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Brussels, 20 July 2010
Right to information in criminal proceedings – frequently asked questions
Why is action at European level needed on the right to information for suspects?
This right to information about basic fair trial rights is a necessary step to all other fair trial rights.
EU citizens are entitled to move and reside freely within the territory of all 27 EU Member States. More and more of them travel, study and work outside their home country (for example, an average of 47% of Germans, 34% of UK nationals and 16% of Italians take a holiday in another Member State). With this freedom comes a greater chance of finding themselves involved in criminal proceedings in another country.
If this happens, at home or abroad, every suspect must receive a fair trial that respects basic procedural rights like consulting a lawyer or having interpretation if needed. If you do not know that these are basic rights to which everyone is entitled, you may not insist upon them. Failure by the police to respect those rights will jeopardise the fairness of criminal proceedings and may lead to miscarriages of justice.
Immediate information about basic rights is essential because suspects are most vulnerable to intimidation and ill-treatment just after they have been arrested. This is best achieved with a Letter of Rights.
How well is this right to information respected today?
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg says that authorities must make sure suspects are informed of their fair trial rights. These rights are not meant to be only theoretical but also to be effective in practice.
However, Member States still differ in their rules, the amount of information they give and how they provide it.
This means that the way suspects are informed of various fair trial rights depends on what country they are in: a suspect will be told of their right to interpretation orally in Belgium, in writing in Hungary and through a Letter of Rights in Germany. 15 countries only tell suspects about their right to remain silent orally.
The impact of the Letter of Rights to people in other countries depends on factors like translation: some EU countries provide a comprehensive Letter of Rights but only provide oral translations of it to people who cannot understand the language.
These varying standards and approaches can lead to suspects not being given all or any of the information they need for their defence.
This can hamper cooperation between different national authorities. Without minimum common standards to ensure fair proceedings, judicial authorities will be reluctant to send someone to face trial in another country. As a result, EU measures to fight crime – such as the European Arrest Warrant – may not be fully applied. 14,000 European arrest warrants were issued in 2008, up from 6,900 in 2005.
What is the effect of the proposal?
It would oblige Member States to make sure suspects receive two types of information:
When someone is arrested, Member States will be obliged to give them written information about their rights in everyday language – in the form of a Letter of Rights (see annex of IP for a model letter proposed by the Commission).
Member States would also have to ensure that they or their lawyers have access to documents in the case-file held by the police, prosecution or court. This right exists in all but three EU Member States, but the ease with which citizens can avail of it varies significantly.
This is part of the Commission's work to provide common standards for procedural rights in all criminal proceedings, including cross-border proceedings such as those based on a European Arrest Warrant.
What information is in the Letter of Rights?
The Letter of Rights, with which persons will have to be provided promptly when they are arrested, will contain practical details about their right:
The Letter of Rights does not create these rights – they come from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the ECHR. The letter reflects the current minimum standard of fair trial rights that already apply across the EU.
EU countries are free to draw up their own Letters of Rights in an appropriate range of foreign languages as long as they include accurate information about these four core fair trial rights.
As a high level of consistency in the information in the Letters of Rights throughout the EU will make it easier for citizens to know their rights, the proposal contains a model Letter of Rights in all official EU languages. This is meant to help Member States design their Letters of Rights.
EU countries are encouraged to go further by including information about more rights or rights going beyond these four minimum rights.
Do any countries already use a Letter of Rights to inform suspects of their rights?
The European Commission first called on EU countries to use Letters of Rights in 2004. At that time, only one country (Luxembourg) provided a Letter of Rights, as defined in today's proposal, which gave information on the rights to legal defence and the right to be immediately examined by a doctor.
Since then, more countries have introduced, expanded and provided translation for their Letters of Rights. Germany adopted its Letter on 1 January 2010 (available in 48 languages) and the Netherlands started on 1 April, 2010.
To be truly effective, Letters need to be given to arrested suspects automatically because not everyone knows if they can ask for them. They should be written in simple language and translated into several languages.
The EU proposal will help other countries learn from existing good practice – and also encourage consistency between different systems so that citizens know what to expect.
Won't this be a drain on resources for justice authorities? How will the letter be shown to suspects in practice?
Police officers will not have to carry 23 or more different linguistic versions of the Letter of Rights with them. It is expected that a Letter of Rights will be issued at the police station. They can be stored on the station's computer and then issued in the correct language.
This is what already happens in 12 Member States. Germany produces the letter in 48 languages, the UK in 44, Sweden in 42, Austria in 20, but the Czech Republic in only one.
The Commission is providing a template in all EU languages to limit translation costs.
Are there examples of cases where the proposal would have made a difference?
Independent organisations have provided examples of EU citizens who were not sufficiently informed of their basic fair trial rights and the case against them. Suspects could not adequately defend themselves, leading to allegations of miscarriages of justice:
Is there already a specific right to information enshrined in law?
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR – Articles 5(2) and 6(3) (a)) obliges criminal justice authorities to inform suspects of the nature and cause of the accusation so they understand the charges and can prepare their defence.
The ECHR does not explicitly mention the right to information about fair trial rights, but the case-law of the Strasbourg Court requires judicial authorities to take proactive measures informing the suspect about the right to see a lawyer and take all reasonable steps to ensure that a suspect is fully aware of his rights.
What if countries already have a standard of protection higher than this measure?
The measure will implement common minimum standards in the EU. All countries will have to live up to these standards, but a country should not lower them if they have higher standards.
The Directive proposed today includes a non-regression clause to this effect (article 10).
What is the legal basis for EU law in this area?
Article 82(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union says that the European Parliament and the Council may establish minimum rules to make sure judicial authorities in EU countries recognise and execute each others' judgments and judicial decisions.
It also says that they can take measures to ensure that police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters carries no risk to the rights of individuals in criminal procedures.
What else will the Commission do to ensure the fair trial rights across the EU?
This proposal is the first step in a series of measures in the procedural rights roadmap, adopted by the Council on 30 November 2009. This invites the Commission to put forward proposals on a "step by step" basis (IP/10/447). The roadmap, which is an indicative list of measures, suggests the following:
This proposal seeks to translate Measure B into legislation, in accordance with the roadmap.
The timetable: what happens next?
The proposal will be discussed within the European Parliament and among EU governments. The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will vote on it, followed by a vote in full plenary session.
For figures showing the number of foreigners per Member State, see
Provision of information on fair trial rights in June 2009:
N.B. Some Member States have introduced letters and may have changed systems since this survey was carried out.
O: Oral provision of information
W: Provision of information in writing by other means than Letter of Rights1
LR: Letter of Rights2
N/A: Right not applied in practice
NO: No right
Number of criminal proceedings in the EU
Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED
There are several options by which information can be provided in writing but not amounting to a Letter of Rights, such as posters in police stations or the simple provision of suspects and accused persons with a copy of the legal provisions governing their right.
While there is no official definition of a Letter of Rights, in the study on EU Procedural Rights in Criminal Proceedings (2009) the LR is defined as 'written information of the suspect's procedural rights in a standardised form' (p.34); it is possible to narrow the scope of this definition of LR to (1) easy and accessible document and understandable information on rights, (2) in a standardised form, (3) that is given to the suspect in the initial contacts with investigating authorities. The latter definition was provided directly by Taru Spronken and will be used in 'EU-wide Letter of Rights in criminal proceedings: towards best practice', Maastricht University, 2010
Germany introduced a Letter of Rights in January 2010
The Netherlands introduced a Letter of Rights in April 2010
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Among the presentations coming up for me is one exploring common ground between enlightened Christians and enlightened atheists. Helping me to do this are atheists who respect religion while criticizing its negatives, the same negatives observed by thoughtful Christians.
The blogger ddjango offers a good example of spiritual atheism or secular spirituality. He invited me to write a guest post, but I'm afraid my post On Enlightenment on ddjango's site became excessively abstract.
Wondering whether it would speak to most people, I asked a friend to read it and tell me what she thought. Her answer is gratifying:
AHHHH, Jeanette!! You give me such comfort!!! I loved reading your guest blog...and, in my opinion, the entry is a great deal like your book in that the reader must be a committed reader. He/she must be dedicated to learning, looking for answers and/or support for confusing thoughts that exist in himself/herself. Definitely NOT looking for an easy read. I am assuming that people who read blogs such as yours and ddjango's are just such readers.Flattery works for me.
That, of course, does not mean that each reader understands easily. I, for example, read the first half of your guest blog with relative ease...and found every word a "once-again renewal of hope"...and had to dig deeper and read extremely attentively once you wrote more about Comte-Sponville. BUT, I did understand what I was reading and I fall back again on the fact that your readers must read thoughtfully...and have some degree of inquisitive interest...and WANT to learn. And again, I think for the most part these must be the sort of people who DO read your blogs. The bottom line? PERFECT!!!
I'm just as delighted by this response from a friend who had assumed that Jesus was only a myth and not a man of history, until he read my book.
What a delight . . . to read flawless writing! I now understand much better than I previously had what Jesus might have meant by the 'Reign of God.' I even feel somewhat better about my tendency to live in and appreciate the present: I've had many timeless moments, and so perhaps have already enjoyed eternal life.For me it doesn't get better than to clarify spiritual concepts for discriminating minds, and to indicate shared values where people expect total disagreement.
February 29, 2009
I started this blog hoping to have conversations about religion and spirituality in our daily lives. When I started writing God Is Not Three Guys in the Sky many years ago, I saw little possibility that my views would be accepted. Since that time I've watched a huge shift in perceptions, sometimes subtle, sometimes amazingly abrupt. Twenty years ago, Christians could comfortably assume that "everybody" prayed to Jesus. That's no longer the case. But often I still hear and see the word "Christian" used as a synonym for "good." This sends an implicit insult to people of other faiths.
The foundational message of my book is that religious myths play an honorable and indispensable role in human lives but our Christian myth is not superior to others. I ask readers to carefully digest what I say, because the word "myth" as it's popularly used means false and worthless. This hinders understanding of religious myth, which is perfectly respectable.
I invite believers and non-believers alike to uncouple spirituality from religion. Readers of God Is Not Three Guys will find instances of non-religious spirituality, and the video "Breaking up religion's monopoly on spirituality" at http://ddjango.blogspot.com/ prompted this reflection.
Here are examples of spiritual practice unrelated to religion:
• Entering a room and sensing its spiritual atmosphere, whether welcoming, threatening, playful, sad, etc.
• Feeling connected to nature while walking a country road, being in the mountains, experiencing a night with moon, stars, northern lights, etc.
• Intuiting a friend's sorrow or elation or pride or shame,
• Knowing that certain persons speak wisdom, certain persons have good instincts irrespective of their educational level, certain persons have the natural intelligence to sum up situations and people.
These instincts, feelings, thoughts, and kinds of knowledge are spiritual; they are independent of scientific knowledge and also of religion. The speaker in the video states that we all possess spiritual judgment, but it has been "hijacked by religion." I have to agree. Mothers often have it more than bishops, he says. I agree.
"We are our own spirituality," he says. "We are it." I believe there is something beyond us, something beyond our comprehension and imagination that is given the very inadequate name, "God." And I don't share the speaker's antipathy toward religion. Religion has satisfyingly served millions. But we must not grant any religion the power to muzzle our minds.


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Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency (TxCHSE) Test Information
The State Board of Education (SBOE) voted January 29, 2016 to award contracts to three separate companies to provide high school equivalency assessments. The current contract will end on October 7, 2016, and TEA will enter into new contracts with vendors beginning October 8, 2016, or when each vendor is ready to provide services and staff and the board chair are confident the vendor can execute the terms of the Request for Proposals.
Test takers may select from one of the following three assessments:
The high school equivalency assessment serves as the basis for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to issue the Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency (TxCHSE). TEA is the only agency in Texas authorized to issue the Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency. Tests may only be administered by authorized testing centers. For additional information, please visit this TEA News Release.
Visit the Texas Certificate/Transcript Search to obtain a free verification letter or a printable PDF containing the Certificate of High School Equivalency and test scores for $5. The printable PDF will include a diploma-style certificate suitable for framing and a transcript with test dates and scores. Purchases can be made by credit card or check (automated clearing house). The certificates and verifications must be printed during this transaction.
Colleges and employers are urged to obtain verifications and certificates from the Texas Certificate/Transcript Search as TEA no longer sends certificates or verifications via mail, fax, or email. Additional information Official Policy Letter (PDF)
If the search returns "No Records Found," please email email@example.com to request a record search.
There are now three high school equivalency testing options in Texas: the GED test, the HiSET exam and the TASC test. Upon the successful completion of a single provider's exams, the test taker will be issued a State of Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency.
The test taker chooses which test series to take. The test language can be either English, Spanish, or a combination.
For more information, please visit Test Information At A Glance and High School Equivalency Frequently Asked Questions.
To take the high school equivalency exams in Texas, an individual must:
For more detailed information and exceptions, please visit our Eligibility Page.
The minimum score requirements are determined by the test provider.
Scores are typically available the same day for computer-based testing. Paper-based test scores are typically available within 10 days. Certificates are issued approximately three business days after the final computer-based test and approximately 14 days after the final paper-based test. TEA will email the initial certificate in a PDF file to the email address used to register for the exams.
Individuals cannot combine scores from a previous test series or different test series. Incomplete scores from tests taken prior to January 1, 2014 are no longer valid.
For more information on current and previous test scores, please visit Test Score Requirements.


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NBC's "The Sound of Music Live!" aired Thursday night and predictably sent social media snarking, followed by more tempered reviews from TV critics and theater lovers.
Although the show might not have been one of everybody's favorite things, NBC got big props for making the effort to stage a live three-hour, multi-set musical. Early ratings indications are that NBC has a hit.
Reaction to individual performances was mixed, to be kind, but one common sentiment was that a high point was the performance of Broadway veteran Audra McDonald, she of the five Tonys and two Grammys. This was expected by anyone who has seen the "Private Practice" actress on stage or in recital.
The golden pipes of McDonald, playing the Rev. Mother, opened the broadcast, but her memorable scene came later, singing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most enduring numbers from their 1959 Broadway musical.
PHOTOS: Movie scenes from 'The Sound of Music' (1965)
As David Hinckley of New York's Daily News wrote: "Audra McDonald, playing the Prioress at the Abbey, surprised no one by almost stopping the show with 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain.'"
As comedian and Broadway fanatic Rosie O'Donnell tweeted: "Audra McDonald makes everything better #SoundofMusic"
Before the broadcast, McDonald talked to the Wall Street Journal about how she approaches singing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain."
"Just focus on what Mother Abbess is really trying to do. And what's she trying to do is give Maria some serious tough love and kicking her out. She's saying no, you can't run from your problems. This is opportunity in your life knocking on the door saying here we are. Here is your life. This is your destiny. And I'm not going to let you run away from it because it seems scary. So if I focus on that I think I'll be okay. If I focus on 'oh this is a hard song, I hope I don't screw up' then I'll screw up."
Watch her hit all the notes in the video above.
Banksy mural from L.A. gas station sells for $209,000 at auction
NBC's 'The Sound of Music Live!' set for do-re-mi with no do-overs
Theater review: 'Parfumerie' at Wallis Annenberg Center has zaniness in store
PHOTOS: Hollywood stars on stage CHEAT SHEET: Spring arts preview 2014 PHOTOS: Arts and culture in pictures
PHOTOS: Hollywood stars on stage
CHEAT SHEET: Spring arts preview 2014
PHOTOS: Arts and culture in pictures


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Because it was released relatively recently (most games were sold in the early 1990's) and the collector base is still small, many Lynx games are easy to find at a decent price. However, there are a few hard to find games such as Hard Drivin', Lemmings, and Battlewheels. Then of course there are titles from Songbird Productions and Telegames - while these games are almost impossible to find from general second-hand sources, they are still readily available from the publisher, albeit for a premium price. Please keep in mind that this guide is meant to reflect the rarity of second-hand sources such as videogame resale shops, eBay, flea markets, etc. You can easily buy almost every Lynx game NIB on the Internet, if you are willing to pay a premium.
The rarity scale is a general indicator of how easy or difficult it is to come across a game. The scale starts at 1 (very easy to find) and finishes at 10 (nearly impossible to locate). For more detailed information on rarity guide values, please have a look here. If you have any comments about the listing of a title or its rarity, please post them to the Rarity Guide Message Board.
If you'd like to see all titles, simply click on Begin
Search without modifying any of the default values.
Copyright ©1998-2019 AtariAge


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An inquiry has been launched into the fire at a Telstra exchange in Warrnambool, Victoria, which cut off the telco's fixed line network to 60,000 residents.
A fire on 22 November damaged around 60 per cent of Telstra's exchange.
"I understand the frustration felt by the people and businesses that have been left without a phone and other services…" Senator Stephen Conroy, Communications Minister, said in a statement.
"A fire of this type is infrequent, but given how important telecommunications infrastructure is for the day-to-day lives of all Australians, an inquiry is appropriate."
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy will carry out the inquiry and will look at the cause of the fire and resulting damage; fire prevention and mitigation strategies; the restoration of services; and disaster recovery plans.
A public forum will also be held to gauge the impact of the fire on the community.
"I want to hear the views of the affected communities and relevant experts to ensure that disaster mitigation and service recovery plans are as effective as possible if similar events were to occur in the future," Conroy said.
While Telstra has restored mobile coverage to most of the region, with 35 out of 41 mobile base stations now working again, 43 per cent of landline customers are still without service.
Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU


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1310 - 1310 Archibald ST, Winnipeg - Postal Code
Blocks from 1310 to 1310, at Archibald ST in Winnipeg, Manitoba (MB) Province have a unique postal code
1310 - 1310 Archibald ST, Winnipeg Area Code is 204 and Time Zone is Central (GMT -06:00).
Remember you have 2 kinds of blocks: even or odd. In this case you are matching Even numbers for this block
1310 Archibald ST Postal Code
Winnipeg Postal Code contains Forward sortation areas + LDU (Local Delivery Units).
The first letter of an FSA code denotes a particular "postal district", and the last three characters denote a Winnipeg (MB) local delivery unit (LDU). An LDU denotes a specific Winnipeg single address, like 1310 to 1310 Archibald ST street block or range of Archibald ST addresses, which can correspond to an entire small town, a significant part of a medium-sized town, a single side of a city block in larger cities, a single large building or a portion of a very large one, a single (large) institution such as a university or a hospital, or a business that receives large volumes of mail on a regular basis in Manitoba.
The postal code from addresses 1310 to 1310, applies to residential houses, business, buildings, and every property with Even numeration in this range. Average elevation for this area is 232 meters.
1310 Archibald ST, Winnipeg, postal code, Even block, is valid to this street addresses:
- Archibald ST 1310
Street View 1310 - Winnipeg Archibald ST
1310 Archibald ST Street View
Next one, is the 1310 - 1310 Archibald ST, Winnipeg Google Street View. This view is created by the Google Team for Archibald ST in Winnipeg, Manitoba - Manitoba, CA.


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Laboratory tests and initial studies in people suggested that lowly vitamins could play a crucial role in preventing some of the most intractable illnesses, especially in an aging population. The National Institutes of Health gave them the same treatment as top-notch pharmaceutical drugs, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in elaborate clinical trials designed to quantify their disease-fighting abilities.
Now the results from those trials are rolling in, and nearly all of them fail to show any benefit from taking vitamin and mineral supplements.
This month, two long-term trials with more than 50,000 participants offered fresh evidence that vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium supplements don't reduce the risk of prostate, colorectal, lung, bladder or pancreatic cancer. Other recent studies have found that over-the-counter vitamins and minerals offer no help in fighting other cancers, stroke or cardiovascular disease.
Research has even suggested that in some circumstances, the supplements can be unsafe.
Some physicians now advise their patients not to bother with the pills, and to rely instead on a healthy diet to provide needed vitamins and minerals.
"These things are ineffective, and in high doses they can cause harm," said Dr. Edgar R. Miller, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "People are unhappy with their diets, they're stressed out, and they think it will help. It's just wishful thinking."
Yet faith in vitamins runs deep. The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group in Washington, estimates that 64% of American adults take vitamin and mineral supplements.
Despite the steady drumbeat of reports questioning their efficacy, sales have risen steadily, from $5 billion in 1995 to $10 billion this year, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
Scientists remain convinced that vitamins are essential to health. But they have puzzled over how their obvious benefits could be so elusive in randomized controlled trials, the gold standard of medical research.
"You really do need vitamin E. You really do need vitamin C. You really do need selenium," said Jeffrey Blumberg, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston. "Without them, you die."
Blumberg and others now believe that a combination of factors -- including the versions of vitamins that were tested and the populations they were tested in -- probably doomed the studies from the start.
"In retrospect, maybe the expectations were a little bit unrealistic," said Blumberg, whose research has been funded in part by supplement makers.
Unlike observational studies, which look backward at groups of people to identify factors that are associated with a particular disease, a forward-looking randomized controlled trial has the power to show whether a particular factor can prevent the disease.
The studies rely on thousands of participants who are randomly assigned to receive a medicine or a placebo. Researchers carefully track the participants so they can account for other factors that might affect health outcomes, such as age, diet and amount of physical activity. After several years, the researchers compare the number of people in each group who developed a particular disease and use statistical tools to see whether the medicine made a difference.
Vitamin A and beta carotene were the first supplements to be tested that way. In observational studies from the 1980s, researchers noticed that people who ate lots of vegetables rich in beta carotene, a form of vitamin A, were less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer and other cancers compared with people who didn't. Thus, they reasoned, the vitamin supplements probably reduced the risk of lung cancer.
The thinking was, "Let's get a bunch of people who smoked for 30 years and see if it's going to be a magic bullet for them," said nutritionist Andrew Shao, a vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the supplement industry. "We were all guilty of wanting to go for that home-run-style randomized trial that would validate everything once and for all."
It didn't.
One trial that followed 29,000 male smokers in Finland for an average of six years found that men who took beta carotene were 18% more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer and 8% more likely to die during the study than men who didn't.
A second trial involved 18,000 American men and women who were smokers or former smokers or who were exposed to asbestos at work. That study found that after an average of four years, lung cancer rates were 28% higher among those who took beta carotene and vitamin A, and their overall risk of death during the trial jumped by 17%.
Further research revealed that beta carotene curbs the body's ability to metabolize vitamin A, which is needed to keep cancer cells in check, Shao said.
Researchers tried again and again with other combinations of vitamins and minerals. Among the multimillion-dollar studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health:
* The Women's Health Study followed 39,876 women for an average of 10 years. Those who took vitamin E were just as likely to develop heart disease, stroke and a variety of cancers as the women who took a placebo, according to results published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
* The Women's Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study tested the effects of vitamins C and E and beta carotene in 8,171 women with signs of heart disease for an average of 9.4 years. None of the supplements had any effect, according to results published in 2007 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
* The Physicians' Health Study tested vitamins C and E in 14,641 male doctors for an average of eight years and found the supplements didn't make their hearts healthier. The results were published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
* The Women's Health Initiative tracked 36,282 women for an average of seven years and found that vitamin D plus calcium didn't protect against invasive breast cancer, according to results published last month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Previous studies of these women found that the supplements offered modest protection against hip fractures but didn't prevent other bone fractures or colorectal cancer.
* The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial tested those supplements in 35,533 men for more than five years and found that they didn't reduce the risk of prostate cancer, according to results released this month in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The trial was halted early, in part because the supplements were associated with a slight increase in the risk of prostate cancer and diabetes.
For several reasons, researchers say, vitamins don't lend themselves to randomized controlled trials. Chief among them is that there is no true placebo group when it comes to vitamins and minerals, because everyone gets some in their diet.
"For drugs, someone either has [the anti-impotence drug] Cialis in their system or he doesn't have Cialis," said Paul Coates, director of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements in Bethesda, Md. But with vitamins, "there's a baseline exposure that needs to be taken into account. It makes the challenge of seeing an improvement more difficult."
A vitamin's benefit may become apparent only if people aren't getting enough of it. That could explain why vitamin D has been linked to reduced rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
"Most people are vitamin-D-deficient, and that's not true for vitamin E," Blumberg said.
Randomized clinical trials are designed to test one factor at a time, but vitamins and minerals consumed as part of a healthy diet work in concert with each other.
"You don't eat a food that just has beta carotene in it," said Dr. Mary L. Hardy, medical director of the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, who focuses on the importance of diet and supplements for cancer patients.
What's more, she said, vitamins manufactured into pills are not identical to vitamins that occur naturally in foods, so the clinical trials don't test the exact compounds that may have been key in earlier studies.
"Is this apples and apples, or is this apples and crab apples, or is this apples and peaches?" said Hardy, who sits on the scientific advisory board of the company that sells Nature Made and other brands of vitamins. "It's hard to know what to say."
The observational studies that originally linked vitamins to better health may have been biased because people who take supplements are often healthier overall than people who don't.
"They tend to be more physically active, better educated, eat better diets, and tend not to be smokers," Coates said. "So you can't say for certain it's your item of interest that causes" the health benefit.
The data collected by these big studies aren't useless. Researchers said they could spend years slicing and dicing the data to see if they can tease out a positive effect in a subgroup, such as black men over 65 or women with a family history of osteoporosis.
But no one expects the NIH -- or anyone else -- to launch studies on vitamins until more is understood about how to measure their effects in the body.
"We clearly don't have much enthusiasm for investing huge amounts of money in clinical trials that aren't going to work," Coates said.
Instead, some researchers have turned their attention to biomarkers that provide reliable indicators of disease risks, such as the prostate-specific antigen protein that is used to screen for prostate cancer.
Advances in personalized medicine may also allow doctors to identify people with genetic mutations that make them more likely to benefit from specific vitamins and minerals, experts said.
In the meantime, researchers will return to traditional observational studies to learn more about the role of nutrition in fighting disease.
"I'm really comfortable telling you to eat whole grains and fruits and vegetables and cut back on saturated fats," Blumberg said, "even though we don't have clinical trials showing that."


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In-Shape Health Clubs, Stockton, CA, has acquired Ultimate Fitness, an 18,500-square-foot facility in American Canyon, CA, for an undisclosed sum. At the same time, the company has begun construction on a new facility in Suisun City, CA, just 15 miles away.
In-Shape will survey members of the Ultimate Fitness facility to determine any changes that may occur at the location.
The Suisun City location, which will have an indoor pool, is the company's third facility in which construction has begun this year. In January, In-Shape announced it would begin immediate construction on a facility in Bakersfield, CA, and another one in Carmel, CA. The Bakersfield location, which is scheduled to open Oct. 1, will be the fifth in that area, and the Carmel location, which is scheduled to open July 1, will be the third in the Carmel/Monterey, CA, area.
The company actually has five facilities under construction right now. Last August, the company also began construction on a facility in Vacaville, CA. That club is scheduled to open June 1, the same day a location in Turlock, CA, also will open.
Once construction on each of these facilities is complete, In-Shape will have 44 locations in California.
In-Shape has three types of clubs. Its Fit clubs are less than 20,000 square feet. Its City clubs are greater than 20,000 square feet, but they do not have tennis or racquetball. Its Sport clubs are also greater than 20,000 square feet, but they do include tennis and/or racquetball.
The new Vacaville, Turlock and Bakersfield locations will be Sport clubs. The Carmel location will be a Fit club. The Suisun City location will be a City club.
"At In-Shape, we're always trying to bring the best and most convenient health and fitness resources—at an affordable price—to our members," Rob Farrens, In-Shape's executive vice president, said in a release about the latest openings.


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Session 7: Mining Communities and Migrancy
Session 7: Mining Communities and Migrancy
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world, and although abalone contributes a relatively small proportion to aquaculture, it is one of the most highly prized seafood delicacies and most sought-after invertebrate. With high returns, farmed, fished or ranched abalone is able to generate foreign currency earnings for the aquaculture industry. In addition, farming uplifts communities along the coastal lines through generating higher levels of employment relative to other aquaculture activities. This is particularly so, in areas where fishing has diminished or has been totally discontinued. This policy brief looks at some of the factors for the industry to remain sustainable and economically viable.
Session 3B: Measuring Social and Education Progress
Session 2B: Inflation Dynamics
Session 6A: Subjective Measures of Welfare
Session 6A: Subjective Measures of Welfare
Session 5A: Poverty and Household Welfare
Session 4B: the Global Crisis and Poverty Outcomes
Session 1B: The Financial Crisis: Global and Regional Impacts
Session 1A: Financial Development and Economic Growth
Significant reforms of the services sector have been conducted in Uganda since 1987, motivated, in part, by the common notion that efficiency in the provision of services can deliver productivity growth in all sectors of the economy, which in turn stimulates overall economic growth and development. Given that the demand for services is often highly income elastic, as incomes grow, the demand for services also tends to expand accordingly. In another respect, services are widely used as intermediate inputs in various production activities, while the proportion of labor utilization in services production has tended to grow larger than that of capital. This paper applies a cross sectional panel estimation approach to discern the effects of services liberalization on downstream manufacturing productivity in Uganda. The results show that the average coefficient (average returns to scale of 0.6251 is less than constant while the respective coefficients of capital and labour are 0.1420 and 0.4831, respectively. The relative coefficient on the composite services reform index is positive, suggesting that services liberalization have had a marked positive impact on manufacturing and its productivity. When individual sector reform indices are accounted for in the regression, the results also confirm that when prudent reform measures were undertaken in different services sub sectors, they imparted strong and significant improvements in the productivity of firms across the board.
The South Africa that emerged from the 1994 democratic elections was one characterised by widespread poverty and inequality with an economy that was suffering the effects of macro-economic mismanagement. The root causes of these problems were seen to have originated from within the distorted policies of a highly centralised apartheid state. Under these circumstances, combined with the recognition that the new post-apartheid provincial and local spheres of government were still finding their feet, nascent national economic policy frameworks did little to diagnose spatially differentiated elements that might have added some geographic sensitivity to their programmes. This was true for how policies responded to spatial differentiation with areas of significant economic activity, as well as in relation to zones of exploited underdevelopment that had been at the core of the Bantustan system. However, the launch of the DTI's Spatial Development Initiatives (SDI) in 1997 heralded something of a shift in thinking towards some measure of recognition of the benefit of more spatially differentiated national policies and programmes. This brief paper seeks to explore the manner in which subsequent policies and programmes – emerging primarily from the Department of Trade and Industry – responded to matters of spatial differentiation. The paper finds a lack of any serious engagement in such policy frameworks and programmes and makes some suggestions as to why this might be problematic and how possible responses could be conceived of.
South Africa's energy system has been, and still is, one of the key contributing factors to the social and economic development of the nation. By international standards, the South African economy is very energy-intensive, meaning that the country uses a large amount of energy for every rand of economic output. Historically world economic and political factors have had a profound effect on international oil prices which in turn have impacted heavily on individual nation's energy policies.
The focus of this research centres on issues concerning industrial energy use. The theoretical background to this research is well grounded in traditional trade theory, with trade patterns and the international competitiveness of countries explained as a function of both supply and demand side factors. The empirical work undertaken seeks to verify such explanations by determining the extent to which changes in the energy intensity of the South African manufacturing sector are due to changes in the types of goods produced domestically versus changes in the types of goods internationally traded.
The future direction of South African industrial policy is the subject of vigorous and healthy debate. The outcome is important for the country's economic development. This study is an attempt to contribute to these discussions through an overview of and some questions about the economic impacts of South Africa's post apartheid trade and industrial policy. It comprises two main parts. These parts can be read independently.
The first part reviews some key themes in international policy discussions and draws lessons from the recent experiences of other developing countries. The second and largest part of the report reviews South Africa's industrial policy over the past decade. While not comprehensive, the range of policies examined is sufficient to dismiss the claim made by some that South Africa has not had an industrial policy. In fact, whether by intention or not, South Africa has experimented with a very wide range of policies that have had a direct impact on the path and success of its industrial development.
This review raises some serious questions about the economic impacts of South Africa's industrial policies and of some future alternatives that are now under discussion. Despite the intensity of and broad interest in the debate, there appears to have been very little serious economic analysis of past policies or of future plans. Basic assumptions about the effectiveness of sector-specific interventions, for instance, appear to be poorly founded. Many policies have impacts that are at variance with stated intentions. International experience is drawn upon with great selectivity to support particular views about preferred policy directions.
The real questions facing South Africa are not whether South Africa does or should have an industrial policy. They are not about whether there should be more or less government intervention. The most important questions are pragmatic and not ideological they are about what works and does not work in South Africa and why.
Colonialism and the deleterious impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and now globalisation. Some parts of postcolonial Africa have attempted to set up ministries of economic development. Others have concentrated on attracting on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) whilst some others have early on realised that the state and private capital should work hand in hand for development. But these different approaches have not always necessarily had the results that are necessary for development. To make matters more complicated, the continent have to struggle in a context where trade remains inequitable and finding a niche for themselves remains a difficult task. The main reason behind this failure is that development has been seen and interpreted within the narrow confines of economic growth. So rethinking economic growth at the continent level has become imperative and different stakeholders have an important role to play in the process.
In South Africa, during many decades, black people experienced a segregationist politics of a white minority. In 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) promised to create a better South Africa for all. Various ANC governments since then have adopted many economic programmes with the aim to halve by 2014 poverty and unemployment especially among the Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI). However, recent studies in South Africa showed that inequality is widening despite the acceptable levels of economic growth. Reports showed that an overwhelming share of the change in the economy over time explained by high economic growth will continue to be without any improvement of the lives of marginalized ones unless there are changes in wealth distribution within the different layers of the South African population. Therefore, propoor economic growth must be developed in order to achieve the expected results of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the South African context.
The paper seeks to develop some variables (investment in physical and human capital for example) needed to be included in the structure of South African development theories, which will assist development practitioners to determine the sources of growth and inequality, and ultimately develop strategies aiming at halving inequalities in the country.
The ASGISA document identifies several binding constraints preventing South Africa from achieving elevated levels of economic growth (Republic of South Africa, 2006). This paper takes an evolutionary perspective to consider whether the proposed policy interventions will address what is, arguably, a fundamental growth constraint: the current inability of the economic system to generate and support sufficient innovation. A substantial body of literature has accumulated in mainstream and evolutionary economics that indicate the salience of new combinations and ideas in fuelling the 'creative destruction' driving growth in market economies. However, several economists and policymakers still, incorrectly, understand innovation as referring only to high-technology research and development (Lundvall, 2007). Instead, innovation should be broadly conceptualised as referring to a process of identifying new combinations of production factors, product characteristics and functions and service features and also new forms of organising human activity. This implies that innovation is not an aspect of economic activity limited to 'high tech activities in laboratories. Rather, it is the very driving force of economic activity in all sectors and locations, from agriculture to engineering, from Gauteng to the Eastern Cape.
Based on this broader perspective of innovation, the paper employs the analytical concept of the 'national innovation system to analyse the identity of and relationships between various actors and institutions contributing to innovation. Based on this systemic analysis, the paper will identify problem areas inhibiting innovation in the South African economy. Thereafter, the paper considers whether the ASGISA policy proposals adequately address these 'binding constraints on innovation. One general finding in the paper concerns the importance of understanding innovation as a multi-scalar process, involving both the micro-activities and decisions of individual firms and larger institutional structures (Afuah, 2003). Such a complex system requires a coherent policy framework, where policymakers carefully consider the links between various policies. However, the paper shows that policymaking generally do not appear to follow such a systemic approach, with policies all too often developed in 'silos, resulting in frequently contradicting aims. While South Africa has adopted a policy framework for the national innovation system, other government policies are not consistent with the goal of that framework. By highlighting the problem of policy coherence, the paper contributes to further discussion on how to foster an effective national system of innovation that will make a significant contribution towards accelerated economic growth.
There are fundamental links between academic treatments of 'economic development' and of the popular policy discourse of 'competitiveness'. Productivity-focused analyses of competitiveness are inherently related to market-centric analyses of development that have economic growth as their objective. However, a consensus is emerging on the need for broader conceptions of economic progress, built in particular on recognition of: (i) the inconsistency of short-term, unconditional growth with environmental sustainability; and (ii) the complexity of relationships between income, other socio-economic factors and actual well-being. This paper argues that moving 'beyond income' has implications for competitiveness discourse. Understanding the drivers of productivity will remain a key concern, as income will remain a core component of economic development. However, there is a danger that the dominance of a narrow, marketfocused competitiveness discourse will continue to skew policy. The paper argues that the very popularity of the competitiveness concept among policy-makers in fact presents an opportunity: broader conceptualisations may facilitate the integration into policy of wider socio-economic concerns. Analysis of the contested competitiveness concept is combined with reflection on recent advances in the measurement of economic progress in proposing the necessary reconceptualisation of competitiveness for today's economic development challenges.
This paper considers the role of provincial governments in supporting small enterprise development. It is based on research conducted by the University of Cape Town's (UCT's) Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). It was sponsored by TIPS (Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies), an independent non-profit research institution that is committed to assist government and civil society make informed policy choices, specifically in the areas of trade and industrial policy. In addition to drawing on ongoing research conducted by the CIE, including the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study, the paper summarises the results of discussions with small enterprise development policy-makers and stakeholders in three provinces ? Gauteng, KZN(KZN) and the Western Cape.
The paper begins by summarising key findings from the GEM study. GEM is an annual survey of entrepreneurial activity in over 30 countries worldwide. SA (SA) has participated in the study since 2001 and it now appears that the GEM measure of entrepreneurial activity provides a reasonably accurate measure of entrepreneurial activity, which does not vary significantly from year to year. Furthermore, SA's ranking relative to other countries is stable. One of the key findings from the GEM study in SA has been that the rate of entrepreneurial activity in SA is significantly lower than in other developing countries included in the study.
There are reasonably stable international and national patterns of entrepreneurial activity. An important predictor of whether or not an individual will be involved in starting or running an enterprise is whether or not they believe they have the skills to start a business. An important finding in SA is that we have a very low number of people who believe they are capable of starting a business. This appears to be related to problems in the education system in SA. A major theme in the GEM study in SA has therefore been education.
This paper evaluates how tariff liberalisation affected households in South Africa over the period 1995, 2000 and 2004, focussing specifically on the incidence of tariffs over the expenditure distribution. Results suggest that trade liberalisation has reduced the tariff burden for households across the expenditure distribution, implying significant welfare improvement to consumers in the form of reduced prices. However, the gains from liberalisation and the continued burden of continued protection are not uniform across household and wealth categories. Poor households continue to bear a disproportionate share of the tariff burden indicating the regressive nature of import tariffs. Wealthy households also gained relative to all but the very poor between 1995 and 2000. Between 2000 and 2004, this trend was reversed, and the poor gained relatively more than the wealthy. Our results indicate potentially large pro-poor gains to consumers from further liberalisation, but the realisation of these gains is dependent on the pass-through of tariff reductions to consumers.


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Thank you for visiting our website! Below you will be able to find the answer to Wickiup, e.g. crossword clue which was last seen on LA Times Crossword, September 17 2017. Our site contains over 2.8 million crossword clues in which you can find whatever clue you are looking for. Since you landed on this page then you would like to know the answer to Wickiup, e.g.. Without losing anymore time here is the answer for the above mentioned crossword clue:
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|Grand-scale poetry
|Corrosive stuff
|Mariner org.
|Like an eddy
|An 80-footer is a long one
|Square to look through
|Got on in years
|Old propeller site
|*Filled pastry
|"And God Created Woman" (1956) star
|Done, for Donne
|Afterthought preceder
|*Protective sports gear
|Had a sample
|Wickiup, e.g.
|Name of 12 popes
|Most common draw in Scrabble
|Hanukkah toy
|Pope output
|Intolerant type
|*Prop in an iconic "Psycho" scene
|Janvier, across the Pyrenees
|Old TV knob
|Gather in bundles
|Quick-getaway auditorium seat site
|Actor Cage, in tabloids
|CBS golf analyst Baker-Finch
|Recited confidently
|Earthquake prefix
|Wise guy
|*Ragtime dance
|*Flower named for a legendary beast
|__ facto
|Military camps
|Farthest from the action, as arena seats
|Photog's item
|Henri's health
|Dentist's find
|Fusion, for one
|Rap music article
|Westernmost African capital
|*Contents of an abandoned one may be sold at auction
|Ukrainian port, to locals
|Bowser's brand
|Hammett hound
|DNA component
|*What will fix misteaks?
|Cry to Silver
|Crime boss
|It ushers in lower temperatures ... and what the answers to starred clues can have
|Ray, for one
|Hopper and Gabler
|Italian noble family
|Spaceship Earth site
|More refined
|Ferrell's "SNL" cheerleading partner
|Penn, e.g.: Abbr.
|Corrosive substances
|Morgen's opposite
|Currency exchange fee
|Ross Sea penguin
|French clerics
|*2017 Broadway musical based on the rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein
|At risk
|Former Spanish Sahara territory that is neither a river nor has any gold
|Tennis calls
|Sierra __
|Ottoman bigwig
|Doo-wop syllable
|Uncle of Prince Wm.
|"Take it"
|"Well, that's obvious"
|Game equipment
|Wanna-__: poseurs
|Hip sound?
|Stay out of sight
|Waiters take them
|"We Try Harder" company
|Reading lights
|Battery pole
|Nevada city on I-80
|Golfer Aoki
|Salon specialists
|Four Holy Roman emperors
|Campus house, maybe
|Quaint lodging
|Casa room
|Tommy Lee Jones' "Men in Black" role
|"Faust" author
|Win the love of
|NFL ball carriers
|Spanish wine descriptor
|More unpleasant, as details
|Like kebabs
|*Lawyer's backlog
|Stat for Aroldis Chapman
|Govt. prosecutors
|Mall tenant
|Singer Billie Holiday's nickname
|__ a kind
|Moving supply: Abbr.
|Book end?
|Military command
|Plot makeup
|Playwright Wasserstein
|Stars watched by many
|Good-sized chamber group
|Between, in Brest
|Spewed magma
|Double-decker game piece
|Bar mitzvah dance
|Actress Charlotte
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Here are a few more ideas to celebrate Memorial Day this weekend.
Take your family on a fun picnic together.
( Country Living)
Here is another great Cookout Menu.
Pizzazzerie has a great tablescape!
Be sure to get some of these great free printables from Posh Pixels!
I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!


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The final two months of the year typically deliver some of the biggest box office of the year, and the 2012 holiday season will fit nicely in to this mold thanks to guaranteed blockbusters The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Skyfall. The prospects for the rest of the movies, like Life of Pi, Django Unchained and This Is 40, are less certain. It does at least look likely that the season as a whole will be strong enough to propel 2012 to a new yearly record.
Here are some predictions for the Top 12 titles, followed by a look at the rest of the movies in nationwide release.Top 12 Forecast1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Dec. 14)The Lord of the Rings franchise earned over $1 billion at the domestic box office between 2001 and 2003, and the conclusion (Return of the King) racked up 11 Academy Award wins. The series still has a lot of goodwill, which should carry over to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Still, franchise reboots and prequels tend to fall a bit short of their predecessors, and the lower stakes and confusing adaptation strategy (One children's book in to three movies? Really?) will keep The Hobbit from matching Return of the King's $377 million. Forecast: $330 million2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Nov. 16)The last Twilight movie earned $281.3 million, which was a bit off from Eclipse's franchise-high $300.5 million. Breaking Dawn Part 2 should wind up significantly higher, though, thanks to its final chapter status (similar to what happened with Harry Potter and the Star Wars prequels), and will likely set a new record. Forecast: $320 million3. Skyfall (Nov. 9)The latest James Bond movie arrives four years after Quantum of Solace set a new franchise record ($168.4 million) while bumming tons of fans out with its relentless, forgettable action and meandering, convoluted story. Historically, though, the reception for the last entry hasn't really affected the performance of the next one: Die Another Day is widely reviled, but that didn't stop Casino Royale from setting a new record in 2006. With killer previews, an Adele theme song that's getting tons of radio play, and some of the best reviews in the franchise's history, expect a new high mark to be set by Skyfall. Forecast: $185 million4. Wreck-It Ralph (Nov. 2)The first weekend of November is a go-to release date for animated movies, and over the past few years total grosses have ranged from Bee Movie on the low end with $126.6 million to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa on the high end ($180 million). With a marketing campaign that nicely mixes video game references for adults and flashy characters and imagery for kids, chances are that Wreck-It Ralph winds up on the upper end of that range. Forecast: $155 million5. Rise of the Guardians (Nov. 21)Movies featuring Santa timed around Christmas have historically been a slam dunk at the box office—that is, until Arthur Christmas bombed with just $46 million last year after opening in the same pre-Thanksgiving spot as Rise of the Guardians, which also features St. Nick. DreamWorks Animation has more experience turning out hits than Sony Pictures Animation, though, and should at least be able to get this movie past $100 million. Still, don't expect How to Train Your Dragon grosses unless the movie turns out to be way better than it looks. Forecast: $130 million6. Les Miserables (Dec. 25)Les Miserables is currently well-positioned as the classy Holiday choice: it has the acclaimed director (The King's Speech's Tom Hooper) and cast and is based on one of the most beloved musicals in recent memory. If it winds up being a major Oscar contender (and it's hard to imagine it doesn't), then look out. Forecast: $125 million7. Django Unchained (Dec. 25)Writer-director Quentin Tarantino is coming off Inglourious Basterds, which is his highest-grossing movie ever at $120.5 million. In many ways, Django seems like a natural follow-up: Tarantino is once again setting a revenge tale in a period setting, and has Christoph Waltz back in a major role. He also has Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, making this one of his strongest casts ever. Unfortunately, long, violent R-rated movies don't necessarily live up to their potential around Christmas, as proved last year by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($102.5 million), and therefore Django should fall short of Basterds. Forecast: $105 million8. Silver Linings Playbook (Nov. 21)Director David O. Russell's follow-up to The Fighter ($93.6 million) got phenomenal reviews out of the Toronto International Film Festival, and it's being pegged as an Oscar front-runner. Having seen it myself, I can say without a doubt that it's the sort of crowd-pleasing romantic comedy that may start slow, but will hold up throughout the month of December. The "R" rating might hold it back a bit, but it's going to play very well with adults, as well as older teens who are fans of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from their franchise work. Forecast: $100 million9. Life of Pi (Nov. 21) In a lot of ways, Life of Pi is similar to last November's Hugo: both are opening on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, both are based on a children's book, both have plenty of Oscar buzz and both find acclaimed directors working with 3D for the first time. Life of Pi is a much more popular book, though, and should therefore earn more than Hugo ($73.9 million). Forecast: $95 million
10. Jack Reacher (Dec. 21)Jack Reacher seemed like a no-brainer a few months ago: the Lee Child series that the movie is based on is incredibly popular, and star Tom Cruise appeared to have his mojo back thanks to the impressive performance of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ($209.4 million). Unfortunately, Cruise's image has taken a major hit in the wake of his divorce from Katie Holmes, and Jack Reacher's trailers have been underwhelming to say the least. Fans of the character will turn out, but in a competitive season it's likely that Reacher winds up just above Cruise's last two original action movies, Valkyrie ($83.1 million) and Knight & Day ($76.4 million). Forecast: $90 million11. This Is 40 (Dec. 21)Judd Apatow's first two directorial outings, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, were both huge box office hits with $109.4 million and $148.8 million, respectively. Funny People was much less successful, though, with just $51.9 million. This is 40 serves as the "sort-of sequel" to Knocked Up, so the hope is obviously that the movie can retain a large amount of that movie's audience. Unfortunately, the mid-life malaise of Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters just isn't as interesting as Knocked Up's unexpected pregnancy, and the end of the year is jam-packed with appealing offerings for adults (including Universal's own Les Miserables). Forecast: $85 million12. Flight (Nov. 2)After nearly 12 years away from live action, Robert Zemeckis returns to the format with pilot drama Flight. If anyone knows how to turn an original story in to box office gold, it's Zemeckis: his last four live-action movies combined for nearly $820 million at the domestic box office, and all four were original. The "R" rating and dark subject material are going to keep Flight from truly breaking out, but star Denzel Washington's fans are accustomed to such movies, as his top four outings from the last decade are all rated "R." Throw in some good reviews, and Flight should perform well enough. Forecast: $75 million
Continued with a look at other nationwide releases, and some limited picks >>Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers. Related Stories:• 2012 Preview • Franchises to Rule Again in 2012• Summer 2012 Winners/Losers• Summer 2012 Domestic Forecast• Holiday 2011 Forecast
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While in Dubai & Sharjah I had the chance to see some amazing arabic and persian calligraphy. If you've ever been into typography or graffiti you will surely walk away from this region with a renewed appreciation for the amazing calligraphy you find around every corner.
Here is a small selection….


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Episode 59 - The Year in Review Show 2011/
Running Time:
1) Introduction
The HTC Rezound kicks ass! Brian is going to get it....
NOTE: Brian ended up getting the Galaxy Nexus. He Loves it. :)
2) News
Joe, got a kindle fire, Corey got an HTC Rezound and Brian got a HP Touchpad
Amazon Outage
Novell got bought by Attachmate
hacking, hacking and more hacking (Just to many to link to any one.)
Patent WARS (Again just to many stories.)
Toyota Linux
mint overtakes ubuntu (who didn't see this happening), and continues its dominance for world power
3) Conclusion
Recommendations for People to interview
E-Mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com
Facebook Fan Page
Follow us on Twitter and Identica as @linuxinstall
Look for us and comment on iTunes, odeo


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Spring Conference: Roots of Modernism
Boston, MA | May 28 - 31, 2009
Boston: A city of undeniable heritage, where Modern design found its American roots in places such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the MIT School of Architecture + Planning. Where better to debate the Modern Movement's early successes and failures, consider its impact on contemporary design, and discuss its uncertain future?
Many mid-century examples of Modern architecture are threatened with demolition, including the iconic Boston City Hall. Between discussions, you'll tour the works of some of the world's earliest Modern masters as well as contemporary design leaders—a pantheon including Gropius, Sert, Corbusier, Aalto, Saarinen, Holl, Gehry, Pei, Polshek, Behnisch, Foster, KMW, and Diller/Scofidio/Renfro.
The COD Spring conference gives attendees a chance to visit early modern work in the Boston area and a number of exciting new works, too. This conference includes thoughtful presentations on the origins and implications of modernism in America and the AIA/COD annual meeting where the all attendees select COD candidates for AIA national honor awards. Attendees can also participate in the annual COD Member Slide Show where everyone has an opportunity to show examples of their current work. See the Leadership Web page to find contact for each project.


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Dear Guillaume, Thank you for your comments [2,3] on VoiceXML 2.0 Candidate Recommendation [1]. We will consider your comments and get back to you as soon as possible with our official response. Thanks again, Scott McGlashan Leader, Dialog Team, W3C VBWG [1] VoiceXML 2.0, W3C Candidate Recommendation, 28 January 2003 http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/CR-voicexml20-20030128/ [2] Email from Guillaume Berche to firstname.lastname@example.com http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-voice/2003JanMar/0070.html [3] Email from Guillaume Berche to email@example.com http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-voice/2003JanMar/0071.html -----Original Message----- From: Guillaume Berche [mailto:email@example.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 14:50 To: email@example.com Subject: Comments on VXML Candidate Recommendation 28 January 2003 (part 1) Hello, Following are suggestions for clarifications on the VXML Candidate Recommendation 28 January 2003 (this is actually based on comments that I made on the April 24, 2002 draft in a mail to the W3C mailing list on Oct 15, 2002). Let me know if more detail would be useful, or please point me to the appropriate specifications section if I missed it. I hope these comments can help. Thanks and best regards, Guillaume. ------------------------------------------ Guillaume Berche Eloquant, ZA Le malvaisin 38240 Le Versoud, France firstname.lastname@example.com ------------------------------------------ 0- Precise the value of the _dtmf special variable when a grammar element is specified in a choice element. As specified in the section "2.2 Menus", paragraph "Choice element": "If a <grammar> element is specified in <choice>, then the external grammar is used instead of an automatically generated grammar." However, in such case it is not clear what value will be assigned in the _dtmf special variable while executing an enumerate element. Suggested text modification to "2.2.4 ENUMERATE": "This specifier may refer to two special variables: _prompt is the choice's prompt, and _dtmf is the choice's assigned DTMF sequence. **If no DTMF sequence is assigned to the choice element or if a <grammar> element is specified in <choice> then the _prompt variable is assigned the ECMAScript undefined value.**" 1- Precise semantics of id attribute of form and menu The id attribute is optional according to the schema. However the specifications do not seem to precise how the interpreter should handle dialogs without specified id. Suggested text modification to section "2.1 Forms": "id The optional name of the form. If specified, the form can be referenced within the document or from another document. For instance <form id="weather">, <goto next="#weather">. **If not specified, an internal name is generated by the interpreter instead.**" Suggested text modification to section "2.2 Menus": "id The optional identifier of the menu. It allows the menu to be the target of a <goto> or a <submit>. **If not specified, an internal name is generated by the interpreter instead.**" 2- Precise that <value> should be ignored if the expression resolves to ECMAScript undefined There are cases where it is difficult to know whether a variable (such as special variable as _dtmf) has a non-null value without writing an explicit if statement. To avoid this, it would be convenient if value elements would be silently ignored if their expressions resolved into the ECMAScript undefined value (whereas references to undeclared variables would keep throwing an error.semantic event). Suggested text modification to section section "4.1.4 <value> Element": "expr The ECMAScript expression which provides the text to render, or resolves into a special variable such as _prompt or _dmtf as specified in section "2.2 Menus" paragraph "Enumerate element". If the expression resolves into the ECMAScript undefined value, then the value element is silently ignored. However, if the expression refers to an undeclared variable, then an error.semantic event is thrown." 3- Precise the value of _prompt when an option has no nested CDATA As specified in "184.108.40.206. Fields Using Option Lists": "The default assignment is the CDATA content of the <option> element with leading and trailing white space removed. If this does not exist, then the DTMF sequence is used instead." Since the value of the _prompt variable is computed from the CDATA content, what values is assigned to the _prompt variable when no CDATA content is available in an option element? If the undefined value is assigned to the _prompt special variable, would a <value expr="_prompt"> element fail? Suggested modification: "if no CDATA is available from the <option> or <choice> element, then the _prompt special variable is assigned the undefined ECMAScript value." 4- precise the semantics of the value attribute of option elements Section "22.214.171.124. Fields Using Option Lists" specifies the following: "value The string to assign to the field's form item variable when a user selects this option, whether by speech or DTMF. The default assignment is the CDATA content of the <option> element with leading and trailing white space removed. If this does not exist, then the DTMF sequence is used instead. " However, the DTMF sequence is optional according to the schema. Consequently, it would be useful to precise the behavior if unspecified Suggested text modification to section "22.214.171.124. Fields Using Option Lists": "Each <option> element contains PCDATA that is used to generate a speech grammar. This follows the grammar generation method described for <choice> in Section 2.2. Attributes may be used to specify a DTMF sequence for each option and to control the value assigned to the field's form item variable. Each option should at least define a DTMF sequence through the dtmf attribute or contain CDATA content specifying the matching speech element, otherwise an error.badfetch event is thrown." 5- Precise the format of the _dtmf special variable. Section "2.2 Menus", paragraph "Enumerate element" states that "specifier may refer to two special variables: _prompt is the choice's prompt, and _dtmf is the choice's assigned DTMF sequence." However it does not precise how the DTMF sequence is formatted (whether there are white space delimiters that makes the string suitable for direct inclusion within a speech prompt) Suggested text modification to section "2.2 Menus", paragraph "Enumerate element": "_prompt is the choice's prompt, and _dtmf is the choice's assigned DTMF sequence formatted as a string holding the DTMF keystrokes separated by white spaces (making it suitable for inclusion within a speech prompt)" 6- Precise the semantics of the dtmf attribute of option elements Suggested modification to section "188.8.131.52. Fields Using Option Lists": "dtmf An **optional** DTMF sequence for this option. It is equivalent to a simple DTMF <grammar> and DTMF properties (Section 6.3.3) apply to recognition of the sequence. Unlike DTMF grammars, whitespace is optional: dtmf="123#" is equivalent to dtmf="1 2 3 #". **If unspecified, no DTMF grammar is associated to this option, meaning that this option can not be matched using a DTMF**" Rationale: it would make sense to add an option similar to the menu's dtmf attribute so that dtmf sequence is automatically generated. Without this attribute, how would an VXML author prevent the automatic generation of DTMF grammars that may override other grammars (such as links)? In addition, we would also need to specify what happens if a specified option's dtmf attributes overlaps an automatically assigned dtmf. Should this throw an "error.semantic" event as for choice elements or should we rather apply the default grammar precedence algorithm to select the matching element? 7- Precise semantics of Clear element. Section "5.3.3 CLEAR" states that "The <clear> element resets one or more form items" However, the definition of the namelist attribute adds that "this [i.e. the namelist] can include variable names other than form items" Besides, in the case where the namelist includes variable names other than form items, what is the variable scope in which the variable must be defined to be cleared? Since a Clear element is an executable which may be included in a catch element, which variable scope does it targets? In other words, would the reset of a non-form item variable target the anonymous, dialog, document or application-level scope? [In addition, the Clear element may be invoked outside of the FIA (such as during the document initialization), in which the notion of active element is not clear, so relying on the scope of the active element as the scope in which a variable should be cleared is ambiguous.] Suggested text modification to Section "5.3.3 CLEAR": "The <clear> element resets one or more form items, and possibly other variables which are not form items. For each specified variable name, the variable is resolved in the closest enclosing scope of the currently active element as described in section "5.1.3 Referencing Variables". To remove ambiguity, each variable name in the namelist may be prefixed with a scope name as described in section "5.1.3 Referencing Variables". Once a declared variable has been identified as declared in a given scope S, its value is assigned the ECMAScript undefined value. In addition, if the variable name corresponds to a form item in scope S, then the form item's prompt counter and event counters are reset." 8- Precise that var name attribute does not support scope prefixes Suggested text modification to section "5.3.1 VAR": "name The name of the variable that will hold the result. **Unlike the name attribute of assign element, this attribute should not contain dots (and in particular a scope prefix). The scope in which the variable is defined is determined from the position in the document at which the var element is declared.**" 9- Precise that the assign's name attribute does support scope prefixes The scope in which a variable is resolved is currently not clear. The accepted scope prefix in the name attribute is also not clear. Suggested text modification to section "5.3.2 ASSIGN" "name The name of the variable being assigned to. As specified in section "5.1.2 Variable Scopes", the corresponding variable should have been previously declared otherwise an error.semantic event is thrown. By default, the scope in which the variable is resolved is the closest enclosing scope of the currently active element. To remove ambiguity, the variable name may be prefixed with a scope name as described in section "5.1.3 Referencing Variables". Note however that the name must refer to a variable and can not refer to a property of an ECMAScript object or can not be a complex ECMAScript expression." 10- Precise evaluation order of log attributes versus nested text/value, and constraints on attributes Suggested modification to section "5.3.13 LOG": "label An **optional** string which may be used, for example, to indicate the purpose of the log. expr An **optional** ECMAscript expression evaluating to a string. " "The <log> element may contain any combination of text (CDATA) and <value> elements. The generated message consists of the concatenation of the evaluation of the ECMAscript expression followed in their respective order by the nested text and the string form of the value of the "expr" attribute of the <value> elements." 11- Precise ordering of anonymous grammar generated for dtmfterm As specified in section "2.3.6. RECORD": "The <record> element contains a 'dtmfterm' attribute as a developer convenience. A 'dtmfterm' attribute with the value 'true' is equivalent to the definition of a local DTMF grammar which matches any DTMF input. " However, it is legal to have nested grammars in a record element. For instance, a DTMF grammar that matches only the # key. It is not clear which grammar would match because the precedence is not described. Suggested text modification to section "2.3.6. RECORD": "The <record> element contains a 'dtmfterm' attribute as a developer convenience. A 'dtmfterm' attribute with the value 'true' is equivalent to the definition of a local DTMF grammar which matches any DTMF input. Any nested grammar element will have precedence over this anonymous local grammar (even though usefulness of such nested grammar is not clear)." 12- Precise the semantics of the timeout property for the record element The specs currently state the following "A timeout interval is defined to begin immediately after prompt playback (including the 'beep' tone if defined) and its duration is determined by the 'timeout' property. If the timeout interval is exceeded before recording begins, then a <noinput> event is thrown. " However, how the "recording begins" is not clearly defined. I would assume that when the platform supports speech recognition during recording, the recording begins as soon as speech is provided by the remote end. However the specification is not clear on whether in this case the platform should remove the silence from the end of the first beep prompt up to the first recognised speech. It is not clear either whether background noise or music should trigger beginning of recording. For platforms not supporting speech recognition during recording I believe this timeout property should be ignored. Suggested text modification to section "2.3.6. RECORD": "A timeout interval is defined to begin immediately after prompt playback (including the 'beep' tone if defined) and its duration is determined by the 'timeout' property. If the timeout interval is exceeded before recording begins, then a <noinput> event is thrown. When the platform supports detection of silence, the recording begins as soon as leading silence (following the 'beep' tone if defined) completes. Note that whether the recording would include the leading silence is platform specific. For platforms not supporting silence detection, this property is ignored and no <noinput> even is ever raised during a recording." 13- Precise that maxtime record attribute is mandatory and has no defaults Suggested text modification to section "2.3.6. RECORD": "maxtime The maximum duration to record. **This attribute must be specified as it has no default value. If not specified an error.badfetch event is thrown.**" 14- Precise that if value is used outside of a prompt element it inherits default prompt parameters The prompt element defines that if its attributes are not specified, they default to values specified by properties. However, for the value element, the specification do not precise how default values are computed. Suggested text addition to section "4.1.4 <value> Element": "The manner in which the value attribute is played is controlled by the surrounding speech synthesis markup in the case the expression resolves to a string. In the case the expression resolves to a special variable such as _prompt, then the prompt attributes are inherited from the enclosing element of the definition of the referenced element. If no surrounding prompt element nor SSML tag is available, then the default attributes of a prompt element (such as bargein, timeout or language) are applied. Consequently, the two following constructions are equivalent. <catch event="noinput"> <value expr="'please retry'"> </catch> <catch event="noinput"> <prompt> <value expr="'please retry'"> </prompt> </catch> " 15- Inconsistent behavior of option vs choice. - Choice can have nested grammars that override the default grammar whereas options can not - Choice can have nested audio as alternate prompts whereas options can not - Menus can have a dtfm boolean flag to turn on automatic dtmf grammar generation where as options within fields can not. Suggested modification: upgrade options so that they are equivalent to choice and only differ in the treatment of a match (which in the case of options does not trigger a transition)Received on Wednesday, 12 February 2003 09:40:45 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:07:36 UTC


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Acne Studios Blå Konst Sandals
Multi-hyphenate designer Jonny Johansson launched creative collective and lifestyle brand Acne Studios in 1997 by doling out 100 pairs of minimalist raw denim jeans exclusively to friends within the Swedish design community. Since its conception, the Stockholm-based studio has garnered an international cult following not only for its inimitably cool skinny jeans, but for its idiosyncratic interpretation of Scandinavian minimalism. In Spring 2017 label revisited its denim origins, refreshing and relaunching its denim line under a new mark—Acne Studios Blå Konst. Swedish for 'blue art,' Blå Konst sees the house refining its previous denim offering with a focus on timeless fits, classic washes, and non-stretch fabrics. Pared-back and enduring, the line's core denim lineup consists of three newly conceived styles: the skinny-fit Climb, straight-leg South, and loose-fit Log. Rounding out its permanent collection, Blå Konst offers a selection of experimental, seasonally-updated ready-to-wear, including denim jackets and shorts, patterned knitwear and button-up shirts, t-shirts, skirts, and dresses.
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While a professional performance that delights our audience is our goal,
we always keep in mind that FUN is our primary objective.
We also sing patriotic songs, spirituals, folk, etc.
Our holiday concert is a mix of Hanukkah, Christmas,
and secular songs of the season.
Take a look at our most recent
concert program.
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Fun Times Singers website your browser should support frames.
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Home Page
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Our members come many different cities, including
Campbell, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara,
Saratoga, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Milpitas,
Cupertino, Los Alto, and Palo Alto.
Here is some
Background Information
This website was developed by Rich Guyon.
Other sites developed by Rich Guyon include
©Copyright 2005-2013 Rich Guyon


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Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Houston rejects the Astrodome
What does this mean? Harris County commissioners have said that, if the bond failed, then the Astrodome would likely be destroyed.
The math has, thankfully, been done already. The $217m bond issue means that Harris County taxpayers would be responsible for $8 per year. $8 to save the Astrodome. $8 to save the 8th Wonder of the World.
$8 is basically a #4 from Whataburger per year. It's two trips to Starbucks a year. If you sacrifice a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets meal a year, you save the Astrodome.
A quick aside: I was not born in Houston. I was born in England, so I can't become president, which is bad news for you because I would be a pretty good president. But I first became aware of baseball while I lived outside of Lubbock, Texas. We had a satellite dish, and I distinctly remember being six years old and watching the Astros/Mets NLCS in 1986 because screw the Rangers. And I remember being profoundly sad when the Mets won. My dad was/is a preacher, so we moved around a lot, and we moved to Indiana. The Cubs, Reds, and Braves were the teams I could watch in our time in Indiana - all National League teams. One summer I got $5/game to score and chart Reds games for STATS, but I wasn't exactly dedicated.
My grandparents lived in Houston, and my cousins and I (I'm an only child) would go to my grandparents' house for a month every summer. They took us to an Astros game and thanks to Baseball Reference I can tell you that the game we all went to was July 19, 1994 and the Cardinals - F the Cardinals - one-hit the Astros in a 10-0 win over Houston. Andujar Cedeno got the only Astros hit of the game.
The summer between my 8th and 9th grade year we moved to Pasadena and I started my freshman year at Sam Rayburn High School. I thought that, at any point, the color of my shirt would get me killed by somebody in a gang because it's Houston right?. I stared at a KeyMap of Harris County in an effort to look like I belonged because I knew that the House of Pies was awesome. And I also spent a lot of my time watching the Astros at the Astrodome.
I have been to exactly two NFL games. I've never been much on the NFL, but my dad and I were given tickets to an Oilers game. It was December 10, 1995. Chris Chandler started the game but was injured and a rookie quarterback named Steve McNair took over, making his first actual appearance at QB, and led the Oilers to a 24-17 loss to the Lions.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to be Ring Lardner or Jerry Maguire when I grew up, so I joined the newspaper staff. I was the Sports Editor for the Sam Rayburn Speaker my sophomore year. This was a couple of years after the Strike. The Astros invited area high school newspapers to send a representative or two to the Astrodome for a "press event." I met and interviewed Shane Reynolds and Chris Holt. Darryl Kile may have been there. Reynolds definitely was. I stood in the locker room of the Astrodome and asked some asinine questions that I can't remember and wrote in the Speaker about how baseball was awesome and the Astros were awesomer.
It was around this time that I also began to develop an appreciation for music. Given the country of my birth, I was all about The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. I was the out-of-town kid who liked BritPop. My aunt would send me CDs of Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, and Blur - the latter of which was playing in a small club in Houston (I can't remember which). But no band dominated my time like U2. I could have gone to see Blur when I became interested in going to concerts, but I wanted U2 to be the first band I ever saw live. So I skipped Blur (at Numbers, maybe?) so that the first concert I ever spent my own money on was U2, at the Astrodome. I made my boys Randy, Chase, and Jake to go with me to the Astrodome on November 28, 1997 (I didn't even have to look it up - I have a bootleg of the show) at 5pm. Predictably, we walked around for a few hours until Smashmouth opened - Rage Against the Machine opened for U2 the show before, in San Antonio, so I got cheated because Smashmouth sucks - for U2. It was magic.
One time I took a date to the Astrodome for an Astros game. I can't remember the date - and by that I mean the girl and the actual date of the game. I couldn't remember where I parked, which is something that stays with me to this day - I always take a picture of where I park at the airport - and we walked around until 12:30am until I eventually found my 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco. We didn't go on another date.
When I went off to ACU I didn't come home all that much in an effort to show that I was a legit College Guy. No showing up my freshman year to impress the chicks who were still in high school for me! But in 1999 I came home for Fall Break. So hell yes my dad and I went to Games 3&4 of the NLDS. Game 3 was the Walt-Weiss-Can-Go-To-Hell game, and Game 4 was the last major-league game ever played at the Astrodome.
When my wife, who is from Baytown and also not the girl I took to an Astros game in high school, and I lived in Abilene we went back to Houston in 2005 to let Hurricane Katrina "refugees" use our cell phones - because it was the weekend and our minutes were free - try to call their relatives and loved ones to tell them that they were safe.
The Astrodome means a lot to me. It helped me adjust to a new, freaking huge city. The Astrodome is where I took girls. The Astrodome is where I saw my favorite band of all time play live for the very first time. The Astrodome is where I interviewed Shane Reynolds. The Astrodome is where my wife and I went to try to help people adjust to a new, freaking huge city after their old, freaking huge city was destroyed by a hurricane.
And for $8, Harris County voted to tear it down.
8 comments:
I agree. Smashmouth really does suck.
- November 6, 2013 at 12:34 AM
Texans and Rodeo are ok with this.
- November 6, 2013 at 12:48 AM
- Lyle said...
I voted against the proposition. If should be saved by a private entity. It makes no sense to burden taxpayers with subsidizing a vanity project.
I don't want to see it demolished, but it's not something the city of Houston should be burdened with. It needs to pay for itself, or be kept by a private trust. If not, Harris county will have to do what it has to do.
Did you look on the Air Force next to Lubbock? I lived in Lubbock as a teenager.
- November 6, 2013 at 1:00 AM
- Lyle said...
live not look... eek
- November 6, 2013 at 1:11 AM
- OremLK said...
If they just pave it over and turn it into parking I'm going to be pissed off. I'll be a little more understanding if, for example, they turn the space into a public park which has a ball field where anyone can play on the site of original field.
Basically if they're going to demolish this Houston icon they damn well better do something really nice with the land.
- November 6, 2013 at 5:15 AM
Saving the dome would have been putting lipstick on a 25 year old poodle. Yeah, a long time ago, before Bud Adams ruined it, it was a unique attraction, but by 1987 it was just like all the other cookie cutter stadiums built in the 70s (Three Rivers, Vet, Riverfront, etc.) except it had a roof. In the 90s people stopped going to games, up until the last season, when Houston gave her a last hurrah. I'd vote to save the old Astrodome, but the remodeled one just ended up a dark, dank, dump. It's time to put her out of her misery.
- November 6, 2013 at 8:26 AM
- Cockroach said...
The Astrodome was Disney World to me as a kid. We never had the money to travel for vacations, but I didn't care - I just couldn't wait for our next visit to the Dome. Most of my best childhood memories happened there. I haven't lived in Houston full-time since August 1999, but if it was up to me, I would still pay $8/year now as an out-of-state resident to save the Dome. Say it ain't so.
- November 6, 2013 at 10:47 AM
- bradley said...
I saw Doc Gooden pitch against Mike Scott July 10, 1987. I saw Warren Moon against the KC Chiefs, Nov. 3, 1985. I saw the Randy Johnson/Kevin Freaking Brown game in the 1998 NLDS. I left a glove underneath a seat there in 1994. I like to think it's still there. I saw Garth Brooks put on a ridiculous show for the rodeo. Every time I went there, I was in absolute awe of it's hugeness. This needs to be preserved in perpetuity.
- November 6, 2013 at 8:42 PM