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Apple Watch Guide:How to use Siri on Apple Watch. If you have an Apple Watch, it's easier to interact with your apple watch with Siri, Apple's voice activated assistant. It might also be the quickest and the most fun way to use and enjoy your watch.
Apple Watch doesn't have a keyboard and the app icons can be fairly small. Asking Siri for directions, send a quick text, or other things will surely fun.
You can access siri by pressing and holding the digital crown or simply use your voice. Raise your wrist and say "Hey, Siri", to begin your request. Siri will be listening your request, and you'll see a screen like this.
You can use Siri to dictate messages, get turn-by-turn directions, or stay up to date on your events. You'll get an instant response to your query.
What Siri can do for you?
1. Make a phone call. You can easily make a phone call with Siri. Just say "Hey, Siri. Call Mom" and the Apple watch will call your mom.
2. Alarms. You can set, change, turn off and delete alarms. Just say "Hey, Siri. Set alarm at..
3. Messages. You can use Siri to dictate messages. You can send a new message and reply to messages.
4. Timer. With Siri, you can set a new timer; show an existing timer; pause, resume and stop a timer in progress.
5. Sports. With Siri, you can easily find out the latest sports scores, schedule information, team rankings and individual player information
6. Reminders. You can easily create reminders with Siri.
7. Clock. You can ask for info about dates and times. "What time is it in Berlin?"
8. Maps. You can use Siri to get directions and ask about local points of interest.
9. Weather. With Siri, you can ask about current weather conditions, the upcoming forecast and sunrise or sunset times.
10. App launch. You can use Siri to open apps on the Watch. For Example, "Hey, Siri, open the workout app".
11. Movies. You can use Siri to find movies, reviews and actors in specific films.
12. You can ask some questions to Siri and this will be fun. Ask anything and you will have some fun with Siri.
13. Calendar. You can create calender and , ask Siri about daily events and upcoming meetings.
14. Stocks. If you love trading stocks, you can ask Siri about individual stock prices as well as the NASDAQ and more indices.S
15 Music. You can use Siri to playback specific, play a genre or music or play a selected playlist. You can also shuffle, pause, or skip tracks.
16. Web image search. You can ask Siri to find photos.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
08 9204 5111
Please feel free to contact us with any enquires or questions you may have.
Phone Number:
08 9204 5111
Fax: 08 9204 5333
353 Scarborough Beach RoadInnaloo, WA 6018
for a FREE In-Home Consultation
1/ Daikin Super Dealer and LG Dealer of the year.
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3/ In addition to all manufactures warranties we provide a 24 month warranty
on installation and workmanship.
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day of installation at your home.
5/ We remove all packaging and rubbish off site free of charge.
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7/ We do not charge a surcharge when paying the balance on B Pay.
8/ We are happy to provide you with one of our most recent customers contact
details for reassurance, (our customers invariably give this consent).
8 ½ / As Benjamin Franklin said "The bitterness of poor quality remains
long after the sweetness of the low price is forgotten.
WHY ACWA? ....Because we Care!


text:
| Have a Facebook Account? Ask your Question Here
Re: Is NDA Better Than IIT
According to Me Both Institutes Is Good And have their own significant role. While the National Defense Academy give our nation the best cadets who dedicate their life to their country on the other hand IIT give the best engineers of all time.
So It Is Up to you If you See your Son Future in Defence then Join NDA or If you want your Son to become An Engineer then Join IIT
Here I am giving you the Comparison of Both the Institute NDA and IIT that is Given below
Competition And Exam Pattern
In both the Institute you may take Entry With A Entrance Exam For NDA you May give NDA Examination or For IITs you may have to give the IIT JEE Main And Advanced Exam
The syllabus for the exam is quite vast in comparison to JEE exam. The candidates not only have focus on the subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology but should also be good in English and current affairs In IIT over three subjects i.e Physics, Chemistry and Maths
For NDA you may Also Have to go through the Physical Exam
Both the institution provide a bachelor's degree to candidates. Although NDA not only focuses on the academic sector like IIT but also on physical training but there are regular exams in which candidates have to perform well during the 3 year training.
Line Of Work
Both the institutions provide the best career prospects to the youngsters and it is one of the many reasons that candidates work so hard to get through
The moment you enter the academy, you will feel that you have earned respect. After 4 years of hard work and training, cadets have permanent jobs in Indian army, navy and air force
ITians are paid way higher than any other B.tech degree holder of any other university. In the last semester MNC come to the IIT campus and hire talented students.
|Sponsored Links


text:
Injection moulding
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text:
It is the Year of the Gauntlet, month of Kythorn, and 11th day.
Having surveyed the town we find a ship's captain, Owen Darkeyes, whom we assign to command the boat we retrieved from the Temple of Benvair. We have a captain, 5 man crew, Charles, and the Diplomatic Team coming to a total of 12 persons. We expend part of the treasury to cover the cost of meals, and depart for Trellwan. Doge Laucian begins teaching Draconic to our Diplomat, Kreig.
One of our crew members is from Trellwan. We casually asked him for information about the town. It is a basic developing hamlet with pallisade for defense. He thinks he might have seen a Thayan coin, though he did not remember seeing anyone in the red robes favored by the Thayan wizards.
We anchored in the River for the night and set watch. I thought I saw something in the forest during 2nd Watch, but nothing interrupted us with which we needed to deal. Near morning there was more activity in Ashwood, but we assumed it was the elves since there was no hostilities.
It is the year Year of the Gauntlet, month of Kythorn, and 12th day.
While breaking our fast, we discuss the night and find that those of us in the Diplomatic Team had strange dreams. Close to nightmarish. Asking the Captain and Crew we find that they also suffered from such dreams, though their memory of them was more scanty. Doge Laucian began keeping a record of the dreams in a journal he dedicated to the purpose.
Our crewman from Trellwan does not want to go with us into town, because of the negativity and irritability of the town before he had immigrated to us. He also discusses how the dwarves suffered some sort of disease about two months ago and quarantined themselves from the rest of the world.
We divide up, leaving Charles and the Crew to guard the boat. We disembarked for shore in a row boat. Charles prepared us magical mounts, and we set off for Trellwan. To the NW we get a clear sight of a mountain range. To the south we spot the skyline of a castle. As we approach, there are farms with livestock along the way. Their palisade, about 10' high, is rather run of the mill, and complete.
A bit after noon, we reach the town itself. There is no movement along the road. We enter the little burg by the main gate. The town leader appears to be the Pastor Owen Vogel, head of the Church of Chauntea which patronizes Trellwan. We stable the horses at the local inn and head to the Temple.
Building List
01 Temple 07 Shop (Tanning Salon)
02 Manor House 08 Shop
03 Town Square 09 Shop
04 Bank 10 Shop
05 Inn 11 Shop
06 General Store 12 Shop
We disarm in the front of the Temple and the rest of the party go on into the main sanctuary. The interior has a high arch, and the first two stories make up the sanctuary proper. The Diplomat and Investigators enter private negotiations with the Priest.
They open negotiations on behalf of the Elves. During their discussion it is revealed that there was some unjust event (a rape) for which the townfolk sought to obtain justice. The perpetrator was apparently one Sien Silveroak, and three companions. A posse from Trellwan went after the perpetrators and then were slaughtered by the elves.
Father Vogel also provided us some updates to our map. Identifying the location of a Dwarven outpost from which they had obtained some aid in building their settlement.
The Priest asked if any of our people were healers which could take a look at a strange wound. Afterwhich we all re-equipped our gear and followed the man to another building where there is a gentleman with a bite wound believed to be lycanthropic. After examining the man, it appears to be a badger bite and lycanthropic. We have no one strong enough to remove the curse, and recommend they feed him massive amounts of wolvesbane. He may have acquired the disease while attempting to contact the dwarves to see what had happened to them.
We discussed trade, and found the community has a number of people who make wands, especially wands that can cure wounds. They have a bank in town, which is well fortified. Trellwan is predominantly a farming community, so we may eventually need strong relations as a food source.
Leoroar and Timothy enter the bank to investigate the kind of services they offer. Coinage noticed were predominantly Harulean, Amnish, Baldur's Gate, and a few Thayan. The bankers come from Shadegove, which is NE from Trellwan. They have loans up to about 1,000 gp at 5% interest. They arrange some trade in magic items for a mage of the Silveroaks.
Concluding our business in Trellwan we pick up more rations and returned tot he boat.


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Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant caused a stir in literary circles for its unexpected choice of setting of an ancient, mythical England. It brings to life a post-Arthurian world of demons, ogres and pixies, which is a risky move for Ishiguro given the fantasy genre has a reputation for being largely read by children and a niche group of fans.
But Ishiguro is not an author who worries about others' expectations. Which is just as well, because this, his seventh novel, is a treat. It is rare to find a book that is powerful enough to make the reader surrender himself to its illusions, but Ishiguro's book does just that. The Buried Giant is escapism at its best, forcing the reader to let his or her imagination take control.
In a question-and-answer session with the Guardian, Ishiguro admitted that, rather than poring over the possible allegories in The Buried Giant, he wanted people 'to read this story for what it is', and part of its beauty is that it can be read simply as an enthralling fairytale about an elderly couple, Beatrice and Axl, venturing on a quest to find their lost son – all the while living under a spell of forgetfulness induced by a strange mist. As the couple travel, their original journey gets sidetracked by a she-dragon called Querig, who is found to be the source of the mist. Befriending knights, escaping corrupt monasteries, fighting off pixies and beheading underground beasts – the story may be led by a stumbling old couple, but it is never slow.
Critics of the novel took issue with the mythical setting. Even Ishiguro's wife told the author 'this will not do' after seeing the first draft a decade ago. In a New York Times interview, Ishiguro expressed his anxiety about publishing a fantasy novel. In response, science-fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K Le Guin slated Ishiguro for his 'thoughtless prejudice' against the fantasy genre. Brushing off Le Guin's criticisms, Ishiguro said he was merely wary of being pigeonholed. 'Genre walls should be porous if not non-existent', he said.
It is a trait of Ishiguro to blur genre lines, creating an unsettling mix of familiarity and distance. Never Let Me Go uses classic science-fiction tropes, but is set in the recent past of 1990s Britain, disturbing the expectations that the reader brings to the book with a twisted timeframe. That The Buried Giant can use all the tools of a fantasy novel and yet escape the shortfalls of the genre (that, generally, giants and demons are ridiculous) shows how powerful Ishiguro's writing has become.


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What is the role of a real estate agent during a home buying transaction? If you ask a hundred different agents this question, you will likely get just as many different answers.
In truth, the primary role of a real estate agent when working with buyers is a simple one. Your agent's primary obligation is to help you find a home that meets your needs, and to help facilitate the purchase. In exchange for this service, the real estate agent is paid a commission.
The Commission Earned
Traditionally, real estate agents have earned a ten-percent commission for services rendered. The commission is typically split evenly, with 5 percent going to both the buyer's and seller's agent. The commission is usually paid by the seller involved in the transition.
These days, some real estate companies offer "stripped down" services at a reduced commission. For instance, they might only help with the paperwork and closing process, once you have already found a home. They charge a lower commission rate because they offer fewer services than what you would get from a traditional agent relationship.
The Duties Performed
The roles and duties performed may also vary depending on the agent. Some consider themselves selling agents, concentrating their efforts on assisting home sellers. Others consider themselves buying agents and focus their efforts on helping buyers primarily. The majority of real estate professionals assist both buyers and sellers (though usually not within the same transaction).
In the early stages of buying a home, the agent plays an important role. This person will (or should) serve as your guide on the quest to find a new home. He or she should listen to your needs and ask questions in order to determine what is the right kind of home for you, and where to find them.
Your agent should be able to compile a list of potential homes that may suit you. This list will point you in the right direction when you start the house hunting process. Once you find the home you are interested in buying, your agent will help negotiate the deal between you and the seller, serving as a go-between to make offers and counter-offers until an agreement is made.
The Process Delivered
Your agent should also keep the communication flowing and the process moving. This will be done through follow-up phone calls and emails, keeping tabs on paperwork, etc. He or she should keep you updated on a regular basis, and should keep an open line of communication with you.
During the pre-closing inspection (a.k.a. final walk-through), your agent should be with you in case you find any issues that need to be addressed, such as scheduled repairs that were never made. In these cases, your agent will attempt to negotiate some type of agreement regarding the damage.
Depending on the state where you live, your agent may also play an active role in the closing / settlement, or they may not be involved much at all. Either way, it's helpful to have a professional on hand who is familiar with the transaction from start to finish, just in case additional information or negotiations are needed.
The role of the buyer's real estate agent is an important one. For this reason, it's important that you meet with prospective representatives and choose one you are comfortable with. You should be equally confident in their professional abilities and their communication skills. After all, the person you choose will be your direct representative through the entire home buying process.


text:
June is always a fun and busy month around here.
An end-of-school trip to the Central Park Zoo with Julian's class, Field Day with Rose's class, Julian's graduation from Pre-Kindergarten, birthday parties to attend, school performances, organizing and hosting a sleep-over birthday party for Rose and 7 of her friends. Since Rose's birthday is in late July and most of here friends are away, we decided to have an early party for her.
Fairy Bluebird, Polar Bear, Seals and a Gentoo Penguin at the Central Park Zoo.
This school year went by so fast. I can't believe my little guy is already a graduate.....so, so proud.
Now it is time for Pottery Day Camp, swimming lessons, Summer Reading Program at the library and anything else that I am forgetting or that pops up.
I am have been making these.
They are made out of large brown paper bags. Recycle Baby!
The next thing is to work on the class I am teaching at ArtFiberFest.


text:
You may have thought this was it, but truth is it was far from over.
Besides pet names, the webpage provides Gangsta, Pirate, Mexican Wrestler and Mafia names. They also feature Vampire and Taxi Driver names, but they blow.
I had my theory before with gathered data from Ducky's thread, but now I'm 100% sure these names are offensive as you can appreciate in the list below. More specifically, the last two names.
My results:
Gangsta= Young Dirty Red Snappa
Pirate= Cap'n Wallace Yellowbeard


text:
CBS has responded to frustrated fans, with a spokesperson confirming toBillboard that there was a five-to-eight second technical issue with the broadcast, adding that it was outside the network's control. It appeared that the singer was singing without an earpiece, and that Columbia executives in the audience were visibly upset by the performance.
Billboard has reached out to Adele's representatives for comment. Adele herself tweeted after the show, "The piano mics fell on to the piano strings, that's what the guitar sound was. It made it sound out of tune. Sh– happens. X."
"We have the most complicated technical show on television when it comes to music, bar none. Inside the piano are microphones, and a mike dropped into the strings. It happens to all sorts of people, but it rarely happens on our show," Recording Academy President Neil Portnow told L.A. Times. "When we switched over to the backup system, it had to drop out for a few seconds. When performing in intimate performance, it can be unnerving. We certainly don't like it when those things happen, but they happen."
Source: billboard


text:
A fire broke out early Wednesday morning on the top floor of a 13-story West End Avenue building.
By Brendan Krisel (Patch National Staff) – Updated
UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Three firefighters were injured Wednesday morning when a fire broke out on the top floor of an Upper West Side building, an FDNY spokesman told Patch.
The blaze broke out on the top floor of 924 West End Avenue — a 13-story building located between West 105th and 106th streets — around 2:35 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said. Firefighters had the fire knocked down and under control shortly before 3:30 a.m., the spokesman told Patch.
Three firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze and were sent to the hospital in stable condition, an FDNY spokesman told Patch. Two of the injured firefighters were transported to St. Luke's Hospital and one was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, the spokesman said.
(For more Upper West Side news, subscribe to Patch to get a daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.)
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, an FDNY spokesman told Patch.


text:
Anyone who has ever played organized baseball at any level has likely heard the following speech verbatim; "Baseball is a game of failure. If you get up ten times, strike out seven, and get three hits, then you're a great player."
Whether it was intramural, school, or travel and no matter the coach, I always heard this speech. It was drilled into me at a young age, and I was taught to learn from failure and savor success. Learning this early on has been integral to my success in Magic because, if baseball is a game of failure, Magic is a game of futility. Regardless of innate talent or effort expended, you're not going to win a very large amount of the tournaments you enter. It's simply the nature of tournaments and the nature of the game. This can be discouraging to many, but this is actually the reason why I think Magic is great. It's a continuous grind to accomplish the improbable. And when your efforts are finally rewarded, the feeling is ineffable.
This past weekend I was able to accomplish the improbable, and win the SCG Dallas Standard Open. It really does feel great when you achieve what you set out to do, but it's important not to become complacent. I won, I enjoyed it, but my goal is always to win the next tournament. So in an attempt to replicate my success in Dallas at future events, I'm going to analyze what I did right and what I could've improved on.
What I Did Right
As I mentioned earlier, it's quite rare to get actually get a win in Magic. It's nice to have the opportunity to reflect on what actually went right in an event. And, by doing so, we can get a better idea of what we need to do in order to succeed in the future.
The Deck:
At the time of my last article, I had pretty much resigned myself to playing Mono-Red at SCG Dallas before even playing a game of the format. The deck is basically everything I could want in a week one deck. It punishes clunky decks, it's malleable after sideboarding, and it's very consistent. But before I started sleeving up Mountains, there was one deck I wanted to test first; the Sultai Energy deck from my first article about Ixalan. I had been tinkering with the deck a lot since first writing about, and I strongly believed that the deck had potential. After two lengthy days of testing, I couldn't have been more pleased with the results. I went 33-7 in matches, and I had a winning record against every popular archetype. I was locked in on playing the deck at this point, and I began convincing my teammates to play the deck as well.
I panicked a bit at the last minute because my final day of testing didn't go nearly as well as the first two, but in the end I decided it was best to just play the deck I worked on the most. I came to this decision by waking up an hour before I had to submit a list, jamming more matches online with Sultai, and determining that my 3-0 start in my league was sufficient evidence that Sultai was great.
Sultai Energy ? Ixalan Standard | Andrew Jessup, 1st SCG Dallas Standard Open
- Creatures (27)
- 1 The Scarab God
- 2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
- 4 Hostage Taker
- 4 Longtusk Cub
- 4 Rogue Refiner
- 4 Walking Ballista
- 4 Winding Constrictor
- Instants (8)
- 4 Blossoming Defense
- 4 Fatal Push
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Attune with Aether
- Lands (21)
- 1 Island
- 2 Swamp
- 4 Forest
- 2 Fetid Pools
- 4 Aether Hub
- 4 Blooming Marsh
- 4 Botanical Sanctum
- Sideboard (15)
- 1 The Scarab God
- 4 Deathgorge Scavenger
- 1 Spell Pierce
- 2 Negate
- 2 Vraska's Contempt
- 4 Duress
- 1 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Good Decision, Andrew.
Between my win and Dan's 3rd place finish, it seems safe to assume we had the best deck in the tournament. Although, Brad definitely hurt our case. The deck had game against all of the most played decks, and it's very tricky to play against. Between the Blossoming Defenses and the saturation of high impact creatures, an opposing removal spell played at the wrong time will often result in a win on the spot. The deck is also able to adjust roles quite well which is something I value very highly. It's capable of winning games on turn five and turn fifty.
As of late, I've generally just played good versions of stock decks. And while I've been successful doing this, this tournament was a good reminder of how advantageous doing something people are unprepared for can be. I'm not going to play any rogue decks without a very good reason, but it is something I'll keep in mind more during my deck selection process going forward.
I've played two Standard Opens this year. They were both week one formats, I won them both, and the biggest edge I had in both was my ability to sideboard. I really can't emphasize enough how important sideboarding is in Standard. In every single tournament you play, you're going to play more postboard games than preboard games; you have to know how to sideboard with your deck. This doesn't just mean having general plans for matchups. Having a default plan is certainly important, but your goal in sideboarding is to configure your deck in a way to beat your opponent's postboard configuration. The majority of my opponents weren't able to determine what cards mattered in the matchup or what role I would be taking after boarding, and this left them at a severe disadvantage.
I always preface sideboard guides with a disclaimer, but I'm really serious this time. If you're trying to give yourself the best chance to do well at your next event, copying this list and guide is not in your best interest. The format is still developing and change is inevitable. The lists from Worlds will not be the lists in two weeks. This means that your list and sideboarding plans can't be the same either. This is meant to serve as shortcut in catching you up to where the format is at currently. So, with that being said, if I were to play a tournament with Sultai tomorrow, here's the 75 I would play and how I would look to sideboard in some popular matchups.
Sultai Energy ? Ixalan Standard | Andrew Jessup
- Creatures (27)
- 2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 2 The Scarab God
- 3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
- 4 Hostage Taker
- 4 Longtusk Cub
- 4 Rogue Refiner
- 4 Walking Ballista
- 4 Winding Constrictor
- Instants (8)
- 4 Blossoming Defense
- 4 Fatal Push
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Attune with Aether
- Lands (21)
- 1 Island
- 2 Swamp
- 4 Forest
- 2 Drowned Catacomb
- 4 Aether Hub
- 4 Blooming Marsh
- 4 Botanical Sanctum
- Sideboard (15)
- 3 Deathgorge Scavenger
- 1 Spell Pierce
- 3 Negate
- 2 Vraska's Contempt
- 1 Confiscation Coup
- 3 Duress
- 2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
- Mono-Red: -3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, -2 The Scarab God, +3 Deathgorge Scavenger, +2 Vraska's Contempt
- Temur Energy: -4 Walking Ballista, -2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade, +2 Vraska's Contempt, +2 Vraska, Relic Seeker, + 1 Spell Pierce, +1 Confiscation Coup
- Control: -4 Hostage Taker, -4 Walking Ballista, -4 Fatal Push, -2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade +3 Deathgorge Scavenger, +3 Duress, +3 Negate, +2 Vraska's Contempt, +2 Vraska, Relic Seeker, +1 Spell Pierce
- Sultai Energy: -3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, -2 Walking Ballista, + 2 Vraska's Contempt, +2 Vraska, Relic Seeker, +1 Confiscation Coup
- Tokens: -4 Hostage Taker, -4 Fatal Push, -1 Blossoming Defense, +3 Duress, +3 Negate, +2 Vraska, Relic Seeker, +1 Spell Pierce
- God-Pharaoh's Gift: -4 Fatal Push, -3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, -1 Blossoming Defense, +3 Deathgorge Scavenger, + 2 Vraska's Contempt, +2 Vraska, Relic Seeker, +1 Confiscation Coup
My Play:
Overall, I think I played well this tournament. I certainly made way more mistakes than I'm content with (I'll address this more later), but I think my decision making was sound throughout the tournament. I was feeling burnt out for a while, and I was pretty disgusted with my play during this period. I took a two week break from playing any Magic around the release of Ixalan, and it definitely helped a ton. When I get back to the right balance regarding playing time, I expect to begin steadily improving again. If I'm winning tournaments while feeling 60%, I can't wait to start playing when I feel my best.
What I Did Wrong
It's easy to look for mistakes in failure, but it's imperative to also reflect on your success. Despite doing the actual best I could in the tournament, my performance was far from perfect. I made mistakes, I lost games, my list wasn't perfect, I could've done better.
My Play:
I said I was content with my play earlier, but there was ample room for improvement. I think my conscious decision making was satisfactory, but my play was incredibly sloppy throughout the tournament. This is something I've been dealing with for most of the year as well.
Despite being my most successful year in Magic to date, I've probably made more careless mistakes this year than I did last year. This can likely be attributed to my ratio of online to paper play. Since drastically upping the hours I put into Magic Online late last year, I've undoubtedly become a better player. But at the same time, my ability to focus while playing paper Magic has taken a serious hit.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several dumb mistakes I made at SCG Dallas; I tapped mana wrong, I forgot to Fatal Push a creature in response to a Fumigate (I've literally made this play at least 50 times), I forgot about the anthem effect on Angel of Invention, I forgot to resolve a trigger that I announced, and it's possible there were others as well. This is unacceptable by my standards, and it's something I'll need to address if I want to keep adding to my trophy collection.
This is something else that's plagued me for more than just this past event. I'm a pretty low energy person to begin with, and I'm rarely mindful about taking proper care of myself during tournaments. I almost never eat while playing, and I don't drink nearly enough. On average, my play is notably worse during the back half of the day. I was able to curb the effects of this at Dallas by overloading on caffeine, but I'd imagine that method isn't sustainable. Winning a tournament is hard enough, so lowering my odds of doing so by neglecting something I actually have control over is pretty ridiculous.
The Future of Sultai
Despite zero World's competitors bringing the deck to battle, I do think the deck has a reasonable chance of remaining a player in the metagame. Sultai has a passable matchup against every deck in the field aside from Temur Energy. The Temur matchup isn't that bad, and I made some concessions to the matchup in my latest list, but it is unfavorable. Unfortunately Temur did win Worlds, and is likely the frontrunner for the best deck in the format. That sounds bad for Sultai fans out there, but there is hope. If decks reach a point where they're a consistent foil to Temur, then Sultai should become the format's Green deck of preference. Sultai is significantly better than Temur against while still boasting a favorable matchup against Mono-Red.
Sultai is in a weird spot where it's not likely to be a fringe player. It's matchups across the board are comparable to Temur's, so it just makes sense to play the one that beats the other one. Right now Temur is definitely the deck to beat, but I'm going to see what I can do with Sultai to put it back on top in the upcoming weeks. But, if I do come up short, I at least had the one event with the deck. Building something from scratch, taking down an event with it, and helping my brother put up a solid finish too was definitely one of the better experiences I've had playing this game.


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zeldaspeedruns isn't dead yet: Forums are back!
Rescue Tetra before FF1: is new to me. Did you just find this out?
There is actually a WW dive spot in the MS chamber. I don't know excatly where but I'm 110% sure I got storage right there by doing a WW dive.
To get into Stonewatcher (SE of Greatfish) I had to get door storage from Windfall, sail to it, do some bomb boosts to get up, and then I jump slashed through the big stone head. Doing anything but jump slashing got me crushed every time.
Here's an FAQ made by Ace on all this new barrier stuff: http://pastebin.com/EX3m5hfB
I have one more question since it's been a long time since I've messed with this. Completing the triforce doesn't open up the portal to hyrule, does it?


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An accident victim's lawyer Monday urged the state Supreme Court to rule that rental car companies can be held liable for damages in an accident they did not cause in Florida, even though a new federal law is designed to shield the companies.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An accident victim's lawyer Monday urged the state Supreme Court to rule that rental car companies can be held liable for damages in an accident they did not cause in Florida, even though a new federal law is designed to shield the companies.
The legal concept of holding non-negligent owners responsible regardless who was behind the wheel is known as "vicarious liability." It is prohibited for rental vehicles by the 2005 federal Graves Amendment except in states that have financial responsibility or insurance requirements for rental companies.
The law's sponsor, Rep. Samuel Graves, R-Mo., predicted it would save consumers $100 million nationally.
At issue in the Supreme Court is whether a Florida law titled "Financial Responsibility" meets the federal exception criteria in what could be a precedent-setting case.
State law says if the person who leases or drives a rented vehicle is uninsured or has combined insurance limits of less than $500,000, the rental company "shall be liable for up to an additional $500,000 in economic damages."
"It is implicit that there is a requirement to maintain insurance albeit it is not expressly stated," Marjorie Gadarian Graham told the justices. She argued the Legislature intended it to be an insurance requirement and that it's explicit enough to except Florida from the Graves Amendment.
David C. Boruke, a lawyer for Enterprise Leasing Co., disagreed.
"Nothing is required," Boruke said. "It's an option. It's an opportunity to make a cost-benefit analysis, but it is not required insurance by any stretch of the imagination."
A trial judge in Palm Beach County and the 4th District Court of Appeal, in a 6-4 opinion, agreed with Enterprise. Both lower courts rejected a vicarious liability claim by Rafael Vargas, who was injured when an Enterprise-owned vehicle rear-ended his car in February 2006.
Vargas did not allege Enterprise was negligent nor at fault nor that the lease was improper.
The 4th District certified the issue to the Supreme Court as a question of great public importance. Several similar cases in Florida are on hold pending a ruling.
It has also been an issue in other states including Minnesota, where the state Supreme Court in January ruled the Graves Amendment pre-empted a similar state law there.
Most of the litigation has been at the federal level. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta also ruled Florida's law was pre-empted in 2008. As a result, the Florida justices' decision would apply only to state courts, Graham said. They did not indicate when they would rule.


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LOS ANGELES --The commute through the Sepulveda Pass is about to get worse, as construction on the San Diego (405) Freeway between Burbank Boulevard and Getty Center Drive gets under way.
All southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway will be closed between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday for demolition of the Skirball Center Drive Bridge.
The same closure will be in effect for the northbound lanes on Thursday and Friday nights. Traffic will be detoured onto Sepulveda Boulevard.


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Optimizing Your Website's Visibility
The auto industry is witnessing an aggressive growth in competition, and businesses need to come up with the best marketing tactics to carve out their place in the market. Today's buyers have a plethora of options to choose from, not only in terms of car makes and models but also where to buy. With a majority of consumers conducting their research and shopping online, digital visibility is paramount in gaining an edge in the market. Digital automotive marketing in Texas or anywhere else is no simple task, especially if you are unaware of the latest trends and best practices. Therefore, it is advisable to hire experienced automotive marketing professionals to outline and implement innovative digital advertising campaigns for your business.
The fundamental part of any digital marketing strategy is your online presence. Having a feature-rich website is essential to extend your reach and connect with customers. Below are some simple yet effective tips you need to follow for attracting shoppers to your website.
Make your website mobile-friendly
Your dealership should have an appealing website featuring the latest makes and models of vehicles in your showroom, along with vehicle reviews, testimonials, and other content. But is your website mobile-friendly? More than 50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices and when your website misses out on it, your business is losing a large number of views and potential conversions. It is crucial that your website is responsive to mobile browsers. Making your site mobile-friendly also improves its quality score, which will improve search rankings.
Make use of optimized keywords
Search engines always look for exact keyword matches first while indexing web pages. To ensure your site will be visible, you need to make sure that your website content follows a proper keyword strategy. For instance, your dealership website might have listed used vehicles under the tag pre-owned?. But if a customer searches for used cars for sale?, then your website is less likely to show up in the higher rankings of search engine results.
Pay heed to search queries
In order to optimize your website content with the right keywords, you need to know the exact search queries and phrases that are most popular. Google Analytics is one of the best resources to discover the most popular search queries and to decide which ones to target. You can even filter out the search according to location, browser and other demographics.
Come up with a plan
As mentioned above, you can make use of Google Analytics to find the highest-ranking keywords and their competition. You need to find the keywords with high search volume, but low competition in your locality. Optimize your website content, meta tags and other content with these keywords for better results.
Stick to the plan
If you have developed a keyword and content strategy successfully, then be consistent and follow it long-term. You can't expect results overnight. Be patient and keep monitoring keyword traffic regularly. You can even carry out some tweaking to figure out the best solutions.
Recent Posts
- Automotive Advertising Through Facebook September 15, 2017
- Content Marketing: The Importance of Videos September 12, 2017
- Radio Advertising: Still Worth the Money September 8, 2017
- Automotive Marketing and Automotive Technology September 5, 2017


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Businesses are being offered up to £1,500 to improve their online presence.
The initiative is being led by the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, the Solent Growth Hub and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Hampshire Chamber chief executive Stewart Dunn said: 'Although most small firms are online in some way, those with a real understanding of digital resources, e-commerce and search engine optimisation are far fewer.'
The Digital Capability Fund is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises to give them the opportunity to make more of digital resources.
With only half of small business having a website and only a third selling their goods online the fund is aimed at seeing more companies expand into the virtual world.
Solent LEP chairman Gary Jeffries said: 'We are seeking to address the most common barriers small firms report about digital capability including skills gaps, confidence, lack of understanding of the benefits for their business, and judging the quality of support available.'
Recipients will receive a grant of up to £1,500 and a further package of support which will involve match-funding of investment in website improvements, social media and other digital tools.
There are also digital 'clinics', workshops and one-to-one advice.
These skills are to help those that aren't making full use of the internet and maybe missing out on a huge opportunity to grow their customer base.
Denise Barlow, head of projects at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce said: 'We have had more than 70 business apply so far and we want to help those businesses and many others to run better, cleaner and faster.'
Anyone interested in the fund and the help that is available will need to have their firm take part in a free digital health check from Solent Growth Hub..
For more information, visit solentgrowthhub.co.uk


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Adult Signature Required
All carriers specify that wine orders require a person at least 21 years of age sign for your delivery. The use of a business address can help expedite delivery by a day and often makes the signature requirement easier.
Shipping Rates
Shipping costs for wine within the continental U.S. are applied and will appear in the shopping cart before you complete your transaction. The carrier and service speed may vary by state and time of year. The shipments will be delivered by UPS Ground or Golden State Overnight.
For all orders and club shipments of wine to the following states, shipping rates are applied per bottle according to the chart below. Quantities listed represent box sizes used for shipping. For quantities not listed, go to next higher quantity. Quantities over 12 will ship in two or more boxes.
For residential deliveries, a $2.50 surcharge will be applied. Because wine shipping regulations require an adult signature, having your wine shipments delivered to a business address is often the best choice. The $2.50 surcharge will be waived for shipments to business addresses. It most often results in a better experience with the delivery of the wine.
Because the wines we offer are rare and in limited supply, orders are subject to availability. If necessary we will replace with wines of equal or greater value.
If in the rare event that a shipment is returned to us as undeliverable within 45 days of shipping, we will issue a credit to the original form of payment less a 15% restocking fee, less shipping and handling, provided that the wines are returned in good condition. Please allow up to 14 business days from receipt of the shipment to receive your credit.
Wines being replaced for your satisfaction are added to your next club shipment to avoid additional shipping fees.
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. We may collect personally identifiable information when you visit our site. We also automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, cookie information, and the page(s) you visited. We will not sell your personally identifiable information to anyone.
Your payment and personal information is safe with us. Our Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read over the internet. In order for SSL security to work, you must use an SSL enabled browser.
If you still have concerns about ordering electronically, feel free to call 800-447-3060 and place your order over the phone.


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It had actually been on our calendar for months. Wild Kratts Live! Was pertaining to our city and we were likely to be there! If you've been hanging around this space for any type of size of time, you recognize the Ross family enjoys the Kratts brothers. It's been 2 years considering we had the chance to fulfill them in Rolando.
This moment around, they were bringing their new stage show to our hometown. We really did not know exactly just what to expect, but we knew it would certainly be good. The brand-new live show is essentially an interactive episode of the TV variation. The bros trigger creature powers, misbehave, and even battle the crooks. Well, among them.
Most importantly, Chris and Martin amuse
They are such fantastic entertainers live. Engaging, energized, funny and – as they truly demonstrate with this program – dexterous! SB is the target market for the show, and it was a significant hit with her. Husband assumed the changes might have been a little smoother, and I really felt the intermission was unnecessary from a target market viewpoint (although I'm sure Chris, Martin and their stage crew needed the break). Yet generally, it got 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up from all of us.
Obviously, the very best part of the day for SB was getting to see Chris and Martin individually. As we waited in line throughout fulfilling and greeted, she believed thoroughly concerning just what she wanted to state to each of them. The first time we fulfilled them, she was quite overwhelmed by the experience. This year she stated she was not going to be reluctant.
She chose not to let go of that picture with their wild kratts games autographs – one thing we did not get last time around – until she went to bed that evening. And she said, "Goodnight" to them prior to doing so. I have guaranteed we will mount it to hold on her wall. She would interact with Aviva in the Tortuga, pretend to tape-record pet data for developing new animal power suits, and call for assistance when she got into a bind, as Chris and Martin often do.


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Mountain Dew's Connection To Whiskey And 7 Other Dew Facts
What to add with whiskey? Mountain Dew of course! What
What to add with whiskey? Mountain Dew of course! What
Amy, Asif Kapadia's documentary about the life of Amy Winehouse,
Back in 2010, a team of divers looking in the
Most adults have experienced a hangover at one point (or
April is Jazz appreciation month. What better way to celebrate
Singer Sebastian Bach once famously stated, "If I ever grow
As warmer weather quickly approaches, so does the onset psychological
All of the effects of alcohol in a convenient powder.
Alcohol has been a part of human life for thousands
In 1936, Reefer Madness swept America into a mass hysteria
Vodka is a wonderful, joyous blessing in moderation. It can
Your precious dogs will eat almost everything (in my experience,
Forget everything you learned at college parties. Tequila is serious
Janis Joplin never experienced a shortage of gigs or album
Ah, prohibition. "The Noble Experiment," kick-started by the 18th Amendment
Are you looking to quench your thirst like some of
We live in a time where Micro-brews and Craft Beers


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Skip to comments.Heavenly Bodies Stir Up Routine Catastrophes
Posted on 03/18/2003 9:33:33 AM PST by blam
Heavenly bodies stir up routine catastrophes
March 18 2003 at 01:30PM
By Graeme Addison
Legend has it that when two people get together and er... bond, the Earth will move at least in a metaphorical sense. Likewise, it takes two heavenly bodies, an impactor and a target, to come together with Earth-shattering force to form a crater. Theres nothing dreamlike about this: it happens, frequently, throughout the solar system. Impact catastrophes are routine.
Just over two-billion years ago, a chunk of asteroid at least the size of Table Mountain struck the landmass that is now South Africa. It hurtled in at a speed in excess of 55 000km/h, or about 160 times the speed of Shumachers Ferrari in full cry.
Welcome to the realm of cosmic uncertainty and sudden impacts. More specifically, an impact that changed the face of primeval South Africa. The world-famous Vredefort Dome centred on a tiny northern Free State dorp and now billed as the oldest and biggest asteroid impact site on the planet was finally accepted as a blast site by the majority of scientists only in the mid-1990s. It is now being proposed as a World Heritage Site (South Africas fifth, after Lake St Lucia, Robben Island, Sterkfontein Caves and the Drakensberg). Although a great deal is now known about crater formation, much remains speculative
Despite its obvious significance, there is still much speculation about Vredefort. Today leading geologists are disputing whether the impactor set the Earths crust on edge or not whether there is a shear zone as if a mighty fist had punched a hole in the crust, leaving shards of it standing upright. Yes, say the crust-on-edge supporters; but there are others who say there is no real discontinuity in the underlying rock formations.
Why does it matter? Well, knowing how impacts have shaped the Earths crust could explain many things that remain puzzling, and perhaps aid in deep-level geological exploration. Although a great deal is now known about crater formation, and the Vredefort site is increasingly being studied and modelled, much remains speculative. The impact took place a very long time ago when the Earth was just over half its present age, and yet it has primary modern significance for mining. South Africas vast semicircle of goldfields follows the outline of the Vredefort ring. Coincidentally, the impact area largely covered the earlier Witwatersrand basin where gold-bearing strata had been laid down by archaic rivers.
Experts differ about exactly how the gold came to be concentrated so highly in this area, but the energy released by the impact certainly had something to do with it. The strata appear to have been thrown on edge, and erosive processes finally exposed them as the well-known Reef at the highest point in Johannesburg. The worlds deepest mines are to be found near Carletonville, where Anglogold is probing to a vertical depth of 3,5km in search of the deep veins of ore that were buried so long ago.
Few South Africans are aware of this geological wonder in the very heart of their country. Yet it has always fascinated those in the know the geologists, minerologists and astrophysicists who pay attention to large rocks falling from the sky, and who warn that it could happen again. Here they share something with local mystics who believe the Dome is a sign from heaven portending the worst.
Defending Earth against these roving destructors is becoming a political issue According to prophecy, fire will once again rain from the sky (or erupt from the bowels of the Earth), and we are all doomed to burn to extinction. This might sound alarming or merely funny depending on your view of fate. But it could indeed happen again. Scans of our immediate environs show that dangerous Near Earth Objects (NEOs) quite frequently stray into Earths neighbourhood. Some have narrowly missed in recent years, and more are predicted.
Calculations based on the observed number of asteroids suggest that we should expect about three craters of at least 10km in diameter be formed on the Earth every million years. Very big impactors are rare, but if one the size of Vredefort should hit us, it would probably spell the end of life as we know it.
Colossal fires and tidal waves would sweep away landmarks, killing millions if not billions immediately. Ejecta and dust thrown from the impact zone would do the long-term damage, darkening the skies and chilling the seas for centuries, putting an end to agriculture and possibly disrupting the atmospheric processes from which we draw our air.
This is what seems to have caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. About 65-million years ago, an asteroid ploughed into what is now the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, setting in motion the chain reactions that killed off Earths dominant species in a few short years. Known as the Chicxulub crater, this is regarded as the worlds third-largest.
The second largest is at Sudbury in Ontario, Canada thought to have been caused by a large comet. According to one study, Sudbury produced about 31 000 cubic kilometres of impact melt, approximately six times the volume of lakes Huron and Ontario combined, and nearly 70 percent more than the melt at Chicxulub.
Defending Earth against these roving destructors is becoming a political issue in the leading Western nations. Public funds are committed to searching for NEOs and designing possible weapons to deflect them although it is doubtful at this stage whether the largest and fastest could be stopped in time.
At any rate, worldwide interest in impactors (otherwise known as bolides) has focused attention on the Vredefort Dome and is starting to bring international tourists to the town of Parys, on the banks of the Vaal about 120km from Johannesburg. This type of feature is known as an astrobleme a wonderfully evocative word for an eroded impact crater.
As with many old craters, appearances are misleading. The centre of the Vredefort Dome (also known as the Ring) looks merely like a small- to medium-sized crater.
Many people who visit the area think that a horseshoe of low mountains called the Bergland, lying to the north west of the Vaal River between Parys and Potchefstroom, is the crater rim. It isnt: the mountains are merely what remain of a central upheaval dome that formed at the core of the crater.
The truth is far more impressive, though harder to see from the ground. What is most likely the outermost concentric ring of the crater itself runs from the Mondeor heights south of Johannesburg along the ridges of the West Rand to Welkom in the Free State a diameter in excess of 300km. An inner ring is also visible: its called the Gatsrand, and you cross it when driving on the N1 through the Grasmere tollgate.
In mistaking the Bergland for the crater rim, early estimates put the size of the Vredefort impact zone at less than 100km. This merited inclusion in the top league of big craters, but as time passed and geologists explored the features of this unique area, the truth began to dawn: this was a crater of earth-shattering proportions, and possibly the largest on record.
Recent Landsat pictures put the minimum diameter at 250km, although there are still scientists who say the crater is no more than 107km wide.
There has never been any shortage of hot debating topics in the realm of meteorites and comets. In the past, the Vredefort structure was thought to have been an ancient volcano. There was even an oddball theory that the Moon had pulled away from Mother Earth at this point, sucking up molten rock from below the crust, but the age of the Moon (4,5-billion years) and its size quickly ruled out this possibility.
Vredefort is newer and smaller than any feature that might have been left by the departing Moon. In fact, evidence in the rocks points to an impact by a space invader. With no meteoritic fragments present after such a long passage of time, other evidence is invoked to prove impacting. Shock metamorphism or changes in the rock due to high pressures not found in volcanic eruptions is a sure sign.
Imagine a stone hitting a window: the glass shatters in myriads of splinters. In the case of impacted rocks, these shatter cones appear along with melt rocks and other signatures in zircons, quartz and feldspar grains. In the Vredefort area, so-called pseudotachylites melted black seams in the rock having the false appearance of volcanism are a sure giveaway.
The crater was blasted out of the Earth by a wandering asteroid that detonated in the atmosphere with the explosive force of millions of nuclear bombs and melted the crust instantly to a depth of up to 30km.
The low dome of granite in the middle was once viewed as the plug of cooled molten matter that had welled up from the magma surrounding Earths core, and the rings were described as successive volcano rims.
Until about three decades ago, almost every large impact site on Earth was thought to be volcanic rather than extraterrestrial in origin. Then along came American geologist Eugene Shoemaker and his wife Carolyn, who pains-takingly documented crater after crater, from America to Australia and even on the Moon. They were convinced that many terrestrial and lunar craters were due to asteroidal impacts rather than volcanoes, but were sidelined by research authorities and scientist peers.
The big breakthrough came when Shoemaker and a colleague, David Levy, correctly predicted that a newly discovered comet, Shoemaker-Levy 9, would impact Jupiter in June 1994 and impact it did, in 21 spectacular fragments. Clearly, major impacts could and did occur throughout the solar system.
A meteorite is any rock that remains after an impact. The impactor may vaporise, however, and leave no meteorite. Large asteroids from the belt of Asteroids lying between Mars and Jupiter are likely to vaporise when colliding with Earth, though the smaller ones would leave a meteorite. Meteoroid is the word to describe any solid body migrating through space on a collision course with other bodies. Some of these take the form of smaller swarms of bits of rock crossing the solar system.
The Vredefort impact was certainly not the biggest in Earths history of punishment by heavenly bodies, either. Between three and four- billion years ago, Earth weathered a period of heavy bombardment by passing rock fragments, large and small. Then or perhaps later, comet storms also struck the earth; comets which are lumps of ice and dust have been credited with delivering liquid water in such abundance that the seas were formed.
Comets, too, have generated their share of scientific dispute. British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle suggested that life on Earth may have been seeded by comets that transported the essential molecular materials from outer space.
Dubbed panspermism, this idea supported by the discoverer of DNA, Francis Crick is still hotly debated.
The status of Vredefort as the oldest and biggest known impact site on Earth has recently been challenged by Dr Gary Byerly of Louisiana State University in the US. He and his team found evidence of an even bigger blast in the Barberton area crossing over to the Pilbara Block in Western Australia (the two land masses were once joined).
Byerly says five separate rock layers containing debris ejected from an ancient impact have been discovered and dated at 3,47-billion years old. They didnt manage to find a crater preserving, for now at least, Vredeforts claim to fame.
However, none of the asteroidal or cometary impacts compares with the biggest ever, which occurred right near the beginning of Earths existence, some 4,5 billion years ago. It is now thought that the Moon was formed when a huge lump of coalescing matter large enough to be another planet in the process of formation collided with the proto-Earth. From the loose agglomeration of the two bodies, some lighter crustal matter spun off to create the Moon.
The story of Vredefort is just one chapter in the epic of planetary formation in our solar system, and many others.
As gravity pulls drifting dust together to create stars and planets, the leftovers circulate as clouds of comets, belts of asteroids and random rock fragments. As these bodies continue to fall inwards towards us, they result in grand and terrifying catastrophes. It will happen again but we hope not soon.
Graeme Addison lives in Parys and is writing a popular scientific book about the Vredefort impactor. He is the author of The Hidden Edge: South Africas Quest for Innovation, and White Water: the Worlds Wildest Rivers.
This article originally appears in the March issue of the South African edition of Popular Mechanics
Worried About Asteroid-Ocean Impacts? Don't Sweat The Small Stuff
The idea that even small asteroids can create hazardous tsunamis may at last be pretty well washed up.
Small asteroids do not make great ocean waves that will devastate coastal areas for miles inland, according to both a recently released 1968 U.S. Naval Research report on explosion-generated tsunamis and terrestrial evidence.
University of Arizona planetary scientist H. Jay Melosh is talking about it today (March 17) at the 34th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in League City, Texas. His talk, "Impact-Generated Tsunamis: an Over-Rated Hazard," is part of the session, "Poking Holes: Terrestrial Impacts."
Given all life's worries, new evidence that asteroids smaller than a kilometer in diameter won't generate catastrophic tsunamis is welcome news, and not only for coast dwellers. It will save taxpayers the cost of financing searches for small Earth-approaching asteroids, a savings of billions of dollars, Melosh said.
(The current NASA-funded effort to search and map truly hazardous Earth-approaching asteroids -- those one kilometer or larger in diameter -- is now half done and on track to be finished by the end of the decade, Melosh noted. NASA funds NEAT, LINEAR and the UA Spacewatch programs in this effort.)
The idea that asteroids as small as 100 meters across pose a serious threat to humanity because they create great, destructive ocean waves, or tsunamis, every few hundred years was suggested in 1993 at a UA-hosted asteroids hazards meeting in Tucson.
At that meeting, a distinguished Leiden Observatory astrophysicist named J. Mayo Greenberg, who since has died, countered that people living below sea level in the Netherlands for the past millennium had not experienced such tsunamis every 250 years as the theory predicted, Melosh noted.
But scientists at the time either didn't follow up or they didn't listen, Melosh added.
While on sabbatical in Amsterdam in 1996, Melosh checked with Dutch geologists who had drilled to basement rock in the Rhine River delta, a geologic record of the past 10,000 years. That record shows only one large tsunami at 7,000 years ago, the Dutch scientists said, but it coincides perfectly in time to a giant landslide off the coast of Norway and is not the result of an asteroid-ocean impact.
In addition, Melosh was highly skeptical of estimates that project small asteroids will generate waves that grow to a thousand meters or higher in a 4,000-meter deep ocean.
Concerned that such doubtful information was -- and is -- being used to justify proposed science projects, Melosh has argued that the hazard of small asteroid-ocean impacts is greatly exaggerated.
Melosh mentioned it at a seminar he gave at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography a few years ago, which is where he met tsunami expert William Van Dorn.
Van Dorn, who lives in San Diego, had been commissioned in 1968 by the U.S. Office of Naval Research to summarize several decades of research into the hazard posed by waves generated by nuclear explosions. The research included 1965-66 experiments that measured wave run-up from blasts of up to 10,000 pounds of TNT in Mono Lake, Calif.
The experiments indeed proved that wave run-up from explosion waves produced either by bombs or bolides (meteors) is much smaller relative to run-up of tsunami waves, Van Dorn said in the report. "As most of the energy is dissipated before the waves reach the shoreline, it is evident that no catastrophe of damage by flooding can result from explosion waves as initially feared," he concluded.
The discovery that explosion waves or large impact-generated waves will break on the outer continental shelf and produce little onshore damage is a phenomenon known in the defense community as the "Van Dorn effect."
But Van Dorn was not authorized to release his 173-page report when he and Melosh met in 1995.
Melosh, UA planetary sciences alumnus Bill Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute and others agreed at a science conference last September that they needed to find the report.
Bottke found the title - "Handbook of Explosion-Generated Water Waves" - in a Google search.
Given a title, UA science librarian Lori Critz then discovered that the report had been published and added to the University California San Diego library collection in March 2002. Bottke also tracked it down, and had the report by the time Melosh requested it by interlibrary loan. Both made several photocopies.
Melosh said, "I since found out it was actually read into the Congressional Record as part of the MX Missile controversy."
Melosh, a professor in the UA planetary sciences department and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, is well known for his work in theoretical geophysics and planetary surfaces. His principal research interests are impact cratering, planetary tectonics, and the physics of earthquakes and landslides. His recent research has focused on studies of the giant impact origin of the moon, the K/T boundary impact that extinguished the dinosaurs, the ejection of rocks from their parent bodies, and the breakup and collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. Melosh also is active in astrobiological studies that relate chiefly to the exchange of microorganisms between the terrestrial planets.
Melosh earned his doctorate from Caltech in 1973 and joined the UA faculty in 1982. He is on the 12-member science team for Deep Impact, a $279 million robotic mission that will become the first to penetrate the surface of a comet when it smashes its camera-carrying copper probe into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005.
Yup. I saw that. I think it was in the Canary Islands.
NASA Johnson Space Center (Image STS008-35-1296)
From high altitude these hills bear a strong resemblance to the larger, near-circular ring of hills north-east of Vredefort, whose northern side, the Magaliesberg hills, cuts through Pretoria (letter "P") and whose southern side, the "Witwatersrand" ridge, cuts through Johannesburg (letter "J"). These surround the uplifted area known as the "Johannesburg Dome". The white dots running in a band along the Witwatersrand are not clouds, they are the waste dumps from the gold mines along the south side of the Witwatersrand. West of Johannesburg and due north of Vredefort can be seen the gold mine dumps of Carletonville. The gold mines of Klerksdorp and Welkom lie north-west and south-west of Vredefort, and their dumps are also easily seen. Is this half ring of gold mines around Vredefort a coincidence?
NASA Johnson Space Center (Image STS51I-33-56AA)
Pictured above is a higher resolution view of the Vredefort hills from space. The Vaal river meanders through the hills, flowing from north-east (upper left) to west (centre right). Parys (the Paris of South Africa!) lies on the loop of the river protruding within the ring of hills. Vredefort is close to the geometric center of the hills.
Only the north western half of the structure remains visible. The south eastern half was flooded by the sediments of the Karoo Supergroup, which cover the Free State province.
The same rock layers seen in the Witwatersrand are found in the Vredefort dome hills, but here they are found standing nearly vertically - the result of extreme upliftment.
Evidence has been found by geologists that the cause of this upliftment was an extreme impact event, caused by an asteroid some 10 kilometres in diameter. The ring of hills we see now are the eroded remains of a dome created by the rebound of the rock below the impact site after the asteroid hit. The original crater, now eroded away, is estimated to have been 250 - 300 kilometres in diameter. Some 70 cubic kilometres of rock would have been vaporised in the impact.
The Vredefort structure is currently regarded the biggest and oldest clearly visible impact structure on Earth. It just beats the Sudbury impact structure in Canada for this ranking. The Sudbury structure is some 200 km in diameter and is estimated to be 1.85 billion years old.
Evidence for four impacts even older than than Vredefort, that occurred 3.2 to 3.5 billion years ago, has been found in the greenstone rocks around Barberton in South Africa and corresponding rocks in the eastern Pilbara block of Western Australia. However, these impacts are no longer recognizable as structures on the surface like Vredefort's.
NASA Lunar Orbiter image
The central mountains in the 85 kilometre diameter lunar crater Tycho show what the Vredefort dome is the remains of - the central rebound peak, NOT the crater itself, which at Vredefort has long since eroded away. The erosion processes occuring on Earth are of course missing on the Moon, hence the "as new" appearance of Tycho.
What is the evidence for the impact at Vredefort?
The pictures below tell some of the story.
Within the ring of hills at Vredefort is found granitic gneiss rock - as in the Johannesburg Dome - which is dated at some 3200 million years old. Here a quarry at Leeuwkop near Parys reveals one of the indicators of the impact. The image above left shows the cut surface of the rock. The pale and medium greys on the left are the natural colours of the granite. But from the centre to the right edge is a wide dark grey band containing large and small fragments of the granite. This is "pseudotachylitic brecchia" - the dark grey is granite that was melted by the impact and flowed, carrying chunks of unmelted granite within the melt. The vertical face seen here is two to three metres in height.
The image above right is of a nearly horizontal exposure of pseudotachylite at the quarry. The width of the band is about one metre. Similar rock is found at elsewhere, in geological faults where rocks move against each other and melt at the interface, but this produces a melt band that is centimetres rather than metres wide as seen here.
The basement granite exposed within the ring of hills is estimated to have been seven to ten kilometres beneath the surface when the impact occurred, which is dated at 2000 million years ago. The date was established from zircon crystals found in the pseudotachylite and granophyre (below), and, more precisely, is 2023 +- 5 million years. All the covering rock has since been removed by erosion. Later the south-east part was covered by much younger Karroo rock formations.
The picture above left shows one of the dykes located close to the centre of the impact, at Daskop. Its width at the surface is about three metres, but it is hundreds of metres long where it is exposed here.
The boulder in the dyke shown above right shows the small, fractured inclusions of unmelted rock that are typically 1 - 3 cm in size. This is much smaller than the rocks embedded in the pseudotachylite at the quarry, which are up to metres in size. The small inclusions may have come from considerable distances - tens of kilometres away.
These rocks have also been the target of graffiti artists - in this case San hunters perhaps 2000 years ago. Shown above left is an engraved hippopotamus.
Pictured above right is an equally accurate engraving of a rhinoceros. Less obvious is the eland, the largest antelope, engraved inverted (from this perspective) in front of the rhino. It shows up more clearly in the large version of this image.
Another signature of an impact is left by the passage of shockwaves through the underlying rock. This produces fractures with a characteristic "fir tree" pattern. In this particularly clear example found next to the Vaal river at Schoemansdrif, the shock wave passed through from upper left to lower right.
The view above left is a panorama over the Vaal river. It was taken facing west, at Schurwedraai. The next ring of hills forms the horizon.
The rocks at the site where the photograph of the river was taken at Schurwedraai are quite different to the basement granite, but also show dark grey veins of pseudotachylite - melted rock. The pen gives the scale in the picture on the right.
This ring of hills comprises quartz conglomerates as found in the gold-bearing strata of the Witwatersrand reefs. The white quartz pebbles are evident. This was once the bed of a fast flowing water course which deposited grains of quartz and the pebbles. This area was mined for gold in the 1880's. However the concentration of gold was much poorer than at Johannesburg, and the diggings were soon abandoned. Old mine adits are still to be seen in the hills. This is the Amazon Reef.
The outermost ring of hills was home to a quite different group of people in the 1500's to 1700's. These were SeSotho/SeTswana-speaking farmers. This village at Askoppies was a defensive position on the crest of the hill, but it did not save the village from destruction, by the warriors of Mzilikazi. The view shown above left looks east, back in towards the inner rings of the Vredefort dome.
The stone walls of the village are shown above right. They are made of the fine-grained grey Ventersdorp lavas that comprise this ridge. These rocks are 2700 million years old.
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JapanesePod101 Review 0
If you're looking for a way to learn Japanese online, you've probably come across JapanesePod101.
JapanesePod101 is a giant of online Japanese lessons. They've been around for years, and they've delivered literally millions of Japanese lessons!
But can they help you learn Japanese? Let's have a look. Here's my honest review of JapanesePod101, plus a sneak look inside the premium members area!
What is JapanesePod101?
JapanesePod101 started out many years ago as Japanese language learning podcasts.
Now, their lessons are still based around a podcast format, but there are SO many extras on their site. If you only listen to the podcast tracks though iTunes, you're missing out!
JapanesePod101 is now a huge language learning hub of video lessons, grammar lessons, quizzes, flashcards, printables, chance to interact with Japanese teachers and other students, as well as their traditional audio lessons.
JapanesePod101 is free to join. You can access all the newest lessons for free, forever. They also have various paid membership options, with a lot more benefits and materials.
Inside JapansePod101 Premium account
I am a Premium (paid) member of JapanesePod101 myself, so let's have a look inside the membership area at some of the premium features.
When I first started using JapanesePod101 several years ago, the main drawback was that it was hard to navigate. There's just so much material on there, it's hard to know where to start.
One feature that helps you choose your way is the 'lesson paths' section.
The 'lesson paths' show you a recommended course of lessons based on your goals and needs. Are you learning Japanese for a trip to Japan? Do you need to know it for business? Are you preparing for the JLPT exam? Or do you just study Japanese for fun? ?
You can choose the best lesson path for you at one of these four levels:
- Absolute beginner
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Let's take a look at one of the suggested lesson paths for beginners:
Before You Travel: Survival Phrases
This is a selection of 100 lessons teaching you everything a beginner could need to know before going to Japan.
There are 100 lessons in this series, but you don't have to take all of them! They're arranged in order from the most basic and useful (how to say please and thank you), up to tricker situations (such as how to buy a pre-paid cell phone).
You can tackle the lessons in any order you want. You don't have to start from 1, if you already know the basics.
Tap the big orange button at the top to add the course to your dashboard. This means you can find it easily the next time you log in. You can have several courses or lesson paths saved to your dashboard at one time.
What are the lessons like on JapanesePod101?
Each lesson on JapansePod101 is based around an audio track. The audio lessons are 5-20 minutes long, depending on the level. They usually teach a short dialogue in Japanese. Then they explain the new words and grammar points in the dialogue.
On the website, you can see lesson notes, a transcript of the dialogue, and lots of interactive features to help study the new words and phrases.
Let's go into one of the lessons in our beginner path, Before You Travel: Survival Phrases, and have a look.
This lesson teaches you how to shop for souvenirs. Each lesson has a really slick interface. Those little buttons you see at the top have a load of useful functions. You can mark the lesson as complete, mark it as a favourite, add a note, download a pdf of lesson notes, or download the audio track.
Below you have the transcript for the main audio track. You can click on those tabs to switch between kanji, hiragana, romaji and English. So you can practise reading along, whatever your level! This is a really nice feature that I like a lot.
You can replay the dialogue line by line, so you can really take your time to listen, read, repeat until you've memorised it.
They also have this fun voice recorder function! I think this is great. You hear the native speaker on the audio saying a phrase, and then you record yourself saying the same thing. You can replay both tracks at the same time to hear the differences! This is such a great feature to improve your pronunciation and I'm really impressed with it.
Below, you can see all the new vocabulary words from the lesson. Again, you can replay one by one and you can try the voice recorder function to improve your pronunciation. You can also replay at half speed to get any tricky words. You might be able to see the little tabs on the right. They show you example sentences using your new words. When you see a word in a sentence, I think it really helps you understand how to use it.
You can add any of the new words to a flashcard deck or a quiz to test your memory.
There are also grammar notes and explanations of any new language points.
What can I learn on JapanesePod101?
JapanesePod101 covers absolutely anything you could want to learn in Japanese. There are courses for travelling, business, dating, living in Japan, doing a homestay, studying in Japan, and more. And of course, you don't need to study for a particular reason. There are general pathways too.
There are also courses for JLPT levels N5, N4, N3 and N2.
JapanesePod101 also has a load of extra resources, which are not linked to any particular lesson!
Here are some of the best bonus resources:
- Cheat sheets pdfs. These are fun downloadable pdfs full of pictures and words around different topics. These are perfect for printing out and taking with you when travelling in Japan. They are all kinds of topics relevant to every day life, from school to dating! (Actually, these pdfs are available free to anyone. You don't have to have a subscription to access. Check them out for free here.)
- Free ebooks. JapanesePod101 has produced a number of ebooks to help with specific aspects of Japanese. Some are free, and some you have to buy separately. Check out the free kanji ebook here.)
- Hiragana and katakana writing practise worksheets
- Grammar bank. Is there a particular grammar point that's been bugging you lately? Search the bank and find a full explanation, with examples. You can also browse by JLPT level.
- Videos. The video series are also great. JapanesePod101 even have their own mini J-drama! You can watch the videos, and then of course read along and learn new words with the full transcripts underneath each video, the same as the audio lessons.
JapanesePod101: what's good?
There's a lot to love about JapanesePod101. Here are some of the main advantages:
- Range of lessons. There are literally thousands of lessons, so you're bound to find something interesting at your level.
- Community. JapanesePod101 has a lot of students all over the world. There is a good sense of community and the teachers are really involved with the students. You can leave a comment at the end of any lesson, like a blog post, and one of the teachers will get back to you and answer any questions.
- Fun. JapanesePod101 has a sense of humour! The teachers are always energetic and funny. You will learn jokes in Japanese and enjoy the lessons.
- Up to date. JapanesePod101 talk a lot about current Japanese culture and slang. You will learn more about 'real Japan' than studying from a textbook.
- Learning methods. With podcasts, online lessons, an app, a YouTube channel, ebooks and more, you can learn in the format that helps you. This makes it easy to learn on the go and stick with your lessons, even on busy days.
JapanesePod101: what's bad?
Here are some of the cons to studying with JapanesePod101:
- Too much information! It can be difficult to know how to navigate JapanesePod101. There is just too much available on their site, and sometimes it's not well organised. It's easy to miss some of the great features (for example, I only discovered the video dramas while researching this review!)
- Aggressive marketing. Once you become a free member, they will email you a lot asking you to upgrade your membership. You don't have to – you really do get a free lifetime account, with access to loads to features, without paying a penny! But the upsell can get a bit annoying. (Hint: don't pay full price straight away. JapanesePod101 have frequent sales. They'll email you a discount code if you wait a few days. Also, you can turn off marketing emails in your member section.)
- Subscription model. The pay-monthly model means that if you stop studying and forget to cancel, you'll waste money. It's much more cost effective to pay for 1 or 2 years up front. I wish there was a lifetime membership option though.
How much does JapanesePod101 cost?
JapanesePod101 works on a subscription model. This means you pay per month for access to the site. They have a number of different payment options, depending on the level of access.
You can pay monthly, or pay for 3, 6, 12 or 24 months in advance. The longer the period, the cheaper it will be!
I recommend always buying a 24 month subscription if you can, because it will work out a lot cheaper per month.
The best way to compare prices and plans is to check this chart.
JapanesePod101 free account
JapanesePod101 often advertises that you can learn Japanese for free. So, what exactly do you get with a free account? And if you can really learn Japanese for free, why would anyone pay for premium membership?
Well, JapanesePod101 releases 3 to 5 new audio and video lessons each week. These new lessons are completely free to all users. They remain free for 3 weeks.
Then, they go into the archives. Paying members can access the archives and listen to any lesson whenever they want. But free members can only listen to the last 3 weeks of lessons.
So, if you just study each lesson as soon as it comes out, maybe the free plan is enough for you.
If you sometimes take breaks from studying, or you want to study more quickly than new lessons are published, you might want to pay to access the full library of lessons, and study at your own pace.
Free members also get a lot of other benefits, such as free word of the day emails, and free word lists for special occasions such as holidays.
Here's the full list of what you get for free:
- New audio and video lessons every week – 3-5 new, free lessons a week
- The first 3 lessons of every single series – 100+ lessons in total
- New Daily Dose of Japanese lessons – a new free lesson every day
- Japanese Word of the Day lessons – a new free lesson every day
- Throwback Thursday lessons – a free random lesson every Thursday
- The Innovative Language 101 App for the Android, iPhone and iPad
- The 100 Most Common Words List to get a head-start on learning vocabulary
- Vocabulary and phrase lists for topics, themes and holidays
- Bonus resources and mobile apps in the Japanese resources section
And here's more information from JapanesePod101 themselves, talking about what free membership includes.
JapanesePod101 basic vs premium
If you decide to pay for JapanesePod101, you have a choice: Basic, Premium or Premium Plus membership. You can see a full breakdown of what's available at each level here.
Basic membership gives you full access to the audio and video lesson archives, plus basic lesson notes.
The full audio transcripts, line-by-line playback, and pronunciation tools that we saw above are only available to Premium members.
Premium Plus membership gives you full access to absolutely everything on the site, plus one-on-one contact with a personal Japanese tutor! You get unique lesson plans designed just for you, and you can send over your questions any time you want. It's the most expensive of JapanesePod101's services, but it's still a steal compared to paying for most personal tutors.
What is the JapanesePod101 $1 offer?
Straight after signing up as a new user, you will have the chance to try premium for 1 month for $1. You can also get a free Japanese ebook of your choice from their shop.
I think this is a really great offer for the value of the free book alone!
All users get 7 days to try out premium for free without the $1 offer, but if you don't have much free time, the 1 month offer gives you a lot more time to explore the site before making a decision.
After the month is up, your $1 membership will automatically turn into a $25 membership UNLESS you unsubscribe. So be careful! If you don't want to pay the full price, remember to cancel your subscription. You can do that at any time in your account area.
Even if you do want to continue your subscription, remember that it's cheaper to pay for 12 or 24 months in advance, instead of $25 monthly.
The $1 offer only appears once. If you don't sign up when you get the chance, you're out of luck.
Is JapanesePod101 worth it?
I've used JapanesePod101 for years, and I can say yes – for me it's worth it.
JapanesePod101 is a genuine site with thousands of hours of lessons, and lots of other helpful resources.
For me, I love studying with podcasts because it's the easiest way to fit Japanese into my day. I listen to podcasts on my way to work and when I'm walking somewhere. Then, I come back and study the PDF lesson notes at home when I've got time.
Even on busy days, it's really easy to fit in a 20 minute audio track from JapanesePod101.
I also love the searchable grammar bank. I used this a lot when I was preparing for my JLPT exams.
The price of JapanesePod101 varies a lot, depending on the length of subscription, and if you use any coupon codes! I have usually used a coupon code and bought the longest subscription available. This gets the cost down to less than $5 per month. Personally, I think this is amazing value, compared to the cost of taking classes or private lessons.
You can sign up for your own free lifetime membership account here.
Have you used JapanesePod101? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!


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- gingerkitten
- 5 years ago
- Wedding: April 2014 - Italian Villa
Okay, so I just read another bride's thread about a destination wedding crasher, which reminded me that we've got one, too.
Fiance is an online gamer and has been since before we met. He has a group of friends whom he socializes with on the internet regularly while playing games, but whom he has never met in real life. One of his internet friends has started talking about coming to our wedding in Italy. I know he isn't kidding, because he has mentioned it repeatedly and he makes a lot of money, so traveling to Italy is not something he needs to even pause and consider financially.
If we were having a big fat wedding with a ton of people, I would absolutely welcome him (and potentially his girlfriend, though she hasn't been mentioned in this context yet). But the reality is that it is going to be a VERY intimate wedding and wedding week (group tours, etc) that will include 30 people or less, and everyone that is coming is very close to us (family, best friends). I just feel like it would be really awkward to have him around, and even potentially disaterous (who knows what this guy may do or say?).
Fiance has been talking like he wants the internet friend to be there, but I am (obviously) not so sure. Considering how close we are to eveyone else, won't it be odd to have him there? I feel like our wedding isn't the time or place to meet for the first time. I'm not even sure why he would want to come.
I need your thoughts on this! Am I being crazy, or is FI? I don't think he'll just show up if we ask him not to, but I want to be sure about our decision of whether or not to invite him before Fiance says anything to him. I am also mildly concerned about this spiraling and other online friends wanting to come, too.