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Delusion: Ben Carson Thinks Saul Alinsky Worshipped the Devil
Watching the Republican National Convention led me to wonder if we are not witnessing what can only be called a sort of "collective madness". The lies about Hillary Clinton are simply ridiculous for anyone who does a little fact checking. Fox News has convinced these poor folks for years that Obama is a Muslim, hates Israel, and is actually on the side of terrorists trying to hurt this country.
But then I saw Ben Carson, an otherwise respected physician, stand up in front of everyone and say that Hillary is associated with a person who worships the devil, Saul Alinsky. She did a master's thesis on Alinsky and he praises Lucifer on a dedication page for creating his own kingdom in his book Rules for Radicals. I own the book, read it in 1973, and looked it up and there it is, just as Carson says.
But what does it mean? It means Alinsky is using a little humor to make a point, that Lucifer is using "organizing" to create an alternative power center in the community. That's what Alinsky did, he helped communities organize themselves to improve the conditions for life in those communities and was very successful. In fact, major Protestant and Catholic churches helped fund and promote these organizing efforts in cities across the country.
Alinsky himself was a Jewish atheist. But he developed a useful skill, community organizing, that the church has utilized. I am sure that Carson himself has used the skills of others with whom he may disagree in terms of faith commitment.
Hillary Clinton is a faithful member of the United Methodist Church. Ben Carson is deluded and used his intellect in a way far beneath what can be called morally appropriate behavior. Carson and others should remember there is a commandment against bearing false witness against a neighbor.
CNN has a little more on the background of this.
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Top 10 nightlife moments in Madrid
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subset: commoncrawl


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Cooking Made Manly
The new German magazine BEEF!
Right now, three different male Facebook friends of mine are showing off their recent culinary achievements. Ron embarked on a two-day chicken project involving a "refrigerator bath" and a "hot sauna." My high school buddy Brian "brined a whole chicken for eight hours in Sam Adams cranberry lambic, brown sugar, and spices, then roasted [it] crispy golden brown." And Garin, an acquaintance in Los Angeles, updated his " 'Cook This' nights archive" album, which shows carefully plated and garnished meals or neat piles of ingredients positioned alongside his prized, expensive Japanese knives.
The scale, the endurance, the adjectives! The specialized ingredients and gear! Now that men are starting to take over the kitchen, cooking has become a kind of extreme sport, involving wild game and feats of endurance. And like every other specialized hobby, "manly cooking" now has its own magazine. Last fall, as the recession decimated the New York publishing world and American cooks of varying commitment levels mourned the loss of Gourmet, the German publisher Grüner + Jahr dished up a new magazine, called BEEF!, with a tag line that translates: "for men with taste."
The first issue serves as a manifesto for a men's cooking movement—in which fish are grilled with their heads on, espresso is brewed at exactly the right temperature, animals are self-butchered, and women have no place in the kitchen. The magazine provides thorough bylaws for starting your own men's cooking club that include the line, "If a woman is invited to a meeting of a men's cooking club, either a couple of guys chipped in to get another member a stripper for his birthday, or the evening's shot ..." The tone is something like Cooks Illustrated meets Thrillist, and the attitude is just short of sexist. Not only are the women not allowed in the kitchen but their presence is an affront as much as if they'd walked into the post-game locker room.
The cover displays a juicy cut of expensive-looking steak. The first article, "Off With the Hide," is accompanied by a full-page shot of a rabbit hanging from its hind legs and step-by-step photo-illustrated instructions on how to skin, butcher, and prepare the furry critter. There's a feature called "Knives To Die For" that plants knives priced up into four figures in noirish art-directed crime scenes, a bloody look at the global fish market, and a science-heavy handbook to wine.
The only place women have in the magazine are in the meditation "Can You Cook a Woman Into Bed?" which features sexy pictures of a naked woman adorned with the Latin names of ingredients. A "He Cooks, She Cooks" column imagines how a man and a woman would prepare something differently—in this issue, espresso. (She absentmindedly fixes an instant, caffeine-free coffee while gabbing on her cell phone. He performs a ritual: hand-selecting perfect coffee beans out of a specially prepared blend, manually [ha, ha: man-ually] grinding them, laying out his cup and saucer just so, and so on.)
The idea of the men's cooking club started 12 years ago, when some buddies were sitting around in a living room, lamenting the lack on any good sports on TV. They were listening to the women in the kitchen, when one of the men suggested they could cook sometime. The others looked at him in disbelief, as if he'd suggested they all start to wax the hair off their arms or some such "ominous lady stuff," writer Jen Clasen recalls. The guys eventually made their way into the kitchen, where they took up some aprons and knives and found themselves discussing whether you use parsley leaves or the more rugged stems. They "had a blast," Clasen recalls, and their cooking club was born.
BEEF! is careful to differentiate men's cooking from what their wives and girlfriends do. Jan Spielhagen writes in his editor's letter that the magazine "goes into detail and offers more than 'easy pasta recipes your kids will love.' Because we don't want it to be easy; we want it to be hard. Because pasta is boring, unless you're making it yourself. Because children have nothing to do with men's cooking. We want to know more about the pressure in the espresso machine, how bisons are fed, the sharpness of Japanese knives, the global fish market … the new Porsche-design kitchen and and and."
In, BEEF! cooking has nothing to do with domesticity. Instead it's an activity that men should do among men, like game hunting or tackle football, and that women should stay the hell away from. This repositioning recalls the rebranding, in recent years, of traditionally "female" products, usually with lots of muscular graphics and words like "sport" or "extreme" or "performance" or "ultimate," so that they appeal to a male audience. Think Pepsi Max and Coca-Cola Zero, with their black-and-silver labels and eschewing of the word "diet." It's still Diet Coke, more or less. But extreme! Tough! Based in science!
In her 1983 book The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment, Barbara Ehrenreich writes about Playboy's debut issue in 1953, in which Hugh Hefner "announced his intention to reclaim the indoors for men." She quotes his first editorial, in which he writes, "Most of today's 'magazines for men' spend all their time out-of-doors—thrashing through thorny thickets or splashing about in fast flowing streams. … But we don't mind telling you in advance—we plan spending most of our time inside. WE like our apartment. … We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d'oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex."
Ehrenreich posits Playboy as a weapon in men's "losing battle against 'female domination,' " which had driven men out of the house entirely, leaving their "gold-digging," stay-at-home wives to seize the man's paycheck and control the home to boot. Playboy suggested men resist conformity and matrimonial indebtedness, and rise above the battle, by creating a new kind of indoors that was better and more fun than what women had invented—with men at their rightful place at the head of it.
The Playboy competitor True tried to fight the same battle from within the confines of marriage, with the editor saying at the time that his magazine "stimulates the masculine ego at a time when man wants to fight back against women's efforts to usurp his traditional role as head of the family."
One could argue that man's role as head of the family has never been more endangered than it is today. Where in the Playboy era men had been forced out of the home, now they've been forced back in, thanks in no small part to the "mancession" that's left them disproportionately out of work, with women poised to outnumber them in the workforce.
By masculinizing cooking, those men who make a hobby of it are not diminished by having to do it. It gives them an arena to practice it with other men. And maybe it gives them a way to beat women at their own game.


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SWANSBORO Parks and Recreation offers �Winter Wonderland Jewelry� for kids at 10 a.m. Jan. 18 at the recreation center. Cost $8 by Jan. 16. Call 910-326-2600.
SWANSBORO Parks and Recreation offers �Winter Wonderland Jewelry� for kids at 10 a.m. Jan. 18 at the recreation center. Cost $8 by Jan. 16. Call 910-326-2600.
N.C. RETIRED School Personnel, Onslow Unit, meets at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16 at St. Julia AME Zion Church with �Meet the Legislators.� Call 910-347-5652.
BLOOD DRIVE from 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at Courts Plus Fitness Center, 104 Marine Blvd.
ALCOHOLIC Beverage Control Commission offers a free �Responsible Alcohol Seller Server� training from 10 a.m. to noon Jan 30 at Onslow Public Library, 58 Doris Ave. Register at abc.nc.gov/education/rasp.
RICHLANDS Lodge No. 564 will hold a Stated Communication at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 with dinner served at 6:30 p.m.
JACKSONVILLE Multiple Sclerosis self-help support group meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 16 at Onslow Memorial Hospital Education building. Call 910-353-2243.
SPECIAL GRANT meeting for Onslow event/festival planners from noon to 1 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Commerce Center with Jessica Roberts of Onslow County Finance. Lunch provided. RSVP at 910-347-3141 ext. 233.
FRIDAY MOVIE Mania at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Swansboro Recreation Center featuring movie �Monsters University.� Call 910-326-2600.
BLOOD DRIVE from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Onslow Memorial Hospital, 317 Western Blvd.
JACKSONVILLE Moose Lodge, Moosehaven Drive will hold a karaoke party with Ferdie at 8 p.m. Jan. 17.
N.C. COASTAL Federation seeks new members through Jan. 31, new members will entered in a drawing to win a trip to Florida. Call 252-393-8185 or nccoast.org.
RIBBONS and HOPE cancer support group meets at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at Onslow Memorial Hospital west wing meeting room.


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Tacoma Washington Social Work Major
Learn about Tacoma, Washington social work major options. It's a smart idea to compare all available schools in your target area, as well as consider taking some of your elective courses online. Check with each school below for assistance with family counseling certificate program requirements, degree prerequisites, and course registration. You may request Tacoma, Washington social work major information from several different training programs below, without making a commitment.
Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
Think about what career is best suited for you, and where you want to study. Request more information now.
Get the facts about Bates Technical College social work major, and registering for elective discussion sections and seminars. Which college degrees give you the best chances of entering a successful career path after graduation? In order to improve your salary prospects, you may complete an accredited college degree program, as well as seek internship experience. If you choose a social work major, taking family counseling classes for example, you may attract competitive starting salary offers, as well as find companies recruiting on-campus that demand a high level of technical ability and performance skills. Check with the registrar's office for an updated schedule of psychology classes, registration deadlines, and a list of social work degree requirements.
Individuals with a bachelor's degree in social work can find opportunities working in schools, corporations, or in the social services sector. Analysis is based on changing problematic behaviors, feelings, and thoughts by discovering their motivation. In dysfunctional families, children must learn to cope with unbearable situations, and often develop classical psychological symptoms. Social workers, in turn, will attempt to identify destructive behavior and emotions, and select suitable therapy.
Humanistic Therapy emphasizes people's capacity to make rational choices and develop to their maximum potential. Alternatively, social work programs help families change by emphasizing their concern, care and interest. Family Therapy is a form of psychotherapy where clients can work with one or more counselors. This methods is a popular format for support groups, where family members can learn from each other. Many psychology graduates work in mental health jobs, under the supervision of a clinical psychologist or social worker. Please use the form above to request admissions info for Bates Technical College.


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The Belkin Gallery houses archival collections complementing its collections of art and providing a resource for exhibitions, teaching, and learning, and scholarly research. Related especially to contemporary art since the 1960s, the archives include the papers of artists, art historians, and collectors, and contain material in multiple media (textual, graphic, moving image and sound), with a thematic focus on conceptual art, concrete poetry, mail art, performance art, social art history, and cultural history.
The Archives is open to all researchers by appointment on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please contact Shaunna Moore, Archivist to plan your visit.
Archival holdings can be searched along with with our permanent collection at:
A detailed list of holdings is also available at Memory BC:
Prominent holdings include:
1932 – present
50 m of textual records and other materials
Administrative history
Established in 1992, the Morris/Trasov Archive is housed at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. The Morris/Trasov Archive is an extensive collection related to the art practices of Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov. The items that comprise the archive date predominantly from 1969 to 1974. Conceived and initiated as Image Bank in 1969 and subsequently re-named the Morris/Trasov Archive, it encompasses both the collaborative art practice of Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov and material generated by Morris and Trasov individually, as well as other items collected by the artists.
Morris and Trasov founded the Image Bank in 1969. The Image Bank was a system of postal correspondence between participating artists for the exchange of information and ideas. Since 1967, Morris (and later Trasov) corresponded with Ray Johnson, considered to be the founding father of mail art. Johnson had founded the New York Correspondence School in 1962, and this no doubt influenced Morris and Trasov's establishment of the Image Bank. In fact, the artists were included in Johnson's 1970 New York Correspondence School exhibition at the Whitney Museum, New York. The Image Bank commenced sending lists of participants and their image requests, published first in monthly Image Bank mailings and later in FILE magazine – a reference and antidote to LIFE magazine – as directories and Request Lists, and maintained files of artists' correspondence and research.
The intention of the Image Bank was to create a collaborative, process-based project in the hopes of engendering a shared creative consciousness – in opposition to the alienation endemic to modern capitalist society – through the deconstruction and recombination of its ideological forms. Ultimately, "Image Bank never officially closed its doors. The end came in 1978 after the publication of the Image Bank Postcard Show. This was a box of postcards that could be conceived of as an exhibition destined for the mail. Just as LIFE magazine sued FILE magazine to cease and desist the appropriation of its logo, a New York company called Image Bank threatened suit against Image Bank, stalling distribution of the postcards through bookstores and gallery shops." (Scott Watson, "Hand of the Spirit: Documents of the Seventies form the Morris/ Trasov Archive," University of British Columbia Fine Arts Gallery: Vancouver, 1992.)
Scope and content
The collection consists of material created and collected by Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov/ Image Bank (including the Image Exchange Directory), to exhibitions such as 1984 (1972), Post Card Show (1971 and 1977), to projects such as Colour Bars, Cultural Ecology, and to events such as Art's Birthday, Decca Dance, Miss General Idea Pageant (and Pavilion). Also documented are collaborative encounters with artists such as Robert Filliou, General Idea, Robert Fones, Robert Cummings, Ray Johnson, John Dowd, Anna Banana, Bill Gaglione, Eric Metcalfe, Kate Craig, John Jack Baylin, Hervé Fischer, Victor Cavellini, Hermann Nitsch and Fluxus artists. The Archive contains documents from the mayoralty campaign by Mr. Peanut, from the establishment of the Western Front – one of the first artist run centres in Western Canada – and numerous publications such as FILE magazine, catalogues and editions of cards. Further, the archive includes an extensive collection of material complementing Morris's and Trasov's personal fonds, such as books, periodicals, and other published material as well as art in multiple forms and media, including artists books, moving image and sound recordings, collages, correspondence, ephemera, exhibition catalogues, found objects, mailings, magazines, multiples and editions of cards, photographic prints, negatives, slides and transparencies, postcards, posters, drawings, and prints.View Babyland archival material
View Colour Research 1967-2000 archival material
For further information please contact: Shaunna Moore at firstname.lastname@example.com,
tel: (604) 822-2001, or fax: (604) 822-6689


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Topic: Welcome Commander Gree!
Since I received a great introduction to this fan club, I feel like introducing one of our newest members! INTRODUCING, COMMANDER GREE!!!! Nice to meet you, ner vod! (Mando talk meaning "my friend", in case you didn't know) Nice username, by the way. Gree is really cool! (So is Appo) Everyone on the boards are really kind, and you'll have a great time here!
Here is a Gree avatar....it's not great, but it's the only one I could find...
http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q67/ … ages52.jpg


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Call us: 416-784-5585
Toll Free: 1 (877) 701-ALOE (2563)
"Natural is better - Natural Solutions for a better life" MADE IN ITALY
Natura & Benessere creates exceptional premium European beauty and skincare treatments that keep the pure power of nature in mind. At N&B we take your health and the environment very seriously. We have adopted organic and sustainable harvesting practices on our family run farm to bring you a unique range of products that will help heal your body, diminish visible signs of aging and leave your skin silky smooth.
Our N&B and Naturalis lines are specially formulated with certified organic, hand-harvested Aloe Vera and Olive Oil made in Italy. We only use pure natural ingredients, like Aloe Vera, Argan Oils, Hyaluronic Acid, Soy Proteins and Hibiscus seeds to produce dramatic results that will not only soothe and hydrate your skin, but also improve its tone and texture in a natural way.
N&B does not test any of its products or ingredients on animals.
We strive to make people's lives better every day – naturally.
You can also find our US partner site - Organic Beauty Skincare.
|Made in Italy
|All products are made in Italy by N&B, N&B is a company certified by Ecosmetica Italy, Certiquality and an official sponsor of Miss Mondo.The organic farming followed by Naturalis, is certified by Ecogruppo Italia.
|Certified Organic Skincare, Natural Anti Aging Solutions, Animal Friendly Products Call us: 416-784-5585 | Toll Free: 1 (877) 701-ALOE (2563) or Click Here to email us


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IEEE drops support for rival standard from powerline LAN spec
1901 won't be G.hn compatible after all
The IEEE-backed attempt to define a universal standard for powerline networking has dropped plans to ensure compatibility with rival world home LAN standard G.hn.
Late last year, members of the IEEE P1901 working group voted to include G.hn, a standard being developed under the auspices of the International Telecom Union (ITU), within the 1901 specification.
But at a meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts this week, the proposed addition of a G.hn-compatible physical and transport layers - PHY and MAC - were removed from the draft specification. Development of the G.hn MAC and PHY will stop.
In some respects, it's a sensible move. G.hn compatibuility was added at the behest of companies who are, by and large, keener on G.hn than 1901.
G.hn uses a single PHY specification to allow networking traffic to be transported over mains wiring, phone cable and coax lines. By contrast, 1901 contains two, incompatible PHY specs, the better to accommodate different working group members' preferences. Both are optional. One implements FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) modulation to ensure compatibility with existing powerline kit that meets the HomePlug standard - which is why the HomePlug Powerline Alliance (HPA) is so keen on 1901. The second PHY adds wavelet compression. It's not HomePlug compatible, but is widely believed to enable more robust, faster data transfer. It comes from Panasonic.
Adding support for G.hn would involve adding a third PHY combo, and clearly the P1901 members have decided two is enough.
Besides, if 1901 offers G.hn support, what's to stop potential backers from equipping kit only with G.hn but still claiming compatibility with both standards? Or, for that matter, bothering with 1901 at all?
Now they will have to, and the P1901 group has ensured its standard is less likely to become in irrelevance, at least for home networking. The standard also takes in routing broadband feeds over mains cabling into the home. ®
Special Report
G.hn-ing for gigabit How the next-gen home LAN standard war was won


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At Fabri-Kal, we're experienced thinkers and problem-solvers who are dedicated to finding your best product packaging solution.
We listen. So we learn what's most important about your business.
We collaborate. To identify more issues, uncover more ideas and find your best stock or custom packaging solution.
We deliver. Expertise. Quality. And unsurpassed customer service.
We care. About your brand success and fulfilling our mission to support it.


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MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say Tropical Storm Lane has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean but that it poses no threat to land.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Lane is 1145 miles (1843 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California and has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It is moving west-southwest at 5 mph (8 kph) and is expected to turn northwest on Sunday.
Closer to the southwest Mexico coast, Kristy remains a tropical storm even as it passes over cooler waters.
Kristy is centered about 365 miles (587 kilometers) west of the southern tip of Baja California, where it could produce swells that cause life-threatening surf and rip conditions. It is moving northwest at 9 mph (14 kph) but it is expected to weaken Sunday.
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Nadine has maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (129 kph) and is 980 miles (1577 kilometers) east of Bermuda. The Category 1 hurricane is moving eastward at 17 mph (27 kph).


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News Releases from Headquarters
Statement by EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Release Date: 09/02/2011
Contact Information: EPA Press Office (News Media Only), email@example.com, 202-564-4355
Since day one, under President Obama's leadership, EPA has worked to ensure health protections for the American people, and has made tremendous progress to ensure that Clean Air Act standards protect all Americans by reducing our exposures to harmful air pollution like mercury, arsenic and carbon dioxide. This Administration has put in place some of the most important standards and safeguards for clean air in U.S. history: the most significant reduction of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide air pollution across state borders; a long-overdue proposal to finally cut mercury pollution from power plants; and the first-ever carbon pollution standards for cars and trucks. We will revisit the ozone standard, in compliance with the Clean Air Act.
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.


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The following is a guest post written by Cari Stone of Thoughts Interrupted.
A note from Jamie: As the countdown for Christmas begins, I hope you can glean some helpful tips from this repost. It originally published on December 21, 2011.
I finally had enough. Somewhere between untangling the brand new battery operated car out of my daughter's hair and consuming one too many cookies baked by my diabetic second cousin, I knew much of what I'd come to accept about Christmas Day needed to change.
Amidst the merriment I'd forgotten a key piece of our family's rhythm – the invaluable practice of establishing expectations.
As homeschoolers we're fairly adept at setting the stage in our regular lives. Well communicated expectations offer both structure and fluidity to our days – an established paradigm to explore within. Everyone, it seems, can breathe easier when our expressed hopes and desires are on the table.
Why then do we tend to sidestep this discipline in the name of Christmas break? The end results (misbehaving children, one too many trips to the dessert table or missed opportunities on the relational front) are often laced with regret.
Let this year be different.
Somewhere between stuffing stockings and baking that final pie take a moment to consider the value that shared expectations can bring to this year's celebration.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
[Read more…]


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I guess they sell there MF too.
Hasslebald Larnu in Moscow confirmed. Store offering bottle of champaign with purchase.
This will be seen in the months ahead as a total "Hail Mary" pass.Lunarcy.MichaelFor non-American's, here is the Wikipedia definition..."A Hail Mary pass... is a very long forward pass in American football, made in desperation with only a small chance of success. The expression goes back at least to the 1930s
mhm, the SONY NEX, with hassy written on is also for sale in France at Prophot, around 6000 euros ( what idiot will buy this instead of a Leica M)
Stupidity + lack of vision ... This will end badly It's really sad
Well, none of us has to buy.Most folks have to sell their souls to stay alive - it's the lowest common denominator factor - where the money is.Rob C
Well, none of us has to buy.Thinking about it some more, I hope it becomes a huge success and provides some R&D capital for the serious stuff.Most folks have to sell their souls to stay alive - it's the lowest common denominator factor - where the money is.Rob C
Given that the grip itself is the main selling point, potential customers have been advised by Hasselblad Chairman and CEO to learn a new way of holding the camera and shooting, one that will showcase the grip in its full glory:


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LITTLE ROCK — If you throw toilet seats instead of horseshoes, you might be a redneck.
And this weekend in Arkansas, you might not be alone.
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the second annual Redneck Games of Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday, when competitors will vie for glory in such non-Olympic events as lawnmower racing and a slog through an obstacle course called, "Get Daddy/Momma a Cold One!"
The games showcase the rise of the redneck in popular culture as people are increasingly tuning into reality TV shows like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" and "Hillbilly Handfishin'." However, some question whether the games actually help redefine the term for poor, white rural Southerners in a positive way or whether they just perpetuate negative stereotypes.
Arkansas has strived to shed its image as a land of toothless, barefoot hillbillies by highlighting the accomplishments of some of its native sons and daughters, including former President Bill Clinton and legendary musician Johnny Cash.
Of course, Arkansas' hillbilly image never really disappeared, even before Jim "Trashman" Miller launched the state's version of the redneck games last year.
People still joke that Clinton's presidential library looks like a giant trailer. Others quip that the newly renamed Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport sounds too much like "hillbilly." Former Gov. Mike Huckabee didn't do the state's image any favors, either, when he lived in a triple-wide trailer while the governor's mansion was undergoing renovations.
Those images don't seem too far off from this weekend's redneck games in Clinton, a community about 70 miles north of Little Rock.
People will spit watermelon or pumpkin seeds in one contest. In another, they'll dodge furniture instead of hurdles as they race to get not gold, but silver -- cans, that is, in "Get Daddy/Momma a Cold One!"
"My dad always sent me out to get him a beer," said Miller, 44. "And it wasn't like I just walked to the refrigerator. ... I had to go outside my trailer and I had to go out to the cold, dark night to the little pump house where mama had a dryer and daddy had his beer fridge. It was an obstacle course in itself."
The event doesn't actually use beer. To keep the teetotalers in the dry county happy, they use cans of an off-brand soda instead.
"They look a lot like alcoholic beverage cans," Miller said. "They're blue and they got wavy white letters on them."
While the event's organizers say it's all in good fun, the notion of repeating a stereotype can be offensive.
"There's a fine line between celebrating the culture and internalizing negative stereotypes," said J. Dennis Murray, a psychology professor at Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pa., and a former president of the National Association for Rural Mental Health.
The games aren't unique to Arkansas. Georgia's redneck games made an appearance in TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," a reality television show about a young beauty pageant competitor and her family's redneck lifestyle. The show adds subtitles as many people speak, underscoring the idea that the people on screen are so different from viewers that they speak a different language.
"A lot of those shows, I do think that they perpetuate the ignorance and I really don't like them," Miller said.
Some self-declared rednecks celebrate what to others is a pejorative term that conjures up the sunburned necks of farm workers who spent their days in the field.
Mark "Bubba" Marucci, who helps organize a similar redneck competition in Oakland, Md., said redneck isn't such a dirty word anymore.
"Redneck's just a state of mind," said Marucci, a self-professed redneck. "I love camo. You shoot it, I'll cook it. I drive a pickup truck and I've got a John Deere."
Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss


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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Non nobis, non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.
Not to us, not to us, O Lord,
But to your name give glory.


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Lawrence (Butch) Keefer, 69 - July 02, 2011
Lawrence "Butch" Keefer, 69, of Cozad, passed away Saturday, July 2, 2011, at his home.
Visitation will be Monday, July 4, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Berryman Funeral Home in Cozad.
Services will be held on Tuesday, July 5, at 10:30 a.m. at the Berryman Funeral Home in Cozad. Burial with military honors will be in the Gaslin Cemetery south of Brady.
Keefer was born on January 12, 1942, at Beloit, KS, to Harold and Muriel (Hubbs) Keefer. He graduated from Beloit High School.
In August of 1960, Keefer entered the U.S. Army where he was stationed in Germany as an engineer at a rock quarry. Following his discharge in April of 1963, Butch married Peggy May in Kansas.
The couple made their home in Beloit, KS, where Keefer was employed with a gas company. The family later moved to Gothenburg and Paxton, before moving to Brady in the mid 1970s.
While in Brady, Keefer worked for Monroe Auto Equipment Company in Cozad; eventually moving his family to Cozad in the late 1980s. He retired from Monroe's in 2001, after over 25 years of service.
Keefer was known to be a big NASCAR fan, with his favorite driver being Mark Martin. He loved to follow Nebraska football, especially the exploits of the Blackshirts. He was an avid outdoorsman who thoroughly enjoyed time spent camping, fishing and hunting raccoons with friends and family.
He also enjoyed time spent in his garden. Butch valued time spent with his family and grandchildren more than anything, family members said.
Keefer was preceded in death by: his parents; wife, Peggy; daughter, Korena in February of 2011; brothers, Mike Hyland, Bob Gallant, Stevie Wilson, Herald Ray Keefer; and a sister, Marlene Bartells.
Survivors include: his daughter, Christine (Duane) Mercer of Cozad; grandson, Jamie Gerety of Cozad; granddaughter, Cassandra Eades (Heather McNulty) of Holdrege; four great grandchildren; a special son Mike (Sandy) Williamson of Grand Island; and many other relatives and friends.
Memorials are suggested to Central Plains Home Health & Hospice in his memory.
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We've seen the first one, now here's the second commercial from 1994 in which Wile E. attempts to catch the Energizer Bunny:
Here's a 1991 commercial for Shell gas stations from New Zealand:
I don't knwoif youw nat to osp thi but here is a "speed run" of the 1994 Looney Tunes Game Escape From Mars starring Taz.
Ouch, sorry for the typos. I meant say "I don't know if you want to post this"
Very nice the a.ds f this month! in particular the New Zeland advertisment!The drawing are a bit nasty, but in general is nice!Hope to see other A.d with Wile E. like this! Who knows the Cheerios' Advertisment starring RR, Wile E. and the Cheerios Bee? I'd like to watch it!!
wow. 1994 was definitely the peak of the Animation Renaissance.
Awesome music by Richard Stone.
his work may all sound similar, but he had an edge to him that was very Stalling.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Preparing to exit the stage during the opening moments of Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" at the Metropolitan Opera, Pretty Yende tripped on a couple of steps leading down from a wooden platform and fell on her face.
It was an inauspicious moment during a pantomime that accompanied the overture, and it came before the South African soprano had sung a single note. So it was a relief to the audience Thursday night when she reappeared a half-hour later and seemed both unhurt and unfazed.
This was Yende's debut at the Met, an improbable occurrence in what so far has been a most improbable career. She is fond of telling how she grew up in Cape Town knowing nothing about opera until she heard the Flower Duet from Delibes' "Lakme" play as background to a British Airways commercial on TV. Now, still in her 20s, she has already sung at Milan's La Scala, won several vocal competitions, and has debuts scheduled from Washington, D.C., to Berlin.
The Met contract came her way only last month, when soprano Nino Machaidze dropped out of the planned revival of Rossini's last comedy. Yende was available and willing to learn the role virtually overnight.
Based on her initial outing, it's easy to see why this gifted and ingratiating performer is causing such a stir. Her voice has a lovely silvery sparkle to it, her manner onstage is relaxed yet commanding — and as for looks, her first name scarcely does her justice.
Still, it may be the company did her no favors by tasking her with a debut role as difficult as that of the Countess Adele. For her singing was frustratingly inconsistent. At times she sounded brilliant, as in the cabaletta to her opening aria, where her coloratura rang out with ease and accuracy. But at other times she sounded slightly out of tune, smudged her passagework and missed the mark with her high notes — including her very last one.
As the lecherous Count Ory, tenor Juan Diego Florez repeated the virtuoso performance he gave when the manic play-within-a-play production by Bartlett Sher was new two seasons ago. His unique combination of slightly goofy charm, deft comic timing and prodigious vocal agility made him downright irresistible.
In the role of Isolier, the Count's page and rival for the countess' affections, mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes sang with full, rich tone and handled the bel canto demands nicely. Mezzo Susanne Resmark was resonant and authoritative as the countess' companion, Ragonde. Less effective were baritone Nathan Gunn and debuting bass Nicola Ulivieri, both too light-voiced to make much impact. Conductor Maurizio Benini kept the effervescent score, filled with lovely and unexpected harmonies, moving along nicely.
There are five more performances through Feb. 5.


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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Provides full, accurate, concise, and readable articles on noteworthy people in all walks of life. No living person is included: annual updates cover individuals who have died after 2000.Expand
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Indicative Rate * AU$165 to AU$355
Just metres from Surfers Paradise beach and Cavill Avenue, Breakfree Moroccan offers a central location combined with the comfort and convenience of a holiday apartment. Nestled within an oasis of landscaped tropical gardens the resort is ideal for families.
In a fully self-contained apartment your holiday will be a dream. Choose between a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, enjoy a spacious living and dining area, a fully-equipped kitchen, laundry facilities and of course a balcony with either ocean, hinterland or skyline views to relax and embrace that Gold Coast lifestyle.
By day enjoy swimming in the pool, there are choices galore with two outdoor heated pools, an indoor pool and three spas. Or perhaps fit in a workout at the gym. By night why not utilise the barbecue area and make dinner before heading out.
Located on View Avenue, you are just around the corner from the bustling Cavill Avenue and right across the road from the beach. Enjoy Cavill Avenue's shopping precinct, cafes, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. You'll be able to make the most of Surfers Paradise from BreakFree Moroccan.
The One Bedroom Apartments feature a queen-size bed, with a separate living area with cable television, along with a separate bathroom and laundry area. The One Bedroom Apartments also have a balcony with views over Surfers Paradise or the ocean. Air-conditioning is on request.
Two bedroom fully self-contained apartment with two bathrooms, living/dining area, full kitchen, laundry and balcony. Bedding is either one queen or king bed, and two single beds. A private balcony provides a great outdoor space to unwind with views over Surfers Paradise. Air-conditioning is on request.
The Two Bedroom Ocean Premium Apartment is self-contained located in a beach-front tower boasting guaranteed ocean views. This accommodation offers two bathrooms, a separate living and dining area, full kitchen, laundry and balcony. Bedding includes one room with a queen bed, the other with two singles. Air-conditioning on request.
Note: Information on listed products and services are provided by the operator and were correct at the time of publishing. Rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available prices of products and services. Please visit the operator's website for further information. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD).


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Message Board
Nora Steuber-Tamblin Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Steuber-Tamblin has written!
Author Steuber-Tamblin's Book Reviews
Brown Paper Bags
Brown Paper Bags is a critical analysis of a system designed to help innocent children. Written as seen through the eyes of a child you will journey from a normal family setting through its breakup and into life in the foster care system. This is the true accounting of four children growing up strangers to each other and the lives they endured as wards of the state. This story was written to bring awareness to the foster care system and the lives foster ...


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I'm now using Dada Mail to send out the column, and some who've asked to be unsubscribed are going to have to tell me again… sorry. I couldn't figure how to cherry-pick their names and remove them.
"There's Hollywood Elsewhere and then there's everything else. It's your neighborhood dive where you get the ugly truth, a good laugh and a damn good scotch."–JJ Abrams(Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Super 8)
"Smart, reliable and way ahead of the curve … a must and invaluable read."–Peter Biskind(Down and Dirty Pictures Easy Riders, Raging Bulls)
"He writes with an element that any good filmmaker employs and any moviegoer uses to fully appreciate the art of film – the heart."–Alejandro G. Inarritu(The Revenant, Birdman, Amores Perros)
"Nothing comes close to HE for truthfulness, audacity, and one-eyed passion and insight."–Phillip Noyce(Salt, Clear and Present Danger, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Dead Calm)
"A rarity and a gem … Hollywood Elsewhere is the first thing I go to every morning."–Ann HornadayWashington Post
"Jeffrey Wells isn't kidding around. Well, he does kid around, but mostly he just loves movies."–Cameron Crowe(Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky)
"In a world of insincere blurbs and fluff pieces, Jeff has a truly personal voice and tells it like it is. Exactly like it is, like it or not."–Guillermo del Toro(Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos, Hellboy)
"It's clearly apparent he doesn't give a shit what the Powers that Be think, and that's a good thing."–Jonathan HensleighDirector (The Punisher), Writer (Armageddon, The Rock)
"So when I said I'd like to leave my cowboy hat there, I was obviously saying (in my head at least) that I'd be back to stay the following year … simple and quite clear all around."–Jeffrey Wells, HE, January '09
"If you're in a movie that doesn't work, game over and adios muchachos — no amount of star-charisma can save it."–Jeffrey Wells, HE
I'm now using Dada Mail to send out the column, and some who've asked to be unsubscribed are going to have to tell me again… sorry. I couldn't figure how to cherry-pick their names and remove them.
I didn't hate The Meg, but I didn't believe a second of it. But then you're not supposed to. Everyone...More »
Earlier today I saw Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie at the Metrograph. The first third is half-interesting so I'm not...More »
Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade (A24, 7.13) deserves all the praise it's been getting. It's one of the most intimate, penetrating,...More »
Before last night's screening of Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows, Salle Debussy journalists were more or less obliged to sit through...More »
I'm an occasional jaywalker. I'll alway use the crosswalk if it's there, but if it's more than a half block...More »
In an 11.28 W profile by Lynn Hirscherg, Phantom Thread star Daniel Day Lewis took a stab at explaining why...More »


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We left for school early so Lael could get some quality playground time. As we're walking, we spot a friend of Lael's up ahead. The kids decide to run after her.
In less than a minute, Seth trips on the hard concrete sidewalk and immediately starts crying. Even before I take a closer look, I can see a gouge just below the kneecap – that's going to leave a scar – but his face and hands seem okay.
I put Seth's backpack on one shoulder and my 8-year-old on the other before trudging uphill back to the house. Lael breaks into a trot every now and then to keep up.
At home, we clean and treat the wound, before piling into the minivan. I walk Seth over to his "cove" and start walking Lael over to her classroom area.
That's when I look down and notice my leg. It is covered in Seth's rusty-brown blood. Whoops. Fortunately, no one notices, though Lael excitedly tells her friend – the one we were chasing – all about what happened. The story apparently makes up for the lost playground time.


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Whitacre-as-savior concept gets the Lutz lash
So Ed Whitacre thinks he saved General Motors.
Bob Lutz thinks that claim is a total crock of (rhymes with part of "Whitacre").
Lutz, the retired GM vice chairman who is to automotive reporters what Shakespeare is to English majors, unleashed a classic Lutzian rant against Whitacre for overstating his effectiveness as the carmaker's post-bankruptcy CEO.
In a post on his blog last week on forbes.com, Lutz complained that so many people now want to take credit for fixing GM, including President Obama and "Mike Bloom," the former head of the White House auto task force whose name is actually Ron Bloom. (Bloom's first name in the post has since been corrected.)
Maximum Bob scoffs at Big Ed's recent book, American Turnaround, for portraying Whitacre as Detroit's version of King Midas, instantly transforming everything he touched into balance-sheet gold. Whitacre is no Midas or Tuffy or even Mr. Goodwrench, Lutz argues:
"Presumably, each of these pockets of ineffectiveness was cured after their encounter with 'Big Ed,' and rapidly spread the gospel until all of GM's hundreds of thousands of global employees got the word and quickly set about creating compelling new products, thus rocketing the company to financial success. If you believe any of this, I need to talk to you about oceanfront property in Nebraska."
Lutz attributes GM's revival entirely to two things: its debt-cleansing trip through Bankruptcy Court and "winning products" developed while he, Rick Wagoner and Fritz Henderson were in charge.
But Whitacre doesn't seem to be on board with the idea that GM's product pipeline was in good shape before he took over (which, as he reveals in his book, he did because no one else wanted to do the job, not even for $9 million in annual compensation. For the record, I was never asked).
Appearing on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Feb. 6, Whitacre emphatically told host Jon Stewart that GM now builds "the best" vehicles.
Stewart then asked: "Why didn't they do that before? Why did they wait until they got bankrupt?" Whitacre laughed heartily and eventually responded, "You'll have to ask them."
Whitacre, Lutz says, wouldn't know a good car if it hit him like a runaway… uh …choo-choo train:
"Ed's most notable contribution to design was a comment I recall at a Cadillac styling session. Professing to know nothing about cars (true), he nevertheless opined that Cadillacs had the look of 'old-fashioned Choo-choo trains.' We digested that opaque bit of input and elected to stay with what we had."
Twice -- perhaps accidentally -- Lutz nearly compliments Whitacre, saying he was "not without value" and "a good leader" who made "incremental improvement" to GM. Then Lutz takes one final jab, no doubt inspired by his childhood on a farm along Omaha's world-renowned Pacific coast:
"To suggest that he is the architect of GM's current success is a bit like crediting the rooster with making the sun come up."
ATTENTION COMMENTERS: Automotive News has monitored a significant increase in the number of personal attacks and abusive comments on our site. We encourage our readers to voice their opinions and argue their points. We expect disagreement. We do not expect our readers to turn on each other. We will be aggressively deleting all comments that personally attack another poster, or an article author, even if the comment is otherwise a well-argued observation. If we see repeated behavior, we will ban the commenter. Please help us maintain a civil level of discourse.


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(CNN) -- The fiscal cliff is hours away. And Americans are angry.
Across the country, millions are fed up with a Congress that seems unable to get some important things done.
"We need Congress to represent the people, not two arrogant parties that can't see middle ground," Garry Benner says.
"Nowhere else in this country can you get paid for ... years and not do your job," Tom Jeffries says.
By posting their views on Facebook, Benner and Jeffries joined a growing chorus of millions who are venting through social media.
Forget 2013; nation is counting down to fiscal cliff
The messages, which include videos sent to CNN iReport, are "so useful, because the people in Washington need to hear from the everyday American," says Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and CNN contributor.
Some are furious with Republicans for fighting against allowing tax breaks for the nation's wealthiest to expire, despite an election that made clear that a majority of Americans support the idea.
"Asking Republicans to give up money is like asking the sun for water in the desert," Thomas Hannsz complains.
Others say Democrats and President Obama aren't doing enough to cut spending. "We need to cut entitlements & spending & get people off" government reliance, Candria Crisp writes.
One of the most striking, and disheartening, iReports comes from Shannen Bazzi, an 18-year-old student of international affairs at George Washington University.
Latest updates: Final fiscal cliff scramble
"My New Year's message to Washington is that this entire fiscal cliff problem isn't just an isolated incident. It's representative of how partisanship and polarization have taken over Congress," she says.
"i used to be excited for the future, but I don't want to live in a country that doesn't have a successful working (legislature). Congress, it's time for you to remember what your purpose really is and get back to doing your job."
What she's seeing from Washington "has almost turned me off from that field of work," Bazzi says. "Congress is not only jeopardizing our economy, it's also jeopardizing faith in our government in general."
Fellow iReporter Vernon Hill is among the many not mincing words. "My new year's message to Washington is to grow up, act like adults, do your jobs or resign immediately. We are tired of your being useless and refusing to do your jobs."
Valerie Stayskal called on Washington to put "partisanship aside" in the new year and work on behalf of the country, "fixing this mess that you have gotten us into. And bring a balanced budget to the table to grow this economy for the long term and not the short term."
Read more: Sticking points in fiscal cliff talks
But some people think the cliff isn't something to be avoided at all.
"Let's go over it," Adam Chance Campbell argued on Facebook. "It's long overdue and we need several more just like it. It's my firm belief that certain politicians have no interest in 'solving' the fiscal cliff issue, as it is the easiest way of implementing long overdue cuts without the endless Congressional committees and squabbles."
Some made similar arguments on Twitter.
@joshlevscnn let it break. And lets start fresh.— Antonio Batiste(@batiste23703) December 30, 2012
But by and large, the tweets -- which helped make "Congress" the top trending topic on Twitter for a time Sunday -- are about frustration.
@joshlevscnn How about we allow their (#Senators #Congressmen) terms expire too if they don't get the #fiscalcliff right.— MDLinks (@MDLinks) December 30, 2012
@joshlevscnn Sometimes I wish we could dissolve our govt and start all over like other countries.#fiscalcliff #startfromscratch— Robert Bales (@trebor219) December 31, 2012
What's your message to Washington? Send an iReport, post in the comments below, or join the conversations on Facebook and Twitter.
Read more: What if there is no deal?


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Taking a Medical Approach to Performance Troubleshooting
I find it difficult sometimes to explain to someone how to have a take a good approach to performance troubleshooting. I had the stomach flu a few weeks ago, and the same day I visited my doctor, there were many people trying to help someone online with SQL performance issues. A few of us offered sound advice for how to diagnose the issue and find the root cause, but the majority of posters offered up "quick fixes" that may or may not be related to his issue in any way.
I realized at this point, that having a good approach to troubleshooting is a lot like the methodologies used by my doctor. Unfortunately, a lot of people take the approach that Hugh Laurie's character does on the television show House M.D. They offer up potential solutions without knowing what the core problem is hoping that it fixes it. Imagine if you told your doctor that you had a sore throat and he gave you some assorted pills and said to take the blue ones for a day and if you don't feel better, take the red ones the following day. Hopefully, you'd go to a different doctor, one that would figure out what was wrong with you and treat it appropriately. More on that approach later.
Let's Get Physical – The Baseline
What's the first thing they do in the doctor's office when you see a doctor for the first time? Simple, they check your vital signs. They get your weight, height, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and so on. Then what do they do when you come back on subsequent events? They check it again. Why do they do this?
The doctor is doing a lot more than just trying to justify the high cost of a doctor visit. They are getting a baseline of your health and then they are validating that baseline to see how your health is changing. In many ways, this baseline and checks system may help them discover health issues that you aren't even aware of yet. When I went in to see me doctor for the stomach flu, my blood pressure was a little higher than normal but not enough to be concerned about. The slight elevation was probably due to my illness. If the next time I go, it is even higher or remains higher without the illness, then the doctor might get concerned. This is why they advise you to do regular physicals.
A regular physical will tell them what my vital signs look like when I am healthy and there are no extenuating circumstances affecting the numbers. Body temperature is a great statistic to use here. The normal temperature for a person is considered to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37.0 degrees Celsius). In actuality, the normal temperature is usually in the range of 97 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 to 37.8 degrees Celsius) according to The Physician's factbook. So if I'm normally at the high end of the scale, and I come in with a temperature of 100 degrees, would the doctor say that I have a fever or not? Unless he's done a baseline, he'd have no way to know if I was normal or running high. He'll look at past visits and physicals, if there were any, to see how I measure up.
You need to do the same thing with your SQL Servers. So many times, all we hear are complaints that something is slow. How do you fix a problem like "slow"? You need to know what's performing differently when it is slow as compared to how it normally runs. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many things can cause a SQL Server to run slow. Heck, I'd need more hands just to count the things that could make disk I/O slow.
When somebody comes to me for advice saying that their server is running slow, I'll ask them what has changed. Usually, they start talking about code changes. What I mean is what measurable statistic is different than normal. If someone says that full scans/second is high, I'll ask what the normal scan rate is. Generally the answer is, "I don't know." If you don't know what the normal scan rate is, how do you know it is high? Generally, when someone asks about a specific counter, it is because they read somewhere that the counter shouldn't be above a certain level. For example, there are lots of posts out there will tell you that full scans/second should be 0. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. I'd be alarmed if the scan rate on one of my servers was 0 because that would mean that no users were able to hit the server.
I knew Gregory House, and you sir are no Gregory House
For those of you that have watched the show, how many times have we heard House and his team decide to give the patient the prescribed treatment for something to see if that is what he or she has. Something like, "The test takes 8 hours, and he'll be dead in 6. Give him the antibiotics, and if he gets better, we'll know it was auto-immune."
Now let's get back to the person online that many of us were trying to help. Lots of people threw in suggestions like "increase the number of tempDB data files" or "make sure the data and log files are on separate drives." Most of the suggestions did not actually fit the symptoms he described at all. Basically, they were saying to give the server some antibiotics and see if it gets better. Using this approach, you might get lucky and hit on something before the server dies. But unless you are the greatest diagnostician in the world, like Gregory House, what are your chances of guessing the right fix without knowing the root problem before the server dies? And by "dies," I mean before you have a dozen managers standing in your office asking when it will be fixed and reminding you to use the new cover sheets when you send them the root cause analysis (before the end of the day).
Repeat As Necessary
Okay, so I didn't simply choose full scans/second randomly, we had an issue last year where after a code release, our average full scans/second went from 2000 to 5000. I created a bug, and one of the dev. members on the sustained engineering team worked with me to troubleshoot the issue. In the end, we determined that there was no net performance hit from the increase scan count, and it was largely due to frequent, short queries that looked up values from small static tables. The key point to take away here is that we discovered the change in the system because we knew what the normal scan rate was and we detected that it had changed. We even had a nice pretty graph showing that it suddenly increased after a major release instead of slowly ramping up to the new rate.
So this was not a symptom of a performance problem. It was a long-term change in the health stats of the system. Now I know that it is normal and healthy for the system to have a scan rate of 5000 full scans/second. A considerable drop or increase in the scan rate would be a red flag for me, especially if there was not an extenuating circumstance involved like a code release. This series of validating baselines has led us to find lots of code issues before they are noticed by end users. We have brought our average CPU utilization from 65-70% to an average of 15 to 20%.
So just like the doctor does, you should regularly re-run your baseline to look for changes. If something has changed, up or down, then you need to determine why. You need to determine if it is something that needs to be fixed or just a general change in the healthy state of your system.
What are Your Symptoms?
So what does your doctor do next after checking your vitals? He wants to know your symptoms. What hurts? Unfortunately, your SQL Server can't come right out and tell you that its I/O is slow or that its tempDB allocation files are "cramping." You have to poke and prod SQL to find the symptoms because throwing "treatments" at a server randomly is reckless and may even mask the real problem and make it appear to be fixed when it's only been relieved for the time being.
That doesn't mean that I'll never do something to temporarily relieve a problem. For example, the online person we were trying to help said that performance works fine for a few weeks and then it starts to run slowly until they reboot it. So rebooting the server temporarily fixes the real problem. If I came into this situation and it is a critical production server that is falling completely over, I'd reboot it in a heartbeat. I'd also know that I've got 2 or 3 weeks to get to the root of the problem. This means that I'd be polling DMV's, running traces, and setting up alerts to make sure I notice when certain events occur.
I could sum up this approach as WWMDD? Or What Would My Doctor Do? Your doctor would maintain a baseline of your vital statistics and when needed, run diagnostic tests to find the root problem and prescribe treatment specific to the problem. Don't throw random potential fixes at your SQL Server. Do the footwork and know your server. When a problem arises, diagnose the root problem, and treat it appropriately.


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- Frequently-asked Questions? Go to our FAQs Page
- Questions about the Kick Butts Day program? Contact the Kick Butts Day Team
- Technical website questions? Contact the Kick Butts Day web team
Tobacco 101
The Toll of Tobacco Around the World
A global tobacco epidemic
Tobacco use is the world's leading cause of preventable death, according to the World Health Organization.
Increasingly, the burden of tobacco use is greatest in low- and middle-income countries that have been targeted by the tobacco industry with its deadly products and deceptive marketing practices. The result: A global tobacco epidemic of preventable death, disease and economic harm to countries and families.
Tobacco's toll in health and lives
- Tobacco use killed 100 million people in the 20th century. If current trends continue, tobacco will kill one billion people in the 21st century.
- Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people a year and accounts for one in 10 deaths among adults.
- If current trends persist, tobacco will kill more than 8 million people worldwide annually by the year 2030, with 80 percent of these deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
- Almost a billion men in the world — including half of men in low- and middle-income countries — and 250 million women smoke. If no action is taken, 650 million smokers alive today will eventually die from tobacco-related diseases.
- Tobacco kills prematurely. On average, smokers lose 15 years of life, and up to half of all smokers will die of tobacco-related causes.
- Every day, 80,000 to 100,000 young people around the world become addicted to tobacco. If current trends continue, 250 million children and young people alive today will die from tobacco-related diseases.
- Secondhand smoke kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year, including 165,000 children.
Tobacco's economic toll
- Tobacco use costs the world an estimated $500 billion each year in health care expenditures, productivity losses, fire damage and other costs.
- Health care costs associated with tobacco related illnesses are extremely high. In the United States, annual tobacco-related health care costs amount to 96 billion USD ; in Germany, 7 billion USD; in Australia, 1 billion USD.
- Tobacco-related illnesses and premature mortality impose high productivity costs to the economy because of sick workers and those who die prematurely during their working years. Lost economic opportunities in highly-populated developing countries will be particularly severe as tobacco use is high and growing in those areas.
Countries that are net importers of tobacco leaf and tobacco products lose millions of dollars a year in foreign exchanges.
- Fire damage and the related costs are significant. In 2000, about 300,000 or 10 percent of all fire deaths worldwide were caused by smoking and the estimated total cost of fires caused by smoking was 27 billion USD.
- Tobacco production and use damage the environment and divert agricultural land that could be used to grow food.
Other key facts
- The top five cigarette-consuming countries are China, Russia, United States, Japan and Indonesia. China consumes more than 35 percent of the world's cigarettes, with 53 percent of males smoking.
- Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco are the world's four largest multinational tobacco companies. The largest state tobacco monopoly is the China National Tobacco Corporation, which has the largest share of the global market among all companies.
Visit Global.TobaccoFreeKids.org for more about the tobacco epidemic around the world.


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As ideas of turkey, stuffing and cranberry have already started creeping into my mind, so have some of these thoughts…..
The acquisition of Andrew Miller from Florida may be a steal. The former North Carolina teammate of Daniel Bard has been an underachiever since he was drafted in the first round (#6) in 2006. The Sox ferried Dustin Richardson off to South Florida in exchange for Miller. Ironically, this past season, former PawSox manager Torey Lovullo was asked about the greatest prospects he'd ever seen. He said Ryan Kalish was the top position player he'd managed and he said Miller was the pitcher that ranked #1 in his mind. Ironically, Torey is now with Toronto and won't have a chance to manage Miller. That's ok, but I wish John Farrell was still around. He seems to have a knack with young pitchers like Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. As for Richardson, he seemed to "fail" his audition with Boston. I've noticed over the years that the Sox unload you at almost the moment they think youi'll never help the Big Club. Richardson, the stoic Kansan, once appeared on an ESPN reality TV show, while a student at Texas Tech. The 6'6 Richardson was a finalist on "Knight School", competing for a spot as a walk-on for Bobby Knights' basketball team. Of course, I hope Richardson flourishes in Florida and Miller enjoys a renaissance with the Sox.
Anybody know where Theo Epstein is spending Thanksgiving this year? Hopefully in Arksansas with Cliff Lee. I understand that they enjoy roasted "roadkill" on that day. The fondest wish is for a meaty animal like a raccoon or possum. No one could cook that stuff up like Granny on the "Beverly Hillbillies." (That Irene Ryan was a beautiful gal!!! Frances Bavier , a.k.a. Aunt Bea is still my favorite, though!)
Anyone else tired of the NFL's recent crackdown on "hard hits?" We train our athletes to become as strong and as fast and as violent as they possibly can and then fine them for doing their job. I understand the whole "helmet to helmet" thing and we should protect against injury, concussions, etc. I'm glad that baseball doesn't fine you for hitting the ball as hard as you can. While I'm taking shots at other sports, anyone dumb enough to fork over $60 to watch the pay per view fight Saturday? For much less than that, you can come to McCoy Stadium and watch the PawSox play. You're guaranteed nine innings, and the pay per view doesn't come with snacks.


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January 14, 2013 9:52:30 AM
TUPELO -- State Rep. David Gibbs, recalled by colleagues as a common-sense lawmaker who preferred to keep a low profile and make things happen behind the scenes, died Sunday. He was 76.
Gibbs, who had cancer, died about 5 a.m. Sunday, said Rep. Kenny Wayne Jones, D-Canton, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. He had been hospitalized at Northeast Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. Hospital spokeswoman Deborah Pugh confirmed his death.
Citing his illness, Gibbs, D-West Point, had submitted his resignation letter Tuesday, but then sent word a day later that he wanted to rescind it. The letter was never filed with the Secretary of State's office.
Representative Gary Chism, R-Columbus, said he was surprised to hear of his colleague's sudden death.
"It was really a shock," Chism said. "I didn't know his condition had deteriorated as bad as it had because there was a possibility of him coming back during the session."
Chism said that while Gibbs wasn't the most outspoken legislator, his views were respected by his colleagues.
"He was a quiet legislator, but he always stood up for Clay County," Chism said. "He didn't speak at the podium often but when he did speak, folks listened."
Columbus Ward 5 councilman Kabir Karriem served on the state Democratic Party executive board with Gibbs and said the legislator's passing leaves a void in the House of Representatives.
"There is going to be truly a void missing from the Golden Triangle delegation with representative Gibbs passing," Karriem said. "He was a great person, an awesome legislator and a good friend. He's going to be truly missed. There are some huge shoes that have to be filled coming out of Clay County."
Gibbs had a keen strategic eye, said Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, the House Democratic leader.
"We don't have very many folks in government who do that," Moak said. "They like to be the pretty butterfly fluttering out front, whereas David was the guy who saw it all and put it together and in the end told you where the field of flowers were."
Gibbs's death, along with the death of state Sen. Benny Turner, in November, is a big blow the West Point area. Together, the two served the residents of the area for 35 years. A special election is scheduled for Tuesday to fill Turner's seat.
Gibbs was first elected in 1992 to the seat vacated by Scott Ross, who is now mayor of West Point.
"He was always committed to the process of looking out for folks who were less fortunate and didn't have a voice," Jones said.
Republican House Speaker Phillip Gunn also praised Gibbs' work.
He represented District 36, which includes parts of Clay, Lowndes and Monroe counties. Before serving in the Legislature, he was a member of the Clay County Board of Supervisors.
Gov. Phil Bryant has 30 days to set a special election, which would take place at least 40 days later. If a runoff was necessary, that could leave the seat empty for this year's three-month legislative session.
Jones and Moak said Gibbs' main interest was in legislation that would help his district.
But no matter what the issue, Moak said, Gibbs was always worth consulting. "David was a pretty good political engineer of how you get to a certain goal line. He'd say, 'Moak, I think you need to do this, this and this, and you need to talk to these folks."'
He also was a senior member of the state Democratic executive committee, said Rickey Cole, chairman of the state Democratic Party.
"His was consistently a voice of quiet, strong and reliable common sense. He believed that only by working together could we make life better for everyone," Cole wrote in a statement. "The Mississippi Legislature and the Democratic Party are much the poorer in the absence of our good and wise friend David Gibbs."
Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus and Jeff Amy contributed to this report.
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