text:
Giants take notice of Heston, Kickham in "B" game
Top pitching prospects impress against D-backs with GM Sabean watching in crowd
By Chris Haft / MLB.com
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A large part of what could be the Giants' future was on display in near-obscurity Sunday morning.
On an auxiliary field at the Arizona Diamondbacks' training complex, right-hander Chris Heston and left-hander Mike Kickham pitched in a "B" game against fellow Minor Leaguers from the D-backs' system. Such events are often meant to give under-utilized players a chance to perform, but the novelty of two of the Giants' top pitching prospects appearing back-to-back gave this scene some significance.
At least it was significant enough for general manager Brian Sabean to show up with some of his top assistants in tow and watch most of the six innings that the squads played.
As starting pitchers, Heston and Kickham would be valuable commodities under any circumstance. This year, with the rotation's long-term composition in doubt, the 24-year-olds are drawing considerable attention from the club's decision makers. Tim Lincecum will become eligible for free agency after this season, and whether the Giants will pick up Barry Zito's $18 million contract option for 2014 is questionable.
Moreover, preparing for untimely factors such as injuries or ineffectiveness is a must for the Giants, whose rotation has remained among baseball's elite since 2009. One way or another, the Giants might need Heston and Kickham, -- who thrived at Double-A Richmond last year -- sooner rather than later.
"Well, that's the plan," manager Bruce Bochy said when asked if the pair can potentially contribute on the Major League level this year. "We need depth in the organization. Those are two guys we think a lot of. Hopefully, they continue their progress and if we need them at some point this year, they'll be ready."
Heston looked ready against the aspiring D-backs, allowing two hits and striking out four in three shutout innings. D-backs ace Ian Kennedy dominated the Giants' farmhands and yielded one hit in four innings, including three innings in which he retired four hitters. Yet Heston, rated eighth by MLB.com among Giants prospects, didn't look overmatched.
"He's a right-hander who likes to spot up, so he's a good guy for me to watch," Heston said of Kennedy.
Sporting a fastball that ranged between 87-91 mph, Heston wasn't overpowering. But he repeatedly coaxed harmless ground balls by keeping his offspeed pitches low and using his sinking fastball.
"It was good to get the ball down in the zone and let the defense work," said Heston, who led the Eastern League with a 2.24 ERA last year.
Heston credited Steve Kline, the former Giants reliever who was his pitching coach with Class A Augusta in 2010, for teaching him the sinker that has become such an essential pitch for him.
"It gave me a lot more confidence to throw the ball over the plate instead of trying to be so fine," Heston said. "... I could rely on the sink to still get a ground ball. That really helped."
Kickham, rated 12th among MLB.com's Giants prospects, allowed one run and two hits in two innings. But his fastball, which hovered between 91-93 mph, looked lively, as did his other pitches. Relieving Heston, he struck out the side in the fourth inning.
Kickham has improved rapidly since a cracked fingernail in Spring Training of 2011 prevented him from beginning the season until mid-May. He finished 5-10 with a 4.11 ERA that year with Augusta before posting an 11-10 record with a 3.05 ERA last season for the Flying Squirrels. He and Heston were named to the league's postseason All-Star team as its left- and right-handed starters, respectively. It marked the first time since the league adopted this method for selecting All-Stars that pitchers from the same team claimed both awards.
Not that long ago, right-hander Matt Cain was in the developmental stage that Heston and Kickham now occupy, possessing legitimate ability but unsure of how to harness it. So Cain was pleased when the pair approached him recently to quiz him about various aspects of pitching. It reminded Cain, a three-time National League All-Star and San Francisco's Opening Day starter, of when he sought advice from veterans such as Matt Morris and Jason Schmidt.
"They're eager to learn," Cain said. "Both of those guys were asking questions the other day. I loved that. That was great."
It might not be long before Heston and Kickham are asking for directions to AT&T Park.
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Jane Bankhurst '02 Among Atlantic City's 'Top 40 Under 40'
April 15, 2012
Jane Bankhurst, activities manager at Marriott Vacation Club and 2002 graduate of DePauw University, is among Atlantic City Weekly's "2012 Top 40 Under 40." The listing of the "region's most dynamic young leaders" is presented by the publication and the Greater Atlantic City Jaycees.
"Some of them are community leaders and volunteers, some are entrepreneurial, others are extraordinary talents whom inspire many," the Weekly notes. "One thing they all have in common is that people from around the region nominated them to be one of this year's Top 40 Under 40."
Bankhursdt "supports and partners with local merchants to help enhance the guest experience in southern New Jersey," according to her profile. "Jane has also helped coordinate fund-raisers to benefit Children's Miracle Network, and participates in Habitat for Humanity and the Adopt-A-Highway program. Prior to joining Marriott Vacation Club, she spent five years working on board Disney Cruise Line in youth Aativities and entertainment. Her communications and sociology liberal arts degree from DePauw University and passion for travel landed Jane in the hospitality world."
Access the commendation here.Back

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Puntuación basada en
12 Comentarios
5 en febrero 05, 2015
Stayed at the Inn on business, and could not imagine a more relaxed, welcoming setting. Was able to catch up on emails, got a much appreciated "dog fix" by the resident pets, and enjoyed a truly gourmet-level breakfast topped by the best-ever coffee. Room was wonderfully charming, immaculate and most of all incredibly comfortable. The owner truly attends to the "little things" that add up to a great stay. Best sleep in a long time. Many thanks for such a pleasant, homey stay!
5 en febrero 17, 2014
Everything about our stay at Hickory Ridge B & B was wonderful. The innkeepers are welcoming, friendly and helpful. The rooms are warm, comfortable and spacious. Breakfast is so good I looked forward to what might be served the next day and it did not disappoint. There are trails right out the back door for walking, cross country skiing or snow shoeing. Perfect....
5 en abril 25, 2011
Even if you are not planning a stay in this part of New England, consider putting it on your agenda. You'll enjoy the location, the sparkling facilities, the canine welcome and delicious breakfast. We had 3 rooms for young and old alike and all were very impressed. Thank you Dennis & Gill for a wonderful time. DJB from PA.
5 en abril 24, 2011
We spent a weekend in Vermont to attend a family gathering and chose to spend the nights at a B&B. Our room was spacious and well appointed. Breakfast was outstanding! Fresh food, well prepared and attractively presented. The innkeepers are genuinely nice people and their dogs are so friendly!
5 en junio 08, 2009
Gracious innkeepers, excellent breakfast, beautiful rooms.
5 en octubre 28, 2008
We stayed one night at Hickory Ridge during our drive throught Vermont during the foilage season and found it to be a very relaxing and enjoyable place. The hosts are friendly and pleasant. Shortly after arrival we joined them for an afternoon walk around the property which took us up to the highest point for a great view of the hills. Later they joined us in the sitting room for pleasant conversation which gave us a chance to discover what it is really like here in the Vermont countryside as well as learn some history of the Inn. Room was clean and comfortable. Breakfast was excellent and included an edible flower which was unusual but a nice touch. Would love to visit again sometime.
4,6 en octubre 28, 2008
The hosts and home were great. Well maintain, good breakfasts, quarters were very comfortable. The hosts were very engaging. A wonderful experience; would recommend to others.
4,6 en octubre 30, 2007
Hickory Ridge House fulfilled everything we had foped for during our fall foliage trip. The rooms have every amenity, yet maintain their historic charm. The hosts are welcoming, the breakfast a gourmet delight. Worth our trip from CA!
5 en octubre 19, 2007
Nestled in the hills of Vermont, Hickory Ridge B&B is VT at its best! Lovely rooms, delicious food, comfortable & beautiful common rooms & very friendly innkeepers. Reserving already for next year!
5 en octubre 09, 2007
Stayed at Hickory Ridge House twice, last time got engaged there. Very nice clean establishment, roomes with fireplace are very romantic, new owners are fantastic, breakfast is wonderful. Great central location to lower VT ski locations such as Mt. Snow and Stratton and a nice drive to both. The little town of Putney is quaint and the local restaurants are very good. For a quick weekend getaway, can't be beat. Highly recommended!
5 en octubre 02, 2007
I have always dreamt of staying at a Bed and Breakfast, and hoped that it could be in Vermont. Well I got my wish and it happened to be on my birthday. What a wonderful birthday present. This home is so beautiful and in such the perfect location, serene, peaceful and did I mention beautiful? Our host Jill was wonderful, so helpful with information as to where to eat, where covered bridges were. And not to mention a great cook. She spoiled us with her beautiful home and hospitality. I do dream of staying in another Bed and Breakfast, and hope those experiences are just as wonderful. But Jill, we will be back someday. Thanks! Shannon and Mark and Isabella too :)
4,6 en septiembre 28, 2007
The house was gorgeous and our hosts were warm and very accomodating.


text:
I went for the Fun, but came Back with an Education
wrote a blog last week about why bloggers do not get the respect they deserve and
are not even thought of for credentials in sports. The blog brought a bit of a
firestorm to my door from the local blogging community, and to say I was taken
back a bit was an understatement. But I also see and understand the points made
in each of those pieces, and even in the comments made by other people. I am a
better writer for knowing what people think around the Tampa Bay area on this
issue. So what I truly have learned the past week is the extent of the changes
in the media machine in the past 10 years. Now I am not saying I have lived
under a rock and kept my ears closed to the noise coming out of my television,
but I am naive again to the do and don'ts of the modern media contingent. It
grew up faster than a weed in a Bermuda grass lawn.
So I went
over to the 2009 Superbowl activities at Raymond James Stadium. I had planned
on taking in the media feast from a distance and hoped to leave the event with a
renewed vigor and vitality to learn a few new things in the whole process. The
first few minutes of the annual media day still give me goosebumps. I never got a
chance to play at the Superbowl level, my teams only got to the playoffs once in
my time there, and we got beat by a division rival and had to sit on our couches
and watch the game like the other 30 teams.
I started the day off kind of undercover as I
went around the pre-set stages around the stadium. The NFL's Media Day was a
new experience for me and I got basically a Day pass to kind of audit the event
and take home some new steps for the future. The one great thing about having a
good connection with the league, I can ask for things like this and unless I
write something trashy beforehand, it can be done with a minimum of trouble. I
do not write NFL-base blogs or stories, but my past relationship with a member
of the NFL media corps helped cement my place in the audience to watch and learn
from beyond the microphones and tape
I am
still amazed at the lack of true football knowledge that some cultures in the
other hamlets of the world displayed that day. But then again, I do not
understand Cricket, so if I went to India to cover a national match between
Pakistan and India I would not understand the huge commotion either. The NFL
has done everything in their powers to educate and keep an open door to other
countries that want to expose the world to this great event. But you got to
admire a journalistic team coming half way across the globe to cover an event
and learn on the fly about the sport and the passion of the players, coaches
and fans towards this frenzied weeks activities.
But something I have always loved about a majority of today's NFL
guys is that they embrace the truth that everyone is not a football nut around
the world and they show empathy and understanding for the people who do not see
the game on the level of the usual American fan. I have seen guys on teams
berate media members from other countries in the past, and that was totally
unacceptable in my book. But then again, I have seen a guy explain for 20
minutes what a blitz is, and why they do it to a very interested Japanese media
member wanting to understand the term to educate his readers or
When I was playing, I was lucky to have secured a
degree in Mass Communication, and I never forgot the fact that it is a media
members choice for them to interview me, and that I should be honored and really
take my time to be sure they have it right, or I could look the foolish in a
foreign language. But then again, I have seen some people treat the media like a
burden instead of a sure fire way to get their voice out there for millions and
millions of potential fans. And that used to frustrate me. Especially when I
see someone like Warren Sapp pick up a Japanese magazine with his picture on the
cover and take it home only to find out it is actually a bad story on him
written in Japanese about him downgrading the public on some comment he made in
an interview over a year ago.
After the initial group of
players came out and did their media segments, I saw a few people I knew from
the Indianapolis media group and sat down and asked them how much their job has
changed since the last time I saw them. One guy began to take 4 different
electronic items out of his bag to show the magnatude the industry had changed
beyond my imaginations. He first popped open his bag and showed me his top of
the line laptop with the WiFi and media programs and components to send his
story instantly anywhere at anytime. To me that is the biggest change in the
last 10 years. the fact that you can update and send in your stories 24/7
compared to the times when I had to be sure to either race down to the papers'
offices or call into a Copy Clerk to transfer my story in time for the 11 pm
cut-off for submission in the next days paper.
fact that he could do a story in the airport, or in the cab, or even while
sitting in the stadiums stands 5 minutes from now and send it electronically to
be updated throughout the day and placed on the papers web site within minutes
was amazing to me. Plus he told me he now does a blog almost daily to bring
information and even breaking news instantly in the sidebar of the website. Now
I know that this has happened locally for some time. I have seen the
transformation of some great newspaper guys into media based bloggers in the
past few years, but to hear someone who I used to see run searching for an empty
phone to submit his story after a Thursday night game just blew me
The he threw down his "second body part", or his
Blackberry. How he could use it to do research and update statistics and
information in a micro second to get the information that keeps people coming
back to his blogs and columns. But then he grabbed a second mini computer that I
saw was a Palm notebook and he showed me how the voice recognition system on the
unit was better than his old hand held tape recorder to get interviews typed out
and ready to browse for articles and quotes. I told him I needed one of those
for just everyday use and he advised me to wait a few years until the price
comes down…….sane advice after he told me the price of the unit and the
I then told them I remember the day when a simple pad
in your back pocket was the ultimate form of media gathering, and a tape
recorder with a working microphone was essential to simple reporting, even a
High School football game. We laughed a bit about missing deadline and having
Copy Clerks misquote a players or coach and the ramifications that it took in
the past to get on good ground. I even told them about one of my first stories I
did during my Internship one summer at a magazine where 4 members of the team
told me their name was " John", and I accepted it verbatim until I got the
roster from the P R department before I left the complex. I almost wrote their
names as "John" when only one of them had that first name and the rest was
hazing the rookie reporter.
But they
also reminded me that those same mistakes today could cost them their jobs since
they have advanced ways of getting it correct the first time. I came away from
that small gathering with a new respect for the industry. I saw the changes and
the adjustments they even had to make to be relative to today's media needs. That
couple of hours in the bright sun seemed to open new possibilities that I had
never imagines 10 years before……..and even still can't fathom
Times had changed so much I almost did not even recognize the
art form anymore, but the basis still remained, sports is life to so many people
in this world. I remembered what brought me to want to write in the first place,
my passion for the moment and to tell a story to a blind man as if he had eyes.
That was the true reason I began writing and researching stories in High School,
to entertain and inform with no prejudice.
So as
the second tier of player appearances began, I just sat back and watched the
guys pull off their musical number of waltzing the questions and answers back
and forth like a pair of skilled dancers. This is another point that made me
fall in love with reporting, the way that the story can flow right out even as
you are sitting there talking to the person while you were writing the story and
not have a clue what your lead will be, or how you are going to close your
But the great thing about media today, you do not even
have to produce that great article to get the idea across and the word out with
accuracy and speed. I saw one of the media guys pull out his Blackberry and peck
a few dozen keystrokes then send the words off like I would text a friend from
the baseball game. He learned during the Q and A session that a certain player
might be a "game day decision " and wanted to leave an entry for his blog
post. So daily I am learning the changes and the new duties of the Fourth Ward.
Gone are the days of simple times of calling in your story before deadline and
even worrying about it getting rewritten by the staff writers sitting in the
bullpen and your entire stories meaning changed in the translation. Today you
can write, edit and post within a few minutes, and hopefully it is right the
first time, or the water will flow through that little hole in the dam faster
than any other time in our short history.
So I headed home and
wrote a blog that inspired me that day. And by the end of the night I was
feeling that the industry might have passed me by with the comments that came
toward me. I had worked in another industry that did not use this type of
technology or skills for years and knew that my talents were rusty now
because Journalism and blogging is different. But the lines are getting more and
more twisted and confusing all the time now. Journalist are blogging, and bloggers want to
be media savvy journalist. But that same group before me that used to write my
quotes down in small pads put in their back pockets, now use devices unheard of
in my early years covering sports. It really showed me how far I was behind in
the modes and methods and that I needed to move forward to even be considered
close to modern in the ever changing media
used today were obtained from Newsday.com ( Ross Frankin ) and from
8 Comments
Rays Renegade – you can have all the fancy tools and latest gizmos – but you still need to know how to write. How to get your point across in a way that makes people want to stop and read. That really is the trick. In this day of instant communication and information overload, we are bombarded with "stories" crying out for our attention. We have to be selective about what we choose to read; there aren't enough hours in the day to read everything. From where I sit, you've got the writing part down. Fine, I'm not an expert. I'm just a person who has to make those choices about what she does and doesn't read. You may not have all the fancy electronic devices yet, but you are much farther along then many of the other writers out there. Don't sell yourself short.
Great blog! I love football… I'm a 49ers fan even though were not playing great right now. Were on the come up. lol
I think some bloggers blow it for others. I like to be positive and just give my opionion. Some bloggers like to just rip teams and players. That's not my style.
~King of Cali
Believe me, there are enough of those blogs out there to rip teams to shreds. And they do a great job of showing the flaws, but if I was to expose a flaw, I think i would have an idea or solution to make my point valid.
The 49ers are in that rough division with the Cardinals, so for a few years it might be a bit of a challenge, but parity has a way of making all of us equal sometimes.
Rays Renegade
I am not selling myself short, just saw a lot of merit in those comments with the good intentions hidden inside them. I always say I am only good as long as those people continue reading me.
It is just a bit eyeopening to see how much some of the industry past me by without me noticing it. I will be fine, I am not worried about me, it is just the next guy who comes in unprepared might take it all to heart and stop writting, which would be a true crime.
Rays Renegade
Great post. You're such a a thoughtful blogger, RR. I really enjoy reading your blog.
I doubt anyone will stop writing because they're bombarded with a lot of technology. They'll just be surprised and amused as you were–at least that's the sense I get from reading your entry. :)
Thanks for that comment. I just try and do what I can. It is sometimes difficult in these last few days before all the fun begins to find something good to write about that is not plastered all over the blogs.
I am still trying to decide hot to do my in-season daily blogs, but I still got time to experiment during Spring Training. It is not only for the players, bloggers have to get into game shape too
Rays Renegade
I really enjoyed this post, Renegade, and can relate so well. I remember well the days of the pad and pen and trying to scribble down a story as it's happening. I was always a slow notes taker, so I was only too happy to go to a tape recorder. But even that "gizmo" gave me trouble. I will NEVER forget going to Katharine Hepburn's apt in NY to interview her when her autobiography came out. I brought two tape recorders because I was afraid one of them would stop working! I'm glad the technology has improved. But it really is about the storytelling. Obviously, you have a passion for that. So I look forward to your posts during the season, however you choose to acquire and write them.
I think that is the ultimate compliment a writer can have..that you see the sory for what it is, and try and make the rest of the world enjot it too.
I saw Julia aerlier today wondered how to do the Game day posts. I know I made three different changes to mine last year and still do not feel it is right yet.
Somewhere between now and April 1st, I will find a happy medium and then take two steps forward. BTW, I have tried to find those old pad types everywhere that I used for note taking and they seem to not make them anymore for public use.and that sucks lol
Rays Renegade


text:
Students to move to new, simpler curriculum
By Nomaan Merchant
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Arkansas students will soon begin a move to a new school curriculum that administrators say is simpler and more effective.
The state has adopted Common Core standards designed by school administrators nationwide in an attempt to bring every state up to the same level of education benchmarks. More than 20 states have adopted the standards so far.
When school starts later this month, more than 100,000 students in kindergarten, first and second grade will be taught English, language arts and math using standards that are heavily focused on skills needed for future careers and college work. Students in third through eighth grade will move to Common Core in the next school year, and high school students will move in 2013-14.
By 2014-15, all public school students will take new tests under the standards. Education officials plan to work with several Arkansas universities to develop the tests, which could eventually be used in the college application process.
In a meeting with reporters Friday, Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell and other officials said the state's old curriculum has more required standards - things students must learn in a given school year - than any other state in the country.
"With the vast amount of standards that we currently have, what's happened, unfortunately, is that teachers are so focused on covering checklists, if you will," Assistant Education Commissioner Laura Bednar said. "They really haven't had time to go to that deep level of rigor that's necessary even before we had the move over to common core state standards."
Under Common Core, third-graders should understand subject-verb agreement, fifth-graders need to know about metaphors and similes and seventh-graders must understand how to calculate surface area.
States that sign up are supposed to use the standards as a base on which to build their curricula and testing, but they can make their benchmarks tougher than Common Core. Only two states, Alaska and Texas, did not sign onto the original idea for the standards.
Asked what would be cut under Common Core, Kimbrell joked that there might be less time in kindergarten for dinosaurs or Johnny Appleseed. But Kimbrell and others said they had heard from employers who want more rigor and more preparation for future recruits.
"We have to get rid of some of these standards that may not lead to college and career success," Kimbrell said. "And identifying those things is the important piece."
Students will take a battery of tests starting in the 2014-15 school year, with exams at the beginning, middle and end of the year. Kimbrell defended the increased testing, saying it will help teachers find out if students need more help during the year rather than at the end.
"That's a model that we've used for 30 years that's ineffective," Kimbrell said.
School districts will see some costs due to Common Core, primarily in training time for teachers and new technology. The state will pay for the new tests, and outside grants will also cover some costs, Kimbrell said.


text:
Lately I have been hearing concern from fans of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They say the universe is too big and bogged down in continuity for new fans to jump in.
I disagree.
Yes, there are A LOT of novels and many of them are a part of a LONG series, but there are many standalone novels as well. When a new fan comes to me and asks me where to start in the EU I don't point them to the Thrawn Trilogy (gasp!) or the New Jedi Order. I instead point them to one of the many standalone novels. A single story with a defined beginning and end that is not directly connected to a series. When you are new to the EU even a three book series can be intimidating. Starting someone out with a single novel gives them a chance to test the waters of the Expanded Universe to see if it's for them. If they come back to you after finishing the novel excited for more, then it might be time to move them onto the Thrawn Trilogy.
Here is a list of 10 standalone Star Wars novels that could be a jumping on point for someone new to the EU. If you have seen the movies you can pick up any one of these novels and enjoy it.
10. The Courtship of Princess Leia
Author: Dave Wolverton
Release Year: 1994
It's eight years after the Battle of Yavin and Han Solo still hasn't married Princess Leia?? Thus begins the story of The Courtship of Princess Leia. A story where Han kidnaps Leia to prevent her from marrying another man. Han is such a romantic. Original Trilogy fans will be happy to hear that this story features Han, Leia, Luke, and Chewbacca. It is also the book that introduces the Witches of Dathomir who have recently been spotlighted in The Clone Wars TV series. Released early in the EU revival, this book is still trying to find its footing with Luke's Force powers and such, but it is a fun read and introduces many elements that are core to the future of the Expanded Universe.
9. Shadows of the Empire
Author: Steve Perry
Release Year: 1996
Ever wonder what happened in the time between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? Then Shadows of the Empire is the book for you. This book introduces one of the great EU villains in Xizor, the Falleen leader of the Black Sun criminal organization. Rumor has it that we may even see his species in the upcoming season of The Clone Wars. With Han in carbonite at this time we are also introduced to his replacement character, Dash Rendar, who also just happens to be a Corellian smuggler with a cool ship. The rest of the usual OT cast is here as well including Vader, Luke, Leia, Chewie, and even Lando Calrrisian.
8. X-wing: Mercy Kill
Author: Aaron Allston
Release Year: 2012
Although this book is a continuation of the X-wing book series it is for the most part a standalone story. Fan-favorite author Aaron Allston brings back the Wraith Squadron for another adventure. This is a good book to read if you are interested in a story that is set in the Star Wars universe but is not about the principle characters that you are used to. In fact, with the exception of a quick cameo, I don't think any character in this book has been in a Star Wars film. It is a fun book about a secret group which is trying to uncover a conspiracy in the Galactic Alliance military. It is kind of a mix between Mission Impossible and Ocean's Eleven. Expect great characterization and a lot of humor.
Read my full review of X-wing: Mercy Kill here.
7. Outbound Flight
Author: Timothy Zahn
Release Year: 2006
Timothy Zahn is considered by many to be the father of the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe because he brought us the great Thrawn Trilogy which continued the story of Star Wars after Return of the Jedi. Mr. Zahn has written a number of standalone Star Wars novels as well, one of them being Outbound Flight. Don't let the boring title fool you. This is an exciting novel featuring Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the time between Episode I and Episode II. It is a novel that shows us some of the machinations of Palpatine as well as what can happen when a powerful Jedi loses his way. It also features popular EU character Thrawn before he was part of the Empire.
6. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
Author: James Luceno
Release Year: 2005
This book would eventually be bundled with Labyrinth of Evil (see below) and the Revenge of the Sith novelization and sold as The Dark Lord Trilogy, but it is a standalone story. It ,maybe better than any other story, captures what it was like to be Anakin Skywalker trapped inside the suit of Darth Vader. The novel is set directly after the events of Revenge of the Sith. It tells the story of a group of Jedi who escape Order 66 and their fight to survive. The Jedi Purge has begun and it's probably best to stay out of Vader's way.
5. Shatterpoint
Author: Matthew Stover
Release Year: 2003
If you thought Mace Windu was cool in the movies but you just didn't get enough of him, read this book. Windu is sent to his home planet to rescue his former Padawan Depa Billaba. There he confronts war and turmoil all around him as well as inside of him. This is one of the more dark and gritty of the Star Wars novels which is fitting considering it is set at the height of the Clone Wars. It is a story that really highlights the differences in philosophy among the Jedi. What is more dangerous than a Jedi who has gone astray?
4. Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
Author: Michael Reaves
Release Year: 2001
Darth Maul has recently been thrust back into our Star Wars consciousness with his appearance in The Clone Wars TV series, and we are promised even more of him in the upcoming season. But can you ever really have too much Darth Maul? Back in 2001 Darth Maul was still surrounded by mystery and we just did not know that much about him. Shadow Hunter gave us the chance to see things from his perspective. This is a book set right before Episode I and is about Maul's hunt to kill a man and his Jedi protector before the man can deliver vital information to the Jedi Counsel. You will find yourself on the edge of your seat and at times even rooting for the bad guy. And of course with Palpatine involved there will always be some unexpected twists.
3. Labyrinth of Evil
Author: James Luceno
Release Year: 2005
This book is really a thing of fanboy dreams. As we were patiently waiting for the release of Revenge of the Sith this book came out to give us the perfect lead-in story. It had everything you could want in a prequel era novel including clones, General Grievous, Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Dooku, Kit Fisto, Yoda, and Darth Sidious. The Jedi are tired of these Sith messing everything up and have decided to hunt them down. We all know that Sidious can't be revealed, but Luceno does a great job of weaving a story that keeps you guessing even though you already know the outcome.
2. I, Jedi
Author: Michael Stackpole
Release Year: 1998
I was never really interested in reading the X-wing novels. Not enough Jedi. And then the author of the X-wing series went and wrote a book about an X-wing pilot becoming a Jedi and I was sold. This novel, told entirely from the first person perspective, tells the story of Rouge Squadron pilot Corran Horn and his attempt to find and rescue his kidnapped wife. The novel actually takes place at the same time as Kevin Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy and covers some of the same story. If you have already read that trilogy this book is a great view from a different perspective. Corran Horn and his family have become central characters in some of the latest Star Wars novels and he is one of my personal favorite characters.
1. Darth Plagueis
Author: James Luceno
Release Year: 2012
This is a book that had been in development since 2007. It was well worth the wait. Luceno brings us an intriguing tale about Palpatine and his rise to power under the tutelage of the mysterious Darth Plagueis. All we had known about this character before was a few lines from Revenge of the Sith. "Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?" This novel reveals all. It takes an interesting look into Sith philosophy and sheds light on many of the mysteries of the Prequel Era. Once you read this novel you will never see the Prequels, especially The Phantom Menace, the same again.
Read my full book review of Darth Plagueis here.
So there are ten books that you can pick up with no prior knowledge of the Expanded Universe. That should keep your reading schedule pretty busy. And if you enjoy them maybe you will enjoy more of the EU. Maybe a trilogy or a nine book series or maybe even a 19 book series… Baby steps.
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Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by chardman, Feb 19, 2013.
^ What legal hoops?
I'd never heard that Davies & co. wanted the Brigadier to appear earlier than he did, but the character of Lethbrdge-Stewart is not owned by the BBC.
Much like the Daleks and Terry Nation, the copyright on the Brig would be shared with Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincon, who seemed to be (understandably) waiting for the right offer before they'd let him be used.
I assume they were the writers of the first UNIT story (or whatever serial introduced the Brigadier) to air during the Troughton years?
Argh, I always forget the British system were somehow the show doesn't retain the rights to the characters and stuff. In the US, this is a non-issue. If you write for a show, you know that you don't own what you're writing (I'm sure it's in the contract).
But, this never seemed to be an issue for the Brigadier character the other times he returned in the original series?
Mr Awe
It's a puzzling thing. It's been said that Haisman and Lincoln wouldn't let the series use the Great Intelligence after the team had a falling out with the producers over, I think, "The Dominators," yet they let Lethbridge-Stewart be used left and right.
I'm not sure that rights were actually a factor for the Brigadier. His SJA appearance was a last minute thing after Freema Agyeman had to drop out, and was put together in eight days or less. It'd be quite a coincidence if that was the exact moment at which Haisman and Lincoln became amenable.
RTD does go on about the legal difficulties regarding the Brigadier in The Writer's Tale, and how Haisman and Lincoln were so uncooperative that RTD had at one point considered giving up.
They wrote the Web of Fear, which does introduce the Brigadier (although he's actually a Colonel) but not UNIT. In fact, a constant foil for Haisman and Lincoln is that since they don't own UNIT, someone they reject wanting to use the Brigadier can just go ahead and use UNIT and create their own ranking officer.
I thought part of the reason Haisman and Lincoln were so uncooperative regarding the Brigadier is exactly because BBC went ahead and constantly used him without their permission? Although, I suppose if there was truth to that they could always pursue legal action.
From what I understand, it's more Haisman than Lincoln (Henry Lincoln was, notably, the one member of the trio who wrote The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail who didn't join in with the unsuccessful attempt to sue Dan Brown for Da Vinci Code profits). It may be no coincidence that some of their other creations have finally returned to the series now that Haisman himself has passed on and the decisions are taken by his heirs (who don't feel his bitterness over The Dominators incident in quite the same way).
Could you give a page number or a general location for that? Before posting I looked in the index for references to the Brigadier, and found only two; page 400 where Davies gets the idea, and page 402 where Courtney is at the read-through. There's nothing in-between about any difficulties. There's also no entry for Haisman or Lincoln in the index.
Huh, just did a quick look through and couldn't find anything. I knew I read it somewhere.
It's apparently not quite that simple in the US, since Tom Paris got a new name in Voyager so they didn't have to pay Royalties in every episode for Nick Lacarno
I think the difference is in the US you get paid if they use your character but you don't get any say over what they do with it.
Ahhhh...OK, yea, havng to pay for a character's usage, is often enough of a deterrent in itself.
Makes me wonder how we finally managed to get a Brigadier action figure. Or, maybe that's why it took as long as it did.
Well, one of them's dead and the other one lost a lawsuit against Dan Brown...
As mentioned, Henry Lincoln was the Holy Blood writer who didn't join the other two in their case against Dan Brown, which meant he didn't have to pay the legal costs when it failed!
Also, in the US (or at least with Trek) it only applies to characters, not alien species. People like Gene L Coon or Maurice Hurley don't collect royalties whenever Klingons, Romulans or Borg are used.
But they were, I believe, on the permanent writing staff at the time - ie, salaried workers on a permanent contract - rather than freelancers contributing a single script. The key test case would, I guess, be whether Paul Schneider (who was a freelancer when he wrote Balance of Terror) does own the Romulans.
diankra, what was the "Dominators incident"?
Mr Awe
Separate names with a comma.


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Palermo, Maine
From Ancestry.com Wiki
|This article is a stub. Help us to expand it by contributing your knowledge. For county and town page guidelines, visit U.S. County Page Content Suggestions.
Palermo is a town in Waldo county, Maine. It was formed in 1804. Palermo began keeping vital records in 1908* and town records in 1831*. For more information, contact the county at P.O. Box 78, Palermo 04354. On the attached map, Palermo is shown as 16 in Waldo county.
For information about the state of Maine see Maine Family History Research.


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With all the talk of "Magic" Mike Magee and his ridiculous five goals in five games since joining the Fire, it was always likely that other players would be overlooked.
But as much as Magee (or maybe because of him) we've seen other players step up and contribute to the Fire's season-saving June. Midfielders like Alex and Daniel Paladini mitigated the effects of losing Logan Pause, defenders Jalil Anibaba and new addition Bakary Soumare stabilized what was a less than sturdy backline, and up front, Patrick Nyarko, Chris Rolfe, and Sherjill MacDonald selflessly put in the work supporting Magee.
But perhaps the most influential non-Magee on the Fire this season has been Jeff Larentowicz. The veteran was brought in this offseason and immediately won a spot in the starting line-up, a spot he proved he deserved with his signature tackling, distribution, and even a game-winning goal early in the season.
WATCH: Fire vs. Rapids Highlights
On Wednesday night against Colorado, Larentowicz showed once again why he's become the platform on which the Fire's recent surge was built (see his heat map to the right).
It was his harrying and tackling that helped change the momentum of the game after Colorado's early goal (see his 30th minute tackle, and the effort he put in to win a goal kick in his own box a few minutes earlier). Later in the second half, as Colorado pressed to equalize, his header just wide was the Fire's best chance.
Maybe one ten minute period showed it best: His skill in the 71st minute won the Fire a corner and diffused pressure; his block in the 78th maintained the Fire's lead.
And just like his eagerness this season has led to some ups and downs (including that unfortunate red card at Montreal), his early yellow card for diving in a little over zealously threatened to hamper his effectiveness. Would he hesitate to tackle out of fear of his second yellow?
Nope. It seems like he doesn't let anything shake him off. We've talked about "Magee Face", that expression of all the emotions a soccer game can summon in a person, all the heartbreak and endeavor and passion. "Larentowicz Face" is the opposite. It's stone cold. It's not hashtag material. It's focused and determined and sort of scary.
That's why his reaction after his miss in the second half was so endearing. As Fire fans and the My50 announcers celebrated what looked like a goal from certain angles, Larentowicz reacted with unadulterated frustration and anger. In his mind, he should've scored, he knew he had it, and as a leader by example, he couldn't contain the flash of the expectations he has of himself. It was a totally honest moment.
As the game Wednesday progressed, Fire fans licked their lips at the prospect of Magee (and later MacDonald), Nyarko, and Rolfe running through wide open spaces in the Colorado defense.
But none of the counterattacks panned out. In the end, what defined the end of the game was a little bit of luck, sure, but mostly it was the plucky work of the Fire as a unit, withstanding the pressure and closing it out. Nobody represents that more than Larentowicz, and you could read it on his face.
Onwards. Three points. Who's next?
Ben Schuman-Stoler is a contributor to Chicago-Fire.com. Follow him on Twitter @bsto.


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"Essentially, the President is proposing to shore-up Social Security by crediting the trust fund with presumed interest savings from presumed debt reduction, made possible by presumed budget surpluses. There are too many presumptions in this chain of logic to be credible or to constitute a genuine reform strategy," said Concord Executive Director Robert Bixby.
"More importantly, the plan has the wrong goal. It focuses solely on trust fund solvency and ignores the huge long-term operating deficits that the program will face as the baby boomers begin to retire. Even if the budget surpluses and debt reduction that the President anticipates actually occur, the looming shortfall between Social Security's dedicated tax revenues and its benefit obligations will remain precisely the same as it is now. The only change would be that Social Security would have a large new claim on future general revenues. This would be a major break with the program's self-financing tradition," Bixby said.
"While the Concord Coalition agrees with the President that debt reduction is an important use of any surpluses that may develop, we do not agree that his plan to credit Social Security with new Treasury IOUs does anything to save the program. All it does is literally paper over the real problems," Bixby said.
Impact of the President's Plan on Key Fiscal Issues
· Under current projections, Social Security will begin running annual cash deficits in 2014. The President's proposal would not change this.
· Under current projections, in 2050 alone Social Security's annual cash deficit will be $1.7 trillion ($343 billion in 1999 dollars). The President's proposal would not change this.
· Under current projections, between 2014 and 2050 Social Security's cumulative cash deficit will be $28.6 trillion ($8.4 trillion in 1999 dollars). The President's proposal would not change this.
· Under current projections, Social Security's cost will rise to over 18 percent of workers' payroll, up from the current 11 percent. The President's proposal would not change this.
"The Concord Coalition continues to believe that there are only two roads to genuine Social Security reform, and a workable plan must pursue both. Reform must reduce Social Security's long-term burden by reducing its long-term costs. And it must make the remaining burden more bearable by increasing national savings, and hence the size of tomorrow's economic pie. Doing so requires hard choices. There are no magic bullets," Bixby said.
The Concord Coalition was founded in 1992 by former Senator Warren Rudman (R-N.H.), the late Paul Tsongas, former Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, and former Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson. Former Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) joined Rudman as co-chair of the organization in 1997. The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grass roots organization dedicated to balanced federal budgets and generationally responsible fiscal policy.


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Billy Norton appeared in bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center, where District Judge Don Bourne set Norton's bail at $5,000. He is required to appear in Pope County Circuit Court on April 15.
According to a Russellville Police Department (RPD) report, officers responded to a call from the alleged victim who claimed she was threatened by a neighbor near West Fourth Street.
Norton noticed his neighbor was supposedly mowing her lawn incorrectly. He aggressively insisted that she allow him to mow the lawn. The neighbor demanded Norton leave her property.
When police arrived, Norton ignored officers, walked to his house and went inside.
Officers approached Norton's house and requested to speak with him, but he shouted disparaging remarks at police and threatened to sic his dog on them.
The report stated officers heard Norton command his dog to "Get'em, killer," and police drew their guns in preparation to shoot and stop the dog from attacking them, but the dog ran away.
Norton told the alleged victim he would get her for calling the police and added she would regret calling the police.
The report stated Norton appeared to be intoxicated. Court documents showed Norton has a history of terroristic threatening and public intoxication.
Norton eventually cooperated with police and was taken into custody for alleged terroristic threatening and aggravated assault.


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GRAMMYs On The Road With Maurette Brown Clark
The Recording Academy Memphis Chapter played host for GRAMMYs On The Road At The 2012 Essence Music Festival held July 5–8 in New Orleans. The Chapter conducted exclusive backstage interviews with artists performing at the festival, including gospel singer/songwriter Maurette Brown Clark.
Clark discussed diversity at the Essence Music Festival, her musical start, the importance of music, and advice for aspiring artists, among other topics.
"It really speaks to my emotions [and] it speaks to who I am, whether that's gospel … jazz … rock or pop," said Clark. "I don't think that we can exist without [music]. … As long as we're alive and breathing … we're [going to] need music."
A native of New York, Clark began singing at age 4 and took her first private singing lesson at age 6. She performed with her family gospel group throughout high school, and later went on to join the gospel choir at the University of Maryland. In 1998 she released her debut album, How I Feel, which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Gospel Albums chart. By His Grace was released in 2002 and peaked at No. 12, followed by 2007's The Dream. Clark's most recent release, 2011's Sound Of Victory, reached No. 6 on the Gospel Albums chart and features the Top 10 Billboard Gospel Songs single "I Hear The Sound (Of Victory)."


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« Exit photo gallery
Inauguration 2013: By the numbers
About 600,000 to 800,000 people are expected on the National Mall on Jan. 21 when Obama is sworn in for his second term, D.C. officials say — far fewer than the 1.8 million who huddled in the cold in 2009 to see the nation's first black president say the oath. Still, it's a massive undertaking that will bring Washington to a virtual standstill. A look at the numbers:
1,100 — Portable toilets to be available along the parade route.
(Photo: AP Photo)
More: See all POLITICO photo galleries
Did you know that this gallery has keyboard shortcuts? Use your left and right arrows to navigate through the gallery.


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I almost peed my pants with the wolf "om nom nom"!
Via source
- Lorabell
Um, I enjoyed that A LOT!ReplyDelete
that girl makes a pretty good Bella/Kristen. hahaha. "now... will you please f**k me?" LOLReplyDelete
LOL with the harry potter crew coming out of the woods during the battleReplyDelete
OMG so funny LOL XD The whole battle, was so funny XD Love Bella's ending line ;) LoLReplyDelete
Great! Almost better than the movie it's self. hahaha! ALMOST!ReplyDelete
BHAHAHAAHAHA!! That was hilarious!! "On nom nom"
Whahahah xD
lmao! the guy who plays edward isn't that half bad ;)ReplyDelete
The tent scene - LMAO! These kids are GOOD!ReplyDelete


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OCEAN CITY – Statistics tell a pointed story about the differences between women's and men's finances: On average, women still earn less, save less and invest more conservatively than men. They are also more likely than men to interrupt their careers so they can care for family members, resulting in lower lifetime savings. And according to a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Labor, they are more likely to take part-time jobs that don't offer traditional retirement benefits.
Compounding the problem, women live five years longer, on average, than men do — requiring their retirement savings to stretch that much further. For these and other complex reasons, women are typically less prepared for how they'll spend their after-work years than their male counterparts. Too often, even in families in which the wife earns as much as or more than her husband and manages the day-to-day finances, she may have a tendency to delegate long-term planning and investing to her husband based on her comfort level with investing, says Katherine Roy, director of Personal Retirement Innovation & Planning in Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Retirement Group.
Which is not to say that money and retirement aren't very much on women's minds. In a recent Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights survey of 1,000 people with investable assets of $250,000 or more, women consistently outpaced men when it came to financial concerns. While 42% of men said they were worried about the impact of the economy on their ability to meet financial goals, 56% of the women said they were similarly concerned. And half of all women said they were worried about their income not keeping pace with inflation, compared with 39% of men.
One of the best ways to dispel that worry is to get involved and take control, says Roy. Whether you're married or single, pursuing a career or staying home to raise children, there are a few proactive steps that may go a long way toward ensuring that you — or your sisters, wife, mother, or daughters — are more financially prepared for a secure and happy retirement. Here are four that can get you started.
According to the Department of Labor report, just 45% of working women participate in a retirement plan. In some cases, that's because they aren't offered a plan where they work. But often it's because couples decide to use the lower wage earner's income (most often the wife's) to cover day-to-day expenses, taking advantage of the higher wage earner's ability to save more in a tax-advantaged account. Doing so can have a negative impact on the lower wage earner's retirement security, cautions Roy.
That's particularly true for women, who often outlive their spouses — or experience a severe income drop after divorce. Additionally, the tendency for women to drop in and out of the workforce to take care of children or other relatives can deprive them of the benefits of 401(k) savings and Social Security credits.
Anyone who doesn't have a retirement plan at work or who leaves the workforce for a period of time, should talk with their financial advisor about setting up ways to compensate for lost retirement savings, suggests Roy. Stay-at-home moms (or dads) can and should open a spousal IRA.
"Couples can start by putting a dollar figure on the stay-at-home parent's contribution to the family's welfare — ask themselves how much they'd be spending in daycare if both partners worked — and save as much of that amount as possible in a separate account," she suggests.
That and other savings strategies can help to fill the savings gap created by taking time out of the workforce.
(A Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Advisor. She can be reached at 410-213-8520.)


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Computer companies are looking to extend their reach into as many related markets as possible in the current difficult economy. Apple was able to jump into the smartphone market with its iPhone and ultimately had one of the most successful devices to ever hit the high-end smartphone category.
Rumors have been flying around claiming that Dell was looking to get into the smartphone or MID market. In late January, many expected Dell to unveil its smartphone at the GSMA Mobile World Congress, but those plans never materialized.
Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer, announced at a presentation in Japan that Dell was working on a smartphone or MID. EWeek reports that this is the first official confirmation to come from either Michael Dell or Dell corporate confirming the company was in fact working on a smaller form factor device.
Dell said at the presentation, "It is true that we are exploring smaller-screen devices. We don't have any announcements to share today, but stay tuned as when we have new news we will share that with you."
Kaufman Brothers research analyst Shaw Wu wrote earlier this month in a research note that conversations with industry insiders revealed that Dell had been making efforts in the smartphone category, but had failed to gain any carrier interest according to eWeek. Wu wrote, "The feedback was lack of differentiation vs. current and upcoming products."
According to Wu, Dell was showing prototype devices to carriers that were running both Windows Mobile and Google Android. Michael Dell pointed out that his namesake company had been integrating 3G modems into its laptops for the last three years and has agreements in place with many mobile carriers.
Dell said, "We already have agreements with many mobile carriers around netbook devices, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect that we would have smaller mobile Internet devices or smartphones in the future."


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Check BNN and Bulbanews for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in the Bulbagarden Discord server.
Difference between revisions of "Serena (anime)"
(→Character: My error, I've reworded due to a mistake in my memory of the episode. Correct now, but keeping the reference to "cuter" instead of "unfashionable".)
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* Serena is the first of [[Ash's friends]] to have known him prior to the [[EP001|beginning of the series]].
* Serena is the first of [[Ash's friends]] to have known him prior to the [[EP001|beginning of the series]].
* Serena is the first of Ash's companions who, as a new Trainer, did not set out to obtain her first Pokémon at the introduction of the series. It took until ''[[XY003|A Battle of Aerial Mobility!]]'' before she set out to Professor Sycamore's lab.
* Serena is the first of Ash's companions who, as a new Trainer, did not set out to obtain her first Pokémon at the introduction of the series. It took until ''[[XY003|A Battle of Aerial Mobility!]]'' before she set out to Professor Sycamore's lab.
* It has been hinted throughtout the seriese that Serena has shown some signs of affections towards [[Ash]] as shown in [[XY005|episode 5]], she displays slight tension trying to ask if Ash "remembers" her, as well as in [[XY013|episode 13]] how Serena showed slight worry when [[Premier]] challenged Ash that with the condition that if she wins, Ash ''has to come with her''.
Revision as of 16:38, 9 March 2014
- If you were looking for the charcter from Hoenn, see Serena (Hoenn).
| Serena
セレナ Serena
Artwork from XY series
|Eye color
|Hair color
|Grace (mother)
|Game counterpart
|Anime debut
|Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!
|English voice actor
|Haven Paschall
|Japanese voice actor
|Mayuki Makiguchi
Serena (Japanese: セレナ Serena) is a traveling companion of Ash who debuted in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!.
As a young child, Serena was sent to Kanto, against her will, to attend a Pokémon Summer Camp, which was hosted by Professor Oak. One day, while at the camp, she got lost in a nearby forest and was startled by a Poliwag, falling over and hurting her knee. Then, she met Ash Ketchum, who was looking for the same Poliwag and spotted Serena. Noticing her knee injury, he pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her wounded knee, saying that it is a good-luck charm and that the pain would go away. However, when Serena's knee continued to hurt, Ash advised her to never give up until the end and helped her up before escorting her out of the forest. Afterwards, she returned to Kalos, bringing along the handkerchief and the memory of her meeting with Ash.
Serena made her first onscreen appearance in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, where she was forcibly woken up by her mother's Fletchling. In Lumiose City Pursuit!, she attempted to practice Rhyhorn racing after being encouraged by her mother, a famous Rhyhorn racer herself. However, Serena's attempts at controlling her mother's Rhyhorn ended with her being sent crashing into the ground.
Later that evening, Serena complained about her earlier practice leaving several scratches on her face. She sat down to watch a news report on an incident that was occurring in Lumiose City. On the screen, she saw Ash trying to calm down a rampaging Garchomp at Prism Tower and recognized Ash as a boy she had known in her childhood. The next day, while feeding Rhyhorn, Serena thought aloud that something interesting was going to happen and that it involved Ash.
She began her Pokémon journey in A Battle of Aerial Mobility! when she set off to Professor Sycamore's lab in Lumiose City. Immediately upon arriving, Serena questioned the Professor about the boy on television and he confirmed that it was indeed Ash Ketchum. However, to Serena's disappointment, Ash had already left Lumiose City the previous day. Serena was then offered to choose her starter Pokémon.
In A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship!, Serena chose Fennekin, received a Pokédex, and started her journey. Later that day, she continued to travel with Fennekin, but didn't want to camp out for the night after seeing some wild Venipede. She was attacked by a wild Vespiquen that she mistook for a person, only for Fennekin to scare Vespiquen away. Afterward, Serena met a Nurse Joy who told her where to find the nearest Pokémon Center.
In A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!, she finally reached Santalune City and found Ash during his gym battle with Viola. She introduced herself to him, Clemont, and Bonnie, after returning his backpack when it was left behind at the Gym. At the end of the episode, she asks Ash if he remembers her, to which the episode abruptly ends.
In Battling on Thin Ice!, she revealed that the two of them met at the Pokémon Summer Camp when they were younger. Although Ash remembered the camp, he didn't specifically remember meeting Serena, much to her disappointment. Serena quickly regained her composure and reminded him that he once told her to never give up. Hearing these words helped Ash continue his training in order to win the rematch against Viola. During the rematch, Ash was visibly becoming overwhelmed by Viola's battling strategy, but Serena yelled at him to never give up. The inspiration that he had once given Serena was now being given to him, and these words pushed him continue the battle. At the end of the episode, after winning the Bug Badge, Ash asked Serena what her plans for the future were.
Serena officially began traveling with Ash and his friends in Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!. This was when Serena revealed why she began her journey in the first place. After seeing Ash on TV, she decided that she would begin a Pokémon journey in order to return the handkerchief he used to mend her knee injury. After she returned the handkerchief, Ash remembered their encounter and called her the "Straw Hat Girl".
Later on, Serena helped teach Ash how to ride and race on a Rhyhorn when he expressed an interest in Rhyhorn racing. While doing so, Serena's opinion on Rhyhorn and Rhyhorn riding quickly changed when the Rhyhorn were very friendly towards her. Later, while she was helping Ash learn to ride, she called out similar words Serena's mother had yelled to her during her Rhyhorn riding lessons at home. At that moment, Serena realized that she had misjudged the sport of Rhyhorn racing and that perhaps she did not hate it as much as she thought. Serena expressed in the same episode that she did not dislike Rhyhorn racing but that she wanted to find a goal that she likes even more.
The next day, Ash was captured by Team Rocket and Serena had to help rescue him. This was when Serena had her first Pokémon battle, commanding Fennekin to use Ember on the criminals. At the end of the episode, she gave Ash a pouch of cookies, saying it was her way of thanking him for all he had done for her.
In Clemont's Got a Secret!, Serena learned from Clemont's father, Limone, that Clemont is the Lumiose City Gym Leader. Although initially angry with Clemont for keeping this secret from her along with Ash, she helped try and take back the Gym from the malfunctioning Citroid. She battled Clemont's Pokémon with her Fennekin, but they managed to avoid its attacks, forcing Froakie to step in and defeat it. Later, she watched Clemont battle and defeat Citroid for the control of the Lumiose Gym.
Serena has a love for fashion and clothing. An early example of this is in A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, when she spent a lot of time carefully selecting an outfit, but was troubled over which of two hats looked best. Serena then asked her mother, who selected a beret, but she promptly tossed the beret aside and picked up the other hat, saying that whatever her mother did not choose was certain to be the cuter one. Later, in Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!, Serena expressed excitement about visiting the clothing boutiques in Lumiose City.
Serena also seems to like baking and is quite skilled at it. An example of this is demonstrated in Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!, when she stayed up late at night to bake cookies for Ash and the gang, which they seemed to enjoy. Also, in Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!, she had baked some macarons for the group, but were stolen by a Chespin.
Since the start of the series, Serena has proven to be a kind and polite girl. However, in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, she was openly rebellious towards her mother. She refused to wake up when her mother ordered her to do so and gave a sassy response to her mother's call to watch the news. This tumultuous relationship was best demonstrated when Serena's mother made her practice Rhyhorn riding, which she had hated doing.
On hand
Voice actors
- It took Serena seven episodes to officially join Ash's group, the longest time out of all of Ash's traveling companions to join his group after being introduced.
- Serena is the first female traveling partner to not get herself or her bike shocked by Pikachu at the start of the series.
- Serena is the first character to have been invited into the group by Ash.
- Serena is the first of Ash's friends to have known him prior to the beginning of the series.
- Serena is the first of Ash's companions who, as a new Trainer, did not set out to obtain her first Pokémon at the introduction of the series. It took until A Battle of Aerial Mobility! before she set out to Professor Sycamore's lab.
- It has been hinted throughtout the seriese that Serena has shown some signs of affections towards Ash as shown in episode 5, she displays slight tension trying to ask if Ash "remembers" her, as well as in episode 13 how Serena showed slight worry when Premier challenged Ash that with the condition that if she wins, Ash has to come with her.
|セレナ Serena
|From serene.
| English, French, German,
Italian, Spanish
|Same as Japanese name.
Related articles
|Serena's Pokémon
|On hand:
|This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.


text: On Wed, 4 Apr 2001, Georgia Southern Beowulf Cluster Project wrote: > I'm familiar with RH up2date, which they will now be charging a > subscription rate to use. However, what/who/where is "yup" and > "update" as I would be interested in doing a massive update of a 64 > (out of a soon 128) node group of clusters. If your machines have _identical_ installations, you could also try our "Dolly" disk/partition cloning tool [1]. It allows you to clone disks/partitions to any number of nodes. It connects the node with a simple TCP multi-drop chain and therefore distributes the data with around 10 MB/s independent on the number of nodes (for Fast Ethernet and fast enough disks/systems). For example we cloned a 2 GB Windows NT partition to 24 nodes in less than 4 minutes. Please let me know if Dolly was helpfull to you. Regards, Felix [1] http://www.cs.inf.ethz.ch/CoPs/patagonia/ -- Felix Rauch | Email: rauch at inf.ethz.ch Institute for Computer Systems | Homepage: http://www.cs.inf.ethz.ch/~rauch/ ETH Zentrum / RZ H18 | Phone: ++41 1 632 7489 CH - 8092 Zuerich / Switzerland | Fax: ++41 1 632 1307


text:
BARCELONA, Spain A 3GSM World Congress discussion on digital rights management (DRM) about protecting copyrighted content on mobile phones veered from friendly technical bickering to a blast of refreshing outrage when audience member David Birch called the panelists "a bunch of big girls" for buckling under to the demands of Hollywood studios and record companies.
In a rant that awoke all the participants in this end-of-the-day session, Birch of Consult Hyperion, a U.K.-based independent IT consultancy, reminded the panel of mobile operators, device-makers and standards developers that the telecommunications industry is at least 15 times larger than the Hollywood "content" industry. Yet, Hollywood is prevailing in its demands for embedded technologies designed to prevent illegal sharing of music and video by mobile phone users.
"Why are you such a bunch of big girls?" asked Birch. "Why don't you tell the content owners to just get stuffed?"
He continued unabated: "You're too seduced by the content industry, Hollywood is not even a $10 billion industry. Hollywood is small compared to the telecom industry. Why don't you take a stronger line? Consumers don't want DRM at all. You can't sell DRM."
The panelists, nonplussed by Birch's outburst, left it to Willms Buhse, vice chair of the Open Mobile Alliance to attempt a response. He said that the imbalance between Hollywood's size and its power was a matter of glamour, and its effect on public policymakers.
Citing the comments of an unnamed professor, Buhse said, "With any politicians who make laws, you're going to do much better with Christina Aguilera than you are with a handset."


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ABC News/Washington Post Poll, August 2008 (ICPSR 27324)
Principal Investigator(s): ABC News; The Washington Post
This poll, fielded August 19-22, 2008, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,298 adults was surveyed, including an oversample of African Americans. Information was collected on how closely respondents were following the 2008 presidential race, the chances that they would vote in the upcoming presidential election in November, and whether or not they voted in the presidential election in November of 2004. Respondents were also queried on which candidate they would vote for in the presidential election, and who they would like to see win the Democratic nomination. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether they thought the country was headed in the right direction, and what was the single most important issue in their choice for president. Several questions asked respondents to compare Barack Obama and John McCain, and which candidate they trusted to handle issues such as the war in Iraq, energy policy, international affairs, the economy, and taxes. Respondents were queried on their level of enthusiasm for each presidential candidate, whether they thought Obama had the kind of experience it takes to serve effectively as president, and whether they thought McCain would lead the country in a new direction or mainly continue in Geroge W. Bush's direction. Respondents were also asked how comfortable they would be with McCain taking office at the age of 72 and Obama being the first African American President. Respondents were also asked how important they thought the Democratic and Republican national conventions would be in deciding how to vote for president in November. Respondents were queried on whether they thought it was possible for their child to grow up and become president, whether they thought that Obama's nomination for president represents progress for all African Americans or whether they thought it was only a single case that does not reflect broader progress for African Americans overall. Respondents were asked whether they thought Obama would serve as a leading role model to young African American men, whether Obama's nomination as the first African American presidential candidate made them more proud to me an American, whether they thought the war in Iraq was worth fighting, and whether the United States is making progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq. Lastly, respondents were asked whether they thought Russia was a close ally of the United States, how concerned they were that current tensions between the United States and Russia could lead to a new cold war, whether they thought abortion should be legal, and whether they would be more likely to vote for McCain if he picked a vice-presidential candidate who supports legal abortion. Demographic variables include sex, age, marital status, race, income, voter registration status, political ideology, political party affiliation, political philosophy, education level, religious preference, military status, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.
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Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions. Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have access to these data files.
This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
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Study Description
ABC News, and The Washington Post. ABC News/Washington Post Poll, August 2008. ICPSR27324-v1. [distributor], 2010-12-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR27324.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR27324.v1
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
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Scope of Study
Subject Terms: abortion, attitudes, Bush, George W., Clinton, Bill, Clinton, Hillary, Democratic Party (USA), Iraq War, McCain, John, Nader, Ralph, national economy, Obama, Barack, political campaigns, presidential candidates, presidential elections, presidential performance, public opinion, racial attitudes, Republican Party (USA), vice-presidential candidates, voting behavior
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 2008-08
- 2008-08-19--2008-08-22
Unit of Observation: individual
Universe: Persons aged 18 and over living in households with telephones in the contiguous 48 United States.
The data available for download are not weighted and users will need to weight the data prior to analysis.
The variables PCTBLACK, PCTASIAN, PCTHISP, MSAFLAG, CSA, CBSA, METRODIV, NIELSMKT, BLOCKCNT, ZIP, EXCTYPE, BILLCNTR, STATE2, CARRIER, and EXTYPE were converted from character variables to numeric.
To preserve respondent confidentiality, codes for the variables FIPS (FIPS County), ZIP (ZIP Code), EXCTYPE (Exchange Type), BILLCNTR (Billing Center), STATE2 (Billing State), CARRIER (Wireless Carrier), and EXTYPE (Block Provides Shared Services) have been replaced with blank codes.
System-missing values were recoded to -1.
The CASEID variable was created for use with online analysis.
The data collection was produced by Taylor Nelson Sofres of Horsham, PA. Original reports using these data may be found via the ABCNews Polling Unit Web site and via the Washington Post Opinion Surveys and Polls Web site.
Sample: Households were selected by random-digit dialing. Within households, the respondent selected was the adult living in the household who last had a birthday and who was home at the time of the interview. This poll included an African American oversample. Please refer to the codebook documentation for more information on sampling.
Weight: The data contain a weight variable (WEIGHT) that should be used in analyzing the data. The weights were derived using demographic information from the Census to adjust for sampling and nonsampling deviations from population values. Until 2008 ABC News used a cell-based weighting system in which respondents were classified into one of 48 or 32 cells (depending on sample size) based on their age, race, sex, and education; weights were assigned so the proportion in each cell matched the Census Bureau's most recent Current Population Survey. To achieve greater consistency and reduce the chance of large weights, ABC News in 2007 tested and evaluated iterative weighting, commonly known as raking or rim weighting, in which the sample is weighted sequentially to Census targets one variable at a time, continuing until the optimum distribution across variables (again, age, race, sex, and education) is achieved. ABC News adopted rim weighting in January 2008. Weights are capped at lows of 0.2 and highs of 6. The oversample of African American respondents was weighted back to their correct share of the national population.
Mode of Data Collection: computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Created online analysis version with question text.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 2010-12-07
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- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


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About 3½ days from the start of another NHL lockout, owners and the NHLPA met for nearly three hours, with the players presenting the league with their latest proposal and receiving a counteroffer in kind.
"Hopefully in retrospect this will represent a meaningful day," NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr told reporters Wednesday afternoon, adding that it was too early to characterize the offers or reaction and that the players' proposal is "consistent with (their principles)."
One potentially important facet Fehr did confirm: The union is willing to take a lower percentage of hockey-related revenue over time.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sounded a less optimistic tone, saying—again—the league made "meaningful movement." He stated his belief that the union's offer wasn't appreciably different than the last one and said the league's proposal would be taken off the table on Saturday.
"I'm not going to categorize or characterize the negotiations; it's not good for the process," Bettman said.
The league's counterproposal, first reported by ESPN.com, indeed represents movement, at least relative to its initial shakedown attempt: The players's share would start at 49 percent of hockey-related revenue, then decline to 47 percent over the six-year agreement.
Bettman did drop his own important bits of information: The league included a 9 percent salary rollback in its offer. Although that's down from the 24 percent the owners requested over the summer, it's still a number the NHLPA is likely to find wholly unpalatable. The number they have in mind is closer to zero.
And, Bettman said, the league moved $250 million to $300 million back into its offer, though it's possible that a large part of that sum comes from reverting back to the previously agreed-upon definition of hockey-related revenue. The league's last offer changed the methods for calculating HRR, which meant the sides were negotiating over a smaller metaphorical pie.
The NHL maintains the lockout will begin at midnight Saturday if there isn't a new collective bargaining agreement. Nearly 300 players were in New York to meet with NHLPA leadership later on Wednesday.
The main source of disagreement remains how to split the league's $3.3 billion-and-rising revenue pool, of which players currently receive a 57 percent share. The obvious middle ground between the two sides has always been gradually dropping the players' share closer to 50 percent, avoiding rollbacks all together and expanding revenue sharing. Wednesday seems like a step closer to that.
Owners are openly looking to cut costs on salaries and initially proposed a 43 percent share with a 24 percent rollback on existing salaries. They raised that offer to about 50 percent, though that portion would come from a smaller pool of eligible revenue, and proposed an expanded escrow system that, while not a rollback, would result in players getting less than the agreed-upon value of their contracts.
The players maintain that the league's biggest problem is the chasm between its high- and low-budget teams and constructed its first proposal largely around closing that gap through expanded revenue sharing. What that proposal didn't feature, though, is widespread salary cuts the owners seek—the players proposed to limit their own growth in the first three years of the new CBA, then snap back to a 57 percent share, which would stand in contrast to the 50/50 and 47-53 splits its peers in the NFL and NBA agreed upon in their recent labor disputes.
The sides hadn't had a full bargaining session since Aug. 31, and the strife is threatening regular-season openers scheduled to start Oct. 11. The preseason schedule is set to begin Sept. 19.


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After leading the Danville Little Johns to a state championship in 1980, he headed to Fayetteville to play football at the University of Arkansas under former head coach Lou Holtz. By the time he left in 1984, he made the transition from an I-formation signal caller to a wishbone quarterback — and had a new head coach, Ken Hatfield.
"It ain't a pretty sight," Taylor said Friday about the last couple of weeks that began with a motorcycle accident and ended with the firing of Bobby Petrino. "I'm sure he's not the only coach in the United States to go through this, it just happened to be us. I feel sorry for him, just for a blink of a second, but then you look at the other lives he's affected. He's got his family, a bunch of assistant coaches and kids who are saying, 'What do we do now?'
"As a coach, he's one of the best, there's no denying that. But apparently, the focus of the wellness of his coaches and players was pretty far from his mind."
Taylor finisheed his career at Arkansas as the all-time passing leader with 4,802 yards. He completed 333 off his 644 passes with 23 touchdowns. He was responsible for 5,145 yards of total offense, a record when he graduated. In 1981, he completed 17-of-23 passes for 250 yards in a 41-39 Southwest Conference victory over the Baylor Bears.
The Razorbacks went 8-4 in 1981, 9-2-1 in 1982 (Taylor threw for 1,073 yards), 6-5 in 1983 (threw for 1,837 yards) and 7-4-1 in 1984 (threw for 1,166 yards), when Hatfield became head coach. Taylor played three seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) after he left Fayetteville, then returned to Danville. He's volunteered his time with Danville Little John quarterbacks, and has been back to War Memorial Stadium in 2002 and 2010 when Danville played in the Class 2A state championship games.
"He didn't leave him [Athletic Director Jeff Long] no choice, after everybody heard the whole story," Taylor explained. "I think everybody then switched sides. It's a bad situation, but I think we'll be all right. I feel sorry for the coaches and their families. I just hope everybody understands he [Long] had no choice in the matter, when he's up there crying [during April 10 press conference]. He did the right thing, and if he wanted to get out of it, he couldn't do it."
Taylor said he played in a couple of golf tournaments with Petrino and also with Jessica Dorrell, the 25-year-old woman who worked for the Razorback Foundation and was a passenger on Petrino's motorcycle when the accident occurred April 1. After an Arkansas State Police report indicated she was with Petrino at the accident, Long began an investigation after he said Petrino told him he was alone at the time of the wreck.
Long later suspended Petrino, then concluded his investigation by firing Petrino last Tuesday. Dorrell was suspended from her position at the university Friday.
"There's no other way to say it. He just screwed up. It was selfish," Taylor said. "All great coaches who have confidence are kind of arrogant, and he's one of them. But he backed up everything he said. They went out and won football games. It's a sad deal.
"I feel sorry for the kids. I've been there. I went through two coaches. When you start switching coaches, it may not be a big switch, but it takes a while to get the snaps down."
That's why Taylor reiterated he believes the Razorbacks should stay on track — as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"It's going to be tough for whoever comes in," Taylor said. "I think we'll be just fine this year. All the coaches there know the system, the players know the system, and that says a lot. Those coaches can get stuff prepared to go. The players know the system, the coaches know the system.
"We were going pretty good, and they've got time to keep things going. I would hate to run off the track and try to go another direction. There's enough coaches up there to make sure they keep going. We're dancing to the steps of the song really good right now. We don't need to change the lyrics. We know the song and beat pretty good."


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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. – It will be a cool, dry weekend across Westchester County, according to the National Weather Service.
Friday will be sunny, with a high near 31 degrees. Friday night will see increasing clouds, with an overnight low around 22 degrees.
Saturday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 44 degrees. Saturday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 30 degrees.
Sunday will be mostly sunny and breezy, with a high near 42 degrees. Sunday night will be partly cloudy and windy, with a low around 21 degrees.
Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, will be partly sunny, with a high near 30 degrees. Monday night will be mostly cloudy, with an overnight low around 17 degrees.
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I was ready for the promotion. I knew I'd been working in that capacity for a good six months. I outlined my business reasons and rehearsed them so I'd be
ready to present to my boss.
The review went swimmingly. Everything was perfect until the very last comment: "You need to be more strategic."
I was 27 years old. I had all of five years of experience, and suddenly I had to be more strategic if I wanted that promotion.
What stuck with me all these years (I mean, the last three years) is no one told me what being strategic meant. My boss said it, and that was that. I don't
think she even knew what it meant, in retrospect. That's why she couldn't answer my questions.
As a boss, I never provide that feedback to someone without explaining what it means, providing examples and giving him or her a clear path to get there.
And trust me, this conversation comes up a lot — particularly in the PR industry. We tend to be much more tactical than strategic.
Be a strategic thinker
That's why when Clay Morgan sent "Six Habits of True Strategic Thinkers" to our team, I
was compelled to read, share and comment.
The author, Paul J.H. Schoemaker, listed these six habits:
Let's break those down from a PR perspective:
1. Anticipate
I recently wrote about the big move Visa made by
firing its PR agencies and bringing all of the work in-house.
I have no idea if this is a trend other large companies will follow or a silly mistake the company will soon rectify, but I know it could happen. So, I'm
keeping a careful eye on it.
If it begins to happen with other companies, my team and I have already begun thinking about how it could affect our communications firm. We have a pivot plan in place to move with the trend.
To be a strategic thinker, watch the trends. Pay attention to the economic signals. Watch the big moves happening in the industry. Anticipate how all of
this could affect your career or business.
2. Think critically
One day when I was walking my dog, Jack Bauer, I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Critical thinking: The other national deficit." "No kidding," I thought.
We tend to take things at face value, and fail to use our critical thinking skills to question what's in front of us.
You see this happen online all the time. My favorite is a photo of Abraham Lincoln with the caption,
"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet just because there is a picture with a quote next to it."
We get complacent, stop questioning, become less curious, and all of that forces us to lose our competitive edge.
To be a strategic thinker, stop taking things at face value and use your brain.
Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]
Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]
3. Interpret
It's fairly easy to look at the Visa example above and dismiss it as the company making a big mistake. It's easy to think to yourself, "Next we'll be
hearing Visa hired three more PR agencies."
But if you want to be a strategic thinker, you don't take news like that at face value.
You pay attention to what other large companies are doing — particularly trendsetters such as Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.
Watch what they do with PR and their agencies. Find similarities in how they launch new campaigns, and interpret what you think it could mean for your
organization or your clients' businesses.
To be a strategic thinker, you must watch trends, pay close attention to industry news and interpret what it could mean for you.
4. Decide
Raise your hand if you overanalyze everything. (I'm looking at some of you!)
Some people tend to get analysis paralysis and can't make a decision to save their lives. They get wrapped up in all of the data and interpreting it that
they paralyze themselves and can't move forward.
In Sheryl Sandberg's book, "Lean In," Sandberg describes a poster
on the wall at Facebook's office: "It's better to be finished than to be perfect."
To be a strategic thinker, you need to be decisive, fast and finished.
5. Align
This one is hard for me for two reasons: I want everyone to have a voice, and I have a need to be liked (I'm working on it).
It is impossible to have a complete consensus (anyone who has planned a wedding knows you will never make everyone happy), but a strategic thinker will
listen to all sides, assess the risks, bring tough issues out in conversation and figure out where the balance is.
From a PR perspective, we do this nearly every day. We know how to communicate with different stakeholders and how to turn brand detractors into loyalists.
Now take that talent and turn it inward. How can you align the team you lead, the client's organization or even your executive team?
To be a strategic thinker, stop being fearful. Use your communication skills to align your teams.
6. Learn
One of my favorite sayings is, "It doesn't matter if you fall, but how you get up when you do."
During the Great Recession, I had that taped to my wall and looked at it every day.
To say I learned a ton in that three-year period is putting it mildly.
Because of that (and other mistakes I've made), I'm a big believer in failing - if you learn something from it.
To be a strategic thinker, you have to fail so you can learn. It's the only way to do work on the other five habits.
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The 1970's are calling....
and they want their design teams back.
This is one ugly bit of kit.
The main reason for wanting a compact PC is lack of room on or under a desk. The Gateway DS50 is not SFF in the Asus EeePC terms, but in the sense of something roughly half the volume of a midi-tower. It still has room for a full-height DVD rewriter, a 3.5in hard drive inside the case, an internal power supply and a 95mm cooler …
and they want their design teams back.
This is one ugly bit of kit.
Isnt it funny they still call it Gateway when you can clearly see acer branding on the motherboard.
When you buy a company and youre number 2 in the world why not let everyone know?
Well when your name is Acer you too might want to go under a different guise. Acer has the worst engineers and customer service of any company I have ever dealt with.
Nice to see on the benchmarking on page 2 that the Gateway has more "Memories" than the older Dell and Fujitsu! Impressive accumulation of recollections in such a new machine!
Previously, they pulled out of the UK and left all of their customers totally in the crapper, even to the extent of removing support inc drivers and downloads from their website.
Never ever going to touch GW again, and I strongly suggest others don't either. Companies with bad ethics don't deserver to get anyone's business
Different owners now - Acer bought the company.
Set up the Acer equivalent a while back for someone. I quite liked it esp the 4 front USB ports, nicely spaced, details make the Machine! :)


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Fortunately CPAN filenames are 7 bit and only a few of the non
\w filenames are allowed. As much I'd like to change that as much CPAN has to be the advocate of the limitations that the last poor soul in the chain has to fight with who wants to use CPAN.
I'm sure you know how to give the tarball a different name. I'm not so sure that perl is able to deal with UTF-8 module names. So please bring your first UTF-8 module into the core. I'm looking forward to see how it fares.
But package names work quite ok. I did a similar experiment at nearly the same time with Acme::Ünicöde. Locally on disc it just works fine. Once uploaded it is even installable via CPAN.pm by the dist name (eg. S/SC/SCHWIGON/acme-unicode/Acme-nicde-0.02.tar.gz). The filename problem is solveable anyhow during/after "make dist".
The only remaining problem is getting the PAUSE indexer to use the META.yml instead trying his luck on the files and to generate that META.yml with some mor


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Sisters Hospital First in Western New York to Perform da Vinci Robotic Gastric Bypass Surgery
Home » About Us » News » 2011 News » Sisters Hospital First in Western New York to Perform da Vinci Robotic Gastric Bypass Surgery
Obesity affects an estimated 72 million people in the United States or 34 percent of all adults over age 20. The number of overweight and obese Americans has increased almost continuously since 1960.
Dang Tuan Pham, MD, a Catholic Health surgeon at Sisters of Charity Hospital, is the first physician in Western New York to successfully perform a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure using the advanced minimally invasive robotic technology of the da Vinci® Surgical System.
"Gastric bypass surgery is one of the most challenging laparoscopic surgical procedures," says Dr. Pham. "The enhanced precision of the da Vinci® System offers several benefits for patients and enhances patient safety. It reduces the risk of complications, is less painful, and allows the patient to recover sooner than traditional gastric bypass surgery."
Gastric bypass permanently resizes the stomach and reroutes the digestive tract, which limits food intake and calorie absorption. Long-term data suggests that gastric bypass remains an effective solution for weight loss and management of obesity-related conditions.
"We are thrilled to be at the forefront of a new kind of surgery that continues to transform the minimally invasive arena, resulting in an even better experience for our patients," said Peter U. Bergmann, Sisters Hospital president & CEO. "Quality patient care is our highest priority. Minimally invasive procedures, like the da Vinci gastric bypass, are instrumental in helping us fulfill our goal of offering patients the latest advancements in medicine."
The Da Vinci® system is a sophisticated robotic surgical tool designed to enable complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach. It consists of an ergonomic surgeon's console, a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms, a high-performance 3D HD vision system and precise instrumentation. Powered by state-of-the-art robotic technology, the da Vinci System is designed to scale, filter and seamlessly translate the surgeon's hand movements into smaller, more precise movements of tiny instruments inside the body.
Sisters of Charity Hospital is a Bariatric Center of Excellence, ranked among the top bariatric surgery centers in the country and number one in New York State for quality outcomes.


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Does anyone out there have any knowledge or experience with this set up? Christmas brought me a new Nolan N-102 helmet and a N-Com basic kit 2 with a "X" multimedia wire (stereo type). I put the headset and speakers into the helmet (easily done); however, when the wire is plugged into a device, MP3 or GPS and music is playing I can only hear the music and not the lead vocals....WTF? If I back the plug out of the MP3 or the GPS a little bit then it plays everything beautifully. Of course since the plug is not fully inserted into the device, just kind of hanging there, this is not an option. What kind of bizarre electronic happening is going on here? I even tried a different cord that did not come with the Nolan kit and it does the same thing. 75% inserted into the MP3 or GPS audio jack sounds perfect (in the helmet just like it should) push the cord into the MP3 or GPS 100% and I either lose the lead vocals or part of the music.
Any thoughts?


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Hi all,
I'm debating a CA 651 purchase, but it'd be good to get some feedback from owners.
How do you find the BDP's upscaling with DVDs? Can you comment on WHF's remarks about 3D motion? Unless the BDP's doing something it shouldn't (and this doesn't sound like the case based on what I've read), I can't understand why motion would be a problem.
Many thanks.


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Michael Yon : Online Magazine: Gates of Fire.
Combat comes unexpectedly, even in war.
On Monday, while conducting operations in west Mosul, a voice came over the radio saying troops from our brother unit, the 3-21, were fighting with the enemy in east Mosul on the opposite side of the Tigris River. Moments later, SSG Will Shockley relayed word to us that an American soldier was dead. We began searching for the shooters near one of the bridges on our side of the Tigris, but they got away. Jose L. Ruiz was killed in action.
Although the situation in Mosul is better, our troops still fight here every day. This may not be the war some folks had in mind a few years ago. But once the shooting starts, a plan is just a guess in a party dress.
It's the best war reporting going, period.
I'd like to think I'd do the same as this 'writer' (he doesn't think he's a journalist) when things go bad, and hopefully I'll never know.
Hopefully you never will, either.