text:
People can rightly blame bad weather for canceled baseball games, traffic jams, and even foul moods. But for Wall Street, the excuse is starting to wear thin.
Target Corp. learned that lesson the hard way Monday after it reported weak first-quarter sales, a performance it blamed largely on cold weather that kept shoppers from its stores. Investors were unswayed as Target shares fell 4 percent, or $2.86, to close at $68.40.
"Our first-quarter earnings fell short of our expectations, as we faced a choppy and challenging environment caused by unfavorable weather and this year's payroll tax increase," CEO Gregg Steinhafel told analysts during a conference call. "Our U.S. business generated softer-than-expected sales and traffic, particularly in our seasonal categories as we experienced one of the coldest spring seasons on record."
But some analysts were skeptical that bad weather, which can impact store traffic, had as great of an impact on Target's sales. For one thing, Target also reported weak sales and falling traffic in the fourth quarter of last year, during the crucial holiday shopping season when shoppers were out in force.
"Weather does not even make up [a quarter] of their sales decline," said Robin Lewis, CEO of the Robin Report, a retail strategy newsletter.
The Minneapolis-based retailer said sales at stores open for at least a year dropped 0.6 percent while overall sales were nearly flat at $16.6 billion. Specifically, Target executives said cold weather that persisted into spring especially hurt seasonal goods like clothing, lawn, patio, and sporting goods.
Target and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which also blamed the weather for its lackluster results, are losing market share to smaller dollar stores and "off-price" retailers like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, analysts said. Neither Target nor Wal-Mart open many stores in the United States anymore, while dollar stores and outlet centers are quickly adding square footage.
With its focus on discounted national brands, outlet centers steal apparel customers from Target, Lewis said. Dollar stores, which are opening locations closer to consumers' homes, swipe the bottom end of Target's customer base.
"Target is getting hit big time by the dollar stores," Lewis said.
Amy Koo, an analyst with Kantar Retail consulting firm in Boston, said Target faces a much more serious long term challenge than incremental weather. Despite its exclusive design partnerships, 5 percent Redcard loyalty program, and P-Fresh grocery formats, fewer people are visiting a Target store.
The company reported the number of store transactions in the first quarter fell 1.9 percent compared to a 2 percent gain during the same period in 2012. In the fourth quarter, transactions dropped one percent.
For all of 2012, the number of transactions rose only 0.5 percent, a slight improvement over the 0.4 percent gain Target posted during the previous 12 months.
One bright spot for Target is that Redcard use continues to grow by double digits. However, shoppers seem to be gravitating primarily toward lower-margin, non-discretionary products like food and toilet paper instead of higher-margin merchandise like clothing, household goods, and electronics.
"How much toilet paper can someone possibly need?" Koo said.
That's why Target needs to ramp up its digital sales, whether Target.com or mobile, Koo said. But that takes time, and Target is "only now getting started," she said.
In the meantime, Target will base much of its growth prospects on Canada. The company opened 24 stores in the first quarter and early results look strong. Those stores generated about $86 million in sales in just two months with a better than expected gross profit margin rate of 38.4 percent.
"Canada was absolutely the right move to make," Lewis said. "They would do well the faster they can get up in Canada. But whether it can offset the stores in the U.S., I don't know."


text:
Sentara Halifax Pediatrics moves to new space
Beginning March 2, Sentara Halifax Pediatrics will see patients at their new location, 2100 Wilborn Avenue, across from the south entrance to Hupps Mill Plaza.
The practice, which opened Dec. 1, 2014, was first located in the same building as Sentara Halifax Family Medicine. Now, thanks to additional health care providers being added to both practices, Sentara Halifax Pediatrics will occupy its own space, where the practice can grow and continue providing high quality care for children in our community.
"We're excited for Sentara Halifax Pediatrics to get settled in a permanent space they can call their own," said Grey Watson, manager of operations for primary care and specialty care physicians. "We have two pediatricians and a pediatric nurse practitioner who offer personalized, comprehensive care and who create a trusting relationship with each family. We are eager to take on more new patients and continue seeing those children who are already established with one of our great providers."
Pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners specialize in the physical, emotional, mental and social development of children – from birth through adolescence to adulthood. As your child's primary care provider, a pediatrician or pediatric nurse practitioner can:
- Treat acute illnesses, such a strep throat, and chronic ones, such as asthma
- Give your child all the necessary immunizations that can help protect him or her from some serious diseases
- Offer you advice on how to help keep your child healthy and on common parenting issues, such as discipline and toilet training
- Guide you in anticipating your child's needs through the years
- Refer you to a specialist if your child requires one
The providers at Sentara Halifax Pediatrics include pediatrician Deborah D.O. Abaitey, M.D., who joined the practice Jan. 5, pediatrician Anne J. Lombardi, M.D., who joined the practice Jan. 12, and pediatric nurse practitioner Senecca E. Kirkhart, CPNP, IBCLC, who joined the practice when it opened in late 2014.
"Children often sit on chairs designed for their height because their legs are shorter than an adults'. Toddlers drink from sipping cups because they don't yet have the skills to handle a regular glass. And children ride on bicycles with training wheels because their sense of balance is still a work in progress. All these things show that children and grown-ups are different in many ways," said Watson. "The providers at Sentara Halifax Pediatrics recognize those differences too, and they're prepared to address the needs of even the youngest patients."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Business Cards - Standard Business Cards
Bakeries and the bakers that produce quality baking products require bakery business cards to promote their products and services. Whether you have an artistic approach to producing pastries, wedding cakes, or unique chocalate desserts having a business card to display some images of your quality work along with your contact information is a great way to build your business. You can attach your business cards to delievers and even exchange business cards at an event. There are a variety of ways you can promote your business or services, especially with the right business card.
1800businesscards makes designing and printing bakery business cards easy. You can upload your own images or insert images from across the web with the touch of a button. You also have access to great editing tools so that you can design your cards with your magical touch. We also provide quality printing at cheap prices so you can make a statement in an affordable way.


text:
Nov. 1, 2011
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Three members of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's women's tennis team have earned post-season honors from the Little East Conference.
Sophomore Allison Furtado (Fairhaven, MA/Fairhaven HS) was named second team All-Conference at number four singles, while freshman Hannah Schulze (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford HS) and junior Liz Girczyc (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro HS) were named second team All-LEC at number three doubles.
Furtado was 8-3 overall in singles, 5-2 against conference opponents. She was 5-1 at number four singles and 0-1 at number three singles in conference play. Schulze and Girczyc were 10-3 overall in doubles, 5-2 against LEC foes. They were 4-1 at number three doubles and 1-1 at number two doubles against conference opponents.
"Allison played well for us all year," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Ralph Perry. "She played up on a number of occasions, we could always count on her to come through, and she was also a good, strong doubles player with her partner, (sophomore) Angela Pollard (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth HS).
"Hannah and Liz played well together," said Perry. "They complemented each other well, with Hannah having an excellent net game, and Liz more or less taking the backcourt. They beat a very good Bridgewater team twice, and I could always depend on them to play good, solid tennis." The Corsairs finished the season with a 9-5 record, were fourth in the LEC and advanced to the semi-finals of the conference tournament.


text:
I live in Seattle, Washington with my family. A few years ago, I discovered custom knifemaking and something about it really called to me. It's a fascination and a has become a full time obsession with me. I have found it to be a wonderful outlet for my creative energies and anticipate making knives for many years to come. The possibilities seem endless!
I find inspiration in and admire the work of many great makers including Jay Hendrickson, Roger Bergh, James Luman, Mattias Sytrefors and many others.
I hope you enjoy my knives as much as I enjoy making them!


text:
Georgia Kelly and her three children waited about six months before moving into a unit at Cammie Clagett Courts about a year ago.
Georgia Kelly and her three children waited about six months before moving into a unit at Cammie Clagett Courts about a year ago.
They now have a new home at the complex after authorities moved tenants as a precautionary measure after finding plumbing and related issues in 30 units.
Daryl Dalton is director of housing operations for the Spartanburg Housing Authority. He said they have been "superficially" aware of issues in the units for some time.
They became fully aware of the problems with housekeeping inspections last November, said Jessica Holcomb, property asset manager with the Spartanburg Housing Authority. Kelly's family was among a few moved that same month.
Holcomb said no tenants have been in danger or suffered health problems. The relocations were a precautionary measure to ensure residents' safety.
Holcomb said many tenants did not report the issues, including a few weak floors, some unevenness, which she said is typical with units that age.
Dalton said it is mostly plumbing issues, as well as other problems that come with more than 40 years of wear and use. Some plumbing and sewer lines have begun to fail, resulting in leaks, he said. In many instances, the leaks are from an upstairs bathroom leaking downstairs into a unit.
Housing authority staff did an initial assessment and have hired a professional engineer to inspect the units and make a report expected within two weeks.
Cammie Clagett consists of 150 units. The majority of tenants are young families, but some original tenants remain there. Dalton said the average family includes 2.5 people.
Holcomb said the complex is very popular because it has large units with up to five bedrooms. About 400 people are on a waiting list to get into Cammie Clagett.
While most relocated families remained at the complex, some moved to another complex.
Holcomb said most residents were aware of problems. She said some reported leaks and they're urged to make the Housing Authority aware of problems.
Asked why residents said nothing or failed to report issues, Holcomb said they urge tenants to let them know about issues.
Dalton said people with little or no disposable income are concerned about charges. Even though the water is leaking, they may be reluctant to make a call for fear they will be charged.
Dalton said tenants are not charged unless they are responsible for the damage.
Low-income residents are not only cash strapped.
Dalton said funding has decreased every year the last 10 years. He said 98 percent of funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The other two percent comes from grants the housing authority receives.
HUD provides the housing authority with operating funds, as well as capital funds to improve identified needs.
Dalton said the Spartanburg Housing Authority annually receives about $1.2 million in capital funds. He said Cammie Clagett alone had $12 million worth of needs the last time the housing authority assessed needs and said there are a total of 1,132 public housing units in Spartanburg.
"It's not just Spartanburg. It's not just Cammie Clagett. All housing authorities are being forced to look at issues like this," Dalton said.
HUD, he said, does not have enough money to fund all the needed improvements.
The housing authority is waiting on the engineer's assessment to determine whether to fix units. Dalton said it may not be in the best interest to perhaps spend $30,000 to renovate a unit, versus using the money building a new unit.
The assessment will help in determining the complex's future.
"I think it's fair to say that the (Spartanburg) Housing Authority is considering all the possibilities," Dalton said.
One prospect is demolition. But officials with HUD must approve a demolition, and Dalton said they would have to take many things into consideration, including tenants. He anticipates that if a demolition occurred it would likely be in phases.
"We have to make a decision about Cammie Clagett. Has it reached its useful life? Has it passed its useful life? What would it take to renovate Cammie Clagett, and would it be in the best interest of the taxpayers at this point? Would it cost more to fix it up than it would be to demolish it and build a new one?" Dalton asked.


text:
Corkbin Wine App for iPhone and Android
Get the App
App Store
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67 posts
Schramsberg Cremant
6 years ago
4th of July 2012 with Chuck on the 18th floor at the Omni Hotel. Overlooked our moonrise with fireworks over Fair Park.
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Demi Sec
6 years ago
Chuck & I met 8 months ago. Celebrated driving back from Dallas, saw Olivia, met Suzanne & then Wolfgang Puck take-out.
Odisea Dream Albarino 2011
7 years ago
5.17.12 Dynamic Audio 5 year open house! Chuck drove Kathleen, Therese & I to event after girls night at Doc's.
Switzer Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
7 years ago
Well deserved after a full 2 days of hosting a garage sale!! Chuck's b-day present signed by Barry Switzer himself.
Menage A Trois California Red Wine 2009
7 years ago
Sun with Chuck. Grilling shrimp, Vidalia onions, Caesar salad and Citrus Rice from LaDonna's after a park day w/ kids!
Van Duzer Pinot Noir 2008
7 years ago
Philbrook Wine Experience 4 of 4. Most structured Pinot of the group.
Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir 2009
7 years ago
Philbrook Wine Experience 3 of 4. 91 points
Van Duzer Pinot Noir Rose 2011
7 years ago
Philbrook Wine Experience 2 of 4
Van Duzer Estate Pinot Gris 2011
7 years ago
Philbrook Wine Experience 1 of 4. Paired w/ soft shell crab, scallops, & amazing salmon on Lunar Eclipse night-5.20.12
Savary Chablis
7 years ago
Had Olivia overnight! Took her and Cat to PF Changs to celebrate Chuck's 51st b-day! Got new small fan in tv room.
Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
7 years ago
4.28.12 Our 7 month anniversary!! Wine after an evening of margaritas & crawfish at Matt & Teresa's Annual Crawfish Boil
Streamline Cabfrac
7 years ago
Wine, fish & mac-n-cheese after a days work & an hour massage treat! Chuck has a surprise dessert in the works!
Veritable Quandary 2009
7 years ago
First overnight camping trip at Lake Tenkiller with James, A, J, mom & dad. Low low temps with a low low mattress!
Chateau La Maroutine Bordeaux 2005
7 years ago
420 night! Chuck got Hideway Pizza paired with the new firepit! Dessert: PF Chang choc cake, mango sherbet and Cheetos
Pouilly Fuisse Louis Latour
7 years ago
April 16 - home with James & Oliva. Drawing on the driveway, feeding squirrels and then NYC Pizza take-out for dinner.
Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
7 years ago
April Fools 2012 - Went to Thunder/Chicago game
7 years ago
6 month Anniversary with Chuck at Mahogany!
Levit 8 Wine
7 years ago
Red Rock Grill - Tulsa on 3.4.12


text:
Looking to hire or book comedians in Indiana? Since our beginning in 1998, Summit Comedy, Inc. has been an industry leader in supplying the funniest, professional comedians and comedy entertainment for hire in all 50 states. Whether you need a comedian, hypnotist, ventriloquist, celebrity comedian, mentalist or a magician we are your one stop shop for all things COMEDY!
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text:
Krillos Guide to Survival
Westbound Spotlight: The Renegade
John Heffernan
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Letters from the West #7
May 20, 2018
Emissary of Deelug Writes: Dear Krillo, It's real interesting hearing about all the history of Cael. I've been doing a lot of thinking about them old wizard towers scattered throughout The West, and I was wonderin' if you could talk about your experience with 'em. What sort of ancient defenses or defending creatures do they have, and what sort of magical, unusual loot do they have hidden inside? I know all wizards are different, but i'm curious if you have any stories to share.
Letters from the West #6
May 06, 2018
Diabolical & Dastardly Writes: Dear Krillo, I'm a Westbounder who made a pact with a devil for the power to avenge my family. I've long since broke ties with my patron, but I still have the powers that were given to me. Now I can make pacts with others, but my allies are hesitant to accept my pacts when the consequences are a healing spell. How do I make my allies more comfortable in accepting my pacts? Sincerely, Diabolical & Dastardly Dear Diabolical, I'm sorry to hear
Letters from the West #5
Apr 22, 2018
Erevan Dainyos writes: Hello, Krillo. There's been something I've been wondering since first coming to the west... What exactly is the God of Dust? As a Shaman, I don't have a lot of use for Dust Implements, but it's still something that gives rise to curiosity in me. Any information besides what is common knowledge would be appreciated. Thank you for your time, Krillo. -Erevan Dalnyos, "The Anguished Blade", Shaman Hey Erevan, That name has been moving around Cael and the


text:
File Vault
FileVault (or File Vault) is the cryptographic file system developed by Apple and introduced with MacOS 10.3.
FileVault works by storing each user's home directory in an encrypted ".sparseimage" file. The file is automatically mounted when the user logs in and unmounted when the user logs out. All of the user's files and preferences are stored in this file. The file's encryption key is stored in the .sparseimage file, but that encryption key is itself encrypted with the user's login password.
There are no known attacks against File Vault other than a brute force attack on the user's password.
As part of the security enhancements in OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Apple have moved from AES-128 to AES-256 for the encryption used in the disk image.
In Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) a full volume encryption variant was introduced.
See Also
- You can find a good discussion of File Vault's usability shortcomings in Simson Garfinkel's PhD Thesis.
- Unlocking FileVault Talk at 23c3 (video)
- Unlocking FileVault Talk at 23c3 (audio)
- Unlocking FileVault Whitepaper


text:
Tell the National Park Service: No corporate sponsorships in our parks.
Our national parks are suffering from under-funding and a backlog of repairs, and to close the gap, the National Park Service is proposing a backwards plan: corporate sponsorships.
Please join us in asking National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis to stand with our parks and say "no" to corporate sponsorships.


text:
|2008-04-14, 21:17
|Link #1081
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada, but sometimes in La La-Land hanging out with Midori-chan89
Age: 30
LOL That gives me an idea Temptest.
Irene and Raphaela - What We Didn't Get To See
Raphaela: It seems like they went west.
Irene: They better have gone west!
Raphaela: Calm down I don't want you to awaken again, it was very hard bringing you back.
Irene: Well I'm just saying that they better not have went somewhere else because we have been walking for a month non-stop- Wait do you feel that?!
Raphaela: Yes.
Riful: Hello ladies! I see you must want to be awakened! I can do that, but you have to join me okay?
Raphaela: We'll join you but you have to tell us if you have seen any renegade looking warriors like us around? (Yeah right! Like I'd join, this one is weaker than my sister and I killed her easily.)
Riful: Oh I did, they were wearing black leather, and I'm soooooo glad Dauf wasn't around because he would have-
Irene: We don't care about that! When did you last see them?
Riful: Oh about a few months ago.
Irene: WHAT?! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! *awakens again*
Riful: What?
Irene kicks the crap out of Riful.
Irene: GET LOST!
Raphaela: Great I have to bring you back again, *sigh* Irene if I don't die from trying to get my revenge or from an abysal lord, you will be the reason I die.
Raphaela brings Irene back.
Irene: I'm sorry I am just tired of walking, and ever since I let Clare leave seven years ago I keep having dreams of Teresa, and she keeps saying to me that I shouldn't have let Clare go, and that I need to find her and help her or else Teresa will kick the crap out of me for an eternity after I meet her in the afterlife some day.
Raphaela: Wow thats intense. Anyways the closest city from here is Rabona, mabye they headed in that direction.
Meanwhile the ghosts are leaving Rabona.
Tabitha: Galatea do you feel like there is two people trying to catch up to us right now?
Galatea: Yes I do, in fact it feels like one of them is very angry because she keeps showing up to the places your all headed too late.
Miria: Hmmm if thats the case we should leave right away and make it even harder for them to find us, it could be dangerous if they catch up to us.
Deneve: But how do we know they aren't on our side?
Miria: What if they aren't on our side?
The ghosts plus Galatea leave Rabona.
Helen: Hey Clare what if they are the ones who know where that guy is so you can go get him and let me use him for a little.
Clare: Helen if you want this last apple your going to have to quit it or else me and Miria will-
Helen: OKAY! OKAY! I'll shut up!
One month later.
Sid: Hey who are you two?
Galk: They look like the other renegade claymore's that were here.
Raphaela: Was one of them named Clare?
Sid: Yeah Clare was here-
Irene: When did they leave or are they still here?!
Galk: They left a month ago.
Raphaela: I feared you would say that.
Galk&Sid: Huh? Why?
Irene: NOT AGAIN! AAAAAAAAAAAAA! *awakens*
Raphaela: Thats why. *sigh* Here we go again.
|2008-04-15, 09:23
|Link #1083
Sleepy Male Claymore
Join Date: Nov 2007
Ok.., since nobody intends to restart E.S.S anytime soon, I might as well do it myself; my own creation after all.
Anybody who's interested can contribute their own opinions regarding the main plot; so far it was a little something like this: People from animesuki came to shoot a live action claymore movie in bulgaria, and in order not to get stuck without good acting skillz they started beating the shit out of each other with swords untill they learned to use yoki and awaken. so far so good? ROFL..
Sooo.. basically we're all a bunch of retards running around, killing each other to recieve movie roles, and engulfed in our own otakuism the world around us magically transformed into an alternate claymore universe where dedicated fans fight heroically to honor their respective dieties and achieve the ultimate goal of...... Uhmm.. Errr...
The.... the ultimate goal of..
Anyway, the long timer animesuki'ers naturally became more powerful; at least at first and settled in the mid lands, while the lesser spread across all four direction and different regions to hold autonomy of. All was going well untill people began awakening and local conflicts started occuring on an ethical backround, which later deteriorated to large scale power struggles. Official and secret alliances and fractions were formed; out of a need to supress local rebellions and prevent violence from spreading, the mid land lords NSW and NightWish granted independece to the elite class of warriors just beneath them who hunted down traitors and held the disobedient regions under a reign of terror.
The control was maintained untill of course, they themselves started awakening and fighting amongst themselves, some fighting alone and persuing their own greedy agendas, while others grouping up into their own sub fractions.
NSW went berserk when he discovered that NightWish was recruiting the blood lusting awakened to his own ranks without his knowledge, and issued an order to destroy all awakened and semi awakened. Anyone who was caught associating with one was to be brought to "justice".
Seemingly what happened untill now was that a coupla fellas from the south met each other coincidentally and their fate was sealed as they were charged with treachery and heresy by helping out a half awakened escapee (Hell88).
Lotsa characters. Each develop your own, and help developing others would also be appriciated. roam, loathe, crush.. do as you will..! just keep it fun for all and don't spoil one each other's plot contributions.
|2008-04-15, 10:25
|Link #1084
Every word must conjure
And yeah, still clueless over the ultimate goal of what exactly. Being the last Claymore fan standing? The most crazed one? The one with the most kills?
|2008-04-15, 10:29
|Link #1085
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada, but sometimes in La La-Land hanging out with Midori-chan89
Age: 30
Hey Mikke, we should call it E.S.S. Season 2.
I hope you have something good planned for Hell, Mikke, Bishou, and Wierdo because if you read the last couple of chapters of E.S.S. that I did you could tell I was out of idea's and had no idea where I was going with the story. Thats why I started to to do those snapshots on Raki's Voodoo problems again and all those things with Irene, Raphaela and the ghosts taking there time to get to Rabona and all that stuff. LOL
|2008-04-15, 14:36
|Link #1086
Senior Rider of Bikes
Join Date: Jun 2007
Snapshot: Ophelia's Handler is Chosen
Ophelia's Handler is selected.
Rubel: As it is now, My agenda is full. I have four warriors now. Rafaela is doing extensive covert activity and I'm looking after number 47. Our interesting experiment is a lot more resilient than I had expected. She is also a bit reckless. I have to watch her much closer than my other charges.
Rado: That leaves only you Elmita.
Elmita: oy oy.. This is not a good sign. I will take Ophelia. She is too reckless and disobedient for my liking. Maybe Number Seven will help to mold her into a more respectable warrior.
Rado: Then that's set. Ophelia will enter the ranks as number eight. She will assist Number Seven for a couple weeks before being assigned her own territory. Once she is assinged her own terriotory she shall be ranked as number four.
Ophelia: NUMBER EIGHT !! I was told I would be ranked as Number Four. Why am I Number Eight ??
Elmita: That is the decision. Until you can show better control and more obedience, your number shall remain at eight.
Ophelia: All of you are so mean.
|2008-04-15, 14:44
|Link #1087
Awe of She
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Orlando
The 'winner' will be declared AS's #1 ranked Claymore fan (for now) as well as a chance to meet with their personal Claymore Goddess (in-story) and have a story written about him/her with the Claymore(s) that they worship/deified put up in FFNET. How's that for incentive?
|2008-04-15, 15:17
|Link #1088
Sleepy Male Claymore
Join Date: Nov 2007
Epic Soul Searching - Dorm of the Awakened - Part I
The screetching whine of a rusty metal gate and fragments of a rather elevated argument, slightly irritating the eardrums were heard as one of the large chambers in what seemed like a dungeon was being lit by a pair of kerosense lamps.
Two short, cloaked figures came in waving these lamps, creating a rather spectacular and dynamic lighting, illuminating every fungi covered moist corner
of the large cell.
Figure I: Oh come on, admit it! you cheated!
Figure II: Aaah stuff it..! I won that bet fair an square and now you owe me all of your smelly cheese collection!
Figure I: Argh! I swear I'll eat your guts one day!
Figure II: Go ahead, eat them right now! I haven't been to the bathroom for a week!
Figure I: That's so revolting! Anyway, I'm sure they would've tasted better than the dragon haggis we had for the captain's birthday.. Awwhh, I get the chills just remembering..!
Figure II: Haha! Some diet that was.. Anyway, let's get those numbskulls down here and bring them to further interrogation.
One of the miscreants pulled a lever on the back wall and a few sets of long chains with cuffs attached to them were lowered, bringing down three seemingly unconscious prisoners.
After being loaded onto a cart, they were taken across a long, narrow corridor on the way to the interrogation room. As the two little cloaked men stopped for a short conversation with a friend on the way, faint whsipers started running back and fo in the back of the cart.
Hell88: *Psst.. You guys conscious?*
Mikke: *Ugh.. I hurt so bad I could die..
Wierdo: *I hope your plan works guys. I'm not sure I can take much more of this hell hole..*
Mikke: *Hang in there, it's gonna work.. It has to..*
Wierdo: If we screw up, we'll hang IN there with chain around our neck for a change..
Hell88: Shhh.. here they come..
Just as the two approached to push the cart, one of them was clobbered in the head whereas the other one smothered to breathlesness; both of them were piled up neatly in a nearby storeroom, having their key ring taken away.
From there the three escapees were cautiously making their way through the dungeon with intent to find their two lost companions in this amazingly vast premises.
Mikke: Damnit..! I wish I joined those silly meditation sessions with Bishou when she offered them. I never believed my bad yoki sensing could disappoint me more!
Hell88: Yeah, unfortunately if I use my senses I'll be discovered because of the distinct yoki signature anyone who went beyond their limits, emits.
Wierdo: I practiced a lot with Bishou, and could easily spot her yoki anywhere on the globe. Untill she defeated DefiledOne that is.. something has changed inside her.. she completely supressed her aura ever since.
Mikke: Damn...! Wait a minute Wierdo.. You can lock on to where she is approximately right? Plus, Enara is with her and can give off an indication as well.
Wierdo: I could try but..
Hell88: We are going to have to rely on one of your special talents..., still in testing..
In the meantime, somewhere else...
Bishou: get those things off me you freak!! I'm not gonna tell you anything!!
Interrogator: Oh you will, once I'm done with you! *tightens the straps around her* Who leads you! where are the rest of you punks hiding!
Bishou: @#$% YOU!!
- Now now, is that a way to treat a lady? - Came a voice from the shadows, following a revelation of a sinister, dark appearance. Blood red eyes and skin pale as ghost; black curls of hair falling upon his complexion.
Covered by his black, vampire cape DGK stepped foward to take the place of the interrogator.
Interrogator: Lord Kai! But... but why are you here?!
DGK: You're dismissed, let me take over.
Bishou: You..! You're one of NightWish's dogs aren't you! I should've known how quick you jackals are.., Supressing my yoki wasn't enough!
DGK: Ah yes.. DefiledOne.. He was quite the asset to us.. The boss really liked him; so unfortunate he had to go.. You still bear his wound am I wrong?
Bishou: Tch..! How did you know that?!
DGK: I know more than you can imagine.. Now.. for the main reason you're still alive..
Back with the three escapees.
Wierdo: I sense her! She released the mental barrier holding her yoki down! Boy.. she must be ticked off!
Mikke: What about Enara?
Wierdo: No luck.. She's gotta be held someplace else.. Anyway, hold onto me tight! It's only my second time using yoki transmission so don't get lost in the way!
Hell88: What do you mean get lost in the way?! AAAAAAAAAH!
As wierdo was performing the technique that got him into this world all the way from his home, the group was spotted and nearly holed down by spearlike extendable, awakened limbs. The teleportation brought them crashing into a pile of wooden boxes and cartons full of logistical and technical supplies, in a storeroom adjoining the interrogation room.
Bishou: GET ME OUTTA HERE YOU DIMWITS, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!?
The three disoriented fellows break out of the storeroom and immedietly take fighting stances.
Hell88: Stay back you two! Without your swords you stand no chance.. Untie Bishou and go look for Enara! I'll take him on!
Hell's eyes glow yellow as he powers up his half awakened form; skin turning greyish, sharp claws and teeth grow as a slightly purplish aura emmits from his body, straining and deforming some of the hardware in the room, along with the room itself.
To be continued....
Whoever continues this, remember.. Kai is a superstrong villain and cannot be killed at this stage.
A little hint on the cloaked ABs; I think they're supposed to be different than normal ones. They are NightWish's personal guards so keep that in mind. I was thinking maybe a state that is beyond the normal awakened state - note - the title of the chapter. Anyway, it's just advice.. do as you please..
Current status of introduced characters, just to refresh your memory:
Mikke, Hell88, Bishou, Wierdo: Captured by NightWish fraction for unknown purposes
Shelter: Mobile, Motives unknown.
Ergon, Gooral, NegativeDark: Unknown
NSW Fraction
Fenrir, Nesty: Unconscious, unknown.
Chiba: Dead
Tempest: Dead
VR: Awakened, unknown.
NightWish Fraction
DGK: HeadQuarders
SimplyED, Dutchman: HeadQuarters
DefiledOne: Dead
Enara: Unknown.
Last edited by Mikke; 2008-04-15 at 15:47.
|2008-04-15, 17:36
|Link #1089
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada, but sometimes in La La-Land hanging out with Midori-chan89
Age: 30
Epic Soul Searching - Dorm of the Awakened - Part 2
Mikke: Hey they were keeping our swords in here all along! Bishou I can't believe you didn't try to grab one and start using it?
Bishou: You idiot how do you think I would have been able to get one of them if I was tied up remember?!
They look up and see thier swords in a glass case above them. They quickly grab them and Mikke throws Hell's to him.
Hell88: Thanks! Now hurry go and find Enara!
DGK: Your swords won't make a difference to any of the other of Nightwishes warriors here.
As Hell fights with DGK Mikke, Bishou, and Wierdo go and look for Enara.
Bishou: Shouldn't we be helping Hell as much as we can?!
Mikke: Don't worry we have an escape plan just in case we ran into anybody really powerful like DGK!
Wierdo: Where are we runing? This hall is taking forever!
Meanwhile back in the fight with Hell and DGK.
Hell88: What your not going to say anything? Or are you afraid I might eat your guts!
DGK: That form of yours is disgusting.......
Hell88: Hey I don't like it much either, you can thank NSW for that, even though I like to fight in my human form with just my sword I figure I might need the extra power to stand up against you!
DGK uses his illusions like he used on Shelter. To Hell it made him look like he was back in his human form.
Hell88: Huh? Hey what did you do?!
He looks at DGK but only to see his awakened form instead. His awakened form attacks him but nothing happens.
Hell88: What?
Then DGK appeared behind him and slashed him from Hells left side. Then the illusion went away.
Hell88: AAAAAAH! That hurt!
Hell jumps up and tries to get in some rafters above to get away from DGK.
Hell88: (That illusion was strange it really took me out of my awakened form.)
As Hell tried to hide in the shadows he noticed that DGK was right in front of him.
DGK: Your annoying, just let me kill you.
As he said that Hell went for his escape plan by taking his sword spinning around once while thrusting it through his body to stab DGK in the chest, and it worked.
They both fall to the ground. DGK landed on the table Bishou was being interrogated on, and Hell lands in a pool of his own blood.
Hell88: It worked. (Now just to use my awakened abilities to heal myself really fast.) AAAAAAH! What? Why isn't it working? It just brings more pain. *couphs up blood* (Wait a second I know what that illusiion did, it drained my yoki.)
DGK gets up.
Hell88: But how?.... You should be dead.
DGK: Yes I should be shouldn't I.
While that was going on Bishou sences a change in Hell's yoki.
Bishou: We have to go back!
Mikke: What why?!
Wierdo: I feel it too.
They start running back.
Mikke: Why isn't anyone answering me?!
Bishou: Its Hell.... He's dying.
As they keep running back DGK starts to torture Hell.
DGK: It looks like your life is going to reach its end. I'll make sure its very painful.
He forces a knife into Hell's chest and cuts Hell's heart, but only a little bit.
Hell88: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
DGK: Now lets break those legs and arms of yours, then if you are still alive I will break you ribs then your spine.
He starts to break Hells arms and legs.
Hell88: GAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Please...... (I don't want to die this way.)
Tears started to run down his face as he passed out from what was going on. Then Mikke, Bishou, and Wierdo finally came back to get Hell.
Mikke: OH KNOW WERE TO LATE!
DGK: I was wondering if you would comeback for him. If you don't get him out of here and start fixing his wounds he will die.
Bishou: He's still alive!
Wierdo: Hey DGK I here your good at illusions?
Mikke: NOW!
Mikke and Wierdo throw smoke bombs that fill the whole room with smoke, While Bishou picked up Hell. They used this as a chance to escape.
When they saw an exit they ran for it and got outside, but only to be stopped by one of Nightwish's personel cloaked gaurds.
Gaurd: Where do you think your going.
Mikke: Bishou take Hell and run, find somewhere safe to hide and try to heal his wounds the best you can!
Bishou: But what about you guys?! And Enara, she's still in there!
Mikke: Don't worry! We are only going to hold this guy back so you can get away! We'll come find you as soon as we can! We'll have to come back for Enara, if she is being held captive in thier!
Bishou: YOU GUYS BETTER NOT DIE!
She runs off carrying Hell.
Wierdo: Aren't you going to try to go after them?
Gaurd: No I'll just knock you guys out then take you back to the interrogating room.
Mikke: We'll see about that. *draws his swords*
To be continued...
Last edited by hell88; 2008-04-15 at 17:55.
|2008-04-15, 18:43
|Link #1092
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada, but sometimes in La La-Land hanging out with Midori-chan89
Age: 30
|2008-04-15, 22:56
|Link #1095
Every word must conjure
|2008-04-15, 23:17
|Link #1096
Awe of She
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Orlando
I swear I'd act just like Carrot Glace if I was in that sort of world.
At least make sure I have a cool eulogy or something if I'm to stay dead.
|2008-04-16, 03:33
|Link #1097
Every word must conjure
(...And then goes of to whack brains on how to write a heroic epic, enshrine Tempest's memory in E.S.S & ensure vengeance has been justly & swiftly dealt to all his enemies...
If not, ponders about using the "dragon balls" )
|2008-04-16, 06:11
|Link #1098
bitch in the shell...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: in the dark with the music on...
Age: 29
Epic Soul Searching - Dorm of the Awakened - Part 3
__________________________________________________ _____
Bishou: HEY WAKE UP!!!
Hell88: HUH!?!? Where am I? what happened? Where're Mikke and Weirdo?
Bishou: They stayed behind, so that I can get you out alive YOU IDIOT! What the hell did you think you were doing puling off a stunt like that!?!?
Hell88: Trying to buy you time! Besides, you did the same thing with DefiledOne, and you're ok.
Bishou: Yeah, I did the same thing, but......thinks for a second, then answers...it was....far more well planned, that's why it worked!
Hell88: What was wrong with my plan!?
Bishou: It was stupid! YOU ARE STUPID!
Hell88: why do you always have to call me stupid, idiot or....AWWWwww!!!
As he was trying to get up, Hell riped open a wound, the pain and shock were too much for his not even half fixed broken legs to support and he collapsed on the ground.
Bishou: looks at him with a big taunt on her face Here is your answer.
Hell88: grrr...sometimes you're such a b
Bishou: Shut up! And sit down, I didn't patch you up, just so that you could toss all my efforts away the moment you open your eyes. Here. throws some fruits and berryes at him eat, you'll need it.
Hell takes an apple and starts eating it.
Hell88: Pfuu...it's sour.
Bishou: Well, excuse me. Then don't eat it, I'm not shoving it down your throat.
Hell88: mumbling to himself maybe not the apple, but you sure like to shove other things...
Bishou: What was that? glares at him
Hell88: err...nothing. Where are we anyway?
Looks around to see that they're in a forest again, near a lake. It was already dusk.
Bishou: Smolian lake. I've been here before, it's quiet and far enough from Kai and his minions. She said as she calmly sat and leaned her back against a big tree.
Hell88: Oh, I see. So are Mikke and Weirdo coming after us now?
Bishou: If they're still alive, they will. I think Weirdo would be able to pick up our trail once they get out.
Hell88: Ok. So umh.......are you ok? I mean they kept you in the interrogation room the longest, and none of us got the honour of DGK beign the interrogator. Did they hurt you?
Bishou: Do you think that they'd still be alive if they did?
Hell88: smirks I guess not. So what did they ask you?
Bishou: The usual. How many of us are there, do I know of any other rebels, where are they hiding bla, bla, bla...
Hell88: Oh, nothing important, they asked us the same things, guess they thought you'd be the one to break down since you're a girl and DGK was probably just trying to scare you so you would talk.
Bishou: Thats right...starts to remember
__________________________________________________ ____________
Bishou: get those things off me you freak!! I'm not gonna tell you anything!!
Interrogator: Oh you will, once I'm done with you! *tightens the straps around her* Who leads you! where are the rest of you punks hiding!
Bishou: @#$% YOU!!
- Now, now, is that a way to treat a lady? - Came a voice from the shadows, following a revelation of a sinister, dark appearance. Blood red eyes and skin pale as ghost; black locks of hair falling upon his complexion.
Covered by his black, vampire cape DGK stepped forward to take the place of the interrogator.
Interrogator: Lord Kai! But... but why are you here?!
DGK: You're dismissed, let me take over.
Bishou: You..! You're one of NightWish's dogs aren't you! I should've known how quick you jackals are.., suppressing my yoki wasn't enough!
DGK: Ah yes DefiledOne He was quite the asset to us.. The boss really liked him; so unfortunate he had to go You still bear his wound am I wrong?
Bishou: Tch..! How did you know that?!
DGK: I know more than you can imagine.. Now.. for the main reason you're still alive....
Bishou: ???
DGK: I know what you did after defeating DefiledOne. By the way that was quite impressive, even I didn't see it coming, the way you set the trap for him, and even sacrificing yourself so you could kill him. To win at any cost, I do admire that. However...you did pay the price didn't you?
Bishou: Huh...?! surprise appeared on her face, as it was slowly becoming pale, pretty much like that of Kai.
DGK: oh yes, I know. I wasn't too far away and could sense it quite well. I know you felt me being there too. Guess that makes two of us who know your secret, not including the lab rat Weirdo, he probably passed out and doesn't remember a thing, and Enara arrived later to get you. And I'm sure you haven't told them. I imagine that it must be hard having to lie and act all the time.
Bishou: Damn you...what do you know!?
DGK: The damage you inflicted upon youself was too great for you to carry, you knew you were going to die soon, in an attempt to heal the wound you went over your limits, but with everything going on your friends didn't even notice it. But you aren't like them you were able to revert back completely, not becoming a half-awakened monster like them. And your power has increased immensely hasn't it?
Bishou: tch..! (crap he knows...what am I gonna do...)
DGK: You are smart, yet you act so foolishly.
Punches Bishou in the abdomen area, causing a small bloodstain to start appearing on her shirt.
Bishou: Aaauuuhhh you son of a tears start flowing from her eyes down her sides
DGK: I dont understand, why wont you use your powers to heal the wound? You keep suppressing them. Is it that youre scared to use them, that you wont be able to control yourself if you release too much power? Or is it that you youre afraid that if you do they would notice, and that youll have to admit that youve fallen like Hell88, Enara and all the others? Or is it that youre scared of the way they would look at you that the way you are now, you might seem...like a monster in their eyes?
Bishou: screams, tears still dripping on her now even paler cheeks
What do you want from me!?!?
DGK: To help you. I offer you a way out. You know you wont gain anything from staying with those three, just that you might loose your life staying like this, youve already suffered enough, in the recent fights you got so much damage, that the little energy you allow yourself to release went all out to heal the newest injuries, leaving the most vital one, the one you made open. And you know eventually you will be hunted down and killed. Is that what you want for yourself?
Bishou: Help?!...oh really what kind of way out that might be, kill me and put me out of my misery right now!?
DGK: No. Join me.
Bishou: WHAT!?!?!?
DGK: I have already spoken with lord NightWish, he is ready to generously give you a chance to redeem yourself after betraying him. You can be a very good asset to us, taking DefiledOnes place. Under my supervision, you will take your place in the elite class, with my training you will master the power that you are so afraid to use now. You wont have to hide and run from being hunted, nor to keep pretending to be your old petty self. Now that you are, I can turn you into an invincible warrior, one worthy being under NightWishs command. You will take orders only from me and Lord NightWish. But first, you must prove your loyalty to us.
Bishou: still shocked from what she just heard prove loyalty....
DGK: Yes. Im sure you can feel it by now, that your friends are coming for you, they must have escaped the guards.
Bishou: Huh (hes right, its weird, but I can feel their yoki coming closer )
DGK: I can let you try to escape now, and if you manage to get out of here alive as proof of your loyalty, I want you to kill them and bring me back their heads.
DGK: There is not much time left, they will be here soon. So what now, my lady? If you want to take my offer or go back and die with them, now is the time to decide on which side you will stand. Make your choice!
A few minutes later a sound came from the storeroom adjoining the interrogation room. After that Mikke, Hell and Weirdo came running out of it
End of Flashback
__________________________________________________ _______________
Hell88: Hey! Bishou! Dont space out like that, come here and help me out will ya!? My butt is starting to feel numb, and I cant quite move on my own now with these broken legs and arms Help me out!
Bishou: looks at him (Hes so weak now even for a half-dead yoma would be easy to kill him )
to be continued
Last edited by BishounoTeresa; 2008-04-16 at 11:05.
|2008-04-16, 08:35
|Link #1099
Sleepy Male Claymore
Join Date: Nov 2007
Epic Soul Searching - Unavoidable Aftermath
Location: North, southern coast of the Danube. Time: 6:00 am. Position in Timeline: a few weeks ahead of the current events.
The rain hasn't stopped gushing down for a few days, pouring down like a sea of poisonous arrows of irony, from the heavens that seemed to weep eternally over spilled milk.
Beyond the green flat territories of the north, over the endless marshes, passing the long mountain range that cuts the midlands like an ugly scar all the way to the east; everything was engulfed in war. The earth was soaked with blood which boiled inside from the fiery destruction and rampage.
The north however was at peace, and it's inhabbitants could do nothing but witness with awe, the horrid luminescence from beyond the ridges that radiated from the mountains, much like the sunlight from an eclipse of the moon.
One small camp, established its defensive position on top of one of the mountains; the leaders of the northern section gazed at the battlefield, amazed by the scale and magnitude of the events. Dragonlike creatures flew by the thousands, setting towns and forests on fire while legions of monstrous manifestations advanced on on foot, engaging humanoid opponents who summoned to their assistance various methods of technological warfare. The Tide of battle seemed even for the time being, but the few men that gathered in the camp prayed and hoped they didn't have to take part, for they were not for a second, confused about their chances of defending the north on their own.
In one of the guard towers facing the view on the battlefield, a sound of foot steps, climbing the wooden ladder was heard and the guard prepared to greet his replacement for the next shift.
Guard: ?? Commander Anh Min! Are YOU here to replace me?!
Anh Min: I would appriciate it if you sat by me for a few minutes.
Guard: Uuh, Yes Sir!
Anh: Call me Anh. There is no longer a need for formalities
Guard: Huh? How do you mean?
Anh smirked and took out two metal cups out of her pouch, along with a jar of roasted, good quality coffee and a thermus.
Anh Min: That'll keep ya warm..
A commotion was heard from beneath the tower and Anh glanced down for a moment, checking it out.
Guard: What's happening down there?
Anh Min: We are evacuating.
Guard: What?! but why?! Running away now will be cowardice!
Anh Min: Only us commanders are staying.. We will go down there and join up with the remnants of the western section. Our comrades from days of old.
Guard: But!
- Hey, come on! preperations are complete! We have to leave now! - came a voice from below.
Anh Min: Just a minute PGillis! let me enjoy my last cup of coffee will ya!
Guard: I can't believe you're sending us away!
Anh Min: Your battle is over. If you follow us, you will surely die.
All of the sudden, a huge fire ball landed in the middle of the camp. Luckily leaving no one injured but burning to ashes a whole row of carriages with supplies.
Anh Min: Move! let's get out now!
After getting down from the tower, Anh shortly briefed the personel with regards to his plans and gave them their final orders, which were to evacuate and head north east to the shore, following the mountain range.
Meeting up with PGillis and a few others and making sure everyone else boarded the transports and fled, Anh went back inside his tent where he spread a tactical map on the table, pleading his companions to pay close attention.
Anh Min: Ok folks, it's show time.. we follow this cleft all the way down and head for the western front.
PGillis: No that's wrong, we'll be fried by those air raiders before we know it..
Hypervalor: I think that if we wanna throw our lives away then why not go straight for the midlands headquarters. When NSW is that close, how can we possible ignore that?!
Anh Min: That won't help us end this war, Valor!
The brave band of northerners set out on their journy, down into the fiery pit of hell. Ackgnowledging that their resolve was nearly a suicidal one; despare took a hold of their hearts as the strode silently toward a very much expected yet undecided fate.
Last edited by Mikke; 2008-04-16 at 14:47.
|2008-04-16, 10:43
|Link #1100
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Canada, but sometimes in La La-Land hanging out with Midori-chan89
Age: 30
Well because Wierdo is doing the fight scene I'll continue onto Bishou's part
Epic Soul Searching - Part 3 continued
Bishou: You give out to much information sometimes.
Hell88: Huh? Whats that supposed to mean?
Bishou: I don't care if your butt's numb! (I wonder what he would think if he knew about what DGK said to me?)
Hell88: Hey quit spacing out like that! Are you on drugs or something?
Bishou: Hey shut up your not making this easy!
Then Bishou felt a change in Mikke's yoki.
Bishou: What was that?
Hell88: What was what.
Bishou: It seems Mikke is at his limit.
Bishou keeps staring at the direction where Mikke and Wierdo are for a few minutes.
Hell88: H-hey you still there?
Bishou: What do you want now?
Hell88: DGK did something to you didn't he?
Bishou: (What?! Does he know about what he told me?)
Hell88 puts his hand over Bishou's stomach.
Bishou: W-what are you doing?
He removed his hand to reveal blood.
Hell88: Your bleeding.
Bishou: Oh that its nothing, don't worry it will heal I just kind of forgot about it and-
Hell88: I think Shelter can beat DGK.
Bishou: WHAT?! Where is this coming from all of the sudden?
Hell88: I remember back when before I had my awakening. I was reading about all the fights recorded in NSW's old headqaurters. I read about how a guy named DGK showed up and challened Shelter and Shelter heald his own pretty good against him, or at least thats what was written down.
Bishou: (I don't believe what I'm hearing.... If Shelter can beat DGK, mabye I won't have to-)
Hell88: HEY YOUR DOING IT AGAIN! QUIT SPACING OUT!
Bishou: Hey shut up I don't want to give away our postion you idiot!
Hell88: Okay I'll shut up, but you have to tell me why you always talk to me, Mikke, and Wierdo like that. Oh wait I think I know why!
Bishou: ?
Hell88: Its because you care for us and don't want to see us get hurt! Am I right?
Bishou: Say what?! I don't care for you dimwitted idiots!
Hell88: By the way your defending yourself like that it means you do. Doesn't it?
Bishou: *a faint blush appears on her face* Well I....
Hell88: I knew it you do care for the three of us! Don't worry I won't tell anyone. Anyways I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up if Mikke and Wierdo come back alright?
After that Hell was asleep.
Bishou: (What should I do? I can't kill him and the others. But if I don't I'll end up dying anyway.)
She lay down beside Hell who was already out like a light.
Bishou: (What should I do? Mikke and Wierdo you better be alright!)
And before she fell asleep she shed a tear.
Bishou: (This sucks!)
Last edited by hell88; 2008-04-16 at 15:34.
|Thread Tools


text:
Orders for big-ticket items likely fell sharply in January, owing to weaker sales of large aircraft, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch. They forecast durable-goods orders to drop 5.0% last month after a 4.3% advance in December.
Lower bookings for commercial jets – expensive items that can distort the monthly durables report – are the probable cause of the decline. The Commerce Department will issue the data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Orders for durable goods, things like autos, appliances and computers, usually accelerate when the economy picks up. Yet orders can be jumpy from month to month and the figures are often sharply revised.
Investors are best off focusing on the longer-term trend. Over the last few months orders have been on the rise after hitting a soft patch at the end of last summer. Yet demand for U.S. manufacturing goods are still somewhat constrained by a slower global economy and cautious spending at home.
Keep an eye on a category known as core capital goods orders minus defense and aircraft. That number gives a better idea of what's going on in the broader U.S. manufacturing sector, though orders in that category often decline in the first month of a new quarter.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will continue his feisty defense of QE3 on Wednesday. He'll appear before House Financial Services panel for the second day of the Fed's semi-annual report to Congress on the economy and monetary policy. He might get some harsher criticism from House Republicans, which views the Fed as too close to Obama and wants the Fed to give Obama "tough love" so he'll cut the size of the government. Most Fed watchers think Bernanke on Tuesday was signaling QE will stay steady at $85 billion but another view is that his frank discussion of the costs and risks will mean that he is open to tapering in the near future.
Richard Fisher, the Dallas Fed president, speaks at 4:30 p.m. The critic of quantitative easing isn't a voting Fed member this year.


text:
I was searching for programs that matched what I wanted and just really happened upon it through an internet search.Watch the Video
When I looked at the description of ICD, I felt like this is it. After that it became a matter of what would work with my life.Watch the Video
It's ideal for a mom; it's ideal for those who are working. We had one evening a week and one or two weekends a month.Watch the Video
I really enjoyed the size of the cohort and the idea of the cohort that we were a small group of students, 20 I think at one point was our highest number and we stayed with one another throughout the entirety of the program.Watch the Video
Another unique thing about this particular program was the practicum element. Essentially the practicum was a development of our personal call throughout.Watch the Video
I feel equipped to enter into directing a start-up non-profit and that's where I'm at now. I dont feel like I'm floundering with where am I going to go with this new degree.Watch the Video
ICD provides a foundation to enter the global community and enter as a player, as a person who is equipped to converse and to problem solve and to go about change.Watch the Video


text:
sfsfsfgiants wrote:JOEL wrote:i just read from the bleacher report...(i would post the link but i do not have those skills)that the pats traded moss back to the raiders for the raiders first pick..i am looking now to see if i can confirm this...has anyone heard this news?
I HIGHLY doubt that this happened. No way that the Raiders would want him back.
yeah me too.... i did read a quote from davis saying we might have the best combo in qb/wr russell / moss....
the best i can tell is this that belicheck is offering this trade to to the raiders and that davis is thinking it over ?


text:
NYC-based keeper league, now in its 8th season, is seeking a couple of owners. The league is 4x4 NL-only and we draft the first weekend after opening day. We draft in-person (or via conference call for those who cannot be there physically) and use an auction format and teams have $260 salary cap. If you wish to view our league constitution, you can peruse it at:
Our entry fee is $100, plus additional cost for stat service (we use TQ Stats). If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at mailto:email@example.com. Thank you.


text:
Greece, the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. Geography has greatly influenced the country's development. Mountains historically restricted internal communications, but the sea opened up wider horizons. The total land area of Greece (one-fifth of which is made up of the Greek islands) is comparable in size to England or the U.S. state of Alabama.
Greece has more than 2,000 islands, of which about 170 are inhabited; some of the easternmost Aegean islands lie just a few miles off the Turkish coast. The country's capital is Athens, which expanded rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. Attikí (ancient Greek: Attica), the area around the capital, is now home to about one-third of the country's entire population.
A Greek legend has it that God distributed soil through a sieve and used the stones that remained to build Greece. The country's barren landscape historically caused the people to migrate. The Greeks, like the Jews and the Armenians, traditionally have been a people of diaspora, and several million people of Greek descent live in various parts of the world. Xeniteia, or sojourning in foreign lands, with its strong overtones of nostalgia for the faraway homeland, has been a central element in the historical experience of the Greek people.
Greece is a country that is at once European, Balkan, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern. It lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa and is heir to the heritages of Classical Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule.
Greece is bordered to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the west by the Ionian Sea. Only to the north and northeast does it have land borders (totaling some 735 miles [1,180 km]), with, from west to east, Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia (see Researcher's Note: Macedonia: the provenance of the name), Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Greek landscape is conspicuous not only for its rugged beauty but also for its complexity and variety. Three elements dominate: the sea, the mountains, and the lowland. The Greek mainland is sharply indented; arms and inlets of the sea penetrate so deeply that only a small, wedge-shaped portion of the interior is more than 50 miles (80 km) from the coast. The rocky headlands and peninsulas extend outward to the sea where there are many island arcs and archipelagoes. The southernmost part of mainland Greece, the Pelopónnisos (ancient Greek: Peloponnese) peninsula, connects to the mainland only by the narrow isthmus at the head of the Gulf of Korinthiakós (Corinth). Greece's mountainous terrain covers some four-fifths of the country, much of which is deeply dissected. A series of mainland mountain chains running northwest-southeast enclose narrow parallel valleys and numerous small basins that once held lakes. With riverine plains and thin, discontinuous strips of coastal plain, these interior valleys and basins constitute the lowland. Although it accounts for only about one-fifth of the country's land area, the lowland has played an important role in the life of the country.
Three characteristics of geology and structure underlie these landscape elements. First, northeastern Greece is occupied by a stable block of ancient (Hercynian) hard rock. Second, younger and weaker rocks, the majority of which are of limestone origin, make up western and southern Greece. These were heavily folded during the Alp-building phase of the Paleogene and Neogene periods (about 66 to 2.6 million years ago), when Earth movements thrust the softer sediments east-northeast against the unyielding Hercynian block and produced a series of roughly parallel tectonic zones that gave rise to the mountain-and-valley relief. Third, both the Hercynian block and the Hellenidic (Alpine) ranges were subsequently raised and fractured by tectonic movements. These dislocations created the sunken basins of the Ionian and Aegean seas as well as the jagged edges so typical of Greece's landscape. Earthquakes are frequent reminders that similar earth movements continue, particularly along the major fault lines. One result of the region's geologic instability is the widespread presence of marble, which is limestone that has been altered by pressure and heat. Seismic disturbances are sometimes associated with volcanic explosions, especially those involving the island of Thíra (ancient Greek: Thera; also called Santoríni), which was virtually destroyed by a major eruption in the 2nd millennium bce. The vents of the Kaméni islands in the sea-filled explosion crater of Thíra remain active. The island of Mílos (Melos), which rises to 2,465 feet (751 metres) above sea level, is composed of young volcanic rocks.
Relief and geology provide the basis for describing the Greek landscape in terms of six major regions: central, northeastern, eastern, southern, and western mainland Greece, along with the islands.
Central Greece: the Píndos Mountains
The central mountain range, the Píndos (ancient Greek: Pindus) Mountains, forms the core of mainland Greece. Following the general northwest-southeast trend of the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, the Píndos sweep down from the Albanian and North Macedonian frontiers, creating a powerful barrier. The two passes of Métsovon and Mount Timfristós divide the range into three units: a fairly open segment in the north where impervious shales and sandstones have weathered and formed into extensive upland valleys and gently inclining hills; the Píndos proper in the centre, some 20 miles (32 km) wide and predominantly limestone; and an almost uncrossable zone in the south, about 50 miles (80 km) wide, deeply cut by winding rivers and composed of a mixture of limestone, slates, and sandstones. The range's highest point, Mount Smólikas, 8,652 feet (2,637 metres) high, is found in the north.
Northeastern Greece: Makedonía and Thráki
Several topographic regions surround the main mountainous core and are often penetrated by extensions of it. The northernmost part, roughly the regions of Greek Makedonía (Macedonia) and Thráki (Thrace), extends in a long, narrow, east-west band between the Aegean coast and the frontier with the countries of North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It consists of forest-clad, crystalline mountain massifs and plateaus created by the fracturing of the Hercynian block and separated from each other by the alluvial deposits of the five great rivers of northern Greece: the Maritsa (Évros), Néstos, Strymónas (Struma), Vardaráis (Vardar; Axiós;), and Aliákmonos (Aliákmon). The fracturing of the Hercynian also accounts for the odd three-pronged shape of the Chalkidikí (Chalcidice) Peninsula, on whose easternmost prong is located Mount Athos (Holy Mountain), which is the famous site of Greek Orthodox monastic communities. Along and beyond the Bulgarian border rise the Rodópi (Rhodope) Mountains, mainly composed of sharp-edged and sloping plateaus, reaching 7,260 feet (2,213 metres) at Mount Órvilos. The Maritsa River, in its low-lying, marshy valley, marks the Turkish border. From there to the lower Strymónas River extends a succession of plains, some of which are often swampy, such as the deltaic plain of the lower Néstos, and others have been turned into fertile agricultural land, as is the case in the former Lake Akhinós. Inland there are basins of structural origin, such as the Plain of Drámas (Drama). Lakes Koróneia (Korónia) and Vólvi, which separate the Chalkidikí Peninsula from the rest of the coastal region, also occupy structural depressions. Farther west, the large plain drained by the Vardaráis and lower Aliákmonos rivers is being continually extended as the river deltas push out into the Gulf of Thermaïkós (Thérmai). The forested Vérmion (Vérmio) Mountains and, beyond them, the barren inland basins around Lakes Vegorítida (Vegorrítis) and Kardítsa mark the boundary with the Píndos Mountains.
Eastern Greece: Thessalía and Attikí
The western part of this region contains the massive limestone formations so characteristic of northern and western Greece, while to the east the peninsula of Attiikí (Attica) represents the western margin of the Hercynian crystalline rocks of the Aegean shores. Essentially an upland area, its relief is articulated by four northwest–southeast-trending spurs thrusting out from the main Píndos mass. A number of distinctive basins and plains lie amid these upland ribs. The northernmost, a rather broken spur called the Kamvoúnia Mountains, runs along the coast of the Gulf of Thermaïkós and continues south to form the peninsula bounding one side of Vólou Bay. Among its peaks are Mount Ólympos (Olympus)—the mythical seat of the gods, whose often cloud-topped summit rises to 9,570 feet (2,917 metres), the highest point in Greece—and the equally fine peaks of Mounts Kisszavos (Ossa) and Pílios (Pelion). The next spur to the west is the Óthris mountain range, which continues across the narrow Oreón Channel in the northern sector of the long, narrow island of Évvoia (Euboea). Between the two spurs lie the ancient basins (formerly the site of lakes) of Thessalía (Thessaly), Tríkala, and Lárisa, drained by the Pineiós (Piniós) River. Just to the south the basin of Almyrós (Almirós), of similar origin, lies around Vólou Bay.
To the southwest the third spur leaving the Píndos is that of the Oíti, which continues in the Óchi (Ókhi) Mountains of southern Évvoia. Just before the Oíti reaches the sea, near the head of the Gulf of Maliakós, is the pass of Thermopýles (Thermopylae, scene of the famous battle of antiquity). The last (and perhaps the most important) of the four spurs thrusting down into eastern Greece is the one that curves away to the southeast through the twin-peaked mass of Mount Parnassós (Parnassus). This mountain, rising to an elevation of 8,061 feet (2,457 metres), was held to be the home of the Muses. The view from its summit at sunrise, with a broad expanse of the heart of Greece gradually unfolding, is regarded as one of the finest in the world. The range continues as the backbone of the peninsula lying between the Gulf of Évvoia and the Gulf of Korinthiakós (Corinth), and it reaches as far as Mount Párnis, just to the north of Athens. To its north lie the plains of Fokída (Phocis) and Voiotía (Boeotia), and around its southern tip lie the hotter and more arid depressions of Attiikí.
Southern Greece: the Pelopónnisos
The entire southern portion of mainland Greece forms a peninsula lying to the south of the Gulf of Korinthiakós. Technically, this region, the Pelopónnisos, also known as the Morea, is now an island, for the 3.9-mile (6.3-km) Korinthiakós Canal cuts across the narrow neck of land that formerly separated the Gulf of Korinthiakós from that of Aígina (Aíyina). The Pelopónnisos consists of an oval-shaped mountain mass with peaks rising to 7,800 feet (2,400 metres) and four peninsular prongs, which point southward toward the island of Crete (Modern Greek: Kríti). At its heart are the arid limestone plateaus of Arkadía (Arcadia), where streams disappear underground into the soluble rock and from which the barren upland of the Táygetos (Taïyetos) Mountains, reaching an elevation of 7,800 feet, extends southward to form the backbone of one of the southern peninsulas. A thin fringe of fertile coastal plain in the north and west, together with the larger alluvial depressions forming the Gulfs of Lakonia (Laconia), Messenía (Kalamata), and Argolikós (Árgolis), surrounds this mountainous core. The coast is indented and has some harbours.
Western Greece: Ípeiros and Akarnanía
Western Greece consists of Ípeiros (Epirus) and Akarnanía (Acarnania), which is the area north of the Gulf of Korinthiakós to the Albanian frontier, and is often considered to include the offshore Iónia (Ionian) Islands. The distinctiveness of western Greece is enhanced by the fact that the barrier effect of the Píndos and the ameliorating climatic influences from the west result in a quite different landscape from that of the rest of Greece. The west's physical attributes have exaggerated its historical isolation from the other areas of mainland Greece. Fertile basins are not well developed, constricted as they are by the parallel ranges of the coastal mountains. The mountain regions themselves, however, are adequately supplied with precipitation. The flat, alluvial plain of Árta, built up from detritus brought down by the Árachthos (Árakhthos) River has become, with irrigation, a fertile agricultural region.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Eastern Orthodoxy: In GreeceIn 1821 the Greek revolution against the Turks was officially proclaimed by the metropolitan of Old Patras, Germanos. The patriarchate, being the official Turkish-sponsored organ for the administration of the Christians, issued statements condemning and even anathematizing the revolutionaries. These statements, however, failed to…
coin: Russia and the BalkansThat of Greece began with the republican government of 1828: the basis was the silver phoenix of 100 lepta. This was followed, under the monarchy from 1833, by the drachma of similar value. The 20th century emphasized the types of ancient Greece, though modern issues have broken…
censorship: Censorship under a military government…respect was what happened in Greece between 1967 and 1974, when a conspiracy of junior army officers seized control of the government. The dependence of Greece upon foreign trade and tourism made it difficult to keep out the foreign press and foreign broadcasts. This meant, among other things, that the…
archaeology: The Mediterranean and the Middle East…with an interest in the Greeks and Romans and first developed in 18th-century Italy with the excavations of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Classical archaeology was established on a more scientific basis by the work of Heinrich Schliemann, who investigated the origins of Greek civilization at Troy and…
property tax…of all tax revenues in Greece but represented more than 1 percent of the country's tax administration costs.…
More About Greece17 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- archaeology
- coins and coinage
- euro-zone debt crisis
- flag history
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- physical geography
- In Greece: Land
- population and demography
- property tax
- In property tax
commerce, industry, and mining
- European Community
customs and traditions
- restaurants


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Is this do-able?
QuoteIs this do-able?Absolutely doable.
One issue I thought of is that the power for the light is 240V and the arduino uses 3-5V. I'm guessing I would need some sort of electronic switch and a transformer in between? If that's correct wouldn't it create a lot of heat?


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NASA to Share Results of Effort to Recover Mars Rover
NASA will discuss the status of its Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity in a media briefing at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Wednesday, Feb. 13, from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
The briefing will follow NASA's last planned attempts to communicate with Opportunity late Tuesday evening. The solar-powered rover last communicated with Earth June 10, 2018, as a planet-wide dust storm was blanketing the Red Planet.
Briefing participants will include:
· Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, NASA Headquarters, Washington
· Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
· Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
· Michael Watkins, director, JPL
· Steve Squyres, MER principal investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
· John Callas, MER project manager, JPL
· Matt Golombek, MER project scientist, JPL
· Abigail Fraeman, MER deputy project scientist, JPL
· Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 project systems engineer, JPL
You're encouraged to ask questions via chat or on social media using the hashtag #askNASA.


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President Barack Obama held a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, answering questions on a broad array of items on his legislative agenda that have struggled to gain any momentum in Congress.
Obama was asked about the recent failure of gun-control legislation to pass through the Senate, as well as the fact that sequestration is still in place. ABC reporter Jonathan Karl asked Obama if he was, essentially, a "lame duck" at this early stage of his second term.
"If you put it that way — maybe I should just pack up and go home! As Mark Twain said, rumors of my demise might be a bit exaggerated at this point," Obama said.
Obama also answered questions about the conflict in Syria and the Boston bombings. And he praised NBA player Jason Collins, who on Monday became the first player in a major American sports league to publicly reveal that he is gay.
Check out a full recap of the press conference, question-by-question, below:
Question 1: Obama gets a question on his "red line" on Syria and on survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
"What we've been seeing is a slowly unfolding disaster for the Syrian people," Obama said, repeating that the use of chemical weapons is a "game-changer."
He suggested that the administration needs more evidence on Syria's chemical weapon use in order to decide what type of action to take.
"When I said the use of chemical weapons would be a game-changer, that wasn't a position unique to the United States," Obama said.
When asked a follow-up on whether that would include military action, Obama said that the U.S. would have to "look at the range of options that are available to us."
On Benghazi survivors, Obama said he is "not familiar with this notion that anyone has been blocked from testifying."
Question 2: Obama is asked about the Boston bombings by CNN— and if it means, as some like Sen. Lindsey Graham has suggested, that the U.S. has taken a "step back" on national security.
"No, Mr. Graham is not right, though I'm sure it generated some headlines," he said.
"Based on what I've seen so far, the FBI performed its duties," Obama added. "But this is hard stuff."
He said that one of the challenges the U.S. now faces is the threat of "self-radicalized" individuals like the Tsarnaev brothers.
Obama said that Russia and its leaders have been "very cooperative" with the U.S. since the Boston bombings.
Question 3: Obama gets a question from ABC's Jon Karl, who asks if he "still has the juice to get the rest of your agenda through Congress."
"If you put it that way, Jon," he quipped, "maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly."
"Rumors of my demise have been a little exaggerated," he said, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Obama blamed what he called "dysfunction" on Capitol Hill — lamenting, for example, that "even the most modest piece of legislation" needs 60 votes to pass through the Senate.
Obama said that the sequester is harming the economy, and that he has been proven right on the sequester by people who called him "chicken little" because of the recent passage of a bill to fix the mounting flight delays at U.S. airports.
"You seem to suggest that these folks over there have no responsibility, and my job is to get them to behave. That's their job," he said of Congress.
Question 4: Obama is asked about the growing hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay. He said that it is "not a surprise" that the U.S. has problems at the facility.
"Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," he said, casting it as expensive, inefficient, and a recruitment tool for terrorist groups.
"We've got to close Guantanamo," he said.
"The idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals that have not been tried — that needs to stop."
He pointed to the individuals who planned to bomb Times Square and the so-called "underwear bomber" as examples of "how we prosecute terrorists."
"We can handle this," he said.
Question 5: NBC's Chuck Todd asks about Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) recently calling the implementation of the President's signature health care law a "trainwreck."
"All the implementation issues coming up are implementation issues related to" a narrow group, Obama said. Many people are already experiencing benefits from the law, "even if they don't know it."
He added: "Even if we do everything perfectly, there will still be glitches and bumps."
Question 6: Obama is asked about immigration reform. He said he has been "impressed" by the work of the bipartisan "Gang of 8" in the Senate, though it is not the ideal bill he would have written.
After answering the question, Obama stepped back to the podium to remark on Jason Collins, and said he "couldn't be prouder" of him after Monday's announcement.


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There have been a number of reviews of Peppermint 3 already so I am somewhat behind the pace with this review.
I wrote a review about Peppermint 2 back in February but it didn't really contain all that much information except to say that Peppermint utilises the idea of cloud computing and wraps it up to make it look like you are running a local application.
As we have moved on a version I thought I'd have another look especially as the reviews have been mainly positive.
For this review I decided to do a full install to my Samsung R20 laptop alongside the Zorin 6 that is already there. The other reviews I have read have either been live reviews or were performed on a virtual machine.
So with the USB drive in I booted up the system and a blank canvas appears with just a small taskbar (LXDE) at the bottom.
ch_client = "garynewelluk";
ch_width = 550;
ch_height = 250;
ch_type = "mpu";
ch_sid = "Chitika Default";
ch_color_site_link = "0000CC";
ch_color_title = "0000CC";
ch_color_border = "FFFFFF";
ch_color_text = "000000";
ch_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
The installation
I clicked the install icon in the top left hand corner and the installation begins. If you have installed Ubuntu or MINT before then the installation process is simple. (Click the images to make them bigger)
I will race through the installation as I'm sure you have all done this before and it is a fairly easy process. Step 1 – choose your language.
Step 2 – This is the pre-requisites screen. The two most important aspects are at the bottom of this screen. Choose whether you want to apply updates and also whether you want to install third party software which will enable you to play flash files.
Step 3 – Choose whether to connect to a wireless network to enable updates to be downloaded during the install.
Step 4 – Choose whether to replace the original operating system, install alongside it or go for the pimp my disk section or as it is termed custom.
Step 5 – Choose your timezone.
Step 6 – Choose your keyboard settings.
Step 7 – Create a user and password and choose whether to log in automatically.
Step 8 – Install.
The partitions were partitioned based on the settings in step 4 and the files were copied across and installed.
Peppermint 3 – The review
When I rebooted I was presented with a screen similar to the one in the live session except there was obviously no install icon anymore.
Setting up the internet was easy. My wireless card was found straight away and I was able to connect to both my Orange broadband and the Three mobile broadband.
As I had checked the box that installs the third party software as part of the install routine flash should work straight away. The easiest way to test this is to go to Youtube and see what happens.
As you can see from the image of Usain Bolt above there was no issue with regards to running Flash.
Peppermint is sparse when it comes to providing applications. It is not only marketed as a lightweight distribution it is marketed as a distribution where the cloud meets the desktop.
Some applications are necessary however and out of the box you get disk utility, a file manager, a calculator, terminal, text editor, screen grabber, an IRC client, a music player and a media player.
By default you get Chromium installed as the default browser. As this is my favourite browser I obviously think this is good.
The music player is called Guayadeque. I had problems when I first tried to play MP3 files. There was an error about missing GStreamer plugins. This is a problem I have faced on both Ubuntu and Mint in the past and is quite common. (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1101525). After installing the missing plugins I had to restart Guayadeque and then it played the MP3s perfectly.
So what about office software? Well this is where the web meets the desktop. Peppermint 3 runs GWOffice as the office suite.
I tried this out and the first thing I noticed was that I had to log in twice to create a spreadsheet but if I ticked the box to keep me logged in within the site specific browser (SSB) which runs GWOffice then on a subsequent start of the GWOffice applications I will not be asked for the log in details twice. It is obviously a choice thing whether you like to stay logged into your Google account on your computer or not. Personally I like to log out.
GWOffice obviously gives you access to all the applications you might need from home including a calendar, word processor, spreadsheet software and presentation tool.
So lets move on to the Site Specific Browser (SSB). This is the unique selling point of Peppermint Linux and what sets it apart from other distributions.
The idea of the SSB is that you can visit sites that provide web applications and turn them into what appears to be a normal desktop application.
To add an application simply enter the URL to the site, the name of the application, which menu group you wish the application to appear under and the icon you would like to use to represent the application.
The SSB makes it possible to turn all sorts of web applications into standalone desktop apps.
There are thousands of games available to play online and these are perfect for converting into SSB applications. For instance I have added Lemmings to the games section of my installation. (http://www.elizium.nu/scripts/lemmings/)
Youtube is another good target to use as an application.
Creating SSBs is very simple. I was concerned about how popups and navigation would work but having created about 20 applications I am yet to find an issue.
I basically went down the favourites list on my browser and turned as many as possible into applications.
The BBC website and Sky websites are perfect because you can turn live feeds into small applications.
The BBC site lets you watch TV but then choose different channels by clicking icons at the bottom of the screen.
All in all my impressions of Peppermint 3 are positive. I like the minimalist approach because even if I don't want to use web based applications I have a fairly clean slate in which to start installing the applications I need and there is the software manager and Synaptic Package Manager available should I need to do this.
I think that there could be a fuller release of Peppermint with more examples of the Site Specific Browser in action. It takes up virtually no space and no memory so why not include a dozen or so games and a few more applications such as Youtube and Twitter.
I don't know if there are legal reasons why Peppermint can't provide more links but there could be a small application with a list of sites to make it easier to create SSB applications.
There is the small issue with the GStreamer plugins that prevents MP3s from playing and for new users this would be annoying. It might be a good idea for Peppermint to provide an SSB for Spotify or one of the other streaming music services. It would be a good way of monetizing the product.
Finally it probably goes without saying that if you are going to use Peppermint 3 in the way it was intended then you obviously need a persistent internet connection to use the applications.
Have you used Peppermint LINUX? What are your views?
Thanks for reading.
Click here for more information or to download Peppermint Linux


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Our electrical work is not just limited to lighting related matters. Whether it is installing a new electrical outlet, a panel upgrade, adding a ceilling fan or troubleshooting an electrical problem we can handle it! Call 208-378-1889 or schedule service


text: Brian, (Threads like this can get confusing, which Brian? :) Brian D. Ropers-Huilman wrote: > Brian, > > There are usually three or four categories of storage: > > 1) /home - small, just enough to keep source files and compile code > 2) /scratch/local - distributed disks within a cluster for local > writing (think Gaussian) > 3) /scratch/global - a high-performance (and higher cost) parallel > file system accessible by all nodes > 4) /archive - a very large pool of spinning disks which receives data > from /scratch/global when a run (or set of consecutive runs) is > "complete." The idea is to clear off the expensive parallel system for > other run-time use, but that you still want to hold the data for some > future need. We have 1-3. 4 is the equivalent to our 1 but we make it the user's responsibility to move their data. I like your idea though. > > I would keep your /home and /scratch/global separate. I've thought about this and it makes sense on a couple of levels. a) a lot of data that gets written to /scratch/global is fairly transient in nature. Some results a user might keep, many others they discard. If /home == /scratch/global, then chances are our backup tapes will be littered with data that nobody wants. b) Not a single point of failure. However, there are some advantages, I think, if you can merge the two: a) You only have one disk to administer and all of your efforts for fault tolerance, monitoring, and maintenance can be focused on that device. When you're a one-man-cluster-army, sysadmining and maintaining, testing, developing, and deploying codes, you learn to appreciate consolidation of this nature. Sure, it may appear a single point of failure, but the plan also includes an offsite backup volume which can be vlan'ed into the cluster's network. If the local array dies, the outside array can take its place (albeit, with significantly reduced performance) until repairs can be made to the main array. The offsite array should also be able to be physically moved (fairly quickly) to our datacenter as a drop-in replacement. > > The /scratch/global solution you pick will very much depend on how you > want it connected to your clusters. By definition (of your cluster > suite) you cannot have a system that relies on IB as not all of your > systems have IB. This leaves GbE as the only global means of > connection. If at all possible, I would dedicate a GbE interface on > all nodes who access /scratch/global. > Yes, this is unfortunate. But fortunately, very few problems running on the current system need disk access on the level provided by an IB-connected storage device. It would be good to have for later, but we can pass for now. I agree with the separate networks as well. I've heard this elsewhere. Thanks for the advice! Brian -- -------------------------------------------------------- + Brian R. Smith + + HPC Systems Analyst & Programmer + + Research Computing, University of South Florida + + 4202 E. Fowler Ave. LIB618 + + Office Phone: 1 (813) 974-1467 + + Mobile Phone: 1 (813) 230-3441 + + Organization URL: http://rc.usf.edu + --------------------------------------------------------


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In Civil War: Secret Missions, history buffs and first person action fans will get the chance to assume the role of Union and Confederate soldiers fighting behind enemy lines in famous Civil War battles. The player's goal is to disrupt the armies of both the North and South by any means necessary, including stopping enemy supply lines, stealing ironclad ships and sabotaging enemy strongholds. Engage in some of the Civil War's most famous battles, such as The Great Train Raid of 1861 and The Fall of Vicksburg as you utilize classic weapons of the era, including the pepperbox revolver and the coffee mill gun. All missions are based on the actions of famous partisans, scouts and rangers – fight as a member of Mosby's Rangers, Sheridan's Scouts and Grant's Secret Service and receive your mission commands from famous generals like Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, and Ulysses Grant.
Also known as: Civil War: Secret Missions, The History Channel -- Civil War: Secret Missions
Release Region: United States
Release Date: November 4, 2008
Publisher: Activision
Also available on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
History -- Civil War: ... at IGN
History -- Civil War: ... at GameSpy
History -- Civil War: ... at GameStats


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Monday, February 09, 2009
Calder STABLE IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Feb. 09, 2009) – Calder Race Course announced today the application of a new elastomeric coating to sixty (60) barn roofs in the track's stable area, a project that will help reduce stable temperatures normally hiked by the South Florida sun.
Calder Vice President & General Manager of Racing John Marshall commented, "This is a very important project towards improving the quality of work life in our barn area. We anticipate the treated stables to be up to 10 degrees cooler in comparison to similar conditions of past summer months."
Sam Gordon, President of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, remarks, "Our horsemen are delighted to hear this news. We appreciate Churchill Downs' investment and our association looks forward to working with John, his staff and our horsemen to further improve our racing program."
Douglas Roofing of Hollywood, Fla. will perform the work, which includes pressure cleaning and priming before the application of the special coating to barns numbered 1 through 60. The company is starting the project immediately and expects to complete two barns per day with the entire project completed within two months, provided there are no weather delays.
In preparation, Calder Racing Secretary Mike Anifantis and Stall Superintendent Chip Spencer are working with trainers on temporary accommodations within the stable area.
Calder has a total of 80 barns on its premises. The barns under treatment all received new roofs in 2006 after damage from Hurricane Wilma in the fall of 2005. The barns not slated for the elastomeric coating are of different construction with higher roofs and are not affected by the summer heat as much as barns 1 through 60.
Read more articles in the Calder category.


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Verizon Posts Profit, Wireless Subs Beat EstimatesBy Reuters - | Posted 2008-01-28 Print
Verizon Communications posted a higher quarterly profit in line with Street expectations and wireless customer growth that was slightly ahead of analyst estimates.AT&T had said it was seeing some softness in consumer businesses such as broadband and telephone access lines.
NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications on Monday posted a higher quarterly profit in line with Street expectations and wireless customer growth that was slightly ahead of analyst estimates.
Its profit rose to $1.07 billion, or 37 cents a share, from $1.03 billion, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items such as severance expenses, Verizon said it earned 62 cents a share.
Revenue rose to $23.8 billion from $22.6 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 62 cents a share on revenue of $23.99 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Verizon Wireless, its mobile venture with Vodafone Group Plc, added 2 million net new subscribers in the quarter compared with average analyst estimates for 1.85 million from eight analysts contacted by Reuters.
The results from the second-biggest U.S. wireless provider follow a report of strong mobile customer growth from bigger rival AT&T Inc the week before and steep customer losses from No. 3 wireless rival Sprint Nextel.
Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said in a statement that investors could expect continued revenue growth and expense reductions in 2008.
"We see significant opportunities to grow revenues and expand our leadership in wireless and broadband markets, while reducing operating expenses," he said.
Verizon had said earlier this month that it was not seeing an impact from the U.S. economic slowdown after AT&T had said it was seeing some softness in consumer businesses such as broadband and telephone access lines.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Mark Porter)
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John Buchanan
Spring 2011 Update
I have two great married kids and 4 grandchildren, all living in Annapolis. My daughter Lara is a 1992 WC graduate. I now work for Charles County, here in La Plata, Maryland, as an attorney. I am active in Kiwanis, the United Way, and the Maryland State Bar Association. I am looking forward to retiring soon.