text:
The philosophy of CCA is to precisely define the rules for constructing
components and to specify the required behavior a component must exhibit
and the interface between components and the Framework. However,
very little is said about the way the Framework is constructed or the way
the user interacts with the Framework to connect components together.
The reason
for this is that there will be many different Framework that can be used in very different situations. Some Frameworks will be designed to optimize the use of components that are distributed across a wide-area Grid. In other cases, the Framworks will be designed to optimize the composition of components that run on a single, massively parallel supercomputer.
The goal is to provide a stardard way that a component can be built
so that it may be reused in any number of CCA compliant Frameworks.
What makes a CCA Framework compliant is that it implements the framework
described below.
A CCA component is an entity that is defined by two types of public
surface features: "provides" ports and "uses" ports.
Depending on the framework, one or more provides ports may be connected
to a single uses port and a provides port may be "provided" to one or more
Uses ports. In general, if a uses-port has a member function that
returns a value, the number of providers will be restricted to be one.
Furthermore, in these cases, there must be a connected provider for the
component to
operate correctly. In frameworks that support "direct connect", for those connections that are restricted to be one-to-one, the framework may actually supply the provides port object reference "directly" as the connected uses port. In these cases there is only one function call between a user and a provider.
The official specification language of CCA is the Scientific Interface
Definition Language (Sidl). The Sidl specification of PortInfo is
given by:
package CCA{
interface PortInfo{ string getType(); string getName(); void setType(in string type); void setName(in string name); string toString();
PortInfo simply binds a text string name of a port with the the fully qualified name of the service interface it implements. Port interfaces are specified in SIDL and then translated to the target component implementaton language. For example, a port of type FooInterface from the module gov.doe.llnl.foostuff and that has a single member function foo that takes an integer and returns a float might be defined in SIDL as
package gov.doe.llnl.foostuff{
interface FooInterface extends Port{
float foo(in integer x);
A SIDL compiler will translate this specification into a java interface, a C++ abstract class or a set of c or Fortran functions.
A default implementation of PortInfo, called DefaultPortInfo is provided
by each CCA compliant framework with a constructor of the form
public class DefaultPortInfo implements PortInfo { public DefaultPortInfo(String portName, String portType){ ... } public String getType(){ ... } public String getName(){ ... } ...
A java programmer wishing to describe a port with name "myFooPort" and type FooInterface would create a PortInfo object by a call of the form
PortInfo p = new DefaultPortInfo("myFooPort", "gov.doe.llnl.foostuff.FooInterface");
When a component is instantiated by the Famework, it is provided with an instance of an object that implements the components interface to the Framework. This is called the "Services" object and it is used by the component to tell the framework about the ports that it provides and uses. It is also through ports that the framework is allowed access to the standard services provided by the framework for the components use. The Sidl interface to the Services object is given by
package CCA{
interface Services {
array<PortInfo,1> getProvidesPorts();
array<PortInfo,1> getUsesPorts();
Port getPort(in string name);
void registerUsesPort(in PortInfo name_and_type);
void addProvidesPort(in ProvidesPort inPort, in PortInfo name);
void releasePort(in string name);
void addConnectionListener(in ConnectionListener l); // proposed deletion [1]
ComponentID getComponentID(); // proposed addition [2]
Provides Ports are provided by the component. The component may implement the provides port itself or it may allocate an object that implements the provides port. In either case, to tell the framework that a specific provides port is available, the component must call addProvidesPort( ) with the reference to the port instance and a PortInfo object naming and describing its
Uses ports are named and specified by the component, but manufactured by the Framework. To tell the framwork that the component plans to use a port of a particular name and type it calls registerUsesPort().
The getProvidesPorts() and getUsesPorts() return an array of PortInfo objects that describe the current port objects the component supports.
To obtain the actual reference to the uses port (or its proxy), the
component calls getPort() with the port name. If that uses
port has not been previously registered with a call to registerUsesPort()
or addProvidesPort(), the getPort() call with throw an exception.
If the uses port requires a connected provides port and the connection
has not yet been made, the getPort() operation
will suspend until the operation is complete OR it will return with a null reference. A good component programmer will always check the returned value of getPort.
When a uses port has been used by the component, it should call releasePort(). This allows the framework the ability to provide a runtime substitution of one provider for another.
Each time the framework makes a connection or disconnect between a uses
port and a provides port, the framework will emit two events.
One event is delivered components at the ends of the connection (user
and provider), telling the component the name of the port that was connected
and the type of port and name of the port to it was connected/disconnected.
This information is delivered as a CCAConnectionEvent which is described
class ConnectionEvent extends FrameworkSpecific_Event {
void setSource(in string source);
string getSource();
};The connection event delivers the connection information as an xml record in a string available through the function getSource(). If a component is interested in seeing these events it must provide an object that implements
interface ConnectionListener{
void connectionActivity(in ConnectionEvent evt);
and call the services function addConnectionListener(in ConnectionListener l);
[1] It should be noted that the connetion even specification above and the addConnectionListener may be replaced by a more general event model in the near future.
[2] To simplify the design of future service additions,
it is necessary to extract a form of proxy reference to a component that
will allow other components and services know about the port names and
types the component has. The getComponentID() function
returns an object of type:
interface ComponentID{ array<PortInfo,1> getProvidesPorts(); array<PortInfo,1> getUsesPorts(); };Note that a ComponentID object only provides accessor methods and cannot be used to modify the component or access framework specific implementation details. This object, when serialized, can reside in instance registries and it is the handle that can be used by services which are implemented as CCA components to refer to other components. A component is allowed to access its own ComponentID which it may then pass to services or components that implement services.
Each CCA component must implement the Component interface.
package CCA{
interface Component {
void setServices(in Services cc);
The component must also have a null constructor.
The setServices() function is called by the framework after the component has been instantiated. The components behavior during the setServices invocation is very prescribed. The component saves the passed reference to the services object as a private instance variable. Prior to returning from the setServices() call, the component must instantiate and add all its initial Provides ports and register all its initial uses ports using this instance variable. Components may dynamically add new ports later, but this will cause a newPortEvent to be generated by the framework. Components cannot delete ports.
The way the framwork notifies a component to shut down is to call the
setServices() with a null value. When such an invocation of setServices
completes, it is safe for the Framework to garbage collect the component.
Below we list the complete SIDL spec described above and the bindings of this specification to C++ and Java.
package CCA {
class FrameworkSpecific_Event {};
class ConnectionEvent extends FrameworkSpecific_Event { void setSource(in string source); string getSource(); };
interface ConnectionListener{ void connectionActivity(in ConnectionEvent evt); };
interface Port { };
interface PortInfo{ string getType(); string getName(); void setType(in string type); void setName(in string name); string toString(); };
interface Services { array<PortInfo,1> getProvidesPorts(); array<PortInfo,1> getUsesPorts(); Port getPort(in string name); void registerUsesPort(in PortInfo name_and_type); void addProvidesPort(in ProvidesPort inPort, in PortInfo name); void releasePort(in string name); void addConnectionListener(in ConnectionListener l); // proposed deletion ComponentID getComponentID(); // proposed addition };
interface Component { void setServices(in Services cc); };
// ComponentID proposed addition
interface ComponentID{ array<PortInfo,1> getProvidesPorts(); array<PortInfo,1> getUsesPorts(); };
}; // end package CCA
package cca;
public interface Port{}
public interface PortInfo { public String getType(); public String getName(); public void setName(String n); public void setType(String t); public String toString(); }
public interface Services { public PortInfo[] getProvidesPorts() throws Exception; public PortInfo[] getUsesPorts() throws CCAException; public void addProvidesPort(Port inPort, PortInfo name) throws CCAException; public void registerUsesPort(PortInfo name); public Port getPort(String name) throws CCAException; public void releasePort(String name); public void addCCAConnectionListener(CCAConnectionListener l); public ComponentID getComponentID(); }
public interface Component { public void setServices(Services cc); }
public class ConnectionVetoException extends CCAException { public ConnectionVetoException() { ... } public ConnectionVetoException(String s) { ... } }
public interface ConnectionListener { public void connectionActivity(ConnectionEvent evt); }
public class ConnectionEvent extends EventObject { public ConnectionEvent(String source) { ... } void setSource(String source); String getSource(); }
public interface ComponentID{ public PortInfo[] getProvidesPorts() throws Exception; public PortInfo[] getUsesPorts() throws CCAException; }
namespace cca;
#define Cfree #define Cdelete
class Port{ public: virtual ~Port(){} };
class PortInfo{ public: virtual ~PortInfo(){} virtual CONST char* getType() CONST = 0; virtual CONST char* getName() CONST = 0; virtual void setType(CONST char* type) = 0; virtual void setName(CONST char* name) = 0; virtual Cfree char* toString() = 0; };
class DefaultPortInfo : public PortInfo { public: DefaultPortInfo(){} virtual ~DefaultPortInfo() {} DefaultPortInfo(CONST char* portname_, CONST char* porttype_); DefaultPortInfo(CONST DefaultPortInfo &p); CONST char* getType() CONST; CONST char* getName() CONST; void setType(CONST char* type); void setName(CONST char* name); virtual Cfree char* toString(); };
class Services{ public: virtual ~Services(){} virtual PortInfo** getProvidesPorts(int& length) = 0; virtual PortInfo** getUsesPorts(int& length)= 0; virtual Port* getPort(char *name)=0; virtual void registerUsesPort(PortInfo *name_and_type) =0; virtual void addProvidesPort(Port *inPort, PortInfo *name)=0; virtual void addConnectionListener(ConnectionListener *l) = 0; //proposed deletion virtual void releasePort(char *name) = 0; virtual ComponentID* getComponentID(); // proposed extension };
class Component { public: virtual ~Component(){} virtual void setServices(Services *cc) = 0; };
class ConnectionListener{ public: virtual ~ConnectionListener(){} virtual void connectionActivity(ConnectionEvent evt) = 0; };
class ConnectionEvent: public FrameworkSpecificEvent{ public: ConnectionEvent(char *source){ ... } char* getSource() { ... } virtual ~ConnectionEvent(){ ... } };
class ComponentID{ public: virtual PortInfo** getProvidesPorts(int& length) = 0; virtual PortInfo** getUsesPorts(int& length)= 0; };
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Last modified: Fri Feb 6 13:50:51 EST 2004


text:
Get the new Walmart Ad and Coupon Deals that you can find starting 11/28! These are the best in-store and Walmart Ad deals that you will get with Coupons at Walmart stores! Make sure and print off the coupons you need before they are gone! I like the deal on Del Monte Tomato Sauce with the new coupon!
For Walmart Shopping info, Coupon Policy, Deals, and more, check out our Walmart Store Page![%printable-list:Walmart1128%]
TIPS FROM THE PROSOne of the best ways to save money when you shop is to Price Match at Walmart! Take another store's Ad to Walmart and if they have the same item at a better price they will match the price! My recommendation is price match Aldi Produce Deals since they are usually the best. Here is the Walmart Price Match Policy that you should print off and take with you. Also keep in mind that there are now "Walmart Store Coupons." If you see a coupon with a Walmart logo, you can use it anywhere and it will not stack with any other coupons at Walmart.
Don't forget to get all the best and newest Printable Coupons today that you can use at Walmart Stores, check out our Printable Coupons Page!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Math Research Center Models Industrial Problems
SOCORRO, N.M. September 2, 2009 – A fledgling industrial mathematics research center is proving to be productive in publishing research papers and developing professional partnerships.
Math professor Dr. Ranis Ibragimov organized the Research and Support Center in Applied Mathematical Modeling, or RSCAMM, at New Mexico Tech in 2008, with support from top administrators.
The Center aims to serve international interests and cooperation in frontier areas of mathematical modeling in industrial areas and environmental sciences. The main goal of the Center is to collaborate on research projects forming "hotspots" at the interface between applied mathematics and industry.
|New Mexico Tech math professor Dr. Ranis Ibragimov explains the concepts behind mathematical modeling of tidal mixing. Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech
One of the Center's fortes in mathematical modeling is based on an applications of Lie Group Analysis of differential equations. Dr. Ibragimov said Lie Group Analysis provides a universal tool for analytically solving complex differential equations where traditional means of integration fail.
Dr. Ibragimov said Lie group analysis provides a universal tool for solving analytically considerable number of differential equations for which other traditional means of integration fail. Traditional integration methods typically taught at universities rely essentially on linearity and constant coefficients. Group analysis deals equally easily with linear and nonlinear differential equations, as well as with equations involving variable coefficients, Dr. Ibragimov said.
"The research of the RSCAMM Center is numerically oriented and theoretical in nature," Dr. Ibragimov said. "The key feature in our approach is the combination of the approximate forms of the governing equations in mathematical modeling with careful and precise analysis. The approximations are required to make any progress possible, while precision is demanded to make the progress meaningful."
Already, Center-initiated research has led to eight publications in scholarly journals. In addition to Dr. Ibragimov, other Tech authors of papers include mechanical engineering professor Dr. Nadir Yilmaz, graduate student Akshin Bakhtiyarov and undergraduate student Margaret Snell.
This year, Dr. Ibragimov has been invited to collaborate in two industrial projects: enhanced oil recovery and self-healing metals.
New Mexico Tech scientists are collaborating with petroleum experts in Russia and Azerbaijan to research more efficient methods of petroleum recovery. Mechanical Engineering Department chairman Dr. Sayavur Bakhtiyarov, who is also a member of the Center, is the principal investigator of the project with support from the Global Technology Transfer Inc. in Tulsa, Okla.
This project has resulted in several publications related to mathematical modeling of enhanced oil recovery. Engineers know that more than 85 percent of a petroleum is unrecoverable via primary standard recoveries. To recover the remaining oil, petroleum companies use secondary and tertiary extraction methods based on injection of water or other fluids to force the crude oil to production wells.
Dr. Ibragimov said mathematical models describe chemical reactions within porous media needed for oil recovery is given in terms of nonlinear partial differential equations. The existing experimental and numerical methods are not precise enough to provide estimates of the efficiency of the oil recovery by the chemical reaction. The Center is promoting Lie Group Analysis as a method of obtaining analytically exact solutions of those partial differential equations.
"The goal was to optimize the chemical reaction between certain chemicals and the petroleum in porous media," Dr. Ibragimov said. "The efficiency of the reaction was determined by means of analytical solutions that we have obtained by solving the differential equations. Our next step is to develop a simple numerical package designed to improve the secondary oil recovery."
Another project is related to mathematical modeling of self-healing materials. Engineers are developing metals that are coated with a metallic-chemical compound. As the metal heats, the coating compound slowly melts and fills cracks, preserving the original strength of the metal.
Cracks, which are very common in metals and other materials, lead to corrosion and deterioration. Self-healing represents an important engineering breakthrough, particularly in systems that require high surface quality, such as vehicles, optical systems and windows, and in systems that require high reliability, like aircraft and nuclear storage systems.
Detecting and repairing cracked metal surfaces is a complex analytic problem. At present, no detailed mathematical models predict how the self-healing processes functions over time. The Center is currently involved in the mathematical modeling of healing rates in metals that will help engineers develop more efficient crack prevention of materials.
Dr. Ibragimov also initiated the global environmental project designed to model mixing processes caused by the interactions and dissipation of internal waves in the ocean. Internal waves play an important climatic role; they disperse pollutants, chemical and biological tracers.
The energy available for mixing processes in the ocean operates at large scales (few tens of kilometers) and then transfers across the internal energetic wave spectrum down to small dissipation scales (a few meters). The goal of the project is to understand better the dynamics of the ocean and to understand what effects internal waves have on our environment.
Dr. Ibragimov, who is spearheading these studies, invited his colleagues from McMaster and Waterloo universities in Canada and Kanazawa Institute of Technology in Japan to participate in this project. Dr. Ibragimov is advising doctoral students Gunter Leguy and Eric Ovaska, who are working with Los Alamos National Lab scientists on modeling oceanic internal waves and global circulation model, which is the part of that global project. The project has led to several publications related to mathematical modeling of mixing processes and energy exchange between internal waves in the ocean.
By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech


text:
For the past seven weeks middle school students who participated in the Rockland After School Alliance (RASA) program "CSI" have been playing detective. On the first day of programming students were given a crime scene to investigate and evidence to collect including hair, powder, fibers, fingerprints, a smear of lip stick and a foot print. Each following week students tested their evidence using forensic science skills. Labs included fingerprinting analysis, chromatography, dichotomy keys, forensic odontology, hair and fiber analysis, and blood typing. Students also learned skills in handling and operating a microscope to help them analyze evidence.
During the last week of RASA programs Detective Russell Thompson of Rockland Police Department came as a guest speaker. Students shared with him the forensic labs that they had conducted as well as asked questions regarding his experience as a seasoned detective in the mid-coast Maine area. Students questions ranged from, "What is the silliest crime you've ever investigated?" to what steps should they take to become a police officer or detective. Thompson gave them words of encouragement by saying that all of the forensic science labs that they conducted in CSI are ones that are used every day in the forensic science field.
RASA is a program of Youthlinks offered in collaboration with RSU 13 supported by a 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant from the Maine Department of Education. Youthlinks is a program of Broadreach Family & Community Services, a non-profit organization that has been serving the children and families of Waldo and Knox Counties since 1983. For more information concerning the Rockland After-School Alliance, please Youthlinks: 594-2221 or visit www.youthlinksonline.org/RASA.


text:
Sondra Knopik and Jason Foster both of Maple Grove, Minn., would like to announce their engagement. Parents of the couple are Lisa Knopik and the late Galen Knopik. Mark and Barb Raboin and Rod and Kathy Foster. Sondra has her own business "Country Style Accents" in Maple Grove and Jason is the Distribution Manager of Office Max in Maple Grove. An Aug. 27 wedding in Henderson, Minn., is planned.
Article Photos
Sondra and Jason


text:
Community Relations Service
Community Relations Service
What We Do
The Community Relations Service is the Department's "Peacemaker" for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and disability. CRS is not an investigatory or prosecutorial agency, and it does not have any law enforcement authority.
Rather, the Agency works with all parties, including State and local units of government, private and public organizations, civil rights groups, and local community leaders, to uncover the underlying interests of all of those involved in the conflict and facilitates the development of viable, mutual understandings and solutions to the community's challenges. In addition, CRS assists communities in developing local mechanisms and community capacity to prevent tension and violent hate crimes from occurring in the future. All CRS services are provided free of charge to the communities and are confidential. CRS works in all 50 states and the U.S. territories, and in communities large and small, rural, urban and suburban.
Who We Work With
The Community Relations Service responds to communities across the nation to promote peaceful resolution of conflicts and tensions. Conflict resolution specialists strategically located in 10 regional offices and 4 field offices throughout the country respond to meet the unique needs of communities in the states and U.S. territories they serve. Click the links below to learn more.
Gerri Ratliff
Deputy Director
Community Relations Service
(202) 305-2935


text:
With the revelation of hundreds of millions of Americans having their phone calls, emails, video chats, text messages and online activity monitored on a regular basis by the federal government, outrage has erupted. Every bit of it justifiable, in our opinion.
We're not surprised telecommunication companies, large and small, have been complicit in the surveillance. They've had to, as non-cooperation wouldn't simply be looked at unfavorably -- it would be against the law.
And we remain a nation governed by our respect for law.
The American system is far superior than countries that maintain societal order relying on religion, birthright or brute force. But even laws have flaws. Changes in meaning, interpretation and enforcement all have the ability to disrupt that order, so we lean mightily on those entrusted to make the system work. Balancing competing interests requires sound judgment and intellect -- and trust of the American people.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there was an overwhelming push to ensure such acts never took place again. Our legal response was The USA PATRIOT Act, which allowed unprecedented powers to the government at the expense of personal liberties. We basically sacrificed the Fourth Amendment in exchange for safety. Suddenly, the feds had legal access not only to our telephones and computers, but records detailing our finances, travel, medical history, religious affiliations -- even our library activities. When MySpace and Facebook took off, we began filling out all kinds of data and personal items that became part and parcel of what the government might find interesting.
The notion of privacy was forever eroded -- or at least as long as the provisions of the PATRIOT Act kept being renewed. The last time was in 2011, when three key portions of the law were extended by Congress. The most critical, in our minds, was Section 215. This part of the law gives the government the authority to obtain "any tangible thing" it needs in a terrorism investigation. The feds do not, however, need to make any connection with the item in question to any particular terrorism suspect or possible terrorist activity. No probable cause needed, no warrant required, just blanket approval to get anything they want about anybody.
Almost as bad, from a civil liberty perspective, are the national security letters. These allow the government to get financial and communication records on any person even if they're not suspected of unlawful behavior. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of these letters have been issued over the past decade -- resulting in zero convictions.
President Barack Obama, who inherited the overzealous and overreaching security measures from his predecessor, has expanded upon them. And Congress, whether knowingly or not (the jury is still out on that one), has given the massive apparatus both the authority and funding to continue snooping on U.S. citizens. All in the name of protecting us from terrorists.
Officials have been flat-out denying the existence of many of the measures for years. Now that the cat's out of the bag, the president claims it is now time for the public to make some hard choices between security and privacy.
We long have said the PATRIOT Act is too broad and infringes upon our constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
We would expect this hallmark of the American experience to be upheld. Continuing to sacrifice these rights because of the so-called War on Terror is an admission the terrorists won. Both Obama and President George W. Bush allowed Orwellian fantasies to become daily protocol in our numerous federal agencies. Every senator and representative who's voted either to create or extend the Big Brother tactics of the PATRIOT Act share in the responsibility.
We shouldn't need a debate to decide whether U.S. citizens should be allowed their privacy. That was settled more than 200 years ago and reaffirmed with the blood of our military every generation since.
Editorial by Patrick Lowry


text:
Welcome to Foot And Ankle Specialists of Central Ohio. We are specialists with emphasis on the treatment and reconstruction of all foot and ankle problems. We believe that prompt diagnosis, early intervention and prevention are essential for the care and treatment of your foot.
Our mission is to provide comprehensive, state of the art medical and surgical treatment of the foot and ankle in a compassionate, professional environment.
We welcome you as a patient to our podiatry practice. We are grateful that you have chosen us as the health care provider for your feet.
This web site has been designed to offer information and answer frequently asked questions. We want you to feel comfortable in our office. Please do not hesitate to discuss areas of concern. Everyone in this office is a trained professional and works as a team member, taking pride in his or her own work.
Scott D. Gurwin, DPM
Daniel B. Logan, DPM


text:
Gummy Bear Implants in Westland
Are you searching for a local plastic surgeon near Westland, MI? Dr. Mariam Awada has safely performed thousands of breast augmentation procedures using both saline and silicone implants.
She is an experienced surgeon and trains other plastic surgeons how to perform her minimally invasive advanced breast augmentation techniques. Dr. Awada's patients love their beautiful breasts and have much more self-confidence after getting their breast augmentation.
- Breast Augmentation
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Consult With a Female Plastic Surgeon Near Westland Today!
You will love your new look- proportionate with hour glass shape. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Awada uses the latest technologies in fat harvesting and fat transfer to enhance your breast and any areas you aim to enhance. She also sculpts your body with High Definition 4-Dimensional Liposculpture techniques.
When you schedule a consultation at the Michigan Cosmetic Surgery Center:
- You will be greeted and assisted by knowledgeable friendly staff that treat you like family
- You will watch an instructional video which demonstrates and explains the procedure
- We provide you with informative handouts and verbal education
- Dr. Mariam Awada will perform a thorough medical history and physical exam
- Dr. Mariam Awada will measure your breasts
- We will discuss risk, benefit, downtime, and recovery
- You will view Dr. Mariam Awada 's extensive before and after photo gallery
- You will be provided with an exact quote for breast lift, which covers everything (including operating room fees, anesthesia fees, surgery fees, all preoperative and unlimited postoperative visits for the next ten years, and surgical bra).
Minimally Invasive Breast Lift Procedures
Schedule a consultation today and learn more about minimally invasive techniques. Some patients qualify to have a scarless breast lift, others may simply need a camouflaged incision. For a more extensive breast lift, you may need a lollipop incision. Dr. Mariam Awada is a perfectionist and will give you amazing results with a beautiful shape and natural youthful new look.
Dr. Mariam Awada has safely performed thousands of breast implants for women across Michigan. Whether you have lost breast volume after pregnancy, or you are simply unhappy with the size of your breasts, natural looking breast implants from Dr. Mariam Awada will provide you the natural contour you'll absolutely love!
Patient Testimonials:
I had liposuction on my hips and abdomen done about a month ago, and I must say I am VERY pleased. Dr. Awada is a wonderful and caring doctor. I would recommend her to anyone. Her and her staff are all very nice and professional. Rachel M.*


text:
void HTML_QuickForm_Page::buildForm (
Builds a form. You should override this method when you subclass HTML_QuickForm_Page,
it should contain all the necessary
addRule() and possibly
setDefaults() and
setConstants() calls.
The method will be called on demand, so please be sure to set
$_formBuilt property to TRUE
to assure that the method works only once.
throws no exceptions thrown
This function can not be called statically.


text:
As i truly seem to be having a frustratingly rough go of this maintaining thing, I decided (as i have done once before) to look back at past food journals (i keep written journals as well as the one on line) to see what i was doing differently. The truth speaks volumes! Here it is, basically- changes that have to be RE-INTRODUCED and keep on with what WORKS!
1. more protein at meals!
2. No evening snacking. At all! Just my daily metamucil in water--and though i did have melted chips once or twice a week-----that may be okay for me in a few weeks.
3. Oatmeal @ breakfast! It has stabilized my weight going back to 2005. A must at least 3x weekly.
3. A ww bagel (scooped out) works. I have been avoiding it in the past few months---but it was a regular Sunday morning breakfast, with a huge salad & tuna in the past. It works.
4. I noticed that i really measured out my portions carefully (especially with pastas, whole wheat in excess is not so great...) even with Bran Flakes cereals------i still need to measure out amts.
5. Continue with lotsa water, fruit, salads-------it has worked in the past. And it still works for me now.
6. Avoid ultra- salty foods-----even lo carb chips have tons of salt. It bloats me like crazy!
7. Wear clothing with zip up waists--not elastic ones! How my clothing fits is a best guide to where i am at in this game.
8. Keep up with the added cardio------but not to the extent where i am wiped out by 4pm
9. Enjoy food! IN MODERATION.......


text:
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If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
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Create Your Own Radio Station with Pandora
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Internet, Music,
The Music Genome Project is behind this service. It used to be an invitation only service, similar to Gmail, and its features that sound pretty impressive. It uses an end-user rating system where you rate whether you like what is playing or not.
A new service allowing you to create your own radio station, shareable with friends, and made up with as many, custom-created and personalized music-channels as you like has made its public debut in the last few hours.
Basically, it's like Yahoo! Launch, except extremely customizable and sharable. This cool service costs $36 for a year or $12 for 3 months.
Read More | Pandora via Lockergnome
Gallery: Create Your Own Radio Station with Pandora
The Music Industry Sets Sights on a New Target: iTunes
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Corporate News, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Those pesky music industry execs are at it again - and this time they're looking not to take on file-swapping college kids or bootlegged CDs. Their next target? Apple's wildly popular iTunes music service, which revolutionized and breathed life back into the (legal) music market with their simple pricing scheme (.99 per song, no matter what song it is) and easy-to-use service. The industry, who once hailed iTunes as a savior of sorts, now seem to have changed their… well… tune.
A sore point for some music executives is the fact that Apple generates much more money selling iPod players than it does as a digital music retailer, leading to complaints that Mr. Jobs is profiting more from tracks downloaded to fill the 21 million iPods sold so far than are the labels that produced the recordings.
Andrew Lack, the chief executive of Sony BMG, discussed the state of the overall digital market at a media and technology conference three months ago and said that Mr. Jobs "has got two revenue streams: one from our music and one from the sale of his iPods."
"I've got one revenue stream," Mr. Lack said, joking that it would require a medical professional to locate. "It's not pretty."
Excuse me while I laugh myself stupid. I'm sure Mr. Lack is nowhere near the soup kitchen, if he's the chief executive of Sony BMG. I read things like this and just about always fail to see where these top-dollar executives find the sense of entitlement they always seem to develop as soon as anyone besides them is making any money.
Read More | NY Times
Gallery: The Music Industry Sets Sights on a New Target: iTunes
Log iPod dock
Posted by Sparky Categories: Accessories, Music,
Our sister site, I4U News, has a great story on a post of a more literal sense - the iPod dock made from a tree. The dock is made from an actual log and features stereo speakers poking out from either end, used to play music from the iPod which can be docked in it's top. This brings to mind a calming evening at home listening to the classics on an audiobook. Were I to have one I would keep it in the fireplace - the perfect statement about technology and nature blended together.
Read More | House Special via I4U
Gallery: Log iPod dock
Crosley Traveler Turntable
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
This one is a throwback to the days of simpler, static-ier, music. The Crosley Traveler Turntable is a portable, all-in-one jukebox that will hold and switch out 6 records of similar size and speed using Crosley's Stack-O-Matic technology. The turntable even has speakers built-in to the sides, so all you need to add is the electricity (AC adapter provided) and music. At $180 USD, it's like an iPod shuffle for Grandpa!
Read More | Crosley Radio via Cool Hunting
Gallery: Crosley Traveler Turntable
Apple Unlikely to Start Subscription Music Service
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Corporate News, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
For everyone holding their breath for a Rhapsody-type subscription service from Apple: stop before you pass out. According to information from two music executives received by BusinessWeek Online, Apple has no plans to enter the subscription-based service arena any time soon. The major factor in Apple sticking to its by-the-song download system in iTunes is its market dominance – iTunes is making huge profits from its 500 million+ song downloads, comparatively crushing the 2 or 3 million subscribers to Real's Rhapsody or Napster's services. The only thing that looks like it could change Apple's mind would be true financial competition from one of these services, a factor that is still far off.
Read More | BusinessWeek Online
Gallery: Apple Unlikely to Start Subscription Music Service
Real Networks Forecasting Legal Issues Over Harmony
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Corporate News, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
Harmony, a digital rights management translation system created by Real Networks which allows its own music formats to run on Apple iPods, may be the cause of some legal and technical issues for Real in the coming months. The company has admitted that although they believe that their software is completely legal, any disagreement from Apple that runs into a court process might jeopardize their bottom line. The company already expects to pay around $16 million in the coming year defending their software from litigation from Microsoft, but cannot afford any more. Additionally, Real also expects problems as Apple makes moves to update its software in ways that would require tweaking of Harmony's specifications. Basically, it sounds like Harmony may represent Real biting off a bigger chunk than it can chew at this point. Stay tuned to see how these impending challenges pan out.
Read More | Macworld
Gallery: Real Networks Forecasting Legal Issues Over Harmony
Delphi Releases RoadyXT - Sleek, Slim XM Radio
Posted by Sparky Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
For all you XM radio fans out there, Delphi has released the smallest and lightest XM radio yet for your portable needs. The RoadyXT comes with a car kit, and it's quite easy to integrate it into your home stereo system with an additional adapter. I really wish that with a slim form factor like this they could include a small battery to let you plug in a pair of headphones and carry it around with you. Still - at only $99 this looks like a great option for anyone wanting to add a little XM goodness to their lives.
Read More | Delphi RoadyXT Page via OhGizmo
Gallery: Delphi Releases RoadyXT - Sleek, Slim XM Radio
1 Million Songs Sold in First Four Days of Japanese iTunes
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Debuting with prices ranging from ¥200 and ¥300 per song ($1.80 and $2.70), Apple has exploded onto the Japanese digital audio scene by selling over 1 million songs with the new service in under four days. Proudly, Japanese artists grabbed the honors for both the top-downloaded song (Def Tech) and the top-downloaded album (Ulfuls). Steve Jobs was quick to point out that the four-day business enjoyed by the Japanese iTunes dwarfs even a month's worth of business on any other Japanese service. With the struggles that other American companies, such as Microsoft, have had breaking into some Japanese markets, Apples success in this area could bode very well for the company.
Read More | MacWorld
Gallery: 1 Million Songs Sold in First Four Days of Japanese iTunes
Sound Blaster Introduces X-Fi Sound Cards
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Home Entertainment, Music, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,
First revealed at this year's E3, the X-Fi line of Sound Blaster sound cards are now ready for the market. The new cards are designed specifically to power Creative's new Xtreme Fidelity audio standard, which promises to hit new heights of audio versatility and performance. Creative has long been the leader in the sound card business, and will release four versions of the new card to Best Buy stores later this month, the Elite Pro ($399), the Fatal1ty ($279), the Platinum ($199), and the XtremeMusic ($129). As is the common rhetoric in the high-tech world these days, Creative is promising that these new cards will "eventually and completely replace the old hi-fi equipment in the home."
Now, the cards seem great, but my question is this: How many of our readers really are replacing standard living-room audio/visual entertainment components with PC upgrades? We'd love to hear from those of you parting with your more traditional home theater elements and what you're using instead.
Read More | Creative Press Release
Gallery: Sound Blaster Introduces X-Fi Sound Cards
Morrison Digital Trumpet
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Music,
As the resident Gear Live audio freak, this trumpet/MIDI device caught my eye. On an "analog" trumpet, you have to raspberry with your lips to get sound to come out of the bell. More importantly, a skilled brass player must keep their chops by practicing maintaining their ambiture . Although, I wouldn't say that this device instantly makes you a great trumpet player, it certainly makes it easier if you are out of practice (says an out-of-practice trombone player). With that said, Morrison Digital Trumpet allows you to use this trumpet as a MIDI device where you can, of course, hook up to several different types of sources - like you would a MIDI keyboard. The trumpet uses the force of your breath for velocity and has a range of 10 octaves.
Read More | Gizmag
Gallery: Morrison Digital Trumpet
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3.00 credit hours
Economic models and reasoning provide a valuable lens through which to view many of the most intractable and perplexing environmental problems. The objective of this class is to apply the tools of a typical introductory or intermediate microeconomics course to topics involving the natural environment. That is, we will view environmental topics from the perspective of an economist. Topics that will be covered in this class include :Market failure in the case of externalities and public goods provision, Management of renewable resources, Cost-effective pollution control, and Energy use and global climate change. Perhaps the most exciting part of this course is that we will take tools from the classroom and apply them to ongoing environmental questions. lectures will include guest presentations from professionals who are actively working on environmental challenges. Offered as ECON 368 and ECON 468.
No Syllabus Available


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Due to unforseen circumstances, the New England Pullers Association has moved their August 22-23rd UKC pull from PA to CT. Rather than wheels, the surface will now be rails, and the chief judge will be Leslie Haller.
EAST HADDAM (From Port Clinton PA) (O) WPULL - EVENT SITE CHANGE
Aug 22; Leslie Haller (replacing David Heffelfinger) (Beth Jones backup) WPULL Rails-B Entries 7:30-8:30 am Pull 9 am
Aug 23; Leslie Haller (replacing David Heffelfinger) (Beth Jones backup) WPULL Rails-B Entries 8-8:30 am Pull 9 am
DOS $25; PE $18, $15 2nd entry received by August 10, 2009
Hamilton Homestead, 65 A P Gates Rd, 06423; From Route 9 N/S Exit 7 onto Route 82. Follow Route 82 over CT River. Stay right on Route 82 to Mt. Parnassus Rd. Take Left onto Mt. Parnassus. Take right on Warner Rd, and then take right on to A P Gates Rd. to #65. (Pre-Entries for the PA site may contact the Event Secretary for additional information regarding entries and site change)
Chairperson: Jane Palinkas (860) 379-2155
Event Secretary: Douglas Hamilton, 7 Hurd Bridge Rd #2, Clinton CT 06413 (860) 388-7166 email@example.com


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Interventions for Fat Changes
The confusion surrounding the etiology and treatment of HIV-related metabolic complications has been maddening for both patients and their clinicians. Different studies -- typically small and powered for endpoints other than changes in body fat -- have produced contradictory results. The few interventions now available that have proved to be effective generally produce only marginal gains and are often difficult to obtain and/or are expensive. Further frustration stems from the inability of experts in the field to agree on the definition of body shape changes or whether certain changes even exist. In the absence of conclusions, anecdotes become mistaken for evidence and belief systems are entrenched as dogma.
Given this data-vacuum, it was satisfying that the results from a series of studies of body shape changes presented at the 2006 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) were complementary -- together painting a more focused picture of the role of the insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinediones (also called glitazones) and metformin in reversing changes in regional adipose tissue volume. In addition, long-awaited data on the use of testosterone on visceral adipose tissue were presented.
All That Glitters: Glitazones for Changes in Fat Mass in HIV-Infected Patients
The incidence of fat wasting at the hands of stavudine (d4T, Zerit) has decreased with the abandonment of this nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) in the United States, Europe and Australia. However, veterans of this therapy still confront disfiguring lipoatrophy and demand continued study of interventions to reverse these changes. Additionally, stavudine is not alone in its ability to reduce fat. Evidence suggests some patients receiving zidovudine (AZT, Retrovir), still commonly used as a first-line treatment for HIV infection, can also experience significant loss of limb fat and subcutaneous adipose tissue of the abdomen.
A lingering issue in the field of metabolic disorders has been the role of glitazones in the management of lipoatrophy. These drugs are attractive candidates as agents to reverse lipoatrophy given conceptual models of the etiology of changes in fat depots during HIV infection. The largest study of a glitazone used to treat HIV-associated lipoatrophy was the Australian ROSEY study,1 which did not find a statistically significant difference in limb fat gain between rosiglitazone (Avandia) (4 mg twice a day) and placebo in lipoatrophic patients. When presented and published, these results signaled the end was near, if not already here, for any application of glitazones for fat wasting.
However, a handful of smaller studies, including a 39-subject trial comparing rosiglitazone to metformin, suggested that there was an effect of rosiglitazone in increasing subcutaneous adipose volume in patients with lipoatrophy.2-5 Further, some aspects of the ROSEY study raised questions about whether the results were as clear-cut as presented. For example, the control group experienced an increase in limb fat that reduced the difference between the two study arms. In addition, a surprisingly high proportion of the ROSEY participants were on abacavir (ABC, Ziagen), a drug that the investigators had used in a previous study, MITOX,6 which switched patients from stavudine or zidovudine to abacavir, suggesting some of the ROSEY study participants had also participated in MITOX. Rosiglitazone for lipoatrophy refused to die.
Kathleen Mulligan of University California-San Francisco presented the results of AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) study 5082, a study of rosiglitazone (4 mg daily -- as opposed to the 4 mg twice a day of the ROSEY study and several other trials of this drug) versus metformin (Glucophage, Fortamet) (1,000 mg twice daily) versus rosiglitazone + metformin versus double placebo.7
Unlike the ROSEY study, which enrolled those with lipoatrophy, ACTG 5082 targeted patients with increased abdominal girth and, importantly, evidence of insulin resistance or glucose intolerance based on fasting insulin levels and glucose tolerance testing. The median trunk fat at study entry was 12.5 kg, which by way of comparison was 5 kg greater than the median trunk fat of participants who were antiretroviral therapy naive upon entering another ACTG study, A5005s. However, although designed as a study of visceral hypertrophy, the median leg fat of the cohort was low at 3.8 kg. This was 1 kg less than the median leg fat of A5005s participants at baseline.
The study was relatively small, with about 25 patients in each of the four study arms. Although powered primarily for glycemic outcomes, it is the body shape changes that are of greatest interest. After 16 weeks, there was no difference between the treatment arms and double-placebo in visceral or subcutaneous abdominal fat as assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning. However, leg fat increased significantly compared to double-placebo in the rosiglitazone study arm (P = .034).
The change in fat in the rosiglitazone-only group was about 200 g (a 5% increase). While rosiglitazone increased leg fat, it was not observed to improve arm fat compared to double-placebo. In contrast to the ROSEY study, in which differences between rosiglitazone and placebo were obfuscated by the increase in limb fat of the control subjects, in A5082 the continued fat wasting of the double-placebo-assigned subjects helped to drive the statistical difference between study groups.
Interestingly, metformin had no effect on limb fat compared to double-placebo and seemed to negate the effect of rosiglitazone when the two were combined. Further, metformin was poorly tolerated, leading to excess treatment discontinuation among those taking this drug. Of the 26 patients who were assigned to metformin alone, eight developed treatment-limiting toxicity, including increases in lactate (n = 4), diarrhea (n = 3) and an unspecified toxicity (n = 1).
Neither metformin nor rosiglitazone led to major changes in triglyceride levels. However, there was a trend toward an increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol among patients assigned rosiglitazone. An opposite trend toward lower LDL cholesterol and higher HDL cholesterol was observed in the metformin group. As expected, both drugs improved insulin sensitivity. In addition, there were increases in adiponectin -- a fat-derived protein inversely correlated to visceral fat and insulin resistance -- seen with both agents.
When contacted by e-mail after the conference, Dr. Mulligan suggested that one explanation for the lack of an effect of metformin on visceral adipose tissue in A5082, despite the opposite finding by Hadigan and colleagues,8 was that a substantial proportion of the metformin-assigned participants in A5082 required dose reductions and/or treatment discontinuation secondary to stringent toxicity management guidelines, limiting the ability to detect significant changes in this group. She also noted that continued NRTI use could have muted the effects of both agents as was clearly demonstrated in a study of pioglitazone (Actos) described below. Unfortunately, a breakdown of the NRTIs taken during the study was not presented.
Consistent results are what lead to changes in standard of care and it was a relief when the results of two other studies presented at CROI generally supported the findings of ACTG 5082. Willy Rozenbaum of the French Agency for AIDS Research (ARNS) took the podium (do French physicians wear all black even when seeing patients?) and reported that pioglitazone produced a small but statistically significant increase in limb fat, as measured by DEXA scanning in a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 110 patients with self-reported and clinician-confirmed lipoatrophy.9
No evidence of insulin resistance was required for entry into this study and 28% of the patients were receiving stavudine at baseline. Of the 64 patients who were assigned to treatment with pioglitazone (30 mg daily) for 48 weeks, there was a 380 g increase in limb fat compared to a negligible 50 g increase in the placebo arm (P = .051).
However, those assigned pioglitazone who were receiving stavudine had only a 170 g increase in limb fat mass. Analysis restricted to those not taking stavudine found a 450 g gain in limb fat mass with pioglitazone -- a statistically significant difference from placebo (P = .013). There was no significant change in abdominal visceral or subcutaneous fat in either study arm.
|Change in Limb Fat From Baseline at 48 Weeks
|No d4T
|450 g
|40 g
|170 g
|70 g
As has been seen with almost every interventional study that has found a statistically significant increase in fat in lipoatrophic patients -- such as antiretroviral switch studies -- the gain was small, considering the severity of the fat loss among the patients, and was not well-appreciated by the trial participants using a visual analog scale to rate their limb fat.
However, someone with a glass-half-full perspective would appreciate that pioglitazone seemed to prevent further fat loss and that longer-term administration may yield further fat gain. Additionally, pioglitazone was well tolerated.
As opposed to the results from A5082, lipid levels did not substantially change during therapy with this glitazone -- which has not been as well studied as its rosier sister drug in HIV-infected patients. In fact, HDL cholesterol increased during the study among those in the intervention arm -- although it was pointed out that this was a study of French patients and not Americans, who are more prone to the super-size-it-syndrome. A major finding of this study was that pioglitazone did not lead to significant changes in limb fat among the participants who remained on stavudine.
The absence of a positive effect of metformin on fat depots described in A5082 was also reported by Rakhi Kohli from Tufts University.10 In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 48 patients received metformin 1,500 mg daily. In contrast to other studies, including A5082, in which trial participants with increased abdominal girth were required to have insulin resistance or glucose intolerance, the participants in this trial had to have a high waist-to-hip ratio but a fasting insulin level less than 18 uU/mL. Despite this, the cohort tended to have mild to moderate glucose intolerance on glucose tolerance testing. At study entry, limb fat mass was 9.8 kg and 12.3 kg in the metformin and placebo arms, respectively. This is in stark contrast to the lipoatrophy seen in the French study in which baseline limb fat was approximately 3 kg.
After 24 weeks, the metformin-receiving participants did not have a statistically significant change in visceral fat, as measured by computed tomography (CT) scan, even after adjusting for age, height and baseline visceral adipose tissue volume (-10.1% in metformin group versus -3.2% in placebo group, P = .58).
In the unadjusted analysis, there was a significant decrease in limb fat among those assigned metformin. Metformin resulted in a 686 g drop in limb fat volume as measured by DEXA compared to a 161 g increase in limb fat mass among the control subjects (P = .03).
In the adjusted analysis, however, the difference between the two groups became statistically insignificant -- mostly due to a reduced increase in limb fat among the controls (-614 g for metformin versus +95 g for placebo, P = .12). There was no significant change in lipids during metformin therapy in this small study. Interestingly, metformin did not produce improvements in glycemic or insulin parameters. Body mass index did drop with metformin -- a well-described effect. Safety data were not reported.
This study supports the finding of A5082 in which there was a trend toward reduced leg fat in the metformin-assigned participants and in which metformin negated rosiglitazone-associated increases in limb fat when the two were combined. The authors correctly warn that a consequence of metformin usage is a loss of limb fat and that metformin should not be used in patients without marked insulin resistance and ample limb fat.
Collectively, these three studies tell us several things. First, glitazones as a treatment for lipoatrophy are not off the table. In both studies that looked at these agents, there were significant increases in limb fat -- findings that are consistent with several other small studies2-5 but not with the one large randomized controlled study of rosiglitazone,1 during which increases in limb fat were seen in the treatment and control arms, or another 30-person randomized study.11
The finding that rosiglitazone can increase LDL cholesterol in some studies calls for the careful monitoring of lipids when glitazones are prescribed to HIV-infected patients. Second, the results suggest that insulin resistance need not be a prerequisite for glitazone therapy for lipoatrophy. Rather, removal of the offending NRTI appears to be critical to success.
Third, these studies continue to demonstrate that the changes being observed -- as was the case for antiretroviral switch studies -- are positive but small. Little if any improvement was noted by patients, but the studies were generally short in duration. Unfortunately, facial fat was not assessed in any of these studies. Lastly, metformin did not look good. More fat wasting, limited effect on visceral fat (particularly in those without insulin resistance) and toxicity all mean that metformin is not ready for prime time, and, if used, should be reserved for those with clear insulin resistance and no peripheral lipoatrophy.
Another large study of glitazones for lipoatrophy would have been helpful to settle the issue. Such a study was planned by the ACTG several years ago but was scuttled when it was learned that the ROSEY study was underway. In the absence of such a study, clinicians need to examine the data that are available and consider whether the magnitude of the effects reported, the toxicity of therapy and other costs support the use of glitazones to treat fat wasting. What about fat accumulation? Read on.
Testosterone Supplementation for Visceral Fat
Androgens are lipolytic. Their ability to reduce fat cells is evident in the chiseled bodies of the doping weight lifter and the lean-limbed HIV-infected guy who takes androgens to look good in T-shirts. Cecilia Shikuma presented the results of ACTG 5079, a randomized, controlled trial of testosterone supplementation in 88 HIV-infected, HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy)-treated men with abdominal obesity, as assessed by waist-to-hip ratio, and mild to moderately reduced testosterone levels (total testosterone level 124-400 ng/dL or, if greater than 400 ng/dL, a level of bioavailable testosterone that was below normal).12
Trial participants received 10 g of testosterone gel to apply topically or placebo during the first 24 weeks of the study. This was followed by an open-label phase that lasted an additional 24 weeks. At baseline, participants' median trunk fat -- as assessed by CT scanning -- was 11.5 kg and their median limb fat by DEXA scanning was between 4.8 and 5.7 kg.
At 24 weeks, visceral adipose tissue volume rose slightly in both study arms, but the change was not significantly different from baseline. Subcutaneous adipose tissue of the abdomen decreased significantly in the testosterone group by 7.2% and rose in the placebo group by 8.1% (difference between arms P = .001). Total abdominal fat (a composite of visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat) was significantly different between the groups (P = .04). Not surprisingly, testosterone also reduced extremity fat. Limb fat fell by almost 0.5 kg in the active treatment group compared to a slight increase in limb fat in the placebo-assigned participants. Testosterone was found to be well tolerated, but lipid and insulin parameters have yet to be analyzed.
In this study, testosterone did not reduce visceral fat but led to decreases in subcutaneous fat that improved the waist-to-hip ratio and increased lean tissue mass. Limb fat was not spared, however, and was significantly reduced during therapy. As mentioned previously, androgens are lipolytic (except when it comes to visceral fat in HIV-infected men).
Given the results of these and prior studies, it is evident that the effects of insulin sensitizers on limb fat are fairly modest. For many patients any gain in extremity (or facial) fat is worth pursuing and one cannot fault a patient or clinician for trying rosiglitazone or pioglitazone to halt or reverse lipoatrophy.
As mentioned above, careful attention to lipids is needed. Regarding visceral fat accumulation, there were disappointing results from studies of both metformin and testosterone gel. Based on prior studies, it is possible that patients who have insulin resistance may have better results than suggested by A5082 where toxicity may have limited the evaluation of this agent.
Clearly, we need better answers. Other studies are exploring novel approaches to body fat problems associated with HIV infection. One of the most exciting is the use of uridine for lipoatrophy. But, as we saw here at CROI, these studies take time and anything can happen.
Carr A, Workman C, Carey D, et al, for the Rosey investigators. No effect of rosiglitazone for treatment of HIV-1 lipoatrophy: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. February 7, 2004;363(9407):429-438.
Hadigan C, Yawetz S, Thomas A, Havers F, Sax PE, Grinspoon S. Metabolic effects of rosiglitazone in HIV lipodystrophy: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. May 18, 2004;140(10):786-794.
Gelato MC, Mynarcik DC, Quick JL, et al. Improved insulin sensitivity and body fat distribution in HIV-infected patients treated with rosiglitazone: a pilot study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. October 1, 2002;31(2):163-170.
van Wijk JPH, de Koning EJP, Cabezas MC, et al. Comparison of rosiglitazone and metformin for treating HIV lipodystrophy: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. September 6, 2005;143(5):337-346.
Calmy A, Hirschel B, Hans D, Karsegard VL, Meier CA. Glitazones in lipodystrophy syndrome induced by highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS. March 28, 2003;17(5):770-772.
Carr A, Workman C, Smith DE, et al, for the Mitochondrial Toxicity (MITOX) Study Group. Abacavir substitution for nucleoside analogs in patients with HIV lipoatrophy: a randomized trial. JAMA. July 10, 2002;288(2):207-215.
Mulligan K, Yang Y, Koletar S, et al, and ACTG Protocol 5082 Team. Effects of metformin and rosiglitazone on body composition in HIV-infected patients with hyperinsulinemia and elevated waist/hip ratio: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. In: Program and abstracts of the 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; February 5-8, 2006; Denver, Colo. Abstract 147.
View slides: Download PDF
Hadigan C, Corcoran C, Basgoz N, Davis B, Sax P, Grinspoon S. Metformin in the treatment of HIV lipodystrophy syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. July 26, 2000;284(4):472-477.
Slama L, Lanoy E, Valentin MA, et al. Effect of pioglitazone on HIV-1 related lipoatrophy: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (ANRS 113) with 130 patients. In: Program and abstracts of the 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; February 5-8, 2006; Denver, Colo. Abstract 151LB.
Kohli R, Wanke C, Gorbach S, Shevitz A. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of metformin for the treatment of HIV lipodystrophy. In: Program and abstracts of the 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; February 5-8, 2006; Denver, Colo. Abstract 148.
View slides: Download PowerPoint
Sutinen J, Hakkinen AM, Westerbacka J, et al. Rosiglitazone in the treatment of HAART-associated lipodystrophy -- a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. Antivir Ther. June 2003;8(3):199-207.
Shikuma C, Parker R, Sattler F, et al, and AIDS Clin Trials Group Protocol A5079 Study Team. Effects of physiologic testosterone supplementation on fat mass and distribution in HIV-infected men with abdominal obesity: ACTG 5079. In: Program and abstracts of the 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; February 5-8, 2006; Denver, Colo. Abstract 149.
View slides: Download PowerPoint


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Dr. Biter Speaks Out (finally!)
Yesterday, San Diego News Network published their interview with Dr. Robert Biter (my "Dr. Wonderful"). It is the first public interview with him and I was so glad to see him finally speak up about what he was going through and how it has affected his patients/clients.
Along with the written interview, Dr. Biter speaks, for 4:57 on (what is now) a YouTube video.
Comments are welcome.
Dr. Biter opens up, talks Scripps suspension
Please be sure to read the final Judgement by the Medical Board of California. I summarized it here in the Dr. Biter Judgement Posted.


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Guest, I have a big favor to ask you. We've been working very hard to establish ourselves on social media. If you like/follow our pages it would be a HUGE help to us. SoSH on Facebook and Inside the Pylon Thanks! Nip
Tennis 2018
Discussion in 'General Sports' started by Infield Infidel, Jan 4, 2018.
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eScholar's Mike Gargano: Nothing Can Stop Open Source
Feb 12, 2013 5:00 AM PT
eScholar's only business is helping state and local education agencies get the best bang for their buck from collecting and using educational data to drive better school performance results.
Open source products are not always a successful sell to the educational market, but open source is becoming a more prevalent force in eScholar's off-site and on-site product offerings.
The company hopes to expand the usefulness of aggregated education data. It is doing this by putting performance results and their impact on career options into the hands of parents and students, as well as education professionals.
In this exclusive interview, LinuxInsider asks Michael Gargano, software architect for eScholar, about the challenges and issues his company faces in bringing open source data management solutions to the educational market.
LinuxInsider: What got you involved with open source software?
Michael Gargano: I've been with eScholar for five years. I was originally working as a systems administrator in the IT operations at an auto industry firm. Back then, we were already using open source. I moved to another job that also used open source technology before coming to eScholar. I found open source being used here, and its use has expanded even more. Open source is something you can not really get away from these days.
LI: What are the benefits you have found that open source brings to companies that adopt it?
Gargano: It has a lot of benefits. You can really cut costs with it. Open source software is very robust nowadays. A lot of people are looking at it now. It is really something that you can not avoid.
LI: How difficult is it for you to convert customer data to eScholar's requirements?
Gargano: We are an educational data company. Our main product is an educational data warehouse. We house educational data from both state and local educational agencies and school districts. We handle almost everything they would want to store -- from class numbers, students, grades, [to] course numbers.
We work with whatever system the customer has to record the accumulated data. It might be an Oracle shop, or [an] SQLServer shop, or [a] DBT Shop. We use whatever the customer's infrastructure is. Often the customer does not want to change what they have, so we adapt to whatever is in use.
LI: How has eScholar adapted open source to create the company's own specialized offerings?
Gargano: The product I am working on now is called "myTrack." This is really the first product we are developing on our own. It is allowing us to leverage the data we are putting in our warehouse. We take all the information -- like staff performance, student grades, career goals -- and put it together to help them with goals, better grades and career training.
LI: How does this new product compare to established solutions customers might already have, such as commercial software?
Gargano: Because we are offering this product as a Software as a Service (SaaS), we have a little bit more control over our technology's backend. That's because we are servicing our website and are not pulling from the customer's application.
PostegreSQL has much of the same functionality. So do other open source database products compared to products such as Oracle. Consider EnterpriseDB. What they actually do is have access to the free open source versions of Oracle -- and then they make it even more Oracle-like.
LI: How do your products help leverage database results for eScholar's clients?
Gargano: One of our original products, CBW or Complete Data Warehouse, actually has become one of our flagship products. This works with whatever system our customers currently use, such as if they are an SQL Server shop. It works at the client's site and is usually managed by the client's IT department.
The myTrack product is separate. It allows a customer to move the existing database into myTrack. We are doing this product differently, in that we offer it as SaaS, so we can control the entire data stack.
The choice for the client of a database product is transparent. With myTrack, they really don't have to worry about that. Customers don't have to change what they are doing today. It is all transparent from their perspective.
LI: Looking at the last five years, have you seen any hurdles in getting customers to move into an open source database product?
Gargano: Oftentimes, the decision is made based on what the customers already have. Sometimes school districts are bound to a state service with a vendor contract with Microsoft, for instance. So getting them to select something different would require them to retrain or get new staff to do something different from what they are doing.
Plus, the fact that it is open source probably adds some apprehension on their part. Bringing in open source might raise questions about where they will get continued support when they no longer use Microsoft or Oracle. So in that sense, it has been a little bit of an uphill battle.
With our addition of a Software as a Service product, we can be a lot more flexible in determining our own software stack.
LI: What about reactions to the misguided concept of open source products being free and thus lacking value?
Gargano: There does seem to be a holdover from enterprise in general that if something is free it must not be as good as something that is paid for. That view is starting to shift a little bit.
It is a little bit harder in the education market if you are getting a good relationship from Oracle or SQL Server. They are great products. There are a lot of reasons why you wouldn't want to switch and do something different.
LI: What do you see as the biggest challenge in marketing your new product, myTrack?
Gargano: One of the biggest challenges we have is the introduction of new users. Most of our existing database products are used only by administrators or officials on the state level. MyTrack will be available to parents and students. So we have to worry about being able to marry very large amounts of data. We also have the challenge of managing access to so many people.
LI: Where do you see the potential for open source to grow more in the educational field?
Gargano: I don't really see open source going anywhere. It is not going to become a widespread reality right away. There still is too much high-quality software out there. Still, it has lots of strong support and good communities around it. There is still an attitude of why reinvent the wheel when somebody else has already done it.
Even though the educational market is slow to adopt new things, I think it is inevitable that open source is going to work its way into education. There is no reason for the education field to stop it. There is really nothing wrong with it. People no longer see open source as a problem. I think as more people continue to use open source, it will work its way into the education field.
LI: What about fears of security concerns some people attach to open source? Do school admins see that as a threat?
Gargano: I personally have never had that argument proposed. The reactions to open source are more along the lines of why change the software if it isn't broken rather than viewing it as a security issue.


text:
If you are anything like me some times paper work can get the better of you and although I'm what others would call a little OCD (which I own and take pride in) I do at times let paper clutter take over areas of my house and tend to just find a draw to hide it in when people drop by. Never to find important papers again. (well until it's to late)
So a few months back I attended Penrith's Kikki K stores 1st Paper Organising class. It was amazing and I got so much out of it. I was told all about it by a friend of mine and went home that night and scouted on line to find out more. They have classes in most stores just pop on line and have a look for yourself here!
The class runs for 2 hours and during that time you learn simple organisation tips and systems to help you stay organised both at home and for business.
There solutions are simple to implement and easy to maintain, giving you a much better use of your time, talents and spaces so you have more time to focus on the things that are important to you!
It also doesn't hurt that the stationery in store looks beautiful and would go with anyone's decor!


text:
Welcome to
Field & Stream RV Park
Conveniently located in Brookline, New Hampshire, just 3 miles north of Massachusetts and ten miles west of Nashua, New Hampshire. Campground catering to the Mature RV'r... open to all ages!
Only 25 Minutes from Merrimack Premium Outlets
Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH
Summer and Winter Seasonal Sites
We're Open All Year!
Peaceful, Quiet and Restful
Discover our clean and modern RV Park nestled in Southern New Hampshire's Maple sugar country.
Just minutes away from tax free shopping and historic landmarks Field & Stream is your quiet and restful retreat! Some of the area attractions include the Hollis Flea Market, Parkers Maple Barn, Pickity Place (The inspiration for Elizabeth Orton Jones, tale of "Little Red Riding Hood"), numerous Antiques and Collectible markets, and historic places.
Tax free shopping at the Merrimack Premium Outlets, Pheasant Lane Mall or the many other shops! See a movie at the old Wilton Town Hall Theater! Hike the many trails at the Beaver Brook Association or for the more advanced hiker, try hiking the many trails to the summit of Mt. Monadnock, or just kick back and relax and enjoy the beautiful country town of Brookline.


text:
Have I mentioned lately how much I'm in love with Rosalba Neri?
Well, I am. A LOT.
From groovy gialli to Mad Mad Mad Mad Science masterpieces to strangely uninvolving WiP-fare, you can always count on my girl Rosalba to class up the joint with her intense acting, amazing wardrobe, and general gob-smacking goregousity. Happily, all these qualities are showcased in Silvio Amadio's 1972 mystery/thriller Amuck! (aka Alla ricerca del piacere). With other highlights including (but not limited to) swingin' 70s sex parties, a menacing butler, Eurohunting duck-snuff and the fifth awarding of the rarefied "Retard Seduction" post label, this flick should have any fan of Neri's or Italian thrillers generally standing at full attention.
We open with a pretty young blonde arriving at a residential island off the coast of Venice, dumped off the water taxi at the iron gates of a palatial, slightly gothic mansion. The girl is Greta Franklin (the mouth-wateringly beautiful Barbara Bouchet of Black Belly of the Tarantula, Don't Torture a Duckling, The French Sex Murders, and dozens of other movies now in my Netflix queue), and she is to be the live-in secretary for brooding novelist Richard Stuart, played by Farley Granger (Rope, Strangers on a Train). The writer's previous secretary, Sally (Patrizia Viotti) disappeared a few months previous under mysterious circumstances.
As usual in Italian thrillers of this particular vintage, very little is what it seems at the Villa Stuart, and the few things that are hold their own peculiarities. It turns out Greta is Sally's BFF (which in this case is Italian for "lesbian lover"), and has placed herself in Richard's employ to find out what happened to her vanished friend. Sally's last few letters, in which she detailed the author's drug-fueled swingers' parties and sexual power games, have led Greta to believe the girl may have met with foul play. (Sally writes eloquently about being "driven by another will...A willing slave in this world of perverse pleasures!" And what's the downside again?)
Deep undercover, Greta proceeds to pump the Stuarts...for information! Which involves getting extremely cozy with the mistress of the house, Eleanora Stuart (Rosalba Neri, natch), who shares her husband's penchant for perverted sex and portentous pronouncements. Of course it's a dangerous game, and exactly how dangerous becomes clear early on when the naked Greta is surprised by a peeping Tom at her window, who turns out to be the slow-witted, giant fisherman Rocco (Petar Martinovitch, who also had a bit part with Rosalba in the excellent Lady Frankenstein).
To calm the girl's nerves Eleanora gives her a glass of drugged liquor. The potent potable does its work too well, rendering Greta so lethargic and compliant that Lady Stuart can't resist taking advantage. There follows an extended (extending?) lesbonic assault from Eleanora, which Greta in her drug-induced dream-state is either powerless or unwilling to repel.
Take a just-out-of-the-oven chicken pot pie, toss its innards into a white-hot coal-burning furnace, and then dump that furnace into the bowels of an active volcano, and you're still only just approaching the incredible HAWTNESS of this scene.
Finally starting on her non-sex-related job duties the next day, Greta starts transcribing chapters Richard's left for her on his huge DICtation machine. Stenography turns to HORROR, however, as she listens to her boss describe a situation much like the one her friend detailed in her letters, only with MURDER at the end. Is this a veiled confession, or is the oversexed writer just screwing with her mind (for a change)? Disturbed, Greta extracts a key from Richard's desk and goes snooping in the cellar, where she finds Sally's clothes stashed in a trunk. She goes to the Venetian police, but when they return to search the study they find no tapes, no manuscript, and no key to the basement. Lacking hard evidence, Greta must stay on and learn more about the twisted pleasures that brought her friend to ruin, and for which she herself feels a strange, irrepressible desire...
I don't want to give away too much of how the mystery pans out, but suffice that it's twisty and turny and perverse enough to satisfy a fan of Italian sex thrillers such as I'm. What I would like to celebrate, however, are some of the assorted wonderful bits of the movie that have rocketed it up to #2 on my list of All-Time Favorite Rosalba Neri movies:
Rosalba's Wardrobe
Remember what I said about how you can always count on Rosalba to class things up with, among other things, her groovy, easily-droppable wardrobe? Well, I wasn't just whistlin' Dixie, parishioners. Put on a drool cloth and take a look at some of the fashions Rosalba sports here:
Bonus Eurobabes
You'd think that a stunningly beautiful, dominating screen presence like Rosalba would be more than enough primo Euroflesh for one movie, and you'd be right...however, Amuck! goes that extra mile by giving us a pair of bonus blonde Eurobabes in Barbara Bouchet and Patrizia Viotti, both of whom would make excellent main courses despite their relegation to side dishes here.*
*Okay, so Bouchet is technically the star of the movie. But watch it and tell me Rosalba doesn't OWN this flick.
Euro Duck Hunt
This may be the only movie of its genre I've ever seen that has as its heroine-in-peril centerpiece an extended duck hunting sequence, complete with actual duck hunt stock footage showing the unfortunate fowl going down like Spitfires in the straights of Midway!
I don't know if the director was an enthusiast, or if he thought Duck Snuff was the next big thing, but it's something you don't see in Italian Sex Thrillers every day--probably with good reason. However, both Bouchet and Rosalba look awesome in their aristocratic hunting gear, it has to be said.
When You Seduce the Tard, You Reap the Whirlwind
When I was speeding through the excellent Mill Creek 50 Chilling Classics set, I was amazed as many were to find a single disc on which three movies contained instances of what can tactfully be called Retard Seduction--hot women making sexual advances on slow-witted characters either out of cruelty, a sick sense of humor, or in the case of Lady Frankenstein, for SCIENCE!
Here Rosalba becomes my first double-inductee in the Retard Seduction club, as she uses her CONSIDERABLE feminine wiles to enlist Rocco's help in her and Richard's nefarious schemes.
In closing, I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Rosalba's acting is great as always, as she plays the perverse, unhinged lady of the house to perfection. Farley's Richard Stuart is suitably deadpan and creepy, and Bouchet is so gorgeous to look at, any acting shortcomings went flying right over my head. There is a bit of silliness halfway through where out of nowhere Rosalba suddenly has an ESP fit, which comes to exactly nothing, and a bit of cruelty to eels that will disturb some PETA inclined folks (to say nothing of the duck snuff), but the good here far outweighs the bad imo.
I can't really tell you why the American distributors retitled this one Amuck!--while it *is* an awesome word, and I'm always in support of exclamation points in movie names, no one really goes AMUCK in the flick, at least in the way I understand the term. (The literal translation of the Italian title, "In Search of Pleasure," is much closer to what the flick is about.) Still, it's sexy, twisted, and pretty to look at (even though my print was a damaged pan & scan version--we need a restored widescreen DVD, stat!), and I'm pleased to give it a 3 thumb rating. Highly recommended to all Mad Movie fans. See it!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Amuck! (1972): or, Rosalba Rocks My World
Posted by The Vicar of VHS at 9:47 AM
Labels: '70s, 3 Thumbs, Groovy, Retard Seduction, Rosalba Neri, Thriller
9 comments:
- Samuel Wilson said...
I'm convinced -- but to be honest the pictures almost make the words superfluous. As a Lady Frankenstein admirer I'll be happy to take another look at Rosalba anytime. And Bouchet is a bonus!
- April 15, 2010 at 7:02 PM
- Al Bruno III said...
Great work as always and Rosalba Neri indeed rocks it like a hurricane.
- April 16, 2010 at 6:43 AM
- Richard of DM said...
You nailed this one! Awesome. Amuck! is also one of my favorites. Hopefully, there'll be a proper DVD for this flick one day. And ohhhhhh doctor, Rosalba Neri is a goddess.
- April 16, 2010 at 7:16 AM
- dfordoom said...
Another Rosalba Neri fan! It's a mystery to me why she doesn't have the kind of following among cult movie fans that someone like Edwige Fenech has. Rosalba was at least as hot, and I think a better actress. In fact I've just been watching a Rosalba Neri movie - Asylum Erotica. And yes, she does take her clothes off. She's also worth watching in Lucifera Demonlover.
- April 16, 2010 at 5:58 PM
If you like Rosalba AND Edwige Fenech, you've got to see them together in a film called The Seducers (aka Top Sensation).
- April 16, 2010 at 6:31 PM
- The Vicar of VHS said...
Thanks for the comments, everyone! Glad to see I'm not alone in my worship of Rosalba!
@dfordoom--I'm definitely going to have to look up ASYLUM EROTICA...I mean, with a title like that, it's already a must see! As for why she never got the following Edwige did, I can only speculate that it was a question of luck, working with certain directors at certain times, or not. Still, both have shown us impressive bodies...of work!
@Anonymous--thanks! Now that's three Rosalba movies I need to get my paws on (along with Asylum Erotica and Lucifera Demonlover)!
- April 19, 2010 at 8:47 AM
- dfordoom said...
Vicar, don't buy the Asylum Erotica DVD. It's fullframe and heavily cut. Get the version of the movie released under the title Slaughter Hotel, which is in print and easy to obtain. Even from watching the cut version it's obviously a eurosleaze classic, but apparently the Slaughter Hotel version has lots of added sleaze. And you just can't have too much sleaze. Especially if it involves Rosalba Neri.
- April 19, 2010 at 9:43 AM
- The Vicar of VHS said...
Thanks for the tip! As luck would have it, I've got SLAUGHTER HOTEL on my netflix queue...and I don't think I even realized its sleaze pedigree! Score!
And you're right about never having enough sleaze, esp. where Rosalba is involved. However--somehow, for me, she manages to maintain an air of aristocratic classiness even when wallowing in the sleaziest of 70s Italian sleaze. It is a part of Rosalba's mystery, and her magic.
- April 19, 2010 at 1:50 PM
- cwh99 said...
Another great Rosalba Neri film is "Smile Before Death" (1972). Directed by Silvio Amadio, the man behind "Amuck!". "Smile Before Death" has a fine cast and an awesome soundtrack by Robert Pregadio. Highly recommended!!
- June 27, 2010 at 2:54 AM


text:
A judge has ruled that a statement a teen made to police about a fatal 2005 school shooting is admissible in his second trial.
A judge has ruled that a statement a teen made to police about a fatal 2005 school shooting is admissible in his second trial.
The ruling came Wednesday after lawyers for Kenny Bartley Jr., who was 14 at the time of the shooting, argued that his statement should be thrown out.
Defense lawyers said their client was too young and high on pills when he signed a waiver of his rights and told police he fatally shot Assistant Principal Ken Bruce and wounded two others at Campbell County High School. Bruce was the husband of Jo Bruce, who heads the Family Resource Center at Willow Brook Elementary School in Oak Ridge.
But the judge noted when he ruled that Bartley has an above-average IQ of 130.
"It appears from his IQ, he has the ability to understand those words (of the constitutional right to remain silent) and to understand what they meant in this case," the judge said.
The decision will allow prosecutors to use the statement against Bartley at his trial, which is scheduled for Feb. 24.
A Tennessee appellate court in March sustained a judge's granting of a new trial in the case.
He was 15 when his attorney and prosecutors struck a deal on the day of his 2007 trial that led to a 45-year prison term. Bartley pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Bartley said he wasn't allowed to talk to his parents before the plea was entered.


text:
I was poised for entry. I began massaging her moist cunt with my hand while she stared at me with a look of desire that spelled F-U-C-K M-E N-O-W. Her hole was just big enough for one finger. I worked it in and out and made sure to occasionally tweak her clit, which invariably caused a groan and a bit- lip. I was dying to taste this girl, but my penis was screaming otherwise.
I grabbed her perfectly shaped ass and lifted her off the bed a few inches, and put a pillow under her. Holding her waist, I slowly began working my cock into her. Her hole was clenching, squirming, begging me to enter. I slid in so slow and so smoothly, I just about lost it right there. She kept up her stare, maintaining contact with my eyes, regardless of what emotions her face displayed. Her belly was taught and was undulating, while she licked her lips. I slowly began stroking her cunt, feeling her tight walls squeezing on me. She was moving her hips slowly up and down in a rhythmic motion, and she was panting and making soft cries.
"Oh yes fuck me, pump me, do me, harder, move me how you want, make my cunt serve you, tell me how to be fucked. Oh yea, right there, deeper"
" You are so perfect," I said for the twentieth time, "your cunt is so tight and wet. I love the way your tits move ever so slightly when I fuck you. They're so round and big." I was squeezing one tit in each hand and they were liking it a lot.
Now most of the time guys need continuous change in what they see and feel in order to stay turned on. In this case, I wanted to change positions not because I was getting bored, but because if we didn't change positions soon I was going to pump this girl full of me. I pulled out of her and said,
"I'm gonna fuck you from behind now, so turn over, spread your legs, and arch your back so your sweet ass is sticking out." She jumped up very quickly, turned over, pushed her ass up at me, swung her head around and looked at me with Bambi eyes as if to say 'please fuck me as hard as you can'.
I was savoring every second. I slowly got into position, grabbing her hips, positioning my cock, rubbing her slit with the head, and she was beginning to moan like she needed something pretty big, pretty hard, pretty fast. I slowly pushed my cock into her as she tried pushing back against me to bury me to the hilt.
"You just relax vixen, you'll get my cock when I'm good and ready. "
"Oh come on josh, it feels too good! Give me that giant rod of yours!"
Ah well. I love to oblige a beautiful woman. I leaned over and grabbed her tits, each one overflowing out of my hand, and really started driving her cunt. I thrust HARD into her, pulled out slowly and did it again, to the rythm of her grunts. She was arching her back and throwing her hair, pushing her mound onto my shaft, assuring that we were constanly grinding cock on cunt. I felt so hard and so big and so potent. Within half a minute, I started going really fast. Some women find me a little bit too long, but I was able to push into her all the way without hurting her, and I could definately feel her cervix. vbcrlfvbcrlf"f-UCK me, f-UCK me, f-UUUUCK MEEEE, OHHH FUCKIN RIGHT –OH OH OH OH-OH-OH-OH YES!!!", she yelled, finally sucumbing to the orgasm I knew she would. Just about when she yelled YES!, I grabbed her shoulders and held her cunt on my cock and began vigorously shooting cum into her, driving it deep inside her, again, and again, and again. My cock must have spasmed 25 times. Her head had dropped to the bed, but she still arched her ass up to me, as I squirted her box.
After the spots in my brain from nearly passing out dissapeared, I lay down beside her and held her face in my hand.
"How was that baby, did I pass the test, did I satisfy you?"
"You passed with flying colours, got the bonus question, and won the all-expenses-paid trip into my bed for life. But please don't tell me you're finished with my lessons. I so want to teach you some other courses you haven't dreamed of. I have night classes, day classes, intercession, and, not to give too much away, but I've been known to have assistant teachers."
"I won't even ask, but I'm a good student, am never absent, and I really enjoy sucking up… and down and all around…"
"Well lie back and relax tiger, and sink into my world."
She got up, pulled her top over those delicious tits, pulled her shorts on and backed out of the door, leaving me naked and satisfied. I went over to the door and locked it, and got my clothes on, in case anyone wanted to get in. What a party, I thought. I won't beleive this come morning. Surprisingly, my cock wasn't feeling all that sore. I think I was ready for more. What transpired next assured me that I was.
I heard a knocking at the door. I went to it and said softly," May I ask who is requesting entry?" An unknown female voice responded," If you let me in it is you who will be requesting entry."
I was puzzled. Surely Vixen would be returning soon. Maybe this was a joke. Maybe there were hords of people at the door waiting to catch me off guard. But, since I had my clothes on, I don't think there was much to catch. I unlocked the door, and opened it while remeining out of sight behind it. I heard someone enter, and then the lights went out. I began to close the door, when someone else pushed on it slightly, forcing it to remain fully open with me behind it. A few seconds later the door was pulled shut. Since the lights were also out in the hall and my eyes weren't adjusted to the dark yet, I couldn't see a thing.
A small, soft hand clasped mine, and pulled me over to the bed. Gently I was laid down on the bed, and a pair of hands behan taking off my shorts. I was getting pretty hard pretty fast. Finally my member was out, and an unknown female began stroking me with a tight grip, with her other hand on my balls.
Suddenly another pair of hands found there way to my stomach and began pulling off my top. By this time I was just begining to discern the outline of these women. One reached up to my face and it went dark, as she put some sort of blindfold around my head and tied it. After some shuffling, I felt something tickling my nose, and then a wet, warm, luscious cunt was pressed onto my lips. I eagerly began kissing and licking, parting the lips with my tonge, while my hands wandered up to find what other treasures awaited. Expecting to find, a smooth belly and some tits, I instead found a round, firm ass, which was slowly moving, smearing this twat on my face.
The girl at my cock had slowly began using her mouth on me, and now I found four lips and two tongues on me. One was slowly evelping the head, while the other was flicking her tongue along the base. I licked and sucked away, and I found that every time I sucked the beautiful clit on my face, the mouth working the head of my cock sucked harder. I began vigorously flicking her clit, and she started bobbing her head up and down faster, sucking, clutching, biting, moaning, writhing, grinding, and finally cumming, jerking her cunt all over my face, while holding on to my rod for dear life. Just as she finished and pulled off me I began to cum, and the other mouth quickly engulfed my dick and pushed me deep into her throat, swallowing my cum.
By this point I was certainly feeling the results of the orgasms I'd had and began to take off the blindfold. Someone stopped me, and soon I found a different, smaller cunt on my face; this time the girl was sitting up and facing forward, so I reached up and felt her tits. These definitely weren't Sasha's, buth the certainly qualified the owner to be termed VixenII. I was licking away, wondering what the other girl was up to (I assumed it was Sasha), when she climbed on my hips and began rubbing her cunt on my cock, trying to get it to stand at attention once again. Despite my apprehension, he faithfully rose to the occasion, and soon I was getting rode yet again. VixenII jumped up and turned around, and soon I heard kissing and sucking above me. I now could definitely tell it was Sasha riding me, and the excitement of this made me shoot into her much sooner that I expected. Luckily for them, they came around the same time, and we finally collapsed in a bundle. I was eager to see the second girl, so I whipped off the blindfold before anyone could stop me.
If it wasn't my sexy young host Terri!! I was dumbfounded! We had been great friends for so long, and I had often fucked her in my mind, but I never figured she'd be game. Not only was she willing to play, she was a shark.
She was looking at me sheepishly with a cute, shy smile. I smiled back and said, "I thought you'd never cum"
They both laughed, and Sasha said," Well, class is over for now, I'd like to thank Terri for helping me with the lesson, and Josh for being such an avid learner."
"You two are my Vixens, and I will forever be your buck, your fucking buck."
We all laughed, and got up to get dressed. "I hope we can reconvene again soon."
"We'll have to menage again at my next party", said Terri,"and I hope everyone cums again.