text:
GENEVA (AP) -- Promoting measures to get the world economy out of its crisis mode will be the focal point of next week's annual gathering of world leaders and power brokers in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, organizers said Wednesday.
Three leading European leaders, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Italian Premier Mario Monti, will deliver keynote addresses on how to push forward the global economic revival, according to officials from the World Economic Forum.
The global economy has faced a number of hurdles over the past few years, but next week's meeting in Davos appears to be taking place in a more benign atmosphere than many participants may have thought possible just a few months ago.
In contrast to last year's event, which was taking place amid real fears for the future of the euro currency and uncertainty over the leadership of the U.S. in the run-up to the presidential election, financial markets are less frenzied at the moment, partly because Europe appears to be getting a grip on its debt crisis.
"It's very clear that the issue of the world economy is based on restoring trust," Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder, told reporters from its headquarters overlooking Lake Geneva. "We have to get out of this crisis mode, which is amplified by the media."
Schwab called the forum "a laboratory for new ideas" to improve the world, as well as an "informal platform for resolving disputes."
Over the years, it has drawn together politicians, diplomats, thinkers, artists, celebrities, and journalists for a whirlwind week of talks and parties.
Organizers said nearly 50 presidents and prime ministers and over 1,000 chairmen and CEOs of global companies are due to attend the event Jan. 23-27. Others who are expected to attend include Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) founder Bill Gates, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The forum also made much of the fact that more than 400 women will be attending the invitation-only event, which has been held for more than four decades.
Co-chairing the forum are the five CEOs of Embraer (NYSE:ERJ), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), UBS (NYSE:UBS), Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) and Toshiba (NASDAQOTH:TOSBF) along with the chair of Transparency International, a nod to the importance of anti-corruption initiatives.
As well as the state of the global economy, there will be discussions on a range of issues, including "issues where we do not yet know the answers," Schwab said.
The civil war in Syria and other Middle East hotspots will garner attention at this year's event.
Tunisia's Prime Minister Hammadi Jebali and Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, who came to power following the "Arab Spring," will be attending. Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who shared the stage last year, will be back again too.
Discussions over how to fund the fight against climate change, the risks to the economy emanating from corruption and digital misinformation, as well as a debate over megasports events are also penciled in for debate, organizers said.
Other celebrities and big-name figures come each year to Davos, uninvited by the forum, to mingle and attend unofficial side events and parties.
The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola and Embraer-Empresa Brasileira. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Well, we did it! My coop, my grade 8s, the dude on the other end of the BlackBerry and I finally have our classroom blogs up and running! Apparently, the 6th time is the charm! Phew! We have taken 5 full computer periods, used our Prairie South emails to get Google emails, tried edublogs 😦 , tried… well everything it felt like. We are the first class in our division to use wordpress blogs and I'm very pleased that the space works!
And let me tell you, Mr. Mc and I were frustrated! And, we're also very determined! You know when your kids are little and you're teaching them how to brush their teeth? Do you remember how you have to remind them 319 times before they remember on their own to brush their teeth?
So, there we are, this last week and along one row of computers three boys are discovering the joys of 'the dashboard!' Their blog background goes from blue to green to some sort of neon rainbow in a matter of seconds. Then one of them discovers he can change the name of his blog, they then start testing out the silliest blog titles. But somewhere in there, they also create pages, and make multiple postings, and ask me, "Hey Ms. S. What's the name of the novel we started today?" By the end of the period, they were going around and teaching others the beauty of the dashboard, and according to my Epic Eights, KEWL is most definitely a word!
So what would have happened to toddlers teeth if we stopped after 318?
Now, to get my hands on a classroom set of ibooks…

subset: commoncrawl


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Re: Mindfulness
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:31 pm
The best method for you is to do breathing practice IMO. There is nothing more realistic than breathing IMO. You do it every second of your life since the minute you were born. To sit there and just pay attention to it, is very beneficial! So when you sit there you put attention on your breath. Breath in and breath out. Breath in and breath out. Then of course, your attention will naturally come off the breath and onto some other thing. Some random memory, some other thoughts, some intellectualizing, or perhaps some different feelings, etc. Then, when you notice that your attention has gone off the breath, you gently bring it back to the breath. Not judging yourself for having gone off the breath. Not saying things like "I'm doing meditation, I should not be thinking about that!", etc, etc. But simply coming back to the breath without any fuss about what was just going on. Then, breath in and breath out. Breath in and breath out. Rinse and repeat. After a while of doing this, your mind will wander less, there will be less intellectualizing, less daydreaming. Your mind will naturally become more focused, more calm and more peaceful, just by doing this very simple breathing. This would be a very good practice method for you, IMO. This is a very good practice for anyone, regardless of how "advanced" they are.GarcherLancelot wrote:I don;t know but I try to practise the most "realistic" method I can find even if it would take longer and harder to accomplish,I think working hard works better for me than working smart,but I allow myself exceptions here and there ,so now I am considering whether if your method is realistic enough for me,because I have some ADHD tendencies and intellectualizing quite alot ,so basically if I use this method,i might end up daydreaming a lot.Btw,what is the difference between your method and how normal people would use their mind?.. .
P/S:Your meditation is more or less close your eyes and then...whatever?.. .
PP/S:I found out when I let my mind drift,I start to fear about thinking about things I shouldn't think about.. .


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at McKay-Dee
Following is a list of all classes and events at McKay-Dee Hospital. Please use the buttons for advanced filtering and search.
This class is designed to prepare expectant mothers for breastfeeding.
The American Heart Association BLS Provider skills only course is intended for healthcare providers such as EMS personnel, physician assistants, doctors, dentists, nurses, respiratory therapists and those who work in a healthcare setting who must have credential (card) documenting successful completion of a BLS class.
The Childbirth Preparation class is taught by a Registered Nurse. In this class you'll learn about pregnancy changes, pain management options, breathing and relaxation, labor and delivery, infant feeding options, postpartum adjustments and newborn care.
McKay-Dee Hospital Ostomy Support Group offers presentations from specialists with valuable information about products and services. Also time to talk with other ostomates for support and to get answers to questions.
The Heartsaver CPR AED Course teaches AED use, CPR, relief of choking in adults, children, and infants, and use of barrier devices for all ages. This course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card in CPR AED to meet job, regulatory or other requirements (daycare providers, fitness instructors, etc.).
Class participants will learn basic First Aid Principles and CPR AED use along with relief of choking in adults, children and infants.
In Heartsaver First Aid class participant will learn how to manage illness and injuries in the first few minutes until professional help arrives. Course content includes General Principles, Medical Emergencies, Injury Emergencies and Environmental Emergencies.
Infant CPR Anytime is for new parents, grandparents, family members and anyone who wants to learn lifesaving infant CPR and choking skills but does not need a course completion card.
This FREE six-week class offered at Layton Clinic will teach attendees how to manage their pain and symptoms, handle difficult emotions, and more.
*Note: After registering for a class session, expect to receive an initial confirmation email from Intermountain and then an additional email from the Utah Department of Health within 24-48 hours that contains detailed class information.
The Childbirth Preparation class is taught by a Registered Nurse. In this class you'll learn about pregnancy changes, pain management options, breathing and relaxation, labor and delivery, infant feeding options, postpartum adjustments and newborn care. A tour of the Labor and Delivery area is included.
Results 1 - 10 of 16
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Get care for low-level urgent conditions through a video chat with a provider, 24/7, on your computer or mobile device.Learn More.
View wait times and save your place in line at an Intermountain InstaCare location near you.
If this is an emergency please go to the nearest emergency room or call 911.
Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 23 hospitals, a Medical Group with more than 1,600 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at about 180 clinics, a health plans division called SelectHealth, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in clinical quality improvement and in efficient healthcare delivery.
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Kingston HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX 2x2GB Review
Intel's Nehalem cores launched last year to much fanfare and striking levels of performance over past generation processors. One new feature was the use of a tri-channel memory configuration that offered huge memory bandwidth and excellent memory performance. Now that the latest iteration of the Nehalam architecture has been released to the masses, the fact is that this new generation is meant for the mainstream users and not simply the uber elite, high end user. To keep the costs in line with the mainstream mantra, Intel chose to go back to a dual-channel memory configuration. This, of course, presents the opportunity to bring out new sets of memory designed to work with the Intel Corei5/i7 Lynnfied processors and P55 chipset motherboards. If the performance delivered by the last set of Kingston HyperX modules is indicative of what I can expect from this set of modules, then I can't wait to get to testing them out to see just where they perform.
This set of Kingston HyperX modules includes two 2GB modules rated to run at latencies of 8-8-8-24 at 1600MHz, using no more than the Intel specified 1.65 volts. Why only 1.65v? So you do not cause irreparable harm to your new Core i5 baby as it is based on the same architecture as the 9 series Core i7 processors. If you have been around long enough to remember the early Athlon 64 chips suddenly dying because of running the vdimm brutally high while keeping the CPU core voltage low, Intel is giving guidance so that they do not have the same issue. Since the memory specification on the i5 caps out at 1333MHz, how do you run these modules at 1600MHz? Well, since we are an enthusiast community, you have to overclock the Corei5 processor to reach the 1600MHz mark; something that is easily achievable with a moderate clock increase. This set of modules does not carry the T1 heatspreader design, so will heat be an issue for this kit? Only one way to tell! Now let's look at the modules and see just what they are made of and if they deliver on the promise of performance.
Closer Look:
The Kingston HyperX modules come in a retail blister pack. Information on the label includes the kit model number KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX, the size of the modules and the top level memory specifications on the bottom of the label. This label serves a dual purpose; to provide the consumer information about the memory, as well as serving as a security seal for the modules, proving they have not been tampered with. The rear of the package does not provide any information and merely shows the knockouts where the modules are locked in to prevent damage.
The HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX set of modules consists of a set of modules 2x2GB in size, rated to run at 1600MHz using the Intel specified 1.65volts. These modules contain an XMP (Extreme Memory Performance) profile to make overclocking a no fuss proposition... if you believe the hype. Manually tuning the memory seems to offer the most benefit. The modules are the traditional HyperX blue and silver color scheme that has been so popular. The HyperX logo is in the center of the modules and appears to be die-cut rather than simply painted on. The specifications for the modules are contained on the label that is attached to only one side of the modules. One thing you will note is that this set of modules do not carry the T1 heatspreader design, but rather the standard, non-finned, clamshell-type spreader. Without the T1 style heatspreader, will cooling be compromised? We'll have to find out.
I can't wait to get these modules installed on the p55 platform to see if they can hang with the T1-equipped modules I looked at for the i7.


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Indian Dance Classics
Inspired by the unique sound of Indian dance music and using the same rhythm instruments and styles typically featured in Bollywood films Indian Dance Classics is a definitive collection of Indian rhythm styles.
Recorded on location in India and featuring over 750 loops in 1.7Gb of samples with tempos ranging from 86bpm to 200bpm, the samples were recorded in pristine 24-bit with performances by top professional players from the Indian music industry – Sujay Govindaraj and Dinesh.
All the major Indian Dance styles are included: Andhranatyam, Bharathanatyam, Dhandiyan, Garba, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak, Odissi, Bhangra, Manipuri, Folk, Goa Dance, Bombay Fusion and Rhythm Vocals.


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Definitions of bulk
n. - Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size; as, an ox or ship of great bulk. 2
n. - The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion; the majority; as, the bulk of a debt. 2
n. - The cargo of a vessel when stowed. 2
n. - The body. 2
v. i. - To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent; to swell. 2
v. - A projecting part of a building. 2
The word "bulk" uses 4 letters: B K L U.
No direct anagrams for bulk found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after bulk (in bold), or to bklu in any order:
a - baulk s - bulks y - bulky
List shorter words within bulk, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in bulk, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with bulk, words containing bulk or words ending with bulk
All words formed from bulk by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: bu ul lk
Browse words starting with bulk by next letter
Previous word in list: bulimics
Next word in list: bulkage
Some random words: mho luau igloo eukaryote ancestor evict eaux
This is not a dictionary, it's a word game wordfinder.
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is the good sellers of this month. It will soon be out of stock soon. Let's buy Today before the stock lasts. When you buy some products. You will be eligible for free shipping. Please do not forget to choose free shipping However it could make you receive the goods 2 - 5 days. But if you buy and lucky to get right to free shipping. I think you should choose the free shipping. It will give you purchased by use not more money. So you are left money to buy the other products in the future.
1. Make sure to always select "Ship to: USA", because international shipping is much more expensive.
2. Prealert your packages. For packages under $100 save $3 of AeroProtect.
3. Use our online calculator to get an estimate of the import costs for the product you're interested in, and make sure it's more convenient to buy it online.
4. If you have a Basic account and you receive at least 2 packages per month, switch to a Gold, Platinum or Diamond account and save up to 25% in freight.
5. Ask your provider to send your order in as few shipments as possible.
6. Sign-up with your favorite online stores and receive their notifications when they have sales and special offers.
7. Take advantage of US holidays; it's when they offer the best sales.
Exactly how I pictured it! Love how simple, yet classy it is! Great price for the quality of the vertical filing cabinet. I recommend this product to anybody who wants quality and perfection. color and style is just perfect.
I have purchased several of these vertical filing cabinet to give to friends and family. it looks more expensive than it is. I always point it out and it makes the gift recipient feel very special. It is nice! When they go on sale, this is a good gift to stock up on, everyone loves this gift!
I bought this as a christmas gift for my daughter. It is just as described online. vertical filing cabinet looks nice although i feel it's over priced. Should come with nicer packaging for the price.
$436.99 $203.99 $299.99 $1113.99


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Top 10 Green Building Products for 2012
We always look forward to BuildingGreen.com's yearly list of the best green products. They're always on the mark with selecting items that make a positive impact in the green building market. This year's products were selected through the search for companies that solved pressing needs in energy efficiency, reduced toxicity in building materials, enhanced retrofit applications and offered unique solutions in other areas.
BuildingGreen's founder and GreenSpec executive editor, Alex Wilson, states, "There are more 'green' building products than ever, but not all of them address a real need — or worse, some of them may create new problems down the road." Here are the top green building products of 2012:
1 AllSun Trackers from AllEarth Renewables
2 Lifeline PVC-free resilient flooring from Upofloor OY imported by Altro Floors
3 Knight Wall CI-Girt Rainscreen System from Knight Wall Systems
4 EonCoat waterborne ceramic coating from EonCoat LLC
5 Aqua2use Graywater System from Water Wise Group, Inc.
6 Cypress Envirosystems analog-to-digital wireless thermostat
7 Ritter XL solar thermal system from Regasol
8 Mitsubishi Electric's Ductless Heat Pumps and Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems with Tenant Submetering
9 InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles with non-PFC carpet fibers
10 Philips EnduraLEDs from Philips Lighting
• Read More: BuildingGreen Announces Top-10 Green Building Products for 2012 at BuildingGreen.com
- BuildingGreen's Top 10 Products for 2010
- BuildingGreen Top 10 Green Building Products 2009
- Sustainable Industries Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009
- BuildingGreen Top-10 Green Building Products 2008
(Images: BuildingGreen.com)


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After reading the 900th morning brew, one article by mike taulty about comparing Rx, TPL and async caught my attention.
Mike tries to explain the history, differences and similarities between all these frameworks, and kudos, that's not an easy thing to do.
Asynchrony, (and I'm not talking parallelism), is a complex topic that fools even the best of us.
Rx and Async and much more similar in that regard, because going off to an other thread is not mandatory, and most operators use either the CurrentThread (timebase priority queue) scheduler or the Immediate (passive wait) scheduler.
This means that the code you are writing is doing some cooperative multi-threading, or fibers-like processing. Everything happens on the same thread, except that work is optionally being queued up, and that thread works as long as there's work left to do, then waits for outstanding operations. These oustanding operations can be I/O completion port bound, like Stream.BeginRead/EndRead.
But back to the comparison, mike is trying to do buffer reading of content from a web response stream, and doing so using the Async CTP's ReadAsync and WriteAsync eases a lot the writing of that kind of code. (Also, the Rx example does not work correctly, but I'll talk about that later in this post.)
These two functions are not tied to the complexity of the BeginRead/EndRead, and behave very much like an IObservable would. Call ReadAsync, you get a Task and wait on it.
Let's jump to the end result and we can get this with Rx based composed operators, using methods symilar to the ReadAsync and GetResponseAsync :
string url = "http://www.microsoft.com";
var webRequest = WebRequest.Create(url);
.SelectMany(wr => wr.GetResponseStream().ToBytes())
b => Console.WriteLine(Encoding.Default.GetString(b))
That way, it is a lot easier to read. ToResponse maps to GetResponseAsync and ToBytes maps to ReadAsync.
I'll concede the complexity of the SelectMany operator that is related to the fact that IObservable deals with sequences (the duality with IEnumerable). What we would need is more like a IObservableValue that returns only one value. At that point, an appropriate operator would be something like SelectOne, but that's an other topic I'll discuss soon.
This one is easy, and is pretty much an encapsulation of the code provided in Mike's Rx example :
public static IObservable ToResponse(this WebRequest request)
var asyncGetResponse = Observable.FromAsyncPattern(
request.BeginGetResponse, request.EndGetResponse);
return Observable.Defer(asyncGetResponse);
The use of defer allows the execution of the actual call to GetResponse when someone is subscribing to the deffered observable.
That one is a bit tricker :
public static IObservable ToBytes(this Stream stream)
observer =>
byte[] buffer = new byte[24];
var obsReadFactory = Observable.Defer(() => stream.AsReader()(buffer, 0, buffer.Length));
return Observable
.Select(i => buffer.Take(i).ToArray())
// Subscribe on the thread pool, otherwise the repeat operator will operate during the
// call to subscribe, preventing the whole expression to complete properly
_ =>
if (_.Length > 0)
and needs a bit of explaining.
The ToBytes extension is creating a Observable that will be able to control finely the OnNext/OnCompleted events, especially because of the loopy nature of the BeginRead API. Loopy means that in a synchronous mode, you needs to call Read through a loop until you get all you need. The BeginRead/EndRead still expose this loopy nature, but in an asynchronous way.
With Rx, that loop can be introduced with the use of Repeat, the same way a while(true) would do.
The Select operator is pretty straightforward, even if it may not be as fast as a Buffer.BlockCopy, it's pretty conscise.
The SubscribeOn is the tricky part of this method, and is very important for the OnCompleted events to get through. If this operator is not present, the call to the ToBytes method blocks in the Subscribe of the SelectMany operator in the final example. This means that events like OnCompleted get buffered and not interpreted, and the repeat operator will continue indefinitely to turns into loops getting nothing, because noone's unsubscribing. This would be CPU consuming, and memory consuming because the observable expression could not get dispose.
Then in the subscribe, we notify the observer that either there's a new buffer, or that we're done because the EndRead method returned 0 (or an exception).
All this to say that the .NET 5.0 (or whatever it will be called) has a Task friendly BCL that makes it easy to write asynchronous code.
I'm definitely not saying that Rx is as easy as Async will be, but, with a minimum of understanding and abstraction, it can be as powerful and even more powerful because of its ability to compose observables.
Now, for the issues in Mike's Rx sample :
The sample actually shows something, but the CPU will stay at 100% until the process ends.
Asynchrony is a complex topic, very easy to get wrong, even with the best intentions. Parallelism is even more complex (and don't get me started on the lock() keyword).
I'm expecting that People are going to have a hard time grasping it, and I'm worried that Async will make it too easy to make parallelism (not asynchrony this time) mistakes, because it is will be easy to introduce mutating states in the loop, hence hard to reproduce transitory states bugs. Calling "new Thread()" was scary, and for good reasons, but using await will not, but with mostly the same bad consequences.
I'd rather have better support for immutable structures method or class purity and some more functional concepts baked into C#, where the language makes it harder to make mistakes, than trying to bend (or abstract) asynchrony to make it work with the current state of C#.
Then again, I'm not saying Rx is better, it's trying to work around the fact that the BCL and C# 3.0 don't have asynchrony baked in, so the complexity argument still stands.
On the other side, the more developers use Async, the more developers will need async savvy consultants as firemen :)
The Reactive Extensions have been included in Windows Phone 7, which comes out of the box, and that you can include the Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.dll assembly.
This is a good thing, because it participates in the democratization of the Rx framework, and aside from the fact that the namespace is not exactly the same as the desktop version, Microsoft.Phone.Reactive instead of System.Concurrency and System.Linq, there were no major bugs until recently.
A few applications I've worked on that use the Rx framework, a very interesting unhandled exception was popping-up from time to time in my exception tracker. Unlike the double tap issue I found the same way on my Remote Control application, that one was a bit more tricky, see for yourself :
Exception : System.NullReferenceException: NullReferenceException at Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.CurrentThreadScheduler.Trampoline.Run()at Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.CurrentThreadScheduler.EnsureTrampoline(Action action)at Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.AnonymousObservable`1.Subscribe(IObserver`1 observer)at Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.ObservableExtensions.Subscribe[TSource](IObservable`1 source, Action`1 onNext, Action`1 onError, Action onCompleted) at Microsoft.Phone.Reactive.ObservableExtensions.Subscribe[TSource](IObservable`1 source, Action`1 onNext)
This exception popped-up out of nowhere, without anything from the caller that would make that "Trampoline" method fail. No actual parameter passed to the Subscribe method was null, I made sure of that by using a precondition for calling Subscribe.
Well, it turns out that it's actually a bug that is related to the use of the infamous not-supported-but-silent ThreadStaticAttribute, for which I've had to work around to make umbrella work properly on Windows Phone 7.
The lack of a Thread Local Storage creates a concurrency issue around a priority queue that is kept by the CurrentThreadScheduler to perform delayed operations. The system wide queue was accessed by multiple threads at the same time, creating random NullReferenceExceptions.
This means that any call to the Subscribe method may have failed if an other call to that same method was being made at the same time.
In short, do not use the bundled version of Rx in Windows Phone 7 (as of NoDo), but prefer using the latest release from the DevLabs, which does not have this nasty bug.
Cet article est disponible en francais.
Recently, I wrote an article about WinForms, DataBinding and Updates from multiple threads, where I showed how to externalize the execution of event handler code on the UI thread.
I used a technique based on Action<Action> that takes advantage of closures, and the fact that an action will carry its context down to the point where it is executed. All this with no strings attached.
This concept of externalization can be revisited with the Reactive Extensions, and the IScheduler interface.
But let's get right to the original code sample :
public MyController(Action<Action> synchronousInvoker) { _synchronousInvoker = synchronousInvoker; ... }
This code is the constructor of the controller for my form, and the synchronous invoker action will take something like this :
_controller = new MyController(a => Invoke(a));
And the invoker lambda is used like this :
Where Invoke is actually Control.Invoke(), used to execute code on the UI Thread where updates to the UI controls can be safely executed.
While the Action<Action> trick is working just fine in acheiving the isolation of concerns, it is not very obvious just by looking at the constructor signature what you are supposed to pass to it.
To be able to abstract the location used to execute the content of Reactive operators, the Rx team introduced the concept of Scheduler, with a bunch of default scheduler implementations.
It basically exposes an abstracted way for users of the IScheduler instance to schedule the execution of a method in the specific way defined by the scheduler. In our case, we want to execute our handler code on the WinForms message pump, and "there's a scheduler for that".
The sample can be easily updated to use the IScheduler instead of the Action<Action> delegate, and make use of the IScheduler.Schedule() method.
public MyController(ISheduler scheduler) { _scheduler = scheduler; ... }
And replace the call by :
Not a very complex modification, but it is far more readable.
And we can use the provided scheduler for the Winforms, the yet undocumented System.Concurrency.ControlScheduler which is not in the Scheduler class because it cannot be created statically and requires a Control instance :
_controller = new MyController(new ControlScheduler(this));
where this is an instance of a control.
This is much better, and for the unit testing of the Controller, you can easily use the System.Concurrency.CurrentThreadScheduler, because you don't need to switch threads in this context.
In a very strange move, the WP7 team moved the IScheduler class from System.Concurrency to the very specific Microsoft.Phone.Reactive namespace.
I do not quite understand the change of namespace, and it makes code that used to compile easily on both platforms not compatible.
Maybe they considered the Reactive Extensions implementation for Windows Phone too different from the desktop implementation... But the compact framework was built around that assertion, and most of the common code stays in the same namespaces.
If someone has an explanation for that strange refactoring, I'm listening :)
In other words, it is not supported !
And the worst in all this is that you don't even get warned that it's not supported... The code compiles, but the attribute has no effect at all ! Granted that you can read the msdn article about the differences between silverlight on Windows and Windows Phone, but well, you may still miss it. Maybe a custom code analysis rule could prevent this.
Still, you want to use ThreadStatic because you probably need it, somehow. But since it is not supported, you could try the Thread.GetNamedDataSlot, mind you.
Well, too bad. It's not supported either.
That leaves us implementing or own TLS implementation, by hand...
I'm a big fan of Umbrella, and the first time I had to use Dictionary<>.TryGetValue and its magically aweful out parameter in my attempt to rewrite my Remote Control app for Windows Phone 7, I decided to port Umbrella to it. So I could use GetValueOrDefault without rewriting it, again.
I managed to get almost all the desktop unit tests to pass, except for those who emit code, use web features, use xml and binary serializers, call private methods using reflection, and so on.
There are a few parts where the code needed to be updated, because TypeDescriptor class is not available on WP7, you have to crash and burn to see if a value is convertible from one type to the other. But that's not too bad, it works as expected.
Umbrella has this nice ThreadLocalSource class that wraps the TLS behavior, and you can easily create a static variable of that type instead of the ThreadStatic static variable.
The Umbrella quick start samples make that kind of use for it :
ISource<int> threadLocal = new ThreadLocalSource<int>(1);
int valueOnOtherThread = 0;
Thread thread = new Thread(() => valueOnOtherThread = threadLocal.Value);
Assert.Equal(1, threadLocal.Value);
Assert.Equal(0, valueOnOtherThread);
The main thread set the value to 1, and the other thread tries to get the same value from the other thread and it should be different (the default value of an int, which is 0).
The TLS in .NET is basically a dictionary of string/object pairs that is attached to each running threads. So, to mimic this, we just need to make a list of all threads that want to store something for themselves and wrap it nicely.
We can create a variable of this type :
private static Tuple<WeakReference, IDictionary<string, T>>[] _tls;
That variable is intentionally an array to try to make use of memory spacial locality, and since on that platform we won't get a lot of threads, this should be fine when we got through the array to find one. This approach is trying to be lockless, by using a retry mechanism to update the array. The WeakReference is used to avoid keeping a reference to the thread after it has been terminated.
So, to update the array, we can do as follows :
private static IDictionary<string, T> GetValuesForThread(Thread thread)
// Find the TLS for the specified thread
var query = from entry in _tls
// Only get threads that are still alive
let t = entry.T.Target as Thread
// Get the requested thread
where t != null && t == thread
select entry.U;
var localStorage = query.FirstOrDefault();
if (localStorage == null)
bool success = false;
// The storage for the new Thread
localStorage = new Dictionary<string, T>();
// store the original array so we can check later if there has not
// been anyone that has updated the array at the same time we did
var originalTls = _tls;
var newTls = new List<Tuple<WeakReference, IDictionary<string, T>>>();
// Add the slots for which threads references are still alive
newTls.AddRange(_tls.Where(t => t.T.IsAlive));
var newSlot = new Tuple<WeakReference, IDictionary<string, T>>()
T = new WeakReference(thread),
U = localStorage
// If no other thread has changed the array, replace it.
success = Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _tls, newTls.ToArray(), originalTls) != _tls;
return localStorage;
Instead of the array, another dictionary could be created but I'm not sure of the actual performance improvement that would provide, particularly for very small arrays.
Using a lockless approach like this one will most likely limit the contention around the use of that TLS-like class. There may be, from time to time, computations that are performed multiple times in case of race conditions on the update of the _tls array, but that is completely acceptable. Additionally, livelocks are also out of the picture on that kind of preemptive systems.
I think developing on that platform is going to be fully of little workarounds like this one... This is going to be fun !
Last week, Microsoft released the Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tool Extensions, which includes a lot of features that probably should have made it to the VS2010 RTM, but somehow did not.
A must install, really. Just for the fixed Add Reference dialog that includes a search filter. A big time saver.
But there's also an other feature, the Ctrl+Click Go to Definition that allows to go to the definition with a single left click (the F12 key in the default keyboard bindings).
If you're like me, you may be lazy enough to let the text editor select complete words and you're probably using Ctrl + left lick to select words so you don't have to aim too much with the mouse pointer. That particular Power Tools feature conflicts directly with it and you end up constantly going to the definition of types when you want to select text... And that's pretty annoying.
There does not seem to be a way to disable that feature from the IDE, so you may well disable it the hard way :
Have fun :)
I upgraded recently a WSS 3.0 Farm to Sharepoint Foundation 2010, I tought I'd share some of notes and pitfalls I found during the upgrade.
My setup is built around two Windows Server 2008 R2 64 Bits VMs hosted on Hyper-V Server R2, one VM for the frontend, one for the Database (SQL Server 2008 SP1 64 Bits) and the Search Server Express.
Having the setup built on Hyper-V saved me a great deal of time, primarily by the use of snapshots taken at the same time on both machines. This helped a lot to be able to experiment directly on the production system during an expected downtime for the users.
The snapshots allow a trial and error process that lead to a somehow "perfect" environment where mistakes can be reversed pretty easily. Ugrading using this snapshot technique is however pratical only with enough disk space and a reasonable content database size depending on the physical hardware.
Here are the steps I followed to perform the upgrade :
That's the easy part, where updates do not impact the running farm.
I took a snapshot of both VMs at this point.
You may want to read information on this on technet, which is very extensive.
Now, the Sharepoint upgrade :
Now, I did perform the "Attach/detach" procedure because it can be performed in parallel on multiple farms if the content databases are huge, and on my production setup, the in-place upgrade did not work properly. The images libraries where not upgraded properly (images where not displayed), and the default pages did not render properly for some obscure reason.
You'll find the the wiki editor has been greatly enhanced, and you'll find it even more powerful when you select the "Convert to XHTML" option in the html menu of the ribbon. The original pages were using the very loose HTML 4.0, which does not seem to work very well.
Other than that, everything else works very fine in this area.
I had a few discussion boards that had issues with the view of individual conversations using the threaded view. The conversation were defaulted to the default "subject" view, which is not applicable to view single threads. To fix this, make a new "subject" view and delete the previous one the normal behavior will come back.
Happy SharePointing ! Now I can go back to my Immutability and F# stuff :)
After an intense (and long) process of certification of my remote control application on the Windows Phone MarketPlace, the app has been accepted !
You can find the app on the MarketPlace, and it is simply called "Remote Control" for PowerPoint. The application has been published in the US English market for now, and if you're not in the US, just choose the US English in the "World View" at the bottom.
The published app is only a sort of test run for me, and only has the capability to control PowerPoint. I'll be adding more controllable applications in the future, depending on the market reception of the app.
As I previous said in this blog, here are the new features and enhancement of this new version :
The US English market is the only available market, for now. Other markets are still waiting to be approved, and will be :
The french part certification is somewhat obscure for me, and I expecting certification surprises...
I'll also add Portugese and Spanish version in a near future.
If you were waiting for this new version, visit http://jaylee.org/rc and please let me know what you think !
If you're trying out Visual Studio 2010, and you try to open source code file with the "Solution Explorer", you might encounter a nice exception like this one :
--------------------------- Microsoft Visual Studio --------------------------- Object reference not set to an instance of an object. --------------------------- OK ---------------------------
That could not be more vague..
After a small debugger analysis, it seems like VS2010 does not support TrueType fonts, but does not prevent their selection in the font selection dialog.
I was using "Proggy Opti Small" with VS2008, which is not TrueType... So to be able to open you source files, use a font like Consolas, and restart VS2010.
A bug report exists on Connect.
My name is Jerome Laban, I am a Software Architect, C# MVP and .NET enthustiast from Montréal, QC. You will find my blog on this site, where I'm adding my thoughts on current events, or the things I'm working on, such as the Remote Control for Windows Phone.
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text:
September 19, 1922 - July 28, 2013
Port Jervis, NY
Lucy A. Pedlock, age 90, of Port Jervis, NY, passed away Sunday, July 28, 2013, at St. Joseph's Place, Port Jervis.
She was born on September 19, 1922 in Port Jervis, the daughter of the late Arnold and Hazel Ellis Krause.
Lucy retired as an assembler from Kolmar Labs, Inc., in Port Jervis. She is a faithful member of St. Mary's R.C. Church, Port Jervis, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Madonna #114, Port Jervis, and the Deerpark Seniors.
Lucy married Stephen P. Pedlock, who predeceased her.
She is survived by her two daughters: Beverly Cordisco and her husband, Richard of Port Jervis, and Christine Onofry and her husband, Craig, Ed.D of Bluffton, SC; her three grandchildren: Dominic Cordisco, Esq. and his wife, Amy, Brian Onofry, Esq., Diane Onofry-Ford and her husband, David F. II, Esq.; three great-grandchildren: Rocco Cordisco, Leighton and John Ford. Lucy was predeceased by her sister, Virginia Montgomery.
Friends may call Thursday, August 1st, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home, Inc., 154 E. Main St., Port Jervis, NY. Catholic Daughters will conduct services at 12:45 p.m. at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 1:30 p.m. at St. Mary's R.C. Church, 46 Ball St., Port Jervis, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Madonna, #114, PO Box 208, Port Jervis, NY 12771 or to St. Mary's R.C. Church, 46 Ball St., Port Jervis, NY 12771.
Arrangements are by the Knight-Auchmoody Funeral Home, Inc., 154 East Main St., Port Jervis, NY; for information, directions, or to send a condolence note to the family, visit knight-auchmoody.com


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The process of buying a new Acura car or truck can seem overwhelming if you don't know where to begin. Edmunds.com can get you started on the right track with a convenient directory of Acura car dealerships in and around Watertown, Minnesota. Compare online price quotes on the new or used car, truck, SUV, minivan, or wagon of your choice to locate the best deals. Edmunds.com makes it easy to find trusted Acura car dealers in Watertown, saving car buyers time and money on what will be an important purchase.
Non Display Review Name "We recently purchased a 2016 Acura MDX with about 5,000 miles from Buerkle Acura and were very pleased with our experience. My wife and I had a small"... Read more Review by: KyloRen


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After several days of bad press, AT&T has finally issued an official response to the phantom 4G speeds that customers have been complaining about on the new Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G. AT&T customer Keith Geissler filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Texas and he received the following response…
AT&T Mobility (AT&T) received the above-referenced customer complaint and appreciates the opportunity to respond. Specifically, Keith Geissler complains that the recently released Motorola Atrix does not offer speeds anywhere near what advertised speeds claim. He is requesting activation of 4G services and removal of the cap on the Motorola Atrix services.
Account research regarding this complaint shows that AT&T is focused on delivering a wide choice of solutions and the best possible Smartphone experience to our customers. Be assured that AT&T has not "capped" the upload speeds on the ATRIX. The ATRIX is a HSUPA-capable device, and we currently are performing the testing and preparations necessary to ensure that, when we turn this feature on, you will continue to have a world class experience.
We ask that you please keep in mind; software is only one of many factors that can affect speeds experienced. Factors such as location, time of day, network capacity and facilities, can have an impact as well. Again, in order to ensure the best possible customer experience services will become available once testing has been completed.Sheila UtechAT&T Customer Appeals Manager
The letter states that AT&T has not "capped" the upload speeds of their phones, even though all Android phones are limited to around 300 kbps uploads. However, it does appear that they admit High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) is disabled on the Atrix 4G (and other devices).
AT&T says they are "performing the testing and preparations neccessary" to ensure customers will have a good experience when they "turn this feature on."
We know that most of AT&T's Android devices support HSUPA, so they should all see a speed boost whenever it is enabled via an over the air software update. Customers with a 3G iPhone are able to achieve much faster mobile broadband speeds than newer 4G phones because AT&T has no control over the iPhone firmware (and Apple has enabled HSUPA).
There is no telling when AT&T will "turn on" the faster speeds for their 4G devices, but given their track record with Android software updates it could be a couple of months. I've seen a lot of Atrix owners complaining that they want this fixed before their 30-day refund window closes, but it doesn't look like that will happen.
A response from the @ATT Twitter account reads, "If you aren't happy with your device and it's within 30 days of purchase, we'd be happy to let you return it."
[Thanks Zack for the tip]


text:
eVGA e-GeForce 6800 GT Video Card Review
Introduction and Card Layout
Since the release of the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series back in April of this year you might have found it difficult to purchase one of these often hyped video cards. My trips to CompUSA and Best Buy retail stores have been less than exciting when it comes to either ATI X800 or NVIDIA 6800 cards, and I am betting the same is true for you where you live. Online e-tailers are really the only ones that gave you a glimmer of hope at getting one, and even then your chances were slim and you were bound to pay way over the manufacturer's retail price suggesiton. Such is life when living on the edge of computing performance.
Over the past week or so, 6800 GTs from BFG, XFX, and eVGA have started to show up in numbers on the online scene. (Click here for prices on all three.) eVGA sent us a retail version of their card for evaluation and just in time for the Doom 3 launch in less than two weeks.
Card Images and Layout
eVGA supplies the buyer of their 6800 GT card an S-Video cable for TV-out use, a 4-pin molex power splitter, a DVI-to-VGA adapter, drivers, manual, and a full version of FarCry! Almost a must have game for this year, which will save you $40 on the purchase at least if you don't already own the game. If you do, this would make a nice gift to a lonely friend. :)
I am sure you'll recognize this card layout -- it's the same as the reference card we reviewed at the beginning of May when ATI released their X800 series onto the scene. The image on the heatsink is left unchanged, even from the more recent reference cards from NVIDIA, with the only noticeable difference being the eVGA sticker on the fan.
Again, this is reference design and the only addition is the eVGA product sticker.
The card has one VGA output, one DVI output, and one S-Video output. With the included DVI-to-AGP adapter you can use a dual monitor setup quite easily with the NVIDIA drivers having great support for more than one display. The 6800 GT only requires a single power connector as opposed to the dual-power connectors needed on the Ultra version. Because of that, users with smaller power supplies and those looking to upgade their SFF graphics will be using the 6800 GT cards.
The ensemble drama about young adults growing up in Beverly Hills is a blend of romantic drama and subject matter that crosses all cultural boundaries. The storyline has followed the Walsh family as they moved from a middle-class Midwestern neighborhood to wealthy and glamorous Beverly Hills, maturing from high school to college students, facing new challenges as they continue to grow and discover more about themselves and their personal ambitions. As their worlds evolve, old friendships will be tested as new relationships develop, but no matter how complicated their worlds become, they will always share in their strengths and experiences.
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NEW YORK, August 15, 2012 – Summer may be coming to an end, but COMEDY
CENTRAL is riding the heat wave into the fall! This autumn, the network will premiere a sizzling
hot line-up of hilarious new series and specials as well as returning favorites including: the return
of brand hits ("Tosh.0," "Key & Peele," "South Park" and "Gabriel Iglesias
Presents Stand-Up Revolution"); the debut of a new animated series from Daniel Tosh ("Brickleberry") and a unique new half-hour stand-up
series hosted by T.J. Miller (Mash Up); live election night coverage from everyone's favorite fake
news anchors ("The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" Live Election Night Coverage); the
fourth collaboration between COMEDY CENTRAL, Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions and The New York Center
For Autism for the biennial benefit for Autism education programs ("Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes
Together for Autism Programs") and brand new one-hour stand-up specials from Demetri Martin, Jeff Dunham, D.L. Hughley, Chris Hardwick and Russell Peters.
Tosh.0" (Fall Season Premiere)
September 25 at 10:00 p.m.
Daniel Tosh is back to break down the vast field of twarties,
vlogs, hashtags, and deluded YouTube sensations for your viewing pleasure. Tune in for a brand new
season of Tosh's takes on the online universe.
"Brickleberry" (Series Premiere)
September 25 at 10:30 p.m.
In the series premiere of the animated half-hour series,
Brickleberry National Park is facing closure, but not if the park's dysfunctional park rangers can
help it! Steve has been "Ranger of the Month" every month for years, so he feels threatened when
Ethel is transferred from Yellowstone National Park to help whip the park into shape. Connie and
Denzel are two unique rangers that each bring special skills (or in Denzel's case, lack of skills) to
the job, and Woody is the hapless Head Ranger who puts nothing above his beloved park, except his
adopted bear cub, Malloy. Tune in to see the crazy bunch of park rangers as they do their worst to
keep the park running in this new animated series created, written and executive produced by Waco
O'Guin (MTV2's "Stankervision") and Roger Black (MTV2's "Stankervision") and executive produced by
Daniel Tosh ("Tosh.0").
"South Park" (Fall
Season Premiere)
Wednesday, September 26 at 10:00 p.m.
"South Park's" super sweet
16th season continues with another batch of all new episodes. Last season Kyle, Stan, Cartman and
Kenny refused to let a meme die, searched for the Jewpacabra, and experienced the horrors of
ziplining. Tune in to see what everyone's favorite foul-mouthed fourth graders get into this season
Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m.
Peele" (Season 2 Premiere)
Wednesday, September 26 at 10:30 p.m.
This fall the
hit sketch-comedy show "Key & Peele" returns for season two on COMEDY CENTRAL. Keegan-Michael Key
and Jordan Peele, two lively comedic actor-writers used to being on the outside looking in, examine
life in a provocative and irreverent way, through a combination of filmed sketches and live stage segments. Whether it's satirizing the President, spoofing musical acts, or introducing Mary Magdalene's pimp, "Key & Peele" showcases their chemistry, camaraderie and unique point of view, born from their shared background and experiences growing up biracial in a not quite post-racial world.
"Gabriel Iglesias is back at it and taking over
the Ft. Lauderdale Improv with his funniest friends for the second season of "Gabriel Iglesias
Presents Stand-Up Revolution." Iglesias opens each of the six episodes with all-new material,
introducing several stand-up guests throughout each show. Comedian and long-time friend Martin
Moreno returns as the show announcer, and guest commentator and three-time Grammy® award winners
Ozomatli are also back to rock the house. Keep the party going and make it loud with Fluffy and
friends Thursday nights this fall on COMEDY CENTRAL.
"Night of Too Many Stars: America
Comes Together for Autism Programs" (Fourth Biennial Event)
Sunday, October 21 at 9:00
COMEDY CENTRAL has once again joined forces with Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions and
the New York Center for Autism for its fourth biennial special event, "Night of Too Many Stars:
America Comes Together for Autism Programs." Taping on Saturday, October 13 from the Beacon Theatre
in New York City, the benefit for Autism programs will feature Stewart hosting an evening filled with
live performances, sketches and short films from a roster of comedy all-stars. This year's event
will premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL on Sunday, October 21 with additional live wrap-arounds featuring a
celebrity phone bank, allowing viewers to call in during the airing to donate and speak with comedic
and celebrity heavyweights.
Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" Live Election
Night Coverage
Tuesday, November 6
"The Daily Show" from 10:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. ET
(7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. PT)
"The Colbert Report" from 10:30 p.m. – 11:10 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. – 8:00
p.m. PT).
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" will once again televise
live on election night. On Tuesday, November 6 fans can tune in to COMEDY CENTRAL for live primetime
coverage of the 2012 Presidential Election. Host Jon Stewart and The Best F#@king News Team
(correspondents Samantha Bee, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, Al Madrigal, Aasif Mandvi, John Oliver and Jessica Williams) will be on hand
to provide the quality news coverage fans have come to be crushed by from 10:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. ET
(7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. PT) and Stephen Colbert will be preaching truthiness from 10:30 p.m. – 11:00
p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT). With start times of 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., the special
episodes of the award-winning news parodies will air well before most polls have closed and
incorporate many commercial interruptions, so as to avoid any appearance of complete
"Mash Up" (Series Premiere)
Tuesday, October 9 at 12:30
"Mash Up" is a unique new half-hour stand-up series – an exciting mix of stand-up,
sketch comedy, and visualizations, hosted by T.J.
Miller. Featuring stand-up performances from a host of comedians including Chris Hardwick, Hannibal Buress, Chris D'Elia, Pete Holmes, and Reggie Watts, Mash Up bolsters the sets with
stylized recreations of the jokes being said on stage. Tune in to check out this exciting new series
and catch some high profile special guests.
Martin. Standup Comedian" (COMEDY CENTRAL Original World Premiere)
Saturday, September 29 at 10:00 p.m.
Demetri Martin is back on COMEDY CENTRAL to tell
jokes while standing up, with his easel in tow. Filmed at the Skirball Center for the Performing
Arts in New York City, the world premiere of Martin's second one-hour special features more of what
fans love about his signature style – sly observations on cultural norms, sayings, customs and
conventions, bolstered by his signature illustrations, diagrams and charts.
"Jeff Dunham:
Minding the Monsters:" (World Premiere)
Sunday, October 7 at 9:00 p.m.
Worldwide comedy sensation Jeff Dunham will
debut his fifth comedy special, "Minding the Monsters," on COMEDY CENTRAL just in time for Halloween.
Join Walter, Peanut, Bubba J, Jose Jalape±o (on a STEEK!), and Achmed the Dead Terrorist as they've
never been seen before! Enter the ultimate haunted house where Walter transforms into something
grumpier than he already is, beer-swilling redneck Bubba J rises from the dead, Peanut becomes his
alter ego, The Purple Avenger of the Night, and Achmed dresses to kill in an outfit that would
terrify even the most terrifying terrorist. In "Minding the Monsters," Dunham's phenomenally
successful comedy to is taken to a whole new level that's so funny it's scary!
Hughley: The Endangered List" (COMEDY CENTRAL Original World Premiere)
Saturday, October
27 at 11:00 p.m.
D.L. Hughley embarks on
a mission to get the black man classified as an endangered species. In the world premiere of this
one-hour special, Hughley crisscrosses the country to examine the state of the black man. From
gang-bangers in South Central to black farmers in Tennessee to white supremacists in Michigan, he
collects his evidence to present his case to lawmakers in Washington DC – that is, if he doesn't get
thrown out first. From Daily Show producers Timothy Greenberg, Miles Kahn, and Stuart
"Chris Hardwick: Mandroid" (COMEDY CENTRAL Original World Premiere)
The Nerdist himself, Russell Peters brings his wry
observational style to the O2 Arena in London for the world premiere of his first original one-hour
Available on-air, online and on-the-go, COMEDY CENTRAL (www.cc.com) is the #1 brand in comedy and is owned by, and is a
registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIAB). For up-to-the-minute and
archival press information and photographs visit COMEDY CENTRAL's press Web site at www.cc.com/press and follow us on Twitter @ComedyCentralPR for the latest in breaking news
updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) is home to the
world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across
television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in more than 160 countries and territories.
With approximately 170 media networks reaching more than 600 million global subscribers, Viacom's
leading brands include MTV, VH1,
CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, Spike TV and Tr3s. Paramount Pictures,
America's oldest film studio and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today
as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio
of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for
entertainment, community and casual online gaming. For more information about Viacom and its
businesses, visit www.viacom.com.
Eve Kenny
*All Times ET/PT


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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon House voted Thursday to rewrite the ballot title for a referendum to restore driving privileges for people who can't prove they're legally in the United States, taking the rare step of throwing out language written by the attorney general.
Ballot titles are intended to provide a brief, neutral description of a measure. They're regarded as crucial information for swing voters or those who haven't done homework on an issue.
The Legislature voted last year to grant driving privileges, with some restrictions, to people who can't prove their legal presence. Critics collected signatures to refer the measure, and it will appear on the ballot in November.
Lawmakers pushing to rewrite the ballot title say the attorney general's description doesn't reflect their motives for approving the bill. They're pushing for a ballot title that doesn't refer to legal presence.
Opponents say it's a dangerous precedent to shortcut a longstanding process for ballot summaries. The attorney general's ballot title has been appealed to the state Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled.
"What we're doing today is like a rigged game of blackjack, where the house changes the rules in the middle of the game," said Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, who was among the chief petitioners seeking a referendum.
The attorney general's ballot title says the measure "provides Oregon resident 'driver card' without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States."
The Legislature's language would make no reference to the change in requirements for drivers' immigration status, saying only that the measure "establishes limited purpose, duration driver card for individuals who prove Oregon residency, meet driving requirements."
One reference to drivers' legal presence would appear in an official summary of the measure that appears in the voters' pamphlet, but it would not appear on the ballot.
Proponents of the change say it's needed because the attorney general's language doesn't reflect the Legislature's intention to improve roadway safety by ensuring that people on the road are licensed and insured.
"We are here today to make sure that voters have accuracy in the information they will receive," said Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson of Portland, a Democrat who sponsored the original driver's license bill.
The House's 36-24 vote sends the measure to the Senate.
The Legislature last threw out a certified ballot title in 2002, though proponents point out that lawmakers frequently change the ballot title process for measures that originate in the Legislature. Most often, that has involved appointing a committee to draft the ballot title.


text: Sprint Car Driver Jesse Hockett lost his life yesterday afternoon results of injuries suffered in an accident in his race shop in Warsaw, Missouri. According to Lonnie Wheatley from the American Sprint Car Series, which is a 360 sprint car series that Hockett regularly raced in, Hockett was electrocuted while preparing his trailer for a three-day race weekend. The events he was scheduled to race at were…the USAC event in Terre Haute, Indiana tonight, weekly action in Sedalia, Missouri tomorrow, and the A-S-C-S series stop in Jetmore, Kansas Saturday and Sunday. Hockett was a contender for the non wing Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits title this season as he trailed Shane Stewart by just three points heading into this weekend. Hockett just recently raced in Knoxville in the 360 division during a weekly show two weeks ago, and is coming off the most successful weekend of his career this past weekend with three wins in three nights at Sedalia, Lake Ozark and Double X. He also won last year's Ultimate Challenge Non Winged race at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa . Jesse Hockett was 26 years old and was just recently married to his wife Tina Marie.


text:
|Manany Gurruwiwi
|Mulkun Wirrpanda
|Bottom End:
|Eucalyptus Stringybark
Yidaki is the Aboriginal word for didgeridoo in Eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. These days, the word Yidaki is applied to traditional didgeridoos that are made by Yolngu people that often have distinct differences, acoustically and structurally, that set them apart from standard didgeridoos.
They are often decorated with natural earth pigments (ochres) that represent special clan designs and motifs. Natural mouthpieces are quite common along with the use of sugarbag wax from the native bee.
Yidakis represent the highest level of cultural integrity with respect to the didgeridoo- being made by the traditional owners and custodians of the instrument in an unbroken tradition that spans hundreds and perhaps thousands of years.
Our traditional instruments are sourced from the Buku Larrngay Mulka Aboriginal community art centre in North- East Arnhem Land under the guidance of Yidaki expert Jeremy Cloake
He currently sources all our traditional instruments. These are meticulously hand picked for their artistic and sound qualities, field collected and properly documented with cultural integrity a priority. Many of these instruments have cultural significance and represent truly collectable pieces from some of best know traditional craftsmen.
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-Attila from Hungary
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About Polar
Find a Location
- Major brands of tank trailer parts
- Major brands of components
- Regional and nationwide carriers
- 33 locations nationwide
Voice of The CustomerPolar often hears from clients in the bulk transportation industry who appreciate the quality of our tank trailers, truck tanks and customer service. Here are several testimonials from satisfied Polar customers. Also visit our Case Studies to read more from our customers.
Service is great. Polar has locations in many areas where we travel, so if necessary the trailers can get the attention and service they need if they're away from our own shops. It minimizes downtime while making sure our equipment is properly repaired or maintained on schedule.
Our Polar equipment enhances our reputation as a premier operation. Our tank trucks and trailers are the Cadillac of the industry. There's more hard piping, fewer connections, fewer hoses, ground-level vapor recovery, and curbside pump controls. New trailers include Bendix roll stability controls and central tire inflation. Simply put, we pride ourselves on having the best equipment on the road.
The expertise and cooperation we got working with Polar has helped us deliver a quality product, on time, all season.
Customers notice and appreciate it when you're taking steps to get better fuel economy. When we sat down and said fuel efficiency is a priority for us, Polar came up with a response that'll be good for anyone who's running dry bulk trailers and trying to manage their fuel costs.


text: I was at Folsom lake nearest Cavit Stallman teaching a friend how to fly a trainer and I noticed someone out on the water flying a blue and white kite out on the water. They probably were flying out of granite bay as far as I can tell. Does anyone know who this person was?


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THEY were precious gifts from a grieving mum still trying to come to terms with the death of her first child.
Kate Rainscourt had been finding comfort in leaving toys and colourful flowers at the grave of her baby Charlie, who was stillborn less than a year ago.
But in the space of three weeks, thieves have struck twice at Holly Hill Cemetery in Sarisbury – removing a teddy bear, a plastic digger and colourful plastic flowers.
The theft has been described as "sickening" by one of Hampshire's top politicians.
Police have already launched an investigation and want witnesses to come forward.
Kate has been left devastated by the crime – and wants to warn others that thieves may be operating in the area.
The 33-year-old, of Cornflower Close, Locks Heath, said: "We went to the grave three weeks ago and the teddy was missing. At first we thought an animal might have taken it away.
"But then we went back again and more items had gone.
"To the person who is doing this, I would say 'Please stop and put the items back'. They are only simple things but that is not the point.
"We left a plastic digger there because we wanted him to have it like any other child might. Leaving it there was the only way to give our son a gift."
Charlie was stillborn when Kate was just 26 weeks pregnant, in August last year. Since then she and husband Dan have made regular visits to the cemetery, in Barnes Lane.
Kate added: "It still feels like yesterday that we lost Charlie. He was our first child and to think that somebody would want to steal these things is horrible."
Fareham Borough Council's executive leader Sean Woodward said such incidents were rare at Holly Hill, which had proved such a well-loved cemetery that it was now full.
He added: "It just sounds one of the most sickening crimes. This is extremely unusual and an utterly pointless theft."
A police spokesman said: "We will be investigating it and are appealing for anyone who might have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area to come forward and assist us with out enquiries."
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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If you would have told me, oh say, 20 years ago that I'd be looking for crafting advice from Tori Spelling... there would have been some serious eye-rolling! But times are a-changin'! Our fave 90210 starlet, author, and mom to three (almost four!) adorable kiddos is a bonafide crafting queen. We asked the Craft Wars star to share an idea, and lucky for us (and you) it's one that involves super stylish tees that are sure to earn your kiddo kudos on the playground. Check out these steps for some tie-dye fabulousness, perfect for Saturday (or any day!) fun. Check out her website for more craft ideas and tutorials.
Do you have any cool crafts of your own to share? Post them on Instagram and tag me @sabrinajames. You never know... you could be our next craft star!
Tie-Dye T-Shirt Craft
Before you dye anything, you should wash it so that the color stays and so that the sizing is correct. Once you've done that, you can really get started.
1. Lay a shirt out flat and fold it left to right like an accordion, and then twist it tight and tie it off with tight, tight rubber bands. Depending on the design you want to attain there are many creative folding and tying options. This craft will make horizontal lines on the shirt.
2. Prepare your dye according to the directions on the box or bottle.
3. Start dyeing! If you're doing more than one color, it's good to start with the lightest color first so that you can dye over it, but if you're only using one color, just dive right in!
And voila!
To enhance the design, you can cut out and adhere some lace flowers on the shirt with fabric glue.
PS: How cute do Tori's kids look in their tie-dye? Adorbs!


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http://espn.go.com/nfl/insider/story/_/ ... season-nfl
How struggling Falcons can salvage season
2d - NFL ATLANTA FALCONS
ESPN NFL Insider Louis Riddick reacts to Julio Jones' comments about his role in the Falcons' offense.
KC Joyner, ESPN Senior Writer
There isn't an NFL team that has had a more roller coaster-like drop to its season than the Atlanta Falcons. Dan Quinn's club started off by winning its first five games, but has gone 1-6 since and would not make the playoffs if the postseason were to start now.
A lot of blame for this decline is being placed on the mistakes by quarterback Matt Ryan. It is true that Ryan has made some game-impacting gaffes of late, but in reality the issues that have hamstrung this team have less to do with Ryan's limitations and more to do with a conservative approach.
The good news is if that approach changes and the Falcons adopt more aggressive play calling in their last four games, they might be able to salvage the season.
Bad decision rate
Let's get the big issue out of the way first.
Ryan has taken a ton of grief for his mistakes, but he actually has posted an acceptable 1.2 percent mark in my bad decision rate (BDR) metric.
BDR measures how often a passer makes a mental error that leads to a turnover opportunity for the opposing team. This 1.2 percent mark is one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the 1.3 percent leaguewide average in BDR. It also is a significant improvement over Ryan's 2.0 percent BDR in 2014.
Ryan has always been something of a risk-taker, but this issue is not what has caused this team's downfall.
Offensive decline
The Falcons would be wise to let Matt Ryan take more chances downfield. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The Falcons' offense is what carried this team during the five-game winning streak.
In that time frame, Atlanta ranked tied for third in points per drive (2.6) and fourth in percentage of drives that ended with a score (44.6 percent).
Since then, the Falcons rank 27th in points per drive (1.5) and 24th in drive score percentage (29.9 percent).
Because the defense showed a slight improvement in points allowed per drive during the winning streak (2.0) and in subsequent games (1.8), it can be said that the decline in offensive production is largely to blame for this team's woes.
Not utilizing Julio Jones enough on stretch vertical or end zone throws
That brings to mind the question that Jones brought up after the Week 13 loss to the Buccaneers: Why is he not being used more often? This lack of utilization is most notable in two areas.
The first is stretch vertical targets, which are aerials thrown 20 or more yards downfield. Jones currently ranks tied for 16th in this category with 19 stretch vertical targets.
Ted Ginn Jr., whose name almost never appears on social media without the word "drop" next to it, has as many stretch vertical targets as Jones. Travis Benjamin, a mediocre Cleveland pass-catcher, has more (20). Even Martavis Bryant, who is equal to Jones in terms of downfield talent but has played in only seven games this year, has tallied a higher number of stretch vertical targets (23).
As damaging as the lack of downfield throws is, the dearth of end zone targets could be just as impactful. Jones has seen only five end zone pass attempts this season. That total ranks tied for 52nd among all players.
The most mind-boggling part of that last statistic is that 11 tight ends have more end zone targets than Jones does. That has to be why Jones felt the need to vent about this subject after the Tampa Bay game -- he knows he could do more in those situations.
Rushing attack is not elite
One potential justification for getting away from the downfield and end zone throws is that the Devonta Freeman-led Atlanta rushing attack has performed so well.
This is true to some extent, as Freeman was helping to carry this offense at one time, but he hasn't posted a 100-yard rushing game since October and hasn't scored a rushing touchdown since Week 6.
Schatz: Broncos to No. 1 in playoff projections
In his updated NFL playoff projections, Aaron Schatz has the Denver Broncos at No. 1 overall, a big deal when you consider what home-field advantage could mean in the competitive AFC.
It isn't all on Freeman, either, as Atlanta's rushing game metrics have not been dominant this year. The Falcons have tallied a 41.4 percent mark in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric, which measures how often an offensive blocking wall gives its ball carriers quality run blocking (which is very roughly defined as not allowing the defense to disrupt a rush attempt). That is fewer than two percentage points above the 39.6 percent league average in this metric.
Atlanta also rates roughly average in my good blocking yards per attempt (GBYPA) metric. This measures how many yards per attempt a ball carrier gains when given quality run blocking. The Falcons' 8.2-yard mark in this category is only one-tenth of a yard higher than the leaguewide GBYPA average of 8.1.
Put this all together and it means that while Atlanta does have the makings of a solid rushing attack, it isn't the type that can serve as the centerpiece of a dominant offense.
Not getting the most out of superb vertical pass coverage
One potential downside of leaning more on the vertical and stretch vertical passing game is that it can cause the other team to adopt a similar approach and thus put more pressure on the Falcons' vertical and stretch vertical pass defense.
Avoiding those circumstances might be a positive for many teams, but it looks like getting the other team to attempt downfield throws more often is exactly what Atlanta should want its opponents to do.
The Falcons rank third in the league in Total QBR on vertical passes (45.9 on aerials thrown 11 or more yards downfield) and fourth in stretch vertical Total QBR (24.4).
This approach also could lead to more turnovers, as Atlanta ranks fourth in overall interception percentage (3.3 percent) and fourth in interception percentage on vertical passes (6.5 percent).
High-scoring games may be the only way to defeat Carolina
Two of the Falcons' remaining games are against the undefeated Carolina Panthers. Because Carolina is averaging 31.1 points per game, the third-highest total in the league, it would seem that trying to slow things down would be the way to go.
But a higher-percentage way is to turn the game into a high-scoring contest. The reasoning here is that since 1983 only 17 teams have ended the season scoring 500 or more points (a pace the Panthers are only 2.4 points per game short of reaching).
Those clubs won 81.8 percent of their overall games, but won only 62 percent of the time when the opponent scored 24 or more points. Eleven of those 17 teams actually had win percentages below the 62 percent mark when giving up 24 or more points.
Because Carolina has allowed 24 or more points in three of its past six games, this certainly looks to be an achievable goal for the Falcons to reach in an effort to take this otherwise daunting pair of matchups and turn them into 50-50 propositions.
Bottom line
The conservative approach the Falcons have used over their past seven games has not been working. A change to a more aggressive offensive play-calling style would likely do this team a lot of good and could even give the Falcons a chance to pull off the upset of the year against the Panthers.
How Struggling Falcons Can Salvage Season
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As Brent crude oil traded near three-month highs of around $113 a barrel on Monday, some futures traders expressed optimism that crude prices would continue to push higher.
Brent crude futures for March were down 61 cents at $112.67 per barrel. The contract hit a three-month high of $113.84 on Friday.
(Read More: Brent Hovers Near Three Month Highs on Economy Hopes)
U.S. crude fell 25 cents to $95.63, steady after seven straight weekly gains, the longest such streak since 2009. The price of West Texas Intermediate, also known as Texas light sweet, has climbed some 11 percent over the past seven consecutive weeks. WTI has not experienced seven consecutive weeks of price increases since April 3, 2009, reports CNBC's Giovanny Moreano, when it rose roughly 40 percent.
If crude finishes up this week, it will be the best weekly streak since August 2004, when it posted eight weeks of gains, Moreano added.
Professional trader Anthony Grisanti said he has reasons to think crude prices will rise. To start, Grisanti said the technical indicators point upward, and oil has recently it's held its trend lines.
Crude might also push higher on improved economic data, Grisanti continued. Last week, jobless claims fell 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 335,000, hitting a five-year low, and housing starts jumped at the fastest pace since June 2008. If the economy continues to gain steam, he thinks demand for crude will pick up.
(Related: US New Home Sales Fall, but Sector Remains a Bright Spot)
Trader Jim Iuorio, managing director of TJM Institutional Services, agreed with Grisanti that the technicals and economic indicators are bullish.
"I do think that the rally can continue as the global story appears better than it has been in a while," Iuorio said from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, noting that "the situation in Europe appears to have calmed" after it was announced last week that some European banks will soon repay the European Central Bank 137.2 billion euros ($183 billion) in 3-year loans ahead of schedule.
With oil closing off its highs, both Iuorio and Grisanti plan to go long crude futures.
Rich Ilczyszyn, founder and chief market strategist of iiTrader, is also somewhat bullish on crude. He pointed to another positive indicator for crude prices, however. Over the last 29 years, investors who bought WTI on January 28 and sold on April 15 had 24 winners and just 5 losers, he said. That's a success rate of roughly 82 percent.
"Obviously past performance is not indicative of future results," Ilczyszyn admitted. "But these stats, plus six consecutive weeks of funds "big money" adding to net-long positions, could give you a market bias."
To Ilczyszyn, if the stock market continues to rally, oil will likely follow suit.
Watch "Futures Now" Tuesdays & Thursdays 1p ET exclusively on
Like us on Facebook! Facebook.com/CNBCFuturesNow
Follow us on Twitter!@CNBCFuturesNow
— CNBC.com and Reuters contributed to this report


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We are excited to launch a new, clean look today. Please browse around and let us know what you think!
Basically, here are the main changes you'll notice:
- A new calmer color scheme
- Cleaner way to lay out forums
- The shoutbox is moved on top of the home page (say hi!). You can collapse it if you don't feel like talking now though. This choice will remain consistent until you unfold it back
- More beautiful user profile pages and larger photos
- Social media icons below your avatar within the forums
- Faster and less distracting experience
If you were too used to our old look, you'll be able to switch back (scroll down to any home page to find the theme drop down). Your choice will remain consistent whenever you login.
Please provide your feedback and bugs in this thread
Check out new forum sections too!
Twitter: Join us to discuss Twitter marketing case studies and best tactics
Facebook: Facebook for business and content marketing discussions go here!
Google Plus: Everything from Google Authorship to building your brand at Google Plus!
We are constantly looking for new voices and active users. We'll be adding more feature to make SEOchat ROCK this year! Join the board!


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Scholarships are monetary gifts from community, private, and campus sources and are usually based on academic merit or some other criteria. Some scholarships also require verification of financial need. Therefore, all scholarship applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Campus foundations, local businesses, and other sources provide scholarships for students at the University. No repayment of scholarships is required.
Gain recognition for all your hard work and cut the cost of your college education. Apply for a scholarship! Scholarship award decisions are based on academic performance, extracurricular activities, and community involvement. Some scholarships require verification of financial need. Repayment of scholarships is not required when students meet the requirements of the scholarship.
Institutional Scholarships
By submitting the UW-Marathon County scholarship application (available to students in January), you are considered for the pool of scholarships sponsored by the UW-Marathon County Foundation. Recipients are recognized at an awards program in May of each year.
Who should apply for UWMC scholarships?
All degree-seeking students who have demonstrated academic achievement or can demonstrate academic promise are encouraged to apply. You must have completed an application to UWMC to be considered.
What are the criteria for UWMC scholarships?
Requirements vary for each scholarship. Visit the Scholarship listing page for specific descriptions and eligibility information.
When can I apply?
All Scholarship Applications will be accepted through March 1 for the following year. The application period begins in January.
New Students
You are considered a "New Student" if:
- You are a current high school student who will be graduating, or
- You plan on attending UWMC for the following year and you have NOT attended UWMC before.
New students should consider applying to our What I'll Bring Scholarship. The deadline for submissions is March 12, 2018.
Steps for the New Student Scholarship application:
- Preview the scholarship application questions and prepare your responses.
- Complete and submit the online Scholarship Application indicating that you are a New Student (available online, January - March 1).
Continuing Students
You are considered a "Continuing Student" if:
- You are a current student who will attend UWMC for the following year, or
- You are a current student who will be transferring elsewhere for the following school year, or
- You plan on attending UWMC for the following year and you HAVE attended UWMC previously.
Steps for the Continuing Student Scholarship application:
- Preview the scholarship application questions and prepare your responses.
- Complete and submit the online Scholarship Application indicating you are a Continuing Student (available online, January - March 1).
Music Major Scholarship Auditions
UW-Marathon County awards music scholarships each academic year. Please see the auditions page for complete information.
Non-Institutional Scholarships
These scholarships come from outside sources (e.g. private or community source) and do not credit the student's account through PRISM. When a check is sent to campus, the staff reports the scholarship to the financial aid office. These scholarships may also be reported by students on the back side of their financial aid award offer letter.


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Worldwide box office: 'The Hobbit' still towering above competition
(Relaxnews) – "The Desolation of Smaug," the second film in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy, remains in the top position at the global box office for the third consecutive weekend.
According to Rentrak, the heroic fantasy film grossed $128.15 million in 63 territories during the weekend ending December 29. This brings total revenues for the film, the second adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit," to $614.10 million, placing it in ninth position among the highest-grossing features of 2013.
Disney's animated feature "Frozen" is still hanging on in second place, with revenues of $79.35 million this weekend. Ben Stiller claimed third place with his adventure movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," which grossed $40.20 million across 40 territories.
"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" slipped from third to fourth place this weekend. In theaters in eight territories, the comedy starring a mustachioed Will Ferrell added $28.15 million to its worldwide revenues. Fifth place went to Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," which grossed $25 million from just three territories worldwide.


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Stay Up to Date
Receive Bicycle Friendly America news delivered straight to your inbox every other week.
March 29, 2012by KatieBreaking news: The House voted 266-158 to extend the current transportation bill for another 90 days. For the full story, visit The Hill.
March 29, 2012by supportHow could they not, after more than 1,500 cyclists rallied on the steps of the capitol building on Tuesday!
March 28, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiThe NCAA basketball tournament is down to the Final Four, but the bracket of Bicycle Friendly Universities (BFU) is expanding.
March 28, 2012by Darren FluscheIn conjunction with the National Bike Summit, dozens of city transportation officials, transit managers, representatives from FHWA and FTA, and bike share experts gathered to discuss the present and future of what is set to be this year's most exciting story: Bike Share.
March 27, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiA big thank you to Streetfilms for joining us at the 2012 National Bike Summit last week — and compiling some excellent insight on the importance of federal funding for biking and walking.
March 27, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiOne of the most talked-about events at last week's National Bike Summit was the Women Cycling Forum, an event sponsored and moderated by the League.
March 26, 2012by Darren FluscheMeetings with Congress give bicyclists an opportunity to talk about what bicycling means for their communities in personal terms.
March 23, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiOver the past four days, photographer Chris Eichler has worked tirelessly — and possibly slept less than even the League staff — to capture the inspiring scenes of the 2012 National Bike Summit. We'll be posting more on our Flickr page in coming days, but here's a preview...
March 23, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiWhen I spotted Karen Brooks after the National Women Cycling Forum on Tuesday afternoon, she was still wearing her wool jersey — and a tousled look of accomplishment.
March 23, 2012by Carolyn SzczepanskiLast year at the National Bike Summit, the weather was gray, gusty and rainy. This year was different. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and yesterday's Lobby Day was blue skies and full sun — the perfect day for a pedicab ride.


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Earlier this year, researchers in Spain made a remarkable scientific discovery. Rats are capable of discerning the rhythms of the human language and can tell the difference between different languages. According to the Reuters story, the "study suggests that animals, especially mammals, evolved some of the skills underlying the use and development of language long before language itself ever evolved." There is only a slight catch with the researchers' evolutionary explanation, it does not make any sense. Rather than support evolution, these findings actually reinforce the Creation model of the world. The research seems to indicate yet another weakness of the evolutionary model and adds more weight to a growing body of scientific evidence that disproves many aspects of evolution.
Neuroscientists at the University of Barcelona used Dutch and Japanese in conducting their studies on 64 male rats. They chose Dutch and Japanese because these languages are "very different from one another in use of words, rhythm and structure." According to the story the rats "were trained to respond to either Dutch or Japanese using food as a reward." The findings were indeed remarkable. "Rats rewarded for responding to Japanese did not respond to Dutch and rats trained to recognize Dutch did not respond the spoken Japanese. The rats could not tell apart Japanese or Dutch played backwards," according to the Reuters account.
More important, "results showed that rats could discriminate natural sentences when uttered by a single speaker and not when uttered by different ones, nor could they distinguish the languages when spoken by different people," the researchers observed. In other words, rats are predisposed by their DNA to discern human verbal communications, and not just in general, but by individual speaker and specific language. And yet, these diminutive mammals were supposed to have "evolved" these abilities millions of years before human beings appeared and started using language as a means of communication. A miracle indeed!
According to the geological data, rodents first appeared in the fossil record "at the end of the Paleocene and earliest Eocene in Asia and North America, about 54 million years ago (Meng, 1994). These original rodents were themselves descended from rodent-like ancestors called anagalids." Even using the most generous estimates of when Homo sapiens first appeared on the earth - anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 years ago - the arrival of the rats predated modern man by tens of millions of years. Yet, scientists are trying to tell us that rats evolved an ability to discern language 53.5 millions before the users of such verbal communication skills arrived on the scene. How is that possible?
As amazing as these scientific experiments are, the incorrect conclusions the researches seem to draw are even more astounding. Common sense should dictate that it's scientifically impossible for rats to have evolved language discrimination skills before language ever existed. Such a concept goes against the very tenets of evolutionary thinking which require that specific traits in organisms can only appear as a direct result of external environmental stimuli. If evolutionary logic is to apply in the rat's case, then the very stimulus, human language, that was supposed to have caused rats to develop their abilities in the first place, did not exist.
This latest research does not bode well for the passionate advocates of evolution. In my review of the book Uncommon Dissent last year I discussed how an increasing number of reputable scientists have garnered a large body of evidence and arguments that persuasively question the validity of the evolutionary theory. Many intellectuals and scientists with impeccable credentials and a solid record of scholarly work have exposed many problems, inconsistencies, oversights, and errors with evolutionary theories. In my opinion, these rat studies also provide additional scientific data and insights that could be damaging to evolutionists and also call into question the validity of the model.
What then was the stimulus that gave the lowly rat language skills in the span of millions of years before man showed up and started talking? Science offers no plausible answer to this question, but the Master of all has a very good explanation. God's revelations, masterfully recorded in pages of the Bible, and preached for millennia in both the Jewish and Christian religious traditions, is very clear on how such a miracle is possible.
In the book of Genesis, God offers us a more credible explanation why rats have the ability to understand human language: He created them that way! "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.'" (Genesis 1:24).
And why did God give rats the ability to comprehend language? Because that fit nicely into His plan to have man take care of it all: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Genesis 1:27-28)
It seems rather obvious to say it, but rats have the innate ability to tell languages and human speakers apart because God designed them that way from the beginning. In giving man "dominion" over all animals, I believe God imprinted all of His creatures' DNA with the traits needed for them to understand their master, man. While the sins of generations and the overall corruption of mankind may have broken the original bonds and disrupted the synergistic relationship between man and the animal kingdom, those traits are still there. Many creatures are still able to respond to their masters - some better than others - and that original relationship will indeed be ultimately restored by Christ's Second Coming.
I also believe that the rat's unique language abilities are not an anomaly, but reveal a greater truth regarding all living creatures. We already know that domesticated dogs, cats, horses, and even some bird species respond very nicely to human language. We have also seen how primates and porpoises are able to comprehend and react to a wide variety of verbal cues. Now we know that rats are also language-enabled. Building on that experience and this latest information my faith, reason, and common sense tell me that similar language abilities will be discovered in many other members of the animal kingdom. I firmly believe that it's only a matter of time before science confirms that animals are indeed predisposed to understand man and respond to verbal communications. Come to think of it, researchers should check a few circuses or animal parks, those venues should be ripe with potential candidates.
These latest rounds of scientific experiments offer more proof that the Biblical account of God's creation is indeed true. Given the choice between illogical inferences, unproven evolutionary theories, and trusting God's word on faith, I will always choose God. He is, after all, the Creator of everything; He should know!
Chris Banescu is an attorney, entrepreneur, and university professor. His business, ethics, and management articles and podcasts can be found on www.ChrisBanescu.com. He is a regular contributor to OrthodoxyToday.org, manages the conservative site www.OrthodoxNet.com, writes articles, and has given talks and conducted seminars on a variety of business and management topics. He has also written book reviews for Townhall.com and articles for Acton.org.
On the net:
Read this article on the OrthodoxNet website (new window will open). Reprinted with permission.