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5 Insane Video Game Easter Eggs You Weren't Supposed to Find
Like the basement of the weirdo you met on OKCupid, most video games contain secrets not meant for your eyes. Due to the impossibly complex way games are made, it's usually easier to simply lock away unused features than try to delete them from the code entirely. This means that the average game is a gold mine of hidden rooms, levels, and other bits of insanity the developers never wanted you to see. But gamers are a persistent and technically savvy bunch, so it was only a matter of time until we found out ...
#5. Beyond: Two Souls Has Full Frontal Ellen Page Nudity, for No Apparent Reason
Quantic Dream
Gaming has one universal truth, and that's if a female character exists, there are fans who want to see her naked. It doesn't matter what kind of character it is, or if she's played by a real actress who isn't exactly known for doing titillating roles. Gaming is full of horny young males, and unfortunately some of them are the ones actually making the games.
That brings us to the scandal surrounding Beyond: Two Souls. The cinematic game stars a character modeled from and voiced by Ellen Page on an adventure in which she's connected to an otherworld entity via a hamburger phone. Now, even though Beyond is brought to us by a man already responsible for crimes against virtual sex, the game isn't too risque when it comes to Page. Sure, she walks around in her underwear a few times, and there's a totally gratuitous shower scene, but it's tastefully shot -- which it would have to be, as Ellen Page has a no-nudity clause in her contract. So the scene is there either as fairly tame fan service or to give gamers the raw next-gen gameplay thrills of pretending to clean themselves.
Quantic Dream
Press X to spend five minutes alternating between "freezing" and "scalding."
But then someone used the PlayStation 3's debug mode, something only developers and testers generally have access to, to view the scenes from other angles. And that's how they discovered that some proud developer went through the trouble of rendering Ellen Page's entire naked body, including nipples. Censorship boxes added by us:
Quantic Dream
They cover the uncensored boxes added by David Cage.
To be clear, they didn't scan and upload Ellen Page's actual naked body, so plan your disgust and/or masturbation accordingly. It's Page's head slapped on a 3D model lovingly drawn and colored by someone at the studio, for reasons unknown (although we can guess). Obviously most 3D models are about as sexual as a Barbie doll because, like that bear jousting arena we gave up on building, why go through the effort of making something you're never going to use? Unless, of course, the game makers had some other "use" for it.
There were rumors that Page considered suing, but apparently that was blown out of proportion. Sony initially sent out legal threats to the sites hosting the stills, but what would legal action have accomplished beyond generating headlines that would serve to notify millions of other gamers to go seek out the images? It's kind of a no-win situation, and the bigger question is simply What the fuck were they thinking?
Quantic Dream
Wasn't doing this to her face creepy enough?
Keep in mind, this "modeling genitals only for the pleasure of the programmers" thing is apparently something of a common practice in gaming. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion featured topless models for their female characters, even though you couldn't make the characters go topless in the game, and Final Fantasy XIII, aka Final Fantasy Oh God, They're Still Making These? featured a nude model of the annoying Australian valley girl character. But none of that is in the same league as taking a real actress and sticking her real face on a fake but extremely detailed naked body that one of the artists apparently had stored in his imagination. We don't know if it would be better or worse if it turns out Beyond also contains a secret rendering of Willem Defoe's flopping dick.
Note: If you're feeling left out, ladies, your best option comes from the punctuation-tastic WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, which features Nintendo's bad boy Wario in a biker mustache, clown nose, and nothing else.
You'll never again see a "W" without picturing this guy's ass.
#4. Mass Effect's Explicit Gay Sex Scenes
Anyone who's played a Mass Effect game knows that the SSV Normandy might as well have been called the Love Boat for all the hanky-panky that happens on board. But while Mass Effect 2 and 3 let you start a relationship with, like, half your crew, the original game limited male characters to pursuing one woman or one lady-alien. Female gamers could inspect their lieutenant's privates or shack up with the same alien, in a classic "technically not a lesbian romance because of some sci-fi gobbledygook about the alien having atypical reproductive organs, but yeah, they're basically still two women doin' it" love story.
It's just a total coincidence that this asexual alien looks like an attractive woman. Science!
Despite that technicality and, more importantly, the fact that the one brief sex scene in the game is about as erotic as mashing Barbie and Ken dolls together, the sort of people who like to get offended by this sort of thing got offended and used it as an excuse to lodge hilariously inaccurate complaints. The ridiculous controversy gave the developers headaches, and even got Mass Effect banned in Singapore, which makes us wonder what the reaction would have been had they gone with their original plan of including an actual explicit gay romance.
Unused audio found in the game shows that both human love interests were originally able to be seduced by their same-sex player character counterparts, which in 2007 would have been ground-breaking to see in such a high-profile title. With the kind of reaction their pseudo-lesbian love scene got, it's sadly no surprise that the other homosexual relationships were cut, although fans quickly modded the content back into the PC version of the game.
"The real mass effect was in you all along!"
Mass Effect 2 flirted with human-on-human same-sex romance before Mass Effect 3 blew open the floodgates for all sexualities, and also crossed the important human female/sole survivor of an ancient and terrifying insectoid warrior race barrier.
#3. GoldenEye 007's Pen and Ink Mode
Rare Ltd.
GoldenEye 007 is no stranger to hidden content, or hordes of gamers obsessively trying to dig it up. We've told you about some of its secrets before, and it was also famous for having unlockable cheats like invisibility and big head mode, because games in the '90s knew how to have more fun.
Rare Ltd.
Every shooter today just has Dick Head Mode (online play).
But as chock-full of hidden content as GoldenEye already was, intrepid fans discovered that the game was originally intended to have a "line mode" where the game appears to be made with pen and paper. Apart from being able to play GoldenEye in a whole new way, this would be the closest you could get to experiencing "Take on Me" as a first-person shooter and express a visceral new form of musical criticism.
If you watch the video, it's not hard to figure out why line mode was cut -- for large chunks of the level, it's impossible to tell what the hell's going on, making it closer to "polar bear in a snowstorm mode" than a fun artistic adventure.
Rare Ltd.
Given Bond's unique combo of alcoholism and syphilis, this might accurately portray how he now sees the world.
Gamers would basically need to have the levels memorized if they had any hope of getting through minimalist versions of them, and as one of the developers points out, you also can't see your ammo and health. Still, it would have made a great challenge mode for obsessive fans, otherwise known as anyone who was 13 when GoldenEye came out.
Rare Ltd.
"OK, now give us a mode where it looks like it was made by one of those elephants that paints."
And holy crap, can you imagine how much the already chaotic multiplayer could have been improved by this madness? It's the ultimate anti-screen watching mode, because there's little point in spying on your friends if it looks like someone just threw a bucket of white paint on the TV.
The developers found line mode useful for debugging, which is why you can still find it in the game if you use a GameShark, the accessory of choice for serious cheaters back when cheat codes were a thing. It was originally going to occupy the game's final cheat slot, whose perpetually taunting emptiness prompted many a crazy schoolyard rumor. And while we can't get mad at the developers of such an iconic game, we are a little sad that instead of perfecting the potentially awesome line mode they devoted their time to creating Oddjob, bullshit multiplayer character and destroyer of countless friendships.
Rare Ltd.
We want to see an outline around him. A goddamn chalk outline.


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Is there a T-sql command, like the Oracle "Connect" which lets me change the user that I am logged in as?
Sign up
- Anybody can ask a question
- Anybody can answer
- The best answers are voted up and rise to the top
You can use the EXECUTE AS command:
You can try SetUser 'username' too. To revert just run SetUser. Verify by running select suser_name()
Using sqlcmd.exe or Management Studio in SQLCMD mode, you can use the
If you just need to test something as a different principal, you can use
The question has multiple answers, dependent on the context of 'changing the user that I am logged in as.'
A public website will have one or a few 'user accounts' which are used by every site visitor. Even through those accounts, it may be necessary to elevate a permission to execute, for instance, dynamic SQL in solving a multivariable search requirement.
Errand Sommarskog has a very detailed discussion on the security and management of user accounts via T-SQL in stored procedures. http://www.sommarskog.se/grantperm.html

subset: commoncrawl


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Premium Content
The AUGIWorld archives are available to registered members only. Basic members can view a limited number of issues, Premier members can read issues going back two years, and Professional members can read the entire AUGIWorld archive. To access the archives, please join now or log in using your existing AUGI membership account.


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What are (if any) equivalent forms of AC (The Axiom of Choice) in Category Theory ?
Here's a somewhat trivial one, but it is one that category theorists use all the time:
On the other hand, if you're asking for category-theoretic formulations of the axiom of choice inside some category of "sets", then there are several:
The following is equivalent to the axiom of choice:
Here by "equivalence" I mean "has an up-to-natural-isomorphism inverse".
But wondering which things are equivalent to the axiom of choice is such a set-theoretic thing to do. It is also interesting to ask whether category theory allows us for a more "algebraic" formulation of the axiom of choice. And indeed, in a topos we can express the axiom of choice in two ways:


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I have been trying to use /usr/bin/security rather than hard coding login/password information into scripts. For example, here's how you get the password for 'pinboard.in'
security 2>&1 >/dev/null find-internet-password -gs pinboard.in |\
grep '^password: ' |\
sed 's#^password: "##g ; s#"$##'
(Note: Someone who is better at grep/awk can probably combine those last two lines, just be sure to consider for when a password may have a " in it — or a space.)
What I can't do is figure out how to retrieve the password for a Wi-Fi network if all I know is the SSID.
I have even tried specifying the kind of data I am looking for with
security 2>&1 >/dev/null find-generic-password -D "AirPort network password" -s MySSIDhere
but all I get is this
security: SecKeychainSearchCopyNext: The specified item could not be found in the keychain.
All I have found via Google has been about adding SSID password information on the CLI, but I want to retrieve it.


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The Self-Scrutiny of the GOP
One month after the election, were well into the second wave of Republican self-examination, with denial, anger, and depression giving way in some quarters to bargaining and even acceptance. (Of course, there are numerous exceptions.) Thus Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio waxing kinder and gentler this week at a dinner honoring the late quarterback and tax-cutter Jack Kemp, as E.J. Dionne details here. More than easily echoed tactical proposals hurriedly gussied up as strategic redefiningreach out to Hispanics and women, cultivate more candidates of colorsome of the current talk on how to save the GOP seems to stem from a deeper examination of whats really ailing it.Consider the piece in Tuesdays New York Times from David Welch, a former research director for the Republican National Committee. He reasonably sounds the call for a new William F. Buckley to resuscitate the mainstream conservatism that once defined the GOPs pragmatic, establishment character. A good argument to make, particularly when the Bircherism that Buckley beat back has its analog in the moon-bat pronouncements (Welchs characterization) of todays Tea Party. A couple of weeks earlier, it was Ramesh Ponnuru in the National Review acknowledging that the Republican story of the heroic entrepreneur stifled by taxes and regulations just doesnt resonate. The ordinary person does not see himself as a great innovator. He, or she, is trying to make a living and support or maybe start a family. About this person Republicans have had little to say. Admitting you have a problem (extremism coupled with a disconnect from ordinary Americans) is the first step toward solving it.But then check out Welchs proposed inheritors of the Buckley mantle: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Karl Rove. How a scion of wealth, a scourge of unions, and a squanderer of nearly $300 million entrusted with him by wealthy investors to secure the robust financial and regulatory returns an Obama loss would have ensured can together add up to one Buckley is hard to see. And while Rove is supposedly reforming his Super PAC to support more moderate candidates in state and local primaries, dont forget his role in asserting (as Mark Danner reminds us) modern Republicanisms right to manipulate the the reality-based community by creating our own reality, a glimpse of which he memorably revealed to Fox viewers on election night.Ponnuru abides by reality a little more in ceding that the Republicans lone electoral bright spotretention of the Housedates to the midterm gains of 2010 and subsequent gerrymandering of congressional districts following that years census. What [2012s] House success demonstrates, in part, is that Republicans can do well when they choose the voters rather than vice versa.Choose the voters. An interesting way to put it, given the partys efforts in this election to suppress black, Hispanic, youth, and working-class turnout. In other words, likely Obama voters. Elizabeth Drew details the by-now well-known efforts to take away the Constitutional rights of these citizens, but she also documents the blow-back the Republican party sufferednamely, highly motivated Democratic voters who waited all day (and night) in places like Florida and Ohio to cast their ballots. A canvasser in Virginia is quoted as saying the suppression efforts were so extreme and visible and outrageous that it made people more determined.They were motivated too but what they stood to lose, Drew continues.
Millions of voters had come to see Mitt Romney as a threat to whatever they had achieved. It wasnt just that he didnt speak to them, didnt understand their lives, had nothing to offer them; he was actually campaigning on a program that would benefit economically himself and other wealthy people at their expense.
That its a party for the rich is a perception thats dogged the GOP for a long time; polls on how Americans view Republicans look the same today, a month after the election, as they did in 1953. Whats different is how many of todays Republicans hold views that might be considered extremesuch as the 49% who believe that ACORN, which disbanded in 2010, stole the 2012 election for Obama, and the 25% who want their state to secede from the union. Welch and Ponnuru (and Rubio and Ryan, if to a lesser extent) are right to confront the uncomfortable facts about the condition of their party. But with the same polling showing a 5 point increase in Democratic identification since election day (to 44%) and a 5 point decrease in Republican identification (to 32%), they may need to move faster in clarifying, and administering, their prescriptions.
About the Author
Dominic Preziosi is Commonweal's digital editor.
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As someone old enough to remember how much more hopeful -- and yes, just -- life was in this country before Republicans (and some Democrats) embraced unregulated free market economics, globalization and Social Darwinism (cynically done up in the rhetoric of Christianity), I'm more than pleasantly surprised by this sudden turnaround in political fortunes. Only two months ago, such a thing seemed impossible. Whichever party managed to win a slim victory in November seemed doomed to go on pretty much as before. But no, I think this may finally be the transformative moment when the 99 percent (or 47, or name-a-percentage of the American people of all ethnicities who've been downtrodden and downsized too long), finally realize WHY they're mad as hell and decide they're really not going to take it anymore. If that's what's happening, the Republican party has a LOT more than voter demographics to worry about.
I'm actually feeling sorry for my governor, Bobby Jindal. Such a smart young man -- honor graduate at Brown, Rhodes scholar, master's from Oxford, offered a scholarship for a Ph.D. there, admitted to both Harvard med school and Yale law school. He was just about the first Republican to lament loudly the Republican campaign, explicitly admitted it was mess, but now the poor guy is reduced to talking like a populist -- i.e., a Democrat -- in many ways. Even Ann Coulter has admitted that the Republicans have to support some raised taxes. What with Rubio and Rand also admitting the necessity for GOP change, maybe we can look to the younger generation to spearhead some realistic thinking. The older establishment is simply bankrupt.
It may be a start, but it will take more than Jindal, Rubio, Ryan, et al, giving speeches in which they repeat the words "opportunity" and "middle-class" like magical incantations for Republicans to find a new way forward. Take, for example, the House Republicans' current position on the "fiscal cliff".In a letter by Speaker Boehner (and endorsed by Cantor and Ryan, among others) to President Obama, House Republicans state that 1) they oppose higher marginal income tax rates, and 2) support "pro-growth tax reform that closes special-interest loopholes and deductions while lowering rates."As the level-headed Kevin Drum points out, this is merely a restatement of the Republicans' longstanding ideological position on taxes: "They want to close loopholes "while lowering tax rates." This suggests that they think the loophole closings will make up for the lower rates but not produce any net new revenue. That will come from the pro-growth magic of rate-lowering and base-broadening.I know I open myself up to charges of excessive cynicism here. But Boehner, Cantor, and Ryan can prove me wrong with just a few plain words. So far they haven't, and their public letter was phrased very carefully indeed. No matter how much the Washington pundit class wants to believe it, they very decidedly haven't agreed, even in principle, to higher taxes. Anyone who thinks they have should just ask them directly." http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/12/revenue-vs-revenue
modern Republicanisms right to manipulate the the reality-based community by creating our own reality, The support of creationism by McCain, Jindal, Christie, Rubio, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., is an important part of their appeal to the ignorant. Hard to picture them renouncing their hatred of science.
The 2% who WILL get the tax increase, almost all live in the Blue states on the coasts.i.e. NY. Ct, CA, NJ, Ma, Wash DC,,... the red states have very few of the 2%..mostly less than 1% of their citizens and almost all of these are in the very low end of $250.000 + of adjusted tax income. So why in the h--- are they wanting to go over the cliff because so very few of their Red state fellow citizens will get a measly tax increase. A $300.000 a year couple's adjusted income [a $400.000 income with 100,000 in deductions] would pay $2300 more. Film of the cliff jump on Jan 1 will be a stay-up-and-watch..
Luke --I've been saying for a long time that the GOP is dying. This election seems to have finished it off. The current leadership (e.g., Boehner, McCain, Rove, Romney) seem to be caught in a time warp and can't get out. The Reagan economic trickle-down theory has finally been put to rest, and the GOP leadership have nothing to replace it because they refuse to admit that during a recession Keynes is the economist to follow. Equally important, the leadership have no credible general social theory, such as Russell Kirk's, to fall back on to meet our specific problems. So I think that the only hope for the GOP is in their young. The only question, to me, is whether or not the young ones are able to learn from their mistakes and change their thinking enough to breathe some life into their party. One big reasonI think, Jindal, Rubio and Ryan are so conspicuous is that they're all Catholic and at least can talk the natural-law language of the common good, subsidiarity, etc. They can give at least the illusion of having something new to say to the GOP. The problem is that the Democrats have been talking natural law theory since the '30's under the influence of Msgr. John A. Ryan, a much neglected Catholic moral/political/economic theorist. How can the new GOP young ones incorporate such theory without sounding like Democrats? There's the rub.I just read Msgr. Ryan's Wiki biography. Talk about prophetic! Here's the site. John A. Ryan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe Democratic Party is in pretty bad shape too. Maybe some of you young Democrats could benefit from Msgr. Ryan's thinking. I really didn't know much about him, except that he was a heavy-duty hitter who impressed many outside the Church including especially FDR. Hmm.
Ed --The reason the GOP leadership is acting irrationally is because they are tribalists from start to finish. (And this IS the end for them.) They simply cannot consider the possibility that their tribe has been mistaken all these years about something as basic as economic theory..
If the Republican Party in its present form is really dying, perhaps we might see the emergence of a genuine conservative party, with its roots in Burke (Edmund, that is, not Raymond), but brought up to date for the 21st century. Such an emergence would certainly be good for US politics, but in the age of tweeting, instant replays, and sound bytes, is probably wishful thinking.
@Ann Olivier (12/7, 1:50 pm) I don't think the GOP is dying, necessarily. They've got control of a bunch of states. Their dominance in small states gives them a solid base in the Senate. The combination of slow turnover, gerrymandering in 2010, and the fact that Democrats are crowded into cities gives them a stronghold (or at least a foothold) in the House. Given that the 2014 electorate will be smaller, whiter and more affluent than the 2012 electorate, Republicans should do well in those elections, quite possibly leaving President Obama in a situation analogous to President Clinton in his second term.To my mind, what the 2012 election does is confirm (at least for now) John Judis & Ruy Texeira's hypothesis in "The Emerging Democratic Majority"---that the combination of demographic trends and political leanings means that the Reagan coalition is slowly but steadily losing power. Republicans made a conscious choice in the 1960s and 70s to make room in their coalition for white people who didn't like non-white people. It was a winning electoral strategy when the electorate was 90% white. Now that non-Hispanic whites make up less than 75% of the electorate, it's becoming a losing strategy.
I've been voting for Democrats ever since I could, with a couple of more local exceptions. That said, I PRAY that the GOP does not die! I know full well the potential for the Democratic party to, given the opportunity, go over the cliff away from common sense, toward infighting nonsense that the looney left is perfectly capable of introducing, nurturing and keeping alive. Big city politics under the control of Democrats can be some of THE most corrupt. Take a look at San Francisco (sorry, Ed) and what is less-than-affectionatley known as the Board of Stupevisors: looneyism at some of its very worst.Please, GOP: return to the days of common sense Rockefeller Republicanism. Please.
Luke --Why will the 2014 electorate be smaller, whiter and more affluent? I can see it becoming a lot younger, darker, and maybe more affluent if the economy improves.
In 1974 I was naive enough to think that the Republican Party could not survive Watergate. Ten years later I was wondering how the Democrats would ever recover. I am not a prognosticator. So now, although Republicans are digging themselves a pretty good hole, I won't say that they are irretrievably lost. And I heartily agree with Jim that the Democrats need good opposition. Without it, people in power become first flabby, then arrogant, indifferent, corrupt, and finally despotic.So I hope Republicans will use this chastening moment for a real self-examination, and not persuade themselves that all they need is better presentation. It is true, of course, that they fielded a lot of unappealing candidates this time, ran uninspired and off-putting campaigns, and exhibited a slender understanding of election technology. But their real problem is a failure to understand that the world is larger than it used to be, and more inclusive. People who could be safely ignored a while back are front and center now, listening and engaged. They will not be disparaged and written off as takers and fraudsters. And when they see efforts to disenfranchise them, they will stubbornly vote in even larger numbers, and they will remember.The world is larger in another way, too. It is not as easily described in homely qualitative terms as it used to be in Sunday school and Bible classes. A party that ignores or rejects the findings of science is going to be ignored and rejected in its turn, and all the more as the evidence accumulates. And a party that asserts so baldly that American interests are the only interests that count in this world will time and again find itself unpleasantly surprised.Real self-scrutiny and willingness to change are what Republicans deperately need. Bad as I am at prediction, all I can say is that they are not utterly impossible.
@Ann Olivier (12/7, 8:44 pm) Good question! I think the answer is simply that's what typically happens in off-year elections. Infrequent voters tend to be younger and poorer (as a whole) than frequent/regular voters.
Lest we forget, the Democratic Party lost the House again. Self-scrutiny, anyone?
@Mark Proska (12/8, 10:07 am) True! And Democrats are likely to lose seats in both houses of Congress in 2014.On the other hand, Democrats gained seats in the House and Senate last month (as well as keeping the White House) despite the weak economy and lingering war in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Democrats are look at the demographic trends and think they're largely moving in the Democrats' direction.For example, each year 4 million citizens turn 18. About half of them will vote in the next few elections. Those that do are likely to lean Democratic 60%-40%. Add it up and that's an added margin of 1.6 million Democratic voters every four years. (Without counting the roughly 3 million deaths annually---mostly elderly voters who lean Republican.)My own vote for a priority for any Democratic self-scrutiny would be: what do Democrats have to do to secure a larger percentage of working-class voters?
Luke--That sounds much more like self-congratulation/self-satisfaction than self-scrutiny.
@Mark Proska (12/8, 8:30 pm) Thanks for the reply. Gee, and here I thought that warning Democrats are likely to lose seats in 2014 (and earlier mentioning GOP control of a large number of state governments), along with prodding at the question of what Democrats would need to do to win back working-class voters in, say, West Virginia who voted strongly for Gov. Dukakis in 1988, was a serious attempt at self-scrutiny and critical evaluation of the current situation.The fact that national Republican candidates now find themselves behind by about 13 points before ballots cast by white voters are counted doesn't strike me as much of a problem for Democrats when the non-white electorate is now over a quarter of the whole, and is growing steadily. If you think otherwise, I'd be interested to read your analysis.
LukeThanks for your reply. Its an eye-opener to me that would consider it a self-scrutiny. I guess I would have thought a self-scrutiny would have addressed some, if not all, of the following:1)Why, if the demographic trends significantly favour the Democratic party, the Republicans not only retook the house, they did better in this presidential election than they did 4 years ago?2)Whether, if the Democratic party severely underperforms within a certain race (you have presented evidence that they do), there is an inherent racism in their message, or the way it is presented?3)Why the Democratic party underperforms among regular mass attenders and pro-lifers? (I am assuming you are Catholic and therefore find this troubling)Appreciate your always well considered thoughts.
@Mark Proska (12/9, 9:25 am) I'll take a shot at briefly answering your questions:1) Republicans retook the House in the 2010 elections largely (in my view) because a) the economy was terrible and voters punished the incumbent party, b) Republicans had a powerful message (somewhat dishonest I think, but powerful) about healthcare/Medicare, c) the off-year electorate tends to be a smaller and more conservative electorate. In the 2012 election, Democrats gained seats but didn't come close to winning a majority of seats (though they did win a majority of popular votes case in House races---a meaningless statistic when talking about outcomes).I think Republicans did better in the 2012 presidential race than four years earlier because unemployment was around 8%, the economy was/is growing very slowly, and Republicans had better fundraising and field operations than in 2008.2) Democrats have received about 40% of the white vote in presidential elections since the 1970s. In 2012, Gov. Romney received less than 30% of the Asian-American and Latino votes, and less than 10% of the African-American votes. Furthermore, when broken down by region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West), it turns out that Democrats tend to run roughly even with Republicans for white votes in three of those regions; it's in the South that Republicans run up huge majorities among white voters. (Which helps explain why, for example, President Obama won Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont---three of the whitest states in the nation.)3) Because the electoral college provides a huge structural incentive for a two-party system, those two parties tend to take/define opposite sides on many public policy issues. In the wake of Roe v. Wade, after some initial uncertainty, it became clear that the Democratic Party would be the party that supported decriminalizing abortion, and the Republican Party would be the party that opposed Roe v. Wade. Politicians of both parties (e.g., Ted Kennedy, George H. W. Bush) tended to change or mute their positions to fit the dominant view within their party. I suspect there's a substantial overlap between Catholics who attend Mass weekly and those who define themselves as "pro-lifers", and that explains why Republicans tend to get a majority of those votes. (Though Catholics as a whole tend to split fairly evenly, with President Obama getting a narrow (52-47, if I recall correctly) majority of Catholic votes this year.)
LukeTheres some truth in what you say, but I fear much of it is not on point. In fact, its hard to interpret your response to 3) as anything more than denial. One thing Im sure we can agree on: Theres very little of self-scrutiny in your reply.Nevertheless, I appreciate you taking another crack at it and wont pursue the point further. You had asked for my analysis of the Republican party. Let me give you an example what Id consider self-scrutiny: To win the presidency, the Republican party will need to go into the belly of the beast, and can be rightly faulted for not having done so in recent elections.


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May 14, 2013 / Category: Fun Side of Fitness
Ever since I trained for and ran my first half-marathon last February, I have been extremely interested in experimenting with healthy recipes. One ingredient keeps appearing over and over in the recipes I'm finding – quinoa. While it looks similar to rice, quinoa isn't actually a grain at all; it's a seed. And this little seed packs lots of protein and fiber, so it's a great replacement in rice or pasta dishes. You may have seen LFA Master Trainer Deb's post last week about a quinoa salad. If you haven't, I would recommend checking that out as well.
But quinoa is not only for savory dishes; it has a sweet side too.
May 09, 2013 / Category: Fun Side of Fitness
I recently had the pleasure of participating and attending Eaton Corporation's Health Fair in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the local Cleveland vendors, Joe's, handed out a great Northwest Quinoa Salad recipe that I've tested in today's blog post. It's a very fresh and light salad with robust flavors and healthy too.
Quinoa is a complete protein, which means it contains all nine essential amino acids. This recipe is served cold and pairs well with flank steak or grilled chicken.
Northwest Quinoa Salad
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup of dry quinoa
- .5 lemon
- .25 cup fresh chopped basil
- .25 cup fresh chopped shallots
- .25 cup dried Bing cherries
- .25 cup dry, roasted, unsalted cashews
- 1 tsp. vegetable oil
- .25 tsp. salt
- .25 black pepper
May 02, 2013 / Category: Fun Side of Fitness
In a fitness company, you're bound to be introduced to new diets. There's gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, Atkins, primal, paleo and all-carb. No. All-carb only exists in my dreams. Here, we'll attempt a clean recipe, low carbs. I found this recipe on MarksDailyApple.
Let's start with the ingredients.
Here's what you'll need:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (15 ml)
- 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) beef tenderloin or sirloin, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (6 mm) that are 2 to 3 inches in length (5 cm to 7.6 cm)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 m)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (60 ml)
- 8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms, thinly sliced (230 g)
- 1 cup beef stock (250 ml)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (125 ml)
- 1 cup heavy cream (250 ml)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (15 ml)
- Chopped fresh parsley or dill for an optional garnish


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:: We've reached our maximum for the trip scheduled for October 17-21 and it has been confirmed.
:: I've decided not to offer a second trip so I can focus on adding more local/regional trips and events. I apologize for any disappointment this causes.
Hi everyone,
I just posted this fall's Washington DC trip. Visit http://www.carolinah...atravelwdc.html to find out more. Please post any questions you have in this thread so others can benefit from the answers.


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Migraines & Headaches Health Center
Hemiplegic Migraine Headaches
In this article
What Causes Hemiplegic Migraine Headaches?
Researchers have now identified three genes linked with hemiplegic migraine.
The three genes linked with hemiplegic migraine are the CACNA1A, ATP1A2, and SCN1A genes. Defects, or mutations, in any of these three genes lead to a breakdown in the body's ability to make a certain protein. That protein is needed for clear communication among nerve cells. Without that protein, nerve cells have trouble releasing or taking up neurotransmitters -- the chemical messengers between nerve cells.
Most people with hemiplegic migraine have inherited the gene mutation from one parent who also had the condition.
What Medical Tests Are Used to Diagnose Hemiplegic Migraine Headaches?
If you have any of the symptoms of hemiplegic migraine, see your doctor for a full evaluation. This is a serious form of migraine and many of its symptoms are also signs of a stroke. Tests to look for signs of a stroke may include a CT scan or MRI of the head. An exam may also include tests of the heart and blood vessels in your neck to evaluate whether your symptoms may be caused by blood clots forming in the heart or blood vessels in the neck.
Genetic testing is available for hemiplegic migraine. If you have a family member with similar symptoms, or if you test positive for one of the genetic defects linked to hemiplegic migraine, you maybe diagnosed with "familial" hemiplegic migraine. That means it runs in your family, and you most likely could pass it on to your children. If you don't test positive, your condition is called sporadic hemiplegic migraine.
How Are Hemiplegic Migraine Headaches Treated?
There is disagreement over how to treat hemiplegic migraines. There is also disagreement about the safety and effectiveness of standard migraine medications. Many doctors are feeling more comfortable using triptans in the treatment of hemiplegic migraines. But your doctor may prescribe other medications to treat severe attacks and prevent future episodes. Treatment may include:
- Preventive medications. Your doctor may prescribe an anticonvulsant medication or calcium channel blocker to help reduce the number and severity of future attacks.
- Acute medications. As noted above, many physicians now use triptans in the treatment of an acute attack.
WebMD Medical Reference


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This full-year clinic will be offered for the fourteenth year in 2015-2016. It will be staffed by Director Prof. Victoria Phillips as well as by Prof. Peter Jaszi and Practitioner-in-Residence Brandon Butler. The clinic concentrates on client representation that helps student attorneys better understand the concept of the public interest in copyright, patent, trademark, and allied fields.
Student attorneys in the clinic will participate in both individual client matters and policy matters advocating change in the law. Individual matters will involve advising creative artists, non-profit organizations, small inventors and entrepreneurs, scholars, traditional communities, and others who otherwise would not have access to high-quality intellectual property law services, as well as representing them before various agencies (Copyright Office, Patent and Trademark Office, World Intellectual Property Organization, etc.). Policy projects will be designed to promote intellectual property law reform, and may include filing amicus briefs in high-profile legal cases and administrative proceedings, preparing reports on current issues, and conducting legislative advocacy.
The clinic calls on student attorneys' resourcefulness and intellectual flexibility and rewards participants with practical exposure to a wide array of lawyering skills and issues. Applicants for this clinic should have taken (or be intending to take in the fall semester) at least one intellectual property course as well as Evidence. Applicants with more extensive academic/practical experience in intellectual property law may be given preference in admission to the clinic. Those who designate this clinic as a first choice are encouraged to discuss their interest in intellectual property as part of the applicant essay.


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Alumni chapter seeks participants for Gift Drive for Children
The Beaver Valley Area Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association announces its annual Gift Drive for Children, which is held in conjunction with Children and Youth Services (CYS) of Beaver County and benefits children who are CYS clients.
Participants will be provided with the first name, age and sex of the child(ren) as well as a variety of gift suggestions and, if needed, clothing sizes. The group suggests that each gift be in the $25-$30 range since the gift might be the only one a child receives this holiday season. All gift donors and recipients remain anonymous.
If participants prefer, a monetary donation can be made instead to the Alumni Chapter, and chapter members will purchase gifts for the children on behalf of the donor(s).
Gifts should be wrapped and delivered to members of the Alumni Chapter from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the Festival of Trees in Brady's Run Lodge. Attach a separate gift tag to each gift. On the tag, write the child's name, caseworker number and a brief description of the enclosed gift and tape it to the gift.
If unable to deliver gift(s) to the Festival of Trees, donors are asked to ensure that they deliver their gift(s) to Alumni Chapter members between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Lodge of the Student Union Building at Penn State Beaver, Monaca. Directions to campus are available by visiting http://www.beaver.psu.edu and clicking on "Visitors and Community" on the left.
To obtain the name(s) of a child(ren) in need of a gift, contact Diane McClune at (724) 544-7131 or Cindy Hovanec at (412) 370-2894 or (724) 378-7448.
Cash or checks can be delivered or mailed to: Campus and Community Relations Office, Penn State Beaver, 100 University Drive, Monaca, PA 15061. Make checks payable to: Beaver Valley Area Chapter PSAA. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the office is located in Suite 201, Ross Administration Building.


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A podcast is a series of digital media files, usually audio or video, that is downloadable via RSS feed (really simple syndication). The RSS delivery is what differentiates podcasts from direct file download or streaming. Software applications, known as 'pod catchers' (such as Apple iTunes), can automatically download new files when they are made available.
Still a bit confusing? Visit Podcasting Terminology and FAQ sections


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I bought a Nodal Ninja 5L w/ RD16 Rotator and EZ leveler II last week in Turkey
I have got a big problem. Problem is parallax error with Photo stitching.
I think it would be Nodal Ninja 5L w/ RD16 Rotator is got a calibration problem or faulty production.
I have disappointed. I spent a week of wasted time and I'm so sorry.
These pictures, Rotator 45 degree rotated images were taken
What is this? Help please...
Yours truly.
A.Tuncer Savru


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Strider developers discuss their "dream game" in fascinating behind-the-scenes videoWritten by: / / 1 Comment
Capcom and Double Helix's collaboration is finally out this week starting February 18th in the form of Strider, a modern re-imagining of a classic 2D action platform game starring the multifaceted futuristic ninja, Strider Hiryu.
In the fascinating behind-the-scenes interview video below, members of the development team discuss Capcom and Double Helix's relationship prior to the Strider project, how the concept of Strider and the main character have evolved over time while retaining his core traits, and how this project represented the "dream game" for some of the developers – sounds as though it was in good hands:
Strider – Behind the Scenes
Flip through El33tonline's past Strider coverage for many more videos, along with a helping of screenshots and more details, and look forward to the game's full release (and demo) on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this week.
Tags: capcom, doublehelix, strider, trailer


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Sometimes I upload an application to a server that doesn't have external internet access.
I would like to create the same environment in my machine for testing some features in the application and avoid bugs (like reading a rss from an external source).
I thought about just unplugging my ethernet cable to simulate, but this seems archaic and I don't know if I'm going to raise the same exceptions (specially in Python) when doing this compared to the limitations at the server.
So, how do I simulate "no external access" in my development machine? Will "deactivating" my ethernet interface and reactivating later (with a "no hassle" command) have the same behavior as the server with no external access?
I'm using Ubuntu 10.04. Thanks!


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It looks like we made progress in the cups but our league form is suffering slightly.We should be in the top 4 easily but some performances have let us right down.
It looks like we made progress in the cups but our league form is suffering slightly.We should be in the top 4 easily but some performances have let us right down.
Last game of February and it is the 2nd leg of the 1st KO round in Europa League.We produced this beauty....
I think February 2020 is a month the Vitoria fans will never forget.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - February 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
First up is the Copa del Rey,we were 2-1 down from the first leg and I was hoping for a sneaky 1-0 win which would see us win on away goals.The boys had other ideas and scored five from seven on target to see us record a fantastic result which saw us win 6-2 on agg!We will now face Barcelona in the final in April.
Europa League saw us up against English side Liverpool.The first leg saw us absolutely battered from start to finish and still come out with a 0-0 draw,massive credit to my defence and goalkeeper needs to be given.The 2nd leg I decided to go back to a 4-2-4 formation to give us a more attacking look,we fell behind early on but two goals in the space of a minute saw us take a 2-1 lead.We added a 3rd just after the break before Liverpool pulled one back late on.It was a deserved victory and we now go on to face Benfica in the 2nd Knockout round.On paper it looks to be an easier tie but I can't take anything for granted.
Liga BBVA saw us unbeaten in 5 but only win 2 of the matches.Against Espanyol,we really should have lost as we were absolutely appalling and a draw is more then what we actually deserved.The Almeria game saw a dominate performance from us as we battered them from start to finish,gave Ayechu his first start of the season and he scores a hat-trick.The games against Sevilla and Deportive were really boring and none of the strikers on the pitch looked like they wanted to score.The game against Osasuna was a game of few chances but we we made the most of it as we scored 3 and had a 4th disallowed wrongly but it was still good finishing from the side and a vital 3 points.
March is now here and the weird thing is that no one is running away with the league and there are no packs of teams in the top half so it will be tight till the end.The surprise is probably Barcelona under performing which will probably put Carlo Ancelotti under a lot of pressure.Youth Candidate day arrives in March and I am hoping for some defenders,in particular a natural left back or other wise some good backups will do.
Last edited by B.W.G; 17-04-2012 at 19:34.
Good shot at getting a CL place this time.
We have indeed,we slipped up against Valencia and At.Madrid but we still have a very good chance of a CL spot.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - Youth Candidate Day 2020
The Candidates
The Star - Ander Diez
Yet another top class striker and yet another selection headache as that is 7 strikers for two spots.May see if I can improve his wing positions as that could be handy in the future.
Biggest WTF Moment....Angelo Roman
When I saw the name I thought it would be another Spanish/Basque or possibly a Spanish/Italian.What we get is a Canadian/Spanish who was born in Toronto.Has 3 star potential so definitely come in handy as a backup down the line.
Last edited by B.W.G; 24-05-2012 at 11:19.
Odd place for him to turn up. Wise chap though.
I know but this save has turned out to be quite weird for hot prospects and players who will have no problem playing in Liga BBVA.I keep getting offered players from Jamaica,Panama,Uzbekistan,Canada and Honduras who I did scout just to see how they were.
I could use the Canadian on my team...
He could be good in the future but he would go straight into your first eleven.I wouldn't actually mind managing Canada on this save as there are few decent players coming through.
Give it time Rancer and you will be able to have quality like that Here is the best Canadian youngster though,he has the potential to be a good Liga BBVA Player!
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - March 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
The big news comes in the Europa League as we knocked out Benfica to move onto the quarter-finals.The first leg saw us do a speciality of mine,a hit and run victory as we were outplayed for the majority of the game.The 2nd leg was a very even game and it was settled by a goal from Romero which secured a 2-0 aggregate victory.In the quarter finals we will face Lyon with the winners going on to face Everton or Schalke!
Our league forms saw us win five out of seven games to keep up the pressure on the teams occupying the Champions League spot and especially Barcelona who occupy 4th place.A MAR hat-trick was enough to secure victory against Zaragoza in a game which saw Sola sent off.Two 1-0 defeats put a massive dent in keeping up a title challenge,we lost to Valencia and At.Madrid but both were deserved.The games against Betis and Real Sociedad saw us dominate both teams and we could have easily scored 7 in both games.
April is a massive month for us,we have the Europa League quarter final against Lyon,the race for fourth place as well as the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.This is the month where we need to play to our absolute best to stand any chance of progressing nationally and on the continent.
Last edited by B.W.G; 20-04-2012 at 09:01.
Regens look good again and good progress in Europe despite being at the expense of Benfica
Yet another class intake, with so many great strikers maybe you should just play 5 up front and hope for the best! By the looks of it, you could easily retrain him to a left wing role, so that'll probably be the best choice. He'd be a giant winger though, almost 2 metres tall!
Also, another great season so far, hopefully you can make the Champions League.
Coentrao - Thanks I think this was our best intake to date for depth wise.Benfica were rather unlucky in the first leg but at least Sporting didn't get any further either.
Scarman - Hmmmm,maybe worth experimenting with a 3-2-5 during pre-season.I didn't actually realise he was nearly two metres tall so I'm guessing Diez is another target man to add to the other two I have!Thanks
SRL88 - Behave At least you were in Europe this season unlike a certain Man Utd who were not in Europe what so ever this season.
Wow, February was a great month (except for when you beat Liverpool! )!
Your youth products are still looking great too. You must get at least one 'keeper' every season!
Thanks It must suck to have Everton get further in the same competition
Quite miraculous,unfortunately most of the 'keepers' always seem to be strikers.I have 2 with 5* PA,2 with 4.5* PA,1 with 3* PA.1 with 2.5* PA and 1 with 2* PA.So that is 7 strikers for two positions.I also get quite a lot of wingers.This season was the first for a while where I got decent defenders in.
Knocked out on penalties by Lyon,slipped off the pace in the league.Barcelona up next in the Copa del Rey final and I was literally dreading it after recent poor performances.All I can say is set your faces to stun
Put 5 past Real Madrid in the Semi-Final and now we go and stick 5 past Barcelona in the final.Think I forgive the players for recent performances.We are also guaranteed for more European football next season!
Indeed thats a great result.
You're really good at this Football Manager Youth Challenge thing.
I can never get any decent youth candidates! But happy to see someone who does
Congratulations for the cup!
deltablue - Thanks
rancer890 - It does seem impressive but it's not as memorable as winning the Champions League with an all Welsh Bridgend Town side Think next stop will be level 8 England seeing as this Spanish file runs fine with Uncle Ron's Level 8 England.
cerud - You will one day but I guess Spain is a bit overrated with the amount of talent emerging from clubs.
Coentrao - Thanks My first trophy in this save and it only took 9 season!
Unbelievable win
I dont mind you beating Barcelona. I aprove of that one .
Well done on the Barca win, bet you were cheering every goal
scarman - Thanks
SRL88 - Nice to have some approval
cemendur88 - He does look like he could be pretty good in the future.Thanks I did pinch myself when the 5th goal went in as I thought I was dreaming.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - April 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
The highlight of the month is undoubtedly the Copa del Rey Victory against Barcelona.I have to be honest,when they scored first I was dreading a long afternoon.We pulled it back before half time.The second half saw superior finishing from us in what was a even half,never in my dreams did I think we'd score four in a half against Barcelona without them scoring back.
Europa League saw us crash out in the Quarter Finals to Lyon.The first leg saw us lose 2-0 but the only person I can blame is me as I messed up the tactics and they took full advantage of it.I honestly thought that was it and decided to go all out in the 2nd leg,Iker Sola scored a brace to bring us back into the game but we cruely lost on penalties which dampened a good night of football.Overall it was a good first European Campaign and if for anything it will be memorable for knocking out Liverpool.
The league was not as satisfying,destroyed by Barcelona,barely scraped a win against Granada before very disappointing results against Sporting and Villarreal.We were firing on all cylinders against Numancia as we took them apart before a 1-0 victory against Mallorca ended the month on a high.We have three games left and still have a shot at the last CL spot but we have the hardest run in.In the last three games we will face Real Madrid,Malaga and Sevilla so I don't think I could have had a tougher run in.If we didn't throw away stupid points then we could have easily secured 4th.
Last edited by B.W.G; 20-04-2012 at 13:36.
Unlucky on the exit to Lyon in Europe...but still an excellent season.
I can't complain too much considering we just beat Real Mardrid 1-0 in the league so this is going right down to the wire again.
Eurosport Breaking News
Vitoria's Iker Sola has been called up for the Euro 2020 prelim squad.Massive recognition for the 21 year old.Athletic Bilbao player Mikel Goni,At.Madrid Sergio Asenjo and Real Madrid's Ivan Vazquez also a called up.
Think everyone knows about goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo and our very own Iker Sola.Both Mikel Goni and Ivan Vazquez are both attacking players.Goni plays AMR/ST while Vazuez plays AMRC/ST.
Very tight for 4th.
It is,it's gone to the last game.Malaga are 4th with 68 points and face Deportivo,we are 5th with 68 points and we face Sevilla.Barcelona are 6th with 67 points and face Mallorca so we definitely have the hardest game.
At.Madrid have already won the league with Sevilla and Real Madrid battling for 2nd/3rd.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - May 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
Only the league games,we recorded a historic win against Real Madrid as MAR scored the only goal against them to record our first victory against them in the league.The Malaga game was absolute rubbish as the ref showed a lot of bias towards Malaga.We had a controversial red card as Iker Sola was sent off unfairly,they scored in an ofside position,we should have had a second penalty and the one they missed should never had been a penalty in the first place.Overall we are still yet to record a win over Malaga in any competition,maybe next season.Our finishing in the Sevilla game cost us the match but I'm not too bothered by that as we already have got European football next season.
I know we finished lower then last season but we have actually accumulated more points which shows how close the league was.I am more then happy as we have won our first trophy in 9 seasons and will go up against At.Madrid in August for the Supercopa which will have no El Clasico teams in it for the first time since 2004 when Zaragoza won against Valencia.
Last edited by B.W.G; 21-04-2012 at 20:26.
Good season B.W.G. You have done really well not conceding a lot of goals and I can see Champions League football for you soon.
Excellent season fella .
rancer890 - Thanks I've been a bit cautious in the last couple of seasons but from next season I will just take the leash off and let them go all out.I hope so,I want to see how I would get on against the Milans,Man City,Bayern and wanting a rematch with Lyon!
SRL88 - Cheers fella
The point total shows that you've done better than you did last season. Too bad other clubs improved as well! BUt you should be seeing Championship League football soon enough.
Looks like a strong showing.
cerud - I don't think it is was other clubs getting better,it's just that Real and Barcelona have gotten weaker.Glad we've done better this season and hopefully your right with seein CL football soon.
deltablue - It was but I still think we could of and should of done better.
Well done on the Copa del Rey victory; a great triumph over Barcelona!
Only two point off fourth, so not too much to improve on next season
Congrats on the great season. Looks as though there may be a power shift from the Barca R.madrid dominance!
Great Season! Finally a cup!
You could be looking at a Champions League birth next year!
AK22 - Thanks even though I was stunned by it I'm going to let my players off the leash and go all out,hopefully that will work.
JackJCFC - Cheer fella I was quite shocked that neither Real or Barcelona came in the top 2.The last time that happened was in 2002!
cswalk08 - Thanks,only took 9 seasons as well That will be my main aim for next season,third time lucky hopefully.
The end of season update will be next but after that there will be a major announcement.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - End of Season 2019/20
Liga BBVA
League Table
We may have finished lower then last season but we accumulated more points so it was a more successful season.If we didn't mess up stupidly in some games then we could have easily snatched a top four spot but we didn't and that can be something we can work on next season.For the number of goals scored against the number conceded,I actually feel we finished in the right position.We need to be tighter while scoring more consistently and that is what will help us claim a Champions League spot which is definitely possible in the near future.The major talking point of the season will be the performance of Barcelona and Real Madrid as they finished 4th and 3rd respectively which having neither of the two in the top two has not happened since 2002 when Valencia and Deportivo were the top two.
Europa League
We kicked the campaign off with a 6-1 agg victory against Vllaznia in the 4th Qualifying Round.The group stages saw us face Ajax,Spartak and Renova in what appeared to be a tough group,6 games,5 wins and a draw later we topped the group with help from gutsy performances against Ajax and Spartak.Renova were the whipping boys as we put 12 past them while conceding 1 in both games.The 1st knockout saw us against Liverpool,heroic performances from the keeper and defenders saw us draw 0-0 in the first leg before shocking them at home as we clinched a 3-2 victory to go through.The 2nd knockout saw another team who play in Red in the shape of Benfica,again we drew 0-0 in the away leg before securing victory in the home leg as we won 1-0 to go through.The game against Lyon saw a tactical blunder by me in the first leg and we lost 2-0,the second leg saw us win,draw and lose all in one match as we won 2-0 on the night which meant we drew the tie before we lost on penalties.It was a very good first campaign so no complaints from me and we will be back stronger.
Copa del Rey
We kicked things off with a 7-2 aggregate victory over Girona in the 4th round.The 5th round saw us put in two dismal performances against Racing but still just edge the tie 2-1 on aggregate.The Quarter-Finals against Hercules was like a repeat of the matches against Racing as again we put in two dismal performance and still edge the tie 2-1 on aggregate.The Semis were our first real tie as we faced Real Madrid,we lost 2-1 in a game we deserved to lose as we were poor but the 2nd leg showed our superior finishing as we won won 5-0 in the 2nd leg to claim a remarkable 6-2 aggregate victory over Real Madrid.The final was against Barcelona and to win like we did was brilliant,I never thought we would score 5 against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the same competition.
Players,Stats and Awards
Best XI 19/20 - Overall Best XI
A quick look at the overall stats for the team.
Iker Sola
I don't believe anyone will be surprised to see that Sola was once again the top scorer for the club as he hit 29 goals in 51 appearances.I really don't know what to make of his season,he was indifferent in the league as he scored 9 goals in 30 appearances but in the cups he scored 20 goals in 21 appearances.The one thing I keep needing to remember is the fact he is only 21 and has many years left and he can only get better.He already has 129 goals to his name and I reckon he could possibly get to 500 by the time he retires.I am kind of surprised he has not been given a chance in the national team as he is one of the better Spanish scorers.
Unai Gurrutxaga
I honestly don't think anyone be surprised with this one either as Gurrutxaga topped the assist chart with 28 which just narrowly missed out on his best of 31 which was set in 2015/16.Gurrutxaga became the 2nd member of the 100 club as he has now notched up 122 assists in 271 appearances so it has been good going from him.He also game a fairly impressive return of 17 goals from 57 appearances.
Miguel Angel Rodriguez
The guy was an absolute sensation throughout the whole season with only our keeper making more appearances then him.His 60 games saw him score 18 goals which was his highest goal scoring return as well as provide 25 assists which is also a personal best.His performances in the league were 37 games,14 goals and 15 assists.His performances saw him pick up Jugador Joven del ano.
Special Mention - Rodolfo Bodipo
He was the best of the rest and does what he does best which is defend like a warrior.I am now running out of things to say about him as he is a key player and is the most consistent of the bunch.His performances saw him pick up Fans Player of the Year for the third time in four seasons.Long may this sort of form continue.
It finally happened,after 9 seasons of managing Vitoria,we won a trophy!!!The Copa del Rey saw remarkable performances against Real Madrid and Barcelona and was truly a wonderful achievement for now.Even in the league we showed improvement,we may have actually finished lower in position wise but we actually scored more points.The end was disappointing as we missed out on a Champions League spot on the last day of the season again but we will get there eventually and there is no harm in having another season in the Europa League.
The major talking point for the next few seasons is the remarkable improvement in new sponsorship which shows our rise in Spanish football.We've gone up from 2* to 2.5* and have a national rep which is pretty amazing considering where we were a few season ago.Here's to the future!
Code:Season Division League Cup Continental Avg.Att Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2011/12 Tercera Div.Grp 4 2nd N/A N/A 418 Promoted! 2012/13 Segunda Division B3 9th N/A N/A 646 Survival! 2013/14 Segunda Division B2 9th N/A N/A 712 Copa RFEF Runner Up 2014/15 Segunda Division B3 3rd 1st Rnd N/A 827 Won Promotion Playoff! 2015/16 Liga Adelante 7th 3rd Rnd N/A 1487 Self-Proclaimed Entertainers 2016/17 Liga Adelante 2nd 4th Rnd N/A 900 Promoted! 2017/18 Liga BBVA 12th 5th Rnd N/A 900 Survival! 2018/19 Liga BBVA 5th 5th Rnd N/A 11771 Europa League Qualification! 2019/20 Liga BBVA 6th Winners Quarters 11343 Won a trophy!
Last edited by B.W.G; 23-04-2012 at 12:00.
Bodipo is such a beast, great improvement on the sponsorships as well though the local company deal made me laugh
Maybe next season you can get a CL spot?
Pepe Mel has been sacked as Spain Manager after the dismal performance in Euro 2020 as they crashed out in the 2nd Round.His replacement.....me!
This will be quite tough as the squad is ageing but it will give a chance to some of the youngsters who are starting to shine through.I will not be using the national team job as an excuse to give my players caps just because I can.We do have a few on the fringes but they will need to earn it.
Congrats on the Spain job!
That makes two of us in charge of Spain Good luck! You better play aggressive!
Great news on the cup win and the Spain job.
Great news with the Spain job, maybe you can bring in a few of your players now
cswalk08 - Cheers fella
Flamers - Thanks!Don't worry,they will be going all out otherwise they may find themselves cut
deltablue - Thanks I am hoping that this is the start of things to cup.
JackJCFC - Cheers mate!There will be no...errrmmm....bias off me
Congrats on Spain! Preferential treatment for your players perhaps?
Great work getting the Spain job .
cerud - Thanks As a professional,I have to say I will only select the best players available and if they happen to play for Vitoria then so be it.They will only play if they are on form.
SRL88 - Cheers fella
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - Pre-Season 2020/21
Club Overview - Facilities - Board Overview - Expectations - Finances
Pre-Season Fixtures
Was a shortened pre-season due to Europa League and Supercopa participation but it was pretty much the ideal pre-season for us.The only downside was the MVV game where we were 2-0 and 3-1 up,after the match I let the players know I was angry.
The Team
Team Report - Tactics
Key Players
Jose Zubillaga - GK
Rodolfo Bodipo - DC
Miguel Angel Rodriguez - AMRC
Iker Sola - AMC/ST
I have literally ran out of things to say about these four as I believe they are the pillars of the team as they are the fours strongest in the their respective areas.They are also the four most likely to be called up to the Spanish National Team,we do have a few others who are not far off them in ability but for now they still remain solid and I can only hope the continue to do what they do best.
Pre-Season was a case of same old same old as nothing has been improved other then the sponsorships.I am still waiting for Youth Recruitment to be improved as we are still on Fairly Basic youth recruitment but it seems to be a very hard one to improve but it's just a case of wait and see.My main aim this season is to break the top four in which we have come close in the last two seasons so I see no reason why we can't do it.The Europa League has given us a fairly tricky tie in Serbian side Rad but I feel we can see them off to make the group stages.I don't mind another season in Europa League as it will be helpful to our seeding for when we finally make the Champions League.
I still have another three years on my contract by that point I do want us to be challenging for the title which should be more then achievable based on recent seasons and our luck in players coming through the ranks but I cannot just rely on luck as luck does eventually run out.I feel it will be around 2028 when we could be battling for the Champions League title but that's my assessment and most of the time it has been wrong,I say most but I really mean all as we have massively overachieved to what I expected of the team.
Last edited by B.W.G; 23-04-2012 at 16:39.
Spain - World Cup 2022 Qualifying
The Group
That is actually quite a tricky group.Russia,Sweden,Belarus and possibly even Macedonia could cause threats so I guess it sucks to be San Marino in this group!I am more then ready for this and want to get off to a flyer as we are at home to Belarus then away to Macedonia in our first games.No friendly will be played in August as I don't want any players getting injured that early in the season especially with my non-bias selection.I have lined games up against Wales (33rd in rankings) and Scotland (19th in rankings) so hopefully they will accept.
Updates will for the national team will normally be done in December and June with exception of playoffs and tournaments as they will each warrant their own update.
Last edited by B.W.G; 28-04-2012 at 12:27.
A few tricky ties there. Especially Russia & Sweden but you should qualify.
The physical stats on those regens .
Good luck with Spain. Not the easiest of groups, but I'd still expect you to go through
Not easy but you should prevail.
SRL88 - As long as we play to our fullest then I am quite confident.A few regens in the Spanish side also have impressive physicals which should help in bullying teams off the ball.
AK22 - This group contains four of the top 30 with Macedonia and San Marino the outsiders but I like a challenge
deltablue - Already got the tactics sorted so hopefully we can prevail with room to spare.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - August 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
Supercopa up first and we gave a battling and sturdy display as we drew 2-2 in the first leg which was a fair result,we could have won it if our finishing was better but we didn't so it's a case of move on.The 2nd leg will be tricky as they are at home and have the advantage of two away goals.
Europa League saw us up against Rad in the qualifying,I thought this would be tricky but with the way we played,it was anything but tricky as we won both legs with ease to record a 7-1 aggregate victory.The group stage draw sees us drawn against Dortmund,Dnipro and Maccabi Haifa so 2nd place is more then achievable if we play our best.
We kicked off our league campaign in emphatic style as we beat the reigning champs At.Madrid 3-0 in the first game of the season.The 2nd game was another tough one as we were away to Barcelona,we never really threatened to cause an upset as they comfortably won 2-0.The bright side is that is two of the tougher games out of the way so things can only get easier.
Last edited by B.W.G; 25-04-2012 at 11:09.
Good luck getting back into the Euro League group stages, and beat up on Madrid again!
Good start to the season, I think qualification from that group is definitely achievable. Good luck in the Supercopa, and congrats on the Spain job!
Best of luck in the Euro group stages. Russia may be interesting, but should be achievable.
Solid start to the season.
Thanks Guys
We lost in the Supercopa but it was a close game and we have kicked off our Europa League group stage in style as we beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1.
On the Spain front,we beat Belarus 4-1 and Macedonia 3-0 with one player scoring all 7!
A great Dortmund win promises a great season ahead.
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - September 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
The only downside of the month was losing to At.Madrid in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa but other then that it has been a cracking month.We kicked off our Europa League Campaign with a cracking 3-1 win over Dortmund and have kept up with the early pace setters in the league.This month has also seen the rewards of letting our team off the leash when it has come down to attacking so long may that continue.
Next month sees us play Valencia and Real Madrid for our most difficult games but considering we've already faced Sevilla and At.Madrid and won while we lost to Barcelona shows we have got most of the difficult games out of the way and I'm feeling pretty confident of doing well this season.
Last edited by B.W.G; 26-04-2012 at 11:12.
Looking very good.
deltablue - Thanks I am quite surprised with how we have started as I didn't think we'd be this close to the leaders.
I've just finished my 3rd game in charge of Spain and we produced this and I know it was only San Marino.
Two Significant things came from this match:
1 - Vitoria's very own Rodolfo Bodipo made his debut for his country and scored.
2 - Tomas scoring 6 for his country which set two new records for the country,most goals in one match and top goalscorer for a season!
He actually plays in Liga Adelante for Osasuna but is a product of Barcelona's Youth setup.You are also reading this seasons record right,3 games and 13 goals!
Great month in September. Tomas looks an accomplished player.
Tomas looks freaking awesome You've done brilliantly with Vitoria
2nd place so far! Keep it up!
Tomas is a beast! And at only 24, he should still improve some too
Now just stop the season there It's amazing how quickly the the team has progressed, but I think you've still got a few seasons of chasing down the better-established sides in La Liga.
SRL88 - Thanks!I am actually quite shocked that Spains best forward plays in the 2nd tier.Porto are interested so I am half expecting him to move seeing as he is transfer listed.
john1 - He is indeed,no offence to Osasuna but he deserves to be at bigger club.Thanks,hopefully it will carry on.
swalk08 - It's a start but wait till you see October
cerud - He is and hopefully he will to.Quite surprised Barcelona let a talent like that go but some big clubs don't how to use their youngsters.
arinceo - No,I don't want the season to end till the end of October at least The better established sides are not as strong as they once were due to things like ageing as well as the need to gel as some get a lot of players in which need to gel whereas we don't.I think we could be challenging as early as next season.
Just read this whole thread, unbeliavable!
Thanks fella
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - October 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
An excellent month although with our scoring I could say we were a bit 'two' repetitive but we got through the month unbeaten and could possibly sit top of the league if I win the game in hand which I think is the first time I could ever do that.If you take out the Valencia game then the hardest match was surprisingly the Copa del Rey game against Granada as they made us fight till the end.We are now 3 for 3 in the Europa League and I will be damned if we don't qualify now.We were supposed to face Real Madrid this month but due to the Copa del Rey game it has been rearranged for December.
November looks to be a straight forward month with Espanyol look to be the trickiest tie we have to face in the league.Granada and Dnipro will also be tricky ties as they are both away from home but if we play to our best then we should be able to get past them.Here's to what I hope can be another successful month.
Last edited by B.W.G; 27-04-2012 at 14:39.
Excellent month .
Cound this be your year?
SRL88 - Cheers fella
deltablue - Who knows,I'd be ecstatic with having a top 4 finish!
Tomas looks like a great player. I saw the 8-0 and was all like 'wow' but then saw was San Marino and just thought 'ehh an okay performance'! Looking good in the league with Vitoria, how long you reckon you'll be in the top 2 for this season?
He is a good player and would have to appear in my backroom advice for a recommended striker knowing full well I can't buy anyone It was only San Marino so I will be aiming for double figures in the return game.As for the top two,we will be first till at least the 2nd week of December!
C.D. Vitoria - Liga BBVA - November 2020
League Table
Manager's Thoughts
The cup games first and we easily disposed of Dnipro in the Europa League which also secured European action after Christmas.The game against Granada was very tough and we just edged it to give us 4-2 on agg which secures a tie against Sporting in the 5th round.The league saw more perfection as we won every game,Espanyol was the most difficult game which we struck lucky as we didn't deserve anything out of the match.The other close game was Almeria but it only appears close as we had two goals disallowed and Romero sent off but we took advantage of Real slipping up to give us a 4 point lead.
December is a bit trickier as we have fixtures against Malaga and Deportivo as well as finishing the group stage of Europa League off and the first leg of the 5th round against Sporting.I want to do well in the cup so hope to win them,as for the league I'd be happy taking 3 points from the league as that will keep us top till at least 23rd December.We've been nothing short of brilliant and hopefully that will continue.
Last edited by B.W.G; 28-04-2012 at 12:16.
Top of the pile .
Amazing start! Keep going
Keep up the good work. Looks like the league is yours to lose
You'll probably be ecstatic then.
Thanks guys
It has been a very impressive run which is still going and will go into January top of the table with 4 points advantage over Real Madrid.
Nice to see you maintaining the lead.
Great work so far, Champions League is looking like the minimum for the year
cerud - Thanks fella
Scarman - Thanks It is looking good so far but we're not quite at the halfway but we are looking surprisingly strong.
Flippin' heck!
Sola and MAR have helped enormously even if the latter has been out injured.Sola has 17 goals in 25 appearances while MAR has 19 assists and 6 goals in 24 appearances.


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The inaugural "Croke Park Classic" will see the University of Central Florida (UCF) face Penn State in Croke Park, Dublin on the 30th August 2014.
The first in what is expected to be a three game series, this event will see the University of Central Florida (UCF) host Penn State University in their 2014 season opener. Big names in American college football, both teams are guaranteed to bring huge fanfare and significant travelling support. So, what brings these teams to Ireland?
American football is the most popular sport in the United States and efforts are being made to boost its popularity around the world.
The Croke Park Classic will be the first time that UCF and Penn State have played outside the United States, however the last American Football game hosted in Croke Park was in 1996 when Notre Dame defeated Navy. Both colleges were back in Dublin in 2012 when they attracted a capacity attendance of almost 50,000 to their fixture. Organisers of last year's Notre Dame/Navy game in Dublin estimated that the game added €100m to the Irish economy and contributed to the nearly 15% year on year growth in American visitors in the period August-October 2012.
On 30th August 2014 UCF and Penn State will be playing for the Dan Rooney Trophy, named after the former US ambassador to Ireland and Chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. A key player in the GAA's redevelopment plans for Croke Park in the early nineties, Dan Rooney has been both a passionate fan of Gaelic Games and big supporter of the Association during his many visits and residence in Ireland over the last fifty years.
Ireland of course has its own vibrant American Football scene. The IAFL, under the remit of the Irish American Football Association (IAFA) plays adult, full contact American football using NCAA rules – those used in major college football in the USA. Nine teams are playing in the Shamrock Bow Conference, which is Ireland's top competitive league. The GAA (The Gaelic Athletic Association - Ireland's largest sporting organisation) and Croke Park welcome the support of the IAFA. Wednesday 18 December, 2013 marks 100 years since the signing of the deeds to Croke Park by the GAA.
Tickets for the Croke Park Classic are on sale and details can be found at www.crokeparkclassic.ie. Follow the event @crokepkclassic or on facebook.com/CrokeParkClassic.
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Someone is sending our public email address a lot of rude email. Basically, stuff filled with threats, expletives, insults and offensive jargon.
I know how to set up a filter in Gmail so that all message from a particular email address are auto-deleted. I'm wondering if there's a way for Gmail to send him back an NDR. "NDR" is basically the technical term for a bounce message.
Anyone ever seen anything like this? Any labs that do this?
Any third party services that do this on your behalf?
It would be a great little tool which I think a lot of people would use. Sort of a "you've been blocked!" auto-reply.


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The Complete Matrix Trilogy Blu-ray for $18.68
From Amazon.co.uk - GBP 8.33 + GBP 3.08 Shipping = GBP 11.41 or USD $18.68.
11 Comments add a comment
inb4 "Matrix and 2 coasters" joke.
Here it is on the US store, also for a really good price ($25):
The US version is a 6 discs vs the UK version with 3. The difference is special features. Plus you don't have to pay extra for shipping if you're in the US.
Don't watch the trilogy. Seriously, don't. Watch the first one three times instead.
Too bad they never made any sequels. http://xkcd.com/566/
@ljj116: I laugh every time I see this trilogy on woot because of that comic.
@daklus: It's not that the US version differs from the UK one, it's that those are two different products: the "Complete Matrix Trilogy" (which has the movies only) vs. the "Ultimate Matrix Collection" (which has lots of special features). Both products are available in both the US and the UK, and except for minor packaging differences, are identical regardless of which country you buy them from.
I'll be that other guy: Animatrix?
@j5: This set doesn't include The Animatrix.
Oh come on, the other two weren't that bad. The action alone is worth the price of admission. I also enjoy being the only one in the room who understands the architect.
@cafink: yes, I know.
Whenever a Matrix set comes up, someone always says: "No Animatrix, no sale"
or somesuch.
@j5: The version sold at the US Amazon link includes Animatrix.


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5 Marvel Characters Who Totally Dropped the Ball
We tend to think of superheroes (and villains) as pretty competent people. After all, it takes a sharp mind to build a flying suit of armor or hold the entire world hostage. But, as we've pointed out a few times before, sometimes the characters in these movies seem to know less about what they're doing than we do, and for every sensible decision they make, they stumble through a series of catastrophically terrible blunders that defy explanation.
#5. Every Decision Tony Stark Makes Is Terrible (and Illegal)
Marvel Studios
Let's start with the fact that the man could and should be thrown in jail at any moment.
See, a good portion of the Iron Man movie franchise focuses on Tony Stark's legal battle with the U.S. government -- they really want him to hand over the Iron Man suit (something about it being a highly effective superweapon capable of neutralizing an entire platoon in seconds and how it probably shouldn't be in the hands of an emotionally unstable alcoholic). But as a legal matter, the government absolutely has a right to demand it for another reason: This technology was created with taxpayer money. It totally belongs to the government.
Marvel Studios
"Bullshit. Anything I've spent has been offset by the medical jobs I've created with my STDs."
Remember, Stark Industries is a defense contractor, and thus subject to the same regulations as a company like Lockheed Martin. Any technology built while on a government contract can be used only on that contract, whether it be a tank engine or a piece of software. Because, you know, the government paid for it. The developers can't sell the technology to anyone else or use it to destabilize foreign terrorist cells on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
And as we know from the first Iron Man movie ...
Marvel Studios
... Tony built the original Arc Reactor -- the one thing that makes the suit work -- as part of a government contract. Hell, the original armor prototype he threw together in the cave was built out of parts from missiles he created under another defense department contract. All of that research and development was done on the taxpayer's dime, and then Tony uses it to turn himself into a superhero and claims that nobody else has a right to put their filthy paws on it. In reality, it would be illegal for Tony to use an Arc Reactor to power his goddamn TiVo, let alone use it to fly halfway around the world and punch tanks in half (which incidentally is also illegal, because crossing national borders with that suit constitutes the trafficking of defense technology).
But knowing that he's in violation of federal law every minute he spends zipping around in his futuristic explosion suit only makes his other decisions that much more baffling.
Marvel Studios
We're not even including his facial hair and choosing to date Gwyneth Paltrow.
First of all, Tony openly admits to being Iron Man on national television. As far as the law is concerned, he might as well have announced that he had been smuggling weapons to Chinese pirates for the past seven years, because both are violations of the same set of regulations. Remember, there's a reason Bruce Wayne keeps his Batman hobby a secret: He knows that what he's doing is illegal as shit, billionaire or not. But Tony proudly confesses his criminal activities several times in the middle of a congressional hearing, then hacks into a few government computers (also a crime) and walks out of the courtroom flashing deuces. It's like he's daring the government to throw him in federal prison for a decade.
Marvel Studios
"Worked for Nixon."
After insisting that the Iron Man suit isn't a threat to national security as long as it remains in his carefully guarded hands, Tony proceeds to torpedo his own argument in Iron Man 2 by using the armor to drunkenly endanger people's lives at his birthday party and then fly, hungover, to eat doughnuts on top of another, larger doughnut.
Marvel Studios
"It doesn't count as a DUI if you have access to wrist lasers."
His friend Rhodes, an Air Force colonel, shows up at the party to keep Tony from hurting anyone, and Tony goes out of his way to prove to a man who is both a close friend and a high-ranking government official just how little he can be trusted with the armor (the use of which, we can't stress enough, can land Tony in prison).
Marvel Studios
"I'm about to drop you so hard that you'll think you're Terrence Howard."
Then, Rhodes steals one of the Iron Man suits while Tony is too drunk to object, because apparently all you need to do to put on an Iron Man suit is stick one foot in each metal boot hole and strap it the fuck on. Tony could've at least put a bike lock on the damn thing. As it stands, his superweapon seems to have about as much security as a dusty old pickup truck. Any of the alcohol-soaked dumbasses who came to his party could have flown home with an Iron Man suit of their very own -- both Tony and the entire world are lucky it was Rhodes who wound up taking one instead of some 24-year-old trust fund douchebag from Malibu.
Then, in The Avengers, Tony builds a giant tower in the middle of New York City with his name on the side and zooms in and out of there in his unsanctioned murder costume on a regular basis. He even invites Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, an earthquake with fists who's currently sitting at the top of the international watch list, to come stay in the tower and help him build even more secret illegal technology.
Marvel Studios
"Between your rage and my alcoholism, the sky's the limit!"
It's like Tony is deliberately acting out every possible bullet point on a list of reasons why the government needs to confiscate his superhero suit and toss him in a jail cell, presumably one without smelting tools and a helpful fellow scientist.
#4. Nick Fury Completely Ignores Every Internal Threat
Marvel Studios
Nick Fury is the master of timely reactions -- he put Agent Coulson on Tony Stark's case before Stark had even gotten around to building the Mark II armor, and he found Thor's hammer within hours of it landing in New Mexico. He scooped Captain America out of some ice and put him in a fake 1940s hospital room to keep the man from flipping out and punching people's heads off in time-displaced confusion, and he's been keeping close track of Bruce Banner's exact position on the globe. You can guarantee that the instant something gets superhero-y, Nick Fury will be there to glare at it and tell it cryptic riddles.
But as brilliant as his foresight is, Nick is unequivocally terrible at dealing with problems that are staring him directly in the face.
Marvel Studios
Uh, that's not an eye joke.
For example, look at how he deals with the whole Bruce Banner situation when it finally moves from "constant surveillance" to "coerced kidnapping." Nick Fury knows full well that Bruce is easily the most dangerous living thing on the planet, so in The Avengers he sends a pretty lady in to explain what's going on and try to convince Bruce to come along peaceably. However, the lady in question is Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), a world-class killer of men, and she has an entire team of technologically armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents backing her up in case Bruce gets upset and transforms into a rage-bellowing neutron bomb. That's a pretty safe plan, right?
Marvel Studios
They even brought light sabers. This is a great plan.
But what precautions does Fury take with Bruce once they've convince him to join the Avengers? Freaking none. When we first see Bruce on the Helicarrier, he's just wandering around, looking totally lost, and nobody is paying any attention to him.
Marvel Studios
In fairness, it's possible their "No Hulking" signs just hadn't arrived yet.
Remember, as far as anybody knows at this point in the film, Bruce can't control when he hulks out. That's why Nick Fury had that special cell built for him. However, Bruce is never in the same room as that cell. He doesn't even know it exists until Loki gets locked in it. The rest of the time, Bruce is left alone in a lab with a completely unarmored Tony Stark. Tony even deliberately tries to piss him off and trigger a Hulk suplex, and neither Fury nor anyone tasked with keeping an eye on Bruce is there to say anything about it.
Marvel Studios
* For more on Tony Stark's douchebaggery, check the previously entry, true believer!
Sure, Captain America yells at Tony, but as much as we love Cap, he absolutely cannot contain Bruce if the man has a sudden Hulkamania explosion. Nick Fury takes all these insane precautions to track Bruce Banner down and bring him in, but then forgets about him entirely once he's on board the multibillion-dollar flying aircraft carrier.
Even worse is the way Nick Fury handles Hawkeye (though in fairness, there is no good way to handle Hawkeye beyond simply denying that he exists). In the very first scene in The Avengers, Hawkeye gets brainwashed by Loki and shoots Nick Fury in the chest. Later, Hawkeye commandeers a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft and is able to fly right up next to the Helicarrier and blow up an engine before anyone even notices what he's up to.
Marvel Studios
The Galaga joke's funny until you realize that his high score probably cost dozens of co-workers their lives.
Fury knows there is a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. operative running around out there working side-by-side with Loki (getting shot in the chest isn't something that slips your mind), but he doesn't tell the crew of the Helicarrier to bolster their security protocols in case the dude shows up? He could've at least sent out a memo letting everyone know to watch out for bad guys pretending to be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Instead, Hawkeye's ship gives some vague purpose for trying to dock with the Helicarrier and they wave him right on through, as if they do all of their security on the honor system.
#3. The Army Sets a Trap for the Hulk ... in the Middle of a Busy College Campus
In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner has to continuously evade the U.S. military while struggling to keep from transforming into a rippling green-muscled fury demon. His nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross, is hell-bent on capturing him, seeing as how it was a top secret military program that turned Bruce into a radioactive supermonster in the first place, and if the story got out, it would make Ross and his buddies look like big-time assholes. Ross is so determined to keep the Hulk a secret that he sends a strike team in to try to collect Bruce without bothering to explain the man's propensity to suddenly mutate into a flexing horrorbeast. As far as the team knew, they were just swooping into a Brazilian ghetto to grab some nerd.
"Better pull up the hood on my bright orange shirt so as not to draw attention to myself."
However, Bruce escapes, and then midway through the film, General Ross tracks him down again and decides to send an entire armored battalion to blast him into submission. The problem? The location is a crowded university, in the middle of the day, in full view of the entire campus, to be replayed in an infinite loop on Headline News.
Bruce Banner is inside the university trying to talk to his girlfriend when Ross' fleet of tanks and Humvees comes crashing through the parking lot like the Cannonball Run -- note the civilian vehicles everywhere and the busy street behind them:
Marvel Studios
"Destroy everything if you have to -- we'll blame the Hulk!"
Dozens of heavily armed soldiers spill out and get into formation with weapons at the ready as if they are preparing to slay a medium-sized dinosaur ...
Marvel Studios
... and unleash hell with hundreds or thousands of innocent college kids in easy range of stray bullets and cannon shells:
Marvel Studios
"Damn hippies deserve what they get!"
At one point, a handful of soldiers even start firing teargas grenades into a glass-covered walkway connecting two of the campus buildings, which strangely winds up being the least dangerous thing they do:
Marvel Studios
Because at that point, Ross sends in a back-flipping super soldier with a grenade launcher ...
Marvel Studios
"I mostly base my plans of attack on old Nintendo games."
... and a freaking attack helicopter:
Marvel Studios
"Damn it, why aren't they blaring Ride of the Valkyries like I said at the briefing?"
All of which the Hulk destroys while college kids record the whole affair on their smartphones.
Marvel Studios
One of whom would apparently go on to play for the Bulls.
For whatever reason (perhaps due to the thrill of finally closing in on Bruce Banner), General Ross completely abandons his doctrine of extreme secrecy and blasts a campus apart in full view of camera crews and the entire student body, endangering the lives of innocent civilians in the process. The only way Ross could've handled the situation any worse is if he'd somehow managed to trap the Hulk inside a day care center that was in the middle of filming a reality show.


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Reebok Pro Cooperstown Low Zig Men's Metal Baseball Cleats
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- U-Form technology provides a custom fi for the collar and midfoot.
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COLLIERS - After an eight-year hiatus, Randy Zaslocke is back in business.
Zaslocke's new venture, R&D Drag Racing Engines, celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday. Located at 1066 Halls Road, Colliers, Zaslocke specializes in building engines, transmissions and rear-ends, though he'll also be doing general repairs.
"We're going to have a body shop shortly, probably within a few weeks," he said.
Article Photos
RACING ENGINES — Celebrating the opening of R&D Drag Racing Engines at 1066 Halls Road, Colliers, were, from left, technician Shawn Shorts; R&D President Randy Zaslocke; Manager Dawn Burkman and Building Owner Jackie Zaslocke. — Linda Harris
Zaslocke said he's been working with engines all his life. An avid drag racer, he said his specialty is building engines, "especially tricked out small block Chevy engines and tricked-out twin cam Harleys."
"I make things go fast, very fast, and they're dependable," he said. "I've been doing it all my life. You keep experimenting, doing it every day and just keep working until you perfect it. I built my first motor with my Dad at 12 years old and built my first motor by myself at 14. I painted my first car at 12."
He'd previously operated Zaz-lok Automotives & Performance for a decade, but took a break for health reasons and the death of his father.
"I did it by myself back then," he said. "But this team came together, we all wanted to do it."
Joining Zaslocke at R&D are his mother, Jackie, who owns the building; Dawn Bruckman, manager; and Shawn Shorts, technician.
Between them, Zaslocke and Shorts have 50-plus years of experience.
In addition to small block Chevy and twin cam Harley engines, the shop's specialities also include marine engines, all-out racing engines, remanufactured and used engines, transmissions and rear-ends, installation and repair.
R&D is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information or directions, call (304) 527-4540.