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Zombie Night in New Orleans
New Orleans
Well: OK. Here's what it was like: Half of Super Bowl XLVII just went dark. Vooomp! Blackout at the Super Bowl. Isn't that the plot of, like, 80% of all of the shiny-covered thrillers sold at the airport? It never ends well. It often ends with zombies. Hungry zombies, punching bony fists through windows. Inside the Superdome, there was an awkward, surreal silence. Moments ago, this shiny silver tub had been shuddering with noise. Now it was quiet. Reality was arriving. The power was really out at the Super Bowl, across a long, substantial stretch of Superdome steel. It wasn't pitch black dark—it was more like a dull, gray dimming. The light of a truck-stop bathroom. The public-address announcer promised momentary delays. The delays didn't feel momentary. The crowd grew restless. A wave started. It was halfhearted. The wave stopped. They cranked up the lights on the still-powered side of the stadium. It didn't really help. Stern-looking men with radios gathered at the 50-yard line. Impatient Ravens and Niners stretched on the ground. Beyoncé was somewhere, being Beyoncé.
More on the Super Bowl
"We all plugged in our phones at halftime," the Ravens center Matt Birk said afterward. "Maybe that's what caused it."
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They fixed it, finally, after 34 minutes, and resumed this now-bizarre, immortal contest. Suffering San Francisco was facing third-and-long in a game that already felt close to extinguished. Baltimore led 28-6, having taken a robust 21-6 lead in the first half and adding to it immediately in second half, with an electrifying 108-yard kickoff touchdown return by Jacoby Jones. That Niners offense, so dynamic through these playoffs, had been neutralized, and looked to be going nowhere. This power outrage hadn't interrupted San Francisco's momentum; it was just an exclamation point on the obvious. The Ravens were on their way to another chunky ring.
And then…
It was like the Niners became a new team. Something rotten had vaporized in the outage and when the lights came on, San Francisco was recharged. They began to move the ball like they'd moved it in post-season games against Green Bay and Atlanta. Second-year Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick began to resemble the fledgling superstar he'd been presented as for weeks. The Niners steadily chipped away at the Baltimore lead: 28-6 became 28-13. 28-20. 28-23. Baltimore added a field goal, but the Niners roared back with another touchdown on a 15-yard sprint by Kaepernick.
It was 31-29 Ravens. The Niners had rebooted and created a thriller. "They dealt with it better, obviously," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh afterward. "They were able to turn the momentum of the game."
Offstage, the Superdome's minders apologized for the power fiasco. "We sincerely apologize for the incident," said a spokesperson. There was something so fitting about the outage—an embarrassing breakdown on this, football's biggest night. There's no league as meticulously stage-crafted as the NFL, so slick and image-conscious, and yet over the past year the game has found itself under a siege it cannot control. The league is beset with crises about player safety and the long-term impact of concussions; lawsuits have been filed; everyone from the president to Tom Brady's father has wondered aloud if they'd now let a young son play. The ongoing debate is nothing less than a battle over the soul of the sport—was "safe" football a realistic possibility, or a PR fantasy? The NFL had yet to find a grip on this.
They felt this battle very hard in New Orleans, where the Saints had been torn apart by a "bounty" scandal that resulted in player suspensions and the season-long removal of a Super Bowl-winning coach. The Saints felt sacrificed to make a point; hometown championship hopes had been obliterated in a 7-9 season. They were crabby about NFL's leadership down here; especially toward commissioner Roger Goodell, who'd been crudely ridiculed in more than one Mardi Gras carnival float.
And yet! There was always this fantastic city, which bit its lip and put on a gracious and great show, and the game of football, which had a habit of reminding its audience how good it could be. Football is always the best advertisement for football. There had been a divisional-playoff weekend with a string of classics—the Ravens in one of them, crawling out of a crypt to stop the Broncos in Denver—and these moments served to remind that despite all its brutal, unsettled everything, the game could be luminous.
Super Bowl XLVII didn't begin that way but it certainly became so, once the lights returned. Of course the Niners got a dramatic crack at it—they were down to the Ravens five-yard line with a couple minutes to play, Baltimore clinging to a five-point lead…and yet, they could not break through and complete the comeback. That Niner play-calling will be replayed again and again.
It ended 34-31 Ravens. The game will not be remembered as consistent or especially pretty and the shame of the power outage is that how it will be the biggest XLVII memory, taller than Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco's deserved MVP or even the final NFL game of the attention-grabbing linebacker Ray Lewis, whose retirement announcement wasn't supposed to motivate his team this far. Baltimore's ascension was remarkable—they had bumbled towards these playoffs and had to win huge games on the road, but they'd been relentless and aggressive and withstood every challenge.
Even this crazy night in New Orleans when the Super Bowl power went out. The lights were back on and the Baltimore Ravens were champions.
Write to Jason Gay at firstname.lastname@example.com
The WSJ projects Team USA to win the overall medal race in Rio—thanks largely to its dominant contingent of female stars.
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We focused on four types of athletes—cyclists, weightlifters, swimmers and high jumpers—to imagine just how different 'faster, stronger, higher,' could look.
The Olympic Fantasy Confronts Reality
The scrutiny facing Rio epitomizes the changing perception of the Games.
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Brazil has enlisted athletes in its military to boost the country's chances for gold.
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Rio Olympics 2016


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Jan. 15, 2014
(Mayor Susan Rohan)
Good evening. Welcome to those of you here in the audience and those watching on TV or the Internet. I'm Roseville Mayor Susan Rohan. Joining me this evening are Vice Mayor Carol Garcia, and Councilmembers Tim Herman, Pauline Roccucci, and Bonnie Gore.
Together we'd like to update you on the state of our city as we begin 2014.
We are mid way through fiscal year 2013, and pleased to report the City remains on sound financial footing as we begin to plan implementation of the Council's goals and objectives for next fiscal year.
While we are optimistic about the City's direction, we are also very concerned about how this year's water supply situation is unfolding. You will hear more about more about all these topics this evening.
Our Goals and objectives reflect the community's values, and the Council's perceptions of future challenges and opportunities.
I'd like to start our 2014 State of the City Address by talking about one of Roseville's long- standing community values and a core city goal, which is to maintain excellence in Public Safety.
Our Police Department continues to make advances in fighting crime. From January through November of last year, violent crime went down 8%, and there was a 28% reduction in robberies, compared to the same period in 2012.
In response to the community's concerns for the wellbeing of our city's young people, we approved additional Youth Service Officers to work with our school-aged children.
On October 25th Roseville experienced one of the most violent incidents in our history. Several of our police officers and a federal agent were injured during an active shooter incident. We are praying and hoping for a quick and full recovery of the remaining injured officer.
We are very proud of our Police Department's performance and the effective collaboration between Roseville and neighboring law enforcement agencies. The suspect was taken into custody without any injuries to neighbors or the public. In the budget for fiscal year 2014, the Council will be looking for opportunities to get more police officers on the streets.
Our Fire Department continues to evolve as an organization; emphasizing rapid and systematic problem-solving and increasing efficiency. We opened Fire Station Number 9 in west Roseville this past year,
And plans are underway for a new and more efficient Fire Station number 1 downtown, and that will facilitate the transformation along Dry Creek, as envisioned by the Downtown Specific Plan.
Response times for both our police and fire service will be shortened with the implementation of a new Computer Aided Dispatch system later this year. The new system will also allow dispatch centers from other cities and the county to be more easily connected.
Each year, the Council meets to review our performance as a City, and discuss our goals and areas for additional advancement in the coming year.
Our specific goals and objectives this year are:
Fiscal Soundness
Economic Vitality
Sound Utilities
A Great Downtown
Infrastructure Maintenance
Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy, and
Civic Engagement.
The three new goals added this year: Infrastructure Maintenance - Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy - and Civic Engagement ---reflect where the community can achieve more gains in long term cost savings, legislative and regulatory relief, and enhanced civic involvement.
I'd like to continue the Council's review of 2014 Goals with our first objective, Fiscal Soundness.
Like excellent public safety, Fiscal Soundness has long been a hallmark of Roseville. We can take great pride in having a balanced budget each year. We do that by living within our means. We use our savings accounts to invest in future opportunities and to pay for future obligations and emergencies - not for on-going expenses.
Our fiscal conservatism allowed us to weather this recent economic downturn better than most cities, because we made the fundamental changes we needed to make.
We embarked on a five-year strategy in 2011 to close our structural budget deficit, and a key part of that strategy involved labor costs.
We asked all city employees to share the cost of their PERS retirement benefit and we achieved that goal this year. This saved 5.7 million dollars in our current fiscal year and will save an estimated 6 million dollars next fiscal year.
This achievement improves our fiscal soundness, an important goal that governments at every level must address to ensure the services its citizens "value"--- can be delivered.
At the same time, the entire Council recognizes that paying for this future benefit meant a significant cut to city employees' take-home pay. We appreciate the key role our employees have played in closing this structural deficit.
We have also begun changing the retiree benefit structure for future employees. We predict you'll see more cities and counties in California heading this direction.
Moving to a two-tier benefit structure will help control the costs of future retiree health care and pension benefits. This will have a profound impact on the city's future fiscal stability.
At the same time, running a full service city like Roseville requires a skilled workforce. Recruiting and retaining talented employees is a critical element of our future success.
While this combination of changes will provide the city much needed financial flexibility on the expense side, we also need to focus on the revenue side.
So we must also look for ways to increase revenue, including expanding our economic development efforts, as we look for new ideas to ensure our economic vitality.
With that, I'd like to introduce Councilmember Tim Herman to talk about those efforts.
(Councilmember Tim Herman)
As Mayor Rohan said, Economic Vitality is one of our City Council's primary goals.
We're fortunate to have a strong foundation built on the policies and actions of our predecessors on past City Councils and management teams.
We're fortunate to reap the benefits of their bold vision being turned into reality, having community assets such as the Roseville AutoMall, Westfield Galleria, Fountains and Creekside shopping centers.
In fact, the four corners of shopping at the intersection of Galleria Blvd and East Roseville Parkway generate almost one billion dollars in retails sales each year.
Major national and international retailers from Payless Shoes to Louis Vuitton have a presence in Roseville, in some cases, in more than one location.
But we don't believe in resting on our laurels. The City recently unified all of its planning, permitting and inspection processes under a new Development Services Department. And re-emphasized our commitment to economic development by creating a department to focus on new economic opportunities.
These two new departments will work hand-in-hand to give businesses in Roseville and businesses looking to move to Roseville the smoothest path to reach their goals.
In short, Economic Development will help bring in new businesses - and Development Services will make sure they are up and running in the shortest time possible.
We've had great success in the past with public/private partnerships and will continue to look for those opportunities now and in the future.
Under the Roseville Community Development Corporation, a group of 20 local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and the City teamed up as Advantage Roseville - with a mission to grow Roseville's economy, market Roseville and to attract new business to our city.
As chair of Roseville's Higher Education Task Force, I am very excited about three key initiatives underway to provide our region's residents with more higher education opportunities and our businesses with a highly skilled workforce.
First is the university center. Our focus on partnerships lead directly to an agreement between the city, Sierra College and four regional universities to start an innovative University Center in Roseville.
In the University Center, courses from Sierra College, William Jessup University, Sac State, the University of the Pacific and Brandman University would be available in the same physical location - - expanding the availability of courses right here in our area and easing the path to a college degree. The university center is set to open this fall.
And then with a longer term vision in mind, Mayor Rohan and I traveled to England last November with representatives from Placer County, to meet with representatives from the University of Warwick, a top-rated research-based university looking to establish a campus in the United States.
They have visited our area and like what they see as they consider a site west of Roseville. Our city council and the Placer County Board of Supervisors have directed our staffs to work together with the local landowners to figure out the best solution to successfully get the University of Warwick here as soon as possible.
And finally, a project to create a satellite campus of Sac State got new life a few months ago. Twenty-three hundred acres north of Roseville in an area know as Placer Ranch was purchased by Westpark Associates. The new owners committed to donate part of this land for a university site.
We already have a memorandum of understanding in place with Sac State to work towards its expansion into our area. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.
These are incredible opportunities for our region, especially considering that one new four-year comprehensive university in Roseville has an annual economic impact of approximately one billion dollars to the local economy. That's billions with a B.
We are also making significant progress in bringing a high-quality hotel and conference center to Roseville. Market research has demonstrated demand for a full-service hotel and expanded conference facilities in the South Placer region.
Roseville is ideally positioned geographically to serve this unfilled need, and it seems that the timing is right with partners from the private sector to turn this vision into reality.
Locating this facility on city-owned land adjacent to the Galleria along Highway 65, makes an ideal connection to Roseville's transportation, entertainment, and retail amenities. It strengthens our tourism appeal, creates jobs, increases tax revenue and adds an estimated 85 million dollars to our economy each year.
As we consider all options we have to finance projects like this, we're well aware that the current banking and financing environment requires new thinking and new ideas.
It's highly encouraging that this project has attracted the attention of international private-equity investors. To keep Roseville's economy strong we must be willing to go to those available sources of capital and bring the resources to Roseville.
We are aiming for groundbreaking on the hotel conference center in about a year from now.
With that, I'd like to introduce Vice Mayor Carol Garcia to talk about downtown Roseville.
(Councilmember Carol Garcia)
Thank you Tim.
We are committed to creating a Great Downtown. This commitment traces to the mid-1980s, when the City Council made the strategic decision to keep City Hall and city offices on Vernon Street.
Transformations succeed with the right mix of innovation, expertise and tenacity. As our community grows, our unwavering commitment to downtown's success takes on a new importance. We've seen private investment follow public investment throughout our downtown.
This transformation of the J.C. Penney building into the site for Sammy's Rockin' Island Bar & Grill helped jumpstart an active restaurant and entertainment use in the heart of downtown. This type of use and venue is what the citizen group that created the Downtown Specific Plan had in mind.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was forced to close recently.
Although we don't know for sure when a restaurant might reopen in that location, the Roseville Community Development Corporation is actively engaged with the restaurant's ownership group to determine the next steps.
A new brew-pub, Monk's Cellar, is on schedule for a spring opening on Vernon Street. Run by long-time master brewers, it takes an empty building owned by the RCDC, gives it much needed interior renovations and brings a unique venue to the downtown - - further developing the vision in the Downtown Specific Plan.
The RCDC has also done extensive exterior renovations on other buildings it owns on Vernon Street. As an independent non-profit entity, these are exactly the types of investments in our downtown the RCDC was designed to make. This is their role in the Downtown Specific Plan's goal of a reenergized downtown.
Separately, it is the city's role to lay the groundwork for private investment and to create public spaces.
One giant step forward was the opening of the Vernon Street Town Square last August. Long envisioned as a downtown community gathering place, it opened with a full day and evening of activities, drawing more than six thousand people to downtown.
It hosts a variety of activities from children's story time to yoga to wine tasting and farmers markets. A week-long holiday celebration there, including the planting and lighting of the new community holiday Tree, topped off the year. We plan to keep the Town Square active every day to bring people to downtown.
Step by step, downtown Roseville is definitely heading in the right direction.
Construction begins on a roundabout at the intersection of Washington Blvd and Oak Street in the spring. The roundabout will ease traffic congestion at this busy intersection and the other entry points into downtown.
This will be a beautiful entry feature to downtown and a safety feature for traffic and pedestrians. Along with landscape improvements on Oak Street and traffic signals at Oak & Lincoln and Oak & Grant, this project sets the stage for further development on Oak Street along Dry Creek. We expect completion of this project later this year.
Now I'd like to introduce Councilmember Pauline Roccucci who will speak about our infrastructure and community-owned utilities that make all these projects possible.
(Councilmember Pauline Roccucci)
Thank you Carol.
The fact that the City of Roseville owns its own utilities, including electricity, water, wastewater, and solid waste, is a significant factor in Roseville's success. Roseville is the only full-service city in the capital region, meaning our city provides all of the municipal services in our community.
In most other communities throughout our region and the state, the electricity, sewer, trash collection, water, parks, libraries, and sometimes even fire and police protection are handled through contracts, by private companies, or through special districts and joint power authorities.
There are few California cities like ours and it gives Roseville a distinct advantage. Which means local decision making over these important elements of our daily lives.
Having these services within a single organization provides businesses and residents with a streamlined way to get their questions answered. This also allows us to manage and systematically plan our growth.
Having sound, reliable utilities is an important factor in attracting business and an important facet of your lives. Roseville Electric continues to win nationwide reliability awards even as it keeps rates lower than many of our neighbors. Our Environment Utilities of water, wastewater and solid waste service continue to find new and innovative ways for all of us to be good stewards of our resources.
However, one thing we can't do is make it rain. We are in the midst of a record breaking prolonged period of dry weather. Precipitation was below normal last year and this rain season has been especially dry to this point. The snowpack and Folsom Reservoir's levels are extremely low.
The city has been proactively planning for drought conditions for many years including working on purchase agreements with our neighboring water districts, implementing an aquifer storage and recovery program and drilling back up wells.
Last week, the City requested a voluntary 20 percent reduction in water use from our residents and businesses. And later this month, we will begin using our four wells to ease demand on Folsom Reservoir.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation as we have for the past several months. The city has many resources to help you save water, monitor your water use and find areas in your home and yard where water may be wasted. These are all available on the city's website.
Other important infrastructure projects include our streets, parks and city facilities.
We use a time tested, proactive method for street maintenance that focuses on keeping road conditions from deteriorating below a threshold where major repairs are necessary. This approach keeps our roads in good working order indefinitely.
However we are still playing catch up in some places in the city. Before this method was started about a decade ago, some of our roads fell below this threshold. Our challenge now is to find the money to make these needed repairs. It is a priority for us in the upcoming budget discussions.
Roseville's parks and bike trail system are prime aspects of our high quality of life. We currently have 71 parks with plans to open 2 new parks this year. Looking further into the future, we are beginning plans to build a large regional park in the western part of town, north of the future high school site off Blue Oaks Blvd.
This park promises to attract regional, statewide and national events furthering our sports tourism efforts and our community's love of sports. We are in discussions with Placer Valley Tourism to determine the best funding options to build this great new attraction as soon as possible.
Roseville's future population growth will be in the western part of the city. We anticipate an increase over last year of new homes being built in Roseville with several active home builders.
New state building codes require these homes to have specialized water conservation fixtures throughout the home. And in public areas such as parks and landscape corridors, reclaimed water will be used for irrigation which does not draw from our drinking water sources.
Being a full service city, Roseville can plan for and be ready with the needed infrastructure for the future.
As we grow, it is important to stay connected and engaged with our residents and businesses. It is also important that Roseville's interests are protected and promoted effectively with our state and federal legislators. I'd like to introduce Councilmember Bonnie Gore who will speak about those two new important Council goals.
(Councilmember Bonnie Gore)
Thank you. As Councilmember Roccucci said, Roseville is a full-service city. As you can imagine, the state and federal laws and regulations relating to water, waste water, electricity, solid waste, development and public safety are numerous, cumbersome and highly complex.
Adding Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy to our Council goals is an indication of our commitment to protecting the interests of the City, our businesses and residents.
The City has been monitoring legislation for many years. But the Council felt it was important to enhance and expand our influence, and to bring Roseville's perspective to lawmakers more proactively. There's an old saying, "if you're not at the table, you're on the menu." That's why we need to be at the table.
We've sharpened our focus on this important strategy, adding staff resources and establishing a Council Law and Regulation Committee, which just completed its first year. The City develops its legislative priorities each year and monitors several hundred proposed laws and regulations that may have an impact on Roseville.
Working with regional partners or issue-specific coalitions, we have become effective at increasing our influence. Our efforts aren't only about advocating on legislation, but about serving as a resource to educate decision-makers about the real-life impacts of bills.
One of the most important issues for Roseville and the region right now is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan - or B.D.C.P.
The Plan seeks to address water-supply and water-quality issues that affect the entire state.. The City does not have an issue with the goals of the plan, but we are seriously concerned with scenarios presented in the plan that would have a devastating impact on our community.
The latest draft of the plan projects Folsom Reservoir could go to "dead pool" as often as once a decade. "Dead pool" is a scenario where the water level in Folsom Reservoir drops below the level of the pipes that draw water to Roseville.
An inability to access water could cripple our economy.
Making sure Roseville's water supply is protected under the B.D.C.P. is our most important legislative priority. Working with our regional partners, we have a significant public outreach effort underway and you can go to ProtectOurFolsomWater.com to learn more and sign up for alerts about how to make your voice heard. It is important to stay engaged on this issue.
Expanding our civic engagement is the final Council goal for this year. The nature of how our world interacts, shares information, and conducts business transactions has evolved dramatically in just the past few years.
Along with traditional ways the City interacts with our community, we are also taking full advantage of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. And I'm happy to announce that starting tomorrow, we will begin using a popular new social media channel: NextDoor.com , which focuses on neighborhoods.
We have an award-winning city website where you can pay your utility bills, submit permit applications, file police reports and monitor traffic in Roseville in real time.
We have over a dozen topic specific electronic newsletters to which anyone may subscribe, including a biweekly city newsletter, Public Safety news; updates on Legislative topics like the BDCP; general city news; parks and recreation programs; traffic alerts and new business information.
We urge you to sign up for the electronic newsletters; follow us on social media; and stay informed on the issues that affect our city. Your voice and your opinions matter. It is up to all of us to keep Roseville thriving.
As ways to stay informed electronically expand, we continue to value the in-person meetings and events that make Roseville the community we are.
We work closely with the Roseville Coalition of Neighborhood Associations and support its efforts to reactivate all of the neighborhood associations in our city. We also appreciate the variety of events it sponsors that help us get to know each other and look out for each other as we build community.
The Council has concluded our first full year of Council Coffees, holding about one each month. We value the opportunity to interact with residents, and community and business groups, and look forward to more opportunities this year to interact with you in person.
I'd like to hand it back to Mayor Rohan to conclude our presentation.
(Mayor Susan Rohan)
Thank you Bonnie.
Each of these goals works in concert with the others. They are guideposts to a successful, vibrant future.
Throughout our history, this community has insisted that its City think big.
Mirroring our community character --- while others wring their hands about what to do next, Roseville rolls up its sleeves and tackles its challenges.
That sort of resolve gives our city an energy and dynamic unlike any other place I've known.
We as a Council work hard to ensure that legacy continues.
As your Council plans for the future, we are committed to maintaining the quality of life that is cherished by our community and continues to attract residential and business growth to Roseville. We remain committed to guiding our growth and economic prosperity in the right way.
Roseville's potential remains great. Our future is very bright.
I cannot wait to see what we can accomplish together in 2014.
Thank you and good night.

subset: commoncrawl


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Many email services, including gmail, allow you to create throwaway email addresses by appending a tag of the form
+anything after the username component of your email - but many sites reject such addresses as invalid. Are there any services which offer a similar service, but using a schema that's less likely to be rejected? I know about the gmail period-insertion trick, but it's hard to remember what I created the address for with that one.
Many email services, including gmail, allow you to create throwaway email addresses by appending a tag of the form
closed as off-topic by Alex, Al E., jonsca♦ Dec 28 '14 at 0:38
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
Update 2012-09-28: tempalias is no longer running; the source code is available though.
If you care about this kind of thing, tempalias is open-source, so you can grab the source and be somewhat more confident that they themselves aren't going to do anything nefarious with your email address.
Not sure about other services, but another little-known trick that works in Gmail is this:
Periods (.) are ignored. That means if your address is firstname.lastname@example.com, email sent to all the following would still arrive:
email@example.com email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com
Personally, I always insert a period after the first letter when I want to filter out the messages as probable spam. Gmail filters will let you pick those out of the stream by just saying TO: email@example.com
Here's a great workaround using a (previously free) Google Apps For Your Domain account and "minus" addressing:
Basically you turn on the catch all, and then have that account forward any email wherever you want.
If you have a Yahoo Premium Account, it let's you use the '-' character. Additionally, there is no way to find out your real email address. For example, I can easily know that your email address is firstname.lastname@example.com if you give me the email address email@example.com. I think it's only a matter of time until the spammers start removing the plus sign.
If you use AT&T wireless, you can get a Yahoo Premium account for free. If you need more information, I posted the instructions on my blog.
Mailinator is a great service. It accepts all email; spam or not. But it has some limits.
I've always used Sneakemail and have been extremely happy with it.
It's allows me to quickly create temporary email addresses which are automatically forwarded to my real (private) email address.
It's a pretty seamless way to use email like I always do except no one ever sees my "real" email address. Never.
Plus addressing is also known as address tags. How the local part (i.e. the user name of username@domain) is used and if there are any special meanings is dependent on the mail server used.
qmail and Courier Mail Server support "-" as an address tag and Postfix allows you to configure an arbitrary separator. I started using "-" when I run my own qmail server (long time ago) and never had any issues with the "-" tag when providing my email address to websites and elsewhere. I find the ability to tag the addresses by usage quite valuable.
I've switched to hosted email and continued using the "-". Doing so I found out that not many reliable mail hosting provider support the "-" tag and switching the tag to something else (i.e. "+") is near impossible if you have been using it extensively in the past.
My current hosting provider, tuffmail, is great in all aspects but SSL security. Now because of my address tag usage I'm having difficulties to find a better service provider. Just something to keep in mind that address tagging will bind you to a specific set of mailservers/providers.
I know this is an old question, but I thought I'd add fresh insight and also see if I could get any more answers to this, since I still don't have one I'm satisfied with. There seems to be no other way of getting in touch with OP other than an answer.
There are three services I'm aware of that do this: GishPuppy (which is what I currently use), Sneakemail (mentioned here) and another service whose name I can't remember. None of these seem reliable enough to trust with such an important function.
However, lately, GishPuppy's website has been going down, enough to make me feel quite unsettled. While it has still been forwarding email to my private address, I'm worried about what would happen if their service suddenly went down. It would be unfeasible for me to go change my email address for thousands of accounts, many of which I probably won't even remember. So tread with caution. I'm still on the lookout for better alternatives and will keep this answer updated if I find any, I hope you'll do the same.


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Related to this question, what is actually involved in a turf war between a high-level thief character and the local Thieves Guild?
I assume that Assassins are involved at some point. What other types of characters or scenarios would occur?
Related to this question, what is actually involved in a turf war between a high-level thief character and the local Thieves Guild?
I assume that Assassins are involved at some point. What other types of characters or scenarios would occur?
The basic gist is that my buddies are going to kill or beat the crap out of your buddies with the minimum amount of attention from the authorities. This continues until you submit or die. And if you are the leader likely you will die no matter what and your flunkies will be run by a new lieutenant appointed by me.
There is a lot more stupidity going on with turf wars. If they were that smart probably they wouldn't be thieves in a turf war in the first place. The exception is somebody younger who is just starting out. Note this is a general observation that if you look at the everybody involved they are not as organized, not as smart, etc., etc. as say the nobles, merchants, and so on.
However the dividing line between what the thieves do and the rest of medieval/fantasy society does is inches. A war between two barons can have all the elements of a turf war.
What really counts is loyalty to your buddies. It will be the defining element of the conflict. It will start for any number of reasons, greed, lust, or plain stupidity. But it will be fueled by revenge and the desire not to fail in front your peers.
It's also about relative status. Conflicts that are not to the death are fought until one side acknowledges, by whatever custom dictates, the other is better/bigger/badder/boss.
Plus since we are dealing with the criminal element the relationships within and between the faction are distorted, twisted or plain abusive in any number of ways. For example, part of a lieutenant's loyalty to his boss may involve the fact his boss supplies his girlfriend with Lotus Powder (a drug) for free. This connection can be exploited by the other side or be a source of a conflict.
Your character finds this out and destroys their supply of Lotus Powder, making it look like the Boss' screw-up. Now the Lieutenant is unhappy and you come along and offer him an alternative supply for a few "favors".
The City-State of the Invincible Overlord has been one of the centerpieces of my campaign and I run several campaigns where thieves and the criminal class were the focus.
One of the most memorable was when two of my players played a pair of brothers. Thugs for the most part. They were given a job and fed inaccurate information. It got screwed up and they got blamed for it as well as not getting paid. They went chaotic and started with their boss and killed him, then killed their boss' boss and so on, working their way up the hierarchy. They were given some information about the Prince of the Thieves Guild. When they followed up they found themselves in a trap and were killed.
The players weren't upset as they acknowledge they shouldn't have trusted the contact as much as they did. About midway through their killing spree one of the rival Princes, through intermediaries, started feeding them information and using the chaos they caused to advance his position. When their usefulness ended he laid the trap and killed them.
Every fire needs a spark to start it. Have a slight (real or imagined) start the plot-line. Maybe the old and established Thieves Guild does not get the contract to steal the widget. Maybe the Upstarts decide to prove their skills by stealing the flag off of the roof of the thieves guild.
At each step of the way, there's going to be many opportunities to escalate or de-escalate the conflict. For the war to happen, concentrate each side "one upping" the other. Sooner or later, there will be wholesale thieving going on between them. And sooner or later, Agent X will be caught in Guild Y and get killed for it.
This stage should mostly be assassins or thieves killing as stealthily as possible. My guess is that one of these stealth-kills goes sour, and the assassin barely makes it out of the guild headquarters. In trying to escape, they chase him to his hideout, and somewhere the guard sees this happen. You now have an open conflict.
Fast forwarding to the end of the conflict, either one of the guilds gets wiped out (or nearly so), or one of the guilds decides they are in over their heads, and calls for a peace. The details of the peace/truce can make a LARGE number of plot-seeds (guilds split the city, but start getting jobs in my side that takes me to your side, how does that get handled; etc.)
The thieve's guild would probably have contacts with local law enforcement, double agents probably. What could happen is one side would steal something from a prominent figure, and one of the snitches would report that the character had done it. Now the character is the focus of an investigation, and has acquired the enemy of a wealthy and powerful NPC.
The guild would also try to poison the well for the character, pressuring fences to not take on stolen goods, and just generally shutting down the black market. A few would decide to work with whomever gets them money, but then assassins would be sent out to take care of them. It's not just an issue of taking out the person who is at the top, but also making it so that nobody wants to switch allegiances.
The character would have to find a way to fight back, perhaps killing any fence who refuses to do business with them, or paying off a snitch to lay the blame of something stolen back on a prominent figure in the thieves guild. Alternatively, the character might want to keep everyone else out of it and just take out the leaders of the thieve's guild.


text: So, looking at the categories this morning, I've realized that some of the mythical animals are very old. Aware of that, I decided to create a tutorial based on "how to draw a Hydra", step by step, to update my older version which is...pretty bad. I think I got home from a long shopping day when I drew that. I've tried to revamp my old one, but even before then, I couldn't draw a cool one. In this new tutorial, I'll be giving you steps on a full body hydra which has 5 heads. This should keep you busy for a while, and hopefully it's worth your while. Take your time, and don't forget to get the required drawing supplies to start. Thanks so much for viewing, and I hope you'll enjoy drawing hydras as much as I had!


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The Office of Global Services offers online workshops to aid in your understanding of the different services and advising offered. Please read below for our international student workshops, or click here for workshops on world travel.
The OGS offers the following online workshops for students (workshops include audio).
Learn more about post-completion optional practical training, which allows up to 12 months of employment authorization. Watch the whole playlist on Youtube here.
View this workshop to learn more about F-1 pre completion optional practical training. Watch the whole workshop playlist here.
Learn how you, as an F-1 student, can accept paid, off-campus employment that is integral to your degree program's curriculum. Watch the whole playlist here.
This workshop is designed to inform international students of the requirements for traveling outside of and returning to the U.S. in valid F-1 or J-1 student status. Watch the entire playlist here.


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Reading lost their last game 1-0 away at Aston Villa when Benteke scored a late winner to win his side all 3 points
The Royals have only won once so far in the Premier League this season and are now second from bottom in the table.
Man Utd won their last game 1-0 at home against West Ham and scored the winner after just 33 seconds
which was a record in the PL however Van Persie was lucky to see it go in as it took a wicked deflection off Collins.
The Red Devils will stay top of the table if they win the game at the Mad Stad while Ryan Giggs has just become 39 years old!
Any comments or predictions?


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Boston Conservatory Releases First Commercial Recording
You are hereHome/ Boston Conservatory Releases First Commercial Recording
(BOSTON – May 11, 2010) The Boston Conservatory proudly announces the school's first commercial recording release. Under the leadership and tutelage of The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble Conductor Eric Hewitt, The Boston Conservatory is releasing a live recording of the Wind Ensemble's November 21, 2008 concert–—featuring five new works commissioned and created especially for the Conservatory–—as well as an April 2009 live recording of a sixth new work by faculty composer, Marti Epstein. This sixth work, "Bloom," was written specifically for The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble and for faculty member Robert Sheena, principal English horn player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Released through Gunther Schuller's GM Recordings, the album, Deviation, is now available for purchase on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/deviation/id368040552 ) and will be available on Amazon.com and in retail stores later this summer.
"The album's title, Deviation, refers to our collective departure from traditional sounds and styles of American wind ensemble music" says Hewitt. "Our students have achieved a level of performance which enables them to work in the more abstract, complex and demanding musical languages of the 21st century. Within these performances the listener will discover micro-intervals, electronic sounds mixed freely with acoustic instrumental sounds, as well as extremes of dynamic, rhythm, sonic range, form, and abstract emotional expression. There's something here for the classical music lovers, as well as fans of hard rock and electronica."
Deviation includes six new works by composers Hewitt selected for this project and features solos by Boston Conservatory students and faculty:
1. Ryan Streber—Distortions (2008)
Angela Limoncelli, distorted Oboe
2. Peter Gilbert—The Ringing of Golden Balconies (2008)
Concertino soloists: Stuart Terrett, Luise Heyerhoff, Jason Huffman, Adam Mills, Trumpets; Allison Tutton, Horn; Christopher Reade, Trombone ; Caroline Cole, Bass Trombone; Christian Riesebieter, Euphonium
3. Marti Epstein*—Bloom (2009)
Concerto for English Horn and Wind Ensemble
Robert Sheena*, English Horn
4. Ken Ueno*—Like Dusted Sparks (2008)
Concerto for Timpani and Wind Ensemble
Samuel Z. Solomon*, Timpani
5. Craig Pellet—Static Regression (2008) – Winner of the 2008-2009 Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble Composition Competition
6. Christopher Jon Honett—Fires (2008)
Ethan Pani, Bass Drum
Brad Webb, Snare Drum
* denotes current and former Boston Conservatory faculty
Eric Hewitt
Saxophonist, conductor, composer/arranger and educator Eric Hewitt enjoys an active and diverse musical career throughout the world. Based in Boston, MA, he serves primarily as chair of The Boston Conservatory Woodwind Department, and is the music director and conductor of The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble. He also serves as music director and conductor of White Rabbit avant-garde ensemble-in-residence at Harvard University, and the Charles River Wind Ensemble in Watertown, MA. He is a founding member of the Yesaroun' Duo (with percussionist Samuel Z Solomon), the Radnofsky Saxophone Quartet, and has performed as soloist or guest artist with the Boston POPS, The New World Symphony, The Ryles Jazz Orchestra, The FROMM Players at Harvard and The Tanglewood Music Center. He can also be heard with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) on several BMOP Sound recordings, as well as on the Albany, Troy, Vee Records, and Innova labels. Yesaroun' Duo's most recent recording project, HeavyUp/HeavyDown, is available on GM recordings, and can be found on iTunes. Yesaroun' Duo's self titled ablum, Yesaroun' Duo, is also available on iTunes. Hewitt has also presented performances in Italy, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Japan, Canada, Venezuela, and Cuba.
Passionate, experienced, and active in all musical styles, Hewitt is known as a champion of the music of our time. Working as a conductor, soloist, and chamber musician he has presented more than 50 world premieres by dozens of composers from around the world. He is committed to challenging established musical aesthetics and regularly stimulates musicians and audiences alike by programming cutting edge music in the context of our inherited musical tradition. Deeply interested in the expression of human existence, he focuses his performances on the communication of the shared human experience embodied in music.
Hewitt holds two degrees from the New England Conservatory (NEC): a BM in 2001 in saxophone performance with Kenneth Radnofsky and an MM in 2003 in conducting with Charles Peltz, both with a distinction in performance and academic honors. After a four year, live-in apprenticeship under Gunther Schuller, he and his family now reside in Medford, MA.
About The Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory trains exceptional young performing artists for careers that enrich and transform the human experience. Known for its intimate and supportive multidisciplinary environment, the Conservatory offers fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs in music, dance and theater and presents more than 250 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists. Since its founding in 1867, The Boston Conservatory has shared its talent and creativity with the city of Boston, the region and the nation, and continues to grow today as a vibrant community of artists and educators. www.bostonconservatory.edu.
Joyce Linehan
(617) 282-2510 x 1
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MySQL Connector/NET 6.9.5 has been released
By Roberto Garcia on Nov 12, 2014
Dear MySQL users,
MySQL Connector/Net 6.9.5 is a maintenance release for the 6.9.x series of the .NET driver for MySQL. It can be used for production environments.
It is appropriate for use with MySQL server versions 5.5-5.7.
It is now available in source and binary form from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/#downloadsandmirrorsites
(note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point-if you can't find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)
Nuget packages are available at:
Enjoy and thanks for the support!
On behalf of the MySQL Connector/NET and the MySQL/ORACLE RE Team.
[Read More]


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The new stunning Deluxe Maison Suites by San Francisco architect Walker and Moody, and San Francisco interior designer Suzanne Tucker, of Tucker & Marks, Inc., continues the evolution of Auberge du Soleil's tradition of excellence, luxury and comfort. These new deluxe accommodations feature clean architectural lines that blend French detail with relaxed California style. The new open layout of the guestrooms was inspired by the colors of the South of France. The design creates a romantic, country-inn atmosphere through a muted color palette of sand, pale terracotta and ocher. The addition of custom furnishings, sculptural bathtubs, heated limestone floors and detailed stonework make for an exquisitely relaxing environment, providing a true sense of serenity and escape. French doors open onto a private terrace surrounded by seasonal foliage of Napa Valley offering varying views.
The new Deluxe Valley View Suite offers 1,254 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. French doors open onto an oversized private terrace with panoramic views of the Napa Valley. This Deluxe Valley View suite features custom furnishings including a California king-sized bed, a spacious separate living room with a generous seating area and work desk. A dining table, 55" plasma television, refrigerator and wine cooler all offer a convenient touch of home. The spacious bathroom presents natural light from the skylight overhead. The bathroom features heated limestone floors, a separate walk-in rain shower, double vanity, and 22" plasma television perfectly aligned over a freestanding sculptural bathtub. The suite also has a separate half bathroom. The fireplace, bath oils and candles offer romantic, intimate touches to the room.
room photos
- 1,254 square feet of indoor and outdoor space
- French doors open onto an oversized private terrace with views of the surrounding Napa Valley hillsides and olive grove
- This hotel suite features a king bedroom
- Spacious bathroom with a sculptural tub, heated limestone floors, separate walk-in rain shower and double vanities
- Separate half bathroom
- Additional half bath
- Separate living room with a generous seating area & fireplace
- Work desk, dining table, refrigerator, wine cooler and espresso machine
- 55" HD LED in bedroom and HD 22" LED screen in bathroom
For further information or to make hotel reservations please call 800-348-5406.
**Full payment of room and tax is required at time of booking to secure your reservation. Restrictions – Friday and Saturday night require a 2-night minimum stay. Revisions or cancellations must be made 14 days prior to scheduled arrival date in order to receive a refund. Within the cancellation period you will be responsible for the entire amount of your stay.


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This issue of Perspectives is focused on issues regarding end of life considerations for older adults. Articles address improving communication for individual's with intellectual and development disabilities to express end of life wishes, providing dysphagia services to palliative care patients in skilled nursing facilities, enhancing quality of life for individuals approaching death, and information for professionals who work in palliative care. Articles focus on treatment delivery, improving patient and caregiver quality of life, and psychosocial self-preservation for professionals working in palliative care. Articles offer suggestions for service delivery for patients at end of life.
Learning OutcomesYou will be able to:
Take advantage of the $5 dollar pricing when you become a SIG affiliate. Learn how to join a Special Interest Group (SIG) today.


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You Can Shop At Amazon and Help Support Emergency-Preps.com Without It Costing You One Thin Dime - Click Here to Learn How!
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Plus its just ... fun.
Do I treat them like I treat my lawn mowers? No, I treat them worse. I treat my defensive weapons about like I treat my fire extinguishers and smoke detectors: Annual maintenance, and I expect them to work when I need them.Because that's what they are for.
For a first pistol, if I wasn't buying a .22 to train with, I'd probably go with something that fits the description of "Handgun, 9mm" - i.e., a Glock 17/19, and S&W M&P 9, or a Ruger SR9. These are all very common, very reliable, and accessories and parts are easy to find.
<<snip>>Anyway, I don't know what the issues will be finding 10rd mags for the G23. Your LE friend might be able to point you to a source.
Yeah, I've never been able to warm up to the 1911s either, but am perfectly happy with my Taurus PT145. Of course, that particular discussion moves perilously close to religious argumentation....
Started by four + four
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Brooks Nursery Bedding Set
- Overview
Sweet safari style makes this nursery bedding an instant favorite. Elephants, pandas, rhinos and giraffes are artfully captured in chambray and heathered cotton appliqués on the cozy quilt. The coordinating bumper features ginghams and solids that are pieced together for an heirloom appeal. Watercolor circles and safari animals fill the pure, supersoft organic cotton sheeting.
- Crib sheeting is pure organic cotton percale.
- Quilt and sham are pure cotton percale with cotton/polyester batting, and feature animal designs; hand quilted.
- Quilt and sham reverse to light blue and white plaid cotton percale.
- Sham has an envelope closure; insert sold separately.
- Bumper is cotton percale with polyester fill; reverses to white and blue plaid.
- Crib skirt is pure organic cotton.
- Nursery Quilt Bedding Set includes fitted crib sheet, toddler quilt and crib skirt.
- Nursery Bumper Bedding Set includes fitted crib sheet, bumper and crib skirt.
- Images provided (left) show bumper's distinct interior and exterior patterns; always fasten securely with exterior facing outward.
- Bumper ties should always be secured tightly and positioned outside of the crib. When your child is able to pull up to a standing position, crib bumpers should be removed.
- Do not place decorative pillows in the crib while your baby is sleeping.
- Machine wash.
- Imported.
- Dimensions & Care
- Toddler Quilt: 36 x 50"
- Small Sham: 12 x 16"
- Fitted Crib Sheet: 26 x 53"; fits mattresses up to 8" deep
- Crib Skirt: 28 x 52"; 16" drop
- Bumper: 9.75 x 159"
- View our nursery bedding safety tips.
- Pottery Barn fitted crib sheets have elastic around the top and bottom only rather than around the entire edge, a feature that makes our sheets safer for your baby.
- Four-sided skirt fits around the entire crib and is tailored with split corners for easy placement around posts.
- Sham has a quilted front and an envelope closure. Insert sold separately; down blend or synthetic.
- Machine wash in warm water; gentle cycle.
- Use only nonchlorine bleach, if needed.
- Tumble dry on low heat; remove promptly.
- Warm iron as needed.
- Shipping & Return Info
This is a general shipping item.
View Our Shipping Information
Return Policy
At Pottery Barn Kids, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction is our priority. We carefully inspect your order prior to shipment; upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage. We will arrange for a prompt replacement. If, within 7 days for Quick Ship upholstery and 30 days for all other products, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value.
If your return for Merchandise Credit Cards is greater than $10,000, we will issue $10,000 in Merchandise Credit Cards to you that day, and then mail additional Merchandise Credit Card(s) for the amount in excess of $10,000 to you.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. We also cannot accept returns of final-sale items, which are identified by a price that ends in $0.99.
For returns of items purchased from your Pottery Barn Kids registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later.
For assistance, please contact Customer Service at 800.993.4923, 7 days a week, 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. PST.
International Returns: Online returns are available only for items that were shipped to the United States. If you would like to return items that were shipped outside the US, please see International Returns and Exceptions.


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I am reasonably new to C++ and I am having problems with reading a file timestamp. My objective is to just look at the files timestamp, if it is the newest in the folder, want to to move that file to another file. I dont have any need for modifying the timestamp at all. I need to implement this in C++ as it is concerning a windows mobile based device. If any one can help it would be much appreciated, it is pretty urgent as this is for work. thanks
Reading file timestamps
Use the following code.
Or you can try File Handling Routines
Code: CPP
CFileStatus fs;
if (CFile::GetStatus(szFile, fs))
fs.m_mtime = m_FileTime;
CFile::SetStatus(szFile, fs);
Thanks, I figured it out in the end, i usedOnly thing was ctime was depeciated but it works for what I needed(was only a tempory solution to the bigger picture)
timestamp = ctime(&buf.st_mtime);


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I have a Laing SM-1252-NTW-24 pump and I think it is faulty. It's a single speed circulation pump. On powering up it runs fine and pumps water through well. After a few hours the flow rate drops to nearly nothing, the pump sounds different and gets very hot. Then the heater of course cuts out.
I'm not familiar with these but have taken it apart. The wet end rotor looks good and clean, and there's no leaks. I can run it in my hand and the impeller spins fast, is it really supposed to be so loose? If I run it on it's side as it would be in when connected the impeller does wobble. Perhaps this is because it has no water running through?
Anyway, does it sounds like a pump fault? If so is it the motor or the impeller? I have seen rebuild kits but not for the SM-1252 model. I'm in the UK but can ship to the States as I have relatives over there. I've seen a complete new pump for $250 but that's too much for me.
Please help, my kids have been nagging me to sort this for months!!


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We describe the trajectory of a thrown object (neglecting friction and similiar effects) with the curve
$$k(t) = \left(v_0\cos(\beta)t,\,v_0\sin(\beta)t-\frac{g}{2}t^2\right)$$
with $t\geq 0$. $v_0>0$ is the initial velocity, $\beta\in[0,2\pi]$ the initial angle and $g$ the constant of gravitation. Compute
$$s(t) = \int_0^t \|k'(u)\|\,\mathrm du.$$
I do fail with simple transformations. First the derivative is very simple $$k'(t) = (v_0\cos(\beta),\,v_0\sin(\beta)-gt)$$ and then I wanted to compute the length so my first steps were $$\begin{align}\|k'(t)\| &= \sqrt{v_0^2\cos^2(\beta)+v_0^2\sin^2(\beta)-2gtv_0\sin(\beta)+g^2t^2}\\ &= \sqrt{v_0^2-2gtv_0\sin(\beta)+g^2t^2}\end{align}$$ where I factorized $v_0$ and got $\sin^2(\beta)+\cos^2(\beta)=1$. However this still seems very difficult to integrate, so I am looking for better simplifications or good techniques on how to integrate this properly.


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Gear designed for the most demanding rider!
Macna jackets, pants, and gloves are made to withstand the demands of serious motorcycle riders. Macna is known for their innovative features, attention to detail, excellent fit, superior comfort, stellar protection, and safety features that stand out from the crowd.
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CRISIS MANAGEMENT VERSUS HUBRISPosted in Business Crises We Create, Business Crisis Management, Crisis Communication Failures, Crisis Management Services, Crisis Mitigation, David cameron, News of the World, reputation management, RUPERT MURDOCH on July 18th, 2011 by mnayor
Does history merely repeat itself instead of teaching us anything? Based on business news about movers and shakers one could deduce that many corporate executives just don't get it and never will.
After the debacle of 2008 when many financial CEO's were caught in the proverbial headlights, you would think that a tough lesson would have been taught – and learned. Instead even Teflon-coated Warren Buffet decided that his power, authority and standing in the world were enough to allow him to initially stonewall the public about his executive Dave Sokol's purchase of Lubrizol stock. Not to be outdone Rupert Murdoch has raised the bar even higher.
In a scant two weeks his empire, headed by the subtly named The News Corporation, has experienced what many would not wish on their worst corporate rival. After approximately four years of an on-again, off-again Scotland Yard investigation of phone hacking by News of the World tabloid, that paper has folded, Murdoch's attempt to acquire the remaining interest in British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) has been aborted, and a slew of his corporate executives have been arrested, resigned or otherwise had their reputations besmirched. Rebekah Brooks the CEO of News International, the parent of the late News of the World resigned in disgrace, after two attempts at resignation that were not accepted by Murdoch. Also, Les Hinton, publisher of the Wall Street Journal tendered his resignation the same day.
The details of the outlandish accusations are certainly important but how they were handled by Murdoch is equally important and instructive. For a "media" guy, you would think he would know how to handle as big a story as this. Instead, up until yesterday we heard nothing from Murdoch – and then when we did, we heard the hrrumphing of a corporate big-wig instead of the measured pronouncements of a savvy media executive. Last week Murdoch flew to England from the U.S. Very quickly News of the World was closed, after a 168 year life. Yesterday he told a reporter for the Wall Street Journal that the matter was handled "extremely well in every way possible". He further stated (apparently referring to his upcoming testimony before Parliament's select committee on culture, media and sport on July 19th at which initially he and his son, James, declined to appear) that he was eager to address things said in Parliament some of which "are total lies". Finally, he refuted the allegation that he might spin off his newspaper operations into a separate company as "total rubbish". He did visit the family of Milly Dowler, the thirteen year old who was killed and whose phone was hacked; and extended apologies to the family. This last weekend he placed full page apology ads in British newspapers.
What kind of media executive fails so miserably in handling a business crisis like this? Who leaves a yawning time gap of two weeks before stating anything? If we assume the complete innocence of a CEO, we would then expect that leader to dig for the truth and let the public know immediately. Silence can only foster the impression of knowledge and guilt. An announcement that the matter is being extensively investigated and that such conduct is not tolerated in the organization goes a long way to safeguarding one's reputation and possibly the organization itself (many pundits found the sudden closure of News of the World suspicious, based on protecting the Murdoch empire from legal liability). There were and may still be ways to staunch the bleeding, but it may now be very difficult to do. Clearly Murdoch did little or nothing immediately. As a result his empire is suffering and will continue to do so, as stakeholders in Britain and worldwide continue to question his tactics and the integrity of his enterprises.
Many people in the newspaper industry who have been interviewed about the phone hacking scandal find it implausible that editors and publishers wouldn't know about the sources of stories. They must have known about the hacking and therefore it was both a bottom up and top down conspiracy. Rupert Murdoch may have had knowledge and thus the reason for the code of silence to date. It will be interesting to hear his testimony. At all costs he must avoid appearing out of touch with his businesses, imperious because of his power, or delusional that his connections will protect him. From David Cameron on down, the flight to high ground has begun.
Events seem to be gathering speed as this is being written for publication. Rebekah Brooks was arrested and released on bail. The leader of London's Metropolitan Police Services, or Scotland Yard, Paul Stephenson, and his deputy have stepped down under growing allegations that the respected organization was very cozy with members and agents of the Murdoch empire; and more information is surfacing about David Cameron's personal relationships and frequent meetings with similar individuals.
As individual reputations begin to crumble, little effort seems to be directed towards salvaging the Murdoch enterprises, some of which are very much worth saving. Placing someone who is untainted in a position of authority would appear to be necessary and Joel Klein would seem to be the man to take charge right now. The businesses must be separated from the personalities and be made to run as business as usual. There is no sense in allowing individuals – any individuals – to drag down an entire business empire. Klein has a good reputation (a lawyer who was head of the New York City School System until he joined Murdoch), and can direct the "clean" Murdoch business units on a steady course until the mess can be sorted out or until it at least simmers down.


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Portsmouth Herald: Casino will not work in the long run
All around the nation we find examples of casino operators over-promising and under-delivering on tax revenues. And we see states, addicted to gambling money, unable to resist operators' demands for expansion when they say they need it to keep the money flowing.
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South Yardley Ward
To the South of the ward:-
The loss of the area nearest to Acocks Green Village and Acocks Green train station.
To the North of the ward:-
The boundary was extended from Blakesley Road to Bordesley Green East.
To the West of the ward:-
The area was extended up to Golden Hillock Road. This included the Small Heath Park area and Greet.
Over-riding this general picture are concerns from within the local communities, many of which have been raised at Ward Sub-Committees, relating to crime or the fear of crime, the impact of proposed development on existing shopping/small businesses and the general decline of the commercial centres.
Issues relating to Transport, Environmental impact and the decline of public open space all feature prominently.
Yardley Cemetery and Crematorium lies within the ward.
For demographic information about the people who live in this ward, take a look at our population and census pages.
Areas Covered
South Yardley Ward covers the following local areas:
Hay Mills
Small Heath (part - by Small Heath Park)
South Yardley
B25 (part); B9 (part) ; B11 (part); B26 (part); B33 (part)
Ward Committee
Ward Support Officer
Mohammed Irfan
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Telephone 0121 303 7865
Public Transport
Rail: Tyseley & Small Heath Stations(Warwick & Stratford lines)are located in the South Yardley Ward. Acocks Green Station(Warwick Line)is also very near to the Ward boundary.
Related links
Yardley District Home Page
Acocks Green Neighbourhood Office
Councillors Advice Bureaux - South Yardley Ward
Cabinet and Committee Reports and Decisions
Cemeteries & Crematoria: Yardley Cemetery and Crematorium
Transport Information


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Apart from their technical statement and proof, a usual presentation of theorems is by leading up to them with a definite motivation or intuition, for example putting the results in the wider context of a research programme. This focus gives the author the ability to distinguish between "critical" and "technical" assumptions. By critical assumptions I mean the ones that are crucial to making the proof idea work in the first place. Technical assumptions are then the ones that just happen to be needed to straighten the details out.
For example, from this point of view, a topological space being compact Hausdorff could be said to be a `mere' technical assumption in Gelfand duality, but a critical assumption in Urysohn's lemma.
For another example, an irate referee once taught me not to speak about "mild assumptions", because "under mild assumptions every group is a ring".
But the line between technical and critical assumptions is vague and flexible at best. This question is about when the line moves.
Are there interesting examples of critical assumptions that later (e.g. via a new proof for a generalized setting) turn out to be technical? And, more interestingly, vice versa, are there good examples of technical assumptions that later (e.g. with a different motivation) turn out to be critical?


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My bike struggles to idle on cold mornings. No issue there: I just open the choke till it warms. However, I must do this ever so slowly and delicately otherwise the engine cuts out. I find this odd as revving the throttle quickly is fine.
Would anyone know why this is occurring?


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BELL & HOWELL® KEYPAD ALARM SYSTEM for $6.49
* This Bell+Howell® Secure Pro Keypad Alarm System is great for doors, sheds, sliding doors and garages.
* It is a perfect alarm for around swimming pool doors too.
* It is simple to install and requires no wiring, just use the provided hardware and double sided adhesive tape.
* Turn it on to one of the three settings, instant, delay, or chime and when the magnetic contact is broken, the alarm will sound at 110 decibels!
* As a special feature, you can activate the 110 decibel alarm with the panic button.
* Features:
2 Comments add a comment
I purchased a very similar item from Walmart for an apartment I rented in Dallas. Although it's not like the "real" security systems that call the police, the alarm is VERY loud. For under $10, it gave me some peace of mind knowing that if someone were to break in, all my neighbors would be alerted.
For $12+ shipping, I think I'll pass on this one


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Home > Food > Recipes > Salt Cod and Red Pepper Dip
Salt Cod and Red Pepper Dip
Categories: Entertaining, Party Snacks
Type: Appetizers and Snacks
Type: Appetizers and Snacks
Mix up your menu with this salt cod and red pepper dip.
Prep Time: 25M
Cooking Time: 1H
Serves: Serves 12
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red or white onion, finely chopped
- 1 × 14oz (400g) can crushed peeled tomatoes
- about 1lb (450g) salt cod
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh marjoram
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- good handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- good handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
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- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Slice the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds and membrane. Put a garlic clove and half of the chopped onion in the cavity of each pepper. Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool.
- Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy frying pan over low heat. Add the onion, and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the can of crushed tomatoes, including the juices, and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, slice the skin off the salt cod, and flake the flesh into chunks. Add to the tomato sauce after the 10 minutes' cooking time, and cook gently for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Put the cooled peppers (with garlic and onion) in a food processor with the cooled tomato and cod mixture. Working in batches if necessary, purée until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the marjoram, dill, basil, parsley, and lemon juice, to blend well. Serve with crostini, broken pieces of toasted bread, or grilled Turkish flat bread.
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Excerpted from The Illustrated Quick Cook.
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
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If $\vert x \vert < 1$ then I want to show $\lim_{n\rightarrow \infty} (n+1)\cdot x^{n\cdot n!} < 1$
It makes perfectly sense in my world, because the factor $x^{n\cdot n!}$ is smaller than the factor $(n+1)$ when n goes to infinity. I have tried to use L'Hoptial but it doesn't work. Then I tried to find an example of an expression which is greater than $(n+1)\cdot x^{n\cdot n!}$ but still smaller than 1, when n goes to infinity. But all the examples I have found diverges. Now I'm stuck - any ideas?


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Well after a lot of frustration I realize it comes down to this, I can either use the NN3 by itself without the QC2 release or with very few lenses with it.
Neither option works for me.
It seems the QC2 didn't account for the knobs. they simply are WAY TOO BIG and the 30mm of adjustment I lose at either end of the spectrum depending on which way I mount the plate means some of my lenses don't work with each orientation.
Here is the deal, I understand the knobs were made big for ease of use, but the release plate actually takes precedence over the knobs for me.
Why? Well dealing with cold metal in 0F weather is not fun, having to switch my tripod plates back and forth is not fun, hence the quick release.
The knobs on the other hand are much less important because if you know you are using lens A and need settings A you can preset everything before getting outside.
So questions:
1) Does Fanotech have plans to make smaller knobs?
2) can these type knobs be bought off the shelf at a hardware store or online supplier?
3) even knobs that adjusted with a hex key wouldn't be a bad idea...sure you have to keep track of the key, but you could just attach it to the tripod, or leave it in the camera bag, this would give 100% range from the head, and probably be more durable in the long run. I'd personally be OK with paying like $15-20 shipped for an option like this.
The bottom line is with the QC2 I lose about 35mm of adjustment regardless of which way I set the plate up, and the main problem is I need about 20mm of that adjustment range back. So my plate is limited to about 55mm or 90mm no matter what.
Knobs about 50% smaller would perhaps give me most of that range but the allen key/hex key option seems like the most sensible alternative with most range!


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Parliament of Australia
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SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;DEPARTMENTAL AND AGENCY APPOINTMENTS AND VACANCIES—ORDER FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS—DOCUMENT
SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;AUDITOR-GENERAL—AUDIT REPORT NO. 22 OF 2012-13—DOCUMENT
SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
Senate Notice Paper No. 136 - 12/03/2013
Senate Notice Paper No. 136 - 12/03/2013;Business of the Senate
SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;LAW ENFORCEMENT—JOINT STATUTORY COMMITTEE—GOVERNMENT RESPONSE—INQUIRY INTO COMMONWEALTH UNEXPLAINED WEALTH LEGISLATION AND ARRANGEMENTS
SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE—REPORT—EXPOSURE DRAFT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL 2012
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SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT LEGISLATION COMMITTEE—INTERIM REPORT—BIOSECURITY BILL 2012 [2013] AND INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF BIOSECURITY BILL 2012 [2013]
SJ No 133 - 25 February 2013;FOREIGN AFFAIRS—INDONESIA—TRANSPORT SAFETY AND SECURITY COOPERATION—MINISTERIAL STATEMENT—DOCUMENT
Documents used in the chambers to facilitate the conduct of business. The documents include the agenda for each sitting day (Senate Order of Business and House of Representatives Daily Program), the business currently before each chamber (the Notice Papers) and the minutes of meeting for each sitting day (Journals of the Senate and Votes and Proceedings for the House of Representatives).
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For some time, scientists have debated whether Neanderthals should be classified as Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, the latter placing Neanderthals as a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Some morphological studies support the view that Homo neanderthalensis is a separate species and not a subspecies.
Is there any conclusion about Neanderthals?
And about their extinction, is there a theory which is accepted?


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Isaiah 55:13 uses the word הַסִּרְפַּד which I have seen translated as "brier" or "nettle". What is the precise meaning of this word? Is it used elsewhere?
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I think the "meaning" of this word in the context is that Yahweh (God) will lift the curse from the ground. The thorns and thistles (nettles) are the result of the curse on the ground. Isaiah is prophesying that there will be a time when these products of the curse of the ground will be removed, and then substituted with "living" plants that actually bear watery fruit, which will be an eternal testimony that the curse on the ground was finally removed.
As noted, the etymology of the word "הַסִּרְפַּד" subtly hints that it is destined to fire (for burning).
I guess we are into Bible trivia here but it is an unidentified desert plant. It apparently comes from the root word סָרַף which means to burn. Therefore it was probably a prickly bush/plant that 'burned' when one was pricked by it. It is not used anywhere else in the Bible.


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I use Google Calendar at work and I have access to lots of my coworkers' calendars which makes the view pretty messy, so I mostly keep them hidden. Is there a way (maybe with some plugin or extension) to show and hide all these calendars with one click?
I realize that you are specifically asking for one click, still I'd like to offer a (mostly) three click solution as likely helpful as well (for anyone not aware of it already at least ;)
Obviously, depending on your calendar distribution between the upper and lower section, you might need to click all/none another time in the other section as well eventually.
In case this really doesn't serve your needs, it should indeed be possible to extend Google calendar via the Calendar APIs and Tools (the calendar class has a hidden property) and/or a Calendar Sidebar Gadget - I'm not aware of an existing solution offering the desired functionality, so you'll need to roll your own in case.
There is no one-click solution for this, and no keyboard shortcut that I know of, but there is a two-click solution.
Under "My Calendars", find your calendar (It's at the top of the list), click on the down arrow and select "Display only this calendar".
That's two clicks ;)
Sadly, there is no way to restore the calendars to the previous view (before you selected "Display only this calendar").
Edit: Well I re-read your question. I guess my answer is obvious, but it does answer half your question ;)
To show all calendars, put the following into your browser's address bar and press enter:
This dispatches a mouse-down event to every unselected row in the list of calendars.
I have tested this with Firefox 45. Note it will automatically strip out any text beginning with
This could easily be made into a bookmarklet.
There is a box to the left of each calendar in the list. Click on that box to show/hide that calendar. When you click on the box to show, the box will now be the color you have chosen for that calendar. If you click it again (to hide) the box will have no color at all. Actually, the boxes are a little difficult to see if there is no color; so much so that I didn't see them at first! It will be one click per each calendar you wish to show/hide. I keep the crucial ones up and then just show the others when I have a question about scheduling. It would be nice to have a custom view that you could click on or off as you wished though. Maybe someone at Google is monitoring these comments!
Go to "My calendars" setting, click show none. Go "back to calendar", then Go to "My calendars" setting, click just the ones you want to show.


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We need a way to prevent users from copying anything to and from USB drives unless they are a system administrator. What can be done to remove this access for security purposes.
Microsoft has a knowledge base article on this very issue (KB555324). You have to create a custom Group Policy ADM. O'Reilly has an easier to grok writeup at:
Hope this helps.
Another option would be to use USBSecure. It's a small deployable script which reads a white list of usb devices from a file share. So you can explicit allow usb storage devices for some users or allow vendor specific devices (e.g. all usb keyboards and mice from logitech). oh, and it's freeware.
In Windows, you can disable the USB Storage driver by setting a registry key. This could be configured in a GPO and applied to a limited set of machines. If you want to allow a subset of USB storage devices you will probably have to turn to a third-party product that runs some sort of agent.
Epoxy works great
A quick and dirty fix will be to use a group policy disabling access to usb devices, take a look at the following article. There are also commercial products which can accomplish the same thing, with better grained security.
GPO will disable the drivers:
All solution are nice, but you need also to think about a process to be able to load data from USB.
I am in a bank at the moment and by default all USB port are lock with a GPO who will not load disk.
Problem is they dont have a process when an external consultant come to load some data, its a real pain to transfer iso file, or any documents, because if you cant plug USB key, also you cant plug laptop on the network.
If you lock all your USB, dont forget you still need sometime a way to load data from USB, and 5GB of data across the web/mail is not always an answer.
Security always come with a price.
i think better solution is DeviseLock software: http://www.devicelock.com/ It is real useful and have huge functional.
If you are working with Windows Vista and above, there are Group Policy options that give you fine grained control over which USB devices are allowed or not allowed. (If you have to support WinXP, see the other answers listed here.)
In Windows Vista or above, go to the group policy editor and drill down to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation\Device Installation Restrictions
There you will find options to white list of black list devices either by specific device IDs or by the class of device. There is also a very important policy at the bottom that allows you to block everything not covered by the other polices.
All you have to know is either the Hardware ID of the device or the Device Class guid. Both of these things can be found in Device Manager if you plug a device into the machine.
Using the policies that are there you could, for example, allows all mice and keyboards, allow a specific model of a USB scanner, and block everything else.
MyUSBonly from AC Element Company and StopUSB from EverStrike will also work.
Both of them ask for a password if you want to mount a new, unknown USB device.
To be honest, both could be better designed, but at least they do the job.
protected by Michael Hampton♦ Feb 19 '13 at 15:44
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Adam Love
Project-Based MBA
Adam Love is the Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator for the Graduate and Adults Programs Support (GAPS). He also is a writing coach for the Competency-Based programs (BBA, PMBA, RN to BS). He earned a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) from Vermont College in 2012 and holds a BA in Psychology from the University of San Diego (2008). His creative writing can be found in many literary journals including Revolver, Black Tongue Review, Sugar House Review, Metazen, The Missouri Review, among many others. He's the author of the chapbook, Another Small Fire (Tired Hearts Press, 2013).


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As of Aug. 5, 2013, the University of Baltimore Police Department is officially accredited by the International Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. This status follows a commission assessment team's examination of all aspects of the department's policies, procedures, management, operations and support services, along with a public commentary period.
Chief Samuel Tress said the CALEA accreditation is the outcome of a voluntary process of UB's police agency to gain official recognition of its professionalism and capabilities. The process was conducted earlier this year, and included a capstone visit to UB by commission officials last March.
"We went through a rigorous evaluation of virtually everything we do as campus law enforcement and public safety professionals," Tress said. "CALEA now recognizes the UB Police Department as abiding by its high standards, putting us in the front ranks of university-based law enforcement all across the country."
Complying with CALEA standards is a goal set forth in 2008 by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents for all police agencies operating on USM campuses, Tress said.


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Friday, April 5, 2013 - 12:16 to Sunday, May 5, 2013 - 12:16
Friday, April 5, 2013 - 12:16
5 Apr 2013 -5 May 2013
School Year:
2012 - 2013
April 5, 2013 - 4:15pm
The Annual Bachelor of Arts Exhibition (BAX), formerly called the Student Salon, is a professional exhibition of mature student work in the creative arts, including visual and performing arts. Third- and fourth-year students with significant involvement in art at Grinnell College will show 2D and 3D artwork and digital media, installations, and performances will be exhibited in the Faulconer Gallery April 12th through May 8th. Markus Haala will juror the yearly prizes in studio art. Please seehttp://artsepc.wordpress.com/bax for more information.


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The 5 Most Ridiculous Lies Ever Told to Impress a Woman
Human courtship is a complicated procedure that often involves some strategic lying ("My feet only smell like that due to all of the karate!"). However, not all men manage to keep their tall tales in check. These are the brave souls whose ridiculous stories of riches and badassery were doomed to be found out, but they pressed on anyway ... for love.
#5. The Man Who Broke into a Mansion and Convinced His Girlfriend That He Owned It
Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
The only thing more difficult than pulling off a romantic gesture with style is attempting to do so when you're 18. At that point, your experiences with the opposite sex can usually be summed up with the word "haphazard," and your ability to think coherently evaporates the second you remember that your actions make or break your chances of touching boob. Todd D. Blauvelt was well aware of this, so he decided to shoot for overkill when he wanted to impress his girl. In fact, he set out to impress her entire family ... by inviting them to live in the giant luxurious mansion he had just inherited from his grandfather.
There was just one little problem with the plan, which is that he hadn't actually inherited shit. Clearly the only solution was to break into a random 6,000-square-foot luxury vacation home, set up shop, and invite his prospective in-laws to live in the place. And they accepted, because it probably seemed impossible that the whole thing could be a big, stupid lie.
Ontario County Jail via Syracuse Post Standard
"Nothing says 'old money' like a buzz cut."
Surely Blauvelt had the common sense to make sure "his" new bachelor pad belonged to, say, an eccentric billionaire who owns a hundred houses and never visits them?
Nope! His lovingly crafted lie lasted for one goddamn hour. The actual owner of the place bumped in while Blauvelt's in-laws were still arguing over bedrooms, gave them one look, and called the cops.
Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
But not before the squatters ate all the food and licked all the silverware.
Going from a rich, charitable mansion owner to a lying felon in one fell swoop is a big nut shot for anyone. However, Blauvelt's problems were just beginning: It turns out that the reason he assumed that his girlfriend would be impressed by a large-scale re-enactment of "playing house" was that she was still pretty much at an appropriate age. The cherry on this whole stupidity cake was that the lady of Blauvelt's dreams was only 15.
When the police turned up, Blauvelt's feet didn't touch the ground. He was arrested and charged with sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child, along with many interesting burglary-related things. His girlfriend and her family faced no repercussions, because apparently there are no laws against being incredibly gullible.
Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
Even though that would be a remarkably effective way to stop 419 scammers.
Blauvelt may have lacked in expensive mansions and the common sense to stay the hell away from minors, but his pure, stupid tenacity was world championship material: Until the end, he tried to convince the police that he had inherited the place from his dead grandfather. You know, despite having broken in and being unable to provide any paperwork, and with the real owner of the place having called the cops in the first place.
#4. The Man Who Stole a Plane to Show His Girlfriend He Can Fly
Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images News/Getty Images
There is a very specific type of person who aspires to be the Badass, yet always ends up as the Punchline. He's the guy who can't hike through a jungle without getting into a boxing match with a silverback gorilla, and then, once he wakes up, he immediately gets arrested for harassing wildlife. We're not explicitly saying that Michael Santos is one of these people, but, you know, there's a reason a man like that turns up in a Cracked article.
Laporte County Jail via WTHR
Next to that goatee, abusing endangered animals doesn't seem like much of a crime.
For instance, in 2007, Santos drove his girlfriend to an airport to show her how to fly a plane. Things were already well on their way down the path of catastrophe: Not only was Santos driving drunk, but he didn't even have a driver's license (he had a lifetime ban from driving because of, yes, drunk driving). Still, Santos was certain that his inebriation wouldn't affect his plane-flying capability -- after all, he had none. Santos didn't own a plane and was, all things considered, pretty much the exact opposite of a qualified pilot.
Santos wasn't about to let these facts interfere with his plan to show his girlfriend how he could fly through the air like the player he clearly was, perhaps as a lead-in to an offhand suggestion re: the Mile High Club. So Santos broke into the first plane he saw and managed to start its engine. The happy couple drove the plane around for a while on the ground. Santos was just trying to figure out how to take off and heading down the taxiway when the left engine suddenly (and, considering what might have happened if they actually had managed to take off, thankfully) burst into flames.
Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images News/Getty Images
"Uncontrolled fire gives you another 25 horsepower!"
Santos had enough sense to power down the engines before the whole plane exploded, and their romantic cruise in the sky took a different destination in the form of a nearby bean field, where the plane stuck. Presumably that marked the end of the date as well.
It took authorities several months to track down Santos, and in the end they only caught him because someone overheard him bragging about having stolen a plane once. Santos was charged with felony theft, criminal mischief, and being a habitual traffic offender, his grand total amounting to four years of prison.
Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
"Objection! The girl had awesome boobs!"
Damages to the aircraft, by the way, were estimated at a cool $160,000. Don't drink and fly, kids!
#3. The Man Who Faked an Impossible War Hero Status to Impress His Wife
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images News/Getty Images
To his wife, Roger Day was the bravest man who ever lived. Who could blame her? From the day they met, Day had enthralled her with thrilling tales of his war heroics across multiple fronts and many decades. Although he had witnessed immeasurable atrocities, his only lament in life was that he couldn't show his 17 (17!) medals to her, as they had sadly been stolen.
BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
"Once I got Bruce Willis' watch up there, I didn't have room for much else."
So Day's wife made it her mission to replace those medals. After compiling a list of the medals Day said he'd lost, she went online to find replacements for all of them.
Through her diligence, she finally managed to assemble Day's impressive collection. Finally, he could show the world what a hero he was! And indeed, come next Remembrance Day, Day strapped on his wad of medals and marched in the parade with his fellow veterans. That's when the problems started. He entered said parade looking like this:
SWNS via The Daily Mail
Eighteen people were killed in storm surges from the resulting shift in gravity.
Holy shit! If you look closely, there's a man behind all those Christmas ornaments. And that man is a filthy liar. As you can guess, there is simply no way one man could have earned all of them unless he was Rambo: According to his chest display, Day had been recognized for acts of bravery in theaters ranging from the Gulf War to World War II, and he had served the top secret SAS forces with enough merit to receive a bunch of their badges. It took the public roughly 0.05 seconds to realize that this jingling apparition was a bullshitter of the highest order, and since wearing medals in order to deceive happens to be against the law, he was awesomely arrested straight from the parade line.
Day hilariously attempted to maintain his war hero story for a while, but a court soon forced him to admit that he'd made it all up in order to impress his wife. And although history doesn't tell us how things turned out for them, we're guessing Day's passive-aggressive claim that he only did it "because his wife needed a hero in her life" at least led to a few years of sleeping on the couch.
Jupiterimages, Brand X Pictures/Brand X
"... and you aren't welcome back in the bed until you've drop-kicked either three terrorists or one Nazi."


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5 Feb 2011 7:44 PM #1
i have a problem!!
I finished my project but I have problems when viewed on my website....
Why it does't look right?
can someone help me? thanks
P:S: I'm new on sencha animator
9 Feb 2011 2:10 PM #2
You really need to provide a little more detail!