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Anniversary Gifts
Mr. and Mrs. Champagne Glasses $9.95 each
Mr. & Mrs. Salad Plates $9.95 each
Pera Vase $34.95
Evelyn Vases $19.95 - $26.95
Beck Tray $49.95
Aquatic Bowl $119.95
Hug/Kiss Pillow Cases Sale $23.96 reg. $29.95
Sheesha Leaf Sheet Sets Sale $31.96 - $175.96 reg. $39.95 - $219.95
Cuisinart ® 2-Speed Smart Stick ® Hand Blender $59.99 sugg. $110.00 Ships Free
Arzberg Teapot with Warmer Set Savings $99.95 open stock $109.95
Le Creuset ® Lever and Foil Cutter $100.00 Ships Free
Aurora Vase $139.95
Tour Wine Glasses $9.95 - $12.95
Eliza Silver Picture Frames $9.95 - $19.95
Vinturi Red Wine Aerator $29.95 sugg. $39.95
Brushed Silver Wall Frames $16.95 - $49.95
All-Clad ® Stainless 12 qt. Multi-Cooker $149.95 sugg. $210.00 Ships Free
Cuisinart ® Compact-Smoothie Blender $69.95 sugg. $130.00 Ships Free
Wok Set $59.95 Ships Free
Show your love and appreciation for your spouse or partner with anniversary gifts from Crate and Barrel. Browse a variety of presents for the home, including the bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen. Spruce up your bedroom with a luxurious new set of bed sheets or a pair of fun pillowcases. Redefine boudoir organization and create a special place for your precious gems with contemporary jewelry boxes. Give a gift with an extra-special personal touch—consider a set of chic silver wall frames or standing picture frames. Fill them with memorable photos of the two of you with family and friends, and scatter them throughout your space. Toast your partner to the time gone by with personalized champagne glasses and other elegant barware. For gift ideas that are both beautiful and functional, turn to the kitchen and invest in high-end small appliances and accessories like woks, professional blenders and more. Shop our selection of anniversary gifts to find the perfect "I-love-you" for your significant other.


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March 18, 2013
A Table Mountain vista – Flickr pic of the day
This distant view of Table Mountain as seen from a Bloubergstrand beach, was captured by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group member Robert Wallace, aka RobW_.
Robert says: "We are ex-Capetonians who visit once a year. This shot was taken as we were leaving Cape Town once again, and is our totsiens [Afrikaans for "until we see you again" or goodbye] to the city that we love."
Do you have images of Cape Town you'd like to share with us? We'd love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

subset: commoncrawl


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From doubt to faith to doubt
In response to the January 2011 special issue on women, U.S. Catholic has invited our writers, scholars, and readers to contribute their thoughts on how they keep the faith as women in the church. Check back throughout January to read how both prominent and ordinary women answer this question. You may also share your own reflections by submitting a guest blog post (about 500 words) to email@example.com.


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Nice product Review by Kabota
I have had 2 of these watches and love both. I gave one to my grandson and he wears it kinda of rough being a teenager. my only complaint is that one can not get a replacement crystal for them and it being plastic they scratch quite easily. (Posted on 11/22/2014)
Great watch, especially for the money. ... Review by JM
Great watch, especially for the money. Keeps absolutely perfect time. ONLY drawback - a little larger(Thicker) than I like,, but it's so great, I wear it anyway!!! (Posted on 10/26/2012)
I have owned this watch for many years. ... Review by ALP
I have owned this watch for many years. With my job it gets beat up a lot but just keeps going. I have replaced the battery several times as necessary. I plan to purchase another if the one I have ever gives up the ghost. (Posted on 2/25/2011)
Review by BG
(Posted on 12/9/2010)
The absolute most comfortable, easy to use,... Review by SWB
The absolute most comfortable, easy to use, stylish, watch I have ever owned. I can not stand to not have this watch on, and I will look all over the house when I look down and it is not there. I have never had a watch so comfortable, accurate, and affordable all in the same package. I have a $500 watch and it just seems too heavy compared to the light, and comfort of this watch. I just haven't found a watch as comfortable, affordable, or as convient as the Cilicon Digital Atomic Watch. (Posted on 11/18/2010)
got my watch 3.5 years ago. finally had to... Review by JH
got my watch 3.5 years ago. finally had to install new 3 volt battery, #2025 only other thing i did was change bands. runs as good as those 150 dollar watches. the only other watch that is close in accuracy is my old pulsar that cost a lot more. would recommend it to anyone. best investment ive made in a watch. owner and operater of hartmans grocery. (Posted on 9/24/2010)
This is about my fifth "atomic" watch over... Review by RRD
This is about my fifth "atomic" watch over 20 years, and its the best one. While the previous ones would set themselves on many or most nights, this one does it every night. The others would sometimes need to be set near north windows pointed toward Colorado (where the transmitter is located), this watch does not. I also have several "atomic" clocks, and it's better than them, too. It has a good display, with day, date and time, including seconds, always visible. It also has an alarm, but it does not have timer or stopwatch functions. The case is nice stainless steel, with a plastic back, and is marked "water resistant." The SS link band is attractive, comfortable and rugged, and has an extra locking device to make sure it doesn't open by accident. A TERRIFIC BUY AT THE PRICE! (Posted on 9/13/2010)
Great watch for the price! Does all it is... Review by AR
Great watch for the price! Does all it is supposed to do and easily set to time zone. Band links were not easily removed without a long pin pusher. The case is thick, so if you are looking for a thin watch select a thinner model. (Posted on 8/12/2010)
Absolutely the best watch I have ever owned.... Review by GE
Absolutely the best watch I have ever owned. Very easy to see the information displayed. If placed near a window (better reception) it never misses an update. I would recommend this watch to anyone.
(Posted on 9/12/2009)
A FANTASTIC WATCH. I HAD A DIFFERENT RADIO... Review by SL
A FANTASTIC WATCH. I HAD A DIFFERENT RADIO CONTROLLED WATCH. IT HAD NO BUTTONS. ALL I COULD DO IS SET THE TIME ZONE. THIS WATCH GIVES YOU FULL CONTROL. IF YOU DON'T GET THE RADIO SIGNAL. ALL YOU DO IS PUSH IN THE RECEIVE BUTTON FOR 5 SECONDS. . THE WATCH SEARCHES FOR THE SIGNAL. THIS IS THE BEST WATCH THAT I'VE EVER OWNED. AND I AM SEVENTY YEARS OLD. (Posted on 6/13/2009)
i paid over $200.00 for a watch with the... Review by D.L
i paid over $200.00 for a watch with the same features except no backlite i wish i had seen your catalogue first I am so pleased with this watch the price was unbelievable plus the service was great i going to order another one for my son who is in the u.s.a.f. (Posted on 12/28/2008)
I have read the first review of this watch,... Review by MAS
I have read the first review of this watch, and I agree 99%. The only thing the watch doesn't have is an easily adjustable band. I love the features on this watch, especially the automatic time zone switch. It sure beats other watches I have had in the past. (Posted on 12/20/2008)
Watch is very good, worth the money. It has... Review by DCM
Watch is very good, worth the money. It has large numbers, easy to read. Even the smaller date and day info is easly read. There is a convient button on the watch face that turns on a light so you can seec time in dark. The light shows all the watch info, not just the time. It has two alarms. Setting up and operating the watch functions are the easiest I have come across. Some watches are brain busters! This one is not.
I would definitely buy this watch again. If it holds up - reliable, then it is a 'best buy'.
Thans Silicon Scientific and Heartland.
DCM (Posted on 10/26/2008)
|Silicon Scientific
|Model Number


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by Melissa Brunner
Many not-for-profit organizations say it would be great if they could one day accomplish their mission and put themselves out of business, whether it's achieving the goal of everyone having enough to eat or finding a cure for a particular disease.
On this day wich would have marked Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 131st birthday, the March of Dimes reminds us that, at one point, they did work themselves out of business. Pres. Roosevelt helped found what was then known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Its goal was to eradicate polio, a condition which left the President himself paralyzed. With FDR championing their efforts, the goal was met.
The March of Dimes lives on, though. Instead of focusing on one particular disease, it developed a new mission to improve the health of all babies. The March of Dimes believes all babies deserve the healthiest possible start in life. To that end, their work includes educating moms-to-be about healthy habits that ensure the greatest odds they'll carry their babies to term. The latest of those efforts is the "39 Weeks" campaign, educating moms that research shows babies carried to 39 weeks show the best development and a lesser risk of death or complications. But even despite moms' best efforts, sometimes babies are born too soon, so the March of Dimes also funds research into treatments for when it happens.
In honor of FDR's 131st birthday and the March of Dimes 75th anniversary, let me be the first to invite you to join their mission at this year's March for Babies! The Topeka walk is moved to a Saturday this year - May 4th - and it's moved from the zoo to the Statehouse grounds. It's not too soon to form your team and start fundraising - just visit www.marchforbabies.org.
Wouldn't it be great if, one day, all babies were born healthy and the March of Dimes could embark on yet another mission?


text: Still pondering on the M1, would it be suitable for interiors or am I better off going for something smaller as a second pano head. Shooting with a Nikon full frame so what fisheye? lens would be best suited. I've read some people recommend the 16mm yet i have a 14-24mm, would an even wider than 16mmfisheye lens be better.


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How to see that the cup products vanish on suspensions?
closed as off-topic by Ricardo Andrade, Andrey Rekalo, Olivier Benoist, Stefan Kohl, Carlo Beenakker Dec 21 '13 at 14:16
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
13.66 in Switzer's Algebraic Topology: Homotopy and Homology. The idea is to use the fact that $\Sigma X$ decomposes into two copies of $CX$, say $A$ and $B$, glued along the common boundary of $X$. For any two cohomology classes $x$ and $y$ in $\tilde{E}^* \Sigma X$, you can uniquely pull $x$ back to a class $x'$ on the relative pair $(\Sigma X, A)$ and $y$ back to a class $y'$ on $(\Sigma X, B)$. Cupping is natural w.r.t the two relative inclusions $i_A: (\Sigma X, \{x_0\}) \to (\Sigma X, A)$ and $i_B: (\Sigma X, \{x_0\}) \to (\Sigma X, B)$, and so you get the calculation $x \smile y = i_A^*(x') \smile i_B^*(y') = i^*(x' \smile y')$, where $i: (\Sigma X, \{x_0\}) \to (\Sigma X, \Sigma X)$ is another relative inclusion and $x' \smile y'$ a class on the pair $(\Sigma X, \Sigma X)$ --- but that guy has trivial reduced cohomology.
The cup product is a gussied-up version of the map induced by the reduced diagonal map $\bar \Delta$, which is the composite of the ordinary diagonal $\Delta: X\to X\times X$ and the quotient map $q: X\times X \to X\wedge X$; note that $q$ is the cofiber of the inclusion $i: X\vee X\to X\times X$.
If $X$ is a suspension, then the map $\Delta$ has a lift (up to homotopy) $\lambda: X\to X\vee X$ through the inclusion $i : X\vee X \to X\times X$ of the wedge, and hence $\bar \Delta \simeq q\circ \Delta \simeq q\circ i \circ \lambda \simeq *$.
One way to see the lifting is to lift the adjoint; and this is easy because
$\Omega(X\vee X) \to \Omega (X\times X)\cong (\Omega X) \times (\Omega X)$
This is a special case of the fact that the cup-length is a lower bound for the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category. Using those two terms as keywords should get you the standard arguments.


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Harrison County Commissioner William Host is facing a challenge from Paul Coffland for Host's commission seat, with a term commencing Jan. 3.
The winner will serve for the next four years in running Harrison County's operations.
He said his experience as a commissioner makes him the right candidate for the job.
Article Photos
"The county is in the black and much better off than when I started," he said. "I think that money has been managed better during the past eight years than in a long time."
Harrison County also is in the middle of the Utica Shale region, and the county has been working with developers to ensure responsible growth of the industry.
He said the county has increased its use of technology during his tenure.
"911 has been implemented during my term and we are currently working on implementing high speed Internet. We have a clerk that is very educated in computer work and I depend on her" for assistance. And "with the oil and gas industry emerging in a big way in Harrison County, I would like to be a part of that expansion."
"The next decade - and more importantly the next four years - Harrison County is going to have tremendous opportunities," he said. "If we don't have the leadership with the vision to guide our county's future we will miss an opportunity to secure our future. I have that vision and will be out of the office in the community supporting our townships and villages fighting for Harrison County."
Coffland has served as a village councilman, school board member, coach and on numerous community organizations including the Harrison County Regional Planning Commission.
"My private sector experience working and managing a small family owned business is an asset. ... This economy has forced us all to do more with less. Bringing new perspective and energy to the commissioner's office ... will allow me to work with everyone for improvement."
He sees opportunity with technology as it pertains to the natural gas industry.
"I believe we need to partner with this industry and build our infrastructure so we can promote our county and attract the long-term business that provides local jobs," he said. "Improving and preparing our youth for the possible jobs coming with oil and gas is another concern. As chairman of Advance Harrison, I am developing programs and relationships with that industry and our own county businesses to broaden our workforce."


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Florida Panthers vs Winnipeg JetsThu, January 31, 2013 - 7:30 PMBBT Center in Sunrise-Ft Lauderdale, FL
We are sorry, the date for this event has already passed. This event took place on 1/31/2013. Click here to view upcoming events for Florida Panthers.
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text:
IRONDALE - If you give your customers what they want, Chris Joseph figures there's a pretty good chance that when all is said and done you'll get what you want: More business.
"Giving customers what they want makes life a lot easier," said Chris, son of the now semi-retired C.A. Joseph Co. founder Charles "Chuck" Joseph. He and his brothers, Mike and Matt, and sister, Marcie, represent the company's second generation family ownership.
"It's about being precise, being diligent about paperwork and taking extra steps to make sure everything is taken care of before the trucks pull out," he said. "Most of our customers have been with us for years. It seems like once we get them, they don't leave, which is a good thing."
Article Photos
GROWING BUSINESS — C.A. Joseph Co.'s Chris Joseph says the business is in the process of extending a rail line to its Irondale location. The work, expected to be done before the end of the year, will open new avenues for its business operations, he says.-- Linda Harris
WAREHOUSE EXTENDING — The warehouse at C.A. Joseph Co.'s Irondale location will be extended by 150 feet once work on the rail line extension is done. -- Linda Harris
C.A. Joseph, founded in Columbiana County in 1975 to fabricate mausoleum parts, has grown to be one of, if not the, leading parts supplier to the mausoleum industry. Over the past 38
years the business has added a machine shop in Calcutta where workers do all their assembly work for the mausoleum side of the business.
They've also added a second location in Irondale equipped with a pair of burning tables, plus fabricating and welding. Three new buildings were added at the Irondale plant, including a 30,000-square-foot warehouse equipped with a pair of 25-ton overhead cranes.
All of that has allowed them to diversify operations to include warehousing, plate processing and industrial vacuum processing.
"When we first got into it, we had all our eggs in one basket," he said. "I've always felt very strongly about diversifying the company, to where we do a bunch of different things and everything works together."
The family is currently preparing to extend the rail lines, "that's our big project now."
"Rail is easier (than over the road), and it also opens the door for more customers, more opportunities," he said. "We can go after business we couldn't consider before because we didn't have rail service."
And while the investment is nothing to sneeze at, the potential is unlimited. Already, one of their biggest storage customers picked the Irondale plant for its U.S. central hub.
"It has to do with efficiency and how well we run our operation," he said. "We're a fine-oiled machine, as far as how our business operates, and we have really good people, they have a real (understanding) of our process. It's a strict process, you have to program your mind to do it. We probably had a two-year learning curve."
The rail extension should be done before the end of 2013. Once it's out of the way, C.A. Joseph will be adding another 150 feet in warehouse space at the Irondale plant. Later this year they'll also be launching at least one new process.
"There's a lot of anticipation," he said. "It's a huge step for us; it's going to be very interesting. We're going to hit the ground running and see how smoothly we can make it all happen."
He gives former Progress Alliance Executive Director Ed Looman, now Eastern Ohio Project Manager for the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, a lot of credit for helping the company position itself for the growth, including helping them "find the right resources for us to expand and places to look for operations and people."
"We'd been talking about rails for years, but the opportunity wasn't there at that time," he said. "We've been very conservative, because it was such a large investment, and sometimes being conservative isn't a bad thing. But everything happens for a reason."


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I've read almost everywhere that AES-256 can be used for Top Secret material (in the US). Is it really used or is it some kind of decoy to hide the more advanced algorithm they might use ?
Decoy for whom?
Security, and cryptography specifically, has a need for public scrutiny. It's been proven time and time again that hiding the nature of the protocol/algorithm/scheme doesn't provide any tangible security. Kerckhoffs' principle explains this: A cryptosystem should be secure even if everything about the system, except the key, is public knowledge.
It's "secure" up until someone finds out how it works and breaks it. Publically reviewed algorithms are something that people are always trying to break. The more people that try (and fail) to break something, the better that something is. This is important because it's really difficult to design crypto properly.
To answer your question specifically: Yes, AES is used for classified materials. Other algorithms are also used depending on the nature and use of the data.
A quick Google search came back with this PDF doc from NIST: Guideline for Implementing Cryptography In the Federal Government. It may be out of date, or there may be better documents, but it's an enlightening read.
Your question might be missing one plausible reason for governments to keep certain aspects of their cryptographic systems secret (besides the key), namely that their interest in learning the secrets of the opposition, might be as strong as their interest in keeping their own secrets to themselves. Hence, there are two questions that should be asked:
The answer to the first question is no, for the reason SteveS wrote in his answer above. The second question is more interesting, if you are in to conspiracy theories. However, having seen a fair share of schemes implemented in real life application, I would not personally consider this aspect to be a concern. There are more ways AES has been used incorrectly that resulted in practically no security at all, than ways it has been used in a properly designed scheme that resulted in 256 bit security even after all design details, implementation details, deployment details and key management details had been take into account.
What sets apart government AES and a python script a highschooler can write is the implementation.
Even though AES is a completely open algorithm, the implementations used by the government are unclassified/controlled cryptographic items when not keyed - meaning even though the algorithm itself is not restricted in any way, the products that meet specific government standards are not publicly available and have to be constantly be accounted for by everyone who is authorized to use them.
Additionally, keys are updated very often and are generated at Ft. Meade (NSA Headquarters) so you can assume they do something special to make them more secure than the average computer can generate.
There are also Type 1 Suite A algorithms that are classified but you can still find some information reading by Raytheon, Harris, and General Dynamics whitepapers and yes, even Wikipedia. Like how Enhanced-Firefly is the current key agreement protocol and BATON is symmetric encryption with a 320bit key. There are some other ones like WALBURN, GOODSPEED, MEDLEY but as you'd expect, not much info is out there about them.
An interesting fact though is that AES-256 is a Type 1 AND Type 3 algorithm all at once. Again, the only thing that sets them apart is the implementation.
The general rule about how an open algorithm is more secure doesn't really apply to the NSA though because they employ more mathematics than any other single entity in the world and still work with the defense industry. One would think they don't release their work not because it would compromise any of their information but it sure would make their job more difficult if everyone in the world used their same security.
An example of a Type 1 implementation is the KIV-7M High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor.


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To the Editor,
First off, would you consider the Super Bowl family fare? I do. Would you consider the half time show family fare? I don't.
If the NFL puts on a half time show next year like this one, there will be a lot of frozen tushes!
It would be nice if every four years we could vote on whether display of the Ten Commandents on public property is a problem for you or not. I would bet a significant sum of cash it would be no problem for the majority of voters.
I'm still waiting for some liberal to advise me of what did Obama do that gave you reason to re-elect him. Wait till 2014 when Obamacare goes into effect. Maybe, just maybe, all who voted for Obama will have second thoughts of why they re-elected him. My question is; How many more people will be hired by the government to make sure that every one has health insurance?
People, we have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the "lottery." We have rewarded laziness and called it "welfare." We have killed our unborn and called it "choice." We have neglected discipline our children and called it "building self esteem." We have abused power and called it "politics." We have coveted our neighbors' possesions and called it "ambition."
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it "freedom of expression." We have ridiculed the time honored values of our forefathers and called it "enlightment." We need to get God back into our lives people.
In closing, I give this little story: A little girl wrote a letter to God asking why He let those children in Newtown get killed in school. God replied, "My child, I'm not allowed in schools!"
We are a decaying nation. How sad.
Ray Kaczynski


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17 Images That Will Ruin Your Childhood
Nostalgia is a sucker's game. We imagine all the toys and TV shows from childhood as perfect and awesome purely because our immature brains hadn't developed the ability to joylessly pick things apart for their flaws. The songs we liked at age 10 weren't any better than the Justin Bieber stuff the 10-year-old girls love now.
So it's good to go back and look at our childhood icons through adult eyes. OK, maybe "good" isn't the word for it ...
(For a look inside the Star Wars universe that WON'T ruin your childhood, watch Cracked's adventures in Jedi School.)
#17. "Luke! Be Careful! There Are Exposed Springs on That One!"
The Child Saw:
The "bottomless" chasm is as much a staple of the Star Wars universe as the lightsaber. It's a wonderful symbol for that world's vast, endless technology and how small it can make a person feel. Nobody who watched the above scene as a kid was thinking that consciously, but we felt it when Luke, crushed by the revelation from Vader, tumbled down into it, falling, forever ...
Ruined By:
... onto a bunch of used garage sale mattresses.
That behind-the-scenes pic is from the coffeetable book The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Usually it's cool to see the inventive wizardry that went on behind the scenes at Lucasfilm, but now I can't watch that scene without picturing the big pile of smelly mattresses just below Luke that appear to have been collected from various alleys around town.
While we're on Star Wars ...
#16. "Guys, Make Sure Kenny Hasn't Suffocated."
The Child Saw:
It's not like it's some shock to find out R2-D2 isn't "real." He's supposed to be a robot, and even as a kid you figured he probably actually is a robot. Just one that can't think and stuff.
Ruined By:
R2-D2 is a dwarf eating a hot dog.
Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against dwarves (that's Kenny Baker, who's still working to this day because there are only like three dwarf actors in Hollywood) and I've eaten my share of hotdogs. But all I can think about is how freaking hot it must have been inside that airless tin can, shooting in the desert for long days.
Couldn't it have been, I don't know, remote-controlled or something? Did Baker have a little steering wheel in there to move R2 around? Also, I note that among Baker's roles on his IMDb page are characters named "Bungo," "Fidgit," "Dufflepud," "The Croat" and "Bruce Foreskin."
And ... now I'm depressed. No more Star Wars.
#15. Greedo's Sexy Heels
The Child Saw:
Wait, one more. Prior to the whole "Greedo shot first" encounter, the above scene was our introduction to Han Solo -- that is, our first look at how Han lives and the world that he inhabits. Weird green guys getting in his face with guns drawn, trying to shake him down. This was where we learned that as a fantasy franchise, Star Wars wasn't The Hobbit. It was a gritty universe, with a seedy underbelly of armed thugs.
Ruined By:
Look at the shoes.
Those are the sexy, sexy heels of Maria de Aragon, who played Greedo when he was standing up. He was played by somebody else when he was sitting in the booth. Not like it matters, with the mask on and the voice dubbed in later. Hell, in the prequels they'd have just left the seat empty and put a bundle of tennis balls there to map the CGI to.
Maybe this was the first time George Lucas figured out that characters didn't need to be played by actors -- they could just be cobbled together out of parts. Speaking of which ...
#14. Bugs Bunny: Template 4B
The Child Saw:
It's amazing to think about a guy doodling a cartoon character onto a notepad, and then having people still wearing that character on T-shirts 70 years later. But it's easy to see why in this case -- Bugs Bunny is cool, even if he's in a rerun from 1944 and doing a slapstick bit about war bonds. He's the template for every sarcastic smartass who's appeared on the pop culture scene since.
Just look at him. Look at the way he stands. Put a cartoon shotgun in his face, and he'll stand the same way, before sticking his finger in the barrel. That bunny does not give a fuck.
Ruined By:
Bugs Bunny was drawn from a standard, "fill in the blanks" template of characters. Specifically, he falls into the "screwball" type, as you can tell by his "pear shaped body" and "big feet."
That guide up there was created by Preston Blair, an animator who worked for both Disney and Warner Bros. back in the day. He did some Mickey Mouse features, along with parts of Pinocchio and Bambi. So here's the guide he used to draw Thumper:
The Cute Character, Row 2, Figure 2. After that he went to work for Tex Avery, creator of a lot of those famous Warner Bros. and MGM characters such as Bugs and Daffy Duck, among others. Each of them a cold calculation, measuring out a specific ratio of eyeball width to forehead height to body size to extract the right emotional response from children. He had a template for everything:
Jesus, people, does everything have to be done on an assembly line? Are we all nothing but mechanized puppets, controlled by some corporation?
Hey, that reminds me ...
#13. He's Called Gizmo Because ...
The Child Saw:
Gremlins scared the shit out of me when I was a kid, and when I go back and watch it now, I'm surprised I didn't wind up with post-traumatic stress disorder. Holy shit this movie is dark. It's clearly aimed at kids -- Gizmo is the fuzziest, most huggable creature in cinema history, and the merchandizing blitz at the time left the world carpeted in those dolls. Yet the film itself includes a scene where a character 1) tells the audience there is no Santa Claus and 2) points out that she found that out upon discovering the rotting corpse of her dead father in the chimney.
Ah, but even with the horrors and numerous onscreen deaths, all we remembered was Gizmo. So cute! (You know, thanks to the large, widely spaced eyes and small mouth/nose combination as noted in the guide above.) Especially when he makes that sad, frowny face like that. What are you sad about, Gizmo? Somebody needs a hug!
Ruined By:
Ah, you're sad because your electronic entrails are spilled onto the floor and connected to a series of hand-operated switches. But at least you made out better than the evil gremlin. You may have a bundle of a dozen wires spilling from your asshole, but at least you have legs.
Really, puppetry holds nothing but horrors when we go behind the scenes ...
#12. You Smell Like Hemp Today, Bert ...
The Child Saw:
Sesame Street raised half of the people reading this. Even now, when some of us read the alphabet, we still hear it in James Earl Jones' voice. Still, even at age three we knew Bert and Ernie were puppets -- you can see the little sticks that moves their hands, for Christ's sake. So what possible disappointment could await us behind the curtain?
Ruined By:
JESUS CHRIST IT'S HIPPIES. Hippies and former Vikings head coach Brad Childress.
YOU, TOO, ROWLF FROM MUPPETS? To make him play the piano took not one but two hippies, one straddling the other from behind? This is what was going on two inches offscreen every time we watched you?
Is the puppet industry dominated by hippies? At least with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, we knew it was Mr. Rogers behind it all.
... or, if this photo is accurate, it was a random hobo.
No! Don't look at his crotch, Mr. Owl!
Of course, there's more than one way to go "behind the scenes" of our childhood icons. For instance ...


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Gillespie, Pittman and Hooker Earn Preseason All-SAC Volleyball Honors; Team Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Coaches' PollAugust 18, 2014
ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University volleyball standouts Shannon Gillespie, Hailey Pittman and Alix Hooker have earned Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference accolades, while the team has been predicted to finish fourth in the conference in a vote by the league's coaches as released Monday morning by the conference office.
Gillespie, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, and Pittman, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker, earned first-team accolades, while Hooker, a 5-foot-6 libero, garnered second-team honors.
Gillespie, who has seen action in every match during her three-year career with the Black and Gold, earns the honor after being named First-Team All-SAC following her junior campaign and collecting a second-team all-conference nod after her sophomore season.
The Fishers, Ind., native was named to the 2013 NCAA Southeast Region All-Tournament Team, as the Trojans captured their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, while also earning Daktronics All-Southeast Region Team honors. Last season, Gillespie led the league and ranked 15th in the nation with her 4.05 kills per set average and was 21st nationally with 4.45 points per set, while leading the conference with 578 total points. She led the SAC with a school-record 526 kills on the season, while adding 449 digs, which was eighth in the SAC. Gillespie enters her senior season ranked seventh in school history with 1,193 career kills.
Pittman gains the all-conference distinction following a junior season that saw the Altamonte Springs, Fla. native collect Daktronics All-Southeast Region accolades after being named to the 2013 NCAA Southeast Region All-Tournament Team. She led the team and ranked fifth in the South Atlantic Conference with a .330 hitting percentage, which ranks third in the school record books for a single season. Pittman notched a team season-best .647 attack percentage in the four-set home win over Coker last October, collecting 12 kills in 17 attempts with just one error. She finished last season second on the team and second in the conference with 426 total kills, while her 3.28 kills per set average ranked seventh in the league. Defensively, she was second on the team with 75 total blocks and her 61 block assists during the campaign ranks 11th in the school record books.
Hooker earns the first preseason nod of her career after playing in every set a season ago. The Plant City, Fla. native led the team with a school record 670 digs during 2013, which was second in the conference. Her 5.15 digs per set was second in the SAC, ranked 39th in the nation and ranks second in the school record books for a single season. The energetic libero reached the 20-plus dig plateau on 14 occasions, while posting 30 or more digs in six matches. Hooker came up with a season-high 37 digs in the five set win past Tusculum in early October and also recorded four service aces in the road win at Carson-Newman.
"We are honored to have three players on the preseason all-conference team," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "I thought Alix proved last year that she belongs in that group and hopefully we can get one of our freshmen on the all-freshman team at the end of the year."
On the heels of one of the most successful campaigns in school history and earning the first NCAA Tournament win in school history, the Trojans have been tabbed to finish fourth in the league. AU, which garnered 90 points in the poll, was picked to finish just ahead of Lenoir-Rhyne, which collected one first-place vote, and just behind Lincoln Memorial, while Wingate and Tusculum were tabbed to finish first and second, with 121 points and 99 points, respectively. The Trojans finished in a four-way tie for third a season ago after being picked to finish 10th, while posting a 19-15 overall record.
The Trojans return 10 letterwinners this season, with all of the returnees logging significant playing time last season.
"After our body of work last year during the season I was hoping we would be ranked higher than 10th like last year," added Mosqueda. "We are honored to move up in the rankings. We know our conference is tough and we will have to work hard to compete on the conference. We will have some youth that will be playing like everyone else, but we have the majority of our starting lineup back, so we are excited about that."
Anderson tips off the regular season with three matches at the Bellarmine Invitational on Sept. 5-6, beginning with the host Knights on that Friday at 7 p.m.
2014 SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (1st Place Votes) Points
Wingate (11) 121
Tusculum 99
Lincoln Memorial 94
Anderson 90
Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 89
Queens 70
Newberry 62
Carson-Newman 49
Catawba 48
Mars Hill 38
Brevard 18
Coker 14
2014 Volleyball Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference
First Team
Alison Cooke, Wingate
Haley Rhyne, Lenior-Rhyne
Lexi Potter, Wingate
Shannon Gillespie, Anderson
Hailey Pittman, Anderson
Susie Murach, Wingate
Rachel Harper, Carson-Newman
Casie Mense, Lincoln Memorial
Second Team
Briana Gottberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Megan Hasse, Tusculum
Kristen Pickett, Carson-Newman
Alix Hooker, Anderson
Cory McGowan, Wingate
Mary Kate Griffen, Mars Hill
Stephanie Tassone, Wingate
(Tie) Logan Hayward, Newberry
(Tie) Elizabeth Bialkowski, Queens


text: Hi guys, I am thinking of buying the NN5 to be used with my newly bought Nikon D700. Well, I have yet to get my tripod legs yet, though I have seen and liked Manfrotto 055CXPRO3. But I have read somewhere in this forum that Gitzo has a better center column than Manfrotto offerings? Also is the NN5 and 055CXPRO3 a balanced combination? That is, it will be stable and will not topple over? Anyone with similar combination can advise? Thanks.


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I am in the process of buying a new car and I want to fit a rack on it for my bikes. Are there any issues that I need to be aware of for fitting a rack to a car, or rather are their any factors that would make it impossible to fit a rack to a car? That would be a deal breaker for me.
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Sharing own experience with several racks, either used as bought and even homemade.
I can divide them in three categories:
More adequate for small cars (i.e. not so tall) for reach issues. Also, they work better with lighter bikes (Road bikes, XC bikes or the like). I wouldn't fit a heavy DH bike in a roof rack, it's heavy to lift up to the roof. Also if the car is too tall, the operation is likely to get difficult. In My experience, the roof rack would work fine if the car's roof is at your shoulder's height, above that, it gets too difficult.
There are two kinds: the ones that hold the whole bike or the ones that hold the bike by its fork. Either one has the advantage of easily accepting odd shaped bikes, as they usually have a rail in which the rear wheel fits.
If the whole bike type, they have a rail for the front wheel and a post that holds the bike upright. When sturdy enough they can handle heavy bikes like the DH ones.
The fork type requires you to remove the front wheel completely and put the fork in a hitch that has the same shape and dimensions as your wheel's axle. This of course works better if you have a quick release front axle, and along having to take your bike apart every time, you risk loosing axle nuts or springs. Also, you need the rack to have the adecuate hitch for your bike's front axle: road and XC hubs are different, All Mountain or DH bikes usually have thru axle type. However, they hold the bike very secure.
A useful advantage of the roof rack is that it is unobtrusive for most doors, so you have full access to your car without having to remove bikes. Also, they can be left on vehicle as it doesn't increase overall length, so is not a problem for tight parking and other slow maneuver. (Unless under a low garage or bridge).
Other advantage is that they usually can accommodate more bikes than other types. For example, I used to fit 3 XC bikes on top of a small car without protruding outside the roof. Another example: the support cars in Tour d France...
Trailer Hitch:
Better for bigger cars that are more likely to have adequate mounting points for the towing bar (what the hitch is bolted to), as this is the only mounting point unlike other rack types that have several mounting points.
This type is more likely to hold the bike by it's tires and have a post that holds the bike upright, so you don't have to disassemble the bike anytime just to transport it.
They are usually limited to three or four bikes.
Consider that they increase overall car length but can be left on vehicle. Also, in order to be sturdy enough they usually are heavy therefore difficult to install/remove by just one person. If they are too low they can hit the ground in certain situations. In some cars it will block the rear door, even when the bikes are not in the rack. Some can be folded up to be left in the vehicle when not in use.
These are very goo options for DH or AM bikes that use to be heavy, because this kind of rack does not require you to lift the bike too high. They are also useful for oddly shaped bikes, as most DH or XC frames can be.
Therese light racks are easy to install/remove by one person, and are specially adequate for lighter bikes. Every maker of these will claim they are universally compatible with any car, however, this is not true, some are better for sedans, some for hatchbacks. For sedans they can interfere or damage a spoiler. For Hatchbacks they can interfere with rear window wiper.
This rack type is better suited for straight top tube bikes and they can be hardly fitted with some full suspension bikes or any other bike that doesn't have a diamond shaped frame (there are temporary addaptors that are fitted between the seatpost and the stem post for this purpose.). They also grab the bike by its frame, so they can damage paint and can also be an issue for carbon frames.
They are usually limited to two or three bikes, and they better be light ones. Some people mount them in the hood too. (it funny to see a car with two bikes attached a each end)
They don't add too much to the overall length of the vehicle and can be left on when not in use. Most designs allow access to the trunk/rear door when bikes are not on them.
If they fit too low can let bike hit the ground in certain circumstances.
There are a variety that fits attached to the rear mounted spare wheel, these are not compatible with harcovers for the spare.
Other Options:
Other options you may consider are pickup trucks which exist in many different sizes and you may find one that fit all your needs (besides bike transport) They offer huge flexibility and carry capacity. Personally this happens to be my most recent circumstance (did not acquire the pickup because of the bikes) but is also the most comfortable one. I can carry from just one bike up to seven plus driver, riders and gear (my pickup is medium sized, not one of the biggest).
Another option can be a small trailer for bike carrying. This can be fitted to almost any vehicle, as a bike towing trailer will not bear too much weight. However it may need to be custom made /installed and it is more complicated to drive a car with a trailer attached. Nonetheless, a custom made bike carrying trailer, if well designed, can be very comfortable to use.
Finally: Consider the type of bike you are going to carry, and your other needs (Me for example, use the car for bike carrying just 2 days a week). Ease of use of course will make your biking journeys more enjoyable, so, congratulations for considering it! ;)
You will not be able to fit a roof rack unless the car type is designed to allow for rack fitting, but in general all car manufacturers state this. Either they have rails which allow for rack fitting, or they already have part of the rack inbuilt.
As an example, the drainage channels that many cars have down each side of the roof are often designed to take either manufacturer brand bars or some of the generic roof bars on the market. Look at the car manufacturer's website, or speak to the salesman. Often you can get the bars cheap or free if you take them as part of the package when you buy a car.
For racks that fit on the back, you may need to look at the documentation from the rack manufacturer - they will give lists of the vehicles their rack can fit to.
Also consider when purchasing a car, the size of your boot. Bike racks are great and I have used a generic one that clips to the back of your boot door a number of times, but mainly only for longer journeys where the boot and or seat space is needed. Depending on the size/type of car and amount of people/bikes you are transporting most of the time you can get away with shoving the bike in the boot with the occasional quick release of your front wheel. (This saves time and effort when going on a ride.)
I have managed to fit a bike rack like this to a pretty small car (nissan micra), anything with a boot that is more vertical and has slight space between the top of the boot door and the car roof will work!
You have two choices - many manufacturers have their own branded racks, in which case, as you're buying new, you might want to try to get the sales rep to throw in a set at no extra cost.
Possibly a better thought is to have a target brand and model of rack in mind.
For instance, I have a Thule set, which works by having two bars straddling the roof of the car, with the bike racks bridging between the bars. The bars attach to the car with model-specific 'feet' which are easily disengaged from the bars. So it is possible to use the same bars and racks (and boxes and so on) on different cars, just by removing the feet and replacing them with alternatives. (I've loaned my bars and racks to friends in this way.)
All you need to make sure of here is that the model-specific options are available for your car - and the manufacturer's website should help with that. Indeed, the rep who sold me my most recent purchase was able to give me the Thule part number!
If there are practical reasons why a roof set up isn't going to work for a particular model (e.g. it's an open top) then there are alternatives around rear-mounted racks (although many of these are dependent on a tow hook).
I say visit yakima and thule websites, and use their tools to see what and how their racks work. Im sure you have a short lost of cars you are interested in. The great thing about yakima and thule is that its fairly easy to change cars in the future with a small mount change.
I have had the same rails and crossbars on 4 cars and each car change is generally less than a $60 change in clips, and i usually ebay the old ones.
2 door cars, and cars with built in factory rails also make it tough to fit some racks, or the cross bars end up too close and have stability issues.
In my opinion, roof racks are the best. They are strong, they can carry quite a lot, and they hold everything out of the way. I have a roof rack on my Mazda 6 wagon and carry bikes, skis, kayaks, and plenty of other stuff.
I find it best to get a vehicle with the factory rails, then get Yakima/Thule towers and crossbars. Few sedans have factory rails, but many SUVs, vans, and wagons do.
The big downside with the roof is you must make sure everything is off before you pull into the garage, unless you enjoy the crunch sounds.
I once did what you're considering - I chose one vehicle over another primarily because the latter wouldn't take a roof rack. In hindsight, it may have been the right choice, but I was also unhappy with the result. I was choosing between two small four-door sedans, and in both cases the rack required extenders to reach far enough back for mounting the trays.
Depending on the type of vehicle, you should ask yourself a few questions:
In my case, I used various components of a Yakima rack system across several SUVs, a large minivan, and a small sedan, for 15 years or so. Today, I have a hitch-receiver rack mounted on the rear of a Jeep Cherokee, and it carries 4 bikes nicely and safely. But I still like roof racks :-)


text:
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text:
The Gun Supremacists' Folly
Have we gone stark raving mad?
The question is brought to mind by the new gun law signed last week in Georgia by Gov. Nathan Deal. You might have thought that since the United States couldn't possibly have more permissive firearms laws than it does now, nothing more could be done to coddle the gun lobby and tip the balance of our statutes away from law enforcement. Alas, you would be wrong.
The creativity of the National Rifle Association and other organizations devoted to establishing conditions in which every man, woman, and child in our nation will have to be armed is awe-inspiring. Where imagination is concerned, the best absurdist artists and writers have nothing on the NRA. No wonder Stephen Colbert has decided to move on from the realm of satire. When parody becomes reality, the challenges facing even a comedian of his talents can become insurmountable.
You might not have thought that the inability of people to pack while praying was a big problem. Georgia's political leaders think otherwise, so the new law allows people to carry guns in their houses of worship. True, congregations can set their own rules, but some pastors wonder about the confusion this provision will create, and those who would keep their sanctuaries gun-free may worry about being branded as liberal elitists. Maybe the Georgia Legislature will help them by requiring a rewrite of the Scriptures. "Blessed are the peacemakers" can become "Blessed are the gun owners."
You will also be able to tote weapons into bars and their parking facilities if the bar grants you permission. I can't wait to see the next beer ad depicting a gunfight over who pays for the next round.
Georgia thinks you should be able to take guns into government buildings that don't have screening devices or security guards. Second Amendment enthusiasts tend not to like tax increases, but as The Associated Press reported, the city of Vienna, Ga. (pop. 3,841), would have to shell out about $60,000 a year to increase security at city buildings. "Do we raise taxes to provide the police protection or do we take the risk of potential injury to our public?" asked Mayor Pro Tem Beth English, who also is president of the Georgia Municipal Association. Too bad if this gun lobby subsidy comes out of the school budget.
Oh yes, and while conservatives claim to hate the centralization of power, this law wipes out a series of local gun regulations. The gun supremacists just don't trust those pesky local elected officials.
People with a gun license who try to carry a weapon onto an airplane get a nice break under this bill. If they're caught with a gun at a security checkpoint, nothing happens as long as they leave the area. Try, try again. Watch out if you connect through Atlanta.
And law and order goes out the window. As Niraj Chokshi noted in The Washington Post, this statute gets rid of state requirements that firearms dealers maintain records of sales and purchases. Databases on license holders that span multiple jurisdictions are banned. Those who commit gun crimes must be chuckling, "Can you find me now?"
Nothing better reveals the utter irrationality of our politics for the whole world to see than this madness about guns -- and no issue better demonstrates how deeply divided our nation is by region, ideology, and party.
The New York Times found that in the twelve months after the Sandy Hook shootings, thirty-nine laws were enacted tightening gun restrictions; twenty-five were passed by state governments under full Democratic control. Seventy laws were passed loosening gun restrictions, forty-nine of them in Republican-controlled states. According to The Wall Street Journal, twenty-one states strengthened firearms restrictions in 2013, and twenty weakened them.
Nowhere else in the world do the laws on firearms become the playthings of politicians and lobbyists intent on manufacturing cultural conflict. Nowhere else do elected officials turn the matter of taking a gun to church into a searing ideological question. But then, guns are not a religion in most countries.
The program for the NRA's annual convention, held over the weekend in Indianapolis, listed sessions on "Survival Mindset: Are You Prepared?"; "Creating a Constitutionally Centered Estate Plan"; and "Refuse to be a Victim."
Party on, guys. I can't wait for you to figure out the ways in which even Georgia's law is too liberal. In the meantime, the nation's unarmed majority might ponder how badly we have failed in asserting our own rights.
(c) 2014, Washington Post Writers Group
About the Author
E. J. Dionne Jr. is a syndicated columnist, professor of government at Georgetown University, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His most recent book is Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent (Bloomsbury Press).
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Fire up the circular firing squad. Sound the clarion call to the OK Corral. It's now high noon in America. Even road rage will be met with deadly force.
Thank you.
Thanks for this. The ship of state has become a ship of fools, at least in Georgia.
I quote from the New York Times:
"The motorist, Steve Utash, was white. The mob, witnesses say, was made up of a dozen black men. A crowd of onlookers gathered while the mob beat Mr. Utash within an inch of his life. He was saved by Deborah Hughes, a black woman and a retired nurse who carries a .38. After attending to the child, who was not critically injured, Ms. Hughes lay across the body of Mr. Utash and promised herself that she would put a bullet in the next person to strike him."
It's difficult to "prove" or demonstrate lives saved by guns, they go unreported. I am sure that the Times made a mistake when they allowed the above to be published in an op-ed on April 25th, 2014.
Perhaps there's a Georgian midrash on Matthew 26.52: "Peter, put down your sword. . . (and grab your glock)."
Thanks, Mr. Dionne. I couldn't agree more.
Isn't it a hoot that attendees at the recent NRA convention were checked and required to leave their arms outside the auditorium?
By the way, editors, would you please remove the last "Thiel" under my name? I think I inadvertently put it there at some point in one of my posts.
I will stay out of bars and schools and churches in Georgia from now on and, in fact, the whole state. I guess, if that is what they want, I can't object to drunken good ol' boys blazing away at each other, including in church, but I feel badly for the schoolchildren.
Strangely enough, as CNN reports here http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/us/georgia-governor-signs-gun-bill/index.html
the new law does not overturn existing laws which bar guns from the state capitol, right where the new law was conceived. Another instance of legislation the effects of which do not extend to the legislators.
Jesus just taught us through his Passion "Those who take up the sword shall parish by the sword." MT: 26:52. Isn't anybody in Georgia listening!
The op-ed, which was published in the New York Times, was written by a Fox television host, Charlie LeDuff. The actual news story, however, states that although Ms. Hughes was carrying a gun that day "she never took it out." One of the men accused in the beating did take out his gun and threaten to shoot Mr. Utash. Fortuately,he did not. While it may be difficult to "prove" that lives are saved by guns, it is tragically easy to count the tens of thousands of Americans killed every year by guns in homicides, suicides and accidents, especially the hudreds of children. To mention just one recent tragedy, on April 29, 2014, a nineteen month old boy was shot and killed by his four year old brother in Wichita, Kansas. The boy had found the loaded gun in a nightstand in his home.
There was ONE sanctuary the new law deemed too holy for "gun freedom."
That was the Georgia State House.
Wouldn't want guns where the legislators themselves work.
As insane as they seem these days, that's probably a good idea.
Hi, Catherine.
You can change that by clicking "My Account" above, and using the "Edit" function.
John Walton, you're always going to be able to find true stories about how permissive gun laws save lives, just as there will always be true stories about vaccines killing people.


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There's a question for mountain bike tyres but I can't seem to find anything on here for road bikes. At the moment I'm running at around 90psi. Is that too much? too little? Also, am I more likely to get punctures running at higher pressure? I seem to be getting a lot lately.
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All other things being equal, run them as high as the tyre manufacturer recommends (there will be an advisory notice on the tyre wall). For most tyres of even medium quality, this should be at least 100psi, if not 110; higher end tyres might go up to 130+. (I generally inflate both tyres to similar pressures, but I think that there are some theories that if either were to be higher, that should be the rear, because it carries the majority of the weight.)
Indeed, the higher the pressure and the harder the tyre, the fewer punctures you should expect as the surface should be better at repelling objects.
You should keep tyres topped up, natural leakage occurs and at the higher pressures you might expect 10-20 psi drift within a week.
When re-inflating, you should also take the opportunity to inspect the tyres. Any deformity or wear will be sure to be far more obvious and damaging when the tyre is inflated to the limits of its recommended pressure.
The only caveat is in poor weather, where a reduction in pressure increases the contact area and introduces give, which should make for enhanced traction.
Michelin says this for road bikes:
I do not agree that running at the max pressure is a good idea. Most manufacturers express the recommended pressure as a range and there is a reason for that (as has been pointed out in various answers above). There is a "sweet spot" that tends to be affected by a variety of factors such as your weight, bike weight and road conditions. You'll probably need to experiment to find what feels comfortable without feeling "squirmy" or squishy.
There are some arguments that running full pressure actually wastes more energy than the increased rolling resistance from running at slightly lower pressures. At full pressure, the tires tend to "bounce" off road imperfections rather than absorb/conform to them. And of course the increased road shock will add fatigue.
One trick I'll add is to run your front tire about 5-10 psi lower than your rear. The rear tire has more weight over it and so it needs the higher pressure. The front tire has more bearing on perceived handling and comfort IMO, so running lower pressure there has more benefit.
As an example, I use Gatorskins on my road bike (23c) and my commuter bikes (28c). I run the rear tire 10 psi below the max and the front tire 15-20 psi below the max. When I made that transition (from running at max) I noticed a lot more comfort and no loss of speed or efficiency; that includes fairly objective measurements with a power meter. I also have not had any increase in the rate I flat--which is incredibly low by the way, I highly recommend Gatorskins! I am 160 lbs FWIW.
Most of the above observations are discussed in a Bicycle Quarterly article.
Without knowing what type of tire you are running, that question is hard to answer. For instanct, a 700x23 will be higher (like 120psi) than a 700x28 which will be lower (like 90psi). Generally tires give a range, the lower number will have more cushion but run slower and pinch-flat easier. Higher end will roll better and resist pinch-flats, but can cause a harsh ride.
I tend to inflate 10% shy of max because I'm light (150lbs) and I like my ride to not be jarring yet roll fast. For me its a compromise.There is a sweet spot you find after riding a particular tire for a while. Also if its wet or rough or sandy you may wish to run lower pressure resulting in a larger contact patch=more grip but also more rolling resistance. Ultimately, with experience you will feel whats best for you. It just takes a little time.We all start out not knowing!
I always run mine around the recommended 120psi (recommended on the tire wall). You can let a little air out for some "old skool" suspension or add a touch for a firmer ride.
Not sure of your weight, but this may be a cause for your punctures, which is why you get a better response around 90psi.
On tires with tubes (which is what most of us have) you should always ride with the maximum recommended pressure but be sure to check both the tires and tubes max PSI. This is mainly to avoid pinch flats but also to decrease rolling resistance. It also will kick debris out from under the tire quicker to help avoid punctures. If you are on tubulars its less of a factor. If you are on nice roads on tubular tires i would always want to max them out as the are usually able to inflate to higher pressue thus reducing rolling resistance. On the other side with tubulars it is still safe to run them lower for nastier surfaces. For more information on tubulars and low pressure google Paris Roubaix + tires and you'll see why.
Yep, generally run them at the sidewall rated pressure, or maybe 5psi under. If you want a softer ride (at the expense of higher rolling resistance) you can drop the pressure maybe 20% from it's sidewall rating -- no more (unless you're a fairly small person). Running 30-40% below rated pressure on road tires greatly increases the chance of "snake bite".
The wider the tire the lower the rated pressure, generally.
If you're worried about puncture resistance, buy Kevlar belted tires -- they're just about bullet-proof in normal road use. (I haven't had a puncture in maybe 5000 miles riding Kevlar tires.)
I run my 35mm tires at 95-100 psi -- they're rated 100.
All things are not equal.
In particular, the load on the rear tire of a road bike is about 60% and on the front it is about 40%. Nor do all riders+bikes weigh the same amount. A 250 lb ultra-Clydesdale might not even want to ride on 21mm tire, let alone ride on it and inflate it up to the sidewall maximum.
If you do overinflate, you will get a rock hard ride with uneven tread wear and be more susceptible to flats. An overinflated tire will also have less cornering ability and greater rolling resistance (at least according to Sheldon Brown and he's smart).
If on the other hand you underinflate, you will get a mushy ride, again with more rolling resistance and with snake bite flats. Cornering will also suffer. Even going straight, your bike can shimmy uncontrollably if it hits something.
Getting the pressure RIGHT is worth the effort. Fast, more control and longer life, both yours and your tires'.
This chart is a good starting point:
Take this and add about 10% for the rear and subtract about 10% for the front. You have less load in the front and you DON'T want a rock hard ride working up through your bars.
Don't go over the sidewall maximum. If the number you get is considerably over the sidewall maximum then take that as a hint that you need a tire which can sustain a greater load.
A wider tire is going to have a lower rolling resistance and will last longer. It's going to weigh a leetle more (matters for acceleration and not climbing) and it's going to have a leetle more drag (not significantly until much faster).
You can stagger tires and ride a beefier tire on the rear for that 60% load. Its increased drag will be insignificant in the frame turbulence. It's also easier to fit that tire within the chainstays than in the fork, say 23 front, 25 rear or 25 front or 28 rear. What's important is that the PSI you calculate for front+rear is within their sidewall maximums.
Your floor pump is not to be trusted. Its gauge will have you progressively overinflating with time. That's another reason to go with Schrader tubes since you can use a better gauge with your car as well.
In summary, before you even contemplate inflation pressure for your tires, make sure you have the right tires. Just so you know, pro tour riders are riding wider tires these days than they did even 10 years ago.
Thin and rock hard to the sidewall maximum is NOT the right answer.
Be careful with overinflation, as while rolling resistance drops with increasing pressure, there comes a point when further increasing tyre pressure begins to dramatically increase rolling resistance.
Often this is around the point of the tyre's maximum rated pressure, although it can be less than that depending on a few factors.
Here is an article that discusses some of the physics of tyres and demonstrates a methodology to assess where the sweet spot for lowest rolling resistance is: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/What_s_in_a_tube__1034.html
Tyres that are overinflated become more skittish when cornering, and are more likely to slip in wet road surface cornering.
Also many modern carbon rims have maximum pressure ratings that can be less than the tyres themselves, so be careful with that.
In general, it's better to be a little under inflated than over inflated.
There's always a safety factor built in to the engineering design. I'm fat and out of shape, and I've had pretty good luck running about 20% over the sidewall spec. Yes, you'll run a risk that the manufacturer never intended. Yes, you'll be more likely to pop your tires and cause injury to yourself and to others. (Yes, I have a BSME Mechanical Engineering with a fluid mechanics specialization and happen to have been doing this for years on old, worn-out bicycles without a problem.) I do want to warn you that a harsh ride is hard on your bicycle, especially the bearings. It's also going to be more important that the rim itself is free of burrs and that the backs of your spoke nuts aren't exposed (if applicable).
Within a minimum and maximum pressure range, bicycle tire pressure is largely subjective. If you want a smoother ride or are worried about dry grip, go low. If you want a harsher ride that's easier to pedal or are worried about wet grip, go high.
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I recently encountered the phrase "for choice" to mean "by preference". At first it didn't look like idiomatic English to me, but a web search turned it up in a few other places. Is this common in some dialect other than mine (in British English, perhaps)? And is it native to that dialect or borrowed from some other language?
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As in "For choice, I'll eat coxes, but other kinds of apple will do", yes?
It is an odd phrase, but it's not unfamiliar to me (in the UK). It seems much less formal to me than "by choice", but synonymous with it.
I can't think of any particular origin for it, or reason for "for" rather than "by". But idioms often have idiosyncratic prepositions: consider another phrase which means much the same "to my mind". Why "to"?
I'm not quite sure what you are encountering. I can think up of two usages for "for choice".
"Canadians for choice", or "Republicans for choice", or "Feminists for choice."
In this case, "choice" is the noun, and its meaning is "the right, power, or opportunity to choose", and such "Canadians for choice" are slogans that emphasize their goal to promote the right for "Canadians"(in this case) to choose as they like.
Another instance of usage of "for choice" is in the idiom "spoilt for choice", which means:
Example sentences could be:
It's not an idiom, so there's no origin.


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All these events I haven't responded to / don't want to attend are driving me crazy! I do like having my friend's birthdays in my calendar though. I would like to know if it is possible to remove Facebook events and only show birthdays either on my S Planner or my Google Calendar. I am on a Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Your Friend's birthdays now show up on your Google Calendar on the web. You can repeat the same process if you wish to add the upcoming events, just select upcoming events in step 3.
Wait a bit for the changes to sync to your phone (you should have calendar sync enabled on the same Google account on your phone).
Now on your Android phone/tablet, open the Calendar then select Menu -> Settings -> {Your Google Account}. Look for Friends' Birthdays and select it.
PRIVACY WARNING: Make sure to leave the Make the calendar publicly accessible? checkbox unselected.
NOTE: The terminology in step 3 differs between browsers. Chrome shows it as Copy URL Address, Firefox shows it as Copy Link Location, other browsers may differ a bit, but they all have the same meaning.
NOTE: On your Android Phone I'm assuming you are using the Google Calendar app. S-planner, or other calendar apps may handle this differently.
If you only want to see events you have answered "Attending" or "Maybe attending" then you could try "Freedom", a service that I developed.


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SO far i showed that if A matrix is left invertible (L) then in Ax = b, x has at most 1 solution. I got that LAx = x = Lb, so x = Lb
for right inverse (R) of A, in Ax = b, x has at least one solution. I got that x = Rb.
In the book it says that x has 1 solution for case 1, and at least one solution for case 2. Can someone explain my WHY? HOW?


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Question Given a $t-(v,k,\lambda)$ design $(X,\mathcal{B})$ and a set $U\subset X$ with $|U|=u\leq t$, what is the number of blocks $B\in\mathcal{B}$ such that $B\cap U=\emptyset$?
The answer is: $\lambda {v-u\choose k}/{v-t\choose k-t}$.
How to find this answer?
I know that $b$ the number of blocks in the original design equals: $\lambda {v \choose t}/{k\choose t}$ and that for a $s\leq t$ the design is also a $s-(v,k,\lambda_s)$ design with $\lambda_s=\lambda {v-s\choose t-s}/{k-s\choose t-s}$.
I tried: first thing I tried was calculating $b-\lambda_u$ and rewriting it, but then I realized this gives the number of blocks that do not contain a given $u$-set, which is not the question (in the original question we want to substract from $b$ the number of all the blocks that even contain one point of $U$.
So then I figured I could use the Principle of Inclusion/Exclusion, but it did not work either.
Looking at the expression it seems to me that some sort of Double Counting proof can be applied. ${v-u\choose k}$ counts the number of $k$-sets we can make in the set $X\U$, which has $v-u$ points... But it's not the derived design, because then the blocks would be of size $k-u$.
Any hint/help is highly appreciated.


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$6.99 shipping? -pass
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I was wondering if there is a way to reorganize the layers when applying a style based on a categorizing value? I have many values, but I would like to rearrange them alphabetically. In ArcMap there are arrows to promote, or demote the values in the list, but I do not see anything like this in QGIS 1.8.0.
Any help would be appreciated.


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The Kingdom also uses desalination plants to generate electricity using the steam that is a byproduct of the desalination process. The Kingdom generates more than 26,300 MW of electricity, 2,800 MW of which is produced by the desalination plants. Saudi Arabia eventually plans to increase the electricity produced by these desalination plants to equal half of the total output.
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Saudi Arabia has also begun working with GCC countries to link their national power grids. Ultimately, plans include linking the GCC grid with the rest of the Arab world and Europe through Turkey and Syria.


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Listen to the Cancer.Net Podcast: Pap Test–What to Expect, adapted from this content.
Key Messages:
- A Pap test involves gathering a sample of cells from the cervix to test for early changes in these cells that can lead to cervical cancer if left untreated.
- Some of the cells may also be tested for the human papillomavirus, which is a risk factor for cervical cancer.
- Learning how to prepare for a Pap test and what to expect during and after the test may help relieve anxiety.
A Pap test, also called a Pap smear, is the most common screening test for cervical cancer in women who have no symptoms of cancer. It is often performed during a woman's gynecologic checkup.
A Pap test involves gathering a sample of cells from the cervix, which is the part of the uterus that opens to the vagina. The sample is placed on a glass slide and sent to a laboratory for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. A pathologist is a doctor who specializes in interpreting laboratory tests and evaluating cells, tissues, and organs to diagnose disease. The pathologist can identify abnormal cells, which may be precancerous or cancerous, but are most often treatable, precancerous cellular changes, rather than cervical cancer.
Some of the cells collected from the cervix during the Pap test may also be tested for the human papillomavirus, also called HPV. Infection with HPV is a risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV is most commonly passed from person to person during sexual activity. There are different types, or strains, of HPV, and some strains are more strongly linked with certain types of cancer. A doctor may test for HPV at the same time as a Pap test or after Pap test results show abnormal changes to the cervix. Learn more about HPV and cancer.
How often you need to have a Pap test depends on your age, results of previous tests, and other factors. Learn more about cervical cancer screening guidelines.
The medical team
A Pap test is typically performed in your doctor's office by a gynecologist, a medical doctor who specializes in treating diseases of a woman's reproductive organs. In addition, Pap tests are sometimes performed by other health care professionals, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners. If your gynecologist is a man, a female assistant or nurse may be in the room during the Pap test.
If the results of the Pap test indicate cervical cancer, your doctor will refer you to an oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating cancer.
Preparing for the procedure
To ensure that the Pap test results are as accurate as possible, do not have sexual intercourse for two to three days before the test. In addition, do not use tampons, birth-control foams, vaginal medicines, douches, or vaginal creams or powders for two to three days before the test; these products may wash away abnormal cells.
The best time to schedule your Pap test is at least five days after the end of your menstrual period. A Pap test can be done during your menstrual period, but it is better to schedule the test at another time.
During the procedure
A Pap test is performed during a pelvic examination in a private room in your health care professional's office. It takes only a few minutes. The test may be uncomfortable, but it is not usually painful. You may experience less discomfort if you empty your bladder before the examination and take deep breaths and relax your muscles during the procedure.
When you arrive for your examination, your health care professional may ask you some basic questions related to the test, including the following:
- Are you pregnant?
- Do you use birth control?
- What medications have you taken recently?
- Do you smoke?
- When was your last menstrual period, and how long did it last?
- Do you have any symptoms, such as itching, redness, or sores?
- Have you had surgery or other procedures on your reproductive organs?
- Have you ever had abnormal results from a previous Pap test?
Your health care professional will then leave the room while you remove your clothes below the waist, lie on your back on an examination table, cover your waist and legs with a sheet, and raise your feet to put your heels in stirrups at the end of the table, allowing your knees to relax to the sides. If you prefer, you may leave your socks on to keep your feet warm.
Next, your health care professional performing the examination will gently insert a lubricated plastic or metal instrument, called a speculum, into your vagina. This tool slowly spreads apart the vaginal walls. This may cause some slight discomfort.
After a visual inspection of your cervix, your health care professional will use a cotton swab, a spatula, or a cervical brush to gently scrape cells from two places on the cervix: the ectocervix, which is the part closest to the vagina, and the endocervix, which is the part next to the body of the uterus. This area is called the transformation zone, and it is the location where cervical cancer typically develops. You may feel pulling or pressure during the collection of the cells.
Your health care professional will smear the cells onto a glass microscope slide or put the cells into a container and send the sample to a pathologist for evaluation.
Once the Pap test is finished, your health care professional will complete the pelvic examination. This involves putting two lubricated, gloved fingers inside your vagina and placing the other hand on the outside to check for lumps or tenderness in other reproductive organs, including your fallopian tubes, ovaries, and uterus.
After the procedure
You can resume your normal activities immediately after having a Pap test. You may have a small amount of vaginal bleeding after your Pap test. However, tell your doctor if you experience excessive bleeding.
If the Pap test shows some abnormal cells and an HPV test is positive, the doctor may suggest one or more additional diagnostic tests. In addition, although the Pap test is an excellent screening tool, it is not perfect. Sometimes, the results are normal even when abnormal cervical cells are present, which is called a "false negative" test result. That is why regular screening is important; talk with your doctor about how often you should have a Pap test. Research shows that almost all cervical changes can be found with regular screening and treated before they become cancerous.
Questions to ask your doctor about the Pap test
Before having a Pap test, consider asking your doctor the following questions:
- Who will perform my Pap test?
- Should I also be tested for HPV?
- When will I get the test results?
- Who will explain the results to me?
- What will happen if the test results are abnormal or unclear?
- What further tests will be necessary if the test results indicate cancer?
- After this test, when should I have my next Pap test?
More Information
Additional Resources
MedlinePlus Interactive Health Tutorials: Pap Smear


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- Research and Centers
- Center for Risk Reduction
- Nursing Faculty Areas of Research
- Office of Nursing Research
- Currently Funded Faculty Research Grants/Awards
- Currently Funded Faculty Educational/Special Project Grants/Awards
- Currently Funded Dissertation Projects
- Recently Completed Funded Faculty Research Grants/Awards (up to 5 years)
- Recently Completed Funded Faculty Educational Grants/Awards (up to 5 years)
- Recently Completed Funded Dissertation Projects (up to 5 years)
Office of Nursing Research
The School of Nursing Office of Nursing Research provides research support services for Saint Louis University School of Nursing faculty and student researchers. These include assistance in identifying funding sources and developing proposals, designing and analyzing studies, and preparing study budgets. Some editorial assistance is provided internally and some externally on a contractual basis. Internal funding is also provided in the form of some seed money for pilot studies, some travel and presentation support for research presentations, and some faculty research leave support.
The Office of Nursing Research also manages the administration of grants awarded to Saint Louis University School of Nursing faculty and students; external requests for research access to SLU School of Nursing students, faculty, and staff; and the annual research conference and monthly research development programs offered by the School.
An active Research Committee, with faculty and student members, provides recommendations regarding research policy. Faculty members of the Committee serve as the reviewers for the various internal funding awards from the School.


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Given a circle $O$ on a paper, we do not know the centre point. Can we draw the centre only using a ruler (by which we can only draw straight lines)?
One fact I know: we can draw the tangent line at a point on the circle, by Pascal theorem.( or Noether's Max Fundamental theorem )


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I recently got a new MAcbook pro, and while I was exploring features on the Apple site and learning to make the transition to a Mac from a PC, I noticed there was an up-to-date program. I do not have any receipts or the papers from the shipping to prove when I bought my mac and they denied my first attempt. I would like to get the new software, but i need to know if there is any certificate installed to help me prove I bought my mac.
Can I use the software on my mac to help me claim my eligibility for the Up-to-date-program, so I get Mountain Lion?
If you bought your Mac on-line directly from Apple, then your name, date of purchase and serial number of your Mac are enough.
It worked fine to upgrade my new MacBook Air (bought on apple.fr) to Mountain Lion.
Without receipts there is no way to get your mountain lion upgrade for free:
Quoted from the apple website: osx up to date
If you bought it online, Apple should have emailed you a receipt after your purchase. If you got it direct from an Apple Store, I think all you need is the serial number of your machine, which can be found under


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Addis Ababa, September 12, 1974: a date few Americans remember, but for Ethiopians it was the first day of a new year and the last day of Emperor Haile Selassie's long reign. As the public discontent intensified, Selassie – blamed for decades of famine and corruption – is abandoned by his servants and cabinet members.
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While the emperor quietly reflects upon his final moments in power, the struggle for a new Ethiopia arrives swiftly and without mercy. Hundreds of protestors take to the streets, demanding food and a people's government for all. Focusing on the lives of three determined members of one family, Mengiste's gripping debut novel looks closely at the ties that bind family and country, and the sacrifices made in pursuit of justice and a life of dignity. An important work of literature, it is both timely and unforgettable. Illustrating the lengths each member is willing to go, the loyalties they must betray, and the hardships they must endure to ensure their country's freedom from oppression, Beneath the Lion's Gaze is a dramatic and tragic story that is ultimately inspirational.
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The Nation's Most Awe-Inspiring Memorials
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