text:
Anyone interested in starting a walking club in towson, MD? I am trying to prepare for a wedding next July. We could build up to running. I am also trying to find a 5k if anyone is interested for training for that.
Hi FF,
My Name is Elizabeth and I live close to you, near Towson. I stay at home and have a really flexible schedule. Let me know what you are thinking, what part of town you are in etc. I live over near Mays Chapel at Falls Road. Maybe we could walk along York, at a park (Meadowbrook, Oregon Ridge, or ?), or in downtown Towson if you are closer to there.
I am flexible and can get to just about anywhere. I like to walk with my dog or dogs depending on how they are behaving. Do you have a dog to walk with?
Let me know,
I live in Hunt Valley and regularly walk my dog in Oregon Ridge and the NCR Trail. If you're still looking for a walking buddy or team, I'd be interested in joining.
Hi name is Kim.
I am very interested in your walking club. I USED to walk 10,000 steps a day in my neighborhood - which is Rodgers Forge. I am also interested in the beginner running club - I know I can do it - I am in good shape (but overweight by 30 pounds) - which I have been carrying around for a year.
I do volunteer work but I also have a flexible schedule.
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


text:
This is my wp-config.php file:
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define('DB_NAME', 'db2099e'); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'us2099e'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'XXXXXXXXX'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value
// You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each a unique prefix
$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!
// Change this to localize WordPress. A corresponding MO file for the
// chosen language must be installed to wp-includes/languages.
// For example, install de.mo to wp-includes/languages and set WPLANG to 'de'
// to enable German language support.
define ('WPLANG', '');
/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */
define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/');
I believe I have entered everything right? Please confirm this. Now I try to run:
and I get this:
Fatal error: Failed opening required '//wp-settings.php' (include_path='') in //wp-config.php on line 20
What do I need to do? Thanks for your time.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Malta's international banking centre has gained considerable ground in establishing itself as a finance hub in the Mediterranean region. Over recent years the sector has transformed itself from one having four retail banks serving the local population, to a reputable international banking centre. This influx, which includes several leading banking groups, has added dynamism to Malta's thriving financial services industry.
The World Economic Forum rated the island's banking system as the 10th soundest in its 2014-2015 Global Competitiveness Index. Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and international credit rating agencies confirmed the sector's robustness and resilience.
The information included in this publication is for information purposes only and is subject to change.
An overwhelming majority of funds in Malta are Professional Investor Funds (PIFs), which are typically in the form of open-ended public or private limited liability investment companies with variable share capital (SICAVs).
Voted the best European Fund Domicile by Hedge Fund Review in both 2013 and 2014, the island's successful PIF regime will continue to be a popular choice for both EU and non-EU alternative fund managers.
Malta is a relative newcomer to the international insurance market, yet it has made significant strides in attracting word-class companies to its shores, including some of the largest blue-chip corporations in the world.
Malta championed the introduction of innovative structures such as Protected Cell Companies (PCCs) and Reinsurance Special Purpose Vehicles (RSPVs), and has built up a reputation for being a cost-effective EU base for insurance and reinsurance providers and a highly attractive fund domicile.
The dynamic pensions sector is spurring on Malta's ambition to establish itself as a key European hub for pension schemes in Malta. Multinational corporations and individuals alike are increasingly turning their focus to the island in a bid to put their benefit plans on solid ground.
Retirement schemes in Malta have become an important element of investment planning and Malta provides the ideal solution for the setup of international pensions pooling vehicles for high-net-worth individuals, international workers planning for retirement or international corporations seeing to establish and administer pensions schemes for their staff.
Since Malta's accession to the EU in 2004, Malta has emerged as an attractive jurisdiction for the establishment of international corporate holding structures, to be used in multinational groups, owner-managed companies as well as the holding of assets for high-net-worth individuals.
Malta's strengths as a wealth management centre lie in the foundations of its thriving finance centre - offering a wide range of investment vehicles including investment funds and trust companies, an excellent physical and legal infrastructure, and a widely respected regulatory regime.
The information included in these publications is for information purposes only and is subject to change.
The combination of Malta's tax system and its extensive double tax treaty network means that, with proper planning and structuring, investors can achieve considerable fiscal efficiency using Malta as a base.
Malta's tax system has been deemed by the European Commission to be compliant with EU non-discrimination principles and has also gained approval from the OECD.
Malta is in an ideal position to make the most out of the growing Islamic Finance sector and become a European centre of Islamic finance. Due to Malta's strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea it provides a springboard for working with neighbouring economies.
According to Forbes.com, at least $500 billion in assets around the world are managed in accordance with Sharia, or Islamic law, and the sector is growing at 10-15% per year.
Malta has been developing rapidly as a finance centre since joining the European Union in 2004 and adopting the Euro currency in 2008.
It has been widely recognised that the Maltese regulations provide a secure and stable framework for prudential supervision, consumer protection, market surveillance and the prevention of money laundering. Moreover, the country has gained the international reputation for a robust, yet flexible, regime with a highly approachable regulatory authority.
Malta's capital markets are steadily growing in size as well as liquidity and the jurisdiction's financial markets are remarkably sophisticated.
Successive Maltese governments have sought to conclude double tax treaties with important trading partners as well as with emerging countries, in order to encourage the growth of international trade including that of financial services. To date, treaties are in force with over 65 countries and this policy is expected to continue in the future.
Most of Malta's double tax treaties are based on the OECD model. Once concluded, a tax treaty becomes law by Ministerial order and overrides any provisions to the contrary under Maltese domestic tax legislation. Double taxation relief is available in the terms of the relative tax treaty. For more information on Malta's double tax treaties see below.
The following is an updated list of all Malta Double Tax Treaties.
An updated list of all Maltese Consular Representations Overseas is available here
Taxpayers satisfying the relevant conditions are entitled to double tax relief on income arising outside of Malta that is included in their taxable income.
Relief is granted in the form of a credit. In the absence of the tax treaty, double taxation relief is still available under the unilateral relief provisions for foreign tax incurred on income arising outside of Malta.
Companies may, subject to certain conditions, claim double taxation relief under the flat rate foreign tax credit instead of other forms of double tax relief. This may be especially beneficial in those cases where the foreign income has been exempt from tax or taxed at a reduced rate.
Withholding taxes
The normal treaty rate on dividends paid by Maltese companies is the company tax rate of 35%. Malta operates a full imputation system on the dividends paid, which means that the shareholder is eligible to a credit in respect of the tax paid by the company. As a result company profits are taxed only once and no further tax is payable by the shareholder on distributions.
Under Maltese law dividends paid to non-residents are not subject to withholding tax. Interest and royalties paid to non-residents are exempt from tax in Malta if they are not effectively connected with a permanent establishment in Malta through which the non-residents engage in a trade or business. As a result of these rules, the withholding tax on dividends, interest and royalties paid to residents of treaty and non-treaty countries is 0%.
No tax is payable by non-residents on capital gains tax arising on transfers of company shares or securities except where such gains result from the transfer of shares and securities of companies whose assets consist primarily of immovable property situated in Malta.
Custom House Global Fund Services Ltd., parent company of the Custom House Group of Companies, is an independent fund...
View profile
© 2014 FinanceMalta


text:
GTA IV, Far Cry 2, BioShock PS3 and more go to £17.99 on Play.com
Our sources never lie: Play.com's launched a ridiculous sale, dropping the likes of GTA IV, Far Cry 2, BioShock PS3, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Saints Row 2 to an eye-watering £17.99.
You can buy Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for a tenner through there. There are even reduced Wii bundles: the console, Wii Sports and Wii Fit is yours for £250.
Just buy. Buy for Jesus. It's nearly fucking Christmas. Spending all the money you were saving for Little Johnny's stocking fillers on grotesquely violent videogames. Go.
Thanks, That Happy Cat!
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.


text:
Thrash-Metal News
News on Thrash-Metal continually updated from thousands of sources around the net.
Terravore: Apocalyptic Impact [EP] [Reviews]
Tuesday Jul 5 | Ultimate-guitar.com | Comment?
Politics, Pensions and Judges All Bound Up in Bill
Jun 23, 2016 | Courthouse News Service | Comment?
Thrash-Metal news is powered by NewsRank™
Trending Now
Updated: Mon Jul 18, 2016 02:12 pm
Copyright © 2016 Topix LLC


text:
Gregory Studios Photographer
SJones0811Model Female Hagerstown, Maryland, US
Mayhem # 2381971
About MeI'm a 23 year old mother of 2 children. I've always wanted to do some kind of modeling. I love the camera, the spotlight. Been told since I was a little girl that I could make it big in the modeling business. I'm very outgoing & hardworking & never give up on reaching for my dreams & accomplishing my goals. I can be reached by phone text only please at 603-903-9293. Or email email email@example.com
Have you worked with SJones0811? Add Credits for SJones0811! >>
Loading Content


text:
Is it possible to obtain/change username from wordpress.com? Simply cannot log in to my admin.
Is it possible to obtain/change username from wordpress.com? Simply cannot log in to my admin.
You need to ask on the WordPress.COM forums -- these forums here are for self-hosted WordPress.ORG forums and have control over .COM sites.
If you can't post (without logging in), I'm guessing your problem may be addressed in their support docs or FAQs:
Thank you.. I went there and they sent me back here. the site is startcprnow.com.. Does this matter?
Is your site hosted on WordPress.COM or do you have hosting someplace else (i.e. who do you pay)?
Bluehost.. I don't recall going through Bluehost to make changes on the site, but of course, I could be wrong.. thx
Okay then your site is self-hosted (not wordpress.COM though), so you are in the right place and this should help you:
or possibly this:
Thank you!! I will attempt to make heads or tails and try to solve this problem.. Much appreciated!
Well, still no luck.. Would you possibly know why I can't use my email address for changing my password, the same email address WP sends email too? It won't recognize it..
Thanx much for your help!
If you are hosting your WordPress at Bluehost, call or chat to their support and see if they can help you reset your WordPress password. They don't do everything for WordPress, but can usually do that.
This topic has been closed to new replies.


text: It's not bad. There's interesting characters involved and there is a lot of mystery woven into the story. There's a few characters that look like they're going to be really fun, such as the guy who sees naked aliens. I'm just not remotely involved in a presidential candidate being the centre of the story, since that makes it feel like there's going to be a lot of politics involved over the course of the narrative.


text:
Read an Excerpt
From Siri Hustvedt's Introduction to The Bostonians
In the novel, two ideologies and two people are pitted against each other. In its simplest terms, the book presents us with a conflict between a reformer and a reactionary, between a triumphant North and a defeated South, between a woman and a man. The Bostonians is a novel of ideas, but the ideas articulated by James's two battling characters, who are also distant cousins—Olive Chancellor, a Boston spinster and champion of women's rights, and Basil Ransom, a bitter archconservative from Mississippi—are not the ideas the book probes. Indeed, both characters are guilty of mouthing sentimental or clichéd tripe, and I don't think their creator was terribly interested in their beliefs per se. He was drawn by something infinitely more complex than a conflict between two hardened ideological positions. Like all of James's novels, The Bostonians is an investigation of what happens between and among people, and how that arena of interaction can take on a life of its own and determine the fates of those involved.
Miss Chancellor and Mr. Ransom are ferocious rivals in what becomes a love triangle. Both want possession of Verena Tarrant, the pretty, weak, and very charming product of a Cambridge quack healer and the daughter of an abolitionist. The innocent Verena, who has a "gift" for inspirational speaking, is nothing if not a child of the new ideas. "She had sat on the knees of somnambulists, and had been passed from hand to hand by trance-speakers; she was familiar with every kind of 'cure,' and had grown up among lady-editors of newspapers advocating new religions, and people who disapproved of the marriage-tie." Through this tug-of-war over a person, Verena, who is also the creature of a particular New England subculture, James explores the psychological implications of belief—how a climate of ideas can invade, affect, mingle with, and be used, both consciously and unconsciously, by a person in the throes of passion.
The book's intellectual vigor, then, is not located in what the characters say they believe, in their dogmatic positions, but rather in a dialectical tension between the "personal" and the "impersonal," the "private" and "the public," "the particular" and "the general." These words in their various forms occur so often in the novel that they become a conspicuous and pointed refrain. What they mean, however, is another, far more complicated business. Because The Bostonians skips from one person's point of view to another's, the narrator gives us access to the thoughts of all his major characters and to each one's idiosyncratic uses of these words, a fact that further complicates their meaning. When Basil first meets his cousin Olive, he notes the bourgeois opulence of her house and feels that he has never found himself "in the presence of so much organised privacy.". This is exactly the realm in which he hopes to place Verena. He emphatically believes that she is meant "for privacy, for him, for love." On the other hand, the narrator tells us that Mrs. Farrinder, formidable spokeswoman for the emancipation of women, has "something public in her eye, which was large, cold, and quiet."
The foggy, attenuated Miss Birdseye, relic of an earlier abolitionist age, is also a being of generalities, a person who, though rumored to have had a Hungarian lover in her youth, could never, the narrator tells us, "have entertained a sentiment so personal. She was in love, even in those days, only with causes." Dr. Prance, on the other hand, devoted physician and living proof of female competence in a profession usually reserved for men, has no use for causes: "She looked about her with a kind of near-sighted deprecation, and seemed to hope that she should not be expected to generalise in any way." The society matron Mrs. Burrage, only marginally involved in causes, is also a woman whose "favours" are "general, not particular." Selah Tarrant stresses that his daughter's success as a speaker is "thoroughly impersonal," and Verena herself insists that when she addresses an audience, "It is not me. . . ." In sharp contrast, Ransom, as he watches Verena's performance, thinks to himself that what he is witnessing is "an intensely personal exhibition." And while Olive Chancellor hopes and believes that she will never be like her frivolous sister, Mrs. Luna, who is "so personal, so narrow." Basil Ransom finds Olive to be "intensely, fearfully, a person." Verena, too, discovers "how peculiarly her friend" Olive is "constituted, how nervous and serious . . . how personal, how exclusive." The words slip according to each character's perceptions, blind spots, and feelings, and only through their interplay can we begin to make sense of James's meaning.


text:
Your Account
Data Science Starter Kit
The tools you need to get started with data, from basic statistics to complex modeling and large-scale analytics.
Get all 9 titles for a 60% savings.
Photographic Visions
By 1x.com
Want to make money from your creativity? Here's how
If you're a blogger or podcaster, an artist or musician, or someone who creates any other type of online content and dream of earning income from your creative efforts, you have endless options on the Internet. But to seize them, you must become part businessperson—a creative entrepreneur. If that thought intimidates you, you're not alone.
JD Frazer has been there, and he shares with you everything you must know about syndication, advertising, branding, merchandising, copyright protection, ethical considerations, how to attract consumers, and more. If you want to earn a living from what you create, here's what you need to do:
Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks
© 2016, O'Reilly Media, Inc.
(707) 827-7019(800) 889-8969
All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing on oreilly.com are the property of their respective owners.


text:
Lowrance replacing a legend
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 12:10 a.m.
Tiffany Lowrance "didn't want to believe" her mother, Jan Stanley would actually retire. But when Stanley stepped aside as West Henderson's volleyball coach on Tuesday, the keys to a dominant Lady Falcons program ended up with Lowrance.
"I didn't think she was going to do it," Lowrance said Wednesday.
Lowrance played basketball and volleyball for her mother at West before finishing her collegiate career at Appalachian State University.
"She knows how to handle the girls and she's very knowledgeable about the sport," Stanley said.
Following a coaching legend is never easy, Lowrance admitted. But she has been involved with the West program since 2002, around the time when West's program went from great to championship caliber.
"I know all the girls and they know me real well," she said. "That (part of the) transition will be easy for me."
Several current West seniors were pleased with the hiring.
"She's going to be a really good coach," Summer Kremer said.
"Tiffany is an extraordinary person all around," said senior Kaitlyn Burton. "She coaches very similar to her mother."
Lowrance certainly couldn't ask for a better mentor than North Carolina's career leader in volleyball wins. She said she learned more from her mother than just how to play and coach volleyball.
"The way you treat others, the way you love each other and have love for the sport -- not just fundamentals, which I learned from her as well, but the other stuff around it."
The Lady Falcons will lose six seniors to graduation. But, under Stanley, the program had few rebuilding years. In her 35 years at West, the Lady Falcons won 30 conference titles.
"Working as a team -- everybody playing together," Lowrance said was the key to maintaining West's success.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article


text:
There's only one W in WordPress ?
WWW is so 90s.
It's less typing. :P
Plus I always forget how to spell "www" so I requested that Matt fix this.
NM - it's www :)
<slaps head> DOH!
Thanks, Podzie. I owe ya another one!
Blame the government.
Why is www "so 90s"?
This topic has been closed to new replies.


text:
My laptop got disconnected, and now when I try to reconnect it says. Limited Connection and Security insecure. I am not able to get on the internet with my laptop, but am able with my PC. I set up a wireless set up with WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] with a password. When I try to use the wifi with the laptop it does not ask for a password but continues to say limited connection and security insecure.
closed as unclear what you're asking by Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007, Tog, Marcks Thomas, mpy, Simon Sheehan Nov 4 '13 at 2:52
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.


text:
DALLAS (June 27, 2014) Three Dallas police officers were on administrative duty Friday after a gunman who was firing as he walked through a residential neighborhood was shot and killed.
Rodney Hodge, 33, also pointed the gun at residents, police said Friday.
Officers witnessed Hodge pointing the gun at residents and spent about an hour trying to convince him to drop the weapon, police said.
The officers opened fire after Hodge approached them and ignored orders to drop the weapon, police said.


text:
May be i was bad with search, but brief search over codex get nothing.
I don't understand, how can i reorder links in default WP widget for links output? Now they sort alphabetically.
upd. I search more and found some threads on that forum; only way is install 3rd part widget?


text:
Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
, Volume 14, Issue 4, pp 265-274
First online:
Genotype x environment interaction for durum wheat grain yield and selection for drought tolerance in irrigated and droughted environments in Iran
- Reza MohammadiAffiliated withDryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI) Email author
- , Ahmed AmriAffiliated withInternational Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Rent the article at a discountRent now
* Final gross prices may vary according to local VAT.Get Access
Durum wheat is grown in the Mediterranean region under stressful and variable environmental conditions. In a 4-year-long experiment, 14 genotypes [including 11 durum breeding lines, two durum (Zardak) and bread (Sardari) wheat landraces, and one durum (Saji) newly released variety] were evaluated under rainfed and irrigated conditions in Iran. Several selection indices [i.e. stress tolerance index (STI), drought tolerance efficiency (DTE), and irrigation efficiency (IE)] were used to characterize genotypic differences in response to drought. The GGE biplot methodology was applied to analyze a three-way genotype-environment-trait data. Combined ANOVA showed that the year effect was a predominant source of variation. The genotypes differed significantly (P < 0.01) in grain yield in the both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Graphic analysis of the relationship among the selection indices indicated that they are not correlated in ranking of genotypes. The two wheat landraces and the durum-improved variety with high DTE had minimum yield reduction under drought-stressed environments. According to STI, which combines yield potential and drought tolerance, the "Saji" cultivar followed by some breeding lines (G11, G8, and G4) performed better than the two landraces and were found to be stable and high-yielding genotypes in drought-prone rainfed environments. The breeding lines G8, G6, G4, and G9 were the efficient genotypes responding to irrigation utilization. In conclusion, the identification of the durum genotypes (G12, G11, and G4) with high yield and stability performance under unpredictable environments and high tolerance to drought stress conditions can help breeding programs and eventually contribute to increasing and sustainability of durum production in the unpredictable conditions of Iran.
Key wordsbiplot analysis drought tolerance durum wheat GE interaction genotype discrimination stability
Reference tools
- Title
- Genotype x environment interaction for durum wheat grain yield and selection for drought tolerance in irrigated and droughted environments in Iran
- Journal
Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
Volume 14, Issue 4 , pp 265-274
- Cover Date
- 2011-12
- 10.1007/s12892-011-0011-9
- Print ISSN
- 1975-9479
- Online ISSN
- 2005-8276
- Publisher
- The Korean Society of Crop Science
- Additional Links
- Topics
- Keywords
- biplot analysis
- drought tolerance
- durum wheat
- GE interaction
- genotype discrimination
- stability
- Industry Sectors
- Authors
- Reza Mohammadi (1)
- Ahmed Amri (2)
- Author Affiliations
- 1. Dryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI), PO Box 67145-1164, Kermanshah, Iran
- 2. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), PO Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria


text:
- Admissions
- Academics
- Research
- University Life
- Alumni
- About
Graduate Admissions
McKinley, Room 111
The Digital Media certificate program is not accepting applications at this time.
There are no strict prerequisites for the program - we particularly welcome applications from those with a passion for innovation and experience in journalism and/or related media technology, but we evaluate each candidate on his or her individual merits.
Students must hold a degree from an accredited college or university with at least a 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) in the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. The GPA requirement may be waived for applicants with more than 5 years of full-time professional experience. An undergraduate degree in Communication is not required.
The online programs of American University are currently authorized to operate in these states.
Please contact the School of Communication Graduate Admissions Office at email@example.com or by calling (202)-885-2040 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Read about Heidi Glenn's career track and current role with NPR in an article that ran in The Washington Post's Express paper.


text:
Forgive my total ignorance here, but I'm trying to determine the source of a file I found on a computer.
On a computer I was given, there are a bunch of .php files in a hidden folder accessed via My downloads/wordpress/
When they are opened they look almost like past search results.
There is a search query followed by text. Almost like the paragraph is answering a question.
Any idea what these files are? Were the searches initiated by the original user of the computer, or are they related to websites that he ran, or could they be some kind of cached comments or searches used to find his blogs?
Can anyone give me any insight into what I'm looking at?


text:
The Utah Utes and KJZZ-TV have announced a local partnership for football television coverage, the school announced Friday.
KJZZ-TV will broadcast Utah's 2011 season opener against Montana State on Thursday, September 1. Other games will be announced at a later date.
KJZZ-TV will broadcast its games over the air on Channel 14 (HD) in Salt Lake City. KJZZ is also found on Comcast (Ch. 3 and HD Ch. 657), Dish Network (Ch. 14) and DirecTV (Ch. 14). The KJZZ-TV footprint includes the state of Utah, western Wyoming and northeastern Nevada.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for KJZZ," said Randy Rigby, President of Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment. "We are thrilled to broadcast Utah football and the Pac-12 to viewers in the state of Utah as well as parts of Wyoming and Nevada."
"KJZZ is proud to partner with the University of Utah," said Chris Baum, KJZZ General Manager. "Paired with our award-winning broadcast team, Utah football will be a tremendous addition to our sports lineup."
Other Utah football games that have already been selected for TV are September 10 at USC (5:30 p.m. MT – Versus), September 17 at BYU (7:15 p.m. MT – ESPN2) and November 25 vs. Colorado (1:30 p.m. MT – FSN).
Maybe this is just my opinion, but I thought one of the reasons they were going to the Pac-12 was so more of their games would be seen nationally as well as getting more money. Having to go to local TV to get a game on seems like a step backwards, unless ESPN3 is able to simulcast the game online.
This is just a temporary fix until the Pac-12 media deal kicks in next year. They are still on their last year of the Pac-10 contract, so you guys can just go fly a kite or something. Gosh.
For this year, the whole thing sucks.
One game on KJZZ. THAT'S supposed to be a good contract???
Then only 3 other Ute games scheduled (FB) nationally.
Last year, as I recall there were 2 or 3 (more?) UT games on the mtn, as well as a couple ESPN's and a couple on FOX.
Hopefully, things will improve in the future.
" Other games will be announced at a later date."
FOX and Versus will announce additional games about 6-12 days before, that's beyond the games they have already announced. That way they televise the most relevant conference games on national television. Expect KJZZ to broadcast EVERY other game that isn't picked up by ESPN/ABC or FOX/FSN, Versus.
In the future, every mens football and basketball game will be televised by the Pac 12 National Network, Regional Network, ESPN/ABC, Versus, or FOX/FSN. EVERY GAME WILL BE TELEVISED! This is just the last year of the current Pac 10 television contract. Pac12 network starts in August of 2012.
here's an article i found very helpful
Watching a game on KJZZ is just painful. The grainy picture and random freezes are painful. Nobody has worse production then KJZZ. I'm glad I have season tickets and will be traveling to Logan and Boulder to see those games live.


text:
Dylan Wan Oracle BI Applications / Oracle Data Warehousing / Oracle E-Business Suite https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/feed/entries/atom 2015-04-03T05:51:46+00:00 Apache Roller https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/data_mining_scoring_development_process Data Mining Scoring Development Process Dylan Wan-Oracle 2015-04-03T05:39:49+00:00 2015-04-03T05:39:49+00:00

I think that the process of building a data mining scoring engine is similar to develop an application.

We have the requirement analysis, functional design, technical design, coding, testing, deployment, etc. phases.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/data_warehouse_for_big_data Data Warehouse for Big Data: Scale-Up vs. Scale-Out Dylan Wan-Oracle 2014-01-02T21:33:30+00:00 2014-01-02T21:33:30+00:00

Found a very good paper: http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/204499/a20-appuswamy.pdf

This paper discuss if it is a right approach of using Hadoop as the analytics infrastructure.

It is hard to argue with the industry trend. However, Hadoop is not
 new any more. It is time for people to calm down and rethink about the
 real benefits.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/technologies_behind_oracle_transactional_business Technologies behind Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI) Dylan Wan-Oracle 2013-07-25T21:57:56+00:00 2013-07-25T21:57:56+00:00

To build a real-time BI, the major challenge is to make sure that it
 can perform and has no or minimum interfere to the core objective of the
 transactional application, the online processing.

This is the reason why we need Oracle Business Intelligence
 Applications (OBIA) for Fusion Applications. The idea is to keep the
 minimal processing of detecting changes and capturing changes in the
 transactional system and leave everything else, such as, preparing and
 consolidating the data for reporting, to BI Applications.

Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI) is one of the business intelligence solutions provided as part of Fusion Applications.

To build a real-time BI, the major challenge is to make sure that it
 can perform and has no or minimum interfere to the core objective of the
 transactional application, the online processing.

This is the reason why we need Oracle Business Intelligence
 Applications (OBIA) for Fusion Applications. The idea is to keep the
 minimal processing of detecting changes and capturing changes in the
 transactional system and leave everything else, such as, preparing and
 consolidating the data for reporting, to BI Applications.

Here are some of the technologies available to make OTBI possible:

1. SQL Trimming from ADF

ADF stands for Application Development Framework. It is the
 application development framework used in developing Fusion
 Applications. In general, it is a declarative metadata driven framework
 to let the application developers to define the data model, define the
 data access layer, define the UI rendering, put the validation logic and
 processing in the middle tier.

The underlying data model, in most of cases, is still the relational
 model defined in the Fusion Apps transactional database under the 3rd NF
 design.

The key enabling technologies provided from ADF to OTBI is the
 "Composite VO" or "Composite View Object". For me, it can generate the
 database SQL for us based on the metadata. Unlike the database
 technology using the database view, ADF engine can look further down to
 the entity objects included in the view object and selectively choose
 which entities are needed in a given SQL. If the view object includes
 two tables (EOs), one primary EO for data at the line level, and the
 other EO for getting the parent data, When the query (Composite VO) does
 not include any column from the parent EO, the SQL generated by ADF
 will not include the table in the join.

This is a superior technologies, comparing to the old technologies of building the business views.

If you are a Java programmer and would like to get the feeling about
 what Composite View Object looks like and how it works, here is a good
 blog post:

Do you know what is a Composite View Object?

2. BI Platform – ADFQuery to Composite VO

This enabling technology is provided by BI platform and available as a
 Java library. It adds a layer on top of the ADF composite VO. Without
 writing the Java code, it generates the codes of creating the composite
 VO on the fly. It allows us to query the data from the ADF engine by
 sending them a XML block called ADFQuery.

This doc shows some of the ADFQuery XML blocks.

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E15586_01/fusionapps.1111/e20836/adf.htm#BIEMG3435

To see better examples, you can find them in NQQuery.log files.

It is a query language like SQL. You have the section for the
 column projection, the join criteria using view links, and the filter
 using view criteria.

Here are other enabling technologies behind OTBI.

3. ADFQuery generation from BI Server

4. SQL By Pass Database

5. Relational to Dimensional Mapping (Physical Layer to Business Model Layer)

6. SELECT Physical in initialization block

7. ADFQuery Initialization block

8. Physical Lookup function from BI platform

9. Logical Lookup function from BI platform

10. Data Security enabled at the VO layer via Fusion AppCore

11. Applcore Tree Flattening

12. Applcore Business Intelligence Column Flatten VO (BICVO)

13. BI Flexfield VO generator

14. BI Extender via Import Wizard

15. BI View Object created based on the BI EE Logical SQL (BIJDBC)

16. Effective Date VO with as of date filter

17. ADF Application Module to BI variable interface

and more…

Regardless, the goal of these technologies is to enable the users to
 get the real time data access to the Fusion Apps. There is really
 little or no much we can do for providing the feature like data
 snapshot, pre-built aggregate, multiple currencies, data consolidation
 and conformance, cross subject area analysis, and the most important,
 the query performance with complexity logic to be available in a
 reasonable time without the interfere to the transactional system.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/using_load_plan_for_managing Using Load Plan for managing your ETL task in BI Apps 22.214.171.124.1 (1) Dylan Wan-Oracle 2013-05-28T07:24:13+00:00 2013-05-28T07:24:14+00:00

One of the major change introduced in BI Apps 22.214.171.124.1 is the way
 how we manage the ETL task sequence and trim the unnecessary tasks.

This functionality was accomplished earlier using DAC.
 The problem we frequently faced was that the DAC repository and the
 INFA repository are maintained as two separate repositories. We have to
 sync up the name of tasks exactly in order to use DAC to manage the
 task execution of the Informatica workflow tasks.

Load Plan and Load Plan Generator was designed for addressing this requirement.

Here is a good article that describes the story.

Load Plan Generator – An Inside Look

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/bi_apps_11_1_1 BI Apps 220.127.116.11.1 (BI Apps in ODI) is available in OTN Dylan Wan-Oracle 2013-05-09T19:18:38+00:00 2013-05-09T19:18:38+00:00
First Go to OTN

www.oracle.com/technetwork

Go to DOWNLOADS -> Middleware

You will see Business Intelligence Applications under Middleware

You see both 10g and 11g. Click on Oracle Business Intelligence 11g downloads
 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-enterprise-edition/downloads/bus-intelligence-11g-165436.html

You will see BI Apps 184.108.40.206.1 here:
 Oracle Business Intelligence Applications (188.8.131.52.1)
 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/otbi_vs_obia OTBI vs. OBIA Dylan Wan-Oracle 2011-10-06T19:49:06+00:00 2011-10-06T19:49:06+00:00
Several people are curious about what are OTBI and OBIA, and what are the differences between OTBI and OBIA. I will discuss these in this article.

OTBI stands for Oracle Transactional Buisness Intelligence.

OBIA stands for Oracle Business Intelligence Applications.

Let's start with OBIA. OBIA is the pre-packaged BI Apps that Oracle has provided for several years. It is the data warehouse based solution. It is based on the universal data warehouse design with different prebuilt adapters that can connect to various source application to bring the data into the data warehouse. It allows you to conslidate the data from various sources and bring them together. It provides a library of metrics that help you measure your business. It also provides a set of predefined reports and dashboards. OBIA works for multiple sources, including E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JDE, SAP, and Fusion Applications.

OTBI is different. First of all, it is a real time BI. There is no data warehouse or ETL process for OTBI. Second, it is for Fusion Apps only. OTBI is leveraging the advanced technologies from both BI platform and ADF to enable the online BI queries agains the Fusion Applications database directly. In addition, in some area, such as Financial, you can also connect to the Essbase cubes. Unlike OBIA, OTBI does not have a lot of prebuilt dashboards and reports. The reason is that for some advanced analysis, the data need to be prepared. You cannot get eveything you can get from the OBIA data warehouse in OTBI.

Both OTBI and OBIA are available from the same metadata repository. Some of the repository objects are shared between OTBI and OBIA. It was designed to allow you have the following configurations:

 OTBI Only
 OBIA only
 OTBI and OBIA coexist

If you implement Fusion Apps, you can enable OTBI. You can use the BI EE Answer to access the prebuild metadata and metrics those are built against the Fusion Apps. You may not get the full powerful prebuild dashboard and repost and prebuilt navigation workflow. However, you can start experiencing what the BI EE based reports look like. You can start bring the data out from your OLTP system. You can provide training to the users to get familar with the subject areas, some of which are shared with OBIA.

If you enjoy OTBI and want to further get OBIA with a data warehouse based solution. You can implement OBIA later. Some of the OTBI reports maybe switched to run against OBIA. Some of OTBI reports can continue connecting to Fusion Apps directly. They can coexist in a single BI server and a single BI answer client.

Both OTBI and OBIA are accessing Fusion Apps via the ADF. This is a more advanced topic.
 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/why_we_do_not_use_powerconnect Why we do not use PowerConnect to access PeopleSoft Tree Dylan Wan-Oracle 2011-03-16T17:51:27+00:00 2011-03-16T17:51:50+00:00
1. It does not allow you to use parameters to the PeopleSoft connect. It may be changed later. However, it was a big issue when we try to address customer issues.

2. It requires EFFDT as an option.
 It expect that people change the EFFDT using Mapping Editor. How can a business user does that every month?

3. It asks for a Tree Name. Many PeopleSoft tree structure supports multiple trees. Tree is just a header of the hierarchy. Whenever you add a new Tree, you need to create a new mapping!!

It does not make sense to use PowerConnect due to the customer demands. All requirements are from customers.

We have no choice but stop using it.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/why_do_we_not_report_by_the_gr Why do we not report by the Gregorian calendar? Dylan Wan-Oracle 2008-07-01T07:37:20+00:00 2008-07-01T07:40:24+00:00

The number of days is different in each calendar month.

The week and month cannot be aligned. The number of weekends is different in each calendar month.

The number of working days is different in each calendar month. It ends up that the number of days in each quarter is also different.

The period closing day will fall into different days in each period. The accounting department prefers always close the period by a given day in a week, such as Wednesday or Friday.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/13_period_calednar 13 Period Calednar Dylan Wan-Oracle 2008-07-01T07:14:21+00:00 2008-07-01T07:16:20+00:00

In this posting, I will discuss the following topics:

 * What is the 13 period calendar?
 * Who uses the 13 period calendar?
 * How is it different from the 4-4-5 calendar?

Read the rest of this entry »

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/data_warehouse_basics Data Warehouse Basics Dylan Wan-Oracle 2008-02-15T19:43:11+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:31+00:00
My Data Warehouse Presentation.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/essbase_and_ibm_db2 Essbase and IBM DB2 Dylan Wan-Oracle 2008-01-28T19:40:54+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:31+00:00
I read an interesting article, IBM DB2 Minus OLAP from the SQL Server magazine. Essbase used to be OEM-ed and re-branded by IBM as IBM DB2 OLAP server for ten years. The relationship stopped two yeas ago.

 Many DB2 customers actually built their custom analytics applications on the top of Essbase.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/oracle_bi_applications_and_emb Oracle BI Applications and Embedded BI, Part II Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-12-05T19:04:07+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00

This is a topic I wrote in six month ago. In the Part I of this series of
 articles, I mentioned that a warehouse like architecture is required in
 a heterogeneous environment. I want to elaborate more about this. In
 the future posts, I will also describe the integration technology I
 learned for supporting the embedded BI.

 Read the rest of this entry >>

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/key_roles_involved_in_a_bi_dat Key Roles involved in a BI Data Warehouse Project Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-11-30T20:10:55+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00

To develop or
 deploy a BI solution for your organizations, you need to have the right
 people involved in the time time. Here are typical roles involved in a
 BI data warehouse project.

Project Sponsor

Project Manager

Functional Analyst

SME

BI Architect

ETL Developers

DBA

The job description and responsibilities are listed in this table: Read the rest of this entry >>

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/dss_and_bi DSS and BI Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-11-30T20:09:45+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00

I found a very old book, called Decision Support Systems: An Organizational Perspective, in a library last weekend. It was written by Peter Keen,
 an author of several popular books, which help many business managers
 and users understand the value of information technology. His DSS book
 draw my attention because he is also the author of my textbook Network in Actions.

The DSS book uses a very typical and conventional categorization system which puts the IT systems into three types:

Transactional System, Structure Decision system, and Decision Support System.

These categories are created based on the classification of
 decisions into structured, unstructured, and partially structured
 decision. His focus is the 3rd category, DSS. Peter believes that a DSS
 should assist in solving the semi-structured problems. A DSS should
 support, not replace, the managers.

I feel that the above is a very good framework to view the role of
 an analytics apps. A BI analytics application should be a DSS solution.
 However, BI analytics apps can do much more then just a decision
 support system. BI may help the structured decision making.

BI is not just a collection of reports. The design of a BI analytics
 apps needs to consider what are the business decision need to make and
 what kind of information is helpful for making the decision.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/data_warehouse_project_lifecyc Data Warehouse Project Lifecycle Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-11-02T06:39:07+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00

Here is the typical lifecycle for data warehouse deployment project:

0. Project Scoping and Planning

Project Triangle - Scope, Time and Resource.

Determine the scope of the project - what you would like to
 accomplish? This can be defined by questions to be answered. The number
 of logical star and number of the OLTP sources

Time - What is the target date for the system to be available to the users

Resource - What is our budget? What is the role and profile requirement of the resources needed to make this happen.

1. Requirement

What are the business questions? How does the answers of these questions can change the business decision or trigger actions.

What are the role of the users? How often do they use the system?
 Do they do any interactive reporting or just view the defined reports
 in guided navigation?

How do you measure? What are the metrics?

2. Front-End Design

 The front end design needs for both interactive analysis and the designed analytics workflow.

How does the user interact with the system?

What are their analysis process?

3. Warehouse Schema Design

Dimensional modeling - define the dimensions and fact and define the grain of each star schema.

Define the physical schema - depending on the technology decision.
 If you use the relational tecknology, design the database tables

4. OLTP to data warehouse mapping

Logical mapping - table to table and column to column mapping. Also define the transformation rules

You may need to perform OLTP data profiling. How often the data changes? What are the data distribution?

ETL Design -include data staging and the detail ETL process flow.

5. Implementation

Create the warehouse and ETL staging schema

Develop the ETL programs

Create the logical to physical mapping in the repository

Build the end user dashboard and reports

6. Deployment

Install the Analytics reporting and the ETL tools.

Specific Setup and Configuration for OLTP, ETL, and data warehouse.

Sizing of the system and database

Performance Tuning and Optimization

7. Management and Maintenance of the system

 Ongoing support of the end-users, including security, training, and enhancing the system.

You need to monitor the growth of the data.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/peoplesoft_epm PeopleSoft EPM Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-11-02T06:19:05+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00
PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management is the pre-packaged BI
 applications for PeopleSoft application. It has been in market for
 nearly 10 year. I recently learned its history, product coverage and
 architecture from my colleagues. Read the rest of this entry >>

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/udml_in_oracle_bi_server UDML in Oracle BI Server Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-10-22T17:46:29+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00
I recently learned a way to retrieve and manipulate the Oracle BI
 repository file without using the Admin Tool. Although they are not
 officially documented and supported, they are extensively used by many
 savvy users. You can see the following screen shot to get the idea on
 how to retrieve the repository definition in a text format.

Read the rest of this entry >>

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/a_little_history_of_oracle_bi A little history of Oracle BI Applications Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-10-22T17:44:54+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00

I talked with
 people in my team and did some web research. I learned some history
 about what is now called Oracle BI Applications. The software is
 actually an accumulated results of more then ten year investments. The "customers" are much more and much bigger then what we know today.

 Read the rest of this entry >>

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/oracle_bi_applications_version Oracle BI Applications version 7.9.3 is now available on OTN and eDelivery Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-08-20T12:21:34+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:32+00:00
Oracle BI Applications version 7.9.3 is now available on Oracle Technology Network for download. - Oracle Business Intelligence (10.1.3.X) download web site.

The technical note 676: Summary of Enhancements and New Features in Oracle Business Intelligence Applications Version 7.9.3 is available on supportweb.siebel.com.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/use_oracle_instant_client_for Use Oracle Instant Client for OBIEE Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-08-16T18:12:08+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00
Oracle BI Server shipped the Oracle Merant ODBC Driver from DataDirect technology.

It does a license check so you may receive a warning when you connect to a non-Siebel database. I received the message when I tried to recalculate the row count in the Oracle BI Server Administration Tool for connecting to a non-Siebel database..

I just installed the Oracle ODBC Instant Client to solve this problem. It does not require Oracle Home and the installation is very simple. It took less then 10 minutes for downloading and installing the files.

I do not have a ORACLE_HOME in my machine since I am using the Oracle XE. The only problem I have found is that they are running different OC4J servers so I have multiple web server instance on my machines. Oracle Express takes the port 8080 as the default and the OC4J for analytics is running under the port 9704.

To run the Oracle BI Application, you don't need to install a separate application server. The OC4J server is packaged with the Oracle BI Enterprise Edition platform and you can put your web pages under X:OracleBIoc4j_bij2eehomedefault-web-app.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/customer_dimension_and_crm_rel Customer Dimension and CRM related Analytics Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-08-14T12:21:24+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00

Why is the customer dimension so important?

A well-maintained, well-deployed conforming customer dimension is the cornerstone of sound customer centric analysis

What are special characteristics of the customer dimension?

Customer dimension is extremely deep. It may have million rows.

Customer dimension is extremely wide. It has hundreds of attributes.

Customer dimension changes often. It is not really a slowly
 changing dimension. It is sometimes called as rapidly changing monster
 dimension.

Keeping the historical images of the customer data is important.

The data in the customer dimension come from multiple sources.
 Matching, de-dup, standardization among different sources is critical
 for successfully conforming the dimension.

The customer dimension with data may be enriched from the external data.

Customer data is the source for other dimensions - geography, industry, lines of business, etc.

You have to comply with the privacy regulation.

The data from external source may be only licensed for a period of
 time. The external data need to be associated with your own internal
 data for analysis for special purposes and the data need to be removed
 from your database.

The customer dimension itself is actually a source of fact tables.
 For example, # of customer living in California with the breakdown by
 age groups.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/oracles_11g_launch_impresses_i Oracle's 11g Launch Impresses - Intelligent Enterprise Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-07-13T12:51:26+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00

The Intelligence Enterprise's weblog has a new article about Oracle 11g. One thing worth highlighted is the feature he feel impressed about on the advancement of OLAP.

"Materialized views are a technique for
 speeding multidimensional queries, such as those exploring sales across
 regions, products and customers. However, as the number of materialized
 views mounts along with query volumes and complexity, managing those
 views becomes difficult. In 11g, Oracle is using an OLAP cube to store
 up to millions of materialized views so they can be managed more
 efficiently."

One of the problems of the old materialized view is that you have
 to know the level you are going to reported by and create the
 materialized view accordingly. The benefit of using an OLAP engine is
 that the aggregation can be available at many different levels andyou
 do not need to created multiple specific materialized views for storing
 the summaries. However, the OLAP cubes was stored in a different
 technology and populated in different languages. You need to write
 codes to map the data from your source system or warehouse to the
 cubes. The process needs to be run periodically in order to have the
 refreshed data from OLAP. Also, querying the data from OLAP requires a
 different programming interface, unless you create the
 OLAP-to-Relational mapping view.

The new feature of 11g seems combining the best from both world and solve all the problems!

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/oracle_bi_applications_and_emb_1 Oracle BI Applications and Embedded BI, Part 1 Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-07-07T00:40:39+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00
This is my first article on blogs.oracle.com. I want to choose a topic related to what I learned lately. This is the 4th month I joined the Oracle BI applications development. The data warehouse and BI architecture is not new to me any more.

Oracle BI Applications is build on top of the platform from the Oracle BI Enterprise Edition. The dashboard and report components can be seamlessly embedded into Oracle Applications, like how it is integrated with Siebel application. However, it is also a very typical data warehouse architecture.

Sometime, people feel that only those BI application built directly on top of the OLTP schema can be embedded into the OLTP applications and provide the real time BI. Many also believe that only the people build the OLTP application can understand how the BI is used in the business flow. In fact several years ago, I have both of these views. After I worked for Oracle BI Applications for a couple of months and get deeper into it, now I think that both views are wrong.

Embedding the BI into operational flow and empower everyone in the enterprise is absolutely needed. However, the data stored in the typical OLTP schema is still need to be summarized, computed, aggregated to become meaningful business metrics. All these processes require computer resources including the processing power and disk space. The space growth pattern is very different from the space management for OLTP. A data warehouse requires you to hold the historical data which can grow very fast while the data is not frequently updated. Unlike the typical OLTP process, which typically include individual transactions and each of them add or update records in several tables, the data warehouse process involves much more data in each run and the batch process is required. You do not want the transactional system's performance to get impacted.

A key driver is that a typically enterprise system is running a
 hetergeneous environment. The data can actually sitting in many
 different places. The embedded BI solution directly based on top of the OLTP tables assumes only a single OLTP application to be used. It is typically not the case. The consumer apps of the "intelligence" data is very likely a different apps from the provider apps. Even worse case is that the intelligence data can only be meaningful and valuable when you combine data from multiple systems!

(TBD)

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/dylan_wans_oracle_blog_is_crea Dylan Wan's Oracle Blog is created Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-06-19T17:13:16+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00
Today I registered with blogs.oracle.com and a blog is created for me.

 https://blogs.oracle.com/dylanWan/entry/it_worked It Worked! Dylan Wan-Oracle 2007-06-19T17:08:29+00:00 2008-07-01T01:57:33+00:00
Congratulations and welcome to your new site.

To start editing this site please log in. Your email address and password are the same as the ones used to create this website.

After logging in, click the Edit link at the end of this post to edit this text. To create a new post, click the News command in the Editors Only menu at the top of this page.

This is your site. You can change almost everything about it, including its name, appearance, membership and bulletin features. The Prefs command in the Editors Only menu is the place to start.

Visit the Getting Started page on the Manila-Newbies site. It provides an overview and introduction to the different kinds of projects you can do with Manila. The Manila-Newbies site is there to help you work with Manila and to learn from each other.

Finally, please bookmark this page. This is your website. Be sure you can find it again.


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Brian Davis turned in a 6-under 65 and - thanks to a timely chip-in on his final hole - holds the first-round lead at the Valspar Championship.
Where the cash at? Top earners without a win
The Morning Drive crew tries to guess the top 5 money earners without a win on the PGA Tour. Watch Morning Drive on Golf Channel.You're gonna ask those questions. Yes! Okay? So guess, guess! I, I, Brian Davis is one of them- Okay. I have to think. Okay. But, what, yeah, but- But, where? What rank? Where would he fall? In the top five? Oh, I would say he probably is fifth. Okay fifth. I'm gonna say closer to one. Closer to one. Closer to one or two. I'm gonna go Briny Beard. Briny- Okay- Beard's always there, yeah. Okay. I'm gonna say third. I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say Briny Beard is, like,. Two or three? Okay- I go Brendan Dejong- Brendan Dejong. I'm- He's like- Four. Four. Yep. Okay so you have Dejong- Barrett, Brian Davis - Older guy. Colin Montgomery . Never won on a PGA Tour. Interesting choice. Mm, how' bout Bobby Wotky, well, he wouldn't have much money back when they played in the 30s- Ricky Barns. Ricky Barns you're saying- Hope you're listening, Bobby- They're tossing out cora of, of. Some, some names that you're going, number one. Hm. Brian Davis is number one. Let's count them down. Okay. If Brian Davis is number one, let's start at number five. Brendon DeJonge. Right? You both got that. Right? How about four? Just like Family Feud. Brett Quigley . Brett Quigley . Brett Quigley , yes! Quigs! Oh, I miss Quigs. Yep. How about number three? Jeff Overton, I saw him. I almost wrote it down. He's made a lot of money since he's been out there. Mm-hm. There's our man Brian Davis . Brian Davis . Who's number one? Number one- Who's that? Who is it, who is it? Chang's spicy chicken Briny Baird . Briny Baird , Mr. P. F. Chang himself. That's a list, I don't wanna be on that list. I mean, Well, why not? That's a
Birdie barrage nets Davis early Heritage lead
Englishman Brian Davis made eight birdies Thursday at Harbour Town, and holds sole possession of the first-round lead after an opening 6-under 65
Davis, Thatcher lead Travelers by two
A pair of PGA Tour veterans looking for their first win are tied after three rounds of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.
Houston, we need some Masters contenders - Morning Drive
'Morning Drive' co-host Gary Williams and Jason Sobel tell you which players need some extra magic in the Shell Houston Open to become a contender at the Masters.invite in his chances winning this week in Houston. Another one is Robert Allenby , who obviously has a very strong connection to Jarred Lyle. Jarred Lyle going through chemotherapy treatments right now for the Leukemia that has-- scene of reoccurrence. And I think it would be terrific story if Robert Allenby can somehow win this week and get into the Masters field, I think there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house if that happen. And one other one, I mentioned him on Morning Drive this morning, talking about Brian Davis , and I always expected that karma to come back from Harbortown a few years ago when he called the penalty on himself
You Oughta Know: Travelers Championship
From a couple a guys trying for their first Tour win to last week's U.S. Open winner to, here's what You Oughta Know for the Travelers final round.


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Maverick Comic-Book ArtistKultur
In 2003, a little-known Arlington comic-book artist began publishing a series about a teenager who comes back from the dead to fight evil.
Black Man + White Woman = ?Amphibian Productions tackles one of Neil LaBute's grittiest plays.
Playwright-director Neil LaBute generally comes in one flavor — bitterly misanthropic — but his works can be divided between the nasty/grumpy variety and the exhilarating and even moral.
Bayou SelfThe debut biography of Townes Van Zandt is a portrait of a sacrifice at the altar of commerce.
If you read this debut biography of Fort Worth native Townes Van Zandt — and you need to — the author wants you to understand one thing up front: To Live's to Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt is not an ...
Killing FieldsA local theater troupe uses the stage to spotlight a grave south-of-the-border injustice.
Touring productions of theatrical staples such as Camelot and Sweet Charity guarantee that local ticketbuyers will always be able to escape the daily grind, even if only momentarily. Nothing wrong with that. We all need happy d...
In MemoriamBeverly Sills 1929-2007
Nearly half a century ago at Baylor University, newcomer soprano Beverly Sills gave a recital, and afterward an eager fan asked to be sent an autographed photo.
The ListAIAFW gets ready to release its 'Favorite Building' survey — you think yours made it? Ours definitely won't.
Maybe even more than movies, architecture seems to be the one thing we're all experts in. Everyone has an opinion, everyone's ready to share it (whether we want to hear it or not), and everybody else is wrong.
FootlooseRecent dance programs by two local troupes hit different highs and lows.
Metropolitan Classical Ballet came to grief with two new ballets at Bass Performance Hall last weekend, but Ballet Concerto's Summer Dance Concert in Trinity Park ended as dance entertainment at its best.
There's an old maxim that, in the food chain that is the so-called Hollywood system, the craft services people rank higher than the screenwriters, and not just because craft services such as on-set caterers actually provide f...
New HeightsCondensing an entire season into a four-week festival may help put FWO on the international map.
The curtain came down on the Fort Worth Opera's inaugural festival Sunday, and there's no denying that the past four weeks were heady.
Mad MargotA new opera made for a note-filled and notable weekend.
Even in the most opera-crazed cities on earth — New York, London, Milan, Vienna — the world premiere of a new full-length opera is not something that happens every week.


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Kentucky's historic recruiting class is finally on campus and enrolled
Kentucky's historic recruiting class -- and all of the returning players -- are now officially on campus and enrolled in classes. That means the Wildcats are one step closer to assembling a roster that could overwhelm much of college basketball.
Kentucky assistant director of media relations John Hayden confirmed to CBSSports.com on Wednesday that the school is one step closer to officially assembling a men's basketball team that will be favored to win the 2014 national championship.
"All of our returning players and signees are enrolled and registered for the fall semester," Hayden said via text message. And you're wrong if you don't think this is big news.
Here are two reasons why this is big news:
- Pretty much everything related to UK hoops is big news.
- Kentucky's massive and intense fan base can now relax a little, if possible.
We've all known for a good while that this version of the Wildcats would be a special group, but the past few months have doubled as anxious months because half of the record six McDonald's All-Americans that John Calipari signed to national letters of intent didn't enroll in summer school. So the obvious question was ... Why? Why weren't Andrew and Aaron Harrison taking classes? And what about James Young?
UK officials consistently declined to discuss their statuses.
School policy and all that.
But none of it matters now.
The Harrison twins, Young and fellow McDonald's All-Americans Julius Randle, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee are all officially enrolled and on campus in Lexington. Assuming each is eventually cleared by the NCAA to compete as a freshman -- and there's no real reason to assume they won't collectively be cleared by the NCAA to compete as freshmen -- they'll combine with sophomores Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein to create what will clearly be the nation's top roster and should be college basketball's best team.
I realize that last part is debatable -- especially after what happened last season.
But it should be noted that the CBSSports.com Candid Coaches series concluded last week with a question about the Wildcats -- specifically a question about whether they'd be closer to the team that won the 2012 national title or the team that missed the 2013 NCAA tournament -- and 87 percent of the men surveyed predicted this would be more like the championship team than the NIT team. One coach called what Calipari has assembled an "embarrassment of riches" before adding "they could lose two of their top eight guys and still be a top-five team." Another coach noted that Kentucky has "NBA guys at every position, and two at some positions. And they won't be all young this season. They're just going to overwhelm most everybody they play."
In other words, if you're predicting this team to flop like last season's team then you're not just arguing with me; you're also arguing with the overwhelming majority of college basketball coaches, the guys who presumably know and understand the sport better than anybody else. So consider this your reminder of that on a notable day for the Kentucky basketball program. All of the returning players and signees are finally on campus and in classes. They'll be on television and in games before you know it.
Unheralded prospect turns heads in July
Word is getting out on this 4-star wing after his improvement in the July recruiting perio...
Coaches only way to stop 'Packet Racket'
Coaches share stories of the exorbitant amounts of cash they've spent to watch recruits each...
UCLA takes a hit with abrupt departure
The 6-foot-10 forward was one of the Bruins' best defenders in his lone season
July recruiting's crazy end in Vegas
Catch up on the top 10 players in the class of 2017 and the biggest storylines from Las Ve...
Ex-Southern Miss star shot to death
Jonathan Mills led Southern Miss to 27 victories in the 2012-13 season.
Prep star dies in nightclub shooting
The rising prospect died early Monday morning in a nightclub shooting


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Planetary Annihilation: TITANS have arrived!
A big hello to all of our backers!
You've been supporting us since the earliest days, and to say our thanks for helping us get to where we are today, we'd like to give all of you a free copy of the next game in the series!
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS!
If you already have a Steam account linked to your account, you'll see the game in your Steam Library. You will also see a "Kickstarter Gift" key in your PlayFab account. This allows you to play the game through the regular Launcher. Just load up the Launcher like you regularly would and play!
If you have any issues, please email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Thank you again for supporting us. We honestly can't thank you enough. <3


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By Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Garrison KaiserslauternAugust 10, 2012
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- When Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony Brocato went to see inspirational speaker Dave Roever Aug. 1 at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, the mortuary affairs specialist from Maryland hoped the disfigured Vietnam veteran would offer words of hope to him.
Brocato joined roughly 1,500 troops -- many who thought they were simply there to attend run-of-the-mill suicide awareness training. But Roever's story -- suffering horrible burns from a phosphorus grenade while serving on a Navy patrol boat in Vietnam and how he recovered -- was told with a mix of humor, wit and subtle seriousness. It kept the crowd laughing, while on the verge of crying.
"It helped out a lot because I just lost a friend to suicide two months ago," said Brocato, 19, of Bel Air, Md., a Marine reservist training at Landstuhl.
Roever, 65, has spent the past decade travelling the globe to spread his message, "never lose hope." In Vietnam, Roever was burned beyond recognition when a phosphorous grenade exploded in his hands. In the hospital, he attempted suicide by removing a tube that he thought kept him alive, Roever told the crowd.
"It was my best failure in life, when I pulled the wrong tube out," Roever said. "I got hungry instead of dead."
While crowds roared with laughter, Roever insists he's not a joker. Everything he discusses is a human experience that he went through, he said.
"I take real life experience and choose to look at through the eyes of hope and laughter," Roever said. "It's all in how you look at life. It's a choice."
During late-July, Roever spoke to troops at events in U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Württemberg in Heidelberg and U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder. The speaking series was organized by Lisa Velez, U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern's suicide prevention program manager.
"Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Soldiers with the summer months yielding the highest levels of attempts and completions," Velez said, adding that collaborating with speakers like Roever is key to promoting awareness in military communities.
While at U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, Roever also met with injured service members at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
"I walk in their room and I'm on holy ground. It's a hallowed sanctuary -- I treat it like that. Because there lays a sacrifice for the cause of freedom," Roever said. "I'll do everything in my power to see them returned to the best life can give them and the best they can give to life."
Brocato's friend was just 18. He was also headed into the Marines, Brocato said. Instead, he fought with his girlfriend and committed suicide. Over the past weeks, Brocato felt himself in a slump over the loss of his friend.
After the crowds left, Brocato approached Roever, offering a rubber wristband -- a memorial token with his fallen friend's name and motocross number. Roever slipped it on and embraced Brocato.
"My buddy lost hope," Brocato told Roever. "But I want to thank you for giving me hope. I will never lose hope and never give up. It's not an option."


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Irving Howe co-founded Dissent in 1954 with sociologist Lewis Coser and edited it until his death in 1993. ("When intellectuals can do nothing else, they start a magazine," Howe quipped in the first issue). The magazine, which has always identified itself with democratic socialism and independent radicalism, began and remains a forum for tough-minded political analysis and debate.
I thought after the Great Jonathan Franzen Debacle of 2001, no man would ever again dare to suggest publicly that there is an inferior class of books that only women read.


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To start off, this is a great wallpaper and requires very minor constructive criticism. The background looks great and gives it a bit of a mystical feel that came together quite nicely. This is also quite a unique piece because it uses a background character who we can only assume had an impact on Equestria. The lighting of the piece could be improved in my opinion. The shadowing is fine and the darkened corners look great, however the brightness of the spell that Starswirl is casting takes away from the character a bit too much. It is a bit too big and covers a large portion of the wallpaper. I wasn't sure if he had a horn (Without assuming) because it covered up that area a good amount. I think that that is about all I would say could use improvement. It is still a great piece that looks magnificent even with the large brightened spell.
The Artist thought this was FAIR
13 out of 14 deviants thought this was fair.
I saw that vector so long ago, and you made a BRILLIANT wallpaper with it.
I'm amazed o3o
I'm amazed o3o
Why do I see Starswirl with the same voice as Yen Sid from Kingdom Hearts?
Nice work!
master spark
by star swirl the bearded! this is truly epic!
Wow, this turned out awesome Vexx, removing the fog was a great idea
it's a little bit bright don't you think? none the less fantastic picture of Star Swirl the Bearded
Where is that "Legends die hard" quote from? Sweet pic by the way.
Horreh shi-
That's epic.
That's epic.
Very awesome.
Why the 1200 res though?
Why the 1200 res though?
I make almost all of my wallpapers in that resolution. 16:10 doesn't get a whole lot of attention.
Oh ok, that's cool I agree it is a lot less common of a resolution so it could use some more awesome wallpapers.


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IRS Probe So Far Yields Partial, Partisan 'Facts'
The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee's investigation of the IRS.
A Project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center
The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee's investigation of the IRS.
IRS officials gave false or misleading information on numerous occasions regarding its now discredited practice of targeting conservative groups that sought nonprofit status.
Vice President Joe Biden falsely claimed that U.S. workers "are three times as productive as any worker in the world." He's not even close. By the standard measure for productivity, American workers ranked third in the world behind Norway and Ireland in 2011.
In touting conservative policies in Republican-controlled states, Jeb Bush claimed, "The Southeast is leading a renaissance in American manufacturing." Not so. The Midwest has experienced a 9 percent increase in manufacturing jobs since the sector began its recovery in February 2010.
A Democratic video says 240 House members "voted in 2011 that climate change was a 'hoax.' " Not exactly. The 2011 vote was ultimately a referendum on who should set climate change policy — the Environmental Protection Agency or Congress. It was not a vote on whether climate change is a "hoax."
Sen. Lindsey Graham exaggerated when he claimed "all the information" that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden came from "enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay." Detainees provided "key information" about bin Laden's "courier network," but "other sources" provided "other intelligence" that ultimately led to his capture and death, intelligence officials have said.
Q: Did Sen. Dianne Feinstein say all military veterans are mentally ill and should not be allowed to own guns?
A: No. She said veterans should not be exempt from her proposed assault weapons ban, citing post-traumatic stress disorder as a concern. She did not say all veterans suffer from PTSD or that all veterans should not own guns.
Vice President Joe Biden exaggerates when he waxes nostalgic about the "good old days" — a time when "everybody, including the NRA, thought background checks made sense." Biden's office says he was referring to the NRA's support for background checks in the early 1990s and its stated support for expanding background checks to include gun shows in 1999.
We'll make our stump speech short: Please cast your vote for FactCheck.org for best politics site in the Webby People's Voice Awards.
In a sneak preview of the 2014 campaign, a GOP ad in North Carolina says Rep. Mike McIntyre "voted to spend $1.8 trillion on Obamacare" and "keep Obamacare's taxes." Spoiler alert: The ad is misleading.
Q: Did Hillary Clinton volunteer in 1975 to defend a rapist, who was found not guilty, and laugh about it in an interview in 1980?
A: Clinton defended an accused rapist, but she did not volunteer. He pleaded guilty to a lesser offense. She laughed when recalling unusual aspects of the case.


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Which sex is the worst about washing up? Why is it so important? We've got the dirty truth on how and when to wash your hands.
Cervical Collar
Cervical (neck) collars are sometimes used to support the neck for a short time. They may be soft and made from felt, foam, or rubber. Or they may be hard and made from plastic. Soft collars allow some movement of the neck.
ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerWilliam H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerRobert B. Keller, MD - Orthopedics
Current as ofNovember 14, 2014
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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London, United Kingdom · Member since July 2010
Australian qualified lawyer that has spent almost 4 and half years overseas working in various destinations in the middle east for banking institutions and private practice law firms. Currently living in London, and working on a start up venture in the finance industry that will require visits to Sydney and relocation if successful. Currently in Sydney and looking for short term accommodation.


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Work for convicts could helpMarch 05,2014On Feb. 27, the Rutland Herald reported that a 37-year-old St. Johnsbury man had pleaded guilty to assault and other charges committed in 2012. He was sentenced to at least two years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life for having escaped in 2010. With a life sentence hanging over his head indefinitely, this should deter Mr. Mahoney from engaging in any further criminal conduct, said Caledonia County States Attorney Lisa Warren.
I have been noticing a dramatic increase in the rate of crime in our area lately especially armed robbery. Robbery has typically been a males crime, but some are now suspected of having been committed by at least one female. These are the actions of desperate people in our hard economic times.
But can this trend be reversed? Once a person has any kind of criminal record, very few employers are willing to take a chance on hiring them. Without employment, these people end up returning to crime again and again, merely to survive.
It occurs to me that if community- or state-run manufacturing companies were to be established that cater to giving employment to people with criminal records, this could redirect energy from illegal activities and incarceration to positive, productive lives.
RutlandMORE IN LettersVermont has made great strides to add renewable resources to its power generation portfolio, to... Full StoryI have had the opportunity to meet and listen to the Democratic candidates for governor on a... Full StoryAs a financial official, I could list many reasons for choosing Bruce Lisman for Vermont governor... Full Story
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The People's Choice
In the summer of 1996, when the women of Concrete Farm Dance Collective rented a flatbed trailer and took their particular brand of modern dance to such small cities as Red Lake Falls and Grand Marais, outstate onlookers had a particularly difficult time identifying the women's origins. Dressed in a patchwork of loose-fitting garb, the dancers were often mistaken for European exchange students. The word "collective" in the troupe's title seemed to indicate Russian influence, or perhaps it was the aching violin strains of a Slavic folk tune to which the group gracefully maneuvered. Equally confusing to some spectators was the lack of boys in this band: The holds, lifts, and caresses were executed tenderly yet firmly by a muscled, taut, all-female crew.
This quartet of queer women, Kristin Van Loon, Arwen Wilder, Susan Scalf, and Morgan Thorson, bravely took their stuff to the people of Minnesota--and found astonishing success. In many small towns, people flocked to their performances, chatting with the dancers after the show and thanking them for coming to town. Many locals opened their homes to the dancers, offering food and drink. In some burghs, Concrete Farm members taught women the simplest dance and stretching movements. The participants were charmed and exhilarated--struck, says Scalf, by the "radical notion that doing things for yourself that feel good is OK."
Still flush with the success of the flatbed tour and propelled by the belief that anyone can enjoy modern dance, Concrete Farm delves into a new series of performances this fall called Open Day, a set of improvisational works that includes audience participation in informal, urban settings. The collective's lineup kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. with a community forum featuring New York choreographer Jennifer Monson and other dancers discussing use of dance as a tool for social and political change. Monson and Concrete Farm will perform dances from their Open Day repertoire on Sunday Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. (Both events are free and will be held at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.)
This amalgam of twenty- and thirtysomethings banded together in 1994 as a group of dancers with a shared "alternative bent" in their ideas about modern dance. Their performances have a lyrical beauty and tenderness, yet also incorporate elements that could be considered somewhat utilitarian or "everyday"--simple hand gestures, walking, falling, carrying, lifting. There's a certain cabaret-esque feel to the performances; they are cerebral and witty. Perhaps more important, however, the performances are infused with a passion that often moves the viewer emotionally.
The collective structure evolved as the dancers desire for equal artistic and administrative voices grew, say Scalf and Van Loon. While other troupes often center on one charismatic individual, Concrete Farm is wholly the sum of its parts: Every member has a say in tasks ranging from choreography to scheduling to marketing. "Consensus is most effective," Wilder says, "and most idealistic."
But there's also an element of pragmatism to the dancers' collective approach. Funding in the arts world is tight, and the four performers realized that raising money together was more likely to result in their long-term survival than placing responsibility in the hands of one individual. Combining their talents, time, and energy, they managed to land some substantive grants.
The dancers didn't choose the collective format just for financial reasons, however. In a collective, they say, members bring various ideas to the table, and the entire group has to reach consensus before any change is implemented. The women agree that they function very well in an organization where change "takes longer in the short run, but keeps everyone from feeling disenfranchised," Wilder says. Maureen Koelsch, a performer familiar with the group, says the group has a fluidity about it that makes the structure work: "Concrete Farm is the best thing you want in a lover," Koelsch explains. "They are committed...and they have incredible passion for the work. They stay in the relationship."
Concrete Farm has gone to great lengths to preserve this particular relationship between collective action and modern dance. In 1995, with a Minnesota Dance Alliance/Jerome Foundation "Dancer Pool" grant and a Jerome fellowship, they began searching for a farm, hoping to get away from the city and live and work. Instead, they found a house in St. Cloud in which to live, compose, dance, and just be together. That summer afforded them the chance to develop closer personal relationships, making their professional work even stronger.
Taking the time to figure out where you're going is great, but it's nothing without talent. Linda Shapiro, a choreographer, freelance writer, and sometimes mentor to the dancers, says she is "in awe" of the group. "They have all of the traditional values that I need to see from good choreography. They are intelligent and have a look of spontaneity about them," Shapiro says. "They're also very subversive; there's a guerrilla element to their performances. If the dance community were a gang of safe crackers, they'd carry the nitroglycerin. They are in your face."
Steve Rosenberg, a 57-year-old computer software teacher from St. Paul, is an avid audience member at most Concrete Farm functions. "I like their physicality and accessibility," he explains. "They use everyday movements, and they get the audience involved."
Emma Ramstad, an 18-year-old urbanite, recalls watching a flatbed performance at the Minneapolis Farmers Market with a handful of friends: "We started dancing and jumping around," Ramstad says. "They [the collective] made it seem like so much fun."
Audience participation, both during and after the performances, has been part of the modus operandi for the collective since the days of the flatbed tour. At some performances, audiences are given crayons and paper to record their thoughts during the performance. Afterward, over snacks, the audience members are asked to participate in a question-and-answer session and share their impressions of the piece. Such interaction allows the dancers to "demystify the work," according to Van Loon. "The theater can be an elitist place," she says. "It's a secluded black box space. We want to show that what we do is no different than what any other person does every day."
John Killacky, former curator for performing arts at Walker Art Center, and current executive director at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, says that he is particularly impressed with Concrete Farm's efforts to recast the traditional relationship between artist and audience. He admires the group's success "in reframing the context [of the work] and the way it's shown to audiences."
The group's most recent work, Open Day, with its components of improvisation and audience participation, was set in motion last spring after the collective picked up grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Jerome Foundation, and Forecast Public Artworks. With this funding, they were able to take almost two years in which to "work as a group without the pressure to make a finished piece," says Wilder. Because most funding institutions require performers to produce work at a relatively rapid pace, it is rare that performers have the luxury to rethink their work on their own terms. Currently, the collective has a residency at the Center for Performing Arts in south Minneapolis, rehearsing 15 hours a week.
With sufficient funding, a battery of upcoming performances, and an enthusiastic following, Concrete Farm would seem to have a bright future. But this collective isn't necessarily concerned with making the five-year plan. "We have been lucky," says Wilder. "Concrete Farm seems perfectly right for right now."
Still, it's not just luck that has contributed to the group's success, says Shapiro, it's their willingness to draw others into the dance. "They are inventing their own system on their own terms," Shapiro says. "They've done work all over the place. They get people involved who wouldn't normally watch dance. They don't sit around waiting for an audience to find them."
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text: I needed to be in the area on business and found my first stay at the Crystal Key Inn to be so enjoyable I will return every time I'm in the area. The house is a wonderfully restored historic treasure, the hosts welcoming, and the food outstanding. They even prepared a "to go" breakfast for me when I wouldn't be able to join them one morning.


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NBA Games
Washington Wizards at New York Knicks
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Chicago Bulls' Nate Robinson reacts after a 3-pointer against the New York Knicks during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Chicago. The Bulls won 118-111 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)