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Thursday, November 8, 2012
PSP Pro Division Dilemma
Right now 12 teams works well within the framework of the current tournament structure. Mr. C says the league is kinda sorta maybe leaning toward 15 teams--in part because the party crashers are looking for permanent spots too. So what would it take to expand to 15 teams? An extra day works logistically. Does it work financially or schedule-wise? How many teams will have players that, over the season, can't take all those weekdays off? There can be only one feature field--the webcast already costs a small fortune and the feature field already fills the day's broadcast. Could some matches be moved to an alternate field? Say the D1 field? Sure, but that becomes dependant on how many D1 teams are competing. Or do you start bumping D1 matches for the bumped Pro matches? Using Pro refs or divisional refs? Without intending any disrespect to the divisional refs officiating a pro game is on another level. (And then there's the matter of where the rules applied diverge--and they do.) Does the league begin to train new Pro refs--and just how do that do that if those refs aren't on the Pro field? So far I'm not seeing any obvious answers.
Okay, beyond the mechanics of making a larger division work there are also the unknowns to consider. It's still only November and VFTD is running a poll on which pro teams won't survive to start the new season. A lot of things are up in the air including just how and where a fair bit of sponsorship is gonna fall. And until the teams know more they can't decide what comes next. And what about the teams clamoring to get in? What sort of commitment are they prepared to make? Anyone after a Pro spot has to commit to the whole year in advance, don't they? How do you make decisions to let anyone in before you know what will happen with the teams already there? I'm still not seeing any obvious answers.
What about suggestions the Pro division already has some have-nots among its rank? Is adding unproven teams a remedy or a risk of further diluting the quality of the competition? It's a tough call either way.
Of course this wouldn't be VFTD if all I had were questions so I'ma throw out a couple of ideas for how to handle this Pro division dilemma too. (Not saying--yet--it's the best possible outcome, just the first that came to mind that seems to be workable--and expandable.)
Start by locking the Pro division at 12 teams. That's right, 12. Now you don't need to worry about event logistics blah blah blah. The issue becomes how to handle the current interest in being part of the Pro division. In addition a locked league creates a limitation on access, a scarcity, something not available to everyone or anyone. Nor does it have to stay permanently at 12 but right now 12 works. Reintroduce the semi-pro division and lock it too. Maybe begin with 8 teams or even 10 if there is sufficient interest. And introduce promotion and relegation. In doing that the league would create a path to Pro status. That path would assure that the best teams achieved Pro spots and by locking both semi-pro and Pro you protect those teams--at least as best the league can--and encourage sponsors to support those teams as the only ones either already Pro or with the possibility of going Pro in the near term. That's the basis for a generic solution.
To respond to the situation as it exists right now here's what I'd do. Locked at 12 means the World Cup party crashers are on the waiting list. If any of the 2012 season long participants drops out, breaks up, self-relegates? then the open spot(s) are filled from the waiting list. World Cup records determine the order of their access. If nobody drops out they go to semi-pro. (Yes, I realize this risks antagonizing some sponsors now but once the rule is established it solves future procedural problems and one likes to imagine, despite evidence to the contrary, that paintball has a few rationale members within its industry who may not like that answer but understand it.) As to the teams that want in, make them prove their fitness and commitment to the longer haul. The league isn't about accommodating their whims, it's about being top to bottom the finest competitive paintball series period. I would also provide some path to the Pro division for TopGun Union not because I think they're ready but because in recent seasons the D1 series winner has come to expect that success brings that opportunity. If that means, at best, a spot on the waiting list that would be unfortunate but still necessary. Lastly depending on what the semi-pro division numbers were looking like I'd offer spots to the top finishers in D1 in order of their finishing position until I'd filled the new Semi-pro division.
It is admittedly less than perfect. Such a course would leave some peeps and teams unhappy for the time-being. It might even be unfair to one or two. And there is no telling how it will play in future seasons. After all the PSP has done the Semi-pro thing before--just not quite like this. Nor is this "solution" guaranteed to resolve every issue that might arise. What it does do is minimize Pro division changes today based on the whims of a few teams who may or may not be committed to the PSP. It also creates a more permanent process for gaining Pro status while also doing everything possible to assure the teams that become Pro are the best available and committed to the PSP.
The invoice with my consulting fee is in the mail.
38 comments:
The check for the invoice bounced yesterday.
- November 8, 2012 at 5:44 PM
- Baca Loco said...
Did I send it to the NPPL by mistake? Damn
- November 8, 2012 at 5:57 PM
Isn't this all just the old NPPL relegation/promotion plan?
And how many teams should get regulated each year?
- November 8, 2012 at 5:59 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
I like it!
It will keep the pro division fresh and competitive, and give teams a clearly defined path to pro.
Step 2: Including D2 (or D1 as it would now be called).
Step 3: Including the affiliated leagues
- November 8, 2012 at 6:07 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
BTW - can Mr. C drop some names?
Would be interesting to see who the "stampede" consists of...
- November 8, 2012 at 6:13 PM
- Baca Loco said...
Taken one step further, more or less.
No. D1 remains an open division. The inclusion of a for now modest Semi-pro is a "new" division. The only reason to lock the top two is to confirm and confine the path to Pro.
Any result that suggested locking D1 was worth doing would happen a long way down the road.
In the meantime I don't even like the locals being "affiliated" or tied into the central system that is APPA because I think it is counterproductive at the grassroots level.
- November 8, 2012 at 6:18 PM
- Baca Loco said...
Mr. C has of course mentioned the names to me--I chose to leave them out. :)
- November 8, 2012 at 6:19 PM
Everyone knows Topgun took World Cup and the Series. Yes, I believe they will be following in 187's, CEP's, & Vicious's footsteps at making the jump to the Pro Division. But what other teams are the stampede to getting into the Pro Division from D1? or Perhaps some of the teams that played in World Cup Pro Division might like to compete in the 2013 season. Do you have any other tips?
- November 8, 2012 at 6:42 PM
Lock the division at 12 teams, and give 3 spots to each of the 4 major sponsors. (Or four to 3, or two to 6...)
Then the major sponsors pick who is in the Pro division.
- November 8, 2012 at 7:00 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
Baca - It can be open, but still award promotion to semi-pro :)
Pity you can't mention names.... but from Europe,I'd say the top 3 this year (obviously not counting Dynasty) are realistic bets.
Art Chaos would cause a lot of upsets stateside, due to so many of their players populating current PSP pro teams, which would make the move difficult.... but it would make sense for the owner to want to take away the title of best russian team from Legion.
Tontons might want another stab at the US, and France is a virtual hotbed of talent, so I'd say they are a realistic bet.
Instinct might have Tanked backing them, for a serious go at gaining US market share.... otherwise I don't see it.
Further down the list:
I don't see Breakout having the funding, though they would be a fun addition, with their crazy aggressive style.
Syndicate might, but only if Maxs is having designs on the US market, or possibly getting bought by a US entity.
Icon... hmm... maybe, if they are getting picked up by a new player in the tournament market... Valken or Tippmann?.... they have a history for supporting "new" players in the industry... otherwise I don't see it.
Nobody further down the list.
- November 8, 2012 at 7:02 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
Why on earth do you want sponsors picking the teams?
Let teams make it on their own merits, not on who knows who!
- November 8, 2012 at 7:03 PM
About the divisionals, there needs to be more strict "affiliation" between the big league and affiliation leagues, or simply no affiliation ranking wise. You can't use APPA player points for PSP equal to that of a local league. As it stands now you are SOL if you want to play a local league if you are d2 or higher (some places only as low as d3) because the experience isn't the same as a local.
Make local affiliates less than national experience
- November 8, 2012 at 7:08 PM
- Baca Loco said...
Yep, the promotion part would need to happen to semi-pro.
With ya.
- November 8, 2012 at 7:39 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
Question is how long APPA will be around, if the whole federation thing takes off..... but's that's another story ;)
- November 8, 2012 at 9:49 PM
I'm sure Raehl will having something to say about this lol
The fastest way to kill paintball would be to shut down APPA. The federation would have to cut a deal with Raehl to carry player points into this new "league".
- November 9, 2012 at 12:24 AM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
What new league?
- November 9, 2012 at 11:13 AM
- nickgibson said...
How would appa going away kill paintball?
- November 9, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Promotion and relegation. Wow, now there's an idea. How did you come up with that?
Genius like that definitely deserves a hefty consultation fee.
- November 9, 2012 at 11:55 AM
- Baca Loco said...
And here I thought you'd be pleased to have the legacy of Pure Promotions enlighted genius carried forward into the future.
- November 9, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Missy Q -
How many times, during the Pure Promotions era, were Bad Company and/or Rage relegated down?
Did they ever actually play down a division?
- November 9, 2012 at 2:17 PM
I am, I'm just trying to understand your own 180.
Did you forget that the stuff that Pure Promotions did was bad/evil/fail? By advocating something they introduced aren't you jeapardising your reputation?
Question. If your team was currently ranked 12th, would you still advocate this path?
- November 9, 2012 at 2:31 PM
On the Rage/BC Q.
LOL, at least twice. The issue was that other teams folded/quit/switched to PSP, meaning teams rarely actually got relegated. I think the PSP has a far more stable, erm, stable of Pro teams than the NPPL though. The concept is tried & tested in European sports but it requires committed Pro and Semi-Pro divisions in order to work in practice. It did make all the games interesting. There's the battle for the top, and also the battle to avoid the drop, so those lower ranked matches actually became important, which was very positive.
The main issue with Pro/Rel in paintball is sister teams. Impact and Dynasty were both poised to have 2 teams each in the NPPL Pro division in 2007. The same could happen again unless contingencies are preparesd in advance.
- November 9, 2012 at 2:39 PM
drop the 2 worst pro teams to d1, and pick up the best 2 teams from d1 every year. and the same way down the divisionals. constant new faces, and allows others to make the advance.
- November 9, 2012 at 2:40 PM
- Baca Loco said...
You're becoming tedious. Nothing better to do in the Canadian cold than create your own comments fantasyland?
Fail isn't the same as bad or evil. Really Missy is it that time of the month for you?
Nor have I advocated anything "they" introduced unless you're talking about Euroland sports federations in general.
And finally--sure, yes, absolutely. If you were actually read my post you might note I didn't advocate relegating anyone now in the aftermath of the 2012 season. That would be totally unfair.
Anon 2:40
That might fly except in general the D1 level of play simply isn't close enough to the Pros to merit promotion necessarily or to assume the relegated teams won't dominate. And then there's the question of player classification. New rules would have to be applied to the relegated rosters.
And you haven't addressed the issue of outside the PSP teams wanting in.
- November 9, 2012 at 4:26 PM
appreciate the feedback.
- November 9, 2012 at 5:41 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
I'd argue that promotion/relegation helps create the level needed to play Pro.
At least that has happened in Europe, where we are seeing, to an increasing degree, that teams no longer move up and down, year in and year out.... and that the general level of professionalism in the semi-pro division has increased tremedously since its inception.
There WILL be an adjustment period, over 2-3 years... but down the line, promotion and relegation gets rid of a great deal of complacency, as well as create a broader top of the sport.
Granted, the level of play is generally a little higher in the US.... but there is no reason the same mechanics should not be in effect there too.
- November 9, 2012 at 5:45 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
As for teams wanting in from the outside... just use the same model as in Europe:
1. Buy a spot
2. Start in the highest open division
It's all temporary anyway.... a few years down the line, there will be a global pro division, and both the PSP and MS (if they still exist) will have their top division qualify 1 or 2 teams into the global pro division every year. :)
- November 9, 2012 at 5:48 PM
- Ryan Brand said...
If PSP winds up with 15 teams wanting a spot I wouldn't be surprised if they look for a 16th team to create 4 brackets of 4 and have 3 prelim games each. That's why we were brought into the league in 06' mid season.
- November 9, 2012 at 11:31 PM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
3 prelims games only is a terrible idea.
They do it in the MS, and it often means a team can't afford even a single loss - if they want to make sunday.
I'd say 4 should be the minimum number of prelims games.
But yeah, 4 brackets of 4 is 24 games only, whilst 3 brackets of 5 is 30 games.... so you might be right.... simply due to time constraints.
- November 10, 2012 at 1:03 AM
You can't use promotion and relegation because paintball doesn't have teams to promote and relegate.
In Euroland sports where promotion and relegation are used, you have actual legal entities with actual paid and contracted players. You move a team up or down, there's actually something being moved up or down.
Most paintball teams are not set up that way. If you promote Top Gun, what, exactly, are you promoting? If the owner sacks the whole roster and that roster gets together as a new team (Heat is half of a Russian Legion), who is promoted? That's not a problem in real sports where the players are under contract preventing wholesale change like that from happening.
You can't suggest promotion and relegation as a workable system until you're willing to demand teams have an actual legal structure and players are contracted to teams for multiple years and the league is going to enforce those contracts.
And all the players shit a brick when the NXL tried that so I don't see promotion/relegation happening. (Sure, a league can DECLARE they're going to do it, but the result will be the same it is now with Millennium and was with NPPL, a yearly scramble to un-relegate teams and promote non-qualifying teams to get the team count to a nice-to-schedule number.)
- November 10, 2012 at 4:02 AM
3 prelim games is OK if you take 2 teams per bracket. It's still possible for a 3-way tie to leave a one-loss team out, but that's already possible with taking 2 teams out of 5-team brackets. The only 100% solution is to always take 3 teams out of each bracket, but then you could be advancing teams that lose 3 games.
- November 10, 2012 at 4:04 AM
The last anonymous post hit the nail on the head. The players "shit a brick", well I guarantee that when contracted players who don't fulfill contractual obligations have to watch PSP from the sidelines, they'll wish they fulfilled said obligations. What are they going to do, run to the NPPL stamping their feet. Someone just has to put their foot down. Starting with the pro division is an excellent way to get the ball rolling with this type of idea.
- November 10, 2012 at 6:40 AM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
You are completely mistaken as to promotion and relegation needing a legal structure and multi-year contracts in place on the teams.
First of all, promotion and relegation is not just used in professional sports in Europe - in soccer (for instance), it continues all the way down to division 12 (or whatever), where teams consist of happy amateurs that MIGHT show up to practice every once in a blue moon, and whos only loyalty to the club consists of paying the yearly 10 dollar membership fee and showing up when they have nothing better to do.
Secondly, in the scheme I propose, the team belongs to the owner, just like today.... and just like today, he is free to sack his entire team and hire other players (between seasons).... just like in real professional sports, both sides of the Atlantic.
Third, the ONLY problem the MS has had with the system, is that team owners were able to sell their spots in the league between seasons.... something I hear they are putting a stop to in the coming season.... once that is no longer an option, you will have team owners treat their projects with a lot more seriousness, as folding means your next attempt starts in D2 (in Europe - equivalent to D3 in the PSP).
Without the option of selling, you get rid of all the crazyness, as a team folding will just give back its spot to the league, who will then promote the next in line, from the division below - or relegate one less team - whatever they decide the rule is for those instances.
So, the only thing you really need for promotion/relegation to work, is to have rosters locked throughout the season, in the locked divisions, so that players have no other option of playing the PSP, than to stick with their team throughout the season - and then they can transfer to their hearts content between seasons :)
- November 10, 2012 at 6:49 AM
SO you're substituting locked for contract, one in the same i guess, half empty, half full....bottom line...teams should not have to worry about a player jumping ship. If players don't fulfill Obligations set out by the team when they initially joined, don't give them the opportunity to bail, let them work on their spectating skills :)
- November 10, 2012 at 12:25 PM
What if the team doesn't fulfill obligations to their players? Are those players sent to purgatory too?
- November 10, 2012 at 9:52 PM
Citing Division 12 soccer in Europe in an argument about Pro promotion/relegation makes about as much sense as citing D5 paintball when talking about Champions league.
Then again citing major pro sports in a discussion about pro paintball is a stretch to begin with.
Fact is claiming promotion/relegation won't improve anything. NPPL and Millennium have proven it - even though they claim or have claimed promotion/relegation, the end result is the same system PSP uses: Pick a number of teams you like and invite the teams you need to get that number.
If you can't count on teams surviving from one season to the next, you can't really have promotion / relegation work.
- November 11, 2012 at 1:18 AM
- Nick Brockdorff said...
Ehm.... dunno if this is the same anon... but I responded to the dude saying it would only work if paintball had lengthy contracts, like major pro sports - so I responded that the scheme works perfectly well in low grade amateur sports as well.
I don't quite know why you think it has failed in the MS - please elaborate?
What I see, is 50+ teams all fighting vigorously to play Pro... I don't quite see how that is a failure?
- November 11, 2012 at 4:21 AM
- Baca Loco said...
Anon 1:18
Just because the system isn't seamless from day 1 isn't a good reason to have no system.
- November 11, 2012 at 4:08 PM


text:
CLEMSON, S.C. – After falling behind 1-0, the Duke volleyball team found its rhythm in the latter frames, defeating Clemson 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-21) Sunday afternoon at Jervey Gym. The Tigers totaled 17 kills on .342 hitting in the opening game, but the Blue Devils were able to limit Clemson to 28 kills and a .091 hitting percentage over the final three sets.
Following a slow start in set one, Duke (16-3, 7-1 ACC) buckled down on defense over the final three stanzas, ultimately tying a season-high with 14.0 blocks while also amassing 81 digs. Senior libero Ali McCurdy led a contingent of five Blue Devils with double-digit digs, registering 19 to bring her career total to 2,227.
"[We're] excited to come down here and get this win today because Clemson is a challenging place to play," said head coach Jolene Nagel. "We came out a little bit quiet as team. [Clemson] was serving tough and we were on our heels as opposed to going after it in the first set. Once we started to communicate more, we started digging some balls and touching some balls on the block, then we got into a rhythm."
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Sklar turned in a standout performance, picking up her second straight double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs to go along with four service aces and two blocks. Sunday's match marked Sklar's 11th straight with 10 or more kills, bringing her team-leading total to 232 on the season.
"Emily takes on a lot of responsibility, both offensively and defensively," Nagel said. "She's really coming into her own and stepping up to the plate when we need her to."
In addition to Sklar, the Blue Devils also relied on middle blockers Chelsea Cook and Jordan Tucker for offensive production. A senior from Overland Park, Kan., Cook knocked down 11 kills while her counterpart Tucker tied a career-high with 10. The duo also combined for 10 blocks, adding five stops each.
"We felt we needed to block really well against Clemson because they have some strong offensive players," Nagel added. "I thought we were disciplined on the block today. I also thought our team did a good job of getting the middles into the offense."
Clemson (10-9, 4-4 ACC) stormed out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set before Duke fought back to tie the frame at 16-all following a Tiger ball handling error. A Sklar service ace put the Blue Devils on top 18-16, but the Tigers ended the frame on a 9-3 run to clinch the 25-21 victory. The Tigers' Beta Dumancic totaled seven kills in the first game to lead an efficient Tiger offense, which amassed 17 kills to 10 for the Blue Devils.
Duke found its rhythm in set two, totaling 17 kills while hitting .371 en route to a 25-14 victory. The Blue Devils also utilized 5.0 second-set blocks to limit the Tigers to a match-low .079 hitting percentage. A Tucker kill gave the Blue Devils a 13-8 margin at the midway point and Duke closed out the set on a 12-5 run, tying the match 1-1.
Duke's offense continued to tally kills in the third set, amassing 16 to eight for the Tigers in the frame. Sklar and classmate Elizabeth Campbell added four kills each to help the Blue Devils to a 25-18 victory.
Deadlocked at 18-18 in the fourth frame, Cook and junior Maggie Deichmeister paired up for the block, igniting a 7-2 Duke run to close the match. Up 24-20 after a Jeme Obeime kill, her eighth of the afternoon, junior Kelsey Williams recorded the ace to seal the victory. The final ace was part of a solid performance from Williams, who earned her first double-double of the season with 17 assists and 13 digs.
Clemson senior Moneshia Simmons came into the weekend averaging 4.63 kills per set to lead the ACC, and the outside hitter lived up to the billing, knocking down a match-high 18. Simmons added 10 digs and, along with Hannah Brenner (33 assists, 11 digs), was one of two Tigers with a double-double.
Sunday's contest marked the end of a four-match road swing for the Blue Devils. Duke returns home next weekend, welcoming Florida State and Miami to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
President Barack Obama told the nation Wednesday to follow Colorado's lead with "practical progress" on restricting access to guns, such as comprehensive background checks.
Inside a gymnasium at the Denver Police Academy, he urged Americans to contact their federal representatives.
"If we're really going to tackle this problem seriously, then we've got to get Congress to take the next step," he said. "As soon as next week, every senator will get to vote on whether or not we should require background checks for anyone who wants to purchase a gun."
Obama pressed his views to an audience of Denver police, families of gun violence victims, and local and state politicians.
The president's usual brand of soaring rhetoric sought reconciliation on America's divided views on guns. But even as he spoke, protesters, including some Colorado sheriffs, picketed outside and decried what they said was an assault on Second Amendment rights.
In his speech, the president brought the issue to Colorado, referencing the Aurora theater shooting in July and the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.
"This is a state that has suffered the tragedy of two of the worst mass shootings in our history," he said. "But this is also a state that treasures its Second Amendment rights — the state of proud hunters and sportsmen.
"I'm here because I believe there doesn't have to be a conflict in reconciling these realities," he said.
Obama lauded Colorado legislators for passing three gun laws, signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper last month.
One limits magazines to 15 rounds of ammunition, another requires universal background checks for all gun buyers and the third charges gun customers for the cost of those checks.
The guests were invited, but Leon Kelly, a pastor who runs Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, veered far from the president's view.
He doubted new laws would solve the very old problem of bad guys with guns.
"We're making laws and restrictions that are going to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights, while we're just enhancing the black market for guns and who knows what other unintended consequences," said Kelly, a National Rifle Association member and pistol instructor.
Before the speech, Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met with local leaders, including Hickenlooper, members of Colorado's federal delegation, sportsmen and families of victims.
The president told the group he wanted to "listen and hear from all of you, having gone through the process here in Colorado, how you think we can best frame some of these issues."
He said while communities need to have strong mental health programs and effective policing, "there is also no doubt about the kind of damage that can be done if you don't have strong background checks."
Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine High, said Obama particularly wanted to hear the perspectives of hunters and victims' families.
Mauser said Colorado showed it was in favor of increased gun control beginning in 2000, when 70 percent of Colorado voters approved Amendment 22, which requires background checks at gun shows. Further polling showed Colorado residents supported expanding background checks to all sales.
"We're very much a purple state and pro-gun state and highly educated state," Mauser said. "People understand that you can bear arms but also have restrictions at the same time. People are smart enough that you can have both."
Jane Dougherty, who was in the audience, wanted to hear about Obama's plan for federal legislation. Dougherty, of Littleton, is the sister of Mary Sherlach, who was the school psychologist killed in the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
"This doesn't have to be a conflict. We can come together and be reasonable and get these laws passed and start saving lives," she said. "Background checks are just going to prevent people who shouldn't get guns from getting them."
University of Colorado political science professor Kenneth Bickers said the president's personal political mission perhaps drove Wednes-day's visit to Colorado, and one scheduled Monday in Connecticut. Twenty students and six staff members were shot to death at Sandy Hook.
"(Obama) really has to try to get something out of this issue; he's staked so much of his second-term capital on it," Bickers said. "He needs to recapture the momentum the issue had right after the shootings, and I think that's why you see him in Colorado and Connecticut."
Bickers said the visits might not help, but they won't hurt.
What could hurt, however, is U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette's comments Tuesday at a public forum organized by The Denver Post editorial board. She appeared to not know the difference between bullets and magazines. Bickers said if the president's speech and DeGette's gaffe were paired in the news of the day, that could muddle the message.
"That really hurts because here you have the congressmember in the district you're speaking in, one of the sponsors of the legislation you're trying to pass, who appears not to have a basic understanding of the gun-control issue," he said.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/joeybunch
Reporter Ryan Parker contributed to this story.


text:
Validation::Class::Directive::Filters - Filters Directive for Validation Class Field Definitions
version 7.900041
use Validation::Class::Simple; my $rules = Validation::Class::Simple->new( fields => { user_ident => { filters => 'trim' } } ); # set parameters to be validated $rules->params->add($parameters); # validate unless ($rules->validate) { # handle the failures }
Validation::Class::Directive::Filters is a core validation class field directive that specifies which filter should be executed on the associated field.
This directive can be passed a single value or an array of values:
fields => { user_ident => { filters => ['trim', 'strip'] } }
Al Newkirk <firstname.lastname@example.com>
This software is copyright (c) 2011 by Al Newkirk.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.


text: Topographica Hibernica or the Topography of Ireland Ancient and Modern…..was written by William Wenman Seward and published in 1797. The book gives an account of many different area in Ireland including the townland of Kellymount. The relevant section discusses the Kellymount Gang and a battle fought between the inhabitants of Carlow and Kilkenny over the boundary between the two counties. I am currently not aware of what battle the article refers to.


text: Many area football games started early because of the chance of severe weather, but the Pleasant Ridge Homecoming game against league rival McLouth started at 7 p.m., but was stopped at 7:37 p.m. for lightning. The storm slowly crept closer and the lightning became more frequent and severe. Rain eventually came down in sheets while some fans were still hanging around the parking lot and others had already went inside for the Homecoming dance. The Rams and Bulldogs were tied at 6-6 with 9:35 left in the first half. The game will resume at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Pleasant Ridge started off pounding right through the Bulldogs' defense. Quarterback Nick Holmes capped off a 12-play, 65-yard drive with a touchdown run from three yards out. Holmes couldn't power through the line on the conversion try, so the Rams settled for the 6-0 lead with 6:38 left in the first quarter. Four different players carried the ball for the Rams on the drive. Holmes had 28 yards, Kyle Grantham had 20, Jason Simonis had five and Blake Graham had a carry for 12 yards. McLouth answered back quickly with a nine-play drive that ended with a 29-yard run for a touchdown with 3:05 left in the first quarter. The extra point holder couldn't handle the snap and was brought down short of the goal line after scrambling to the left, so it kept it 6-6. The Bulldogs converted a fourth down off a fake punt to keep that drive alive, and the touchdown came two plays later. The Rams turned it over on downs and went three-and-out on their next two drives. McLouth went three-and-out between the two Pleasant Ridge drives. The Immaculata Raiders Homecoming game was stopped at halftime because of the weather, and will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday. Jefferson County North leads 12-8 at the break. JCN scored a touchdown in each of the first two quarters, but the Raiders got a 60-yard touchdown pass from Drew Sachen to Cory Holcomb to bring Immaculata within four after a 2-point conversion.


text:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A five-run third inning propelled No. 7 Florida State to an 8-5 victory over the Duke baseball team in game one of a Saturday doubleheader at Dick Howser Stadium.
Duke (21-16, 8-9 ACC) had its chances in the early innings, but the Blue Devils left four on base in the first three frames. Florida State (29-6, 12-5 ACC) in turn was able to manufacture a run in the second then plated five in the third to take a six-run lead.
FSU starter Brandon Leibrandt (5-3) tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts as the Seminole lefty scattered eight hits over seven innings. Leibrandt gave up one run and did not issue a walk on the afternoon.
Duke right-hander Drew Van Orden (2-4) took the loss, allowing seven runs over seven innings of work. The Blue Devil junior struck out eight batters and walked two.
Senior Jeff Kremer went 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run double in the ninth while junior Mark Lumpa extended his hit streak to eight games with a pair of singles. Sophomore Grant McCabe was 2-for-3 with an RBI and junior David Perkins was 2-for-2 with an RBI as well.
Third baseman Jose Brizuela reached base in all four at bats to lead the Seminoles. Brizuela had three hits, including a double and a home run, while center fielder Seth Miller and left fielder DJ Stewart were both 3-for-5.
Brizuela doubled to lead off the bottom of the second and advanced to third on a Brett Knief sacrifice bunt. First baseman Casey Smit lifted a fly ball to left deep enough to score Brizuela for the first run of the game.
Second baseman John Sansone kicked off a five-run third for the Seminoles, lacing a single to left for the first of five FSU hits in the frame. Stewart and Marcus Davis drove in a run each before back-to-back home runs extended Florida State's lead to 6-0. Catcher Stephen McGee drove an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence, his fifth home run of the season, and Brizuela followed suit with a solo shot to right.
Van Orden settled down after the third and did not permit another Florida State run until the bottom of the seventh. Knief reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to third on a Smit single and scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-0 ball game.
A Stewart RBI single in the eighth plated the Seminoles final run of the game.
Duke made it interesting in the ninth as Perkins drove in Lumpa and Kremer roped a bases-loaded double down the right field line to cut the FSU lead to 8-5. The rally was too little too late for the Blue Devils as Seminole reliever Bryant Holtman induced a groundout to third to end the game.
Game two of today's doubleheader to set to begin at approximately 7:35 p.m.


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Spring Start Program
Students may start law school at Washburn University School of Law in January through the Spring Start Program. Washburn Law enrolls approximately 20 new law students for the spring semester, providing an alternative to those who want to start before the traditional August start.
Benefits of the Spring Start Program
Students starting in spring receive all the benefits of a fall start with an even more personalized classroom experience.
- Scholarships: Candidates admitted for the Spring Start Program are eligible for the same academic scholarships offered in the fall.
- Fast Track Accelerated Option: Students starting in spring have the option to participate in this program and graduate in 2 or 2 1/2 years.
- Smaller class size: Although Washburn Law has a low faculty to student ratio, a spring start allows for even greater interaction with professors and fellow students.
- First Week Program: This unique experience for entering students focuses on study skills and provides personalized acclimation into law school life.
Why Washburn Law?
Washburn Law, one of three law schools in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, is located in the capital city of Kansas. Washburn Law provides the benefits of a private education – small-size, collegial atmosphere, low student to faculty ratio – at a fair price comparable to other public schools. The collegial atmosphere allows students to fully immerse themselves in the culture of law school. Being in the state capital allows our students to not only study law, but live where the laws are created.
Low Tuition
- Tuition for Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska residents during the 2016-2017 academic year is $20,880.
- Other out-of-state students may obtain resident tuition in only six months.
- One of the most affordable housing markets in the country.
- Students receive more than $2.2 million in scholarships each year. Nearly half of the student body receives scholarship awards from Washburn Law. About 30% of entering students receive nearly full resident tuition scholarships; some receive more.
Washburn Law was established in 1903. In 1923 we were one of the original group of law schools to receive ABA accreditation.
Signature Programs
- Business and Transactional Law Center
- Center for Law and Government
- Center for Excellence in Advocacy
- Children and Family Law Center
- International and Comparative Law Center
- Oil and Gas Law Center
Practice Centered
Since 1970 Washburn Law's live-client clinical program has provided an on-campus law firm setting where students represent real clients under the close supervision of faculty. The Externship Program enhances legal education through off-campus placements, which provide hands-on experience working on assignments that impact the lives of the people involved.
If you are interested in law school, you owe it to yourself to visit
Washburn University School of Law.
Washburn University School of Law
Admissions Office
1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621
(785) 670-1185
admissions [at] washburnlaw.edu
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text:
Mall name:
1, Boulevard des Promenades, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec J3V 5J5
Phone number to Les Promenades St-Bruno mall
450 653 1581
Hours (mall)
Opening hours of Simons, SAQ, Target, The Bay and Sears may differ. Friday April 18: Mall is opened, Saturday April 19: Mall is opened, Sunday April 20: Mall is closed, Monday April 21: Mall is opened.
Driving directions
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A 71-year-old Bridgeville businessman is accused of supplying illegal gambling machines to several bars and restaurants in Kent and Sussex counties.
A 71-year-old Bridgeville businessman is accused of supplying illegal gambling machines to several bars and restaurants in Kent and Sussex counties.
Thomas O. Jefferson was arrested at his home in the 300 block of Market Street on Friday after police searched his residence and Timmons Amusements, his coin-operated gaming supply business at 206 S. Cannon St., also in Bridgeville.
Officers with the state Divisions of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) and Gaming Enforcement seized evidence during those searches that appears to show Jefferson was supplying the gambling machines to various alcohol-licensed establishments and sharing in the profits generated by the illegal devices, according to Kimberly Chandler, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
Officers also seized $138,527 in cash, Chandler said in a release issued Saturday.
Using information from the seized records, officers then conducted raids at three other locations and seized a total of nine illegal gambling machines.
Chandler declined to identify the three locations where the illegal gambling machines were discovered.
She also declined to say whether the raids or Jefferson's arrest are related to the March 2 arrest of James F. Daley, the 55-year-old owner of The Sports Nut Restaurant & Pub in Delmar, where DATE seized four illegal gambling machines last week. Daley is charged with possession of a gambling device and providing a premises for gambling.
"The investigation is ongoing and I cannot provide any further information at this time," Chandler said.
Jefferson is charged with distribution of gambling devices and being concerned in interest in keeping a gambling device.
He has since been released on a $400 unsecured bond, pending a future court appearance, Chandler said.
According to Timmons Amusements' website, the business is family owned and operated and has been "providing quality coin operated arcade games, prize cranes, pool tables and jukeboxes to business establishments on Delmarva since 1946."


text: Save This Event For Later 2013 Monarch Crest Crank - 15th Annual Mountain Bike Fundraiser for Alliance Against Domestic Abuse in Salida, Colorado Salida, CO, Sun Sep 15, 2013 Who's Registered? | Contact Event | Event Website | Google Calendar Start line address: AADA - PO Box 173, Salida, CO 81201 Presented by Alliance Against Domestic Abuse - Working to Prevent Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault in Chaffee C This is a past event. If you wish to see the details for this event click, "Continue" below. If you are looking for a current event, please search the event calendar .


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Police log for March 13
Police log
March 13
12:09 a.m. Arrest on South China Lake Boulevard for possession of a narcotic controlled substance.
12:16 a.m. Warrant arrest on East Arondo Street for driving on a suspended license and failure to appear.
3:54 a.m. Vehicle-burglary report on West St George Avenue.
8:30 a.m. Petty-theft report on West St George Avenue.
8:50 a.m. Runaway/out-of-control juvenile at Pierce Elementary School.
9:01 a.m. Follow up on North Gold Canyon Drive.
10:19 a.m. Supplemental report on West California Avenue.
10:25 a.m. Assist other department on North China Lake Boulevard.
10:54 a.m. Follow up on East Kashmir Lane.
12:36 p.m. Child Protective Services referral on North Norma Street.
12:56 p.m. Vandalism report on East Ridgecrest Boulevard.
2:45 p.m. Runaway/out-of-control juvenile report at James Monroe Middle School.
3:00 p.m. Warrant arrest and citation on West St George Avenue for driving under the influence and using or being under the influence of a controlled substance.
3:10 p.m. Battery report at Burroughs High School.
3:28 p.m. CPS referral on North Inyo Street.
3:36 p.m. Found-property on West California Avenue.
4:02 p.m. Verbal-threats report on West California Avenue.
4:02 p.m. Warrant arrest on West California Avenue for possession of a controlled substance, possession of controlled-substance paraphernalia and using or being under the influence of a controlled substance.
5:21 p.m. Harassment report on East Commercial Avenue.
5:30 p.m. CPS referral on East Ridgecrest Boulevard.
5:50 p.m. Noninjury-hit-and-run report on West Ridgecrest Boulevard.
6:04 p.m. Noninjury-hit-and-run report on West Iowa Avenue.
7:10 p.m. Counseled runaway/out-of-control juvenile on South Suzanne Street.
7:48 p.m. Harassment report on North Alvord Street.
7:49 p.m. Vandalism report on East Ridgecrest Boulevard.
8:32 p.m. Warrant arrest on South China Lake Boulevard for possession of a controlled substance and possession of controlled-substance paraphernalia.
9:20 p.m. Disturbance – music on North Fairview Street.
10:22 p.m. Mental-health evaluation on North China Lake Boulevard.
11:25 p.m. Suspicious-circumstances report and arrest on West Haloid Avenue for possession of controlled-substance paraphernalia.
Officers made seven traffic stops.


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To a frog that's never left his pond the ocean seems like a gamble. Look what he's giving up: security, mastery of his world, recognition! The ocean frog just shakes his head. "I can't really explain what it's like where I live, but someday I'll take you there.1
Explaining the Pisces world, I feel like a pond frog asked to describe the ocean: How can I say what it's truly like? I'm no expert. I've got Virgo rising, which means I've typically encountered Pisces through my 7th house partners. Clinging to Virgo virtues, I've spent years demonstrating my inability to understand my Pisces mates—poets, musicians, alcoholics, liars and dreamers. How many times I've peered into their nebulous world and thrown up my hands: "What d'ya mean you just 'forgot' to meet me when you said you would?! You lost your keys for the third time this week?! Go ahead. Give me one good reason why I should believe your promises now!"
Over time I've become less shrill. Life lies in wait for those of us who worship order and perfection. It roughs us up, so that frustrated, exasperated, and eventually surrendered, we come to view misty Pisces as a newly attractive place. I admire the artists and mystics who inhabit this realm. Like ocean frogs, they can't always explain their world, but from their blissed-out eyes and dreamy smiles, I can venture a few rough translations: Pisces floats; it goes with the flow. It forgives and forgets. It's a gentle state of transcendent one-ness that can soften the heart, expand the imagination, call us to a higher power, dial us into the collective unconscious, and summon the invisible weaver of our dreams. Through Pisces we can pierce beyond the veils of ego and materialism. We can dissolve ourselves into a vast dimension of unlimited love and possibility.
Pisces is soul-space. Whether we experience it as celestial or oceanic, distinctions like "up and down" or "before and after" are clearly less relevant here. These are terms from the pond realm. Pisces likes to work through trance. It enters us via the right side of our brain, in pictures, colors, sounds, emotion and intuitive vibrations. Its mode of reasoning is quite different from its left-brained opposite. Virgo parses parts. Pisces holds wholes. Virgo analyzes and Pisces synthesizes (hence its compassion). Pisces loves to note the likeness in things. It speaks in metaphors and can sit comfortably with mysteries. A question unanswered is an opportunity to wonder and dream. Sensitive and porous, Pisces moves through the world like a cloud or fog bank, enveloping and absorbing what it finds. It has little concern for facts and practical efficiencies. Pisces has something better: Faith. When asked to investigate the world, it simply beholds.
Against life's chaos and disappointments, who can deny Pisces' appeal? Its yearning for divinity, its empathetic heart, its romantic belief in dreams-come-true offer hope and healing to a fractured world. It's no wonder that Oprah—the undisputed culture queen—devotes her satellite radio show to positive Pisces themes. Each week thousands tune into her "Soul Series" conversations with experts on enlightenment, meditation, dream intelligence, spirit guides, prayer, reincarnation, and the ages of soul.2 Pluto may have entered reality-based Capricorn, but Uranus is still in Pisces, with Neptune waiting in the wings (Editor's note: The article was written in 2008). The collective interest in Pisces isn't disappearing soon. So if you too are thirsting for more Pisces magic, astrology has good news, even if you're heavily Virgo like me. Whatever the details of your chart, you've got a personal doorway into this realm of art and mysticism: It's your Pisces house, promising "The journey to a soulful life starts here!"
At least that's my theory. In practice, I've noticed something altogether different. As a constellation, Pisces has just a few bright stars, meaning it's difficult to see without a powerful telescope. Likewise in the chart, the Pisces house can be elusive. Over the years I've watched many approach their Pisces portal and balk, turning back to cast their lot with the pond frogs, unable or unwilling to gamble on the ocean. It's not just those with empty Pisces houses—it's people with Sun, Moon, or the Ascendant in Pisces. Initially I dismissed these individuals as anomalies. A veteran astrologer once told me that when people don't express their charts it means they're "unevolved." Such thinking goes against my grain. Maybe they're neither anomalies nor unevolved. Perhaps their resistance is actually a clue, like a stray thread which when pulled can unravel more of the Pisces fabric.
Consider Warren. He's got Sun in Pisces in the 12th house (Pisces' natural home), with Pisces rising too. That's a good amount of Pisces. I spoke with Warren only briefly by phone and was intrigued to meet the person who would show up for our session. Was he a poet? A film-maker? An addict? A con artist? A spiritual seeker? The doorbell rang. I opened the door to a quiet man in a plain pressed shirt and khaki pants.
We chatted. He worked as an engineer, he said. He spent all day in front of a computer, looking at figures. "Sometimes numbers can be downright mystical," I ventured. He looked puzzled, "Not really." I asked if he had any interest in music, meditation, poetry, or fantasy. "No," he replied. He had no hobbies. His life consisted of going to work and coming home. Evenings he spent in front of the TV, accompanied by a shot or two of scotch. His wife nagged him about that. She wished they'd do more together, but he was always tired.
I kept looking from Warren to his chart. Sun in the 12th can bring a subdued or introverted personality. Pisces risings can also wear masks, blending in and concealing their true feelings. But will expressions of Pisces creativity and/or mysticism entirely disappear, as seemed to have happened with Warren? Whenever reality confounds expectations, astrologers dart frantically through the chart, hoping to find the planet(s) that are actually running the show. Warren may have bought a little Pisces-style transcendence with his nightly TV and shots of scotch. But most of what he said issued from his 6th house Virgo Moon—an emotional orientation that's cautious, hard-working, and analytical. His wife (who might also embody a man's Moon) seemed to do the Virgo nag.
I asked Warren to tell me about a time, perhaps from childhood, when he felt really happy. After a few moments his eyes lit up. He recalled one summer when he and a friend planned to produce their own fantasy comic book series. "We'd drawn all the characters and outlined a dozen storylines before school was officially out," he said. Then his voice trailed off. "That was the summer my father made me get a job." He shrugged. "I worked as a box boy at my uncle's grocery store instead."
He'd stood at his Pisces portal, but was yanked back into his 6th house Virgo Moon. Likely this wasn't the only time Warren's imagination had been dashed by duty and pragmatism. Perhaps whenever his inner artist had struggled to give itself form, it was squashed by Virgo-style judgments: "Ridiculous! A waste of time! Such foolishness won't go anywhere!" Instead of becoming an ocean frog, immersed in a fascinating, absorbing, albeit less practical world, he became an engineer, condemning his spirit to the trance of his dull routines.
Poor Warren, I thought. I wondered what would have happened had his parents been more enlightened. What if they'd consulted an astrologer when he was a boy? The astrologer would have explained that Warren was a sensitive, intuitive child, with plenty of imagination and compassion. He should have been encouraged to follow his inspirations, given the space to develop his inner world. Perhaps then his Virgo Moon, rather than controlling the show, could have served to ground his Pisces sensibilities in a nicely structured way.
I met Warren when I was a novice astrologer, which means I had a pretty limited imagination myself. I figured his chart wanted him to find happiness by becoming something Piscean—perhaps an illustrator, an ashram devotee, an actor, or some other character from my slim repertoire of Pisces imagoes. That was the 80's, when Pluto was in Scorpio and combining astrology with depth psychology was the order of the day. I pored over horoscopes like they were dark maps of the psyche's underworld, hoping to shine new light on any childhood wounds or traumas that might empower my clients with new understanding. Sadly we often wound up in a whiny cul-de-sac called "victim of bad parenting." Once Pluto entered Sagittarius, this grew increasingly weary. Besides I was a mother myself by then. I quickly saw the impossibility of parenting anywhere near the therapists' standards.
Pluto in Sagittarius called for new astrological strategies. My clients wanted help creating better futures rather than dredging up their pasts. I got less prescriptive and much more curious as my clients also became my teachers, expanding my understanding of the zodiac through their choices and behaviors. I listened for the beliefs that created their realities—which meant starting with the idea that their behavior was astrologically "right" rather than judging it as wrong. What I learned about people like Warren was that they were doing Pisces just as earnestly as the musicians, poets, and dreamers. Their porous sensitivity was less visible, but it hadn't disappeared. They simply sensed their surroundings and adjusted accordingly, swimming in the ocean where they found themselves. In a world that banishes soul and worships money, Pisces may shape-shift and go with the flow.
Such shape-shifting is actually Pisces' central myth. Its glyph and constellation show what seem like two fish going in different directions; they're really gods in disguise. When the monster Typhon raged toward Mount Olympus, Aphrodite and Eros transformed, making their escape as fish. They still shine faintly in our night sky as Pisces' V-shaped constellation, two fish bound by a loose cord at their tails. The eastern fish swims up toward heaven while the western one swims along the ecliptic. The directions they're heading in are as symbolic as the cord tying them together. The heaven-bound fish points to spiritual transcendence, while its partner cuts a more secular path along the ecliptic's material plane. The disguised gods are connected so as not to lose each other. Likewise in our Pisces house, we may preserve our own divinity by connecting ourselves to both directions—swimming along practical paths with mystical fins.
Pisces' glyph shows the fish bound tightly back to back. But in the sky, the constellation's looser binding at the tails more accurately depicts the challenge and latitude we have in holding both directions. We can keep our head isn the clouds but lose our earthly bearings. We can choose security but abandon soul, or any variation in between. Creativity and free will grant us endless possibilities. I think of Emma with Sun and Venus in Pisces. She delights children with her tiara and fairy wings at the local crafts fair, but has suffered disastrous love affairs with a series of weak and dishonest partners. There's Wilson, a charming Pisces rising who runs a successful ad agency by day and finds his heaven at night in women, wine and weed. There's gentle Timothy, with Sun, Moon and Mercury in Pisces, who mostly disappears, venturing out to take a clerk's job for a year or two, and collapsing back into his parents' home when he can no longer keep a schedule.
Most of us have less dramatic Pisces tales. But likely they still fall short of the divinity that's possible. How do we actualize this sign's promise of transcendence? That Aphrodite and Eros, the goddess of love and her love-inspiring son, are the fish in Pisces' glyph suggests another clue: Love may be the central activity of this sign. We can be called to love throughout our charts, but in our Pisces house, the misty, turbulent and confusing swirl of circumstances we meet may raise its need most deeply. Pisces requires an apprenticeship of love, which is why service, compassion, sacrifice, even martyrdom, are prevalent Pisces expressions. Spiritual love is powerful, but most human love is fragile. There are enough inner and outer Typhons rampaging through our worlds, that like a threatened Aphrodite and Eros, we may simply shift shape and hide out. It's a fair Pisces question: How do we strengthen our capacity to love, given the sometimes monstrous dissatisfactions, depressions and longings that can also cloud our experience of this sign?
Now that Pluto is in Capricorn, I feel my astrology strategies shifting once again. It's too early to know exactly where they'll go, but I sense a desire for greater pragmatism. When clients call, they're ready to take new responsibility. They want to know what they can do about their situations. Perhaps that's why I'm drawn to Hercules, one of our original action heroes. I'm not the first to turn to Hercules for zodiac advice. A long tradition connects his twelve labors to each of the zodiac signs. Most recently and prominently, metaphysician Alice Bailey used his labors as an allegory for the path of spiritual development.3 My goal is much less grand. I simply wonder if Hercules can guide us to some new action in our Pisces house.
So here's the tale. Hercules was ordered to retrieve the prized red cattle of Geryon as his Pisces labor. A winged giant with no less than three bodies, Geryon lived on an island at the ends of the earth. Hercules made his way on foot, battling wild beasts and marauders, until he went as far as any mortal had ever gone. Stopped by a formidable mountain, he cut through it to the other side, creating the mighty Pillars of Hercules. It was hot there. Some say in a fit of pique he shot an arrow at the burning sun. Others say he simply rested and prayed. But all agree on what happened next. The Sun god Apollo dropped down a fabulous gold goblet as reward. Our hero climbed into it and floated the rest of the way towards Erythia and Geryon's cows. Once he arrived, his task was easy: Bam! He clubbed the dangerous two-headed dog. Bam! Bam! He killed the artful shepherd. Geryon came running. Hercules shot one arrow that pierced all three of the monster's formidable bodies. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Hercules herded the red cows into his golden cup, sailed back to the tall mountain, returned Apollo's gift, and began the cattle drive back home. You'd think his work was nearly done, but going back across the land, he was attacked by thieves. His best bull escaped and ran all the way to Italy; Hercules had to wrestle and kill a king to get it back. Next Hera sent a terrible gadfly that scattered the crimson cows in all directions. The hero had to drain a river in order to finally get them home.
This is more action than we typically think of undertaking in our Pisces house! But the promise of the red cows is enticing. Cows offer sustenance; red is the color of desire, vitality, and power. The red cows symbolize the nourishing power of love and unlimited possibilities—the Pisces treasure. Look at your Pisces house or planets. Is there a dream you'd like to manifest? How far are you willing to go for it? Would you journey beyond space and time to see it come true? Hercules was ready to go to the ends of the earth—which in your Pisces house means going beyond the limits of your ordinary mind and entering a higher consciousness. The first step is simple: just become willing to create a new reality. After that you need the strength of intention and awareness, which Hercules models as he sets out across the land, defeating wild beasts and marauders along the way. These foes may seem surprising and strange, but they're actually familiar characters. They're the lower desires and negative thoughts that constantly restrict your best potentials. They are your addictions—the substances and habits that waylay you, or the thoughts that routinely close you down. If you can keep alert and forward-moving, you'll erect a structure of determination and intent that's as mighty as Hercules' Pillars.
You must go beyond your pillars, however, which means letting your intentions go. Releasing your dreams this way is like dropping a magic pebble into water, so that it can ripple out and shift the world, energizing the possibility of something even better coming back. It's an admission that your dreams may not be big enough! You do of course need to believe in magic—which attracts the next event: divine intervention or grace. When he's gone as far as man has ever gone, Hercules receives a divine vessel. This symbol of the golden cup suggests any number of otherworldly Pisces boons: synchronicity, imagination, intuition, spiritual guidance. Like the cup, these Piscean resources are both containers and vehicles. They carry you to your Pisces treasure. Intuition, for example, can bring, as Paulo Coelho writes, "…a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and (you) are able to know everything, because it's all written there."4
The goblet is a gift from the Sun god, emblem for the ego. In one version of the story, Hercules attacks the Sun; in another, he simply soaks it in and prays. Which tactic is better for you depends on your balance of heaven and earth. If your orientation is overly secular, you may need to diminish your ego's beams with an ego-dissolving practice like chant or meditation. If you're ungrounded and overly mystical, your egoic boundaries may be porous and thin. Particularly if you have masculine planets like Sun, Mars, or Saturn in Pisces, you may need to strengthen your self. For you, the land journey toward your pillars may bring the greatest growth; after that, you can rest in your devotion and wait for grace.
Either way, once you release your intentions, you must enter a special Pisces state. When Hercules climbs into the golden goblet, he stops advancing in a conscious way. He comes to stillness. He sits. This is like the voyaging done in dreams, meditation, or trance. Robert Becker, a pioneering surgeon in nontraditional healing, has observed, "Many 'primitive' peoples… believe that almost every normal adult has the ability to go into a trance state and be possessed by a god; the adult who cannot do this is a psychological cripple."5 In other words, his red cows remain with Geryon.
Recently I met Rebecca. Her South Node, Sun, Venus and Mercury are in Virgo with a lone North Node in Pisces. Despite her doctor's orders and the limits of her aching body, she confessed she couldn't sit still. She worked eight-hour days and at home was always on the move, chasing from chore to chore. When she wasn't working, her mind was spinning with worries and obligations. "My family needs me," she said. "They're falling apart," she complained, "yet no one ever listens to my advice." I asked her if she ever just sat still, with a cup of tea perhaps, and enjoyed the bliss that all her work had brought her. She shook her head. "No… I just can't!"
Without stopping and stepping away from ordinary life, reaching a peak Pisces experience is difficult. After resting in his cup, Hercules arrives at the island of unlimited possibilities and quickly vanquishes three foes. In an alert but higher state, he transcends space and time, accomplishing in minutes what might have taken years or an army of men. I am reminded of what my meditation teacher often says—that meditating is not just zoning out, it's waking up. For trance to bring a peak experience, we must be awake and open, alertly receptive to a non-ordinary reality. Dr. Jean Houston, a philosopher and researcher in human capacities, has often speculated that our brain's tremendous yet underutilized instrumentation is designed to bring us into a much vaster universe—perhaps with parallel dimensions, multiple realities, and undreamed-of potentials. It's no surprise that Houston has Jupiter in Pisces. It's been her life's mission to expand our belief in what's possible.
After a peak experience, we must always re-enter the world. This can be the most difficult leg of the journey—transporting our Pisces treasure into the present. Our red cows may be an ecstatic realization, a vision or message from spirit guides, or a transformation, bringing an overwhelming love for the world or simply new joy. This gift brings new potency, but like Hercules, we will be challenged. Thieves, runaway bulls, and gadflies symbolize how quickly our gift can vanish if we're not vigilant. But success is too sweet not to try. It's how we just might realize our own divinity. I like how Jean Houston rewrites the Pisces Aphrodite/Eros story with a single line: "We are not just gods-in-hiding, we are gods-in-making."6
Current Planets
19-Jun-2018, 09:37 UT/GMT
|12' 3"
|34' 0"r
|Explanations of the symbols
|Chart of the moment


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Action continued Friday at the Tennessee Diving Invitational, with two Blue Devils advancing to the finals of the men's 3-meter springboard event.
Following a second-place finish on the 1-meter board Thursday, junior Nick McCrory continued to impress in his first collegiate competition since March of 2011. The Olympic bronze medalist took third out of 46 divers in the preliminary round of the 3-meter competition and totaled 370.70 points in the final to finish third overall. His highest-scoring dive of the finals round came on a back 2 ½ somersault in the tuck position which earned an award of 75.60 points from the judges.
Senior Jordan Long also qualified for the 3-meter finals, where he came in ninth overall with a score of 333.30. Long, who won a 3-meter title in his last outing at the Nike Cup, ended the afternoon with an inward 2 ½ somersault in the pike position which garnered was awarded 66.00 points by the judges.
In addition, both McCrory and Long's scores qualified them for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in March.
Meanwhile, freshman Deon Reid earned a mark of 284.70 to finish 23rd in the 1-meter preliminaries.
The second day of competition in Knoxville also saw 2012 Olympic silver medalist Abby Johnston make her return to collegiate diving. Johnston and freshman Kendall McClenney competed in the preliminary round of the women's 1-meter springboard event, with Johnston finishing 26th at 227.80 points and McClenney scoring 217.95 points to place 36th.
The invitational concludes Saturday at 10 a.m. with the preliminaries and finals of the men's and women's platform diving events. Live results and live video will be available.


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AZGman wrote:down jacket
Jacket liner
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lined pockets
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pocket pets
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pet peeve
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peeved off
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off topic
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topical anesthetic
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anesthetic spray
no1 wrote:anesthetic spray
spray paint
AZGman wrote:spray paint
paint thinner
Xexus wrote:paint thinner
thin client
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client departed
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departed early
AZGman wrote:departed early
early arrival
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arrived late
AZGman wrote:arrived late
late bus
dontwantaname wrote:late bus
bus ticket
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Ticket booth
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booth seating
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seating chart
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charter school
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School days
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day labor
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blank slate
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slate patio
patio lanterns
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lantern wick
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wicked witch
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witches brew
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Brew master
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master baiter
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Bait shop
no answer? Oh no, Gman is mad and went off in a grump.
dontwantaname wrote://smack
Bait shop
no answer? Oh no, Gman is mad and went off in a grump.
shopping mall
get a funny bone, prude.
AZGman wrote://smack
shopping mall
get a funny bone, prude.
mall rat
Iceback wrote:mall rat
rat poop
kdccrosby wrote:rat poop
pooped out
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outdoor patio
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patio furniture
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furniture store
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text:
Is it OK to sleep in my bra?
– Meera*
There's nothing wrong with wearing a bra while you sleep if that's what you're comfortable with. Some doctors may even recommend it when a girl's breasts are very sore.
You've probably heard all sorts of rumors, both positive and negative, about wearing a bra at night. But the truth is, there's no scientific basis to any of them. Sleeping in a bra will not make a girl's breasts perkier or prevent them from getting saggy. And it will not cause a girl to develop cancer or stunt her breast growth. (It's also not true that underwire bras cause breast cancer.)
Some women want to wear a bra to bed because they think it feels more comfortable. Your best bet is to choose a lightweight, non-underwire bra. Some camisole-style pajama tops even come with a bra built in. The bra you choose to sleep in shouldn't be too tight or have parts that dig in: that could disrupt your sleep or cause breast irritation.
On the subject of staying comfortable, it's never a good idea (day or night) to wear bras that are extremely tight or don't fit properly. Visit a department store or specialty bra shop for regular fittings while you're growing and developing.
*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-
Images provided by The Nemours Foundation, iStock, Getty Images, Veer, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com.
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The Health Sciences Libraries site has made changes to its web pages and links to resources. Please re-search for the resource you want.
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To find new links for WEB PAGES use Site Search
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text:
Dadoboy wrote:Hmmm, soooo
Amazon owns Woot. Woot buys stuff. Woot ships it to Amazon. We buy from Woot. Amazon ships Woot's stuff. Got it! ;)
I would add "Woot very (most?) often buys the same stuff and works with the same vendors that Amazon also works with".
Came back here to check if they got their crap together and went back to the $5 all day shipping, appears not.
TomDavidson wrote:Yeah, this is pretty much the nail in the coffin of the Woot-Off, as every item has effectively become $5 more expensive.
I agree. $5 postage sucks. Count me out.
Here's another vote for terrible idea. I don't have a problem with the cart but part of what kept me interested in the woot offs were the impulse buys after the first order. For me, woot offs have gone down hill in general and this may finally drive me away. Seriously, how many vacuums does one person need?
"2. Real talk: we only ever had that $5 All You Can Ship in a Day promotion going because we didn't have a shopping cart. So now that we have a shopping cart, we're getting rid of it. Standard shipping is now $5 per order — just get all your stuff in one order, and it's basically the same thing."
And now you've lost a long time Wooter - basically ALL my purchases (go ahead, check my history) were made on impulse later in the day because I had unlocked free shipping. Mark my words, you all will see a HUGE decrease in sales, and an increase in customer support complaints... Not a good practice imo, the "unlocking free shipping" was a great hook.
This change completely kills the idea of a Woot off for me. Last time I splurged on the Woot off two months ago I bought
5-pack of T-shirts
Airsoft pistol
Some green tea meat rub
Lip gloss for my daughter
...and 3 other things I can't remember. 7 boxes showed up at my house - I remember that much.
I wouldn't have bought anything but the t-shirts if shipping wasn't free. I didn't want any of the other stuff that bad, especially when the items are $5-10...adding shipping doubles the price.
I've just started Wooting. I loved the $5.00 all you can ship. I wish for that to stay. It was what made it fun. A compliment to Woot writers, .. very entertaining. I enjoy this site. I like all the cool things about it, but not the new shipping thing.
I bought a ton from plus deals and woot-offs because I hade free shipping that day. Now you are completely removing any motivation for me to buy impulse items during a woot off or plus deals. The cart only makes it easier for Woot and not the customer. Pretty stupid idea, and you are losing sales.
I also have to say I'm bummed about this no ADS primarily because of the wine woots. I haven't disliked any of the wine I have purchased from Woot in the past - and because I trust the judgment of the Woot wine buyers, I was willing to take a chance on many wineries I otherwise wouldn't have tried. But when I might end up spending almost as much for my shipping in a single woot off (adding in a couple of other items I've already seen and liked today and estimating my typical number of woot off purchases) as I do for 40%-75% of my total cost for annual Amazon Prime membership, it's ridiculous.
So, since we have established mathematically that there is no sense in buying anything from woot that costs less than $50 anymore, especially during a woot-off, I decided to go through my old purchases. I wanted to see when the last time I bought something from woot for more than $50.
It was November, 2009.
Goodbye, woot. I'll see you the next time I need a TV or computer, and I feel like waiting weeks for the model I want at a good price.
I adored Woot when I joined. And I joined, and kept on going. Some 200 items ago. I would bet that EASILY 80% of my purchases were due to the psychological effect of the same-day "Well, I've already opened the '$5.00 shipping' gate, so I may as well...."....
I love Woot. I love the descriptions. I have ROLLED with laughter over the comments on many of the items on the "Woot-Off"s, which were days of frenetic buying on my part, and on the part of the friends I had referred here as well. He((, we even had Facebook "IT'S WOOT-OFF DAY!!!!" posts where we listed and compared our purchases to the amusement of yet MORE friends.
ALSO - I spent $79.00 to be an Amazon Prime member JUST so I could get COMPLETELY free shipping.
Amazon now owns Woot. We all know this.
So can someone PLEASE tell me WHY I should spend an extra $45.00 on shipping, say, 10 cheap "Woot-Off" impulse buys, when I could get them on Amazon for maybe a buck or two more per item but with the end total being far less once my "Prime" kicks in??
You want to go all "Amazon" on us, then add the "TOTALLY FREE" shipping we "Prime" members paid good money for. NOT just for the Woot-Offs.....for ALL orders. PERIOD.
Woot, I just got screwed by the $5 per order instead of per day. I will NOT be buying anything more today during the woot off. Another long time customer lost. The problem is it may have just got HARDER to order stuff during a woot off when there are just a few of an item or a VERY popular item because there are now more steps to complete an order. When woot went to the $5 per day my number of orders went up because of it. Well watch them go down ow.
Greed is unbecoming of woot! I will still buy things from woot, but woot-off's are now pointless and I will now take a lot more time considering my frivolous purchases. Somebody should be fired for shunning the customers desires for more money and I hope it costs a pretty penny on the charts.
Well, this pretty much ends my participation in the woot-off, unless I see something I was already shopping for. I tended to buy more when I had unlocked free shipping, or at least watched to see if there was anything I wanted since I had already unlocked free shipping for the day.
I really think they should bring it back for the woot-offs, but oh well, not my company. I am just a fairly frequent customer who will become an increasingly less frequent customer, so what do I know? I mean I have only made 271 orders (some for multiple items), I am sure they won't miss my business.
Feel compelled to post as a matter of principle and solidarity.
Agree with all who say will miss $5 ADS for reasons already posted.
Agree with all who say the PR was not admirable.
Agree that this will curtail impulse spending.
Must add that Netfilx made a similar divisive move last year, one may recall,
implementing a name and policy change, where they lost many members.
Netflix realized their error and reversed their decision.
A thought for Wootoffs:
Post ALL the goods at once on a giant board and let us all madly fill our carts like murderous teenagers at the the cornucopia in the Hunger Games. Those who escape with their stuff (and a $5 per cart shipping charge) will feel like they've lived to shop another day.
They are just bringing their policy in line with the rest of Amazon's policies since they buggered prime users up the bung with "addon items" and like junk, woot had to do something Lollypop Guild to keep up.
Woot has officially killed the Woot-Off. (For me) I just made the mistake of purchasing a $6.99 knife on Sports.woot.com during the Woot-off. Thinking that the $5 shipping still stood.
Good-bye Woot-off
Been wooting for years. Prices used to be better, the selection more eclectic. The one saving grace of the Amazon takeover was the $5 all day shipping. I find it hard to believe that Woot cannot hold all orders on one account til midnight and bundle shipping.
Going off to do other things today. Woot just killed the Woot-off.
MGilg wrote:Woot has officially killed the Woot-Off. (For me) I just made the mistake of purchasing a $6.99 knife on Sports.woot.com during the Woot-off. Thinking that the $5 shipping still stood.
Good-bye Woot-off
Yeah, I almost bought the lincoln logs, since they cost 5 dollars more than I could have gotten them elsewhere, but when I checked and found that the $5 All Day shipping was gone, I decided to pass.
ThunderThighs wrote:
The $5 all day shipping was always stated to be a temporary thing. We did that to make up for the fact that we didn't have a cart.
with all respect, you can keep saying this but why do I care that you always said it was temporary? Its a something you put in place that people obviously loved and certainly increased sales. Its insulting to try to pass off this shopping cart (which every other online site has had for years) as a bonus, when you are just hurting your customers and taking away something they like about the site. My wife has bought stuff countless times from woot plus because she knows i bought one of the woots that day, and only for that reason. In fact she will probably no longer even peruse the the woot plus offerings any longer. and we'll be less likely to buy on a whole, especially the cheaper items. but since this is now page whatever of this discussion thread, its nothing new. i'll definitely be checking out betterwoot.com if the originator of that idea ever brings it to fruition.
I'm a long-time Wooter but very rarely comment. In the years before the $5/day shipping, I didn't buy much from Woot. I lurked but the site never made it into my daily rotation.
Once the $5/day shipping hit, I was sucked in to the Woot planet. Buying one of the daily items would usually spur me to impulse buy smaller items throughout the day from the multitude of tabs that keep appearing at the top of the site (yuck). I think this change will reset my relationship with Woot to what it used to be. I'll check it occasionally but my purchases will drop off precipitously.
And, as other Wooters have mentioned, Woot offs are now just about useless. I know we used to have to pay $5/item, but the deals were much, much better then. I won't bother with them now.
Good luck with your exciting new shopping cart.
Woot you are Lollypop Guild. Someone should be fired. This is the end for me.
Not being able to "unlock" free shipping is totally going to change my buying habits... no more extras for me - this will probably cut my buying in half.
i would just like to say that this has just killed the woot off. I use to buy alot on woot offs and pay 5 bucks for shipping but now i have to pay 5 bucks per item if i buy at different times. horrible choice woot you should bring back the promotion just for woot offs or something like that.
LOL, I did the EXACT same thing.
I just saw a $9.99 hexbug in the kids woot. I was all set to click buy, figuring, what the heck - my son would love this and I'm sure I can find some more stuff throughout the day to add on, when I saw the comment about this new policy. I did not buy the hexbug. Or the cool Disney books that came up after. And now I'm closing the browser, because what's the point of waiting to view more $5-$10 deals that are actually $10-$15 not-deals?
elfgurl wrote:I just saw a $9.99 hexbug in the kids woot. I was all set to click buy, figuring, what the heck - my son would love this and I'm sure I can find some more stuff throughout the day to add on, when I saw the comment about this new policy. I did not buy the hexbug. Or the cool Disney books that came up after. And now I'm closing the browser, because what's the point of waiting to view more $5-$10 deals that are actually $10-$15 not-deals?
Yep, same here. I ordered something first thing this morning and just now saw that the $5 ship all day thing was gone. I was going to be looking thoughout the day, but nope. Not now. That shipping the rest of the day was free was an incentive to keep an eye out for other things. Now there is no incentive. Besides, my boss will get more out of me this way anyway.
SirWill wrote:LOL, I did the EXACT same thing.
I bought that because that's still a pretty good deal for that knife (even though I suspect it's a "factory second"/minor-defect due to the X on the end of the model number). So far, so good. Then, I was also interested in the CamelBak knock-off currently for sale as of 10:30ish ET; but not pulling the trigger. Absolutely would have if I'd already unlocked free shipping.
The cart is all well and good, but it doesn't enhance the Woot! experience nearly as much as the all day shipping. If your objective is for customers to visit all the Woot! sites and make multiple purchases in a day, you just shot yourself in the foot. Case in point, I made a purchase yesterday and confirmed out of habit. Then something on sellout! caught my eye but I didn't get it because of the extra $5 shipping. Everyone loses now.
You may have driven those who might have become loyal Woot!ers to other deal sites. It's not too late, even with the new cart you can bring back the $5 all day shipping...
First off, my wife would like to thank you for the change. I will likely not be wooting as much now.
Secondly, to those crying foul... this is a business, and they are running their business as they feel they need to to be profitable. I don't like it any more than the next wooter, but it is what it is. If the sales decrease and subsequently profits, then an additional change in policy would be expected.
I, like many of the previous wooters, would tend to buy on impulse once the ADS was unlocked. Now, regardless of how the price + $5 compares to other markets, I will be much less likely to pull the trigger on a purchase.
Most of it is mental, and we all can admit to being a bit bat$hit crazy.... right?
It's pretty obvious that Woot-azon needs to go into damage-control mode, now.
At the end of the day (literally), all corporate will need to do is compare sales figures with this Woot Off with previous.
Let your pocketbooks do the talking, people.
If (more like when, based on the thread comments) they find they are moving significantly less volume than previous W.O. because of this policy change - that will catch their attention. It's all about the numbers - your only as good as your last sale.
I think it's really funny that woot thinks this is a really great change for us. it isn't. it sucks. but I'm sure it's very good for the woot management. not sure why I even bother with woot anymore, all I see is a lot of overpriced junk. this may be the shove that pushes me to remove woot from my favorites list.
tljx wrote:The first post in this thread sure is a lot of words just to say "we'd like less people to purchase Woot-off items."
I was going to purchase the Disney books this morning until I realized my $5 wouldn't cover the whole day. Somehow knowing that makes my sanity kick in and realize I don't actually need any of this crap. Yes, that makes me sound cheap doesn't it? Well I'm shopping on WOOT aren't I?
Good luck with your sale!
BEST PART - I am sure many people won't complain, they will simply stop buying as much as they used to buy under the policy. Leaving woot to wonder where their customers have gone.
Oh, and the soon to be former customers who don't notice the change, get double, triple, quadruple charged, and feel ripped off. Those will be some very very satisfied customers there I bet.
I know the unlock had renewed my flagging interest in woot. I ordered about 25-33% more stuff from woot in in the less than a year WITH the lock than in the full year BEFORE the lock.
just logged on all excited after getting a woot-off alert on my phone. then i saw a link to this thread....
alls i really have to say is what a bunch of greedy scumbags. you want me to pay $5 per item all day on a woot-off?! that is beyond absurd.
y'all should be ashamed to sit there and feed us this steamy bowl of horsecrap.
I did not even know about this change until I read a post on pickles. I had to go back to my two orders today to see that I indeed was charged $5 shipping for a $6 knife thinking that I had already unlocked free shipping. Did I miss the email stating that the $5 shipping unlock had been cancelled? What a killer. Why would any pay $5 for an item under $10 or $20 or $30 for that matter. I wouldn't. What a woot off killer! I am no longer interested in Woot, especially now that I paid full price for a knife I thought was a deal. I will def be buying less.......
On another note, they could easily keep track of multiple orders from the same customer and ship it all in one box to save the customer on shipping. If you buy 5 small items and pay $25 in shipping to woot, those 5 items could easily be put in one box and shipped for $12. I know they have a lot of orders but it can be done......
General consensus is that no more $5 all-day shipping is a very unwelcome change in Woot policy (I too am disappointed). However, people are loving the shopping cart idea.
Woot, how 'bout we compromise? Here are a couple of ideas:
Boo woot! $5 all you can ship during WootOff meant I could buy lots of cheap junk that I don't need. Now the shipping cost makes the junk not cheap enough. I won't be impulse buying like I've done in the past. I'll be much more reluctant to pull the trigger with $5 shipping per order.
If you kill $5 shipping then why not let us Amazon Prime members get Amazon shipping???
No more all-day shipping sort of turns woot into moot. Dislike.
View All →


text:
My smartphone is in frequent peril as my 16-month-old grabs it to play Peekaboo Barn with yogurt-covered fingers and my 3-year-old sister yanks it from me to play Puzzingo and sends it sailing across the room, where it bounces off the hardwood floor.
It's been dropped on my ceramic-tiled kitchen floor so often that the plastic case I bought to protect it cracked and had to be thrown away. It gets splashed during bath time, sat on during story time and covered in unidentified sticky foodstuffs daily.
Luckily, there is plenty of gear available to protect smartphones from moms like me, and their abusive children.
If liquids – water, juice, coffee, chocolate milk, baby drool, etc. — are your device's biggest aggressor, then consider investing in a waterproof coating or case.
One option is Liquipel, a liquid repellent protective coating that can help your device withstand the occasional splash or accidental spill. Mail your device to the company — whether it's a smartphone, tablet, mp3 player or headphones — and they'll apply the coating through a process that involves things like polymerizing, plasma and other highly scientific-sounding things. The end result is a device that is protected against "80 percent of all liquid damage scenarios without the use of a case."
The service starts at $59.99 for phones and $89.99 for tablets. There are also pre-treated devices for sale on the website if you'd prefer not to have to ship your phone.
Hard Core Cases
Of course, waterproofing alone won't save your phone from all the toils of toddlerdom, which is where hard cases come in. The plastic case I purchased on Amazon for $7 to protect my HTC Droid Incredible chipped, snapped and was eventually useless, so this time around I'm doing some more homework.
In addition to being waterproof, many of the sturdiest cases on the market offer protection from impact, scratches, dust and debris and even being crushed — so they are more versatile than waterproofing alone, but then they're also bulkier and more expensive.
These cases often consist of layers of protection, including a screen protector, hard outer shell and a soft, shock-absorbing core.
Popular war zone-ready cases include OtterBox Defender, Lifeproof, Case-Mate Tough, Griffin Survivor and Ballistic. If you own an Android phone like I do, your choices are more limited. However, if you're an iPhone owner, you'll be like a kid in a candy ... err ... phone case store. For the extra protection, you'll pay anywhere from $24.95 for a basic, impact-and-scratch-resistant case to $99.99 for ones like OtterBox's Armor series which "is waterproof for 30 minutes in 6.6 feet, survives 10-foot drops, allows for zero entry of dust and debris and can withstand two tons of crushing force."
Kid-Friendly Cases
If you'd rather not be stuck with a military-issue, can't-fit-in-your-back-pocket sturdy smartphone case, then you could just opt for a case made to protect your device while your kid is playing with it.
Popular options include:
- The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case for iPhone and iPad is a plastic case with ergonomic handles that doubles as teething rings and covers the home, power and volume buttons.
- The Ganndroid mobile phone shielder is a plush version of Android's green robot mascot that can hold most types of Android phones while offering touchscreen access.
- The Griffin Woogie is a huggable plush case for iPhone and iPad that not only cradles the device, but also interacts with other Woogies in the vicinity if the Bluetooth is enabled.
Screen Protectors
Finally, you'll want to shield those touchscreens from greasy fingers, car keys and glare. Some point out that the shields are overkill since many devices are made with enhanced glass like Gorilla Glass. But you know your kid will test the limits to even the most enhanced of glasses.
Try the easy-to-install Moshi iVisor, (lauded for eliminating wrinkles, creases and air bubbles) or the military-grade Zagg InvisibleSHIELD (one of the toughest protectors out there, but also one of the most difficult to install).
And when all else fails ...
Even if you do find a pint-sized tank in which to protect your device, chances are your toddler will still find a way to destroy it. In that event, it might be time to give up on the dream of having a smartphone that can tell you the locations of the nearest Dunkin Donuts while simultaneously teaching your kid how to speak Mandarin and invest in a more rugged (thought maybe less flashy) model.


text:
Recipes brought to you by Avanti Savoia
Visit us online at www.avantisavoia.com
Be the first to review this recipe.
(Recipe ID: 849)
Serves 4
Preparation time: 75 minutes
Source: Vito De Carolis
Small rice cakes with chocolate sauce
Items indicated with an astrisk (*) available for purchase in the Avanti Savoia store. See below to add these items to your cart.
- 75 gr (2.7 oz) Raisins, soaked in 1 cup warm water
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- 1 pinch Sea Salt* *
- 1 Vanilla Bean split in half lenghtwise
- 85 gr (3 oz) Sugar
- The zest of 1/2 an Orange, finely chopped
- 70 gr (2.5 oz) Butter
- 100 gr (3.5 oz) Arborio Rice from Cascina Belvedere* *
- 2 Eggs, separated
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons Rum
- 100 gr (3.5 oz) Ground Almonds
- 100 gr (3.5 oz) Chocolove 70% Strong Dark Chocolate* *
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg* *
- 1 teaspoon Turbinado (raw cane) Sugar
For the cake:
- Soak the raisins in warm water.
- In a saucepan place the following: 2 cups whole milk, salt, split vanilla bean, 85 grams(3 oz) sugar, orange peel and 60 grams (2 oz) of butter. Bring to a boil.
- Add the rice, and cook until it has absorbed all the milk.
- Turn off heat, remove the vanilla bean and allow the rice to cool.
- Add to the cooled rice: two egg yolks, rum, the ground almonds and the raisins (slightly squeezed to remove water). Stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Beat the two egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks. It is very important that the beaten egg whites are perfectly solid like a snow ball.
- Fold the beaten egg whites into the cooled rice.
- Butter 4 single portion pudding dishes or ramekins, fill them with the rice mixture and bake in 360º F oven for 35 minutes.
- While the rice cakes are cooking, prepare the chocolate sauce.
- Break the chocolate into pieces and combine the chocolate pieces with 1 tablespoon milk and ground nutmeg. Melt over a hot water bath while stirring continuously with a wire whisk.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and cool a few minutes. Unmold the rice cakes and serve warm. Just before serving pour the hot chocolate sauce on top of the cakes and sprinkle with a little Turbinado sugar.
Buy Ingredients
The following ingredients are available in the Avanti Savoia online store. Click the product name for more information.


text:
The puns are good and will keep adults interested.
The fun thing about animated movies is the visual creativity that ensues.
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2" picks up the story right where the first movie left off. Thanks to the Flint Lockwood Diatomic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator (FLDSMDF), the rain that fell upon the Chewandswallow island in the form of food has given plenty to eat. But too much of a good thing proves to be bad. The food starts mutating and comes alive, which is perceived as a big problem that must be dealt.
Enter Chester V, a rich and famous scientist who has a factory of recruits. Flint grew up loving Chester V, so it was a no-brainer for him to go work for Chester at his company Live Corp and try to solve this crisis.
Upon arriving at Live Corp., Flint quickly discovers what life is like as a scientist drone. He meets Barb, Chester's No. 2, who tells Flint how things work at the factory. The scientists must diligently stay at work coming up with inventions that Chester approves. Live Corp was one of those classic faceless corporations that everyone loves to hate until they're actually inside it and see all the luxuries there are.
Flint struggles for a while at Live Corp, but eventually Chester V not only meets him in person (before, it was a hologram of Chester), but now Flint is asked to save the island from disaster caused by his own FLDSMDF invention. So Flint and a handful of others, including his dad and potential girlfriend scientist, are assembled to make a trek back to the island to try and stop the food's terror. They aren't exactly the A-Team, but they'll do.
This is where the movie really starts cooking. Flint and the gang come across some exotic "Foodimals." There are giant hamburger spiders with french fries for legs, dinosaurs with celery necks and even sub sandwich submarines. In the first film, there were a lot of great puns with the food. The puns get even crazier (sometimes they're a stretch, but still original), and this time there are foodimal creatures to go along with them.
Flint and his group eventual discover the problem with the foodimals isn't what they thought it would be, and they also discover an evil mastermind had his hand in the plot the whole time. Isn't that how most animated movies go?
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2" was enjoyable. It wasn't as charming as the original, but kids won't notice that. The sequel did have a couple charming moments of its own, including one with Flint, his dad and a fishing trip.
The puns are good and will keep adults interested. The voice acting was amusing, especially during one scene when a foodimal acts as a translator. All in all, a decent flick. Also, there is a quick scene mid-credits that's worth sticking around for.
Jeremy Costello is the Gazette Sports Editor and the Entertainment Guru. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com, and Twitter @Jdotco.