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Not only in the USA
According to Spiegel-onlinetoday, questions similar to those being raised about Catholic institutions here are also being raised there. I wouldn't say the article is a masterpiece of objectivity, but it's worth reading.
About the Author
Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.
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Here's an article from today's Inside the Vatican about the disillusionment of the German Catholics with the leadership of the Church, especially over the last year. The lower classes wouldn't even care if the Chruch went out of existence, or so says the study, apparently.http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/world-news/detail/articolo/cattolic...
this is a fascinating article for those us who knew little about the social welfare state in Germanyand its relation with the Church. Incredible that the Church is the second largest employer in the country, has 420 hospitals, and that 90+% of funding for Catholic insitutions comes from the state... and this doesn't even mention the previous posts about the bishops defending "no tax, no sacrament" policy. The box that the current prevailing moral theology has painted itself into regarding contraception and "morning after" pills is the top of the iceberg with reproductive ethics, but I can't foresee how it's all to break open -- unless, as Cathleen Kaveny suggested some months ago, the Catholic view of contraception/ pregnancy provide not so much moral guidance to all, but cultic features that will brand "Cathollic" but not be rally instructive to all. This tragic inciden of this rejectded woman illustrates the charade. Then jump to the story of the Catholic hospital in Colorade that's being sued and now wants to claim that fetuses are not "persons" to avoid another type of lawsuit and we see the confusion in the civil and theological spheres growing.
Maybe the Catholic hospitals should return to the old way -- not be dependent on the government for funds. This would cripple the Catholic hospitals in terms of volume of service, but maybe it's necessary. If the Church cannot define its own beliefs (and even the Hosannah decision says it must) then the Church must stop its cooperation with government health care.Whether or not you and I agree with the bishops' positions about abortion, etc., is irrelevant. They are the ones responsible to articulate Church teach *as they see it*. If we want the Catholic hospitals to flourish, then we have to change the mind *either* of the bishops or the government. Unfortunately, the bishops won't even allow these difficult matters to be discussed within the Church. Shame, shame on them.
Our diseased church seems intent on infecting everyone with the disease.
This is all about "non-negotiable" teachings. The following list might help people looking for examples of how definitive teachings have proved to be not so definitive after all:Academic FreedomAnimal RightsAstrologyBiblical CriticismElection of BishopsCanonization of SaintsCapitalismChurch and StateChurch as perfect societyChurch can errCollegialityCommunismConfession (ways of celebrating the Sacrament of Penance)Creation in six daysDemocracyDevelopment of DoctrineDissentEastern SchismEcclesiologyEcumenismEnsoulmentError has no rightsGalileoGospels authorship of the gospelsHoly orders forms of the sacramentInculturationInequality in the churchInfallibility of EncyclicalsJewsJustice in the churchLaicization of PriestsLaity participation in the churchLatin use ofLocal churchMarriage Definition ofMarriage inferior to celibate life; religious life superiorFreedom of the PressMembership in the churchModernismMonarchyMoses author of the PentateuchNational independenceOpeness to the WorldOriginal Sin and MonoganismPapal AuthorityPapal StatesPluralismPreferential option for the poorReligious LibertyRevelationSacramental TheologySalvation outside of the churchSexualitySlaverySocial ClassesSocial TeachingSuicideSupport of ColonialismTeaching role of BishopsTortureTridentine MissalUsuryVicar of Christ titleWomenWorship changes
To Joseph O'Leary's useful list above, we might add another category: History, meaning the refusal of Church leaders to engage seriously with the past, and examine the ways in which particular teachings -- e.g., salvation outside the church -- have changed.
I've long thought that members of the hierarchy should spend time teaching in a fifth-grade classroom. It forces one to learn something about human behavior. Try telling a group of fifth graders they are to shut up and not even think about something or other and you are ensuring that's all they'll think and whisper about. It's a perfect way to make yourself irrelevant as a teacher. Dictating isn't teaching. It doesn't work with fifth graders, and certainly won't work with thinking adults. However, really teaching is hard work.
So... is the Wittenburg Cathedral still accepting postings?Or at least a Facebook revolution?But from whom...?
From the article Ann refernece via link: Criticisms range from complaints about discrimination against women and celibacy, to the condemnation of homosexuality, contraception and sex outside wedlock, to the marginalisation of lay people involved in Church life. Lets summarize this. These folks want women priests and married priests, and they want the pope to say that homosexuality, contraception, and sex outside of marriage is Ok. Also, they think the laity should be charge of the church.Hmm - I do not see any of that happening anytime soon, or anytime at all for that matter.Next subject?
No, Ken, not on to the next subject. The Church has already proven that it can be incorrigible: it KNOWS that there have been married priests, and it KNOWS that it is the bishops' duty to provide the Sacraments to the faithful (even canon law says so!), but the hierarchy is so incorrigibly stubborn that it refuses to change the dumb law and provide the desperately needed priest. Further, NONE of the teachings you mention has been declared ex cathedra or by a Council, so they are not settled matters. They are at least arguable. But the Vatican prohibits argument even to the point of excommunicating priests who openly disagree. See the very recent cases of Fr. Bourgeois and the old Irish priest this week.) It is clear to anyone with eyes to see that the Vatican cannot bear the thought of admitting it has been wrong, so it allows the Church falls apart. Not my kind of leadership, and it shouldn't be yours.
I recently asked thirteen teenagers at catechism in France for the names of their bishop and of the pope. The bishop was an unknown: only one knew his name; the pope did better, but still, five of them thought that the pope's name was John Paul II. (I was a bit surprised.)In France at least, all that noise about the church hierarchy doesn't get through to most people.
" ... it KNOWS that there have been WOMEN priests ..."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludmila_Javorov%C3%A1http://viaintegra.word...
See also: "An inconvenient truth: Catholic hospitals can't be selective in when to defend the rights of the unborn. " http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201301/inconvenient-truth-catholic-hospit...
Jim McC. --Thanks for the exceptionally interesting article about the history of the Czech women priests. I knew they had existed, but I had no idea any of them were still alive. Somebody get a grant to do that story before it dies!! We'll never get the story of their courage from Rome, that's for sure.Of most interest to me was the motive for ordaining them -- the lack of the Sacraments for certain groups of people. I empathsize mightily. As I keep repeating, my brother was in a nursing home for 14 years where there were no priests sent to minister to the people there. Lots of Baptist preachers, no priests. It's simply disgraceful that the lack of priests here in the USA in 2013 is similar to the lack under the Czech Communist regime. At least in that country there was serious reason for the lack of priests. There is no excuse for the lack of priests here, NONE. God bless Bishop Davidek!! Let's make him the patron saint of Church reform.
OK Ann, I will take the bait.Women priests No can do; more than one pope has said so. Married priests; Can do if the pope says OK. The Greeks have married priests. The decision on this belongs to the pope.Homosexuality Not evil in and of itself, but homosexual behavior is sinful; popes have reiterated this time and again.Abortion Murder plain and simpleContraception Read Humanae Vitae; I do not see the Vatican back peddling on this one either.And so as you say, people can argue these all they like, but the only one that could be changed is if Rome allows priests to become family men.Not much here then; time to move along.
Ken --You need to study more carefully the claims about infallibility that the current popes are relying on. I mean the Vatican I claims. According to those norms, for a teaching to be taught infallibly the pope (or Council) must confer with the whole Church and then make an ex officio statement that he is making an infallible statement. No pope has ever done all this with reference to the questions you bring up. Pope JP II has even hesitated to call some of his statements "infallible", calling them "definitive statements". That lends the statement a lot of authority, but it doesn't make it infallible. Of course, to disagree with an official teaching (and have been many, many, many of those over 2000 years) must never be done lightly and never, never without being convinced that the evidence does not support the official teaching. In my opinion this should require either a great deal of personal experience, corroborated by others' experience and/or study, depending on the issue. Dissent should never be just a well-that's-just-not-the-way-I-see-it matter. But I think that in at least some of the hot-button issues the Faithful are coming to see the matters more clearly than the bishops, no doubt because the Faithful have to face tough and confusing choices all the time. And that's another reason not to have an all-celibate clergy. Sadly, Rome and the bishops even refuse to talk about them. That to me is itself an indication that they too have their suspicions that if they addressed the questions that they might lose -- or even would lose. We really need to have the old scholastic method of argumentation come back -- 1. Formulate a question, as in the classic question: Does God exist?2. Give negative answers to the question and the reasons why that conclusions is presented. (Answer: No, because A, B, and C.)3. Give the opinion of the speaker, together with his/her reasons for that opinion(Yes, because X, Y, and Z.)4. Give rebuttals to the negative answer of 2 -- that is, tell *why* your opponents are wrong. (A is wrong because..., B is wrong because..., and C is wrong because...)But you won't find the current hierarchy looking at the evidence pro and con so carefully. They just say, "We already have the answers, so shut up". They conveniently forget the intellectual culture that produced Anselm and Aquinas and Scotus, and the others whose conclusions they still rely on so heavily.
Ken --Here's a splendid parody of a medieval question with the pros and cons. It's from Bro. Raymund Snyder, OP., and he sounds *exactly* like the Angelic Doctor:-) The question: Whether Thomas Aquinas is fittingly called boring?Objection 1: It would seem that Thomas Aquinas is fittingly called boring. The works of Thomas are composed of impersonal statements and arguments, which are boring. Now, every agent acts in accordance with its nature to produce something like unto itself (omne agens agit sibi simile). Just as nothing can effect heat unless it is hot, so too no one can produce boring writings, unless he is boring. Hence it is seen that since Thomas works are boring, Thomas is fittingly called boring.Objection 2: Thomas Aquinas is well known to have been of considerable girth. A man possesses phlegmatic humor in proportion to his size. The more phlegmatic a mans disposition, the more he is perceived as dull, wearisome, and uninteresting. Thus, as a result of his girth, Thomas is fittingly called boring.Objection 3: Those who are always correct in all things are annoying. Those who are annoying are also boring. Thus, Thomas, who is typically correct on account of the soundness of his reasoning and the brilliance of his intellect, is fittingly called boring.On the contrary, it is written (Job 7:1) Is not life on earth a drudgery, its days like those of a hireling? Hence it is on account of the burdens of this life that boredom comes.I answer that, A thing may be called boring in two ways: in itself (per se) or accidentally (per accidens) on account of some accompanying factor. Thomas, considered in himself, is not boring. A man is only called boring who tries ones patience excessively and to no great purpose. However, the works of Thomas are ordered towards producing knowledge and wisdom in the reader concerning the greatest realities, namely God and the things of God. As the Philosopher observes in the De Animalibus XI, the least knowledge of the highest realities produces the greatest joy. Whatever produces joy cannot fail to excite.However, St. Thomas may be called boring accidentally with regard to the difficulty some of his readers experience. As the Philosopher observes in Physics I, we start from the things which are more knowable to us and proceed towards those which are clearer and more knowable by nature.. . . Reply to Objection 1: Impersonal statements are necessary for the communication of abstract truths. A man who relies merely on stories and examples and who does not employ universal statements and syllogistic reasoning is limited in his ability to communicate the truth. For this reason, theology that remains at the level of literature may be exciting, but after a great period of time it will induce an even greater boredom than that which appeals to abstract reasoning.Reply to Objection 2: The soul is of greater dignity than the body. For this reason, a man possessing a virtuous disposition of soul may overcome certain impediments posed by his own corpulent physique.Reply to Objection 3: Those who are consistently correct are regarded as annoying principally by those who prefer the darkness of error. Thus is it is written that King Jehoshaphat detested the prophet Micaiah for his truthfulness (1 Kings 22:8): I hate him because he prophesies not good but evil about me. Thus, the real cause of annoyance and boredom is interior to the one who is bored and annoyed.http://www.dominicanablog.com/2013/01/28/whether-st-thomas-is-boring/


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If I have many pictures and want to do the same effect or the same change to all these pictures by GIMP,Is there is easier method to do this instead of applying the effect to the pictures picture by picture?
Script Fu
Script Fu is a script/macro language that can be used by GIMP users in order to apply any kind of effects/changes to images. More information about what is Script Fu can be found here: http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-concepts-script-fu.html
The good thing about these scripts is that they can be shared and used everywhere! If you've made your own script or you have found a ready script online that does the job for you, then you can make GIMP aware of it quite easily: Simply move it to one of your script-folders. These folders can be found and modified by going to
Once you have placed your script there, you will need to refresh the list with your scripts. This can be done using the menu:
Now, you will be able to use your scripts directly on your images. But, gimp can be called through the command line with an argument a script-fu. This is very important for your occasion, as you don't want to repeat your actions.
After you follow the excellent (official) tutorial I linked to and you create the appropriate script-fu for your occasion, you then should call gimp with this script fu as an argument and apply it to all of your images. This will alter all of your images massively!
An example script is the following:
It will run the batch-unsharp-mask filter to *.png (all the .png files in the current directory) with the arguments 5.0, 0.5 and 0. Then it will simply quit with exit code 0 (gimp-quit 0).
If you are primarily batch processing images and the changes you want to apply to them aren't overly complicated, you might want to look into phatch. It's pretty easy to configure, much easier than Script Fu.
Installation under 12.04/12.10
You can install the gimp-plugin-registry from the repositories and then use David's batch processor to do the most common processing of images.
In response to the software-recommendation tag:
I personally prefer ImageMagick for these types of situations. It accepts edits as command line parameters, and can operate on a whole directory of files.

subset: commoncrawl


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After a more than two-year long investigation, two Pennsylvania residents who were part owners of Whitetail Fantasies, a hunting guide business, have pleaded guilty to illegal deer hunting charges in Taylor County.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, David E. Ricker, 48, of Harrisburg, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count of illegal taking of an antlered whitetail deer and one count of fraudulently obtaining a resident deer license. Pursuant to an earlier plea agreement, Jeffrey A. Mealey, 47, of Dillsburg, Pa., pleaded guilty to an illegal possession of an antlered whitetail deer.
Through a jury trial, Ollie Odle Jr., of Bedford, was found guilty of two charges of aiding and abetting of illegal taking of antlered whitetail deer, based upon providing deer licenses/tags to out of state hunters.
The defendants were ordered to forfeit the antlers and pay more than $22,600 in fines and liquidated damages. They are suspended from hunting or obtaining any licenses for one year.
The state of Iowa is a member of the Wildlife Violator Compact, which is an agreement between participating states that prohibits a person whose hunting or fishing privileges are suspended in one state from participating in those activities in 38 other states, including their home state of Pennsylvania.
Conservation Officer Andrea Bevington has been actively investigating cases of non-residents fraudulently obtaining resident licenses and illegally hunting game in Adams and Taylor counties. Changes in the residency laws were implemented in 2009 to identify a growing problem in Iowa of non-residents falsifying records to illegally obtain resident licenses.
"The state of Iowa is known for their trophy whitetail deer. This natural resource attracts people from all over the United States and other countries. Unfortunately these trophies sometimes draw individuals here who exploit the resource and break Iowa laws," Bevington said.
Location, ST | website.com


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Mike and Maxine Moore of Augusta are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Margo Rebecca, to Logan Engelmann, son of Larry and Cheryl Engelmann of Oklahoma City. They will marry in February.
Margo graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma Christian University and is employed by the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma City. Logan graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma and is employed by Neuroscience Specialists in Oklahoma City.
Location, ST | website.com


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Waterbury Market provided help to VFW post
Brooklyn Valley VFW Post 7790 would like to thank the Chase Avenue Stop & Shop manager and workers for their courtesy. We especially thank the customers who gave so generously to the Poppy Drive on Veterans Day weekend during hard economic times. It is people like them who make it easier to help our veterans in need.
Commander Timothy Meehan and Senior Vice Commander Dan Millett
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This is a view of the right side of an embryo with the fronds of the chorionic villi in the background. The curled shape of the embryo is clearly demonstrated. The umbilical cord attachment to the early placenta can just be seen.
It may not happen quite yet, but be forewarned that you may become very emotional or irrational during pregnancy and suffer from mood swings. You may cry at things that had previously not affected you. This is due to a combination of your rapidly fluctuating hormones and the fact that pregnancy is a major life change.
Mood swings can be difficult for both you and your partner-try to keep communicating with each other and explain how you are feeling, no matter how irrational it may seem.
Fatigue is a common pregnancy complaint and you might find you have a sudden loss of energy in the early stages as your body adapts to the changes caused by pregnancy. This often lasts throughout the first trimester, but after about week 13 you should start to feel more energized. When you're not resting, try to stay active.
Another cause of fatigue is anemia. When you see your doctor you will be offered a blood test to check your iron levels, and if these are found to be low you will be offered supplements. To avoid anemia, eat iron-rich foods, such as dark green leafy vegetables, red meat, whole-grain cereals, and legumes, and drink prune juice. Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron so try drinking fresh orange juice with meals. Limit caffeine intake (see ... Nutritionist) since it inhibits iron absorption.
Be creative to stimulate your appetite and get essential nutrients:
Excerpted from Pregnancy Day by Day.
Copyright © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Buy this book now!
© 2000-2016 Sandbox Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


text: Week-End Pants Style: #M3307WEP $49.00 $49.00 BLACK DARK KHAKI KHAKI MIDNIGHT PAVEMENT JUNGLE GREEN FATIGUE Color Size View Size Chart View Size Chart Oout of Stock Add to Cart Add to Wishlist Details: The RVCA Week-End Pants are a slim-straight twill chino slack pants with a zipper fly. Slash pockets are featured at front, and single welt pockets at back with RVCA solo label. Specs: Rise: 11", knee opening: 16.5", bottom leg opening: 16", inseam: 32.5" Materials: 65% polyester, 35% cotton


text: Adventure Time is not taking any breaks. They just keep coming out with these awesome characters that are not only cute and cool, but funny too. Today I will be filling a request and show you "how to draw Snail from Adventure Time", step by step. Snail is one of those characters that makes cameo appearances. He is often seen breezing by the screen when the show is rolling. I can see why folks wanted a lesson on drawing Snail, look how cute he is. Anyways, as you can imagine this is going to be an easy lesson to follow. All you have to do is take your time and that's it. Enjoy the tut folks, I know you will.


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Why Part-Time or Contract Work Is Worth It
While you might still want to work full-time, don't discount the experience from temp jobs
Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., (www.wiley.com), Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy ... and Pays the Bills by Kerry Hannon, © 2012 by AARP.
Remember to go to the AARP home page every day for tips on keeping healthy and sharp, and great deals.
To keep business trucking along, roughly one-third of companies hire contract or temporary workers, recently, according to the survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals. "It's an easy way for employers to get great experienced staff and save money at the same time," says Art Koff, founder of RetiredBrains.com, a job search site for older workers. That can be good news for many of you, and it's especially true if you're a retiree and need some extra money to boost your current retirement income.
Under those circumstances, part-time or contract jobs are often perfect. They can pay enough to bolster income from investments and Social Security, often without exceeding the limits that would require a reduction in Social Security payments. Even if your Social Security payment is reduced due to earnings, those benefits are not truly lost. At your full retirement age, your payment will be increased to account for the benefits withheld. For more about working while receiving Social Security, see AARP Social Security For Dummies or contact the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov).
For all types of job seekers, though, there are scores of reasons why part-time or contract work is worth it. Here are a few to ponder:
- It gives you something to do. Don't discount this. Having a sense of purpose is a great thing for all kinds of reasons.
- It gets you in the door. It may lead to full-time work with an employer eventually. Don't miss the opportunity.
- It gets you decent pay. You can make your experience a plus. Employers are typically willing to pay you generously, providing you have the chops and solve their problem or need quickly. It lets them bypass the hand-holding and learning curve stage that a younger, less experienced, but lower-paid worker might require.
- It builds your professional network. Nurture relationships with coworkers during your assignment. You never know where contacts may lead you, and whom they might be able to refer you to for future jobs.
- It lands you new and au courant references for future employers to contact about what you've been up to lately.
- It keeps your résumé alive. It's a bone to stave off the disgrace of those gaping holes of idleness in your résumé.
- It keeps your skills sharp. You know the mantra: Use it or lose it.
- Contract work, particularly, lets you get psyched about a work project without the pressure of long-term expectations. No job is forever, anyway. This one just might be shorter than most, and that can be tremendously freeing.
You can't expect that part-time or contract positions will lead to a full-time or ongoing position. I know that. If it is a job or a company that turns you on, though, you can subtly let it be known that you'd love an opportunity to be considered for a full-time position should things change. And, please, don't take it personally if it doesn't.
Even if it's just what it claims to be, a part-time or short-term job, you still win, in my experience. First, it might be just the flexible work schedule you're looking for. Second, if it's a permanent, full-time job you really want, it still has your back.
What I mean by that is when you're making money, the truth is you feel better about yourself. You feel valued, and that's cool. It builds confidence. That's far healthier than shooting out résumés and not getting a single response. And seriously, you never know what might come your way when you back away from the computer screen.
Kerry Hannon, AARP's jobs expert, is a career transition expert and an award-winning author. Her latest book is Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy…and Pays the Bills.
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I have a successful puzzle game and I'm thinking about doing a new version and bringing that new version to FB, and selling it using FB credits. Does anyone have ideas on what the FB credits price point should be? I have some idea, and obviously I know what some of the virtual goods price points are, but I'm curious what peoples views would be on a price point for an entire game, and if the availability of free facebook credits could hurt sells etc.
I know of very few games that actually charge admission. You most likely won't make any money that way, simply due to the fact that people can easily find something else to play with their time.
There are a few examples I remember seeing that lock certain modes behind a paywall, but if people are getting enough enjoyment out of the free one then they won't feel obligated to try the other one (this is the same problem with demos that give away too much). It also isn't as good of a monetization strategy because it's something the user only buys once.
If you want to bring a puzzle game to facebook, my suggestion it to look and see what Popcap did with Bejeweled Blitz and Zuma Blitz. They basically added a monetization layer on top of the existing games with things like purchasable powerups and the like. They also made it very social with the weekly tournament idea and very visible friends scores.


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John Spiers: We must face the facts over cash and choice
CHOICE in public services is now a key offer from all three main parties. Gordon Brown's billions, thrown at education and healthcare, have not adequately improved services and have lowered productivity. There have been too few incentives to do enough to enable Janet and John to learn to read, or their families to get good health care.
The voters are frustrated, angry, and disappointed. "Choice" is seen by politicians as the antidote, but they are too timid. Choice can only be effective if we give people back their own money or give the poor tax-credits so that they too can spend on health and on education, just like the middle-class consumer.
For choice to be an instrument rather than an aspiration we need real levers and incentives which work. The key to choice is patient (and parent) control over mobile money.
Take healthcare. First, the individual must have control over a personal tax-based individual healthcare fund. These would be spent by taking the fund to one of a number of competing, co-operative, mutual purchasers of care. It cannot be spent on lottery tickets. These organisations could be called Patient Guaranteed Care Associations. They would attract willing members with their tax-based funds.
There is no greater reality check than a cheque. Choice, if it is to be an effective incentive, must offer to bring more funds to the good provider, less to the bad. Choice must make a certainty of cash ebb for declining service. This, too, will then reveal poor quality and
The party which will be believed on "choice" will be the one which argues the case for such a market and which refers every failing in health and in education to the lack of an effective market.
Politically, the task is to re-shape tacit assumptions about what can count as conventionally reasonable, sane, politically deliverable, commonsense realities in care and education. The Conservatives ought to have seen this when they first went into opposition. Some key Labour advisers see it now.
The challenge is to deliver choice to achieve high quality, efficiently managed, responsive and accountable and equitable local services. Crucially, we want incentives for improvements embedded within the system.
The most essential element is that every individual has control over a tax-based fund. Then there must be competing providers, who seek to attract those willing and mobile funds.
To make this market work, we need spare capacity, good information and advice. The job of government is to encourage the conditions for that. And then to protect competition, both from monopoly and from political interference.
But no one wants choice, do they? And they can't make it work, can they? And they aren't informed, or informable, are they? And when they have choice, they don't use it, do they? And if they do use it, they decide what we, the managers who know their interests better than they know themselves would have done anyway, don't they? So why all the fuss?
The clinical evidence, unsurprisingly, shows that choice is good for you, too. A sense of control has a powerful effect on the ability to respond to treatment and on speed of recovery.
The evidence shows, too, that people with the same condition make very different choices with regard to preferred treatments, likely experiences and outcomes, and the consequences with which they choose to be able to live. In addition, effective choice can be more socially inclusive and be designed to give greater funds and power to the presently disadvantaged.
Choice has thus both an intrinsic and an instrumental value. It is about a better society and about better, more effective services for individuals. It can, too, deliver those eternal British verities of fairness and of services free at the point of use. The challenge is to design a system of effective choice with both many personal and public benefits.
Too often, the alternative to facing the facts about cash and choice has been stand-still policies which buy three apples for two pence, and sell two apples for three pence.
The challenge to politicians is to set out a clear statement of values, to explain what incentives and real levers do, and to lead opinion and understanding.
Choice then asks us to decide who, what, when and how. And to distinguish clearly who is doing the choosing. Indeed, the issue is, crucially, who decides who decides?
So, when the candidate knocks on your door, put competing policy proposals to the test. Ask: do they financially empower the individual consumer? Or do they just vaguely talk of choice as an aspiration?
There should be a clear mantra for effective choice. Choice, competition, and capacity are a trinity. Preference and price are twins. Money talks and preference walks.
Professor John Spiers is a visiting fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs.
See also
Towards a Liberal Utopia [2]
, edited by Philip Booth.


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Before I am inundated by myriad and vociferous claims that conservation of energy is the single most well-attested and experimentally verified principle in all of science, let me say that I am well aware of the ever-growing body of evidence which seemingly bears this principle out. However there seems to be, in my view at least, an abiding problem inherent to a principle of conservation with respect to how we could ever truly verify such a thing empirically. That no humanly constructed device can be perfectly accurate or precise is an incontrovertible and obvious truth. As a result, I am unsure as to how we could ever be sure that energy (or any other conserved quantity) is not being lost or gained (in defiant violation of physical principles) at length and/or time scales orders of magnitude below the resolution of our best instruments. I mean, how could we ever know? Ontologically speaking, it's almost inconceivable that energy could not be conserved. But epistemologically speaking, I am at a loss as to how we might ever verify—via experimentation or measurement—that energy is in fact being conserved to the precision guaranteed by a conservation law.
I will try to give a short introduction into the ideas of scientific truth as I understand them.
In mathematics, the world is beautifully simple. We have axioms that the set to be true, and from these we can deduce a plethora of statements to be undoubtedly true - given that the axioms are true. There may be undecidable statements about which we cannot say anything, but within axiomatic system everything is either true, false or undecidable.
Now, in reality, we are not in as comfortable a situation: We don't know the axioms the world is grounded upon, we try to guess them. The axioms we guess are what we call laws of physics. Now, given two different hypotheses (i.e. guesses for the laws of physics) $H_1,H_2$, we may look at some situation and, by logic alone, deduce that $H_1 \implies O_1$ and $H_2 \implies O_2$. Then we perform the experiment. If we observe $O_2$ not to be realized in reality, then, by the law of contraposition, we may conclude $\neg O_2 \implies \neg H_2 $, so the second hypothesis is clearly and unambiguously false.
But, suppose that, within the errors of our observation, $O_1$ holds. Then we cannot say that $H_1$ holds because $(H_1 \implies O_1) \implies (O_1 \implies H_1)$ is not a valid form of argumentation. All we can say is that our observation is compatible with $H_1$ being a law of nature, but it is not true in any rigorous sense. No statement about reality can ever be true in the axiomatic sense because of this reasoning.
Now, of course there could be a third hypothesis $H_3$ also predicting $O_1$. Then, until we perform experiments for which the hypotheses predict different things, $H_1$ and $H_3$ are equally true within our heuristic approach. And the more experiments we perform, the more often $H_1$ survives this process of constant enquiry, the more certain we grow that this is actually a good description of the world.
This is what science is all about: Taking the vast landscape of possible ideas about how the world works - take as a simple example Aristoteles' idea that everything wants to be at rest vs. Newton's idea that everything continues uniform motion unless acted upon - looking at the predictions these different ideas about the laws of nature make and then performing experiments eliminating those ideas that are false. Thus, we make a gradual progress towards the underlying truth, which is empirically inaccessible. The longer we perform experiment, and think of new hypothesis, the more refined will our laws of nature be, the greater our confidence can be that these are really good approximations to the way the world really works.
To say "We cannot prove it, we really don't know" is to vastly underestimate the power of falsificationism, and shows a callous disregard for the scientific method, whose success is reflected in every bit of technology around us.
[One may also find my answer to Why should a (physical) principle be applicable to different systems in different positions in space and time? to be relevant in this context.]
Let's assume that an experiment is performed that seems to indicate a violation of the conservation of energy principle.
Now, I suppose that it's logically possible that the experiment actually and unambiguously falsifies the principle in which case we must conclude that the principle is approximate and we must seek a deeper principle to guide our reasoning.
But, by being a physical principle, we mean that conservation of energy is not to be given up on lightly and that any experiment that seems to imply a violation will most likely
(1) turn out to be wrong
(2) indicate new physics (particles, interaction, etc.) that account for the missing energy
(3) motivate a broader conception of energy that remains conserved in the context of the experimental result
Regardless, we cannot eliminate the possibility that an experiment will be performed at some time that will falsify the principle.
Also, note that, in the context of general relativity, there are subtle issues even defining "energy" and "conserved". From the link:
You may doubt that energy is conserved, but it is a direct consequence of Noether's theorem together with the assumption of time translation invariance, and this latter assumption is perhaps a bit more palatable/fundamental.
That is, it is mathematically true that if the outcome of an experiment doesn't depend on when we perform it, the quantity we call "energy" must be conserved. Therefore empirical evidence that physics is invariant in time directly and without any loss of strength evidences conservation of energy. Contrapositively, any evidence that energy is not conserved is evidence that something (either in the experiment or in the laws of physics) is changing in time.
I say this is more palatable because, at least for me, it's easier to believe in exactness when it comes to time translation invariance than when it comes to some mysterious "energy" being conserved.
It is more fundamental because physics is more about symmetries and their consequences than about listing laws and equations that have no justification beyond direct empirical results. If we do an experiment $X_1$ and get result $A$, then we predict that another instance of $X$, say $X_2$ will also result in $A$, not in $B$. Empirically we deduce from the first experiment $X_1 \Rightarrow A$, but it is symmetry in time (and space) that allows us to infer $X \Rightarrow A$, from which we predict $X_2 \Rightarrow A$. Evidence for the inferential generalization comes from all of physics, too. If we have experiment $Y_1 \Rightarrow B$, and generalization $Y \Rightarrow B$ holds for various instances $Y_i$, and similarly $Z \Rightarrow C$ holds, we have more confidence that $(X_1 \Rightarrow A) \Rightarrow (X \Rightarrow A)$ is valid.
Also, doubting time translation invariance leads to much deeper problems than violating conservation of energy. Even predictions that make no direct mention of energy would be called into question if the laws of physics change over time.
Finally, and more concretely, about the magnitude of potential violations of energy conservation: There can be violations that are presently undetectably small, but I argue that changes nothing. If you want to make quantitative statements rather than merely qualitative ones ("energy is conserved to within error $\epsilon$"), you should recast all of physics in the same form. Then no experiment ever has a result "energy is conserved." Instead all results are of the form "energy in experiment $E_i$ was conserved to within $\epsilon_i$." No matter how low we can push the upper bound on violations, we never infer, nor do we need to infer, that energy is conserved exactly. So your epistemological search for a justification for perfect conservation isn't needed, because perfect conservation isn't part of physics' ontology.
It cannot be demostrated, but it can be checked.
This year I've done an experiment which verifies (indirectly) this principle. It is really easy: I take an iron ball, and I shoot it to a pendulum. As a result, the pendulum goes up, and I can measure the deviation angle after the collision. With a sensor, I'm also able to measure the initial speed of the ball. And of course, I can measure all the masses (the ball and the pendulum).
Now, I use the masses and the initial speed, and I make two assumptions: the momentum is conserved (there's no external forces) and energy is conserved.
Using this two assumptions, I can calculate the angle moved by the pendulum, which is pretty similar to the angle I measured. So, my two assumptions must be correct and energy is conserved.
Well, this method only proves it for a particular case, not for every physical system. However, another experiments can be done in other physics areas (waves, thermodynamics, etc) to check it. But, as they've pointed in the comments, we cannot demostrate it. We have stated it, and we only can check that's true for lots of particular systems. However, we may find a system where this is not true; in that case, we will have to change this statement. That's why we call it a principle: we cannot demostrate it, but we believe that is universally true, seeing nature. We cannot demostrate that is false.


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(CNN) -- President Barack Obama and Rep. Lynn Jenkins marked the Memorial Day weekend by paying tribute to U.S. service members during their weekly addresses Saturday.
"Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend," Obama said. "In town squares and national cemeteries, in public services and moments of quiet reflection, we will honor those who loved their country enough to sacrifice their own lives for it."
Jenkins, a Republican whose Kansas district includes Fort Leavenworth, called Memorial Day "a time to pause and thank the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have died in the defense of our country."
She and Obama also recognized the sacrifices of those serving in the armed forces.
"As we honor the fallen, we pray for our sons and daughters who are risking their lives so that we may live in freedom and security," Jenkins said.
An important way to honor their service, she continued, is by building the economy so that they can find jobs when they return home.
"Unfortunately, roughly 22 million of our fellow citizens are struggling to find a good-paying full-time job in President Obama's economy," she said, and touted a GOP-backed set of measures called the "Republicans' Plan for America's Job Creators."
"This week, as part our jobs plan, my Republican colleagues and I spread out across the country to highlight the economic potential of our domestic energy resources. As part of this American Energy & Jobs Tour, I visited an oil well in Girard, Kansas - a small town whose proud energy workers make a big contribution to our region's economy," Jenkins added.
She called for removing "government barriers to all forms of domestic energy production," as well as repeal of the president's health care law and congressional passage of a federal budget.
Obama also called for efforts on the home front "to let these families and veterans know that they are not alone."
"We have to serve them and their families as well as they have served us," he said. "By making sure that they get the health care and benefits they need, by caring for our wounded warriors and supporting our military families, and by giving veterans the chance to go to college, find a good job, and enjoy the freedom that they risked everything to protect."
More than 6,400 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, including Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn in Iraq. An additional 48,000 service members have been wounded in those operations.
At least 3,100 of those deaths were due to improvised explosive devices, the U.S. military said.
Obama said his position includes "no higher honor than serving as ... commander-in-chief."
"But with that honor comes a solemn responsibility -- one that gets driven home every time I sign a condolence letter, or meet a family member whose life has been turned upside down," he said. "No words can ever bring back a loved one who has been lost. No ceremony can do justice to their memory. No honor will ever fill their absence."
He visited Afghanistan in May, landing under the cover of night to sign a Strategic Partnership Agreement that laid out terms between the U.S. and Afghanistan after U.S. and other NATO troops withdraw by the end of 2014. Approximately 90,000 U.S. troops are among the 130,000 NATO troops in the nation.
Operations in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001 with airstrikes, and the U.S. military first acknowledged a ground operation 12 days later.
The last U.S. combat troops left Iraq in December 2011. President George W. Bush announced U.S. troops were entering the country on March 19, 2003, 48 hours after issuing an ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United States deploying a significant military presence in Vietnam. In 1962, the U.S. sent some 10,000 military advisers to join the 900 U.S. military advisers already in the country.
"It's another chance to honor those we lost at places like Hue, Khe Sanh, Danang and Hamburger Hill," Obama said in his address.
Obama said he would mark Memorial Day with tributes at Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.


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BELTON (January 28, 2013)--Belton's Director of Public Works Les Hallbauer is retiring after 20 years with the city.
In honor of his retirement, city officials have organized a retirement celebration which will be held from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the Harris Community Center on N. Alexander.
"He will be missed by all who have had the opportunity to meet him and work with him," a city spokesperson said.
The public is invited to attend.


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I have a legacy PHP application that was written in 2004 and uses MSSQL as a database backend.
At this stage MSSQL is still supported by PHP but only just via a Microsoft driver. I have looked at converting to mysql via automated tools, which work quite well, but I have quite complex views which need a lot of individual work to convert. I don't have a great deal of time to do this.
Many tools I wish to use and frameworks I would like to move the application to, don't support MSSQL, so I was considering adding new features using a new mysql database and wondered if anyone had opinions on the pros and cons of using two seperate database backends in a single application?


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My Other Ride Is A... t-shirt for $10
Still trying to name them all!
Check out the second shirt offered today, as well. Similar design, called "Tools of the Trade."
Shipping starts at $2.75.
18 Comments add a comment
Hands down, the taun-taun makes it for me. Between that, the TARDIS and Ecto 1, my mouse keeps wandering over to the "Add to cart" button. I really shouldn't get this, I already have way too many logo T's as it is...
@whtrbt.obj: I don't see any taun-taun. The only living creatures are Battle Cat from He-Man and the huge floating creature from the Neverending Story.
I'm definitely getting one!
Wish I could see a bigger pic but here's what I got:
Tumbler, TIE Advanced, Battle Cat
Speeder bike, fighter from the 1980s Battlestar Gallactica
Firefly, DeLorean from BTTF
Falco or whatever from Never-ending Story, K.I.T.T.? (too small to tell), Nimbus from Harry Potter, A-Team van, T.A.R.D.I.S.
Animated Batmobile, Pee-Wee's bike,
Kang and Kodos' Flying Saucer (?), hoverboard from BTTF2, ???
Ecto-1, General Lee,
Ripley's loader, ???, ???
The thing Jim Carrey hijacks at the end of Liar, Liar
How'd I do?
@rayray8822: The one in the lower right is the Technodrome.
@rayray8822: the one next to hoverboard you couldn't name? A pontiac Aztek. I can only assume it's a reference to Dark Angel. Not sure why though.
@rayray8822: Also, his name is Falkor. I know only because a sandwich place nearbye sells a sandwich named after him.
@ghost650: Is it made with Falkor meat?
@ghost650: I knew it was that ugly-a$$ Pontiac, just couldn't remember the name. I knew it was one of those "cool" misspelled words though. (Notice the quotation marks.)
Anyone know what that van next to Ripley's loader is?
@rayray8822: Perhaps it's the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo? And below that, I think that is the stair car from Arrested Development.
the vans are a-team and from lost
@jeffabecker: Wow. Yep, you're right. I totally whiffed on that one. Pretty obvious with the Dharma Initiative logo on the side.
@ghost650: I think the Pontiac may be a reference to Walter White's in Breaking Bad.
"Your mom" is missing from the shirt.
@texranger4: How the heck can you tell? That logo is so small. It could've been OCP from RoboCop for all I knew. I wish they'd post a larger image on the site.
@michael p: Huh...ok. I think I totally misinterpreted that at first glance. I thought the Neverending Story thing was a taun-taun. Herp-a-derp. Welcome to barely sleeping the last 48+ hours.
@rayray8822: I'm guessing that's Walter White's Aztek?.. Can't think of another reason that such a blasé and hideous looking "vehicle," and I use that term loosely, would be featured amongst the other auspicious modes of transportation here.
Missing light cycle. =(
@rayray8822 "fighter from the 1980s Battlestar Gallactica" = Colonial Viper


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I would like to know about spinlocks in detail?
Could someone explain that to me?
A spin lock is a way to protect a shared resource from being modified by two or more processes simultaneously. The first process that tries to modify the resource "acquires" the lock and continues on its way, doing what it needed to with the resource. Any other processes that subsequently try to acquire the lock get stopped; they are said to "spin in place" waiting on the lock to be released by the first process, thus the name spin lock.
The Linux kernel uses spin locks for many things, such as when sending data to a particular peripheral. Most hardware peripherals aren't designed to handle multiple simultaneous state updates. If two different modifications have to happen, one has to strictly follow the other, they can't overlap. A spin lock provides the necessary protection, ensuring that the modifications happen one at a time.
Spin locks are a problem because spinning blocks that thread's CPU core from doing any other work. While the Linux kernel does provide multitasking services to user space programs running under it, that general-purpose multitasking facility doesn't extend to kernel code.
This situation is changing, and has been for most of Linux's existence. Up through Linux 2.0, the kernel was almost purely a single-tasking program: whenever the CPU was running kernel code, only one CPU core was used, because there was a single spin lock protecting all shared resources, called the Big Kernel Lock (BKL). Beginning with Linux 2.2, the BKL is slowly being broken up into many independent locks that each protect a more focused class of resource. Today, with kernel 2.6, the BKL still exists, but it's only used by really old code that can't be readily moved to some more granular lock. It is now quite possible for a multicore box to have every CPU running useful kernel code.
There's a limit to the utility of breaking up the BKL because the Linux kernel lacks general multitasking. If a CPU core gets blocked spinning on a kernel spin lock, it can't be retasked, to go do something else until the lock is released. It just sits and spins until the lock is released.
Spin locks can effectively turn a monster 16-core box into a single-core box, if the workload is such that every core is always waiting for a single spin lock. This is the main limit to the scalability of the Linux kernel: doubling CPU cores from 2 to 4 probably will nearly double the speed of a Linux box, but doubling it from 16 to 32 probably won't, with most workloads.
A spin lock is when a process continually polls for a lock to be removed. It is considered bad because the process is consuming cycles (usually) needlessly. It is not Linux-specific, but a general programming pattern. And while it is generally considered a bad practice, it is, in fact, the correct solution; there are cases where the cost of using the scheduler is higher (in terms of CPU cycles) than the cost of the few cycles that the spinlock is expected to last.
Example of a spinlock:
There is frequently a way to avoid a spin lock. For this particular example, there is a Linux tool called inotifywait (it's not usually installed by default). If it was written in C, you would simply use the inotify API that Linux provides.
The same example, using inotifywait shows how to accomplish the same thing without a spin lock:
When a thread tries to acquire a lock, three things can happen if it fails, it can try and block, it can try and continue, it can try then go to sleep telling the OS to wakle it up when some event happens.
Now a try and continue uses a lot less time then a try and block. Let's say for the moment that a "try and continue" will take i unit of time and a "try and block " will take a hundred.
Now let us for the moment assume that on the average a thread will take 4 units of time holding the lock. It's wasteful to wait 100 units. So instead you write a loop of "try and continues". On the forth attempt you will usually acquire the lock. This is a spin lock. It's called that because the thread keeps spinning in place till it gets the lock.
An added safety measure is to limit the number of times the loop runs. So in the example you make a for loop run eg six times, if it fails then you "try and block".
If you know that a thread will always hold the lock for say 200 units, then you are wasting the computer time for each try and continue.
So in the end, a spin lock can be very efficient or wasteful. It is wasteful when the "typical" time to hold a lock is higher then the time it takes to "try and block". It is efficient when the typical time to hold a lock is much smaller then the time to 'try and block".
Ps: THe book to read on threads is "A Thread Primer", if you can still find it.
A lock is a way for two or more tasks (processes, threads) to synchronize. Specifically, when both tasks need intermittent access to a resource that can only be used by one task at a time, it's a way for the tasks to arrange not to be using the resource at the same time. In order to access the resource, a task must perform the following steps:
Taking a lock is not possible if another task has already taken it. (Think of the lock as a physical token object. Either the object is in a drawer, or someone has it in their hand. Only the person holding the object may access the resource.) So "take the lock" really means "wait until no one else has the lock, then take it".
From a high-level point of view, there are two major ways to implement locks: spinlocks, and conditions. With spinlocks, taking the lock means just "spinning" (i.e. doing nothing in a loop) until noone else has the lock. With conditions, if a task attempts to take the lock but is blocked because another task holds it, the newcomer enters a wait queue; the release operation signals to any waiting task that the lock is now available.
(These explanations are not enough to let you implement a lock, because I haven't said anything about atomicity. But atomicity is not important here.)
Spinlocks are obviously wasteful: the waiting task keeps checking whether the lock is taken. So why and when is it used? Spinlocks are often very cheap to obtain in the case where the lock isn't held. This makes it attractive when the chance for the lock to be held is small. Furthermore, spinlocks are only viable if obtaining the lock is not expected to take long. So spinlocks tend to be used in situations where they will remain held for a very short time, so that most attempts are expected to succeed on the first try, and those that need a wait don't wait long.
There is a good explanation of spinlocks and other concurrency mechanisms of the Linux kernel in Linux Device Drivers, chapter 5.


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welcome to the peace, the love, the beauty and the struggle of the orthodox Christian life.
Nice. I wonder whether there are any catechumens of this forum left I can think about during the litany for them.
Thanks everyone. And Many Years to you, Tgebar.So... any suggestions for what I should do next? I asked my confessor and he pretty much said, "the rest of your new life" which is great but I was thinking more along the lines of some good reading suggestions or something.On another note I have just had my first post-fast bacon sandwich. Mmm...
Thanks mabsoota, I'll take your suggestions on board. I already have The Way of a Pilgrim on my list but it's always good to have some more ideas.
i started the way of the pilgrim. i am finding it a bit heavy and i have been orthodox 3 years!i think if i understood the russian orthodox tradition better, it would be easier, but i am not well acquainted with this; having only been to one russian service.
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In a story today for the Daily Record, I wrote about how Texas State has one of the weakest schedules among Sun Belt Conference teams.
The Bobcats' 2014 opponents went a combined 57-88 in 2013. Based on last season's results, Georgia Southern was the only SBC team with a weaker schedule than Texas State.
Last season, the SBC was among the strongest non-automatic qualifying conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It doesn't appear that will be case this time around.
Here are a few other observations…
1. New teams looking for bounce-back seasons
Four new schools join the SBC in 2014: Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Idaho and New Mexico State.
Maybe the Vandals and Aggies will be better in the future. But, both teams didn't have good seasons in 2013. Idaho went 1-11 and N.M. State was slightly better at 2-10
The Mountaineers also had a down season in 2013 (4-8 record). Georgia Southern went 7-4, including an upset victory over Florida in the Swamp. But the Gators weren't the Gators in 2013 as Will Muschamp's team finished the season at 4-8.
Appalachian State and Georgia Southern both made the Football Championship Subdivision their home last season and it's always a huge jump to FBS. It could be a few years before either team does well.
2. SEC schools prominent on a few schedules
For as many bad things as you could say about 2014 schedules in the Sun Belt — only Georgia State faces a slate that had a winning record in 2013 — there are a few teams that have challenged themselves against the mighty Southeastern Conference.
Seven SBC schools scheduled SEC teams. Those are Arkansas State, Idaho, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Troy, UL Lafayette and UL Monroe. The Warhawks will play the most (three; Kentucky, Louisiana State University and Texas A&M). In all, seven different SEC schools were represented on SBC schedules. In addition to the three I mentioned earlier, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina are also featured on SBC slates.
That's a good thing to see from Sun Belt schools.
3. How about the Bobcats?
I like what Texas State is doing.
The Bobcats have a Big 10 school (Illinois) on their 2014 schedule and the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles on their 2015 slate.
But I want to see more.
Dennis Franchione has enough ties to schools in the SEC and Big 12 to put those teams on future schedules. You have to wonder if that SEC school 2 1/2 hours to the east would schedule Texas State. Texas A&M would be a great add for the Bobcats, but it might not be easy to make it happen.
Even so, the Bobcats probably wouldn't have any problem getting a few other SEC schools to play them. If Texas State is able to make that happen, it will only enhance the program's reputation and make it more attractive for bowl bids down the line.


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So, if I have to do a certain task during a whole week but with a 3-week gap. For instance, in a 3-week period I will have to do that task for 1 week, in a 6-week period for 2 weeks, not in a row, of course, and so on.
- One work week for each 3-weeks.
- Once in every 3-weeks.
- ...
Which is the best way to express this work schedule rotation?


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Hello Forum,
I like to bring the coming PanoTools Meeting 2012 The Hague (in Dutch Den Haag) on 10/11/12 september to your attention,
Details will follow soon.
I hope to see you in Den Haag.
Update: Just a short message to inform you that all relevant information is present on the PTM website, you can register as attendee, propose a session, read how to make a reservation for the group hotel and much more.


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Home › Scene › In the Bag ›
In the Bag
THE PARTY Neiman Marcus hosted Homeward Bound and handbag designer Nancy Gonzalez. The day included a handbag donation drive and luncheon. THE PEOPLE Jill Krigsten, Dana Bailey, Jennifer Carmer, Tess Loo, Ann Siner, Kimberly Jacobsen THE SCENE Following the luncheon, the soiree moved to the luxury store's handbag department, where guests enjoyed bubbly and flamenco music by guitar player Raul Jose. Gonzalez graciously donated one of her own designs for Homeward Bound's upcoming Old Bags event. Photography by Haute Photography


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Published on Tue, Jul 03, 2012
IPC staff lawyer Ben Winograd was quoted in a story about the legality of the Obama Administration's deferred action memo:
The Obama administration did not return requests for comment, but Ben Winograd, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group for immigrants, said Barletta is interpreting the law too broadly.
"The idea that anyone who successfully sneaked across the border must be automatically detained and placed in removal proceedings — no administration has followed that interpretation of the law since 1996," Winograd said.
But Winograd said such "nibbling around the edges" — as opposed to an attempting to pass a law that would overturn Obama's order — is evidence that House Republicans are not serious about stopping the policy.
Published in the The Morning Call


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"The patient academic study of ancient culture" is both the traditional definition of Archaeology, and a sentence that most movie executives can't hear, much less comprehend. Seriously, words like "academic," "patient" and "culture" are like a dog whistle to them. Someone must have communicated that ancient artifacts are helpful plot motivators using flow charts and wild gesticulations because they invented a fictional version of archeology which replaces pick hammers and book learning with handguns and competitive burglary. For instance ...
#8. Indiana Jones
Dr. Indiana Jones is worse at recovering precious items than a magpie stuffed with explosives. He gets some points for being the original, and he's not as bad as many of the characters he inspired. Of course, if being better than your own photocopies excused bad behavior, your ass wouldn't have gotten fired after last year's holiday party.
Raiders of the Lost Ark's opening sequence is a cinematic classic and a documentary on how to suck at archaeology. Indy dashes into priceless ruins with no data-recording equipment, and proceeds to destroy archaeological records of an entire civilization. Most archeologists are after information about ancient cultures and Indy's daring raid destroys an entire temple full of thousand year old machines that are still-functioning. He destroys them so that he can grab a bit of gold that weighs as much as a small rhinoceros's ball sack. That's like a scientist happening upon a working model of the Starship Enterprise, and smashing it up to get a good calculator.
"Oh man, I can play Doom on this!"
We have lots of gold, Indy! We have people and machines whose entire job is to make holes in mountains until gold comes out, and you're collapsing a priceless trove of ancient machinery to recover something we could dig up in 10 minutes. Most archaeologists consider themselves lucky to find all the shards of the same destroyed vase, because they'll be able to put it back together in only a few months. That pressure-plate-triggered arrow-launcher? That was worth more than the gold. That shouldn't be that difficult for Indy, an archeologist, to comprehend. Yet he destroys ruins so intact they're actively trying to protect themselves from him. In other words, they weren't ruins until he arrived.
These wise people had so much to teach us! Their systems still worked after thousands years, even though they were made of nothing but string and rope. Modern man can't make an iPhone last six months before it has to be replaced with a newer model.
A relic of the unimaginably ancient 2007 era.
#7. Benjamin Gates (National Treasure)
At one point, as Gates is attempting to steal the Declaration of Independence to read the secret code written on the back, he's asked if he is a treasure hunter, to which he answers, "More like treasure protector." Or, exactly like an archaeologist. Of course, Gates couldn't refer to himself using that word, both because the Indiana Jones rip-off would be too obvious, and because his target market couldn't spell "archaeologist" if they were staring at this sentence.
Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage) was born because The Da Vinci Code sold millions of copies. He lives in a world where everyone who was ever famous achieved all of history as a hobby in between hiding things. And by "hiding" we mean "putting them in the most visible places to exist prior to the invention of Ken Jong's career."
Still, you'd think an avowed "treasure protector" would be more careful than Indy when it comes to priceless archeological finds. And maybe Gates would be if he was better at finding them.
While real archeologists are lucky to glean a single detail about an ancient society from a lifetime of work, Gates fumbles his way from one treasure to the next using clues so clearly spelled out for him you'd swear he was being lead around by the writers of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? instead of the writers of the Declaration of Independence. The second movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets gets its name, not from a difficult to translate Biblical scroll, but from an actual book of secrets in which a bunch of conspiracies are written out for him in plain English. The big mystery is solved when they discover that a federal book, which the President owns, is kept in the Library of Congress. If it had been a trilogy, they might have had time for Gates to try and decipher the meaning of an Automatic Door sign.
#6. Nathan Drake (Drake's Fortune)
Drake belongs here because he's a Frankenstein's monster Indy and Gates, and just like any patchwork horror, he stumbles around clumsily killing people until coincidence does the thinking for him.
"If there are still people to shoot, I'm going in the right direction."
This "fortune hunter" is such a blatant Indy ripoff, the only reason he doesn't have a whip is console players would wonder where its trigger was. Relic recovery is so utterly secondary to his skill-set that his story would work exactly the same if he was a trash collector pushed to the edge by a gang of exceptionally well-armed litterers. He sees something, he picks it up and kills everyone in between. And yet he wouldn't know late classical bronze unless they cast their precious metals into 5.56mm jackets.
But where Indy tried to defeat the Nazis, Nathan Drake tries to outdo them. He's killed more people with dark skin than the first Englishman to figure out how to steer a boat.
Of course, this is appropriate since he is the descendant of Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and one of America's earliest importers of African slaves. The game ignores that part of Uncle Frank's legacy, preferring to focus on a dangerous treasure he encountered while circumnavigating the globe that mutates Nazis into ... less white looking Nazis.
If at first this seems like the weirdest, most hamfisted plot device ever, you are unfortunately not one of the millionaires who created it. They created the only device that could allow Drake to accomplish all the major tenants of Hollywood archaeology -- fighting Nazis, ignoring the shit out of history -- while still doing what Drake does best: killing non-whites.
#5. Tia Carrere (Relic Hunter)
Relic Hunter was written by watching Tomb Raider, borrowing a thesaurus and choosing the shortest word for each noun. It features Tia Carrere, trying to be more than "that girl in Wayne's World," without becoming "that girl from softcore porn" and somehow landing in something far worse.
The show starts out by giving a head fake towards softcore porn. For instance, this is Carrere's secretary's uniform:
This is our first view of the strong academic female character:
And then things go disastrously wrong.
Yep, this is pretty much exactly the opposite of what we were promised.
Whichever idiot decided that ripping off Tomb Raider was a good idea was obviously allowed to hang around, because he'd be the only person stupid enough to forget he was doing that. Tia spends the rest of the game acting like a softcore porn actress after filming ends: putting on more and more clothes while still being utterly unqualified to stand in front of a camera. The show rations violence like a colony of brittle-boned Buddhist monks throwing a party for Gandhi, and Tia fights with camera-fu: waiting for the cameraman to leap to an angle from which it looks like her flails might have connected with something.


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WHEELING - The state's education system appears to be headed for a major makeover this year, as Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has signaled that education reform would be the key component during this year's legislative session.
During his State of the State speech earlier this month, Tomblin cited the Education Efficiency Audit that points out while West Virginia spends more on public education than many other states - nearly $2 billion annually, or 46 percent of the general revenues - student performance is at or near the bottom in every measure.
"Education in West Virginia must change, and that change begins now," the governor vowed.
Tomblin declared as unacceptable the state's 78 percent high school graduation rate, and the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress rankings that put West Virginia below average in 21 of 24 categories.
To reach his third-grader reading goal, Tomblin is enlisting the state Board of Education to make sure all elementary school teachers have that specific training, wants to require all 55 counties to offer full-day preschool within three years, and supports the nonprofit Benedum Foundation's efforts in this area.
The governor also is urging a look at the school calendar. The school calendar proposal aims to help counties meet the 180-day target for instruction by making better use of 12 days set aside for other purposes.
Tomblin said state students only averaged 170 days of instructional time last year. While praising the year-round calendar adopted by a handful of schools - including schools in Cameron - and advocated by the state board, Tomblin said he will not mandate any particular plan.
The education measures would also pay for the state's nearly 700 qualifying teachers to renew their National Board Certification every 10 years, require updated programing at all vocational schools and harness technology to improve individual student learning through such efforts as the national Project 24 campaign led by former Gov. Bob Wise.
Citing the audit's description of a top-heavy education bureaucracy and rigid rules, Tomblin wants teacher training shifted to counties, principals and teachers given a greater voice in hiring, and seniority given less weight.
But the governor also cited how the state's student population has dropped 26 percent over the last three decades.
"I believe the community, especially parents, should always have access to locally elected officials who oversee their schools," he said. "But that does not mean we can and should provide all the current administrative overhead to each of our 55 county school boards."
Earlier this month, James Phares, superintendent of West Virgina's schools, told a group of journalists that the calendar is a big concern for his office.
"The policymakers at the department level and at the legislative level need to understand that you can no longer say that learning starts in August and ends in June," Phares said.
Phares also said he favors mastery learning, wherein students would advance grade levels based on their mastery of material.
Local education expert Terry Wallace, senior fellow at the Institute for Innovation in Education at West Liberty University, said creating a culture of year-round learning - rather than instituting year-round school - is key.
"Adding days to the calendar in and of itself, if you don't change anything else, is not a solution," Wallace remarked. "We need to make sure that we are getting the most out of what we already have before we look at a balanced calendar and year-round school."
Wallace called the state department of education's curriculum "too broad and too shallow."
"No student should be able to get out of the fourth grade without being able to read well enough to learn," he said.
Wallace agrees with Phares on the concept of mastery learning, saying he disagreed with making "young Einsteins sit in high school until they're 18 years old." The state education system should move students based on competency and achievement, rather than age and "seat time," he said.
"That means kids are going to be leaving high school at 15 or 16 years old, and we've got other kids who need to stay in the oven longer before they're baked all the way through," Wallace added.
Phares also noted that college professors and high school instructors need to communicate better.


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However, no log entries (IIS) exist on that time with such a request. Further - no log entries exist with the requesting IP (also sent in the email).
What can this mean?


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This two-album set marks the beginning of a new project devoted to Tchaikovsky's ballet scores. We start the survey with the complete score of The Sleeping Beauty, recorded on SACD. Swan Lake and The Nutcracker will follow in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Tchaikovsky was approached by the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, in 1888 about a possible ballet adaptation of Charles Perrault's La Belle au bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty). The vision was to stage the production in the style of Louis XIV, allowing the musical fantasy to run high and melodies to be written in the spirit of Lully, Bach, and Rameau. This proposal for a fairy-tale ballet rooted firmly in both the rococo and baroque periods appealed to Tchaikovsky, and The Sleeping Beauty was premiered in 1890, with choreography by Petipa, the principal choreographer of his day.
Elaborately constructed, the ballet places its focus undeniably on the two main conflicting forces of good (the Lilac Fairy) and evil (Carabosse). Each has a representative leitmotif, which runs through the entire ballet, serving as an important thread to the underlying plot. Tchaikovsky's use of what, at the time, were considered new and unorthodox instrumental combinations went on to inspire a new generation of composers, among them Stravinsky, who declared The Sleeping Beauty to be Tchaikovsky's chef d'œuvre.
The Sleeping Beauty is here performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Neeme Järvi, who is celebrating two major milestones this year: a thirty-year recording career with Chandos Records, and his own seventy-fifth birthday. Orchestra and conductor are joined by the pre-eminent violinist James Ehnes, one of the most dynamic and exciting performers in classical music today.
"This is an outstanding recording of the complete ballet, one of the finest I've heard... Teh Bergen Philharmonic's playing has a polish and sheen to it ... Violinist James Ehnes and cellist Robert deMaine appear to have brought into play the susbstantial solos for their instruments and they fully match the playing of the orchestra. And Chandos's hybrid SACD recorded sound surpasses them all, with a warm, clarity, and spaciousness that completely supports what the musicians have achieved."
Lawrence Hansen – American Record Guide – May/June 2013
"...The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is magnificent, and the violin and cello solos are played gorgeously by James Ehnes and Robert deMaine respectively..."
Arthur Lintgen – Fanfare – May/June 2013
Music ****(Very Good) Sound ****(Very Good)
Thomas Schulz – Fono Forum magazine – May 2013
"... if you are looking for an up-to-date Sleeping Beauty, Järvi's will amply reward you..."
Peter J Rabinowitz - International Record Review - February 2013
Album of the Week
Performance **** Recording *****
"...The complete score for Tchaikovsky's the Sleeping Beauty comes from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Neeme Jarvi ... Notably on this recording, the violin solos are played by the superb James Ehnes, a bonus indeed! The sound is spectacular..."
Peter Spaull - Liverpool Daily Post - 20 December 2012


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Euro Pound Sterling US Dollar Australia Dollar Bahraini Dinar Botswana pula Cambodian Riel Canadian Dollar China Yuan Denmark Kroner East Caribbean Dollar Egypt Pounds Fijian Dollar Iceland Kronur Indian Rupee Japan Yen Kenya Shiling Kuwaiti Dinar Malaysian Ringgit Myanma kyat Netherlands Antillean Guilder New Zealand Dollar Norway Kroner Philippine Peso Russia Ruble Singapore Dollar South Africa Rand Sweden Kronor Switzerland Franc Thai Baht Ukraine Hryvnia Vietnamese Dong
Recently renovated, this is one of the most emblematic hotels in Lisbon since 1941. In the heart of Lisbon, near major business, shops, cultural sites and nightlife. An intimate and charming hotel, with the sense of cinema all around. In Marques de Pombal Square and at the beginning of Av.da Liberdade, this hotel is unique on its location.10 minutes away from the airport, walking distance to the underground, near every tourism service and historical sites.


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8 Tips to Minimize Car Use and Save Fuel
Is global warming on your mind? Would you like to spend less money on gasoline? Go green with your car by following these tips to minimize your car use and save fuel.
1 of 9
Try Carpooling
Find one or more carpool partners for a daily commute, and take turns driving. If you think it's a hassle to pick up and drop off other people, consider that there will be days when someone else is driving and you can just sit back, relax, and chat—or snooze! There's less wear and tear on you and your car, and less fuel used overall.
To find a partner, post a notice at your place of work. If you get no response, try posting a notice at other businesses nearby, or at your local supermarket.


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30 Aug 2012 2:10 PM #1
Public Tube - Free London Underground web app
Hi All,
Have recently updated my web app, Public Tube (v2) to Sencha Touch v126.96.36.199, link below: -
Changelog: -
- Updated to Sencha Touch v220.127.116.11, using MVC classes (views, stores, models and controllers).
- Used ajax, jsonp + yql and got rid of php.
- Added pull-refresh to Live Status and index bar.
- Changed live timetable departures to nested list.
- Minor style changes.
Hope you like it, was challenging but fun to learn sencha touch 18.104.22.168.
1 Sep 2012 6:58 AM #2
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Location
- Gainesville, FL
- Posts
- 39,174
- Vote Rating
- 1258
Very nice!Mitchell Simoens @LikelyMitch
Sencha Inc, Senior Software Engineer
Check out my GitHub, lots of nice things for Ext JS 4 and Sencha Touch 2
Think my support is good? Get more personalized support via a support subscription. https://www.sencha.com/store/
Need more help with your app? Hire Sencha Services email@example.com
Want to learn Sencha Touch 2? Check out Sencha Touch in Action that is in print!
When posting code, please use BBCode's CODE tags.
1 Sep 2012 12:25 PM #3
Hi Mitchell,
Thanks for the reply , just done a quick update. Two different profiles for phones and tablets / desktop.
Oh well, if only I could get paid for this development....


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Holiday Bedtime stories
Location:Bluffton Branch
Date & Time:Monday, December 17, 2012 - 6:30pm
Put on those Jammies, bring your favorite stuffed toy, and have a jolly good time. There will be stories, musical entertainment, and Santa himself will be visiting us! You get to take home a special holiday goody bag. All ages


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CSS3 Box Properties - 16
- Posted: Jul 30, 2012 at 11:57AM
- 114,522 views
- 8 comments
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This video is part of a free online course from Microsoft Virtual Academy, click here to view the full course and take advantage of many additional features such as assessments, slides, learning plans and more.
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This lesson makes the important distinction between inline-display and block-display in HTML5 elements. For block-style elements, it is vital to understand the box model and this lesson provides that background as well as an overview of the CSS3 properties for properly styling block-style elements.
Download the source code for CSS3 Box Properties
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Great tutorial and perfect explanation. Best regards.
@ErikNieuwenhuis: Thanks Erik! Warm regards to you, too.
Thanks for the tutorials, Bob. Just started going through it.
By the way, can you post a tutorial to tableless layout design? Or is there already?
I address that specifically in the very last video, talking about Responsive web design. I think your best bet is to try Twitter's Bootstrap CSS library ... see that final video in this series for more details. Best wishes!
Really Really , Thank you
I really appreciate this series, thanks! I also very much like the binary clock!
@Sarah: @Todd Harris: Thanks! I ask my kids' friends if they can figure out how it works ... they stare at it for a while ... it's a good way for me to introduce the magic of computers to them in terms they can understand.
Thanks Dear Bob.
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Defiant Rick Perry holds court on border crisis, knocks Obama on Iraq
Indictment hasn't slowed Texas governor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rick Perry showed a lot of chutzpah this afternoon – that's Yiddish for someone who has a lot of gall. Under felony indictment in Texas, the Governor accused President Obama of being a scofflaw after sweeping into a crowded room to speak in the nation's capital Thursday.
To review: Perry is accused of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant in connection with vetoing $7.5 million to fund a Travis County office investigating public corruption. Perry made good on a veto threat after Rosemary Lehmberg, district attorney, refused to resign at his urging in the wake of her drunken driving conviction.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Perry was scheduled to hold forth on the border crisis. Lucky for us that he didn't limit his comments before an audience eager for more from a politician grinning in his recent mug shot and still gunning for the presidency.
Bent on avoiding any appearance of being chastened, Perry belittled the allegations against him, hassled Obama over executive power, called for more U.S. involvement in Iraq and urged lawmakers to fashion a "comprehensive border strategy."
The real main act, Perry stayed out of sight while an expert panel chewed over border issues before an impatient crowd. Once at the podium, the governor got right to the point, correctly gauging the crowd's interest in two felony charges dealt him Aug. 15 by a Travis County grand jury.
"There are a few public officials in Travis County who have taken issue with an exercise of my constitutional veto authority," Perry said.
Citing an arrest video showing a belligerent Lehmberg, Perry has said he didn't want to put control of taxpayer dollars in her hands.
Thursday, he took it to a loftier level.
"I am very confident in my case, and I can assure that I will fight this attack of our system of government," Perry said, reading from prepared remarks. "With my fellow citizens, both Republicans and Democrats, I aim to defend our constitution and stand up for the rule of law in the state of Texas."
The audience applauded, and soon Perry switched to criticizing Obama. The governor painted himself as a defender of the Texas Constitution and Obama as a scofflaw of the U.S. Constitution.
Perry said Obama came on the presidential scene as "the constitutional law professor who was going to raise our sights, make things work," but the Supreme Court has "set him straight" 20 times on the constitutional limits of executive power.
"We've still got two elected branches in this country," Perry said. "We still like to do things democratically."
As for the crisis at the border of unaccompanied minors, Perry scolded Obama for not visiting the border during a recent trip to Texas.
"To this day, the president has yet to see the facts on the ground of our southern border," Perry said.
After weighing in on the international crisis in Iraq, Perry circled back around to the indictments against him, which he says are political in spite of a Republican judge and prosecutor who served in a Republican administration.
Perry said when former White House advisor David Axelrod says "that this is sketchy, outrageous, totalitarian and McCarthyite, I agree."
Oy vey….
Washington correspondent Trish Choate can be reached at 202-408-2709 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter at Trish_in_DC.
DecodeDC's foremost aim is to be useful. That means being a reliable, honest and highly entertaining source of insight and explanation. It also means providing multimedia coverage of Washington's people, culture, policies and politics that is enlightening and enjoyable. Whether it's a podcast, a video, an interactive graphic, a short story or a long analysis, it will be based on this guiding principle: We are in DC but not OF DC.


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The Final Two: Louisville and . . .
Final Four Live Blog
ATLANTA—The NCAA tournament Final Four that tips off Saturday pits basketball royalty (the Louisville Cardinals) against literal hayseeds (the Shockers of Wichita State), and a slick, young offensive machine (the Michigan Wolverines) against a gear-stopping wrench (Syracuse Orange). Here is how the two semifinals at the Georgia Dome (6 p.m. ET, CBS) could play out.
NCAA Highlights
Wichita State vs. Louisville
In Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, Louisville boasts a backcourt that makes foes feel like fish out of water. It also has the best statistical defense of the last decade. As if the Cardinals needed anything else, they long to give a strand of twine to their injured teammate Kevin Ware.
How is any team, let alone nine-seed Wichita State, supposed to turn this coronation into a coup d'état?
Since Valentine's Day, Louisville, the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, has decimated every opponent. Only one stayed within single digits—which is why Saturday's first national semifinal will unfold like this:
Louisville should sprint to an early lead. No defense of the last 10 years has allowed fewer points per possession than this Louisville team's. What really makes this defense so deadly is how the Cardinals turn it into offense: 28% of their shots come off rebounds and steals in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, according to hoop-math.com. The way he sculpts shots, Smith is the team's Michelangelo in transition.
Wichita State's hope: Win the first half. The only time Louisville has been vulnerable in the NCAA tournament has been right before intermission. And that's exactly when the Shockers build their leads. In their regional-final upset of Ohio State, Wichita State turned a two-point lead midway through the first half into a 13-point cushion at half. How do they score on Louisville? Wichita State ranks in the top 20 in offensive-rebounding rate, and Louisville is 236th on the defensive glass, according to kenpom.com. At 6-foot-8, Shocker forwards Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall might be able to get second-chance points from offensive rebounds.
Second half, Louisville drops the boom. Here's the way Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski described the Cardinals' second-half run against the Blue Devils in the regional final: "I thought we had a chance there, and then boom," he said. The way Louisville breaks open games with their full-court press in the second half is like a sun shower. Everything looks pleasant, except then it starts pouring, and you're soaking wet.
Michigan vs. Syracuse
In facing No. 4-seed Syracuse in Saturday's second NCAA tournament semifinal, No. 4-seed Michigan will encounter a zone defense that's deadlier than a plunging elevator packed with rabid Shih Tzus.
In the Sweet 16, the Orange zone harassed Indiana to a season-low 50 points, then doubled down two days later to hold Marquette to an embarrassing 39 points. With Syracuse's tall guards (6-foot-6 Michael Carter-Williams and 6-foot-4 Brandon Triche) roving the middle perimeter and willowy forwards (C.J. Fair, James Southerland and Rakeem Christmas) roaming the baseline and lane, the Orange zone chokes passing lanes and rattles shooters. Syracuse dominated its past two games despite shooting below 44%.
For the often misfiring Orange, the game could rise or fall on offensive rebounding. This factor helps explain how Syracuse took a 16-point lead on Louisville in the Big East tournament then lost that game by 17.
Michigan matches up well with the zone, thanks to pinpoint-passing guard Trey Burke and outside shooting threats Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas. The Associated Press player of the year, Burke (18.8 points per game, 6.8 assists) also can shoot from deep in three-point range or knife to the basket, and he rarely makes mistakes. Michigan has the nation's lowest turnover rate, according to stats guru Ken Pomeroy.
The Wolverines won early in the season without much inside presence; they are now beating top-notch teams thanks in part to the stronger, more confident forward, Mitch McGary. The 6-foot-10 bruiser has an increasingly deft touch at the basket: He is shooting 75% from the field in Michigan's last three tournament games scoring from everywhere—he's ambidextrous.
What should scare Michigan is how listless it looked in trailing Kansas through most of its third tournament game. What should scare Syracuse is how Michigan came back to win that game. The Wolverines' 10-point, 2½-minute comeback came from all directions. Forward Glenn Robinson III and McGary punched through a Kansas defense ranked fifth nationally by Pomeroy, scoring on layups and a dunk. Burke made two threes including the dagger-for-the-ages swish that sent the game to OT. This game is a tossup.
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