text:
Nestlade Portlets
Nestlade Portlets
The aims of the Theatre and Drama courses at Kristin are to enable students to experience and participate in a wide and varied range of theatre activities and develop proficiency in more than one area of theatre technique. Students will become familiar with forms of theatre from their own and different cultures; they will explore different theatre traditions in their historical contexts and develop academic skills appropriate for the study and understanding of theatre. The aim is to enable students to become reflective and critical practitioners and to develop the confidence to explore, to experiment and to work individually and collaboratively on innovative projects, involving challenging established notions of theatre. Students will learn to understand the dynamic, holistic and evolving nature of theatre and the interdependencies of the aspects of this art form.
Detailed information on the Drama curriculum is contained in each School's Curriculum Handbook. These can be viewed via the Junior, Middle and Senior School curriculum pages.
Registrations are completed online via our performing arts registration forms.
View our list of current registration forms >>
Performance Opportunities
A number of co-curricular performance opportunities exist for students with a passion for Drama:
Junior School Major Production
All students in the Junior School take part in this annual musical. Auditions are held for the lead roles, the dates of which will be communicated to families via the school newsletter and Latest News feed of the website.
Middle School Major Production
Middle School students are invited to audition for this annual musical. Audition dates will be announced via the school newsletter and student forums. A co-curricular fee applies to all students cast in the production.
Senior School Major Production
Senior School students are invited to audition for this annual musical. Middle School students may be invited to audition where roles and participation numbers require. Audition dates will be announced via the school newsletter and student forums. A co-curricular fee applies to all students cast in the production.
Musical Theatre
A confidence building course involving Dance, Music and Song - an ideal training ground for our large scale musical productions. This is for students in Year 5-6 and Year 7-8.
Middle School Drama Club
A fun filled course which works on the development of confidence and communication skills through drama games, ensemble projects and theatre sports. This is for students in Year 7-8.
Speech and Drama Tuition
Tuition is available in Speech and Drama to all students in Years 1-13. Students are prepared for Trinity and New Zealand Speech Board Examinations at the discretion of the tutor. Oral communication is an essential part of everyone's life. Some find it easier than others, but it is a skill everyone can improve on. Lessons include voice work, to enable students to articulate clearly. It teaches students to present work in a positive manner, and enables them to speak in public with clarity, confidence and conviction.
Students develop an appreciation of literature and learn to read aloud with sensitivity for content and style. Listening skills are an important part of communication and are encouraged, so that students learn to listen with discernment and courtesy. They also learn to communicate and interpret ideas through poetry, storytelling, and drama.
Speech and Drama builds confidence and self-esteem.
For all enquiries please email Performing Arts >>


text:
North Tahoe basketball | Alex Tyler hits game-winner as Portola celebrates early
Alex Tyler is not one to shy away from the big shot.
For the second time this season, the North Tahoe junior point guard lifted his Lakers to victory with a buzzer-beating shot, this time in a 61-59 win at Portola on Thursday.
The Lakers found themselves in need of a clutch bucket after carrying a 47-34 lead into the fourth quarter. The Tigers got back in the game with a 25-point fourth, which included the game-tying shot with 10 seconds remaining.
The Tigers celebrated their comeback prematurely, however, as only two players got back on defense after the tying shot, said North Tahoe coach Frank Wright.
The Lakers fired the inbound pass down the court to Tyler, who, according to Wright, shot about a 10-footer that stalled on the back of the rim for what seemed like an eternity before rolling in as the final buzzer sounded.
"He (Tyler) was as shocked as anyone," Wright said, referring to Portola's premature celebration. "They just got excited and forgot to play defense. I'm not sure what they were thinking."
North Tahoe senior forward Colin Spencer led all scorers with 25 points, while Tyler finished with 22 points, Mitchell Myers had nine and Omar Vargas four.
Flint Fambrough and Ricky Lowdermilk scored 18 points apiece to lead the Tigers.
UP NEXT: North Tahoe will host Incline for its senior farewell on Saturday, girls at 2 p.m. and boys at 3:30. The Lakers then end the regular season at Sparks on Tuesday and at Truckee on Friday, Feb. 8.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
150 water rescues, downed power lines follow stormy Saturday
Saturday's storms left about 128,000 residents without power and more than 150 motorists needing rescues from the Houston Fire Department.
"People just drive off into it and they don't realize how deep it is and the car stalls," said HFD spokesman Jay Evans.
Evans said the department dispatched dump trucks to south Houston, where the storms were most severe, in case neighborhoods had to be evacuated, but that was not necessary. He said no fatalities were reported connected to the deluge.
CenterPoint Energy crews continued to work Sunday repairing downed lines and transformers, mostly in Bellaire and South Houston, said Penny Todd, a spokeswoman for the electricity service company.
She said the storm left 128,000 households without power at different times. At its peak, about 35,000 people were without power and 11,000 were still affected at noon Sunday.
Pooling water shorted out transformers on the ground and high winds pulling down limbs severed power lines, Todd said.
Sugar Land authorities blamed the downpour for a collapsed roof at a convenience store Saturday. The owner of the gas station/food mart at Dulles and Lexington called police after hearing creaking overhead at 6:14 p.m.
After the owner went outside, the roof collapsed from the weight of the accumulated rain. Police and firefighters secured the area, said Doug Adolph, spokesman for the Sugar Land Police department. "There was pretty significant damage," Adolph said. He said there were no injuries.
The Harris County Flood Control District has had no reports of structural damage to homes or businesses, said Kimberlye Jackson, spokeswoman for the agency. She urged residents and business owners to visit www.readyharris.org to report damage to help improve area projects to reduce flooding risks.
Bands of rain began blowing across the area Saturday afternoon dropping as much as 8 inches of water around Missouri City, Stafford and Sugar Land, said National Weather Service staff meteorologist Patrick Blood.
"There was quite a disparity between the northern and the southern parts of the county," Blood said. "We had pretty good totals especially in the southern end."
He said pockets of Harris County saw 7 to 8 inches of rain, and many parts of town received 4 inches or more.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in northern Harris County, however, the rain total was only about a quarter of an inch.
Houston may see spotty showers Sunday, he said, but overall the area is expected to dry out.
"We're forecasting about a 30 percent chance of rain today and tapering off into the night," Blood said. "Early on, we have a very low chance of rain, which is good so the water can subside a bit."
Chronicle reporter Minh Dam contributed to this report.


text:
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Molecular and Cellular Biology seeks to understand fundamental life processes: how biological molecules function at the level of the cell and how the genes control these functions. It is among the most interdisciplinary fields of study. The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology offers a program that includes molecular biology, cellular biology, genetics, and biochemistry, with additional supporting coursework in chemistry, physics and math. MCB graduates have an excellent foundation from which to pursue further studies either in a graduate or professional program.
Related Website
- Life Sciences
- Earth Sciences
- Physics and Space Sciences
- Mathematics and Computational Sciences
- Neural, Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences
- Administration
- Research
- Students
- Support UA Science
- Community Connections


text: I am an artist who likes to do a little of every kind of art that I am able. I enjoy photography, and I have taught high school photography for 3 years. Painting, sculpture, and drawing are all things that I enjoy doing as often as I can. I am also a writer who enjoys painting with the written word. I earned a Bachelors in Art Education from the University of North Georgia, and my art reflects the cultures and influences that surrounded me at that wonderful institution.


text:
A Project For American HeroesThis Summer PRIMEDIA's Super Chevy magazine is teaming up with CARS Inc. and the Roadster Shop and will literally recreate a classic 1957 Chevrolet convertible and sell it at the world-renowned Barrett-Jackson Car Auction, with all proceeds going to the Armed Forces Foundation to help the families of fallen and disabled soldiers.
Multiple partners will be contributing to the '57 Chevy dream car build. CARS Inc. will supply the steel body and complete interior, as well as a full complement of exterior trim pieces, body moldings, and miscellaneous components; everything necessary to outfit a complete car. The Roadster Shop will outfit the body with one of its frames, as well as build the complete turnkey vehicle. Most importantly, Armed Forces personnel have the option of choosing color schemes, interior designs, and exterior trims via the Project American Heroes Web site.
"Project American Heroes is a fantastic opportunity to give back to the military personnel who have sacrificed so much" Super Chevy magazine Publisher Ed Zinke said. "Many of them share our passion for the automobile, so we could think of no better outlet than the creation of the ultimate '57 Chevy."
Super Chevy readers will also be there every step of the way, following the complete build across multiple issues of the magazine. Starting in May, issues will include articles focusing on distinct portions of the project vehicle, including frame, body, suspension, engine, driveline, and paint. Coverage will continue throughout the summer leading up to the final Barrett-Jackson auction event in Scottsdale, Arizona, next January. Many of the giants of the performance automotive aftermarket industry will be contributing products to the project. Companies involved include Heidts Hot Rod Shop, Air Ride, Smeding Performance, Holley, Moser, Stainless Steel Brakes, Competition Cams, K&N, Nitto, and Flaming River, just to name a few.
More information on this exciting program can be found on Super Chevy's Web site, www.superchevy.com, or at www.projectamericanheroes.org, where additional donations will be accepted for this worthy cause.
A Dynamic DuoSteve Legens, owner of Legens Hot Rod in Martin, Tennessee, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Don's Hot Rods located in Germantown, Ohio.
Legens Hot Rod has been a street rod builder and parts manufacturer since the early '90s. Legens has an excellent understanding and reputation in the hot rod industry, and has always been very supportive of the Don's Hot Rod brand and the legacy he started. Don Pilkington and Steve have been friends for years, and Steve said, "It was a natural for us carry on the tradition set by Don." Again, Steve said, "We will keep the Don's Hot Rod name to market the products for the foreseeable."
Don's Hot Rods has been a leading manufacturer of 1937-48 Ford parts, including custom bumpers, grills, hood and deck lid latch kits, hood and deck lid support kits, and many other useful parts since the early '90s. Don's Hot Rods also produce many multi-make parts.
With the acquisition of Don's Hot Rods, Legens will manufacture over 100 products for the street rod industry. Legens Hot Rod is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible with minimum disruption to business. The impressive combination of Legens Hot Rod and Don's Hot Rods makes quite a dynamic pair, with over 50 years of hot rod history. For more info on Legens' array of products and services, contact them at (731) 587-6002 or check out their Web site at www.legenshotrod.com.
Welcome To The Garage"Museums shouldn't be dusty places full of stuff just sitting around, kind of like an abandoned yard sale. Museums should be lively, interactive places where old stuff is used to learn new things." Those are the words of Tony Thacker, executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Auto Club of Southern California-that's why he's so excited about Wally's Garage, the just-opened interactive area within the museum.
According to Thacker, "the idea behind Wally's Garage was to have a place in the museum where our staff could work on vehicles that needed minor restoration and where, when appropriate, the public could come and watch and be involved. They can ask questions but not lift wrenches!"
The first vehicle being worked on is the famous Howard Cams Rattler. "It's one of the original nine California Hot Rod Reunion Cacklefest cars and was hugely successful in the late '60s at southland strips, including Riverside, where Larry Dixon Sr. won the 1969 Hot Rod Magazine Championship," Thacker said. "The car was donated to the Parks Museum by Danny Porche in 2000, and was in need of some resuscitation. Now it's being assembled in Wally's Garage where part of the rebuild will be filmed for Jimmy Shine's new TV show, 'Hard Shine.'"
For more information on special exhibits, museum events, or directions, call (909) 622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.
GM Extends Warranty On Performance PartsGM Performance Parts (GMPP) announced it will extend the warranty offered on its Performance Parts crate engines* to 24-months/50,000 miles (whichever occurs first), and it will add a 12-month/12,000 mile warranty to its Performance Parts components, effective March 1.
"Now, whether you're buying a brand new GM vehicle, a GM Certified Used Vehicle, or a GM Performance Parts crate engine for your project vehicle, GM is letting everyone know that our products offer outstanding quality, durability, and value," Executive Director of GM Accessories Nancy Philippart said. "This new GM Performance Parts warranty demonstrates our confidence in our performance products and builds on the steps we've taken to deliver both product excellence and industry-leading value."
The new warranty periods will be applied to GMPP crate engines, transmissions, and components installed in or purchased for street legal automotive applications after March 1, 2007, and is transferable to subsequent owners (by providing required documents to any purchaser of the vehicle in which the assembly/component was originally installed).
The new warranty covers thousands of GM Performance Parts, from spark plug wires to crate engines, and it is important to enthusiasts who see hot rodding and car building as more than a hobby-it's a lifestyle and a commitment-where brand loyalties are based on a mechanical relationship that is bolted in by quality and value. Only the best will do for the serious car enthusiast, and that's what GMPP offers.
Enthusiasts who crave the latest technology, maximum horsepower, and the expertise and confidence backed by GM can purchase GMPP crate engines, blocks, heads, and components from GMPP Authorized Center dealers or any other GM dealership nationwide. For more information or to locate the closest GM dealership, visit www.gmperformanceparts.com, or call 1-800-577-6888.
*Does not include any crate engines that are marketed and sold for race applications, including part numbers 88958602, 88958603, 88958604, 12498825, 12498826, and 12498827.
Win A Classic CarThink you know classic cars? Here's your chance to prove it.
Timber Wolf moist snuff is transforming six classics back to their original glory inthe Timber Wolf Speed Shop-then they're giving them away! But if you want to drive home a winner, you'll have to use your gearhead.
First things first: the cars. They've got a '32 Ford Coupe, '69 Super Bee, '57 Chevy, '64 Corvette, '69 Mustang Sportsroof and '67 Mercury Comet.
Now, how it all works. From May 15 to November 1, you'll find a code under the lid of every Timber Wolf can. Enter that code at www.twspeedshop.com, pick a car, and estimate how much you think it will be worth once the transformation is complete. For a better estimate of its value, you can watch web videos of each car's transformation and read editorials in STREET RODDER, Mopar Muscle, Hot Rod, Corvette Fever, Mustang Monthly and Car Craft. If you're the first person whose bid is on the money, the car is yours.
Every lid's a bid. The more Timber Wolf lids you collect, the more estimates you get, and the more chances you have to win.
Turtle Wax / Street Rodder Top 100 In Full SwingFor over a decade, STREET RODDER magazine has led the rodding industry with its coveted "STREET RODDER 10" program. Every year, our editors painstakingly search through hundreds of the nation's best rods to select their "STREET RODDER Top 10." One of the most prestigious honors in the industry, the "10" will now become the "STREET RODDER 100," based on the top 10 street rods at the top 10 events. This is a big leap forward for the world-renowned program, and it will have a powerful impact on the street rodding community.
"Having Turtle Wax on board will be a great addition as we embark on the next generation of STREET RODDER events," said STREET RODDER Editorial Director Brian Brennan. "The Turtle Wax brand resonates with our consumers and we're looking forward to a successful partnership."
STREET RODDER will be present at all of the top 10 events, selecting 10 significant vehicles at each show. The winning rods will then be pictured in STREET RODDER magazine and posted on the "Turtle Wax Presents the STREET RODDER Top 100" section of the STREET RODDER Web site. The candidates will grow to 100 throughout the year, and for the first time ever STREET RODDER fans will be able to vote in the 2007 STREET RODDER magazine "Street Rod of the Year." Turtle Wax will be there every step of the way, with branding on photos and profiles of all of the nominees.
"STREET RODDER Top 100" competitors will all receive custom jackets embroidered with both the STREET RODDER and Turtle Wax logos. Competitors will also receive free products from Turtle Wax to help keep their award-winning cars in top condition. The "Street Rod of The Year" winner will receive a custom trophy and championship STREET RODDER/Turtle Wax leather jacket. As in years past, the trophy and jackets will work as symbols for the enthusiasts who win them, glorifying their success and prominence in the 2007 competition.
Turtle Wax Presents the STREET RODDER Top 100 cars will be selected at the following events.
|Syracuse Nationals, NY
|July 20-22
|Goodguys Puyallup, WA
|July 27-29
|Goodguys Pleasanton, CA
|August 24-26
|Goodguys Joliet, IL
|Sept. 21-23
|Goodguys Ft. Worth, TX
|Oct. 5-7


text:
A fairly common task I need to do is:
- query a remote service which returns a large amount of data
- extract just the bits I need from that data
- do something with the extracted bits of data
Often the initial query will take a few seconds to run and I'll be thinking I can't be bothered to wait for this, why don't I just cache the data.
If I decide it is worth it, the next question is where and how to cache.
Perl AnyEvent
And what I generally think of first is an AnyEvent-based Proxy Server. Just as quickly, I discard that option as I can't be bothered to figure out how to ensure the proxy is up when I need it. For example, what happens when the physical host where the proxy is running reboots? What happens if the sysadmin kills my process? Etc.
Storable and Freeze / Thaw
So, next I think: the filesystem is always available (hopefully!), I'll use that. So then I'm thinking about Cache::File, Storable and Freeze/Thaw.
This often leads to a couple of issues too – where should I store my datafiles. Should I store it somewhere in
$HOME and then if multiple people want to cache the data, they are each hitting the remote service, or should I find I have a shared area? Then, should this shared area be on a network drive, or local to the box?
So, finally, I get to thinking about caching the data in the database. I know for sure that will always be available.
Can you guess which option I generally choose? Does anyone else have any thoughts and where and how to cache data?


text:
The Persistence of Vision Raytracer (POV-Ray).
This is the legacy Bug Tracking System for the POV-Ray project. Bugs listed here are being migrated to our github issue tracker. Please refer to that for new reports or updates to existing ones on this system.
FS#281 - Bug in rendering of Bézier patches
Opened by Timwi (Timwi) - Sunday, 24 March 2013, 13:07 GMT
Last edited by William F Pokorny (wfpokorny) - Monday, 23 January 2017, 14:40 GMT
In version 3.7.0.RC7.msvc10.win64, there is a bug in rendering Bézier patches in which four points (along one edge) are all the same point.
As you can see, there is a visible unwanted artifact in the corner of each patch. The two patches shown are essentially the same, except with the 4×4 matrix of vertices transposed (just to demonstrate that simply transposing it didn't fix it).
Expected rendering is a smooth surface without the artifact.
Below is the code used to render the above example.
#version 3.7;
global_settings { assumed_gamma 1.0 }
camera {
location <45, 31, -10> look_at <40, 21, 200> right x*image_width/image_height
light_source {
<660, 300, -525> color rgb 1
Example 1: First point in each row is the same point
type 1 flatness 0.001 u_steps 4 v_steps 4 <32.2168, -23.78125, 0>, <32.2168, -23.78125, 0>, <32.2168, -23.78125, 0>, <32.2168, -23.78125, 0>, <34.4968, -23.78125, 0>, <34.4968, -22.10256, 0>, <33.9709, -21.55577, 0>, <32.30556, -21.50298, 0>, <35.2168, -23.78125, -0.72>, <35.2168, -21.57244, -0.72>, <34.52483, -20.85299, -0.72>, <32.33359, -20.78352, -0.72>, <35.2168, -23.78125, -3>, <35.2168, -21.57244, -3>, <34.52483, -20.85299, -3>, <32.33359, -20.78352, -3> rotate 180*x
scale 1.4 pigment { color <1, 1, 0> }
Not a bug. Normally, bicubic patches are smooth, but by having all control points along a row or column equal, you create a "pinch" in the surface, where the derivative is not well defined (around that point, the surface is squeezed into a sharp wrinkle). Bicubic patches are internally tesselated (broken up into triangles) before rendering. If you increase u_steps and v_steps, this wrinkle will get smoothed out (I increased to 5x5 and the artifact got smaller). Don't go too far, increase by 1 in each dimension multiplies the number of triangles by 2.
What you did is just like at the top of a curtain - you wrinkled the entire edge into a point. You can't expect very smooth results if you force the surface into such bad corners.
you create a "pinch" in the surface, where the derivative is not well defined
Surely the derivative is only undefined at the vertex itself? It should be fine everywhere else. If you take any "normal" Bézier patch, then gradually move the four points closer until they are all the same point, I agree the limit of the derivative at the point itself depends on the path the four vertices take, but I'm pretty sure the limit of the surface exists and is the same surface for any such path, and is an unremarkable surface without any wrinkles or other artifacts. If I'm right and that surface exists and is unique, it should be POV-ray's responsibility to render it correctly.
You can't expect very smooth results if you force the surface into such bad corners.
Is it really mathematically bad, or is it just "bad" in your implementation?
It's mathematically bad. Yes, the derivative is undefined only at the vertex, but because of that, you have rapid variation of the derivative around that point, so the second derivative (the curvature) gets extremely large. Povray does not actually render the patch directly from mathematical description, but splits it into triangles and just renders it in this approximation. For a very curved surface, you can imagine that you need smaller triangles to approximate the surface (you are trying to make a curved surface from flat triangles), and therefore need to increase u_steps and v_steps. These parameters are meant exactly for setting the precision: if you know that the curvatures are small, you can use a small number of large triangles, and it renders more quickly. If you have "bad" patches, the precision needs to be higher.
To make the process more automatic, you can use a larger u_steps,v_steps and specify "flatness" parameter, so that it only makes subdivisions on the curved parts, and uses larger triangles on the parts where this is not needed. However, this can create other artifacts if the curvature changes too quickly.
You should probably avoid patches like this. I know that it happens naturally sometimes (for instance, if you are rendering a 3D surface in polar coordinates, then at the origin two corners are the same), and in this case, you should either accept the artifact, increase the precision for that patch (needs special case treatment), or for all of them, but that increases time and memory cost.
You should probably avoid patches like this.
What can I use instead? What POV-ray object would be equivalent to the surface I want but without artifacts?
I'm not sure what you want. To just remove the artifacts, increase u_steps and v_steps until it's good enough. That's why those parameters exist. Otherwise, if you want something more different, you can use meshes (your own triangulation) or parametric surfaces.
Currently, POV-Ray does not support triangular bicubic patches.
Note that this FlySpray issue has been changed from "possible bug" to "feature request", as a concession that it would be nice to have support for triangular bicubic patches without using excessively high quality settings.
- Field changed: Status (New → Tracked on GitHub)
Now tracked on github as issue #217.


text:
Canmake Creamy Touch Rouge is one of the newer lipsticks released by the brand and immediately caught my eye because of the 'creamy' element! It's not that often Japanese brands produce really rich, pigmented lipsticks – the majority are sheer and shiny (in a very pretty way!).
There are only 3 colours in the range:
I have 1 shade (2 more in the post) 03 Sweet Cherry which is a red:
The other 2 shades are 01 Marshmallow Pink and 02 Misty Orange.
The supposed result is: Semi-Matte lips, no pearl or lame particles but with no dryness. It looks creamy and soft, and it has great coverage which should look the same as in the tube. It contains collagen, avocado oil, raspberry extract and hyaluronic aid.
In the barrel:
This is a bright orange based red shade which I really like – although I am growing to really like blue based reds too they are usually too severe for my liking. This orangey bright red is really fresh and non intimidating.
Swatched on my olive skintone it looks almost coralish. When I wore this on holiday there was no doubting that it is a bright red, that it is noticeable and striking, totally fresh for the day time. One layer left a pretty red and 2 coats would be too bold for me.
The texture is fab; it's very creamy and hydrating even in the super cold weather and fills in cracks.
I had lip balm on under this so it looks sheer, and has a strong orange tone to it. Applied 'neat' it is redder I promise :


text:
patterns > SweaterBabe Knitting and Crochet and 1 more...
> #133 High Low Glamorous Top-Down Cardigan
#133 High Low Glamorous Top-Down Cardigan
buy it now or visit pattern website
14 sts = 3" 7.5 cm and 22 rows = 4" 10 cm in St st on larger needle.
Glam up your wardrobe with this little number! Sequins are easily knit in throughout the fabric with the Disco Lights yarn from Tilli Tomas. The end result is a shimmery, beautiful cardigan that catches the light and everyone's compliments!
This is a top-down design featuring lots of pretty detailing. The neckband and fronts are in Garter stitch, a nicely textured background that allows the sequins to sparkle. The front ties are simple Garter stitch bands knit out from the front of the cardigan.
The back is in Stockinette stitch, with a nipped in waist and lace detail.
The bottom of the cardigan is higher in front and curves lower in back for a wonderfully flattering and unique touch.
Sleeves can be left short (see photo on next page) or knit to an elegant bracelet length, with a very open lace panel running down the center.
Knit this beauty using the fancy Tilli Tomas yarn – which comes in other glamorous colors like Jade or American Beauty (a rich red with so much depth of color!).
826 projects
stashed 764 times
- Page created: August 31, 2011
- Last updated: January 1, 2018 …
- visits in the last 24 hours
- visitors right now


text:
I'm looking for a MAMP packaging = Apache + MySQL + PHP bundled together for Mac OS X (which is my OS). Where can I find it? Is there an "official" site where I can download it from?
[ I know that there are Apache and PHP shipped with Mac OS X, but I don't want to use them, because it seems that if I do it, and later upgrade them, I may have trouble in the case Apple provides a system update which reverts or conflicts with my "manual" upgrade. Can you confirm that? Here is the link: 1]


text:
What Am I Doing Here?
You're a teenager who has cancer, and you're probably wondering all sorts of things, like:
- Why me?
- Who gets cancer, anyway?
- Is this my fault?
- How am I supposed to cope with being bald? Zits were bad enough.
- What am I doing here in a children's hospital with all the little kids?
- Who are all these people—doctors, nurses, nutritionists, art therapists? And why do I need a social worker? Or any of them?
- My family is freaking out—what am I supposed to do?
- Will I ever get my normal life back?
Well, here are the answers to those questions, plus a few more to help you understand what is going on.
Most or all of your care will happen at Seattle Children's. They will also hook you up with other teens living with cancer, in support groups or online.
Then there's the confusing stuff, like medical terms, clinical studies and (if you haven't made these decisions yet) choosing the best hospital and best treatment for you.
If you're like most teenagers, you'd rather spend your time thinking about your life and all the changes that are happening (like growing six inches in a year or developing sexually), plus friends, school, parents, popularity, looks and the future.
Cancer doesn't fit. At first it may feel like your life will never be the same. How will your friends react? Why are your parents being so weird? How are you supposed to go out in public with NO HAIR?
The first thing to realize is that your life probably never will be exactly the way it was before. You will have changed. You will have grown up some. And, most likely, you will have settled into a "new normal,"which is the way your life is going to be during and after cancer treatment. It's OK to rely on your friends and others for support. Read about Danel, a high school student, and his friends to see how he dealt with his cancer.
There are lots of people at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Children's who can help you and your family with your feelings as you are going through cancer treatment. Counselors will probably stop by to see you, or you can ask to see them.
Hang in there. Take care of yourself. You're going to do great!


text:
|New Market, Md.
|High School:
2009-10 Indoor: Competed in six meets, running the mile in each meet… Set a career-best time in the mile in 4:27.51 at the Rider/Lafayette Winter Games.
2009 Outdoor: Placed 22nd in the 800-meter run at the America East Championships with a season-best time of 2:00.39… Recorded a season-best time of 10:47.64 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Penn Invitational.
2008-09 Indoor: Recorded a season-best time in the 1-mile run of 4:34.38 at the Maryland Invitational… Ran a season-best time in the 800-meter dash of 2:06.07 at the Lafayette/Rider Invitational.
2008 Cross Country: Finished 42nd in the 8K run at the Towson Invitational… Started the season with a 51st-place finish at the Mount St. Mary's 5K Duals.
Background: Named to the Frederick News-Post All-Area First Team for cross country in 2007… Garnered All-Area indoor track first team honors from the Frederick News-Post in 2008… Helped Linganore High School to second-place finish at the 2008 Maryland State Class 4A Indoor Championships.
Personal: Son of Elaine and Greg Jones… Has three siblings, Brian, 25, Kristen, 21 and Roy, 20… Twin brother Roy also competes for UMBC on the cross country and track and field teams… Majoring in mechanical engineering... Born June 10, 1990


text:
|San Diego, Calif.
|High School:
|Cathedral Catholic
|History and Science
|House Affiliation:
2010-11 (Sophomore):
Played in 28 games, starting 17 this season ... Was second on the team and fourth in the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 13.5 points ger game thsi season ... Made 86.5 percent (45-52) of her free throw attempts and 46.8 percent (52-111)of her 3-point attempts ... Her 50.7 field goal percentage ranked 50th in the nation ... Made 7-of-9 shots for 17 points, and added six rebounds and two steals in win over Maine (Nov. 13) ... Scored 15 points in 30 minutes of action against Oral Roberts (Nov. 19) ... Contributed 11 points and five rebounds against BU (Nov. 23) ... Led the Crimson with 12 points and added four rebounds at Holy Cross (Nov. 28) ... Scored a team- and game-high 21 points on a 9-for-13 effort from the field in win over Hartford (Dec. 3) ... Went 5-for-8 from the field for 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out two assists in win over UNH (Dec. 10) ... Led the Crimson with a season-high 22 points on a 9-for-17 performance from the field, pulled down team-high four rebounds and dished out a team-best four assists at Dayton (Dec. 30) ... Recorded 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in win over UMass (Jan. 2) ... Tallied three three-pointers and went 6-of-15 from the field for 15 points ... Contributed 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in win over NJIT (Jan. 9) ... Posted 14 points in win at Seattle (Jan. 22) ... Led the Crimson with 20 points on a 7-for-11 shooting performance at Columbia (Jan. 28) ... Scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in win at Cornell (Jan. 29) ... Named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Jan. 31 ... Scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in win over Princeton (Feb. 4) ... Scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds, collected three steals and handed out two assists in win over Penn (Feb. 5) .... Had a team-high 18 points and team-best eight rebounds against Yale (Feb. 11) ... Led the Crimson with 15 points against Cornell (Feb. 18) ... Dropped 22 points on Brown (Feb. 25) and 14 on Yale (Feb. 26) ... Scored 13 points at Penn (Mar. 4) and 12 points at Princeton (Mar. 5).
2009-10 (Freshman):
Named to the second-team All-Ivy League as well as the Ivy League All-Rookie team ... Second on the team and fifth in the Ivy League in scoring (13/1 ppg) … Sixth in the Ancient Eight in field goal percentage (.462) … Record three double-doubles … Posted double figures in 18 games … Scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked a shot and collected a steal in first collegiate start against Boston College ... Named to the Ivy League honor roll for her efforts ... Went 10-for-12 from the field with a game- and career-high 24 points in win over Maine ... Scored 13 points all in the second half , grabbed three rebounds and collected two steals at New Hampshire ... Scored nine points and pulled down a then-career-high six rebounds in win over New Orleans ... Downed a pair of threes and went 5-for-9 from the field with 14 points in Omni Hotels Championships game at Colorado ... Recorded first collegiate double-double with 21 points and a then-career-high 10 rebounds in double overtime win over Northeastern ... Also handed out a career-high three assists in career-high 44 minutes of action ... Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her efforts ... Led the Crimson with 17 points in win over Navy ... Grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Cornell ... Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after averaging 24.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game and shot 67.9 percent from the field in wins over Yale and Brown ... Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after averaging 24.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia ... Recorded second double-double of the season in win at Cornell with 20 points and 10 rebounds ... Scored a career-high 28 points on 11-for-13 shooting and recorded three steals in win over Columbia ... third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds in win over Yale ... Also had three steals, two assists and a block in 32 minutes of action ... Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week (Feb. 28) for third consecutive week ... Led the team in scoring with 15 points in win over Penn ... Scored 15 points and grabbed three rebounds against Princeton ... Scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in win over Dartmouth.
Before Harvard
Was a four-year letterwinner in basketball ... Served as captain in final two seasons ... Name to the Cal-Hi Sports All-State freshman team (2006), sophomore team (2007) and junior team (2008) ... Earned Cal-Hi Sports All-State Division III in 2008 and 2009 ... A four-time All-San Diego Section honoree ... Named San Diego Union-Tribune Newcomer of the Year in 2006 ... Three-time Western League Player of the Year and four-time team MVP ... Led Cathedral Catholic High School to San Diego Section Division III championship in 2008 ... Three-time Western League champion ... Scored 2,398 points, which is a school record and ranks ninth in section history ... Averaged 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a senior ... San Diego Union-Tribune Student-Athlete of the Year in 2009 and two-time all-academic recipient ... Cathedral Catholic Female Student-Athlete of the Year ... Therapeutics Recreations Services volunteer and camp leader for YMCA.
Therapeutics Recreations Services volunteer and camp leader for YMCA.
Career Highs:
Points: 28 at Columbia, 2/20/10
Field Goals Made: 13 vs. Cornell, 1/30/10
Field Goal Attempts: 17 at Dayton, 12/30/10
Field Goal Percentage: .846 vs.Columbia, 2/20/10
3-pt. Field Goals Made: 4, twice, most recent, 2/25/11
3-pt. Field Goals Attempted: 6 at New Hampshire, 11/24/09
3-pt. Field Goal Percentage: 1.000, twice, most recent 2/20/10
Free Throws Made: 7 vs. Brown, 2/13/10
Free Throws Attempted: 8 vs. Boston College, 11/14/09
Free Throw Percentage: .1.000, several times, most recent 13/18/10
Rebounds: 13 vs. Cornell, 1/30/10
Assists: 4 vs. Columbia, 1/30/10
Steals: 3, several times, most recent, 2/27/10
Blocked Shots: 2 twice, most recent, 2/4/11
Minutes Played: 44 vs. Northeastern, 12/9/09
Career Statistics


text:
- Home
- Editor's Desk
- Features
- Columns
- Arts & Culture
- Special Editions
- Advertising
Thursday December 12, 2019; 11:28 am EST
Dear Bay Weekly:
For a German recipe, I'm looking for a special kind of peach, called Indian Blood or Cherokee or black cling. It's supposedly bloody red in both flesh and exterior and can grow up to 12 inches in diameter. I believe it's a late peach, ripe in late August or September. I've looked at farmers' markets and called the Bay Gardener, The University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service and various peach growers with no success. If your readers can direct me to a source, I'd be very grateful.
Editor's note: Any ideas? send them to [email protected]


text:
Plain cigarette packs review ends
A UK-wide consultation on government plans to introduce mandatory plain packaging for tobacco will close later.
It was extended by a month to allow more people to respond after strong public interest in the issue.
The proposal could mean information about individual brands being removed from cigarette packets, with just the name and warnings visible.
Plain packaging is seen by campaigners as the next step in discouraging young people from taking up smoking.
It could mean every sign of individual brands, from their logo, colour or typeface, being replaced by standard packaging simply carrying warnings and the name of the cigarettes.
Packets are likely to be a dark olive green.
When he launched the consultation four months ago, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he wanted tobacco companies to have "no business" in the UK.
It comes after a ban on tobacco displays in large shops started earlier this year. Smaller shops will have to follow suit by 2015.
Australia is currently the only country which has agreed to plain packaging, although the policy has been challenged in the courts by manufacturers.
Research published there has suggested that cigarette packets have increasingly become an important marketing tool as restrictions on advertising and sponsorship have been brought in.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of campaign group Ash, said: "Plain, standardised packaging of its lethal products frightens Big Tobacco silly because it threatens its profits.
"That's why the industry has devoted millions of pounds to put pressure on politicians and prevent the government from going ahead with this measure."
But Simon Clark, director of Forest, a lobby group funded by the tobacco industry, said: "There is no evidence that standardised packaging will have any health benefits.
"Advocates base their arguments not on facts but on speculation."
The government said it would make a decision when the responses to the consultation had been considered.


text:
Traditional Maori hāngi dinner & dance performance one minute, skyscrapers & city nightlife the next. This is the sort of diversity that will keep you on your toes and round the clock ecstatic on the Northern Choice. The adventure starts in little San Fran of Wellington & concludes in the big smoke of Auckland.
Wellington let's do this, and what better place to start than NZ's well-cultured capital. after checking in to our comfy digs for the evening, the afternoon is yours to start conquering the windy city. Coffeeconnoisseurshead straight to Cuba Street and hit up any of the local caffeine joints, or if the sun is shining, there's really nothing better than the waterfront and a crisp glass of NZ wine. This evening you'll meet up with the rest of the squad, pumped for the imminent adventure that awaits you.
The day is yours to explore Wellington! In the early evening we'll head to a local cafe and try the famed flat white coffee in its city of origin (sorry Australians). Then, we'll meet Paris Quinn our 2019 changemaker, and try some of her Heart Parcels brownies. Heart Parcels is a charity that Paris started to ensure Wellington's homeless have enough food to eat. Buy a delicious brownie here and the proceeds go straight towards feeding people living on the streets of Wellington. If it's a monday night, you're welcome to join Paris as she hands out donations. It's inspiring stuff.
We wave goodbye to Wellington and its beautiful scenery and we prepare ourselves for our next adventure – and trust us, this one is bucket-list worthy.Known as the après-ski capital of the North island, Ohakune is a tranquil town with stupendous view. Today you have the option to go mountain biking along one of NZ's most picturesque track, "the Old Coach Rd" or spend the day bettering your skills on the slopes or generally treating yourself to all the snowy based activities on offer, then tonight snuggle down in our Special Stay ski lodge, located in prime position at the base of Mt. Ruapehu.
Wake up in the spectacular surroundings of Mt. Ruapehu with the epic views of the volcano, and you have the option this morning to go mountain biking along one of NZ's most picturesque track, "the Old Coach Rd" before we head to Taupo.Volcanic peak views & trout fishing will seamlessly slip us into quaint lake life. But don't be fooled by the seemingly still scenery - a bungy jump or skydive are both on the menu if that adrenaline itch needs scratching.
As we leave Lake Taupo keep an eye out for even more recognisable 'The Lord of the Rings' backdrops.220,000 litres (58 000 gallons) of water gush over Huka Falls per second. Just let that sink in for a minute. Wild, right? Even wilder still is the Huka Falls Jet experience – a thrilling ride that will get you experiencing the full force of the falls and leave you with even more of a taste for adventure.When you catch your first whiff of that… 'unusual' sulphur smell, you'll know we've arrived in Rotorua. Upon arrival in Rotorua we get to learn some fascinating info on NZ's national birds, as well as watch new lives hatch right in front of our eyes! How impressed are you right now? Soak in a hotspring, go skydiving or take a canopy tour - there's plenty of time for you to make the best of this town. Tonight we enjoy a Maori dance performance and feast on a Hāngi dinner that is sweetly roasted in the ground.
The day is yours to roam free in this geothermal paradise. Soak in a hot spring, go white water rafting or hike up a volcano. The options are limitless and the decisions are yours, but we recommend the exhilarating Rotorua Canopy Tour, an optional where you'll watch the sun rise and drink coffee up in the towering trees, as the birds make start their morning calls. Then, you'll get to soar 1200m through the forest on the ultimate zipline adventure.
Famed for its spurting geysers, boiling mud pools & hot springs, gondola and speeding luge rides, Rotorua is a natural wonderland and then some. But don't let the allure of this place consume you, for there's a fun stop at Hobbiton village we must complete. Join us at our short visit at the land of 'Lord of the Rings', before we head to Auckland. That's right, it wouldn't be a complete experience without a stop at the "Shire".
We'll cross Aucklands Harbour Bridge admiring the 'City of Sails' harbour before starting our journey north to Paihia.We'll waste no time exploring what this country is famed for - unfathomable nature. Ancient Kauri trees that stand up to 50 metres high and hold over 1000-years of history will delight a walk through the reserve of Parry Kauri Park. -Walk through native Kauri ForestOn arrival to the Bay of Island we're starting off with a dose of Kiwi history on a guided tour at Waitangi Treaty grounds where in 1840 New Zealand officially became a nation of two communities. And because we like to give you that something extra, how about a free admission at the Treaty museum, in case you seek a bit more detail on Kiwi history.
Whether it's parasailing or a fast boat ride - today's (idyllic) list of optionals reads like a who's who of adventure. This area is filled with natural beauty and is sure to inspire your inner wild child. Make the most of the Free Time Add-On experiences on offer - tomorrow we head back to the big city vibes.
Feeling salty and sun-kissed we wave goodbye to beautiful Paihia & sashay our way back down NZ in the direction of Auckland.Time to say adios to the wolf pack and re-live the dream that was the land of the long white cloud, no doubt also dreaming of what might be next in store on an upcoming Contiki adventure, Asia, adventure?
Trusted by travellers since 1979
We guarantee to beat any price
Low deposits, Book now. Pay later.
24/7/365 Help on the road
Trip Name: Northern Choice
Duration: 10 Days
From Price: $2,005
Supplier Tour ID: 150.906/247619
We will be in touch shortly
First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Email Address:
Telephone Number:


text:
One thing about moving from one scheme implementation to another is that useful functions that were available in the old one are not available or work differently to the new one. For example, in chicken:
(let ((n 1)) (print "n is [" n "]"))
n is [1]
In mzscheme it prints
print: expects 1 to 2 arguments, given 3: "n is [" 1 "]"
The obvious solution to this is to write a function that performs the appropriate action on all schemes. This can be a simple wrapper on a scheme that provides the function natively. I've had to do this before when writing software in C++ that needed to be portable between different OSes but I somehow didn't expect it with scheme. Probably my experience with the single implementation language, Perl has spoiled me here. Anyway, despite the fact that I haven't written much scheme, I'm starting to build a small library with these little utility functions. As long as I code to the library, it should make my scheme easier to port to different versions.
(define (chop line) (substring line 0 (- (string-length line) 1))) (define (print-ln . args) (for-each display args) (newline) (flush-output)) (define (read-lines-from-port p) (let ((lines '())) (let while () (let ((line (read-line p))) (unless (eof-object? line) (set! lines (cons line lines)) (while)))) (reverse lines))) (define (read-lines file) (let* ((p (open-input-file file)) (lines (read-lines-from-port p))) (close-input-port p) lines))
The next thing to do, is to work out how to put this in a probably mzscheme module so I can simply require it from my scripts. I can't imagine it will be too difficult.


text:
Doing home projects and improvements yourself may seem more cost efficient than ever. But how do you know when to tackle home improvement projects yourself or when hiring a professional contractor is best?
Budgets are tighter these days, and with home values in flux, you need to be extra selective about the projects you plan. Sometimes doing a home improvement project yourself saves money and time, but in other cases it can end up costing you more all the way around. Thinking things through and selecting the right contractor for the project will set you up for home improvement success.
Eyes on the prize. Before you start stocking up on tools or choosing paint colors, your first do it yourself project is to think about the exact result you're after. What kind of overall change are you expecting to make, and what degrees of craftsmanship, care and design savvy should be present in the result? Now work your way back through all of the knowledge, techniques and elbow grease involved, doing whatever research is required to fill in the blanks.
Assess your abilities. When trying to decide if you should hire a contractor or do it yourself, the first step should be an honest evaluation of whether or not you're the best person for the job. Understand that every project requires a certain amount of preparation and a sliding scale of time to accomplish, neither of which is obvious in the many popular home improvement TV shows that edit days, weeks and months of hard work down to a few minutes of home improvement bliss.
How much time do you realistically have available to devote to this project? Midstream mistakes add dollars and hours, and can wipe out any savings expected from going the DIY route. So be honest about your do it yourself abilities before work even begins, and you'll have a much greater chance of hitting targets where quality, safety and price are concerned.
Build a budget. Before your begin the hiring search for a contractor, compile the best possible estimate of potential costs. This'll take a little research, but needs to be done so that you're well acquainted with what's involved and can determine your financial limitations before bids start rolling in. Include a reserve of about 20 percent to cover inevitable project surprises and additions, and line up your financing.
Get the help you need. Whether you're looking for a handyman or remodeling contractor to hire, personal recommendations from family members and friends are critical to finding the right match. Services like Home Advisor can provide a great online resource for local pros and candid customer reviews of their work, and check in with trade associations, the folks at the local hardware store, and local building inspectors. Invest proper time in due diligence?that means interviewing both the Contractors and their past customers, scrutinizing competitive bids, and carefully reviewing project timetables before making precious commitments of time and money.
Deciding whether hiring a contractor or doing it yourself takes assessment of the complexity of the home improvement project, your own skills and the time you'll need to get things done. Think it all through before you pick up a hammer and you'll get the best possible result.


text:
I am having a problem on my site with Tabs linking was working fine, have been fixing errors for IE9 and now it wont let me link on the tabs... I'm getting a javascript:void(0) error on the page and it says tabs not defined. HELP.. The Tabs will not display the correct page information. Would really appreciate a little help from the Java gods on this one.
It works OK in Chrome but shows error message it is not working in Firefox or IE8...


text:
Me and My iPadSunday, April 4th, 2010
I've got a bunch of posts queued up that are almost ready for publishing, but I thought I'd toss this out there, since I'm using it now to type this post.
I preordered an iPad, with the excuse of needing it for work, but we all know I would have gotten it anyway. I'm already impressed just by the apps people developed without even having access to the device. I've been watching movies on Netflix, sketching with Adobe Ideas, and now writing this. Typing is nice, even if there's no Dvorak layout on the thing.
I'm surprised that there still seems the be no keychain syncing — I'm still typing in passwords to everything I've already got stored on my Macs and iPhone. And the lack of third-party multitasking is more frustrating here than on the iPhone, but still not that bad — and thankfully it's training developers to write applications that don't lose data when they crash, and that can remember what you were doing when you quit.
With any luck, this will cut down on me dragging my laptop around everywhere. There are no dev tools on here (of course), but a decent VNC client might make that moot. Maybe I'll even manage to post here a bit more often …


text:
We pick up the action in the fifth inning with "...David Wright, who's won two gold gloves—not a good throw, though!..." and it only got better.
Alfonso Soriano lined a ground ball to third, stopped nicely by a diving David Wright and thus began the opening sequence of a Naked Gun film. Wright overthrew Daniel Murphy at first, who then threw wide of John Buck at home and then shortstop Omar Quintanilla tracked down that ball near the Chicago dugout and missed home himself as Soriano trotted into third on a ball that never once left the infield.
It gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead that they would Cubsily lose in walk-off fashion in the ninth, capped off by a Kirk Nieuwenhuis three-run homer.


text:
Best buy multiple price choices for mulheres chaveiro on Aliexpress.com
Different brands maybe bring you diverse experience. Choose mulheres chaveiro ranging from various reputed brands like TAFREE , Bonsny , Artilady , Dalaful , EXYNLON , Lucky eye , SANYU , Meirenpeizi , REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT , dongmanli and more. Shop mulheres chaveiro online at best & reasonable prices on Aliexpress.com


text:
sancocho with aji
For the aji:
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
8 scallions, white and light green part only, finely chopped
1/2 small Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
3/4 cup water
1 small plum tomato, cored and finely chopped (optional)
For the soup:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 pounds chicken thighs, skin and excess fat removed
2 pounds beef flanken ribs (also called cross-cut ribs)
2 green plantains, peeled and cut into 2-inch long pieces
2 ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 2 inch long pieces
1 large bunch of fresh cilantro, stems tied together with kitchen twine
14 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned low-sodium broth
1 1/2 pounds small red or white potatoes, peeled
3 cups diced pumpkin or butternut squash
10 (2-inch) long pieces of frozen yucca
4 ears of corn, husked and quartered
White rice, for serving (optional)
1 medium Hass avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and sliced for serving (optional)
Arepas or tortillas, for serving (optional)
For the aji:
Place the cilantro, scallions, chiles, onions, lime juice and 3/4 cup water in a small glass bowl or jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the tomato if using, season with salt to taste, and stir all of the ingredients together. Cover and set the aji aside at room temperature for several hours to allow the flavors to release into the liquid, then refrigerate until serving.
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the onions and garlic and cook until they're soft and transparent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme and continue to cook 5 more minutes. Add the chicken and the beef ribs and cook until the tomatoes have disintegrated, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming the foam from the top of the broth when necessary. Add the green plantains, cilantro, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the plantains are tender, 30 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside. Add the potatoes, pumpkin, ripe plantains and yucca and simmer, uncovered, until both are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the cilantro and the bay leaves and return the chicken to the pot to re-heat it. To serve, arrange a piece of chicken, some beef, plantains, and a few pieces of yucca and potatoes on each plate. Serve the broth in a small bowl, and the aji sauce on the side, along with a bowl of rice, and some avocados and arepas or tortillas on separate plates.


text:
Honestly, I don't understand what all the fuss is about.
In a Tuesday night debate, Richard Mourdock, the Indiana Republican running for the U.S. Senate made what turned out to be a controversial statement about abortion.
"I struggled with it myself for a long time," he said, "but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."
Mourdock made the horrible mistake of telling the truth about what he believes. He actually believes that abortion is murder. And he actually believes that God creates life.
All hell has broken loose among his fellow Republicans. They are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to criticize him and support their Christian beliefs at the same time. Mitt Romney, who has a campaign ad out supporting Mourdock, has said that Mourdock's remarks were not in line with his views. His Democratic opponent, Rep. Joe Donnelly, who supports abortion in cases of rape or incest, came down on him as did Sen. John McCain. Donnelly said, "The God I believe in and the God I know most Hoosiers believe in, does not intend for rape to happen, ever. What Mr. Mourdock said is shocking and it is stunning that he would be so disrespectful of survivors of rape." We've yet to hear from Rep. Paul Ryan whose positions on abortion are so convoluted nobody knows what he believes any more.
Mourdock is still trying to explain what he meant, but the more he talks, the deeper he digs that hole.
"What I said was, in answering the question from my position of faith, I said I believe that God creates life. I believe that as wholly and as fully as I can believe it, that God creates life. Are you trying to suggest that somehow I think that God pre-ordained rape? No, I don't think that. That's sick. Twisted. That's not even close to what I said. What I said is that God creates life."
Here's the problem: All of these guys are anti-abortion. They believe life begins at conception. Therefore, they believe an abortion is murder. So if that's true, how can they possibly believe it is okay to murder a fetus (a fully realized person in their eyes) simply because of the way the child was conceived? This is baffling. I admire Mourdock for telling the truth about what he believes.
What are these Republicans screaming about when their own party platform calls for a constitutional amendment banning abortion and doesn't mention, rape, incest or the life of the mother?
I'll tell you what they're upset about. They want the Republicans to win, they need the women's vote and the country is not behind banning abortion in cases of rape or incest. In fact, the majority of voters is not against banning abortion at all. So the conscience of these convictions is based purely on politics.
Look at Ryan, changing his position from being against abortion in all cases to agreeing with Mitt Romney's (new) position that it's okay in the case of rape or incest. How can he live with himself?
Murder is murder. Would it be any different if they said they thought it was fine to kill a child after it had been born because it was conceived by rape or incest? What's the age cutoff? If it is a human being from conception on, what is the difference?
Where Mourdock got himself into serious trouble was saying that rape is "something that God intended to happen."
He's right there, too, according to his beliefs. And, by the way, the beliefs of many of his Republican critics. If God creates life, then He must create rape as well. God is all powerful. The others are trying to cherry pick what they want God to have done. Does God, in their eyes, only do good? If that is true, how do we account for all the evil and suffering in the world? These are heavy questions but Mourdock was completely within reason to bring up the discussion, and he puts his opponents to shame by verbalizing what they do not dare.
His backtracking was a bit unfortunate. He railed at those who suggested that he meant that God "pre-ordained" rape and said that what he really meant was that God creates life. I'd like to see the list of what God pre-ordains and what he doesn't. How do we know?
Mourdock may be the pariah of the moment but the real culprits are those who believe one thing about life and death and who say another. To me that is what is "sick" and "twisted."


text:
Listen free for 30 days
No Return
Editor reviews
Zachary Jernigan's No Return tells the daring, complex story of a fantasy world in which the proven existence of a god seems to have done little to solve the problems that religious dissent traditionally cause. Jernigan grapples with issues of divinity, while simultaneously telling a sensual, gripping story, featuring compelling characters and admirable world building.
John FitzGibbon's grave voice suits the depth of Jernigan's subject matter well, and his performance lends equal weight to thrilling action sequences and dark existential contemplation. His delivery of the audiobook is strong and thoughtful, imbuing Jernigan's words with a truer and deeper power even than they may have had on the page.
On Jeroun, there is no question as to whether God exists - only what his intentions are.
Under the looming judgment of Adrash and his ultimate weapon - a string of spinning spheres beside the moon known as The Needle - warring factions of white and black suits prove their opposition to the orbiting god with the great fighting tournament of Danoor, on the far side of Jeroun's only inhabitable continent.
From the 13th Order of Black Suits comes Vedas, a young master of martial arts, laden with guilt over the death of one of his students. Traveling with him are Churls, a warrior woman and mercenary haunted by the ghost of her daughter, and Berun, a constructed man made of modular spheres possessed by the foul spirit of his creator. Together they must brave their own demons, as well as thieves, mages, beasts, dearth, and hardship on the perilous road to Danoor, and the bloody sectarian battle that is sure to follow.
On the other side of the world, unbeknownst to the travelers, Ebn and Pol of the Royal Outbound Mages (astronauts using Alchemical magic to achieve space flight) have formed a plan to appease Adrash and bring peace to the planet. But Ebn and Pol each have their own clandestine agendas - which may call down the wrath of the very god they hope to woo.
Who may know the mind of God? And who in their right mind would seek to defy him? Gritty, erotic, and fast-paced, author Zachary Jernigan takes you on a sensuous ride through a world at the knife-edge of salvation and destruction, in one of the year's most exciting fantasy epics.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
5 Stars1
4 Stars0
3 Stars2
2 Stars0
1 Stars0
5 Stars1
4 Stars1
3 Stars0
2 Stars0
1 Stars0
5 Stars1
4 Stars0
3 Stars2
2 Stars0
1 Stars0
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
- Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
- 17-04-13
A stunning and original debut fantasy
In a crowded year of strong debut fantasy novels, "No Return" is a very strong contender. Beginning with an assured voice, a prologue of a pitiless landscape of an hallucinogenic salt lake, expanding out to a world whose currency is the powdered skin of an Elder race, populated by (among others) rival enclaves of warrior monks engaging in ritualized battles to defend and proselytize their competing faiths. There is a god with city-killing orbital kinetic ordinance at his whim; there are deeply weird and sexualized alchemistic magics; there are sentient constructs of magical metal spheres; there are dragons and ghosts.
The narrative is split along 5 principle points of view in a rotating fashion, across two primary storylines. In the first, it is a 'journey' narrative, in which we meet the three companions who form a bond as they travel to a massive gladiatorial tournament. These three are 1. a warrior monk, 2. a female sell-sword, and 3. a construct. In the other, it is a more political/academic setting of advanced magical research, and the power struggles (and competing lusts) of a senior mage and one of her more junior colleagues with experimental theories. These "outbound mages" make excursions to space, to observe the god and take measurements of his "spheres" -- the two smallest of which had been used centuries before to demonstrate the planet-killing power at hand.
The world builds and deepens and widens; the journey narrative treks us through disparate peoples and landscapes and histories, developing the characters and (through flashbacks) providing back stories as well. Throughout there's always the atmosphere of a deeper world at work, at mysteries not yet revealed. Who is the god Adrash, what does he want? Building toward dual climaxes in both narratives and powering on into denouement and stage-setting for a sequel, a lengthy epilogue serves to further widen the mysteries of this world by another deep breath. All in all, a very strong, no-holds-barred and emotionally impactful debut novel by Jernigan, whose short fiction I have followed on and off through M-BRANE SF and Asimov's. His is a bold, determined voice, with a razor's edge balance of rawness and assuredness; each character's point of view was distinct and fully realized. This is absolutely an heroic fantasy novel not to be missed.
I had never heard of the narrator John FitzGibbon before; presumably he was found by Audible through taking on stipend-eligible ACX titles. In any case he appears to be a US stage actor, and this training serves him exceedingly, exceedingly well. There are some passages of potentially uncomfortable content, from eviscerating violence to explicit sexual encounters. FitzGibbon does not shy away from any of these, nor over-emphasize in a campy way. His voices for each character are solid and distinct, bringing accents which accentuate the character's backgrounds. In particular his voice for the construct, Berun, is as outstanding a character voice as you'll find in audio.
Highly recommended.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
- Ryan
- 25-05-13
Gods, elders, men, magic, and space travel
Every so often, the fantasy genre produces a new crop of writers who boldly break out of the walled garden of its tired conventions, and change the rules of what "can" be done. While it's perhaps a little early to tag Zachary Jernigan as such an author, he shows promise akin to earlier freethinkers of fantasy. The universe here, which has the feeling of being set in some unimaginably distant, decadent future, seems to owe a debt to Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, but the gritty, street-level, anti-traditional mythos of the world resembles China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, too. Since these works are already favorites of mine, it wasn't hard to jump in.
Jernigan is his own guy, though, and tells a story that's confident, imaginative, baroque, violent, and erotic. As we learn in the prologue, the world of Jeroun has a god, who dwells in an assembly of orbiting metal spheres called the Needle, and can't seem to make up his mind whether or not to destroy his human creations (apparently, one goes a little mad as a god). On the planet below, cults that reject or embrace Adrash's dominion battle in ritualized street fights. Elsewhere, a community of mages seeks to ascend into space and meet Adrash personally -- a risky idea at best.
The story is divided into two main threads. One follows a trio of warriors on their way to a sort of world championship religious battle tournament: a monk in living armor, a down-on-her-luck pit fighter haunted by a (literal) ghost, and a robot-like being known as a constructed man, whose former master continues to make unwelcome visits to his mind via some sort of magical data link. The other storyline deals with two astronaut-mages, who have diverging ambitions in the works. The characters are well-developed, with distinct, complementary personalities and histories. The ambitiously strange world might have been a little too much to take in in one pass, though; I had to reread a few chapters before the geography, politics, history, religion, and ethnography of Jeroun made sense to me and I could focus on the story. (Writers: take note of Neal Stephenson's Anathem, those pre-chapter lexicon snippets are handy cues.) Some readers might find all the sexuality a bit over-the-top -- it didn't bother me, but its rawness wasn't really to my taste, either.
However, not huge issues. Jernigan's confident, unadorned prose takes command of the reader's mental viewscreen, mixing delicate sensory details (the smell of pine, the flavors of herbed bread), macabre images (corpses of an elder race still strewn about after some ancient apocalypse, now harvested for magical substance), and far-out, superhero comic-like sequences such as mages battling in space, or a robot walking along the bottom of a lake, engaged in dialog with a hallucination while giant fish pass by. Cool stuff. Surprisingly for a left-field debut, audiobook narrator John FitzGibbon is excellent, with a "stage presence" and a range of voices that suit the novel quite well.
Clearly, No Return is meant to establish a world and its characters for future books, so I'll have to withhold full judgment until I see how the story develops, but it's certainly an impressive start. Can Jernigan can keep it all together in future installments, and not let the high-flown cosmic stuff overwhelm the intimate personal tales he's set up? I look forward to finding out. Definitely a book and a writer worthy of your attention.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
- Ken
- 04-06-13
Flawed but ultimately redeems itself
This is a peculiar kind of fantasy, with elements of science fiction thrown in just to keep the reader guessing. It's a universe in which believers battle non-believers and the god they love or hate is a powerful being transformed by technology he does not understand. Indeed, all of the magic is technological in some respect. The battles over whether god or man should rule are the action core of the story, but it is also a story about journeys, both literal and figurative. All of the characters are struggling to reconcile who they are with who they think they should be, and much of the story is told as retrospective personal histories about how they got to where they are. The structure of the story is flawed, with odd discontinuities and long periods of time when unnecessary bouts of raw description overtake the scene and threaten to induce sleep, but the core ideas are interesting enough. As others have noted, you have to be willing to endure some pretty graphic gore, often combined with some pretty graphic sex, at several points. On balance, though, enough happens that is interesting and unexpected to make it worth the journey as a reader. I'd give it 3.5 stars if that were an option. What really kept me listening, though, was John FitzGibbon's narration, which is just amazing. He turned the book into audible theater. If I had been reading instead of listening, I'm not sure that I would have stayed with it.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
- Jefferson
- 16-08-14
"How could one change the nature of men?"
Adrash, the 30,000 year-old "god" of the world Jeroun, has spent the last 20,000 years trying without success to change the nature of humankind, whose petty and violent behavior (especially through their worship of him) has led to predictably cyclic rises and falls of civilizations. Bored, Adrash longs for the challenge of some prophet uniting the competing nations and feuding religious sects of Jeroun and leading them into war against him. But (sigh) people can't change, can they? Adrash thus has a decision to make: "Return to Jeroun as mankind's redeemer, or cleanse the world of mankind forever."
Zachary Jernigan's weird epic fantasy novel, No Return (2013), is largely about the human (in)ability to change, alternating between two story-strands featuring five point of view characters. One set, a man, a woman, and a "construct," are traveling together across the continent of Knoori to the city of Danoor, there to attend an influential combat tournament that's held once each decade. Vedas Tezul, a devout warrior monk, plans to win the tournament for his Black Suits, Anadrashi devoted to the downfall of Adrash and opposed to the White Suit Adrashi who worship him). For twenty years Vedas has not removed his skin-tight magical black armor (and has not had sex). Despite his faith, he suffers persistent guilt and grief whenever a child recruit to his Order is killed in a skirmish against the White Suits. Vedas' companion Berun is an assassin construct, a robot made of magical metallic spheres. Caring nothing for money or religion but liking fights and festivals, Berun plans to win the secular tournament following the religious one. Able to change his shape and to repair damage at will, the prodigiously strong Berun is a formidable fighter, but he can never tell whether his thoughts, feelings, and actions are his own or those of his mage creator-master-father ("Have I never admired anything for myself?"). Vedas and Berun's guide, Churli Casta Jons, is an earthy veteran/mercenary on the run from gambling debt collectors. Not overly religious ("I try not to mix religion and killing. . . it's liable to get you killed"), Churls will also enter the secular competition. She is either insane or haunted by her daughter's ghost, and the latter more likely possibility is scarier than the former. Vedas, Berun, and Churls are an entertaining trio as they travel through badlands, over steppes, and across bodies of water, for their relationships and problems feel real, funny, and moving (especially the sexual tension between Vedas and Churls). If they embrace change, there will be "no return."
Contrasting with the road buddies are Ebn Bon Mari and Pol Tanz Et Som, half-human, half-elder rivals in the Academy of Applied Magics. Ebn and Pol are Royal Outbound Mages, who don magical Void Suits to travel 30 miles up from Jeroun to the region of the moon, where Adrash lives. Ebn, Pol's mentor and captain, wants to appease Adrash by seducing him, while Pol, her handsome and gifted student, wants to impress the god by attacking him, each scheming against the other's plans and life. With their mutated bodies, intellectual superiority, merciless cruelty, sex magic, and unhealthy views of love ("The only true expression of [which] is submission"), Ebn and Pol are a morbidly fascinating pair to follow.
Complicating the above situations is a sentient species of nine-feet tall "elders" whose advanced cultures fell over 100,000 years ago and whose mummified bodies are so imbued with magic that "corpse miners" collect them so that their skin may be fashioned into Black Suits and White Suits for battle and Void Suits for space travel and their bones may be ground into dust for money and spells.
Not for the squeamish, the book has some unpredictable, suspenseful, arousing, revolting, and mythic violence and sex, most of it integral to the development of character, plot, and theme. The violence is never dully repetitive, and the sex can even be cosmically funny (it might convince you to never masturbate aboard a ship).
The novel is about love, friendship, parents and children, change and identity, free will and fate, and the drawbacks of organized religion. It has plenty of humor, beauty, weird wonder, and great writing:
Beauty: "She drank the sunlight like an elixir."
Violence: "carving people from crown to scarum."
Life: "Fate held a person like a mother holds her child, lovingly or with revulsion."
Romance: "Your name was the first word that came out of his mouth."
Sublime: "For a moment, the scope of the animal could not be fathomed. When she turned her head, the large black object a few feet from her head resolved itself into one of its talons. . . the animal seemed to be watching the city."
Uncanny: "Holding her daughter's hand felt like air passing through her lungs."
The reader of the audiobook, Jonathan FitzGibbon, is perfect. His base narration voice is nasally sophisticated, reminiscent of Vincent Price. All his character voices are interesting and appropriate. Vedas sounds frank, rational, and restrained, Berun deep, ponderous, and boomy, Churls sarcastic, seasoned, and coarsely accented, Ebn and Pol intellectual, arrogant, and decadent. And Churls' daughter sounds cute and creepy, a sweet kid learning to be a mighty ghost.
My disappointment lay in expecting No Return to be a self-contained novel like J. M. McDermott's Last Dragon (with which it shares literate style and "weirding" of genre tropes), when it turned out to be more like the first book in a series like Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of The Fallen (with which it shares vast scales of time, varied species, cultures, and religions, and "gods"). Jernigan is surely crafting his own desires and fears, and I'd like to read more books about Jeroun, but hope for a trilogy rather than a decology.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
- A reader
- 08-05-13
Visceral and cerebral mix in this heady SF/Fantasy
It took me awhile to put together the review for this novel. The plot can be summed up relatively quickly, for what it is worth: it is a story of a group of traveling companions heading to a marshal arts tournament, and the story of a group of mage/astronauts trying to appease an angry god. This doesn't help explain the book much, however, and the best way to give a sense of what the book really is involves comparison with other important works in SF and fantasy. This is, in part, because the audiobook manages to invoke many tropes and touchpoints in the best science fiction and fantasy novels while remaining entirely its own entity.
With its picaresque wanderings and mingling of science fiction elements (robots, space travel, orbiting weapons) and fantasy (gods, magic, potions) it invokes Vance's Dying Earth, Harrison's Virconium, and Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. There are lots of amazing wonders, an immense land full of history, and the sense of an ancient and tired world with its own rules. The book is more playful than these grim (but excellent) comparisons, though it does suffer a bit from their flaws: if the world is odd and the book involves travel, many of the events that happen seem random. There are moments in the book where things happen suddenly, and it is hard to know what to expect, or anticipate the consequences of the characters choices. At its best, this is wonderful; but it can also be tiring, as the characters wander from event to event.
On the other hand, the attention to the inner lives of the flawed characters, along with their sharply observed interactions and the visceral attention to the physical nature of the characters (lots of blood, sex, and sweat here) invoke Joe Abercrombie, Richard Morgan, and the rest of the recent grimdark fantasy writers. There is plenty of fighting, coupling, lust and revenge to go around, and the novel also delves deeply into the motivations and histories of the main characters. This, too, can occasionally be over the top, and the reader seems to over-enunciate every body part being caressed or crushed, making the reading, which is mostly fine, seem a little awkward and even embarrassing at times.
So, there is a lot of brilliance here, and lots of novelty. It doesn't always feel like the parts of the novel fully connect, though there are potential sequels for that, but it is rarely less than interesting. The sheer intensity of the interactions, combined with the repeated unexpected plot twists, can make it hard to deeply engage the novel for too long at a time, but that might be me. Certainly, don't let these issues (and the mediocre reading) scare you away from an original, exciting debut.
9 of 15 people found this review helpful
- Todd
- 18-07-13
Wish I could return this
I was dissappointed when I learned this book could not be returned. This was the first book from Audible that I tried to use the return policy to reject.
Other than the fact that the book was about as exciting as packing my lunch in the morning, some of the ideas are perverse. I'm no prude but when the "goddess" character started masterbating with her Hand Tongue to spit out pearls of god spunk, I shut the book off. The story wasn't worth continuing past that point.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
- davidwat
- 11-06-13
Appealing characters in a jumbled mess
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The editor.
This thing really needed tightening up. It is full of unnecessary asides with unnecessary descriptions of historical figures and battles and weapons that at times are laughably referential to Homer. The presence of an epilogue is the author's admission of defeat with regard to constructing a cohesive narrative whole. As with much of modern fantasy, this book needed a fresh eye and a sharp red pencil to whip it into shape.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful
- Zac
- 28-12-13
Poor Narrator and too much sex
Would you try another book from Zachary Jernigan and/or John FitzGibbon?
Zachary Jernigan, yes. The world and story were very original and the writing was good. John FitzGibbon, no. His narration was uninspired, very monotone.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Less sex, masturbation....etc. It felt forced and very unnecessary for the story. Its inclusion felt awkward and arbitrary - and this from someone who ranks Richard Morgan among the very best.
How could the performance have been better?
Give John some speed?
Could you see No Return being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No. But if so, Ben Stein could play all the parts.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful


text:
Last year 27 cars showed up to run hard and prove that with the right combination of parts, and driver's skill, old cars can be made to perform as good as, if not better than, modern sports and muscle cars. The event was the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, and it was part of a growing trend we're very happy to see.
We still remember when cars were judged by how many square feet of chrome festooned their engine bays, and how fast they appeared, not by how fast they actually were. No one really cared if it could handle; all that mattered was "the look." In hindsight, those were dark days. Today we can have our cake, and chow down on it as well. Our cars can look wicked fast and actually back it up on the track. This is thanks in a large measure to the aftermarket, which has stepped up to offer a plethora of performance-based upgrades for our Camaros. Another reason is the desire of builders and owners to run their cars hard. In turn, this has driven the aftermarket to work even harder to churn out cutting-edge performance parts.
Last year our 1968 Chevy Camaro took home the top honors. We had a good car and a great team of drivers. As winners, we were the first invited back, and we knew it was going to be a whole new ball game. You see, last year there was a scant two months' notice of the event, but this time everyone had a full year to prepare. What kicked ass last year would only "keep up" this time around.
The Rules
For the most part the rules were the same as last year. Each of the three performance event's lap times would be accumulated into a final score. Think of golf: The low score wins. The build quality and style portion would be judged on a 1-10 scale with 1 being the best score. Also, any car not able to finish all the events would be disqualified. On the big course, there would be a warm-up lap followed by two timed laps, then one cooldown lap. The cars would be sent out individually; it wouldn't be fender-to-fender racing though. The autocross would consist of three timed laps. Hitting a cone would result in a 1.5-second penalty, and making a wrong turn in the cones would result in a DNF. One change this year would allow drivers to be able to throw out their worst time in each event. This way if you made a mistake, you weren't taken out of the competition.
This year a big change was made to the rules. Well, sort of. According to last year's rules, anyone was allowed to drive any car. If you could have talked Michael Schumacher into driving your ride, then more power to you. This year it was stipulated that the owner or builder had to drive the car. The only problem was that the term "builder" wasn't clearly defined.
Last year we put together a team to drive our Bad Penny project car. David Pozzi got the road course, Mary Pozzi got the autocross, and Steven Rupp was to handle the 0-60-0. The new rules meant Mary Pozzi was off the team since she hasn't spun a wrench on the '68 enough to be considered a builder. Sure, we could have embellished a bit and got her on the team, but that wouldn't have been keeping with the spirit of the event. Dave Pozzi would drive the road course and Rupp would handle the autocross and 0-60-0. Rupp is no Mary Pozzi (who is?), but he's gotten enough practice over the summer to become fairly adept at dodging pylons. Besides, driving is more fun than taking pictures all day.
We also gained an invitation to bring our new '10 SS Camaro out to play. Since Rupp was busy with Penny, the natural choice to dive the car was editor Nick Licata. In a former life, Licata was the official wheelman when magazines needed to test cars. In other words, he can drive.
Over the summer, our '68 had been getting beat on at events all across the country. After returning from the Run Through The Hills event in Tennessee, we only had a month to get the Camaro ready to race. After making some changes (detailed in the February issue), we were confident in the car's handling. Unfortunately we had zero experience on the Hoosier A6 racing tires and didn't know what type of feedback we would get on the road course. In hindsight, we should have brought the car home sooner so that we could get some track time.
Our '10 was on the same "rush-to-get-ready" schedule. Blowers, brakes, suspension, and wheels were hastily bolted into place. The new Boze wheels and Nitto NT05 tires were installed literally days before the race. It was crazy, it was hectic, it was hot rodding, and it was fun.
Our '68 was set to be displayed at the SEMA show, so we drove it from Pahrump, Nevada, to Vegas, and after SEMA, we made the 60-mile drive back to Spring Mountain in Pahrump. Unfortunately we had screwed up installing our new brakes by running the wrong master cylinder push rod. This overheated the brakes and warped the brand-new rotors. Thankfully, Todd Gartshore over at Baer took pity on us and hooked us up with a fresh set, but the only time to put them on was the night before the event, in the dark, and using headlights for illumination. Ten hours before the race was to start, we were driving around the Spring Mountain complex trying to bed in the rotors, or at least burn off the zinc coating.
When morning came, the track was alive with the sound of muscle cars firing up and all the other cacophonous sounds associated an automotive event of this scope. Tech inspections, driver's meetings, and warm-up laps started unfolding at a frantic pace. The Ridetech autocross event was running on the upper paddock area, while the road course competition, sponsored by BFGoodrich, became a blur of activity. In the afternoon, that same upper paddock area was reconfigured for the Baer-sponsored 0-60-0 event. If there was any hope of running all 50 cars through the various events, the organizers knew everything had to run smoothly. Concurrent to the performance events, judges were visiting all the cars to score them in the style category. During the day there were failed parts, off-road excursions, scattered engines, and a host of other hiccups, but for the most part everyone had a great time. Sure we were all there to compete against one another, but in a friendly way. When we had to replace a bad pump, tools were offered and assistance rendered, and this wasn't just an isolated incident. With that said, nobody was cutting slack out on the track.
In the end we didn't win, although among our peers, we finished just behind two very badass, sorted out Camaros. Even with the mechanical issues, our '68 did us proud and fought hard. Our '10 also did well, and even though we discovered a few areas that needed addressing, it ran hard and didn't let us down. But most of all, we got to spend the day beating on cars, and that's always a win.
Road Course Report
Driving Bad Penny at Spring Mountain this year was like driving a different car. Gone was the excessive understeer, body roll, and unbalanced handling in left-hand turns I felt last year. Shifting was also much easier due to the new T56 Magnum transmission, and I found I could heel and toe downshift under braking without much trouble. Turn-in and precision was made better by the Pfadt spherical bearings in the A-arms. With all this good stuff happening I expected lap times to drop by several seconds.
A look at the data shows high cornering g-forces, but only a little better than running Toyo R888's, like we did last year. The sticky, autocross Hoosier R6 tires we used this year have a different feel when pushed near their cornering limit, and I don't know if I got the most out of them. I was warned to not over-slide them, but I think I was too conservative. The previous test we did with Penny revealed the rear shocks were severely limited in stroke and causing Penny to snap into oversteer unexpectedly when trying to put the hammer down on corner exit, hurting any chance at building speed down the straightaway. The remedy was longer rear shocks from Bilstein, but there wasn't time to test our fix, leaving me with just three laps on the track to figure it out. I found it very difficult to overcome the feeling that I might be suddenly facing backward! I'm sure with a few more laps, I would have found my "groove," but that's not how this event works. It's the same for everyone, so I guess the moral of this story is, "Know your car."
The Racepak data showed that our miles per hour were higher than last year all around the course, except for Turns 6 and 11, where I hit the brakes too early. We'd installed brand-new rotors on Penny the night before the event (don't ask). They worked well, but were not fully seasoned and broken in. While we had no fade, I took it a bit too easy on them and it shows in the data. I also made a poor choice to not downshift in two places on the course. This left me lugging the engine at 3,500 rpm out of the corners. I didn't want to be upshifting while cornering, and it would have added two extra downshifts, but in retrospect, it would have probably been worth it. While I only missed one downshift, I discovered the clutch master had failed when I returned to the pits and couldn't put Penny in First gear.
Autocross and 0-60-0 Report
What a difference a year makes. With the help of quite a few people, we worked hard on sorting out Bad Penny over the year since the inaugural Optima Invitational. The Camaro ran better, reacted quicker, and overall felt phenomenal when dodging little orange cones. And while David Pozzi had a hard time adjusting to the Hoosier A6 tires on the road course, I had snuck in a practice race the month prior and was anxious to drive the autocross segment. Earlier in the day, David Pozzi reported a power steering hiccup while out on the big course. It felt bad at idle, but improved when I brought up the revs, so we decided to tackle our three timed runs. I launched for the first run and the pump decided to go on vacation. This really caught me by surprise when I went to make my first turn and the steering wheel was unwilling to move. We pulled out of line, but discovered there was nothing to be done short of replacing the pump. Since I had made my first lap, I didn't feel it was fair to stop for a repair. The right thing to do was to suck it up and finish my runs. Let's just say my arms were a bit sore for the rest of the day, but we turned in a respectable time. Later, we ran down to AutoZone, bought a stock GM pump, and thanks to Detroit Speed for lending us a puller, repaired the Camaro. Still, the whole "what if" deal was killing me, so Jimi Day let me make an exhibition run with a fully functioning car. The Camaro performed flawlessly and knocked down a time of 42.89 seconds, a time only bested by the '66 Cobra. That time, even unofficial, made all the work we did worth it. In hindsight I probably should have done the repair before my final two runs, but that's water under the bridge and all of us are very happy with how the '68 performed.
The 0-60-0 event is one that I had practiced, although never on the A6 tires. When the starter said "go," I dumped the clutched and put the throttle to the carpet. The Camaro squatted down, kicked a touch to the left and launched like a rocket (the iPod registered 1.10 g's on the launch). When the indicator light came on I mashed the brakes and the Hawk pads chomped down on the fresh Baer rotors. We had a tiny bit of brake lockup, but the Camaro stayed pretty straight, and our 0-60-0 time of 7.4 seconds was the second quickest of the day. We actually tied a GT-R that was in the exhibition class. He had ABS and all-wheel drive, but we had stickier tires. All in all, we had a great time at the event and we're very happy with the car and will keep making improvements to dial it in. Next year we plan on being back on the podium!
2010 SS Camaro Report:
After getting our '10 project Camaro some testing time a few weeks before the event, I was positive the car was sorted out to the upper edge of its ability. It was ... only one problem, so was every other '10 Camaro at the party.
Overall, the Camaro was ready for a fun day at the track, but "fun" wasn't enough, as it needed to be ready for "battle." We've upgraded the car with stiffer springs and sway bars, but I found out early on in the day that the car was going to need more stiffening. For starters, we'll have to add subframe connectors, strut tower bar, and aftermarket struts. The Baer brakes performed flawlessly. There was no noticeable fade, even on the road course where hard braking can really push the pads to their limit.
As for power, the car might have held up better had we not done the autocross first. It seemed like the intercooler to the supercharger was fine for hard street use, but after being thrashed on the track, heat soak can cause some loss in power. When you are going up against cars that are lighter and have more horsepower than yours, every bit counts.
I was extremely happy with the outcome of the event. The car finished in the upper half of the field, and I got a feel for what we'll need to do to make the car faster.
There's no doubt that with more track time and performance upgrades, the '10 Camaro will be able to keep up with the best of 'em.
And a special thanks to the sponsors • Optima Batteries • Ridetech • K&N Filters • Speed by Spectre • BFGoodrich • Baer Brakes • Magnaflow • Bowler Transmission • MSD • VP Racing Fuels • The Roadster Shop • Pfaff Designs • Felser/Moss • Anvil Auto • Mr. Norm's Garage • FM3 Performance Marketing • Detroit Speed Inc. • Vintage Air • Eibach Springs • Classic Instruments • Goodguys Rod and Custom • Shelby Automobiles • Silver State Classic Challenge
Q Results (*Indicates car was disqualified for not finishing all events)


text:
The Layering Circle Framelits make a cute dress. The Detailed Floral Framelits take that dress and turn into a wedding gown with beautiful brocade-like detail. This dress is easy to make once you have made yourself a template (click here to learn how to make the dress template). Once you have the template, just watch my video above on how to turn the dress into a wedding gown. All the supplies you'll need for this project are available for purchase HERE!
Earn a FREE tutorial from me when you place a minimum $15* order
in my Stampin' Up Store
See your tutorial choices HERE
Stampin' Up! Supplies
click on the product for price and details