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BISMARCK, N.D.—Paula Broadwell left an indelible stamp on her hometown, where she is remembered for drive, ambition and achievement.
Sports standout, high school valedictorian. Homecoming queen, played an elf in the Christmas pageant. Violinist in the school orchestra, member of the Latin Club.
But her childhood also was marked by her parents' fractious divorce, a contentious split that resulted in a decade of squabbles over money, personal belongings and child support issues.
Broadwell, the Charlotte, N.C., woman snared in the David Petraeus scandal, was voted "most likely to be remembered" by classmates at Century High School where she graduated in 1991.
Reconciling the woman in the news with the highly accomplished teen she knew is not difficult for Nancy Otterson, wife of former Century Principal Larry Otterson. She remembers Broadwell as an extraordinary personality destined for big things, though not of the brand connected to the Petraeus situation.
MORE: David Petraeus sex scandal
"I don't think there is a bad Paula," she said. "There's maybe one who has made some decisions that we wouldn't have wanted her to make."
Otterson's opinion appears to be widely shared by those who knew Broadwell and her family. Those willing to talk to an outsider focus on Broadwell's accomplishments.
Broadwell's hometown is set on the tree-starved prairie that grows grain and livestock to sustain the nation. Last week, after a 25-centimetre snowstorm not unusual for November here, the vast plains looked oceanic, reflecting the sun's feeble winter rays to the distant horizon.
Bismarck is a big small town, a clean, tidy city that moves to a relaxed pace. It lacks the urban soundtrack of bigger places. Car horns, police sirens and jet engines are little heard. Parking meters have yet to take root.
Since the scandal broke, reporters have shuffled through town searching for Broadwell's backstory, occasionally overstepping Bismarck's gentility. Nov. 12 was a school holiday, though Century High School was open for student meetings.
Authorities were surprised and unpleased when they found that reporters had come in to wander, snapping pictures of the portrait of Broadwell's championship basketball squad that hangs over the portal, said Vice Principal Lee Ziegler.
Paul and Nadene Kranz were married on Aug. 6, 1965, in Williston, N.D., and had their first child, Stephen, on Christmas Eve of the following year. Son Michael followed in 1968 and daughter Paula in 1972.
Paul Kranz coached basketball at Bismarck High School and his wife was active in the city's arts community. They lived in a middle-class neighbourhood on the banks of the Missouri River and their home was one block from the Dakota Zoo, which showcases bobcats and lynx, buffalo and prairie dogs.
Acquaintances describe both Paul and Nadene Kranz as strong-willed. Four days before Paula's ninth birthday in 1981, the Kranzes were granted a divorce citing irreconcilable differences.
She got the house and the camper. He got their small farm and its cattle. They settled on joint custody, with the children living primarily with their mother. Paul Kranz was to pay $500 a month in child support.
Though the divorce was uncontested, documents at the Burleigh County Courthouse show the Kranzes battled over issues for the next 10 years, finally settling after Paula turned 18 and left for West Point.
Paul Kranz reduced his child support payments when his son Michael moved into his house in 1984. Nadene Kranz wanted to hold him to the original amount and went to court to get the rest of the money. She eventually got a judge to take the child support payments out of his paycheque.
A dispute over $500 she said he owed her began in September 1984 and wasn't resolved until December 1991.
Paul Kranz had his complaints, too. He began writing the court in November 1982 to say that his wife wouldn't return personal property of his.
Among the items were a family heirloom sausage maker, his accordion from childhood and his golf gear.
Burleigh County District Judge Benny Graff finally issued an order that the oldest son, Michael, should look in the attic, under the steps and in the garage for the items and take them to his father.
If her parents' testy relations weighed on her, Paula didn't show it. She spoke well of both parents. Her mother made scrapbooks chronicling her accomplishments and Paula worked hard in basketball, following in her father's strides.
Julie Stavn, who coached her in track and cross-country, said she didn't think the divorce had a negative impact on Paula.
"She was a remarkable young lady," Stavn said. "She was so strong and confident and athletically gifted."
Paula Broadwell's mother has moved from Bismarck to Boise, Idaho. Her father is visiting Florida, a man answering the door at his house said Friday.
Broadwell declined to be interviewed for this story.
Paula entered Century High School in the fall of 1988 with a poofy perm that was the style of the day. She was elected president of her class that year and the next. She had a prom date every year and was elected homecoming queen as a senior.
"As a high school friend, classmate and teammate, Paula was a leader: respectful to others, inspiring, and hard-working in her roles as student, citizen, class leader and athlete," said Shelly Johnson, who now lives in Boston.
Paula played violin in the school orchestra and was elected president of the North Dakota State Student Council, an annual gathering of high achievers from across the state.
By the end of her senior year, she'd held nine leadership positions at Century and had been involved in 24 extracurricular community activities.
"She was determined to leave things better than she found them. And she did," said Kristen Tjaden, who now lives in Atlanta.
If there was a storybook moment in her teen years, it came her senior year when Century went to the state girls' basketball tournament in Jamestown, N.D., in the equivalent of a wild-card berth.
In the first two games, Paula rained in 55 points, setting a school record of 34 in a single game. In the third and deciding match against St. Mary's High School on Nov. 17, 1990, she was sidelined late in the game by foul trouble.
"It was left to some teammates to step forward," the Bismarck Tribune reported the next day. "And step forward they did."
With 14 seconds remaining, Linda Davis hit a two-pointer and Century won the title, 53-51. Paula was named by the media to the all-tournament team.
Century High School has its own hall of fame. Of the thousands of students the school has graduated since it opened in 1975, 13 are honoured there, including Broadwell.
She was in the first group inducted when it was established in 2006 and her father presented her at the ceremony. "Passion. Intensity. Vision," says the headline on her portrait.
In the 1991 edition of the Century "Spirit" yearbook, Paula got a full-page profile, the only student getting such attention.
It noted that she was so busy with activities that "her school work and friendships suffered a little from the lack of time she was able to put into them."
And the article posed the question that Paula was so busy that she missed out on being a teenager.
"I don't think I missed out on being a teenager," Paula replied. "But through the many opportunities I've been given, I've lived life to the fullest—giving the best that I had so the best would come back."

subset: commoncrawl


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WORCESTER — A Spencer man told investigators he attempted to smother a fellow patient in the psychiatric ward at UMass Memorial Medical Center Tuesday because the victim looked like his biological father, according to court records.
The alleged attack has left a 31-year-old Worcester man in critical condition.
Aldo Dunphe, 23, of 10 Irving St., Spencer was arraigned in Central District Court today on numerous serious assault charges in connection to the attack on the other patient.
According to a prosecutor and court filings in the case, Mr. Dunphe and the victimi were both patients in the eighth floor psychiatric ward at UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus.
The attack occurred in the victim's room sometime around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
"Dunphe admitted to attempting to smother the victim with a pillow, then choked and beat the victim because the victim reminded Dunphe of his biological father," state police investigators said in court records.
Talking outside the courtroom, defense lawyer Michael S. Hussey said it appears Mr. Dunphe had some type of "psychotic break" leading up to the alleged attack. Mr. Hussey received court funds to have his client's mental status evaluated.
"His family reports that he had a very sudden decline in his mental state over the past few weeks leading to his hospitalization," Mr. Hussey said. "Apparently something triggered this assault."
A family member of Mr. Dunphe declined to answer any questions from a reporter after the arraignment.
Mr. Dunphe allegedly stuffed a wash cloth in the victim's mouth and filled his nose with paper towels to stop him from breathing, according to investigators.
"Dunphe stopped the attack because he believed that he killed the victim," state police investigator Trooper Matthew Prescott wrote in a statement of facts, filed in court.
Staff members in the psychiatric ward saw Mr. Dunphe in the victim's room shortly before they discovered the victim unresponsive on the floor, according to authorities. Mr. Dunphe was found washing his hands and pants; he appeared to have blood on his clothes, authorities said.
State police said the two men did not know one another and the attack appeared to be unprovoked.
During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney David P. Feraco called the assault "violent" and asked that Mr. Dunphe be held without bail until Friday, when a dangerous hearing will take place. Judge Paul L. McGill ordered the hearing.
Before Mr. Dunphe's arraignment, court officials were asking that a lawyer who is certified in murder cases be assigned as defense counsel.
"At this point the victim is still alive," Mr. Feraco said in court.
Mr. Dunphe is charged with aggravated assault and battery, assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Contacted by a reporter, officials at UMass declined to discuss the case or any of the security measures inside the psychiatric ward. The hospital would not say if patients were allowed to roam freely in the hallway. State mental health officials are aware of the assault at the state-licensed facility.
Contact Scott J. Croteau at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottCroteauTG


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The crowd is shoulder to shoulder on a recent Friday at Joan's on Third. Power couples buy their toddlers "babyccinos" (steamed milk in demitasse cups sprinkled with cocoa), and lithe women with "it" bags dangle their forks over mounds of Chinese chicken salad. A voice over the loudspeaker interrupts the thrum: "If you are driving a white Jaguar parked in the back behind another car, please move your vehicle."
Just another morning at Joan's. What started as a tiny catering kitchen on once-sleepy 3rd Street, is, 14 years later, an L.A. institution. Former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl breakfasts here when she's in town. So does Vogue's Andre Leon Talley. Actor Alexander Skarsgard reportedly comes for the meatloaf sandwiches, Amanda Seyfried for the oatmeal and Kate Bosworth for the salads.
The 3,000-square-foot spic-and-span cafe is outfitted with a bakery, gelato bar, olive bar, deli, cheese counter and a small kitchen for hot breakfast and lunch items. It is as thick with foodies as it is models, angling for lattes, chocolate chip cookies, short rib sandwiches, chicken Milanese or, really, any of the 1,200 dishes that are part of the cafe's repertoire. More than 2,000 customers a day come through the doors.
The woman behind it all is Joan McNamara, a hip, cherubic, black-clad grandmother who drives a black-and-white Mini Cooper and lives in a nearby loft on Melrose Avenue. On the cusp of expanding to a second location, she's still working the hot line making omelets. She's also the creative mastermind whose vision is manifested in every detail: the baby fig trees, vintage dolly tubs overflowing with bags of popcorn or brittle, decked-out holiday displays, private-label sauces.
The $13 boxes of dried pasta? She originally spotted those at a market in Bologna. The chandeliers are from London. The shelves along the back deli are from an 18th century convent in Albany, N.Y. A carpenter drove them out from New York, then drove back to L.A. again when McNamara wanted more, then custom-fitted them into an otherwise too-tight space. "If I love something, I have to have it."
A glimpse into McNamara's kitchens, offices and home reveal the inner workings of an obsessive who has steadfastly grown a company that now employs 110 people, though she claims "it just grew on its own."
"I always say, it's not a restaurant, it's a market," she says. Whatever it is, it's obviously working — and there's nothing else like it in Los Angeles. That is, until McNamara expands to a former post office on Ventura Place in Studio City. "I just fell in love with the place," McNamara says of the new space — a building with lots of brick and a bow truss ceiling. If all goes as planned, a Joan's on Third will open just over the hill from the original via Crescent Heights Avenue this year. (She's also looking for a Westside location, she says.) If the opening of another Joan's on Third has been a while coming, it's because McNamara is so meticulous.
The daughter of Czech immigrants, she grew up in New Jersey, moved to Manhattan in her early 20s and worked for industrial designer Paul McCobb, then with chef Dione Lucas running her cooking school. Together they opened the Egg Basket near Bloomingdale's, which McNamara eventually bought and ran with a friend, until the landlord sold the building.
After moving to L.A. with her late husband, a management consultant, McNamara stayed home with her two daughters, Carol and Susie, who have helped her run Joan's on Third since they graduated from college. Carol runs the catering operation, and Susie the marketplace. "I always knew I'd want another business at some point," McNamara says. By the time she was 10, "Carol and I would have discussions after school over cappuccinos" about what kind of business.
It was her daughters' idea to call it Joan's on Third. "I always wanted something clever," McNamara says. "I would read the dictionary every night to find the one right word...."
Despite all the traffic, nothing's ever out of place, largely due to McNamara's vigilance. "Oh, that drives me crazy," she says of a kaput light bulb she sees in one of the chandeliers. She can tell by looking who among the staff has arranged the cupcakes, cookies, muffins and scones that sit on tiered cake stands in the bakery case.
By all accounts she's a dynamo but no tyrant. Employees say they take the lead of McNamara, who straightens out-of-place bottles of imported olive oil, makes sure the platters in the deli cases are always full, picks up trash, constantly checks the bathrooms for tidiness. She takes no days off unless she is traveling. "We try to maintain her vision," says Irma Shillingford, the cafe's first employee, who still remembers the exact date she started: Feb. 9, 1998.
The customers love McNamara too. "We come here No. 1 because of Joan," says Richard Ingold, a Madras-shirt-wearing regular who meets a cadre of friends for breakfast every day at one of the two communal tables. They talk about one another, other customers, even McNamara. "She was married to a French chef for a few years, you know...." (Which is, by the way, true.) Ingold is one of only two people for whom Joan's has allowed an on-the-premises party, the other being Donna Karan. But one couple did get married here, a discreet ceremony at a back table during business hours to commemorate the place where they met.
The cafe's open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but the commercial kitchen next door runs from 5 a.m. to midnight. It's divided into "Joel's side" (referring to kitchen manager Joel Guevara) for the deli salads and catering and "Javier's side" (bakery manager Javier Sanchez) for the baked goods. Joel's side turns out several hundred pounds a week of Joan's popular salads, such as Brussels sprouts with Manchego; farro and butternut squash; or sea beans with edamame and yellow wax beans. Javier's side bakes, among other things, 400 to 500 cupcakes a day.
On the door to McNamara's office hangs a sign that says "Bureau de Chef." A bulletin board above her desk is covered with Polaroids of each of the kitchen employees (McNamara's photo hangs in Susie's office with the rest of the front-of-the-house staff). The wall behind her is lined with shelves filled with hundreds of cookbooks. When Yotam Ottolenghi, owner of McNamara's favorite cafe in London, stopped by Joan's for a book signing, he turned her on to a website called Eatyourbooks.com, which indexes recipes from her cookbooks, favorite blogs and magazines. She has 69,477 recipes from seven blogs, 315 magazines and 468 cookbooks.
And those are just from her office. Her high-ceilinged Melrose loft is filled with cookbooks too. Along with particulars collected from Europe and antiques stores: Cherner chairs, more chandeliers from London, an Italian credenza, a marble-topped candy-making table, her mother's silver, dishes from the South of France. In her closet are her all-black clothes, especially the long black skirts she likes to wear. "A friend said I should number them," she says.


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Surprise and excite young fashion addicts with great Vidal Sassoon packaging design.
20.000 €
Il concorso termina il 29 giugno 2016
Design dell'etichetta e del packaging
Imagine the anticipation you feel as you're counting down the days, waiting eagerly for what you've ordered online to arrive, as you know just know you'll be surprised; opening the box will be a new and exciting experience in itself. And imagine what you feel when you finally get your hands on the limited Vidal Sassoon products.
Surprise and excite young fashion addicts with special limited edition Vidal Sassoon bottle design and make opening the specially designed packaging an exciting experience that they will love.
Format: PDF presentation (3 pages)


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General Motors Unveils Self-Driving Car With No Steering Wheel
General Motors continues to push the line with it's self-driving cars. The latest model of autonomous vehicles the Cruise AV does away with parts of the car that have been instrumental to driving for over one hundred years. The fourth generation of the all-electric vehicles will not have a steering wheel, or pedals.
Instead, the car will be fitted with screens, which CNN reports can be used to communicate with the vehicle. Cruise Automation, the self-driving arm of General Motors, expects to start testing the vehicles in 2019, and plans to roll them out as ride-hailing vehicles.
Before they can roll the cars out, they need get the car cleared by government regulators. The company has requested an exemption on 16 regulations set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to The Verge, the issue isn't that GM wants to ignore the standards, but that many of the standards do not apply to the car. GM President Dan Ammann said the company is trying to "meet that standard in a different kind of way." He cites a regulation that requires all cars to have airbags in the steering wheel:
A car without a steering wheel can't have a steering wheel airbag," he said. "What we can do is put the equivalent of the passenger side airbag on that side as well. So its to meet the standards but meet them in a way that's different than what's exactly prescribed, and that's what the petition seeks to get approval for."
The car company has not said where the cars will be deployed or how many of the cars it plans to produce, though government rules currently allow companies to receive safety exemptions for 2,500 vehicles.


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full size
Product Details
A chic little shift with shoulder-baring appeal, thanks to crisscross straps at the front (we love the face-framing effect). Done in radiant silk taffeta that is seamed and paneled to perfection, with a pinch of pleats at each hip for an ultra-flattering fit. Online only.
Size & Fit Details


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One of the biggest areas of confusion regarding the Odin Lloyd murder case has been clarified.
We think.
With prosecutors alleging that three men were with Lloyd in the car that drove him to the spot of his death and with three men now in custody, it seems on the surface that the three men allegedly in the car are the same three men who have been arrested.
Previously, prosecutors had said that the three men who were in the car are in custody, without expressly identifying the three men in the car as Aaron Hernandez, Carlos Ortiz, and Ernest Wallace. On Sunday, a spokesperson for Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter reiterated the general point.
"[H]is investigative team now believe that the three people in the silver Nissan Altima when Odin Lloyd entered it, are in custody," Yasmina Serdarevic said, via ABC News.
This creates the impression that the three men in the car who are in custody are the same three men whose names have been publicly released: Hernandez, Ortiz, and Wallace. But prosecutors have, to our knowledge, never declared that Ortiz and Wallace are the other two men who were with Hernandez and Lloyd in the moments before Lloyd's death.
And this continues to make us (or at least me) think there's another person in custody whose name we don't know. A person who supplied prosecutors with information about the things Hernandez allegedly said to Lloyd about not being able to "trust" anyone, as prosecutor Bill McCauley said Wednesday in court. A person who also has provided evidence linking Hernandez to an 11-month -old double murder that has gone from cold to hot faster than a toddler tearing through an Easter egg hunt.
Wallace, who turned himself in on Friday, was wanted on charges of being an accessory after the fact. If he were summoned by Hernandez to come from Connecticut to Massachusetts and rode in the car that retrieved Lloyd from his home and had some sort of a role in the execution allegedly orchestrated by Hernandez (or at a minimum did nothing to voice an objection), Wallace also would be an accessory before the fact. And he would likely be charged directly with murder.
Maybe I'm overthinking it. (As usual.) Or maybe there's someone whose identity is being protected for now who was in the car and who has suppled prosecutors with key information about the things Hernandez said to Lloyd, regarding Hernandez's possible involvement in the unsolved double murder, and possibly more.
If so, it means that prosecutors likely know a lot more than what was shared in court last week.


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With a variety of live shows, center stage celebrity appearances and panels on creating genre entertainment, Stan Lee's Comikaze offers some familiar and some new takes on the comic convention experience as it marks its third year at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The expo kicks off at 1 p.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Convention Center's South Hall, 1201 South Figueroa St. Over the weekend, the convention runs 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m Sunday.
Tickets are $25 per day, or $60 for a three-day pass. Children younger than 12 are free.
Here are some highlights of this weekend's scheduled presentations:
Friday, Nov. 1
Known to fans long before he battled Cylons as Commander Adama on the SyFy Channel series "Battlestar Galactica," actor Edward James Olmos is expected to appear and discuss his work on the main stage at 5 p.m. on Friday at Comikaze.
Olmos will be the first in a series of appearances at the show by entertainers identified as pop culture icons.
An announcement from Stan Lee:
The pop culture icon Stan Lee has a special announcement. Not a lot of details released as to what that will be but Comikaze attendees can say they heard it first hand from the man himself.
The Doctor is in:
Fans are invited to join a discussion at 4 p.m. about the history of "Doctor Who" and their expectations for the time lord in the pivotal 50th Anniversary episode, "The Day of The Doctor," airing Nov. 23.
In a first for Comikaze (and possibly every other pop culture show), a Geek Fashion Show will take place at 6 p.m. "America's Next Top Model" winner Adrianne Curry is expected to host the event.
Live Action:
At 2:30 p.m. on the main stage, choreographer Paradox Pollack and the AFC stunt team will demonstrate the fighting techniques of characters from the "Batman" universe.
Later that evening, actors and comedians will present their take on a live-action comic book in Comic Book Live. And did we mention they would be in full costume?
Creative guidance:
At 4 p.m., comic pros Tom Pinchuk and Julia Fung will take attendees through the process for creating a comic book cover to cover. Be ready to pay attention — it's expected to be a detailed presentation.
Saturday, Nov. 2
Guest of Honor:
Cassandra Peterson, better known as "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" is expected to appear at Comikaze on Saturday and Sunday. As Elvira, Peterson is well known for her humorous missives between commercial breaks as a host of "Elvira's Movie Macabre."
Actor Michael Rooker of AMC's "The Walking Dead" and "Weird Al" Yankovic are scheduled to appear for fans on Saturday as part of a series of interviews over the weekend with entertainers who have made a lasting impression with their work.
Over the years, Rooker has played the good guy, the bad guy and an even badder guy in his role as Merle Dixon on "The Walking Dead," while Yankovic has been a pioneer in melding comedy and music to make hit songs that make your belly ache with laughter.
Yankovic takes the main stage at 2:30 p.m. and Rooker makes an appearance at 4 p.m.
Actress and "Project Runway All Stars" TV host Alyssa Milano can add comic book creator to her resume with her work as co-creator of the series "Hacktivist" with Archaia Entertainment. Milano is expected to talk about the inspiration behind the story with her co-creators at noon.
Single and Geeky in L.A.? Comikaze has you covered:
Join co-host Dina "Lady Steam" Kampmeyer as she leads an interactive session for those identifying themselves as single and geeky and looking to meet like-minded fanboys or fangirls. Guests are asked to participate in games and mingling.
Live Action:
Using sound effects and a multimedia projection of images from the comic book "Kill Shakespeare," actors will present a live theatrical presentation of the series at 6:30 p.m.
Cosplay Contest:
Cosplayers will vie for $5,000 in prizes in the Comikaze cosplay contest at 6 p.m. on the main stage.
Sunday, Nov. 3
Rounding out the continuing appearances at Comikaze of nerd-tacular celebrities, LeVar Burton of "Star Trek: the Next Generation", comedian Louie Anderson and actress Tara Strong, one of the voices behind "Powerpuff Girls," "My Little Pony" and "New Batman Adventures."
Creative guidance:
A host of writers from television shows "Once Upon A Time In Wonderland" and "The Walking Dead," are slated to talk about the approach to writing for a "genre" series. They are expected to discuss how you have to approach writing shows about zombies, serial killers and sorcerers with the fundamentals that a good writer uses to build any drama.
The list of panelists include writers Deric A. Hughes from "Warehouse 13," Kai Yu Wu of "Hannibal" and Julie Benson from "Once Upon A Time In Wonderland."
Creative ideas that make it from the conceptual stage to, well, an actual stage involve the same thing: the resources to get it made. Jon Schnepp, who used the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter to acquire backing for his "Grimm Fairy Tales Animated" project, offers tips to engage and get funded.
A discussion of the burgeoning zombie mythology is a celebrated topic for fans of the apocalyptic worlds of "World War Z" and "The Walking Dead." Experts Matt Mogk, Gavin Hignight of FEAR.net and Shawn Kirkham explore the origins and answer questions on everyone's creaky, shambling best buddy, the zombie.
Fresh from illustrating one of the most impactful comic book stories featuring Spider-Man, artist Humberto Ramos hits the main stage at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Readers of "Superior Spider-Man" have a chance to see the fan-favorite penciler get debriefed about his stint on the controversial storyline and maybe catch a hint or two on what's next for old "Web-Head."
Some of the most well-known and enduring cosplayers gather for a panel that will give fans an opportunity to ask questions, interact and take pictures with their favorites.
Don't forget to follow the Los Angeles News Group geek squad on Twitter @GeekOutLANG and reporter Beatriz Valenzuela @PTBeatriz during Comizake.


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Jimquisition: Better Does Not Mean Good
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Things in the game industry could be worst. We could all be living in the 80s, or we could be in Australia, beset by high prices and restricted ratings. We could also have no arms. We could have porcelain eyes. We could be killed by a Terminator to stop our children leading a revolution against a genocidal artificial intelligence.
Things could always be worse, but saying that to counter an argument about the North American videogame industry doesn't really prove a bloody thing.
This episode could have been a lot worse.
...but I'm not sure if it could've been better. I also find that people who espouse the "it could be worse, so shut your trap and take another dick in the arse" attitude are usually the ones who piss and moan about "entitlement" when people air legitimate grievances about a particular game/business model/whatever.
My response to someone telling me "It could be worse" on any topic:
By that logic, only one person in the world is allowed to complain, and that's the person who has it the WORST. So if I have to shut up, so do you.
No, no, no, no, no. Obviously EA are helping the UK by charging them more for the honor of playing their epic game. It must have cost a lot more money to translate it into English so they're going to have to bite the bullet on that one and just deal with it because hey, could be worse right and their doing it for the consumers.
I agree, we do need to make the games industry better. So that way, no one can say "it could be worse" ever again.
You seem to be missing a word on your cereal box:
I agree though. It's OK to complain, and even to make demands. I think some just have an overly extreme aversion to complaining, and only hearing "whining babies" no matter how legitimate the issue is. Or maybe some think that because they eat shit every day without complaining, that means everyone else should do the same without a word in protest.
As usual - awesome episode that uses the effective technique of ... erm, simple logic to prove its point that so many people can't seem to understand.
Thank God for Jim.
Subtle product placement Jim, subtle :D
I agree.
Being punched in the stomach is better than being kicked in the junk.
Doesn't mean I'm going to start lining up for gut punches any time soon.
Thats what I figure to.
also whenever someone whines about entitlement you can effectively write off anything they say because they cant make an actual argument.
OT: Good episode jim...Though I dunno why but now I am suddenly craving some cereal...
Oh mah gawd! Jim's advertisin' the Raisin Bran! Gotta go buy that shit!
Anyway, I definitely agree with this, and it's opened my eyes to the kind of crap we're going through. The kind of attitude that complacent gamers are displaying is going to keep the industry in a downward spiral. Seriously, guys. Buy games when they go on sale, buy used games, protest against DRM. If we don't, it's only going to get even worse.
Thank Jim for God.
The episide is good but examples arent.
There's a certain level of amusement to be had from Jim telling us he's not shilling when the video is surrounded by a God of War advert.
And therefore, it was good. 5/5 stars for not driving a nail through my genitals!
What I want to know is if Jim just went out and bought that box of Raisin Bran to feature in the video, or if he really starts his days with two scoops of shriveled grapey goodness.
So you're living on the streets, wondering when your next meal will be, and dreading winter...all while surfing the net on your computer?
I don't believe Jim is corrupt. However, there are concerns that have been raised that people are not necessarily wrong for thinking corruption would be a possibility. Schmoozing with industry people, free swag/games, insulting viewers/readers, scores being far from the average, reviewed games not being played to completion, handling pretty much all the reviews on Destructoid when there are many talented writers on staff, articles written with blatant trolling attempts... And there is probably more.
Jim is a good writer. I genuinely enjoy most of his reviews. I just feel like there is a disconnect in there somewhere.
Jim's got to be the only content provider that actually reads the forums around here.
I salute you sir, it is not an easy task to sift through so much shit.
Miracleofsound doesn't count since he was a community member before he got his show :P
So pretty much consumer Stockholm syndrome?
Thank you Jim for that life long lesson.Since I've been raised with the attitude "be satisfied with what you get" this became just as inspiring as some Extra Credits episodes.
I shall pray for our Great Emperor!
Raisin Bran! Is the shit.... ;)
Sorry, we did not have time to get your raisins in by product launch. You can buy them in a separate pack for $2. They are a non integral part of the bran experience anyway, so this way consumers win by being able to choose just to eat bland crap.
Somebody should make a reference to this video the next time they stumble onto a EC v JQ or 'since when have we stopped hating Jim' topic.
There better be Fleshlights in the next episode or I'm calling the show phallophobic.
The Raisin Bran made me laugh more than it should have. But I have one question, does it come with day 1 spoon DLC?
It could be worse, yes, but we should be striving for something good and better.
Here's a comparison for you: the Jimquisition is to sushi like Extra Credits is to lead paint. You can consume both, but only one of them makes you dumber the more of it you take in.
Complacency and laziness go hand in hand.
People want the industry to change, then bail on the idea when it becomes actual work. It's why activism on the internet fails most of the time.
Heh, just gotta say I could tell with your other arm held down that something was going to be brought up, but still got a good laugh from the cereal box. XD Thanks for that Jim. :)
Keep up the good work man, always get a laugh and some incite from you.
Truthfully I'm pretty happy with the $60 price tag, it seems pricey but I get ten plus hours of enjoyment out of games so it's worth it, plus games drop in price rather quick so just wait six months and get it at half price. Some of the other stuff that is crap.
Except the problem is that it isn't just good games that are $60, with the rest being priced based on how long they are, multiplayer.etc - they are ALL $60 at release. Just because you are happy to pay that for a game that might turn out to be shite, doesn't mean everyone else should be.
Yeah, sushi has never done right by my digestive system. Clearly only morons would eat it.
Great episode as always Jim. However, can I still point out that games actually used to be more expensive when people start complaining about how much more expensive games are these days? I think that should still be totally legal.
£40 for a new game is quite high, especially since I lost my job, yet I dont really mind paying that much for it either. If a game passes my money-enjoyment theory, then I'm pretty content most of the time.
£1/hour. If I get the same amount of hours out of a game as the amount of pounds I paid for it, then I dont feel like I've been fucked. Yes, that does include multiplayer too.
Right I have people responding to this comment, but not seeing the rest of my comments later where my point is better clarified, so I'm going to post ALL of my posts on this topic here.
As a person who see's an issue with entitlement among gamers, I resent that. People do throw that buzz word around a bit too much, but it is a problem in some cases.
When gamers chastise a developer about a game for being "consolised" or being dumbed down, arguing that the developers don't care about their franchise and fans that follow them, ignoring the fact that the "streamlining" is intended to make a game more accessible to people with less tolerance to inefficient/unwieldy designs, and that audience being just as entitled to the games as you (but not as patient with games as you) since they will pay for it with money that is of equal value to your own... . Ergo, Entitlement. Your investment is equal to theirs, you have no real ground to argue otherwise (beyond feeling entitled).
Or gamers who complain about DLC in a general sense, associating all DLC with CoD map packs and weapon/armour/skin packs, while plenty of developers who have released complete games and merely want to extend playability post release and offer substantial DLC in place of the old Expansion pack system. These gamers think that DLC is intrinsically bad because they have to pay for more content and feel as though they deserve that content for buying the full game they already have. No you don't. It's optional, you don't need it unless you want to play more of that game but with NEW content. These are Entitlement issues.
*An example of this one would be the Deus Ex: HR game. When the "Missing Link" DLC was released, it added finished piece of content was cut entirely from the original release. The Developers figured the content was worth having in the game so reworked it into a full DLC (with 3-5 hours game play added to the game) and took on criticisms from the main game and experimented with solutions in the DLC.
However, situations where people throw the entitlement card down and in the process promote and praise bad Producer/Consumer relations, should be checked and confronted. When a Company treats it's customers like sheep or cattle of some form, seeing them as something to be exploited rather then being their only lifeline... that's when shit becomes a problem. On Disk DLC (as sterling argued before), Online passes, actions that diminish consumer power (attempts to demonise the used game market), Intrusive DRM, regional price differences... all these things are detestable and are only pushed by Companies who think they can get away with pull the rug from under us by telling us it's for our own good or that we don't understand...
No, YOU don't understand mister business man... you're here FOR US. If your very presence upsets the blood of your business (the consumer and their wallet) then you are doing something fucking awful.
EDIT: also, sorry for everyone who get's a message only to be shown this mess of a post.
Jim's life quote of the day; "Don't be a silly Billy!"
How about we say, "Could be better, could be worse, but lets aim for better.", from now on?
Also perfect bit at the start with the cereal.
I don't know, man; I've had sushi. (:P
utter brilliance
the timing of the Raisin Bran
the argument on the whole, some of the examples where a bit off but, but the point was made
and far as the argument it self goes, your right, could be worse, but the problem is on the consumer end as i see it, soon people wake up and stop giving money to these company's that clearly don't like us, the sooner they can start improving, or, they can die.
and as i've said before, I'm fine with ether result
Ok, silliness aside, I agree with Jim. I hate seeing that argument. I complain that our Canadian Prime Minister is shitting on our country and wants to spy on everyone and turn Canada into the US, and some people go "Oh yeah? Well, people in Africa are dying of aids and are being enslaved, so you have no right to complain!"
It's a stupid argument, and if everyone followed it, then we would ALL have shitty lives, no matter where we are. Fighting to improve your good life, or at least keep it from getting worse isn't entitlement. It doesn't take away from the validity of our arguments, even when others have it worse than us (which we can't even affect anyway). It's something that we NEED to do, or else we WILL get fucked.
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Roseburg Pilot Project Background
The Roseburg Pilot Project is intended to fulfill the Secretary of the Interior's direction to apply the principles of ecological restoration, as developed by Drs. Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin, on BLM lands within the Roseburg District. The project will include the elements of active management proposed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the recovery of the Northern Spotted Owl. The objective of this pilot is to demonstrate the ecological and economic merits of the restoration strategy outlined by Drs. Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin.
1. What is the purpose of the pilots?
The Department of the Interior, BLM pilots will serve two purposes: 1) demonstrate the principles of ecological restoration and evaluate the economic merits of the restoration strategy outlined by Drs. Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin in moist and dry forests; 2) serve as a continuing source of information to help the BLM identify challenges and barriers to implementation and modify management strategies in the future.
2. Where will the pilots be conducted?
The areas chosen for the pilots are: 1) Middle Applegate Watershed, which occurs as two largely contiguous blocks of Dry Forest on either side of the Applegate River (Medford District); and 2) Roseburg Pilot Project which has Dry Forest in the classic checkerboard pattern in the lower watershed and a large contiguous area of Moist Forest in the upper watershed.
3. What is meant by Dry Forests and Moist Forests?
Dry Forests are defined here as forests that belong to the Oregon White Oak, Ponderosa Pine, Jeffrey Pine, Douglas-Fir, and dry White Fir and Grand Fir plant series as have been described and defined by plant ecologists. Dry Forest landscapes are dominated by one or more of these plant series. In southwest Oregon, they are concentrated in the interior valleys between Roseburg and Medford. Moist Forests are defined as Western Hemlock, Tanoak, Red Fir, Mountain Hemlock, and moist White Fir and Grand Fir plant series.
4. What are the goals of the pilots?
The objective of these pilots is to demonstrate the ecological and economic merits of the restoration strategy outlined by Drs. Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin.
5. When will they be completed?
The DOI and BLM are committed to work with other agencies, state and local governments to explore the options for how management of BLM lands should fit into a more comprehensive financial and ecological solution. We anticipate these pilot projects developing over the next 12 to 18 months.
6. Will the public get a chance to participate?
The pilots are intended to help inform public dialogue on development of future management policy for BLM-managed forest in western Oregon. While the public will be involved, testing a collaborative process is not the purpose of the pilots. The BLM will provide the public opportunities to participate in several meetings, workshops, and field visits as well as comment on the environmental analysis for each pilot. While there may not be unanimously shared perspectives of the pilots, the BLM is hopeful that there will be substantial agreement.


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MIDDLESEX TWP — A Valencia man remains hospitalized today with serious injuries he suffered Wednesday afternoon when a large boom truck crushed his car in a collision on Route 228.
Charles D. Cain, 65, was flown by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh after the crash about 3:10 p.m.
His condition was not known, but township police described his injuries as "severe."
Police said they continue to investigate the wreck that happened when William Stitt, 47, of Cabot lost control of his westbound bucket utility truck, crossed into the opposing lane and hit an embankment.
The truck, owned by Gibsonia-based Consolidated Communications, traveled back onto the road and hit the Mazda sedan that Cain was driving east, investigators said.
The heavy truck, estimated to weigh 25 tons, rolled over top of the car, pinning Cain.
Saxonburg volunteer firefighters had to cut off the roof to reach Cain. It took 30 to 40 minutes to get him out of the car.
He was conscious and alert, but in pain and bleeding when rescuers got him out of the car, said Chief Chris Ballina of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company.
Rescuers said Cain suffered compound fractures to his right leg, facial cuts and other injuries.


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Breaking News
Miley Cyrus says the photographer who was hit and killed by a car should've known better because ... "Your mom teaches you when you're a child not to play in the street."
Miley unleashed a series of angry tweets over the death of the photog -- who was taking pics of Justin Bieber's car at the time.
She goes on to say, "The chaos that comes with the paparazzi acting like fools makes it impossible for anyone to make safe choices."
Miley also seemed to call for new paparazzi laws and added, "Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?! "
Hope this paparazzi/JB accident brings on some changes in '13 Paparazzi are dangerous! Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) January 2, 2013


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Nasdaq OMX has selected Equinix to provide data centre support for its new European derivatives market.
Equinix will host Nasdaq OMX's NLX market from its London LD4/LD5 International Business Exchange data centre campus, positioning the electronic trading system next to over 170 interconnected financial services customers, Equinix said.
NLX will provide short-term and long-term listed interest rate derivatives products in sterling and euro currencies, launching on Platform Equinix, a service which links over 700 trading venues and technology service providers across international financial markets.
The NLX trading platform was announced by Nasdaq OMX last year and is currently subject to approval by the Financial Service Authority. NLX will use NASDAQ OMX's low latency Genium INET system, as its attempts to create a strong presence in the UK market and attract traders.
"We are delighted to extend our relationship with NASDAQ OMX from the US into Europe for this major new market," said Russell Poole, managing director at Equinix.
"Our depth of experience of exchange deployments around the world and the built-in advantages offered by our financial services ecosystem will help NLX to quickly establish itself in the fixed-income derivatives space."
Charlotte Crosswell, NLX chief executive officer, commented that Equinix would enable the company to quickly connect to key trading companies.
"NLX is designed to be an efficient and easily accessible market," said Charlotte Crosswell, chief executive officer, NLX. "We want to ensure that our market participants have seamless and reliable access to NLX via familiar and trusted suppliers."
"Equinix provides an established ecosystem with key market participants already connected."
"Those participants will be able to benefit from NLX's lower fees, ability to trade both ends of the curve on one market and the cross-margin efficiencies offered by all products at LCH.Clearnet."
BT announced in April that it would use Equinix data centres for it cloud-based Radianz Venue service, providing low latency hosting for traders around the world.
Last week Nasdaq OMX unveiled plans to create a new Global Technology Solutions software unit as it merges two parts of its business, also appointing a new chief information officer.


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Unexpected Grapevines at Ft. Bend County Museum [Texas]...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Wordless Wednesday: Unexpected Beauty
4 comments:
That is beautiful! I want to go get a book and a comfy chair and sit under it! Here is my Wordless Wednesday!ReplyDelete
GREAT photos especially the close-up of the grapes. I have been finding that when I try to do a close-up of detail, it gets fuzzy.ReplyDelete
Wow! Who knew. Actual grapes on those vines. Neat!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 6:52 PM
I'd love to see an actual vineyard.. Those grapes looks mouthwatering! :)ReplyDelete
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10 More Examples of the Best Belfies Ever
We have more great belfies to share with you, because we enjoy a nice, round rump just as much as the next guy. Last time, our belfies showcased a delicious selection of derrieres being given the self-love treatment.
Now we've got even more booties to show you, just in case you felt like you needed to marvel at some more junk in the trunk. See the rest of the belfies below and start exploring the #belfies hashtag on social media!


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Patient Adherence, Communication and Engagement (PACE) Increased Investment andAdoption of New Digital Tools Enable Key Stakeholder Collaborations and Encourage Compliance
GBI Research, a leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest research, Patient Adherence, Communication and Engagement (PACE) Increased Investment and Adoption of New Digital Tools Enable Key Stakeholder Collaborations and Encourage Compliance. The report focuses on the US health systems efforts to improve patient engagement and medication adherence. Key topics of the report include reforms in the US healthcare industry, technology adoption, mobile and social media in healthcare, industry collaborations and examples of patient engagement and adherence interventions. There is a increasing focus on medication non-adherence as a critical challenge in the US healthcare system. When patients do not adhere to their prescribed medication or treatment regimen, it leads to reduced efficiency of treatment and increased utilization of care facilities. Healthcare expenditure is rising at an exponential rate, forcing the industry to focus on efficiencies in care delivery to control costs and improve health outcomes. Health insurance reforms and new payment and reimbursement models place emphasis on outcome-based performance measures. Rising healthcare costs have provided impetus to the health organizations to collaborate on their patient engagement interventions in an effort to control the epidemic of non-adherence. Federal stimulus has increased adoption of healthcare information technology by the providers, and payers are also increasingly adopting healthcare technology. The integration of information systems across care facilities gives greater access to data and enables collaboration between different players in the industry. Health industry players leverage these systems and use this increased access to data, in combination with other technologies, to improve their patient engagement efforts.
To Buy The Copy Of This Report visit: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis-details/patient-adherence-communication-and-engagement-pace-increased-investment-and-adoption-of-new-digital-tools-enable-key-stakeholder-collaborations-and-encourage-compliance
- Key drivers in the healthcare landscape increasing health organizations focus and efforts on adherence
- Implications for industry stakeholders, pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans and healthcare providers
- Examples of collaborative efforts within key stakeholder groups
- Analysis of the key technology trends within the healthcare industry
- Examples of adherence interventions that leverage technology to achieve their goals
To Browse All Reports visit: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/
Reasons to buy
- Understand how the changing healthcare landscape is influencing different stakeholder groups to focus on patient engagement
- Understand how industry players are forging collaborations with other organizations in their adherence efforts
- Explore the effectiveness of social media and mobile campaigns
- Analyze existing healthcare technologies that support patient engagement efforts
- Analyze existing engagement best practices in adherence efforts
- Develop effective adherence interventions that leverage technology for patient outreach


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Justin Bieber Says Michael Jackson Collaboration Is Coming [VIDEO]
In addition to breaking his silence about the attempted robbery accusation, Justin Bieber took to Twitter last night, May 14, to hint at a mind-blowing collaboration between him and Michael Jackson.
Posting an Access Hollywood interview with L.A. Reid, Bieber wrote:
In the interview, L.A. Reid discusses why they had to scrap plans for 'Slave 2 the Rhythm' -- the JB/MJ collab that first leaked online -- to appear on Jackson's posthumous release, 'Xscape.'
"Justin is my guy, you know I signed Justin. I feel a loyalty, and I feel like I should protect him," Reid said of his relationship with the Biebs.
"'Slave 2 the Rhythm' didn't include [Bieber] per my direction. That was something done separate and apart from me, and it was leaked. If it hadn't been leaked it would have been featured, but it sort of took the wrong turn," Reid revealed. "But we're going to revisit that. We're gonna revisit that and do something special with Justin Bieber and Michael."
Bieber has long been a fan of the King of Pop, emulating him in everything from his style to his dance moves. He even paid tribute to Jackson at the late singer's hand and footprint ceremony at Graumann's Chinese Theater in 2012.
"He meant so much to me," Bieber said at the time. "He was more than entertainer; he was an inspiration."
Check out what L.A. Reid has to say about the future of an JB/MJ collaboration below.
Watch Justin Bieber Adorably Greet Fans


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UT Libraries Diversity Committee Meeting Minutes: Diversity Roundtable
May 29th, 2012
Hodges Library Mary Greer
In attendance:
Michelle Brannen (UT Libraries), Earnest Brothers
(Graduate School), Travis Griffin (Diversity Programs),
Annazette Houston (UT Disability Services), Anne Hulse (Center for International Education) Matt Jordan (UT Libraries), Thura Mack (UT Libraries), Allison Roberts (UT Libraries), Marva Rudolph (Office of Equity & Diversity) Allison Sharp (UT Libraries), Regina Mays, (UT Libraries), Meghan Smith (UT Libraries), Rachel Flemming May (Information Sciences), Teresa Berry (UT Libraries), Sekeenia Haynes ( Biochemistry,Cellular & Molecular Biology), Harry Richards ( Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology), Brad Binder (Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology)
Roundtable Discussion:
Engineering REU two secessions with Jeannie Williamson. Outline use of engineering information.
Biochemistry working with Donna, Dr. Binder
Use package for undergraduate orientation
REU stands for undergraduate research experience.
Undergraduate outreach programs can have up to 60 to 80 students.
PRESENTATION model for library training.
Rachel May Arts and sciences: Program this spring that might be useful
for undergraduate-looking at the support for
Construct a series of workshops designed to teach students how to us the Library. 3 week recruited from English 104. Late spring 3 sessions
Rachel Radom and Teresa Walker
Objectives apply to research library
Plagiarism, resources, reach skills development, when to use free resources
What are the lures-
Demonstrate how Liberians help students with these
Students are assessed by quizzes- Discussions- Scavenger hunt to gain familiarity of library.
Targeted information needs for research
Out come- comfort in the library knowledge of tools
Other possible assessment
Review writing citations, plagiarism,
Feedback from pilot- learned new skills, comfort level increased
Resources offered: James Agee, books, local newspapers, magazines, why writers use the information the way they do- How information is presented and why.
Electronic compared to physical resources. Over lap tools learned with resources used in workshops -Using research tools.
All participants were undergraduate. Recruitment was low -Looking into how to get more involved. Smaller student group have more impact. Larger groups can be accommodated.
Travis spoke of a grant from the National science foundation. Plan for August- session for diversity student group- Tennessee Louis Stokes alliance for minority participation.
The assessment groups working with science groups to make sure all the students are receiving the same information and assessment tools. Tailor for what the program want the student to gain for the program and ease library anxiety.
Model will work well with NIH cohort based PEER working for two. Get the information to entering graduate students at the beginning of their placement- Emphasis on the LIBRARY AS AN IMPORTANT COMPOONANT TO THEIR WORK.
GRA and new faculty orientation can individualize to what is needed. Word of mouth from people outside the library is a great promotional tool. Get faculty to back programs and spread the word
Hitting them at orientation can affect retention.
Library is working toward a cohesive message – workshops and training
Addressing the needs group
Focus on engineering and science group – focus on plagiarism
Summer REU program directors-graduate school
Customize For grad school and the grad school will helps promote assessment to follow program
Tennscore summer program
Request for a list of programs and when they are held.
Request for notification of upcoming programs.
Peer meets weekly
GTA Orientation
Grad announcements, newsletters, what Make students aware of what the
Library has to offer.
Assessment will occur after the summer REU in August.
Suggest that staff and faculty to attend information sessions to know
What content is available.
Library service bulletin (infomercial)
Library will work together on market the info Announcements to
Departments about diversity issue– Assessment- Digital Sign


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Stock Number: 6PHQR
Add quality and class to your foodservice operation with Dart® foam dinnerware. The attractive design is lightweight yet strong enough to hold a full portion of food without bending. Superior insulation makes it perfect for serving hot or cold foods. Quiet Classic® is laminated to provide a resilient, non-absorbent surface with extra strength and gloss.Share:
* Special order items. A minimum order volume may be required.
(R) = Item is available in reduced cube version (with R stock number) in certain Dart plant-served areas


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If your suspension, revocation or both are for not submitting a current DOT Medical Examination Report, you may submit it by fax to 602.239.6288 or by email. If your DOT Medical Examination Report is dated after the due date, you will be required to visit an MVD CDL office to reinstate your driving privilege.
If items on the form are missing or incomplete, additional information will be requested from you. Your medical examiner must initial and date all changes.
Note: Any request for restrictions to be added must be done at an MVD CDL office. A duplicate license fee will apply.
If you do not submit the requested information in a timely manner, your CDL privilege will be suspended, revoked or both. If your license becomes suspended, revoked or both, the requested information can be faxed to 602.239.6288 or emailed to firstname.lastname@example.com. You will be required to visit an MVD CDL office to reinstate your license and pay any applicable fees.
If you receive suspension, revocation or both notices informing you that you do not meet medical and/or vision standards for a CDL, email the Medical Review Program at email@example.com or call 602.771.2460 for details.
The DOT Medical Examination Report and Medical Examiner Certificate are available online.
The Medical Examination Report and/or Medical Certificate must be completed and signed by any of the following who are listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
The USDOT physical examination is required to help ensure that a person is medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle safely. In the interest of public safety, commercial motor vehicle drivers are generally held to higher physical, mental and emotional standards than passenger car drivers.
Please visit Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website.
Effective Jan. 1, 2000, the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 created the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as a separate administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The primary mission of FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. FMCSA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employs more than 1,000 individuals in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information, go to About FMCSA on the FMCSA website.
A copy should be on file in the medical examiner's office. You may request a replacement copy from the medical examiner, or a copy may be available from your employer.
A medical certification is valid for two years, unless otherwise specified for a shorter period by the medical examiner.
You are required to notify us of a physical condition that develops or worsens, causing noncompliance with the CDL physical qualifications, as soon as your medical condition allows. Once the medical condition is resolved and before resuming operation of commercial vehicles, you are responsible for obtaining recertification from a medical examiner.
The FMCSA medical certification process is designed to ensure drivers are physically qualified to operate commercial vehicles safely. Each driver is required to complete the Health History section on the first page of the examination report and certify that the responses are complete and true.
The driver must also certify that he or she understands that inaccurate, false or misleading information may invalidate the examination and medical examiner certificate. Deliberate omission or falsification of information may invalidate the examination and any certificate issued based on it. A civil penalty may also be levied against the driver under 49 USC 521(b)(2)(b), either for making a false statement or for concealing a disqualifying condition.
You cannot take a controlled substance or prescription medication without a prescription from a licensed practitioner.
You are not qualified if you use a controlled substance identified in 21 CFR 1308.11 Schedule I, an amphetamine, a narcotic or any other habit-forming drug.
There is an exception. The prescribing doctor can write that you are able to operate a commercial vehicle safely while taking the medication. In this case, the medical examiner may, but does not have to, certify the driver.
Note: Any medication used for the prevention of seizures is disqualifying.
This decision is made at the discretion of the medical examiner; if the driver returns to the same medical examiner within the time required, the CDL driver is not required to repeat the entire physical examination. However, if the medical examiner is to extend the certification, it must be extended from the original date of exam, and a new certification card must be completed.
No. Byetta is a noninsulin injection.
Arizona Department of Transportation
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Freedom Express 231RBDS
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Step inside model 231RBDS and notice the entertainment center straight ahead that swivels around providing multiple area viewing. There are sliding doors on either side that lead into the front bedroom where you will find a comfortable queen size bed with wardrobes, and an overhead cabinet for your things.
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On the outside of this unit you will find a pass-through storage compartment for all of your outdoor camping gear. In the rear along the curbside there is a camp kitchen which makes preparing meals a cinch, and allows you to enjoy your time outside with family while you cook, plus so much more!We have 1 231RBDS availableView Inventory
Sleeps 4 Slides 1 Length 26 ft 10 in Ext Width 8 ft Ext Height 10 ft 9 in Interior Color Russet, Chestnut, Cashmere Hitch Weight 585 lbs Gross Weight 7500 lbs Dry Weight 5076 lbs Cargo Weight 2424 lbs Fresh Water Capacity 49 gals Grey Water Capacity 33 gals Black Water Capacity 33 gals Available Beds Queen Refrigerator Type 2 Door Refrigerator Size 6 cu ft Cooktop Burners 3 Number of Awnings 1 LP Tank Capacity 20 Awning Info 14' Power Number of LP Tanks 2 Shower Type Tub/Shower Combo
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Olathe Ford RV is not responsible for any misprints, typos, or errors found in our website pages. Any price listed excludes sales tax, registration tags, and delivery fees. Manufacturer-provided pictures, specifications and features may be used as needed. Inventory shown may be only a partial listing of the entire inventory. Please contact us at 913-856-8145 for availability as our inventory changes rapidly. All calculated payments are an estimate only and do not constitute a commitment that financing or a specific interest rate or term is available.


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Great strides for GMES
While the recent Living Planet Symposium focused mainly on the latest findings on Earth's environment and climate using data from Earth observation satellites, it also provided the forum to present the progress that the GMES initiative has made since the last symposium in 2007.
Conceived in 1998, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative is arguably the most ambitious Earth observation programme to date. It relies on data from satellites, aircraft and from the ground to provide accurate and timely information to help manage the environment more effectively.
Under the leadership of the European Commission, the objective is to deliver operational information services for six main disciplines: land, oceans, atmosphere, emergency response, security and climate change. To help achieve this, ESA is responsible for the 'Space Component', which includes the development of five new families of satellites called Sentinels.
Interest in the GMES initiative was clearly demonstrated at the Living Planet Symposium as the dedicated sessions, which spanned two days, were often packed out.
Josef Aschbacher, Head of ESA's GMES Space Office said that, "We are very proud of the progress that GMES has made since the last meeting of this kind – the Envisat Symposium in 2007. We are rapidly moving forward from the research and development phases and coming much closer to operations.
"GMES is a large and complex undertaking, but there will be great benefits to Europe and, indeed, the world. The six GMES sessions at the symposium in Norway have been full to capacity with participants showing great interest in what the initiative has to offer. It is exciting to see such an enthusiasm about GMES in the community."
One of the most important milestones that has been reached since the last symposium relates to the funding of the Space Component. At the 2008 Ministerial Council, ESA Member States committed a further €831 million bringing the total budget to €2.3 billion. ESA Member States now provide 72% of this total and the European Commission provides 28%.
With the budget secured, contracts for the three pairs of Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites were subsequently placed. This means that the first 'A units' of the three missions are expected to launch within the 2012–2013 timeframe. These three missions are planned to orbit as pairs to maximise coverage. In addition, contracts have been placed for the early phase studies for Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 Precursor.
The Sentinels carry different instrument packages: Sentinel-1 is a radar imaging mission for land and ocean services, Sentinel-2 is a multispectral high-resolution imaging mission for land monitoring and Sentinel-3 is a multi-instrument mission primarily for marine services. Sentinels-4/-5 will provide data to monitor the atmosphere and Sentinel-5 Precursor is designed to fill the gap between Envisat and Sentinel-5, for SCIAMACHY data in particular.
While much of the focus at the symposium was on the status of the recently launched Earth Explorer satellites, which are designed to deliver data to advance our understanding of Earth, there was also much interest in the status of the families of Sentinels and their delivery of operational data – as noted by two symposium participants:
Speaking about Sentinel-1, Prof Ramon Hanssen from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands said, "This mission will be a major leap forward for solid Earth sciences and applications, such as monitoring deformation in volcanically active areas. In order to monitor volcanic cycles, observation sampling needs to be frequent, regular and conducted over long periods of time. In full constellation, Sentinel-1 will offer this through its high repeat and revisit frequencies and the fact that its main mode of operation will be interferometric wide swath."
Prof. Jose Moreno from the University of Valencia in Spain said, "When flying in full formation, Sentinel-2 will open up new possibilities for applications in land science. The mission will provide for the first time a reliable source of data at adequate spatial and temporal resolution and coverage, and should produce a long time series of data. In particular, the data will help overcome current limitations the radiative and eco-physiological components in models so that important processes and feedbacks are better described."
Another milestone, in terms of progress, has been the release of contracts for the ground segment to prepare for Sentinel data acquisition, processing and dissemination. These ground segment activities are complimented by the work already undertaken to develop the data access portal to handle the other missions contributing to GMES defined as 'Contributing Missions'.
GMES will offer a host of services, not only for environmental management, but also to improve the daily lives of European citizens. For example, services relating to the atmosphere are being developed within the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) MACC project.
One such service – the European Air Quality Forecast Service – will be used by downstream service providers to provide practical information. The Pasodoble project, for instance, works with doctors, pharmacists and hospital staff to predict poor air quality and advocates preventative medicine for those at risk.
GMES is a unique endeavour – combining satellite and in situ data to optimise such domains as agriculture, fisheries, ship navigation and safety, urban planning, humanitarian aid, to name but a few. While much progress has been made, the initiative remains a complex and expansive undertaking with challenges ahead – primarily associated with future funding, which is still to be secured.


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- Format:Mixed media product
- Subject(s):Science
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- Author(s):Fiona Baxter, Liz Dilley, Alan Cross
- Available from: May 2014
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Last Weekend of Regular Season for Sioux Falls Cougars Basketball
The USF men and women's basketball teams wrap up their regular season this weekend as the Cougars are on the road at Minnesota St., and Concordia St-Paul the next two nights.
The Cougars finish the regular season on the road, and are coming off of a 81-63 home win over Wayne State last Saturday. They hit 13 of 20 three pointers in the game.
The women (12-12 9-11), look to sweep the number 21 ranked Mavericks and avenge its 25 point home loss to Concordia-St. Paul earlier this year.
The Cougars are led by junior Laura Johnson, who has played the most minutes (35.5) in the NSIC, has recorded nine double-doubles (35th in Division II), and averages 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
The men lost to the Mavericks 74-52, but beat Concordia-St. Paul, 77-68, for their first-ever NSIC conference win earlier this year.
The Cougars (11-13, 7-13) are 1-8 on the road. Concordia-St.Paul has won the five straight wins, and six of seven, but the Cougars are 5-1 all-time against the Golden Bears. The Cougars are 2-6 all-time against the Mavericks.
Senior James Radar leads the Cougars in scoring with 12.0 points per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game.
The NSIC Conference Tournament begins Wednesday, February 27


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Difference between revisions of "256a-fall-2009/shiweis-project"
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== Experience ==
== Experience ==
The user interacts with the system through pen, paper, and webcam. When the software is launched, the user will see the webcam feed along with a green box indicating detection area.
The user interacts with the system through pen, paper, and webcam. When the software is launched, the user will see the webcam feed along with a green box indicating detection area.
Revision as of 02:15, 10 December 2009
Pictone - Vision Based Music System
Music 256A Fall 2009 Final Project. Shiwei Song (shiweis)
Modern computers have enabled novel ways for people to interact with and generate sound. My project is to build an instrument where the inputs are pictures drawn with pen and paper. The system takes video feed of simple shapes and lines drawn on paper and converts them into notes of different instruments. The audience sees the performer's drawings, visualization of notes, and hears the corresponding sonic results.
My initial inspiration came from the Birds on the Wires video. The creator converted a picture of birds on wires to musical notes and produced a short piece of music that is both simple and beautiful. I felt that creating sound through drawings has the following advantages:
- Most people can write or draw simple shapes. This system invites anyone to try and make some music/noise (and have fun!).
- The pictorial music language is novel to the audience, so they will be constantly surprised or left wondering what the next output will be.
- The characters/pictures in the music language can itself have some sort of meaning (perhaps when combined together) so there will be both visual and sonic messages conveyed.
- "Live coding" by drawing is fairly unconventional and this itself may be an interesting experiment to perform or observe.
- Drawing has a lot of freedom that cannot be mapped to traditional hardware devices. The performer can further influence the system by change the way images are taken by the system such as by rotating the paper. Combined, the performer has a lot of room for interaction with the instrument.
I hope that my project will serve as the basis for a system that will eventually demonstrate the advantages listed above.
Although the majority of the work for this project was on creating the software, the project can be viewed as having two disjoint parts: the picture language and the software system.
The first component of the project is to figure out what type of things the user can draw and what type of results they might produce. Because of the time constraints, the language supported so far is fairly simple/limited. The language consists of the following symbols.
Although the interpretation of the language is flexible in the system, below is the description of what its mappings are as of now.
- Triangle: plucked string note.
- Square: saxophone note.
- Slant: clarinet note.
- Star: short pause/silence.
- Pin/Lollipop: blowhole note.
- Arbitrary Curve: this is a modifier symbol that does nothing by itself. When combined with other symbols, it modifies the pitch of the previous note depending on its curvature. It's as if the previous note is riding a roller coaster.
The orientation that the above shapes are drawn is irrelevant. Their y-positions control the pitch of the notes.
Software System
The software is designed to be extensible with swappable parts. It includes the vision system for capturing and recognizing drawings, the synthesis system that parses detected shapes and generates sound, and the main routine for tying everything up and display visualization. When idle, the software simply captures camera input and displays the video feed. When the user presses the capture key, the software goes through the following steps:
- Camera stores the picture and pass it to the vision system for recognition.
- Vision system passes the results back to main routine.
- The picture with detection results is displayed. The results are also passed to the synthesis system for parsing and storage.
- The synthesis system converts the vision results into internal music commands and starts playing them in a loop.
- Meanwhile, the main routine syncs with the synthesis system and displays visualizations based on what is currently playing.
The user can repeat the above process. The hope is that one can modify or upgrade one of these systems without breaking the "loop."
The software uses the following libraries/technologies:
- OpenGL for display and rendering visualizations.
- OpenCV for vision/symbol detection.
- STK for instrument sound synthesis.
- RtAudio for producing sound output.
- SOIL for loading png textures.
Each component of the software is described below.
The vision system is powered by OpenCV and converts a still image of the user's drawing into detected shapes. It takes an image as input and returns a vector of results, each consisting of: shape type, bounding rectangle, and (for curves) points along the contour. The system consists of the 'Detector' class and its subclasses. Each subclass can implement its own method for detection as long as it still returns the results in the same format.
I tried several detection methods and ended up using Hu moments of contours for detection. At the initialization of the detector, templates of shapes to detect are loaded and their Hu moments are calculated. To detect shapes in a new image, first, the input image is converted to a binary edge image using the Canny edge detector. From this, contours (shapes) are detected and stored in an hierarchal tree structure. The bounding boxes for the contours are extracted and stored in the result vector. Shape types are identified by picked the templates with the closest Hu moment to the contours. If a shape is labeled as a curve, then its path is extracted and also stored in the results vector. Finally this vector is returned.
The synthesis system uses STK to generate sounds for different instruments. It takes the results from the vision system as input and parses into internal music commands. The system consists of the 'Synth' class and its subclasses. Each subclass can implement its parsing and mapping to STK.
The input results are first sorted by their x-positions (from left to right). Then, for each shape starting from the left, it pushes the corresponding commands to the command queue. A command contains information about the instrument state (clarinet_on), frequency, and duration (until next command). For each sample, the synthesizer calls the STK commands and 'tick' that corresponds to the current command in the command queue.
Main Routine
The main routine is responsible for passing information around between camera, vision, and synthesis systems. It also deals with getting keyboard inputs and displaying visualization. It uses OpenGL for keyboard input and display.
For each frame captured, it converts the frame from OpenCV image representation to OpenGL texture and displays it onto the screen. When the user captures an image, it passes the image to the detector and synthesizer. While sound is playing, it asks the synthesizer for details about which shape the current sound corresponds to. From this, it generates a simple visualization consisting of music note particles flying out of the shape that's being played.
The simple particle system is implemented as a vector of particle position, color, and transparency. A new particle is displayed for every several frames. For every frame the particle's position and transparency is updated. A particle's color and initial position are set when they are first displayed. The implementation is somewhat similar to the waterfall plot implementation in assignment 2.
The user interacts with the system through pen, paper, and webcam. When the software is launched, the user will see the webcam feed along with a green box indicating detection area.
User starts off by drawing arrangements of shapes as described in the Language section above. The shapes can be arranged freely on the page. After this is done, the user simply holds the paper up to the webcam.
When the user presses enter, the current frame is captured and fed into the system for detection and synthesis. Once that is complete, the system will start playing the corresponding sound and display a simple visualization consisting of music note particle floating out of the shape being sonified.
Milestones & Extensions
- 11/16/2009: Basic language ideas. Ability to recognize some characters in the vision component.
- 11/30/2009: Can recognize most of the characters and convert to internal representation. Can produce sound.
- 12/10/2009: Some visuals. Make the other components more robust. Ready for presentation.
Picture Music Language
This project will construct a simple form of the picture music language. The primary concern is to have a good mapping of the pictures to representations and also have it easily recognizable by the software (so perhaps sacrificing picture meaning/aesthetics for ease of recognition.
The language will control two aspect of the music:
- The controls/flow of the sound produced. Such as indicating loops, tracks, speed, etc.
- Actual notes/instruments and pauses (lack of notes).
Some design questions I'm still debating:
- Whether to have notes from same instrument or selected notes from several instruments.
- Whether to allow polyphony, and if so throw what means? Either having the user input different tracks (probably easier) or have use some spacial mapping in the language (such as position on paper).
- What should color and shape map to? Should vertical position on paper be used?
Software System
The software system will consist of several parts:
- The vision system that uses OpenCV and digitalizes the characters.
- The internal controller that takes the digitalized representation and produces the synthesized sound (maybe through STK) and also display the visualization.
- The visual system that shows the camera feed and also some sort of visualization (perhaps simply the notes to be played and the organization of different tracks).
There are currently no plans to have any networked component to this.


text:
Nature Notes: Unsung Heroes
As far as animals without backbones are concerned, insects rule the land, crustaceans co-rule the seas. There are a few insects, however, which can survive in salt water, and there are some invertebrates, namely crustaceans, that live their entire lives away from water. Two of these are among the most ubiquitous of creatures around the globe, and they look so much alike that we generally refer to them by the same name. I'm talking about sow bugs and pill bugs, members of the Isopoda (equal-feet) order, and among the most common creatures found on Long Island.
Isopods are uniformly segmented creatures with a pair of like appendages, mostly locomotory in function, on each segment, or somite. Superficially they resemble fossil trilobites, among the earliest of invertebrates, but in general they are much larger. Sow bugs and pill bugs rarely reach more than half an inch in length. The sow bug is native to America, except in the West, where it was introduced. Pill bugs came from Eurasia. Both are gray, both are found on the ground under debris (leaves, rocks, boards, etc.), but there is a major behavioral difference. Pill bugs can roll up into a perfect ball, sow bugs cannot.
In fact, pill bugs are one of only a handful of organisms in the world that can locomote with the help of gravity. They can roll down an inclined plane, although they don't make a habit of it. Rolling up is more of a defense against predators, just as the box turtle withdraws completely into its shell to protect itself or the armadillo balls up its tough scaly epidermis to protect its vulnerable underbelly when threatened. That's one of the reasons the pill bug family has been given the name, Armadillidae.
In order to leave water permanently, the gills of sow bugs and pill bugs have to be kept moist so that they can exchange oxygen — the good air — for carbon dioxide — the bad. Terrestrial crabs and semiterrestrial crabs, say, fiddlers, also have gills and must keep them moist in order to breathe. That's one of the reasons that one seldom finds sow bugs and pill bugs out in the open, and generally only during rainy or misty nights. Pill bugs have the added safeguard of balling up to keep from drying out.
As common as earthworms and ants, pill bugs and sow bugs do very little harm and much good. They are among several species that spend 90 percent of their time feeding on dead and decaying organic matter, both animal and vegetable. Thus, they rank up there with earthworms as important soil makers, helping to create the topmost soil layer, the so-called "organic horizon."
In turn, they provide food for other invertebrates that live in dark, damp niches such as silverfish, centipedes, scorpions, various spiders, slugs, and salamanders. You very rarely find a horde of them as you might of Argentine ants, but it is a rare board in the yard or woods that will not sport a few when turned over. In Oregon where both sow bugs and pill bugs are introduced and not native, they are both called "potato bugs" because they are often found when digging up potatoes from under the soil.
Sow bugs and pill bugs are also unique in that their eggs hatch directly into larvae that are identical in aspect and composition to their parents. They don't have a separate larval form, as do almost all aquatic and marine crustaceans. When you run into these two in the house or basement, no need to step on them as they don't bite humans or give us diseases. They rank among the unsung heroes of the underworld. They enrich the soil and provide food for others while leading a quiet life, mostly out of view.
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Tracey Nearmy / EPA
Fifty year old Australian Saltwater Crocodile Elvis is fed by keeper Billy Collett after attacking a lawn mower in his enclosure earlier in the morning at the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford Dec. 28 2011. Elvis was acquired by the park in 2008 after he had been causing a nuisance in Darwin harbor by climbing onto fishing boats.
I didn't realize landscaping was so dangerous.
The Herald Sun reports: The 5 meter croc, named Elvis, attacked the staff at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford after they went into its enclosure about 9 a.m. today.
The hulking beast lunged at one of the lawnmowers and dragged it into his pond. The staff, who were tending to the enclosure at the time, escaped unharmed.
"Elvis is sitting at the bottom of the lagoon with the lawnmower next to him. He's guarding it," said park spokeswoman Libby Bain before the rescue.
Tracey Nearmy / EPA
Fifty-year-old Australian Saltwater Crocodile Elvis watches his keepers place a lawnmower back in his enclosure after having attacked the mower earlier in the morning at the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford December 28, 2011.
What do you give a cranky, half-ton crocodile named Elivs? Whatever he wants! TODAY's Carl Quintanilla reports.


text:
Happy Sunday!
Of course it was great to see my parents, aunt, uncle and cousins but I was most excited to meet Rutabaga! This little doll was born just yesterday and she couldn't be cuter. I'm calling her Rutabaga because my friend Connie from Missing Willow Farm named one of her recent lambs Yam and what's cuter than a lamb named after a root vegetable??
I don't have one of my own crafts to show off today so I want to brag about my Mom instead.
In addition to adorable lambs, my parents also have geese that lay nice big eggs. My Dad uses a special technique to clean out the insides without causing much damage to the outside of the shell. Then, my Mom paints them with flowers and seals them with varnish. Our Easter table was filled with about 50 of these beauties today. We all snagged a few to decorate our own tables tonight.
Here's one of the geese getting a special Easter treat (lettuce) from my little cousin.
I hope your day was filled with happies!
12 comments
- rubyslipperz said...
Beautiful Eggs of ART!! Wow...they are soo pretty!
You were so lucky to visit with the fun animals. =)
- April 8, 2012 at 8:31 PM
Gorgeous! How lucky you are to have met a new baby lamb yesterday too:) My Aunt always has a pair of sheep- and her name is Mary- and they actually do follow her all around as she weeds/ does this and that outside. Quite endearing.
- April 9, 2012 at 8:34 AM
- Brenda said...
So fun! Looks like you guys had a great weekend. xoxo
- April 9, 2012 at 9:29 AM
- Leslie Andersen said...
I love baby animals, and I'm freaking out about Rutabega! Your mom's painted eggs are wonderful.
- April 9, 2012 at 9:37 AM
- kittykill said...
Those eggs are beautiful and the babies are so sweet! It looks like you had a wonderful day!
- April 9, 2012 at 12:32 PM
- Angie said...
Aw, what a happy, little lamb. Rutabaga is a great name.
And wow. Kudos to your mom. Those eggs look amazing.
- April 10, 2012 at 11:19 AM
- marymac said...
Beautiful eggs. Must of taken a bit og time to do them. What fun the farm looks.
- April 10, 2012 at 3:44 PM
- Hey Mickey said...
Wow you have a very clever Mum! The eggs are gorgeous....and who can go past a cute spring lamb :)
- April 10, 2012 at 5:24 PM
- Cat from Raspberry Rainbow said...
Wow, your mums eggs are gorgeous!
- April 11, 2012 at 7:27 AM
- mayaluna said...
gorgeous eggs and adorable little Rutabaga!
- April 11, 2012 at 7:48 PM
- Trekky said...
What an adorable lamb! So cute! I admit I had to google to see what a rutabaga was, I assumed it must be an exotic vegetable... Then I realised it is not! It is what we call a Swede in the UK. :)
Ps) lovely egg painting - so detailed.
- April 16, 2012 at 2:34 AM
You make crafting look possible even for someone as "craft challenged" as me! Cute ideas!
- May 9, 2012 at 7:36 PM


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This puzzle
the first year anniversary
of our joint Monthly Interactive Logic Problems project. When you solve
the puzzle correctly, fill in the
Table of Results just below the Interactive Grid. A congratulation message
will provide you with a special link to our
bonus puzzle.
This is our little gift for everyone who likes our puzzles and
enjoys solving them. Happy Puzzling Birthday!
by Shelly Hazard
It snowed last night! Four couples woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Due to the high winds during the storm, the snow drifted as it fell. The plows were out early but still, it took awhile to get all the streets in town cleared. Determine the full name of each couple, how much snow they got form the storm (between 6 and 10 inches), and what time the road they lived on was plowed out (between 8:30 am and 10:00 am).
1. Rebecca, whose last name isn't Heart, was plowed out before Greg but after the couple who got eight inches of snow.
2. Mr. and Mrs. Shephard have two inches more snow than the couple who were plowed out at 8:30 am.
3. Karl and Debbie weren't plowed out at 9:00 am though they were plowed out before Peter.
4. Stan Grant, who isn't married to Martha, got one inch more snow than Greg did.
5. The couples were plowed out, from earliest to latest, in the following order: the couple who got eight inches of snow, Alice, Peter, Mr. and Mrs. White.
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