text:
Today, the CIA released this report by the agency's Inspector General. The Washington Independent reports that the just-unclassified document, which remains heavily redacted, "was so charged within the agency that former CIA Director Michael Hayden clashed with [Inspector General John] Helgerson over the inspector general's independence and investigative authority."
While a statement from CIA Director Leon Panetta says that "[i]n many ways, this is an old story," the report's revelations include the following:
- 1. The report states, "One of the psychologists/interrogators acknowledged that the Agency's use of the technique differed from that used in SERE [Survival Evasion Resistance Escape] training and explained that the Agency's technique is different because it is 'for real' and is more poignant and convincing."
- 2. Also, the CIA failed to disclose accurate medical information to the Justice Department when requesting permission to waterboard detainees. Rather, they provided medical information relevant to waterboarding as performed during SERE trainings which, as mentioned above, was less "poignant and convincing" than the method employed by the CIA.
- 3. While the report expressly implicates Justice Department attorneys who gave oral permission for torture to CIA officials, it appears that this permission was only granted after several uses of the "extreme interrogation techniques."
- 4. In what the report calls the "most significant" incident, one debriefer acted without authorization, using an unloaded handgun and a drill to coerce a detainee.


text:
Jodi Arias has been in jail for four years awaiting her murder trial. Arizona's KSAZ went inside that prison for a look at what Arias' life has been like.
Jodi Arias is facing the death penalty for allegedly murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Arias stabbed him 29 times, shot him in the face and slit his throat from ear to ear. She claims she killed him out of self-defense.
For complete coverage of this trial watch Jane Velez-Mitchell weeknights at 7pm ET on HLN.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A NEW cycleway designed to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use an alternative way of travelling into town, is nearing completion.
Various improvements on Lincoln Road between Holdingham roundabout and Sleaford are due to start on July 9 to join up the final parts of the new Sustrans Connect2 cycleway from Leasingham to Sleaford, which has been funded by Lottery cash.
This includes the removal of three trees ahead of the main work to create a new cycle and pedestrian refuge on York Road at its junction with Lincoln Road, which is starting on July 30.
Area highways manager, Rowan Smith, said: "The highways improvements needed are almost complete. A new cycle and pedestrian refuge is being constructed on York Road over the summer to make it easier for cyclists and pedestrians to cross and the junction itself is being widened to enhance visibility for motorists.
"This work will cause some disruption as we need to close one lane for traffic leaving the estate. Also motorists travelling in both directions on Lincoln Road may experience minor delays. Please do bear with us and find an alternative route if you can."
The improvements are being carried out over the holiday period, when traffic is lighter, to minimise disruption.
Bus services will still run as normal unless otherwise advertised. The work should be completed before school starts again in September, when the new cycleway will be officially opened.


text:
In an opinion piece for Bloomberg View, Michael Kinsley writes:
As demand starts to build on President Barack Obama to "do something" about the deteriorating situation in Syria, let's review where the U.S. and its citizens stand on the general question of using military force abroad. On this issue, Americans are divided in strange ways. It's no longer a matter of hawks and doves. There are liberal hawks and conservative doves as well as conservative hawks and liberal doves.
Read his full piece here
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text:
12.0346 Surface waters.Cite as [A.S.A.C. § 12.0346]
The subject of surface waters shall be governed by the appropriate and applicable federal and territorial statutes, rules, regulations, directives, and standards as currently exist and as may, from time to time, hereafter be amended.History: Rule 11-81, eff 1 Aug 81, Art. 3 § 2.


text:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Police investigating a shooting early Sunday morning at the Chicago Club that left one man dead and three injured.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, officers responding to a shooting at the club on Danson Street just after 2 a.m. found a 46-year-old man shot. James Darren Graham was taken by rescue personnel to Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, where he died.
Police said three other victims were taken to hospitals by private vehicles. One was treated and released and two others are still hospitalized, accoridng to the JSO.
Police said the shootings are still under investigation and did not say if they have identified the gunman or motive.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
Copyright 2011 by Post-Newsweek Stations. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


text:
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Vikings traded up to select Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with the last pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
The Vikings dealt their second-round pick (No. 40) and a reported fourth-round selection (No. 108) to the Seattle Seahawks to move up eight places to No. 32.
Bridgewater passed for 9,817 yards in three years at Louisville, including 3,970 this past season, and threw for 72 touchdowns, rushing for six more.
Original Document:
Display Section:
NFL Conferences:
NFL Teams:


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The Cubs try to get back on the winning track tonight in Milwaukee behind Edwin Jackson. Jackson and the Cubs will be taking on Hiram Burgos who is making is Major League debut, the Cubs usually struggle against pitchers that are making their debut, I have nothing to back that up just seems that way. Here's how the teams will lineup tonight at 6:10 PM CST on CSN Chicago.
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
– George


text:
If you haven't heard yet, HDS have just announced their next generation enterprise storage array.
WARNING! This article is a technical deep dive. It's about 3.5K words and is not recommended for light-weights. If you want to know what its all about from technical perspective I suggest you grab a hot brew and read on. If a technical deep dive is not what you want, then scurry on somewhere else.
Still here? Nice one! I think you'll find this the best source of technical info on the VSP available anywhere.
So lets start with a picture. This is what a VSP looks like –
Pretty ugly right! However, my mother always told me it's more important for something to be beautiful on the inside. So don't let the ugly front doors put you off your brew 😉
The Name
For those who may not know, HP also sell the VSP via an OEM agreement with Hitachi Ltd of Japan. So the product has two names, an HDS name and an HP name – but its the same product under the hood.
The HDS name – I suppose with the current trend of everything needing a V at the beginning of its name, or the need to include the words virtual or cloud, it's not surprise that HDS have called it the Virtual Storage Platform, or VSP for short.
A couple of points on the HDS name –
- It's a whole lot simpler than USP V, or is that USPV or USP-V or USPv, or may be even USP-v…..
- I suppose its better than CSP, where C would be for Cloud 😉
Internal Code Names: Internally at HDS the project was known as Victoria, and prior to that as project Mother Goose (guess it's been that long in coming that it needed two internal project names). The Mother Goose name I'm not sure about, but the Victoria I have a fair idea….. The guys at HDS tell me the obvious, they chose the name Victoria as it starts with a V, and that it has it's beginnings in the Latin for Victory. However, I'm fairly certain the real reason is that somebody in the team probably had a childhood crush on a girl named Victoria and they never quite got over her 😉
The HP name – HP have previously named the product XP, with previous versions including XP1024, XP12000 etc. So one may have guessed that HP might have named it something like – XPV, vXP, XP2048.. But No. HP are marketing the product as the P9500, bringing it in line with the current HP naming standards – MSA is now P2000, Lefthand is P4000, XP is now P9000 series.
Hitachi (日立)Factory Name: The internal Hitachi factory names for previous generations of this family of product were –
- Lightning 9900 = RAID400
- Lightning 9980V = RAID450
The VSP follows suit and is internally referred to as the 日立 RAID700. If you view the results of a SCSI Inquiry, or SCSI codepage 0x83, you will see this as the product ID.
High Level Overview
The VSP is a Fibre Channel only (oh, and FICON) enterprise storage array that scales from a single bay up to a maximum of 6 bays. The two central bays house what Hitachi is calling Control Chassis (containing processors, memory, front and backend connectivity…) as well as drive enclosures. The remaining 4 bays can contain only drive enclosures. It can scale from zero (0) drives to a maximum of 2,048 drives, making it the biggest (Update: 29/09/2010 – biggeest from a drive slot perspective) storage array from Hitachi, but still not as big as some of the competition – but size is not everything to all people 😉
NOTE: There is no minimum entry model like with previous versions. Also the smallest config can scale to become the largest with no forklift upgrade required. This is in stark contrast to the previous generation where a USP VM could not be upgraded to become a USP V.
Now to the REAL technical stuff…….
Sub-LUN Tiering
Today's Holy Grail for all decent storage arrays is the ability to tier at the sub-LUN level. That is, the ability to have the most active parts of a LUN reside on fast (most expensive) media, and the less frequently accessed parts reside on slow (cheaper) media. The VSP has this and it calls it Hitachi Dynamic Tiering (HDT).
Sparing you a lecture on Sub-LUN tiering I'll just pick the interesting technical points for the VSP implementation –
- All drives can be placed into a single tiering pool. You just throw your SSD, SAS and SATA into an SLMP (Single Large Melting Pot – I made that up). Not what I was expecting given existing HDP Pool best practices, but I suppose it works from a simplicity perspective.
- New data is staged to the highest tier available, and then, as it becomes less active it is migrated down the tiers. Most folks I speak to seem to initially think it will be best to stage data at the lowest tier and then promote it up through the tiers as it is used. I guess staging to the highest tier means that you will always be fully utilising your expensive Tier 0. Time will tell if this approach works.
- The Sub-LUN extent size (which Hitachi calls a Page) is the infamous chubby chunk… the 42MB HDP Page. Basically the VSP will move data up and down the tiers in units of 42MB (contiguous space). If you have 1MB of a file that is hot, the VSP will migrate that 1MB, plus the remaining 41MB of that Page up a tier. The same for demotions.
- On the policy side of things, you can set gathering windows, exclusion windows, and the movement cycle is between 1-24 hours.
So a tick in the Sub-LUN tiering box for the VSP. All that remains to be seen is whether it does what it says on the tin.
SAS backend and 2.5 inch drives
The writing has been on the wall for a while now, Fibre Channel as a drive interface is on its way out. Don't panic though, it won't happen overnight, but by the same token, don't be blind to the facts, it is happening. The new protocol, interface and backend architecture is SAS (Serial Attached SCSI).
NOTE: Enterprise class SSD drives come with SAS interfaces, and you can plug Enterprise class SATA II drives on to SAS backends.
As far as I'm aware, the VSP is the first of the enterprise arrays to adopt a SAS backend, but it's unlikely to be long before the rest follow suit. So is there any value in the SAS backend, or is it just a tick in the box to be future proof?
There is an argument that the 6Gbps full duplex SAS backend will be able to sustain more IOPs and throughput to SSD drives, certainly more than a 4Gbps FC-AL (or switched FC-AL) backend. However, don't expect to be able to drive the ~45,000 IOPs that the spec sheet of an STEC Zeus IOPS claims. Also note, that the spec sheet I'm reading from the STEC website only shows 3Gbps SAS interface, making it slower than 4Gbps FC at the time of writing :-S However, when a 6Gbps interface comes along, the plumbing is already there in the VSP.
As far as I'm aware, the only manufacturer supplying SSD drives for the VSP is STEC Inc and I believe the drives to be the same ZEUS IOPS drives (200GB and 400GB varieties) that the competition use.
The pictures below are close-ups of a drive enclosure. The picture on the left shows the enclosure with the fans (on hinges) opened, the picture on the right shows with the fans closed into position –
2.5 inch drives. For me, 2.5 inch drives are the future of disk drives, and allow for greater capacity in the same footprint. For example, a single frame VSP with a Control Chassis 0 can have 384 drives, each of which can be 2TB. That's a lot of capacity in a relatively small footprint.
It's also strange that once you've seen one system with 2.5 inch drives, all systems that still deploy 3.5 inch drives look clunky and dated. Bring on the 1cm drives! J/K
UPDATE 29/09/2010 : Readers should note that capacities of 2.5 inch drives currently lag behind those of 3.5 inch drives. For latest drive info see relevant drive manufacturer websites.
Front End Director (FED) Design
So the front end design of the VSP is significantly different to the design of previous generations and one of the more technically interesting changes.
At a high level, Hitachi have taken the wide-striping concept that is now commonplace in backend architectures, and are bringing it to the front end.
Basically, the FEDs and BEDs (Front End Directors and Back End Directors) have custom I/O routing ASICs that are specialised for I/O traffic management – Hitachi are calling these data accelerator ASICs. These ASICs have an affinity with ports. However, the more general purpose CPUs are no longer locked to particular ports, they have been moved to a processor complex called the Virtual Storage Director (VSD) where they are pooled and can have their resources dynamically assigned and un-assigned from any front or back end port.
Example: In legacy or more traditional architectures (I'm going to keep this high level), Processor 1 would be tied to Port 1 and Processor 2 would be tied to Port 2. If Port 1 was running like the clappers and maxing out its Processor, while Port 2 and Processor 2 were sitting idle, there would be no way to assign the resources of Processor 2 to Port 1. Now, with the VSP, the CPUs are pooled and can be assigned or unassigned from any Port, so a port that is running flat out can have the resources of multiple CPUs assigned to it.
Of course the proof is in the pudding. BUT, this could potentially do to the front end, what drive pooling and wide-striping have done to the backend. Look at a heat map of a traditional backend where specific spindles are assigned to specific LUNs and applications, and compare it with a heat map of a system that employs drive pooling and wide-striping. The difference is amazing.
This could also have potential heat and power benefits, turning off processors when they are not required – although I'm speculating now.
ASIC vs Commodity: The general purpose CPUs, where the microcode, including copy services, replication services, HDP etc execute are Intel Core Duo Xeon quad-core processors. The ASICs on the FEDs and BEDs are Hitachi designed. Hitachi, like 3PAR, obviously feel there is still value in custom silicon. This is in stark contrast to the likes of EMC VMAX and IBM XIV which have taken the commodity route, driving value out of software.
The custom ASICs take care of latency sensitive data such as user data, whereas less latency sensitive data, such as asynchronous replication traffic, is processed by the general purpose CPUs on the VSDs.
While on the topic of the front end, I should point out that this is a FC and FICON only array. No iSCSI (no plans for it) and no FCoE. However, FCoE is apparently not far off, may be the end of Q4 or early Q1 2011.
Control Chassis (Logic Boxes)
As mentioned earlier, and seen in the images below, the centre two cabinets, in a six frame VSP, house the Control Chassis' – Control Chassis 0 and Control Chassis 1. The picture below is of the front and rear of a frame containing a Control Chassis. The Control Chassis is in the bottom half on both pictures, the top half contains the drive enclosures hidden by fans.
And a close-up shot of each – note the slapdash fibre cabling – tut tut 😉
As will be show in the diagrams below. the Control Chassis contain the following –
At the front there are 4 x Virtual Storage Directors (VSD), and 8 x Data Cache Directors.
At the rear there are 8 x FEDs, 4 x BEDs, and 8 x what Hitachi are calling Grid Switches, or GSW if you like.
Data cache is backed up to onboard flash drives, which I believe will mean no requirement for large batteries etc. Pretty cool, assuming I'm correct. It has been confirmed that the previous statement of not requiring large batteries to hold cache in a power loss scenario is correct.
Each BED has 8 x 6Gbps SAS paths. That adds up to 32 backend SAS links per Control Chassis, and 64 x 6Gbps links in a fully configured unit. SAS runs at full duplex.
Control Memory (CM) is located on the Virtual Storage Directors alongside the general purpose CPUs making it very quickly accessible to the CPUs, like an L2 cache. As with previous architectures, Control Memory stores the usual metadata and system state such as LDEV mappings, DIF tables, run tables etc.
Grid Switches – The Grid Switch boards provide the, 4-lane PCIe gen. 1, paths that cross connect all of the other boards. Each Control Chassis can have either two or four GSW boards. Each GSW board has 24 unidirectional ports, each port having a send and receive path, with each operating at 1024MB/s.
Hitachi refers to the Control Chassis as being tightly coupled, and the interconnect between the two is PCIe gen 1 over copper. The Control Chassi are able to communicate by mapping Hi-Star over PCIe.
Microcode and Microcode Updates (interesting)
As you would hope and expect, a large part of the VSP microcode is inherited from the USP V, which in turn inherited it from the USP, which inherited it from the Lightning 9980V, which inherited it from …… The code from the USP V was recompiled to run natively on, and exploit the advantages of the new Intel processors. All new features to the VSP, such as Dynamic Tiering, were developed to run natively on the VSP hardware.
Interestingly, the microcode now runs in fewer places – basically the Virtual Storage Directors. This has the effect of hugely simplifying the microcode update process. On that topic, and it's not very often that I get excited about the microcode update process (in fact I've never gotten excited about it before), but this time I'm excited! Stay with me on this…..
If we remember back to when we talked about the general purpose CPUs (where the ucode runs), we mentioned that the processors are not tied to front end ports. Well as it turns out that this has a huge impact on microcode updates. Basically, because the processors that run the microcode are not tied to ports, when you update the microcode, no ports ever have to go offline! Take a second to let that settle…. once again, front end ports do not go offline during microcode updates! There are other architectures out there that require paths to go offline during code upgrades, these are an outage waiting to happen. I'm not saying there wont be a reduction in performance, but this is still HUGE!
Real world experience: Anybody who works in large environments knows that microcode updates can cause issues. Path failover and multi-pathing in general are often the cause. Common examples include servers that incorrectly have both paths cabled to the same SAN fabric, not noticing that a path is already in a failed state on a server, applications that don't work well with path-failover… So to have a solution where paths are not taken offline during a microcode update is an absolute god-send for large organisations – IMO.
Data Centre Friendly
This might seem strange, but for products that are designed to spend their entire lives in data centres, enterprise storage arrays are often like a wart on the nose of a well designed Data Centre.
In the past, it has almost been a pre-req for enterprise storage arrays have features like bespoke custom sized cabinets and blowing hot air in whatever direction they felt like – sometimes towards the ceiling 😉
Well finally VSP has made some steps in the right direction –
- It comes in a standard sized 42u 19 inch rack
- Has a hot and cold isle airflow design
- Can take power feeds from above or below – you can now install one in your garage without installing a raised floor 😉
Not quite at the point where customers can install one in their own pre-provisioned racks, but it's moving in the right direction.
Hitachi are also claiming ~40% power reduction, which, if true, will go down well with every Data Centre I know.
But it Looks So Ugly
Let's face it, most of us have a shallow side to us and like stuff that looks good.
But before I get lambasted over this, let me state that I know that appearances are not that important when it comes to kit that spends it's life in a data centre and never sees the light of day. However, I think there are a couple of areas where it does matter (but way way less than how well it works etc…). Those couple of areas are –
- First impressions count.
- It's about brand. Hitachi are no doubt billing this as an exciting product and trying to generate interest – at the end of the day they need to ship it in large quantities. In my opinion, the outward design does not give a good first impression and certainly doesn't capture the imagination.
Although HP didn't actually put a blue neon light on the front door, their marketing guys seem to be getting the message with the photo-shopped image on the HP StorageWorks P9500 below –
In a day when the competition are sporting kit with dual-power-fed blue neon lights and others with bezels designed by Armani, I was hoping for more from Hitachi. But its not the end of the world and I think I'll live, just about.
However, on the inside it certainly looks neater and tidier than previous generations. This, again, is important as it speak of good engineering.
Management Software
Moving on from something that's not all that important, to something that absolutely is…management software.
Apologies for mentioning this so far down the post, but I haven't actually tested the software, and I have never been a fan of Hitachi storage software, so I find it hard to get excited. Having said that, it looks for once like they might have come good on management software …
A previous poll on this website about how good or bad Hitachi Storage Management software is showed the following results –
33% said it was "Poor"
25% said it was "Average"
14% said it was "Good"
15% said they would "rather pull their teeth out than use it"
8% said it was "excellent". These voters no doubt worked for Hitachi 😉
The Victoria launch is a joint Hardware and Software launch. Device Manager is now at version 7, and it appears that Hitachi might have been listening to feedback.
From what I've seen, aesthetically speaking, it's a huge improvement on previous versions. Like other decent management GUIs it's based on Adobe Flex technology and it actually works how you would expect a decent management app to work (I've seen a demo). You know, like being able to resize the screen, move columns, re-order columns…
Let's hope that it also scales and doesn't need "occasional" reboots.
Hitachi are positioning it as a unified (there's a word that is finding it's place alongside virtualisation and cloud) management platform across their storage products – VSP, HCP, HNAS, AMS… Hitachi have also spent a lot of effort on building in SMI-S.
My personal opinion is that the management interface looks a lot better, in the same ball park as the likes of SMC, but not in yet the same league as XIV, 3PAR or UniSphere.
Still Legacy RAID Architecture
As with most things in life, you don't get everything you hoped for. And for me, the big thing that is missing is a revamp of the underlying RAID architecture. With the long wait for the product I was hoping they were working on this.
In today's world of 2TB and larger drives, an average of around 10^14 Bit Error Rate and therefore risk of Unrecoverable Read Error being something like one in every 12TB, elongated rebuild times, larger capacities to try and background scrub…… I'll kill the list there so as not to keep you awake at night worrying about your RAID. Point being, RAID architectures that were written 10, 15, 20+ years ago are showing clear signs of creaking at the seams.
In my personal opinion, distributed parallel RAID architectures that offer ultra fast but ultra low impact rebuilds (or re-protection) are needed. I personally don't want to see triple parity RAID or other band-aid solutions. A redesign is needed. Technologies like some of those sported by 3PAR, XIV, Xiotech etc need to make their way into enterprise storage arrays. Rant over.
Misc – VAAI and Encryption
VAAI. Unfortunately there is no VMware VAAI goodness on day one. However, this will apparently come in the first code rev planned for either the end of this year or very early next year.
Encryption. The Back End Directors are capable of encrypting data, internal to the VSP, while at rest, with XTS-AES 256 bit encryption. Encryption is done in hardware with apparently no overhead, so wont impact your performance.
I'm also interested at the overlap with the AMS line. VSP will scale as small, or smaller than AMS but with much richer (pun intended) features. It seems an industry trend for midrange architectures to be reaching in to the enterprise space, whereas this seems the opposite way around. Hmmmm…
Well, I've about worn my keyboard out so will bring this to a close. Hope it has been useful.
Feel free to leave comments, thoughts, questions… but please, please, please, if you work for a vendor, please disclose this. Thanks!
You can talk to me online about technology on Twitter, I'm @nigelpoulton, or http://twitter.com/nigelpoulton
Disclaimer. I do not work for Hitachi, HDS, HP or anyone involved in the product. I have, however, been contracted in professional services and implementation architect type roles by both HDS and HP in the past. Opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent those of any of my employers, past, present, or future. I have obviously had exposure to the product and people prior to product release, see previous posts for info. I have not received a penny in relation to this product.


text:
on this report, or find
other reports
Our Mystery Worshippers are volunteers who warm church pews for us around the world. If you'd like to become a Mystery Worshipper,
start here
Find out
how to reproduce this report in your church magazine or website.
1042: Moot at St Matthew's, Westminster, London
Mystery Worshipper:
Ecclesiastical Flip-flop.
The church:
St Matthew's
, Westminster, London.
Alternative worship, Church of England style.
The building:
St Matthew's is a chapel rebuilt on the site of a much larger Victorian Gothic church of 1851 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, which was largely destroyed by an arsonist in the 1990s. The new worship space was created by the architect Donald Buttress, within the chancel and sanctuary of the burnt church, while the rest of the site was sold off for an ugly office development. A huge Bodley reredos dominates the sanctuary, which is a lofty and dignified Gothic space.
The church community:
Moot describes itself as "a developing community of spiritual travellers who are seeking to find a means of living a life that is honest to god and honest to now. moot seeks to make connections and find inspirations in the meeting of faith, life and culture. moot looks to the christian call for justice, equity and balance as a means of living politically and ethically. we recognise the inspiration of saints, mystics and artists throughout the centuries." For more about the foundations of moot,
click here
The neighbourhood:
St Matthew's is situated between Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, and is very near Church House, where London meetings of the General Synod of the Church of England take place. There are several church shops and offices nearby, for various church societies. Other offices and places of work are in the vicinity.
The cast:
Graham led the service, dressed casually.
What was the name of the service?
Moot alternative church worship. The theme of the service was "Abraham our faithful Father".
How full was the building?
The small nave of the church was not used, and there were about 25 people present, seated between the nave and the altar-space.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
On arrival, I needed the "little boys' room" and the door leading to it was locked. I was about to enter the sacristy, looking for an alternative way in, when a man said to me, "You cannot go in there". I told him what I wanted. "Are you coming to the service?" "Yes". So he showed me the way through. When I had sat down in the church, a man sat next to me, and introduced himself as Fr Peter, the assistant priest at St Matthew's. This immediately put me at my ease, as I had turned up totally in the dark about what I was going to find.
Was your pew comfortable?
Wooden chairs were specially in place for the small congregation to sit on, comfortable enough for me.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
A lot of chatter, and music already playing – not at all conducive to prayer.
What were the exact opening words of the service?
"Good evening, tonight we have a re-hash." Graham then went on to explain a few small changes in the service for the evening. As a first-timer, this was useless information to me.
What books did the congregation use during the service?
There were no books for the congregation, only a printed order of a short rite of blessing at the end.
What musical instruments were played?
Light rock music was being played, and the amplifier was in evidence in front of the altar. I presume the music was recorded, as no instrumentalists were visible.
Did anything distract you?
At one point in the service, the congregation was invited to circulate, read printed sheets to do with the Muslim faith, the Bible opened at the book of Genesis, and the Old Testament prophets. While this was going on, I could not help stopping to look at the board commemorating the re-opening of the Church following the fire, and re-dedicated by the then Bishop of London, Dr Graham Leonard. Then I stopped to admire the ornate stand for the pascal candle.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what?
The act of worship was informal, with no liturgy, except for the short rite of blessing at the end. So it was far from being stiff-upper-lip, and was not really happy clappy. The music was played throughout, and visual aids were projected onto a large white-sheeted wooden frame, serving as a primitive screen, specially erected for the evening. There was no singing.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
No sermon. The whole service lasted only 35 minutes.
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
The blessing at the end of the service was for a couple – Graham (who led the service) and his wife Bethan – as the were about to set off to travel around Europe for six months in a newly-bought camper van. Fr Peter used holy water to sprinkle the couple for this blessing: a piece of ritual like that always rejoices my heart. There had also been plans to bless the camper van itself, but as it had broken down an image of the van, projected onto the screen, was blessed instead.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Fear of being unable to make notes for this report, for not only was the light dimmed most of the time, so that I could not see to write, but the small congregation was seated in two rows facing each other, and people were sitting on either side of me. I had to forget about writing any notes, as it would have been too conspicuous.
If intercessory prayers were said, what issues were raised?
Pictures were shown on the screen as we prayed the general confession, indicating how humankind had abused nature, and also for the Lord's Prayer. Any intercessions were brief and transitory, and not very memorable.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
There was no need for that, as people were so friendly and welcoming.
How would you describe the after-service coffee?
Coffee was served before the service, but as this was not advertised, I did not taste it. There was talk about a pub adjournment after the service, but I quietly departed after 25 minutes without waiting any longer, before my Mystery Worshipper calling card was found!
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
3 The service was fine for an act of worship at the end of Sunday, but for me, the principle Sunday service of solemn mass is much more special. St Matthew's itself I would provisionally rate about 8.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?
It was as if I were going to a church of a different denomination, or even a different faith, for all I knew beforehand. But yes, it made me glad to be a Christian, as it happened.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The friendliness of the people.
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Easter 2010
From Yunnan in China to Louisville in Kentucky, we report on Easter services, 2010.
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The Mystery Pilgrim
One of our most seasoned reporters makes the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
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London churches
Read reports from 70 London churches, visited by a small army of Mystery Worshippers on one single Sunday.
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More Mystery Worshipper reports


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A high-stakes contest with no second chances got underway Monday night on "The Voice," and with the night's final pairing came a vocal duel two coaches agreed was the best knockout round yet.
Teams Adam and Shakira were slashed by half Monday night, with four of each team's members unceremoniously bid adieu. But among those sticking around were a few unexpected, and understated, dark horses in a tough race.
When Monday night began, with eight teammates on each team, both Adam and Shakira paired two of their teammates in a sudden-death face-off to determine who would stick around for next week's live performances.
The coaches matched their teammates, but the contestants themselves picked their songs. That made for a make-or-break choice for the singing hopefuls and, later, a make-or-break choice for the coaches.
Adam began his team's knockout round with a pairing of two very different artists — earnest country upstart Amber Carrington and quirky indie-pop duo Midas Whale.
Amber tackled the Avril Lavigne torch song "I'm with You," choosing it for what it meant to her in light of her mother's death. It was a tough song, but Adam believed she could handle it. "She just needs to stay calm," he said. He also praised Midas Whale's decision to sing Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," saying, "it's very different for them."
In the end, Midas Whale's brave decision to venture beyond their usual sound and go for a more serious song couldn't stack up with Amber's unstoppable, emotive vocals — and she won the round.
Next up were two very different members of Team Shakira: Garrett Gardner, the gravelly-voiced teen who returned triumphant after a letdown at blind auditions last season, paired with sassy country singer Tawnya Reynolds. He chose the Alex Clare song "Too Close," accompanying himself on guitar, and she chose "Hell on Heels" by the Pistol Annies (a band featuring one Miranda Lambert, aka Blake's wife).
After their performances, Shakira praised how far Garrett had progressed and how expressive his singing. She chose him as the winner and her remaining teammate.
Next up for Team Adam was a pairing that was, unbeknownst to him, a personal one: good friends Amy Whitcomb and coffeehouse singer Caroline Glaser. Amy had some pitch issues on "House of the Rising Sun" in rehearsals, while Caroline seemed hesitant when she performed the Of Monsters & Men song "Little Talks."
But Adam ultimately chose Caroline for her unique, silky voice and thanked his lucky stars that he had stolen her from Blake's team. Amy graciously and excitedly congratulated her friend on the win and vowed to keep rooting for Caroline.
On Team Shakira, Kris Thomas, with his uncanny vocal range, faced off with Mary Miranda, the young Latin pop singer whose rich voice belied her years.
Kris performed the Louis Armstrong standard "What a Wonderful World," which Shakira encouraged him not to over-embellish with R&B flourishes. Mary Miranda went out on a limb and sang "Every Breath You Take" by the Police — the first song she would sing on "The Voice" in English, and one of the songs she said helped her learn English originally.
Despite the risks Mary Miranda took, Shakira wound up siding with Kris in the performances, citing his comparative ease in mastering new material.
Adam then paired one of his team's most powerful vocalists, former Michael Jackson backup singer Judith Hill, with R&B hopeful Orlando Dixon. Orlando's take on K-Ci & JoJo's "All My Life" was heartfelt, but it was no match for Judith's soulful reinterpretation of the country classic "Always on My Mind."
Shakira's next match-up was one of two of her Latina team members with the biggest personalities: rocker Karina Iglesias, stolen from Team Adam, and former child star Monique Abbadie. "I want to see who has the most versatility and range," Shakira said.
Karina tackled Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" — a song right up her alley, but one that made Shakira suggest, "Try to bring some of that soulfulness that made me steal you." Monique took on the Celine Dion hit "The Power of Love," a tall task for any singer.
Monique had trouble staying on pitch, and although the coaches thought Karina's choice of song didn't show off her talents as much as it could have, Karina won the round to become one quarter of Shakira's team heading into the live shows.
Adam next pitted two of his team members with very different country backgrounds: Sarah Simmons, who had wowed all four judges at the blind auditions, and Warren Stone, a through-and-through country musician Adam had exulted at winning from Blake.
With his take on "(I Just) Died in Your Arms," Warren turned in a performance Blake called his best yet. "This song really let Warren's voice speak through," Shakira added.
But she and the other coaches reserved their most lavish praise for Sarah's rendition of the Rolling Stones' country-tinged ballad "Wild Horses." "What you did with your voice is remarkable," Usher said. "There were really wild horses galloping through your throat," Shakira added, by way of astonishment at Sarah's voice. Adam, too, chose Sarah as the winner of the round.
Even those compliments paled in comparison to the ones handed to Team Shakira's final pairing of the night: New York mom Sasha Allen and veteran Nashville country-rocker Shawna P.
Sasha had trouble with Etta James' "At Last" in rehearsals at first. "I can already tell she is too much in her head," Shakira said. On-stage was another story — and her performance managed to top even Shawna P's alternately tender and ferocious take on Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed."
"Sasha, that was truly, truly incredible," Adam told his former team member, stolen by Shakira after Adam ousted her in the battle rounds.
"This is the best knockout round that I've seen so far," Blake said. "Sasha, you have just positioned yourself as one of the frontrunners of the whole competition."
Shakira agreed with that assessment and chose Sasha as the winner. Her explanation? "The goosebump factor," she said. And she predicted some unexpected twists in the competition, thanks to her lucky acquisition of not one but two one-time Team Adam protégées.
"This is going to get interesting," she said. "Adam has been banging his head against that red chair ever since he heard Sasha sing that song."
The knockout rounds continue Tuesday, with more of the coaches' teams getting whittled down in another high-stakes series of face-offs.
"The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC.


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Today at CES, Motorola announced it is delivering on an
existing relationship with Microsoft to integrate Microsoft Windows Media
technologies into MOTOMUSIC mobile devices. Built on Motorola's new Linux-Java
software platform, the MOTOMUSIC devices give consumers an easy music-sync
experience with Windows Media Player on Windows XP and Vista-based PCs and provide
access to content from a wide range of online music stores. Consumers can not
only take their personal CD collections with them, but can also transfer music
acquired from hundreds of download or subscription stores and play it back on their
Motorola handsets.
The MOTORIZR Z6 will be the first Motorola handset to
include Microsoft Windows Media technologies including Windows Media DRM,
Windows Media Audio and Media Transfer Protocol. Unlike the ubiquitous RAZR and
KRZR flip phones, the RIZR comes in a slider form factor and offers simple
connectivity to Windows-based PCs via USB 2.0. By supporting MTP, Windows Media
Player will automatically recognize the MOTORIZR Z6, letting users sync music
from the PC to the phone from over 200 music stores worldwide.
"The MOTORIZR Z6 is the world's first Linux-Java music phone
integrating the full suite of Windows Media technologies," says Scott
Durchslag, corporate vice-president of Product and Xperience Invention,
Motorola Mobile Devices. "This will enable consumers to access whatever music
content they want, from the music store they love wherever they are as simply
and seamlessly as possible."
In addition to making the new MOTOMUSIC handsets
interoperable with PCs, Motorola and Microsoft plan to provide MOTOMUSIC
handset offerings that are tailored for discovering and acquiring music over an
operator's 3G network.
The new MOTORIZR Z6 is expected to be available in the first
half of 2007.


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No Hollywood ending for Kershaw, Dodgers
ST. LOUIS -- For all of the confident words spoken by the Dodgers coming into the National League Championship Series, the last team they wanted to face in the playoffs was the St. Louis Cardinals, and this was why.
Clayton Kershaw hasn't beaten the Cardinals in four starts this year, and if Kershaw can't beat a team in a best-of-seven series, neither can the Dodgers. Their wild season ended in Game 6 Friday night with a staggering 9-0 blowout loss, as the Dodgers were unable to plate a run in both of Kershaw's NLCS starts. It was the third time in the last six years the Dodgers have lost the NLCS, extending the franchise drought of missing the World Series to a quarter century.Full Game Coverage
ST. LOUIS -- For all of the confident words spoken by the Dodgers coming into the National League Championship Series, the last team they wanted to face in the playoffs was the St. Louis Cardinals, and this was why.
Clayton Kershaw hasn't beaten the Cardinals in four starts this year, and if Kershaw can't beat a team in a best-of-seven series, neither can the Dodgers. Their wild season ended in Game 6 Friday night with a staggering 9-0 blowout loss, as the Dodgers were unable to plate a run in both of Kershaw's NLCS starts. It was the third time in the last six years the Dodgers have lost the NLCS, extending the franchise drought of missing the World Series to a quarter century.Full Game Coverage
"Shell-shocked, that's a great word to describe it," said catcher A.J. Ellis, whose double was one of only two Dodgers hits.
Manager Don Mattingly likened it to a crash, where "everything you do comes to a screeching halt all of a sudden."
A marathon four-run third inning, requiring an onerous 48 pitches, doomed Kershaw and his team, which had battled back after losing the first two games here by winning two of three in Los Angeles, but needed this win to force a winner-take-all Game 7.
Adrian Gonzalez said it would be wrong to dump the blame on the team's best pitcher.
"It's more about our offense not doing anything than him," he said
For the second time in this series, St. Louis rookie Michael Wacha pitched like a Cy Young Award winner. He added to 5 2/3 scoreless innings from his Game 1 win over Kershaw with a two-hit shutout for seven innings in the rematch and was presented the NLCS MVP Award.
"I felt we were in a great place, the way it lined up [with Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu starting] and facing Wacha for the second time," said Ellis. "Give him credit. He's the real deal. He shut us down both times. Things just kind of spun out of control in that third inning, had some pitches go against us that could have been called strikes and got us out of the inning earlier, but you know, it still didn't matter. We still didn't score any runs."
The late addition of Hanley Ramirez to the starting lineup didn't matter either, as the Dodgers' offense was shut out for the second time in the series and had only one hit through the first five innings. Ramirez, not in the original starting lineup, but added a half-hour before game time, went 0-for-3 and would not speak with the media afterward.
Both teams hit a meager .211 in the series. Ramirez hit .133 (2-for-15), Andre Ethier and his microfractured leg hit .150. Yasiel Puig sank to .227 (5-for-22 with 10 strikeouts). Juan Uribe hit .130 (3-for-23). On the plus side, Ellis hit .316 and Gonzalez hit .300, each with four extra-base hits.
Kershaw was driven from the biggest game of his career with no outs in the fifth inning, his shortest start of the year, ultimately charged with seven earned runs on 10 hits after throwing 98 pitches. It was the first time since 2010 that he allowed at least seven runs and lasted four innings or fewer.
He was pitching on five days' rest after a tough-luck Game 2 loss, when he allowed two hits and one unearned run in six innings.
"I just didn't have it tonight," said Kershaw. "Give up that many runs and you're not going to win a game. It's all on me. I'm disappointed. I feel like everybody worked so hard to get here, a great group of guys, and I wanted to win it for them. I wanted to get guys there, especially guys like Michael Young, somebody like that who has played his whole career without winning a World Series. That's the toughest pill to swallow."
Kershaw said he felt fine before, during and after the game. He said he wasn't tired from the 48-pitch inning. He wouldn't talk about plate umpire Greg Gibson's strike zone, especially on a critical 3-2 pitch to Matt Adams for a walk, although the Dodgers felt Wacha got the better of it. When it was suggested that his between-starts routine was disrupted by indecision whether he would pitch Game 5 on three days' rest, he wouldn't go there.
"Thanks for trying to find excuses, guys," he said. "I just didn't pitch well."
The four runs were more than he gave up in any inning since July 2012. And he didn't get much help behind him on defense, especially from rookie right fielder Puig, who was charged with two errors and made a senseless throw that compounded the third-inning implosion.
Kershaw wasn't in the mood to take anything positive from a season in which he'll probably win his second NL Cy Young Award.
"If you don't win, what's the point?" he said. "All the other stuff doesn't matter. There were some good moments, a good streak, but unless you win the whole thing, it doesn't make any difference."
Maybe Kershaw was out of sorts from having his throwing routine disrupted, not knowing if he would be brought back to pitch Game 5 on short rest. Maybe 259 innings took their toll. Or maybe the Cardinals were destined to win.
It seemed that way since the 95-mph fastball that Cardinals starter Joe Kelly drilled into the ribs of Ramirez in the first inning of Game 1, which had a greater impact on the series than any of Wacha's pitches Friday night. Ramirez's rib suffered a hairline fracture and the Dodgers' offense never recovered.
The underlying theme of a season that saw the Dodgers go from last to first was overcoming injuries, but they couldn't overcome Ramirez's.
This was the second time the Dodgers were eliminated by the Cardinals in the sixth game of the NLCS, Jack Clark doing the honors to Tom Niedenfuer in 1985. That one had the second-guessing of Tommy Lasorda's decision to pitch to Clark with first base open. This one had the second-guessing of Mattingly pinch-running for Gonzalez in a Game 1 loss that went 13 innings.
Kershaw had to pitch out of a first-inning jam after allowing a one-out double to Carlos Beltran, but he struck out Matt Holliday and got Yadier Molina on a groundout.
With two outs in the second inning, Shane Robinson singled to left, and on back-to-back wild breaking pitches to Pete Kozma, Robinson reached third. But Kozma, 1-for-13 coming into the game, struck out on a 3-2 fastball at his shoulders.
Matt Carpenter put Kershaw through the ringer with one out in the bottom of the third, an 11-pitch at-bat that included eight foul balls and finished with a double to right field.
"A game-changer right there," said Ellis.
"From there," said Mattingly, "it seemed like the floodgates opened."
Beltran then hit a shot that deflected off the glove of diving second baseman Mark Ellis. That brought in the first run, but it also set up the second. Instead of setting and throwing, Puig made an off-balance flip toward the infield instead of planting and unleashing a bullet to the cutoff man. Carpenter scored, but the throw allowed Beltran to advance to second base because Gonzalez couldn't catch Puig's throw.
"We've got to do a better job, I think, of helping him mature and understand what we want done and the way to do it," Mattingly said of the throw, which did not keep the double play in order.
Holliday was called out on strikes for the second out, but Molina singled to center to score Beltran.
"We just couldn't get out of it," said A.J. Ellis. "It was really hard to find that put-away pitch to end that inning."
David Freese singled Molina to second and Kershaw walked Adams to load the bases, the 3-2 pitch close enough for Kershaw to say something to Gibson.
Robinson singled to right and Puig airmailed the throw to the backstop, with Molina and Freese scoring, Adams going to third and Robinson to second on the throwing error. Kozma was walked intentionally to load the bases and bring up Wacha, who led off the inning with a groundout and finished it with a strikeout.
Kershaw was chased in the fifth after allowing singles to Molina and Freese and an RBI double by Adams. With Ronald Belisario pitching, one out and the bases loaded, Ellis bobbled Wacha's grounder and another run scored. Carpenter brought Robinson home with a sacrifice fly off J.P. Howell, whose wild pitch then scored Kozma, and Beltran singled home Wacha for the fifth run of the inning.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com.


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Your legal rights: Shut the door on door-to-door home improvement cams
While "Marcy" was gardening in her front yard, a man approached. He told her he could repave her driveway at a bargain price if she paid cash today. She paid the money, and the man promised to return with a crew the next day to do the work. He never came back.
Maybe your neighborhood has seen the scam: An unknown salesman travels from house to house offering to fix up homes or driveways at rock-bottom prices. He may give a reason why his prices are so low, such as claiming to have supplies left over from another project in your neighborhood.
What scammers never tell you is the catch: If you pay up front, they may run off with your money, leave the work undone, do shoddy work or overcharge you in the end.
Door-to-door scams increase in warm weather, and some scammers go from town to town ripping people off.
These are some precautions to guard against these scams:
Driveway pavement scams. Fraudsters sometimes stop at homes that have older, unpaved or cracked driveways. They use the condition of the driveway as a pressure point, suggesting that the driveway should look more like the driveways of their neighbors or indicating that a better driveway would raise the consumer's home value.
Scammers may try to pressure a homeowner to make a snap decision before they have time to shop around, often by claiming that the bargain offer is only available if they act now. Fraudulent operators may be quick to disappear if a homeowner pays up front.
Home improvement scams. With this scam, a crooked person may offer to fix a window, repair a roof or paint a house. These scam artists can be very aggressive.
If a homeowner pays for the work up front, the scammer may skip town, refuse to honor the deal, perform shoddy work, or stick the homeowner with an inflated bill.
If the homeowner makes a partial payment up front, the scammer may do some limited work to get the homeowner to pay additional funds before the fraudster skips town.
Security alarm scams. Each summer, traveling crews come to Minnesota to sign people up for security alarms.
Scammers may get their foot in the door by telling you the alarm is free or discounted or that they are with your current alarm company. They may scare you by talking about crime in your neighborhood. They may ask you to sign a contract with print so small you can't even read it.
In some cases, people have signed contracts requiring them to pay as much as $50 per month for five years for a security alarm that doesn't work or that they don't need. If you want a security alarm, the best advice is to ask friends and family for references and then research those businesses.
Tips to avoid door-to-door home improvement scams.
Don't fall for pressure tactics. Door-to-door home improvement scams try to trick you into acting immediately before you have time to shop around.
Legitimate companies that want your business will generally allow you time to think about the offer, research your options, and shop around. Red flags should go up if a door-to-door salesman pressures you to make an immediate decision or pay cash in advance.
Ask for identification and research the business. You should carefully research any business before allowing it to work in your home. Ask for state or local license or permit information and information on whether the person is bonded.
Under Minnesota law, door-to-door salespeople must clearly disclose their name, the name of the business they represent and the goods or services they wish to sell, as well as an identification card with the sales person's name and the name of the business to any potential buyer.
Contact the Department of Labor and Industry and your local government. Most residential building contractors must be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Many municipalities also require contractors or door-to-door salespeople to hold a permit or license. Contact your local city, municipality or county for more information on local regulations.
Beware of missing information. Scam artists tend to use generic business names and only include a phone number on any written materials. They may drive unmarked cars or trucks. If a salesman declines to provide you with identification or other basic information, it is probably best to end the conversation.
Take your time and shop around. If you would like to pursue a home improvement project, ask for references from friends and neighbors who have undertaken similar projects. The best recommendations often come from people you trust who have direct experience with a contractor. Consider asking several companies to provide you with bids.
Document and read offers and estimates. Carefully read any contract before you sign it. Beware of fine print that requires you to pay more than a quoted price or that obligates you to pay for unwanted services that you did not discuss with the contractor. Ask the representatives to leave the contract with you for review before you sign it.
Put your personal safety first. Don't let unknown salesmen inside your home. Scammers can be very aggressive. If you let them inside your home, they may sit down on your couch, or even your bed, and refuse to leave until you sign a contract.
Turn away if you have an uneasy feeling. Listen to your instincts. If you have an uneasy feeling about a door-to-door operator, just say no and shut the door. Con artists can be persuasive. The longer you allow them to talk to you, the greater the opportunity they see to sweet talk you into making a decision you might regret. Don't continue to engage in conversation with a salesman whom you have already turned down.
If you suspect a door-to-door scam is occurring in your neighborhood, promptly notify local law enforcement.
For more information, contact the Office of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson at 1400 Bremer Tower, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101 or 1-800-657-3787.


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Rogers' spring begins with hiccup against Tribe
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
PHOENIX -- Carlos Santana hit a two-run home run and Ezequiel Carrera added a solo shot as an Indians split squad beat the Brewers, 7-4, at Maryvale Baseball Park on Sunday.
Carrera also walked twice and scored two runs to help the Indians overcome a four-run Brewers first inning against Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who pitched against Major League hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011. Other Indians pitchers fared better, with Scott Kazmir, Trevor Bauer and David Huff each delivering two scoreless innings.
Kazmir allowed a hit with one strikeout. Bauer surrendered two hits but struck out two.
Both teams' starters struggled in the first inning.
Milwaukee's Mark Rogers made his first-career Cactus League start and allowed two runs on two hits, three walks and a wild pitch in 1 2/3 innings, including a two-run Indians first inning that included a trio of stolen bases.
Rogers said he was simply out of rhythm.
"I wasn't free and easy like I have been in my bullpen sessions," he said. "I just felt like I put a little too much pressure on myself trying to be perfect, rather than just going up there to throw the ball. I'll try to forget about this one and take it for what it is, the first start of the year. There were a lot of things I can build off of."
For Cleveland, Carrasco made his first Major League start since Aug. 3, 2011, allowing four Brewers runs, three earned, on four hits and a walk in the first inning. Caleb Gindl's two-out, two-run single was the biggest hit, and Indians defenders made Carrasco's work more difficult by committing a pair of errors.
"My arm's great," Carrasco said. "I got too excited today for the first time. It was my first outing today. I've got a couple more. This is what happened and I can't do anything about it."
Up next: Right-handers Hiram Burgos and Tyler Thornburg, expected to begin the season as the top two starters at Triple-A Nashville, will each lead a Brewers split squad on Monday. Burgos will start against the Padres at Maryvale Baseball Park, and Thornburg draws the Reds in Goodyear, Ariz., with both games underway at 2:05 p.m. CT. The home game against the Padres will be available via a free audio webcast on Brewers.com.
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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John Legend (real name: John Stephens) has clearly found his niche. He has a sound and style that are uniquely his (I love his expressive voice) and his new album, "Love in the Future," clearly shows him in fine form.
This rather long awaited album is a must for his large and loyal following.
However, when artists primarily, or exclusively, record songs they wrote, there is the possibility of "sameness" sometimes creeping in. The music can be too predictable, at least for some of us. Two other artists who come to mind in that respect are Prince and Kem.
This is not to be considered a putdown of John Legend or his latest offering. Just something for him, and others, to ponder.
THE MARVIN GAYE "Got To Give It Up" controversy notwithstanding, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke continues to be my favorite song. True, he crosses some "lines" with regard to good taste, but the song is exciting and almost hypnotic. One day I listened to it five times in a row.
I also just purchased Thicke's "Blurred Lines" album. It's very good — not a dud to be found anywhere — but this guy seems to be obsessed with songs about sex. He is always singing about the pleasures of the flesh. One would assume that he and his wife, Black actress Paula Patton, are very active.
DUKE FAKIR, the last remaining member of the legendary Four Tops, sure is healthy looking for a man his age. He is 78 and will be 79 in December. He currently sings with Ronnie McNeir, Lawrence Payton Jr. (son of fellow original member Lawrence Payton) and Spike Bonhart, but has said he will retire when he reaches 80.
That would probably be a good idea because the Four Tops consisting entirely of replacements just doesn't seem right.
By the way, the Four Tops recorded an album with the great Norman Whitfield producing, but there has been an inability to get a record company to release it, but Fakir is not giving up.
PHARRELL WILLIAMS, often just identified as Pharrell, is certainly a man of many talents — record producer, songwriter, rapper, singer, fashion designer, dancer. In one capacity or another he has been affiliated with many artists, in addition to making his own records.
One thing that is nearly impossible to believe is that Pharrell is 40 years old! He looks 17.
SHONDA RHIMES, director-producer and creator of the phenomenally successful TV series "Scandal," takes issue with those who say the show promotes immorality.
"We're not making adultery acceptable," she said. "We're telling the story of these two characters ('professional fixer' Olivia Pope portrayed by Kerry Washington and the president of the United States, Fitzgerald Grant, played by Tony Goldwyn) who very specifically have this kind of relationship. We're not giving a judgment on it one way or the other."
There are those who would beg to differ, but that's life.
Joshua Ledet, top three finalist from season 11 of "American Idol," has a top-quality heartbreak song oddly titled "Here to Die" that he is trying to get a label deal for. The title is kind of disconcerting, but it's about the end of a relationship, not about a man actually wanting to depart this earth.
Justin Timberlake, megastar singer and actor, surprised the media and everyone else when he said recently that he would love to play the Riddler in a "Batman" movie. The idea of portraying a "sociopath" intrigues Timberlake.
People often talk about legendary screen star Elizabeth Taylor having been married eight times, but the great jazz, blues and pop songstress Dinah Washington was right up there with her. She was married seven times!
Love this Tina Turner quote: "My legacy is a person who strived for something better and got it."
BETCHA DIDN'T KNOW…that when Motown changed the Supremes' name to Diana Ross & the Supremes, Berry Gordy decided to automatically change Martha & the Vandellas to Martha Reeves & the Vandellas because he was sure Reeves would start complaining and he didn't want to hear it.
MEMORIES: "Don't Walk Away" (Jade), "Real Love" (Mary J. Blige), "Fight the Power" (the Isley Brothers), "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" (Jean Carn), "Mighty Love" (the Spinners), "Slip Away" (Clarence Carter), "Careless Whisper" (Wham! featuring George Michael), "Flash Light" (Parliament), "I Feel Good All Over" (Stephanie Mills), "I Wanna Get Next to You" (Rose Royce).
BLESSINGS to Roderick Hairston, Carol Smith Dixon, Ken Coleman, Kim Trent Coleman, Ron Stevenson, Dan Aldridge, Mary Evans, Sylvia Quarles, Montez Miller, John Mason and Aaron Riser.
WORDS OF THE WEEK, from reader Greg Hendricks: "It is a travesty to deny or alter who you are in an attempt to appease people who don't care about you anyway."
Let the music play!
Read more http://www.michronicleonline.com/index.php/entertainment-original/14393-reflections-another-legend-winner-but


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Sponsored by H. Keith Scott, the Russellville Police Foundation and several other local organizations, the contest consisted of an eight-week workout that focused on weight loss and fitness levels.
Twenty-six participants, each an RPD officer, took part in the weight-loss contest, but only the top three individuals were named. The contest winners and their total weight lost were:
• First place — Ricky Hendrix, 31.3 pounds.
• Second place — Shawn Manning, 20.9 pounds.
• Third place — Mike Stevens, 18.3 pounds.
The competition's first-place winner received a $400 award from Scott and the Russellville Police Foundation. Second place received the entry fee cash. Third place received a $100 gift card to Feltner's Athlete's Corner.
Drew Latch, RPD public information, and contest winner Ricky Hendrix acknowledged Scott and the Russellville Police Foundation.
"The contest would not have been possible without the support of the Russellville Police Foundation," Latch said.
"Dr. Scott knows the benefits of exercising and he wanted to support the well-being of the Russellville Police Department," Hendrix said.
Regarding the path to victory, Hendrix said the competition's origins go back to the aftermath of holiday-season dining.
"It started out like most of us do at Thanksgiving and Christmas, we eat a lot and then make resolutions to get back in shape," said Hendrix. "At the beginning of the year, I just had trouble encouraging myself to go work out."
Hendrix said the idea came about when he and six others decided on a competition to get back in shape. Hendrix said he also contacted local fitness-based businesses and was surprised by the support and interest. In a short period of time, 20 more individuals joined the competition, gaining more interest from the community.
"The competition wasn't even supposed to be eight weeks," said Hendrix. "Originally, it was supposed to be six weeks, but the others wanted to extend it a little further so they set the goal to eight weeks."
"Maxx Nutrition provided the scales and weigh-ins and Matt Morris, the trainer there, helped as well," said Hendrix. "Saint Mary's Wellness Fitness Center offered discounts, Feltner's Athlete's Corner offered a discount on athletic gear and Feltner's also ended up providing the third-place prize."
The first weigh-in on Feb. 3 signaled the start of the competition. Hendrix began his workouts by focusing on a weight-cutting routine.
"I worked with a friend of mine for the first month, when I was focusing on cutting down the weight," Hendrix said. "My friend is a mixed martial arts trainer, so he helped me focus on getting the extra weight cuts."
After the period of intense weight training ended, Hendrix immediately changed his routine to focus on his cardiovascular wellness.
"I did nothing but cardio for the rest of the workout," Hendrix said. "I'd do the rowing machine, the treadmill, or I'd run. I'd change it up depending on what I was in the mood for."
When referencing the result of his workout routines, Hendrix regarded his workouts as stress burners.
"There's a saying that I heard a while back and I've used it several times in the past, but I don't know who originally said it," he said. "Anxiety disorder is the No. 1 over-diagnosed medical disorder in the United States. Physical exercise is the most under-diagnosed treatment.
"There is something about working out that really clears your mind. Even now, if I skip or miss a workout, I feel more tired than I was before."
Hendrix said the most important part of the competition was seeing the way it affected other officers around him.
"I think the competition was great," Hendrix said. "I've had more than one officer come to me and say thank you for getting them involved. That's why I got involved with this competition in the first place."


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SNOW HILL – A grant of $20,000 will help Worcester County businesses get the help they need from the Small Business Development Center at Salisbury University, including assistance with renewable energy and energy savings.
The Worcester County Economic Development Department and the Small Business Development Center have worked together for 10 years with the center stepping in when the economic development staff does not have the expertise to help a county business.
"We come in and fill that niche," said John Hickman, director of the Small Business Development Center.
There is no charge to companies for help from the center. Costs are taken from the county grant.
"The demand from the last two years has grown dramatically as companies try to adjust to the new economy," said Worcester County Economic Development Director Jerry Redden.
In the past, economic development has asked to grant $10,000 to $15,000 for the Small Business Development Center's services, but this year needs are higher, Redden said.
County staff refer business owners to the center at all stages, from start-ups to long-running concerns.
Business owners seek help with research on their industry, whether starting up a new concern is worthwhile, how best to position a business, as well as assistance with the details of running a business, such as cash flow analysis. The center also offers direct help on identifying and applying for grants.
"We help them make those decisions," said Hickman.
Business owners do not necessarily have the time or expertise to do that research themselves, he said.
In the past 10 years, the center has worked with 70 county businesses.
Part of the mission this year for the Small Business Development Center's work with county businesses is an emphasis on seeking renewable energy resources and energy savings, often through grants.
Redden said that in his experience, it is rare for companies not to get funding after assistance from the development center.
"Very seldom does a company not get financed," said Redden.
"The cost of some of the equipment is starting to come down to where using alternate energy systems is starting to make sense for some businesses," said Hickman.
The Small Business Development Center is also currently working with at least three Worcester County businesses looking to provide energy-related services.
One company is exploring provision of combined heat and power to small commercial buildings and potentially residential customers, while two others are looking into renewable energy for the same type of buildings.
The center helps to answer questions on grant funding and tax abatements for energy businesses, Hickman said.
If the need is growing, Commissioner Judy Boggs wondered, would $20,000 be enough for one year?
"My guess is we probably won't be overwhelmed within a reasonable one year period of time," said Hickman. If there is great demand, needs tend to overlap and focus could then be shifted to more generalized group training for business owners, followed up by one on one counseling."


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Two-tone Trench Leather Continental Wallet
€550.00 €550.00
- A two-tone continental wallet crafted in our Trench Leather and detailed with a distinctive metal lock closure. The timeless style is designed with card slots and multiple compartments for coins, notes and receipts.
- 20 x 10cm/7.9 x 3.9in
- Outer: 100% calf leather
- Lining: 68% polyester, 32% polyurethane
- Foldover top with lock closure
- 14 card slots
- Zip coin compartment
- Internal note compartment
- Two expandable compartments, two slip pockets
- Engraved Burberry lettering at closure
- Made in Italy


text:
VC warehouse to be used for Caterpillar training
Feb. 26, 2012 at 11:01 p.m.
Updated Feb. 25, 2012 at 8:26 p.m.
The warehouse Victoria College will purchase at 1404 N. Liberty St. will primarily house training for employees hired to work at the new Caterpillar hydraulic excavator manufacturing facility in Victoria.
It may also be used in the future for other specialized skills training.
The college board approved the purchase the 7,200 square-foot building for $200,000.
In addition to logistics training where Caterpillar employees will learn to work in a mock-warehouse setup using forklifts, the space will also house training facilities for welding, assembly and machining.
Representatives from VC and Caterpillar have been working together for months to coordinate details regarding training for the new Caterpillar employees.
"We've visited other colleges in communities where Caterpillar is located to determine what type of training and facilities would be needed," said Jennifer Yancey, VC's vice president of college advancement and external affairs.
When VC began looking for the appropriate space to use for this specialized training, square footage was an important requirement, said Larry Garrett, VC's executive director of institutional planning and special projects.
"We knew that in order to meet the immediate training needs of Caterpillar, we needed somewhere around 10,000 square feet that could have a flexible configuration," Garrett said. "This building is one large open space that we can set up any way we want to, and it requires only minimal renovation."
Garrett also said that a portable building may also be brought to the property to use as classroom space.
VC administrators anticipate that the building will be ready for use sometime in April after refurbishing restrooms, upgrading the building's electrical power and setting up equipment.
In the meantime, logistics training for the first round of new Caterpillar employees will begin this week and will be held at the VC campus and at the Caterpillar facility.
This training is only being offered to Caterpillar employees.
"At some point, we will be developing courses for individuals who want to work in the manufacturing industry," said Sherri Pall, director of workforce and continuing education at VC.


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Mildenhall: Former world speedway champion Michael Lee cleared of rape
PUBLISHED: 14:33 16 May 2014 | UPDATED: 14:33 16 May 2014
Stephen Waller
Former world speedway champion Michael Lee has been cleared of rape.
The 54-year-old, of Worlington, near Mildenhall, was found not guilty at Ipswich Crown Court.
He was also cleared of assault causing actual bodily harm in relation to the same woman in December 2012.
Yesterday he was cleared of sexually assaulting another woman by putting his hand up her dress at an end-of-season speedway presentation evening.
Mr Lee had always denied the charges.
Charles Myatt, prosecuting, alleged that in December 2012 the defendant pushed a woman over in a toilet and tried to put a black bin bag over her head before allegedly raping her.
After his arrest in February last year Mr Lee denied sexually assaulting the woman at the presentation evening and described the allegations of rape and assault in relation to the other woman as "pure fabrication".
Mr Myatt told the court that Mr Lee had been a "highly successful" speedway rider in the 1980s and had been world champion.


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ByTom Gara
By Dennis K. Berman
Here's the scary part about Davos: You schlep to this Swiss redoubt expecting to meet a secret colony of people in the know. But turns out they don't know either. Which is in fact why they're here, too — to find and interrogate people who do.
This collective "pinging" feels more akin to a high-frequency trading platform than a seminar devoted to improving the state of the world. The cocktail parties are no more than lubricated information markets, where each node is trying to calibrate itself based on information transmitted and received. What emerges about Europe, or social media, or green energy is eventually rendered a mushy consensus. This is what they might call in Davos the market-clearing price of a thought.
So, what was the mushy consensus?
"Not optimistic. But Less Pessimstic."
Imminent crisis averted in the Eurozone, dozens of CEOs in private interviews struck a remarkably similar tone about the world economy. It's banal if only for the scramble of phrases: Some spoke of the timeless "caution," others declared themselves "not pessimistic but not optimistic either" and "hesitant." The only honest position seems to be this: No one has a clue.
"Governments don't create growth. They create circumstances."
Perhaps the most provocative quote of the week, from an unnamed CEO. Such antipathy was in wide circulation across the week, as CEOs variously complained about financial overregulation, competing international standards, and European governments' inability to change labor and safety-net laws. The struggle over corporate tax dollars — particularly in the strapped U.S. and Europe — is only beginning. There just doesn't seem much trust left between government and business, which does not bode well.
Doctors in the Desert
Conversations with U.S. health-care executives revealed just how much change is in store for the U.S. health-care system — particularly the doctors who once were its wealthy beneficiaries. Today upwards of 60% of U.S. doctors are salaried workers, having abandoned their small-businesses for a weekly paycheck. Still bigger changes seem in store as a way to incentivize doctors to spend less, not more. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said he expected the U.S. to coalesce around 50 huge hospital systems, with mergers across state borders becoming prevalent. Aetna CEO Mark Bertelini said he expected the number of specialist doctors — be it neurologists or orthopedists — to decline sharply. In all, the range of changes seem so severe that it will take a generation of U.S. doctors to retire before all these cost-saving plans become real.
Worth pondering: "The financial crisis was covering up an economic crisis."
Marissa Mayer's New Strategy
"You become the query." The new Yahoo CEO delivered an unremarkable accounting of the company's strategy, focusing on the well-trod wonders of personalizing content for readers. She did have one provocative idea: That a Web user's entire search history and web profile should be "portable" to different providers in the manner of mobile phone numbers. This history, Mayer suggested, would form the basis of a deeply customized web experience to whomever might best provide it. Of course, it's convenient for Yahoo, a laggard in the web game, to suggest such a plan.
Where were the Chinese?
The future of Chinese state-owned enterprises is arguably the most important business story in the world today, upending everything from energy to movie theaters. Too bad they weren't represented in Davos.
Stats of the week:
- German exports to China have indeed surged….from .5% of German GDP to 2%, said HSBC's Stephen King. But that is a distraction from the bigger story. German exports to the European "periphery" have grown from 18% of German GDP to 24%
- Also from King: The UK is now the world's 22nd largest exporter.
- Food exports: 50% of U.S. fresh fruit comes from outside the country, 85% of seafood
- This seems high but Aetna's Bertolini says its true: 40% of Middle East populations have diabetes.
Inflation — The Silent Silent Killer
The world's most important central banks are almost universally undertaking major money-printing campaigns. But of all the macro topics under discussion, inflation got relatively little discussion in both official sessions and on the cocktail scene. It's the kind of thing that will seem terribly ironic one day a few years from now.
But then again, maybe not. And for that perhaps we can take comfort: The people in Davos are no different than the rest of us trying to take the measure of our world. The more you know, the more you know you don't.
Dennis K. Berman is the Journal's Marketplace Editor. Follow him on Twitter @dkberman


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Here's another reason to drink coffee!
As dedicated coffee drinker, I don't really need more reasons to drink more of the heavenly drink! There are some negatives for some, like difficulty getting to sleep after drinking regular coffee, but more studies seem to show benefits from coffee, both from regular, and also from decaffe. A recent study by the University of Illinois now shows that caffeine may block inflammation linked to mild cognitive impairment
"We have discovered a novel signal that activates the brain-based inflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and caffeine appears to block its activity. This discovery may eventually lead to drugs that could reverse or inhibit mild cognitive impairment," said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I's College of Medicine and a member of the U of I's Division of Nutritional Sciences.
Freund's team examined the effects of caffeine on memory formation in two groups of mice—one group given caffeine, the other receiving none. The two groups were then exposed to hypoxia, simulating what happens in the brain during an interruption of breathing or blood flow, and then allowed to recover.
The caffeine-treated mice recovered their ability to form a new memory 33 percent faster than the non-caffeine-treated mice. In fact, caffeine had the same anti-inflammatory effect as blocking IL-1 signaling. IL-1 is a critical player in the inflammation associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, he said.
"It's not surprising that the insult to the brain that the mice experienced would cause learning memory to be impaired. But how does that occur?" he wondered.
The scientists noted that the hypoxic episode triggered the release of adenosine by brain cells.
"Your cells are little powerhouses, and they run on a fuel called ATP that's made up of molecules of adenosine. When there's damage to a cell, adenosine is released," he said.
Just as gasoline leaking out of a tank poses a danger to everything around it, adenosine leaking out of a cell poses a danger to its environment, he noted.
Cappuccino love photo by R Greenway, ENN.
Read more at EurekAlert.


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I recently bought this otodus obliquus tooth of the internet. It has both of the cusps, the whole root an the whole tip. The size is a 7cm slant. I have seen some teeth that are almost 4 inches, but they weren't as good quality.
Is this gem grade tooth or is it just an A grade tooth?
Hi Dan
I once came across a shark tooth site on the internet and they had a grading system.
I have got a new computer because I lost everything on my last one so for what I can remember they had a sort of checklist, first is it worn anywere? are the tips of the tooth intact? are the serations down the sides all there? is it cracked? also colour and size mattered.
I think it was an American site that sold some very big teeth ie over 6in but they cost more that £1000 and that was a while ago.
I think your specimen is one of the best for its size but I do not know how big Otodus teeth get to.
Very nice.
Thanks for the reply,
It doesn't have any serrations because otodus obliquus didn't have any serrations. But I don't really know much more about it because I haven't got it yet; I am getting it for Christmas. I know it doesn't have any feeding damage on the tip or on the sides and it has the whole root. For some reason almost all otodus obliquus teeth have a damaged root- why do they damage so easily?
Don't know really why they damage so easily Dan, i wonder if there is someone who knows about shark teeth could answer your question.
Yeah, that is a good specimen. No damage (on the visible side anyway), it is not worn and all of it looks genuine so I would be happy to call it an A-Grade tooth.
Generally the root is more fragile than the crown of the tooth because it is not only made up of weaker material, but it has not got a nice solid bit of enamel type substance to hold it together! Regarding chalk teeth, the roots are very fragile; hence it is best to keep them on matrix. The majority of teeth (around 9 out of 10) are missing the root due to bacterial attack or them being dissolved away not getting preserved.
Two photos, one of a perfect specimen (A-Grade like your Otodus), the other is of a few "junk" teeth which are missing the roots.
Ok thanks for the deatailed answer.


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When tractor-trailer driver Terry Lutz of Wildwood wants to relax from a hard week of hauling 60,000-pound oversize loads, he lightens up a bit.
When tractor-trailer driver Terry Lutz of Wildwood wants to relax from a hard week of hauling 60,000-pound oversize loads, he lightens up a bit.
Lutz, 53, participates in remote control scale model truck pull competitions, running vehicles that measure roughly 30-inches long, produce 4 horsepower or more and run on a nitro-mix fuel.
Competitors control the little dynamos with a hand-held remote as they attempt to pull a roughly 3-foot long miniature weight transfer down a 30-foot track. The winners pull a 20-pound sled, typically weighted with an additional 40 to 80 pounds of lead, the full distance.
"The entry level on these nitro powered pulling trucks is around $350, but you can get up to $1,500. The remote control units are about $130 and the nitro oil mix fuel is about $28 a gallon. About five ounces will run one of these for about 15 minutes," Lutz said.
During a recent meet at the Rotors, Rudders and Wheels remote control park on the grounds of the Market of Marion, Lutz ran a custom made six-wheel drive Peterbilt semi-tractor model nitro miniature he valued at $2,500. He is securing a supercharged four-wheel drive model that will produce more than 6 horsepower.
"I travel the entire area and to North Carolina to compete in these scale pulls. Some are sponsored by the owners of the real monster trucks. We hope it will catch on here," Lutz said.
As 25 onlookers watched, Lutz and his son and fellow enthusiast Adam Lutz, 31, a professional electrician, competing together under the name T & A Pulling, made usually successful tries at pulling the sled the full distance.
"These trucks are geared for pulling and will go about 10 to 15 mph, but with proper gearing they'll hit about 50 mph on the regular track," Adam Lutz said.
Lutz's children Justice, 6, Shaelee, 5, and Rainey, 8, and their mother, Margie Tiner, all came to the pull.
"My dad showed me how to do this," said Justice as he set up his electric motor powered F-100 model for a pull. Shaelee and Rainey also participate in the sport.
Retired electronic engineer Jack Nowicki, a seasonal resident of Ocala from Michigan, said the activity looked like "good clean fun."
"I have an interest in the rock climbing with the scale trucks," Nowiciki said.
Park owners John and Robin Feola hope the scaled down fun will catch on big locally.
"Scale truck pull competitors are expected from Central Florida and as far as south Georgia," John Feola said. "We also have arranged a rock climbing area for the scale trucks."
Several groups of bucket-size and larger rocks were piled near the pulling pit.
The park also features a twisting road course for scale cars and trucks, with driver stands and a broadcast booth.
Sharon and Eric Wample of Ocala brought their son Tyler, 11, to the display.
"They're cool," Tyler exclaimed as Terry Lutz fired up an engine that sounded like hundreds of mad bees on a mission.
"We're regulars here. Eric and Tyler race on the track with electric cars," Sharon Wample said
Lillian Busma accompanied her son Michael Busma to watch the demonstration and run his electric car on the road course.
"Michael used to race remote control boats on local lakes. I loved the boats," Lillian Busma said.
Michael Busma, 46, may get more involved in truck rock climbing, but feels any scale model is a good vehicle for families to get together for fun on an even playing field.
"You may race against someone much younger than yourself and get beat. It's fun, a good sport," he said.
Dennis Storms, 66, decided to buy an electric truck while he was at the park.
"He's just a kid with big toys," said wife, Joann, with a big grin.


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August 19, 2009
EW James White Photoshoot Outtakes
Geez, RPattz looks very intense here! See more at ROBsessed.
9 comments:
LOL Rob's hair looks like it's growing into a bush!:)) Hello Bouffant!!ReplyDelete
yesyes! intensely HOT!!!ReplyDelete
I love the one with the hand on the cheek *thud*ReplyDelete
- Lorabell
Sexy pic.ReplyDelete
I want Jacoby ones like this.
Yeah um that stare right there is not the CFM stare it's more like I'm going to CFY!ReplyDelete
And why are these outtakes? Holy crappola! I love that intense stare.ReplyDelete
wow!! what a picture!!ReplyDelete
I love that one too Lorabell :) I wrote my favorite quote from New Moon on it and it's my background ;) These are my favorite pictures of them together. Too cute :)ReplyDelete
ok, for a second there i thought she didnt have a shirt on...i was like what is this MAXIM???ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Stabby Twitterati Dance on Graves
MC Hammer pumped up a Silicon Valley rap battle; Nick Denton mocked a laid off New York Timesman; and a Fox Newser lashed out at the "hippies." The Twitterati love a fight.
Niche Media's Jason Binn is in love with the idea of child labor.
Nick Denton, the richest man at Gawker Media, was not above reveling in a New York Times writer's misfortune. He really didn't like that article, apparently.
Fox News Channel's Molly Stark Dean is glad she doesn't have to deal with spoiled, insulated children of wealth, at her conservative news network, owned by Rupert Murdoch and his kids.
The National Organization for Women is not at all impressed by your sex "app," Cosmo.
MC Hammer approves of white venture capitalist rap battles. Who knew?
Did you witness the media elite tweet something indiscreet? Please email us your favorite tweets — or send us more Twitter usernames.


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Electronic Cigarette
JOYE eGo, JOYE eGo-T and JOYE eGo-C Click on this link or picture to order now.
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The Joye eGo provides long battery life and superior vapor production. The Joye eGo uses a high quality 650 mah battery with a manual button that lights up a light ring while providing power to the high performance Joye atomizer.
Testing has shown that the Joye eGo's battery will last from 5-7 hours of heavy vaping and up to 72 hours of average vaping on a single battery charge. Note: This is provided for information purposes only and use can vary from user to user. This information is provided as an example of the amount of battery life and power built that has been built into this small package.
The Joye eGo comes with a SUPERFAST USB CHARGER allowing the batteries to charge in a few hours. The batteries can be charged with the included AC wall adapter or any USB connection using a computer or a USB car adapter..
The Joyetech eGo Starter Kit comes complete with the following:
(2) Joye eGo Atomizer Assemblies
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USA Custom Made to order Wicked Vapor® or Sinful Vapor® Smoke Juice / e-liquid may be ordered here


text:
The puzzling thing is that the command works without any problems in Ubuntu 11.04. In Linux Mint 12, no luck in either Cinnamon/gnome-terminal or MATE/mate-terminal. In Ubuntu, msort works without specifying the Unicode normalization mode (i.e., the default NFC mode is used--whatever that means), whereas in Mint I've tried all normalization modes and all of them give me the same "Unicode normalization failed" error.
Another puzzling thing is that the simple "sort" command does not give me an error in Mint, but unfortunately it does not quite get the job done: sort makes no distinction between c and ĉ, g and ĝ, h and ĥ, etc. I specifically want c to sort before ĉ, g before ĝ, h before ĥ, etc...msort can handle custom sort orders whereas sort cannot.
Here's the simple command I'm trying to execute:
Code: Select all
msort -s file-with-sort-order unsorted-list > sorted-list
The file-with-sort-order simply contains the sort order (in this case the Esperanto alphabet: abcĉdefgĝhĥijĵklmnoprsŝtuŭvz). Obviously, both the file-with-sort-order and unsorted-list contain simple text and are saved with UTF-8 encoding.
Any ideas why I get the "Unicode normalization failed" error in Linux Mint 12 but not in Ubuntu 11.04? And, of course, how do I get past this error so that I can use msort in Linux Mint? This is the last task I'd like to be able to do in Mint before I completely convert from Ubuntu. Any help would be much appreciated.


text:
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Arkansas Tech scored 12 straight points early in the second half that sparked the nationally 24th-ranked Wonder Boys to an 81-73 win over the Montevallo Falcons at the 2011 McDonald Fleming Moorhead Classic in Pensacola, Fla., on Saturday.
Arkansas Tech (7-1) used its run over a span of 2:38 to open a 49-37 lead with 14:24 remaining. The Wonder Boys went on to shoot 65 percent from the field and 70 percent from 3-point range in the second half. They led by as many as 20 points before a late flurry from Montevallo (9-2) closed the final margin.
All 12 of the points during Arkansas Tech's decisive run came from two players. Johnie Davis started the run with a 3-point play at the 17:02 mark. He scored seven points during the spurt. Mykel Cleveland scored the other five points during the run, including the final three on a layup plus free throw with 14:24 left.
Davis was 8-of-14 from the field and finished with 21 points, his sixth 20-plus point game in Tech's first eight outings of the season. Cleveland had 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
"There are not many guards who can be as efficient in their scoring as Johnie is right now," Wonder Boys head coach Doug Karleskint said. "We were able to spread Montevallo out and hit some shots. We made some adjustments to our offense in practice this week, and the guys executed them very well. The credit goes to the guys. We had good preparation all week from Wednesday on."
The game was a matchup of two of the top five scorers in NCAA Division II men's basketball. Davis came in fifth at 24.0 points per game, while Montevallo's D.J. Rivera came in averaging 24.8 points per game and ranked third in the country in scoring.
Rivera scored 13 points in the final four minutes — after Arkansas Tech had built a 71-53 lead — to finish with 25 points. He was 10-of-25 from the field, including just 2-of-11 from 3-point range.
"I think that Mykel (Cleveland) took guarding Rivera as a personal challenge," Karleskint said. "He guarded him every second he was out there. We knew we had to eliminate Rivera's touches tonight, and with the job our guys did trapping ball screens and hand-offs we were able to accomplish that."
Jeremy Hoard and Matt Haney added 12 points apiece for the Wonder Boys. Hoard was 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the second half. Haney added five assists. Tech's Will Paul notched nine points and five rebounds.
Arkansas Tech will remain in Pensacola to face McDonald Fleming Moorhead Classic host West Florida today. That contest is set for a 6 p.m. start, and it can be heard over KWKK 100.9 FM and www.athletics.atu.edu.


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