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Information provided LSU Sports
BATON ROUGE – The LSU women's basketball program has signed Alexis Hyder, a 5-11 forward who spent the last two seasons at North Texas, as announced Tuesday by head coach Nikki Caldwell.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Hyder will sit out the 2014-15 season and be eligible to compete as a redshirt junior beginning in 2015-16. She will be allowed to practice with the Lady Tigers during the 2014-15 year.
Hyder averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while starting 51 of 59 games for the Mean Green. She earned All-Sun Belt Conference Third-Team honors as a freshman after her 14.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game were each ranked among the league's top 10.
Over her two seasons at North Texas, Hyder registered a 49.5 field goal percentage. The Austin, Texas native racked up 20-plus points on seven occasions and collected 13 double-doubles.
The Lady Tigers have secured three consecutive 20-plus win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances highlighted by back-to-back Sweet 16 trips under Caldwell.
LSU is accepting $20 season ticket deposits online at
. The $20 deposit will go toward the purchase of a season ticket or mini-plan for the 2014-15 season. Renewals for current season ticket holders will be available beginning on Monday, July 21 through the LSU Athletic Ticket Office.
For all of the latest news and information on Lady Tiger basketball, visit
. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at
along with @lsuwbkb and @NikkiCaldwell on Twitter.


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Oracle Consulting Senior Practice Director - "Oracle-on-Oracle" Cloud Migration Lead Commercial and Public Sector in Hillsboro, Oregon
This senior director position is responsible for an increasingly diverse practice based upon complexity of the customers, the solutions, and the dollar value of the practice. Directs business operations and resources of a given practice that can be defined by industry, service line, technology center, specialty area or region. Accountable for managing the three main pillars of a practice: people management, portfolio/delivery management and sales enablement. Has profit and loss responsibility or financial/expense management of practice.
Accountable for operational/financial metrics and overall business results of practice. Responsible for setting and driving strategic direction, ensuring profitable growth of the practice, quality of consulting delivery, and maintaining customer referenceability. Actively develops new approaches and opportunities for expanding customer base. Creates and implements operational processes to drive consistency and support achievement of practice business strategy. Responsible for cultivating Oracle cross-functional communications through the creation and maintenance of strategic relationships with other lines of business which may include Product Development, Product Marketing, Support, Consulting Sales, and License Sales. Interacts with executive levels both internal and external regarding matters that influence policies and strategies. Assesses and manages business risk in pursuit of overall business goals. Accountable for managing and growing a substantive revenue stream and customer base. Manages and leads through management team and/or senior level individual contributors. Resolves staffing issues for very complex engagements. Identifies, leads, or oversees the development of customer-facing business solutions and offerings that have an impact on the market. May serve as advisor or project sponsor role for complex engagements.
Directs and ensures the implementation of operational policies through subordinate managers Interacts internally and externally with executive management involving negotiation of difficult matters to influence policy. Bachelor*s Degree in Computer Sciences or Business or equivalent. Balance of advanced technical skills, functional knowledge, client consultative skills and operational management experience. Has 4 years of consulting services senior management experience with P & L responsibility and at least 10-15 years consulting or industry experience. 12 years of experience relevant to this position including 4 years of consulting management experience with financial management responsibility. Direct line Management experience including project, people, customer, financial management preferred. Second-level Management experience preferred; proficient at managing managers and large teams. Product, technology or industry expertise relevant to the practice focus. Ability to develop and maintain relationships at the executive level. Proficient in using selling and negotiation techniques and tools. Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience. Ability to travel as necessary.
Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.
_Senior Practice Director Oracle-on-Oracle Cloud Migration Lead Commercial and Public Sector_
This is a CIO/CTO/CFO Advisory / Management Consulting opportunity.
The successful candidate will have experience strong Oracle applications experience with on-prem applications (EBS, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, etc.). Experience leadership within a transforming organization. Previous financial accountabilty for revenue, booking and forecasting.
The successful candidate will work with Oracle Sales organizations, both License and Cloud Consulting Services Sales, to create and take offerings and solution sets to the field. They will work with sales to help create sales adoption and go-to-market (GTM) strategies, helping to define offerings in detail.
The Oracle-on-Oracle Cloud Migration Lead will work closely with the head of Consulting Delivery to assure alignment with the right resources and drive to execute projects. The Oracle-on-Oracle Cloud Migration Lead will help align consultants to capabilities and be responsible for the sell, delivery and customer satisfaction of our offerings.
The Oracle-on- Oracle-on-Oracle Cloud Migration Lead will be a triple-threat participating in sales, delivery and management of Oracle-on- Oracle-on-Oracle Cloud Migration projects.
Develop a deep expertise in the Oracle Cloud technology offerings as well as broad know-how around how applications and services are constructed using the Oracle Cloud platform
Develop go-to-market (GTM) strategies and help define offerings in detail
Lead clients' cloud migration engagements, including cloud migration strategy, application cloud suitability/readiness assessment, migration planning, sourcing options, business case and execution coordination
Lead design, implementation and migration of Oracle on-prem applications to the Oracle Public Cloud
Manage engagement staffing, financials, quality and risk
Lead client pursuits and development of service proposals
Primary liaison with client stakeholders, sales and consulting delivery in a both Commercial and Public Sector environment (State and Local, Higher Ed, Healthcare, SLED, Federal, Civilian)
Minimum 15 years in Oracle on-prem applications (Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, etc)
5 years of cloud strategy and transformation leadership including Oracle-to-Oracle cloud migration services
Experience in both the Commercial and Public Sector environment (State and Local, Higher Ed, Healthcare, SLED, Federal, Civilian)
Experience with designing and implementing solutions to deliver expected business outcomes applying Cloud IaaS/PaaS capabilities
Technology experience, including Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Oracle Cloud
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, Master of Business Administration (MBA) is preferred and past or current certifications (e.g. Microsoft, AWS, Cisco, VMware) is preferred
Strong leadership, business, technical, analytical, problem solving and verbal and written communication skills with the willingness to travel up to 80 percent of the time
Job: *Consulting
Organization: *Oracle
Title: Consulting Senior Practice Director - "Oracle-on-Oracle" Cloud Migration Lead Commercial and Public Sector
Location: United States
Requisition ID: 18001999

subset: commoncrawl


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Consensus Report
Ecological Indicators for the Nation (2000)Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review; while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy. Learn more on our expert consensus reports.
Environmental indicators, such as global temperatures and pollutant concentrations, attract scientists' attention and often make the headlines. Equally important to policymaking are indicators of the ecological processes and conditions that yield food, fiber, building materials and ecological "services" such as water purification and recreation. This report identifies ecological indicators that can support U.S. policymaking and also be adapted to decisions at the regional and local levels. The committee describes indicators of land cover and productivity, species diversity, and other key ecological processes -- explaining why each indicator is useful, what models support the indicator, what the measured values will mean, how the relevant data are gathered, how data collection might be improved, and what effects emerging technologies are likely to have on the measurements.


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Moleskine also created for the Buchmesse a custom-made Frankfurt City Notebook.
More photos on Moleskine Flickr
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Gunns' employees owed $9m
It has been revealed employees of failed timber company Gunns are owed more than $9 million in entitlements.
In a report to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the receivers say the company has nearly $185 million worth of land, $25 million in cash and $109 million in plant and equipment.
The company owes its employees more than $9 million; about $6 million in holiday pay and more than $3 million in long service leave.
Gunns has more than 1,200 parcels of land, mostly in Tasmania, worth nearly $185 million.
Receivers KordaMentha say the exact commercial value of the land and equipment, including about 20 cars and trucks, cannot be revealed due to commercial sensitivities.
The receivers are currently selling off the company's timber mills in Tasmania and South Australia, with final bids due today.
Bids close today for Gunns' sawmills at Bell Bay in Tasmania and Tarpeena in South Australia.
KordaMentha says local, national and international companies have shown interest.
The receivers have said they expect Gunns will be liquidated when creditors meet in January to vote on the company's future.
Topics: timber, company-news, bell-bay-7253, tarpeena-5277
First posted


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SANTA ANA – A California appeals court has upheld the conviction of a drunken driver who killed Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other people in an Orange County crash 3 years ago.
The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Monday that Andrew Thomas Gallo of San Gabriel was properly convicted of second-degree murder, DUI and hit-and-run. He's serving a 51-years-to-life sentence. Gallo was convicted Sept. 27, 2010, of three counts of second-degree murder, DUI and hit-and-run.
Gallo was on parole for a felony DUI conviction when he blew through a red light at 65 mph in April 2009 in Fullerton. He T-boned a car carrying Adenhart and three friends.
Prosecutors say Gallo had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.
In his appeal, Gallo claimed that the trial judge was biased against the defense but the appellate court rejected that contention.
Adenhart, 22, his girlfriend Courtney Frances Stewart, 20, and his friend Henry Pearson, 25, died in the April 9, 2009, crash.
A Manhattan Beach man, Jon Wilhite, 24, survived the crash, but had to have his skull reattached to his spine.


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The Quiet Family Comparison Review
We've taken a thorough look at the original title that inspired Takashi Miike's Happiness of the Katakuris. Kim Ji-woon&...
|The Quiet Family – UK Region 0 (Tai Seng) vs HK Region 0 (Modern)
10th September 2005
Rating/Certificate: UK 15
Region: 0
DVD Release Date: 27th June 2005
Run Time: 98 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Video Signal: PAL
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
Genre: Comedy
Soundtrack: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Korean, Dolby Digital 5.1 Korean, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Cantonese
Subtitles: English, English (for commentary), Chinese
Extra Features: Audio Commentary, "Coming Out" Short Film, Interviews, Making of Featurette, Music Videos, Storyboard Comparisons, Soundtrack Featurette, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Director: Kim Ji-woon
Starring: Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho
Related Movies: A Bittersweet Life, Oldboy, Memento Mori, She's on Duty
Rating/Certificate: HK Category IIB
Region: 0
DVD Release Date: 7th January 2004
Run Time: 105 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Video Signal: NTSC
Disc Type: Single side, single layer
Genre: Comedy
Soundtrack: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Korean
Subtitles: Chinese, English
Extra Features: Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Director: Kim Ji-woon
Starring: Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho
Related Movies: Related Movies: A Bittersweet Life, Oldboy, Memento Mori, She's on Duty
You may not recognise writer-director Kim Ji-woon, but chances are that you will be aware of his contribution to the South Korean film industry. He is the brilliant mastermind behind A Tale of Two Sisters, an intelligent, subversive take on the repetitive Asian horror scene that resulted in a complete redecoration of the nature of fear and evil. Kim's latest blockbuster, A Bittersweet Life, is a visually ravishing experience; ruthlessly depicting betrayal and honour in the gangster underworld. Like any professional filmmaker, Kim Ji-woon's directorial debut was a special title, which would define his creative and leadership competence. Just as Reservoir Dogs saw the rise of Tarantino, for Kim Ji-woon that title was The Quiet Family.
A family of six retire to rural South Korea to open a mountain lodge, desperately craving a life of peace and tranquillity. However, all they find is death and murder after the overnight suicide of their first guest. Worried about the hotel's reputation, the family decide to bury the body instead of reporting it to the police. Problems arise when a series of comical situations result in even more fatalities, greatly increasing the amount of grave digging and family pressure. As if that were not enough, the council begins work on a new road located directly above the burial ground.
Echoes of Shallow Grave resonate through this superbly crafted black comedy, a kind of subtle combination of horror and arthouse drama, as a dysfunctional family continuously encounter ridiculous situations. Despite the obvious western references, director Kim has provided distinctly offbeat traits that are only evident in Far Eastern cinema. The Quiet Family has subsequently caught the attention of Japanese visionary Takashi Miike, who remade the film as the all singing, all dancing zombie infested musical, The Happiness of the Katakuris. Whilst Miike's version was magnificent in its own right, The Quiet Family is a much more sombre affair although there is an eerie sensation when viewing it for the first time. It is easy to understand the romance Miike felt with Kim's title, almost too eager to insert the familiar hallucinogenic qualities that we have all come to expect from one of Japan's most extreme filmmakers.
The Quiet Family is still a very musical production, queuing a diverse range of tracks from the opening Latino hip-hop hybrid to the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You." In effect, chapters that would traditionally be politically incorrect conversely reveal uplifting moments thanks to some delightfully twisted humour. The irony is that despite the main characters tearing each other apart, Kim's message is one of family bonding and togetherness. Every death becomes a test to see how each member relates to one another at a time of extreme pressure. For instance, the act of helping loved ones is far more recurring and significant than trying to justify morals.
If there is one thing the audience has learned about Kim Ji-woon is that he is anything but traditional. Most, if not all, of his films display the occasional uncertainty; in the case of A Tale of Two Sisters, the audience is left to decipher half of the story. Similarly, The Quiet Family challenges the audience's intelligence by highlighting the youngest daughter Mina, who observes a lot of the family behaviour from afar. Therefore, a fine line exists between fact and fantasy but it is up to the viewer to decide how the pieces fit.
Filmed in 1998, many of the cast members are now globally recognised superstars – namely Choi Min-sik of Oldboy fame and of course Song Kang-ho who stars in the melancholic true story, Memories of Murder. The latter looks young but certainly not young enough to play a twenty-one year old, who was ten years older at the time. The performances are thoroughly amusing, guaranteed to generate plenty of smiles and laughter. It is almost refreshing to see these South Korean actors handle a more relaxed role; Choi Min-sik, for example, is a startling contrast to his character in Oldboy. Whoever was in charge of casting did a splendid job assembling six very talented individuals, who react convincingly enough to portray a modern family. It is no wonder that they were destined for further exciting projects.
The Quiet Family has been sumptuously shot, opening with an Evil Dead style tour of the lodge followed by frames that keep the characters snugly in the middle – kind of resembling a family portrait, which is quite fitting considering the film's title. The professional cinematography extends towards capturing vast woodland details, almost glorifying desolate landscapes being consumed by the harsh autumn. The title is a work of exquisite pictorial beauty and surprising contrasts that eventually reflect on the principals behind Kim's storytelling methodology. The Quiet Family has magnificently exposed a filmmaker with superb potential – indeed he has continued to merge innovative filming techniques with abstract narratives in his later movies. A thorough study of the reviewed title however will introduce the viewer to the seductively distorted mind of Kim Ji-woon.
Tai Seng have provided an anamorphic widescreen format, maintaining an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Firstly, the film was made in the late nineties, around about the time the DVD medium started to take off. As a result of budgetary constraints, poor storage and negligence of care, the source print is not in the greatest of condition. The image is decidedly soft and murky. Considering that a good proportion of the story takes place at night, this has resulted in abysmal shadow detail and blurriness. Pixilation is also predominant during heavy camera and onscreen movement, engulfing the screen with grotesque blocks. The runtime seems to indicate a true PAL transfer (in reality, the film is around twelve minutes shorter than the figure specified on the sleeve) but there is still noticeable ghosting and motion blurring. Furthermore, edge enhancement does not go by unnoticed – those halos are marked rather explicitly.
Despite its flaws, the image on the whole is still perceptible, although perhaps not so much in the shadows. Colours have been powerfully reproduced and the blacks are deep and wholesome. Flesh tones appear over-saturated at times, turning orange-red but this may be a result of intense lighting. The outdoor segments look more natural in the skin department and do a nice job with sky and agricultural details. Tai Seng have thankfully kept the transfer relatively free of speckles – only minor artefacts creep up occasionally.
UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
HK UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
The HK disc from Modern suffers from similar problems, namely the frequent pixilation, motion blurring and ghosting. It is however not as dark, exhibiting greater details in the shadows but at the price of weaker shades. The difference is apparent when comparing the sky and forestry, where the Tai Seng represents richer blues and greens respectively – the pallet is one of calm and equilibrium although the colours have most likely been boosted. In any case, the high contrast levels on the HK disc have ensured a somewhat coarse image. Add to that a ridiculous amount of dot crawl, cross colouration, horizontal cropping and print damage and we have a truly ugly transfer.
The ultimate insult is that Modern have provided a non-anamorphic transfer, which is automatically frowned upon these days. Strangely enough, it is actually more detailed than Tai Seng's effort – the dirt on the shovel is crisper and the patterns on the tapestry are more recognisable. There is also not as much smearing, which is perhaps the only major side effect from Tai Seng's colour experimentation. However, trying to fill a non-anamorphic transfer on a widescreen television is a joke – examining what Tai Seng have done with the print, their video options are far more favourable.
Tai Seng have provided a wealth of audio options to cater for a wide audience range. Firstly the original Korean soundtrack can be heard in either Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround or Dolby Digital 5.1 format. There is little to distinguish between the two; the dialogue originates from the frontal array and the surrounds manage to capture minor woodland noises. As expected however, the 5.1 mix is slightly more approving in terms of bass generation; the LFE channel adds substantial depth during the more aggressive moments. Moreover, the music sounds livelier and more fulfilling thanks to some professional audio separation.
In addition, two English dubs in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 have been included. The Stereo track is unbelievably frail in comparison with the 5.1 upgrade, which is largely similar with the Korean soundtrack in the dynamic balance department. It loses minor points during the instrumental chapters, where the separation is virtually non existent and the music is pushed uniformly out of every channel. As for dubbing quality goes, reasonable voice actors have been assigned to the appropriate characters and they have made an admirable attempt in matching the lip movements. However, Korean is a language that is drastically different to English, so the mouth shapes do not represent the exact sound of the words. Furthermore, the quality of the voice acting is debateable but overall, this is a reasonable dub that follows and translates the story accurately.
Lastly, a Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo dub has been provided for those who require it. The track shares similar qualities with the English counterpart but the lip synching is slightly better - perhaps a closer relationship exists between Korean and Cantonese.
The optional English subtitles are absolutely wonderful, comprising of a perfectly legible font and are nicely paced. They do fade upon appearing and disappearing, as opposed to sudden transitions. This reviewer did not find the aforementioned issue the least bit distracting.
UK (Tai Seng) Region 0
HK (Modern) Region 0
The Modern disc provides a single Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround soundtrack, which sounds slightly muffled and is definitely dwarfed by Tai Seng's 5.1 mix. There is a clear amount of ambient noise being generated from the rears while the front channels handle the primary sources. Digital faults such as distortion and audio dips are absent from the soundtrack, everything is reasonably balanced with sufficient depth and integrity.
The optional English subtitles on the Modern disc suffer from unfinished sentences, unattractive font and poor timing. It is still easy enough to follow the story but the Tai Seng wins this round.
Tai Seng have provided an audio commentary with director Kim Ji-woon and leading actor Song Kang-ho. The optional subtitles for the commentary have not been given the same level of care – they contain clumsy spelling and grammatical errors, quite often disappear off screen and fail to translate much of the conversations. Kim and Song quite happily speak for a long period of time and just a few words from the subtitles remain. Still, it is easy enough to follow but does become tedious after a while. They generally go off on a tangent, discussing special colleges and friends from within the industry and rarely discuss aspects of the film.
Switch over to the second disc and the viewer will be treated to a rare English subtitled version of Kim's surrealistic short film, Coming Out. This forty-five minute existential riddle follows the confession of a young woman as she makes a video diary for her friends and loved ones. The opening image of a tormented individual may very well startle and brace the audience for the major confession. Once revealed, the film spirals down a twisted path of lost identities, pleasure and deliciously sick humour. Switching between actual footage, studio interviews and a reconstruction, Coming Out is delicate, cerebral and contemporary cinema at its most profound.
There are four interviews between the director and leading actors. Actually, they are more like informal conversations that have been subjected to poor English subtitling. The topics are remarkably mundane and not the least bit interesting; a few feelings are expressed, as well as random stories and other trivial pieces of information that do not make sense. In fact, the only joy I gained was from viewing Choi Min-sik's interview, in which he was dressed in his Oldboy gear.
Similarly the 6m28s Making of featurette offers nothing in the way of production process but details the construction of the mountain lodge via interviews with specific crew members. Some interesting pieces of knowledge can be gained here, as the documentary highlights principal and final stages of the set design.
Next up are two music videos - Ubangi Stomp by the Stray Cats and Tres Delinquentes, which is the film's spectacular opening theme. Both of these provide a montage that has been rhythmically edited to match the songs' beats.
The storyboard comparisons reveal early indications on what the film may have looked like. The final product is actually surprisingly different, especially in terms of camera angles and frame orientation.
The final featurette is entitled Original Soundtrack, which is narrated by Cho Yong-wook – the film's music coordinator. Cho discusses his choice of tracks and why he installed them during The Quiet Family's definitive chapters. There is a reason behind the diverse range of styles, simply because the title is strikingly diverse by nature. The handpicked songs are intended to reflect upon the high level of unpredictability, extending the varying tones that Kim Ji-woon wanted to portray.
A collection of trailers from Tai Seng's range has been included to finish off the list of supplementary materials. Majority of the extras have burned in English subtitles, which are generally of poor quality – either lazily missing out large sections of dialogue or swarming with spelling and grammatical mishaps. On the other hand, the menus are spectacular – comprising of dazzling artwork and upbeat music from the film.
The Modern disc only has a trailer for Joint Security Area.
The Quiet Family is perhaps not as polished as Kim Ji-woon's latest violent gangster yarn A Bittersweet Life but it is undeniably superior, providing the audience has a thirst for unashamedly distorted comedies with underlying messages of family loyalty and relationships. Handsomely structured, visually appetising and utterly inspirational, this startling debut is arguably the finest in Kim's career.
There is literally no comparison between the Tai Seng and Modern DVD, the former stamps on its opponent's non-anamorphic transfer from a great hight. Tai Seng's rich, well balanced pallet and supplementary materials have ensured complete victory, although the quality of the overall package is above average at best. Whilst the English subtitles for the main feature are impeccable, the translations for the extras are dreadful in every sense of the word. Only the fantastic short film Coming Out maintains any real value but even that suffers from poor subtitling, which is unforgivable for a Western distributor. Still, if one were to examine the current situation, the Tai Seng DVD is worth it for the time being and should sit nicely in between Memories of Murder and Oldboy.
UK Region 0
HK Region 0
Editorial by Bodhi Sarkar
Transfer I had the opportunity to watch this one before I sent it on, and I think I;d have given it a bit more than 5 for video. It was hard to judge, as I watched it on a really crappy old 4:3 TV with stereo sound while babysitting, but it seemed ok to me. Cool film, and I love Korean girls!
Bodhi Member Join Date: February 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 403
The Korean girls are adorable, even more so today as shown in the interviews.
I could not have given the video transfer any more than a 5. The colours were great and Tai Seng did what they could considering a poor source print, but the pixilation and edge enhancement were incredibly off-putting. Depends on your tolerence level of course.
I also think that squeezing that many audio tracks is unnecessary. We could have at least lost the 2.0 soundtracks and have more space for the video, although I don't know how much it would have improved it.
I could not have given the video transfer any more than a 5. The colours were great and Tai Seng did what they could considering a poor source print, but the pixilation and edge enhancement were incredibly off-putting. Depends on your tolerence level of course.
I also think that squeezing that many audio tracks is unnecessary. We could have at least lost the 2.0 soundtracks and have more space for the video, although I don't know how much it would have improved it.
Guess the crappy TV (and I mean crappy) I watched it on didn't show up the faults. Probably would have looked worse on my decent set at home, but it was acceptable considering the source material.
Never got a chance to watch the whole of that interview before sending over to you, but they are rather lovely (and cute too).
Never got a chance to watch the whole of that interview before sending over to you, but they are rather lovely (and cute too).
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
HOTK is my favorite Miike film, I'm affraid that watching this AFTER that would be a dissapointment.
Still haven't seen HOTK. Must check it out from the World Cinema section of my local rental store.
Bodhi Member Join Date: February 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 403
I think I preferred this to HOTK (which is superb, for sure). I'd like to watch it again though, get another opinion.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
Wait, is this a review or a comparison? You can't do both!!! My brain will explode!!
You're banned!
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New Car Review
2014 Porsche 911 Turbo: Overview
- 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo boasts 520 horsepower
- Turbo S model offers a whopping 560 hp
- Turbo starts at $149,250; Turbo S at $182,050
Porsche recently pulled the cover off a fully redesigned 911 Turbo. The high-performance version of Porsche's flagship sports car boasts impressive numbers, from its horsepower figures to its acceleration times.
Under the Turbo's characteristic fixed spoiler lurks the car's most important asset: a 3.8-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine. In base-level Turbo models, this powerplant produces a whopping 520 hp. The high-performance Turbo S boosts power to an even more exciting 560 hp. That means the Turbo is up 20 hp over the outgoing model, while the Turbo S adds 30 hp.
Although the new 911 Turbo's power figures are impressive, its acceleration numbers are even more jaw-dropping. Porsche says the standard Turbo can hit 60 miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds, while the Turbo S reaches 60 mph in less than three seconds. The cars are capable of such impressive acceleration thanks to all-wheel drive and Porsche's lightning-quick PDK automatic transmission. A traditional manual is no longer offered. Top speeds are 196 mph for the Turbo and 198 mph for the Turbo S.
Beyond the engine, the new 911 Turbo also boasts major styling changes compared to the outgoing model, since it's based on the all-new 991 model 911, which debuted last year.
One difference over last year's Turbo is revised side air intakes. A 911 Turbo hallmark since 2001, the new Turbo's intakes are enlarged for better airflow. Turbo models also offer a special front bumper, a fixed rear wing and unique wheels. Finally, there's now a 3-stage front spoiler -- a new feature that hasn't been offered on previous 911 models.
Of course, a high-performance Porsche like the new 911 Turbo doesn't come cheap. The automaker says base-level 911 Turbo models start at just under $150,000, while the Turbo S starts at $182,050. That places it near high-end exotic rivals from Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini -- especially as options are added.
Porsche says the all-new 911 Turbo should arrive by the end of the year. The automaker has yet to announce whether convertible models will return, but we believe they'll be back sometime next year -- with even higher prices.
What it means to you: The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo offers impressive performance at high prices.


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Big Spring hoops squads no match for ranked Wylie
Big SpringGirlsIt took the Lady Steers (16-14, 4-4) over five minutes to score during Tuesday's meeting with No. 17 Abilene Wylie. Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs seemed as if they couldn't miss a shot, outscoring Big Spring 32-5 in the first half.With about four minutes remaining before halftime, a fire alarm was tripped, halting the action for about 10 minutes. It was just a false alarm, but unfortunately for Big Spring it didn't interrupt Wylie's rhythm. The Lady Bulldogs went home with their perfect District 4-3A record intact after a 60-24 blowout win.Dyrshae Vanderbilt broke the ice with a two-point basket for BSHS and Logan Yarbar — the lone senior on the team who was honored at the intermission for her contributions to high school sports — sank a three-point shot, but that was all the Lady Steers could muster in the opening quarters."It's tough to play (Wylie)," BSHS Head Coach Mike Warren said. "They are ranked No. 17 and they are legitimate. They probably should even be ranked higher. They are definitely the best team in our district. They jumped on us early and played great defense, but I felt we had a good third quarter and good fourth quarter to make it a respectable game."Signs of offensive life finally came in the third period; as Vanderbilt, Yarbar, Julianna Rodriguez and Alexis Cansino each scored, but the Lady Bulldogs couldn't be slowed down.Vanderbilt accounted for all eight of Big Spring's points in the final quarter and 13 total."She was our leading scorer," Warren said. "She hasn't scored much lately, but last night she seemed to find her touch."Warren also praised Yarbar for her time on the court."I'm so proud of her," Warren added. "She's a four-year lettermen and we put her on the best player because she's such a hard worker. She has a good attitude and that's why she's had so much success this year. Her scoring has picked up and she is more accurate with her three-point shots. We will be sad to see her go."Though it was an ugly showing for the Lady Steers, they are still likely to earn a postseason berth if they can finish strong on the road against Monahans on Friday and Greenwood on Tuesday.BoysThe Steers were looking at an 18-point deficit before sophomore Ty Sealy put points on the board for BSHS, and that would set the tone for Friday's dismal, 84-35 outing against No. 5 ranked Abilene Wylie.Tavaris Walker led the Steers' anemic offense with nine points, Tyler Wigington added seven and Tobyn Tannehill hit six.The Steers aren't completely out of the playoff picture. With a 2-4 District 4-3A record, a strong finish could be enough to propel them to the postseason. Three-of-four teams remaining on the schedule have struggled against Big Spring — Greenwood — who won by only four points at their last meeting — and Sweetwater and Snyder — both of which BSHS have defeated.First, they will try to avenge a loss against Monahans on Tuesday on the road.ForsanGirlsPLAINS — After last week's stunning win over then No. 5-ranked Smyer and a road victory against Sundown, the Lady Buffs (19-9, 5-3) felt pretty good going into their rematch with now No. 4-ranked Plains on Tuesday.Trailing by only seven at the halfway mark, the game seemed within reach for the Lady Buffaloes, but Plains caught fire, outscoring Forsan 36-18 in the final two quarters of play to take a 69-44 win."We got down early," said FHS Head Coach Lindsey Schmidt. "We got into some foul trouble, but the effort was tremendous. We actually went ahead in the third quarter, 34-32 after being down 17 points in the first. They played hard, but in the second half of the third quarter, we got away from what we were doing well and didn't play very disciplined."Ali Knight led FHS with 17 points and Maria Ortiz put up 13."(Knight) had a big game for us," Schmidt said. "She really stepped up. She scored 17 points and really hustled on defense and did a lot of good things last night."Schmidt's team has already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot and looks forward to the possibility of facing either Smyer or Plains for a third time."I hope we do get to play Plains again," Schmidt added. "Or Smyer. It wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit."The Lady Buffs will host Seagraves on Friday.BoysPLAINS — The Buffaloes fared well on the road against Plains, defeating the Cowboys 71-55 to improve to 16-8 on the season and 6-1 in district play.Aric Hernandez sizzled for Forsan and had a game-high 19 points. Kade Fannin added 15 points and got 14 boards and Matthew Mims registered 14 for the Buffs, who have secured a postseason berth."Plains maintained intense pressure throughout the game," Head Coach Gary Huckabee said. "but the Buffs were able to stay composed and hit some good shots."The Buffs will try to keep rolling against Seagraves on Friday.Coahoma-StantonGirlsCOAHOMA — The Lady Buffaloes (10-20, 5-3) edged District 4-2A rival Coahoma on Tuesday, defeating the Bulldogettes 32-29 to keep their playoff hopes alive.Jennifer Henley's 10 points led Stanton while Savannah Neff scored a game-high 11 points for Coahoma, who led by three at the half."It was a great defensive game," CHS Head Coach Paul Hartman said. "We just couldn't hit the shots last in the game when we needed to."The Bulldogettes will travel to Colorado City on Friday, while the Lady Buffs will host Brownfield.BoysCOAHOMA — Up 17 at the half, the Buffaloes piled on too many points for the Bulldogs to overcome as Stanton defeated district foe Coahoma on Tuesday, 46-34.Three Buffaloes scored in double-digits; Cole Schroyer and Scott Smith each registered 14 points and K.J. Glaspie added 10 during the lopsided victory.Tanner Ruiz led the Bulldogs with 10.Coahoma will be on the road against Colorado City on Friday. Stanton will welcome district leader Brownfield.Other scores:Girls• Grady defeated Wellman-Union, 65-38 (clinched division). Ellyn Avery 19; Cayley Oppegard 16; Charmynee Arnold 13. Next vs. Loop, Friday, 6:30 p.m.Boys• Garden City defeated Bronte, 62-47. Corbin Davis 17; Dillon Koenning 11; Sam Miller 9; Juan Bustos 9. Next vs. Robert Lee, Friday, 8 p.m.


text:
therman needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 46 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
Champions Challenge
We work with Professional and Amateur athletes on winning the 'inner game' or the mental game.
Most of our coaching work revolves around building personal leadership skills and raising self-esteem.
The market is obviously sports. This is a 60 day program to master their inner game.
I have 3 sample logos below that I'd like my logo designed after... they are attached to the contest.
I like the NFL logo, NHL logo, and the design of the 'Big Game Plan' logo. (Glossy web 2.0 look with dimension/depth) Will also need the logo in grayscale as well for printing.
I like the colors of the NFL and BGP logo.
You could also try using our corporate colors: ( http://www.thepeakathlete.com )
Colors in RGB: Gradient Purple (Purple Dark- 77, 0, 125; Purple Light- 179, 142, 212) ; Gradient Orange (Red- 186, 0, 0; Orange- 255, 136, 0)
There's no need to get overly creative... the above logo styles are exactly what I'm looking for.
Logo should say:
Champion's Challenge
I'll need the original files in psd format.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Bruno (US - BD)
Gabe frowns his way through another Sacha Baron Cohen prank movie...
Flamingly gay Austrian fashion reporter Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) is fired from his TV reporting duties after disrupting a Milan Fashion week catwalk, and his lover Diesel (Clifford Bañagale) leaves him for another man. Lost without love or fame, Bruno travels to the United States with stars in his eyes, hoping to become "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler". He is accompanied by his assistant's assistant Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten), and a documentary film crew. Bruno's journey takes him from a failed TV extra, to a failed celebrity talk show host, and a failed celebrity sex tape participant. Bruno also fails to bring peace to the Middle East, and fails to legally adopt an African child.
A sense of humour is an incredibly personal thing, which is why it's very hard to critique works of comedy. I can say with ever ounce of sincerity that Sacha Baron Cohen isn't my thing, but I really respect him as a performance artist/comedian. Prank comedy mostly just makes me unpleasantly uncomfortable. I enjoyed some of Ali G's awkward interviews, but once Baron Cohen takes his characters into public I find myself squirming instead of laughing. I know that the joke is on me, but I'm not any more affectionate because of it. I like the idea of Baron Cohen revealing the disturbing underbelly of the American psyche, but when he defaults to Jackass-like pranks for the sake of gross-out comedy I completely lose interest. Baron Cohen's characters also work much better without plot and character development, and like the Ali G and Borat feature films, Bruno features a narrative structure that wastes time between hijinx. In the case of Borat I was just uninterested, in the case of Bruno I found myself genuinely bored. It feels like Baron Cohen isn't really trying for most of the film, or at the very least he's running very low on ideas. Apparently, the greater point of the film has something to do with parodying the obsessive pursuit of fame, and America's disturbing disapproval of homosexuals, but it's mostly lost in a mix of embarrassing public stunts and fellatio miming.
The biggest problem at this point in Baron Cohen's solo career, which will probably trouble everything he does from here on out, is that it's hard to buy any of his celebrity based pranks as genuine anymore. He's just too recognizable a personality. Sometimes the celebrities, usually the lower rung D-celebrities to be exact, will say something so insipidly stupid they can't possibly be faking, but overall the whole thing feels pretty well put-on, which robs the production of the necessary spontaneity. More critically alarming is the fact that Baron Cohen has lost the all the underlying sweetness that made Ali G and Borat so charming in their idiocy. He's still able to bring up some good points throughout the film by casually pulling shocking admission from his interview subjects (the scene where he tests a series of parents on their willingness to make their children famous is particularly shocking), but the process mostly ends its arc mean-spirited. It's interesting to see a talk show audience turn against Bruno for being a single gay parent (which is clearly not a crime), but the best intensions are dissolved when he's painted as an idiot that should have his child taken away. I know this is the kind of thing Cohen's fans adore, but I personally find it terribly disappointing. The UFC climax is a brilliant little surprise, but overall I did not enjoy much about the film.
All this said, I'd love to see these guys tear into the Westboro Baptist Church people for a solid 90 minutes.
The picture quality, and the general design of Bruno is low-key. Frankly, no one should be expecting high definition glory from this particular Blu-ray release. The whole thing is shot using source lighting, and the HD video is only as sharp as the lighting allows. Grain is a constant, but it's pretty thin, and the general frequency of compression noise is no worse than expected from any HD documentary. Obviously things get 'worse' during the darkest moments. At the very least the blacks are picture perfect during even the most muddied sequences, and the colours are bright even when infiltrated by fizzy noise. Bruno's loud wardrobe is a good source of intense, and dynamically contrasting hues. Details are just as inconsistent, again due to source lighting. There's no edge-enhancement or DNR artefacts, excepting a few short insert scenes shot with SD cameras, or those made to look as if they're playing on a television.
Mockumentaries, like the documentaries they mock, are not made for stylized or exciting sound. The point is the accurate portrayal of the audio that occurred on site, and usually mono sound design is sufficient. For the most part this Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is wasted on the subdued source material, but there's no clearly unintended distortion in the audio, beyond the clear difficulty of maintaining consistency on public streets or loud television studios. The stereo and surround channels feature a few incidental background noises, but most of the non-musical aural moments are cleanly centered. The surround and LFE channels are given a decent work-out during the between scene musical cues, which are usually of the Euro-pop/Techno variety. Not only does the thumpy bass punch effectively, but sections of the musical tracks are perfectly placed into specific rear channels.
So video and audio quality aren't enough to really suggest a Blu-ray purchase over a DVD, but the Blu-ray exclusive 'enhanced commentary' is a pretty big selling point. Despite the limits of my crappy Profile 1.0 I was actually able to watch Bruno with the enhanced pop-up video commentary activated, because Universal was nice enough to make it an alternate title on the disc. This is clearly due to the fact that the commentators, Cohen and director Larry Charles, stop the film every once and a while to make a point without talking over sections of the film they also want to talk about. This is the ideal way to view the film because the behind the scenes story is much more interesting than the film itself. The out of character stories sound a lot funnier than the stuff Cohen pulls off in character. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of PiP footage from the behind the scenes problems Cohen and Charles are discussing, most of the pop-up video is the commentators sitting in the commentating room. With the enhanced commentary activated the film runs 1:48 instead of 1:22.
The extras continue with two 'alternative' scenes (5:40, HD). I suppose these scenes were exchanged because the Paula Abdul and Ron Paul scenes severed the same basic purpose. This is followed by 11 deleted scenes (one of which is a Blu-ray exclusive, 40:50, HD), and eight extended scenes (one more Blu-ray exclusive, 22:40, HD), none of which would add too much to the already exhausting film, but some of which probably could've replaced the narrative bits. The extras are completed with and interview with Lloyd Robinson (5:30, HD). Robinson is a real life talent agent/producer type that helped Bruno at the beginning of the film. It's a nice glance behind the curtain of the production. Robinson was apparently entirely fooled by the situation, but found everything amusing after the fact.
So then, Bruno isn't a game I was up for playing, but I don't hate the film enough on a conceptual level to complain too far beyond my own personal point of view and taste. Those that enjoyed the film may wonder why anyone would spend the extra cash on a Blu-ray release over a DVD release, based on the low-key video and audio presentation, might be excited at the promise of the exclusive video enhanced commentary track. I actually enjoyed the enhanced commentary much more than the film, especially the behind the scenes stories of the dangerous process of teasing violent homophobes. The Blu-ray also features a few exclusive deleted/extended scenes, but these are mere pock marks within a sea of other exhumed sequences available on the DVD release.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Pixarfan517 Member Join Date: August 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,478
I would agree. Bruno isn't the type of game I wouldn't play either, but I still liked it. I definitely didn't think it
was as funny as Borat, but I liked it. I would probably not buy this movie at all. I will probably save my time on Star Trek.
was as funny as Borat, but I liked it. I would probably not buy this movie at all. I will probably save my time on Star Trek.
jp orestes Senior Member Join Date: April 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,081
I saw it twice in theatres with two different friends and I thought it was damn funny but I don't think I'll buy it but it'll be a rental for sure just for the special features.
I laugh pretty hard with some of Lloyd Robinson's reactions to Bruno and the match at the end. Good stuff.
I laugh pretty hard with some of Lloyd Robinson's reactions to Bruno and the match at the end. Good stuff.
Grifter02 Member Join Date: November 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 64
The enhanced commentary is on the DVD as well, also a separate video track from the main film with the same longer runtime.
JackJackMN Member Join Date: January 2006 Location: United States Posts: 629
Hmm, just saw this, and being a gay man, this shocked me. I think once will all I'll ever need to see this.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
I don't think you have to be straight or even homophobic to be disgusted by Baron Cohen miming oral sex for like 3 strait minutes. It would've been just as unfortunately gross had be been miming straight oral sex. That was my problem morally with the film is I feel he really could've made a point of the sickness of homophobia, but his prank mentality causes him to push things so far that even the gayest gay man in the entire world would consider shooting him if he stepped near his tent in the middle of the night. In the end he isn't really proving anything except obnoxious behavior begets a negative response.
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 17th November 2009
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, DTS 5.1 French and Spanish, DVS Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
Extras: Enhanced Commentary, Deleted, Alternate and Extended Scenes, An Interview with Lloyde Robinson, Digital Copy
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Larry Charles
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Elton John, Paula Abdul, Sting
Genre: Comedy and Documentary
Length: 82 minutes
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text:
I finally managed to d/l the x64 driver for this printer directly from MS's update site as opposed to doing it through update driver since I want a copy of the driver so I can load off line like I do with all other drivers for the past 13 years.
I finally managed to figure out how to get the driver without using the "update driver" through Device Manager that automatically d/l's the driver, installs it but with no copy saved for backup. You have to repeat the process if you re-install the O/S which is stupid and unnecessary.
That is after you change the setting under "Device Installation Settings" to "Yes do this automatically" since it won't work if you leave it at the default setting.
The two packages I have are x86 & x64 for this i560. Using the .inf file, both return the same message that is isn't the correct driver.
There is no .exe so I can run it by itself.
Canon has some file that is suppose to work, but with no details just how to use it. A fix for the problem. I tried that, but that has absolutely no effect.
Any ideas here, I have never need to do all of this for any device .


text:
This unit is used to cool a computer room, I have been having this problem for a couple of years now. Most of the time the unit works flawlessly, but during periods like spring and fall when the outside temp is between 70-75 the temp will climb inside to above 78F, the thermostat is set at 71F. When the temp rises above 80F the unit begins to work notmally, or during winter when the outside temp is below 70 everything works well also. Have had multiple service calls and tech onsite and with no resutls. Have changed the comptuer board in the unit with no improvement.
Any ideas?
Ken Zeleny
Sacramento Credit Union


text:
How Wells Fargo Came to Dominate Home Mortgages
Wells Fargo has become the dominant U.S. mortgage lender, grabbing an unprecedented 28.8% share of all home loans issued nationwide last year. Shayndi Raice reports. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... see story about will fall obviously the mortgage market change ... dramatically ... over the past five some ideas five six years who has stepped into the breach there who is now making a big bet on this and from home is in pain all ... the Wells Fargo talk about a person who wrote that story Shayndi race is with us ... the horn and yet ... so I this is very ancient rules for the right I mean they were the orbital is a big bank all is in the market ... and now they are becoming much much bigger player in the mortgage market really unprecedented in our when Angela month so I use to talk about the former CEO could run through agonies to talk about how much he won in ... fact one of the mortgage market he never credit even envision this much nearly thirty percent he was talking about maybe ... eighteen percent twenty three and about a time when Countrywide was the biggest exaggerate originator examiner fall from grace ... so op how to Wells Fargo into this was this a plan to come now I mean what what's going on sale this ... perfect storm of events because ... at the same time that all these other being fallen last ... Wells Fargo's because competitors were treated Wells Fargo was to be able to come in and fill the gap so Beacon America for example in two thousand it bought Countrywide you are a very briefly the biggest mortgage lender and then of course that all fell apart when that housing has ... happened and so ... Wells Fargo was really able to come in and just grab up all of that market share ... aam and and and other thing that the GDP is the surname eking partnerships throughout the country ... out with local real estate brokers IV started doing the old fashioned type of portfolio lending ... on that a lot of the other big gotten out of sunset securitize thing in selling the ones that keep them on their pots ... and other combination of all of the seven things but really I think number one is the fact that everybody else really pulled out and he would bury people to step in and of course one of the other big is he says is walk OPNT drama of the average in two thousand E and that essentially double their size they have the biggest branch network and have the biggest branch network in a country town ... and so that your side is coupled with the fact that everybody else's retreated has allowed them to completely dominate any other part of this is a forty two about this in the story ... is that there's been a refinancing boom differences or low has been to refinance enough we had to close the one on Monday we'll begin to think that everyone's been really dying at higher ... what happens when everyone's got it ... right sets an excellent point still about twenty five percent of the mortgages that are getting done are actually new homeowner in seventy five percent ... is refinancing an outfit when interest rates go up this refinancing boom is in and ... I think one of the things that we try to touch on in this story is that while Wells me if the top of its game right now ... that is probably going to shrink and and you know the truth is their executives are very open about this may talk about it I think they want people to know that this isn't going to continue ... and we didn't have isn't the story but I mean just a few months ago it was a thirty percent ... an ounce twenty twenty percent of sales already you're starting to see a retreat little bit ... it's only going to happen more in years ... their other dynamics is lovable come out to play ... ALM that really you're going to start to see this this is and isn't a moment in time for Wells Fargo this isn't gonna last forever and they now at ... if the housing market gets better they now have a business pilot kept alive his ... attention to ... the fact that this this isn't a securitized mortgage anymore so much is ... they are the Crimea region isn't holding on to those mortgages ... I used some of that mean that that's me is a real sort of sign of the times an extreme and other interesting thing I didn't mention before is that when the other banks pulled out in Bank of America for example present a course on the landing anymore that is when you take other loans that army and you put them on the in your box ... Wells Fargo continues to do that other banks the seismic of America have pulled out of that and that's another reason why they are so large it's not just the loans that the meek themselves ... bids from other lenders that they then put on their books and though it's really iam and Normant because of that additional type of landing that other people just don't do anymore because their tickets to raise revenue shares pull up a chart that ... of doubt will sporty see a much larger the peak calm and all their big competitors your Countrywide was delaying the sale ... to a Countrywide was were Wells Fargo is ... she knew I think you're a much Can Fitzroy thanks ...


text:
DOVER — A Dover judge is set to announce his decision on whether new documents will be released in the Elizabeth Marriott murder case.
Judge Stephen Morrison has reached a decision on the matter, according to a clerk at the 7th Circuit Court in Dover, but his ruling was not released to the public Wednesday.
The clerk said Morrison's order had not yet been "finalized," and that it would likely be released this morning.
Morrison heard arguments Monday from Foster's Daily Democrat and the New Hampshire Union Leader, both of whom are asking the judge to unseal all or part of the documents in the murder case.
The Portsmouth Herald has also petitioned the court for access to those records, which include the arrest and search warrants obtained during the investigation and any supporting police affidavits.
"In no way do we want to hurt the case," Foster's Executive Editor Rodney Doherty said during the hearing, "but we also feel as if it's time for more information to be released to the general public."
Both Assistant Attorney General James Vara, the prosecutor assigned to the case, and public defender Joachim Barth, who is representing Mazzaglia, objected to the media requests.
Vara argued the grand jury process could be tainted by the release of new details about the investigation.
The release of sealed court documents could also hamper Mazzaglia's ability to defend himself during the grand jury indictment, according to Barth.
Morrison took their arguments under advisement, and scheduled a private meeting with the defense attorney and prosecutor to hear specific information about how the release of the sealed documents would impact the criminal investigation.
Vara confirmed this week that he met privately with Judge Morrison at the close of Monday's hearing. He declined to discuss the nature of their conversation.
Barth could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Marriott, a 19-year-old University of New Hampshire student, was last seen on Tuesday, Oct. 9, and is presumed dead. Prosecutors allege Marriott was either strangled or suffocated inside an apartment on Mill Street by a 29-year-old Dover man the night she went missing.
The suspect, Seth Mazzaglia, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Marriott's death. Prosecutors have said Mazzaglia, an aspiring actor and martial arts instructor, resided in the unit at the Sawyer Mill Apartments where Marriott died.
Few other details have been released, and documents that could offer new insight into the case remain under seal at Dover Circuit Court.
The search for Marriott's body resumed in the waters off Portsmouth's Peirce Island this week following a powerful storm, according to The Portsmouth Herald. A Marine Patrol boat was back in the waters searching for the body on Wednesday.
Volunteers also have helped in recent weeks. Last Sunday, members of the N.H. League of Investigators and the Mission for the Missing brought in cadaver dogs to help with the search.
"The case is still ongoing, and the investigation is continuing daily," Vara said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Decision made, but not released in 'Lizzi' Marriott murder case
DOVER — A Dover judge is set to announce his decision on whether new documents will be released in the Elizabeth Marriott murder case.


text:
Fall 2012, No. 4
Compared to seasons with normal rainfall, residual soil nitrate can be higher after a drought where N was applied to a cereal crop. Higher levels arise from decreased downward movement of soil water and from reduced fertilizer N uptake by the drought-stressed plant.
Whether or not residual N will be available for next season's crop depends greatly on the precipitation that occurs after harvest. In the Midwest, precipitation occurring early in the following season is associated with higher losses of nitrate in tile drainage. Soil nitrate tests are the best tool for assessing the quantity of residual soil N available to the next crop. Additionally, cover crops can be planted after harvest to take up some of the residual nitrate and protect it from environmental losses.
In many areas, crops originally intended for grain harvest were cut instead for forage. The change from harvesting grain to harvesting most of the aboveground portion of the plant changes how much of each nutrient is removed. If grain was harvested as planned, grain nutrient concentrations of drought-stressed crops may or may not differ from unstressed plants, depending on the crop as well as the timing and severity of water deficits. Tissue testing of harvested crop portions is essential this year to determine changes from planned nutrient removal. This is especially important for P and K.
Very little data exist on how N credits are affected for cereals grown after legumes under drought conditions. If drought occurred during the growth of the legumes, it is hypothesized that more residual nitrate will exist in the soil, since legumes often scavenge soil nitrate under normal growth. How drought affects the amount of readily mineralizable N from root exudates is not well quantified. However, legumes are regularly used in arid areas to provide N to cereal crops, so it seems reasonable to take some to all of the N credit used normally.
Soil tests after a drought may contain some unexpected variance when compared with tests from more normal years. The immobile nutrient most sensitive to environmental conditions during sampling is K. Lack of rainfall reduces the leaching of K from plant tissues prior to sampling, which can reduce soil test results. Additionally, soil mineralogy can either increase or decrease the amount of available K under drought conditions. Taking soil samples in a drought year and looking at the changes can provide valuable data for improved interpretation in future years when dry conditions strike again.
The impacts of drought on crop nutrition are profound. Soil testing and plant analysis remain our best tools to quantify these impacts to adjust nutrient management for the next crop. Discussing analytical results with a trusted and knowledgeable agronomist ensures informed strategies can be created to meet local conditions.
For more information from IPNI on nutrient management following a drought, visit http://www.ipni.net.
PNT Fall 2012 #4.pdf
For more information, contact Dr. T. Scott Murrell, Northcentral Director, IPNI, Phone: (765) 413-3343. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Abbreviations: N = nitrogen; P = phosphorus; K = potassium.


text:
There's an insidious feature on the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. It's located in a little window on the dashboard, between the tachometer and the speedometer. It's a readout that allows you to come to a complete stop, then accelerate from 0 to 60 mph while it times your run.
You roll to a stop, the little window says "Ready," and you hit the accelerator. When you get to 60 mph, the numbers flash in the window: 4.9 seconds, perhaps. Then, like a waiter serving up a slice of pie to someone with a sweet tooth, the little window encourages you to do it again. And again. You can almost watch the fuel gauge plummet.
My name is Steve, and I am an acceleration-aholic, and the 2012 Charger SRT8 is an enabler. Yes, with the touch of a button you can turn off that 0-to-60 mph message, but it's so … hard. When you have a 6.4-liter, 470-horsepower V-8 ready and waiting, and you happen to live on a road where the speed limit is 60 mph, it's so easy to just look both ways — way, way down the road — pull out, stop, and press the accelerator. Just stomping on the accelerator doesn't work as well as easing into the power a little — that's how you get your best time of, say, 4.7 seconds.
Somewhere in this review, I would normally tell you what my overall fuel mileage was during the week-long test, but that 0-to-60 feature likely lowered it to the point where it does not at all represent what the Charger SRT8 is capable of. The EPA rates it at 14 mpg city and 23 mpg highway — still bad enough to earn a $1,000 federal "gas-guzzler" tax, and of course, premium gasoline is recommended — but my overall mileage was just grim, and I have myself to blame. That, and the little accelerometer.
Otherwise, how is the SRT8? It's a wonderful car, if you don't mind knowing your gas station attendant by his or her first name. Yes, on the highway, the SRT8 has the clever "fuel saver" feature, which cuts power to four of the eight cylinders when you are just cruising along, instantly wakening the sleeping four when you accelerate. It's seamless, and if you just hit the cruise control on relatively flat pavement, you can expect 25 mpg.
The Charger is offered in a nice selection of models, from the regular Charger with a willing 3.6-liter, 292-horsepower V-6 that, coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission, gets an EPA-rated 31 mpg, astounding for what the EPA rightfully classifies as a "large" car capable of carrying five passengers and 16.3 cubic feet of stuff in the trunk. While the Hemi V-8 ("Hemi" refers to the hemispherical design of the cylinders) in the SRT8 is 6.4 liters — it was 6.1 liters in 2011 — there's a 5.7-liter version in the Charger R/T that still pumps out 370 horsepower. If that isn't enough, the 470 horses in the SRT8 is up 45 over last year.
While the SRT8 obviously goes fast in a straight line, SRT (Street and Racing Technology) engineers have made it stop and turn quite well, too. Brakes are big Brembo discs, and the suspension uses premium Bilstein shock absorbers that make for a firm but surprisingly comfortable ride. Wheels are forged aluminum, and the 245/45-R20 tires work great on dry pavement, passably well in the rain.
The SRT8 has very comfortable front bucket seats, and a generally upscale look that may surprise those who haven't looked inside a Charger in a few years. Instruments and controls are well-placed, and the 900-watt sound system is excellent. The test car had a power sunroof, outside blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control that measured the distance to the vehicle in front of you, and adjusted your speed. The base price was $45,795, and with shipping and options, the sticker read $49,260. Keep in mind that the regular Charger starts at about $26,000, so you are paying a big premium for looks, handling and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
Or maybe 4.6 seconds if I'd had more practice — and more gas.


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Consensus Report
Beyond the Molecular Frontier: Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (2003)Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review; while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy. Learn more on our expert consensus reports.
The report assesses the current state of chemistry and chemical engineering, and it identifies a set of grand challenges for research. The astonishing developments in science and engineering during the 20th century have made it possible to dream of new goals that might previously have been considered unthinkable. This report identifies the key opportunities and challenges for the chemical sciences, from terrorism defense to environmental protection, and looks at the ways in which chemists and chemical engineers can work together to contribute to an improved future for our country, for humanity, and for our planet.
Key Messages
- Atmospheric and environmental chemistry. The basic understanding that will result from meeting the challenges in this area is absolutely critical for the future of the inhabitants of the earth, human and otherwise.
- Chemical and physical transformations of matter. The opportunities for detailed understanding of chemical reaction pathways and of the mechanisms of physical transformations represent an exciting challenge for the future that will add to the fundamental science of our field and to its ability to manipulate reactions and processes for practical applications.
- Chemists and chemical engineers must put much more effort into effective communication with the media, and with students from kindergarten up.
- Chemists and chemical engineers need to be prepared to work increasingly in multidisciplinary teams, and that this will change the way we educate future chemical scientists.
- Computation and theory. This area of research has tremendous promise and importance, and that the opportunities should be pursued vigorously.
- Energy. The practical challenges in dealing with energy needs are enormously important, and that we will need significant new developments in basic science in order to meet those challenges.
- Isolating, identifying, imaging, and measuring chemical substances and determining their molecular structures. The area of analysis and structure determination presents important and exciting needs and opportunities, challenges such as detecting toxic or explosive materials in the environment, detecting land mines, and making chemical manufacturing processes more efficient and environmentally friendly via real time control.
- National and personal security. This is an area where the chemical sciences are particularly central and relevant.
- Profession need to make much more effort to attract women and minorities.
- Synthesis and process engineering play a central role in our field. Synthesis is the key to creating the substances we study and work with; larger scale chemical processing is the only way most chemical technologies can be developed and realized.
- The design and manufacture of materials. The opportunities for the invention and production of novel materials with exciting new properties make this one of the areas of greatest opportunity for future research and development.
- The interface of chemistry with biology and medicine. This area is extremely important in both the opportunities for fundamental discovery and the challenges and opportunities for curing human diseases.
- more effectively with our fellow citizens, and will need their support so that we can indeed make the contributions that we see as possible.


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Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials
The Centre is formed by around 30 academics, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students from the Department of Physics, who work together in an interactive and collaborative environment doing cutting-edge research in Photonics.
Much of our work is based in our state-of-the-art fabrication facilities and our extensive optical laboratories, which are equipped with a wide range of laser sources and optical test gear. We also do extensive numerical modelling of both linear and nonlinear optical effects.
The Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials provides an outstanding environment for performing cutting-edge research in photonics, whether as a PhD student, a postdoctoral researcher or a more senior visiting scientist.


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Inspiration: Dark Blue Walls
Dark blue is one of those colors you don't always see in decorating, but when it's used well, it's great. We've seen it put to good use in small spaces and large ones alike. It works really well with a bright accent color like red or yellow, and gets even better when you add some detailed wall molding...
• 1 Notting Hill Apartment by Ilse Crawford
• 2 Todd Alexander Romano
• 3 Jeannine and Edwin's Downtown Penthouse
• 4 Melissa and Matt's Design Lab
• 5 Matt and Kevin's Dark Saturated Colors
• 6 Markham Roberts
• 7 Zooey Deschanel's Blue Studio
• 8 Love Home
• 9 Jon's Contemporary Hybrid
• 10 Anemone Cocoa Rug from the Rug Company
(Photos: StudioIlse, Todd Alexander Romano, Gregory Han, Evan Thomas, Matt and Kevin, Fernando Bengoechea / Markham Roberts, Domino, Love Home, Jon, the Rug Company)


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CORRECTION (Published 9/11/2013)
A story incorrectly identified the management of the Mount Diablo Summit Visitor Center. The center is part of the Mt. Diablo State Park and thus part of the California State Parks system. Save Mount Diablo is a land acquisition agency unaffiliated with Mt. Diablo State Park and does not own, manage or staff the visitor center.
CLAYTON — Fueled by thick brush on a mountain that hasn't burned significantly in years, a wildfire tore through Mount Diablo State Park for a second day Monday, more than tripling in size as hundreds of firefighters arrived to battle the increasingly stubborn blaze. But by Monday evening officials were more optimistic about the possibility of an earlier-than-expected containment.
Flames chewed through nearly 4,000 acres of mostly remote parkland, sending a plume of smoke that could be seen throughout the Bay Area, but officials said residents in communities near the mountain — including Clayton and Danville — had little to worry about.
About 100 homes were evacuated Sunday, with many rural residents scrambling to find places to house pets, horses and livestock. No evacuations were ordered Monday, though the Mount Diablo Summit Visitor Center and nearby wooden observation decks were threatened, along with telecommunication towers.
Fire officials said as of 8 p.m. Monday that the blaze had just "stopped," and that the total number of acres consumed had not grown since the afternoon.
"The total acreage has gone up dramatically today," said David Shew, staff chief for Cal Fire. "It's turning into a more difficult fight than we thought yesterday but we're throwing more resources at it."
For now, he said, "The fire is staying where we want." But he added: "Something could always go wrong."
The Morgan Fire, as it is being called, began as a grass fire Sunday at 2 p.m., grew to 1,500 acres by Monday morning, and exploded to 3,718 acres by midafternoon. Only 20 percent contained, it was expected to burn throughout the night, officials said. The cost of the fire had reached $580,000 by Monday night, said Steve Kaufmann, a spokesman for the fire's incident management team.
It's unclear what sparked the fire, which officials are investigating.
A combination of hot weather, occasional winds and thick brush that has seen only limited control burns in recent years is stoking the fire, Shew said. About 700 firefighters, some of whom were fresh off a days-long battle with the Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park, arrived from throughout the state as reinforcements Monday. Their goal for the day was to build a containment ring around the fire to either box it in or let it burn itself out, Shew said.
Firefighters in the area face temperatures Tuesday that could reach 95, with winds expected to be 10-20 mph.
A base camp has been set up for firefighters at Camp Parks, a U.S. Army mobilization and training center for reserve forces in Dublin.
Images of the fire from overnight show a seemingly volcanic mountain top, with flames and smoke shooting from the peak of Mount Diablo, as trucks pulling horses snaked up Morgan Territory Road and back carrying animals to safety zones at Heather Farm in Walnut Creek and the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch.
Equestrians from around the area took in horses of residents who had to leave their ranch property behind.
"The horse community is really pretty tight," said Larry Sterling, as he fed hay and carrots to his new charges. "All over Clayton, you've got horse trailers hooked up and ready to go, ready to help people."
A few dozen residents showed up at the Red Cross evacuation center at the Clayton Community library Sunday night, but other residents slept overnight in trailers.
"We had a neighborhood sleepover," Valerie Sterling said with a smile.
Scott Arnott, who was evacuated from his five-wheel trailer on Curry Canyon Road, moved from Vacaville to unincorporated Clayton about three weeks ago.
"I might not have it now," he said of the trailer. "I moved up here for a fresh start and now this."
Displaced residents were told they could return home Monday to collect belongings and pets, though officials discouraged them from staying in the area.
Though there have been limited burns in recent years near Mount Diablo, officials said, this fire is the largest in recent memory. There have been some 100 wildfires on Mount Diablo since 1891, with the largest one burning some 25,000 acres in 1931, according to the conservation group Save Mount Diablo.
Many longtime locals remember the 6,000-acre fire on Aug. 2, 1977, the second-largest recorded fire. Former Mayor Pete Laurence said he was driving on Kirker Pass Road when he saw a lightning bolt strike the mountain and spark the fire. It burned for more than 82 hours, leaving the mountain "a battlefield with charred skeletons of trees," according to a report in the Oakland Tribune at the time.
"It was worrisome because Mother Nature was having her way with the mountain," Laurence said.
Richmond Fire Department's Merlin Turner arrived at the Morgan Fire on Monday, a week after returning from fighting the Rim Fire, and has had two days off in the past three weeks.
"When you work, you don't know how tired you are," Turner said. "At some point, I'll probably sleep for a couple days. I'll just go crash."
Added Mark Tait, 42, a father of two and a 15-year firefighter from Danville: "It's tough on them. You go from a two-parent house to suddenly it's a single mom; it changes things for everybody and it's hard." He then headed out to fight the fire.
David DeBolt covers breaking news. Contact him in Richmond at 510-262-2728. Follow him at Twitter.com/daviddebolt. Staff writers Eve Mitchell and Erin Ivie contributed to this report.


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The Performance of Dart 1.3 Is on Par with Node.js
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The Google Dart team has announced Dart SDK 1.3 which improves the performance of asynchronous server-side code to the point that Dart VM is on par with Node.js, the later using another Google technology, the V8 engine.
Dart has a new performance page plotting the performance of the VM and the dart:io library by measuring the Requests/sec, Avg. Latency and Max Latency of an HTTP server in three cases:
Hello - a simple HTTP server responding with the string "world" to all requests.
File - an HTTP server returning the content of a 100KB file.
JSON - an HTTP server returning a dynamically generated JSON string.
According to the charts, the Dart server now handles more than double the traffic for Hello and JSON scenarios and has a 30% improvement for File requests when compared to Dart 1.2. The Avg. Latency has consequently dropped to less than half for Hello and JSON and by ~30% for File. While in the past the Max Latency fluctuated massively around 125ms and 300ms for Hello and respectively JSON, now this value is quite stable at around 5 and 7 ms.
According to Anders Johnsen, a Google engineer, Dart's server-side performance was improved by using the generational garbage collector, reducing the number of system calls handling asynchronous I/O on Mac OS and Linux, optimizing the VM compiler and code sections in dart:core and dart:async.
Using a different configuration, TechEmpower benchmarked Dart/nginx in December 2013 doing ~35,000 JSON requests/sec while Node.js did ~70,000 Req/sec. Now that Dart handles more than double JSON requests, we can assume that the Dart VM is on par with Node.js. A future TechEmpower benchmark will probably confirm this. A simple HTTP server built with Google Go beats all frameworks/platform with ~215,000 JSON Req/sec. according to the same benchmark.
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Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Greg Lowe
Also of note - I find it really impressive that the Dart HTTP server, which is written in Dart, can compete so well against node's Joyent HTTP parser written in optimised C code.
Here are some links showing the data for Dart vs nodejs on the techempower benchmarks:
Plaintext round 8
Plaintext round 9 (Preliminary)
Having said all this - these benchmarks don't really show real world scenarios. Both nodejs' and the DartVM's HTTP servers are fast enough for production use, and not the limiting factor in developing performant web applications.
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Trevor Norris
[...] can compete so well against node's Joyent HTTP parser written in optimised C code.
Because Dart is definitely out performing optimized C...
The issue is translating the resulting data into a JavaScript object. There are known ways to improve on current performance, but practical application of Node comes first. And for that, the current HTTP parsing speed has so far been sufficient. When it actually proves to be a bottleneck we'll fix it.
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Mingjian Jin
So, it still reflects some real world scenarios in some extent, like small static file hostings or short message routing(thinking sms/chating in Whatsapp kinds).
And so "fast enough for production use" is not always true as the above mentioned. It is, of course, true if your business processing logic dominates the all the time. In this case, it is not important to choose any framework.
Once you optimize the running of business processing logic into being on par with or even faster than that of IO handling of frameworks. The efficiency of framework matters again.
Finally, I feel interested with the author mention Google Go with Google Dart in the end:) Which language does Google recommend for use in server? Go or Dart?:)
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Greg Lowe
I also didn't claim that Dart's HTTP server out performed optimized C, and I still think it is impressive that the Dart implementation doesn't require a C HTTP parsing library to achieve a similar level of performance as node.
Also topical - using a language with array bounds checks also has security benefits.
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Greg Lowe
Go and Dart fill different niches, so choices will depend on the use case.
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Mingjian Jin
Re: Node chokes at high concurrency levels
Greg Lowe
After this threshold (or probably even lower) actual real world performance gains are only obtained in other parts of the stack.
Node is perhaps a good example of this, in the techempower plaintext benchmark it falls over under load at high concurrency levels. But this doesn't actually matter since http isn't the bottleneck, this doesn't cause problems, even when used on high traffic web properties such linkedin, ebay or paypal.
Strong improvements & probably representative for other comparisons
Eyal Alalouf
Well done to the Google Dart's team. We now expect you to compare against other frameworks like J2EE, ASP.NET etc. & see the results.
So what's the point?
Richard Eng
For that matter, Python is fast enough (eg, Tornado-Py3 gets 72,122 or 6.8%). Ruby is fast enough (eg, Rack-Ruby gets 114,466 or 10.8%). All this suggests that performance is not a significant criterion for choosing Dart over other languages.
This entire article is pointless. (Sarcasm.)


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The 100-Deity Torma is an exact copy of an old precious Torma passed down from our lineage for more than one hundred years. Some students have been requesting of His Holiness Karma Kuchen for 7 years that he bless us with the construction and consecration of a Torma. His Holiness suddenly decided to make this 100 Deity Torma and he selected this lineage treasure to make the mold. He personally went over all the details and selected the color, type of gem stones, and the material to make this Torma. The mold was modified 12 times to satisfy all the requirements. Most importantly, the Torma is consecrated in the traditional ways. H.H. Karma Kuchen Rinpoche also selected all genuine natural Australia jades, coral, turquoise and some parts of the Torma are lavished with 24K gold plate. Because this Torma will be offered on our altar to the deities, Rinpoche can not sacrifice any of the details or quality.
Read more at :
http://www.palyulohio.org/news/special- ... -rinpoche/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There are many elaborately detailed records on Torma, expressing its purposes, definitions, and representations. Different kinds of Torma are found in various texts and Dharma practice manuals. Doing an elaborate practice requires a separate characteristic Torma for each and every Deity of the three roots or Dharma Protectors. The simplified method that is more commonly practised by the followers of Palyul Namgyal Jangchup Choeling Monastery, as well as a majority of the Nyingmapa and Kagyudpa traditions, uses a Torma known as the LHAGYA TORCHIK (a Torma that represents 100 different Deities within a single Torma)
A concise instruction according to Khendrup Karma Chagmed says, "[This Torma] is shaped like a blazing precious gem, surrounded by lotus petals. The three sides [of the gem] symbolize the Guru, Meditational Deities, and Dakini. [Looking from the front], the two ridges on the right and the left symbolize the two kinds of Magon (the protector), and the ridge on the back symbolizes all the rest of the protectors. The lower round part of the Torma symbolizes all the wealth deities. The surrounding lotus petals symbolize the worldly deities according to the outer Tantra. Thus it is called Lhagya Torchik." The lower part of the Torma has a stacked base like mount Meru. It supports real and visualized offerings of the fulfilment substances and their representations. The benefit and purpose of the Torma is to be used as an essential support to fulfill the accomplishment of both enlightened wisdom and worldly deities.
Guru Rinpoche has said, "Torma has both temporary and ultimate benefit. It accomplishes longevity without sickness, increases wealth and prosperity and all the good qualities possessed by you and your descendents. The temporary benefit is the fulfillment of all your wishes without any obstacles. The ultimate benefit is purifying obscuring defilements, accumulating perfect merit, and arriving at the unsurpassable stage of Enlightenment." He also says, "All spiritual attainments can be accomplished through Torma. Both meritorious deeds and wisdom are intensified through Torma." To higher beings, he emphasizes that "by making Torma offerings, you can perfect your wisdom mind." And to lower beings, he advises, "you can increase your merit."
In short, there are so many purposes of Torma, which not only bring benefit in this life but cause attainment of the enlightened wisdom mind. Having heard this, you can act accordingly, with full devotional faith and confidence and motivate yourself to appropriate meritorious actions.
Read more at :
http://namdrolingmt.org/index.php?optio ... eity-torma" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This powerful torma is mentioned in tantras and meditation texts, where it is called The Resplendent Torma, A Blazing Jewel, Source of Desires' Fulfillment, and is also known as "The One Torma that Represents a Hundred Wisdom Deities" (Lha-Gya Tor-Chik). Practical instructions for constructing this torma's shape were based upon a tradition beginning in the original Nyingma School's large monastic center known as Glorious Orgyen Mindrol Ling. Specific directions for its appearance were given by the sublime master and treasure revealer Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorjé (His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoché), who was the incarnate regent of the great master Padmasambhava as well as the head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.
Read more at :
http://rinchenbarwa.com/tormas.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lhagya Torchik Torma Blessed by Karma Kuchen Rinpoche
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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
The new chairwoman of the Niagara County Legislature's Economic Development Committee launched into her new role Tuesday night, laying an ambitious, 13-point agenda for economic development policy in the county.
Legislator Kathryn Lance, R-Wheatfield, a first-term lawmaker who was named to the Economic Development Committee post after one year as vice chair of the committee, touched on everything from high-tech jobs to Niagara County's longest-established industry, agriculture.
Lance challenged the Niagara County Economic Development Department and the extra-governmental Niagara County Industrial Development Agency to "work to expand programs as well as branch out into new programs and initiatives that enhance overall economic development efforts."
Since taking office, Lance has consistently pushed for policies that expand use of the Niagara Falls International Airport, parts of which are in her district. Lance indicated that ranking high among economic development goals in 2013 will be development of tourism packages for the NFIA, as well as marketing an adjacent parcel of land, the Niagara Airport Commercial Park, for a high-tech, air cargo, or logistics role.
Lance also stressed the importance of the Niagara Frontier's proximity to Canada's "Golden Horseshoe" that extends from the Greater Toronto Area to Niagara Falls and Welland.
"The Greater Toronto Area is a key spot in which to market Niagara County's strengths," Lance told colleagues. "All major Canadian cities along Lake Ontario will be targeted in 2013 marketing efforts."
Lance noted that cross-border traffic in the Buffalo-Niagara region has an estimated total trade value of $81 billion in combined exports and imports.
"The NCIDA will expand its presence at trade shows in the U.S. and Canada," Lance said. "(NCIDA) will partner with Canadian manufacturing associations and ... join the Bi-National Alliance to promote Niagara County throughout Canada."
The economic development chairwoman also directed Economic Development Commissioner Sam Ferraro to continue a course that has seen some success for Niagara County: marketing sites as "shovel ready." The marketing efforts, which include New York state's Empire Development Corp. declaring a building site to be "certified shovel ready" after certain preliminary site development, paperwork and red-tape hurdles are cleared, have positioned parcels in the town of Cambria and adjacent to the Niagara Falls airport for rapid development.
"These sites will be aggressively marketed with a focus on high-tech and advanced manufacturing options," Lance instructed, before telling Ferraro to add to their number by pursuing designation of additional New York state-certified shovel ready sites in 2013.
Lance also set Economic Development Department policy of continuing to seek grants from the Environment Protection Agency for cleanup of brownfields sites around Niagara County, and broke news that the EPA intends to award Niagara County another $180,000 for this purpose in 2013.
The cleanups benefit both the environment and the economy of the county, Lance noted. "The goal of the Niagara County Brownfields Program is to continue returning tax-delinquent brownfield properties to the tax rolls and back into productive use," Lance explained.
Lance also reiterated the importance of the county's Business Growth and Retention Program, which involves working closely with area employers to ensure that the county is setting a reasonable economic climate for their needs, as well as a $300,000 grant-funded effort to retain jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.


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Party supplies Themes
To order any of our products, the quickest and easiest way is to order online 24 hours / 7 days a week. We are a secure shopping site using the latest in e-commerce technology so you can always feel assured your credit card details are safe.
If you would like to order off-line please call us to place your order or send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com
11 December 2010
Wow ! Thank you for the incredibly prompt service. Parcel recieved today : )


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By: Mark McGrouther, Category: Science, Date: 28 Sep 2012
Despite the heat and some logistical challenges, we had a very productive time in East Timor. Eight dives were made and many specimens collected. The specimens will be shipped soon and then the process of identifying the 'small things' can begin in earnest.
The week has been a short one, hence the paucity of new content. Thanks as always to all contributors.
Online Producer, Michael Hugill, did a great job documenting the expedition in his 11 blog posts (click on the link to 'Marine trip').
Dwarf Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus
Manta Ray, Manta birostris (Jonti the Manta)
Dwarf Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus
Tasselsnout Flathead at Manly
Tasselsnout Flathead at Fairy Bower
Tags fishes, ichthyology, East Timor, Dwarf Lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus, Manta Ray Manta birostris, Tasselsnout Flathead,


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