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The Period of the French Revolution
William Cowper
> Lady Austen;
The Task
John Gilpin; On the Receipt of my Mothers Picture
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes
Volume XI. The Period of the French Revolution.
William Cowper
§ 5. Lady Austen;
The Task
In connection with the satire
the name of Lady Austen was mentioned above. This charming and intelligent widow came into Cowpers life in the year 1781 and touched his spirits and his poetry to fine issues. Unlike Mrs. Unwin, she belonged to the world and had a proper appreciation of the external things of life. In suggesting to Cowper a subject for his pen, she gave him not a moral topic but a simple objectthe sofa in his room. The idea was very likely thrown off without full prevision of its far-reaching effect; but, in encouraging Cowper to write about something that he knew, in checking, so far as might be, his tendency to moralise and to preach by fixing his attention on the simple facts of his daily life, she gave him an impulse which was what his own poetry, and English poetry at that moment, most needed. The result of her suggestion was
The Task,
a blank-verse poem in six books, of which
The Sofa
formed the first. Cowper starts playfully, with a touch of the gallantry that was always his. He shows his humour by dealing with the ordained subject in the style of Milton. Milton was his favourite poet; Johnsons life of Milton one of the writings he most disliked. Nevertheless, with his gentle gaiety, he begins his work with a parody of Milton.
No want of timber then was felt or feared
In Albions happy isle. The lumber stood
Ponderous, and fixed by its own massy weight.
But elbows still were wanting; these, some say,
An alderman of Cripplegate contrived,
And some ascribe the invention to a priest
Burly and big, and studious of his ease.
Thus, for a hundred lines or so, he plays with his subject. Then, breaking away from it by an ingenious twist, he speaks for himself; and, for the first time, we have a new voice, the voice of William Cowper:
For I have loved the rural walk through lanes
Of grassy swarth, close cropped by nibbling sheep
And skirted thick with intertexture firm
Of thorny boughs; have loved the rural walk
Oer hills, through valleys, and by rivers brink,
Eer since a truant boy I passed my bounds
To enjoy a ramble on the banks of Thames;
And still remember, nor without regret
Of hours that sorrow since has much endeared,
How oft, my slice of pocket store consumed,
Still hungering, penniless and far from home,
I fed on scarlet hips and stony haws,
Or blushing crabs, or berries that emboss
The bramble, black as jet, or sloes austere.
It is, perhaps, difficult to realise nowadays how new such writing as this was when
The Task
was published. Assuredly, these are not raptures
conjured up
To serve occasions of poetic pomp.
The truant boy, his pocket store, the berries he atethere is something in these which his century might have called low. But the berries are exactly described; we feel sure that the boy ate them. The poet who describes them was, himself, that boy; and, looking back, he sees his boyhood through the intervening sorrow which we know that he suffered. In every line, there is actuality and personality. The diction is still a little Miltonic, for Cowpers blank verse never moved far from his master; but, all the preceding nature poetry might be searched in vain for this note of simple truththe record of actual experience which the poet perceives to have poetic value and beauty. A little later, he addresses Mrs. Unwin in a famous passage, beginning:
How oft upon yon eminence our pace
Has slackened to a pause, and we have borne
The ruffling wind, scarce conscious that it blew,
While admiration feeding at the eye,
And still unsated, dwelt upon the scene.
Hitherto, there had been nothing in English poetry quite like the passage that begins with the lines here quoted. The nearest parallel is, probably, Collinss
Ode to Evening,
though that lovely poem wraps its subject in a glow of romance which is absent from Cowpers description. But, when Cowper wrote
The Sofa,
he had never even heard of Collins.
He owed as little to Grays
where the scene is far more sentimentalised; and nothing can deprive him of the title to originality. Here is a very commonplace English landscape, minutely described. The poet does nothing to lend it dignity or significance other than its own. But he has seen for himself its beauty, and its interest; little details, like the straightness of the furrow, the smallness of the distant ploughman, please him. And, because he has himself derived pleasure and consolation from the scene and its details, his poetry communicates that pleasure and that consolation. Familiar scenes, simple things prove, in his lines, their importance, their beauty and their healing influence on the soul of man. Nature need not any longer be dressed up to win a place in poetry. And, if
The Task
be the forerunner of Wordsworth, its manner of accepting facts as they are, and at their own value, contains, also, the germ of something very unlike Cowper, something that may be found in
The Woods of Westermain.
The nature poetry in
The Task
is, doubtless, of a humbler order than that of
Tintern Abbey
The Excursion,
though, in many passages of simple description, the similarity between Wordsworth and Cowper is striking. Cowper would have been unable to compose the books of
The Prelude: On Imagination and Taste, how impaired and how restored.
He would even have thought them unchristian and reprehensible. Where the great soul of Wordsworth broods over the world of sense, conscious of how it opens and affects the world of the spirit, Cowper hardly even asks how it is that these loved scenes console and enlarge the mind. He is not a philosopher, and he is not a mystic. For him, it is enough that the things he sees are beautiful and dear; he does not ask for anything more. But the nearness of his object, his familiarity with it and his fine taste in expression result in poetry which, if not, in itself, great, is wonderfully pure and sweet, and prepared the way for profounder work by others. While his simplicity and exactness in description mark him off from all preceding nature poets, even from Thomson, the spirit of his poetry differentiates him equally from Crabbe, who, though even more minute and faithful in detail, always regarded nature as a setting for the emotions of man. There are passages in
The Task
which sound a nobler music than that quoted above. One is the invocation to evening in
The Winter Evening,
Come, Evening, once again, season of peace;
Return, sweet Evening, and continue long!
The earlier part of this passage is very like Collins. The whole of it, in spite of certain characteristic wordsostentatious, modestis a little too fanciful and a little too elaborate to be entirely in Cowpers peculiar manner. He is most himself when he is most closely concerned with the scenes and people that, in his restricted life, he had come to know and love. The six books of
The Task
The Sofa, The Timepiece, The Garden, The Winter Evening, The Winter Morning Walk
The Winter Walk at Noon
) contain many passages of sympathetic description that have become classical. Such are the lines on the rural sounds and those on hay-carting in
The Sofa;
the man cutting hay from the stack, the woodman and his dog in
The Winter Morning Walk;
the postman and the waggoner in
The Winter Evening;
the fall of snow, in the same book. Each is the product of the poets own observation; each helped to prove, in an age which needed the lesson, that simplicity and truth have their place in poetry, and that commonplace things are fit subjects for the poet. Cowpers simplicity is not the simplicity of
Lyrical Ballads,
any more than it is the glittering artifice of Pope. He is Miltonic throughout; but he speaks with perfect sincerity, keeping his eye on the object.
There are, no doubt, stretches of didactic verse in
The Task.
That was almost necessary to Cowper in a poem of this length. But it is more important to observe how, in this poem, one quality, that has endeared Cowper to thousands of readers and was by no means without its effect on public opinion, finds its chief expression in his works. After concluding
The Sofa
with the famous and beautiful passage beginning:
God made the country, and man made the town;
he opens
The Time-piece
with a cry for some refuge where the news of mans oppression, deceit and cruelty might never reach him. The love of man for man, the love of man for animals, for the meanest thing that livesthis is the principal moral message of
The Task.
Doubtless, this kind of sentimentalism was in the air, at the time. It belonged, to some extent, to Cowpers section of the church; it was spread far and wide by Rousseau. Yet it was inborn in Cowpers tender, joyful naturea nature that was playfully serene when free from its tyrant melancholy; and Cowper remains the chief exponent of it in English poetry.
Note 2
ed. Frazer, J. G., 1912, vol.
p. 282.
John Gilpin; On the Receipt of my Mothers Picture
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Barclays Plc
National Commercial Banks United Kingdom
| OTC Markets: BCLYF | London Stock Exchange: BARC | Frankfurt Stock Exchange: BCY
Barclays Plc is a global financial services provider. The company is engaged in the provision of retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays operates through two groups: Retail and Business Banking, and Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth Management. The Barclays Retail and Business Banking group comprises of four business units: UK Retail Banking, Barclaycard, Barclays Africa and Western Europe Retail Banking. UK Retail Banking is a retail bank which serves UK customers through contact centers, online banking and various branches. It provides a wide range of products and financial services to its customers. Through UK Retail Banking, customers have access to current account and savings products, Woolwich-branded mortgages, unsecured loan and protection products and general insurance. Barclaycard is a multi-brand credit card and consumer lending business which also processes card payments for retailers and merchants, and issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the UK government. In the UK, Barclaycard comprises of Barclaycard UK Cards, Barclaycard Partnerships, Barclays Partner Finance and Firstplus. Outside the UK, Barclaycard provides credit cards in the United States, Germany, South Africa and in the Nordic region. Western Europe Retail Banking includes retail banking and Barclaycard operations in Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. Barclays Africa encompasses Barclays Global Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, and Barclaycard operations in 10 countries organized in four geographic areas: North Africa (Egypt), East and West Africa (Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya), Southern Africa (Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe), and the Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Seychelles). It provides a variety of traditional financial products, including retail mortgages, current and deposit accounts, commercial lending, unsecured lending, credit cards, treasury and investments. In addition, it provides specialist services such as Sharia-compliant products and mobile banking. The Barclays Corporate & Investment Banking and Wealth Management Cluster comprises of three business units: Barclays Capital, Barclays Corporate and Barclays Wealth. Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays. It provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with a comprehensive set of solutions for their strategic advisory, financing and risk management needs. Barclays Corporate provides banking solutions to organizations. Barclays industry sector specialists offer advice on banking products, support, expertise and services, and customers are offered access to other areas of the Barclays Group which might help meet their investment or business needs, such as Barclaycard, Barclays Wealth and Barclays Capital. Barclays Wealth is a global wealth manager. It focuses on private and intermediary clients worldwide, providing international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary services and brokerage. The company was founded on July 20, 1896 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
New Car Review Video
2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque: 5 Reasons to Buy
The 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque -- Evoque for short -- is a new kind of Land Rover. Designed for the urban jungle rather than the actual jungle, the Evoque is a compact luxury crossover with a style all its own. Why buy a small sedan or hatchback when you could perch up high in one of these instead? Here are five reasons to try the Evoque on for size.
Fashion Accessory
We know styling's subjective and all that, but just look at this thing. The Evoque's taut, edgy lines are tailor-made for 5th Avenue or Rodeo Drive. Although it's technically the entry-level Land Rover, the Evoque might be the best Land Rover for urbanites looking to make their mark. With its optional contrast-colored roof, big wheels and squat, futuristic stance, the Evoque is a rolling place to see and be seen in. It may be small in stature, but this little Land Rover has a big personality.
Uptown Interior
In the sea of compact luxury crossovers, the Evoque's impeccable interior really stands out. The leather looks and smells rich, and the color combinations are cutting-edge. Decked out with a floating central control panel and high-quality materials, the dashboard wouldn't look out of place at twice the price. The Evoque's cabin is a pretty cool place to hang out.
Frugal Fuel Economy
With a 240-horsepower engine up front, the Evoque has plenty of pep, but here's the surprising thing: It's also great on gas. Even though the Evoque comes standard with all-wheel drive, the Environmental Protection Agency rates it at an impressive 24 miles per gallon overall, including 30 mpg on the highway. That's partly due to the novel 9-speed automatic transmission, which makes sure you're always in the right gear.
Just the Right Size
A lot of so-called compact crossovers are actually midsize these days -- and growing -- but the Evoque is a genuinely compact vehicle. It's perfect for tight parking spaces. At the same time, it still gives you that commanding high driving position like a proper SUV. It reminds us a little of another small British runabout -- the next-generation MINI Clubman -- except the Evoque has exclusivity on its side.
Fun to Drive
Thanks to those compact dimensions and a sporty suspension, the Evoque is a blast from behind the wheel. The steering is responsive and there's not much body roll, so you can slice through tight corners or rush-hour traffic with ease. And thanks to excellent outward visibility, you have a leg up on lower, less dynamic vehicles.
AutoTrader Says
The 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque is nothing like traditional Land Rovers, but that's not a bad thing. If you want Land Rover luxury and cachet without the size and thirst, that's what the Evoque's all about.


text: It is also possible to configure your load balancer to use multiple stand-alone instances, and load balance and failover requests between them. However, in this configuration, you must manually ensure that the stand-alone instances have homogenous environments and the same applications deployed to them. Because clusters automatically maintain a homogenous environment, for most situations it is better and easier to use clusters.


text:
Penelope Cruz: Pregnant and Smoking?
Is Penelope Cruz trying to dispel pregnancy rumors by taking up smoking again?
It was reported back in July that the 35-year-old Spanish actress quit smoking. Last month, Penelope was confirmed as pregnant (although her reps have yet to confirm the news).
On Wednesday (September 9), Penelope and BFF Salma Hayek, who has a 23-month-old daughter Valentina, were seen smoking Parliament cigarettes with two other gal pals at Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood.
Smoking and pregnant don't mix!
For more pics, visit X17Online.com.


text:
How to Use
Why do you think it was erected?
What other famous structure does it remind you of?
Click here for Photo Analysis Worksheet.
* The photo on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of this photo, but be aware that the file may take as much as 35 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


text:
Ramsey's hot streak of form – which has seen him score five goals in his last four matches – continued in his native Wales as Arsene Wenger's men won theiAfter an uninspiring first half, Ramsey set up German youngster Serge Gnabry for the game's first goal in the 58th minute.
And the former Cardiff City midfielder produced a composed finish himself just a few moments later as Arsenal recorded their eighth Premier League away win in succession.
With a lengthy injury list, Arsenal – who are missing the likes of Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – made nine changes from the side that beat West Brom on penalties in the League Cup on Wednesday, retaining only German pair Gnabry and Per Mertesacker.
Swansea saw their defence of the League Cup end at Birmingham City in midweek, and they kept just four players in their team, recalling Spanish star Michu, although they were without injured defensive pair Ashley Williams and Angel Rangel (both ankle).
Jonathan De Guzman and Jonjo Shelvey both fired over in the early stages for the hosts while Ramsey shot wide from distance, but despite both sides enjoying good spells of possession, they failed to penetrate in a dull first half that saw neither produce a shot on target.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was almost caught out after a heavy touch played in Michu, but an offside flag avoided further embarrassment for the Polish goalkeeper, while a De Guzman free-kick was blasted over in an effort that summed up the first 45 minutes.
The visitors should have scored in first-half stoppage time though, with an excellent Gnabry run finishing with Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman, who had gone down with an ankle injury a few moments earlier, dragged his effort wide.
The second half started slowly, with Szczesny forced to charge off his line to deny Michu, but Arsenal won the game thanks to four minutes of brilliance.
The lively Gnabry opened the scoring just short of the hour, making the most of a neat Ramsey flick to slot a cool finish beyond Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm and into the bottom corner.
Mesut Ozil nearly doubled Arsenal's lead less than a minute later but saw his near-post effort saved by Vorm, before a counter-attack that ended with Ramsey saw the Welshman maintain his scoring run.
An excellent team move that also involved Jack Wilshere and Giroud saw the latter cut back for Ramsey, and the goalscorer took a touch before smashing an effort into the top corner to delight the travelling fans.
Nathan Dyer forced Szczesny into a terrific save as Swansea pressed for a goal and defender Ben Davies gave them a lifeline with eight minutes to play.
The left-back ran forward and played in substitute Wilfried Bony, and Davies followed his run, collecting Bony's lobbed pass and finishing beyond Szczesny.
It was a terrific goal but time ran out for Swansea, as Arsenal won again ahead of a mouth-watering UEFA Champions League clash against Rafael Benitez's Napoli on Tuesday.r fifth Premier League game in a row.


text:
Blockbuster puts its money on Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc adoption took a leap forward today following video and games rental chain Blockbuster's decision to roll out the format to 1,700 of its US stores from July.
The rental firm's decision to stock the HD DVD rival is based on "growing demand for high definition DVDs", it said, adding that rental figures of Blu-ray Discs are already outpacing those of HD DVDs in the 250 of its US stores that currently offer the formats.
Although Blockbuster will still continue to stock HD DVDs both online and in said 250 stores – which it has done since November 2006 – it seemed keen to resist asserting the bold claim that Blu-ray will win the 'VHS vs Betamax'-style fight of the mid 1970s.
"While it is still too early to say which high-definition format will become the industry standard, we will continue to closely monitor customer rental patterns both at our stores and online," Matthew Smith, Blockbuster's head of merchandising, said in a statement.
The announcement has already prompted a scathing response from the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which branded Blockbuster's decision as "short-sighted" and based mainly on Blu-ray sales of budget-busting films like Spider-Man.
"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.
Blu-Ray has a strong gamut of video-business backers, including Sony, MGM, Fox and Warner. HD DVD is backed principally by Universal and Paramount, but Warner also offers HD DVD product.
HD DVD's principal hardware backer is Toshiba, which last week slashed its forecast for HD DVD player sales.


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BALAD AIR BASE, IRAQ -- Three hundred and thirty-two thousand. That's a lot. Of anything. How would you like to do that many push-ups? The approximately 100 members deployed at Balad Air Base in Iraq with the 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron have collectively committed to accomplishing that goal within the next four months to help meet a new fitness initiative announced at the end of September. They are calling it the 332nd 332K Push-Up Challenge.
The push-up initiative also will "refocus some of our peoples' attention" on fitness for deployment, according to Senior Master Sgt. Bill McCune, 332nd ECS superintendent.
Why not "try something imaginative?" Sergeant McCune says. "A few minutes a day can put you in better shape."
For 100 people to knock out 332,000 push-ups equates to roughly 3,320 each, or about 875 a month. Spread over a four-month deployment, that is about 30 a day—a good number to help keep troops fit.
"Think about it. Fitness is even more important in theater than it is at home," says Senior Master Sgt. Bert Francois, the 332nd ECS first sergeant. "You don't want to deploy to the desert if you're not in good shape."
Another reason for the challenge is morale, says Craig Wilcox, the 332nd ECS commander, who thought the challenge would be fun and bring the unit together.
"We got the numbers. Did the math," Wilcox says. "It's attainable."
Push-ups were chosen because they were "easier to do than sit-ups in the workplace," he says.
The squadron reacted to the proposal with an eagerness to hit the floor that surprised him.
"We did more than 20,000 in the first five days alone," he says. "At the rate we're going, we'll blow this thing out of the water by Thanksgiving."
An additional motivator is the weekly prize for the most push-ups by section. Offices within the communications squadron compete for bragging rights and possession of what Sergeant McCune jokingly called "the commander's 'love me' bear," a teddy bear in a suit and hat that remains the property of the winning shop when the weekly totals are added up.
First-bear honors went to the plans and program implementation office, a five-person shop that contributed 2,734 push-ups to the total during the first week. It is the smallest of the work centers, but it is now the one to beat, thanks in part to the efforts of Senior Airman Michelle Klosinski, whose personal best is 310 in one day alone.
On her first deployment, she is enjoying "lots of new experiences" and lots of exercise, she says.
Capt. Greg Goins, plans shop commander, is confident they will hang onto the bear next week but admitted that competition is fierce between offices, with spies tracking the numbers and trying to out-do each other.
However, that won't be hard. Any time of the day, the count can be heard echoing through the halls of the 332nd ECS building as another group hits the deck and counts them out one at a time.
Airmen from the 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron at Balad Air Base, Iraq, perform push-ups in front of their building. The squadron plans to do 332,000 push-ups collectively before their deployment here ends. Squadron airmen call it the "332nd 332K Push-Up Challenge." U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Chad Kellum.


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Wed 15th Feb 2006 15:14 UTC
"A lot of people complain about the Firefox 'memory leak(s)'. All versions of Firefox no doubt leak memory - it is a common problem with software this complicated. We look to fix the issues where we can. David Baron and others have done a huge amount of excellent work in this area. What I think many people are talking about however with Firefox 1.5 is not really a memory leak at all. It is in fact a feature."


text:
The mysterious black HTC phone we saw last week has made another appearance – giving us a good view of the front side of the device for the first time. While there are quite a few HTC rumors floating around these days, the images have not been matched up directly with any of them. So we decided to take matters into our own hands to see if we could find a way to measure the size of the screen, hoping it would match up with the 5-inch HTC phablet rumors floating around.
The latest image of the mystery device gave us the perfect angle to do some investigative work. Since the image is a straight-on picture of the device, we were able to pull it into Photoshop and align it with a handful of other HTC phones. After a quick examination of the devices, we realized that HTC's capacitive buttons below the screen were all the same size regardless of the device's screen size. Once we realized this, we took an image of the HTC EVO 4G LTE and sized it down so that its capacitive buttons were as close in size to the capacitive buttons on the mystery device. Next, we measured the size of the screens and used the size of the 4.7-inch display on the EVO as our yard stick.
In the end, our crude Photoshop work and rough mathematical calculations show that the mystery HTC phone features a 5.01-inch display. It's a little off, but we're fairly confident that the pictured device is directly related to the HTC 6435 5-inch phablet that's heading to Verizon. It feels good to know what we've been able to connect these two rumors, but we're even more excited about the images now since none of them feature any Verizon branding. This means that HTC is probably working on an unlocked GSM version of the device for our friends over in Europe and Asia. There's no saying how much longer we'll have to wait to get our hands on HTC's phablet, but we're really hoping we'll get some official news about the device at HTC's September 19th press event.


text:
Early this morning security frim Zvelo revealed a hack for Google Wallet that exposed a user's PIN. Fortunately this vulnerability only affected rooted phones, as Google was quick to point out to The Next Web. Now a second hack has been posted online that works on non-rooted devices and requires no special hacking skills.
Mobile blog TheSmartphoneChamp uploaded a video to YouTube that demonstrates the vulnerability. All someone has to do to access your funds is clear the data in app settings, which will force Google Wallet to prompt them to enter a new PIN. Once the new PIN has been entered, they can add a Google Prepaid Card that is tied to the device and access any available funds.
It sound almost too simple to be true, but I tested it on my Galaxy Nexus with the latest official version of Google Wallet and it works like a charm. We expect Google will be releasing an update shortly to address both issues.
As a reminder, if you want to protect you Android phone it is best to setup the lock screen and install a tracking software like Lookout in case you ever lose your device.
Update: Google has provided us with the following statement: "We strongly encourage anyone who loses or wants to sell their phone to call Google Wallet support toll-free at 855-492-5538 to disable the prepaid card. We are currently working on an automated fix as well that will be available soon. We also advise all Wallet users to set up a screen lock as an additional layer of protection for their phone."


text:
Former child star Miley Cyrus has defended her decision to smoke weed, insisting it is far less dangerous than alcohol.
The singer/actress, who shot to fame as Disney's Hannah Montana, landed in hot water in 2010 when she was caught on film allegedly smoking pot from a bong.
She has also recently joined cannabis fan Snoop Dogg in the studio for a track called Ashtrays and Heartbreak, and has now opened up on her feelings on using the drug.
In a candid new interview with Rolling Stone, she was asked if she is a "stoner", and the 20 year old replied, "You can't ask someone that and expect them to say yes. I did a song with Snoop Dogg called Ashtrays and Heartbreak, so people can put it together for themselves.
"I think alcohol is way more dangerous than marijuana. People can be mad at me for saying that, but I don't care. I've seen a lot of people spiral down with alcohol, but I've never seen that happen with weed.
"As long as it isn't illegal, there are far more dangerous things… And it's legal in the state of California, so I'm happy to live in California, a place where you can be whoever you want to be."
Former child star Miley Cyrus has defended her decision to smoke weed, insisting it is far less dangerous than alcohol.


text:
I agree there is no account for taste, but some kites are just 'air pollution' as Vegas.Geronimo79 wrote:Well i just saw the 2014 Vegas... personally i think its horrible. It looks like a Gaastra Sailboat sail or something like that. Maybe better in other colours then i saw.JamesVegas wrote:I said it was the best looking Epic kite. The best looking kite is obviously the North Vegas
In the end liking graphics is a personal taste. I just pumped the Surf LTD and its definitly not a sigma shape. It sure is a weird kiteshape to look at.
The Dr Makani is Makina good observation hereDr Makani wrote: If your design is a selling point, I am definitely NOT your target group. It's ugly, like the guy in speedos and his wacky hat trying to hold up that thing.
Just my honest $.02 here.
Why were you on KF very late 2 nights ago .....instead of being in bed with your wife?Oldn[b]house[/b]broken wrote:
Second time in two days you have referenced my butt
Going to make your wife jealous.
Gonna have to go back to my Pitbull pic
Hi OnB,Oldnbroken wrote:Supa....sent you a Youtube video of a Core chicken loop that would not open at all, locked up completely.
Could not get the link attached successfully.
But you would have hated that video showing your Core product in very poor light.
I don't sleep much, have massive insomnia that comes with ADD meds.
But I do not look at pictures of men and talk about their butts!..that's for sure.
I will change my picture so you can calm down.
Dimitri told me you seemed a little fruity when he met you, guess it's true
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests


text:
Linked by Clinton De Young on Sun 27th Oct 2002 18:15 UTC
After reading many of the posts regarding the recent OSNews story, "An Unbiased Review of Debian 3.0", I thought this article may be useful to those who would like to try Debian, but are a little intimidated by its installer. Several of the posts to the above mentioned story indicated that Debian's installer was a huge hurtle for many people, who would otherwise like to try it. I have found Debian to be the most useful flavor of Linux, so I wanted to write an easy, though somewhat long, walkthrough in the hopes of allowing a wider audience to experience first hand this stable and unique Linux distribution.


text:
STARmeterTop 5000
Up 1,429 this week
Julie Hagerty
Julie Hagerty's unique personality and talent likely would have been better served had she worked under the Hollywood studio system. As it is, her place in cinema history is secure with her role of stewardess Elaine Dickinson in the comedy classic Airplane! (1980). Hagerty should have evolved into a latter-day Jean Arthur, or become a highly ... See full bio »
Born:in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro


text:
The names, Social Security numbers, bank account
numbers, and e-mail and street addresses of an
unknown number of the nearly 282,000 unemployed workers seeking state help in
Massachusetts might have been
exposed to hackers, Eric Chabrow writes at GovInfoSecurity.com.
Officials said a strain of the W32.Qakbot
worm had infected as many as 1,500 computers at the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and Department of Career Services, the article states.
It is difficult to determine how many people were affected, but those who had their unemployment insurance files accessed
manually from April 19 through May 13 could be at risk, officials said. Workers whose former
employers filed claim information electronically likely were not affected.
Officials had enlisted the help of security
provider Symantec to vanquish the virus before any damage was done and initially thought their efforts had been successful. However, they learned May 16 that the worm hadn't
been defeated, and its persistence resulted in the data
breach, the article states.
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The buzz around Big Data has been met with either utter enthusiasm or sincere confusion. And rightly so. Big data is an ambiguous term that is meant to capture the vast amounts of both structured data (i.e. datasets with identified labels and locations) and unstructured data (i.e. qualitative information often including electronic correspondences, audio recordings, and images). Big Data can potentially help an organization harness large amounts of information and use it to achieve mission in a more efficient way. Though I think, with Big Data, the sky is hardly the limit.
In my view, Big Data does not just concern businesses or agencies, but people too. Retirement is undoubtedly an overlooked Big Data project (it involves structured and unstructured data doesn't it?) During your lifetime you will have to make a wide array of Big Data decisions when considering your future retirement. Do you invest in stocks? Put money into your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)? Do you need to save for your spouse or others in your life? There are a myriad of questions to consider when planning your fiscal future, and doing it insufficiently could result in spending your golden years working as opposed to on the beach. If harnessing the power of data is key, are you financially literate enough to do it?
Financial literacy is the ability to understand basic financial concepts and could be essential for retirement planning. In fact, we just launched a recent study that asked feds about their saving habits. Here are some of the questions:
What total percentage of your income do you put toward saving for retirement either in your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), 401K or in personal savings?
How have you been saving for retirement up until now?
These questions required me to make one imperative assumption: is my audience financially literate enough to answer the questions accurately? According to Annamaria Lusardi, an accountancy scholar at the George Washington University School of Business, maybe not.
In conjunction with the University of Michigan's Retirement Research Center, Lusardi analyzed the Center's 2004 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to assess if Americans have the financial literacy needed to plan for retirement. The results were not inspiring.
Financial literary among baby boomers was measured by asking respondents to demonstrate a basic understanding of percentage calculations, division, and compound interest. Here are the questions (test yourself, answers are at the bottom!):
1. If the chance of getting a disease is 10 percent, how many people out of 1,000 would be expected to get the disease?
2. If 5 people all have the winning number in the lottery and the prize is 2 million dollars, how much will each of them get?
3. Let's say you have 200 dollars in a savings account. The account earns 10 percent interest per year. How much would you have in the account at the end of two years?
Baby Boomers between the ages of 51 to 56 reported mixed results. 83.5% got the percentage calculation question correct, 55.9% got the lottery division question correct, and only 17.8% indicated the correct answer to the question regarding compound interest. Other calculations in the study show that those who are not financially literate (or who answered the 3 questions incorrectly) are less likely to even plan for retirement, they also tend to accumulate less wealth during their lifetime, and are less likely to participate in the stock market. All of these factors have tremendous implications on income security during retirement.
Big data doesn't just have the capacity to make your job more efficient, buy your life as well. Retirement planning is fraught with both structured and unstructured data that need to be considered when preparing for your golden years.
What can feds do as a result of these findings and the Big Data challenge? Before answering that question, ask yourself this: is the problem the lack of understanding of financial information? Or is it about behavior, and planning for retirement? Would mere education courses give feds the tools they need to save? Or should we start treating out lives like a Big Data project that needs organizing?
1. 100
2. 400,000
3. 242
Notes from the Research Desk highlights the best practices, salient data and emergent perspectives uncovered by the Government Business Council's (GBC) team. Each week, Research Manager Dana Grinshpan will share the discoveries most important to federal managers.
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2008-02-20 / Opinion
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text:
This Guest Post is by my friend, Mark Tankosich, who has dan rankings in both Sho-ha Shorin-ryu karate and Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei jodo. Along with the martial arts, his passions include the Japanese language. He currently lives and teaches in Hiroshima, Japan.
Goodin Sensei has asked me to write a bit about the Japanese word "ganbaru." "Ganbaru" is a verb that roughly means such things as, "to try hard," "to hang in there," or "to stick with (something)." It is frequently heard in Japan, very often in one of it's various conjugated forms. Perhaps you've heard some of these in the dojo or elsewhere.
"Ganbatte" is a somewhat polite and softer way of asking/telling someone to do their best or to not give up. It can probably be used with just about anyone, so long as they are not very superior to you. To be even more polite, you would add the word "kudasai" after "ganbatte." In my experience, "ganbatte kudasai" can safely be used even with very senior people.
"Ganbare!" means basically the same thing as "ganbatte," but is more of a command. It is the imperative form of "ganbaru," and thus is less polite and "harder" sounding. I don't think that you would want to use this form with someone who is very senior to you. On the other hand, because it is somewhat "forceful," it is often used to help motivate an equal or a subordinate who is struggling in some way.
"Ganbaro" is another common form of "ganbaru." The meaning of this is a little different than that of "ganbatte" and "ganbare," in that those two are directed at others, while "ganbaro" is also aimed at yourself. That is, "ganbaro" is a form that means something like "Let's do our best!" or "Let's all hang tough!"
It's true that sometimes learning the proper usage of Japanese words can be a little difficult. My advice to you?
Ganbatte kudasai!!!
Mark Tankosich
From Charles:
I would like to thank Mark Tankosich very much for taking the time to explain the various forms of ganbaru. We are lucky to have skilled translators, such as Mark, who are not only fluent in English and Japanese, but familiar with Karate terminology as well.
My mother was born and raised in Japan. When she came to the United States and had me, she was more interested that I learn proper English than Japanese. As a result, I love Japanese culture and food but can't speak or write the language. But my mother did make me look up all the English words I did not understand in the dictionary and this helped me a great deal with my education and legal career.
As Mark points out, how you use a particular word can depend on to whom you are speaking. In Karate we are taught to be courteous. Learning the right words to use and the proper way to use them can help us to avoid unintentionally offending others.
One of the things I have learned is that it is better to communicate clearly and politely in English than to attempt to use poor or broken Japanese. Misunderstanding and unintended insult can result from the latter.
Thank you very much again, Mark.
Charles C. Goodin


text:
42 U.S. Code § 2000b - Civil actions by the Attorney General
Whenever the Attorney General receives a complaint in writing signed by an individual to the effect that he is being deprived of or threatened with the loss of his right to the equal protection of the laws, on account of his race, color, religion, or national origin, by being denied equal utilization of any public facility which is owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of any State or subdivision thereof, other than a public school or public college as defined in section 2000c of this title, and the Attorney General believes the complaint is meritorious and certifies that the signer or signers of such complaint are unable, in his judgment, to initiate and maintain appropriate legal proceedings for relief and that the institution of an action will materially further the orderly progress of desegregation in public facilities, the Attorney General is authorized to institute for or in the name of the United States a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States against such parties and for such relief as may be appropriate, and such court shall have and shall exercise jurisdiction of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section. The Attorney General may implead as defendants such additional parties as are or become necessary to the grant of effective relief hereunder.
The Attorney General may deem a person or persons unable to initiate and maintain appropriate legal proceedings within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section when such person or persons are unable, either directly or through other interested persons or organizations, to bear the expense of the litigation or to obtain effective legal representation; or whenever he is satisfied that the institution of such litigation would jeopardize the personal safety, employment, or economic standing of such person or persons, their families, or their property.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


text:
KIEV, Ukraine, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A Russian convoy of 280 trucks transporting aid to Ukraine was deployed on Tuesday without necessary coordination, raising concerns of Russia's intent.
The convoy was deployed a day after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko acknowledged that Russia would be part of an international humanitarian relief effort headed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Moscow, however, didn't wait for approval and coordination before unilaterally deploying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid.
Ukraine and NATO have voiced concern that Russia would use a humanitarian mission as "an excuse to send troops into eastern Ukraine," further destabilizing the country.
On Monday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Russian President Vladimir Putin "against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under any pretext, including humanitarian."
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that the Russian convoy would not be allowed to cross into Ukraine.
Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said that the Russian trucks transporting the aid "belong to the military. International law forbids law enforcement services from accompanying humanitarian convoys."
Presidential Administration deputy head Valeriy Chaly commented on the tense situation from Kiev, declaring, "We do not consider any movement of Russian convoys on Ukrainian territory."
Instead, per the agreement with the Red Cross, both the Ukrainian branch of the Red Cross and personnel from Geneva would accept deliveries of aid at the border, process the aid through customs checkpoints and re-load the supplies onto other vehicles.
"We will not allow any escort -- either by the Russian Emergencies Ministry or any other law enforcement agency," Chaly said Tuesday.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on Tuesday offered to assist the Red Cross with delivery of the humanitarian aid.


text:
Rain Design iRest Stand
Product: Rain Design iRest Lap Stand
Price: $44.90
Rating: Recommend*
People who love their iPads spend hours and hours holding it in front of them. It can be a pain in the neck and also tiring on the hands. We went on a search for an iPad stand that is minimal in design yet effective and decided to give Rain Design's iRest lap stand a try.
We were looking for an iPad stand that didn't take up a lot of space but was still sturdy enough to hold the device securely. As much as we love Belkin's Cushtop for our notebooks, we wanted something lighter for an iPad stand because the intent of the iPad is portability.
The iRest works as both a lap stand and a desktop easel. It came with two different pieces to assemble. The main part of the iRest is a silver and black aluminum easel and foam padding that you screw onto the plastic base. No tools are required, so the setup is extremely fast and easy.
Although the design is minimal, the iRest packs a lot of function. It holds an iPad securely either horizontally or vertically, and the rubber bottom has a Dock Connector cable and speaker pass-throughs. Watching video or content is a great experience on the iRest because the stand doesn't hinder the speaker quality.
The plastic rear arm can be adjusted so you can prop the iRest at the best angle for sitting, laying down or placing it on a desktop. Because the iRest elevates your iPad pretty high, we found that it was a better accessory for watching movies and video content rather than using it as a stand to do computing type tasks. For iPad users who are constantly watching things on their iPad, the iRest is definitely a great accessory, which eases strain on your hands and neck.
• Easy to assemble
• Comfortable as a lap stand
• Hold iPad vertically and horizontally
• Nice design
• Doesn't work as well as a desktop stand
• Price is on the higher end
Our Ratings:
Strong Recommend
Weak Recommend
Don't Recommend
Images: Julienne Lin


text:
I used qtscore() in GenABEL to do GWAS. But my smaple size is small. Someone suggested me to do bootstraps without replacement
and gave me a formula (A)
Code: Select all
qtscore(sample(phdata(b.dat)$disease), replace=F), b.dat, trait ="binomial")
but I think this formula is wrong, because it only sampled phentypes but without relevant genotype information.
I think the right formular is (B)
Code: Select all
qtscore(disease, b.dat,trait ="binomial", idsubset=sample(gtdata(b.dat)@idnames,replace=F),times=1000)
am I right? or anyother good suggestions?
I also have a question:
what's the meaning of "times" in qtscore(), if times=1000, does it mean that in my formula the sample process run 1000 times?
if times=1000, what's the meaning of P1df in results? How can I calculate FDR(false discovery rate)?
Thank you!


text: A ballot box is parachuted down as a young woman pulls up to the shore of a remote island. To a soldier's surprise, she's actually the government bureaucrat in charge of local voting. Whether he wants to or not, the soldier is thrown into an elections adventure that just may put him out of a job. Orders from above force him to accompany the female agent in an Army jeep across the island's dusty desert. The agent literally leaves no stone unturned in her search for ballots.


text:
HEARTS clocked up their first league win since November and moved onto positive points thanks to a late winner from Scott Robinson.
Callum Paterson gave Hearts a deserved lead in the 37th minute with a tap in following a David Smith corner but Yann Songo'o levelled on the stroke of half time when he headed home a Richard Brittain free-kick.
The match looked to be heading for a draw but with 10 minutes to go Robinson pounced on a Michael Fraser punch out to drill the ball into the net for a dramatic winner.
Hearts had a chance to take the lead after only 20 seconds when Songo'o lost possession of the ball and David Smith's cross to the far post was scooped wide by Sam Nicholson.
The visitors had another chance seconds later when Smith sent over an inviting delivery to the near post but Paterson knocked the ball past the wrong side of the post.
County's first effort of note arrived in the sixth minute when Graham Carey got behind the Hearts' defence but his whipped in cross was just missed by Brittain at the far post.
But most of the action was at the other end and Smith caused havoc again with another dangerous cross which Dale Carrick just failed to get enough purchase on.
Then Smith had a go himself with a low drive but his effort flashed past Michael Fraser's right hand post.
The visitors continued to set the pace and they came close again in the 24th minute when Smith played in Carrick but his shot flew into the side netting.
County were only seen in snatches but they were not far away five minutes later when a Carey free-kick was knocked back across goal by Yoann Arquin and Jordan Slew headed narrowly past the upright.
It looked just a matter of time before Hearts took the lead and the opener came in the 37th minute when Smith's corner from the left was touched on by Danny Wilson and the ball fell kindly for Paterson who tapped in with his left foot from a yard out..
But County hit back and against the run of play they grabbed a leveller in the dying seconds of the half when a Brittain free kick was headed home by Songo'o.
County started the second half on the front foot and Songo'o was up looking to get on the scoresheet again when he knocked one over the top following a corner.
Hearts missed a really good chance to restore their lead in the 73rd minute when Paterson won the ball and set Smith off down the right and his cross into the box was headed over by Carrick from six yards.
It was Carrick's last involvement in the action as he was immediately replaced by Billy King.
But Hearts did restore their lead 10 minutes from the end when Smith's ball into the box was only cleared as far as Robinson who fired home through a ruck of players.
Hearts could have been out of sight in the 86th minute when full back Kevin McHattie charged through the County defence only to be denied by a point-black save from Fraser.
County threw on Melvin De Leeuw and Alex Cooper in a desperate attempt to save the match but Hearts held out for all three points.


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June 30th, 2013
Top U.S. University Presidents Explore Innovation and Bilateral Academic Opportunities in Israel
Presidents, Chancellors of U.C. Berkeley, Texas State University System, Barnard, Scripps, Rockefeller, others on 7th Project Interchange Seminar for University Leaders
Interview and Photo Opportunities Available
(Jerusalem, Israel, June 30, 2013) - A delegation of presidents and chancellors from top U.S. universities will visit Israel June 30- July 6 to investigate opportunities for bilateral academic partnerships and collaboration through an educational seminar conducted by Project Interchange, an institute of AJC (American Jewish Committee). The delegation will visit Israeli universities, including Tel Aviv University, the Technion, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for a series of meetings in areas relevant to their universities such as brain science, environmental sustainability, biotech, diversity and women's leadership. The delegation will learn about state-of-the art research initiatives and ground-breaking innovation at Israeli universities, as well as unique academia-to-industry technology transfer that has contributed to Israel's reputation as the "Start Up Nation".
The seminar was designed by Project Interchange in consultation with the participating university presidents and chancellors, and will offer broad exposure to the complex issues facing Israel and the region, with the delegation scheduled to meet with senior government, academic and civil society leaders across the Israeli social and political spectrum, and traveling to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders.
"We are tremendously pleased to host this impressive delegation of American university leaders for their first of hopefully many trips to Israel. The world-class research and educational facilities at Israeli universities and colleges, a number of which will be visited during the program, provide a fitting setting for great minds to share information, discuss research partnerships, and explore opportunities for mutually-beneficial cooperation," said Project Interchange Executive Director Sam Witkin. "Israel's world-class research and educational innovation attests to its role as a global player."
The program marks Project Interchange's 7th annual flagship seminar for university presidents. Previous Project Interchange seminars for university presidents have resulted in numerous instances of collaboration between participant universities and their Israeli counterparts. The joint Cornell-Technion technology/science campus, in part a result of a PI seminar chaired by Cornell President David Skorton in 2010, broke ground on New York's Roosevelt Island in 2012 and launched its first beta class. Following his seminar in 2012, Louis Agnese, President, University of the Incarnate Word returned to Israel in February 2013, to consult and collaborate with the Sackler School of Medicine in order to create a medical school at UIW. In March 2013, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, who co-chaired a PI seminar in 2008, signed a three-year, $1 million partnership with Ben Gurion University to develop renewable energy technology projects. University of California-Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake (2008) has signed nine bilateral academic exchange agreements with Israeli universities and recently hosted an Israeli innovation conference.
The Project Interchange University Presidents and Chancellors delegation includes:
- Seminar Chair: Chancellor Brian McCall, Texas State University System
- President Debora L. Spar, Barnard College
- Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks, University of California, Berkeley
- President Daniel Papp, Kennesaw State University
- President Robert R. Jennings, The Lincoln University
- President Sharon K. Hahs, Northeastern Illinois University
- President Wim Wiewel, Portland State University
- President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, The Rockefeller University
- President Lori Bettison-Varga, Scripps College
# # #
About Project Interchange: Project Interchange, a non-profit educational institute of AJC (American Jewish Committee), develops and conducts educational seminars in Israel for current and emerging United States and international leaders. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Project Interchange has brought over 6,000 influential figures to Israel from 77 countries, offering them broad exposure and first-hand understanding of the complex issues facing Israel and the region.www.projectinterchange.org


text:
MINNEAPOLIS—Health Fitness Corp., Minneapolis, experienced a 19.3 percent increase in revenue for the fourth quarter 2006 and a 15.7 percent increase for all of 2006, according to the company, which provides fitness and health management services. The company had revenue for the fourth quarter of $17.1 million compared to $14.3 million for the same period in 2005. Gross profit during the quarter increased 33.8 percent to $4.6 million from $3.4 million for the same period in 2005.
Operating income decreased 7 percent to $0.61 million from $0.65 million for the same period the year before primarily due to operational investments and non-cash, stock-based compensation expense, the company says.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, revenue was $63.6 million compared to $54.9 million in 2005. Gross profit increased 27.6 percent to $17.6 million from $13.8 million for 2005. Operating income increased 4.6 percent to $3.7 million from $3.5 million for 2005.
In addition to the release of financials, the company also announced that it had formed a Science Advisory Board of health industry individuals to help the company "ensure HFC's innovative programs and services remain of the highest possible quality," says HFC President and CEO Gregg Lehman. The advisory board will review the quality and relevance of HFC's products and services from scientific and technical perspectives, delivering guidance on the appropriate implementation of products and services, and providing peer review to HFC's research programs


text:
Your shopping cart is empty!
With almost limitless applications, the DeltaPoint™ Reflex Sight is in its element on a shotgun, when plinking or in competitive shooting, and it's an ideal home defense optic. Intuitive operation with precision red dot ease and accuracy keeps even novice shooters right on the mark.
Handguns to shotguns to AR variants, the agile Leupold DeltaPoint™ is never out of its comfort zone.


text:
Open grant, contract, and cooperative agreement listings with closing dates and contacts
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How NIDDK funds clinical research, from preliminary clinical feasibility to large multi-center studies
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diversity and small business programs
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Health tips from Dr. Griffin Rodgers, Director of the NIDDK
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diseases and conditions
Patient and provider resources including select CEUs
Dialogue with thought leaders on emerging trends in diabetes care
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Director's Update newsletter
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President's budget request, congressional testimony, and other legislative information
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My research focuses on understanding the steps involved in protein folding — a process that transforms a string of amino acid molecules (protein building blocks) — into a complex, 3-dimensional structure. This research uses rapidly pulsed laser light and fluorescent labeling of molecules to observe the steps in the protein folding process. My lab also uses laser techniques to search for a drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease.
Phone: 1-800-860-8747 | TTY: 1-866-569-1162 | Email: email@example.com | Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, M-F


text:
The number of "approved" staff working in the financial services industry has fallen to just under 152,000, the lowest level since the summer of 2004.
Analysis of the Financial Service Authority's database by corporate finance boutique IMAS, shows that people employed in frontline jobs by banks have fallen by nearly 20,000 since the financial crisis from a peak of about 170,000 in mid-2007.
FSA-approved staff at Barclays has fallen from a peak of more than 4,000 in 2010 to 3,430, according to IMAS's figures, while Lloyds has slashed the number of approved staff it employs from more than 2,000 to just under 1,100 today.
The collapse of City job numbers shows no signs of slowing and is likely to accelerate, according to separate research from Deutsche Bank, which yesterday warned that investment banks could cull as much as 7pc of their staff this year.
Deutsche Bank said it was "conservatively" estimating a 25pc peak to trough reduction in staff numbers and that the cuts seen so far were just the start of a far more severe reduction in staff numbers.
"Most cost cutting in the last 18 months has been shedding headcount added in the mini-bull market of late 2009 and early 2010. Only in H2 2012 [the second half of last year] has true cost reduction gathered momentum," said the bank.
IMAS's tracking of the FSA's register is regarded as one of the most accurate databases available of actual employment in the City, as it monitors on a month-by-month basis the number of staff employed in the high-end frontline jobs that require approval from the regulator.
"This is the only database of its kind and shows the extent of the cutbacks" claimed Olly Laughton-Scott, founding partner of IMAS.
City headhunters say the continued cull in frontline jobs is likely to come hand-in-hand with far lower bonuses for most staff.
Veni Partners, a City recruitment firm, estimates bonuses levels will be down 30pc on last year and said the message from banks to staff was that "this year, your job is your bonus".
The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that the total industry bonus pot this year will amount to little more than £1.3bn, about a tenth of its size back in 2007 at the peak of the market.
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the CEBR, said he thought the bonus pool was likely to shrink again this year, before flattening out.
Even the most senior staff will not escape the impact of the downturn and according to Veni Partners an increasing proportion of top bankers are being given "Chairman" and "Vice Chairman" titles that essentially allow investment banks to cut their basic pay package and make any bonus depend directly on the business the individual is able to bring in.
With lower bonuses and job cuts on the horizon, an increasing number of bankers are opting to leave the City and either start their own consultancy or take jobs in the corporate sector, often working for their former clients.


text:
- Home
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- Pro-Mold 1/2" Real Thick 110pt 1-Screw Holder - PC16
Pro-Mold 1/2" Real Thick 110pt 1-Screw Holder - PC16
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Ideal for storage of those "Big Money" Cards. This is an absolutely gorgeous baseball card display case that really makes the baseball card stand out. This particular holder is small and compact compared to traditional style four screw screwdowns which allows for storage of many in smaller spaces particularly in monster boxes or shoe boxes. What made the one screw screwdown popular is the fact that you get all the benefits of a four screw, as far as protection of the baseball card goes, but with only having to use one screw instead of four.
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text:
Within the confines of saying that you are fine, there are a few variations allowed. You might answer that you are finer than frog hair, which you have to admit, is pretty fine. I have an acquaintance who almost invariably says that he is, "Pretty good for a fat old man."
I have a couple of answers to, "How are you?" I like to say that I am good, "But not as good as you." I also sometimes like to answer, "I am so dang wonderful," and then add, as though an afterthought, "At least, that's what Barbara tells me." It's all done in fun and accomplishes a greeting without too much fuss. There is no depth to it, but sometimes we don't want to deal with depth.
I have a little book entitled, "What Do You Say After You Say Hello." It is one of many books of a similar genre that I was into a few years ago. In summary, the book enumerates the many things we do and say to avoid intimacy in interpersonal relationships. It observes that intimacy is to be greatly desired but risky, and opens us to the possibility of rejection, that most painful of social punishments. Mostly, we avoid the risk of intimacy.
Many years ago, way back when such things still mattered, I suddenly came face to face with an old love on Main Street in Moab. I'm sure that we were both a bit shocked at the sudden encounter. I hadn't seen her in years, but I had thought about her and wondered how life was treating her.
Wouldn't you know? We fell into the safe, inane little ritual of, "How are you?" and "Pretty good. You?" A bit more of such nonsense and we went our separate ways, not knowing if we would ever see each other again. It was the terrible waste of an opportunity to speak from the heart. But then, speaking from the heart borders on intimacy and is always risky.
It may have been that particular lost opportunity and failed encounter that made me more determined to cut to the chase, as the saying goes. I hope to never again waste such a precious moment.
Someone said that we should treat everyone we meet as though they were struggling with serious problems, because most of the time they are. I agree with that observation.
It seems a tragedy to greet someone who has serious problems and let it slide in favor of some inane social pastime. I think it is worth the step through the door of intimacy and the risk of rejection to make oneself available to give comfort, if nothing more than an understanding heart and a sympathetic shoulder.
Most troubled people don't need or want advice. They are generally perfectly capable of working out their own problems. But it is almost always helpful to talk about them with someone who will quietly listen. About the best we can do is provide information if it is lacking, and to ask pertinent questions.
I continue to go on field trips with my grandson recently returned from Mexico. We have the best conversations. I am determined that we will make the best of this rare time together by speaking from the heart and speaking of important things.


text:
There are no Upcoming Shows listed for this comedian.
Tim Ryder
Tim Ryder (Ensemble) has to admit that his dreams are coming true right before your very eyes. He is a proud survivor of the untamed wilderness that is southern Illinois and a graduate of Drake University. Since moving to Chicago, he has performed with ComedySportz, Baby Wants Candy, The Beatbox, Shadowfax (i.O. Chicago) and The Senate (The Playground Theater). He also sailed the Mediterranean with Second City aboard the NCL Jade in a four-month experiment to see what makes European tourists laugh. (The answer: mime.) He thanks his family for their love and support and his wife Rebecca for loving him enough to put up with his shenanigans.
Tim Ryder's Upcoming Shows
Tim Ryder is Known For


text:
Sunday, 09 February 2014 01:59 PM
This is the year Chris Christie was planning to be more than just New Jersey's governor. Yet it turns out that high-profile investigations into his administration and campaign operation in a political payback case could make advancing his agenda a challenge.
Christie came off a decisive re-election victory in November already in the spotlight and with opportunities for some signature accomplishments. He became chairman of the Republican Governors Association, making him the chief fundraiser for the group in a year featuring 36 gubernatorial elections. His state hosted the first Super Bowl played outdoors in a cold-weather locale. The stage was set for him to keep gaining exposure ahead of a possible 2016 presidential bid and to claim a mandate on imposing his policies at home in New Jersey.
The spotlight has indeed intensified for Christie — but it's due to scandal.
"This has become a major distraction for him and his team," said David Gergen, a political analyst who served as a White House adviser to Republican Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and Democrat Bill Clinton. "They are having to fight back on various fronts."
Last month, emails revealed that Christie's staff was involved in ordering a September shutdown of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge — apparently for political retribution against a Democratic mayor. The result was massive gridlock in the community of Fort Lee. Christie has denied any involvement.
Also last month, Hoboken Democratic Mayor Dawn Zimmer said two members of Christie's Cabinet told her the city's Superstorm Sandy aid would be tied to her support of a real estate development project. Christie's administration has denied her accusations.
Christie has had few public appearances in New Jersey since a nearly two-hour news conference in mid-January when he denied knowing about the planning or execution of the lane closings.
He's been more visible outside the state, with recent RGA fundraising trips to Florida and Texas and a trip to Chicago planned next week. The events are private.
So far, there is no evidence that Republican donors are abandoning Christie. Some, in fact, have come away impressed by the personal strength Christie seems to be exhibiting in a crisis.
"He has a very thick hide," Gergen said. "In his public appearances, he's not letting this slow him down."
But Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University political scientist, says that in his state, which has the first presidential caucus, Christie's key supporters are now split on whether they think he's a viable presidential candidate. "There are too many people who are now dubious about whether they want to stay on the Chris Christie boat," Schmidt said.
Even without a political crisis, serving as RGA chairman means he's away from his state frequently.
Gov. Bobby Jindal was out of Louisiana 42 days on RGA business in the 12 months he served as the group's chairman, before Christie took over in November, according to an Associated Press analysis of his schedules.
Jindal appeared on two Sunday morning news talk shows last week saying he did not believe Christie should step aside from his RGA role. He said the chairman is not as important to the group as critics would believe. Still, Democrats have noted that when Christie was in Texas, neither current Gov. Rick Perry nor Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott appeared with him.
Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie was criticizing Christie for leaving the state at all.
"Chris Christie is not interested in being honest with us, in addressing the scandals he created, or, even, in doing his job," he said in a statement last week. "Instead, he is leaving New Jersey behind to take up residency in a state of denial."
Analysts see 2014 as a key year for Christie at home: If he decides to run for president, it could be his last full year as governor. His policy to-do list includes largely leftover items from his first term, such as cutting taxes and giving local governments more ways to keep spending down now that they are not allowed to raise property taxes by more than 2 percent a year without a vote. Several of Christie's priorities are things that leaders of the Democrat-led Legislature have already resisted.
Now, New Jersey Democrats, who already had been crafting strategies to counter a second-term governor, are more emboldened to push back against Christie's policy priorities, as well as the day-to-day parts of being governor, such as his political appointments.
"What's changed is that now we're going to be more assertive in advancing our agenda," said state Sen. Ray Lesniak, a veteran Democrat.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, for example, has indefinitely postponed a confirmation hearing on Kevin O'Dowd, Christie's chief of staff and nominee for state attorney general. O'Dowd's name has surfaced in emails subpoenaed in the bridge scandal, and he is among 20 people and organizations close to Christie included in a more sweeping round of legislative subpoenas.
"We can't have a hearing until we have all the subpoenas to see where Kevin O'Dowd falls in this process," said Lesniak, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary committee. "Then it will be up to Kevin and the governor to decide whether they want him subjected under oath to questions on the bridge closings and the use or abuse of Sandy aid money."
Christie's difficulties are so much the story of the day in New Jersey that when U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews announced last week he was resigning — a decision that came as the House Ethics Committee looks into allegations that he used donor money for personal expenses — he was asked about Christie. The Democrat was quick to point out that he disagrees with Christie on many things but said he had empathy for the governor.
"I think he's in the middle of this vortex of blood sport," he said, "where anything he says or does is going to be attacked because it's good for ratings."
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Thanks guys. It isn't my Propeller nut. I checked that and it is tight with cotter pin intact. You can hear it coming from the Hurth Tranny. Sounds like rocks like Todd said. I'm going to have my dealer change it out to enginge oil. It needs to be changed anyway. Only reason I'm having them do it is so they can also listen to it to make sure it isn't the damper plate.
Sorry B-Rad, I would and could probably do it myself and normally agree with you, but I just don't have the time to spend on it! Too many other projects going on, working full time and running a small business on the side!
Hi Guys,
I have a 2000 X Star that has the same problem, rock like sound at idle but goes away at speed/revs.
After reading the forum i was wondering if woodrow had any further input??
Or have we come to the conclusion that it is "normal" and does/will not effect performance??
Mine rattles a little bit. but I had another rattle problem before.
I was sure it was the transmission. but it ended up being my idler pulley. it would rattle in neutral and idle speed. after changing the idler pulley the rattle went away.
You might want to check it. it was a 20.00 fix.
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless when facing them."
1999 X-star, 330 LTR, Zero FLex tower.
I never figured out my problem. My boat runs well as far as skiing. I am on a slalom course and pulls great passes and times out correct consistently. But it still makes a nasty noise at times. It makes the noise very bad at times and almost not noticeable at times. It is always at it's worst just in gear (barely above idle speed). Reverse is worse than forward. Forward is equally bad after shifting from neutral into gear as it is coming down from speed to idling in gear. I owned the boat for several years. It did not sound like this in the past. It is not the normal straight cut gear chatter and it makes the noise with the drive shaft dsconnected so it is not propellar nut/key related.
1 year ago with the same amount of hours i had an identicle situation. 3000$ later and a missled mechanic, we still heard the rocks. We switched our damper but you should not unless springs are loose. DO NOT RIP APART you transmission because it is likely fine. Our main issue was a ignition issue slightly setting off our time and allowing our tranny to gear lash at low rpm. All we needed to fix our problem was an 80$ roatar cap and piont adjustment....Please dont go down a long expensive road i did. Ypur damper plate is probly fine. Transmissions blow up if they have problems or slip, a clunck is likely gear lash.
This rattle is a norm across most ski and wakeboard boats, due to gear lash. Don't spend much money trying to figure it out like i did.
Mine sounds clunky at idle, but as you pick up RPM and speed, everything is smooth.
After some google searching it appear this is somewhat normal (at least somewhat common) as posted above.
Works good, lasts a long time. Good enough for me. I spend enough on my money pit to go chasing problems that may or may not exist.
If it breaks I will fix it.
Oil level is good, clean and proper. Changed more frequently that necessary for sure.
1991 ProStar / 351W with 1:1 Velvet Drive
Have a read of this thread, apparently the noise is a common issue but doesn't cause and harm
"Indmar Products
5400 Old Millington Rd. Millington, TN Phone 800-238-7112 Fax 800-622-7278
SERVICE ADVISORY Date: 11/21/01 Advisory #SV2001-2 SUBJECT: Gear Rattle Hurth Reduction Gear Transmissions
We have received a number of complaints regarding rattling or noisy ZF/Hurth reduction gears (V-drive or in-line). The noise is most pronounced at idle RPM and typically goes away when the engine RPM is raised above idle. Although the noise can be irritating, this is a normal condition with these transmissions that in no way affects the durability or reliability of the unit.
In an effort to reduce the gear rattle noise at low RPM; the transmission manufacturer has suggested that we change from the current Dexron 3 transmission fluid that we use in the transmission to 15W40 motor oil. This is the same oil that we recommend for use in the engine and its higher viscosity helps dampen the contact of the gears and reduces the noise significantly.
Indmar has started using 15W40 Pennzoil Marine Motor Oil in all reduction gears starting with engine IC985313. Those units will be identified with a Pennzoil 15W40 Marine Oil sticker on the transmission in place of the ATF sticker that was previously attached.
We suggest that if you have a customer complaint of a noisy or rattling reduction gear that you replace the transmission fluid with 15W40 motor oil at the next scheduled service. Our current recommended maintenance schedule calls for changing the transmission oil at the first service (10-20 hours) and then annually or every 300 hours, whichever comes first.
Since the transmission has no drain plug, it is necessary to suck the fluid out of the transmission through the opening in the bottom of the filter cavity. Use a suitable oil removal pump with a pick- up long enough to get to the bottom of the transmission housing. You might also want to remove the coolant lines and let the cooler and hoses drain into a suitable container to make sure as much of the fluid as possible is removed from the transmission. It is not necessary to flush the transmission, just get as much of the old fluid out as possible.
Reconnect the cooling lines and fill the transmission with 15W40 motor oil. The level of the oil should be between the max and min marks on the dipstick. The following chart gives you the approximate capacities of the various reduction gears.
Model Capacity
450A 2.12 qt (2L) 630A 4.2 qt (4L) 630V 4.2 qt (4L)
im not so sure its a fix at all. I tried it and it seemed quieter for a while but after getting the box hot and running for a few hours it was no better at all ..
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I read the powerscore bible for it and went from getting 10-12 per section right to getting 18-23 every time.
FWIW, I wish I had done the powerscore bible prior to taking the LSAT. If I had to re-take, I'd do the Powerscore bible, first.
I'm all over the place with these logic games. Some I can get literally every question right, others I can get like 1/5. Overall I am scored 7-11 right out of 24. Which really sucks. If I don't improve dramatically I doubt I'll even take the test.


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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 10th Mar 2010 22:16 UTC, submitted by kang327
Brown University has developed an IDE for Java called Code Bubbles that takes a pretty radical departure from current IDEs. While most IDEs, such as Eclipse are file-based, Code Bubbles is based on fragments. The system appears to support reading and editing code with fragments, multi-tasking, annotating and sharing, and debugging with bubbles. There's a website with video too.


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Savor Pittsburgh - 9/2/09
The SouthSide Works, in front of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, was packed as 600 foodies sampled the delectable edibles of area restaurants during Savor Pittsburgh. Local celebrity judges — including WHIRL's own Victoria Bradley — debated tastes before awarding the Best Appetizer to McCormick & Schmick's for its dirty shrimp, Best Entrée to Treetops Restaurant for their plank smoked Laurel Hill salmon, and Best Desert, as well as Dish of the Year to Tusca Global Tapas for their milk chocolate cashew bomb. "Pretty much everyone waits to hear the winning chefs, but the dish of the year is the big announcement," says Stephanie Colasante, public relations and community development coordinator for the beneficiary, the Respiratory Alliance of Western Pennsylvania. Taste-tester attendees voted Tamari for the People's Choice Award, and diners were entertained by live music by No Bad Juju. During a silent auction, bidders vied for baskets from Buon Sapore and Giant Eagle Market District, as well as Pittsburgh Steelers gear, and more. Photography by Megan WylieRead More


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Last Sunday, letter writer Robert A. Lebo of Valencia wrote that he was bewildered on election night watching millions vote for President Obama. He asked: "What happened to those people over the course of this four-year presidency that would inspire them to throw their support behind this president? Did these millions of citizens see an increase in the value of their homes ... their 401(k)s ... did roads and bridges improve?... Did they find better-paying jobs?... Do they feel safer from terrorists?...
"What happened? What did I miss?"
Carl Godlewski of Venice, among others, responded:
The letter writer asks why people like me voted for Obama. Here goes:
• Yes, my house value has gone up, along with most households.
• The president took aim at college tuition costs, and through the Dream Act, expanded opportunities for many students.
• With a 50% increase in the market, my 401(k) is back to pre-2008 levels and higher than ever.
• Utility and food pricing goes up every year irrespective of which party is in power.
• Many roads and bridges were improved through Obama's stimulus program.
• Unemployment has decreased.


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Stockton, CA
Nancy H. Browning -----------
Nancy Helen Browning-Steffey passed away March 18, 2013 after a long illness. She was born in
French Camp to Carl and Maxine Herbst and lived in Stockton all of her life. She
graduated from Edison High School and Stockton Delta College and the Culinary Institute, where she became a
fabulous chef cooking locally at many banquets and functions. She loved to cook all her life and loved to listen to great music. She was active in several local organizations including Elks Lodge, American Legion, Moose Lodge Stockton Rod and Gun Club and was past commodore of Port Stockton Yacht Club.
She is survived by her husband Fred Steffey, sons Marc Kudrna and Michael Rothstein, Brothers, Gary, Lyle and Randy Herbst, Grand children Nancy Rothstein, Anna Rothstein, Marc Kudrna and Michael Kudrna and 4 great grand children. She is also survived by her Aunt Wilma Smith, Aunt Dana niece Christa and step daughter Leslie Browning and many
cousins. Graveside service will be held at Rural Cemetery 2350 Cemetery Lane, Area 41 on
Tuesday April 9th, 2013 at 11:00 am In lieu of flowers family
requests donations to Saint Mary's Dining Hall.


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Brussels, 27 October 2010
Single Market Act – Frequently Asked Question
1) What is the Single Market?
The Single Market of the European Union is the common area between the 27 EU countries where goods, services, capital and persons can circulate freely. The Single Market also ensures that European citizens are free to live, work, study and do business where they want in the EU.
The Single Market is the core of the cooperation between the 27 Member States of the European Union. Yet getting it up and running took many years.
It all started with the 1957 Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). This Treaty set out a timeline for the original six founding members (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands) to abolish customs barriers within the Community and establish a common customs tariff to be applied to goods from non-EEC countries. This objective was achieved on 1 July 1968.
However, customs duties are only one aspect of protectionist barriers to cross-border trade. In the 1970s, other trade barriers hampered the complete achievement of a common market. Technical norms, health and safety standards, national regulations on the right to practise certain professions and exchange controls all restricted the free movement of people, goods and capital.
In June 1985, the European Commission, under its then President, Jacques Delors, published an action programme seeking to abolish, within seven years, all physical, technical and tax-related barriers to free movement within the Community. The aim was to stimulate industrial and commercial expansion within a large, unified economic area.
By amending the original 1957 Treaty, the EEC gained the enabling instrument for the Single Market. The revised Treaty – the Single European Act - came into force in July 1987. Its provisions included:
With these changes in place, 282 laws were passed between 1985 and 1992 to sweep away the technical, regulatory, legal and bureaucratic barriers that stifled free trade and free movement. The Single Market was finally put in place on 1 January 1993.
With these barriers removed and national markets opened, more firms can now compete against each other. This means lower prices – and wider choice – for the consumer. Firms selling in the Single Market now have unrestricted access to nearly 500 million consumers in the European Union.
Between 1992 and 2006, it is estimated the Single Market generated 2.75 million jobs and 2.15% of extra growth for the European economy – that is € 518 extra for every person in the EU in 2006 alone. Intra-European trade currently accounts for 17% and 28% of world trade in goods and services respectively. Phone calls in Europe cost a fraction of what they did 10 years ago, many air fares in Europe have fallen significantly and new routes have opened. Households and businesses are now able to choose who supplies them with electricity and gas.
2) Why are you proposing a Single Market Act?
The Single Market has been a valuable shield for the European Union to weather the financial and economic crisis. But the crisis is still hitting Europe very hard: much of the growth and many of the jobs that were created between 1992 and 2006 have been wiped out. Our production levels have been reset to 1990 levels. Almost 10% of our active population – 23 million people – is currently unemployed. Furthermore, globalising trade, technological advancements and the emergence of new global players make Europe's competitive edge even tougher to achieve.
Nevertheless, the Single Market still has many area of untapped or not fully exploited potential. Exploiting these could further boost our economy, to put the European Union's growth and competitiveness back on track. This is where the Single Market Act is to deliver: to further unlock the potential of the Single Market.
But the Single Market won't work properly if citizens and businesses don't believe in the project and can't find an interest for them in the Single Market. The financial crisis has dented people's expectations and confidence in markets and sometimes in the Single Market itself. Answers are to be provided on social cohesion, employment and consumer protection. The Single Market Act responds to these concerns: putting people at the heart of the Single Market.
3) How is the Single Market Act to meet these challenges and restore confidence?
If we want to kick-start new growth that is both sustainable and fair, Europe needs to equip itself properly and act with strength and determination. A collective commitment at European level is required, with all players involved – European, national or regional, public or private, economic and social - making these goals their own. This is where the Single Market Act comes in.
The Single Market Act outlines 50 measures – that the Commission is proposing to re-launch the Single Market. Together they are aimed at achieving a highly competitive social market economy with sustainable economic growth based on renewed citizens and business confidence. However, this will only be the start of things.
For four months, the Single Market Act will be put up for debate throughout Europe – in Parliaments, regions, with civil society, trade unions, business federations etc. Are these 50 measures the right measures? Are there alternatives? Are there issues we have forgotten? Following a wide-ranging European public debate, the Commission will agree the final set of measures to focus on so that the 20th anniversary of the Single Market in 2012 can be celebrated with renewed dynamism.
4) What pre-work has been done already on the Single Market Act?
In September 2009, as part of his guidelines for the incoming European Commission, President Barroso identified the Single Market as a strategic priority to meet the goals for competitiveness and growth under the EU2020 strategy (see IP/10/225).
In October 2009, he tasked Mario Monti, professor at the Bocconi University and former Member of the Commission, to identify the challenges that a new policy initiative to re-launch the Single Market would face. In May 2010, Mr Monti proposed a comprehensive strategy with key policy recommendations. In Mr Monti's view, it is important to safeguard the Single Market from the risk of economic nationalism, to extend it into new areas key for Europe's growth and to build an adequate degree of consensus around it1.
Following an exchange of views with Mr Monti to re-launch the Single Market, the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumers Committee entrusted one of its Members, Mr Louis Grech (S&D) with the task of coming up with a Report on "Delivering a single market to consumers and citizens". In Mr Grech's view, the integration into the Single Market is not an irreversible process, and the continued existence of the Single Market should not be taken for granted2.
The Single Market Act responds to these two reports, and incorporated many of their recommendations.
5) What are the main initiatives of the Single Market?
The Single Market Act initiatives address three broad categories and can be summarized as follows:
6) Why are you launching a public debate on this?
The Commission does not want to prescribe a set of policies to the public. With the process of public debate on the Single Market Act, it seeks to renew the confidence of Europeans in the Single Market by involving them in the process from the start. Understanding that each and every European has a stake in the future of the Single Market will help to improve our growth prospects and address the challenges that lie ahead. It is also a collaborative effort involving all European institutions including the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Member States, who each have a part to play in seeing it through. The Economic and Social Council and the Committee of the Regions will play a crucial role in opening up the discussion to local and regional representatives, as well as stakeholders in associations and civil society organisations.
The purpose of the public debate itself is to generate a dialogue between citizens across Europe on the issues that matter to them over the coming months. The action programme, which will be made available in all languages, will be widely disseminated throughout the Member States. Multiple mediums will be in place for people to get involved. These include a website, hearings at the European Parliament, visits by Commissioners to the different Member states, and events organized by the Commission Representations in the Member States. Events already scheduled include the following:
What are now the next steps?
In the debate that is to take place in the next four months, the Commission will invite the other European institutions to find a common agreement on the choice of priority actions and the possibility to implement them in an accelerated and coordinated way before the end of 2012.
Following this discussion, the Commission will propose to the other European institutions to seal their commitment to the final work programme of the Single Market Act that is to be adopted in the early spring of 2011.
More information is available at:
M. Monti A new Strategy for the Single Market: at the service of Europe's economy and society
See: http://ec.europa.eu/bepa/pdf/monti_report_final_10_05_2010_en.pdf - 9 May 2010
L. Grech Delivering a single market to consumers and citizens
See: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=A7-0132/2010 - 3 May 2010
"Expected economic benefits of the European Services Directive",
Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB), November 2007.
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$ sysbench --db-driver=pgsql --oltp-dist-type=special --oltp-table-size=1000000 --oltp-read-only=off --oltp-test-mode=complex --max-requests=0 --max-time=300 --num-threads=64 --test=oltp run
sysbench 0.4.12: multi-threaded system evaluation benchmark
Running the test with following options:
Number of threads: 80
Doing OLTP test.
Running mixed OLTP test
Using Special distribution (12 iterations, 1 pct of values are returned in 75 pct cases)
Using "BEGIN" for starting transactions
Using auto_inc on the id column
Threads started!
FATAL: query execution failed: 9490352
FATAL: database error, exiting...
And the test failed with error reported in pg_log:
ERROR: duplicate key value violates unique constraint "sbtest_pkey"
DETAIL: Key (id)=(500815) already exists.
STATEMENT: INSERT INTO sbtest values($1,0,' ','aaaaaaaaaaffffffffffrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy')
The way sysbench works for the complex read-write test transaction, after doing some bunch of selects and updates, it deletes a row and inserts the same row back. So in a transaction logic it should not hit this error since it just deleted the row. This took me some time to recreate it in a way that I could understand what is happening.
What's happening is the timing of the start of a query in transaction with respect to another transaction in flight
working with the same key-value row such that the other transaction just deleted the row and also inserted the same row back in the same transaction.
Lets consider two transactions A and B
Transaction A Transaction B
DELETE FROM sbtest WHERE id=500815;
(returns DELETE 1)
INSERT INTO sbtest values(500815,0,'','aaaaaaaaaaffffffffffrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy');
(returns INSERT 0 1)
DELETE FROM sbtest WHERE id=500815;< ------- hangs/waits
(returns DELETE 0 – returns success but doesn't delete any rows . It doesn't roll back the transaction)
INSERT INTO sbtest values(500815,0,'','aaaaaaaaaaffffffffffrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy');
ERROR: duplicate key value violates unique constraint "sbtest_pkey"
The way MySQL-InnoDB handles it is slightly different. It actually deletes the new row inserted and hence always can do the INSERT successfully and thats why sysbench with MySQL - InnoDB never showed that problem.
If you read the documentation on PostgreSQL for READ COMMITTED Isolation level, it says: "In effect, a SELECT query sees a snapshot of the database as of the instant the query begins to run". So had the DELETE actually started after the END of the first transaction it would delete the new INSERTed row.I am not sure how other databases (ORACLE, DB2, etc) behave in this scenario.
As one of my co-worker mentioned "Correctness is in the Implementation of Beholder", it is hard to say who is right or wrong..
Just another one of the minor differences between MySQL and PostgreSQL.