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Although a ton of research has been coming out recently looking at the high ceiling for smart or connected home growth over the next few years—Parks Associates says that half of homes will have a connected product by 2020—a recent study by research firm Gartner Inc. finds that only about 10 percent of households currently have connected home solutions.
Gartner found that adoption of "newer connected home solutions is still at the early adopter phase," a conclusion based on responses from nearly 10,000 people in U.S., the U.K. and Australia during the second half of 2016. According to the study, "connected home solutions" consist of a set of devices and services that are connected to each other and to the Internet and can automatically respond to preset rules, be remotely accessed and managed by mobile apps or a browser, and send alerts or messages to the user (s).
"Although households in the developed world are beginning to embrace connected home solutions, providers must push beyond early adopter use," Amanda Sabia, principal research analyst at Gartner said in the announcement. "If they are to successfully widen the appeal of the connected home, providers will need to identify what really motivates current users to inspire additional purchases."
The survey found that home security alarm systems, the more established of connected home solutions, have nearly double the adoption rates (18 percent) of newer connected home solutions such as home monitoring (11 percent), home automation or energy management (9 percent), and health and wellness management (11 percent). Overall adoption rates were five- to six percent greater in the U.S., where they were first marketed.
However, excluding home security alarm services for which a monthly fee is generally paid, solution providers may find monetizing connected services challenging as the survey revealed that less than half of households currently pay for subscription-based home monitoring and automation/energy management solutions.
"In the U.S., where the home monitoring industry is more developed, 59 percent of households with a home monitoring solution indicate they do pay a monthly fee, thus proving they see value for these solutions," according to Gartner. "However, charging for subscriptions for home automation/energy management and health and wellness solutions is more of a challenge since more than half of current households are already using these services free of charge."
Using a scale of 0 to 100, respondents were asked about their feelings and preferences toward the value of devices, appliances and applications in the connected home ecosystem. Three-quarters of respondents indicated they are happy to manually set temperature and lighting controls versus only one-quarter who expressed an interest in having devices anticipate needs in the home. Furthermore, 58 percent of respondents showed a preference for separate, independent, stand-alone devices.
The study found that respondents are starting to see the value of one app for integrating their connected home devices, appliances and services as well as the importance of brand certification for their connected home devices and services. More than half of the respondents (55 percent) rated 51 or more toward the preference of one app integrating connected home devices and services, while 58 percent rated 51 or more toward the importance of hardware and services being certified by a specific brand.
"Messaging needs to be focused on the real value proposition that the complete connected home ecosystem provides, encompassing devices, service and experience," Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner, said in the announcement. "The emphasis needs to be on how the connected home can helps solve daily tasks rather than just being a novelty collection of devices and apps."
Ekholm will provide further analysis on consumers' use of technology at the Gartner Tech Growth & Innovation Conference 2017 taking place June 19-21 in Huntington Beach, Calif.
As I sit here in Florida, at the beautiful Delray Beach Marriott, basking in the 80-plus degree temps and relaxing ambiance, I reflect on Security Systems News' highly successful two-day conference that wrapped up here yesterday.
From the opening keynote, "Cheaper, Faster, Better" by Jack Wu, co-founder and CEO of Nightingale Security—who looked at the current capabilities and future potential of robotics in security (including flying a drone in California from his iPad)—and eight thought-provoking education sessions to the "20 under 40" award reception and invaluable networking, TechSec took on many of the hottest topics in the industry while looking at how integrators can best leverage today's emerging technologies.
Over the next few weeks, you will see extensive coverage and articles from SSN staff on each session, as well as pictures of the many great panel discussions and of our "20 under 40" integrator and end-user award winners—they represent this next generation of tech-savvy security professionals who will lead the industry into the future.
As we begin to enter the trade show season here in the industry, with ISC West, ESX and ASIS, to name just a few, we are excited to delve even deeper into the topics and trends that are driving the industry today.
One theme that I was happy to see at this year's TechSec Solutions conference, held in Delray Beach, Fla., on Feb. 27 and 28, was that conversations were picked up in- and outside of sessions.
Many topics in the industry impact more than just one sector, vertical or business. Drones, IoT, cybersecurity, biometrics—these technologies have many different applications and their changes and developments have a wide impact.
This year, we wanted to continue the conversation on biometrics after a very interesting "Battle of the Body Parts" at TechSec Solutions 2016. In the end, iris scan technologies proved to have the most potential, for its security as well as its applicability. This year, we brought back reigning champion Blaine Frederick, vice president for product management with EyeLock, to talk more about iris scan technologies' developments and opportunities with Jeff Kohler, product line and business development director of the newly named Princeton Identity.
Cybersecurity has come up a lot in the industry, and it was definitely brought up a few times during the conference. During the last session of this year's conference, moderator Jay Hauhn, executive director for CSAA, pointed out how he liked that cybersecurity was addressed as it specifically related to each conversation.
The first panel session, "The future of IoT: Taming security's wild west," looked at IoT's current standards and developments. This topic was then picked up and added to by both our panel of "20 under 40" winners from the class of 2017 and the second day's session on the latest trends in monitoring.
At our "20 under 40" reception I discussed the hot topics with Brian Cote, product manager for Eizo. He made an interesting point about the maneuverability Nightingale Security's Jack Wu showed in his drone demo, comparing the free range of rotation to a more traditional camera's pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities.
Thank you to everyone that came out and participated!
CORK, Ireland—Johnson Controls released a "call to action" whitepaper on cybersecurity this week in an effort to help the industry to better protect all of the data that is being produced throughout smart buildings today.
"As data becomes more and more prevalent throughout the buildings where we live and work, so does the need to protect that data; it is no longer enough for a building to be smart—it must now be cybersmart," according to the new whitepaper, "Cybersmart Buildings - Securing Your Investment in Connectivity and Automation" published jointly by Johnson Controls and Booz Allen Hamilton, a management and technology consulting and engineering firm. This whitepaper provides a roadmap for building managers, building owners, contractors and others to act to protect their information.
"Research clearly demonstrates that cybersecurity is a critical need at a critical hour for buildings around the world," Bill Jackson, president, Johnson Controls Global Products, said in the announcement. "As building technology and data converge, we must be increasingly vigilant."
This collaboration between two companies, with more than 200 years of combined expertise in their industries, illustrates the progress being made in raising awareness of the need for cybersecure smart buildings, coined "cybersmart buildings" in the white paper.
"Securing smart buildings and building systems more generally, is a shared responsibility requiring focus and commitment from the manufacturer, integrator, and customer," Jason Rosselot, director of Johnson Controls' global product security, said in the release. "Just as two industry leading companies were able to collaborate to create this whitepaper, so too can smart building stakeholders partner to follow these recommendations and create cybersmart buildings."
Jackson added, "Defending against cyber threats today and tomorrow requires the secure design, development and deployment of building automation systems and controls."
According to the 2016 State of Industrial Control System (ICS) Security Survey by SANS, 67 percent of participants perceived severe or high levels of threat to control systems, up from 43 percent in 2015.
"Smart buildings are now at the forefront of this battle—with tremendous complexity and integration of systems, they represent an increasingly valuable target," according to the whitepaper. "Connectivity and automation create entry points for cyber attacks with potential safety, continuity, quality and privacy impact. But we can't let this risk cripple innovation."
According to the whitepaper authors, cybersecurity can be "a business enabler for smart buildings. When done well, cybersecurity is about insuring your investment and assuring your ability to reap the transformative benefits that connectivity offers," including working "with the right partners to secure your investments when assessing and deploying smart building systems or retrofits."
The whitepaper, which can be found here, summarizes key insights to help set an agenda for cybersmart buildings.
Mass notification system provider Alertus Technologies recently entered a partnership with AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions, bringing its customers more capabilities when it comes to weather alerts and emergencies.
Alertus, founded in 2002, has included weather alerts in its system and has been developing and automating these alerts. "We wanted to partner with AccuWeather since they really are the leader in that space, and have a lot of additional services that they bring to the table," Amanda Sassano, Alertus director of commercial sales, said.
Formerly, the company relied mostly on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. "[Previously], there was a certain radius outside of a ZIP code, and that area would be notified if there was a tornado watch or warning—they were very basic alerts," Sassano said. "Now, with the partnership with AccuWeather, we're able to tap into their resources—or their feeds as well, and leverage if they have severe weather packages—from hurricanes, to snow, to lightning—to their SkyGuard Service."
AccuWeather's SkyGuard service provides users with real-time data relevant to their local areas from a meteorologist. This information will be brought directly into Alertus' ThreatWatcher tool.
Alertus has a broad customer base, Sassano said. The company's most matured market is in higher education, she said, "they're the early adopters in mass notification. But, we work in verticals like state and local government, healthcare, corporate, manufacturing, … stadiums, sports arenas, aviation, k-12 [and] military." The company sells its offerings through security integrators as well as directly servicing customers.
What sets Alertus apart from other MNS technologies? "Definitely our approach. We're very interoperable with all technologies, whether that's existing infrastructure on the emergency asset side—like access control, fire panel integration, cameras—to leveraging existing infrastructure that's not emergency assets, like VOIP phones [and] desktop computers," Sassano said.
DALLAS—Last September, when Monitronics changed its name to MONI Smart Security, it also said it would be pushing its brand toward consumers more. In line with that, MONI started a new initiative: its Customer Bill of Rights.
"Products and price are relatively similar across companies within the industry. The true differentiator, in this industry, can be customer experience," Jay Autrey, recently promoted chief customer officer at MONI, told Security Systems News. "We want to be disruptive when it comes to the customer experience in the home security industry."
According to the company, customers have the right to local service, easily moving their system to a new location, understand their contract, voice their opinions, have all issues addressed in one business day and a simple cancellation process.
The company relied on customer feedback, as well as a collaborative effort from dealer support and customer service organizations within MONI, to identify the most important customer rights.
Moni has in the last nine months been instituting more channels for direct customer feedback, Autrey said, and can use that information to gauge whether or not it is upholding the customer's rights.
The company wants to "make sure that customers fully understand what they can expect from MONI, up to choosing us but obviously [also] well after choosing us."
Chief customer officer is a newly created role at MONI, and Autrey said that the role shows a commitment to customer service, both internally and externally.
MONI is also looking to improve relations with customers by more frequently contacting them and giving them information on new products and services, Autrey said, which was a request the company heard from customers.
Smart-home product U.S. dollar sales grew 57 percent in 2016 compared with the prior year, according to recent findings from market research firm The NPD Group.
According to the study, security and monitoring products led the category, making up more than 60 percent of dollar share, with smart entry devices, such as smart doorbells, growing 171 percent in dollar sales and 206 percent in unit sales compared with 2015.
The market research firm said awareness levels of smart home devices have fluctuated, but cited the smart doorbell as a category that witnessed growth in both awareness and ownership; ownership of smart doorbells inched up 2 percent while awareness grew 4 percent.
According to IHS Markit, the global market size for video doorbells, which was at $78 million in 2015, is expected to experience a 28 percent CAGR over the next five years, with North America leading the way.
Video doorbells, many times, are a homeowner's first foray into video surveillance in and around the home.
"Video doorbells are only just beginning to gain traction among residential consumers," Anna Sliwon, analyst, residential security, IHS Markit, said in the study. "As the market continues its rapid ascension, partnering with video doorbell providers could prove lucrative for home alarm manufacturers and service providers."
In the NPD study, networked video cameras led as the most commonly found product in smart homes. Nearly one-third of smart homes owned a networked video camera, and demand for multipacks of IP cameras grew 129 percent in dollar sales for the year.
"Network cameras have long been considered the entry point into the smart home, but growing demand for items sold in sets shows that the market is maturing," Ben Arnold, executive director, industry analyst for The NPD Group, said in a prepared statement. "We fully expect the next two years will see a broadening appeal of smart-home devices and estimate that the category will nearly double in that time."
Voice command is also becoming more commonplace in smart homes, with nearly half of these homes using voice commands in some manner, and one-quarter using them to control a home-automation device, with Siri being the most commonly used digital assistant, according to NPD.
John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst, NPD Connected Intelligence, said one in five Amazon Echo owners use the device to control another device in their home.
EDMONTON, Canada—FillQuick, a CRM company that has worked with MONI, UCC and AvantGuard, will now be integrated with ADT's API.
FillQuick has "done a fantastic job in developing a customer relationship management tool that will allow our dealers to run their businesses more efficiently and more effectively," Clay Fearrington, senior director of strategic initiatives, business architecture & dealer development at ADT, told Security Systems News.
"In the past, a dealer would have a CRM, but didn't have the connection into the ADT systems," Fearrington continued. "The big benefit here is it's reducing keystrokes."
ADT is also working to integrate other CRMs into its API, such as Engarde and SecurityTrax. ADT dealers specifically requested an integration with FillQuick, which led to the companies' collaboration, Fearrington said.
Since FillQuick's last wave of announcements in 2016, FillQuick has added several new features to the software, including auto-generating account numbers for installation and connection to central stations, expanded reporting features of its software and uploading features for proposals or images in a range of different formats. "Sales reps, they write proposals and take a picture, and attach it to a lead. So, if they ever come back to that lead, they can take a look at what they offered to that customer," Paul Shakuri, FillQuick's founder said.
"Another big feature update was notifications for users within the software when statuses change on accounts, such as [when] an account gets installed, an account gets cancelled [or] an account gets paid on," he said, adding that this now brings this information to salespeople.
Shakuri said that the company has a high rate, close to 95 percent, of converting companies that demo the software into customers. "[A] huge percentage of people who were not joining was because we were not integrated with ADT," Shakuri said.
The company is currently working on new communication capabilities in the software between a dealer and its sub-dealers. "We're looking to have it complete within quarter one [2017]," Shakuri said.
What else is on FillQuick's agenda for 2017? "Our sights are set on integrating with a couple more central stations," Shakuri said. FillQuick will also focus on data and dealer feedback to further improve the software.
Allied Universal, a national facility services company and security force with more than 150,000 employees, has acquired the security services portion of Yale Enforcement Services, Inc., a Belleville, Ill.-based company that offers a full range of solutions, including uniformed security professionals, mobile patrol, physical security and life safety. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"What we really liked about Yale is that they do very strong business in the healthcare vertical, and that business is spread throughout multiple regions," Allied Universal CEO Steve Jones told Security Systems News. "And we feel we have a variety of really good service offerings to offer in that vertical."
Yale was also looking to provide ancillary services such as electronic security systems and security technology, an area "that we are highly committed to, so we feel those customers will fit very nicely into our organization," said Jones. "Also, our service offerings that we have will not only enhance the relationship but also be something that the customers are excited about and embrace."
Yale Enforcement's 1,800-plus employees serve a range of vertical markets including healthcare, manufacturing, industrial, warehouse/distribution, commercial real estate and retail throughout the Central, Midwestern and Southern states.
"Allied Universal sets the industry standard for professionalism and we know our security services clients will be well taken care of," Barbara Yale, president and CEO, Yale Enforcement said in a prepared statement.
On the acquisition front, the company "will continue to be inquisitive in 2017," said Jones. "We plan on making at least one but hopefully two, sizable acquisitions in the security systems space by the end of the year as well."
With the mega-merger in August between Allied Barton and Universal Services of America, 2016 was a very busy and successful year for the combined companies.
"We are now fully integrated, so we are completely rebranded and integrated," said Jones. "We achieved the goal of doing that is six months and also made three other acquisitions and got some good mid-single digit organic growth, so we are pretty excited about all of that. In 2017, we project that we will end the year in 2017 somewhere between $5.2 - $5.3 billion in revenues and that is without any additional acquisitions."
Allied Universal also announced a partnership with the Clery Center, a national, non-profit training and policy organization dedicated to creating safer campus communities, to develop video-based training tools for line campus public safety personnel. The roll-call training program for campus public safety and security professionals is scheduled to be released during National Campus Safety Awareness Month in September.
As a leading security services provider to the Higher Education sector, Allied Universal services nearly 200 colleges and universities at over 500 campus locations nationwide.
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Comic 691: Shove It
The main character in today's comic loves technology so much, he wants to have sex with it, by putting it in his ass. His friend wants to clarify that he (the friend) will not put his hands up the main character's ass looking for the memory card.
I think we've all had a similar sentiment. Perhaps we did not want to put any piece of technology inside of us (I know I have never felt that need) but we all surely thought about just how much you can store in a small space, and how the capacity just goes up and up all the time. In that way, this comic is no more than comic 354, though to be fair, it at least tries to cram a joke in there. A joke about assholes. But the point is, "woah, hey, things are cool. Isn't that cool?"
Is anyone else annoyed at the inconsistency in this comic? In panel 1 he is scared to go near the thing, and then three short panels later, he's talking about fucking it. Also, I like the fact that while the character in panel 2 says "... on smaller than a dime," the art shows the drive next to some dimes, just to reinforce, yes, it is smaller than a dime! If you cannot read you can still get the point, how considerate.
Lastly, the forumites are using this as an excuse to show off how big their hard drives are, which is silly.
78 comments:
my hard drive is nine inches long and six inches in circumferenceReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:02 PM
We were talking about this with a friend earlier: WHY ARE ATHEISTS SO ANGRY AT CHRISTIANS?ReplyDelete
and we came up with this answer: they're jealous! Let's see why:
1) Atheists think they got it all figured out. Yet they live unhappy and unfullfilling lives.
2) We believe in something, while atheist believe in nothing. This is why they hate us so much.
3) We arent sad and emotionally unstable like most atheists are.
4) Girls dig us better since we have very wide social circles. Atheists have forgot how to live in society
5) We aren't the ones whining all the time about "under God". If you don't like it, GTFO my country you godless traitor douche.
6) We are more moral thus help sustain society. Atheists just ruin everything since they live a miserable existence.
7) An atheist chick would rather fuck a christian, since we aren't hateful or have the need to lash out violently.
8) We're simply cooler. Admit it, maybe it wasn't the case some 200 years ago, but nowadays being atheist sucks while being christian is cool as hell
9) Anti-god is anti-freedom. Atheists know it, but can't come to terms with it lol
10) Atheists are sexually depraved and need sick fetishes just to get aroused. How pathetic is that?
11) If you don't die a virgin, and happen to get a daughter... chances are she'll be marrying a Christian :)
I could be going on and on and on but you get the point by now. Go ahead and downvote me like a good little atheist
Enjoy being atheist, sucker :)
That same inconsistency bugged me too...more credence to the "Randall does his comics 5 minutes before deadline" theory..ReplyDelete
ok the guy who was braggin about his harddrive space said he only had 180Gb on his laptop... My Dell laptop has 250Gb and that was standard. MY DELL LAPTOP IS BIGGER THAN HIS.ReplyDelete
Now that we've let the insignificance of size settle into our minds haven't we had MicroSD cards for years? I mean my Wii has a Micro adapter so they're at least 4 years old, so why does Ravlov continue be "behind the times"?
- AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:33 PM
I'm an atheist chick and I'm always trying to fuck christians but they keep telling me "no front hugs and no kissing" does anyone know what that's about?ReplyDelete
i mean that really is the joke isn't it? that the guy is going to shove the card up his ass?ReplyDelete
surely there are better jokes to be made about dime-sized huge-memoried cards.
like say microsd cards freak him out in the same way obvious breast implants do, cos they both manage to get disconcertingy large memory(/mammaries) into a tiny body.
horrible bad pun isn't it? yeah, sorry for inflicting it on you.
but here's the thing: that took me two minutes of "lemme try and think of some joke for this..." and it is better than randy's "i am going to put this up my ass" punchline.
- AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:46 PM
To the first Anonymous: Obvious troll is obvious. *yawn*ReplyDelete
"the art shows the drive next to some dimes, just to reinforce, yes, it is smaller than a dime! If you cannot read you can still get the point, how considerate."ReplyDelete
At least he drew something else than just stick figures!! XD
(Also, had he not drawn the dimes, I can totally picture you writing "and the art!! insipid as always!!! couldn't he draw like a dime, or a library, is it too hard??")
Ya, that can only really be a troll.ReplyDelete
In other news, in my dorm after we came back to school this week, what did we have as our name things on our doors? Why none other than xkcd comics courtesy of our RA.
Now in all fairness to my RA, he did it well. On my door was the base system comic. I play baseball. On a couple guys doors that we make fun of for not being able to get with chicks was the can't find the g-spot and the bra with a rubiks cube comic. It was actually funny. It reminded me of that post by Rob though.
Julian - I think the best thing to do would have been to talk about how small it is, without explicitly comparing it to a dime in the dialog. Let the visual comparison reinforce, not repeat, what the characters are saying.ReplyDelete
Christian Anon: obvious troll is obvious, and repeating the same post from before. stoopid.
A movie from 1971 and a movie from 1988. Dialogue taken virtually verbatim from each one. No attempt at synthesis, just "Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry was bad at counting, but Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man was good at counting! Bullets!" Insipid alt-text.ReplyDelete
I don't even want to see how much the forumites love it.
Is this in honor of Kim Peek (the inspiration for Rain Man) dying recently? If so, what the fuck. If not—Jesus, that's pretty bad taste.ReplyDelete
There are definitely 21 lines in this comic.ReplyDelete
Of course, that's being generous and counting the panel borders, ignoring the gun, and treating each limb and head as a single line each.
Either way, how can you count with a detatched head?
This just in: Authorities at a loss to explain sudden unexpected surge in number of Westerns rented from video stores by college-age moviegoers who previously had no interest in them whatsoever.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 10:34 PM
"Perhaps we did not want to put any piece of technology inside of us (I know I have never felt that need)"ReplyDelete
What about giant vibrating dildos? I like to keep one nestled against my balls, and one in my ass at all times. I only remove them to change the batteries and sleep.
anonymous, we must simply accept that you and I are different people, with different tastes, and different computer-machines.ReplyDelete
Well, OBVIOUSLY all xkcd readers are Christians and all haters are atheists. I'm surprised it even had to be spelled out for you idiots.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 11:27 PM
I actually liked the latest one for the alt-text. It managed to present a sharper-than-usual "get out of my head!"-bait without it being the blunt instrument of bad punchlines.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 12:13 AM
Saw the latest comic (fIr$t!) - usual poos. MehReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Found this gem in the first post Carl quoted from the forum:ReplyDelete
"Aye. I'm perfectly satisfied with the quality of MP3 files, but given that space is not a problem, it would be nice to have a perfect quality file format. Maybe a lossless one at that."
Mp3s suck, if you can't hear the quality difference well...second, perfect quality file format=/=lossless file format? Since when? If you have a perfect file format that loses quality, tis not perfect. Conclusion: He was just talking out his ass.
Anyway, time to write my "real" essay, I don't think I could hand in a paragraph I wrote about someone who was wrong on the internet and get marks for it.
Well what? I can't hear the difference either after 128kbps.ReplyDelete
But yeah, wonderful. I also like how he's apparently oblivious to the fact that there are already lossless file formats.
And I thought *I* discovered the FLAC format way too late! Heh. I also can't tell the difference between a high bitrate MP3 file and the uncompressed file. Only once I had an album in 128kbps in which I could clearly hear all the artifacts. Now I avoid anything lower than 192.ReplyDelete
That comic gave me the creeps. Just EWW. Also, I think the jarring contrast between scared/arousal is intentional; it seems Randall was implying the guy had some sort of fetish, something almost masochistic, I dunno, something typically Randallish "LOOK AT ME I AM KINKY". The latest comic is a masterpiece by comparison; mediocre joke, nothing worth remembering, but not really offensive.
Captcha: matel. Hey! It seems they finally discovered the marketing potential of these captchas: SUBLIMINAL ADVERTISEMENT!
Is it just me, or does this comic remind anyone else of the petabyte infographic that was all over the interwebs a few weeks ago?ReplyDelete
I loved the new one, found the one this post is talking about to be not only stupid, but unfunny.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 4:34 AM
So Randall has basically told us he's autistic.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 7:31 AM
meet a giant fish!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 7:31 AM
(like a boss)ReplyDelete
what if he was afraid that it would explode and release an ENOURMOUS amount of books proportional to the sizeReplyDelete
Getting assraped by thousands of books at the same time? Hell, he'd find that a turn-on.ReplyDelete
Love the alt text on the new one xD! so when he says "people like me" does he mean regular autistic people or is he comparing himself to rain man in the comic, ie a savant?? Seeing as how counting bullets was the very thing rain man was doing in the comic, I'm going to assume the latter.ReplyDelete
Btw, I liked the actual comic, the alt text just made me cringe...ReplyDelete
So does he think that counting bullets make people special or something? I like my history teacher's take on movies with similar acts of inaccuracy. He said that the more you know about the particular subject that is portrayed in the movie, the harder it is for you to watch the movie without getting upset. I find myself constantly agreeing with that sentiment for movies with sword fighting and military movies but you kinda have to know about the guns the people are using to actually show off your great ability of being able to count bullets (not that it's hard to figure out since Harry admits he's using a 6-shooter, but he could've psyched him in to believing it was a 6 when it was actually an 8-shooter)ReplyDelete
Can anyone explain why the fuck would Dirty Harry want to shoot a harmless crazy dude who can't even tie his own shoes? The joke is just a shallow juxtaposition of two lines uttered by totally unrelated movie characters. Sorry, Randall, this is just lazy.ReplyDelete
Anon 8:06 is the new ALtF.ReplyDelete
I miss him.ReplyDelete
"Is this in honor of Kim Peek (the inspiration for Rain Man) dying recently? If so, what the fuck. If not—Jesus, that's pretty bad taste."ReplyDelete
If so, the taste is still questionable. Also, didn't Kim Peek die in December? Way to be topical and on time Randall (or did it take him an entire month to write that one joke?).
In XKCD land, Kim Peek and Clint Eastwood look exactly alike. I could tell who was Dirty Harry by the dialog, but had to look at the caption to see who Kim Peek was. It completely ruined the spontaneity of the joke.
Also, why the HELL would Rainman rob a bank? It would have made more sense if he had been in the crowd and just shouted out the answer. Then the caption could be something a bit funnier, like, "just because you know the answer to a question doesn't mean you should announce it all of the time." Of course, the comic would probably be ruined by a completely gross alt-text (e.g. "This happened to me when someone asked what S&M stood for") and the forumites ("OMG, I have also caused an awkward situation by answering a question inappropriately!").
I just realized that comic 692 reminds me of most of the jokes in Epic Movie (or Disaster Movie or Meet the Spartans, take your pick): two characters from popular movies mashed together in a nonsensical scenario just to make one crappy joke.ReplyDelete
I don't think the joke was very bad. It made me laugh. And even one or two jokes from Epic movie made me laugh. Though, most of it was terrible. No, really terrible. Comparing xkcd to that is just mean. =/ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 1:19 PM
As xkcd goes, I thought 692 was pretty good; it made me laugh.ReplyDelete
I agree with Leonard's edit though; that would've been a much better comic. After Eastwood says "shit", maybe even include a "phew" from the guy on the ground?
Who wants to make the edit into reality? :)
Wait, what anon 8:06? There's nobody who posted at 8:06, let alone an anon.ReplyDelete
Also, I just realised that the guy in 691 doesn't necessarily have to put the SD card up his ass. He could also shove it under his foreskin.ReplyDelete
jesus fred, thanks for making me cringeReplyDelete
Latest comic would have been better without the caption. He didn't even have to make specific characters, or a specific setting.ReplyDelete
I quite liked the new comic. The alt-text was horrid though. "People like me. Not people like you, you plebs. You ain't fit to lick my shoes. Not if you don't count bullets."ReplyDelete
Alt-text: "corpsesup". While I was listening to "Ghost Town"! Spooky!
Honestly I don't mind 692 that much. It's not good, but there's no sex jokes, no stalker love, and it tries to have a punchline, so that's good enough for me. It's below average, but at least it's not offensive or terrible.ReplyDelete
I'll take a below average xkcd over crap like 691 any day.
Only read the first few comments.ReplyDelete
How about this? Here's a novel idea: let people believe what they want to believe, shut up, and stop trying to criticize them for it. Unless, of course, it's ridiculous. I'm christian. Do I agree with the hardcore christians, that homosexual marriage is wrong? No! I'm all for homosexual rights. Do I think that atheists are stupid/grumpy/etc? No.
- AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 4:39 PM
Hey look, you fell into the troll's trap!ReplyDelete
Here is a little thought experiment I have come up with for 691.ReplyDelete
Imagine the comic with the gender reversed of our aroused stick figure. That is: instead of nameless male stick finding microSD sexually arousing, it is Megan.
I cannot prove this, of course, but Panel 4 would not read with the same utter terror Randy demonstrates w/r/t the penis. On the contrary, Panel 4 would be about Generic Stick-Man being incredibly turned on right now.
Which doesn't tell us much about the comic itself, of course. But it is fun to play with Randy's conceptions of gender any time it comes into play. Try it out on a bunch of XKCDs!
Here's my edit for 692:ReplyDelete
I thought about changing Dirty Harry's second line to "fuck you" but it just didn't sound right.
Leonard: nice. I was going to note that it isn't clear why Rain Man is just standing there watching, but then I realized it doesn't make a difference.ReplyDelete
I figured he was a) one of the bystanders watching the shootout (I tried adding more figures, but it just cluttered the composition) or b) Dirty Harry's new partner (actually, that would make a pretty cool action/comedy movie: a jaded veteran cop teamed up with a genius yet socially inept partner. The comic could be made into a joke about ridiculous crossovers, except, as I said, this one actually has some potential to be entertaining).ReplyDelete
Yeah, I really liked the idea of Rainman as his partner. It has a sort of Monk meets classic westerns feel about it.ReplyDelete
- Way WalkerJanuary 22, 2010 at 7:06 PM
The only change I'd make to Leonard's is the same change I'd have made to the original: Remove Harry's response. Don't change it, just remove it. It's just a speed bump on the way to the caption.ReplyDelete
I also like the idea of Rainman being Harry's partner. Also, if it were actually Monk instead of Rainman, they'd both have been inspectors from San Francisco which could add some legitimacy to the mash-up.
guys but Dirty Harry isn't a western?ReplyDelete
Yeah, I've been wondering what the whole western thing was about. I figured it's because there are a lot of bullets in westerns, but.. why not general action movies then?ReplyDelete
Well, Dirty Harry was played by Clint Eastwood, who also did a lot of Westerns. In a way, the Dirty Harry movies are modern versions of Westerns, about a single man who attempts to hold order in a lawless society.ReplyDelete
Yeah... that doesn't make it a western. Also how is that even remotely the theme of Dirty Harry?ReplyDelete
The themes of westerns include: a rugged anti-hero, gunplay, and the effect of technology on the human condition, all of which are present in the Dirty Harry films, along with a geographically western setting (the west coast).ReplyDelete
How is Dirty Harry about a single man who attempts to hold order in a lawless society? Let's take the first film: in the first half, Harry sees all sorts of crime and intervenes, often alone, to prevent it (e.g. the bank robbery). In the second half, Harry pursues the Scorpio killer. Even though he is in a crowded urban setting, he receives no support from the police force--he might as well be a lone gunslinger, the Sheriff of San Francisco.
- AnonymousJanuary 23, 2010 at 7:02 AM
I also thought Die Hard 4 was a great western.ReplyDelete
Dirty Harry is one of the first "Loose-Cannon Cop" movies out there, it is made by basically taking the ethos of the western and applying it to present day. So you are right and wrong, but mostly wrong.ReplyDelete
Come on guys, you might as well say that Mad Max 2 is a Western.ReplyDelete
Now that you mention it, Mad Max 2 sort of is a Western.ReplyDelete
But really, the whole genre debate is just a distraction. The point is: Monk+Dirty Harry=awesome.
I haven't seen Dirty Harry. Everything about it sounds like a western. It also doesn't really change the point.ReplyDelete
Oh man, it just occurred to me, there could be a whole scene where monk complains about Dirty Harry's nickname and begs him to become "Clean Harry".ReplyDelete
Everything to someone who has never seen or really read about it, that is.ReplyDelete
Mad Max 2 can't be a Western, for the same reason Dirty Harry (ostensibly) isn't a Western: It isn't set in the Frontier Expansion era of American history.ReplyDelete
But that's a very narrow conception of a western. It's like saying that Taxi Driver isn't film noir because it isn't black and white.ReplyDelete
Of course, Roger Ebert also saw parallels between Taxi Driver and some Western films, so maybe Taxi Driver is a Western too?
Perhaps we should just accept the concept of genre as a somewhat vague and arbitary way of categorizing films based on plot and cinematography and move on.
I had a few seconds free, so I edited the cartoon a bit more.ReplyDelete
Now it's Monk and the unnecessary "shit" is gone.
But the whole "___. Definitely ___." is the stock phrase for Rain Man impersonation, not Monk impersonation.ReplyDelete
And Ann Apolis:
Rather than "people like me" would you rather have Randal going all, "people like you and me, dear reader, for we have so very much in common."
It would be even better if there were some visual way to tell who the characters are without the bottom caption (i.e., if they weren't just stick figures). It wouldn't exactly take a world-class artist to draw Rain Man or Monk identifiably, and you can tell it's Dirty Harry from the dialogue anyway.ReplyDelete
But this is Randall, who is convinced that any joke can be told in the format of a stick-figure comic, regardless of how much additional awkward text he needs in order to explain it.
"...for we have so very much in common. Like, perhaps, the bed we shall sleep in tonight? *spritz*"ReplyDelete
"...for we have so very much in common. Like, perhaps... cunnilingus??? *wink*"ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 23, 2010 at 6:16 PM
"It would be better if there were some visual wa to tell who the characters are without the bottom caption..."ReplyDelete
Yeah, but then the xkcd fanboys would have no way of knowing what to Google so they can feel self-righteous when they're in on the joke! You can't Google a picture!
- AnonymousJanuary 23, 2010 at 6:17 PM
google gogglesReplyDelete
You can't googlegoggle stickmen!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 24, 2010 at 8:35 AM
hey guys lets focus on the small subset of a movie's themes that fits our self-made definition of 'western' and ignore everything that doesn't fit the definition to explain that every movie is a western.ReplyDelete
who the hell is leonard and where has he been all these years. he needs to stick around, i think we can all agree. For the "Clean Harry" joke alone.ReplyDelete
First of all, I'm pretty sure that this exact deal was covered, pretty explicitly and at length, by The Chronicles of Narnia.ReplyDelete
Second, this article is way, way, way cooler than anything Randall has done, and I just read this article like last night. GOOMH RANDALL I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE HERO'S JOURNEY TOO!

subset: commoncrawl


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Dalton Carpet One Supports Community Dancing with the Stars Events
Dalton Carpet One Floor & Home has been all about dancing this spring. Their support of Dancing with the Athens Stars and Dancing with the Lake Oconee Stars has helped their community in many ways.
Dancing with the Athens Stars supports Project Safe - a 501c3 non profit organization working to end domestic violence through prevention and educational programs, crisis intervention, ongoing supportive services for survivors of domestic violence and their children, and advocacy/ systems change work in our community.
Dancing with the Lake Oconee Stars supports First Call Pregnancy Center which provides a compassionate and confidential environment with caring advocates to confirm pregnancy and to share information about positive choices and resources.
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The Multicore Association announced its Multicore Programming Practices (MPP) guide to provide developers with a detailed set of best practices for writing multicore-ready embedded software. The MPP guide outlines how to migrate applications to multicore platforms with shares industry-proven techniques that promise to reduce development costs.
NOTE: The 114-page PDF guide is easy enough to download, but does require online registration and the user must submit his/her name, email, and note the application they are working on.
The association explains its rationale for publishing this guide by saying that the software developer today is responsible for achieving increasing performance gains when upgrading processors.
"Developers must implement significant software modifications, which involves program analysis and rethinking the design, debug, and performance optimizations. Under tight deadlines, many developers continue to use C/C++ rather than learn a new parallel programming language or rearchitect the application to support widespread concurrency. As a result, many developers adopt an evolutionary approach that uses existing programming tools and technology," says the association.
This new guide includes best practices for writing multicore-ready software using C/C++ without extensions, so that applications can be more easily compiled across a range of multicore processor platforms. The MPP guide is also intended to serve as a framework for transitioning from serial to parallel applications and provides common pitfalls, possible solutions, and "avoidance tactics" to reduce bugs and minimize debugging efforts.
"While the industry continues to make important long-term research into new programming languages and methodologies, the MPP guide tackles how existing embedded C/C++ code may be written to be 'multicore ready' today," said Multicore Association president Markus Levy.
NOTE: Four years ago, the Multicore Association formed The Multicore Programming Practices working group to develop a multicore software-programming guide that would improve consistency and understanding of multicore programming issues.
"One of the major things that distinguishes this guide from all other multicore books is that it was written by committee. The industry experts who make up the MPP working group worked together to ensure completeness, usefulness, and industry-wide compatibility that will help save development time and costs while easing the industry's move to even higher-core platforms," added Levy.


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First United Methodist Church
Friday, April 19, 2019
By Our Actions We Will Share Christ's Love
Extended Table
Date: Thursday, December 13, 2018
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Fellowship Hall
Our Church hosts the Extended Table. The Extended Table is not only for the homeless; many of those attending each night have a job, but for what ever reason, need a warm meal. Those in attendance not only include men and women, but an occasional family needing fed as well. With the struggling economic times,our numbers just keep getting larger and larger. In the past year, we have gone from serving 40-50 people to 75-90 during the winter months!Previous Page


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Please help us! Donate
Key Votes
HR 5851 - "Whistleblower Protection" for Offshore Oil Workers - National Key Vote
Phil Hare voted Yea (Passage) on this Legislation.
Read statements Phil Hare made in this general time period.
Issues Related to HR 5851
Stage Details
Legislation -
Bill Passed
(315-93) -
July 30, 2010(Key vote)
See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: "Whistleblower Protection" for Offshore Oil Workers
Vote Result
Yea Votes
Nay Votes
Vote to pass a bill that establishes "whistleblower protections" for individuals engaged in work on or in waters above the Outer Continental Shelf.
- Defines "employee" as an individual performing services, or applying to perform services, on behalf of an employer that is engaged in activities on or in waters above the Outer Continental Shelf related to 1 of the following (Sec. 3):
- Exploration, development, production, processing, or transportation of oil or gas; or
- Oil spill cleanup, emergency response, environmental surveillance, protection, restoration, or other oil spill activities related to occupational safety and health.
- Prohibits employers from terminating or discriminating against an employee because the employee did any of the following (Sec. 2):
- Providing, causing to provide, or being about to provide to the employer or a federal or state government official information on any act or omission that the employee "reasonably believes" to be a violation of any provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.);
- Exercising any rights provided to employees under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act;
- Testifying, assisting, or participating in a proceeding, including a Congressional hearings, concerning an alleged violation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act;
- Reporting an illness, injury, or "unsafe condition" related to the employer's activities to the employer or a state or federal government official;
- Refusing to perform duties, or exercising stop work authority, if the employee had a "good faith belief" that performing such duties could result injury, impairment of health, or cause an oil spill, meaning a "reasonable" individual under the same circumstance would conclude there is such a hazard; or
- Objecting to, or refusing to participate in any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the employee "reasonably" believes to be in violation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
- Authorizes employees to file complaint with the Secretary of Labor alleging a termination or discrimination in violation of the aforementioned prohibitions within 180 days of the alleged violation or the date on which he or she "should reasonably have known" about the violation, and requires the Secretary to initiate an investigation within 90 days of receiving a complaint to determine if there is "reasonable cause" that a violation has occurred (Sec. 2).
- Requires the Secretary of Labor or, if a hearing is requested, an administrative judge to order employers to do the following if it is determined that a violation occurred (Sec. 2):
- Take affirmative action to abate the violation;
- Reinstate the employee to his or her former position together with compensation (including back pay and prejudgment interest), and restore the terms, conditions, and privileges associated with his or her employment; and
- Provide compensatory and consequential damages, and exemplary damages if the judge determines it's appropriate.
- Authorizes employers to request a hearing before an administrative law judge of the Department of Labor if the Secretary of Labor concludes that there is "reasonable cause" that a violation has occurred within 30 days of such determination, and requires the judge to issue findings within 90 days of the receipt of a request for a hearing (Sec. 2).
- Authorizes employers to appeal a determination made by the Secretary of Labor or an administrative judge of the Department of Labor that a violation had occurred, and authorizes the Secretary to designate such an appeal to a review board (Sec. 2).
- Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to require an employee pay the employer's attorney fees if the Secretary determines the complaint to be "frivolous" or to have been brought in "bad faith," provided that such payment does not exceed $1,000 (Sec. 2).
Legislation - Introduced (House) - July 26, 2010
Title: "Whistleblower Protection" for Offshore Oil Workers
- George Miller (CA - D) (Out Of Office)
- Mazie K. Hirono (HI - D) (Out Of Office)
- Edward J. 'Ed' Markey (MA - D) (Out Of Office)
- Brad J. Sherman (CA - D)


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Footstar, Inc. is a leading footwear retailer. The Company offers a broad assortment of branded athletic footwear and apparel through it's athletic concept, Footaction and it's website, www.footaction.com. and discount family footwear through licensed footwear departments operated by Meldisco, with multiple locations in Kmart and Walmart stores. As of March 18, 2004, the Company operates 350 Footaction stores and over 4,000 Meldisco licensed footwear departments across the country and most recently opening new concept stores called Shoe Zone. Check out Footstar at www.footstar.com
Instructions: Click on the "Position Details" links to see more and Apply Now!
→ Criteria: State:PA>City:Harrisburg
→ Time: 0.0014 seconds


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Spectrum Air Conditioning and Refrigeration…
prides itself on service. As a family owned and operated company, the team at Spectrum works endlessly to ensure the satisfaction of each and every customer. Spectrum Air Conditioning and Refrigeration is a Trane Comfort Specialist, which means that they are committed to being the best in installation, service, customer satisfaction and employee training. The team at Spectrum is constantly keeping up to date with the latest technology, so that you receive a system designed to maximize efficiency, reliability and comfort.
The technicians at Spectrum Air Conditioning and Refrigeration are NATE Certified and have passed rigorous testing to ensure that they are the best in their field. Also, all of the technicians at Spectrum are required to participate in the Tri-County Apprenticeship Academy, to further their expertise.
Serving all of Collier, Lee and Charlotte Counties, Spectrum Air Conditioning and Refrigeration specializes in both residential and commercial service and installation. You can rely on Spectrum for a wide array of services including maintenance agreements, repair, high-efficiency replacements, duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, commercial refrigeration, and ice machine installation and repair.
Call Spectrum Air Conditioning and Refrigeration the next time you need assistance with Air Conditioning Fort Myers, at (877) 543-2542. Breathe the Difference!


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Product Highlights
The Countryman Isomax 2 All Purpose Microphone is a miniature and versatile favorite that is well suited for capturing instruments, choir groups, stage performances, ambient audio and much more. The Isomax 2 delivers excellent gain before feedback for maximum performance and minimal noise on stage and in noisy environments.
As an instrument microphone, the Isomax 2 captures brass, strings, percussion and wind instruments with pristine results. For capturing ambiance and group vocals, the microphone rejects off-axis noise and feedback with exceptional results.
A wide variety of connections are available for use with various wireless transmitters. This version features a Switchcraft TA4-Female connector for Toa wireless transmitters.
|Polar Pattern
|Frequency Response
|20Hz to 20kHz
|Dynamic Range (Typical)
|Not Specified by Manufacturer
|Signal-to-Noise Ratio
|25dB SPL A-weighted
|Maximum Input Sound Level
|150dB SPL @ 1% THD
|Power Requirements
|6 to 50 Volts @ 4 mA. Voltages below 24V will result in reduced overload SPL
|Output Impedance
|600 Ohms balanced +/- 2% balanced, transformerless
|Output Connectors
|Switchcraft TA4-Female Connector for Toa Bodypack Transmitters
|Low Frequency Roll-Off
|0.31 x 63 x 0.15" (8 x 16 x 4mm) (WxLxD)
|Not Specified by Manufacturer
|Packaging Infocyfvztwssavzzbwx
|Package Weight
|0.5 lb
|Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
|10.0 x 10.0 x 2.0"


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Mclaren Gearbox is one of best design ideas of the years. The Mclaren Gearbox has been created with briliant ideas, beautiful combined colors and follow trend of modern home architecture, so the Mclaren Gearbox will give you the real of home designs and interior decorating characteristic.
Mclaren Gearbox picture is in category McLaren that can use for individual and noncommercial purpose because All trademarks referenced here in are the properties of their respective owners. You can browse other picture of Mclaren Gearbox in our galleries below. If you want to see other picture, you can browse our other category.


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Creating a beautiful home for yourself is a challenging task. Even if you do manage to find something affordable, it lacks the originality that you crave. Well now, thanks to Sietto cabinet hardware, you can update your home in a bold and beautiful way, secure in the knowledge that your home will be unique. Sietto specializes in crafting designer glass cabinet hardware for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and more. Here are a few ways to implement this exclusive cabinet hardware into your home or office.
Colors make all the difference in room décor, and Sietto knows it. That's why their glass cabinet knobs and pulls come in a rainbow of color options that are rich, bright and full. A warm color scheme will enjoy a set of glass cabinet knobs in garnet, amber or marigold. For a cooler palette, choose glass cabinet pulls in glacier blue, aqua or turquoise Alternatively, if your décor could use a little bit more personality, use a set of glass cabinet pulls or knobs with speckled, creamy or mardi gras designs to really add some pizzazz. Whichever you opt for, you'll love the way glass cabinet knobs and pulls enhance the entire room effortlessly.
Choose glass cabinet knobs if you want to make a subtle statement of style and add a bit of color. On the other hand, if you want to really draw attention to your furniture piece, let glass cabinet pulls do your job for you. Because Sietto glass cabinet pulls are longer, they can really create, tie together and carry a theme for an entire room. This stunning cabinet hardware also comes in a choice of textured or smooth. Choose the glass cabinet knobs or pulls that feels nicest against your grip and that go best with the overall feel of the room.
So whether you love the petite treat of a set of glass cabinet knobs or want to the firm grip of a pull set, Sietto glass cabinet hardware will help you do it all in style. With quality and customer satisfaction as top priorities, you can be sure that each set of glass cabinet pulls and knobs will last you for decades. Stop envying your neighbors' kitchen, and start designing a dream home for yourself. Order your own Sietto glass cabinet hardware today, and experience the difference beautiful cabinet hardware can make.


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4 Top Design Trends for 2017
Terracotta, tuxedo, cork and kilim. These four design trends are expected to flood Pinterest boards and interiors in 2017. From the latest issue of our digital home design magazine, Beautiful Design Made Simple, we've compiled our favorite pins inspired by these top trends.
From terracotta tiling to terracotta-clad walls, the distinct coloring of the naturally-derived earthenware adds instant warmth and dimension to any space. So distinct, in fact, that even a little bit of this beautiful hue can make a big difference within a room. So if new paint or tiling isn't in the cards, don't worry, you can expect to see an increasing amount of terracotta-inspired decor items from home design retailers throughout the year.
via Joanna Glogaza + Colleen Terry
Elegant, simple and balanced, tuxedo kitchens offer homeowners a classic look with striking, contemporary contrast. The classic combo also compliments another rising trend in kitchen & bath - mixed metals. From lighting to plumbing to hardware, designers and homeowners alike are experimenting with finish combinations such as the popular matte black and brass.
via Emily Faith + One Kings Lane
With natural textiles and materials continuing to gain popularity in interior design, it's no surprise that cork has been positioned as one of 2017's top trends for interiors. We just LOVE this cork wall both for its visual appeal and practicality. This design is perfectly suited to an office, kitchen or kids room space, but don't discriminate! This trend can be incorporated just about anywhere. Other ways to include cork within the home? Flooring, of course. If new floors are on your 2017 to-do list, don't make the mistake of not considering cork. The super-resilient, super-supportive flooring product is not only gorgeous, it's eco-friendly and naturally hypoallergenic.
via Lidewij Smeur + Apartment Therapy
Boasting unique geometric patterns and remarkable coloring, kilim print adds head-turning interest to any space. Not comfortable with bold print or color? Start small. Purchase a single throw pillow like the beautiful piece below and display within a neutral room. We promise, this small touch of kilim won't disappoint. Feeling brave? Purchase a runner for your hall or kitchen. Again, it's nearly impossible to go wrong with this traditional print!
via Domino Magazine + Lindsay Marcella
Can't get enough of trends? We're with you. Read through the entire 2017 Trends Issue of Beautiful Design Made Simple to browse over 100 design trends that are set to define interiors this year. Or, head to our 2017 Design Trends Board on Pinterest to save these ideas and many more for your home.
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Nov. 5, 2012
Major Nidal Hasan
On this date in 2009, army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan kills 13 people and wounds 32 in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Early in the afternoon of November 5, Major Hasan, armed with two pistols, allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is great") and then opened fire at a crowd inside a Fort Hood processing center where soldiers who were about to be deployed overseas or were returning from deployment received medical screenings. The massacre, which left 12 service members and one Department of Defense employee dead, lasted approximately 10 minutes before Hasan was shot by civilian police and taken into custody.
The Virginia-born Hasan, the son of Palestinian immigrants, entered active military duty following his 1995 graduation from Virginia Tech University. In 2003, he completed his psychiatry training at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, and went on to work at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., treating soldiers returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder. In May 2009, he was promoted to the rank of major in the Army, and that July, was transferred to Fort Hood.
The motivation for the massacre remains unclear. At the time of the shootings, Hasan was facing deployment to a combat zone in Afghanistan or Iraq, about which he apparently had voiced reluctance. Several years prior to the attack, Hasan told relatives he wanted to leave the Army, where he believed he was harassed for being a Muslim. In the aftermath of the shootings, reviews by the Pentagon and a U.S. Senate panel found Hasan's superiors had continued to promote him despite the fact that concerns had been raised over his behavior, which suggested he had become a radical and potentially violent Islamic extremist. Among other things, he reportedly publicly defended Osama bin Laden and said America's war on terror was really a war against Islam. Prior to the Fort Hood rampage, government authorities reportedly also learned Hasan had repeated communication with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and proponent of violent jihad against America; however, this information about Hasan was apparently not reported to the Army. Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of shots fired at him by police attempting to stop his rampage, remains in a Texas jail awaiting trial.
Award winning author Michael Thomas Barry is a graduate of the California State University, Fullerton with degrees in Criminal Justice and History. His works include Final Resting Places Orange County's Dead & Famous (2010); Fade to Black Graveside Memories of Hollywood Greats 1927-1959 (2011); Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California 1849-1949 (2012); Great Britain's Royal Tombs: A Guide to the Lives and Burial Places of British Monarchs (2012). He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America. Michael resides in Orange, California. Visit his official website for more information – www.michaelthomasbarry.com
His true crime book Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California 1849-1949 can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble through the following links –


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Homilies are now available to download and listen to!
As part of our answering the challenge of the Holy Father to go out and evangelize utilizing new technologies, we're now offering the homily each week for download. Clicking the link to the homily should download it and automatically start it playing in whatever music player your computer is set up with.
On the technical side, the file sizes are about 5 megs which means it may a minute or two to download on slower Internet connections. It is also an MP3 formatted file which means that these are essentially podcasts. Don't worry if all the technical words don't mean much to you. It means we're using the latest in technology in order to make sure our church parish can reach the most people.
The current week's homily is available on a link on the front page of the website next to the link for the current week's bulletin. On the page with the prior bulletins, the corresponding homily will be sitting side by side with its bulletin. We started on the anniversary of the start of the Catholic Church, Pentecost Sunday --- just over one year ago. This week, the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is our seventy-third podcast to be posted. This week, the homily is given by Father James Brady, our new pastor.
So, take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to download the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time homily from St. Landry Catholic Church, Opelousas, Louisiana.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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I have heard rumors of Turkey being visited.
Amazing RaceNovember 6, 2008 in généralAnd for those of you who are fans of the show, the Romania episode will be full of classics: gymnasts, gypsies, and vampires. Through some connections of mine here, I found out that the cast travels to nearby Bran Castle, engages in a challenge that included coffins and stakes, and visits a gypsy village (possibly in search of a clue). Of course, some of it plays off of the cultural myths about Romania. There is no question that some Romanians are interested in selling vampire kitsch to spook-seeking tourists, regardless of the relative lack of native tradition actually concerning the monsters. Much of the rest of the population at least tolerates it. And The Amazing Race clearly aims to take advantage.But the show exploits more than the vampire legend. The most intriguing element of The Amazing Race episode in Romania relates to the gypsy village, which was, strangely, a fake. Constructed specially for the show in an area with a relatively low gypsy population, the artificial village was populated with ethnic Romanians dressed up in gypsy attire. Yes, even the supposed gypsies were impostors, as authentic as their costumes may have appeared. All this was done for the benefit of a reality television show. And tourism, of course.
Quote from: Kiwi Jay on November 09, 2008, 12:57:45 PMcould do 4. Doubt it though!! The f/f team are african american. Are they or is it just the photo!I can't tell Kiwi... In this one she sort of looks African American:
could do 4. Doubt it though!! The f/f team are african american. Are they or is it just the photo!
They were definitely not African American. I would guess that they were mid- to late- twenties, but it was getting dark so I could be totally off. The one in the pink had brown hair, the other had lighter hair, but not blond. The one in the pink dropped her water bottle, which was white. The camera man got the drop and the pick up on film, then they all started off again. They were totally heading the wrong way, convinced that lights on a pond area must be lighting the Pitstop. It took them a good five minutes to figure out where they really needed to be.
I worry that Michael will pre-jinx them
I took this picture too, I believe these are the cars they were driving. The dates that they were there: Nov 2nd and 3rd. Glad to be a help!
Quote from: puddin on November 09, 2008, 09:49:06 PMI worry that Michael will pre-jinx them NOT SAYING A WORD.(until I see their pictures and decide which one is hottest)Geez, what's with everybody turning all the threads into the michael is a curse thread tongiht lmao
For those who have not been to Salzburg (and even those that have), the Travel Channel from 12:00 to 12:30pm today is reprising the Salzburg episode of Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe. I don't remember it that well from an earlier viewing, but all of these Passport to Europe episodes follow a formula that is pretty good.
LocarnoSalzburgRomaniaSomewhere in AsiaSomewhere Else in AsiaHong KongBaliAlice Springs, AustraliaCanberra, AustraliaChristchurch, New ZelandWellington New ZealandU.S. Finish
By the way, mention some spoilers for The Amazing Race on your blog and watch your traffic double.
That would truly be a nightmare spoiling opportunity. Fixed!
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text: The selection of French nineteenth-century painting focuses on the Impressionists and their forerunners. The Kunsthaus collection includes at least one important painting by Géricault, Delacroix, Corot, Courbet and Manet. The Blacksmith, originally a shop sign, combines baroque passion with the revolutionary pathos of Géricault's best works to create one of the earliest depictions of the humble craftsman as heroic individual.


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These pictures are supposed to point out the extent of the aesthetical damage caused by the overpaint and the consequence of the restoration treatments:
On the first picture only half of the original paint is exposed. The old damages become clearly visible in shape of white areas of paint loss on the upper row of panels. Likewise, the varying degrees of discoloration of the panels are clearly visible. The restoration work, that is the puttying and the retouching, of the second panel from left in the middle row has been completed. To the right and the left of this panel are reproductions on paper – the originals were at that time in the process of being restored. The intermediate state already shows how coloration and spatial effects have changed: the background is clearly light blue and the green leaves have become more rich in nuances and volumes. It also comes apparent how heavily discolored the overpaint was and how it adulterated the coloration.
On the second picture all overpaint has been taken off, except for the upper left corner. After the removal the change in color is even more apparent. Just as obvious are the heavily abraded areas of the lower panels. These damages are the remains from the time between 1934 and 1960 when the painting was situated in the Mascotte-bar.


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Why don't you guy's try skiing together?
Nope. You've accused me of a falsehood - and that's the truth, for sure.
Forget it. Hijack of this topic is over.Mo wants to open another? Feel free.
Oh good...now taunt me! I can't join you due to medications
Hijacking the thread? Hardly. Racism and slavery go together like mom and apple pie (at least in America).
Yes, however you guys aren't debating slavery, but Honest Abe's role in it's abolition. Another topic for another thread.
when one has been the target of overt racial hatred and violence- and I have been.
Try being a black man in America or anywhere really.
To me the above statement is from the mind of a real bonifide racist....a bigot. This is a sick individual who has no God and thus need our prayers.
As casualties mounted, Lincoln considered ending slavery one of the larger purposes the war might serve.
To make the general statement that such racism is not of God, in that the claim does not condemn any specific person explicitly, is a fair statement to make. To claim, however, that a specific person, Abraham Lincoln, is a "sick individual who has no God" and is therefore headed to hell unless God has mercy on him in answer to our prayers, all because he meets your definition of a racist, is a condemnation of a person. Neither you nor I can properly make this judgment, for only God is qualified to judge the hearts of men. Maybe this is why Jesus commanded us in the Sermon on the Mount to not judge anyone in this way.
Yes, because he needed Britain and France's unflagging support. As did the South, hence both sides' movements towards abolition.Sad that the *only* reason slavery got abolished, in the end, was because one group of white men wanted to punish another group of white men by forcing them back into a Union at bayonet-point and decided to add insult to injury by promising all former slaves forty acres and a mule.
Similar paralels could be draw surrounding Constantine`s legalization of Christianity . He (Constantine) clearly had his doubts.
Who`s to say God is precluded from political expediency?
The Constitution is a wonderful document, and, while I think it should be followed as closely as possible, it ain't holy writ.
Okay, firstly Abe wasn't President in 1858. I'll defer to the rest of GiC's response to point out the historical inaccuracies. Most american corporations, even the major ones, were not around in the 1850's or 1860's. Historical inaccuracies, while not nullifying your argument, make one less likely to hear you out.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now, as to racism:I'm including 4 dictionary definitions for racism; all of them have the same 1st point (racism by thought or belief) and second/third points (racism in action). Only the second points are illegal. The first points can be considered immoral (I would qualify them as such), just be careful - we have to be just as hard on someone who is a racist in thought or belief, as we are on one who hates the poor, or the ill, or infirm, or family, etc.(1) rac·ism /ˈreɪsɪzəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rey-siz-uhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation–noun1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.[Origin: 1865–70; < F racisme. See race2, -ism] Racism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved September 06, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Racism(2) rac·ism (rā'sĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key n. 1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.rac'ist adj. & n. Racism. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved September 06, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Racism(3) racismnoun1. the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races 2. discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race Racism. (n.d.). WordNet® 3.0. Retrieved September 06, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Racism(4) racismThe belief that some races are inherently superior (physically, intellectually, or culturally) to others and therefore have a right to dominate them. In the United States, racism, particularly by whites against blacks, has created profound racial tension and conflict in virtually all aspects of American society. Until the breakthroughs achieved by the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, white domination over blacks was institutionalized and supported in all branches and levels of government, by denying blacks their civil rights and opportunities to participate in political, economic, and social communities.[Chapter:] American PoliticsRacism. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved September 06, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Racism
Gardening?....... Quilting?......
And can I just add, dear Amdetsion, that no one knows better than the dispossessed that "we have no abiding city here, but we seek the one which is to come." (hebrews 13:14)
A very good point. The Constitution is a wonderful document, and, while I think it should be followed as closely as possible, it ain't holy writ.
Do you know what happens to refugees who come to Australia Tamara? They are kept in "Manditory Detention Centers" (prisons in other words), often for years, while their refugee status is determined. They have fled wars, persecution, torture and death only to be locked in prison. I work part-time with "TATS" ("Torture and Trauma Survivors") and have met people who have fled war-torn countries like Sudan and Afganistan where their homes were destroyed and their land taken away, and have sailed on rickety boats through terrible seas, have been attacked by pirates (yes, they still exist) who have raped and robbed them, and when they finally reach what they think is safe land, they are locked up in prison.
Mandatory detention has only come in to being in the last 10 years. The detention centres were actually bulit by and are run by US companies- yes, we contract out our prisons! They are in clear breach of UN Conventions, to which Australia is a signatory. Here is some of what our own Justices, Former Prime Ministers, Church Leaders etc have to say about them: http://www.safecom.org.au/detention.htm
Who came up with the idea and how did it get approved?
Dear George,Some of my Palestinian friends would understand. They were driven out from their homes in Israel. Their homes were bull-dozed, their olives orchards destroyed. Sadly, even when they come to America they are not always treated well. One Palestinian woman came to church one day and as she stepped out her car was spat upon by the woman who lived next door to the church. She was an immigrant from China who hated all Arabs. She then told the Palestinian woman to go back to the middle east.
Sounds like Australia has had an 'open-door' policy for too long
You think so? Yet again you make assumptions without knowing what you're talking about."White Australia Policy" was legislation here from 1901 and was not abolished until 1973. You couldn't migrate to Australia under the WAP unless you were white.
Amazing.I was walking down the street near the mall in Washington DC with a few other Ethiopians and we passed a group of Chineese tourist who proceeded to toss garbage on the ground in our path. One person with us was only in the US visiting and really did not understand what had happened. She thought that the people were just very poor with public cleanliness. When we told her that she was right but what the greater intention was she went ballistic.Maybe this women was with them.
They came to United States where they thought they would be safe.......Fortunately, the church communities around the parish rallied around them in support
since 1973. What happened before then is ancient history...
I took this photo during a protest outside a Mandatory Detention Centre organised by the National Council of Churches two years ago:
George, I may be wrong, but I get the distinct feeling that you are quite an activist.
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