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Ready to be a mommy! Us Weekly exclusively revealed Wednesday, April 3 that Glee actress Heather Morris is expecting her first child with longtime boyfriend Taylor Hubbell, and former series costar Jessalyn Gilsig has no doubt that she's prepared.
"Oh, she's going to be an amazing mother," Gilsig, 41, who starred as Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) ex-wife Terri Schuester on the hit Fox show, told PopSugar. "She's a fantastic, fantastic woman.
"That's a lucky baby," the actress, who currently stars in The History Channel's Vikings, added.
Morris, 26, and Hubbell have been dating since high school. A source told Us that the actress, who previously worked as a backup dancer for Beyonce, is "a little more than three months along and starting to show."
The insider adds, "It was totally unexpected, but they are incredibly happy and excited."
Indeed, Morris has always wanted to be a mom. In a candid interview with Fitness magazine in 2011, Morris talked about her plans of settling down. "I want to marry Taylor and have kids with him," she said. "I love acting, but if it affects my relationship, then I won't continue."
Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!
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On Tuesday, White House officials announced tours of the president's home will be cancelled until further notice because of sequestration. Ever since, Texas lawmakers have expressed outraged at the decision.
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler proposed an amendment to the 2013 continuing spending resolution on the House floor Tuesday that would prevent the government from funding President Obama's golf trips, the Huffington Post reports. Obama's most recent golf game was with famed golfer Tiger Woods.
"None of the funds made available by a division of this act may be used to transport the president to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume," the amendment states.
Rep. Ralph Hall of Rockwall signed a letter on Wednesday, along with other members of congress sent to the President against the cancellations. In a statement, Hall expressed his disappointment in Obama for using "scare tactics" on the American people.
"The President should set spending priorities and cut wasteful and duplicative programs rather than cut access for the American people to their own White House," he said.
On Facebook, Rep. Joe Barton announced the cancellations to followers, adding "I believe the White House belongs to the people. I do not think sequestration materially affects the staffing of the White House in terms of guards, security, etc. This act seems to me to be more of a political statement than a true requirement of sequestration."
Reps. Kevin Brady, Ted Poe, John Culberson, Steve Stockman, Blake Farenthold, Ralph Hall, and Sen. Ted Cruz all tweeted their reactions to the announced cancellations and suggesting where they felt money should be cut.
The White House belongs to the people, but the President is sequestering White House tours while the TSA spends on new uniforms? #CutWaste
— RepKevinBrady (@RepKevinBrady) March 5, 2013
#POTUS has canceled all WH tours. Yet Pakistan will be receiving $37M for trade and TSA will get $50M for new uniforms.#cutwastefulspending — Ted Poe (@JudgeTedPoe) March 5, 2013
The President has closed the people's house, but members of Congress will continue to welcome visitors to the Capitol 1.usa.gov/W35Z66 — John Culberson (@CongCulberson) March 5, 2013
Just heard from constituents that Obama is canceling WH tours. Shouldn't taxpayers be able to see the place that's spending all their money?
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 5, 2013
RT @nrcc Want to reschedule your canceled WH tour? That'll be $500,000 bit.ly/12rZwa3 — Rep. Steve Stockman (@SteveStockmanTX) March 5, 2013
FLOTUS called the #WH the "People's House" yet today WH said tours are cancelled indefinitely. So much for #transparency #springcleaning?
— Blake Farenthold (@farenthold) March 5, 2013
"Hardworking taxpayers deserve to know how much federal deficits cost them each year." ralphhall.house.gov/press-releases… — Ralph Hall (@RalphHallPress) March 5, 2013


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Building a network around the state, diversifying during the recession, and growing into industrial markets have helped Pioneer live up to its name.
Nobody really knew they were coming. They started quietly in small towns around the state. Pioneer Equipment Rental & Supply grew with an almost guerilla-like strategy, working in the smaller markets such as Ponca City, Shawnee and Stillwater, towns where the major rental companies were less effective because they were located two or three hours away from their major facilities.
Pioneer developed relationships with local contractors, building a reputation for reliability and quick decision-making, willing to extend itself in service and accommodate customers by getting them what they needed. As they spread out and built more branches, Pioneer won more customers by being able to take care of contractors who worked in different parts of the state. Gradually Pioneer became an attractive option for local as well as out-of-state contractors who often did business in multiple Oklahoma locations.
It's been a bit more than a dozen years now, but clearly the dominant rental player in the oil- and energy-rich state of Oklahoma is Pioneer. Owners John Redwine and his father Larry might not have expected it, but that's the way it has evolved. After building a network of high-functioning profitable efficient rental centers in small towns, Pioneer established branches in the state's urban centers, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
"We liked the smaller markets and we thought with multiple locations we could bring a lot more inventory to smaller markets than you could with single locations," says John. "For instance, 120-foot booms, dozers, big excavators as well as homeowner-type equipment. We felt we could limit the competition from the national chains because we could offer the same products and be a lot closer. And because my dad had started in smaller towns, we knew what would rent and what the possibilities were and were comfortable there. A lot of contractors out of Oklahoma City and Tulsa traveled to work in the smaller markets and had accounts with us, so eventually we followed them into the larger cities to work on certain jobs."
Long before the founding of Pioneer, rental was in the Redwine blood. Larry Redwine spent years in the business, having acquired a Time Rentals franchise back in 1976. Larry changed the name to U-Rent and operated the business until he sold it to RentX in 1996. John had always shown an interest in the rental business, working there during his teenage years.
Both John and Larry went to work for RentX, John as assistant area manager, where he helped start a couple of startup branches, hiring and training staff. In 1998, John left RentX and acquired a small independent rental business McGee's Rentals in Ponca City, calling it Pioneer. In 1999, Larry acquired a small rental company in Shawnee, Okla., and opened a Pioneer branch.
Over the next few years, John expanded to Lawton, Okla., and partnered with Larry on branches in Stillwater, Okla., and Denton, Texas. Larry opened branches in Chickasha and Newcastle, Okla. They worked together at times and bounced ideas off each other, but had seven separate companies between the two of them.
Eventually the need to have a united image for customers and the need to develop a financial structure led to a merger. Lending institutions, particularly, found the company structure confusing.
"We had it under every name, John Redwine dba, Pioneer Equipment Rental, some would be under a personal name, a business name, each others' business names," says John. "It was an administrative nightmare with the different names we had. We could generally get credit for a $20,000 loan here, a $30,000 loan there, a $50,000 loan here, but we needed larger credit. Also customers that did business with different branches would receive different invoices."
The separate companies merged in 2005 and began the process of developing a cohesive structure, working on developing processes to tie together the branches.
John and Larry work together in a complementary way, with John essentially acting as CEO running the business every day.
"I don't get involved in the day-to-day operations," says Larry. "But on bigger decisions, we talk all the time. I get more involved on the sales end. We make a good pair; I have more experience and John has a lot of new ideas."
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"When we open new branches, he heads that up as far as negotiating contracts for the property and things like that," adds John. "That way I don't have to take my focus off of running the business." Larry also specializes in overseeing the physical layout of new facilities, and supervised the build-out of more than one of the branches.
When the recession hit around 2007, diversity helped Pioneer — it did a certain amount of cash homeowner business, merchandise sales, it made an effort to move into new equipment sales becoming a Terex dealer, and it began to develop a presence in the industrial market. Having its fingers in many pies lessened Pioneer's dependence on the construction market.
The sale of merchandise is more of a complementary item but it helps Pioneer take care of the customer with a full offering. "I'd say we play in it rather than make a ton of money in it," says John. "But it definitely serves the customer, and makes us more of a one-stop shop."
John hired his cousin Mark, a former schoolteacher and coach, to help the company's efforts to sell new equipment. One of Mark's stronger attributes as a salesman, he feels, is lack of experience in sales. Customers, sensing that he's not just trying to sell them, seem to appreciate his sincerity.
"I love what I'm doing," says Mark. "I'm not a salesman. I am in sales, but I'm not a salesman. I explain about the equipment, try to figure out if it's a good fit for them and if it's a good fit, we'll make it happen."
The company also grew by being willing to make quick decisions and buy items their customers needed.
"If the customer wants a certain type of utility vehicle, if they want a Polaris, if they want a Kubota, if they want this option on it, we'll go make it happen," says John.
"With larger equipment, such as bigger excavators and generators, there's a lot of that."
"For refineries, a lot of times they want half-ton pickups," adds Larry. "We even bought school buses, which they rent to take people in and out of the plant." The buses are still often rented for turnarounds and other events.
"We work on budgets, but on capital expenditures, we don't lock ourselves in to an exact amount," says John. "We like to buy for the customer when it's a longer term rental, but usually we try to get the item bought before we even finish the conversation. Sign on the contract and hope it works out. Usually it does, and that way we grow the fleet."
from firecrackers to rental
John Redwine has five brothers and sisters, but was the only one to get into the rental business. He had an entrepreneurial bent and a feel for the rental business.
"I had my own firecracker stand when I was 15," John says. "It didn't work out so well, there were a lot of hot days, and it was difficult to keep fireworks out there. Everybody was driving to the cheerleaders' firecracker stand and I was standing out there by myself."
John recalls various other business ventures including selling pigs and brush-hogging when he was in high school. "I got like $22 an hour which was a bunch of money back then, but it was hot. After 20 hours I was really thinking I made serious money until my dad handed me the rental bill and made me pay him for the rental of the tractor," he laughs. "He said 'We'd have had it rented if you wouldn't have had it' so I had to pay him. But that was a good lesson too. At least he gave me a discount."
John studied business and accounting in college and while attending classes at MidAmerica Nazarene University, in Olathe, Kan., took notice of Center Rentals, which had a branch in the city. Center, a Denver-based rental company that was acquired in the late '90s, was one of the most evolved rental companies of its era in terms of operations and systems, and Redwine observed and studied its methods.
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find the best practice
One of the keys to Pioneer's growth was John's ability to attract good people, developing good managers from within the system and recruiting from outside.
One of the major hires was David Manning, the company's general manager since 2006.
Manning, son of former ARA president and highly respected rental business owner Hotch Manning, has an impressive industry resume in his own right. Manning worked from 1986 through 1997 for his dad's A-1 Rentals, a multi-location rental company based in Las Cruces, N.M. Manning started as a driver, was a branch manager, worked in accounting and did just about everything for A-1.
After A-1 was acquired by RentX, Manning worked for that company for a couple of years as area manager, which is where he got to know John Redwine. Manning went on to work for Sunstate Equipment for seven years, the Phoenix-based multi-state rental company, one of the rental industry's most admired companies for its systems and efficiencies. Manning served as metro operations manager of the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex area for Sunstate from 1999 through 2006.
Manning's primary role with Pioneer is to support the branch managers and the efforts of the branches. "One thing that we try to instill in all our people is that we don't want to be outserviced," says Manning. "Basically everybody in the rental business is renting the same equipment to sometimes the same people. The only thing that can set you apart is your people and the way you service your customers. In every meeting that we have, we talk about how we can improve the end product that we provide our customers."
On the day RER visited Pioneer, Manning was working with industrial accounts manager Mark Denny "trying to streamline our flow through the shop so we can get the equipment off the jobsite, off the truck, through the shop, back on the ready line and to the customer in the most efficient productive way. I believe that works, trying to run off the ready line, not off the service line."
Manning got his education in the concept during his time at Sunstate, with its 'The Plane is Leaving' slogan learned from Southwest Airlines. "If you can turn it faster, then maybe instead of using three planes to cover a route, maybe you can cover it with two and save that money for something else," he explains.
Pioneer's philosophy is always that systems are a process, a never-ending quest to improve and find the best way to do things. "We try to take best practices and we're fortunate enough to have people that come from different backgrounds, such as myself and Mark and some of our other managers. All of our managers have certain things that they're good at so you take those things, put them all together, discuss them around this table, come up with our best practice," he says. That becomes the way of doing things until they come up with something better.
Much of Manning's role is to take these best practices and make sure they are done the same way at all the branches. "We look at each process from the way we write a contract to the way we answer the phone, just try to constantly streamline that and make it better," says Manning. "And make it more consistent so with 11 locations if you call Ponca City or if you call Stillwater or you call Denton, Texas, you get the same treatment. You're talking to Pioneer Equipment Rental, you're not talking to a certain branch. You're going to get treated the same way with the same quality of service, the same quality of equipment at all our locations. We want it to be a seamless transaction for the customer."
Manning is a systems implementer but it is his ability to listen and bring people together that makes things work. "When we talk about maintenance issues we always bring in our regional service managers and some senior techs," Manning says. "It would be easy for me as a manager to say 'This is the way we're going to do that' but I don't turn wrenches every day so maybe what I think is the best way is maybe not the best way. Once we discuss and figure out [and people say] 'That does work, but here's what I found is a better way' you take all of that and 10 people are smarter than five, you take all that and weigh it in. Then we come to an agreement."
Traveling between the branches as much as he does — and Manning put more than 50,000 miles on his red Pioneer truck in the past year — Manning works hard at instilling brand identification in the whole company, a vision that individual workers and branches are part of something larger.
"We want them to be proud of their location for sure, but we also want them to realize this is bigger than just them," Manning says. "What you do 300 miles away from here matters. That customer is travelling, especially nowadays. We've got customers from every state in the nation probably working in Oklahoma. And they may be in Ponca City this month and in Durant, Okla., next month, four hours away. Well, if they had a bad experience here, they're probably not going to deal with the shop there. We pass that along. We ask the customer, 'Where are you going next? Hey we got a branch there.' Five years ago we were seven stores, now we're 11."
The growing company's cohesion and interdependence, as customers increasingly worked with Pioneer on a statewide level, enabled the company to expand by opening two branches during the recession even as most rental companies were contracting.
"We were not geniuses by any means, but we had processes in place," Manning says. With the company not over-fleeted but having equipment it could move with trained people ready to step in and build it, "we were able to take advantage of that and get in at the right time, and those became profitable branches in a lot less than the normal ramp-up time. People will tell you, 'you're not going to be profitable in the first year.' Well both of those branches were profitable probably in the first six months."
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not to be outserviced
When it comes to service, Pioneer puts a lot of emphasis on the performance and capability of its service technicians. The company has more than 30 service technicians, and regularly sends mechanics to training schools provided by manufacturers as well as having manufacturers conduct training for Pioneer mechanics on site or in local vocational training facilities. "We want to have the most current-trained technicians," says John.
The company has more than one mobile service truck per location and area service managers that oversee several locations and lend their hand where necessary. It has developed several experts who specialize in particular areas such as a boom expert, a hydraulics expert and a transmission expert.
"For example, in one case recently, one transmission would have cost us $4,500 to fix if we had sent it out and we'd have had to send it away for six weeks," says Don Heidlage, Pioneer area service manager, who was the first employee hired by Redwine when he founded the company in 1998. "Instead, we were able to fix it in a week and it only cost us $1,000."
Pioneer also believes in training its people in a variety of areas. "We brought in trainers to talk to our sales coordinators and outside salesmen," Redwine says. "We brought in an expert who is well known in the rental industry and did a session on customer service. We trained our drivers as well with sales training. I always tell drivers you're kind of like an outside salesman out there; you're the face of the company."
missing links
With a dozen outside salesmen, Pioneer has always seen the importance of using outside sales staff to market the company and develop the market. Sales efforts have proven especially important in recent years as the company responded to the recession by growing its presence in Oklahoma's burgeoning industrial market, which has been fueled by developments in the oil industry as well as wind and solar energy and other industries. One of the state's largest refineries, the Conoco Phillips refinery, is located right across the street from Pioneer's Ponca City headquarters.
To beef up the company's industrial efforts, Pioneer recently hired a man who had previously operated an onsite rental department in that very refinery, Mark Denny, as industrial accounts manager. Denny, who has years of experience in the world of refineries as well as waste management and environmental industries, has been helping to grow customer relationships, especially with industrial facilities.
One of the first things Denny looked at was Pioneer's overall level of communication with its customers. He felt it necessary to examine what he considers the "missing links" in communications that sometimes define customer service. As one who often has been on the other side of the rental experience — as a customer — Denny says, "I can look back on some jobs and I have some vivid images right now where maybe they delivered but I didn't know if they clearly understood that I was going to be done that evening or maybe I thought I understood the pricing but then when I looked at the invoice they didn't clearly elaborate the damage waivers and various other things. So all this goes to the table with me and I thought there needs to be no surprises. They need to clearly understand."
Denny is a big believer in following up with customers, making sure they were satisfied with the service. "I read a quote from one of the sales experts that said of the people that leave your business, about 96 percent just go away quietly," Denny says. "They don't come in and say, 'I'm upset with you, I'm going to do business elsewhere and here's why.' They just go away." However, Denny points out, of the 4 percent that communicate a reason, if you immediately resolve the issue on the customer's behalf, you'll probably keep him.
"Then they're going to tell, not seven people, [which, experts say, is the number of people disgruntled customers tell about their negative experience] they're going to tell 12 people that 'I had a problem with him and as soon as I brought it up to him, he corrected that immediately.'" So Denny looks for every opportunity to communicate with customers to see if they are satisfied with Pioneer's services.
Working in the industrial arena as much as he does, Denny emphasizes developing partnering relationships with customers so that they see the Pioneer staff as part of their internal team.
"I like to get to know them and what matters to them," says Denny. "I like for them to feel like I care about what they're doing and that comes about by asking them, 'What are you working on today, what's your project?'"
Denny tells of a recent experience where the power went out at the Conoco Phillips refinery after some high winds and Denny, knowing the potential consequences, left his home and went to the site. "Any time you lose power in a place like that, there's some operators trying to keep explosions from happening and the lost production is very costly." Denny showed up not to try to sell or rent a piece of equipment but to see what he could do to get power and communications back up.
"They knew I was there with this attitude of what can we do to get going, not to sell them something," Denny says. "I think that's what we need to strive for with all of our customers."


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Race and the Death Penalty
Executions by Race of Defendants
2016 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County
2015 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County
2014 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County
2013 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County
2012 Death Sentences by Name, Race, and County
News and Developments - Current Year
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DPIC Reports:
The Death Penalty in Black & White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides
Chattahoochee Judicial District - The Buckle of the Death Belt: The Death Penalty in Microcosm
Racial Disparities in Federal Death Penalty Prosecutions 1988-1994
94.5% of Elected Prosecutors in Death Penalty States Are White
(Click image to enlarge). According to a study by the Women Donors Network, 95% of elected prosecutors in the U.S. are white and 79% are white men. An analysis by DPIC of the study's data further shows that, in states that have the death penalty, 94.5% of elected prosecutors are white. In 9 death penalty states (Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, and Wyoming), 100% of elected prosecutors are white. (N. Fandos, "A Study Documents the Paucity of Black Elected Prosecutors: Zero in Most States," The New York Times, July 7, 2015).
Additional Resources:
- NAACP Death Penalty Fact Sheet
- Jurors in Washington State More Likely to Impose Death on Black Defendants
According to a recently updated study by Professor Katherine Beckett of the University of Washington, jurors in Washington "were four and one half times more likely to impose a sentence of death when the defendant was black than [] they were in cases involving similarly situated white defendants." The earlier version of the study had found that juries were three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case. The disparity in sentencing occurred despite the fact that prosecutors were slightly more likely to seek the death penalty against white defendants. The study examined 285 cases in which defendants were convicted of aggravated murder. The cases were analyzed for factors that might influence sentencing, including the number of victims, the prior criminal record of the defendant, and the number of aggravating factors alleged by the prosecutor. THE ROLE OF RACE IN WASHINGTON STATE CAPITAL SENTENCING, 1981-2014 (Originally published Jan. 27, 2014, updated with additional data 2015). The original version of the study, covering only 1981-2012, is available here.
- A History of Racial Injustice - Timeline from the Equal Justice Initiative (2013)
- DPIC Summary of North Carolina v. Robinson, the first ruling issued under North Carolina's Racial Justice Act (April 22, 2012). UPDATE: In 2013, the Racial Justice Act was repealed. In 2015, the state Supreme Court vacated the ruling in North Carolina v. Robinson, holding that the state should have been given more time to review and respond to studies showing racial bias in jury selection.
- Amnesty Report Finds Racial Injustice in Death Penalty - According to a new report issued by Amnesty International, race continues to play a strong role in U.S. death penalty cases. In "US: Death by Discrimination - The Continuing Role of Race in Capital Cases," (April 23, 2003) Amnesty states that:
Even though blacks and whites are murder victims in nearly equal numbers of crimes, 80% of people executed since the death penalty was reinstated have been executed for murders involving white victims.
More than 20% of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries.
The report also examines case law and international policies related to race and the death penalty.
- Maryland Study Finds that Race and Geography Play Key Roles in Death Penalty - According to the findings of a Governor-commissioned death penalty study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland, the state's death penalty system is tainted with racial bias, and geography plays a significant role in who faces a capital conviction. The study, one of the nation's most comprehensive official reviews on race and the death penalty, concluded that defendants are much more likely to be sentenced to death if they have killed a white person. See DPIC's Press Release. For more information about the study, see the Executive Summary and Complete Study (Released on January 7, 2003).
- Indiana Death Penalty Commission Prepares to Release Study - The Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission met recently to review the final draft of a year-long study on the state's death penalty. The draft report indicates that race of the victim plays a role in death penalty sentencing. The report included a cost analysis that indicates it costs the state 35-37% more to have the death penalty than it would if life without parole were the most severe punishment available. Governor Frank O'Bannon asked the Commission to review the state's death penalty system after innocent inmates were discovered and freed from death rows in other states. The final report is due to be released in December. (Indianapolis Star, 11/9/01)
- New Jersey Supreme Court Report Finds Disturbing Evidence Regarding Race and the Death Penalty - A report released by the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the state's death penalty law is more likely to proceed against defendants who kill white victims. "There is unsettling statistical evidence indicating that cases involving killers of white victims are more likely to progress to a penalty phase than cases involving killers of African-American victims," the report states. Appellate Division Judge David S. Baime, who conducted the study, said that the findings that more capital cases are considered in white, suburban neighborhoods should be examined by the attorney general's office. (Asbury Park Press, 8/13/01)
- "Race and the Death Penalty in North Carolina An Empirical Analysis: 1993-1997" This study, the most comprehensive ever conducted on the death penalty in North Carolina, was released by researchers from the University of North Carolina. The study, based on data collected from court records of 502 murder cases from 1993 to 1997, found that race plays a significant role in who gets the death penalty. Prof. Jack Boger and Dr. Isaac Unah of the University of North Carolina found that defendants whose victims are white are 3.5 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those with non-white victims. "The odds are supposed to be zero that race plays a role," said Dr. Unah. "No matter how the data was analyzed, the race of the victim always emerged as an important factor in who received the death penalty." The study's findings will be presented to the North Carolina General Assembly which is currently considering moratorium bills in both the House and Senate. (Associated Press, 4/16/01 and Common Sense Foundation Press Release, 4/16/01) Read DPIC's Press Advisory.
- "Unequal, Unfair, and Irreversible: The Death Penalty in Virginia" - This new report, published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, examines four key aspects of the administration of capital punishment in Virginia: race, prosecutorial discretion in the charging of capital crimes, quality of legal representation for the accused, and appellate review of trials resulting in the death penalty. The report's principal findings are:
- race is a controlling factor in the way the death penalty is administered in Virginia
- trial attorneys appointed to represent those on Virginia's death row are six times more likely to be the subject of bar disciplinary proceedings than are other lawyers
- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has granted relief in only one of 131 capital cases between 1978-1997.
The report is available from the ACLU of Virginia by calling (804) 644-8080.
- The Federal Death Penalty System: A Statistical Survey (1988-2000) A review of the federal death penalty by the Justice Department, released on September 12, 2000, found numerous racial and geographic disparities. The report revealed that 80% of the cases submitted by federal prosecutors for death penalty review in the past five years have involved racial minorities as defendants. In more than half of those cases, the defendant was African-American. Attorney General Janet Reno said she was "sorely troubled" by the results of the report and has ordered United States attorneys to help explain the racial and ethnic disparities. The report also found that 40% of the 682 cases sent to the Justice Department for approval to seek the death penalty were filed by only five jurisdictions. "I can't help but be both personally and professionally disturbed by the numbers that we discuss today," said Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder. "[N]o one reading this report can help but be disturbed, troubled, by this disparity." Reno is expected to announce more studies of the administration of the federal death penalty. (New York Times, 9/12-13/00) See also, DPIC's summary of the report findings.
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Appeal of Potential Fair Lending Violations of Law (Third Quarter 2011)
A community bank appealed the OCC's determination that it had reason to believe the bank engaged in redlining in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FH Act). The bank's appeal also denies that a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice was warranted.
The bank's decision to appeal was based on the OCC's determination that:
The supervisory office (SO) stated, at the time of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination, the geographic shape of the bank's assessment area (AA) resembled a crescent as did the pattern of bank branches. As a result, the AA did not include the entire MMSA, divided political subdivisions, and excluded low- and moderate-income and majority Black census tracts. Additionally, the review of the bank's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data disclosed a substantial amount of loans were made in the excluded area to White borrowers. A review of the bank's marketing strategy revealed a broad-based advertising approach designed to reach the general public without specifically targeting any particular group or area.
The ombudsman conducted a comprehensive review of information submitted by the bank and the supervisory office. The ombudsman referred to 12 C.F.R. Part 25, 12 C.F.R. Part 202, 24 C.F.R. Part 100 and the Comptroller's "Fair Lending" and "CRA Examination Procedures" Handbooks as standards for determining compliance with the regulations. In addition, the "Fair Lending" handbook contains the April 15, 1994 Policy Statement on Discrimination in Lending, which provided guidance on what constitutes "reason to believe" for purposes of redlining and referral to the Department of Justice.
With respect to the bank's noncompliance with assessment area delineation regulations, the ombudsman agreed with the SO. Regulations require a bank's assessment area to include whole geographies (e.g., census tracts) and should generally include entire political subdivisions (e.g., counties or cities). If including an entire political subdivision would create an area that is larger than the institution can reasonably expect to serve, a bank may adjust its assessment area to include only portions of the political subdivision.
However, when making adjustments, institutions must not arbitrarily exclude low- or moderate-income geographies or set boundaries that reflect illegal discrimination. The ombudsman found the bank had excluded several portions of political subdivisions in close proximity to its delineated assessment area. These portions were comprised mainly of low- or moderate-income geographies.
The ombudsman found the bank's low volume of lending to Black individuals in the excluded area and to Black individuals in majority-Black census tracts suggests the bank's reliance on general distribution media has not proven effective. The bank's lack of targeted marketing, lack of branches in the excluded area, and scarcity of home mortgage applications from Black applicants may have contributed to the bank's subpar HMDA and small business lending performance in majority-Black census tracts.
Given the above conclusions, the ombudsman found the SO's determination that it had reason to believe the bank engaged in redlining appropriate and consistent with regulations and guidance provided by the Comptroller's Fair Lending Handbook. Consequently, the ombudsman agreed that a referral to the Department of Justice was warranted.


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Deltona's Leading Choice for ED Treatment
The board certified physicians at Premier Men's Medical Center have over 20 years of experience treating erectile dysfunction, low testosterone and human growth hormone, premature ejaculation, and a range of men's health issues for patients in the Deltona area. We approach your sexual health as a part of your overall health. We take the time to understand your lifestyle, your unique medical history, and your sexual health concerns and we'll customize a treatment program that will help you regain the pleasure, enthusiasm, and intimacy of sex - without big name pharmaceuticals.
All of the patients at the center are treated with their individual needs in mind. The staff is always ever-mindful of their unique qualities and goals and always tries, whenever it's possible, to use the most advanced methods while keeping safety at the forefront of everything they do. Each patient receives the attention and time they deserve, because all patients require the care and respect that is expected from health professionals. The offices have state-of-the-art diagnostic tools on site and a dedicated team with a high degree of specialization.
Personalized Medical Treatment Programs
At Premier Men's Medical Center, our personalized medicine treatment programs include an overall health assessment.
This is done by a specially trained physician, and includes comprehensive laboratory testing to determine biologic information that can help predict the risk for a variety of health problems -- as well as how a patient may respond to treatments.
These state-of-the-art laboratory tests augment the traditional means of assessing health risks and treatment outcomes based only on age, medical history, and conventional medical practices. From our specialists' analysis of assessments and lab results, our specialized physician can then recommend a customized treatment solution for your unique health issues.
Deltona's Most Trusted Source for Erectile Dysfunction Treatment
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a sexual condition in which a man is unable to receive and/or maintain an erection during intercourse.
If erectile dysfunction problems occur often, it can negatively impact your self-confidence and your intimate relationships. We can help. Erectile dysfunction is a medical problem and requires a medical solution. Our comprehensive approach to ED treatment will help you to determine the most effective options for your individual case.
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Our erectile dysfunction specialists will discuss your symptoms and their causes, outline the treatment option(s) most likely to achieve positive results for you, and explain both the benefits and risks of each option. Our physicians can determine the most appropriate treatment, or combination of treatments, based on your physical needs and preferences.
Effective Treatments for Premature Ejaculation
Men with premature ejaculation (PE) experience uncontrolled ejaculation prior to or very shortly after sexual penetration. PE can cause the sexual experience to be unsatisfactory for both partners, and can increase sexual anxiety. This can exacerbate the problem and sometimes contributes to additional issues such as erectile dysfunction.
If premature ejaculation becomes an ongoing issue or is causing stress for you and your partner, it is recommended that you consult with a doctor. When diagnosing premature ejaculation in a patient, the first steps involve a physical exam along with a brief discussion of you and your partners past medical and sexual history. This will help the doctor determine the next steps to take in treating your condition.
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If you have been suffering the symptoms of testosterone deficiency, you may experience significant improvement with testosterone therapy. Many men report increased energy levels and sex drive, improved moods, fat loss, and an increase in muscle mass with exercise. Testosterone may also increase bone density and insulin sensitivity in some men. The degree of change in symptoms -- whether effects are mild or a major change -- varies with each individual.
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There is a simple test for Human Growth Hormone deficiency that requires a doctor introducing a small dosage of a drug which stimulates the pituitary gland -- the area of somatropin production within the body. He or she will then monitor the amount of growth hormone released in response to this stimulation. In people with low HGH, the levels of somatropin released will be significantly less.
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After days of preparation, Eastern North Carolina settled in for a day of snow and ice Wednesday.
After days of preparation, Eastern North Carolina settled in for a day of snow and ice Wednesday.
Here is a snapshot of how folks in the region spent the day.
Danny Kelly, 32, of Jacksonville, drove from Jacksonville to Trade Mart Wilco in Richlands for work Wednesday morning. He said it took him about an hour to get to the store, which was one of few businesses open in Richlands.
�It's pretty dead right now. We have some customers here and there that are coming but it's pretty much a ghost town,� he said.
Kelly said employees were told not to go to work until 7 a.m. because of the curfew established by Onslow County Tuesday night when they declared a State of Emergency.
�I came from Jacksonville and it took me about an hour to get here. It's pretty bad,� he said.
But not everybody was as seemingly careful.
�There is somebody sliding through the gas pump,� he said while talking to The Daily News.
Victoria Gerichten , 24, of Jacksonville, said she and her 3-year-old daughter, Vanessa, spent most of the weather event in the house with an occasional break to eat icicles.
But Wednesday morning they were getting ready to walk to her parents' house so Vanessa could make a snowman with her grandparents and sled with her cousin, Ella.
�Seriously, everything is just white,� she said. �Everything is turning white. There's birds still flying around eating the bird food and squirrels but other than that, there's no movement.�
Brandon Longo, 30, of Holly Ridge, said he passed seven or eight people on his trip from Jacksonville to Holly Ridge while driving home from work aboard Camp Lejeune Wednesday morning.
�It's just pretty slow going right now,� he said, explaining that road crews were out de-icing the roads. �Everybody seems to be pretty much staying inside and keeping warm. It's no worse here than it is anywhere else.�
Gregg Whitehead, town administrator for Richlands, said he saw little foot traffic and a few farm trucks but little else Wednesday morning.
�All the roads are covered with snow and a layer of ice so I don't recommend going anywhere unless you're on foot,� he said.
Whitehead said Richlands was seeing very little traffic.
�Most people are staying inside, it's just so cold. ... I went out for a little while to de-ice my car in case I had to go somewhere but that was it,� he said.
He did say, however, that Wiggins Hardware in the downtown area had a delivery, complete with an 18 -wheeler unloading merchandise.
�But beyond that I've seen more farm tractors than I have anything else,� he said.
Kim Houtz was torn over which was the best part of the snow day: getting a bonus day off with her children or watching them enjoy the snow.
�It�s awesome to see my kids run and play in the snow,� said Houtz , 30, of Richlands. �It�s not every day they get to do something like this so it makes my heart melt to see them enjoying themselves. They woke up so happy this morning when they saw the snow on the ground and that�s just awesome.�
Although Houtz said she was OK with it being the only snowfall of the year.
Her daughter, however, disagreed.
�It�s fun just to run around and have a good time in the snow,� Cierra Houtz , 11, said. �I don�t know how anyone cannot like the snow. It�s so much fun.�
Heather Woodbridge Kesterson , 31, of Richlands, spent her snow day watching movies and drinking hot cocoa with her 5-year-old niece, something much more exciting than playing in the snow, she said. Having grown up in Tupper Lake, N.Y., snow is something she got enough of as a kid, and moving to the south was a way to get away from it.
�She had fun playing in the snow, so it was exciting watching her enjoy herself,� Kesterson said. �It reminded me of playing in the snow as a child. I�m glad she got to enjoy herself.�
In New York, though, Kesterson had to deal with snowfall measured in feet rather than inches, something she said she�s glad didn�t follow her to North Carolina.
�It was a good change of pace to see some snow,� she said. �One day is definitely enough though. We got a little bit and that�s good for me.�
Angela Garland�s Hubert yard was packed ice on Wednesday.
�It looks like just ice to me. It started sleeting (Tuesday). I don't know that it ever really changed to snow,� she said. �� The dogs aren't even making an impression in the snow or ice really when they go outside.�
The ice, she said, was dangerous and scary for those who would need to go out in it.
Vennessa Kjelgaard, of Hubert, was outside in her front yard playing in the winter weather with her husband and 2-year-old daughter Maddison Wednesday morning.
"We were hoping for more snow, but we'll take I guess whatever the weather will bring," Kjelgaard , who is from the north, said.
They planned on staying outside for only a few minutes because Maddison, who was throwing snowballs and tasting the ice, is young; but Kjelgaard said if the weather lasted throughout the day they would come back out to play again.
Topsail Island and Surf City still were blanketed in hard-pack snow that covered the streets, dunes and met the sand just above the high-tide line.
Although one jogger trekked along North Shore Drive on the Onslow County side of Surf City that morning, most island residents were hunkered inside their beach homes.
At Loggerhead Inn, General Manager Tony O�Connor said the usual overnighting contractors had weathered the winter storm at the business. Like most hotels on the island, the inn stays open year-round.
He was happy that Loggerhead Inn�s pipes hadn�t frozen.
�Not yet,� O�Connor said, citing the possibility of such a nuisance at the start of another sub-freezing day in Eastern North Carolina.
Emerald Isle emergency personnel remained on 24-hour duty Wednesday even after precipitation stopped falling.
"I think the community is really excited," said Emerald Isle Mayor Eddie Barber. "This kind of weather is very unusual for us. The roads are completely covered and the kids are out sledding."
The Emerald Isle bridge was being plowed and is open to the public, he said, but people still should use extreme caution when crossing it.
"Right now we still have a lot of ice and snow on the beach, snow on the bridge," Barber said. "We haven't had any big problems so far and I haven't seen any traffic, just one car."
Anthony Ray, father of 10-year-old Anthony Jr., spent Wednesday morning with his son in Cedar Point trying to build a snowman.
"The snow didn't pack very well because it's mostly ice, but we tried our best," Ray said with a laugh. "This is the first full day off from school he's had this year and he's having a blast. We are both hoping the snow sticks around for a couple days."
Daily News reporters Katie Hansen, Michael Todd, Thomas Brennan and Matthew Adkins contributed to this report.


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The Historical Images collection contains photographs documenting the decades at Fullerton College since its beginning in 1913. Images of sports teams, laboratories, cheerleaders, administrators, vocational classes, proms, theatrical productions, and much more are available.
The digitized collections are accessible for research and …
The Fullerton College Student Newspaper collection offers the full-text of every available issue from 1923-2014. Student reporters capture all of the glitter, grit, and glory of campus news, sports, and opinions.
Use the Fullerton College Library Online Archives database to discover selected historical photographs and articles published in the student newspaper, The Hornet. Both collections vividly illustrate the societal changes that have occurred since the founding of the college in 1913.
As one of the oldest continuously-operating community colleges in California, Fullerton College possesses a historical collection that documents its long history. The photographs, from the 1910s into 2009, include academic and vocational classes as well as sporting events, campus clubs, theatrical productions, and other extracurricular activities that reflect college life in this Orange County city.
All of the files are stored on a campus server and cataloged using CONTENTdm, a digital asset management tool. As funding becomes available, the digital collection in the Fullerton College Library Online Archives will grow in the future.


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California Department of Transportation
Date: April 4, 2013
District: Headquarters – Sacramento
Contact: Matt Rocco
Phone: (916) 654-5467
SACRAMENTO - The California State Personnel Board on Thursday sided with an Administrative Law Judge whose proposed decision upheld Caltrans' firing of former Caltrans supervisor Brian Liebich who had asked the panel to give him his job back.
"Accountability matters at Caltrans," said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. "Californians depend on Caltrans every single day, and we expect employees to do the right thing. Mr. Liebich put his own desires ahead of the public good so Caltrans took action to terminate his employment. "
Liebich was fired from his job in November 2011 for alleged misuse of state resources and approving falsified overtime. He was also the supervisor of Duane Wiles, the former Caltrans technician who falsified foundation test results on state highway structures. Caltrans was successful in separating Wiles from state service in 2012.
As revelations of Wiles' activities came to light, Caltrans conducted a thorough review of nearly two decades of foundation testing and delivered hundreds of pages of findings to the state Legislature, which confirmed Wiles' neglect of duty, but also verified that all structures involved are safe.
For a copy of the Board's decision, please contact email@example.com at the California Department of Human Resources.
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Our trip began on Wednesday. I took the day off so that I could pack and get things sorted out with the people who were going to babysit my kitties. I picked up my friend Sara (@SerrinneWoW) in the afternoon and she and I waited for my boyfriend Brian (@Chronis_) to be finished at work before we left. We drove out and picked up another guildmate, Andy (@Slout_ET) before we really started the drive to Buffalo. Let me tell you, if you need to get across the border quickly bring Chronis. I don't know if it's that Cape Bretoner charm or what but he didn't have his passport signed and we still got through the border in under two minutes.
It was so dark so we didn't see much of the scenery (although, it's Buffalo so we probably didn't miss much), but we got to our hotel safely and decided to get some dinner. We ate at this hot dog place called Ted's Hot Dogs because a) DONGERS and b) they have gluten free buns! They even changed gloves while handling my food so that was a welcome relief.
With our bellies full and the realization that we were so close, we all hit the hay and dreamed BlizzCon dreams.
In order to get to Anaheim, we flew out from Buffalo to Cleveland and then Cleveland to LAX. This was a pretty boring day since it was pretty much all travel but I'm going to mention the shuttle service we used. We booked through Karmel Shuttles. We had our confirmation numbers ready but we were told we didn't need to stand anywhere specific - just flag down our shuttle. We were given a number to look for on the shuttle. We must have seen a few shuttles go by with similar numbers so we called again and confirmed the number. So we waited. And waited. On the final call we made (after an hour) the rep told us that our shuttle number was actually different. So that shuttle that had been circling around and around.... and around... and around... was OURS. Naturally we were upset but thankfully we got into a shuttle of folks just as excited about BlizzCon as we were so the wait and the frustration was soon forgotten.
Traffic was terrible, but we made it to the Sheraton Park Hotel and as we stepped out of the car we saw Colin (@Jacklalanne) who was to room with Chronis and I (See his blog post here). This guy had been through hell and back to get here so I was so happy to finally meet him in person and see him in Anaheim. We met Mike (@grumdy) soon after and then our little group headed our separate ways to check in.
After checking in, I wanted to get our tickets so we ended up foregoing the WoWInsider/WoWHead party (which, we heard later was awesome but the line to get in was loooooong). We nipped over to the Hilton for a little while and met a few more of our guildmates. I could see so many shirts with names on them (like, I saw Derevka from far away but I never introduced myself because DEREVKA) so I was so glad we managed to make up our own guild shirts.
As I was sitting there chatting with my guildies, I felt two hands come down on my shoulders so I turned around but I didn't know who it was! Mysterious shoulder person went away to change and when he left Sara tells me that was ARIELLE. GAH. I quickly met Esoth while he was on his way to hug Sara, too! Arielle (@arielleEJ) came back and we got a proper meeting and I tried not be too overbearing (BEARing) but this person is someone I've talked to regularly on Twitter about Mass Effect and bear things and he's one of two people who are the reason I tank as a bear (Reesi being the other). Needless to say I was really excited. He mentioned that Reesi would be around the next day and I then I was even MORE excited. I was worried that I would be too excited and just barf words all over her when I met her so to stem the risk of psyching myself out I just put that in the back of my mind for now.
Because it was November 7th, it happened to be N7 Day. Before this Arielle and I had decided we would do the N7 toast from Mass Effect 3. We ordered our jagerbombs - PS those shot glasses were HUGE and there definitely was not enough Red Bull - and split the lines 50/50 and fulfilled a (months long) goal for both of us.
We stayed for a little longer and saw some members of Business Time (Chronis' other guild, haha) and when Rhidach (@rhidach) and Chronis met it was like the sky opened and hallelujahs were sung. Rhidach is probably who Chronis was most excited to meet this whole time, so it was so great to see them get to talk face to face.
Friday - DAY ONE:
|WTB instant tank queue to the front please?
Finally! Chronis, Jack and I enjoyed a breakfast at Denny's before heading out to stand in line. But when we got there it wasn't really a line so much as a blob of people. We ended up having a bunch of guildmates make their way to us in the line. We all sat together for the opening ceremonies and subsequent WoW Panels, and it was really great to share in everyone's excitement for the coming expansion.
They announced a LOT of stuff. Like, so much stuff I couldn't remember it all but there were a few things that stood out; Garrisons, raid size changes (Normal/Heroic/Mythic) and of course the new race models. I had my mouth open for so long when they said normal and heroic would be flexible AND cross realm. How amazing is that?! I'm really excited for Mythic raiding because it will mean the tuning will be really well done and they won't have to account for 15 more (or fewer) people. The new race models were beautiful, though I would have liked to see them present the female models at the same time (and not later). I'm looking forward to garrisons as well. I enjoyed my ship in SWTOR, being able to send out my crew for quests etc was amazing and I cannot wait to have this sort of thing in WoW.
I didn't care to stay seated for any other panels that were happening so we ended up walking the floor of the convention, marveling at how LONG the line was for Heroes of the Storm and taking in the scenery. We grabbed some lunch and walked around some more until the Apotheosis official meet up at the Meeting Stone.
It took some time, but the guild slowly trickled in and all of us together in our shirts looked so awesome. It was really great to see all our hard work (Chronis mostly) when everyone stood together for a photo. This was actually the only time where we were all in proximity of each other!
I think this is also where I got to meet Reesi! The Inc Bear folks decided to tag along during our Stone time so everyone got a chance to chat. I was pretty much hopping with excitement to meet her, and I don't really think I said a lot to her but if she ends up reading this then here is what I wanted to say; It's because of players like you that love your class and this game that make players like me want to be better. I wanted to be a bear tank because I saw you doing it and I figured, why not? So thank you! You may not know it but you made a huge impact on my game choices and the direction I took with playing this game, and I think it was for the better.
After our meetup, Chronis and I sat down with some fellas from the Computer History Museum. They're making a documentary about software that's changed the world and WoW was something they wanted to look at. I e-mailed the gentleman asking for people who would be interested in speaking about the game since I think Chronis and I have a good story about how we met (tip: Mount Hyjal raid). So we had a little interview and talked about ourselves and this game and we could be in a documentary in a few years!
|Chloe Dykstra and Holly Conrad
Afterwards we headed over to the main stage to watch the costume and other contests. I loved seeing all the amazing cosplay but I didn't really care for any of the other stuff (sorry!).
With our time at the convention done for the day, Chronis and I made our way over to the Twisted Nether Blogcast party! I knew most of my guildmates would be at the Convert to Raid party (which I'm a little sad we didn't make it to) but we also knew that a lot of Business Time people would be at the TNB event. We made it to the bowling alley (TNB had the bar section reserved) bought some drink tickets and a couple loot bags and found BT. This was one of the highlights for me. Getting to talk about tank stuff with Vosskah (@Vosskah) and Rhidach was really great. I loved chatting with Antigen (@antigen) about Dark Shaman and how melee have ONE JOB and so many still fail at it.
I also had a lovely chat with Voss about Vidyala's (@_vidyala) badges. He mentioned that he thought my badge suited me, and that Vid really captured who I was and who my character was in this little painting. It was a beautiful thing, getting to share my appreciation of her work with her husband but I realized I never told HER. So Vid, I want you to know that I love this little badge painting. I'm going to frame it and keep it as long as I can because it means so much to me. I met people I didn't know beforehand because they had the same badges! Anyway, I think you did a beautiful job and your ought to be proud of all the hard work you did in getting these done. I can't really say enough about it, and an internet hug will have to suffice for now - but thank you.
We made our way back to the Hilton and I really don't remember a lot after this part. I do remember chatting with Hestiah (@hestiahdruid), and talking to random people about Mass Effect and Warlords. I also remember getting kicked out of the Hilton because it was so late! (And then being told I was very drunk. Which, I was.)
|Met GC, but it looks like I'm gonna punch him.
|@kristin, myself and @hestiahdruid (Photo by @serrath)
Saturday - DAY TWO:
|Final Boss wristband!
At one point, Reesi tweeted that she had some Final Boss wristbands so I whipped over to find her and grabbed some! We stayed for the 'systems panel' and learned a lot. The changes to raiding are so exciting - a static mythic raid size will let Blizzard balance and fine tune everything so much more. The changes to gear - swapping specs and boom, stat change - is amazing, I'm looking forward to clearing some of my druids bag space! I'm definitely going to have to go back and look at all the information they gave us because I do not remember everything!
And now, we really come to the most important part of this recap for me. A few days before BlizzCon, I found out that Jennifer Hale was going to be there! She voices Leah in Diablo 3, but I know her better as Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect trilogy. I can't really put into words how much I love that series, but let's just say it's a lot. Another important thing to mention is that Arielle also loves Mass Effect. I let him know that Ms Hale was going to be there and we decided that we would go to the D3 voice actor panel and get an autograph.
I sat through most of the WoW Movie Panel (terrible) before heading over to the VA stage. When I got there it was already so crowded I was worried we wouldn't get any seats at all. Luckily, Chronis and I spotted two open seats and he told me that once Arielle got there he would let him sit and then go walk around while we enjoyed the panel. Arielle came over and sat down with me and surprisingly the gentleman sitting next to us gave his seat up for Chronis!
The panel began and Arielle and I were so stoked to see Jennifer walk out on the stage! I wish I'd been able to get a decent photo of her up there, but we were pretty far back. I actually enjoyed the entire panel more than I thought I would. They had everyone there; the voice of Deckard, Leah, Tyrael, the Enchantress, Imperius, the Jeweler and a guy that voiced various monsters.
Check out this recording someone captured of each actor doing a quick bit with their character voice!
It was a really neat panel, and if they have more of them next time I definitely want to go - especially for the WoW voices! Once the panel was over, they opened up the time for autographs. Now, to give you an idea of how many people wanted to get autographs/see the panel, there was a little area with seats and then all around it was this gigantic line and even more people crowded around. They announced that the people who were seated would have priority for autographs. I looked at Arielle and I was like, Ok, we're good.
They brought up the rows one by one, and it seemed to be going really, really slow. And we noticed that there were people bringing like, 5-6 things that they wanted each actor to sign! We started getting nervous. The line was moving so slow now and we were still seated. The Blizz employees started telling people that they could pick one extra thing to be signed (we were given posters that could be signed if you didn't have anything). The time is ticking down, 15 minutes left... 10 minutes left... 5 minutes left...We finally are picked to get in line, and the guy helping to usher people says to us, "You're lucky. You guys are the last to go up."
This panel is clearly going over time, and people are getting upset. The usher fella is getting angry ladies and dudes coming up to him and we're so close to the stage I could practically touch the voice actors. We get up to the front and this Blizz guy hands me a poster and says, "Sorry".
Sorry, we have to cut the line off here.
My heart sank. You're joking, we were told that we were the last ones! I look at Arielle and he's just as disappointed as I am. So I'm thinking, well, this was my idea and I'm not leaving until we see Jennifer Hale. I find the guy with the earpiece who was ushering people and ask him if there's any way that we could get just her to sign something for us? I don't know if it was just because I was really polite or what, but he said, "Ok. Give me 5 minutes and meet me on the other side of the booth."
We hurry over to the other side and we wait... and a couple other people see us waiting and stand with us talking about Jennifer and how they only wanted to see her as well. I wanted them to go away because I didn't want these random dudes thinking they could piggyback on my request! The Blizz guy finally comes out and walks over and he says, "Just you." Right away I'm like OK! Except I was leaving Arielle behind! Nooooo! I wasn't about to mess with the opportunity I'd been given but I was so torn between this elation and feeling really bad.
I passed through the curtains they had set up, and I saw her quickly and she waved at me but said they needed to do a group photo and she'd be right back. I got to chat with the Blizz guy (his name was Chad - so hi Chad!) and he told me about how he worked in QA doing stuff for the battle.net and support sites. It was really cool getting to talk to him because he obviously loved his job as much as I love the games they produce.
Jennifer came back and Chad introduced me and she thought at first I worked for Blizzard or something but then I was like, "No I'm just a HUGE fan with really good luck today". She asked me how the con was going, and asked about what I did for a living - so then of course I explained that I work for an environmental consulting company and she got really excited and asked about water sampling and the kind of work I did, so I totally got to geek out to Jennifer Hale about my JOB (WHAT?!). She asked if I'd gotten anything signed and I explained that no, we were cut off in the line and she offered to sign the poster they gave me BUT being the keener I am, I pulled out a print that Chronis printed for me.
She asked if I made it but I laughed and said I'm not that talented, and she signed it for me! I asked if I might be able to get a picture with her and she was so gracious and we got Chad (THANK YOUUUU) to take a couple photos.
|Panser aka Trade Chat
The last scheduled engagement we had was dinner at Buca di Beppos with Hamlet, Perculia, Hestiah, Ilaniel, Sara, Mike and Esoth! We were exhausted so we weren't too talkative, but I enjoyed getting to relax and eat a proper meal for once this weekend. I'm glad we got to go, it was really nice seeing everyone and the food was delicious!
Unfortunately, we had a very early flight out of LAX so we briefly stopped in at the Hilton to say our goodbyes (and I still had to buy Arielle that dang drink). We met up with a few of our guildmates and enjoyed the last few hours with everyone before we had to say our goodbyes.
|N7 buddies for LIFE
I had an absolute blast at this year's BlizzCon. I love that I never felt out of place. The love of these games wasn't seen as something weird or something that needed extra explanations. I wore my N7 sweater every day and I got comments on it and people came up to talk to me because of it and that never happens outside of events like this! I love that we had people ask about our guild shirts and it was an amazing feeling to finally see everyone in them. I love the energy of the place when Metzen gets on stage during the opening ceremonies. I love that we see CMs and Devs just walking around and hanging out. I can't express how amazing it was to meet new people and see my guildmates again. The interactions between everyone on Twitter mean a little more now, and without Twitter I never would have met half of the people I did. I can't wait for the next 'Con and I hope that I'll see you all there!


text:
Re: Send to F# Interactive after selecting in ViEmu
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone could help me with this problem:
I don't want to have to select text with my mouse to send it to FSharp Interactive (by alt-enter or right-clicking on top of the selected block).
It takes time, and I can simply press V and have the entire block selected by ViEmu within a couple of keystrokes.
My problem is that after selecting the text, FSI will not accept the code block from ViEmu.
Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Last edited by eduardo (2010-11-26 22:47:33)