text:
Agnes will be missed
Re: Your Nov. 29 front-page article about the loss of Agnes Diggs.
I truly enjoyed her column and looked forward to seeing it often. My mom and I would discuss her opinions and laugh. I am sure Agnes is pleased, looking down from heaven (with her mom), knowing she not only made the front page, but also above the fold! God only picks the prettiest flowers for his own garden.
She'll be missed.
'Duke' is a traitor
As a retired Air Force/Air Force Reserve pilot I was shocked to hear of "Duke's" ethics problems last May.
Now, after reviewing this astounding list of greed, I am outraged. He has used his military position to engender our trust, besmirching the honor of all military officers.
Duke used his trust to give out secret intelligence contracts to companies whose most compelling qualification was how much they could pay him. His plea agreement has left the judge with a maximum sentence of 10 years. His crime of selecting questionable contractors during a war may have caused the death of our soldiers, something we will never know, as this is secret.
This man is a traitor and no punishment could be strong enough, not even his 1992 quote that "the liberal leadership of the House should be lined up and shot." I would consider that a lenient punishment for his traitorous behavior.
Moral majority isn't moral
Re: "Cunningham resigns, admitting bribery, tax evasion," Nov. 29. Isn't it enough to be against gay marriage and be one of the sponsors of the federal marriage amendment in order to be moral? And all this time I thought we were judged on what we do, not on what we are against. The moral majority again is obviously neither.
RAY McCLOSKEY
Charge Cunningham for election
I agree with several readers: Investigate and go after the contractors and others involved in this bribery. Why, after all, would Randy Cunningham suddenly fold after months of adamant protestations of innocence and insistence that he stay on his committees? Is he protecting someone else? Many someone elses? I think we need to open this can of worms wide open and start getting the corrupt, dishonest and self-serving out of our representative government.
Also, I find I'm angry that Cunningham didn't resign when first asked. After all, we just had an expensive special election and his successor could already be getting to work at little extra cost to the public.
I seriously suggest that the state have Cunningham pay for the special election to replace him, due to his egregious choice to continue his deception.
No more business as usual
After such a disgraceful performance by our current representative in Congress, the voters of the 50th District have a unique opportunity to look beyond party affiliation and elect a woman, Francine Busby, of impeccable integrity. We especially need to show our young people that we will not tolerate more business as usual from career politicians.
Solana Beach
Too bad for Cunningham
It was a great joy to see one of the crooks fall. Now, all that is needed is to get Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa to follow suit. I have written these so-called honorable congressmen about how the Department of Labor, under both the Clinton and Bush administrations, failed to investigate the U.S. Department of Labor for the violation of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act by the secretary of labor.
Claims examiners violate the Federal Employees' Compensation Act in order to get the federal injured worker off the federal payroll in receiving workers' compensation.
Statement about violations were given in testimony before a House of Representatives subcommittee on government reform and oversight on July 6, 1998. Now, Congressman Cunningham is crying the blues — so bad. But what about all the federal injured employees who have been abused by the federal government's Department of Labor violating the very essence of sovereignty of the Federal Compensation Act?
Agnes' positive mind-set will be missed
I was saddened to read about Agnes Diggs' death. Just from reading her short columns, I could tell she had a very positive mind-set and her stories were always uplifting. She obviously left a legacy I'm sure she would be proud of. She's beaming in heaven now hearing "well done, good and faithful servant."
Congratulations to Mayor Dan Dalager for his courage to stand up to a vocal minority who demand tolerance but seldom practice it ("Name change of city parade causes strife," Nov. 27). I can't wait to see the Encinitas Christmas Parade. The citizens of Encinitas should be very proud of their mayor for making this stand and taking the responsibility for it. Our family fully supports his decision. Merry Christmas, Mayor.
Political scandals
When I see the political scandals being exposed almost daily by the learned press and read further the wringing of hands and professed bewilderment by their constituents, I say, huh? I am reminded of a quote in Finley Peter Dunne's "Mr. Dooley's Philosophy": "Thrust ivrybody — but cut th' ca-ards."
We have long ago stopped cutting the cards. We have allowed the dealers to knowingly use a stacked deck and set their own rules for the game. When one of them gets caught dealing from the bottom of the deck and is forced to plead guilty, statements of how brave he/she was to admit it and what a hero he/she used to be are quickly issued so as to somehow mollify the apathy in allowing it to happen in the first place. Stating the wonderful things a criminal has done for their district smacks of Capone or Gotti worship.
It is time to clean up the game. We need to stop calling the perpetrators heroes or good family men and start calling them criminals. We need to stop calling corruption fighters whistle-blowers and start calling them courageous. We need to stop voting Democratic or Republican and start voting intelligently.
San Marcos
What should we call Christmas lights?
I was just wondering what we should call the lights that we just spent several days putting up on our house. We used to call them Christmas lights. But now I understand it's not Christmas. You're not supposed to say "Merry Christmas"; you say "Happy Holidays." Well — what holiday is it?
I don't know how most of you feel, but I think I'm going to just go ahead and call them Christmas lights. It may seem a little old-fashioned, but I'm a little old-fashioned, and I just might dress up like Santa Claus and hand out some candy canes. So have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
San Marcos
What are we celebrating on Dec. 25?
I'm writing this letter to the editor of the North County Times in hopes that someone will reply to it and explain to me just what we, as a nation, are celebrating on Dec. 25. It's obvious we're celebrating something.
The date has the distinction of being a designated federal holiday. There is an absolute explosion of retail sales. In fact, most retailers say it's the most important holiday of the year. Neighbors adorn their homes inside and out with lights and various decorations.
All public schools close for two weeks. Parties and community gatherings are everywhere. What would possess a nation of nearly 300 million people to place such importance on this date? Could it be that mythical jolly old elf Santa Claus? Could it be a celebration of the winter solstice? I don't think so.
So what is it? We have traditionally called this date Christmas, and it was the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ — thus the name. But now we're being told by various levels of government and other politically correct individuals that to even say the word "Christmas" in public or to print the word in any publication is to be insensitive and even offensive.
So again, I ask, just what are we, as a nation, celebrating on Dec. 25?
Encinitas mayor has Oceanside resident's vote
I am backing the Encinitas mayor, and I live in Oceanside ("Name change of city parade causes strife," Nov. 27). I am so glad to hear people are putting the word "Christmas" back in the holiday celebration. Christmas has, unfortunately, become a word and a celebration that is easily being cast aside or replaced or removed unnecessarily. Christmas carols, Christmas trees, Christmas lights. Christmas.
The retail stores need to realize I don't shop for holiday gifts, I shop for Christmas gifts. If I lived in Encinitas the mayor would have my vote. Keep up the good work.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Give back real meaning of Christmas
Many thanks to both Mayor Dan Dalagar and Mark Thornhill for standing up for our rights as Christians, claiming what is ours. Christians are fed up with the gross hypocrisy demonstrated by readers like Carol Kissin (Letters, Nov. 27), and retailers as they use our Christmas for profit and denying the real meaning of our celebrating Christmas. Read "The War on Christmas" released by John Gibson of Fox News. It's an eye-opener on how the push toward a neutered holiday season is so strong that the goal of the secularists is not to offend non-Christians, and to alter the meaning of Christmas.
Excuse me, but I would not think of changing Hanukkah to something else.
Years ago I remembered countless trips to department stores that displayed a manger scene and no lawsuits were ever filed. Look at the definition of "offend" and, in all honesty, ask yourself, does this really make sense? If one atheist man can fight to take the word "God" out of our pledge and succeed, then we Christians can build an alliance and join the American Family Association to put an end to this nonsense holiday business. Give us back our Christmas and allow the real meaning of this celebration to soften hardened, unbelieving hearts.
Winterfest instead of Christmas
I see in the paper (Nov. 28) that the Vista City Council has decided that Vista will celebrate a Winterfest instead of Christmas. We will have a holiday parade instead of a Christmas parade, and we will have a tree-lighting ceremony, just a tree, not a Christmas tree. I wonder if they will light a maple or an elm tree? If I remember correctly we always had a Christmas holiday season, with a Christmas parade and Christmas tree.
Congress made Christmas a national holiday in 1870, 135 years ago. Now, because the City Council has no backbone, the majority of the people can no longer celebrate our cultural heritage.
Someone might be offended by a Christmas celebration. I do not know of any law, rule or regulation that gives anyone the right or expectation not to be offended.
If someone is offended they do not have to attend, but don't deny the rest of us the right to celebrate our culture. Our politicians want to celebrate diversity and multiculturalism, but they refuse to celebrate our cultural heritage.
Holiday or Christmas
The word "holiday" comes from the Middle English meaning "holy day." As a Christian, I understand this to be the season of Advent, waiting for the miracle of Christmas. These are holy days to me. They are holy, too, for the Muslims with Ramadan and the Jews with Hanukkah.
Recalling the words of an old carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," do you know when those days are? Most sources say from sometime around Dec. 25 until Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany or the Three Kings or Little Christmas. Whatever you choose to call it, it took the wise men about 12 days to reach the stable and then they presented their gifts.
Why don't we practice being true Christians and take the greetings in the spirit they are intended with goodwill and peace to all?
Christmas parade
Absolutely disgraceful for Mayor Dan Dalager to arrogantly rename the Holiday Parade. He invokes Christianity while sending a slap in the face to anyone who doesn't meet his personal standards for religious worship. Silence is acceptance, and the City Council has been silent.
We are watching and waiting for the city to fight this blatant discrimination. Will Encinitas stand for tolerance or bigotry? A dark day for the city if this moment slips by without standing by all faiths, all beliefs and all citizens. The damage done by the so-called Christmas Parade will go on long after the lights have dimmed.
Anti-Christian bias
Anti-Christian bias is on display at the Christmas season more than any other time of the year. No manger scenes, no music with the words "baby Jesus," not even the words "Merry Christmas." Anything that has to do with the reason for the season has been removed. Atheists aren't the only ones shopping in stores. If most of the stores want to use "holiday" in their advertising, then my question is — what holiday?
If they aren't recognizing that the holiday is Christmas, then why don't they just stay open on all Christian holidays? We are spreading the word not to shop in stores that won't use the words "Merry Christmas" in their advertising or allow their employees to even greet their shoppers with a "Have a Merry Christmas." They obviously only cater to the atheists and liberals, so don't expect us to shop in your stores. If it offends those who have come here from other countries, they need to deal with it and not expect our country to change to their religion. We all need to be more tolerant.
Our military have to honor certain rules regarding religious beliefs when they are in other countries. They should honor ours when they come to our country and not expect us to change it.
Ackerman has best interests of kids at heart
This letter is in response to Gene Vitamanti's Nov. 11 letter, wherein he claims my husband, Richard Ackerman, was unethical and malicious during the school board campaign.
Rich never took down anyone else's signs, never altered campaign material and never distributed negative material about opponents. He stuck to the issues. Rich simply didn't have union backing.
Vitamanti references bigotry and intolerance. To the contrary, Rich has always been ethical, hard-working and full of integrity. He is a wonderful father and compassionate to others regardless of their beliefs. Yes, he sued districts when they wronged a child or took parental rights away. However, he hasn't earned his living this way because these cases were pro bono. Most cases were won and the defendants held accountable. And yes, he is a conservative who is both a Christian and Republican. It is these characteristics Mr. Vitamanti can't tolerate.
Vitamanti isn't too tolerant of someone who believes in something higher than oneself, someone who adheres to traditional values, or someone who might be registered to a different political party. Mr. Vitamanti stuck to his word when he indicated early in Robin Crist's campaign that they were going to attack Rich. I just can't believe he still attacked him after the election.
Mr. Vitamanti can think that Murrietans are proud of the outcome of the election. I doubt that will be the case when we are asked for another bond. I am proud to be married to an advocate for our kids.
Dissent, debate critical in a democracy
There is an alarming increase in personal attacks made in letters to the editor. Bob Kowell's letter of Nov. 27, is the latest when he said that "Democrats are the new American al-Qaida." It shows a twisted logic when one equates murdering terrorists with loyal Americans who disagree with him.
We live in a democracy, which means that public debate and political disagreement are implicit. When the party in power suggests that dissent is wrong, that is, in itself, the definition of a totalitarian regime.
I come from a patriotic family with many who have gone to war. My niece is presently serving and has been to Afghanistan and will return there again soon. I pay taxes, vote, support charities and perform volunteer work. And I am an American who disagrees with many of the current national policies. I am a proud Democrat who votes for the person, not the party. Sometimes, I vote for a Republican.
President Bush himself has "been deflecting blame and purposefully blaming others." These words were used by Mr. Kowell in his letter to describe "radical leftists." But, truth be told, these tactics are used by both parties frequently because politics has dissolved into a name-calling contest.
I suggest that everyone, left and right, learn how to live with each other and respect the right to disagree. Name-calling does no good and it alienates those citizens who avoid politics because of the mean-spirited and ugly climate.
City cleans up graffiti fast
As a seven-year Temecula resident I have of course seen many changes in town. Unfortunately that includes the proliferation of graffiti, but I have to commend the city for its very timely response to the several reports I have made regarding the tagging and "artwork" in the area —— within 24 hours!
Thank you very much and keep up the good work, as it is a reflection of our pride in the community of Temecula.


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I'm starting to get very excited for this trip, and im getting very Impatient because I want to go sooner then later...
Over the weekend I was at church to get my baby blessed by my grandmother. There I found out that my church donated $200 towards the trip for my class. They said they didn't even know I was on this trip until they read who was going along. So when I get back from New Zealand I'm going to go back and tell them all about the adventure!!
Its less then a month to go!! Then im up in the air for the first time, off to New Zealand!!! =D
Its super exciting, this will be my first time out of the country, and on a PLANE!!! I'm kinda scared about it, but I think I will be fine. I think its cause of all the scary movies I see, the planes either have crazy animals on the plane OR it just crashes!!
The past couple days this week, since last friday, have been very challenging for me!! STRESSED OUT!!! I have no money for this trip, all my funds go towards my rent, bills, n baby Nehkaiya<3..... So I will be going to new zealand, and not coming back with anything, Heres the Grestest Part Yet! My school Hooked me up with a job @ City Centre Bingo, I'm working part time as a supervisor at the concession stand, So whatever money I will be making here will be sent to my school where they keep the money till the trip!! SO I CAN BRING MY FAMILY GIFTS!!! That makes me happy..... But man, its hard going to school full time 9-3, then weekends working from 6pm-2am, the last time i worked they kept me working till the job was done and the SUPERVISOR has alot to do (counting money, & invintory(EVERY NIGHT)). So its a big bump in the road, which i have to do if I want to bring back gifts. I want this so bad, I think its a HUGE opportunity that only comes once in a blue moon! So im working damn hard for this trip......... So please all I want is a little slack

subset: commoncrawl


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Umpire McClelland gets rare mound work
Calls balls and strikes from behind pitcher after home plate umpire injured
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
PHOENIX -- From the "only in Spring Training" department, the Angels and Brewers briefly played Tuesday without a home plate umpire.
Seth Buckminster suffered a broken bone in his left hand when he was struck by a Wily Peralta pitch that deflected off Angels star Albert Pujols with two outs in the top of the first inning. Buckminster was tended to by a Brewers athletic trainer and left the field immediately, along with another ump, Anthony Johnson, who quickly changed into Buckminster's gear.
In the meantime, veteran umpires Tim McClelland and Jim Joyce covered all of the bases, with Joyce stationed at first base and McClelland behind the pitcher's mound calling balls and strikes.
"Just keep it moving," McClelland said. "We didn't want people to sit. Both managers agreed to it, and I knew it wasn't going to be long. This way we didn't have to sit and could keep the game going."
It made for a strange scene, but Peralta induced an inning-ending groundout from Josh Hamilton, and Angels starter Jason Vargas took over in the bottom of the first.
"I don't remember the last time I was pitching like that -- probably Little League when I was, like, 13 years old," said the Dominican-born Peralta. "It just forgot about it and [focused on] the hitters. It felt a little weird when he called, 'Ball!' behind me. It was like, 'Oh, God!'"
Three batters into the bottom of the inning, after Rickie Weeks' two-run home run put the Brewers on top 2-0, and with a 1-and-2 count on Ryan Braun, Johnson came running back onto the field to applause and took his position behind the plate. The game proceeded with a three-man crew.
"I've never done that before," said Vargas, who surrendered the homer to Weeks on a 1-and-1 pitch. "I only had to do it for one or two hitters. It wasn't that big of a deal. Make adjustments, I guess."
Brewers games have been hazardous for umpires this week. On Monday, the Brewers-Indians game in Goodyear, Ariz., was delayed for 12 minutes in the fourth inning when Indians slugger Mark Reynolds struck plate umpire Patrick Mahoney on the head with his follow-through on a swing. Mahoney left the game, but play was suspended while a replacement donned his gear.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke praised Tuesday's crew for handling the situation differently. He said he tried convincing Monday's crew to do the same.
"You get a great view from back there, you really do," Roenicke said. "It's almost better than behind the plate. We used to do it all the time in the Minor Leagues. I think it's important, because you've got a pitcher out there, and if you can do it, keep it going."
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Just hit 2 million on GPUGrid myself. Very close to a million on aqua. Come on Phenom go!
Hit 600k points in F@H, and broke into the Team Egg Roll Top 150. I'm fairly happy with that.
e: and 50k points later, I just handed in my 1,000th work unit.
I just hit a milestone that I thought would always be out of my reach!
Overall Rank : 212 of 2,125,039
Percentile : 99.99002%
This was only possible with the help of Nvidia and ATI!
I'm three or four days away from a back-to-the-start milestone.
From my BOINCstats I can see that I'm only a few days away from reaching my all time combined BOINC high of 3127th, which was reached on 2007-04-21. Four years later, having slipped to somewhere in the region of 10,000th, I'm almost back to where I was.
All I need now is to find a little bit more power from somewhere to make top 1000 by RAC. Think it might be time for my sister to get an Athlon X2 I have kicking about...
I was at 3136th at last daily update on BOINCstats. I'm up 10 since the last daily update - so I've reached 3126th! All time high!
Just realized I passed 50M overall in BOINC projects. Doesn't mean as much as it once did, but it still makes me happy
In Folding @ Home I have 1 million points, I am in the top 100 of team egg roll, and top 12,000 in F@H.
Hey Jimbo, I just hit #100 in F@H and I am right behind you. Better watch out.
e: Can I ask what your setup is, since I see you're running like 7 clients? I'm running:
- Core i5 760(?), overclocked to 3.075Ghz and running SMP2.
- GTX 460 overclocked to 900/1800Mhz, running GPU3.
- MacBook w/ Core 2 Duo at 2.0Ghz, running SMP.
And I used to be running another Core 2 Duo in my HTPC, but it became too unstable in the summer heat.
I think my sustained rate is usually slightly faster than yours, but it's been a slow week. v0v
Hi Davey
My PC is a AMD dual core 5030e (200 PPD) that I recently bought a GTS 450 for, (9200 PPD) prior to that it ran a HD2600 (500 PPD)
My father runs the same CPU rig as does a good friend, neither with a graphics card.
My wife has a Core Duo laptop. that fills out the 10 CPUs (9 in use)
So I recently went from 1200 PPD to 9600 PPD. Right at the moment I am keeping ahead of you, and if I can get the HD2600 back in a PC, perhaps I can remain so.
http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/ ... =&u=429597
My first GTS 450 had to be RMA'd, so this graph shows my production with and without it.
Aaaaah, I was wondering what caused the trough.
I just passed 200,000,000 cobbles overall.
Just passed the 100 Million mark.......
Almost to 2 million total Cobbles. (1,971,159) I should make it to 2 million within 10 days.
1,000,000,000 cobbles...
Whizbang wrote:
1,000,000,000 cobbles...
Quite a significant milestone and soon to be 12th in the world. Looking above there's more great marks being set by many. Congrats to all!
Just hit 1,000,000 on F@H!
Top 100!!
10 Million in PrimeGrid and 1 Million in NFS. Ya!
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
TOMax wrote:
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
Can't quite match you I have 10 years of SETI@Home.
TOMax wrote:
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
Bernd wrote:
TOMax wrote:
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
Can't quite match you I have 10 years of SETI@Home.
I feel like a noob compared to you guys
Whizbang wrote:
TOMax wrote:
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
Bernd wrote:
TOMax wrote:
12 years crunching for SETI@Home
Can't quite match you I have 10 years of SETI@Home.
I feel like a noob compared to you guys
Don't feel to bad I took 3 years off in the middle at the switch from the Classic SETI science app to BOINC.
I have Just got my help fight Childhood Cancer on WCG. The project ends in about 2 weeks so just in @ the deadline. Am now trying the slip in on the PrimeGrid 321 sieve project that ends on the 22 on April.
Just made it to 25th overall at Wieferich@home! Gonna have to limit production for summer, though.
Just hit 4 million on GPU grid. Nearly 2 million on Aqua.
I am now in rank 69 in Team Egg Roll.
Just hit 2 million in aqua.
Whizbang, congrats on 10th place overall in BOINC total credits!
http://boincstats.com/stats/boinc_user_ ... bo&st=0#10
Just hit the 100 Million cobble mark
Even though I had a bunch of stuff break recently, I broke 40M points in Folding@Home, which ranks me 273rd globally.
I wasn't even paying attention to the fact that I rolled past 25 million the other day. Back in the day that would be impressive. Now with GPU crunching, not so much.
Good news: We passed Team Rage3D to take 21st place in Folding!
Bad news: We have two teams breathing down our neck and significantly outproducing us.
Team Egg Roll passed the 800 million point mark in Folding@Home! We're in 21st place. A bit more firepower and we can challenge AnandTech for a position.
Beyond wrote:
Whizbang, congrats on 10th place overall in BOINC total credits!
http://boincstats.com/stats/boinc_user_ ... bo&st=0#10
And you guys made fun of all those GPUs I bought...
Whizbang wrote:
And you guys made fun of all those GPUs I bought...
This earlier undercover imaginary was taken of Sir Whizbang hauling a few of those impressive GPUs home.
Congrats Sir Whizbang on the milestone!
Agent GleanerC /out
20 Million in PrimeGrid
200 Million Cobbles
Agent GleanerC /out
Hit 2,000,000 in F@H
Looks like I'm down for the summer due to temps. The building I live in has not installed the AC units yet. Temps have been at 90 f day and night in the apt. I an running one CPU core and GPU until all current work is done. Until the end of summer one CPU core is the max I will be running if I get AC. Sorry folks I need to be able to sleep and live in the apt.
Approximately 11 hours and I am done crunching till temps drop in about 5 days. We are supposed to a 25 degree F temp drop for 4 days and then summer returns. Tomorrow the temps are supposed to so high that I will be totally down to avoid melting the CPU as outdoor and room temps will be close to or above 90 F again and my CPU temps will spike above 75C again on max fan speed.
I hope they apartment complex will have the staffing to do AC installs early this week and not next week. Since I am in a multistory apartment complex if you put the AC unit in the window and it falls the liability is on you if staff does it they cover the liability and my Apt is above the car parking lot where every one parks I cant afford to replace a car so I wait. Also I don't wish to squish a kid if I drop it from the 4th floor.


text:
PLANO MOLDING CO/DOSKOCIL Model 400 Soft Series Gun Cases
Plano 54" Hunter Brown Rifle/Shotgun Case
Full length zipper. Gusseted side pocket with two pockets inside. Lockable zipper pulls. PVC on nose of barrel end. Adjustable shoulder strap. Knit lining. Velcro wrap handle.
SPECIFICATIONS:Mfg Item Num: 45460 Category: GUNCASES & BAGS Type :Rifle/Shotgun CaseColor :Hunter BrownDimensions :54"Material :NylonFinish :Textured


text:
By Del Stover
As part of this year's annual Kick Butts Day at Van Buren High School, students collected every cigarette butt strewn across the school campus -- and reported their count to the school board. The good news: It was the smallest collection of tobacco products gathered since the annual event began.
"The first year we had very large, multiple Ziplock bags filled," says Heidi Bainbridge, a school district employee who serves as director of the county's drug-free communities project. "Last year we had one large bag full. This year, we had very few cigarette butts to pick up."
The trend suggests the comprehensive tobacco-free policy adopted by the Van Buren Community Schools in Keosauqua, Iowa, is having an impact. Fewer students, staff members, and visitors are bringing cigarettes and other tobacco products onto school grounds. Officials hope they're getting the message that smoking or chewing tobacco isn't an acceptable practice.
It's a message that should be widely accepted, given that the U.S. Surgeon General first declared smoking a health hazard nearly half a century ago. But school policymakers who believe they're doing enough to keep students away from tobacco -- by banning cigarettes in schools and providing anti-smoking lessons in health classes -- are mistaken.
"The biggest problem we face in tobacco control today is that people think this problem already is solved," says Karen Lewis, NSBA's project director for tobacco prevention. "School board members are not the typical demographic that smokes or is exposed to a great deal of cigarette marketing, and if they were to guess at the prevalence of smoking, they'd likely guess low."
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Anyone have a link for this game?
ESPN3 is listing it but the game is blacked out...wtf is the point of listing it on their website then....f
Printable View
Anyone have a link for this game?
ESPN3 is listing it but the game is blacked out...wtf is the point of listing it on their website then....f
Nevermind....found this one:
Here's another (no English):
JV is not starting. Disappointing.
JV doesn't get the start?
Kleiza looks like he's put on some weight, most in the epidermal region..
ya just turned this on, lit getting pumped, #4 from Serbia just had an awesome finish on the break...not playing JV so far is odd
never mind, in after time out, instant hoop
Horrible Offensive call on JV, screen was fine
all said, the stretch i just watched, Lithuania sucks.
JV have no space when Motiejunas( he's "stretch four" ) on the floor... Let one of the twin play. I like JV + one of the twin duo.
Serbia has some quick guards, like Bogdanovich's game. LTU will pick it up.
Kleiza still sucks...only now he sucks in international play, his supposed bread-and-butter.
Here's another link: http://www.feed2all.eu/watch/205393/...lithuania.html
I don't watch a lot of international ball, but this is pretty bad.
Still a higher caliber than the FIBA Americas, some of those Canada games are tough to watch..
Really wish JV was playing more. Hope he gets more burn than this throughout the tourney..
Those stupid offensive foul calls! Oh man, Kirstic ( or something like that ) should man up and play as a big dude, not go down every time JV backs him.
These refs are pretty brutal. Inconsistent beyond anything I have seen.


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Royal-Pedic (Eastern King) Organic Cotton Mattress & Box Spring Set. This is Royal-Pedics most firm organic mattress construction for those who enjoy buoyant, orthopedic support. This mattress features multiple layers of pristine, organic staple cotton padding that is free of chemical sprays and fire retardant. Royal-Pedic cotton is strictly US and Peruvian resulting in the best quality cotton available. The layers of organic cotton are supported by our 10oz. heavy duty organic cotton fabric to prevent the cotton from pocketing into the coils, and Royal-Pedic's Swiss designed 650i Royal Flex® innerspring system provides excellent support and durability.
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Royal-Pedic mattresses and box springs are truly the last word in high-end, luxury bedding. The fact that Royal-Pedic is also completely organic makes them truly unmatched and the healthy choice.
|Royal-Pedic Organic Cotton Mattress Series


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As DVD media and equipment prices continue to fall, producing larger and larger runs of discs is becoming increasingly viable for event videographers. This allows them to look beyond wedding-type projects where you can usually count the required number of copies on one hand. Videographers whose sole business may have been weddings and bar mitzvahs may now find themselves shooting stage events or corporate video. If this is happening to you, you may soon find yourself in the business of disc production as well as video production—whether you like it or not.
A number of factors are contributing to this shift. While in many cases, corporate content is still done in PowerPoint, the way that content is distributed is changing. More and more, corporations are making video productions of corporate presentations and distributing them to clients, partners, salespeople in the field, or geographically disparate parts of their own business. As DVD media prices get closer to CD and the installed base of DVD drives, players, and duplicators gets larger, DVD delivery is becoming an increasingly cost-efficient way of publishing content, according to Jeff Starfield of CD\Works, a Boston, Massachusetts-based duplication service bureau. And with growing frequency, the videographers who shoot that content but don't necessarily want to mess around with its duplication (beyond authoring the master disc) are entering his client pool, he says, as they farm out the duplication end of their projects.
"Videographers are being commissioned to shoot things like an executive giving a quarterly report," says John Gormley of Data Reproductions, a duplicator based in Dawsonville, Georgia, with the presumed next step of distributing that report to all the relevant parties who couldn't be there to catch the presentation live. Ironically, while DVD used to be the bleeding-edge technology that corporations wanted to keep at arm's length (compared to better-understood VHS), now it's familiar, with economics that fit better in a corporation's comfort zone than streaming-based delivery. "Video conferencing is still pretty pricey," says Gormley. "Sending out a DVD is not."
With that "shoot one, copy many" model—foisted on videographers by their corporate and stage clients— often comes the need for revving up duplication runs beyond the 5, 10, or even 25 copies that videographers may be equipped to handle on their own.
Of course, the flip side of that trend is that all those price drops and cost efficiencies, and the simple fact that DVD recording and production are becoming common parts of everyday life, mean that even as videographers' duplication needs become more demanding, they may be increasingly inclined to shoulder the burden themselves and bring all that capability in-house. One great advantage of this approach is that not only do you get to take control of the duplication side of your video production jobs, you also might be able to add DVD duplication as a sideline service for your videography business. So even as videographers' need for professional-quality duplication may grow, their interest in the traditional duplication avenues may diminish.
Bernhard Kirschner, director of Sydney, Australia-based duplication outfit YesVideo, says there is a synergy between DVD-Video production and disc duplication, but videographer response to the notion of outsourcing jobs to professional duplication services has been "mixed." He explains, "Many prefer to do it themselves, although even just a few copies can often be done by a professional duplicator at a much lower cost and much faster."
The Pros and Cons of In and Out
The basic questions of in-house vs. outsourcing are as follows: "Is it necessary to buy duplication equipment, or is it better to use an outside duplicator? And if I do decide to outsource, how do I find a duplicator that best fits my needs?" It's not as simple as it sounds; see sidebar, "The Outsource Vs. In-house Decision Tree," for a list of questions any videographer should ask himself or herself before deciding which route to take.
Mike Weiss of Rockville, Maryland-based duplication house Video Labs offers his best advice. "Duplication is not magic," he says. "It's that we are professional and expert at what we do. If somebody came to us looking for footage, I wouldn't shoot it, I'd partner with a videographer."
Videographer Peter Frechette, co-owner of Fields of Vision in Newton, Massachusetts, looks at the issue from the videographer's side and agrees with Weiss. "Anything we duplicate is going to be on my computer, therefore tying it up," he says. "We haven't made an investment in buying a mass duplication system. At this point, it's not worth it for us. It's not what we do. It's not time well spent."
Echoing Weiss and Frechette, Roswell, Georgia-based video and multimedia producer Tony Westerfield of Into FX, says, "Duplication is simply another business. As a small production house, I focus on providing a specific range of services," specifically related to the content he creates. "That requires an investment in specific equipment and then marketing to clients is based on that business model. Adding duplication would radically change that model and require that I spend thousands of dollars on new hardware and the time investment to muster the clientele."
In-House Duplication: Cheaper? More Profitable? More Inconvenient?
Breaking down how much a duplicator actually can charge for each service is tough. "Some duplication companies put pricing on their Web sites, but most play it close to the vest," says Data Reproductions' Gormley. "We don't publish ours because we deal with so many different types of projects, it would be impossible to create a price list that would cover every different spec we quote on." Another duplicator admits if a client comes to them with a quote from someone else and asks, "Can you beat that price?" there's a good chance they are going to do it.
The prices that duplicators charge also tend to vary from region to region, which is an issue worth considering for both videographers considering outsourcing duplication chores and those willing to recoup their equipment investments by taking in duplication work on the side. "Someone looking to add services should probably develop their own cost spreadsheet, compare that to what they are being charged by outside vendors for duping services, and then develop a price matrix they are comfortable with from there," Gormley says.
Warehousing and fulfillment also can be cost factors for videographers as their duplication business grows—particularly when you bring the requirement of professional-level surface printing and disc packaging into the picture. For example, says CD\Works' Starfield, "You may have to stock different types of media—thermal or silver or white inkjet," depending on what printing options the client prefers, or what may work best with a particular print design. Preparing for those possibilities takes storage space and plain old know-how.
It is just that kind of expertise that makes outsourcing to a duplication professional a more effective option, Starfield argues. "Media and equipment change very regularly. People may overestimate the useful life of equipment they get. Besides, they're pretty limited if they are getting one piece of equipment," he continues. "For example, you may only have one printing choice—inkjet or thermal—but no option for silkscreen or high-resolution digital prints." These are the types of options that can be valuable for meeting the demands of a few elite clients, but aren't really feasible for studios whose primary focus is producing video, not DVDs.
Time also is a key issue for videographers taking on larger projects. For example, Darren Purcell of Alta Loma, California-based Purcell Productions describes a recent project where he needed to duplicate 2,000 copies of a marketing program. "I mastered, encoded, and duplicated two three-hour discs. It took a long time. The client wasn't in a rush, so I fed the copies to them a little at a time. I'd probably need a month to finish 5,000 copies," he says.
But duplicating hundreds of copies rather than thousands of copies of independently produced or corporate video projects is a growing trend, professional houses say. Tom O'Reilly of College Sports Media, a division of mediamethods in Pittsford, New York, asserts that duplication service bureaus can add more value than simply handling volume. They also know how to save their clients money. "I just met with somebody last week that was looking to distribute a DVD and was going to put other information in with it," says O'Reilly. "I showed them how they could put a slit in the folder and put a disc in that way instead of putting money into packaging they don't need."
Video Labs' Weiss agrees. "The fact that we're in the industry, we know the tricks and ins and outs," he says. "We can get goods for wholesale market price." This principle applies as much to those distributing on old-school VHS as with DVD. For example, to buy VHS shells, one might have to buy 100,000 or more to get the cheap price of 20 to 25 cents. Also, tape pancake, depending on the grade, costs in the range of $10 per pancake. Duplication houses are likely to pass some of those savings on to their customers; but if you're doing only a few jobs where you're duplicating in quantity, you'll never get that kind of pricing without investing in much more packaging than you need.
The Other Side of The Coin
There, in a nutshell, is the case for outsourcing duplication. But clearly there are those who prefer the DIY model, even studios like Darren Purcell's, which may end up doing four-digit disc runs on a single product. Why would a video producer like Purcell subject himself to the added stress of large duplication projects?
"I feel better doing the duplication myself because I have the control," Purcell says. "Each one of these DVDs is touched by me—checked by the owner. I've only had a few problems with playback, and those were mostly with earlier DVD player models." Recently, Purcell completed a 2,000-unit order which prompted his purchase of a second duplicator. "It paid for itself with this one job," he says.
And there's certainly no shortage of equipment for video producers looking to bring duplication chores in house. For those who like to keep disc duping and disc printing separate, there are tower duplicators such as Microboards' Editor's Choice-winning DSR DVD line, Alera Technologies' Copy Towers, Condre's Tracer series, Vinpower Digital's Shark Copier systems, and DiscMakers' Reader's Choice-winning Reflex Pro line. These tower duplication products start around $400 for single-disc "1:1" units and range up to $3,000 for 11-drive towers.
Standalone printers are available from Epson (the Reader's Choice-winning Stylus Photo R200-960 models), Primera (Signature Pro, Z1, and Inscripta), Microboards (DiscFactory), and others. Prices range from under $100 to $5,000 or more.
For greater efficiency when doing volume runs, a number of companies including Primera (the Editor's and Reader's Choice-winning Bravo II and BravoPro), Rimage (2000i, 360i, and Protege), Microboards (DX-2), MF Digital (Director EC), and All Pro Solutions (Apollo, Zeus, Hera) offer complete solutions that combine duplication and printing and automate the process using robotic arms for loading and output. These systems vary widely in size and price; some can automate the duplication of as many as 600 discs. There are of course many variations within each group; DVD printing in particular uses a variety of different technologies and involves numerous consumables.
Printing is one area that proves challenging and costly for videographers pursuing the DIY duplication route, in Purcell's experience. "You don't always know when the ink runs out," he says. "I can get about 100-150 prints per set of ink cartridges. Each black cartridge is about $40. So, technically it costs approximately $80 for 150 units. However, I don't often use 100% of the ink because then the disc is saturated. Therefore, I'm typically below 50%. Sometimes I'm as low as 20%-25% and it still looks good and the disc is not saturated. Then, I can get 200 units or more. That lowers the $80 cost for the ink."
But Purcell still maintains that it's advantageous—and cheaper—for videographers to keep disc production in-house, in spite of the complications and costs that disc printing introduces. "If I sent this project out to a duplicator, I'd still have to give him the artwork. The duplicator has to charge a film fee. A setup charge is also given. Then, there is the cost of the DVDs."
In the end, Purcell says he feels certain his hard work paid off on that demanding 2,000-disc job. He's already looking to upgrade his duplication machines further.
Picking a Duplication Service
If Purcell's DIY route sounds too labor-intensive to you, what criteria should you use when you select a duplication outfit? Videographer Joe Beckerle of Garnerville, New York-based Beckerle Productions says that when choosing a duplication house he looks for someone that can take the most off his plate. "I don't want to hold their hands," he says. "I want to send my client to the duplicator and know they are going to handle it all. Service is the main criterion for me. I don't mind paying a little extra for good service."
Price, of course, is also a key factor. With the slew of duplication services being offered on the Web, Dave Shapiro of Alpharetta, Georgia-based Shapiro Enterprises says it's tempting to do your shopping online and choose solely on the basis of price. "The only drawback is the anonymity of it," he says. "Otherwise there is very little reason not to go to one of them to run off 1,000 copies."
Field of Vision's Frechette says he stays away from online services. Local providers make sense for him. "I want the ability to go see somebody and say, 'Why isn't this working?' Or, 'Can you walk me through this?' Price is important, but the relationship is important too. I want to learn. Explain to me why something works or it doesn't. If something is wrong and it is my fault, I want to know why it is my fault. Who knew that there were four types of DVDs?" he jokes.
Mistakes, or the fixing of them, may be another reason to go outside your own company for help. Video Labs' Weiss says the duplicator is liable to make mistakes. "While everyone hopes they don't happen, they do," he says, "and for the videographer to have to redo ten copies can be a problem when you're running to another shoot. For us, it takes no time to redo something."
What about special services? How important are they? Some duplicators can do VHS and CD duplication in addition to DVD. Some offer replication (pressing larger runs of disc with the same technology used to mass-produce Hollywood DVDs). Some companies, like Disc Makers, offer both duplication services and duplication products, and will work with a customer to determine which approach will work better for them.
What about authoring? Options are abundant. Someone might be wonderful at shooting video, but what about chapter creation and menus? YesVideo's Kirschner says that as a professional duplicator, he can almost automatically convert tape to DVD. "The process gives 54 chapter points chosen through patented scene-detection technology."
What may seem obvious is not always. It's also important to question whether a duplicator can handle the format the event was shot in. "A lot of people shoot on Digital Betacam," for example, says Weiss. "While those decks may be available, what about the more high-end, like Sony's high-definition HDCAM or DVC ProHD from Panasonic? These decks can run in the neighborhood of $100,000 and may not be something all duplicators have invested in as yet."
Bucking the DIY Trend
Will professional duplicators be doing more DVD copying runs for videographers in the future? YesVideo's Kirschner says, "The answer is most certainly 'yes.' The best comparison is how the number of copy shops have grown, even though photocopiers and printers have become common, cheaper, and faster. The expert learns that it is better to concentrate on his expertise, not the mundane."
The Outsource vs. In-house Decision Tree
Here are 14 questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether to purchase duplication equipment to meet your clients' multi-copy needs or farm out that work to duplication service bureaus.
1. Do I want duplication to be an important part of my business, or would I rather concentrate on the creative side alone?
2. On average, how many copies will I be making per order? How many 25-plus runs do I expect to make per year?
3. How many of my clients will want extra services, such as warehousing or distribution? How much are they willing to pay?
4. How much will a tower cost? Do I need other types of equipment, such as a printer? Or an automated duplication/ printing system? Waveform monitors? Distribution amps?
5. How many different types of media will I need (e.g., shiny silver, white inkjet, silver inkjet, thermal, hub-printable, or specific brands that some duplicators require)? Will I need both DVD+R and DVD-R? How much media will I have to order, and how much does it cost? Will I need name-brand media? (To save you the suspense, the answer to that one is yes.)
6. For my printer or print technology of choice, how much do ink consumables cost, and how often do they need to be changed?
7. Will I always want one kind of printing, or will I want to offer options?
8. What are my packaging options, and what are my clients' packaging expectations?
9. Do I have enough room in my studio to house the machine and warehouse the media? Or do I have to get a bigger space? How much will that cost?
10. If something goes wrong during duplication, do I have the expertise to fix the machine, or do I have a professional duplicator backup?
11. How much of a premium will my clients pay to get the extra services?
12. How much time will I or my employee have to spend working on a duplication project? Do my time and his/her hourly fee come out cheaper than farming out an order? Will we be taken away from another project to do this?
13. How fast of a turnaround will I be able to muster?
14. Can I really make as much money duplicating it myself as I could farming it out and moving on to other projects?
In the Spotlight
CD\Works, www.cdworks.com Data Reproductions, www.datarepinc.comFields of Vision, www.fieldsofvision.net Into FX, www.intofx.com Purcell Productions, www.purcellproductions.com Shapiro Enterprises, www.daveshapiro.com Video Labs, www.videolabs.net YesVideo, www.yesvideo.com.au
Companies Mentioned in This Article
Alera Technologies, www.aleratec.comCondre, www.condre.com Disc Makers, www.discmakers.com MF Digital, www.mfdigital.com Microboards Technology, www.microboards.com Primera Technology, www.primera.com Rimage, www.rimage.com Vinpower Digital, www.vinpowerdigital.biz


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"There is no 'right' way to sing 'Hallelujah,'" writes Alan Light, the author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah." As noted by several sources in the book, which was released this week, possession of the song has achieved hymn status: It seems to belong to no one yet remains one of the most ubiquitous songs in popular music.
Of course, the song actually belongs to sardonic rock poet Leonard Cohen, but in the public eye, it's singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley that changed the song's fate. Buckley's own fate was far more tragic than the song he covered and subsequently launched into the public consciousness. On June 29, 1997, Buckley, just 30, drowned while swimming in a Mississippi river. Does this somehow add to the emotional narrative of the song – knowing Buckley's own story? Does this play into "Hallelujah's" role as one of the most misunderstood songs ever written, right up there with Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."?
Light, former editor-in-chief of Spin and Vibe, explores this and more in the fascinating book, proving that few songs deserve the level of examination as "Hallelujah" gets in this oral history, which includes interviews with Bono, Paul Simon, Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake and more.
We have two short excerpts from The Holy or The Broken, courtesy of Light and the publisher, Atria/Simon & Schuster. In the first excerpt, he explains just a bit of what makes "Hallelujah" so unique:
"Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld / So I can sigh eternally," Kurt Cobain once sang in tribute to the only songwriter, many believe, who belongs in a class with Bob Dylan. But "Hallelujah," which first appeared on Cohen's 1984 album Various Positions, has already had one of the most remarkable afterlives in pop music history. The song has become one of the most loved, most performed, and most misunderstood compositions of its time. Salman Rushdie's description of the contrasts in the lyric holds true: Joyous and despondent, a celebration and a lament, a juxtaposition of dark Old Testament imagery with an irresistibly uplifting chorus, "Hallelujah" is an open-ended meditation on love and faith—and certainly not a song that would easily be pegged as an international anthem.
"Hallelujah," however, has been performed and recorded by hundreds of artists—from U2 to Justin Timberlake, from Bon Jovi to Celine Dion, from Willie Nelson to numerous contestants on American Idol. It has been sung by opera stars and punk bands. Decades after its creation, it became a Top Ten hit throughout Europe. In 2008, different versions simultaneously held the Number One and Number Two positions on the UK singles chart, with Cohen's original climbing into the Top 40 at the same time.
"Hallelujah" has been named to lists of the greatest Canadian songs of all time and the greatest Jewish songs of all time (though in writing about the song for America: The National Catholic Weekly website, one minister mused that the singer's melancholic worldview might indicate that he "has some Irish blood"). It plays every Saturday night on the Israeli Defense Forces' radio network. It made the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and, in a poll of songwriters by the British music magazine Q, was named one of the Top Ten Greatest Tracks of all time, alongside the likes of "Blowin' in the Wind," "Born to Run," and "Strawberry Fields Forever."
According to Bono, who has performed "Hallelujah" on his own and with U2, "it might be the most perfect song in the world."
Martin Bandier, chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing (which owns the rights to both Cohen and Buckley's versions of the song), phrased it a little differently: "'Hallelujah' is a brand."
It's a brand that's in no short supply on television and in films. As Light chronicles, the song took on a new meaning when VH1, in the wake of the attacks on September 11th, synched the song with footage of the Twin Towers burning and put it into near-constant on-air rotation as a music video. The song soon become an easy way to evoke emotion in a "deep" scene on TV and in film. Pop singers began using the same basic tactic in live shows, and then came the American Idol effect, in which contestants on reality singing competitions used the anthem as a heart-strings K.O. with viewers and judges. In our second excerpt, Light explains how the song's multitude of verses helps to makes it easy for artists to personalize to maximize its effect. He also gets into what differentiates "Hallelujah" from another commonly-covered anthem, John Lennon's "Imagine."
As both the soundtrack usages and the covers of "Hallelujah" were becoming pervasive, one thing becoming evident was that the song had a peculiar advantage over and above its compositional merits. Since its best-known version was already a cover, and the song's author had himself altered the lyrics almost immediately after recording it, it was somehow understood that the words were never truly considered fixed or set in stone. With Cohen's tacit approval, and Buckley not around to object, verses could be cut, lyrics could be changed, with no real sense of betraying the song's meaning.
For a song as weird as "Hallelujah," this open invitation to experiment and adjust is perhaps its greatest allure. Depending on preference and context, the different elements— religion, sex, hope, despair, love, death—can be turned up or down at will. Certainly, the "I remember when I moved in you" verse was often abandoned, especially for religious or charitable uses. Sometimes even "She tied you to a kitchen chair" was a little too much for the setting. But with its abstract and disconnected imagery, the song's contradictions and nuances could easily be elided, which gave "Hallelujah" a versatility that went beyond its ambiguities.
"I tend to be a wordy person, and I think every verse is so beautiful that I just couldn't part with one of them," said Kate Voegele. "But I think the song has this unbelievable ability to take a personal concept and elevate it to the universal. So I think people pick and choose the verses because they're all sort of little stories within themselves, and no matter what order you sing them in or hear them in, it means something."
"It's very open to interpretation," said Lee DeWyze, the 2010 American Idol champion. DeWyze sang one highly abbreviated edit of the song on the show, when the stakes were high and the contest had come down to three finalists, but he has altered the choice of lyrics on his own subsequent tours. "The only other song like it would be the national anthem. Because there's no one national anthem that every- one's like, 'That's the one.' People just do it however they want. 'Hallelujah' is one of those songs that doesn't feel like it has an owner. When people sing it now, it's almost like, 'This is my song.'"
Some artists offer more practical reasons for the revisions of the lyric. "I'll drop the fourth verse if I'm running out of time," said Brandi Carlile. "A lot of times, I close with it, so if I'm playing a union hall and I have six minutes before it goes into overtime pay, I've got to drop a verse." This ability to truncate would prove invaluable as the song became a staple of televised singing competitions.
The impressionistic composition of the verses, with shifting perspective and nonlinear narrative, means that there's no functional loss or disruption in meaning if verses are skipped or moved. "I think with that song," said Rufus Wainwright, "as is the case with a lot of Leonard's work, there are certain phrases that really jump out and hit you in different ways, and mean different things to different people—'learn to shoot at someone who outdrew you.' I think it's more about those tiny nuggets of words than any broad meaning, but then once 'hallelujah,' that word, is placed in there, it kind of gathers up all of these elements, which is the essence of existence anyway: There's no general theme for the world—it's all little tiny pieces."
Consider the contrast with one of the few songs that goes on a list with "Hallelujah" as a modern-day anthem— John Lennon's "Imagine." Yoko Ono has said that she constantly has to turn down requests for people who want to record the song and change just one word. The possible uses for "Imagine" multiply dramatically if she would allow singers to modify the line "Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too"—which she refuses to let them do, feeling that a change to the less radical "And one religion, too" would interfere with the song's message and intentions too much.
CeeLo Green performed "Imagine" on NBC's 2012 New Year's Eve broadcast from Times Square, changing the lyric to "And all religion's true." Predictably, Lennon loyalists, especially in the online world, immediately went nuts: Rolling Stone reported a typical tweet, from @geekysteven, which read, "The whole point of that lyric is that religion causes harm. If 'all religion's true' it would be a pretty bleak place."
In the end, though, Lennon's recording of "Imagine" is so iconic it can never truly be challenged, or even fully re- imagined, by a cover; as with "Bridge over Troubled Water," with Art Garfunkel's distinct vocal, any new performance is instantly, however subconsciously, assessed in relation to the original. And, as CeeLo learned, any alteration of the lyric dramatically changes the song's message in ways that many listeners are unwilling to accept.
"Hallelujah," on the other hand, isn't fixed and formalized in the same way. Before it had even penetrated the general population's consciousness, it had demonstrated that it is capable of withstanding multiple modifications, possibly resulting in a change of its emphasis, but not its essence. This fluidity helped open countless doors for the song over the years.
The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah" is available via Amazon and book stores now.
– Jillian Mapes, CBS Local


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Phillies gain ground in the East and in the Wild Card Race as they defeated the Brewers, 6-3.
The Phillies, behind the pitching of Jamie Moyer and the bullpen, would gain ground on both the Mets in the East and the Brewers in the Wild Card chase as they defeated the slumping Brew Crew, 6-3. The Phillies would take a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Ryan Howard hit a monster 2-run shot into center field, his forty-third home run of the year, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, and has moved to second on Jayson Werth's ground out, third to first. The Brewers would cut the Phils' lead in the third inning as, with two outs, J.J. Hardy hit a solo home run, his twenty-fourth home run of the year, to make it 2-1 Phillies. The Phillies would increase their lead in the fourth, as, with a runner on first and no one out, Howard would hit a RBI double, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. Three batters later, with a runner on third, and two out, Pedro Feliz would hit a RBI double, knocking in Howard, who has gone to third on Shane Victorino's ground out to first for the inning's second out, making it 4-1 Phillies. The Brewers would shorten the Phillies' lead again in the sixth as, with a man on third and two outs, a slumping Prince Fielder would hit a two-run home run, scoring Rickie Weeks, who has earlier doubled and has gone to third on Ryan Braun's deep fly out to center field, to make it a 4-3 Phillies' lead. The Phils would get a run back in their half of the sixth, as, with a runner on first and one man out, Carlos Ruiz would hit a RBI double, scoring Feliz, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead. The Brew Crew tried to get close in the eighth. With Ryan Madson still pitching in relief of Phils' starter Jamie Moyer, Weeks would start the inning off with a single. Madson would then get the next two batters, Hardy and Braun, to strike out swinging. Charlie Manuel would then take out Madson and bring in Scott Eyre to face the still dangerous Fielder, since Eyre has his number career-wise. But, on this occassion, Fielder woule be able to work a walk, putting two men on base with the go ahead run coming up to the plate in Corey Hart. Manuel would come back out and replace Eyre with Chad Durbin. Durbin would then, with one pitch, end the inning as Hart hit sharply to Rollins, who would throw over to Utley to force out Fielder at second for the third out. In the Phillies' eighth, they would tack on one more run as Ruiz would use a sacrifice squeeze to force in Victorino, who has reached base on a single, went to second on relief pitcher Carlos Villanueva's throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and has gone to third on Feliz's sacrifice bunt, giving the Phillies a 6-3 lead. That would turn out to be the ballgame as Brad Lidge would come out and shut the door on the Brewers with a 1-2-3 ninth, as he records his thirty-sixth save in as many tries.
Jamie Moyer would get the win, as he pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up only three earned runs on four hits. His record is now 14-7, the team's leader in wins, with a 3.68 ERA. Ryan Madson pitched two scoreless innings, giving up only two hits while striking out two. Scott Eyre would face only one batter, walking him. Chad Durbin would pitch a third of an inning, facing only one batter and retiring him on a force out. Brad Lidge would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, giving up no hits as he striked out one batter. Ben Sheets would get the lost as he pitches six innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits. His record is now 13-8 with a 2.97 ERA. Carlos Villanueva would pitch two innings in relief, giving up an unearned run on one hit, while striking out three.
The Phillies' offense, for once, refused to just score runs early and then just quit, as they would score their final run of the game on a suicide squeeze, a play that they would normally not use. Maybe they have finally decided to do everything that they can to manufacture runs if they can't normally do so with the bat? I guess we'll see during their last fifteen games. Jamie Moyer, with three games rest, wasn't perfect, but he was good enough to keep the slumping, but still very dangerous, bats of the Brew Crew silent during his five and two-thirds innings of work, giving up only four hits, although all four would be for extra-bases (2B (2), HR (2)). The Phillies' bullpen would then come on to keep the Brewers quiet for the rest of the game, although just barely getting out of the now seemingly dangerous eighth inning by the skin of their teeth.
The Phillies (80-67) continue their four games series with the Brewers (83-64, 2nd National League Central, 1st NL Wild Card) with a night game tonight. It will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies' starter will be their ace Cole Hamels (12-9, 3.12), who is coming off a disastrous start against the Mets on September 7, where he only went five innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits, in the Phils' 6-3 lost. Lifetime against the Brew Crew, he is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts. He will be trying once again for his thirteenth win, while trying to see if he can keep the slumping Brewers' bats quiet and put the Brewers into panic mode with a win against them. The Brewers will counter with Manny Parra (10-7, 4.03), who is coming off a lost against the Padres on September 7, as he goes five innings, giving up six runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits, in the Brewers' 10-1 lost. He will be trying to see if he can stop the Brewers present slide while trying to stop the Phillies from getting any closer them in the wild card race.
With the victory, the Philles are now three games behind the Mets, as the Mets prepare to face the Braves for a three games weekend series. The Phillies are ahead of the Marlins by five and a half games as the fish prepare to meet the Nationals for three games. In the wild card chase, the Phillies trail the Brewers by three games as they continue their series, while they are still tied with the Astros for second place in the wild card as they'd defeated the Pirates, before they go to wait out Hurricane Ivan for the next two days before facing the Cubs on the 14th, while they are both ahead of the Cardinals by a game and a half after losing to the Cubs before they begin a series against the Pirates this weekend. The Phillies hope to be able to gain ground in both the East and in the wild card race.


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I have one question..
If someone who has MS take MS from other person, which techniques he will has?
Madara took Izuna's eyes, but both of them have the same techniques, so Madara has still Susano'o, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke took Itachi's eyes, but it is the same as between Madara and Izuna.
But what will happen if, for example, Itachi takes Shisui's or Obito's MS?
He will have still his own techniques or only their techniques or his own + their?


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Yes CSEe, I think I understand that you don't wish to study and absorb the teachings of the Buddha in that way. Nor do you wish to listen to lectures from learned people. Perhaps you have had negative experiences, I don't know. I hope that's not the case. That's why I've suggested in the past that you might enjoy a light form of meditation. It can be very investigative and a way to discover as we explore this universe called the mind. It could heighten your awareness. It's merely a suggestion from a humble practitioner who is also on the path.CSEe wrote: Hi laura , is hard for me to explain my view , so I hope you could try since my english is not good .
You see , to me " awareness" is a measurement of how much we understand Buddha but " knowledge" in our current world is measurement of knowning .
Is two different topic .
As from my "awareness" I am aware that I am sincere of my intention of learning here but my action might lead you to think I am ego .
Your remarks infact provide me " knowledge" of my action , the information that maybe not known to me .
For that information , I should feel glad of your kindness / concern for my own betterment .
In Buddha , we can only "see" our self from others but know ourself from our own "awareness"
That is my point when I say all books / texts should only limited as knowledge but NOT referral to Buddha .
All kind of info / feedbacks is "knowledge" , only by self exploration free from ego we will gain our awareness...
Kind wishes,


text:
Colour Laser Printer Archive
Printers Best Suited for a Small Business!
July 19, 2011
Small business owners must weigh up lots of factors in deciding which printer is right for them: should I get a colour laser printer or an inkjet instead; do I need it to be wireless; would I like it to come with a scanner? Here are some tips to help you pick a printer for
The Growing Need for Duplex Colour Laser Printer!
August 26, 2010
Gone are the days when we use to take print out from an inkjet printers. A few years ago, a laser printer was considered as a luxury item, even in some middle business houses and home users use to ignore them, just because the coast involved with a laser printer was much higher than that


text:
Upmf is a source-based package manager written almost completely in Scheme. The user is able to search, build, and remove packages. Since Scheme through GUILE is very extensible, the user can customize the procedures, or even exchange them with his own, if wanted. Packages are stored in their own self-contained directories and are incorporated into the filesystem with help of GNU Stow.
|Package Package manager Source build install manager
|GPLv3+ GFDL
|Operating Systems
|C Scheme
A Fluent OpenStack client API for Java.
A TWiki appliance that is easy to use and lightweight.


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OAKLAND — The Oakland school district is taking measures to prevent violations in its testing administration after an incident this year left one elementary school without a state Academic Performance Index, or API, score.
School district spokesman Troy Flint said a teacher at Global Family Elementary School failed to cover up or remove 11 or 12 posters and other teaching materials displayed in the classroom, as required by the California Department of Education. Someone reported the problem to district staff members, he said, which led to the investigation.
"There's nothing malicious or intentional about it. It was just an oversight," Flint said.


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News Release
Please note: As of January 20, 2017, information in some news releases may be out of date or not reflect current policies.
ETA News Release: [04/20/2009]
Contact Name: Peggy Abrahamson or Suzy Bohnert
Phone Number: (202) 693-7909 or x4665
Release Number: 09-0418-CHI
U.S. Labor Department announces release of $100.4 million in unemployment insurance modernization incentive funds to Illinois
WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $100,383,562 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Illinois. Illinois qualified for the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by allowing workers to use their more recent earnings to qualify for benefits. Illinois' approved application will be posted at the department's Employment and Training Administration Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/recovery.
"Illinois recognizes the importance of providing an economic safety net to workers who have entered the workforce recently and lost their jobs through no fault of their own," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "It is the right thing to do for workers and is good for the state's economic recovery."
The Illinois Department of Employment Security can use the funds to pay unemployment benefits or, if appropriated by the legislature, for administering its unemployment insurance program or delivering employment services.
"Federal stimulus dollars provide vital support to the people of Illinois as they cope with these difficult economic times," said Gov. Pat Quinn. "Our state intends to take full advantage of the Recovery Act by applying for all possible stimulus funds."
The Recovery Act made a total of $7 billion available in UI modernization incentive payments to states that include certain eligibility provisions in their UI programs. Each state can qualify for a share of those funds by showing that its law includes those provisions. To date, in addition to Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Dakota have been certified by the Labor Department to receive a share of the funds.


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Revelations: A good little girl
Oct. 28, 2011 at 5:28 a.m.
For the past four years, the love of my life has been a 10-pound, black and tan miniature pinscher named Sadie.
I wasn't really looking for a dog when she arrived in my life the fall of 2007. But my then-neighbor asked me if I was interested in adopting a very sweet, very cute, very trained little min-pin that was recently rescued from an abusive home.
"What kind of abuse," I asked.
"She was beaten and left to starve to death in an apartment," my neighbor said.
"You mean they just moved out of the apartment and left her to die?"
"Yes. And she needs a good home. Maybe you want her?"
That's all I needed to hear. Sadie moved in with me a few days later - scared, slightly ill, and rib-cage-exposing skinny.
The first few days of living with Sadie, I remember thinking how timid and careful she was with me. She didn't know what to think of her new house, or new owner. And I guess I understood why she hesitated and ran away when I went to stroke her head.
I assumed she needed a few weeks to find her bearings, and then we'd be best friends. But that didn't happen, exactly.
Within a few weeks, Sadie's true colors shined. Her timidity turned to boldness, her wincing to biting.
I realized quickly she wasn't sweet or well-trained, even though her face and eyes screamed "Look how cute I am!"
I endured many months of Sadie's poor behavior: biting me and my friends, barking and howling all day and all night, chewing everything I owned (especially my most beloved and expensive possessions).
When I'd come home from work, the first 45 minutes of my evenings were usually spent scanning the house for casualties, cleaning up messes (especially in the kitchen where she made a game of tipping over the trash can and littering the house with disgusting, smelling garbage).
But the most annoying thing about Sadie was how expensive she was. We were always at the vet because she'd eat every little nail, stick, pin, toy, she could fit down her throat, including the insides of a beautiful chocolate and cream suede dog bed. Sadie's ingestion of that dog bed clogged her intestines so badly, it eventually resulted in a 2 a.m. visit to the emergency pet hospital.
I honestly considered giving her away at first. And some nights, under extreme duress, I wondered if her former owners had the right idea by jumping ship, leaving the devil dog to her own devices.
But then I went through a devastating breakup with a man I'd been seeing for three years. It broke my heart to exit that relationship, and I was surprisingly out-of-sorts for months, even though I initiated the dissolution.
After the breakup, I spent many nights with Sadie, avoiding the world and figuring out my future. Somehow Sadie knew I was going through a tough time, and we somehow came to an understanding in our relationship: She would be my constant, and I would be hers. So I took out my end-of-relationship anxiety on long walks with my dog. I took her to bed with me at night and held her while I slept.
And when I felt like crying, she'd curl up next to me and force me to stroke her head. In time, she came to be my closest friend, and I looked forward to coming home to her.
I've lived in three states and four cities with Sadie. She's seen me through many life and career changes, and comforted me through homesickness, family-less holidays, and more recently, another hard breakup.
The other night I came home after a tough day at work and let Sadie out her run space. She ran up to me and rolled over on her back. I rubbed her belly and kissed her nose, and thanked God for providing me a little friend that would always be there to make me smile. And it hit me. Besides God, Sadie really has been the only other daily constant in my life. After all we've been through together, I've come to love and trust her and depend on her to comfort me. No matter what, she's always there. She always wants me near, always wants to play and never judges me when I'm at my worst. I can ignore her, and she comes back. I can leave on vacation for several weeks, and she treats me like a rock star when I get home. She knows that I belong with her, and that she belongs with me.
That night, as we played together on the floor, Sadie reminded me how far we've come in our journey and likewise, how far I've come with my relationship with God. I, too, was once a little devil, always making messes and acting out, when I should have just listened to my master.
But just like God has always done with me, I've always believed in Sadie and her potential to be a wonder dog. We both still have a long journey ahead of us, and a lot of personality changes to work through. But as long as she's breathing, she'll always be my favorite little girl. And somehow, I know God feels the same about me.
Jennifer Preyss is a re porter for the Victoria Advocate. You can reach her at 361-580-6535 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Season takes shape before ball is bowled
WHEN Aaron Finch took to Shane Warne last week at Etihad Stadium, it must have been tempting for some to grant the Big Bash League's marquee player leeway for a limited pre-season campaign.
After all, the in-form Renegades batsman is halfway through a domestic season that began in late September, whereas Warne, at 43 and six years out of the international game, had two scratch games before being slogged for 0-41 in two overs.
But the short, sharp nature of the league's season ensures teams cannot afford concessions to older stars or retired internationals, and means coaches have become adept at the global managing of players with little recent cricket.
''You can't cram all of the skills and training into the four days before the first game, it doesn't quite work. You need to have some things in place in advance,'' Renegades coach Simon Helmot said.
Readying players who are no longer part of Australia's domestic scene for the Big Bash League requires international co-ordination and tailored fitness programs.
The Melbourne Stars had Warne maintaining his fitness in his home gym and Brad Hodge playing Premier Cricket, but in the case of Luke Wright, it was plenty of calls to Britain to ensure the all-rounder was well-conditioned, because by the time he arrived in Australia he had not hit a ball outdoors since the World Twenty20 in September. The remarkable performance by Lasith Malinga on Wednesday night proved the Stars' lack of concern about their Sri Lankan spearhead's fitness for the format was well-founded.
Across town, the Renegades had learnt from last season that calling on too many players from outside the state system made monitoring preparations too difficult.
Last season, the Renegades had Pakistan pair Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, and six Australians without regular state commitments - including pacemen Shane Harwood, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes - on their books. Helmot said a conscious decision was made to avoid that headache.
''They hadn't been involved enough in day-to-day cricket,'' Helmot said of last season's group.
This year the Renegades flew Daniel Harris and Aaron O'Brien over early from Adelaide to play Premier Cricket in Melbourne, and liaised regularly with Muttiah Muralitharan while the spin great trained with domestic sides in Sri Lanka.
Helmot said Muralitharan arrived in perfect shape and, although aged 40, could emulate the success Brad Hogg, Warne and Stuart MacGill tasted in the inaugural season.
Adam Cooper joined The Age in 2011 after a decade with AAP, the country's news service. Email or tweet Adam with your news tips.
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text:
- Item No.
- 199587
- Mfg Part No.
- 50708
- Availability
- Not Available
Product Information for C2G FireWire Cable
Highlights for C2G FireWire Cable
Marketing Information
IEEE 1394b Cables by Cables To Go are the latest in Firewire technology. IEEE 1394b or Firewire 800 cables are perfect for connecting your new Firewire 1394b devices to your legacy 1394a ports! 1394b is the new standard for transporting and networking multiple types of digital data between users and systems. But this doesn't mean you can't use your legacy devices or ports. These cables are backwards compatible ensuring continued use of your Digital Video (DV) camcorders, scanners, printers, videoconferencing cameras, and fixed-disk drives. With Windows Me or Apple's FireWire Target Disk Mode you can also use an IEEE-1394b cable to connect two computers together to allow for file sharing.
IEEE-1394b Cables from Cables To Go provide you with the quality you need to achieve high-speed performance you expect from your IEEE-1394 devices. These cables are designed to be 100% compatible with Apple Firewire, Sony iLink, and all other IEEE-1394 peripherals. Twisted pair cabling and shielded construction ensures Cables To Go's IEEE-1394b Cables meet or exceed current IEEE-1394b standards.
General Information
Technical Information
Physical Characteristics
Additional Information


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(By Delegate Manypenny)
[Introduced February 20, 2012; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2L-1, §16-2L-2, §16-2L-3, §16-2L-4, §16-2L-5, §16-2L-6 and §16-2L-7, all relating to establishing a two year pilot program on the disposal of unused pharmaceuticals; authorizing rulemaking; and requiring a legislative report.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §16-2L-1, §16-2L-2, §16-2L-3, §16-2L-4, §16-2L-5, §16-2L-6 and §16-2L-7, all to read as follows:
§16-2L-1. Establishment; purpose.
There is established the Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Pilot Program, referred to in this article as "the program." The purpose of the program is to ensure the safe, effective and proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals.
§16-2L-2. Administration.
The program will be administered by the Bureau for Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Resources, referred to in this article as "the bureau."
§16-2L-3. Return of pharmaceuticals.
The bureau shall create a system for the return of unused pharmaceuticals. The system must use prepaid mailing envelopes into which the unused pharmaceuticals are placed and returned to a single collection location. The prepaid mailing envelopes must be made available to the public at various locations, including, but not limited to, pharmacies, physicians' offices and post offices. The bureau may randomly assess the toxicity of materials received under the program as long as the assessment results do not identify the patient, person who mailed the material, prescriber or pharmacy. The system may include other ways that unused pharmaceuticals may be collected.
§16-2L-4. Disposal of pharmaceuticals.
The bureau shall ensure that only bureau officers handle the unused pharmaceuticals received pursuant to section three of this article. The unused pharmaceuticals must be disposed of by the bureau in a manner that is designed to be effective, secure and in compliance with local, state and federal environmental requirements, including the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended.
§16-2L-5. Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program Fund; funding. The Unused Pharmaceutical Disposal Program Fund, referred to in this article as "the fund," is established within the bureau to be used by the director of the bureau to fund or assist in funding the program. Any balance in the fund does not lapse but is carried forward to be expended for the same purposes in succeeding fiscal years. The fund must be deposited with and maintained and administered by the bureau. The bureau may accept funds into the fund from any non General Revenue Fund source, including grants or contributions of money or other things of value, that it determines necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. Money received by the bureau to establish and maintain the program must be used for the expenses of administering this article.
§16-2L-6. Rulemaking.
The bureau shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code on or before December 1, 2012.
§16-2L-7. Length of pilot program; report.
The program shall be for a two-year period beginning on April 1, 2013. The bureau shall report to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Government and Finance on or before October 1, 2015 on the effectiveness of the pilot program and recommendations for future legislation, including the feasibility of continuing, expanding or discontinuing the program.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a two-year pilot program on the disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. The bill authorizes rulemaking and requires a legislative report.
This article is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.