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Porter respects umpires, but willing to argue
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Astros manager Bo Porter has yet to be ejected from a game by an umpire in his brief managerial career, but he had one of his most animated arguments at a critical juncture of Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Yankees. Porter thought the Astros had turned an inning-ending double play in the fifth, but a safe call at first allowed a run to score.
Porter said he'll always take up for his team and his players on close plays, and he said he asked first-base umpire Cory Blaser if he was sure he got the call right.
"One, you have [pitcher] Philip Humber out there and he's giving it everything he has," Porter said. "We intentionally walk a guy to set up the double play and you get the ground ball and it's bang-bang. Did I think the guy was out? Maybe, maybe not. But more importantly, I want Philip Humber and the rest of our team to know, and I told the umpire when I got there, I said maybe he was out, but it looked to me like you anticipated him being safe. And don't anticipate."
Porter said Blaser told him he wasn't anticipating the call and that he believed he got the call right, which replays showed he did.
"I respect umpires, and I think that throughout all the times in which I've been in Major League Baseball, there's mutual respect between my relationships with them and their relationships with me," Porter said. "You have to realize that whatever side you're sitting on, you're biased. You want your guy to be safe and their guy to be out. You want the call to go your way, and when you're looking at it, you're always going to see it the way you want to see it."
Porter said he would never get thrown out on purpose just to fire up his team.
"If you need somebody to fire you up in the big leagues, you're in the wrong place," he said.
Righty Lyles to start for Astros on Thursday
NEW YORK -- Astros manager Bo Porter announced Wednesday that right-hander Jordan Lyles, who began the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, will start Thursday's series opener against the Tigers at Minute Maid Park. MLB.com reported late Tuesday that Lyles would be called up.
Lyles is taking the rotation spot that came open when right-hander Brad Peacock was moved to the bullpen. The Astros will announce a corresponding roster move Thursday.
Lyles, 22, was set to begin the season in the Astros' starting rotation, but he was sent to Triple-A following a poor spring. He went 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA in six games (five starts) for the RedHawks, throwing a strong game Saturday in which he allowed three hits and one run in five innings.
"This is a guy that we expected to be a part of the rotation," Porter said. "He didn't fair too well this spring, but sometimes guys taking a step back allows him to take three steps forward, and we hope that's the case with Jordan."
Porter said RedHawks manager Tony DeFrancesco had good things to say about Lyles.
"We received outstanding reports, and Tony has raved about his preparation, his demeanor and wanting to get back to the big leagues, and he's done everything we've asked him to do, and we look forward to getting him back here," Porter said.
Porter said Lyles had done a better job attacking hitters and pitching ahead in the count with improved breaking stuff. Lyles made 25 starts for the Astros last year and went 5-12 with a 5.09 ERA.
"This guy has all the skill sets to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in this league," he said. "We're hoping that is the case and the step he took back this spring added motivation to never take it for granted, to give everything he has to not only be in the big leagues, but be an elite pitcher in the big leagues."
The Astros will also add left-hander Dallas Keuchel from Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Tag's Lines. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Currently promoting her single "Guardian" and August album release Havoc and Bright Lights, Alanis Morissette called into Y98/St.Louis to talk of her growing acceptance in the music world and the surprising compliments she's been receiving from artists like Katy Perry.
Katy Perry introduced her performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week with much praise.
"Ellen's next guest has sold over 60 million albums and is one of the reasons why I became a songwriter," Perry said before Alanis performed her new single. Alanis reflected on this during her interview.
"It's really, really sweet because during the mid-90s for me I was pretty isolated," she said. "This new chapter with different singer-songwriters that are out right now, I feel really connected with them now. I feel like I have sisters out there now."
Alanis continued to explain that it's more of a sisterhood today whereas in the 90s "a lot of women at the time wanted to scratch my eyes out."
While she joked that the anger is still there, her lifestyle and being a new mother has allowed her to continue her career path as a singer.
"I think part of why I can be a philosopher in my own way and afford my family whatever it is that I can afford is because of the lifestyle that I'm in," she said. "It's all set up so that I can write, so that I can stay up until four in the morning and think about these things and attempt to educate myself and other people at the same time."
– Annie Reuter CBS Local

subset: commoncrawl


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image courtesy of Amy Karp
When it comes to choosing your symbol of eternity, the choices are endless. We recently heard about Brilliant Earth. They produce beautiful jewelry and guarantee a conflict free gem. Conflict free diamonds are guaranteed to originate from ethical and environmentally responsible sources. Conflict free diamonds are free from violence and other human rights abuses, and are produced with minimal environmental impact. They also use recycled metals for their jewelry. As part of their comprehensive commitment to environmental responsibility, Brilliant Earth uses recycled precious metals in all of their fine jewelry, guaranteeing their customers an eco-friendly jewelry product of the highest quality. They also have a high standard for packaging with purpose. All Brilliant Earth rings arrive in hand-crafted, natural Rimu wood ring boxes. Rimu wood is sourced from a sustainably harvested New Zealand forest that preserves biodiversity, soil, water, and air quality. These keepsake ring boxes showcase the Rimu's beautiful wood grain, as well as your ring!
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Our overall objective is to invest in long-term community development in regions that can support a self-sustaining jewelry-based economy. To achieve this, we combine our understanding of best practices in the jewelry trade with research-based funding efforts. Through our ongoing initiatives, we're helping shape a rewarding and self-sufficient future for families who depend on the jewelry trade.
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Or, how liquid democracy gets you the sack in the end.
How The German Pirate Party's Liquid Democracy Works – Sounds like an interesting way for members of an organisation to discuss things. And no need to get pre-approved for discussions by the police.
SF, big ideas, ideology: What is to be done? – Charles Stross on whether SF is a genre of 'big ideas'.
The Fandom Issue: Marvelous – "At what point is the triumph of comic-book culture sufficient?" Some interesting parallels between geek culture and the Tea Party.
How a stranger carrying a rucksack got within 10 feet of Nick Clegg – Why, it's almost like security theatre isn't necessary!
Sacking people is easy to do – Not that I recommend you should, but John Band points out that people complaining about red tape preventing them doing it don't have much of a leg to stand on.


text: Main Content Senate Bill 0540 (2011) rss? friendly link printer friendly Friendly Link: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2011-SB-0540 Sponsors Roger Kahn - (primary)Bruce Caswell, Darwin Booher, Patrick Colbeck, Michael Green, John Proos, John Pappageorge, Michael Kowall, Steven Bieda (click name to see bills sponsored by that person) Categories Insurance: health; Insurance; health; coverage for orally administered cancer chemotherapy; provide equal treatment for. Amends 1956 PA 218 (MCL 500.100 - 500.8302) by adding sec. 3406s. Bill Documents Bill Document Formatting Information [x] The following bill formatting applies to the 2011-2012 session:- New language in an amendatory bill will be shown in BOLD AND UPPERCASE.- Language to be removed will be stricken.- Amendments made by the House will be blue with square brackets, such as: [House amended text].- Amendments made by the Senate will be red with double greater/lesser than symbols, such as: <<Senate amended text>>. (gray icons indicate that the action did not occur or that the document is not available) Documents Senate Introduced Bill Introduced bills appear as they were introduced and reflect no subsequent amendments or changes. As Passed by the Senate As Passed by the Senate is the bill, as introduced, that includes any adopted Senate amendments. As Passed by the House As Passed by the House is the bill, as received from the Senate, that includes any adopted House amendments. Senate Enrolled Bill Enrolled bill is the version passed in identical form by both houses of the Legislature. Bill Analysis House Fiscal Agency Analysis House Committee Summary (03-14-12)This document analyzes: SB0540, SB0541 Senate Fiscal Analysis COMMITTEE SUMMARY (Date Completed: 11-7-11)This document analyzes: SB0540, SB0541 FLOOR SUMMARY (Date Completed: 11-9-11)This document analyzes: SB0540, SB0541 History (House actions in lowercase, Senate actions in UPPERCASE) Date JournalAction 6/29/2011SJ 60 Pg. 1900REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE 11/10/2011SJ 91 Pg. 2617REPORTED FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE S-1 11/10/2011SJ 91 Pg. 2617COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED IMMEDIATE EFFECT 11/10/2011SJ 91 Pg. 2617REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WITH SUBSTITUTE S-1 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2810REPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITH SUBSTITUTE S-1 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2810SUBSTITUTE S-1 CONCURRED IN 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2810PLACED ON ORDER OF THIRD READING WITH SUBSTITUTE S-1 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2813RULES SUSPENDED 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2813PLACED ON IMMEDIATE PASSAGE 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2813PASSED ROLL CALL # 784 YEAS 35 NAYS 0 EXCUSED 0 NOT VOTING 3 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2813VOTE RECONSIDERED 12/14/2011SJ 99 Pg. 2813PASSED ROLL CALL # 785 YEAS 37 NAYS 0 EXCUSED 0 NOT VOTING 1 12/14/2011HJ 101 Pg. 2915received on 12/14/2011 12/14/2011HJ 101 Pg. 2917read a first time 12/14/2011HJ 101 Pg. 2917referred to Committee on Health Policy


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Kenny Lofton is still seeking a World Series championship as he begins his 11th postseason.
It's been a long time since he set the table for Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez in his first postseason with the '95 Indians. But he showed that he's still one of the game's great offensive catalysts in Cleveland's Division Series-opening win against New York on Thursday.
Lofton, now 40, got three hits, knocked in four runs, and tied Rickey Henderson's record with his 33rd career postseason steal.
"That's what keeps me coming back," Lofton told MLB.com. "The reason I'm playing is the excitement that happens down the stretch."
Down the stretch for the Indians, Lofton picked up his play by hitting almost .300 with three triples and 14 RBIs after Aug. 25. He brought his hot bat into Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees Thursday night, when he went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in a 12-3 victory.
"He's been a boost for us," manager Eric Wedge said of Lofton, who was acquired shortly before the July 31 trading deadline. "We've used him primarily in the seven-hole, and it really gives the bottom half of the lineup an entirely different feel and look. Kenny's given us a lot more length to our lineup."
This team, says Lofton, is a bit different than the 1995 squad.
"What made '95 so special was we had so many characters," he said. "I felt sorry for [manager Mike] Hargrove. He understood he couldn't control us off the field. But on the field, he knew what we were trying to do."
He continued: "I tell them to just play the game. The media is going to make a big deal out of it, but if you look at it as a game, nothing will change."
Garko wants a late-October blog: For Cleveland's Ryan Garko, getting the chance to play in the postseason is a dream come true. As one of many players keeping an MLBlog for MLB.com during the playoffs, Garko is hoping to be writing for a while.
"I hope this blog goes on for a long time. It's been great seeing how much this city is supporting us right now," he said on MLBlogs.com. "I think all 25 guys in here are realizing that. We're doing everything we possibly can to win this thing and be ready."
Meanwhile, Garko has taken a little bit of time to look back on how the 2007 campaign has gone -- a season during which he batted .289 with 21 home runs and 61 RBIs.
"I took some time Monday to look back and reflect on the good and the bad, personally, for me this season. It was a fun year," he said. "I'm proud of the way it went for me. I never pouted or complained about the position I was put in [being the 25th man on the roster on Opening Day]. I just went out and worked hard. [Manager] Eric [Wedge] said if you go out and work hard and do the right things, it's going to work out. It seems like he was right."
Diamondbacks' Drew carrying hot bat: Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew hit only .238 during the regular season, an average that he wasn't really happy with. But during the final week of the season, Drew hit .414 for the Diamondbacks, and he has carried that hot bat into the first round of the playoffs against the Cubs.
"I've been comfortable for a while, but balls are just starting to fall," Drew told the Arizona Republic. "Hopefully they keep falling. They've been falling at the right time."
Drew gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead in Game 1 of the NLDS Wednesday when he hit a home run to right-center field. He later added a second hit and on Thursday night had a two-run triple in addition to a single.
"Sometimes," manager Bob Melvin said, "for the guys who haven't had the numbers they're used to seeing, to wipe the slate clean to an extent kind of gives you a breath of fresh air."
Anderson battles eye, Beckett: An infection in his right eye has made things difficult for Garret Anderson. In the Angels' first game of the American League Division Series versus the Red Sox, Anderson went hitless. But he blamed that more on the pitching of Josh Beckett than any problems with his vision.
"The guy pitched well," Anderson told the Los Angeles Times. "He didn't make many mistakes over the plate. My last at-bat was the only pitch he actually threw me over the plate. Everything else was hitting the corners. It doesn't matter how many eyes you've got, a guy pitching to the corners is going to be pretty tough."
Despite any lingering vision problems, Anderson will bat cleanup in Game Two. The Angels hope to avoid going back to Anaheim down two games after dropping the opener in the five-game series.
"They're all must-win games in the playoffs," Anderson said. "You don't get many opportunities. There are only so many games you play, and you can't afford to give anything away."
Helton starts series with a flourish: Todd Helton waited a decade to play in a postseason game for the Colorado Rockies. He envisioned what his first at-bat would be like, but it is unlikely that he thought of what he actually did. In his first-ever postseason at-bat, Helton hit a triple.
"For his first playoff hit to be a triple, no one probably would have guessed that," teammate Troy Tulowitzki told the Rocky Mountain News.
"Oh, I always think triple out of the box," Helton deadpanned. "No, there's usually got to be a train wreck or something out there for me to get a triple."
Helton hit a drive to center field on the first pitch he saw from Cole Hamels in the second inning. The ball bounced off the angled wall in center away from center fielder Aaron Rowand, allowing Helton to race into the third base. It was only third triple of the year for Helton and led to the Rockies' first run.
"I put myself in a hole," Helton said. "My legs were jelly the rest of the game after running like that."
Arizona's Hammock gets early info: Arizona manager Bob Melvin told his players who was going to be on the postseason roster on Sunday, except for one player. Melvin actually told utility man/catcher Robby Hammock he was going to be on the postseason roster last weekend in Denver.
"I probably told Robby before I should have," Melvin the Arizona Republic.
Melvin was too excited to keep the news from Hammock, who saw his career take a detour in 2004 due to shoulder and knee problems. He missed most of the 2005 season and spent time in the Minors this season.
"Just from the stuff that's happened to me over the years, to be able to be in this situation is just unbelievable," Hammock said. "I'm on Cloud 9 right now."
Clemens ready to start Game 3 of ALDS: The Rocket is ready for liftoff. New York Yankees right-hander Roger Clemens said he is ready to start Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians after pitching a simulated game Tuesday and feeling no problems in his hamstring.
"Everything went well. I'm ready to go," Clemens told Newsday.
Said general manager Brian Cashman: "He's tested and rested."
Clemens last pitched in a game on Sept. 16 against the Boston Red Sox. While getting ready for his next start, he tweaked his left hamstring and both he and the Yankees have been taking a cautious approach to his recovery.
"I felt like in this kind of situation, a playoff situation, I would have been pitching anyway," Clemens said.
Beckett shines in ALDS opener: Josh Beckett has pitched well in the postseason before, but Wednesday night he was at his best in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Angels. Becket went the distance as he pitched a shutout and allowing only four hits in a 4-0 win.
At one point during the game, he retired 19 straight batters. He ended the night throwing only 108 pitches, 83 of which were strikes.
"I was just out there trying to execute pitches until somebody takes the ball out of my hand and the game's over," Beckett told the Boston Globe. "I never got ahead of myself. It was always one pitch at a time. It didn't matter what was going on. They hit some balls at some guys and I was fortunate."
"He went out and executed his pitches better than he has at any point in the season," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "That was a great performance."
After allowing a leadoff single, Beckett didn't allow another Angels batter to reach base until Vladimir Guerrero singled in the seventh inning. Howie Kendrick collected a single in the eighth and Guerrero had another single in the ninth. Of the 27 outs Beckett recorded, 12 came on ground balls.
"I had a really good sinker today and that's why I had a lot of ground balls," said Beckett. "It's fun to keep your defense on their toes."
Yankees' rookie Ohlendorf gets final spot: As the New York Yankees were deciding who to include on the playoff roster, one spot came down to veteran left-hander Ron Villone or rookie right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who pitched in 15 games for the Yankees this year.
In the end, the Yankees decided to go with the rookie over the veteran.
"We had to decide if we wanted a lefthander, if that was really more important than deciding on who we think was our best option," Yankees manager Joe Torre told Newsday.
Torre said it was not an easy decision to make between Villone and Ohlendorf.
"Basically I decided that when it came down to clinching the games that we needed to clinch and winning the games we needed to win in the month of September, we really didn't go to [Villone] in the sixth, seventh, eighth innings," Torre said
Soto living a real-life dream with Cubs: Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, a 2001 11th round Draft pick who was a Sept. 1 callup, has impressed the team with outstanding defense and an average over .450 since coming up. So much so, in fact, that he got the call to start behind the plate in Game One of the NLDS.
"Seriously, I woke up and it's a dream come true," Soto told the Chicago Tribune. "I've worked so hard, and now everything is coming to me all at once. I'm having a blast."
At first, Soto admits, he was kind of taken aback by his surroundings. That, however, has changed. "When I first came up here, everything was so surreal," he said, "but now I'm getting out there, getting my hits, helping out the club and I feel I'm ready to play here now."
"He has improved a lot," said Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. "He has learned a lot and for a young guy like him, it takes awhile to learn this game, but he's mature and confident in himself; that's the most important thing."
White (almost) surely done: For a Major League baseball player, you can't ask for much more than to end your career on a high note. Minnesota Twins veteran Rondell White, who has stated that he is 99 percent certain that 2007 was his final season, did just that with an RBI single in his final at-bat.
"It was a nice way to finish it," White told MLB.com. "I'll leave that one percent open, but I pretty much have my mind made up."
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire made it a point to remove both White and pending free agent Torii Hunter after the top of the seventh inning of their final game, allowing them to walk off the field on their own terms, not just after the final out of the game with everyone else.
"It was tough with all of them -- Torii, Rondell," Gardenhire said of seeing them step off the field. "For Rondell, it was probably the last time in his career from what he's been saying. Yeah, that's touching to say the least. Classy people, classy players and great careers."
Zimmerman's golden glove touted: The Nationals are touting third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for the Gold Glove Award. St. Louis' Scott Rolen, who won seven of the last nine Gold Gloves at the hot corner in the National League, played just 112 games this season and the race appears wide open.
"I think Ryan Zimmerman, this year, has shown he's a Gold Glove third baseman," general manager Jim Bowden told the Washington Post.
Zimmerman tied for second in the league among third baseman with 23 errors, but he did not commit a miscue over his final 20 games. Also, he led the Majors in total chances by a third baseman with 511.
"This guy saved more runs than he drove in," manager Manny Acta said -- a significant statement, given that Zimmerman led the Nationals with 91 RBI. "He's phenomenal."
Soriano tabbed as Braves' closer: The Braves will have to find a new center fielder next year, but one position they have determined for 2008 is team closer. Rafael Soriano has earned the nod after a strong run this September after the team demoted and then released Bob Wickman.
"I think that's a fair assumption," general manager John Schuerholz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Not just because of [Soriano]; we've got [other] internal possibilities. But that's our intention, to lean in that direction."
As a hard thrower with good control, Soriano seems a natural fit as a closer.
"Doesn't walk a lot of guys, strikes out a lot of guys, and doesn't give up many hits," manager Bobby Cox said. "And he's got great [mental] makeup."
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Scott Adkins New CEO at SECU Washington
The $950 million School Employees Credit Union of Washington has chosen Scott Adkins to replace the retiring Sandra Kurack as the Seattle-based credit union's president/CEO.
Adkins currently is vice president of lending at the $1.8 billion Spokane Teachers Credit Union, where he has spent the past 11 of his 25 years in the financial services industry.
Kurack has led SECU for the past 20 years and plans to retire in the coming months, the 80,900-member credit union said Wednesday in its announcement.
Adkins will join SECU in November, the announcement said. He also teaches banking and finance courses as an adjunct at Gonzaga University's Graduate School of Business and has earned the CCE designation from CUES, his new employer said.
"Scott is completely aligned with SECU's culture, and will provide excellent leadership as we move ahead," said Board Chairman Rich Rutkowski.
"It is a distinct honor to join the SECU team and to follow one of the credit union industry's most admired and respected leaders, Sandy Kurack," Adkins said in the announcement.
"Alongside the entire SECU team, I look forward to serving our members and their financial needs. I am the luckiest guy in the world," he said.


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Crossroads resident speaks out against injection well at administrative hearing
July 13, 2012 at 2:13 a.m.
Gayle Parenica is no lawyer, but on Friday she made her best attempt to resemble one.
Parenica went before the Texas Railroad Commission at an administrative law hearing opposing the erection of a possible injection well near her family's Lavaca County land, near Yoakum.
The commission made no official ruling, she said, explaining it asked the other side, Austin-based Pinnergy Ltd., for evidence regarding the number of commercial well sites within 10 miles of the proposed site.
Parenica, who represented herself, said she stayed up most of Thursday night preparing for the big day and going over information.
When the hearing began at 9 a.m., she said Pinnergy began by presenting its case, while she then cross-examined them. She later presented her side.
Without a legal background, she said the process was intimidating.
"Not ... knowing the legal protocol for the procedures makes it very difficult to go up against someone who is well-versed in that," she said, noting she was asked to introduce only evidence and no narrative. "There was a little bit of an imbalance there, but I tried."
Calls to Mark Mayfield, an Austin attorney representing Pinnergy, were not returned as of 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Environmental issues are the railroad commission's main focus at such hearings, said Ramona Nye, a spokeswoman with the organization.
Applicants must demonstrate the well will be constructed in a way that will not impact groundwater, she said, and that the fluid they will dispose of in deep underground formations will remain confined.
Still, the process doesn't end once the hearing does.
The next step is a recommendation legal and technical examiners write up in the following 60 to 90 days, she said. Once issued, those who disagree with the decision can file written exceptions, while those who support the decision can file replies to exceptions.
That staff recommendation eventually goes to the three railroad commissioners, who will take final action.
"There's still a long administrative law process," Nye said Friday.
Parenica said she realized the issue would take a while. Still, while she was glad when her long day ended Friday, she was anxious for a ruling.
"It's a relief, but it's a disappointment," she said of the hearing, which ended about 4 p.m. "We don't know what the outcome is. We won't know that for a while."


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The City of Richardson will soon be an official partner of Air North Texas, a public awareness campaign that encourages residents to make clean air choices. The City Council discussed joining the coalition of regional organizations committed to improving the air in North Texas at its Monday work session.
Richardson will receive a variety of air quality resources as an Air North Texas Partner and have the opportunity to compete for annual awards. The City will promote clean air choices to people who live and work in Richardson, send a representative to task force meetings and submit annual progress reports.
For more information, visit airnorthtexas.org. Watch the work session presentation at bit.ly/16fLZho.
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| Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities call, 972-744-0908 or Email email@example.com


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The on-horseback combat in the forthcoming expansion for Lord of the Rings: Online was inspired by Red Dead Redemption and Mount and Blade, according to Turbine.
Mounted combat is set to be one of the biggest feature in Riders of Rohan, the forthcoming fourth expansion to the free-to-play MMO. So far Turbine has been keeping quiet about how the new mechanics will work, but this week the developer gave us a few fresh details.
"It's something we've not talked about too much yet," said senior producer Aaron Campbell, speaking to VideoGamer.com on the occasion of LOTRO's fifth birthday.
"Briefly speaking, it brings a sense of momentum and speed. We want to give it a new flavour, it's going to be a new feel for combat."
Campbell added that Red Dead Redemption is among the games that have influenced Turbine's approach to horse-based battling.
"I think if you're looking for things that are our inspirations, you're looking at Mount and Blade, or Red Dead Redemption, or other things that capture that feel," he said. "Really I don't think anyone has done the combat system we're setting up right now, and I think very few singleplayer games tend to be like this."
Community manager Rick Heaton also threw in his two cents, adding that the system is still being worked upon.
"One of the cool parts about my job is that every once in a while one of the dev comes over and says 'Hey, would you look at this for me?', so I've actually had a little bit of hands-on time with mounted combat," he said. "It's still really early, it's definitely very alpha, but I think players are going to be very happy with what they get."
Campbell wouldn't confirm whether or not mounted combat would have a level restriction placed upon it, but added that the the studio would be discussing this in the future.


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'I'll be coming home': Pell outsider for top jobCatherine Armitage
Published: February 13 2013 - 3:00AM
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, agrees the idea of his becoming the next Pope is ''fantastic'', but he means fantastic in the traditional sense of fanciful, not the modern sense of terrific.
As election of the next pope approaches, ''some of the suggestions made will be simply fantastic'', Cardinal Pell said in an interview carried on the Sydney Archdiocese website on Tuesday. ''Some of them will be made to meet local demand for a candidate that they know.
''Will you be staying in Rome or would that be fantastic?'' the archdiocese's head of communications, Katrina Lee, asked. ''Of course I will be coming home,'' he said, laughing.
The Catholic theologian Paul Collins agreed. ''I don't think George Pell has any chance of being elected,'' he said.
Rather, his main role in the convocation of cardinals who elect the Pope will probably be in forming a voting bloc.
''He will be an an important influence in getting a group of cardinals together, probably on the conservative side of the ledger,'' Dr Collins said.
A professor of theology at the Australian Catholic University, Neil Ormerod, said Australia ''is just too far away from anything of major significance for the church'' for Cardinal Pell to be a contender.
He said the cardinals would be looking for someone to tackle the big issues for the next two decades in Catholicism, including the ''role of sexuality in human flourishing'', the handling of sex abuse within the church and the church's challenges in the developing world, including the relationship between Christianity and Islam in Africa, the growing Pentecostal presence in Latin America and inter-faith dialogue in Asia.
Soon after the news of Pope Benedict's resignation, Sportingbet Australia had Cardinal Pell as a $41 outsider to be the next pope.
The next Pope would preferably not be as old as Pope Benedict, the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, said. ''We are probably looking at someone who is either side of 70.''
In an exchange with school students reported in Fairfax Media regional papers in 2008, Cardinal Pell's answer to the question of how he rated his chances of becoming the next Pope was more direct: ''You would get very good odds. And I wouldn't suggest you invest a penny.''
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/ill-be-coming-home-pell-outsider-for-top-job-20130212-2eb64.html


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Durango Police
2:45 a.m. A man stole items out of another mans vehicle, and the owner of the vehicle had the suspect pinned on the ground in the 1800 block of Florida Road.
9:03 a.m. Someone set up a slack line without protective pads in the 600 block of East Third Avenue.
4:26 p.m. A woman wanted to talk to an officer about her neighbor possibly running over her dog in the Lightner Creek Village, near the 20300 block of U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango.
1:44 a.m. Two women were fighting outside Colorado Pongas, 121 W. Eighth St. Police made an arrest.
1:44 a.m. A man refused to pay his bill at Dennys Restaurant, 666 Camino del Rio. Police made an arrest.
11:23 a.m. Artwork was stolen in the 700 block of Main Avenue.
5:08 p.m. Two homeless people with two dogs were sitting at a bench harassing people in the 1100 block of South Camino del Rio, in the Walmart shopping area.
Durango Fire & Rescue
4:27 p.m. Medics from the downtown fire station responded to an assault.
1:58 a.m. Medics responded to a traffic accident near South Camino del Rio and Colorado Highway 3.
Durango Fire & Rescue Authority responded to 25 calls Friday through Sunday.


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GEO Nabs Immigration Detainee Contract
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Private prison operator The GEO Group was awarded a contract for the housing of up to 600 immigration detainees by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, or ICE. Officials in Karnes County Texas officials awarded the contract, and GEO Group expects to generate $15 million in annual revenues.
The inmates will be housed at GEO's yet-to-be-built 600-bed Civil Detention Center that will be located in Kames City, Texas. The $32 million center will be financed, developed and managed by GEO Group and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2011.
"We appreciate the confidence placed in our company by Karnes County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," said George C. Zoley, chairman and CEO at GEO, in a statement. "This important project will be the first Civil Detention Center for immigration detainees in the United States. We look forward to this new public-private partnership with Karnes County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."


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Last edited by brewmeister; 09-26-2012 at 04:19 PM.
Yea we backed out also, but were able to pass our Motel reservations on to another member.
Lifes too short to ride an ugly Motorcycle
I wasn't going anyway, the heat makes me feel good about it. I remember baking in Madison back in '88, and I was a little younger back then!
Original litter
Original owner
2012 Ural Gear Up
I think i'm going to wait another year, but I do have a room in
Warsaw Mo at the Parkview Inn on the Dam Road. Its about
26 miles up 65 to the Rally grounds. I will probably drop the
reservation on Tuesday afternoon. Any takers on the room
let me know. Its set up for Wed., Thurs., and Friday Nights. Anyway it looks like it will be in the low 80's in
Michigan, might take a short trip north, no rain up that way
either. Everyone have a safe trip out and back.
Got to Ayshire IA from Fairbanks, AK.
MT through SD MN and into IA were HOT! still in ATGATT.
Plan to head down Tuesday.
Bob Coleman
Fukengruver add umlaut


text:
"This really opens the door to solving one of our key customer service problems," spokesman Jim Ritchie told local media. "From a rider standpoint, this would be a huge improvement over what's in place today." But the Port Authority currently has no schedule for implementing such assistance.
The authority does monitor all LRT movement on its system from its s operations center at South Hills Village, but is unable to relay information about delays or other disruptions to system customers in real time. Announcements that are generated, moreover, are broadcast systemwide and not to specific locales.
Pittsburgh's 26-mile LRT system is one of the "seven survivors" in the U.S., along with Toronto, Ontario, as an eighth member, offering continuous streetcar and/or light rail service during near-wholesale dismantlement of the mode throughout North America in mid-20th century.


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The City Council was scheduled to approve a new water-rate schedule that would raise rates by an average of 12.5 percent. The council held a public hearing on the rate changes last week and Monday night was scheduled to approve the new rates as part of their adoption of the 2012 budget.
But while the council approved most of the budget without a hitch, members put the brakes on the proposed water-rate increase after Councilman Greg Scharff said the proposed rates would violate Proposition 218, which requires water rates to be consistent with the cost of providing service.
The rates proposed by the Utilities Department, with input from the Utilities Advisory Commission and the council's Finance Committee, included new tiers for heaviest water users in both the residential and commercial customer classes, who would be charged more per gallon. But Scharff and the council agreed that the new tiers would conflict with state law and asked staff to come back with a different rate structure.
Palo Alto's Water Fund is facing a $6.2 million budget gap because of the spiking cost of wholesale water. The city's water-supply costs are projected to rise by 37 percent in the next fiscal year and to double by 2016, according to the Utilities Department. The increases are driven largely by a $4.6 billion infrastructure-repair project undertaken by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the city's water supplier.
City passes 2012 budget, seeks union concessions
Palo Alto officials approved the city's 2012 budget Monday night with little discussion, no protests and one glaring asterisk.
The $146 million budget includes $4.3 million in anticipated concessions from the city's public-safety unions — concessions that the city could have a hard time achieving. The city remains in a standoff with its firefighters union over a new contract and the two sides are preparing for arbitration proceedings in the fall. The police union's contract expires at the end of this month.
The uncertainty over labor concessions has cast a shadow over what has otherwise been a relatively breezy budget season. Unlike in the previous two years, when the city cut employee benefits, outsourced services and reduced its workforce by about 10 percent, this year's budget was balanced with few major changes and no service reductions.
The budget includes a restructuring of the city's Public Works Department, a move that consolidates six divisions into three and is anticipated to save about $300,000. It also creates an Office of Emergency Services and an Information Technology Department (information technology was previously under the purview of the Administrative Services Department). It achieves about $1 million in budget cuts from various departments.
But the City Council, which approved the document 8-0 with Nancy Shepherd absent, acknowledged that the difficult part is still to come.
If the city fails to get the concessions from the public-safety unions by this fall, the council will consider other ways to cut costs in these departments, including staffing reductions and fire station brownouts.
Palo Alto Utilities managers form bargaining unit
Palo Alto's utility managers have formed a new employee association that they hope will strengthen their bargaining power in negotiations with city management.
The group, called the Utilities Management Professionals Association of Palo Alto (UMPAPA), includes 45 managers from City of Palo Alto Utilities, said Russ Kamiyama, manager of the city's electric operations. The group's formation was opposed by city management but was enabled by a decision from an arbitrator in April.
Most managers and professionals (with some exceptions in Police and Fire departments) currently don't belong to any labor unions and have their compensation approved by the City Council every year. Kamiyama said the setup made it difficult for managers within particular departments, who believe their work is different from that of other managers', to make their voices heard during negotiations.
Kamiyama said the utilities managers have been trying to form their own bargaining unit since at least 2008. In November 2009, the 45 managers filed a petition with the city. The association's focus is narrower than a typical union's in that it focuses almost exclusively on compensation — not on broader workplace issues such as grievances.
This story contains 703 words.
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text:
Champion Sprint Wind Resistant Jacket 7895
This product was discontinued July, 2012 and is no longer available. Please consider one of the Customer-Recommended Replacements above, or try a new search.
This wind resistant jacket features innovative seaming, reflective strips to keep you safer, and zip media pockets at left front and right back. Made of very lightweight polyester.
Try these keyword searches with similar features:


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Lawyers at Boies Schiller & Flexner are about to collect some major cash.
According to the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, the law firm will pay its associates year-end bonuses of up to $250,000, which is $50,000 more than the biggest year-end bonuses the law firm paid its associates last year. The lowest year-end bonuses will amount to $25,000.
Boies Schiller's bonuses are based on productivity, including the number of hours its lawyers log, how much they bill and other factors.
Boies Schiller's quarter-million-dollar bonuses far exceed the top year-end bonuses that other Big Law firms are paying this year. Last week, Cravath, Swaine & Moore—which typically sets the tone for year-end bonuses—announced that its associates will receive between $10,000 and $60,000, depending on their seniority. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom's year-end bonus amounts match Cravath's.
Read more InsideCounsel coverage of law firm year-end bonuses:
Skadden, Simpson Thacher announce year-end bonuses


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Cherry Bomb 49 State Universal Catalytic Converter
- Replace your cat converter at a great price with the Cherry Bomb 49 State Universal Catalytic Converter
- Durable stainless steel bodies with aluminum tubes and heat shields
- Available in two types depending on your vehicle and emissions needs:
- XL Series: The eXtra Load Series has a high metal loading and a large substrate. Originally designed to end "Check Engine Light" problems for OBDII vehicles.
- XXL Series: The Double eXtra Load series features Cherry Bomb's highest metal loading for LEV-certified vehicles and OBDII vehicles with "Check Engine" light issues
- Universal design works with most vehicles (choose your vehicle for the best-fitting part)
- 5-Year/50,000-Mile Warranty on external shell and end tubes, 25,000-Mile Emissions Warranty
- Not legal for use in California
Keep your vehicle running clean and legal without spending an arm and a leg. The Cherry Bomb 49-State Universal Catalytic Converter features a large substrate and durable construction for great performance and a long life span. These Universal-Design Catalytic Converters easily install to your vehicle.
Cherry Bomb Catalytic Converters are available in two different styles, depending on your vehicle. The eXtra Load (XL) Series is designed for all OBDII-equipped vehicles, with a beefy substrate and high metal loading. The Double eXtra Series (XXL) boasts even higher metal loading and is suitable for newer OBDIII vehicles with LEV certification. Cherry Bomb builds their Catalytic Converters with stainless steel bodies and aluminized tubes and heat shields for a long, durable life.
Your Cherry Bomb 49-State Universal Catalytic Converter is backed with a 25,000-Mile Emission Warranty and a 5-Year/50,000-Mile Tube/External Shell Warranty. Not street legal in California.
Cherry Bomb 49 State Universal Catalytic Converter Customer Reviews
Overall Rating:5.0 of 5
Average Install Time: 1-2 hours
Excellent. Easy to install, matched up perfect to the pipes on the truck. The pipes fit over the pipe that was there, so it was easy to bolt up. Would have taken only half an hour to install if the hangers on the exhaust weren't so hard to take off.
Install Time: 1-2 hours


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Take a journey with a baseball legend
Biographical accounts of Buck O'Neil a guaranteed page-turner
By Barry Wittenstein / MLB.com
And most of those writers probably would have produced a somewhat interesting book, one which would have taken its place among the other historical works about the Negro Leagues, the racism this country had to (and still has to) overcome, and the story of a man who refused to give up and refused to give in.
But few could have written this book, "The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America" and made the language dance with grace, poetry and humanity as Kansas City Star sports columnist Joe Posnanski has done. It was as if 'The Soul of Baseball" was meant to be. But we'll get to that in a bit.
You may already know the name Buck O'Neil, the Negro Leagues baseball legend, player, manager, scout, first black coach in the Major Leagues and star of Ken Burns' award-winning 18-hour documentary, "Baseball."
O'Neil, who was an 81-year-old spring chicken in 1994 when "Baseball" was released, told Ken Burns the stories of the great black players who were denied entrance into the Major Leagues before 1947; players like Josh Gibson, Hilton Smith and Oscar Charleston. How Burns found O'Neil (a man Burns calls the most spiritual person he's ever met) I'm not sure, but what a treasure it was to have him finally introduced to the world.
O'Neil instantly became the face of both what was good about the sport and the history of the Negro Leagues. We also got to know he was the chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., which had been founded a mere four years earlier.
Two years ago, there was a rumbling out of Cooperstown that the elder statesman could finally gain admittance to the one venue he had still been denied: the Baseball Hall of Fame. During the year leading up to that vote, Posnanski, two-time winner of the Associated Press Sports Editors' Columnist of the Year Award, traveled with O'Neil from Kansas City to New York to Chicago to Minneapolis, to anywhere where fund-raisers, radio, television or award ceremonies would give O'Neil an opportunity to spread the word about a league and players who have long passed into the pages of the history books.
Along the way, Joe -- and through him, the readers -- get to see and hear the world as Buck saw and heard it ... and how he saw it and heard it 50 and 60 years ago. And what a joy it is! From long car rides to obscure little towns, to elevators in New York City and couples kissing in the park, Buck gets hugs ("Give it up!") from women in red dresses ("Son, in this life, you don't ever walk by a red dress."), children, even Willie Mays, and imparts his wisdom along the journey.
And now the "meant to be" part. Although he is too modest to admit to it, Posnanski was the perfect fit for Buck to get his story out, and Buck was the perfect person for Joe to have as a collaborator. Look at how Posnanski's use of verse in quoting O'Neil is genius in elevating Buck's words to another, higher, more poetic level ... and appropriately so.
You look back,
Didn't make no sense.
No sense
What people do to each other
'Cause of something dark
In their hearts.
Or this about the funeral of former player "Double Duty" Radcliffe:
This is not
A sad occasion
No sorrow when a man
Lives a full life
Don't cry.
Save your sadness
When they're taken young,
Before their time.
Man lives to be one hundred and three,
Got to do everything,
Feel everything
There is to feel in this world.
Don't wanna live forever.
It's one thing to recognize the cadence of speech; it's another to know to use verse as a way to lift up the emotional impact of the words, much like a sermon, as an extension of the man and the meaning of his life.
Another time, in Houston with Buck, Posnanski writes: "The third baseman stood so close to Clemens they could have shared a milk shake." Not a beer, but a milk shake! Or: "Almost forty years later, [Buck] still remembered the lush beauty of that field. The outfield grass glowed so green it looked as if children had colored the blades of grass with crayons."
Which brings me to this: "The Soul of Baseball" is two stories, really. The story of Buck and the Negro Leagues, naturally, but also the story of Joe Posnanski's own journey. This is the secret and beauty of the piece, for without Joe in here, we lose an important emotional involvement that makes this more than "just a baseball book" or "a biography of Buck O'Neil." It is when we feel Joe's love, Joe's pain, Joe's wonderment that we, the reader, get hooked in, get a lump in our throats.
When Buck approached Joe about writing a book about the Negro Leagues, to tell it like it really was, not how Hollywood had depicted it, Joe tried. First as a story about an obscure Negro League game in 1939 in which Buck played ("I don't remember much about the game," he said), then as a fictional account of a white scout sent into the black leagues.
Finally, Joe realizes consciously or subconsciously the idea of not only following Buck around, but putting himself into the narrative. At that point, Joe found the structure in which to build his story.
Buck O'Neil, who passed away in October 2006, is somebody who somehow got it "right." He talked the talk and he walked the walk.
"It's not how long you live," Buck would say, "but how well you live."
We know now, yes -- Buck O'Neil lived life well, and thanks to Joe Posnanski, the lessons continue to touch us.
Barry Wittenstein is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Temis the Vorta, Apr 27, 2012.
Fringe renewed.
*Does a happy dance* I'm a big Fringe fan so this makes me very happy.
Beat me to it (not all that hard to do)!
My inner geek is psyched!
Thank GOD! Now maybe we get back to future-verse and figure out what the HELL is going on!
The best thing about this news?
Alcatraz is definitely cancelled!
I'll miss her curves...
Surprise but happy.
Expected, even though entirely inexplicable by every alleged business principle. Everyone remember this the next time somebody says it's all about the ratings.
Any rational theories as to why this ratings bomb was renewed?
Haven't most people noticed the show is yet another example of how the open-ended serial form fails?
Dare I suggest that's why the show has lost enough audience to suggest that it is being generous to call it a cult favorite, since cult does imply enough people to make a congregation? The show's ratings have dropped enough that the Fringe cult is rather less popular than Scientology, relatively speaking. It's more in the Aetherian Society range.
It's like a reverse Firefly, maybe Fox doesn't hate sci-fi after all.
The little show that could...
Excellent news! I'm glad that the 11th's finale isn't the end of it all.
Great news. They get to craft an ending. Now, can I get season 4 on Black Friday for $12 or will I have to wait till next year. I haven't paid more than $15 for any season to date.
So Alcatraz didn't make it nor did Terra Nova.
Fringe was kinda the new Chuck there for a bit.
It's never only about the ratings. There are lots of factors that go into the renewal decision, many of which we never hear about. How much confidence the networks have in their new pilots each year plays a big role in cancellation plans. We don't see those new pilots until months after the decision has already been made.
And even then, who knows whether we agree with it? Fox wasn't going to pick up Alcatraz until JJ Abrams convinced them that he had a great storyline to unfold. He must be an incredible salesman, because I watched the whole season and didn't see anything approaching a great storyline. He should have sold Fox the Golden Gate Bridge while he was at it.
Take the weirdly common notion that foreign ratings "don't count." I'm sure they do, in cases where networks are profiting from those ratings. Why would any business ignore any revenue source? But has anyone seen a good listing of foreign ratings, especially one that comprehensively includes all global markets? I sure can't find one. So it's impossible to guess how much they count.
In this case, Warners and Bad Robot lowered the license fee, and that did the trick. I'm sure the fact that Fringe is warming the Friday night deathslot was a factor. What is Fox going to put in the deathslot instead? And their pilots pickups have been light this year, considering how many shows they've cancelled or are bound to cancel.
I know a lot of the articles I was reading were saying that a fifth season would make it easier to sell into syndication, so that probably had something to do with the renewal.
No doubt a factor. The 13 episodes should put it at about 102 or so episodes? Just over the magical century mark of syndication.
It will end on exactly 100 episodes.
I like Fringe but haven't been that happy about this season. I think a lot of that was due to my thinking that they were going to be cancelled and weren't moving toward a satisfying conclusion. Hopefully this end date will focus them, I know it'll make me worry less about the remaining episodes this season.
I think he did sell them the GGB but delivered that crappy bridge in Vancouver instead.
I'm sure the lower fee and the Friday timeslot has everything to do with the renewal. There's no way this show survives in any other timeslot.
Glad they were able to get enough episodes to produce a good series finale. Let's hope they use them well.
Separate names with a comma.


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Synoptic Weather
Origin of Wind
Wind is simply the air in motion. Usually when we are talking about the wind it is the horizontal motion we are concerned about. If you hear a forecast of west winds of 10 to 20 mph that means the horizontal winds will be 10 to 20 mph FROM the west.
Although we cannot actually see the air moving we can measure its motion by the force that it applies on objects. For example, on a windy day leaves rustling or trees swaying indicate that the wind is blowing. Officially, a wind vane measures the wind direction and an anemometer measures the wind speed.
The vertical component of the wind is typically very small (except in thunderstorm updrafts) compared to the horizontal component, but is very important for determining the day to day weather. Rising air will cool, often to saturation, and can lead to clouds and precipitation. Sinking air warms causing evaporation of clouds and thus fair weather.
You have probably seen a surface map marked with H's and L's which indicate high and low pressure centers. Surrounding these "highs" and "lows" are lines called isobars. "Iso" means "equal" and a "bar" is a unit of pressure so an isobar means equal pressure. We connect these areas of equal pressure with a line. Everywhere along each line is constant pressure. The closer the isobars are packed together the stronger the pressure gradient is.
Pressure gradient is the difference in pressure between high and low pressure areas. Wind speed is directly proportional to the pressure gradient. This means the strongest winds are in the areas where the pressure gradient is the greatest.
Also, notice that the wind direction (yellow arrows) is clockwise around the high pressure system and counter-clockwise around the low pressure system. In addition, the direction of the wind is across the isobars slightly, away from the center of the high pressure system and toward the center of the low pressure system. Why does this happen? To understand we need to examine the forces that govern the wind.
There are three forces that cause the wind to move as it does. All three forces work together at the same time.
The pressure gradient force (Pgf) is a force that tries to equalize pressure differences. This is the force that causes high pressure to push air toward low pressure. Thus air would flow from high to low pressure if the pressure gradient force was the only force acting on it.
However, because of the earth's rotation, there is second force, the Coriolis force that affects the direction of wind flow. Named after Gustav-Gaspard Coriolis, the French scientist who described it mathematically in 1835, this force is what causes objects in the northern hemisphere to turn to the right and objects in the southern hemisphere to turn to the left.
One way to see this force in action is to see what happens when a straight line becomes a curve. Picture the Earth as a turntable (see number 1) spinning counter-clockwise. A ruler is placed over the turntable (see number 2) and a pencil will move in a straight line from the center to the edge while the turntable spins underneath. The result is a curved line on the turntable (see number 3).
When viewed from space, wind travels in a straight line. However, when viewed from the Earth, air (as well as other things in flight such as planes and birds) is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere (red arrow on image at right). The combination of the two forces would cause the wind to blow parallel to straight isobars with high pressure on the right.
So why does air spiral out from highs and into lows? There is one other force, called Friction, which is the final component to determining the flow of wind. The surface of the earth is rough and it not only slows the wind down but it also causes the diverging winds from highs and converging winds near lows.
What happens to the converging winds near a low? A property called mass continuity states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a given area. So air cannot "pile up" at a given spot. It has to go somewhere so it is forced to rise. As it rises it cools. When air cools it can hold less water vapor so some of the invisible vapor condenses, forming clouds and precipitation. That is why there is often inclement weather near low pressure areas.
What about the diverging air near a high? As the air spreads away from the high, air from above must sink to replace it. Sinking air warms. As air warms it can hold more water vapor, which means that clouds will tend to evaporate. That is why fair weather is often associated with high pressure.


text: P: grade of C or higher in C102 or equivalent proficiency C201 is designed to build on the foundation of first year Chinese to help students achieve greater fluency in the oral and written use of the Chinese language, as well as to increase their vocabulary and familiarity with common sentence patterns. A learner centered, task based, and proficiency driven approach will be employed. The class meets five hours a week: two one hour interactive lectures and three one hour drills conducted in Chinese. Daily attendance is required. The grade will be based on daily performance, homework assignments, quizzes, and three oral/written tests.


text:
no secret that Microsoft is following a more aggressive development
schedule, which the wild success of Windows 7 can be partially
contributed to. The company is rumored to launch the
successor, Windows
8, sometime late next year. In the meantime, it's hard at
work making the first Service Pack for Windows 7. Windows
7 SP1 leaked back in April in very early form.At the
Tech-Ed conference today, Bob Muglia, President of Microsoft's server
and tools business, announced two
new features to arrive in Windows SP1: new virtualization tools and
support of 3-D graphics over remote connections, called RemoteFX.As
Microsoft follows a less frequent release schedule than competitor
Apple's OS X, Service Packs are a vital way to deliver new
functionality and to package together bug fixes that have been
delivered separately through Windows update. The new
functionality is handy to all customers, and the packaged fixes are
handy to system administrators and system builders.Windows 7
SP1 is no exception. It's expected to collect many security
patches and performance improvements. Additionally it's widely
expected to deliver Bluetooth and Wi-Fi optimizations. And
perhaps most importantly, it's expected to finally add support for
the USB
3.0 standard.Muglia did not discuss these points in
detail. But he did mention that the new Service Pack will come
with virtualization tools to make cloud computing more approachable.
RemoteFX is a key part of this vision. With RemoteFX, companies
can deploy cheap thin clients (computers) that talk to the cloud.
Previously such clients were confined to a drab visual look, due to
resource limitations. RemoteFX uses host-side rendering to
allow richer graphical environments complete with multiple displays,
Aero and multimedia streaming. This is similar to capabilities
of the X Server in Linux (Linux users can use the "ssh -Y"
command to tunnel host-rendered programs).Microsoft senior
director Gavriella Schuster followed Muglia's comments with
a blog stating,
"SP1 will simply be the combination of updates already available
through Windows Update and additional hotfixes based on feedback by
our customers and partners. In other words, customers can feel
confident about deploying Windows 7 now!"The company has
reportedly bumped the beta of Windows 7 SP1 and it's sister server
OS's first Service Pack, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, from June to the
end of July. Windows Vista currently has two
released Service Packs, while Windows XP has seen the release of
three Service Packs.


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Photo Gallery
<< Previous | Back to Photo Contest Page | Next >>
Fish in North Sylamore Creek
Photo by Jennifer Manis
Taken at Ozark Folk Center
Age Group: 19 and Older
This photo was taken in North Sylamore Creek. I couldn't believe how clear the water was. If you looke closely you can see the fish swimming around.


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Indians make things fresh, new at Progressive Field
Fan-friendly ballpark initiatives, reduced concession prices are in place for 2013
By Zack Meisel / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- On Oct. 4, the morning after a 9-0 loss at the hands of the White Sox that capped the Indians' third 90-loss season in four years, Cleveland's front office executives trudged into the ballpark searching for answers.
"The shoulders were drooped ... we were struggling," said Indians senior vice president of public relations Bob DiBiasio. "We were trying to figure out, 'How in the world are we going to sell Indians baseball after another promising season ended in disappointment?'"
So, the Indians cleared out 10 suites in Progressive Field and constructed The Collection Auto Club, a new 5,000-square-foot seating area located adjacent to the press box.
Oh, and they also hired two-time World Series-winning manager Terry Francona, signed free agents Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and Mark Reynolds, and traded for right-hander Trevor Bauer and center fielder Drew Stubbs.
The Indians are hoping the 2013 campaign serves as the start of a new era in Cleveland, both on and off the field. The club drew 19,797 fans per game last season, second-fewest in the league. After a litany of offseason roster enhancements and a few fan-friendly ballpark initiatives, the organization sold out of tickets for the home opener against the Yankees in just six minutes.
"[The offseason] has changed completely the bounce and the step, not only with our fans, but in that clubhouse as well," DiBiasio said.
The Collection Auto Club seats 120 people on a season-ticket basis. As of Wednesday, the organization had sold more than 90 percent of the seats. Fans in the section will be treated to gourmet food selections, beer and wine.
Certain food and drinks around the remainder of the ballpark will feature reduced prices. Via a new "4-3-2-1" promotion, fans can purchase a 12-ounce beer for $4, a hot dog for $3, a soda refill for $2 and, on any of 15 Dollar Dog nights, a hot dog for $1.
"During the season when we reached out to our fans to find out what they wanted from us and other than winning a World Series, concessions prices was at the top of the list," DiBiasio said.
The Indians will also offer 20 giveaways during the course of the 2013 season, including bobbleheads of 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel and enigmatic slugger Albert Belle. Vizquel, in his first year as a roving infield instructor for the Angels, is expected to be present at Progressive Field on his bobblehead day on July 8.
Vizquel's ceramic replica will feature the defensive wizard dancing around second base, with eight Gold Gloves stacked in front of the bag and three piled together behind it. Vizquel won eight of his 11 awards during his 11 seasons in Cleveland.
Belle's bobblehead, per his request, will feature the power-hitting maestro pointing to his bicep, as he did during the 1995 American League Division Series after Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy questioned whether Belle had corked his bat.
"Albert had been emailing me the last couple of years saying, 'Where's my bobblehead? How come I don't have a bobblehead?" DiBiasio said. "He was the one who said, 'It has to be the pose from the Boston Red Sox game.'"
Belle, relishing the role of stay-at-home dad, is not expected to be in attendance on his bobblehead day, June 1, because his daughters have a dance recital.
The Indians will also honor six-time All-Star Rocky Colavito, who played eight of his 14 seasons with the franchise. The club will celebrate Colavito's 80th birthday on Aug. 10 with an Indians Hall of Fame plaque giveaway.
Though they'll honor the team's legends and summon ways to evoke a nostalgic feel around Progressive Field, the Indians also consider the 2012 season to be a distant memory. On and off the field, much has changed with the organization in less than six months.
"We needed to do something about that to get back in the good graces of our fans, to get the team going in the right direction," DiBiasio said.
"We think we've added the pieces to this core group of young players that's going to make this a championship-caliber team and have some terrific fun throughout the course of the season."
Zack Meisel is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @zackmeisel. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Results 1 to 10 of 80
Thread: The Affordable Boat Act
The Affordable Boat Act
My dad sent this to me in an e-mail...interesting take on the Affordable care act. Hopefully this won't stir up any trouble...Enjoy!
The U.S. government has just passed a new law called: "The affordable boat act" declaring that every citizen MUST purchase a new boat, by April 2014. These "affordable" boats will cost an average of $54,000-$155,000 each. This does not include taxes, trailers, towing fees, licensing and registration fees, fuel, docking and storage fees, maintenance or repair costs.
This law has been passed, because until now, typically only wealthy and financially responsible people have been able to purchase boats. This new law ensures that every American can now have a "affordable" boat of their own, because everyone is "entitled" to a new boat. If you purchase your boat before the end of the year, you will receive 4 "free" life jackets; not including monthly usage fees.
In order to make sure everyone purchases an affordable boat, the costs of owning a boat will increase on average of 250-400% per year. This way, wealthy people will pay more for something that other people don't want or can't afford to maintain. But to be fair, people who cant afford to maintain their boat will be regularly fined and children (under the age of 26) can use their parents boats to party on until they turn 27; then must purchase their own boat.
If you already have a boat, you can keep yours (just kidding; no you can't). If you don't want or don't need a boat, you are required to buy one anyhow. If you refuse to buy one or cant afford one, you will be regularly fined $800 until you purchase one or face imprisonment.
Failure to use the boat will also result in fines. People living in the desert; ghettos; inner cities or areas with no access to lakes are not exempt. Age, motion sickness, experience, knowledge nor lack of desire are acceptable excuses for not using your boat.
A government review board (that doesn't know the difference between the port, starboard or stern of a boat) will decide everything, including; when, where, how often and for what purposes you can use your boat along with how many people can ride your boat and determine if one is too old or healthy enough to be able to use their boat. They will also decide if your boat has out lived its usefulness or if you must purchase specific accessories,(like a $500 compass) or a newer and more expensive boat.
Those that can afford yachts will be required to do so...its only fair. The government will also decide the name for each boat. Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines and possible imprisonment.
Government officials are exempt from this new law. If they want a boat, they and their families can obtain boats free, at the expense of tax payers. Unions, bankers and mega companies with large political affiliations ($$$) are also exempt.
If the government can force you to buy health care, they can force you to buy a boat....or ANYTHING else..
Yeah...it's that stupid...SOLD! 2011 Mobius LSV 325HP EFI
Digital Cruise Pro, Wakeplate, Kenwood KM550U and KCA-RC107MR x2, Kicker ZXM700.5, Kicker 6.5 Cabins, 10'' Kicker CompVT sub, Wetsounds SYN 4, Wetsounds REV10s, Wetsounds WS420Q, Gravity VI Surf Ballast, Acme 537
Board: '12 LF Harley (Monster) 139
Her Board: '11 Ronix Krush 128
Kids Board: '13 Ronix Vision 120
Skate: LF Faction 44
Surf: LF Custom Quad & XXX
Tow Rig:
2011 Toyota Tundra CrewMax TRD Magnetic Grey
3/1 Truxx Lift, and some other stuff...
Pretty funny for the Obama voters.
I posted that a few days ago in joke of the day.
https://forum.moomba.com/showthread....highlight=JokeA Day at the Lake...Priceless
A Day in Powder...Endless
Joe V
2012 Möbius XLV~ Loaded & Exiled
2007 Outback V ~ sold
The Affordable Boat Act
Ahhh...sorry about the dupe. I haven't been on in a while. Hope those voters are proud/happy with themselves...SOLD! 2011 Mobius LSV 325HP EFI
Digital Cruise Pro, Wakeplate, Kenwood KM550U and KCA-RC107MR x2, Kicker ZXM700.5, Kicker 6.5 Cabins, 10'' Kicker CompVT sub, Wetsounds SYN 4, Wetsounds REV10s, Wetsounds WS420Q, Gravity VI Surf Ballast, Acme 537
Board: '12 LF Harley (Monster) 139
Her Board: '11 Ronix Krush 128
Kids Board: '13 Ronix Vision 120
Skate: LF Faction 44
Surf: LF Custom Quad & XXX
Tow Rig:
2011 Toyota Tundra CrewMax TRD Magnetic Grey
3/1 Truxx Lift, and some other stuff...
an interesting debate on boats vs healthcare
although many different arguments and lots of scenarios can provide different outcomes, I don't understand why this is such a big deal. I figure most of us on this forum are fiscally responsible and probably in pretty good jobs as we have disposable money for a boat and all the expenses that go along with it. I think the assumption could also be made that most of us have health care either thru work or for those self-employed, thru an insurer. if the intent is to make sure everyone in the us has insurance and as a side effect ends up lowering costs of treatment due to hospitals no longer charging off bad debt, is this not a good thing?
he says as he chucks a steak into the lion pit and waits for the outcome'06 Supra Launch 20SSV-gone but never forgotten
Not that familiar with it - but what about people who don't need insurance? Those who make a boat load of money and don't want to bother with it? They are still required to get it - right? (like the tie-back to boats ??)If you believe something to be true, it will be - in it's consequences.
2009 MasterCraft ProStar 197 - DD - 5.7L - 325HP - Zero Off
At least we will be able to buy stamps in the new ER. By the way-- they will be taking all Federal holidays off so don't get sick or hurt.My Mom said I'm not allowed to get wet!
2000 Outback LS (sold)
Exile Tunes
P5 Danielo Diamond 58"
The Affordable Boat Act
Sandm, you talk like it is has effect on people who already have good insurance but that is where you are mistaken. There are a large amount of new taxes coming being initiated to pay for the federal insurance subsidies that will affect all of us. Then when they can't get enough money through the new taxes they will start charging credit cards and pass appropriation bills to pay for it and then the national debt will grow even larger.
Not to mention forcing companies to charge the same rate for everyone no matter how much risk the pose does two things, it either drives the cost up for low risk people to pay for the high risk ones or it causes the insurance company to eventually go broke. I think that is the ultimate plan, this whole law is a pretext to set the stage for a single payer national system because it's designed to drive insurance companies out of business
Sent from my iPhoneDavid
2017 Moomba Mojo Max Surf Edition, 2 Pair Wetsounds Rev10s powered by an SD2, 6 paid Wetsounds XS650M and Wetsounds WS12 powered by SD6 all controlled by a WS420.
SOLD***2008 Mobius LSV, Gravity III , Wake Plate, Z5, Exile SX65c's, Exile XM9s, Exile XI12D, Exile Javelin, Exile 30.2***SOLD
I don't think it'll affect anyone that has insurance. I see it as forcing my coworker who chooses not to get coverage to have it. so when his wife goes into labor and has a kid, I'm not stuck with higher bills at the hospital from them charging off his bad debt.
I certainly don't understand all the in's and out's of it and I don't think anyone really does as smoke and mirrors are what our gov't is good at, but seems to me that having insurance should be a good thing.
I consider myself that low risk person as I've been to the dr maybe twice in the last 20 years, but I'm also considered high risk as my bmi is high. 5'11" and currently 205. I lead a somewhat active lifestyle and I'm considered obese so my insurer chooses not to give me the discount(currently 17%). if healthcare reform somehow manages to fix that, I'm going to be happy.
I guess at the end of the day it feels like a law that will force those that should have it and have access to it to provide it for their families. I see too many large families that are a drain on the system choose to pass on healthcare knowing the state will take care of them. of course I feel the same way about the irs and giving deductions for having kids. I'm subsidizing refunds to families that keep popping them out. give me an income-progressive flat tax with no itemizing and I'll be in 7th heaven'06 Supra Launch 20SSV-gone but never forgotten
11-12-2013, 12:41 PM #10My Mom said I'm not allowed to get wet!
2000 Outback LS (sold)
Exile Tunes
P5 Danielo Diamond 58"


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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA FILE NO.: CA08-1656 DIVISION: 55 J. MICHAEL BARKER, Trustee, RICHARD D. BARKER, INC. PROFIT SHARING PLAN AND TRUST; JON MICHAEL BARKER and RICHARD D. BARKER JR., Trustees, RICHARD D. BARKER JR. LIVING TRUST, and JON MICHAEL BARKER and CLAUDETTE C. BARKER, Trustees, THE CLAUDETTE C. BARKER LIVING TRUST, Plaintiffs, vs. JAY C. HALSEMA, COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS, INC., a Foreign Profit Corporation, and OCEAN GRANDE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida Non-Profit Corporation, Defendants. NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Notice is hereby given pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated October 15, 2008, and entered in Case No. CA-08-1656, of the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit in and for St. Johns County, Florida, I will sell the real property, described on the attached Exhibit A'', Exhibit A: BUILDING 4, UNIT NO. 104 AND GARAGE UNIT 6-7, OCEAN GRANDE AT SERENATA BEACH A CONDOMINIUM, ACCORDING TO THE DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM AS RECORDED IN OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 1739, PAGE 1776 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED BY AMENDMENTS TO DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM RE- CORDED IN OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 1762, PAGE 1880, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2063, PAGE 851, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2063, PAGE 854, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2427, PAGE 1090, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2679, PAGE 1448, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2782, PAGE 1871, OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2813, PAGE 952, AND OFFICIAL RECORDS VOLUME 2898, PAGE 1848 OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA, TOGETHER WITH AN UNDIVIDED INTEREST IN THE COMMON ELEMENTS APPURTENANT THERETO. at public sale to the highest and best bidder for cash, at the front door of the St. Johns County Courthouse, 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, Florida, at 12:00 Noon on the 25th day of November, 2008. DATED this 16th day of October, 2008. CHERYL STRICKLAND CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT By Melissa Dukes Deputy Clerk In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), if you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the Court Administration Office at (904) 827-5617, 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, Florida 32084. If you are voice impaired, call 1-800-955-8770. L3130-8 Oct. 23, 30, 2008
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We basically had one D-III caliber player (Mason) and a D-Leaguer (Jefferies) and we almost won the game. We had almost no chance of stopping the Celtics when we were up by one. Mason was guarding Pierce, I was certain Pierce was going to get the ball and easily score on Mason. But they fed the ball to Garnett, who was easily stronger and too skilled for Jefferies. For some reason Melo was guarding Ray instead of Pierce, not that it mattered much cause no matter what we did, there was easily three mismatches.
Top three things the Knicks need:
1. Replace D'Antoni with Sloan (or another top coach)
2. get a legit PG. It doesn't have to be a CP3 or Westbrook type of PG. Felton caliber PGs would be more than fine.
3. Bring Jerome Jordan from overseas. No need for a traditional (post and toast) player. Just a body who doesn't get pushed around a la Jefferies. I don't mind Jefferies btw, just don't like him as our starting center.


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Top Items:
Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
David Gregory Shocked By NRA's LaPierre: You Fly In The Face Of Common Sense — During Sunday's Meet the Press, the National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre sat down with host David Gregory and defended his organization's universally panned call for armed guards …
Discussion: The Impolitic and The Raw Story
Eric W. Dolan / The Raw Story: NBC's David Gregory rips NRA chief over 'common sense'
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Bloomberg, LaPierre and the Void — FOR a week after the Newtown shooting, the conversation was dominated by the self-righteous certainties of the American center-left. In print and on the airwaves, the chorus was nearly universal: the only possible response to Adam Lanza's rampage …
Discussion: Balloon Juice and Brad DeLong
J. Bradford DeLong / Brad DeLong: Can We Please Keep Ross Douthat from Writing Again?
Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:
Riled Up David Gregory Hammers Wayne LaPierre Over NRA Position On Gun Laws — Nine days after the massacre in Newtown, Conn., National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre made his first official press appearance, taking questions from NBC's David Gregory on Meet the Press.
Discussion: Towleroad News #gay
New York Times:
The Scourge of Concealed Weapons — As the nation's leaders devise new gun control strategies following the Connecticut shooting, they should look for ways to strengthen state laws that govern the possession and use of firearms. In too many states, these laws are weak and, in some cases, seem almost designed to encourage violence.
Discussion: Right Wing News, Daily Kos and Flopping Aces
William Teach / Right Wing News: NY Times Really Upset Over Concealed Carry Laws
Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
NRA-Backed Senator Says Washington Can't Find 'Real Solutions' To Gun Violence — On Fox News Sunday this morning, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) refused to answer questions about any specific gun control legislation he would consider supporting in the aftermath of the Newtown shooting.
Discussion: Fox News and Crooks and Liars
Eric Lichtblau / The Caucus:
N.R.A. Leaders Stand Firm Against Gun Restrictions — Leaders of the National Rifle Association said Sunday that they would fight any new gun restrictions introduced in Congress, and they made clear that they were not interested in working with President Obama to help develop a broad response to the Connecticut school massacre.
Michael Ono / ABCNEWS:
NRA Chief LaPierre: 'Call Me Crazy'
NRA Chief LaPierre: 'Call Me Crazy'
Kevin Liptak / CNN: Republicans not jumping onto NRA's gun plan
ShortTimer / The Patriot Perspective:
David Gregory Violates DC Gun Law On National TV
David Gregory Violates DC Gun Law On National TV
Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, BREITBART.COM, Doug Ross, Twitchy and The Daily Caller
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Did David Gregory just violate D.C. gun law by possessing a high-capacity gun clip?
Warner Todd Huston / BREITBART.COM: NBC'S GREGORY VIOLATES DC GUN LAWS ON 'MEET THE PRESS'
Directorblue / Doug Ross: USEFUL IDIOT DAVID GREGORY: Faces a Year in Prison for Waving Around a High-Cap Magazine on "Meet the Democrat Press"
Lori Ziganto / Twitchy: Lapdogs: NRA's LaPierre on 'Meet the Press,' David Gregory blatantly lets gun-grabber bias show; Updated
Evan McMorris-Santoro / Talking Points Memo:
Wayne LaPierre: If It's Crazy To Put More Guns In Schools, Then Call Me Crazy
Wayne LaPierre: If It's Crazy To Put More Guns In Schools, Then Call Me Crazy
Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider, Little Green Footballs and The Raw Story
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: NRA Chief Calls For National Database Of The Mentally Ill And Says: If You Want To Call Me Crazy, Then Call Me Crazy
Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs: NRA Head LaPierre on Meet the Press: "Call Me Crazy"
David Ferguson / The Raw Story: O'Donnell calls NRA's LaPierre a 'lobbyist for mass-murderers'
Michael Kranish / Boston Globe:
The story behind Mitt Romney's loss in the presidential campaign to President Obama — (Associated Press photo of Mother Jones video) — You are reading this article for FREE courtesy of BostonGlobe.com. Get unlimited access. — It was two weeks before Election Day when Mitt Romney's …
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: Tagg Romney: My Father Never Really Wanted To Run For President Anyhow
Pam Spaulding / Firedoglake: This should go over well with donors: Mitt Romney 'had no desire' to be President
Anne Laurie / Balloon Juice: Willard Mitt Romney, Easy Target
Libby Spencer / The Impolitic: Mitt Romney, reluctant candidate
GottaLaff / The Political Carnival: Tagg Romney: Mitt "wanted to be president less than anyone I've met in my life."
Sarah Jones / PoliticusUSA: The Romneys Take Their Ball and Go Home, Claiming Mitt Never Wanted to be President
Jon Perr / PERRspectives: Romney "Had No Desire" to Be President
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill: Tagg Romney: Father wanted to be president 'less than anyone I've met'
Anjali Sareen / Mediaite: Tagg Romney Claims Dad Mitt Wasn't Interested In Presidency: 'He Had No Desire...To Run'
Myles Tanzer / Gawker: Don't Feel Bad, Mitt Romney Never Wanted to be President
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain: How Romney Lost America
Candice M. Giove / New York Post:
Ryan Lanza mourns Newtown shooter sibling and mom, claims he's a victim — Newtown killer Adam Lanza, who shot dead his mother, six other adults and 20 children, is badly missed by his brother. — "I am a victim," Ryan Lanza, 24, told The Post yesterday in a Facebook chat. "I loss [sic] my mom and brother."
Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Mediaite, TMZ.com and WTVR-TV
Hinterland / The Hinterland Gazette: Ryan Lanza Mourns Deaths of Brother, Newtown Shooter Adam Lanza and Mother, Claims He's a Victim, Really?
Alix Bryan / WTVR-TV: Adam Lanza's brother speaks out: 'I Am a Victim'
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Sen. Barrasso: Obama sees a 'political victory' in going over the cliff — Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Sunday he thinks President Obama wants to dive over the so-called "fiscal cliff." — "I believe the president is eager to go over the cliff for political purposes," Barrasso told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."
Greg Clary / CNN: Republicans: Obama wants to go over the cliff
Jennifer Epstein / Politico: Conrad wants 'one last attempt' at big cliff deal
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Isakson would back bill to extend middle-class rates if 'only choice' left
Isakson would back bill to extend middle-class rates if 'only choice' left
Discussion: Politico
Jedd Rosche / Politico: Isakson OK saving tax cuts only for middle class
Carlo Muñoz / The Hill:
LaTourette: 'Plan B' failure not a rebuke of Boehner's 'leadership'
LaTourette: 'Plan B' failure not a rebuke of Boehner's 'leadership'
Kevin Liptak / CNN: Lieberman says we're likely to tumble over cliff
Dave Warner Kevin Murphy / Reuters:
Gun enthusiasts pack shows to buy assault weapons — (Reuters) - Gun enthusiasts thronged to shows around the country on Saturday to buy assault weapons they fear will soon be outlawed after a massacre of school children in Connecticut prompted calls for tighter controls on firearms.
Discussion: The Daily Caller and Little Green Footballs
Adam Bates / The Daily Caller: The NRA vs. the Second Amendment
Alice Hines / The Huffington Post:
FBI Investigated 'Occupy' As Possible 'Terrorism' Threat, Internal Documents Show … FOLLOW: — Video, FBI, Occupy Protests, Occupy Movement, Occupy Wall Street, Police Occupy, Police Surveillance, Business News — According to internal documents newly released by the FBI …
Discussion: Hot Air
Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Fiscal Fail: Government Agencies Plan Few Significant Changes For January, Despite Cliff Hype … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff IRS, Fiscal Cliff Congress, Fiscal Cliff Federal Agencies, Fiscal Cliff Obama, Fiscal Cliff Outcome, Fiscal Cliff Payroll Tax, Fiscal Cliff Taxes, Fiscal Fail, Politics News
Discussion: Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly


text: Of course, you can buy expensive hardware (take our AUD10mil Alphaserver SC - based on 127 ES45's for example) and still have every CPU replaced, every dimm replaced and every disk replaced over 3 years :) We are still loosing a node disk (10k rpm Ultra SCSI 320 disks) roughly every 3-4 days. Fortunately, our Quadrics has never failed. Contrast this to our 152 node Dell cluster (single cpu PR350's), which has had a couple of disks and a couple of fans fail in 2 years... Stu. > For the nodes themselves, you can buy systems with redundant power and > redundant disk. You can buy from an system vendor that qualifies > their hardware much more rigorously than another. When you buy cheap > hardware you get cheap hardware. -- <---------------------------------------------------------------------> Dr Stuart Midgley | stuart.midgley at anu.edu.au Supercomputer Facility | smidgley at netspace.net.au Leonard Huxley Building 56 | +61 (0)2 6125 5988 Work Australian National University | +61 (0)2 6125 8199 Fax CANBERRA ACT 0200 | +61 (0)4 1125 2488 Mob


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Out ballroom dancing champ Jason Gilkison keeps 'Burn the Floor' on track — from behind the scenes
ARNOLD WAYNE JONES | Life+Style Editor
It's an hour before showtime, and Jason Gilkison is busy making sure his dancers are ready for the opening night in Oklahoma City of their show Burn the Floor. There's a lot to coordinate, but Gilkison stays cool, despite having to mount a show with eight dancing couples and two singers, including American Idol finalist Vonzell Solomon and So You Think You Can Dance married heartthrobs Ashley and Ryan DiLillo.
Those may be the marquee names, but the real star of Burn the Floor is the show itself, an energetic and sexy two hours of ballroom-on-Red Bull.
And that, as director and choreographer, is Gilkison's responsibility.
It's not as if Gilkison didn't have his day in the footlights, too. He got rhythm early — his grandfather opened the first ballroom dancing studio even in Australia, in 1931 — dancing from a young age with his partner, Peta Roby. At age 16, he and Roby moved to London, then the epicenter of ballroom training anywhere in the world. By 1988, he and Roby were world champions.
If the story vaguely conjures images in your brain of the Baz Luhrmann film Strictly Ballroom, that's not really an accident: "Peta and I were loose prototypes for those characters," he modestly concedes in his charming Down Under accent. "I actually just met with Baz last week."
You might not see Gilkison on the stage of Fair Park Music Hall when Burn the Floor opens, but his stamp is on it.
"It came too late for me," says the still-boyish Gilkison, who has been dancing and choreographing for an astonishing 37 years. He and Roby retired in 1997 — just about the time Burn the Floor was conceived of at, of all places, Elton John's home.
"The executive producer was Elton's manager, and for [Elton's] 50th birthday party, eight ballroom dancing couples came for a 15-minute display.
No one had ever seen a group of dancers have such a hold on people," he explains.
That party became the germ for the show; it debuted in 1999, and Gilkison joined it soon after. He never thought it would be a career. He may not have thought it would last a season.
"Eleven years ago, it was very experimental to take ballroom dancing and put it into a theatrical form," he says. It has evolved over the years, as well. "The original show was 45 dancers, not eight or nine couples. We redid it — the new version is more dancer-friendly."
And it has become its own animal. Burn the Floor has toured non-stop for more than a decade, including a five-month run on Broadway that Gilkison directed and choreographed (it ended last year). That production features Dancing with the Stars veterans Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff.
So how does a serious dance expert like Gilkison feel about such pop-competition TV shows like that and So You Think You Can Dance? He loves them.
"It's the perfect time for something like Burn the Floor with [the popularity of DWTS and SYTYCD]. These obscure dance forms have now been popularized. Dancing that had been dormant is now seen in a contemporary way."
Not always in a good way, though. He admits Kate Gosselin's lead-footed stomping on last season's DWTS made him cringe. "She really struggled," he says.
Gilkison himself has been a choreographer and judge on SYTYCD. Just a few days before, former gay contestant Ade has been in the house (he is dating one of the current dancers), and Gilkison even shares a bit of news for the show's diehard fans: "Mary Murphy will be back!" (Murphy is a ballroom expert whose shrill enthusiasm was sorely missed last season.)
Burn the Floor needn't worry about guest visits from Gosselin, though. While Gilkison's chief job is effortlessly substituting new acts and "special guests" as the show has developed, that been easier due to its reputation for excellence.
"The right dancers have always gravitated toward us," he says. "I think what surprises the ballroom dance masters is that technically they are at a high level — these are not cruise ship dancers." (One downside: The energy level starts out so strong, it has no place to built to.)
It certainly has a lot to offer an audience primed for sexy athleticism: In tight black pants, and with hips swinging from their killer abs, the show sometimes resembles a muscular Tom of Finland catalogue, including a shirtless pas de deux between two male toreadors. And it concludes with a Cher song. Hey, put the gays in charge, and they know how to end strong.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition April 1, 2011.


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four bodies were found inside the burned wreckage of a private jet that crashed into a hangar after landing, a coroner's official said Tuesday.
A crew removed the remains from the aircraft at Santa Monica Airport and investigators will seek to match new dental X-rays with X-rays of people believed to be aboard, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
The twin-engine Cessna 525A crashed shortly before sunset Sunday as it arrived from Hailey, Idaho.
Mark Benjamin, CEO of Santa Monica-based Morley Construction, and his son, Luke Benjamin, a senior project manager with the company, were believed to be on the flight, Vice President Charles Muttillo said. According to the company's website, past projects include Southern California landmarks such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the Getty Villa art museum and parts of the Hollywood Bowl.
Several people who knew Mark Benjamin told The Associated Press he would typically pilot the plane between Southern California and Idaho, where he owned homes, though they did not know whether Benjamin was at the controls Sunday.
Mark Benjamin had a home in Ketchum, Idaho, where he would frequently spend weekends in the outdoors that he loved, longtime friend John French said.
French, also a pilot, said that Benjamin started flying the Cessna about six years ago.
"He flew a lot," French said. "He was not a casual pilot."
Benjamin was an active philanthropist, with a particular focus on nature conservation and youth programs.
During Sunday's flight, there was "no communication with the pilot indicting there's a problem with the aircraft at any time," Van McKenny, lead investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said Monday.
Cranes had to be brought in to lift the wrecked building off the plane before efforts could begin to retrieve remains and the cockpit voice recorder. Also recovered were the remains of two cats and a dog.
The airport had been closed to plane traffic since Sunday evening, but reopened just after 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The investigation and release of information were affected by the federal government shutdown that began late Monday for the West Coast.
Investigators were to gather all evidence that could not be preserved from the active accident scene and then stop their work, NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said shortly before the shutdown went into effect.
NTSB staff left Tuesday morning and the charred wreckage of the plane was taken off site for potential future investigation, acting airport manager Stelios Makrides said. The NTSB could not be reached for comment because its public affairs office was closed.
On Monday, the safety board's McKenny told reporters that after touching down, the pilot "veered off the right side of the runway and then as he continued down, the turn got sharper and sharper."
The plane crashed into a row of five connected hangars about 400 feet from the end of the 5,000-foot runway, where it caught fire.
One hangar collapsed, its steel trusses crossing over the plane and the sheet metal shell wrapping around it, McKenny said. Two other hangars received minor damage.
Santa Monica Airport's single runway sits amid residential neighborhoods of this city of more than 90,000 on the Pacific Ocean. The city and nearby residents have expressed fears that certain types of jets with fast landing speeds could overshoot the runway and crash into homes.
Follow Justin Pritchard at https://twitter.com/lalanewsman


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La Cuisine restaurant has a more free-floating artsy motif. There's an art gallerie as well in the hotel. Last September's Büche de Noël display was held there and will be again this year. Can't wait.
Ta-Da! The traditional tea time scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam are hidden behind the chocolates and mini macarons.
Exquisite no? Smaller versions of Pierre Herme originals so no guilt need apply.
Mardi Michels of Eat Live Travel Write and I were guests of the hotel. Mardi has taught classes at La Cuisine Paris and currently in Canada. She attacks our desserts like a surgeon. Verdict: perfection.
Mardi drinks an organic flower infusion by tea master Pascal Hamour.
While I request a made-to-order cooling drink of fresh mint covered in Chateldon bubbly water and ice cubes. This has become my summer 'tea' drink of choice. The waiter kindly brought a tiny pitcher of sugar syrup unasked. Perfection.


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A 62-year-old La Plata County man was found dead inside his car Monday at Trimble Crossing shopping center north of Durango, authorities said.
The man, who was not identified pending notification of next of kin, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Dan Bender, spokesman for the La Plata County Sheriffs Office.
He had no family in the area and was renting a home in the Hermosa area, about 10 miles north of Durango.
The man was found inside his car about 4:15 p.m. in a large parking lot that services a grocery store and hardware store in the Animas Valley, Bender said. His body had been there for at least several days, he said.