text:
Jamba Juice $1.00 off coupon
Click on the line "thanks for being in on the joke. Have a buck off any smoothie. Click here." and it will take you to a printable coupon.
good till 9-6-10
Click on the line "thanks for being in on the joke. Have a buck off any smoothie. Click here." and it will take you to a printable coupon.
good till 9-6-10
Never-ending savings are still to be found on Deals.Woot each and every day, so come on in. Don't think of it as a time for tears. Think of it as a way to bring us all closer together under one roof.
We restrict voting to users who have purchased something from one of the other Woot stores. It's not just because we want your money (which we do) - it's the best way to be sure all the votes are coming from real people and not spam-bots or phony accounts. The best way we can think of, anyway. For now.
You can always get voting rights by buying something from one of Woot's other sites:
Purchases through Deals.Woot don't count, because in that case you're not buying anything from us. And we don't have your account information for those purchases.
If you think you've bought something from Woot before and still can't vote, make sure you're logged in with the same account you used to buy from us.
Don't get us wrong. Negativity has its place. And downvotes are just as essential as upvotes when it comes to making Deals.Woot a useful place to find deals.
But when your votes lean so heavily toward the dark side, we have to wonder. Go vote up a few things. Accentuate the positive for a little while. It'll do you some good, and it'll do the site some good, too. Then you can get back to dealing out the smackdowns, OK?
Well, that's a bit tricky. See, we do a lot of stuff with your vote, using it to work out the popularity of what you voted for, compare that to all the other things voted on, tally up our leaderboard, work out your reputation. Someday we'll do a little cartoon showing just how hard your vote is working.
Anyway, taking votes back messes all that up, so we give you five minutes, in case you just mis-clicked. After that we've got to say no take-backs. Luckily, votes are free, so feel free to throw them around left and right wherever you see fit.


text:
Sorry for the delay on posting this, guys, I wanted to make sure everyone had their chance to vote! The first place winner was notified awhile ago, and will receive their prize sooner or later by mail from my good friend , which is a Dearka figure
But anyway! I'm sure the rest of you would like to know the winners! There were many, many votes and a total of 7 entries, but publicly, I'm only going to list the top 3 places! If you'd like to know how you fared, feel free to send me a note and I'd be happy to tell you your number of votes and your ranking
1ST PLACE : "Hot Date Desu Ka?" by Zucreelo
2ND PLACE : "A Date With Lacus" by lacusyamato2008
3RD PLACE : "Hot Date Entry" by Crimsonsky21
Thanks to all of you for participating! Be on the lookout for our next contest!
{}, founder of GSEEDguys.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
THE accession of the ten new member nations of the European Union seems remote and a little abstract. Yet I think it will prove to have unexpected results that touch our daily lives. Some will be benign. Other prospects must alarm.
One effect of sharing a common market with the vast agricultural power of Poland and its neighbours is the potential collapse of the monstrous common agricultural policy.
One half of the commissionâs current budget disappears in subsidies to farmers. In some cases these farms actually exist. So do their sheep and cattle. In a great many cases they are only farms on paper with no actual olive groves, herds or oilseed rape acres. The EUâs own auditors admit that half are fraudulent. Another word might be criminal. The fingerprints of the Mafia and like groups are everywhere.
The absurdity of the CAP is well rehearsed. Its latest evolution into paying farmers not to breed turkeys or plant carrots, called "set aside", has strained the credulity of even the most loyal of EU supporters.
What interests me is the arrival of the ten new agriculturally driven nations who are being locked out of most of the CAP. I believe a powerful, and eventually unstoppable, force will emerge to dissolve the iniquity and corruption of the CAP regime.
Still a bit remote and technical? It means the prospective transformation of the British countryside. Take away the subsidies for their familiar wooly balls of mutton and Scotlandâs hill country will cease to be the current sheep range, grazed bare. Slowly at first, but quickly after a few seasons, the natural flora will return.
It is my prediction that most of Scotland will become fallow for farming purposes.
It will revert to natural native woodland. Birch, alder, Scots pine, rowan, juniper and oak will flourish again ... because Polish farmers can supply us so much more cheaply than our current rigged markets.
Instead of paying farmers to rear animals or crops we will import from abroad and the CAP will crumble. The price of core grocery items will fall dramatically.
It would be a silly exaggeration to say all farming will cease. Yet there seems little to deny the mix of farming is ripe for a large jolt. The last time land use faced such a surprise was when Robert Peel abandoned the proto-type CAP, Corn Laws, in the 1840s. Catastrophe was predicted. In fact a newly prosperous farming flourished but with far less land under cultivation. From swords to ploughshares to golf clubs is how Lord Howe describes it.
There is an error which is easy to lapse into, namely the idea that most people in rural communities earn their livings from farming. It is false. Most people in even remote counties such as Roxburgh or Dumfries earn their incomes from services or local authority roles. What a refreshed landscape needs is a much more liberalised use of buildings. Planning is constricting alternatives.
It is an arresting claim but half the homes across the Highlands are empty or derelict. I mean the long abandoned crofts and shielings cleared for the arrival of the sheep economy 200 years ago. The great arc of the Highlands could re-populate quickly if planning consents were given more readily for restoration.
Once the GM-experts have found a way to rid Gaeldom of the curse of the midge all of Britain will want a home in the Highlands.
The "green belt" policy supported by politicians of every party is ripe for relaxation too. Edinburghâs property prices would ease if new buildings were authorised, or more happily re-use of already urbanised land were allowed. We can all see how dormitory communities such as Dunbar, Haddington, Lauder and Peebles would boom if land owners were free to adapt.
People want to do far more in the countryside than commute. It is far from easy to establish light industries in the Scottish countryside because the entire system is rigged towards favouring farming. Grotesque industrial farm buildings are erected without any planning controls.
Try to set up a small warehouse or workshop and the local authorities will engulf you in impediments and delays.
The countryside used to be there for its produce - turnips or beef. Now its primary quality is its beauty, its green virtues. Could it be that the arrival of Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and soon Bulgaria and Romania in the EU will utterly transform rural Scotland?
I think so.


text:
31 Oct 2011 8:31 AM #1
reset.css missing?
I have downloaded gxt-3.0.0-dp5.zip and unzipped it.
My project name is SenchaExperiments.
I have followed the instructions in the setup.txt file, and in following step 2b, added the following as the first .css reference in SenchaExperiments.html:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="SenchaExperiments/css/reset.css" />
However, while my bits of code to learn GXT seem to work, I keep getting an error message in the console:
[WARN] No file found for: /SenchaExperiments/css/reset.css
Where is the css/reset.css file? I didn't see any file with the name "reset.css" and so assumed this was some sort of built in thing that GXT would interpret correctly.
Was this missing from the DP5 download?
31 Oct 2011 8:36 AM #2
Try to remove the css folder of the href. The folder is not correct.
31 Oct 2011 10:01 AM #3
Thanks! That fixed it.
The following line then in the setup.txt should probably be changed to indicate this. It curently reads:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="{module name}/css/reset.css" />
31 Oct 2011 3:49 PM #4
Thanks, I just corrected setup.txt in SVN.
6 Feb 2012 9:19 AM #5
Wouldn't it be easier to add:
<stylesheet src="reset.css"/>
7 Feb 2012 6:55 PM #6
We experimented with this, but I believe the eventual conclusion was that it should load earlier, or it will reset other existing css loaded by the html page.
7 Feb 2012 11:25 PM #7
I have experimented with it a lot and I never noticed weird behaviour. Anyway both solutions are correct


text:
4 Jan 2013 8:08 AM #1
Always shows CSS resource window after saving
I've added a CSS file as a resource to my project - works just fine. I made the mistake of editing the file using SA. First I had to unlock the file then I edited the file. So far, so good. However now *whenever* I save the project SA displays the CSS resource and I have to go find the place where I'd been before saving.
Not a big deal but irritating coming on the back of 10 hard crashes a day.
The workaround is to close the project and open it again.
4 Jan 2013 10:19 AM #2
Thanks for the report, this has been fixed in the next coming release.Aaron Conran


text:
Event Information
$10,000. 3 Months. 1 Stage. So you have what it takes? The GVSU Business Plan Competition is an opportunity to challenge yourself and to take your business idea to the next level. If $5,000 for first place isn't enough motivation, then perhaps college credit is more your speed. There's $10,000 at stake and it's your duty to claim it. So, what are you waiting for? Applications are available online and due by November 9th at www.gvsu.edu/cei/bpc
This event also occurred on 10/19/2012, 10/20/2012, 10/21/2012, 10/22/2012, 10/23/2012, 10/24/2012, 10/25/2012, 10/26/2012, 10/27/2012, 10/28/2012 and 11 others


text:
From Noisebridge
A group of Noisebridge members are working with the Android OS for mobile phones (and other devices). This page lists current Noisebridge Android resources.
A partial list of people interested in Android:
- Andy Isaacson
- David Molnar
- jof
- Jacob Appelbaum
- Christie
- jlapenna
- Micah
- There's a group of Noisebridge Android hackers talking on irc right now (2:01 AM Pacific Time, Monday 9 February 2009).
- Noisedroid is an Android build by Noisebridge.


text:
Back to Previous Page | Curriculum Home
PTP101: Int Prog A (2013-2014)
CURRICULUM PROGRAM: Career and Technical Education
COURSE TITLE: Intro Programming A
COURSE LENGTH: 9 weeks
Major Concepts/Content: Introduction to Programming Languages will utilize languages that meet needs specified in the Essential Objectives, such as Logo or BASIC. This hands-on laboratory course is designed to teach students the concepts, skills and processes involved in programming a computer, to include significant experiences with major language features.
Major Instructional Activities: Students will analyze a problem, design a solution, write the program needed to solve the problem, test the program and make the necessary corrections in the program. Activities will include hands-on programming, group and individual assignments and special projects.
Major Evaluative Techniques: ssessment will be accomplished by:
- Success may be demonstrated by written tests, oral tests, class work, projects, or other means deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to
- Define programming vocabulary specific to the chosen programming language.
- Utilize the input/output procedures of the language in addition to storage and retrieval of programs.
- Write programs in a structured format.
- Create logical programming solutions using boolean logic, iteration, variables, conditionals, data types and super and sub procedures.
- Recognize and correct program faults (debug).
- Promote the ethical use of computers.


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The first photograph is supposed to have been taken in the late 1820s. But what was the first major historical event to be photographed?
It is difficult to give an answer, what is a
According Wikipedia Carol Szathmari was the first combat photographer during the Crimean War (1853-1856). This was some years before the United States Civil War. Some technical information can be at the Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a României
At Wikipedia they mention also a daguerreotypes of the U.S. troops in Satilo, Mexico, (1847).
Hermann Biow made photographs after a big fire in Hamburg (1842). At least it was a local major historical event.
Edit: I found some new information. The book Photography: A Cultural History by Mary Warner Marien has some interesting informations on page 44ff. The book tells, there were no plans to make th pictures of the Hamburg Fire (Hermann Biow). The first planned pictures from historic events are done 1848 in France (abdication of King Louis-Phillippe) by Eugène Thibault.
The first war photographies are from the Mexican-American War (1848, see page 47).
The first taking of a photograph was the first major historical event photographed (though it was photographed by implication rather than directly: you can't see it in the photograph).
The United States Civil War is the first real use of photographs that I have seen for a historical event, or war. It's 1861, so there is a gap, but I don't know of other photos that might have been taken.


text:
MARSHALL COUNTY, OK-- It's been a difficult time during the past three years for Marshall County. Three soldiers have died while serving their country. The county senses the void once again as another hometown hero, 27-year-old Second Lieutenant Joe Lee Cunningham lost his life in Afghanistan over the weekend.
Those who knew Cunningham say besides being a well-known and loved member of the community, he was an ambitious young man who strived to achieve any goal he set for himself.
One of the goals he was most proud of was becoming a second lieutenant in the Army. Marshall County Undersheriff Donny Raley says Cunningham was truly one of a kind.
"He was just a great kid, a great ambitious kid he knew where he wanted to go and knew what he was going to have to do to get there," Raley said.
Cunningham was a 2003 graduate of Kingston High School, joined the National Guard, then came to work as a detention officer for Marshall County only a few years ago before rejoining the military.
Kingston Police Chief John Canoe says he knew Cunningham since he was a young boy. Canoe says Cunningham volunteered at the Kingston Police Department helping out where he could. Canoe says they made an exception for Cunningham allowing him to go on patrol with police because they knew he wanted to be an officer, and was someone who would go above and beyond for others.
"I was heartbroken to hear about him and his death you know? Joe knew that there was times he might not come back, you know, he knew that," Canoe said.
Raley describes Cunningham as someone who was full of enthusiasm, and a person who enjoyed what he did, fighting to better the lives of others.
"That was his goal, that's why he joined the military. He just really enjoyed helping people, and being a part of and making a difference in their lives," Raley said.


text:
digital technology
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with many gender, educational, and digital divides. Yet it is gradually being transformed by open source and digital technology. There's little question that as Nepal seeks to help its citizens become a part of the global digital economy, it faces... Read more


text:
Hurricane Sandy has lost some its power, but is still raking over the central Bahamas. The storm is blamed for at least 21 deaths in the Caribbean, eleven of them in Cuba.
The Category 1 storm is centered about 100 miles east of the Bahamas capital of Nassau. Its maximum sustained winds are about 90 mph, down from earlier Thursday.
Sandy is expected to churn through the central and northwest Bahamas through early Friday. It also might cause tropical storm conditions along the southeastern Florida coast, the Upper Keys and Florida Bay by Friday morning.
The hurricane is predicted to weaken over the next 48 hours, but remain a hurricane for a couple days.
Sandy is expected to track along the U.S. coastline. Forecasters say as it meets up along the U.S. East Coast with a storm coming from the West and a blast of arctic air it's expected to create a super storm. Experts say that will generate gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe snow in some areas starting Sunday and stretching past Wednesday.


text:
Main Content
Skintight clothing can be so confining, especially during the summer months! Strike the perfect balance between sexy and comfortable in the Mischa top from WeSC. This smoldering little number is full of tiny details that will set you apart from the rest of the girls. It features a tunnel drawstring at the waist, strap detail at the shoulders that create a gathering effect at the sleeves, a wide scoop neck collar, a rounded bottom hem and slightly sheer, super soft fabric. Looking good and feeling good are now simultaneous. What a smart girl you are!
- 100% Viscose
- Imported
- Loose-fit top
- Model shown is wearing size S
- Seat-length hem with rounded edges
- Sewn-down strap at shoulder for gathering effect
- Tunnel drawstring at waist
- Woven branding tag
- Imported
- Brand: WeSC
WeSC Customers also liked:
Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


text:
$\exists p, q \in \mathbb{P}: p^4+1 = 2q^2$? I suspect there is some simple proof that no such p, q can exist, but I haven't been able to find one.
Solving the Pell equation gives candidates for p^2=x and q=y, with x=y=1 as the first candidate solution and subsequent ones given by x'=3x+4y, y'=2x+3y; chances of a prime square seem vanishingly unlikely as x increases, but I don't have a proof.
Meta: how do you search for a question like this? I looked for a searching HOWTO here and on meta, and couldn't find one. That the search appears to strip '^' and '=' makes it all the harder.


text:
I think it would be useful to add an "Answer Later" tab that would be similar to the "Favorites" tab so you could mark questions to answer at a later time. There are so many times I see a question which I would like to answer but don't have time, then I have a hard time finding it again later. Right now I mark it as favorite, go back and answer it, then unmark it as favorite (unless I really like the question). Do you think other people might find this useful? Do you do this some other way?
What is meta?
- Any Stack Exchange user can ask a question
- The community provides support, votes on ideas, and reports bugs
- Your voice helps shape the way Stack Exchange operates
You might be suggesting a user lists system. If that is so I can see a lot of advantages having that.
You could create lists like
I would like to see this feature. If it's not going to be implemented then I will definitely create an addon for that!
"Answer later", or more precisely, "save for later" is conceptually orthogonal from "favorite". If I don't have too many favorites I can glance through them to find the "answer later" ones, like OP does. However if I have hundreds of favorites (I'm getting there), it's impossible to quickly find the "answer later" ones.
A draft answer per @bobobobo would be even better, since it's quite likely that I get interrupted when writing a non trivial answer (for example, boss behind back). It's almost like a deleted answer that you can always undelete, so if the code/schema is flexible enough, maybe "Save as Draft" won't be too hard to implement.
Another alternative could be to save questions with notes and tags. The tags are different from SO topic tags and would include e.g. favorite, later, hilarious, St. Skeet, etc.
I think that favorites sorted by newest (as you probably do) should serve this purpose well enough.
With the new mobile app, a similar feature is even more important. I usually find questions I can and want to answer using the Android app during my train commute, but I'd like to answer them later from a device with a physical keyboard. Therefore a way to save questions for later server side is essential.
I think this'd best be solved by drafts, kinda like how you do in email. (Start a draft fully intending to finish it "later"...)
Use your browser's bookmarks.
I have roughly 20 folders to categorize various SE posts... but it probably helps that Opera and Chrome let me search through them from the address bar. ;)
I very often miss this feature. Using the favorite tab is a just a pis-aller as it gets mixed up with questions for which I does not intend to do give any answer due to my lack of knowledge.
I would point out that Quora has this exact feature:
Most people end up using their Favorites tab as a set of bookmarks anyway. If you just sorted your favorites by newest you could see all your most recent ones and go back to them. It sounds a lot like you are wanting to add in something that we already use something else for in the most cases.
I think this relates to better favourites organisation, for which there is another thread. You could post this idea there as I see a benefit in being able to say why you favourited something, e.g. Answer later.
In Firefox, just open the question in a new tab, and keep it open, until you have time to answer it.
Don't forget to refresh the page - it might already been answered. :)
You can use comments for this, too, if "fave" seems too strong for what is essentially bookmarking.
It's possible someone will take your comment as a hint and write a good answer in the meantime. That could have happened without your comment of course: you just delete the comment. Just don't make the comment "I will answer this tonight" because that might get removed as chatty or non constructive. Comments are ephemeral and the one drawback of this approach is possible comment removal, but I think that only happens on active questions, so chances are there would be an answer anyway.


text:
Eyeliner Brush
Some jobs call for serious precision. Our finely pointed Liner Brush works great with our eyeliners and provides full color intensity. Use it wet or dry to explore different looks each day.
Prolong the magic.
To extend the life and beauty of your makeup brushes, cleanse brushes regularly with Well-Cared For Brush Conditioning Shampoo or a gentle shampoo or soap.
It's OK to change your mind.
Just use our Quick Change Brush Cleaner if you're using the same brush. Switch from one shade to the next and keep your application true to color with this fast-drying cleaning spray.


text:
The Amsterdam Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 232 has begun the new year with a demonstration of paying-it-forward.
During December, teachers at Stanton Elementary School were asked for a wish list of supplies they need in class. With those lists in hand, post representatives started shopping and on Jan. 16, presented to each teacher a box of supplies donated by the post veterans, ladies and men's auxiliaries.
"We helped John Gregg out early in the fall, so we decided to 'adopt' Stanton and help them out, too," a post spokesperson said. "The community is so wonderful to us we thought this was the best way to pay it forward," the spokesperson added.
Involved in the presentation were Stanton Elementary pupils Alexis Cronin,Gabby Carpenter, Emily Waggoner, Gabriel Rawson, Ethan Pappas, representatives of Amsterdam VFW Post 232 representatives Casey Barnhouse, Patricia Wilkin, Diana Plavka and John Gallagher.


text:
A phishing scam is an attempt to extract information that is not normally shared. Phishing scams mostly occur in e-mails where the address and e-mail may be masked to look as though it is from an authentic source. The information ranges from personally identifiably information such as social security numbers or bank accounts to passwords and credit card numbers.
Please remember that Providence College will never ask you for your password.
If you suspect a phishing scam please forward the e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you have a technology related question or problem, please contact the Help Desk at x4357.
What does it mean to be a Catholic and Dominican college? We invite you to explore this question and the distinctive mission of Providence College.
About Providence College's Catholic and Dominican Identity


text:
Corvettes weren't the only things on wheels rolling out of the General Motors Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant today.
The plant has been the largest annual adopter of angels in the salvation army's Angel Tree program.
The salvation army's Angel Tree program allows the community to help provide Christmas gifts to children whose families may not be able to otherwise.
Bikes, clothes and toys all made their way from the plant and other corporate donors and individuals to the salvation army to be sorted and prepared for the angel's families.
"We have so many groups that help us, like GM... our corporate sponsors take great numbers, and churches do... and we hang them at the mall," said Salvation Army Maj. Carla Binnix.
Even with all that support, some angels don't make it off the trees.
"There were still angels left on the tree. There were still children who wouldn't be served by the community from this program, so we gave a cash donation of 3,000 dollars to the Salvation Army specifically to targeted to buy gifts for those angels that hadn't been picked up," said GM Bowling Green Corvette Assembly plant Manager Dave Tatman.
"We have families that brother and sister may have their angel come back, but the littlest one didn't, so we use this money to buy the clothing and toys that make up for those gifts," said Binnix.
Today was the final day for angel tree gifts to be picked up and prepared for the first distribution day on Thursday, but Tatman says gifts and donations aren't the only ways to give.
"Not only is it about our money going to these programs, it's about our time," said Tatman.
Tatman says the plant has also taken part in the Adopt a Kettle program to help raise money and awareness by ringing bells in the community.


text:
Man Cave Pop Off Bottle Opener (New) for $6.99
Simply push down and caps pop off
Made of stainless steel
Hand wash and dry
25 Comments add a comment
Bought 3 of em.
Also, from their original site: https://extranet.securefreedom.com/ManCave/Shopping/ShoppingCart_Detail.asp?PriceID=465&Cat= we're getting it much cheaper.
I used to have something like this, but it was made out of plastic.
In for one with a free shipping code!
(Love the alternate pictures! Shinerbock, FTW!!!)
I like how the bottle is a twist off.
These are great! Fun for guests and easier to track down than a boring bottle opener. ;)
But this price seems steep. barproducts.com is cheaper, and no I do not work for them. Just a regular customer and fan.
does it damage the bottle cap?
@simmp5: I've had many twist-offs that were untwistable.
Besides, when you're playing bartender, its just quicker and easier. Wish I still had a free shipping code left.
@zollars23: I too had that problem... and the worst part is that I have never been so thirsty in my life when that would happen
@deezil: Interesting I went to the Mancave site and this is what I got:
We are sorry, your shopping cart session has expired. Please enter the Guide # below that referred you to this site to begin your session again. If you feel you have reached this page in error, please contact the home office with a description of the problem.
One other possible cause is that cookies are not enabled on your browser. For more information, click here
Guide #:
Or click here to login again if you are an existing Customer
Or click here to login again if you are an existing Guide
Oh, oh! Does this come with a gift certificate for a manicure too??? I wouldn't want guys who can't twist a bottle cap or pop a traditional cap off with pause for dramatic effect A BOTTLE OPENER to hurt their precious hands or experience unsightly skin blemishes and broken nails!
@zack2: Looks like one of those weird sites that you can't send permalinks from. Suck.
Try this one: www.mancaveworldwide.com/shop?category=General%7CHome+Bar
I have a different version of the same thing. Takes a few beers (never a bad thing) to figure out the exact right push, twist, pull method, but it is pretty snazzy. I've found a few bottles with a particularly short or thick neck don't work well, but I'd say it's successful around 95% of the time. And it is pretty entertaining to see how surprised people are at how quickly and easily you can dispatch a bottle top with it.
If your "man cave" doesn't have a bottle opener, or tools that can be used inappropriately to open said bottle top (the preferred method), you're bound by honor to turn in your membership card to be revoked.
I had a friend show up with a bottle of wine once to my "man cave" and not being able to find a corkscrew, we used a drywall screw, a drill, some vice grips and the edge of the table. Who brings wine?!
so umm like those metal key chain ones dont work on new modern beers or something? this is truly dumb. especially if you have something dangling between your legs.....
@koreanwonder: You use the thing dangling between your legs to open beers? Sounds painful.
Is this meant only for twist off caps, or can I use it with old fashioned caps like those found in mexican coke bottles, those meant to be opened with regular bottle openers?
@rawlio: It's likely so small he has no other use for it.
I thought the whole point of a man cave is to never have the appropriate tools handy and to figure out how to use what you have. This is way too fancy for me. I'de rather use a dremil or a wall.
Uhm, where's the free shipping code?
@unclefrog what's the free shipping code?
@davidmjohnson83: @cerria: Sorry for the confusion. I received four free shipping codes from @Jumbowoot back in July for having a Top Comment/Top Answer. They are good to use on any woot.com site. Moofi included.
Per Email: "On July 1, early in the morning, we ran a report that told us all of the userID's that had a #1 Top Answer/Top Comment AT THAT TIME.
Guess what! You were one of them! WOOHOO!
So here's what we're going to do!
We are going to place 4 free shipping coupons in your Woot account that will be valid until December 15, 2011!"
I have the plastic version and love it. They work for twist off and pop off caps. No damage to the caps at all. Very quick and easy, I bought all my friends and family the plastic ones and they loved them. Now I'm thinking I should upgrade to stainless...
Thanks for the reply
@unclefrog: Yep, I "won" back in June, too!
Seriously...you guys ain't gettin' it. This is a tool. It has moving parts and $hit. Only thing that would make this better is if it had a motor on it. Gas powered. 2 cycle.
Haven't met anyone yet who didn't like this...


text:
Your Rights After A Mastectomy
Printer Friendly Version | en español
If you have had a mastectomy or expect to have one, you may be entitled to special rights under the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 (WHCRA).
The following questions and answers clarify your basic WHCRA rights. Under WHCRA, if your group health plan covers mastectomies, the plan must provide certain reconstructive surgery and other post-mastectomy benefits.
Your health plan or health insurance issuer (also commonly referred to as your health insurance company) is required to provide you with a notice of your rights under WHCRA when you enroll in the health plan, and then once each year.
The following information provides answers to frequently asked questions about WHCRA.
I've been diagnosed with breast cancer and plan to have a mastectomy. How will WHCRA affect my benefits?
Under WHCRA, group health plans and insurance companies offering mastectomy coverage also must provide coverage for certain services relating to the mastectomy in a manner determined in consultation with your attending physician and you. This required coverage includes all stages of reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy was performed, surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance, prostheses and treatment of physical complications of the mastectomy, including lymphedema.
I have not been diagnosed with cancer. However, due to other medical reasons I must undergo a mastectomy. Does WHCRA apply to me?
Yes, if your group health plan or health insurance company covers mastectomies and you are receiving benefits in connection with a mastectomy. Despite its name, nothing in the law limits WHCRA rights to cancer patients.
Does WHCRA require all group health plans and health insurance companies to provide reconstructive surgery benefits?
Generally, group health plans, as well as their insurance companies, that provide coverage for medical and surgical benefits with respect to a mastectomy must comply with WHCRA.
However, if your coverage is provided by a "church plan" or "governmental plan", check with your plan administrator. Certain plans that are church plans or governmental plans may not be subject to this law.
May group health plans or health insurance companies impose deductibles or coinsurance requirements on the coverage specified in WHCRA?
Yes, but only if the deductibles and coinsurance are consistent with those established for other benefits under the plan or coverage.
I just changed jobs and am enrolled under my new employer's plan. I underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy treatment under my previous employer's plan. Now I want reconstructive surgery. Under WHCRA, is my new employer's plan required to cover my reconstructive surgery?
If your new employer's plan provides coverage for mastectomies and if you are receiving benefits under the plan that are related to your mastectomy, then your new employer's plan generally is required to cover reconstructive surgery if you request it. In addition, your new employer's plan generally is required to cover the other benefits specified in WHCRA. It does not matter that you were not enrolled in your new employer's plan at the time you had the mastectomy.
There are additional protections under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, a group health plan generally cannot limit or deny benefits relating to a health condition that was present before your enrollment date in your new employer's plan (a preexisting condition). For more information, visit the ACA web page of the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) or the Department of Health and Human Services HealthCare.gov website.
My employer's group health plan provides coverage through an insurance company. Following my mastectomy, my employer changed insurance companies. The new insurance company is refusing to cover my reconstructive surgery. Does WHCRA provide me with any protections?
Yes, as long as the new insurance company provides coverage for mastectomies, you are receiving benefits under the plan related to your mastectomy, and you elect to have reconstructive surgery. If these conditions apply, the new insurance company is required to provide coverage for breast reconstruction as well as the other benefits required under WHCRA. It does not matter that you were not covered by the new company at the time you had the mastectomy.
I understand that my group health plan is required to provide me with a notice of my rights under WHCRA when I enroll in the plan. What information can I expect to find in this notice?
Plans must provide a notice to all employees when they enroll in the health plan describing the benefits that WHCRA requires the plan and its insurance companies to cover. These benefits include coverage of all stages of reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy was performed, surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance, prostheses, and treatment of physical complications of the mastectomy, including lymphedema.
The enrollment notice also must state that for the covered employee or their family member who is receiving mastectomy-related benefits, coverage will be provided in a manner determined in consultation with the attending physician and the patient.
Finally, the enrollment notice must describe any deductibles and coinsurance limitations that apply to the coverage specified under WHCRA. Deductibles and coinsurance limitations may be imposed only if they are consistent with those established for other benefits under the plan or coverage.
What can I expect to find in the annual WHCRA notice from my health plan?
Your annual notice should describe the four categories of coverage required under WHCRA and information on how to obtain a detailed description of the mastectomy-related benefits available under your plan. For example, an annual notice might look like this:
"Do you know that your plan, as required by the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, provides benefits for mastectomy-related services including all stages of reconstruction and surgery to achieve symmetry between the breasts, prostheses, and complications resulting from a mastectomy, including lymphedema? Call your plan administrator [phone number here] for more information."
Your annual notice may be the same notice provided when you enrolled in the plan if it contains the information described above.
My state requires health insurance companies to cover the benefits required by WHCRA and also requires health insurance companies to cover minimum hospital stays in connection with a mastectomy (which is not required by WHCRA). If I have a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, am I also entitled to the minimum hospital stay?
If your employer's group health plan provides coverage through an insurance company, you are entitled to the minimum hospital stay required by the state law. Many state laws provide more protections than WHCRA. Those additional protections apply to coverage provided by an insurance company (known as "insured" coverage).
If your employer's plan does not provide coverage through an insurance company (in other words, your employer "self-insures" your coverage), then the state law does not apply. In that case, only the Federal law, WHCRA, applies, and it does not require minimum hospital stays.
To find out if your group health coverage is "insured" or "self-insured," check your health plan's Summary Plan Description or contact your plan administrator.
If your coverage is "insured" and you want to know if you have additional state law protections, check with your state insurance department.
My health coverage is through an individual policy, not through an employer. What rights, if any, do I have under WHCRA?
WHCRA rights apply to individual coverage as well. These requirements are generally within the jurisdiction of the state insurance department. Call your state insurance department or the Department of Health and Human Services toll free at 1-877-267-2323, extension 61565, for further information.
Do I have a right to preventive services related to the detection of breast cancer?
Under the ACA, you may receive recommended preventive services, such as breast cancer mammography screenings for women 40 years of age and older, with no copayment, coinsurance or deductible (or other cost-sharing). For more information, visit the HealthCare.gov website.
WHCRA does not require coverage for preventive services related to the detection of breast cancer.
WHCRA is administered by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.
Department of Labor
If you have questions regarding your WHCRA rights under an employer-sponsored group health plan or wish to view publications on a variety of health coverage topics, visit the website of the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration. To order publications or request assistance from a benefits advisor, contact EBSA electronically at askebsa.dol.gov or call toll free 1-866-444-3272.
Department of Health and Human Services
For more information on WHCRA, visit the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS.gov website or call toll free at 1-877-267-2323, extension 61565.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Visit the NAIC website and click on "States and Jurisdictions Map," then the state of your choice for the office in your state.


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Former NBA star Matt Bonner speaks to the crowd at the 2nd annual Sam Carey NH-All Star Classic basketball game at Manchester Central High School in this file photo.
Matt Bonner: Rocking on to make a difference
Matt Bonner remembers the slab of asphalt with two hoops and lights as the "it" court in Concord, N.H. The "it" court in White Park is where Matt and brother Luke played pickup games in their youth. The "it" court is where their father, 6-foot-7 inch Dave, banged around in his day, where generations of kids before him swooped and dunked beneath the gaze of friends at the top of the hill.
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IRC instigator. annoying person with a penchant for pushing buttons and interjecting in conversations for no reason.
/ignore litup ftw!
11:47 * Hayrab sets mode: +b litup
11:47 * Hayrab sets mode: +b litup
by JonnyPhenomenon July 06, 2006
Trending Now
To be buzzed or completely drunk.
Man, I just took two shots of tequila. I am lit up!
by Miss Jamie July 15, 2005
US Army slang meaning attacked. Initially referring to artillery attacks at night when illuminating rounds were fired to expose the target before destroying it with HE (High Explosive), Fragmentation or WP (White Phosphorous). Eventually the phrase was used to describe any intense attack on enemy positions or personnel whether it was with artillery, air strike or small arms.
We caught one of Charlie's supply columns out in the open and called in an artillery strike!
What happened?
Man you should have seen it, they got lit up real good!
Number One!
What happened?
Man you should have seen it, they got lit up real good!
Number One!
by Croatalin November 21, 2013
verb. To be shot multiple times while playing the sport of paintball, negitave term usually refering to either being bunkered (see bunkered in dictionary) or being shot by running into a line of paint while moving up on field, making a runthrough, etc. (when done being lit up, you look much like a christmas tree with all the pretty colors all over you)
The guy on the red team was totally lit up while trying to take the snake.
by revelationtrent September 13, 2006
A HUGE hit in football.
Man, that receiver just got lit up by that safety!
by JSch January 10, 2007


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It seems that Yaakov and Yosef did not spend much time together in Egypt. After the emotional reunion is there any other mention of them together? Why not?
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פסיקתא רבתי 3:45 has it that it was engineered by Yosef as such, so Yaakov would never say "by the way Yosef, how exactly did you um, get lost when you went looking for your brothers, and wind up in Egypt?"
It would be improper - as Yaakov the father would have to show respect to his son Yosef who is the Mishne L'Melech. - will add in source after Shabbos
Rabbi Shlomo Kluger comments on the posuk (48,2) "And (someone) told Yaakov and said: Behold, your son Yosef is coming to you. And Yisrael summoned his strength and sat up on the bed", that the word "behold" in this posuk implies that something new was happening here, implying that Yosef was accustomed never to go to his father.
We can explain why this was so from what the poskim write about the Maharam from Rottenburg, that from the day that he rose to prominence as a great sage he did not visit his father, nor did he wish that his father should visit him. The reason was because his father was an ordinary person, and it is a disgrace to the Torah for a great Torah sage to stand up for someone who is not a Torah sage, and not everybody who might see him stand for his father would know that it was his father.
But Yosef's father, Yaakov, was a great person. However, Yosef was concerned that if he came to his father, his father would want to honor him as befits a king, and to stand before him. Indeed, we see here that when Yaakov was told of Yosef's imminent arrival, he struggled to sit up. Therefore, Yosef refrained from coming to his father, in order that his father would not need to honor him each time. But on the other hand, he loved for his father to visit him because his father was a great Tzaddik, and it was fitting for Yosef to honor Yaakov by standing for him.
Therefore, whenever Yaakov needed Yosef, he would go to him, and not the other way round. But now Yaakov was ill and could not go to Yosef, and so Yosef was forced to go to him. Therefore it says "and it was told to Yaakov: Behold" - Look! something new! - "your son Yosef is coming to you", something that has never happened before, since Yosef was not accustomed to come to Yaakov.
I heard from Rav Yosef Mizrahi that the Gra had a sister that he hadn't seen in over 50 years, and when he met her, he just said "hello, nice to see you" and then went back to learn.
Despite the above answers to this question, there is a midrash that Yaakov convened family dinners during the remainder of his life, and requested that Yosef sit at the head of the table, in a position more honored than the other brothers, because of his position in the Egyptian government.
After Yaakov died, Yosef discontinued these dinners because he was uncomfortable with the protocol that would have required him to hold himself over his brothers. The brothers misinterpreted this as hatred that Yosef was only now expressing now that Yaakov was no longer alive, and this is why they made up a request from Yaakov that Yosef forgive his brothers.


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See who's been arrested in South Florida recently by clicking through the slideshow below, then take a look at some of our other mugshot galleries. Remember, an arrest is NOT an indication of guilt:
+ Have you seen Death Row's Female Faces?
+ Best of the worst: Mugshot hall of shame
+ Meth takes frightening toll on addicts
+ Fla. woman arrested 19 times since 2003
+ Can you identify these men wanted for sex crimes against children?
+ By the numbers: Death row in America
+ Morbid fascination: Last meals on death row
+ Last words of executed convicts
+ 32 most-wanted men for crimes against children


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"Ghostbusters": 11 Things the Sequel Needs to Do to Succeed
At the risk of overstating things, I may have just read the single greatest book of all time, Capstone's DC Super-Pets Character Encyclopedia, a compendium of more than 200 heroic and villainous pets, compiled mainly from the line of Art Baltazar-illustrated chapter books for young readers.
You see, here are four of my favorite things about comic books: 1) colorful characters of what has become known as the DC Universe, 2) pets and animal allies of superheroes, 3) Art Baltazar's artwork, and 4) encyclopedias, profiles, atlases, maps and suchlike detailing the often-exhaustive trivia of a byzantine superhero universes.
In other words, this is a book that is pretty much perfect for me, despite that, at 36 years old, I'm well outside the target audience for the DC Super-Pets line of books.
I've read a few of those, but despite the copious amounts of Baltazar illustrations, they're really hard to get into. They're not comics and they're not picture books, but illustrated prose; technically all-ages, but harder, I think, for grown-ups to get into than all-ages comics might be, as there's no getting around the fact that an adult reader is going to feel like they're being talked down to (and for good reason).
But this book is pretty much perfect for adult fans of Baltazar or those curious about the Super-Pets line who haven't been able to get into those books, as it excises the worst part — the prose for kids — and boasts the best parts, the pictures and the often somewhat-insane characters starring in them (for example, there's a book titled Swamp Thing vs. The Zombie Pets, in which Swampy and his animal neighbors in The Down Home Critter Gang come into conflict with Solomon Grundy and his gang of undead pets).
I devoured every page of the encyclopedia, and much of its contents were somewhat shocking.


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Transalp XL600V
Transalp XL600V
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R&G Heated Grips will prolong your motorcycling season by providing warmth and comfort on those cold riding days.Learn More$59.99


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Patricia R. Dunn Active volunteer in community
Patricia R. Dunn Active volunteer in community
Patricia was born Feb. 24, 1938 in Waterbury, daughter of the late Franklin John and Barbara Rae (Eusey) Donahue. Patricia attended Baldwin School K-8 in Watertown, 1943-1952 and graduated from Watertown High School in 1956, married her high school sweetheart James Dunn in 1956. While raising her family, she worked at home as a seamstress, cake decorator, home day care operator, and as a partner in her husband's painting and remodeling business. Later she worked in area rest homes and hospital, retiring in 1996 from a receptionist position at Waterbury Hospital. She earned her CNA certificate and worked for several years in private duty. In 2003, she became certified by DCF as a foster care provider.
Patricia was active in her community and volunteered for several organizations. She was La Leche League leader in the 1970s and 1980s. She belonged to the National Right to Life Organization and participated in the March for Life in Washington D.C. She was a member of the Thomaston Beautification Committee 2008 to present, Cha Rumbo Club (a ballroom dance club), Nutmeg Square Dance Club, as well as the Tres Dias Community from 2009 to present.
She was an assistant Junior Girl Scout leader 1967 to 1969, assistant children's choir director 1983 to 1989 and St. Thomas Parish Council member in the 1970s. She volunteered at the Thomaston Opera House and St. Vincent DePaul Homeless Shelter and Soup Kitchen. She taught religious education classes at St. Thomas Church for the seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th grades and special ed students 1995 to 2010. She was a "host home" for Fresh Air Kids from New York City, Up with People cast members, foreign exchange students and teachers, foreign medical students, horticulture students from White Flower Farm.
She also volunteered at Camp Hope on Bantam Lake, Guide for the Blind in 2004 and 2005 and Friendly Visitor Program (visiting the elderly), and was a mentor for the Thomaston School System 2005 to 2011. Patricia's favorite activities included ballroom dancing, journaling, writing poetry, reading, sewing, knitting and crocheting, bicycling, camping, swimming, skiing, Sudoku and word games, gardening and flowers, bird watching and feeding—especially hummingbirds, Bible study, theater, traveling, and babysitting, She also enjoyed her cats, Oliver and Mama Kitty.
Survivors include her children Susan White (David), James Dunn (Patti), Sandra Vollaro (Daniel), Jeffrey Dunn (Sandra), Nancy Dunn (Ricky), Tricia Dunn (Louis); beloved grandchildren; Melissa White, Heather Wilson, David White, James Dunn, Chloe Vollaro, Olivia Vollaro, Alex Dunn, Curtis Dunn, Connor Dunn, Aubrae and Raelin Oporto, Manny and Dayna Santos; great-grandchildren, Ayden, Trey and Jordyn Wilson, Anthony and Avien Dunn; former husband, James Dunn; and many special nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends; siblings Timothy Donahue of Plymouth, Dennis Donahue of Bloomfield, Carol Jane Andrews of Sandwich, Mass., Judith Daire of Hartford, Mary Anne Schnieder of Woodbridge, Va., Kathryn Malley of Plymouth; and her beloved companion Karl Weber. She was predeceased by her brother, David Donahue.
Funeral services will be held Saturday morning, 10 a.m. at The Covenant Church of Thomaston, 64 Grove St., Thomaston. Burial will follow. Friends may call today at Hickcox Funeral Home, 195 Main St., Watertown, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to Friends of the Thomaston Opera House, 158 Main St., Thomaston, CT 06787 or Animal Rescue Foundation, 366 Main St., Terryville CT 06786.
For additional information or to leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.hickcoxfuneralhome.com.
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W:Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/dists/pangolin/main/binary-i386/Packages 404 Not Found [IP: 184.108.40.206 80]
, W:Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/dists/pangolin/universe/binary-i386/Packages 404 Not Found [IP: 188.8.131.52 80]
, E:Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
I am running 12.04 x86, but when I check the sources.list file, there is nothing in there that seems to reference anything i386 (but the error spits out 'i386' as part of the repo url). I think it has to do with my above setup, because I am choosing to run the latest software? I'm just not sure where to look to resolve this. sources.list isn't helping :(


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Well, I'm only starting my 5th week of my 3rd pregnancy. This is the earliest I have ever known I was pregnant. I'm a little bummed to know so soon because I have to quit smoking pot, lol!!! Now don't go getting yourself all worked up over this post. I'm a very mature, respectable, professional person - but yes, I have high anxiety (type A) and every night before going to bed (after I tuck the kids in) I smoke a small amount of pot to wind down and literally turn my brain off so I can sleep. Last night, hubby gave me that look like "you know you can't" and I agreed of course. I actually don't think a little pot smoking is bad for the baby - nothing has ever proven it scientifically anyway. Additionally, if you can drink a glass of wine a day (which I don't because I prefer not to drink) why not smoke a little pot here and there to calm the nerves? Anyway, again, I'm not a white trashy mom or some other stereo type because I smoke a little grass. I work full time and run a household - essentially I've got my shit together in life. Yes, secretly sad about stashing my stash for the next year but thus, I will survive! I have done this twice now and in the end it's all worth it. So what if I can't sleep! lol!! I figure I'm not alone so I thought I would post this silly little blog and see who's with me and I'm SURE there will be plenty AGAINST me! ha
Cold Turkey on the Pot smoking!
~Professional by day and super Mom 24/7 to Jaxson (5) and Rocco (3)!
Kari + Frank = Emma 12/2011 and Amber 09/2013
"You are making it difficult for me to be the parent I always imagined I would be"
High. (no pun intended ) Welcome to a board full of snarky women with hormones flowing.
Momma to: boy (9.'10 c/s) ^6w5d^ (7.'12) girl (8.'13 vbac) boy (4.'15 hbac)
Certified Child Passenger Safety Tech!
And to add onto my post... Your question is?! Or like PP... did you just start this post to start drama?! Because if you're not familiar with BBC... then I guess I'll go get my popcorn right now.
Momma to: boy (9.'10 c/s) ^6w5d^ (7.'12) girl (8.'13 vbac) boy (4.'15 hbac)
Certified Child Passenger Safety Tech!
Dd (8), ds (6), dd (3). Two stillbirths, 24 weeks (2004) and 20 weeks (April, 2013). CP Sept. 2013. EDD Sept. 2014
I feel the same way about my wine. lol Going to be a long 7.5 months but will be worth it.
haha, is this only a question board? I thought it was just a 2013 baby board to post whatever you want. I'm not trying to start drama - I was just reading all the posts recently and thinking, geez, I don't really care about any of these issues. So I posted my own current issue - which is allowing my brain to take over my attempts at sleeping!! I thought maybe other people might be with me and want to vent about giving up something. I mean, I know it's supposed to be all "happy day" I'm having a baby - but I'm pretty selfish so even though I'm totally stoked to be pregnant after trying for 6 months, I'm totally conflicted with giving myself up a little too!
~Professional by day and super Mom 24/7 to Jaxson (5) and Rocco (3)!
My opinion, keep it to yourself because this board is full of women who want to tell you what to and not to do. Whatever you do in your private life is fine with me, but dont post it to get these girls going.
You might wanna duck though, pregnant beeches everywhere showing off their "bellies" lol.
I'd rather be a pot head than an attention seeking idiot.
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Your growing child
Your 33-month-old: Language milestones
Your 34-month-old: Beating bossiness
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Your 34-month-old: Tracking growth
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6 Military Units Whose Training Would Traumatize Rambo
#3. NAVSOG and CGSOG Will Get You Drunk
By the nature of their title, special operations forces are expected to work in any conditions. It isn't adequate to just have a body you can sharpen knives on; your mind and will also need to be strong, simply because the brass won't appreciate you peeing yourself and cowardly fleeing during your mission to eliminate ZomBin Laden.
In the Philippines, this mindset is taken to the next obvious logical step by the country's NAVSOG (Naval Special Operations Group) and CGSOG (Coast Guard Special Operations Group) forces.
These guys, who are essentially the Southeast Asia version of what would result from a U.S. Navy SEALs/Baywatch crossover, considered this relationship between the body and mind and decided to ask the important question, "But what if their minds were fucked?"
The Insanity:
There's no complicated way to put this: During training, they get their men stone drunk. Because, obviously, nowhere is better for this type of stuff than an army base.
"Yeah, I'm not feeling anything so far. Hey, let's go throw grenades at farm animals."
Even the name of this training technique itself, "Hell Blast," doesn't help to disassociate the whole thing from any connotations of partying and drunken debauchery. But before you all go off and start packing for your immediate emigration, realize that, these being special operations forces, there has to be some kind of perverse reasoning behind all of this joviality. And there is: While drunk, the men (or women, which they've recently started admitting) still have to complete their normal training regime, which includes activities such as target shooting, running six miles every day and being able to swim 18 miles without a rest.
Remember, training is all about preparing for every contingency. Including finding out that the team had a few on the chopper ride to their mission.
"I sure hope puke doesn't clog machine guns."
According to the commander of the unit, getting the soldiers drunk during training allows the instructors to gauge their personalities and find out whether any of them are going to be complete assholes on-mission. Particular attention is often paid to those who love fighting or become very troublesome under the influence, and if anybody is found to act like that, they immediately get their ass placed under observation.
"I've got my eye on you, Steve. You hold your tequila like a 4-year-old."
#2. The U.S. Navy SEALs Put You Through Hell
The training regimen of the U.S. Navy SEALs is legendary within the world of special operations forces, most notably for the bastard time that is "Hell Week," a week-long smorgasbord of pain and suffering that, on average, makes half of all recruits to this unit drop out.
We're not sure what's going on here, but it's absolutely crucial to national security.
A lot of it is the standard stuff -- activities range from carrying heavy wooden logs up near-vertical sand dunes to the infamous trial that is "surf torture," in which soldiers lock arms and wade into freezing cold ocean water. They stay in the water for 15 minutes at a time, take a five minute break to be checked for signs of hypothermia and then are ordered back in over and over again.
All of this happens while having only a total of four hours sleep. And that's not four hours per day, either -- that's over the course of a week. Bear that in mind when firing off your next whiny status on Facebook about pulling your third all-nighter of the semester.
"Man, I could really go for some repetitive boat-carrying exercises right now."
The Insanity:
There usually isn't a formal announcement when "Hell Week" actually starts, with the only announcement being the sudden, massive series of artillery explosions and gunfire, and the screams of the instructors telling everyone to get their asses outside.
That's because in preparation for what has to be the world's worst surprise party, the entire base is tricked out to simulate a combat zone. The central courtyard where the trainees are made to exercise is lined with barrels filled with artillery simulators, which, as the name would suggest, are blanks that replicate artillery strikes all the way from the whistling of the "incoming" shell to the very massive and very real explosion that soon follows.
It's just like Call of Duty, only with fewer screamed threats of murder.
The trainees will continue to do their drills among the random explosions, while instructors walk among them, screaming and firing off hundreds of blanks from machine guns.
They also have an industrial-strength fog machine that fills the place with a misty haze in between the pyrotechnics, which makes us think that when designing this program, the instructors accidentally Googled "KISS concert."
"... and party every day."
#1. The Russian Spetznaz Will Make You Kick Your Own Ass and Swim in Blood
You may remember us mentioning the Spetznaz before -- more specifically, how badass and crazy their training is.
We're only allowed to use this image one more time, then our servers catch fire.
But believe it or not, that image is barely scratching the damn surface. When you get beneath all the back-flipping and hatchet-throwing, Spetznaz training is freaking brutal. Whereas most special operations forces train to make you a more competent warrior and hone your skills, the Spetznaz thought, "Screw that. War is full of pain and misery -- that's what our soldiers must know."
The Insanity:
Basic Spetznaz training involves learning a unique martial art. Being a Spetznaz martial art, it obviously teaches the soldiers how to disarm and kill as quickly as possible, as well as how to fire two guns at once. Why? Spetznaz, that's why.
We're pretty sure that's a man punching an AK-47 in half.
After soldiers are fully trained in the art of ass-kicking, a popular training exercise is to allow Russian recruits to beat the living shit out of each other to test their skills. But obviously recruits can only test their own skills so much -- to really test the limits of what a soldier can do, you need the experienced guiding hand of a superior officer.
Or a sledgehammer.
Yes, that image is an actual part of Spetznaz training, designed to build strength and possibly as a punishment for boners in the shower. When officers do need to step in, however, they like to make damn sure the soldiers know shit is about to go down, as a defector from the GRU detailed in this book.
Young soldiers are awoken in the middle of the night, dragged through the dark and thrown into a room. The room is dark, cramped and filled waist-deep in blood and rotten organs. We really can't emphasize the blood part of that, either. Warning: The following quote is a bit icky.
"It's not water they are in -- it's blood. Blood up to the knees, the waist, the chest. On the walls and the ceiling are chunks of rotten flesh, piles of bleeding entrails. The steps are slippery from slimy bits of brain. Undecided, the young soldiers jam the corridor. Then somebody in the darkness lets a huge dog off its chain."
Suddenly pull-ups don't sound so bad.
The blood and organs come from a nearby slaughterhouse, which makes absolutely no difference to the soldiers who were only moments ago asleep. So when the choice is put in front of them to be grossed out or attacked by a big dog, they get the hell out of there, which is exactly what the Spetznaz wants. Blood is a part of war, and if the soldiers can literally wade through it, it's not going to bother them in a battle situation, which just may give them that split second to catch their opponent by surprise.
And a second is all they need.
You can find more from Adam at Alert Level Stork! And he helped write The Four Humors, a collection of short stories published independently by a group of Cracked writers. Karl lost a bet and is honoring it by plugging his friends' band.
For more military exploits, check out 6 Massive Secret Operations That Are Hidden All Around You and The 6 Most Hilarious Undercover Operations Ever Pulled Off.


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Retired computer consultant. Not totally happy with our present administration.
Author of historical and science fiction novels.
Author page at http://asmwizard.com/home/my-published-works/
To correct Lincoln somewhat, he should have said, . . . that government of the people, by the politicians, and for the politicians shall not perish from the earth.
Government's view of the economy: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. — Ronald Reagan
In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.
-- Alexis de Toqueville
Some readers may not know much about importing and exporting. Why get into it? Because, many games are played against us poor US citizens, and importing is near the top of the list of scams and tricks that hurt our economy. In my opinion, imported goods are robbing us of industries and jobs, and overall aren't all that beneficial for us.
My previous post was about tariffs, but importing and exporting (with or without tariffs) is complicated. You haven't lived until you've tried to import something. My son and I did so a few years back.
There are snares and pitfalls in importing. It's easiest to import from Canada or Mexico, due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which passed under President Clinton. Many (but not all) goods can cross freely into the United States from those countries without tariffs having to be paid at the port of entry. Canada and the US have comparable costs of production, but Mexican goods are generally cheaper, due to lower labor costs. Importing from other countries is often much more difficult. An importer into the US must deal with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and follow their extensive regulations.
This article isn't intended to teach you how to import. It's easiest to deal with a licensed import broker, who knows the ins and outs. What I'm trying to express here is the overall pit we've fallen into for the sake of obtaining cheap foreign goods.
You already know that cheap labor costs can lower the cost of production of goods, to the point where our US industries can't compete. Remember the big US steel-refining companies? Bethlehem Steel? US Steel? Gone forever. Remember when the Big 3 (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler) produced most of the cars for the entire world?
The Japanese began building cars when their labor was cheaper than now. Americans bought some, and immediately noticed substantial differences in quality. The cheapest Japanese cars were Cadillac quality at slightly less than Chevrolet prices, and to make things tougher for us they gave better gas mileage. Instead of selling Chevrolet equivalents at half the price, they invested more of their labor cost to produce a higher quality vehicle at a price close to ours. This was very astute. Japan grabbed first place in the world auto market. Lesson 1: foreign goods can be of higher quality. Cheaper labor allows foreign companies to compete on either quality or low price, or any combination of the two.
Lesson 2: foreign goods can be of comparable quality but far cheaper. During the competitive period, when the foreign product is taking over the US market and driving our companies out of business, they can simply sell their thing at half price. They still make a profit.
Lesson 3: Once the foreign goods have dominance, they can raise their profit margin. Without competition, they can set prices at whatever level they want, or whatever customers will pay, thus iPods might be $600.00. Thus, imported goods don't have to be cheaper. Fortunately, there is almost always competition from some other foreign country.
Lesson 4: Other countries can cheat. China, for example, has a closed economy. They pay their workers in yuan, but they control the exchange rate, rather than letting the market control it. If they undervalue the yuan, they effectively reduce the price of their goods to the US. They have apparently been doing that for years, even though their labor costs are much lower than ours. Donald Trump, among others, has complained strongly about that.
Exporting is just importing in reverse. Every country is different. Let's say we want to export to Germany. We have to mark our products according to their rules, and probably in German. We have to provide invoices, packing lists, and certificates of manufacture in German. We have to follow all their regulations. We may have to meet quality standards, pay tariffs, observe quotas, and the smallest quantity we may be able to ship might be a full container. Our competitors to selling goods in Germany don't pay US corporate tax (the highest in the world.) That means our goods are more expensive than theirs. Germany was just an example; the same problems occur in trading with almost all foreign countries.
In my previous post, I suggested raising tariffs on imported goods to equalize costs of production. That was an oversimplification, because the other countries would raise their tariffs on our goods. However, where our exports to a country are much smaller than our imports (a big trade deficit), we should seriously consider doing just that. We should definitely equalize with China, since they deliberately make it difficult for us to export our goods into their country.


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Lenovo ThinkPad 15.6" Core i5 Laptop (New) for $699.99 + $5.00 shipping
Get reliable performance from the Intel Core i5-2520M dual-core processor
15.6" LED-backlit high-definition widescreen display with 1366x768 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity
4GB DDR3 memory - For multitasking power, Expandable to 8GB
The 320GB Hard Drive has plenty of room for all of your storage needs
8 Comments add a comment
Again, before pulling the trigger on this, decide if the extra $75 for a three year warranty is worth it over an comparably equipped L530 direct from Lenovo-- or, perhaps you don't like island / chiclets style keyboards. Otherwise, you can put $30 into an Ivy Bridge Core i5 (markedly better graphics) and $50 into a better (1600x900) screen; which, makes more sense on a 15.6 inch diagonal, and still have $5 left over for snacks.
L520 Technical Specifications:
L530 Datasheet:
Again the main differences between the L520 and L530 are 1) the keyboard and 2) Ivy Bridge support. Minor differences are the L530 is slightly smaller than the L520.
Anyone want to explain how this is a good deal? Dual core, tiny hard drive, not a single cutting edge feature or high end component. I'm missing something.
@dpwellman: where on Lenovo is that laptop for that price? I even checked refurbs.
Thank you for your comments, I totally agree I would take an L530 over the L520 due to the processor alone, then screen, much less the keyboard.
Not a good deal at all. Notebooks with better specs can be had for less than $500. Plus, THIS one looks like it belongs in 1998!
@stnickk: 1saleaday just had an HP laptop sale. 12 laptops under $500, almost all with better specs than this one, nicer looking too! I don't need to shop "on Lenovo" for a better deal, I'll just look (anywhere) elsewhere...
@tcayer: But..... HP....
"THINKPAD L530 Starting at: $629.00"
@stnickk: Not sure, but on the employee discount site that same model is like $500.


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The Blog Contest That Put Vintage Revivals On The Map Is BACK!!
Do you have an awesome blog that no one seems to know about? Do you love challenges? Do you want to be teamed up with a Blog Star and have them mentor you? Annnnnd lastly do you want to win a crapload of KILLER prizes?!
Because Crafting With The Stars is BACK and better than ever.
Time for a history lesson. When Vintage Revivals was just a few (maybe 3) months old I entered a brand new blog contest called Crafting With The Stars. I was SO excited to make it to the final 12 and be able to compete. My star was Becca from Blue Cricket (who is still one of my favorite people in the entire world) and to say we rocked it would be an understatement. I ended up winning that season but more than prizes, Crafting With the Stars gave me permission to do something TOTALLY different. We can all thank Crafting With The Stars for these amazing projects:
Wow that was a fun trip down memory lane.
So here is what is going on. My girls Jess and Monica from East Coast Creative bought Crafting With The Stars and have made it 10000x better. Starting off with a name change. And prizes, lots of prizes.
Want to know who the stars are? You guys are going to DIE.
1- Sherry from Young House Love
2- Whitney & Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic
3- Brooke from All Things Thrifty
4- Jen from Tatertots and Jello
5- Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick
6- Beckie from Infarrantly Creative
7- Mandi from Vintage Revivials
8- Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime
9- Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect
10- Beth from Home Stories A to Z
11- Kari from U Create
12- Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl
I mean. Can I be a contestant and be paired up with any of these guys? Did you notice that cute picture #7 is a little familiar? I am SO excited to be a Star and get to work with one of YOU!
Here is how its going to work (as hijacked from EC2)
Submit one project that shows everyone your best stuff into the linky party here on East Coast Creative that will begin on February 5th. Projects must have been made October 1, 2011 or later and must be your own work. You have until February 21st to enter. From those entries, 12 of you will be chosen by the blog stars and us as contestants and will be randomly paired up to work one-on-one with a Blog Star, to duke it out in a four-week competition to see who's the most creative. The Star will give suggestions, ideas, encouragement, and help so you can come up with the best project possible. Each round will have a theme and the bottom three will be eliminated based on reader votes. Once the contest is started, weekly projects are anonymous, so big blogger or rookie, everyone's on the same, even playing field! Find your favorite project to link up and be prepared to put your best foot forward if you want to survive!
Head over to EC2 to get all the big bad info and details. I am happy dancing all over the place with the chance to share this experience with one of you!! If you guys have any questions I will do my best to answer them!