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Tesla Model S killer comes to market
Tesla Model S killer comes to market
OMG! Beauty! I'm going to sell my Model S as soon as this thing comes to market.
I rather wait until this is not ripped into pieces in a crash test against even a Polo (or by a Pedelec :-). The laws op physics apply everywhere, a huge step forward would require more energy density in the batteries. But other than that as long as you build a car that is safe, comfortable, etc. you will not see miracles...
Hahahaha. Function over form eh? I really do not think Tesla is over, haha.
@wolfpet - LOL, nice played
Seriously, it's a work in progress and - if making it to the market - for a certain group of buyers.
I respect those guys' efforts and hopefully not everyone starts bashing it like the i3, it won't be in a competition to the MS/X but an addition to the EV market.
Well, I think if this Dutch solar powered car is equipped with front parking sensor, enough front and back cup holders, both side coat hangers and big pocket on each car door, I am also going to join you to sell my MS!
And vanity mirrors! You forgot vanity mirrors!!!
and Parking sensors ! and self parking technology and rear camera with projectory.
At least they have duct tape to fix the wind noise issue at 70 mph. Does your Model S have that?
Look at the back end on this beautiful car! Parallel parking will require super-sensors, and still be tricky! And no Model S's will be drafting behind one of these guys.....
My jaws dropped so wide no words can describe this prototype. My first impression of it is like a cross between the Alien head and a giant sperm tail...
It sure is a looker... Excuse me while I go get a barf bag...
You need a tongue in cheek icon for this board.....
No way I will buy this thing until it comes with a pano roof.
@heinera you got my comment exactly.
Although it does have fins. Well, fin. Horizontal. Fin.
Love! I've finally found a car with a bigger ass than I... :)
It's the new dutch Shortbus.
With that size solar panel it would take u 3 days to charge for 20 miles commute..........it's great if u want to drive ur car once every 3 days :)
This will surely decrease the TSLA stock value tomorrow.... :)
Projecting to have an annual production of 21,001 in 2101?
Well, aside from the humor (in the cosmetics), the fact that there are other firms that are really looking at mechanisms to create range that manages concerns (and rivals Tesla) can only be good for the company.
The first motor vehicle was invented by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in the late 1700s, a steam-based military tractor used by the French Army.
The first electric vehicles were built in the early 1800s and attributable to a number of people in a variety of countries within the same decade.
The first production motor vehicles (ICE) were built by Karl Friedrich Benz (yes, that Benz), Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (yes that Daimler) and Wilhelm Maybach (...yes...) in the late 1800s in Germany.
While there were a number of production EVs made, they never reached volumes that could possible be considered mass-market.
And then came Tesla.
Tesla will be here for a long time (but I hope I get mine in the short-term) and will likely be remembered for completely changing the image of the EV (and, if implied strategy suggests, will be stamping mass-market mid-range EV volume in the 2017 timeframe).
While the business model seems to still be in development (pricing, sensorgate, timing), I am sure that Tesla Motors will never be lost in the dust...
Bring on competitors and speed electric to the mainstream. The shift can only be good for us (the early and post-beta adopters).
I can't believe this whole thread. I expect everyone to post your VIN numbers, delivery dates, and I want a thread for this conversation in the private area just to prove this super funny thread is only commented on by owners and not anyone else. This totally smells like something almost not funny and this is somehow hurting my lifestyle and Tesla. I think everyone is fake, and out to ruin my non-ownership experience.
One more thing, i can totally see how this competition is making every p85 owner's tires totally wear out 5% more everyday the sun shines on this car. Certainly the deliver experience of that polished turd that runs on sunlight will scratch and damage my non-existent delivery experience as well.
Someone had to say it....
<--throws on tin foil hat and runs around giggling.
@madbuns +1
When I read the topic, I was both anxious and intrigued that someone might have pulled off a viable competitor to Tesla with a 370-mile-range EV. I want my TSLA stock to keep increasing, heh, but in the long run Tesla competition can only benefit customers and global EV acceptance. If I recall correctly, Elon said at Teslive that he was expecting more EV competition to come out of the woodwork (and he was disappointed that it hadn't yet).
Alas, this particular bulbous stretched-out solar-powered recreational vehicle from Eindhoven is clearly an experimental prototype. But in the grand scheme it's another step in the path toward sustainable transport.
^ Puts tin foil hat on and joins machmike in running around and giggling.
I don't know, it's taken Tesla 10 years to finally make a profit on selling an electric car, and they've still got a ways before it's mass market. Also, if there's solar panels on the top, why does it have a range? Wouldn't it be able to go much further?
Either way, I don't want to drive a bus. 'Function over form' is a frightening term in any scenario, and for only four seats? No thanks.
It's very possible that Tesla will never come up against a serious competitor until it's too late to take them out. Every single other car company automatically loses money on selling electric cars because they'd have to shift focus from profitable ICE selling. GM and Nissan keep trying to slash the prices of their cars to make it seem like Tesla has competition while in reality they're selling the cars at a near loss. Tesla Motors is and has been 100% electric, and that's why ICE dominated companies aren't pushing to make more competitive EVs, because they can't afford to compete.
Hmm, Sponge Bob finally got his license.
Tesla should talk to these guys so they can incorporate a solar range extender. Now that would be sweet.
@madbuns +1
Thanks for the informative post. Good to see Tesla now has some serious competition. ;0)
Unless you make a huge tabletop surface like the Eindhoven abomination, there's only enough incident sunlight for a mile or two a day. Some range! Some extension!
It looks like something out of Futurama.


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I am making a gomoku AI using actionscript 2.0 and I am using the minimax (probably with alpha beta pruning)
(gomoku is like tic tac toe, but on a 15x15 board and you have to make 5 in a row)
I have everything working except the minimax part.
I know what minimax is and how it works and that it's recursive.
The only problem I'm having is implementing it.
the board is an array 225 long.
I have these functions in the code
placeB(#) - places a black piece on # of array and on the screen
placeW(#) -places a white ...
checkwin(board) - checks if there are any 5 in a rows in the board returns 2 if it's white 1 if it's black
Value(board) - returns the value of the board using my criteria(dw about these)
and I have the part that runs everything
So how would I implement minimax to this game?

subset: commoncrawl


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In a word or phrase, what does leadership mean to you? Success.
Why did you join the program? I joined the program because it would open up opportunities and give me a lot more insight on being a better leader, not to mention a follower. I wanted to be prepared for the world, and I was sure that this was going to do it for me.
What have you gained from the program? I have gained many skills that I did not think I had, as well as a higher sense of self confidence. The biggest impact this program had on me was helping me find out who I was through doing things I had never done before.
What is your favorite part of the program? My favorite part of the program is, after our activities are done, we either feel a sense of enlightenment because we learned something we didn't know before or we feel great because we helped someone do something they probably couldn't do alone.


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I have just upgraded my ZA Pro to
ZoneAlarm Pro version:7.0.337.000
TrueVector version:7.0.337.000
Driver version:7.0.337.000
Anti-spyware engine version:22.214.171.124
Anti-spyware signature DAT file version:01.200709.2375
when installing the upgrade I got the zpy.dll not found message suggesting that a reinstall might correct the problem. During the installation this message came up twice yet the installation completed. Restarted the computer as prompted and I now find ZA is in my system tray, seeming to work just fine.
The missing zpy.dll file, is that something I should be concerned about if the program seems to be working?
Operating System:Windows XP Home Edition
Software Version:7.0
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Pro


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Braun speaks out, proud of 'integrity'
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
"Major League Baseball runs the highest-quality drug testing program of any professional sports organization in the world. It is a joint program, administered by an independent program administrator selected by the Commissioner's Office and the MLBPA," MLB executive vice president for labor relations Rob Manfred said in the statement. "With regards to the breach of confidentiality regarding this case, both the Commissioner's Office and the MLBPA have investigated the original leak of Ryan Braun's test, and we are convinced that the leak did not come from the Commissioner's Office."The extremely experienced collector in Mr. Braun's case acted in a professional and appropriate manner. He handled Mr. Braun's sample consistent with instructions issued by our jointly retained collection agency. The arbitrator found that those instructions were not consistent with certain language in our program, even though the instructions were identical to those used by many other drug programs -- including the other professional sports and the World Anti-Doping Agency. "Our program is not 'fatally flawed.' Changes will be made promptly to clarify the instructions provided to collectors regarding when samples should be delivered to FedEx based on the arbitrator's decision. Neither Mr. Braun nor the MLBPA contended in the grievance that his sample had been tampered with or produced any evidence of tampering." The MLBPA also issued a statement in the afternoon, agreeing that MLB was not responsible for the leaking of the positive test result. "Our Joint Drug Program stands as strong, as accurate and as reliable as any in sport, both before and after the Braun decision," Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said in the statement. "The breach of confidentiality associated with this matter is unfortunate, but after investigation, we are confident that it was not caused by the Commissioner's Office, the MLBPA or anyone associated in any way with the program. In all other respects, the appeals process worked as designed; the matter was vigorously contested and the independent and neutral arbitrator issued a decision deserving of respect by both bargaining parties. "As has happened several times before with other matters, this case has focused the parties' attention on an aspect of our program that can be improved. After discussions with the Commissioner's Office, we are confident that all collections going forward will follow the parties' agreed-upon rules." Breaking a long silence The substance in question was synthetic testosterone, which appeared in a urine sample attributed to Braun in October. He learned of the positive test on Oct. 19, began an appeals hearing on Jan. 19 and learned Thursday that his appeal had been upheld by a three-member special panel, the first such result in the history of baseball's testing program. Aside from his speech in January after accepting the National League MVP Award, these were Braun's first public comments since news broke in December that he faced a suspension. "That wasn't easy," he said. "There were a lot of times I wanted to come out and tell the whole story, attack everybody as I've been attacked, as my name has been dragged through the mud, as everything I've ever worked for my entire life has been called into question. ... I could have never, ever envisioned being in this position today, discussing this subject with you guys." Braun has long a vocal proponent of drug testing in professional sports, but argued that the system did not work in his particular case. Under the rules bargained by league and the MLB Players Association, players face a "strict liability" provision, meaning they are subject to suspension even if they can prove took a prohibited substance inadvertently, as in a nutritional supplement. That, Braun said, is why his side instead made the procedural argument. "We are a part of a process in which you are 100 percent guilty until proven innocent," Braun said. "It's opposite of the American judicial system ... so if we are held to that standard, it's only fair that everybody else is held to that exact same standard. "What what is at stake -- this is my livelihood, this is my integrity, this is my character, this is everything I've worked for in my life being called into question -- we need to make sure that we get it right. If you're going to be in a position where you're 100 percent guilty until proven innocent, [those responsible for the testing] cannot mess up. The system in the way that it was applied to me in this case was fatally flawed." Braun enumerated what he viewed as those flaws. He submitted to a urine test at about 4:30 p.m. CT on Oct 1, after Braun's three-hit game and Yovani Gallardo's sensational pitching performance sent the Brewers to a 4-1 win over the D-backs in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. Braun was informed of his positive test on Oct. 19 and said he immediately contacted MLBPA officials, who told him his ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E ratio) was three times higher than any number in the history of MLB's drug testing. "I expressed to them that I had not done anything that could have possibly led to that test result," Braun said. "I told them that I promise you on everything that's ever meant anything to me in my life -- the morals, the values, the virtues by which I've lived for my 28 years on this planet -- I did not do this." Braun opened his medical records. He said club records of weekly weigh-ins show he "literally didn't gain a single pound" during the season, that the results of regular strength tests did not change that that timings of his baserunning did not show any improvement. At the same time, CAA Sports, which represents Braun, hired Atlanta attorney David Cornwell to work on Braun's case and began an examination of the testing process itself and the individuals associated with Braun's sample. That examination, Braun said, raised more questions. Braun quoted the language of the JDA, which requires that samples shall be taken immediately to FedEx for shipping on the day they are collected, absent unusual circumstances. "The reason this is important is that because after we provide our samples, typically the only two people in the world who know whose sample it is are us, the donor and the collector who receives our urine samples," Braun said. "In my case, there was an additional third person, the son of the collector, who just happened to be my chaperone on the day I was tested." Braun said two other teammates provided samples on the same day, and the collector left Miller Park at about 5 p.m. CT. But according to multiple reports, he did not leave the samples with FedEx, because it was too late for them to be shipped that night. Instead, the collector took the samples to his home, which reports say is not unprecedented in drug testing. But Braun called into question that decision and questioned why the collector did not return to FedEx until Monday afternoon, 44 hours after Braun submitted his sample. Braun's side argued that the samples should have been left with FedEx that Saturday night, beginning a documented chain of custody. "It would have been stored in a temperature-controlled environment, and FedEx is used to handling clinical packaging," Braun said. "Most importantly, you would have become a number and no longer a name. ... "Why he didn't bring it in, I don't know. On the day that he did finally bring it in, FedEx opened at 7:30 [a.m.] -- why didn't he bring it in until 1:30 [p.m.]? I can't answer that question. Why was there zero documentation? What could have possibly happened to it during that 44-hour period? There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way that the entire thing worked," Braun said, "that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened." Braun contrasted that 44-hour period with protocol after at the World Anti-Doping Agency-certified lab in Montreal, where samples, he said, are treated "literally like a nuclear weapon." "We spoke to biochemists and chemists, and we asked them, 'How difficult would it be to tamper with somebody's sample?'" Braun said. "Their response was that if they were motivated, it would be extremely easy. Again, that's why it was so important to get it out of the hands of the only person in the world who knows whose sample it is." Braun shot down what he called erroneous reports that dotted the winter, including one especially persistent rumor that his positive test was caused by treatment for a sexually transmitted disease. Braun said he has never had an STD. He specifically criticized ESPN, which broke the original story on Dec. 10 that Braun faced a suspension. "We won because the truth is on my side," Braun said. Back in camp Braun arrived at Maryvale Baseball Park just after 9:30 a.m. MT on Friday, his first appearance in camp, and addressed teammates in a players-only meeting. Many of them, including longtime friend Corey Hart, gathered at the back of assembled media in a show of support. Also on hand was Braun's father, Joe, who hugged his son and fought back tears. "I'm proud of my son," Joe Braun said. "We've always known who he is as a person, his 100-percent innocence and class and dignity. It showed today. Joe Braun said his son was indeed angry, "and I don't blame him. I wouldn't want any human being on Earth to go through this." Braun will be on the field Saturday for the Brewers' first full-squad workout. It will mark the official start of the team's defense of the NL Central crown, and Braun's defense of his MVP Award. He called the arbitration ruling just the first step in restoring his reputation. "One of my biggest regrets about having gone through this whole situation is that I can't ever get that time in my life back," Braun said. "It should have been an amazing time in my life. My team had an incredible season last year, finished two wins short of the World Series, I had a great year individually -- I should have been able to enjoy the offseason, and I didn't."
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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You cant say gaara would ***** sasori, we havent seen that fight and we havent seen people who fought sasori fight gaara for a diagonal information usage.and gaara would ***** sasori in a fight hands down, could he do that to dei dei???(lets rewind to the beggining of shippuuden shall we)
Also youre telling a half truth, gaara technically didnt lose to deidara.
Gaara was owning deidara from the very beginning.
The reason gaara "lost" was because deidara used an atom bomb jutsu to kill his entire villages people, and the entire village with it.
Had gaara let the bomb drop and simply keep going after deidara-deidara would be dead meat much earlier.
As it is gaara wanted to protect his people.
Gaara is obscenely more powerful than Deidara, Deidara simply used a smart idea to get his attention and make him use most of his chakra making a kilometer wide disc of sand, which would weigh thousands of tonnes.
I dont understand your point here???if we follow the principals in his fight with sasuke, earth shud rape water, now i wonder which akatsuki member uses water? HINT:he looks like a shark.
Kakashi went against all 5 elements and still won, admittedly with Kakashis help.
You dont win a fight simply because of your elemental type, otherwise fights would be pre ordained from elemental types.
Here we all are moaning how sharingan is overpowered and yet weve missed that anyone of a weaker element instantly loses??
Just because Kisame is water and dei is earth doesnt mean dei will win.
Kisame is a lot stronger than deidara, and smarter too.
May i remind you who is alive and who is not.
You are contradicting yourself here.now if all of kakuzu's masks are on his back, one good explosion should destroy all of them.
His masks are all elemental.
Youre saying kisame would lose to deidara because he's water.
Well kakuzu is water, wind, earth, lightning, and fire.
So hows deidara gonna win with earth alone?
Im using YOUR logic here.
i think its time to re-calculate mr
Yes it is time to re-calculate.
Even Kishi himself stated deidara was a weaker akatsuki, in the interviews he said more powerful members would be joining, such as suigetsu juugo and karin.
Suigetsu lost against Kisame, who is more powerful than deidara according to Kishi.
You obviously like the character deidara, dont worry, i do to, but he is a weaker akatsuki.
His job was to catch the 1 TAILS.
the LEAST POWERFUL TAILED BEAST


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A little kick to the chest?
Bee was not impressed.
Taka thought the kick was great.
Bee said nope, ur boring mate.
Bee pulled out a book, so he could write.
Bee felt good, so he would fight.
Next thing to see, 8 swords are flying.
5 seconds later... Sasuke is dying.
Multiple swords, multiple cuts.
Then Bee kicked him square in the nuts.
Oh yeah, also 2 swords through the skin.
If Taka wasn't there - it was Bee's win.
That is sasuke death number 1.
But you can eat Karin, the fights not done.
Bee's getting bored. Taka is trying,
To regain composure as well as not crying.
Taka went "black fight" in a 1 v 4.
Bee didn't care, he'd own some more.
Taka's intent to kill proved to fail.
Bee got away, about to set sail.
But eatible Karin detected the Bee.
So he went cloak, red chakra to see.
Sasuke could dodge, that's sorta nice.
Bee didn't care. 3 more to slice.
Taka so scared, they jumped away.
So Bee charged back at lame Sasuke.
Tsukyomi? Eye blood and some pain.
Lariot for death number 2, insane!
Thanks great 8, for being bold.
Genjutsu on Bee - you broke the hold.
Allowed Bee to get up, ready to strike.
Decimate sasuke, sasuke was like.
Goo oo uh floo shoo mah uo gasp pout.
Jugo said Sasuke's organs flew out.
Bee was like oops, i just killed a boy.
Juugo's like no u didn't, sasuke's my joy.
And better than Karin, you don't have to bite.
I'll dump my body out, and sasuke's alright.
Bee bored again, so he went straight 8.
Karin poo'd her pants, said run but too late.
Suigetsu stepped up and challened the tails.
Mouth Kamehameha, more Taka fails.
Sasuke decides to call forth black flame.
And Bee got away, Taka equals shame.
Bee went on vacation, doing quit well.
Taka looked like, they came straight out of hell.
Good Game.


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Early voting begins today (Monday, Oct. 21) and continues through next week for the Nov. 5 Constitutional Amendment and Plano ISD tax rate election.
Qualified voters in Dallas County may vote at any of the 30 early voting locations, including City Hall, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Oct. 26 and Oct. 28 to 30, 1 to 6 p.m. Oct. 27 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. View a list of early voting sites in Dallas County at on the Dallas County Elections Department website.
Early voting hours for Collin County residents, which includes the Plano ISD vote, are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Oct. 25, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 26 and Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 27. Votes may be cast at any early voting site in Collin County. See a list of all sites on the Collin County Elections Department website.
The Nov. 5 election will be the first in Texas to require voters statewide to show a photo ID at the polls. Nearly 50 Department of Public Safety driver license offices will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 2 to offer free Election Identification Certificates (EIC), an approved form of identification for those without a photo ID.
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COURSE: 15-190 Introduction to Critical Thinking (3)
This course provides students with the basic elements of informal logic in order to help them cultivate cogent reasoning skills. The students will learn to distinguish between cogent and fallacious reasoning by learning some of the basic elements of logical reasoning.Ā By applying their new skills, the students will be able to detect fallacies in political, educational, economic, and ethical venues, using contemporary and classic examples derived from diverse media. This course is highly recommended for LSAT preparation. Offered: Offered every other year.


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The fabrics every one has chosen are wonderful. Can't wait to see the outcomes.
Here are the fabrics I was considering for borders...but I'm rethinking them now (except for the black - that stays!)
Here are my fabrics. It's 21 FQs, two in each stack are repeats. But I think it will be a fun quilt...and I know just the person I can give it to. My initial thoughts are to use a yellow as the border--just to enhance Tweety. Yellow and white, but we'll see when we get there what it calls for.
Chicagoland, Illinois
Ohhh, Susie I LOVE it!
That middle stack looks kind of green in the photo. It's really gray/black/white. It should be fun!
Just got back from a vacation,and can't wait to get sewing again. It's taken me days to decide what fabric to use for this, so I finally picked some Christmas from my stash, and then ended up needing a few more to finish it off. So of course I only have about half of them old and half new. Not too bad, haha.
Looks like I'm not the only one with an eye for vivid fabric! Love 'em!
I'm so glad this MQ has started! We've been aboard the sailboat for 1 month and I'm suffering from quilting withdraw!! Finally got a decent internet connection today and was able to see most of the fabric selections - love them all! I'll be downloading the intstructions to make the quilt in the spring when we get home...thanks in advance to all for helping with my "quilting fix" as I follow along on the outside looking in! :) My last quilting adventure was to make a LARGE lap quilt for the boat since my hubby said the lapquilt with the sailboats was too small. Used batik charm packs I got on sale at WalMart and pumped it out in 2 weeks. I still have to photograph it but will get that done probably this week as the weather improves and post it in my gallery.
My initial thoughts are to use a yellow as the border--just to enhance Tweety.
My initial thoughts are to use a yellow as the border--just to enhance Tweety.
Susie, I think your idea of using yellow is spot on! Fun fabrics!
On the banks of the Mississippi River in north central Minnesota (Brainerd lakes area)
Well, I think I have some new fabrics picked out, but I'm waiting for Nana to answer a question about directionality over in the group discussion. If she gives the fabric in question the thumbs up, I'll post a picture later.
I'm in! Will pick out fabrics tomorrow from the charity quilt stash and some child will get hugged by a mystery quilt.
Hi everyone~ I'm looking forward to this Mystery Quilt - hoping it re-motivates me to get quilting again. Life has been challenging of late, and I haven't had the mental energy or interest to quilt. But I decided to go buy myself some new fabric (when I *have* been quilting in recent months, I've been shopping my stash ... getting a little tired of it!) and jump on the bandwagon here.
I hope I can remember how to upload pictures. With a little bit of luck, you're seeing my fabric choices with this post.
Beth, what a successful shopping trip you had. These fabrics are perfect - a good variety of shades and contrast that coordinate beautifully. Can't wait to see your quilt! Happy sewing!
Great fabrics everyone!! I am going to be very late getting started on this one. I just had my tv mounted on the wall and since I am re-organizing I decided to do the floor. Carpet is just too hard to roll around on . Since I am doing this myself it will be slow going , mainly because there is so much to move out of the way and then back. But I have been wanting to do it for some time. Hopefully my knees hold up . lol I am too ornery to ask for help unless its something I can't do. And when I set my mind to it I can do most things [ except electrical and plumbing]. Well I will be checking in on you during rest times and cheering you on. GO QUILTING WARRIORS GO!!
Thanks Nancy! I'm especially pleased with these choices because I went outside my typical color tendencies. I'm a blue, pink and purple girl, with some teal thrown in from time to time. But I was really attracted to the apple fabric and I thought it would be fun to pull those three apple colors for the rest of the fabrics. Looking forward to cutting it all up over the weekend!


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And maybe Todd Macculloch could join the team. I'm yet to hear a good reason why he can't.
And maybe Todd Macculloch could join the team. I'm yet to hear a good reason why he can't.
...and his nerves in his feet don't work. BUT GUYS! TODD MACCULLOCH!
ok was that a serious post?
hahahahaaaa yes you're right, my hopes ot see the best PG in canada play are ridiculous, because by wishing so, I am asserting that Todd Macculloch should also be on the team.
I know, I know. But it's time to move on! This is the new era and the next generation of Canadian basketball!
True...the Gretz to Sid the Kid type stuff comes to mind.
For us basketball starved people, Team Canada continues its world domination today. Here's the schedule:
I haven't gone the extra mile to check if it's on TV anywhere. If you know please share!
Update on the SNT:
TORONTO - Final auditions are about to get underway for Canada's senior men's basketball squad.
Training camp has concluded and now, with only a week remaining before Canada's most important games in two years, players on the bubble will try to prove their worth in Puerto Rico.
Canada will play four games at the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup there, starting Thursday, against the hosts, Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
The event is the traditional tuneup for the FIBA Americas tourney, which tips from Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 30. Canada and its three opponents in Puerto Rico will be joined by six other teams in Venezuela, with four berths at next year's FIBA World Cup in Spain up for grabs. Canada has not competed at a major event since finishing sixth of eight teams at the 2011 FIBA Americas.
But the organization is now on a well-documented upswing and swept Jamaica in a pair of friendlies earlier this month before practicing and scrimmaging in Orlando recently.
Top scoring threat Carl English left the squad earlier this week for "personal reasons." The Newfoundland native had been battling numerous injuries, but had pronounced himself nearly ready to go recently.
"This is an unfortunate situation for Carl. He has been a mainstay with the program for several years and a strong influence on the team during training camp, but we will move forward without him. We will miss his scoring ability, veteran leadership and international experience," said head coach Jay Triano in a release on Tuesday.
Triano will use the upcoming four games to help decide who his final two cuts will be. The loss of English likely increases the chances scoring guard Devoe Joseph, of Pickering, sticks around. Brady Heslip (Burlington), Andy Rautins (Syracuse, N.Y.), Cory Joseph (Pickering), Kris Joseph (Montreal), Levon Kendall (Vancouver) and Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga) will need to pick things up offensively in the absence of English.
Forward Kyle Landry (Calgary), point guard Junior Cadougan (Toronto) and forward Aaron Doornekamp (Odessa, Ont.) likely will need to make the best impressions to make the cut, though Triano has said he has been impressed by Cadougan and Doornekamp's toughness.
The Tuto Marchand will give Canada's less-experienced contributors a taste of what is in store when the contests start to really matter, but Triano cautioned that it is an extremely tough tournament to prepare for, due to its unpredictability.
Teams often hold back certain players or offensive or defensive strategies, knowing that crucial games, against the same opponents, are only a week away.
Triano had a novel solution to that problem.
"It's a fine line between whether we go out and show all of our stuff and see where we stand, or whether we go out and play cat and mouse and I'm sure the other teams are trying to figure out the same thing," he said before breaking into a smile.
"Maybe we'll (Triano and the opposing head coach) get together before the game and say: 'OK, let's you try in the first half, we'll try in the second half' …
"I think a lot would get lost in translation anyway," he said with a shrug.
Instead, the head coach will have to find a balance of getting his charges ready and keeping opponents guessing. Playing his end-of-bench hopefuls extended minutes could help on that front.
Canada isn't the only team with elite players (Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Olynyk, Anthony Bennett, etc.) not participating this summer. Top opposing players Al Horford (Dominican Republic, Atlanta), Manu Ginobili (Argentina, San Antonio), Anderson Varejao (Brazil, Cleveland) and other NBAers Tiago Splitter (Brazil, San Antonio), Carlos Delfino (Argentina, Milwaukee), Pablo Prigioni (Argentina, New York), Leandro Barbosa (Brazil, Boston) and Nene (Brazil, Washington) won't be playing in Argentina or Venezuela.
Still, good players will be on hand. The top names include: Luis Scola (Argentina, Indiana) ; Marcelo Huertas (Brazil), Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic, Sacramento); Jack Michael Martinez (Dominican Republic); ex-NBAer Daniel Santiago (Puerto Rico), J.J. Barea (Puerto Rico, Minnesota), former Raptor Carlos Arroyo, who has helped Puerto Rico finish second in the previous two editions of the Tuto Marchand tourney, and young prodigy Karl Towns, just 17, of the Dominican Republic, who will eventually play for Kentucky.
Steve Nash was beloved by teammates for his unselfishness on and off the court. Nash used to treat his fellow Canadians to dinner regularly when he was still an active player with the program. New leaders Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph appear to be carrying on the tradition. The pair recently bought every member of the squad custom Team Canada Beats By Dre headphones.
•Thursday vs. Puerto Rico 8:30 p.m.
•Friday vs. Argentina 6 p.m.
•Saturday vs. Dominican Republic 8:30
•Monday vs. Brazil 6 p.m.
Nash has taken Kabongo under his wing hopefully this means he can get better remaining unsigned and not go to China or something. Honestly who knew he was that much of a project struggled in SL got booted off his national team during training camp! This has been a bad year for my under the radar pick Kabongo
I guess he should have stayed in College another year.
If Nash takes you under his wing you cant be a scrub.
@Slaw is Texas really that bad?
Right now Texas is in a sorry state. Barnes might be on the way out.
source: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...greek-pro-team
Texas' leading returning scorer, Ioannis Papapetrou, has signed a lucrative deal to play overseas with Olympiacos BC.
Texas has confirmed Papapetrou's departure, which was reported earlier by Eurohoops.net.
Olympiacos also posted a story on its website that Papapetrou, a native of Athens, has inked a five-year deal. A source told ESPN.com the deal was worth approximately $2 million.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Papapetrou's departure is the latest hit for coach Rick Barnes and the Longhorns' program, which has lost Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph early to the NBA and also watched as Sheldon McClellan, Julien Lewis and Jaylen Bond all transferred out of the program following last season.
Texas finished 16-18 overall last season and seventh in the Big 12 with a 7-11 mark. It was the first time in Barnes' 15 seasons in Austin that the Longhorns failed to reach the NCAA tournament.
Canada loses the opener against Puerto Rico 71-78. Pretty fun game to watch and was really up and down. Nice game for Nicholson and Thompson. No one was stopping Barea.
Canada Vs. Argentina tonight. Stream gods were good to me last night.
If you have a link for the stream, I'd appreciate it.
Article on the importance of the national team qualifying for the World Cup next year:
this Friday in Caracas, Venezuela, the Canadian men's basketball team — a team that could turn this country on its ear at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics — plays its first game at the FIBA Americas Championship and hardly anyone seems to be paying attention — even though the event has huge implications.
The bottom line is this: If Team Canada fails to finish in the top four in Caracas (and it's no slam-dunk that they will, even with four NBA guys in the lineup), the program will suffer a significant set-back.Winning is what it's all about and if Canada fails to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, next summer becomes a black hole for the national team with nothing significant to play for. And if that happens, the next important tournament for the Nats won't be until the Olympic qualifying tournament in the summer of 2015 — and there goes any momentum the national program might have built up this season.
As far as international basketball goes in Canada, when the national team is out of sight, it's largely out of mind, and if Canada doesn't make it to the 2014 World Cup, the team will be largely forgotten. And then who's to say the young stars would be that keen to play at the 2015 Olympic qualifier?
Here's a stream for Canada vs. Jamaica, on right now, Canada up 32-21 in the 2nd Q.
It's crazy that Heslip is one of the top players on this team. I don't think he'll make the NBA, but he's got a really solid style for the international game.
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Achievements honored: Amin David, founder of Los Amigos of Orange County, will be honored by the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association.
David will receive the Hon. Francisco Briseno Lifetime Achievement Award when the lawyers group holds its 35th annual scholarship fundraiser and installation dinner March. 2.
Other honorees include:
•Frank Ospino, Orange County public defender, attorney of the year.
•Union Bank, corporate citizen award.
• Sara Lundquist, vice president of students services, Santa Ana College, Guardian de la Justicia award.
Recipients of the Wally Davis Scholarship are Hugo Salazar, Chapman University School of Law; and Samantha Morales, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego.
The black-tie dinner is the main fundraiser for the Wally Davis Scholarship Memorial Fund, created nearly 20 years ago. The association has awarded more than 60 scholarships to Latino law students with ties to Orange County.
The dinner takes place at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. Tickets are $180 for association members and their guests; $200 for non-members; and $150 for members of the judiciary and their guests. For tickets and information, see ochba.org. Ticket sales close March 1.
New center: The Orange County LULAC Foundation Center is celebrating the grand opening of its office in Garden Grove on Friday, Feb. 22 – the first LULAC office to open on the West Coast.
Benny Diaz, president of its board and state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the 5,000-square-foot center will be the hub of a variety of activities, including computer classes, food assistance, workshops on immigration and education rights and efforts to promote voter registration and civic participation.
The foundation organizes a number of activities, including annual scholarships, a youth academy and voter registration.
Several public officials are expected to attend, including members of the Garden Grove City Council, Sen. Lou Correa and Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva.
The grand opening takes place from 6:30-9 p.m., with a program beginning at 7 p.m. Food will be provided by La Casa Garcia.
The center is at 11277 Garden Grove Blvd., Ste 101-A, Garden Grove. It will be staffed by volunteers Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To RSVP, contact Diaz at 714-357-4328 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Mexico violence: A director's third film about violence in Juarez, Mexico, will open in Irvine Feb. 22.
"The New Juarez" is directed by Charlie Minn, who also made two other films about the violence that has faced Juarez, "8 Murders a Day" and "Murder Capital of the World."
You can learn about the film at thenewjuarez.com. For screening times at the Edwards University Town Center 6, see fandango.com.
Carnaval: Members of the Bolivian community are holding a carnaval celebration – Carnaval Boliviano Internacional Crema Camba USA – a fundraiser for a variety of efforts.
The event takes place from 6 p.m.-1 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Embassy Suites, 11767 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove.
The donation is $25, and $30 at the door. The event is organized by Crema Camba USA, a community group, and will feature Bolivian treats like salteñas, or empanadas, and other refreshments, as well as coronation of carnival queens, Arlene Serna, 15, and Raquel Terraza, 9.
Live performances include Son de Locura, Los Preferidos and Bolivian and other folklorico groups.
For information, call Shirley Serna 714-329-9661.
– Ron Gonzales
This weekly column provides information about Orange County's Latino communities. Read more at ocregister.com/latinolink.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6999 or email@example.com


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Recently update my ZA Pro with the latest update version that downloaded as zapSetup 70_462_000_en and found that
gif files on the internet would no longer display as gif files but were just static pictures. This happened on both my desktop and my laptop after upgrading to the newer version. Checked
just about every setting I could think of but nothing helped. I then disabled
ZA (something I was very reluctant to do) but this did not help either.
I have since uninstalled za and then reinstalled the previous version, that I had luckly
burnt to
CD, and gif files on the internet again display as animated files.
I thought that I would contact Check Point and inform them of this issue only to discover that they apparantly don't want to hear for their customers unless you pay them for the privlige of ringing them on the phone.


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Damn it naruta, give me a warning next time.
Yes you did good.
Next is a very, very useful technique...
(Doton: oshi sacchi) Earth Release: Pressure Sensing
Rank: C
Type: Supplementary/Defense
Range: Short-long
Chakra cost: 20
Damage Points: N/A
Description: The user sends small amounts of chakra through ground around him so he can sense the pressure in certain locations of the battle field. By doing this the user can sense where his opponent is standing and where his opponent is if he/she is underground.
-User must make contact with the ground while using this jutsu.
Send your Earth chakra through the ground. Infusing the ground with your chakra. With this you will be able to sense everything on the ground or inside the ground. Anything that's touching the ground, you can feel, as long as there is pressure on the ground, you can feel it. This will stay active until it is canceled by either you or a raiton technique, or an earth technique of higher rank that would cancel your chakra. Tho the technique would have to be large scale. This jutsu is useful in many ways, I'm sure I don't have to explain how this is useful.


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16x9 Inc. has introduced a new version of the Zoe zoom control designed for use with the Sony HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1U, Canon XL2, plus other LANC cameras. Ideal for digital cinematography, the Zoe-DVL provides variable stepless zoom speed control with preadjusted maximum speed, focus, record start/stop, and camera on/off in an efficient, operator-friendly package.
Featuring a more ergonomic design, the Zoe-DVL offers three thumb positions--left, right, or center--for comfort and control. The unit's touch-responsive rocker switch is engineered for intuitive operation. Zoom speed increases in direct relation to pressure applied to the zoom button, which allows for smooth ramp-up and precise manipulation. A rotating selector wheel provides preadjustment of maximum zoom speed.
Mechanical side guards protect the selector wheel from damage or accidental repositioning. Separate buttons offer instant adjustment of focus and camera on/off functions. Controls are set apart and uniquely shaped for easy touch recognition. Functions are clearly indicated by bright LEDs. Set up is quick and easy. The new 30cm coiled cable extends to 90 cm. An elbow plug connects to the camera's LANC output. Zoe's improved quick-release clamp attaches to tripod panhandles of up to 34mm diameter.
Suggested price for the Zoe-DVL is $360.


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The CFWKA series is comprised of small, high-performance, thin (3.0mm) filters consisting of 6 ceramic elements. The filters are recommend for pager or hand-held cellular phones.Features1. The filters are mountable by automatic placers.2. The filters can be reflow soldered.3. They are slim, at only 3.0mm maximum thickness.4. The filters are wide bandwidth, flat GDT within pass band.5. Operating temperature range: -20 to +80 (degrees C), Storage temperature range: -40 to +85 (degrees C)
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Send your inquiry
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Last edited by TexanRT; 10-08-2010 at 11:57 AM.
John H | TexanRT | Lafayette | IBA
BMW K1600 GTL '18 | Honda Goldwing '12
Our own website has good coverage... but no weight yet... how about we start a pool?
(vince is *not* partying at Intermot....)
Peso in ordine di marcia, incl. 90 % carburante 348 (incl. valigia, topcase)
Peso totale ammesso kg 560
Weight in running order, incl. 90% fuel 348 kg = 765.6 lbs
Total weight 560 kg = 1232 lbs
John H | TexanRT | Lafayette | IBA
BMW K1600 GTL '18 | Honda Goldwing '12
Unladen weight, incl. 90% fuel kg/lb:
319/703 (without pannier)
348/767 (incl. pannier, topcase)'
That 1,232 figure must be GVWR... rider+passenger+gear.
so... 150-ish less than a Goldwing.
John H | TexanRT | Lafayette | IBA
BMW K1600 GTL '18 | Honda Goldwing '12
more video here of the press conference and other stuff
In several of the photos, you can see lock cylinders toward the bottom of the inner panels of the fairing -- near the rider's shins. Any guesses as to what they are for? gloveboxes in the lowers? In the frame side tubes? Assess to the flux capacitors?
It's gonna be a looooong 6 months before the bike starts showing up in the flesh ...
Mark Neblett
Fairfax, VA
let's see, I have about $10k in my /6, $21k in my GS.
If I ever went back to a full faired tourer the new GTL would be it.
It is a great looking motorcycle.
I just promised my bride of 40 years a new suv, maybe she would rather a GTL?
P. Monk
74 R90/6 (the Black Hole) Harvey couldn't kill it. . 09 R1200 GS, drowned in Harvey replaced by 2011 R1200RT. Wife, 1953 model survived aplastic anemia and a bone marrow transplant.
What appear to be pivoting air vents under the ends of the dash vents are nice touches, too.
Mark Neblett
Fairfax, VA
Still don't like the trunk - hopefully it will grow on me.
Like the red paint.
Does it seem big
Can't wait to see one in person.
2011 R1200 GSA Smoke Grey Metallic Matt
2009 G450X White
Rogue Moderator
John H | TexanRT | Lafayette | IBA
BMW K1600 GTL '18 | Honda Goldwing '12
See BMW site (link below). It's the official press package, along with links to lots of pics and 20+ minutes of video of both models.
2015 R 1200 GS Adventure


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Humnasheen Humnasheen Episode 17 Desi Drama Serial On Hum Tv–Videos
Humnasheen may be the trip involving living "Humnasheen" is really a history regarding the pros and cons that the family members looks Asmat Aara, the primary figure doesn't have a children, consequently right after 15 decades involving relationship the girl receives the woman hubby married to your 16-year aged young lady Shamsa Bano. By doing this the girl gets the approbation in the family members together with can rule the woman fresh rival. Asmat Aaara raises Shamsa's baby twins in addition to doesn't tolerate just about any interference involving the woman hubby Munir in their upbringing in addition to education and learning. Almost all crucial selections spinning round the children are manufactured by simply Asmat Aaara. Will Asmat Aaara's selections end up being existing? Director: Siraj Ul Haq Writer: Shela Shakoor Cast:Faiza hasan,Areej Fatima,Adnan Siddiqui,Rija,Aamir Qureshi,sara khan,Raheel butt,Sundas,Mustafa changazi,Hamoyoun Asharaf,Qaseer kaqvi.


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This seems highly unlikely, but in the final duel, Voldemort says that when Lily had died, Snape told Voldemort that there were other women of purer blood. My question is- when? He did not talk to him until Voldemort's return, right? (for reference, see American Version of DH, page 740) If so, why would Lily have come up in conversation? True, Voldemort thought Snape had left him forever (probably because of Lily), so just how did Snape convince him he hadn't?
This seems like too simple of an answer really at first, but it just confused me. I appreciate any responses.


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2010 All Holiday Squad
Every Christmas Eve it has become customary over the last several years for me to wander through the pages of MLBlogs and take a journey into the Christmas minds of some of our great bloggers. This year my adventures turned up several great redux renditions of the Christmas classic poem "T'was The Night Before Christmas", and I even found a few Holiday "Wish Lists" searching for wins, the postseason and an eventual ring for 2011.
As I was traveling through MLBlogs, I thought to myself, "Self, what would be the ultimate Christmas All Holiday baseball squad?"
I somehow answered my own question immediately in my mind and began to seek the right combination of Christmas-based characters both human and cartoon to field such a Holiday squad. I ventured back into the cobwebbed recesses of my past favorite memories on film and television.
Let me tell you that sometimes even Wikipedia can't help as I entered into a vision quest to determine the right pairing of 10 players and coaches for the Polar Express. Being that we will be playing in the North American Winter League, I have instituted the Designated Santa on my team. I think this squad has the right hint of animation and human elements to make this team a winner.
Starting Pitcher:
I decided that the only person who could be the starting pitcher for the Polar Express had to be Charlie Brown. His classic Christmas TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" first hit the CBS airwaves way back in 1965 and was an instant hit with kids of all ages. I thought Brown was my perfect holiday pitcher because of his vast past experiences pitching.
Of course I did balk at the chance that Brown could somehow be suddenly de-clothed by a sharp liner up the middle after he hangs one of his patented mid-80's curve balls. Brown has the uncanny fortitude to throw hard and long into games for the Express.
I did not have to think long and hard about the right guy to catch for this team. I did however need someone who had some brawn and might be dumb enough to sit back there and be ready for anything coming off the fingertips of Charlie Brown. I considering all the positive and negative variables and kept with my first impression that Cousin Eddie from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" was the man for the job. "Christmas Vacation" first hit movie houses back in 1989 and became an instant classic for it's off beat humor and odd but familiar family gathering situations. Eddie is a pretty big guy, and he looks like he could block the plate like an ice sheet.
Now that you have seen my pitcher/catcher battery, I decided that this team will not need any relief pitchers since it might have the 10-run rule in effect going into the 5th inning knowing the way Charlie Brown pitches to batters'. So let's get you now acquainted with the 5 infielder I selected for my All Holiday team.
First Baseman:
I wanted to get a guy who has some solid baseball experience to man the First Base bag. We needed a solid guy to protect the line and can post up correctly on the bag if the ball gets hit into the infield. I chose a guy who owns a few minor league ball clubs in real life as my first bagger. I think he can do the job with a flair, and if not, provide a comedic relief maneuver or two while out hugging the bag.
I decided to with Francis Xavier Cross from the film "Scrooged". I have always thought this was a awesome Nuevo take on the Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol." The film originally hit theatres back in 1988, and is still one of my favorite comedy movies for the holidays. I think that Bill Murray captured the perfect sarcastic essence of a socially detached Scrooge, and his comic genius shows brilliantly through in this adaptation.
Second Baseman:
I wanted a Second Baseman who could be as quick as a rabbit (or bunny). He needed to have that rifle arm and accuracy to get the double play, or to cover the bag when Cousin Eddie launches a rocket to tag out a rambling polar bear trying to steal a base to get into scoring position. I with smart Ralphie Parker from "A Christmas Story" to play second base for me. The movie has been another holiday appetizer since its original screening date in 1983. Wonder if I can talk Ralphie into asking his Dad if he wants to sell that lamp yet?
In the film, Ralphie showed the type of moxie I want on Second Base who is smart enough to think on the fly to either talk about the notorious leg lamp, or just be quiet as a mouse. He also has the determination and spunk to keep pestering his parents for that Red Ryder BB gun. Hopefully the ball coming in hard and fast from Cousin Eddie from behind the plate will not put his eye out.
My Shortstop has to be extra agile and have smarts to think on his feet at the same time. He has to be able to use his internally cold instincts to decide if the throw should be made, or possibly cover second as the pivot man on a ball hit to the first base side of the bag.
I think, that Hermie, the dentist elf from "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer" would be the perfect guy to man the hole position for the Express. He showed remarkable smart judgment during the TV special, which first hit the networks in 1964. And with over 46 years of intelligent moves, Hermie should be a valuable addition to the squad.
Third Baseman:
Playing third, I had to find a big guy who could move laterally and go blindly into foul territory for pop-ups. He also had to have some horizontal versatility towards the chalk on the left-field line. He had to be a power hitter to help produce runs and add some protection for our little squad. It had to be a movie character from the couple of years to add some youthful vitality and vigor.
My Third Baseman had to have the energy and the motivation to add to this teams awesome charismatic chemistry. The personality that fit like a glove perfectly to me was Buddy from the movie "Elf." He has the comedic chops to take one for the team and would sacrifice his body. His quick wit and glove along with his power stroke should provide more than a few Kodak moments as his long high drives make it over the high walled snow fences.
Left Fielder:
My choice for Left Field could not have two-left feet. He has to have the agility and the coordination of an athlete, plus run like a deer. He had to be sure footed and be able to dance in the outfield while chasing down flares and dying quails. The guy who I think would be a model Left-Fielder for this squad was George Bailey of "It's A Wonderful Life". I just hope George remembers to put some extra Zuzu petals in his uniform pants pockets before he takes the field. We know they are magical.
Center fielder:
I needed to find a shrewd and sometimes calculating Center fielder. Someone who could snipe a base runner who made a mistake, or tried to score on his arm. I needed someone with a huge heart who would run and run all over the field and get the ball where ever it was on the field.
I needed someone who could exhibit some sense of emotion even if he is a problem-child at times, but plays the game on the team's level too. For that reason, I picked Grinch from the movie "The Grinch". I wanted someone who could go from bad to good in a heartbeat. If he did make a bad play, or a questionable action on or off the field, I could just say it was the "Grinch just being the Grinch".
I wanted to find a Right-Fielder who was not be afraid of the snow wall, or of sprinting towards a pop-up down the icy foul line. I wanted to see a nice combination of horizontal or vertical movement towards the failing sphere. He needed to have a rifle arm and a uncanny wit about him to keep base runners honest on the base paths.
I chose Ernest from "Ernest Saves Christmas". This 1988 sequel, to a sequel, to a sequel kept a long line of profitable movies going for over a decade. We needed that kind of staying power in our Right Field. A streak like that can be contagious on a team. If the team has that kind of confidence, they will go above expectations and strive to be the best in the Winter League.
Designated Santa:
I needed a huge lovable character who could also slam the tar out of the ball for this spot in the lineup. Someone who evokes the bit of charm and the joy of the big guy himself. He had to be able to belly up to the plate and hit it a mile, or at least to the South Pole with his swing.
The guy I picked for this position has been cranking out several installments of his own movie franchise. I picked Scott Calvin as my Designated Santa from the movie, "The Santa Clause". That kind of confidence and staying power will be needed in the clutch for this team. It also helps protect the younger hitters on the team by showing the power and the possible results of pitching to this Christmas giant.
First and Third Base Coaches'
Now that we have finished with the fielding and Designated Santa position, let's meet the two extraordinary base coaches' selected for the Polar Express. Both come with their own sets of particular unique in-game behaviors, and both can help base runners and hitters alike in the game situations.
First Base Coach:
Over in the First Base box we have a guy who can make the ball seem to "freeze" in mid-air. He was instrumental in teaching players how to hit frozen ropes down the line for extra bases hit for the 2010 Express. This Coach has been described as a cold hearted soul, who can always melt you with just his smile.
His cunning direction and cool nature makes him the perfect First Base Coach for this team. I am talking about the always cool cat known as the Snow Miser. He was in the 1974 classic movie " A Year Without Santa Claus", and has been giving icy banter to opposing players for years. His cold demeanor is legendary. He uses his cold hard facts to make the opposition freeze in their tracks while trying to diving for low balls or foul pop-ups hit by the Polar Express. He is the kind of guy you do not want nipping at your nose, and the perfect Coach for this team.
Third Base Coach:
Our Third Base Coach is a Christmas Hall of Fame legend. He had been blazing the trail like a beacon in the night for years pioneering the use of unique signals and well placed lighting to facilitate the proper transfer of anticipated moves and pre-arranged actions to Polar Express base runners' and batters'.
His expert knowledge of reindeer games and his leadership expertise is unparallel in the Winter League. I am talking about the brilliant Rudolf. Since his first sighting on televisions in 1964, he has been leading a lighted path for children and players alike to the real spirit of Christmas.
His classic "Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" TV special is a holiday necessity that is even today without an equal. It is for that reason that he should be the perfect choice as the Third Base Coach for this high-powered squad of Christmas icons. Without Rudolf showing us the way on Christmas, we would be blinded by the darkness and might end up losing our way around the base paths.
It has been a great pleasure today giving you some of my All Time Christmas iconic players that had to take the field for this special squad.
There certainly will be your own thoughts and rationale for extra additions and subtractions of certain characters to this team, but unless these selected All Holiday baseball players moving on, or are retiring to the celluloid and video vaults, the true essence and the spirit of this team will live on forever in our hearts and minds……………………..
Merry Christmas to everyone in the MLBlogs.com community and beyond!!
12 Comments
What a cool post! Very creative. LOL Hermie the dentist!!! Hope you had a lovely holiday :)
Ironic another person with a name I thought about during the process is the first to respond. I truly thought about that line "Yes, Virginia,there is a Santa Claus", and even considered possibly adding a character from "Miracle on 34th Street", but decided against it.
It was a great post to compose. Brought back a lot of great memories of people no longer in my life, or around my family.
Colder winds have hit Florida…Might have to find my down comforter tonight. Brrrr. Maybe the Snow Miser is telling me something?
Rays Renegade
Impressive comparisons, metaphors and allusions, oh my! I tip my cap.
Just be sure to have a hot toddy or warm drink before stepping outside up there in the frigid North. If your weather is even remotely like Fl, which is hitting 45 degree now and dropping like a rock, you need some warmth/
Maybe I can get a call into Erin Andrews……but I can not gift wrap her…..Sorry.
Rays Renegade
Designated Santa. LOL! You have quite an imagination, Renegade. I haven't seen half the movies you mentioned, but I can tell that your picks are right on target nonetheless.
The Polar Express do play in the AL (Artic League), so we have to have a Designated Santa.
Just having a bot of fun with the whole Holiday scene. Maybe next year I will try something really wild, like the best all time Rays or something….or possibly villians since I did Superheroes in December 2009.
Got 12 months to think about it.
Rays Renegade
Love the holiday squad!
I guessed right on the Webb thing. Sometimes you get lucky. I hope that the Rangers and Webb have a good year and make the AL West interesting.
So, being a Rays fan, how do you see the team fairing in 2011?
Cute, clever and original – I love it! This is an all-star line-up for sure, but there has to be room on your roster somewhere for a wiley think on his feet trickster like Gus, Dennis Leary's character from the Ref. If not as shortstop, then perhaps as your utility guy, LOL? Yes, it's a bit of a twisted choice, no doubt, but the Ref is one of my favorite Christmas movies.
– Kristen
I like Denis Leary as an actor. The "Rescue Me" seasons are one of my favorite DVD's in my collection. But Leary is thrown out of consideration since he is a Boston-born comic, and who also played a guy from NYC.
It might seem a bit contrite, but if I will not have a Boston or NYY player on my MLB Fantasy team, I can't have one on my Holiday team.
Other than that, he would have been another great choice, even as a utility man…Heck maybe as a Joe West type confrontational Umpire….
Rays Renegade
Hot Tub,
You know in 2010 no one had the Rays on their radar to even hit the playoffs, so 2011 might be a step backwards to most people but I see it as a reloading of the gun.
You can not fathom having the same type of success after seeing such powerful players leave your system, but the Yankees also did not reload as they intended, and the Jays have only made moderate changes.
It is going to be catfight from Game 1 in the A L East, and that makes me excited for 2011.
Even if we fall to 4th or below, as long as the competitve fires burn bright…It is a good day to be a Rays fan.
Rays Renegade
There were so many great moments in "Scrooged", I probably could have made a team just up from the characters in that one film.
But that would be forgetting some of the other great Christmas icons that have been in our childhood tales.
Bill Murray is another one of the guy on my list as great actoirs/comedians who have taken a role and made it their own in a film.
Believe me when I say 2011 has to be better than 2010…Nowhere to go but up!
Rays Renegade
Great post… I hope you and your family had a joyous time and have an even brighter 2011….
Scrooged with Bill Murray my all time favorite seasonal movie…


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Kenwood 6x8 3way
2007 Ford Mustang
Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)
Awesome sound from these speakers in my 07 Mustang installed in doors and rear deck. Very satisfied with them. Sound great paired with my new Kenwood head unit. Good build quality and came with speaker wire and screws.
Pros: Awesome speakers! I installed two pair in my 07 Mustang. Sound range and sound quality is excellent. Crutchfield even sent me the speaker to factory harness connectors for free. Easy flawless install with the install MasterSheet. Very satisfied with them. Thanks for the recommendation Abe!
Cons: None


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Hi my name is Sara. I have been a fan of Harry Potter for several years. As well as liking Harry Potter, I also am a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Spiderman, and Twilight.
Weird is good, strange is bad, and odd is when you don't know which to call someone. Weird is the same as different, which is the same as unique,so weird is good. If you are weird and proud of it, copy this onto your profile!
92 percent of American teens would die if Abercombie and Fitch told them it was uncool to breathe. Copy this in your profile if you would be the 8 percent that would be laughing your head off.
Ninety-five percent of teenagers are concerned about being popular. If you are one of the five percent who aren't, copy this, put it in your profile, and add your name to the list: Queen S of Randomness 016, Queen B of Randomness 016, AnimieKittyCaffe, The Gypsy Pirate Queen, That Bloody Demon, The Astrology Nerd, Shadow929, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Freak, Yavie Aelienel, Hyperactively Bored, Spymaster E, Shanny-Boo, Gem W, Brown-eyed angelofmusic, piratesswriter/fairy to be, Bara-Minomoto, Em Quagmire, Buffy The Mary-Sue Slayer, Random Little Writer, SamanthaFantasyFan, EdwardAddict, Supergirrl, Elemental-ANimal, Mother Nature's Daughter, Schmerg_The_Impaler, GinnyPotter808, clumsywerewolf2438, DontCallMeNymphadora, Josephine Granger
-If you've been on the computer for hours on end, reading numerous fanfictions, copy this into your profile
98 percent of teenagers do or has tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2 percent who hasn't, copy & paste this in your profile.
If you love God with your whole heart and are 100 percent proud of it, copy & paste this in your profile.
Even when you cant see Him, GOD is there! if you belive in GOD put this in your profile.b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;b29;


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New explosion rocks Fukushima nuclear plant
Japan's nuclear crisis escalated ominously following a third and more dangerous hydrogen explosion early Tuesday local time that may have damaged part of the reactor's primary containment shell, and a fire at a fourth reactor building.
The explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi unit 2 reactor followed a frantic battle by engineers to re-cover the reactor's fuel core with seawater, a critical action needed to halt a meltdown of the tops of fuel rods that could spin out of control if unchecked, experts said. Some reports said a crucial, doughnut-shaped "suppression chamber" or reservoir beneath the reactor that receives steam and gases from the reactor core had been damaged, increasing the risk of radiation release from that unit.
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) reported Tuesday that "the suppression chamber may be damaged," according to World Nuclear News, an industry information service.
The fire and radiation release occurred at unit 4, which was in a stable, cold-shutdown mode before Friday's earthquake tidal wave struck the nuclear facility, 150 miles north of Tokyo on Japan's northeast seacoast.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in a nationwide address to the Japanese people, confirmed the radiation peril and called for calm, pledging that the emergency crews and authorities were doing "everything we can" to contain the spread of contamination. Slightly elevated radiation was detected in Tokyo, but officials said it not at health-affecting levels, according to press reports. News organizations reported that most of the 800 workers at the plant had been withdrawn, leaving firefighters and crews dealing with the seawater insertion to continue the struggle.
Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, speaking after the prime minister, said radiation levels around the plant's six reactors reached a level that would "without a doubt would affect a person's health." But he said that outside the existing 12-mile evacuation zone, there was little or no health danger, according to news reports.
Danger to spent fuel rods feared
The three explosions at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) reactor buildings, caused by hydrogen gas that vented from the reactor's primary containment, raised fears among some U.S. experts about possible damage to the tanks in those units that store spent reactor fuel assemblies.
Although the energy of the spent fuel rods is depleted, they are still "hot" and if left uncovered, could overheat, causing the casings to ignite and release radioactivity directly into the air -- the catastrophic sequence that followed the Chernobyl reactor in 1986.
In the General Electric Mark 1 boiling water reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the spent fuel pools are located at the top of the secondary containment building, a large concrete and steel structure that contains the reactor and its primary containment shell.
One expert said that an aerial photo of unit 1 appeared to show that a large crane used to move fuel assemblies in and out of the pool was missing.
Anthony R. Pietrangelo, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington said that NEI had been told that the three pools survived the explosions without serious damage.
"Our understanding is that there were no leaks at this point identified with the pools," he said.
"From a structural standpoint the pools are intact. They were not damaged by the hydrogen explosion. ... The real challenge there is to make sure the inventory above the fuel -- the water -- is maintained, and that can be as simple as putting a fire hose over the side of that pool. We don't have more additional information on the pools beyond that."
'Heroic' workers praised
A National Research Council report in 2006 studied the risks and consequences of an accident or terrorist attack involving spent fuel pools. The report, "Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage," concluded that if water were drained or expelled from a pool, uncovering the spent fuel rods, the heat build-up could ignite the casing leading to a self-sustaining fire and radioactivity release. "[O]nce the fuel was uncovered, it might take only a few hours for the most recently discharged spent fuel rods to ignite," the report concluded.
As of yesterday, TEPCO had still been unable to restore normal electric power at the reactor site. Friday's earthquake knocked down power lines and an hour later, the tsunami swept through the site, carrying away diesel fuel tanks for backup generators and damaging generator controls. Backup batteries eventually ran out, creating a "station blackout" condition. Then the station's pumping system was helpless to keep reactor fuel rods from a overheating. If unchecked, that could cause a core meltdown.
"They only had one option left, and that was seawater," said David Lochbaum, director of the nuclear safety program for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Pietrangelo said NEI had not been informed about the extent of damage to the reactor cores. As long as the reactor core interiors remain essentially intact, it is possible to circulate cooling water through the assembly. The greater the damage, the less effective the cooling operation becomes, he said.
Some reports yesterday said water hoses pumping seawater to reactor unit 2 had been damaged by the explosion.
The seawater injections are the best option for stabilizing the reactors, but the crisis won't end until outside electric power is restored and the reactors' main pumping systems can be restarted to complete a cold shutdown of the reactor cores. He said he had not heard when that power restoration might occur. "I'll be a lot more comfortable when they get AC power," he said.
The few details of the crises at Fukushima Daiichi underscore the courage of TEPCO crews and other workers to overcome the fearsome threat to the reactors and ultimately the public and themselves. "I think the Japanese workers at that plant are heroic in what they've been able to accomplish thus far given those conditions," Pietrangelo said.
Other details describe how security features crucial to the plant's survival failed or were negated by the volatile, unanticipated course of the crisis.
Unit 2 resisted flood efforts
The early efforts to flood the unit 2 reactor core were initially thwarted by pressure inside the reactor caused by steam and gases created by exposed, super-heated fuel rods.
Lochbaum said he understood that the pressure inside the unit 2 reactor vessel exceeded the pressure from the fire hose pumps that crews used to deliver seawater into the unit. "So the water just doesn't move," Lochbaum said.
The reactor has pressure relief valves that automatically open when overpressure is so severe that it threatens a catastrophic rupture of the reactor vessel, he said.
The valves are also designed to be operated manually from the control room. The operator throws a switch that activates a pneumatic drive containing nitrogen gas that is strong enough to overcome the restraining spring that keeps the valve closed, he said.
"The nitrogen gas accumulator for the valves allows the valves to be opened and closed a small handful of times. ... It seems most likely that they are just out of nitrogen gas and can't overcome the spring pressure to open the valve manually," he said. How this problem was overcome wasn't clear.
But steam and hydrogen gas have been vented out of the reactor and primary containment shell periodically to relieve potentially dangerous pressure in what Pietrangelo called a "feed and vent" process. The steel reactor vessel contains the fuel rods. It is surrounded by a bell-shaped, steel-lined concrete primary containment shell. The third line of defense is the large secondary containment building.
Hydrogen forms when overheated zirconium alloy casings of the fuel rods react with steam. The vented hydrogen gas collects at the top of the secondary containment building.
Japan crisis could lead to tougher U.S. regulations
Yesterday, workers drilled holes in the secondary building's roof to allow the gas to escape. Even so, crews could be forced to operate the building's ventilation system, Pietrangelo said yesterday, and that would risk a new explosion.
One expert noted that after the Three Mile Island reactor accident in 1979, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered the installation of igniters, similar to glow plugs in diesel engines, which could burn small amounts of vented hydrogen harmlessly, thus preventing a dangerous build-up. They apparently are without power and failed their task, this expert said.
Lochbaum and UCS colleagues Ellen Vancko and Edwin Lyman called on the NRC to use the crisis as leverage to toughen regulation of U.S. reactors.
The regulation of spent fuel pools is one example, Lochbaum said. Reactor owners should be required to accelerate the transfer of fuel assemblies from the pools to storage in large ground-level containers -- dry cask storage, as it is called, Lochbaum said.
There are 23 U.S. reactors like the Fukushima Daiichi units that store spent fuel at the top of container buildings -- "up in the attic," Lochbaum said. And these are the most vulnerable and most obvious candidates for faster transfers to dry cask storage, he added. "The risk reduction is so great. There is no excuse for not doing it," he said.
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This Web page has been archived on the Web
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Canada Formally Joins Trans-Pacific Partnership
October 9, 2012 - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, regional minister for British Columbia, on behalf of the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, who is leading a trade mission to the Middle East, today announced that Canada has formally joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations.
"Canada is pleased to be formally joining the TPP negotiations," said Minister Fast. "Joining the TPP is good news for hard-working Canadian families. Opening new markets and increasing Canadian exports to fast-growing markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region is a key part of our government's plan to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. We look forward to helping develop a 21st-century agreement that advances Canadian interests."
The TPP is a trade agreement, under negotiation by 11 countries, which now includes Canada and Mexico. The other members are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. Canada's formal entry into the negotiations follows the completion of domestic consultations, which all TPP members are required to undertake before approving new members.
"Joining the TPP is an important step forward in our government's active and growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region," said Minister Moore. "The region is a priority market for Canadian businesses, offering enormous opportunities to our exporters."
With Canada and Mexico, the TPP market represents more than 658 million people and a combined GDP of $20.5 trillion.
In less than six years, the Harper government has concluded trade agreements with nine countries: Colombia, Honduras, Jordan, Panama, Peru, and the European Free Trade Association member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Canada has also begun deepening trade and investment ties with the largest markets in the world, including the European Union, India and Japan.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Adam Taylor
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Trade Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Follow us on Twitter: @Canada_Trade
- Date Modified:


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MELBOURNE, Fla. - It was a routine school check-up for one Melbourne Police officer last Tuesday. He'd made his rounds around Croton Elementary School in Melbourne, passing hundreds of students until one first grade girl -- and her shoes -- caught his attention.
"Her shoes -- the bottoms of them were flapping because they were so worn," said school nurse Susan Vazzana. "He asked one of the office staff if it would be okay if he could bring her some sneakers, and he did."
He bought her two pairs -- one set pink, the other orange -- plus matching socks, after finding out that the school didn't have the girl's size in their supply box.
Vazzana said the officer walked in with a Walmart bag and put the shoes on her himself.
"He was so willing, and then he told us he was a dad and that he had girls. He did a great job shopping and made her day. She was thrilled," said Vazzana.
Vanazza said the girl then gave the officer a big huge and told him, "These are beautiful."
"It's wonderful. Everybody is touched. You've got a bunch of ladies here and we're absolutely touched to the core about it," said Vazzana.
Since the community found out about that officer's good deed, the school's had several calls from folks wanting to make donations.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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For most of Christian Morris' life, kids in Memphis have challenged him.
And for a long time, Morris obliged. He would fight, and scrap, and fight some more.
Most of that ended when the four-star offensive lineman took up football two years ago.
And now that he's a U.S. Army All-American, it's really done.
"A lot of guys are trying to get at me in the city," said Morris, who grew up and still lives in a tough Memphis neighborhood. "But I have to keep my composure in the games."
Of course he does. His future is riding on it now.
Morris, a 6-foot-6, 293-pound tackle, is committed to UCLA. He's the No. 126-ranked player in the nation, the No. 3-ranked player in Tennessee and the No. 12-rated tackle in the country.
All of that led him to Wednesday, when the big lineman received his U.S. Army All-American Bowl jersey at a ceremony in his Memphis East High School.
But with all of that praise, and with that huge honor, he's earned much more responsibility. Now, when players get in his face or try to pick a fight, he turns away -- something he didn't always do when he was younger.
"A lot of them are trying to fight me in the game or get me injured; all that type of stuff," Morris said. "There are still some people out there that are trying to test me. But you know, I'm just doing me."
The Army All-American Bowl was one of Morris' goals. So when he landed the call, he chose the game over several other prestigious national all-star games.
And when his family found out, particularly his grandmother, who has taken care of him for most of his life, they were just as thrilled as he was.
"They were very excited about me making this game," Morris said. "(My grandmother) yelled, as usual.
"It means a lot. It means that I've actually put in all the work and that really hard work pays off. It still inspires me to go harder and harder. It also gives me a chance to get the feel of what college is going to be like amidst all this competition."
Where he'll get real college competition is just about the only thing left that Morris needs to figure out in his life.
The big tackle is still committed to UCLA, but he has two other programs, Nebraska and Oklahoma, still on his mind.
While he's tentatively postponed all of his visits until after Dec. 2, he said, he's going to have to make a final decision at some point in the next couple months.
"I'm just keeping an open mind," Morris said. "That's all."
For now, though, the only thing on that open mind is the bowl game and the elation of accepting the challenge that comes with it.
"When other athletes had gone into the game, it was like something very huge," Morris said. "I feel that game means a lot. It means that you're a high quality athlete and you put in the work over the summer time and everything in order to showcase your skills."
Click Here to view this Link.


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Food agency 'not asleep on the job'
The Food Standards Agency has rejected claims that it was "asleep on the job" by not detecting the presence of horse DNA in processed meat products sooner.
But its chief executive, addressing the agency's board meeting, said the body had to ask whether it should have been "more alert" to the risks of possible contamination.
Catherine Brown told the FSA board: "We have been irritated by suggestions that we were in some way asleep on the job, suggestions that come from those who speak with the benefit of perfect hindsight.
"I have yet to see any evidence of someone highlighting, whether in public or private, that this was likely to happen. And this criticism ignores the fact that if we missed something, so did our counterparts in every European member state and every food business in the UK and in Europe."
Ms Brown said the FSA would have to improve how it investigated possible risks in the food chain. She praised the UK reaction to the horse meat scandal, saying it "dwarfs the response in other European countries", but said the scope of the FSA's power needs to be considered and will be discussed at the next board meeting.
Consumer confidence has suffered since the news of the contamination broke, with sales figures reflecting that, the board heard. "There is a real challenge for us and for the food industry to address consumer confidence in the coming months and make sure consumers have well-founded confidence in the food they eat," added Ms Brown.
FSA chairman Jeff Rooker said consumers had been left feeling "cheated" by those who mislabelled meat products containing horse DNA. "They have fiddled the books and cheated the public, and the public have every right to be damned annoyed about it," he added.
Many of the UK's biggest food firms and supermarkets have recalled beef products after tests found they contained horse DNA. Frozen food company Birds Eye has named an Irish meat processor as the source of horse meat contamination in three of its products. Birds Eye said QK Meats supplied meat with horse in it to Frigilunch NV, who used it in products supplied to the company.
Later, ABP chief executive Paul Finnerty, whose company supplied Tesco with beefburgers that turned out to be 29% horse, told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee it became clear overnight on January 14 to 15 that "we were out of specification" because product was coming in from a combination of suppliers that were not approved.
Asked how long he thought this had been going on for, he answered: "I think it had been going on for a number of months."


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I am once again hoping someone might have a suggestion on troubleshooting a recurring problem on my wife's Vista Home
Premium (Dell) system.
ZA Suite 8.0.258.035 someone causes a scenario whereby approximately every three to four weeks, Windows Update freezes.
The only way to get it to run is to literally uninstall ZA, and then reinstall.
Simply resetting it does not solve the problem.
Unchecking ZA in msconfig and rebooting also does not solve the problem, as I guess it has to do with TrueVector scanning, which runs even when ZA does not.
If anyone can either suggest a manner by which to troubleshoot this, or a less time consuming workaround, please let me know.
Thanks so much.
Operating System:Windows Vista Home Premium
Software Version:8.0
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite


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I've been getting odd looks from my family because of how many times I laughed out loud at this. I have similar feelings for HSM, in that I don't mind watching it on occasion and some of the tunes/music is decent, but it definitely irritates me if I have to watch or listen too much. How you managed to replay all the songs over and over to create this masterpiece is beyond me.
That said, it really is a fantastic spoof. In places the lyrics don't match up so well, but those lines are overshadowed by how wonderfully written the rest is. The lines are very good, and so are the song choices for the moments in the plot. Stick to the Status Quo always sticks in my head, so I could practically Hear Sharpay's voice singing your lines (which only made me laugh more).
My favourite has to be 'Get your head outta the way'. That's a work of genius right there.
I've already started on your Voldy's blog story and I think my family want to have me committed. Its been a pretty rubbish day, and your stories have been a real high point; I hope you keep writing, and keep writing with this humour. We need more humour this natural in Potter stories.
I'm stopping now, before I've written an essay.
That was hilarious! I love your stories and spoofs; they're perfect for when I need a laugh.
i nearly wet myself laughing. you write the best spoofs, honestly.
That was really good! Better (and funnier) than the real High School Musical!
you're awesome!!!!eleven!! i especially loved "that's not how i plannned to go"
Oh. My. God.
Excuse me while I try to get control of my airways, having laughed the entire time I was reading this. If there's musical parody perfection, this is probably it. FANTABULOUS!
Oh, this is great. I really don't like High School Musical, but I would definitely watch it if it were Harry Potter. The sad thing is, though, that I knew the tunes for most of the songs.
Author's Response: Haha, Dobby, that is a great username. Anyway, thanks so much! HSM is really cheesy and full of terrible actors, but being in the stage play version was the time of my life.
Haha, that was great!!
Author's Response: Aw, thanks! It was fun to write!
I can't stop laughing! This is great stuff. :P
Author's Response: Why thank you!
Err...WOW! Completely insane, but brilliant!
Author's Response: Why, thank you! That is definitely what I was striving for! ;-)
Wow. You like amaze me! How you can just hear a song and make a parady of it. It cracks me up. I think the best ones hear would be Breaking Free and We're Alll in this Together because they really sounded like something someone could sing. I admit, I did watch HSM3 on demand the other day. *sighs and puts on devoted HSM fanware*. Lol jk, I hadn't seen those things for years. Sorry for my rambling.
Author's Response: Thank you! This is one of my first parodies, but I'm glad you still like it. I actually did watch HSM3 the other day in my chorus class! I like HSM, but I don't think it's good-- does that make sense? Like a guilty pleasure. I was in the play last summer as Mrs. Darbus!
I wil tell you the complicated story of how I read this. I was bored so I went over to your page to see if there was anything interesting. I saw it I clicked on it ya da ya da ya da. So I started reading this (since i remeber the tunes to the songs enough to read it) and when I got to bop to the top ( or whatever you call it) when I forgot the tune, not really caring I hurried on to the next one song. I also forgot the tune. So I pulled out my handy dandy IPOD ( its silver by the way) which had been conviently in my ears the whole time just not turned on. So I scrolled down to high school musical, and hit play. I decided that I should go back to the beginning so I could enjoy the whole thing to music. As soon as I started I discovered it's very hard to insert words to a song that already has words, sadly nobody ever puts the instrimental versions on their ipod because its just kinda stupid. So after trying to imagene the fake words to the song, and getting lost a couple of times I got to SONG NUMBER 3! Then suddenly my ipod decided to shut itself off. I desperatly tried to awaken it from its slumber. I knew that it wasn't out of power, I had recently charged it. SO i knew it had gone into one of it's random fits where it suddenly decides that I deserve toture so it shuts down. Hence it needs to be restarted. Mom obviously not understanding the importance this situation (considering I didn't tell her), didn't restart it. I totally fed up with everything read the rest of the musical without a music, or even knowing the tune. Yep this is how my whole life works. So that's how I read it. I t was very good though. I also solemnly swear that this whole fiasco is true. Wondering do you like Zac? ( Cause on the whole I think him and Vanessa are total gerks (git, jerk and if the situation calls for it , it can be git, jerk, and geek)
-Windy who owns a cheeky ipod
Author's Response: Yikes, Windy! That sounds like a very, very complicated situation! I just wrote a musical for my theatre teacher (an Annie Get Your Gun parody), so I hope she didn't go through the same ridiculousness that you did! So glad that you liked it, though-- if it was terrible, I'd hate to have wasted so much of your time. I do not like Zac Efron as much as some people seem to, but I don't hate him as much as some people do, either. I think he has more talent than he sometimes gets credit for-- his own natural voice, as seen in Hairspray, is not bad, and he does have good comedic timing and the ability to make horribly scripted lines sound less stupid than they should-- but there are way more gifted people out there. And I think he is horrible looking. I don't see how people can find him attractive. Vanessa Hudgens is the opposite-- beautiful, but cannot sing or act to save her life.
that is brilliant
Author's Response: Why thank you! I'm not ashamed to admit that I love High School Musical, so this was fun!
I absolutely love this story and I have just finished reading it for the twelth time!!!
Author's Response: Wow, thank you SOOO much! Haha, I think it's great that people actually like this silly spoof!
I don't like HSM at all, but Potterized it's much more bearable. Why don't u do the other 2 HSM movies, since they are the ultimate in cheesiness!
Author's Response: Ha, the real reason why I didn't do the second and third HSMs is that the songs are a bit more melodically complex-- they've sometimes got the same voice singing TWO things at once, which is tricky to work with. But also because I can't stand the HSM2 music, and it would be torture to learn it by heart!
I showed this spoof to my sister (who isn't a big fan of HP or HSM) and she loved it!!!
We sang all the songs like 10 times...
oh and i just wanted to tell you that the main reason i signed on to MNFF was to review your fanfics. CONGRATS!
I hope you do that HAIRSPRAY spoof!
Author's Response: OH, WOW! Thank you so much! This review means a lot to me, because I love writing spoofs and I don't get many reviews for them. And I'm REALLLLY flattered that you'd join to review my fics! That is a fantabulous username, by the way.
loved it omg
Author's Response: AWww, thanks! HSM will always hold a special place in my heart.
Yet again you've made me laugh. I think my favourite was the quidditch match in the second song. I really liked Hermione's petrification scene too. And I know you said you hate the song, but all those times you listened to it have got to have been worth it because Tom's song down in the chamber was excellent. The last song really gave a Hogwarts end of year feeling too. I wonder if the cast of the HP movies would agree to perform this, it'd be a hoot.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! Hahaha, it would be hilarious if the Harry Potter cast put this on. A school in Canada did recently! I was just in the play "High School Musical" (as Mrs. Darbus!), so I feel a new affection for this fic. ^_^
This makes me laugh. I found myself singing to it. LOL. ~MJ
Author's Response: Thanks so much! A school in Canada recently performed it, which I think is pretty cool.
Again you exhibit your word karate skills! If there was a tournament, you'd completely take first. I found myself singing along with the songs as I read them. Maybe I'll do a video of myself or something... nah, too creepy. Keep up the great work!
Author's Response: Gahahaha, thanks! Though it wouldn't be creepy to make a video of yourself doing this-- it'd be awesome and flattering! Now maybe if you made a video of ME singing it in the shower, it'd be creepy, but that's an entirely different story!