!), and the melee combat is much more elaborate than anything in Epic's game. I think they're just working with the lore, and the lore says space marines are giants who shoot guns, close the gap, and beat the crap out of anyone who stands in their way. Space marines also don't say stupid, vulgar one-liners.
Colin Moriarty: That's fair. So I guess the one thing I want to know more than anything else from a guy like you, a dedicated Warhammer fan, is what you think the game's biggest strength and biggest weakness is. Obviously, our experience with Space Marine is very limited, but from what we've seen and played, what does this game do best, and where is it lacking?
Anthony Gallegos: What it does best is nail the world of Warhammer 40k. The dialogue the characters speak, the way they animate and carry themselves, it's all exactly what I pictured when I poured over the pages of my Warhammer codices late into the night.
That being said, I still think work needs to be done to bring it altogether. The enemies in the demo were all a little too alike, and I never felt like I had to vary my tactics much. I also think space marines are strong because they fight together, and from what I've seen so far you're kind of a lone wolf. I'm curious to see if other parts of the game will build up the idea of space marine brotherhood.
Colin Moriarty: The two negative aspects of the game I noticed when giving it a go was how heavy it felt, and how bizarre the button mapping was. I asked about the latter and was told that there would be other button schemes to use, but to me, reloading on the right bumper doesn't feel right. But the real problem to me was how heavy my character was. There was no "snap" to the controls.
But I otherwise thought the shooting was smooth and that the game looked really good. I also really enjoyed the voice acting. And the weapon options were pretty rad, too.
Anthony Gallegos: Yeah, I think it's a balance issue. Do they try and make your character feel like a meaty sack of armor, or do they make him lithe? Obviously he's a hulk, so it's a tough road ahead to make him feel badass but not like a plodding robot.
I guess what we both really think is it has potential. It's fun, but it's not where it needs to be. For fans and newcomers alike.
Colin Moriarty: I guess that's what I want to know most. Clearly, this is a game for fans. You called it a "love letter," and I love those with the nerdy things I enjoy. But I can't help but wonder if a newcomer like me will get anything out of this game. If I'm playing a third-person shooter like this with no knowledge of the lore and fiction, will I get anything out of it? Or should I move on and play something else?
Anthony Gallegos: I think if it's fun to shoot and swing a sword regardless. Plenty of games have a story that's utterly superfluous, so I think it's worth trying regardless. That being said, even if it ends up appealing only to fans I think Relic will be alright. Warhammer 40k may not be huge here in the States, but it's a big deal in many other parts of the world, and especially Europe.
Colin Moriarty: So in closing, how excited are you for this game? Is a Warhammer 40k third-person shooter what you wanted, or would you have preferred Relic to keep pumping out RTS titles? And better yet, with Relic clearly interested in exploring other possibilities with the Warhammer license in the realm of gaming, where would you like to see the studio go next?
Anthony Gallegos: I'll always take more Dawn of War, but I think it's good that Relic expands its repertoire for any number of reasons. Piracy has always been a problem for them with their PC titles, and I imagine it's got to start wearing on them creatively to spend countless years working in the same genre. I don't know that Warhammer 40k needs to expand into too many other genres. At its core the universe has always been about aliens and humans shooting and beating on one another. That sounds like shooters and RTS games to me.
Colin Moriarty: I think you're probably right. Well thank you for your time, Anthony. I'll have to come over one day and see this vaunted Warhammer figure collection of yours. And see why you and your friends have a "no girls can see us play this" rule...


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While foreign governments may recognize only Tel Aviv as the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem, political arguments aside, is the uncontested stolen car capital of Israel.
In 2006, more cars were stolen from Jerusalem (4,539) than from any other city in Israel, according to an article published on Ynet today. Surprisingly, Tel Aviv came in second place, with 3,891 thefts. All in all, some 20,000 cars were stolen in Israel last year; an astounding 7% of all cars in the country!
What are people stealing? The top three contenders:
- Subaru: 5,208
- Mitsubishi: 2,449
- Mazda: 2,379
I'll spare you the color commentary. I can rant to you in person, if you so request.


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Q: Do you have a minimum TOEFL/IELTS score requirement?
A: Yes. The minimum TOEFL score for acceptance in the School of Architecture is 100, with a minimum subscore of 22 in each category; Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. (Minimum accepted IELTS score is 7.0, with a minimum of 6.5 in each category.) Our graduate committee reserves the right to consider applicants who do not meet our 22 minimum requirement in each category.
These minimum scores are strictly enforced. We have found that success and happiness in our graduate programs strongly correlates with proficiency in English skills. Our programs are quite rigorous. If you do not meet our application requirements, we suggest that you retake the test before applying.


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Review: Atlas Wristband is an ambitious but flawed strength training trackerThe Atlas Wristband is a noble first effort at something no other fitness tracker does, but there are too many rough edges to recommend it to anyone but a small subset of fitness enthusiasts.
Until now, the biggest gap in fitness tracking has been weightlifting and other forms of strength training. Most trackers and smartwatches are geared towards walking and running, with cycling or swimming being an occasional bonus. By extension this limits wearers mostly to endurance and weight loss, rather than building muscle.
While steps and strokes are relatively easy to capture, the motions in strength training can be complex and varied, never mind recording weights themselves. Earlier efforts at tracking weightlifting were cumbersome at best, for instance asking people to clip a sensor onto a barbell.
The Atlas Wristband takes a very different and more practical approach, analyzing wrist motions in 3D space and comparing them against a library of common exercises. A bench press should, for example, trace a unique path compared to a curl or a squat.
The Atlas is so narrowly focused on this task that while it does have a heartrate sensor, it doesn't track steps at all, and doesn't have GPS. It also lacks smartphone notifications, and even its watch mode feels like more of an afterthought —there's no wrist-wake gesture, so to check the time it's often just as fast to pull out your phone.
Indeed, Atlas admits on its website that the product isn't meant to be worn as an all-day device. Instead it's best strapped on for individual workouts and taken off immediately afterwards —battery life is limited and while the device is water-resistant, it's not designed to be worn in the shower.
To make things slightly easier, the tracking module can be separated from the rest of the band for charging and cleaning, as it's just held in place with a magnetic lock. You can then take the strap into the shower, and simply wipe down the tracker before plugging in a micro-USB cable.
The Atlas app
Before even getting into a workout, the first stop is the Atlas mobile app. This is where you sync data and firmware updates, create or select a Coach Mode workout, and pick from a range of exercises for Freestyle Mode.
In general, the app is one of the more impressive parts of the Wristband. It's very clearly laid out, with almost obsessive levels of detail about recorded workouts, including heartrate charts, calories burned, reps and weights, and which muscle groups were used in what percentages. HealthKit support is missing, but that's not such a big deal given that heartrate data is the only thing that would carry over.
Coach Mode bundles together preset groups of exercises with interwoven rest times. A few dozen routines are included by default, divided into broader workout programs. Customization lets users build both programs and discrete routines, and if you're not sure how to do a particular exercise, a video guide is available so long as you have an Internet connection. Freestyle Mode lets users pick up to 15 exercises from the app's greater database and sync them for on-the-fly workouts.
If there's problem with the app itself, it's in how workout summaries are presented. We often had to force the latest one to appear by scrolling back and forth, and there's no monthly calendar for jumping to a specific date. That, however, is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the wristband's issues.
In the gym
To start with, Power Save Mode was on by default on our model, and disabling it is an absolute must —we can't overstate this. The screen is otherwise prone to shutting off when you're resting between sets, and sometimes this means it will treat (and sync) each new set as a separate workout. Until we discovered this, the wristband was on its way to a rock-bottom review score.
Starting a workout is relatively simple, as it should be, and once active just about everything you need is onscreen simultaneously, thanks to the wristband's unusual aspect ratio. Time and heartrate are always visible, while Coach Mode adds the current exercise, target reps and weight, and a rest countdown once a set is complete.
When everything works, it feels like magic. This is particularly true in Coach Mode, since in theory it means never having to carry a workout log again, or even count reps —the device vibrates when a set is complete.
Its heartrare sensor is also one of the better ones out there. We compared it against the Polar A360 we reviewed in January, wearing both products simultaneously during some intense workouts (more on this later). While the two devices often gave nearly identical results, the Atlas was quicker to react and seemed more in line with how blood was actually pumping.
One significant problem is that unless your form is on-point and always conistent, the wristband will still make a few counting mistakes each workout, whether under or over your real totals. In our experience it's also more accurate with some exercises than others —while bench presses are usually dead-on for example, exercises like burpees or squat lifts can be troublesome. You can at least edit reps on the device (immediately after a set) or in the app (after a workout).
Even without accuracy issues, the device still asks you to input weight values for every set. This is necessary, since there's no way for it to gauge how heavy a barbell is, but may be too tedious for some people, especially when you could be using another app (or just paper and pencil) to accomplish the same thing.
Atlas asks you to input weight values for every set, a task that can't yet be automated but is perhaps too tedious for casual users. It's difficult to find value in a pricey tech solution when similar results can be achieved with a pencil and some paper.On a deeper level, some of Atlas' design decisions signal that the wristband wasn't designed for serious weighlifters. Occasionally for example, our unit would interpret motions between sets —like reracking weights —as a rep. The rest times in Coach Mode workouts don't scale to the amount of weight you're using, and that's critical, given that someone squatting 300 pounds will probably need a lot more than 20 seconds between sets.
The included workout regimes are fine in principle, but they're obviously designed for beginners and not terribly useful past that level. Each daily routine is short —under 30 minutes or less —and the default weights are often way too low for people with experience. There's no sign of any common programs with more growth potential, like ICF or Starting Strength.
You can try to recreate such programs on your own, but there are notable gaps in Atlas' exercise database. There's no sign of exercises like cable crunches, hyperextensions, or cable tricep pulldowns, among some other staples of the gym world. Somehow TRX (suspension cable) support was a higher priority.
To top things off, while the strap on the device is rugged and secure, it has to be fastened very tightly for the heartrate sensor to work, and becomes uncomfortable if worn for long stretches. You also have to wear it on your left wrist, since Atlas' tracking algorithms aren't yet ambidextrous.
Ultimately, it's difficult to recommend the Atlas Wristband to many people, at least in its present state. Veteran weightlifters aren't accommodated, and novices who can afford the device's $249 pricetag are probably better off hiring a trainer for a few sessions, or at least buying an armband for their phone and downloading StrongLifts 5x5.
Buried underneath it all, though, is a kernel of potential. One could easily imagine a second-gen device solving most issues and cornering the market on strength training. In that sense, we really hope the current one finds a market.
Score: 2.5 out of 5
- One-of-a-kind strength training functions
- Thorough, well-designed mobile app
- Above-average heartrate tracking
- Handy onscreen info during workouts
- Motion tracking not accurate enough
- Geared towards newcomers to strength training
- Crippling Power Save Mode on by default
- Strap not comfortable for long stretches
- Expensive
Where to buy:
The Atlas Wristband is available from Amazon or the Atlas website for $249.


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MoneyGram's Guangzhou Open African League(G.O.A.L.), a new five-a-side football tournament, closed out last Saturday (November 5) with Future II winning the inaugural title in Guangzhou, China. After two weekends of qualifying with 40 teams, the finals saw the top 8 teams battling to take the title. Future II and Black Stars made to the final of the tournament. On Saturday Future II triumphed to take the trophy and first prize of USD 2,000.
MoneyGram's G.O.A.L. has brought together the African community in Guangzhou, with nations from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger and Congo competing. The tournament has taken the African community by storm with its popularity, as it had to be extended to cater for all the teams that wanted to participate. Each week the hosting venue --- ACT Club was turned into a carnival with all teams and numerous spectators watching the games. It culminated in a pulsating finals day with the top 8 teams competing in front of the African community of Guangzhou.
The winning captain of Future II stated: "This tournament has been amazing as we have never participated a structured sporting event with such a great prize for the African Community. So many of our nations competed fiercely to win the title and we just did it! We are extremely grateful to MoneyGram for bringing this tournament to Guangzhou and we look forward to next year's edition. For sure we will be back to defend our title!"
"Through this tournament MoneyGram demonstrates commitment and care for the African Community in China. The tournament has shown the passion for the game that the Africans have always had and it has surpassed our expectations with so many teams participating. The players showcased excellent skills and we look forward to growing this tournament further here in Guangzhou next year," says Andy Liu, Regional Director, China & Mongolia at MoneyGram. "Our mantra has always been about bringing our customers closer to their families and friends. This tournament has brought African migrants together through football."
Related story:
Guangzhou Open African Leauge held in Guangzhou
The first football tournament for African community held in Guangzhou