text:
FASB Publishes Exposure Draft on the Rescission of FASB Statements No. 4, 44 and 64 and Technical CorrectionsNorwalk, CT, November 15, 2001—Today the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an Exposure Draft that rescinds FASB Statement No. 4, Reporting Gains and Losses from Extinguishment of Debt, and an amendment of that Statement, FASB Statement No. 64, Extinguishments of Debt Made to Satisfy Sinking-Fund Requirements. In addition, this proposed Statement would rescind FASB Statement No. 44, Accounting for Intangible Assets of Motor Carriers, as well as amend other existing authoritative pronouncements to make various technical corrections. The Exposure Draft can be accessed from the FASB website. Download the Exposure Draft.
Since Statement 4 was issued in 1975, the use of debt extinguishment has become part of the risk management strategy of many companies—particularly those operating in the secondary lending market. In response to that change, the FASB has proposed that Statement 4 be rescinded. Statement 64 amended Statement 4 and would no longer be necessary if Statement 4 were rescinded.
Under Statement 4, all gains and losses from the extinguishment of debt are required to be aggregated and, if material, classified as an extraordinary item, net of related income tax effect. The proposed Statement would eliminate Statement 4 and, thus, the exception to applying APB Opinion 30 to all gains and losses related to extinguishment of debt.
"Under the proposed change, companies would be allowed to classify gains and losses in connection with the extinguishment of debt within the conceptual framework of Opinion 30," commented Cathy Coburn, FASB Research Associate. She added, "This would distinguish transactions that are part of an entity's recurring operations from those that are unusual or infrequent, or that could be classified as an extraordinary item. The technical corrections, while nonsubstantive in nature, may, in some cases, change current accounting practice."
Statement 44 was issued to establish accounting requirements for the effects of transition to the provisions of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Those transitions have been completed and, therefore, Statement 44 is no longer needed.
Comments on the Exposure Draft must be received in writing by the FASB by January 14, 2001.
About the Financial Accounting Standards Board
Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely heavily on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board
Serving the investing public through transparent information, resulting from high-quality financial reporting standards, developed in an independent, private sector, open due process.


text:
Beep Boop! Hi, it's Klik Bot.
Hi everyone, it's your friendly absentee landlord! I am excited for Klik of the Month Klub #100 and I am extra excited to see longtime members who haven't posted in years come out of the woodwork to celebrate.
Having finally had a read-through of this thread, I'd just like to take a moment to remind everyone of the absolute, ironclad, unbreakable golden rule of Glorious Trainwrecks, which is: "Cheating is encouraged."
That is to say, we are here to give the finger to the creative roadblocks that stop us from enjoying making stuff, and if a rule, goal, or expectation, either from yourself or others, gets in the way of that, you are completely free and 100% encouraged to disregard it.
If the idea of shooting to make 100 games in a weekend gets you fired up and sounds like ridiculous fun, yes! Do it! If that sounds like torture or you can't set aside the time or it's just otherwise completely, absurdly out of your reach, then don't! Set a goal that makes you excited instead. We will be happy you showed up and made stuff with us.
I'm sure I'm not saying anything new to most of you, but since I'm pointing folks here from Twitter etc, I just want to make sure it's explicitly stated on the page itself: you, the person reading this right now, are totally welcome, at any level of ability, with any tool, and at any level of commitment, to make games with the rest of us for Klik of the Month Klub #100: Pirate Klix Six. And it will be super fun.
ANYTHING IS A GAME IF YOU MAKE IT A GAME. Because this is Glorious Trainwrecks, making 100 games can be left to interpretation. This isn't an endurance test. You don't have to make 100 Metal Gear Solid V's. Maybe, think of this like gesture sketches in a drawing class where you can easily make 100 drawings in 20 minutes. You do not have to program or make your own assets. Maybe think what is a game? What is 100? You all are creative. Do whatever, who cares, this is Glorious Trainwrecks.
The Klik of the Month Klub usually meets right here on this very website on the third Saturday of every month at 4pm Pacific Time (taking daylight savings into consideration) for a two hour Klik & Play Showdown. Usually, everyone who participates gets two hours to create something from scratch in Klik & Play. This time it will be over the entire Thanksgiving Weekend. Abusing the stock objects is encouraged. If you really loathe Klik & Play you can use whatever game development platform you want. Two hours is a pretty tight time limit, though, so choose wisely!
This time we are doing something different.
100-games-per-person. Let's aim for 10,000 games.
The games don't need to be super long, polished, good, or "games". There just needs to be 100-per-person.
Also, collaboration is encouraged! Upload project files so people can easily edit your games!
Please cite your sources and give credit where credit is due!
Klik & Play is absolutely free to download, and learning it takes minutes, so everyone can get in on the action. In addition, there are tools like Multimedia Fusion 2, RPG Maker, Unity, Game Maker, and Twine. Some engines to help make very very short games are plingpling, flikgame, and tinychoice.
Want to talk to your fellow Klikwreckers? Join us on IRC -- server irc.freenode.net, channel #glorioustrainwrecks. We've also got a Mumble voice chat server -- just connect to glorioustrainwrecks.com using Mumble and you can talk to us like real human beings! Join the mayhem!
After you've made your game, you should upload it here!
Submit games 1 by 1. Let's flood Glorious Trainwrecks! If you don't meet 100 games it's fine. The thing that matters is that you're striving to make 100 games.
For more information, check out the KotM N00B FAQ.
Sign up using the "Sign Up" tab above if you want to get reminded by email the day before the klikkening begins!
Imposter alert!Imposter alert!Imposter alert!Imposter alert!
Also, any suggestions about the event, please post in the comments.
|Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 1.46.56 PM.png
|Teeny Adventure Mega Game + Supplement: 104 Games in 1!
|02/07/2016 - 16:40
|Chess Variant 4: Super Chess Bro
|01/26/2016 - 02:25
|Chess Variant 3: The Legend Of Chessia
|01/26/2016 - 01:43
|Chess Variant 2: ChessMario Teaches Typing
|01/26/2016 - 01:26
|Chess Variant 1: Janey Vs Deep Blue
|01/26/2016 - 00:49
|Learn 100 Words: One At A Time!
|12/06/2015 - 20:52
|My House Patterns
|11/30/2015 - 06:12
|Blueberry Soft
|oh fuck it's going to happen again, shit!
|11/30/2015 - 05:12
|11/30/2015 - 05:02
|11/29/2015 - 23:44
|twitter sim
|11/29/2015 - 23:27
|Son of a dolphin
|Click or Klik
|11/29/2015 - 22:14
|Metroid II: Return of Carmen Sandiego
|11/29/2015 - 19:39
|Adventure Series: National Portrait Gallery
|11/29/2015 - 16:26
|Adventure Series: The Creative Process
|11/29/2015 - 16:24
|Adventure Series: Military Mans
|11/29/2015 - 16:22
|No Ducks Were Harmed
|11/29/2015 - 14:28
|11/29/2015 - 14:27
|oh okay, i guess this kind of shit is acceptable now
|11/29/2015 - 13:49
|11/29/2015 - 13:22
|11/29/2015 - 13:21
|Space Engineers 2
|11/29/2015 - 13:15
|Statler and Waldorf Simulator
|11/29/2015 - 13:11
|ehy we're getting our friends together to play space invaders do you want to play??
|11/29/2015 - 13:09
|slap happy baaby boy jest er insults the sun
|11/29/2015 - 13:06
i'm pumped!!
I have a hard time imagining that will make 100, but I'll try anyway during that weekend's down time. I bet I'll make a few.
The plot thickens . . .
this is an exciting idea!!
i think i'd rather it be a week or something, though. not to make longer or more elaborate games, necessarily, but just because 100 games in a couple of days sounds kinda exhausting
Beep Boop
Just make em real, real, real short.
Iterations and remixes are encouraged.
Generated games are also encouraged.
None of this has to be "good" either.
Awesome! I will try to make 100 games but I'm not sure how I could succeed.
If you're posturing this as an official Pirate Kart™, it might be better to use VI instead of III? The established canon can be seen on PIRATE KART DOT COM, though I think the fifth is identified with a V more prominently on this site. I don't mind if it's just a play on the title of Pirate Kart II, though.
Beep Boop
Also, to my knowledge there isn't a Pirate Kart named "Pirate Kart III" is there?
Technically correct! There was Pirate Kart II, two more Pirate Karts, and then Pirate Kart V. This implies (but doesn't explicitly identify) that Vector 3D Jam Multi-Game Pirate Kart is Pirate Kart III and 2012 IGF Pirate Kart is Pirate Kart IV. The smaller size of Vector 3D Jam Multi-Game Pirate Kart means it wouldn't be unfit for spin-off (or "gaiden") status, but the existence of an actual Pirate Kart III would create timeline confusion and put years of competing fan theories to rest with a dangerous level of finality, potentially tearing apart the entire Pirate Kart fanbase.
Pirate Kart III: Pirate Kart VI
Pirate Kart 3a: The Secret Revealed Or Your Money Back
Pirate Kart III (2)
Pirate Kart for Workgroups 3.11
Would it be possible to change its name, or would that require months of extensive alterations due to the page name data having extended its digital tendrils deep into whatever databases this site runs on?
Beep Boop
Do people actually want me to change it? Also, this is technically a spinoff of KotMK where the subtitle is Pirate Kart III.
oh god it's ON
Donkey Kong!
Beep Boop
seeing that i've been struggling to finish anything for the past .. large amount of months
i realise that it will make it absolutely clear that i'm in complete denial about my lack of abilities and endurance
when i ask: are the games to be submitted one by one or as one collection in zip packed together?
Beep Boop
Good question!
One by one.
Let's flood the "Newest Games" section!
Making a game every half hour is a rather tall order, but I admire your ambition!
It could work if folks made small variations on their existing games and submitted as new ones. Kinda like the old NES games that had "Game A" and "Game B" which are technically the same game with slightly different rulesets.
I may or may not find the time to participate in this. Right now my mind is sorta wrapped around SNES homebrew stuff.
Beep Boop
Yes, exactly.
What is a "NEW" game?
I am sure everyone would love to see you participate or at least throw in a couple remixes or edits.
I know I would love to see what you would come up with.
I am not planning on spending the whole 3 day weekend making games.
I will probably get done early.
Cool, cool, you took my suggestion! I'll definitely participate. 8-) I think I could make 100 games in 1 day, I think you're giving too much time. ;-) jk, I hope with school I will be able to dedicate time. I even missed the last KotMK. I'll try to find time to make something for it today. :-( In school for games but not having any time to make anything. :-(
That's why I scheduled it for Thanksgiving Weekend.
I guess I did not think that this is the time people spend with their families.
I was just thinking it was during a school/work break.
I hope you can participate!
Beep Boop
hey guys i don't know if you've seen this before but i found some really helpful information so you can make 100 games in a weekend. check it out.
Thank you that is very helpfull !-!-!-!.
Guess I'd better get my computer tricked out A-S-A-P.
i guess i can only make mobile games because my computer isn't tricked out, sorry everyone, but you'll have to buy my games on the google play store
i need the funds so i can make my computer tricked out
bleep bloop
I was thinking about participating in the 100th KOTM ever since I noticed it was coming up, but making 100 games just doesn't sound fun. I'd like to propose an alternate challenge: Make at least 1 game per development platform you know how to use. For example, my challenge list would be: KnP, Flash, Twine, 3D Construction Kit, Unity, Wario Ware DIY, Pinball Construction Kit, and 3D Rad. Churning out 10^2 games just sounds like a chore, but running through the gamut (gauntlet?) of available tools (and maybe trying new ones!) would be less tedious and more adventurous.
Actually, this would be pretty cool. If I participate in this, here are the tools/mediums I'm thinking of using:
- The Games Factory
- PuzzleScript
- Super Mario Maker
- Plingpling
- Knytt Stories
- RSD Game-Maker
oo, this is a cool idea
the only things for me are knytt stories, stencyl, haxeflixel, increpare's tools, twine, and maybe csfml
I'd encourage both!
Obviously it would be boring if someone made the same game 100 times.
It would also be tedious making really ambitious things a bunch.
Think about how brief a game could actually be.
Think about how brief making a game can be.
It will be like that Pose Maniacs website for games instead of gesture sketch drawings.
You can do whatever.
You can do this on top of quantity,
you can do this instead of quantity.
It would not hurt to try.
I mainly appreciate you participating at all!
Beep Boop
Hey, Snapman, do you still have the midis and sound effects from the KnP CD that you mentioned in a bygone age? If so, could you please post them in that thread and link to that thread here for other people to find?
I'll post them tonight.
This is deranged! We are deranged! Let's do it! (what's the time frame? I don't reckon 100 games within 2 hours is feasible) XD
I'm sure everyone could do 100 games in 2 hours.
However, this event takes place over Black Friday and the following Saturday.
It's still a shorter amount of time than the other Pirate Karts.
If you do the math it comes to about 1 games per half hour.
Beep Boop
I haven't made any trainwrecks for ages, but this might change that. I like the idea of hiding weird and unexpected stuff among tons of KnP, Twine, Tinychoice/Flickgame/Plingpling etc. games. For example, in this day and age, anyone can make a quick FMV game with their iPod/iPhone and Twine. And keeping with the spirit of the event and also making tons of other games on top of those will help ensure that those 'gems' are hidden.
Edit: I can't find the "Sign Up" tab/button/thingy.
Also, more people need to use the full original Klik & Play assets in the first comment of this page.
Welcome home, BiggerJ!
I just turned on signups, just for you! And anyone else who wants an email reminder the day before.
Sincerely, Original KlikBot
Hi everyone, it's your friendly absentee landlord! I am excited for Klik of the Month Klub #100 and I am extra excited to see longtime members who haven't posted in years come out of the woodwork to celebrate.
Having finally had a read-through of this thread, I'd just like to take a moment to remind everyone of the absolute, ironclad, unbreakable golden rule of Glorious Trainwrecks, which is: "Cheating is encouraged."
That is to say, we are here to give the finger to the creative roadblocks that stop us from enjoying making stuff, and if a rule, goal, or expectation, either from yourself or others, gets in the way of that, you are completely free and 100% encouraged to disregard it.
If the idea of shooting to make 100 games in a weekend gets you fired up and sounds like ridiculous fun, yes! Do it! If that sounds like torture or you can't set aside the time or it's just otherwise completely, absurdly out of your reach, then don't! Set a goal that makes you excited instead. We will be happy you showed up and made stuff with us.
I'm sure I'm not saying anything new to most of you, but since I'm pointing folks here from Twitter etc, I just want to make sure it's explicitly stated on the page itself: you, the person reading this right now, are totally welcome, at any level of ability, with any tool, and at any level of commitment, to make games with the rest of us for Klik of the Month Klub #100: Pirate Klix Six. And it will be super fun.
Okay, I've decided on what I'm gonna do. It'll be a rather simple game with 100 micro levels. Feel free to use this or a similar concept in your game too!
I think there's going to be a game launcher like with our other Pirate Karts. So they won't count toward the official total number unless they're separate programs.
I am not shooting for making 100 games. That's just way too many for me. I have a job and personal projects I need to work on, and of course I also need to leave time for play and generally taking care of myself. I'd be happy to just submit a single game that is tangentially related to the number 100.
Basically, see SpindleyQ's comment directly above mine.
Beep Boop
Do whatever, who cares.
They could be really short, like 10 seconds each. Anything is a game... if you believe.
Beep Boop
Yeah, you get it. Anything is a game if you believe it. I'm clearly not saying make 100 Metal Gear Solids. Anything can be a game if you make it.
I am going to make a game that will teach people 100 words over 100 game frames 100. So I need 100 words- how do I get them? I am asking y'all to provide me with numbers! Give me some numbers between 1 and 1 million. This will work... trust me. I have done math in my spare time.
huh, I would help but I'm not sure how to get numbers. where do they come from? I think clyde's a wizard.
Those are some good numbers, thanks clyde.... ihavefivehat, there's no magic, just say whatever numbers you can come up with!
I am full up on numbers now so if I get any more I might disregard them.
ok, let me try.................................................
here i go.....
was that a number? did I do it?
the sheer hubris, the balls one must have to even think oneself capable of this endeavor. awesome idea... i'll participate if i wind up having time.
i'm torn between using Klik N' Play or Fusion. i know Fusion would be faster, but i might feel like a scrub for not using Klik N' Play
Beep Boop
You can use whatever.
This is definitely doable. Just plan ahead... bend the rules. Have some templates ready. Get some ideas together before-hand. You can do it. Make all the games.
anyway hi whats up im pumped as hell to do a no holds barred all weekend jammin time
ahha wow its been nearly a year since i last put out a knp game huh thats p. cool lets keep up my ((currently 2 times)) streak of at least one game a year
by buggering it entirely via 100 games in one go even though theyre posted one by one
I don't think I will make more than 60. But I will make stuff, and I won't use Klik.
Looks like I made 25 or 26 games so far. I had to make some changes to some of the .rar files just now, since the generic text file credits me for "Graphics, Music and Gameplay" while three of my games had neither.
Looks like my two Dumb Political Meme sequels still need tweaks. I will get to it tomorrow. So far, I'm responsible for almost 50% of all Kart #100 games! Not bad.
That was a number for MNO.
I'll try to put something together for this this weekend. TBH, I'll be lucky if I get to one game. I'll go from there.
Tangential, but I made a 101-in-1 "Amaze-o-kart" for the 2012 GDC Pirate Kart. I think I made this in under 3 hours. http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/node/3142
I'm spending little bits of spare time to come up with game ideas based off of inspirations found here:
Over 20 so far...Let's see how many hare realized into actual games for this event. :)
Alright, i've already got 4 games lined up to post. however due to my vacationing I might not live up to my quota of 100, sorry :[
Also I'm putting too much effort into these games lol
For the last two weekends I've panicked a bit thinking I missed this, but now the weekend is correct and I am ready!
Don't forget to include your source projects/code. It's a nice idea, and we should do that more often!
Here's a preview of my upcoming game, Nano Dragon 100, for which I have 62 levels made so far:
One down, 99 to go. ugh.
Just submitted the 100th game, does that count as success?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Thursday, April 23, 2009
New! Now in Japanese!
I don't read those languages (or not well enough) and am not in a position to "approve" them, but I'm fine with their existence. If you want to start another translation, be my guest -- send me a link to the blog so I can update this page. If you see a mistake in a translation, just contact the translator directly. (However, I do not want to see copies of my blogs appearing. There's no point for those, and typically sites that copy popular blogs are just trying to attract eyeballs to their ads by reproducing popular material without putting any creative work into it.)
5 comments:
- AnonymousApril 23, 2009 at 1:36 PM
There is also another Spanish translation made by some guys from the Python Argentina[*] community:ReplyDelete
[*] http://python.org.ar/pyar/
Thanks for the link, Guido! By the way, I'm making the translation writing reStructuredText files (http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html) that gets transformed in HTML with a very simple script (made with Python, of course). It goes without saying that this files are at your complete disposition.ReplyDelete
Hi Guido,ReplyDelete
I couldn't find a Portuguese translation so I'm starting one at http://python-history-pt-br.blogspot.com/
I've began today and I hope by the weekend I'll finish translating all posts. If anyone wants to help me, I'll be very grateful.
And thank you, Guido, for this wonderful language, for this blog, and for letting us translate to those who can't read English.
a Simplified Chinese translation: http://python3.blogspot.com/ReplyDelete
I just finish the first post.
For those keeping track of translations, there's now an Italian translation of at least one post at http://www.python-it.org/contenuti/10/06/22/un-nuovo-stile-per-le-classi (not sure what the series URL would be).ReplyDelete


text:
Apple released today the newest update for OS X Mountain Lion, bringing with it a number of fixes and improvements to some pesky issues. Update 10.8.4 addresses glitches including a popular problem that would cause iMessage messages to be received out of order.
The update also brings with it some minor improvements to Safari and Microsoft Exchange support in Calendar. Here is a complete list of what's included in the release:
- Compatibility improvements when connecting to certain enterprise Wi-Fi networks
- Microsoft Exchange compatibility improvements in Calendar
- A fix for an issue that prevented FaceTime calls to non-U.S. phone numbers
- A fix for an issue that may prevent scheduled sleep after using Boot Camp
- Improves VoiceOver compatibility with text in PDF documents
- Includes Safari 6.0.5, which improves stability for some websites with chat features and games
- A fix for an issue that may cause iMessages to display out of order in Messages
- Resolves an issue in which Calendars Birthdays may appear incorrectly in certain time zones
- A fix for an issue that may prevent the desktop background picture from being preserved after restart.
- A fix for an issue that may prevent documents from being saved to a server using SMB
- Addresses an issue that may prevent certain files from opening after copied to a volume named "Home"
- A fix for an issue that may prevent changes to files made over NFS from displaying
- Resolves an issue saving files to an Xsan volume from certain applications
- Improves Active Directory log-in performance, especially for cached accounts or when using a .local domain
- Improves OpenDirectory data replication
- Improves 802.1X compatibility with ActiveDirectory networks
- Improves compatibility when using mobile accounts
Apple doesn't usually list every single change in its update releases, so you may find some other bugs have also been squashed.


text:
In 2011 — to the consternation of women everywhere — a systematic review of randomized clinical trials showed that routine mammography was of little value to younger women at average or low risk of breast cancer.
The review showed, for example, that for every 50-year-old woman whose life is prolonged by mammography, dozens are treated unnecessarily — some with harmful consequences — or treated without benefit. Hundreds are told they have breast cancer when they do not.
Cindy M. Grimm, PhD, associate professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, was not surprised by the review, a prestigious Cochrane review of the scientific evidence for a medical treatment.
"It's not just the mammogram that's the problem," she says, "it's accurately interpreting the mammogram.
"People aren't good at it. Even expert radiologists aren't good at it. Results vary widely from person to person, even when people have gone through the same training."
But Grimm thought a perceptual trick she and colleagues had invented, called subtle gaze direction, might be used to improve training.
An experiment showed that a novice could be subtly guided to follow an expert's scanpath across a mammogram and that this subtle nudging improved the novice's accuracy.
The experimental results will be presented at the Eye Tracking Research & Application Symposium this March.
Grimm and her colleagues say the technique, should it prove durable, is widely applicable to visual search tasks. Not only might it improve the reading of mammograms and other types of medical images, such as MRIs and PET scans, but it might also be used to improve the accuracy of airport screening and learning in virtual environments.
Grimm invented subtle gaze direction together with colleagues Reynold Bailey, PhD, then her graduate student, and Ann McNamara, PhD, then of Saint Louis University, a conference acquaintance.
"I had double-majored in art and computer science as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley," Grimm says. "So I was aware that artists have all sorts of tricks for guiding viewers to look at particular areas in a painting, sometimes, in the case of narrative art, in a particular sequence.
"They might make an area brighter than the background, increase the contrast or have strong edges (borders) that attract the eye.
"Movie producers do the same thing in post processing," Grimm says. "For example, when one actor is talking and others are listening, the audience tends to watch the talker. But the producer can direct attention to a listener's reaction instead by changing the color or brightness of that part of the image."
Subtle gaze direction is a high-tech version of this time-honored craft. It works, says Grimm, by exploiting the difference between peripheral and central (foveal) vision.
"We use a small area in the central part of our retina called the fovea to see detail," she says. "But foveal vision doesn't actually cover much of our field of view.
"If you hold out your thumb, your foveal vision — the part of your surroundings you're actually seeing in detail — covers about the same area as your thumbnail.
"We use our foveal vision to read or drive or for other detail-oriented tasks. At the same time, we are monitoring the rest of our environment with our peripheral vision, which has lower resolution but responds faster than our foveal vision.
"When our peripheral vision picks up a stimulus, our eyes move to focus our foveal vision on it so that we can see it clearly.
"During those quick eye movements, called saccades, vision is suppressed, or masked, so that the motion of the eye, the motion blur of the image and the gap in visual perception are not noticeable to the viewer. We lose an astonishing 40 minutes of vision a day to saccadic masking."
To direct the gaze, Grimm and her colleagues changed the brightness or "warmth" of an area in the peripheral field of view to draw the novice's focus to this area.
The stimulus remained subtle, however, because the viewer's gaze is monitored in real-time by an eye-tracking device and the modulations to the peripheral vision are terminated before the eye fixates on them.
"The idea," says Grimm "is to get someone to look in a particular direction while altering their experience of viewing the image as little as possible."
"In the case of mammograms," for example, "you want to get a learner to look at the tumor region but you don't want to do anything that makes the tumor region look different than it does on the mammogram itself."
The mammography study
Reading mammograms is a good target for computer assistance because training is time-consuming and expensive, typically requiring a four-year residency and a two-year fellowship.
Despite advances in technology, novices are still trained by working as an apprentice to an expert.
The mammography study, led by Bailey, now an assistant professor of computer science at the Rochester Institute of Technology, brought together the same group of scientists as the subtle gaze direction experiment. McNamara is now assistant professor of visualization at Texas A&M University.
For the study, Grimm and her colleagues used a database of images provided by the Mammographic Image Analysis Society that includes both images and text files that contains coordinates of abnormalities and their size.
"Expert diagnostic radiologists have a particular search pattern that is not the same as that of a novice," Grimm says. "We don't know exactly what they're doing, but they tend to do a fairly broad scan and then fixate on parts of the image that have a tumor-like texture. A novice might instead attend to brighter spots in the image or fail to scan all of it."
Bailey hired an expert radiologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology to view and mark 65 images from the database. The expert's scanpath was recorded during this process by an eye-tracking system.
During the experiment, subtle gaze direction was used to guide a group of novices along the expert scanpath. A control group viewed the mammograms without gaze manipulation.
Novices who were guided were significantly more accurate than the control group or a third group guided along a random path. Moreover, even though the training session was brief, the effect lingered even after gaze manipulation was disabled.
To watch a Power Point of the experimental results, click here.
Grimm says more work must be done to show that more extensive training will stick long-term. In the meantime, she can think of many ways gaze manipulation could be used to improve performance on visual search tasks.
"One simple use of the technology would be to make sure readers look at every part of the image. If you're using eye tracking," she says, "you know where people are looking, so you can make sure they don't skip part of the image."
Gaze manipulation might also be used to assist tumor-recognition software. "Suppose you had a software program that was reasonably good at spotting possible tumor areas but, erring on the side of caution, flagged too many areas as suspicious.
"Such software might be paired with gaze direction to ensure the radiologist looked at all of the flagged areas," she says. "That wouldn't necessarily be a training application; it could be a routine element of reading mammograms."
The mammogram study is widely applicable, Grimm says, because there are so many visual search tasks. She mentions airport scanners, but they are just at the top of a long list.
"I work with someone who identifies pollen species," she says. "Apparently, it takes a novice a year to learn, and they spend hours and hours looking through a microscope at these pollen grains. Again, some people are good at it and others struggle for competence.
"Perhaps in that case, as well, gaze direction could be used to train novice pollen identifiers."


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The challenge from Jo this week at Just Add Ink is to use something you've had in your stash for ages and haven't used yet. Unfortunately for me there were too many choices but I managed to narrow it down to four things -
- The Marina Mist Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
- The 'for you' sentiment stamp from Elements of Style
- The butterfly stamp from Nature Walk
- Itty Bitty Bits flower stamp
I've been playing around with the Two Tags Die lately and have put together quite a few little projects using the Beau Chateau DSP and fabric which I will share with you next week.
I'm sure every stamper has something they can 'dust off' for this challenge and will gain satisfaction from finally inking a neglected stamp or two or using an accessory or three!
Project Recipe:
Stamps: Elements of Style, Nature Walk, Itty Bitty Bits
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Marina Mist, Soft Suede
Card Stock: Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Accessories: Two Tags Die, Perfect Pennants Die, Beau Chateau DSP, Vintage Wallpaper and Square Lattice Embossing Folders, Marina Mist Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Antique Brad, Basic Jewels - Pearls, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Designer Buttons - Subtles, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Top Note Die, Blender Pen
I hope you'll pop on over to Just Add Ink to check out what the other DT members have used in their projects and link up your own entry.
Happy stamping and enjoy your weekend,


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Sikorsky's Jeff Pino to retire July 1
May 9, 2012 By Carey Fredericks
May 9, 2012, Hartford, Conn. - United Technologies Corp. has announced the appointment of Mick Maurer as president of its Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. subsidiary, effective July 1. Maurer will report to UTC chairman and chief executive Louis Chenevert, succeeding Jeffrey P. Pino, who will retire July 1.
To ensure a seamless succession, Pino and Maurer will collaborate closely during the next two months, after which Pino will serve as a consultant to Sikorsky.
Maurer joined UTC in 1989 at the corporation's Otis Elevator Co. unit, where he worked in positions of increasing responsibility until 2000, when he joined Sikorsky as vice president, Enterprise Planning & Development. Most recently, Maurer served as president of the Sikorsky Military Systems unit, responsible for U.S. and International Military program and product line management, customer relationships and military aircraft delivery. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a master's degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University.
"I am confident that under Mick's leadership, Sikorsky will continue to deliver unmatched value to customers and UTC shareholders," Chenevert said. "Mick is exceptionally well qualified to lead Sikorsky, given his demonstrated leadership capabilities, strong customer relationships and deep industry knowledge."
Pino is completing a career in aerospace that spans nearly four decades. He is a retired Master Army Aviator and served in the U.S. Army for 26 years in the active duty, Guard and Reserve components. Prior to joining Sikorsky in 2002, he spent 17 years with Textron's Bell Helicopter unit.
Pino became Sikorsky's president in 2006 after previously serving as the company's Senior Vice President for corporate strategy, marketing and commercial programs. During his years at Sikorsky, the company achieved significant growth, increased productivity and expanded margins, while continuing to invest in game-changing technology.
"Jeff Pino has done a remarkable job leading Sikorsky," Chenevert said. "Under his leadership, Sikorsky has become more competitive while doubling its production rates to become the world's largest helicopter manufacturer, and has expanded into new markets with the S-70i international version of the iconic BLACK HAWK helicopter.
"Jeff has positioned Sikorsky well for the future, overseeing the successful development of the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter and Sikorsky's X2 technology, which was recognized with the 2010 Collier Trophy and is now being incorporated into the S-97 RAIDER," Chenevert said. "We congratulate Jeff on an outstanding career and wish him all the best in retirement."
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The first time you run IE 9, you notice that something's changed. Instead of the top-heavy, busy user interface that Microsoft flaunted in IE 7 and IE 8, the new browser is clean, simple, and beautiful.
Internet Explorer 9 public beta.
By default, a single toolbar's worth of UI occupies the top part of the IE 9 window, combining Back and Forward buttons, the new One Box (which puts address bar and search box functionality into a single location), tabs, and just three, simple, Windows 7 notification bar-like buttons for Home, Favorites, and Tools. That's it. There's no menu bar, no Favorites Bar, no Command Bar, and no Status Bar. The result is a browser whose UI takes up less space than that of any other browser, including Google Chrome.
The IE 9 UI almost couldn't be any simpler.
The rationale here is simple: IE 9 only displays those UI elements that are absolutely necessary, and everything else is hidden by default. It's the same design mantra seen in Windows 7, and in the "fierce reduction" in UI seen in Windows Phone 7. "IE 9 is the stage, the backdrop, for web apps, it's not the star of the show," Microsoft general manager Dean Hachamovitch told me in a recent briefing. "With IE 9, the sites you visit are the stars."
Put another way, the browser chrome--the UI that surrounds the actual site you're visiting--has been quieted, pushed to the back, so that the sites can shine. This is very different from the approach taken by competing browsers, which often recreate and rebrand OS functionality. IE 9 doesn't have to do this specifically because it integrates, and in useful ways, with the underlying OS. And for the first time, this really means something. I'll get to that in a bit, but for now, just understand that IE 9's simple UI was in some ways made possible by not trying to recreate functionality that's already offered by Windows itself.
The new One Box, which combines address bar and search functionality into a single UI, is of course very similar to the Chrome omnibox. But it's also superior because it protects your privacy by default, functionality that Google would never implement in one of its products. What this means is that when you search via the One Box, IE 9 doesn't transmit keystrokes as you type. You can optionally turn on search suggestions--which would indeed transmit those keystrokes--but the benefit is that you'd get on-the-fly results. Your choice.
IE 9 won't send data to the search providers unless you tell it to.
One Box is superior in other ways too. As with previous IE versions, it provides access to multiple search providers, on the fly. And it provides a "top result" feature for those people who run to the address bar automatically without really remembering what the site is that they're trying to reach: It will provide a drop-down list of the top results, based on what they typed, without first navigating to a search provider's search results list.
Way back in the version of IE 6 that shipped with Windows XP SP2, Microsoft created the now-familiar yellow notification bar. It's particularly familiar because every major browser vendor has ripped it off. In IE 9, however, Microsoft has gone back to the drawing board with an attractive and more subtle new notification bar. This time, it sits at the bottom of the IE window, and for that reason it's a bit easy to miss. But that's by design. In previous IE versions, many notifications, including pop-up dialogs, would interrupt the browsing session. Now, in IE 9, it's possible to keep browsing even when, say, Apple really, really wants you to install the QuickTime plugin for some reason.
IE 9 notifications are now at the bottom of the window, are less obtrusive, and won't interrupt your browsing experience.
So the new notification bar doesn't just replace the old notification bar, it also replaces a slew of other ancillary browser-based messages, many of which would pop-up dialogs or other interruptions. In this way, the IE 9 notification bar works like the old Longhorn Sidebar was supposed to work for Windows itself: It provides a single place, and model, for all browser-based notifications. And unless what you're about to do is obviously dangerous, it won't interrupt your browsing session. You can deal with notifications on your own schedule.
The new notification bar is a welcome addition, but like the equally well-intentioned notifications in products like OneCare or Windows Server "Aurora," it can be a bit annoying as well. The add-on performance warning (described later in the review) is nice, but it comes up too often and there's no way to say, yeah, I get it, now leave me alone. This would be an obvious addition.


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The Building, Planning & Development Department is responsible for the review of all planning and building related applications, together with implementing the initiatives through Economic Development to further promote development within the Town. The Department processes and approves all planning applications, such as Official Plan Amendments, Zoning By-law Amendments, Plans of Subdivision, Consents, Minor Variances, Site Plan Control, etc. Applications for Building and Demolition Permits, Sign Permits, Pool Permits, etc. are reviewed for compliance with the Ontario Building Code and Zoning By-law requirements. Administration and enforcement of Municipal By-Laws, including Sign By-law and Property Standards By-law are also conducted within this Department.
The primary role of the Building Department is to promote and assist development in compliance with Federal, Provincial, County and local regulations. By enforcing building codes and assisting builders, the Municipality ensures that the structures are safe, not only for today but for many years to come.
If you work in construction, the rules for mandatory WSIB coverage have changed. Do you run your own construction business? Are you the purchaser of construction services? Big or small, with workers or without, you still need to know what's changed. Find out what it means for you!
Prior to beginning a new construction project either outside or inside your home, you must first determine whether you require a permit. Information on obtaining a building permit, the regulations surrounding its proper use, the requirements for obtaining a permit and relevant documentation can be found at this link Building Permits .
The primary role of the Planning Department is to establish, co-ordinate and administer a comprehensive planning program in the Town of Hanover to ensure orderly, socially and economically beneficial physical expansion and development within the planning legislative framework. Planning and Development staff provide administrative support to the Planning Advisory Committee who is responsible for the preparation and recommendation to Council on applications to amend the Official Plan, and the Zoning By-Law as well as on applications to subdivide land or to approve site plans for individual parcels of land. The Department provides comments to government agencies and local politicians and responds to general enquiries related to land use in the Municipality, as well as specific enquiries related to proposed development applications, plus prepares statistical information and mapping.
Zoning by-laws are a set of regulations governing land uses that implement the policies in the Official Plan. A Zoning by-law contains specific requirements that provide a way of managing land use and future development that is legally enforceable. It also protects property owners from conflicting land uses. Zoning by-laws cover such items as the use of land, where buildings and other structures may be located, the types of buildings that are permitted and how they may be used, lot sizes and dimensions, parking requirements, landscape and buffer requirements, building heights and setbacks from property lines. Zoning bylaws are regulated by the Ontario Planning Act.
Amendments to the Zoning By-law are common. Accordingly, all information contained in the link below should be confirmed with Town Staff.
The Official Plan sets goals about how the Town will grow and develop and reach these goals while keeping important social, economic and environmental concerns in mind. It balances the interests of individual property owners with the wider interests and objectives of the whole community, including the Provincial Policy Statement on numerous planning issues.
The current Official Plan provides land uses policies for the geographic area in Hanover.


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A post-Fukushima effort to crowdsource radiation data in Japan has since become the largest source of radiation data in the country. And it's now set to expand to other parts of the world. Catherine Winter reports from Tokyo.
"We want to cover every street so people who look at our maps can drill down and zoom in and find out what the measurement is right in front of their house," Moross says.
Moross is taking measurements for Safecast. Since the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daichi two years ago, volunteers like him have been driving around Japan, testing radiation and adding their readings to online maps.
When The World last checked in on Safecast, in May of 2011, the group had just formed and had posted a handful of radiation measurements.
Now, Safecast volunteers have taken close to 10 million separate readings.
Nobody's made more measurements than Joe Moross.
"In the last 18 months, I've driven close to 50,000 kilometers, so about one and a half times around the world," he says as he drives through Chiba prefecture, past a jumble of convenience stores, houses, and small orchards. His Geiger counter automatically takes readings every five seconds and writes them to a memory card.
Moross is an engineer. He's also a hacker — hacker in the sense of "person who alters machines to make them more useful." He's lived in Japan for decades. When the tsunami struck two years ago and triggered a nuclear meltdown, he wanted to do something to help. People were desperate for information about where radiation was falling.
"So I got out a few of my devices and put together a monitor and got a Twitter account and started tweeting my readings," Moross says.
Then, he discovered that other people had the same idea. He found out about the newly-formed Safecast on the internet and met up with other volunteers. (Some volunteers are Japanese, and some are expats — but the expats tend to be the ones willing to talk to reporters.)
Safecast co-founder Pieter Franken is from Holland. By day, he's chief technology officer for Monex, a Japanese financial services company. But he spends evenings at the Safecast office in Tokyo, wielding a soldering iron or Skyping with distant Safecast volunteers – people at MIT, in Europe, in Los Angeles. When The World last spoke with Franken in 2011, Safecast's portable radiation detection systems fit in a small suitcase. But hackers have made them smaller and smaller.
Franken demonstrates one of Safecast's bGeiges. The "b" is for bento box because of the device's resemblance to a small lunchbox.
"So this looks like ordinary kind of thing," Franken says. "You can clip it on your belt and you can be casual, but inside is a Geiger counter. It has a GPS and a complete computer inside."
It has a waterproof, shockproof case so it can be attached to a car or bicycle.
Safecast is also working on a drone that can carry a Geiger counter into areas too dangerous for humans.
Safecast has loaned dozens of these devices to volunteers and now offers a kit for people who want to build their own.
All those Geiger counters have gathered a lot of data. Two years ago, Safecast's map had a lot of blank space. Now, it has more detailed information about radiation in Japan than any other public source. Franken zooms in and out on the online map.
"As you can see, [around] Tokyo, all the roads on the map are basically filled by dots," he says.
The dots are radiation readings. The map is color-coded, so you can see where levels are higher. One thing this data reveals is that being near the nuclear plant doesn't necessarily put you in danger — and being far away doesn't necessarily mean you're safe. Radiation didn't spread in a tidy circle. There are hot spots here and there, depending on things like how the wind blew and whether there were hills.
"In cities [like] Fukushima City or Koriyama City there are really big differences street by street," Franken says. "That's why measurement street by street became more relevant: because my street is not your street and I'm not safe until I know my street is safe."
The Japanese government also measures radiation, but it doesn't provide this much detail and doesn't make it easy to read like this. And not everybody trusts the government data.
Safecast's software and devices are all open source, and anyone can use the data. Franken says it's being used by researchers around the world and even by the government in some Japanese cities.
"And you can come up with lots of things that can come from it which we can't imagine today," he says. "But as it is available suddenly people say, 'I want to tie this data with this data.' For example, you can tie specific medical symptoms to radiation levels."
That kind of research hasn't been possible in the past.
"If you look at Chernobyl and the other accidents and Three Mile Island, they have one thing in common: The data is very limited and most of the data was subjectively measured" by governments and other organizations, Franken says.
"So now as society we have a huge chance as researchers, individuals, companies, to put our hands together and at least let's do a really, really good job at measuring it, so that as things happen over time maybe we can get a much better understanding of what it actually means for individuals."
Safecast volunteers are still filling in holes in the map. They're also going back to places they already measured, to see how things are changing. They've found that in some areas, radiation levels have dropped more than you'd predict just based on half life. It's not clear why. Franken speculates that it could be because of erosion or natural deposits of new topsoil.
Safecast has also just launched a new project. Recently, it got a grant from the Knight Foundation to use its crowd-sourcing techniques to measure air quality in Los Angeles and Detroit. Franken says that, like radiation, air quality tends to be measured only in very spotty ways. A city may have only one monitoring station, and "if you want to know what's around your house, you're out of luck," Franken says. "So we want to take that as our next big challenge."
The idea, once again, is to use ordinary people to gather the data, so that they can find out what they're breathing and share that information with anyone else who wants to know.
Catherine is a reporter for the public radio series BURN, from SoundVision Productions.
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TitlePlough patent notebook (#380)
Catalog Number102723967
DescriptionThis volume contains notes on problems and possible solutions of yield and reliability issues found on wafer runs produced in the R&D pilot line managed by the author and their interactions with various packaging materials. Device types include diode material from the San Rafael plant (pp. 1-15); Schottky diode (p. 18); ADAM diode (p. 22); MOST transistors (p. 24); 64-bit Integrated Memory MOST (IMM) (p. 27 & 40); N-MOST for TV applications (p. 39); FET structures (pp. 80-83). Two ideas for improved structures discussed with W. Kohler are noted on page 109. Loose copies of correspondence with the patent department on the topic are inserted into the pages.
AuthorPlough, Charles T., Jr.
Biographical NotesCharles T. Plough Jr. of Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in the class of 1924. He also attended the University of California, Berkeley. He ran the Fairchild R&D pilot line that was responsible for fabricating wafer runs of prototype transistors and ICs in the early 1960s. In 1966 he was listed on the R&D Professional Staff organizational chart as head of the Technology Development section of the Device Development department reporting to W. Steffe. In the 1980s he is named as inventor on a number of Nichrome resistor patents assigned to Dale Electronics of Columbus, Nebraska.
PublisherFairchild Semiconductor
Identifying Numbers
|Document number
ExtentApproximately 103 dated entries over 112 pages.
Dimensions12 x 10 inches
PatentsThe author is named as inventor on 4 U.S patents. None were assigned to Fairchild.
Collection TitleFairchild Semiconductor notebooks and technical papers
PublicationsThe author contributed to the following R&D Technical Reports (TR) and DoD report during his service at Fairchild:
TR384 High reliability aluminum wire bonding (1969-03-19).
TR488 Aluminum wire bonding (1970-10-26).
Plough, Charles T., Jr., Vashel, George, Kelley, James W., Borowski, Robert T. and Floyd, Daniel W. Development of manufacturing methods for field-effect devices. Defense Technical Information Center (1966-11): Accession Number: AD0804397.


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This guide has three important sections:
- The Basics About Living with Diabetes with seven lessons in audio with transcripts that give you the "basics" about living with diabetes. The seven lessons follow the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) Self Care Behavior format.
- A Guide to Caring for Yourself When You Have Diabetes and Vision Loss. It follows the AADE step-by-step lesson format in an audio version and print.
- The third section is a Spanish translation of the guide to caring for yourself when you have vision loss in audio and print.
Diabetes care is almost entirely managed by the person who has it. If you've lived with diabetes for any length of time, then you know there's no negotiating its demands. Day after day, you alone determine when and what to eat and how much to exercise. It's up to you to remember when to take your medication, how often to check your blood glucose level, and what to do if your blood sugar levels are too high or too low.
Successful management of diabetes—even under the most ideal circumstances—requires great discipline, not to mention specific knowledge, skills, and tools for self-care. When vision loss enters the picture—as it frequently does as the disease advances—there's yet another level of complication and risk added to your treatment regimen.
Perhaps you're one of the 3.2 million Americans now living with both conditions—an occurrence that will grow even more common as the nation's retirement-aged population increases. If so, then be sure to check out the resources on VisionAware, which helps adults who are losing their sight continue to live full and independent lives by providing timely information, step-by-step daily living techniques, a directory of national and local services, and a supportive online community.


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Push Pin Mississippi Map (Pin Board) - Burgundy Color Splash
As the birthplace of blues and Elvis Presley, the Magnolia State is well known for its ties to classic music.
Showcase your love of Mississippi and reflect on past experiences in the state with a Mississippi push pin map.
- Detailed with most cities, bodies of water, and major roads, perfect for pinning!
- Personalize the legend to document your favorite activity...hikes, waterfalls, parks, wineries, breweries, or whatever you can dream up!
- Pin board includes two boxes of 50 push pins in your choice of colors
- Ready-to-hang with all hardware included
Our poster map is a budget-friendly alternative featuring the same unique designs. Find a frame for it, add pin stickers, or DIY your own push pin map! Please note that the poster map does not come with pins or a frame


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Following two consecutive years of rising figures, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that 2017 highway fatality numbers are down. In addition, preliminary estimates for the first 6 months of 2018 appear to show that this downward trend continues into this year.
"Safety is the Department's number one priority," said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. "The good news is that fatalities are trending downward after increasing for the two previous years. But, the tragic news is that 37,133 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in 2017. All of us need to work together to reduce fatalities on the roads."
In 2017, 37,133 people died in motor vehicle crashes, a decrease of almost 2 percent from 2016. While the full 2017 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data set will be available today, other notable changes include:
- Pedestrian fatalities declined about 2 percent, the first decline since 2013;
- For the second year in a row, more fatalities occurred in urban areas than rural areas;
- Combination trucks involved in fatal crashes increased 5.8 percent;
- Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) increased by 1.2 percent from 2016 to 2017; and
- The fatality rate per 100 million VMT decreased by 2.5 percent, from 1.19 in 2016 to 1.16 in 2017.
"Dangerous actions such as speeding, distracted driving, and driving under the influence are still putting many Americans, their families and those they share the road with at risk," said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi R. King. "Additionally, we must address the emerging trend of drug-impaired driving to ensure we are reducing traffic fatalities and keeping our roadways safe for the traveling public."
The 1.8-percent decrease from 2016 to 2017 compares to the 6.5-percent increase from 2015 to 2016 and the 8.4-percent increase from 2014 and 2015.
Earlier this month, NHTSA kicked off the agency's, "If You Feel Different, You Drive Different" campaign in Nashville, which ran alongside the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" message over the Labor Day weekend to remind drivers that alcohol is not the only form of impairment.
View the 2017 fatal motor vehicle crashes overview research note.
Source: U.S. DOT
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Ishinomaki City
July 27, 2013
The Punahou Intermediate baseball team stare out at what used to be houses and shops in Ishinomaki.
"Japanese people don't describe the tsunami as a wave. It was a wall of water," explained Michiko, our guide. It's raining and we're on our way to Ishinomaki City where the first wall of water hit the city at 25-feet tall. In Ishinomaki, it destroyed 23,357 homes, cost the lives of 3,520 people and 415 are still missing.
"All previous tsunamis were small, so some people thought that it would be okay to just go a little way up," she said, bringing thoughts to my mind of Hawaii's tsunami warnings. "But, this wasn't the usual tsunami, it was the kind of tsunami that comes every thousand years," she added.
Two years and four months later, the landscape looks improved since my last visit to the devastated areas in September. "More than 50% of the debris [in Miyagi Prefecture] has been cleared," says Michiko, thanks to the neighboring regions who were willing to take some of it for their landfills. The foundations of buildings, that were constant reminders of the devastation, are also being covered by tall grass. It will soon hide the physical scars of what had happened on March 2011. But, the identification of remains still continue. And, this doesn't hide that more than 30,000 people are still living in temporary housing and needing assistance, 15,644 from Ishinomaki.
Our visit was short, but the effects are long-lasting. We continue on the road again in heavy rain. The weather service has issued torrential rain and flood warnings. But, the Punahou team has a baseball game and we're hoping that it will clear within the next few hours.
Follow the hashtag #honolulu2sendai on Instagram for live updates.


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Obama, Hillary, Portman and Morris – Evolved Thinking?
March 25, 2013
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rob Portman have all announced that they have begun to evolve in their thinking about same sex marriage, each for their own reasons.
The new Pope, the Bible and every system of moral truth that mankind has ever stood by says they are not evolving, but are only sliding into the moral morass known as the apostasy – should someone tell them?
Those entrusted with high office are considered to be leaders and that implies that we should, or can, if we choose, follow their lead. Going up the "I am evolving" road with them still has connotations of being led up the primrose path to the gates of hell.
It's not much of an offer and is clearly reminiscent of a well-known call to follow, given by comedian Groucho Marx. Groucho said "follow me because I've worked myself up from nothing – to a state of extreme poverty."
Dick Morris announced his start down the road to evolved thinking at the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) meeting. He declared that the entire conservative movement and the Republican Party should lay down the fight against Roe V. Wade and just accept abortion as the way of the day.
Many are already following our great leaders' inclinations to apostasy.
Fox's Jesse Watters was allowed to roam through the St Patrick's Day Parade in NYC garnering answers from a lot of young people and what they expected from taking part in the celebration.
All the justifications for drinking themselves into a puking stupor took the backseat to one luminescent explanation made by one young man on why he smokes pot endlessly. His justification was the lead given to him by the President of the United States.
Looking Watters directly in the eye he declared, "Barack Obama smoked pot, I don't see what's wrong with it, and he's the president of the United States."
Thanks for the leadership, Mr. President.
Whether it's CPAC or St. Pat we can be anything from a RINO to a wino just by following the example and call of our fearless leaders into 'evolved thinking.'
God forbid we actually sit down and do the math or ask the simplest question, like why am I thinking this way and what is the outcome of this new path of enlightened deduction?
The reasons the aforementioned made their respective decisions only adds to the confusion because no two reasons are exactly the same.
Some say Mr. Obama decided to evolve because he has personally evolved and is himself gay, others say it is because he has so many gay friends and as he once proclaimed he needs to "show them a little more loving." At one point he made it clear that he was influenced by his teen daughters to get involved, or should we say evolved, in the question of same sex coupling.
For Hillary it is votes (Presidential run 2016?) for Portman it is nepotism over morality and for Dick Morris it is stepping up - by giving in.
For the drunken, drugged and deluded young people at the St. Patrick's parade it is a tragedy that signals a coming judgment, you know, it's that decline and crash that follows every civilization in history that casts off God, its own best underpinnings and any semblance of dignity and common sense.
While we are asking pertinent questions, it does well to consider this question about same sex marriage. If God has declared that homosexual behaviors are an abomination to him, (Lev 18: 22) then what would he call our attempt to sanctify that abomination through the sacrament of marriage. The only word that comes to mind for those who have not totally lost their minds is – sacrilege.
My prediction for the outcome of this sacrilege is not based on pabulum or panic. When added to 40 years' worth of Roe V. Wade and the slaughter of sixty million unborn human children the prediction is that judgments will, and have already begun. Food and then luxury items will begin to disappear this year and next. Prices will soar and goods will become excruciatingly scarce, yet this is only the beginning. Our finances will collapse and warfare and other calamities are forthwith. Want details – stay tuned.
While the U.S. is joining the worldwide slide into apostasy (falling away) our newsmen, broadcasters and talk show hosts have taken up the far more serious questions like, did the producers of the new History Channel's, 'The Bible" purposely use an actor to portray Satan because he looks like Barack Obama? The coincidental likeness to Obama may be a subliminal message or a clandestinely hidden message like the famous ELS, or equidistant letter sequencing, better known as the Bible Code. Who Knows – who cares?
After more than forty years of bible study I cannot tell anyone with any certainty what Satan looks like. I can say what his message is, and I can teach others what he sounds like.
Who could foresee a day in which fleshly lusts would become a prominent part of the rhetoric of our politicians and statesmen, and they would be proud to announce their slide into perversion and prurient behaviors. Those who stay close to the revealed word of God know exactly why the Apostle Peter penned these words so very long ago, to wit:
It would seem that Mr. Obama and friends are stepping up to the times, but in fact according to the prophetic message of the Bible they are rather arriving just in time to fulfill the well prophesied apostasy that is now gripping the entire globe just prior to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are only a few prophecies left to the very detailed layout of conditions and events that precede the coming antichrist and the last and worst seven year period of human history. Not to worry, it is not the end of the world; it is only the end of the world as we now know it.
There isn't much left to happen.
1. The solidifying of the E.U. and the emergence of one charismatic leader. (Antichrist)
2. An attempt to destroy Israel made by a pact of Muslim nations and their Russian allies which miserably fails.
3. The false agreement between Israel and Antichrist which he breaks by presenting himself as the divinely appointed leader that alone is worthy of any praise homage, and yes, even worship.
Three strikes and you're out! Is it that simple, is it that near? Since prophecy never evolves but only arrives the answer to this question is immutable.
It is that simple and it is even closer than you think.
Michael Bresciani is the publisher of American Prophet.org since 2005. The website features the articles and reports of Rev Bresciani along with some of America's best writers and journalists, news and reviews that have earned the site the title of "The Website for Insight." Millions have read his timely reports and articles in online journals and print publications across the nation and the globe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
Visit Rev. Michael Bresciani's website at www.americanprophet.org
See more from Rev. Michael Bresciani at firstname.lastname@example.com


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FEAR 3 developers, Day 1 Studios, have released a 2 page-long tips & tricks sheet for their new horror-shooter, FEAR 3.
Tips and Tricks
1. Maximize your score by fulfilling multiple challenge requirements, playing on higher difficulties, and completing each level as fast as you can. Use your special abilities often and combine the challenges to make sure you maximize each kill.
2. Exploration is crucial – search each level extensively for hidden ammo caches, psychic link bodies, and the all-important Alma doll. The psychic links and Alma dolls appear in random locations, so make sure you fully explore on each playthrough.
3. When playing co-op, psychic links can be shared or stolen. If you're looking to set an individual high score, steal them. If you want to set a team high score, share them. Even though you only get 750 points for psychic links, since you both receive the reward it adds a total of 1,500 to your team score.
4. Ranking-up improves various stats including things like ammo capacity, health, and slow-mo. Maximizing your Rank is essential to play on the Insane difficulty. Replaying a level with a higher rank also makes it easier to set a high score and compete for the top position on the leaderboards.
5. The ranks are determined by your total score and the perks are universal in main campaign, co-op, and multiplayer. If you are having trouble in one mode, go spend some time in another to rank up and then try again.
6. The Arc Beam weapon reflects off of walls and floors to hit nearby enemies, and can hit more than one at a time – very useful when Armacham Soldiers are hiding behind cover.
7. The Phase Caster is one of the toughest enemies in F.E.A.R. 3. Make sure you kill him as soon as possible. The Phase Caster will keep calling in reinforcements as you take them out.
8. The Scavengers can be difficult for Fettel to defeat. One method to quickly dispatch them is to levitate the enemy, get close, and push melee for the instant kill. At the same time, if there are multiple Scavengers, you can always suspend one while killing another with the stun blast.
9. In multiplayer mode 'F**king Run!,' sending a teammate ahead with a Riot Shield is a good way to add an extra layer of protection to the rest of the team.
10. Also in 'F**king Run!' multiplayer mode, the slide tackle is your strongest asset. Not only does it keep you moving forward, but it also takes out enemies.
11. Plan ahead when playing multiplayer mode 'Contractions.' Storing all of your ammo on the top level of your safe house will take longer, but pays off in later waves.
12. Don't try to stay in one body when playing multiplayer mode 'Soul King.' Body to body possession is a strategic part of the mode. You can escape other players by jumping from body to body across large portions of the maps. If you're going to die, possess a new body with full health. If you see an enemy getting the drop on the competitor, possess it and get the kill.
13. Multiplayer mode 'Soul King' is designed to be competitive all the way until the end. The last 30 seconds of each round are the most hectic and critical. You should try to stay in second or third place so that you can sweep in for victory in the closing seconds of the round by killing the King.
14. In multiplayer mode 'Soul Survivor,' getting a kill while in Last Stand will revive you. However, ammo is limited, so try not to use your Last Stand handgun ammo unless absolutely necessary. Have squad members revive you whenever possible.
15. The "We'll Try Again Tomorrow" achievement / trophy is easiest to get in the first 3 waves of The Commute multiplayer map.


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Noiz2sa is a classic shoot'em up originally written by Kenta Cho of ABA Games in 2003. He has allowed this to be ported to the iPhone/iPod Touch by Lazrhog Games for FREE distribution on the Appstore.
Zodttd also released a version of Noiz2sa, but he has kindly allowed this much-modified version to be released for Free.
Control the small red ship with your finger from any point on the screen and destroy all the aliens. Use multi-touch to direct your shots anywhere on the screen. There are 10 limited duration levels, and 4 endless levels to attack your high scores.
This game is a classic Bullet-hell masterpiece from Kenta Cho, ported to be a silky smooth experience by Lazrhog Games.


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My recipe was featured on :
Join the Party.
Join the Party.
We would get along great in Brownieville. I love the middles! I think I once saw a pan that's all edges on Amazon.ReplyDelete
I would definitely live in Brownieville, lol! I'm going to look for that pan:)Delete
Those look delicious!! I am definitely going to make these this weekend! My daughter has Celiac and is also dairy intolerant so this makes me so happy!! I'm sure it will make my daughter even happier :) Thanks so much Michele! Jacqui www.brookeeva.comReplyDelete
Thank you Jacqui! She will love them. Don't substitute anything else for the sugar in the brownie recipe, allow full time in baking, and make sure you use a food processor to really shred the beans:) Best when cooled in fridge but i love them so much i don't wait very long:)Delete
I'm telling ya, coconut milk is good with just about EVERYTHING!!!! Thanks for sharing... It looks fab.u.lous.ly delicious... :)
hugs x, Crystelle
Crystelle Boutique
Thanks! It is so good, who knew:) I was just reading about it's fattening though :( Everything in moderation:)Delete
That looks so good!! I'm such a sucker for cupcakes :)
-Norma G.
Thanks Norma. Me too!Delete
Yum. These look absolutely delicious!ReplyDelete
Thanks. They are soooo good!Delete
Thanks so much for sharing this with us! I love it! Hugs...ReplyDelete
This is great. I have been wanting to try this. I'm pinning now.
Debi @ Adorned From Above
So good, but soooo fattening:)Delete
They are dangerously good!!! Enjoy:)Delete
I use coconut milk a lot, and I've always wondered about making whipped cream with it. I'll have to try this! Thanks for sharing with Hump Day Happenings.ReplyDelete
A couple cans I put in the fridge never got solid? Just the brand I showed:)Delete
I haven't seen this done before, brilliant!! Thanks for sharing it at Talented Tuesday this week!!ReplyDelete
Thanks Emily. It really is soooo good:)Delete
OMG! YUM! This looks so good. Pinning and sharing on FB. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday!ReplyDelete
Thank you:) Better than dairy topping<3Delete
This looks so yummy! My friend just went gluten free because she is having stomach issues that the doctors cannot figure out what is going on so she is trying this to see if it helps. I am going to share this with her!
Thanks for sharing at Totally Terrific Tuesday! Hope to see you tomorrow!
Tell her to eliminate all grains and dairy for 3 weeks then try having again one at a time and see how she feels. It's tricky to iliminate gluten because gluten is hidden in many processed foods! She should google hidden gluten. Have a great week:)Delete
Great! I will tell her for sure. I know she bought a book she was reading and threw away just about all of the food in her house (well donated it I should say lol) But I will def. pass this info on to her. She keeps having these pains that will put her down for hrs vomiting and going to the potty..its a nightmare! And when you are a stay at home mom with two little ones it just makes it even harder. She has been to several docs and a specialist..and even went to the er when the pains came on so that they could do scans while she was in pain and still no results. Its horrible! hopefully this info will help just in case she didnt know about the hidden stuff! Thanks so much Michele!! You rock!Delete
Awe, I'm so sorry to hear that! She has to be her own advocate and keep looking for answers. I stumped my doctors for a while! And, I know many other people who have stumped their Drs. My Aunt who has celiac encouraged me to ask for gluten blood testing. My tests showed I had positive antibodies to gluten. I was also food challenge positive after eliminating gluten and then eating it again. Now all grains make me sick!!!! I also figured out though ultrasounds that I had endometriosis too, which can be painful and cause gastro issues! I needed surgery for that 4X. I know another gal who kept vomiting and had pancreatitis. My nephew's girl friend was very sick with stomach pains and vomit and finally found out she has Crohn's Disease<3 Having supportive family and friends is super important<3Delete
It's really good! Buy the coconut milk with no emulsifiers and be sure to chill:)ReplyDelete
hmmm i havent seen this before, good idea... :) Thank you for contributing to The Sunday Brunch Magazine, So great to have you join us, kind regards Eliza & Bel xReplyDelete


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"Biblical style flood" made Britain, according to UK Daily Telegraph, 25 Sep 2006.
Britain and continental Europe are believed to have been once connected by a series of chalky hills, but Britain became an island when these were eroded away. A sonar survey of the English Channel carried out by a team led by Sanjeev Gupta, from Imperial College, London, has revealed a huge valley containing "deep bowls, scour marks and piles of rubble on the sea bed that may have been caused by a torrent of water." Gupta suggests "the valley that now exists between Britain and Europe was created by a catastrophic flood following the breaching of the Dover Strait and the sudden release of water from a giant lake to the north." This could have made Britain into an island within 24 hours.
Editorial Comment: This research adds to the abundant evidence all over the earth of catastrophic processes, and it reminds us that massive geological changes do not need big time – they need big processes. The movement of large masses of water can account for many landforms we now see on earth, and it is interesting how deeply embedded the idea is that a catastrophic flood is a "Biblical style flood", an obvious reference to Noah's Flood described in Genesis as having destroyed the whole world in judgement of mankind's sin against God the Creator. (Ref. catastrophism, geography, geology)
Evidence News 11th October 2006


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And fireball flinger, leg kicker, and bee hurler
There are few things quite as cathartic as punching a nigh-endless horde of villains in their ugly mugs. I'm all for highfalutin, emotionally charged, wordy games where you are meant to care about people, but sometimes I just need to hit nasty people really hard in quick succession.
Fist Puncher dutifully scratches that itch, providing many hours of of retro, River City Ransom-inspired cartoon violence. The 8-bit aesthetic, somewhat juvenile premise, and the simple mechanics are all throwbacks to the age of the side-scrolling brawler — it's a nostalgic homage, and Team2Bit certainly hasn't made any bones about this.
Nostalgia alone does not a good game make, however, but Fist Puncher also oozes character, with its absurd humor and ridiculous villains. There's a lot of charm amid the flailing of limbs and slaying of bullies, so it's unfortunate that a lot of enjoyment I stole from the experience was marred by egregious flaws. It's a game I desperately want to love, but often I found myself mildly frustrated.
Fist Puncher (PC)
Developer: Team2Bit
Publisher: Adult Swim
Released: June 21, 2013
Rig: Intel i5-3570K @3.40 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 670, and Windows 7 64-bit
You're just hanging in your dojo, minding your own business, when a group of Miss Universe contestants are kidnapped by the local crimeboss — the Milkman. What does this have to do with you? Well, your sensei was one of the contest judges, so he wants you to rescue the lovely lassies.
Lampooning the damsel-in-distress scenario from River City Ransom and Double Dragon, just to name a few, Fist Puncher gets off to a very traditional start, yet it deftly avoids being trite thanks to the irreverent lady-loving sensei and the colorful gallery of heroes. Four characters are available for this rescue attempt, initially, including a sexy beekeeper and a karate-loving doctor named Dr. Karate, with the roster eventually growing to 15. This is not your average dojo.
Character selected, and it's off to save the ladies by traversing a city map, covered in nodes representing a large array of missions. Most missions involve sauntering across the screen, punching, kicking, grabbing, and throwing very rude people until they are dead. It doesn't get more simple than that. Thanks to an RPG-lite leveling system, the combat does become considerably more involved, however.
Characters come with their own signature moves, like Dr. Karate's flying kick, and develop even more special abilities, perks, and increases in their strength, speed, special meter, and all sorts of other RPG-esque junk. Experience comes hard and fast, thanks to the vast army of enemies that charge at you with little regard for their safety. They hate you a lot, and they also desperately want to die.
The plethora of thugs that attempt to halt the heroes' progress are as varied as they are bizarre. Evil nudists, strippers of the male and female variety, racists, werewolves, zombies, genetically enhanced shark-alligator-human hybrids — they are a strange bunch. Most groups have unique attacks, as well. There are convicts who can shank you, grabbing you by the throat and stabbing you repeatedly; thugs who throw molotov cocktails at you, covering the ground in flames; ninjas that toss slow-moving shurikens; and soldiers that employ assault rifles, spraying bullets all over the screen.
Even with the special abilities and the range of enemies, Fist Puncher does devolve into stringing together simple punches and kicks over and over again. It's arguably also an issue with the games it's trying to ape, and at least Team2Bit has attempted to spice things up with perks and strange powers — like a kiss attack that turns an enemy into an ally, or an attack that launches bees at an unsuspecting foe.
In an attempt to break up the repetitiveness, special missions crop up from time to time, demanding that the heroes do more than simply kill bad guys along a corridor. Unfortunately, these missions are rather poor, their weaknesses merely disguised by the zaniness of the scenario.
In one mission, I found myself on a train that had been hijacked by convicts, and for some inexplicable reason, the train was full of lawyers. I had to defeat all of the enemies, but the moment I struck a lawyer, the mission would be failed because the dojo couldn't afford the lawsuit. My initial laughter turned to shouts of frustration, as the lawyers would basically walk right into my attacks. At times they'd literally swarm me, ensuring that any punch I launched would result in me restarting the section.
Likewise, absurd boss battles are also very poorly thought out, hiding irritating mechanics behind a veneer of silliness. Most bosses are larger-than-life villains, literally towering above the heroes, and they are admittedly rather funny. Defeating them is less amusing however. They spam extra powerful attacks, take many hits, and dish out a lot of punishment — yet beating them amounts to the same strategy every single bloody time: run in and punch them a couple of times, and then roll away (dodging makes you essentially invisible). Rinse and repeat.
From running through a minefield on the back of an ostrich, to protecting a "spunk soda" delivery truck from ninjas, Fist Puncher has been designed to make you laugh hard enough so that you'll ignore the shortcomings. It works, too. The setting and the gags provide plenty of entertainment, and whenever I became frustrated, it would only take minutes for me to start laughing again.
Less forgiveable is the ridiculous lack of online co-op. Local co-op is available, but on a PC-only title, this seems a bit pointless. Fist Puncher is a co-op game, the start menu for each mission shows four character slots, the enemies make references to there being more than one hero, and it's inspired by classic co-op romps, so it beggars belief that I was unable to play with anyone online.
When I play titles with older aesthetic sensibilities like Fist Puncher, I always have to ask myself, what does it add? In the case of Fist Puncher, I've lamentably come to the conclusion that it adds nothing whatsoever, beyond making it clear that the game is inspired by NES-era brawlers. There's no artistry behind the pixels, and while the backgrounds can occasionally inspire a chuckle, they are really rather ugly. The game definitely isn't nostalgia just for the sake of nostalgia — there're too many additional features to claim that — but the art certainly is.
Despite the art, Fist Puncher manages to be an homage that isn't simply cashing in on nostalgia, capturing a lot of the simple joy of beating up hordes of merciless villains that kept people pouring into arcades or hooked to their NES in the '80s and '90s even though the experience has lost some of its luster over the decades. It's hard to overlook the shoddy boss battles and the lack of online co-op, but if you've got a PC set up that allows for couch co-op, you could do a lot worse than taking Fist Puncher for a spin.


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rush to drill for unconventional gas, enabled by a process popularly known as "fracking," or hydraulic fracturing, has brought with it much collateral damage. Close observers know about contaminated water, earthquakes, and climate change impacts of the shale gas boom, but few look at the entire life cycle of fracking from cradle to grave.The
Until recently, one of the most underlooked facets of the industry was the "cradle" portion of the shale gas lifecycle: frac sand mining in the hills of northwestern Wisconsin and bordering eastern Minnesota, areas now serving as the epicenter of the frac sand mining world.
The silence on the issue ended after several good investigative stories were produced by outlets in the past year or so, such as Wisconsin Watch, PR Watch, The Wisconsin State Journal, the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Orion, EcoWatch, and most recently, Tom Dispatch. These various articles, all well worth reading, explain the land grab currently unfolding in the Midwest and the ecological damage that has accompanied it.
To put it bluntly, there could be no shale gas extraction without the sand. As Tom Dispatch's Ellen Cantarow recently explained,
That sand, which props open fractures in the shale, has to come from somewhere. Without it, the fracking industry would grind to a halt. So big multinational corporations are descending on this bucolic region to cart off its prehistoric sand, which will later be forcefully injected into the earth elsewhere across the country to produce more natural gas. Geology that has taken millions of years to form is now being transformed into part of a system, a machine, helping to drive global climate change.
Frac sand, which consists of fine-grained sillica, can cause the respiratory illness, silicosis. Washing the frac sand in preparation for the fracking process is also a water intensive process, particularly threatening in the age of increasing water scarcity in the United States and around the world.
"The state's water supplies are also threatened as sand mining destroys sandstone formations which serve as giant filters for local aquifers." Sara Jerving of PR Watch wrote. "The mining process can use thousands of gallons of water which can also deplete aquifers."
The "frac sand rush" has been an uphill battle for small towns and municipalities that are trying to fight, or at the very least, attempt to negotiate with large corporations, with compartively little governmental oversight to deal with corporate behemoths such as EOG Resources, mirroring in many important ways the shale gas rush.
Cities and concerned citizens have done their best to keep up with the boom, but have no precedent to look for, no previous legislation to protect themselves, their infrastructure (see: roads and heavy trucks rolling through), their groundwater and their air.
Enter "Sand Land"
To further introduce the world to the impacts of frac sand mining, DeSmogBlog presents "Sand Land," a short video report filmed and produced by Milwaukee, WI by photo-journalist and film-maker, Spencer Chumbley of 414 Wire, co-reported on with DeSmogBlog Research Fellow, Steve Horn. The film serves as a short audio-visual primer on the issue.
We encourage you to watch and share it with friends, colleagues, and family.
Stay tuned for much more to come from DeSmogBlog on one particularly powerful sand-mining corporation, EOG Resources, formerly known as the now infamous Enron Oil and Gas, a little explored fossil fuel industry giant that does it all: frac sand mining, fracking, pipelines, and LNG terminals.
We need to update you on where Truthout stands.
To be brutally honest, Truthout is behind on our fundraising goals for the year. There are a lot of reasons why. We're dealing with broad trends in our industry, trends that have led publications like Vice, BuzzFeed, and National Geographic to make painful cuts. Everyone is feeling the squeeze of inflation. And despite its lasting importance, news readership is declining.
To ensure we stay out of the red by the end of the year, we have a long way to go. Our future is threatened.
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If you value what we do and what we stand for, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work.


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Yesterday was my 34th birthday and my family made it a wonderful day. Clayton started off by leaving me the above surprise treats in the fridge. He had dipped marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, and potato chips in chocolate just for me. Yum!! I wolfed down half of the plate for breakfast.
I went to the lab to do some blood work and then headed over to the OB to do a quick ultrasound before lunch. The ultrasound was supposed to show the second sac getting smaller or hopefully it would be gone. Unfortunately, we are now befuddled. Just since last week, a baby had started to develop in it. The reason that I say unfortunately is because it is very unlikely to survive. It is almost 3 weeks behind baby A in growth. It did have a heartbeat but it was only 88. Here are the stats and they are pretty grim:
Baby A---measured at 8w4d---heart rate of 176 (she's perfect)
Baby B---measured at 5w5d---heart rate of 88
The ultrasound tech has tons of experience in a high risk clinic. In all her years, she's never seen anything like this. She told me before the ultrasound began that there shouldn't be anything there. I told her that I felt like a second baby was going to pop up. She thought that I was nuts. Well, my intuition was correct. It's weird, I carried twins to 14 weeks with my first surrogacy and I just knew that I had lost one before the amnio ultrasound proved it. I was correct about that situation too. I had no indications of what was going on either time but yet I somehow just knew both instances before they were proven.
I am now sad and frustrated. We don't have another ultrasound until 8/20 and in the meantime, I will be extremely anxious. Baby B will likely dissolve between now and then, according to the OB. I hate thinking about it and I wish that we were already past this tough time. Please pray that this happens quickly and doesn't drag out. My nerves simply cannot handle it.
Anyhow, back to my birthday. I met my extended family at our local Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was wonderful to be surrounded by all of them on my special day. I believe that there are many pictures of me with a sombrero but I don't happen to have one to share on here. Clayton and the boys took me to a nice restaurant called Choplin's for dinner and it was sooo good! I had crispy duck and he had shrimp and grits. Both entrees were utterly amazing.
My gifts were so cool. Clayton bought me Apple TV and the last 2 books of the Shades of Grey trilogy. The boys got me flowers and a balloon. My mom and dad gave me cash (they know me sooo well, lol). My sister-in-law Steph sent me a new pretty jewel pop for my Kameleon ring. I loved everything! My birthday rocked, to say the least. :)


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Alex Campbell was an expert in his field, according to authorities.
His "field" was the underground world of human trafficking, known familiarly as pimping and prostitution, and Campbell, according to investigators with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was a master pimp.
"On a scale of one to 10, he'd be a 12," said DHS investigator Gary Hartwig. "I've been in law enforcement for 24 years, and he is actually the worst case of human trafficking we've identified in Chicago. Probably nationally."
Prosecutors call Campbell a "predator" and say he targeted foreign-born women with questionable legal status. They say he'd use their precarious status, coupled with heavy doses of violence and intimidation, to control the women and force them into "a form of modern-day slavery."
Last November a federal judge sentenced Campbell to life in prison. It's believed to be the first time a "pimp" has been sentenced to life in prison for human trafficking in federal court in Chicago.
The federal case against Campbell was bolstered by four women who came forward to testify against him in court. In an effort to protect her identity, NBC5 Investigates will identify one woman only as "Sarah."
In a sit-down interview late last month, Sarah said she was completely controlled by Campbell to the point where she felt she might lose her life if she dared to disobey him.
"He told me many times that he would kill me," she recalled.
Prosecutors believe Campbell was grooming Sarah to become a prostitute. It started, they say, with Campbell giving her a legitimate job at one of his Chicago-area massage parlors. They say he then became her friend and eventually her boyfriend. Attorneys say he then began to isolate her and beat her. Then he literally branded her.
"I still have those tattoos, and I can't get rid of them," Sarah said. "I'm trying to remove them for a long time -- like two years -- and they are still not coming off. It still hurts so bad."
Investigators say Campbell branded most all of his victims. On one woman, they say he tattooed a manifesto so long it covered almost her entire back.
"For him, it let the world know that these women belonged to him," said assistant United States Attorney Diane MacArthur, part of the team that prosecuted Campbell.
Steve Grimes, another assistant U.S. Attorney, said the women would have to explain the markings on their bodies for the rest of their lives anytime they met someone new.
"That was part of his plan," said Grimes.
In court, prosecutors also alleged that Campbell would exact fines from the women he controlled. In the case of one victim, he levied a fine of $14,000 for her to get a green card. She got another $5,000 "fine" simply because she didn't call him.
A recording of a phone call between Campbell and that woman was played in open court:
Woman: "You telling me that I didn't call you, that's why I have to give you $5,000?"
Campbell: "I said you got to give me $5,000 ... and you gonna pay it ---."
Woman: "Yes. You told me --"
Campbell: " ... because you are -- listen! This is my last word to you, and you'd better be glad I'm giving you up to f---ing Sunday to f---ing bring a f---ing-a-s payment in. If you don't f---ing bring in at least $500 mother-f---ing dollars, we will go to f---ing war. Now get my mother-f---ing money."
Sarah said that in Campbell's world, beatings were common and intimidation was constant. He even used blackmail, she said, taking a page right from one of two books investigators found in his possession: "The Pimp's Bible."
"[Sarah] tried to get away," said Grimes. "He forced her to drink alcohol and made her have sex with another woman while he videotaped this. He then threatened to send that video to her family, to expose her, if she did not come back into his grasp."
In court documents, attorneys for Campbell said he maintained his innocence and challenged the allegation that Sarah and others were being held against their will.
"Each expected something from him," Campbell's attorneys stated in the court documents. "Each was more than happy to accept what he gave; all this before the relationships turned ugly."
Prosecutors and investigators said they're pleased with the fact that Campbell received a life sentence in court.
"In the truest form of the word, he is a predator," said Grimes.
Sarah eventually escaped from Campbell and reported him to police. She is now married and doing well.
And if someone thinks it can't happen to them, Sarah says to think again:
"It happens," she said. "It can happen easily to anyone."
Indicators of Human Trafficking:
- Is the victim in possession of identification and travel documents? If not, who has control of the documents?
- Was the victim coached on what to say to law enforcement and immigration officials?
- Was the victim recruited for one purpose and forced to engage in some other job?
- Is the victim's salary being garnished to pay off a smuggling fee? (Paying off a smuggling fee alone is not considered trafficking.)
- Was the victim forced to perform sexual acts?
- Does the victim have freedom of movement?
- Has the victim or family been threatened with harm if the victim attempts to escape?
- Has the victim been threatened with deportation or law enforcement action?
- Has the victim been harmed or deprived of food, water, sleep, medical care or other life necessities?
- Can the victim freely contact friends or family?
- Is the victim a juvenile engaged in commercial sex?
- Is the victim allowed to socialize or attend religious services?
If you have any evidence of human trafficking, or if you are aware of anyone who is being exploited for prostitution, you should call investigators at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at 1-866-347-2423.


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Materials: 3/4yd elastic; 1 yd 60" wide lightweight shirting, printed all the way up to the selvadge (no white stripe at the edge). Note: to get my look, choose a print with a varied design along one end.
Cost: $10
Below you can find directions on how to make your own two-hour travel skirt: