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USDA on Monday morning confirmed trade expectations by cutting its estimate of U.S. corn production by about 3%, but gave the soybean market a mildly bearish surprise as it raised estimated soybean production by nearly 1%, matching the high end of trade estimates.
On average, the trade had been looking for a 1% drop in U.S. soybean production with drier-than-normal weather across much of the Midwest during August thought to have stressed the crop further.
Monday morning's monthly Crop Production Report pegged U.S. soybean production at 3.085 billion bushels compared with USDA's August estimate of 3.056 billion and trade estimates that averaged 3.025 billion bushels in a range from 2.924 billion to 3.085 billion, according to a survey of 24 analysts done by Dow Jones Newswires. Soybean production is still expected to be down 7% from last year.
USDA pegged the U.S. corn crop at 12.497 billion bushels, down 417 billion bushels from its August estimate and just 8 million bushels below the average of trade estimates that ranged from 11.913 billion to 12.913 billion bushels. Corn production is still expected to be up 50 million bushels from last year.
USDA raised its estimate of the national average soybean yield to 41.8 bu./acre compared with its August forecast of 41.4 bu. and pre-report expectations averaging 41.0 bu./acre in a range from 40.0 to 41.8 bu.
Monday's crop report pegged the U.S. average corn yield at 148.1 bu./acre compared with USDA's August forecast of 153.0 bu. and trade estimates that averaged 148.8 bu. in a range from 145.0 to 153.0 bu. The U.S. corn yield would be the lowest in six years if the current estimate holds up.
USDA did not change its estimate of harvested area for either corn or soybeans, pegging corn harvested area at 84.388 million acres and soybean harvested area at 73.823 million acres.
Some observers expect that USDA will lower its estimates of harvested acreage for both corn and soybeans due to planting delays in the northern Plains and flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
USDA released data on 2011 corn plant populations for the first time in Tuesday's report and that data provides further evidence that poor pollination and ear-fill dragged down yields.
USDA reported that the average corn plant population per acre for the 10 "objective yield" states was the second highest on record behind 2009. Plant populations were larger than last year in eight of the ten "objective yield" states, with only Kansas and Nebraska having lower plant populations.
Corn plant populations were estimated to be record high in the top two producing states of Iowa and Illinois, and also in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Editor's note: Richard Brock, Corn & Soybean Digest's marketing editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.


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'Alt-right' hashtag spurs racism, rebukes during speech
Wondering what "alt-right" means? There's a hashtag for that — but the results might not be pretty.
People in the niche conservative movement are using the hashtag #AltRightMeans not only to define the philosophy, but also to slam Muslims, immigrants in the U.S. illegally and others they see as a threat to their vision of America.
"#AltRightMeans knowing you cannot have a 1st World country with a 3rd world population," read a tweet under the username @Writeonright.
"#altrightmeans White people don't need to apologize for who they are or accept the smear that they have unearned 'privilege,'" said @ReactionaryIan.
It wasn't clear who was tweeting under those names.
Critics are using the #AltRightMeans hashtag too, to expose what they see as bigotry.
"Have blood pressure medicine standing by if you decide to read the #AltRightMeans thread," Hillary Clinton supporter Jeffrey Jon Smith tweeted. "It's the Olympics of racist filth."
The hashtag became one of Twitter's most popular topics Thursday as Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, used a Nevada speech to link Donald Trump's rise to the "alt-right" movement.
Trump, the Republican nominee, is "taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe" take over his party, Clinton said.
Trump's campaign said he's never used the term "alt-right" and disavows "any groups or individuals associated with a message of hate."
"Hillary Clinton's short speech is pandering to the worst instincts in our society. She should be ashamed of herself!" Trump tweeted.
The "alt-right" or "alternative right," to distinguish it from mainstream conservatism, is often associated with efforts to preserve "white identity," oppose multiculturalism and defend "Western values."
Some in the movement refer to themselves as "Europeanists" or "white nationalists." Liberals invoking the #AltRightMeans hashtag Thursday offered their own definitions: racist and xenophobic.
"#AltRightMeans Because 'Nazi' and 'KKK' was already taken," read a tweet under the username @SixPenniesDoom.
"#AltRightMeans the confederacy pre-surrender in a different form. You will lose again. ... and again ... and again," said @GalvarinoChilly.
Neither listed their real names.
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subset: commoncrawl


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In the last decade, most large corporations and many government agencies undertook one of the most ambitious information systems projects in their histories: the implementation of SAP-based enterprise solutions. Now that the solution is in place, organizations can focus on getting more out of what they have.
The Accenture approach to value realization for SAP can help organizations assess how more value can be achieved from their SAP programs faster and more cost effectively. Whatever stage you are at on your SAP journey—implementation, extension, upgrade, maintenance or revisiting to identify new business value—we can help you on your journey to achieve high performance.
Deep industry experience. Our industry experience is translated into integrated business and industry data models, key performance indicators and SAP-based industry solutions that help organizations achieve excellence across their operations. Accenture research into how organizations achieve high performance through their enterprise systems includes ways to optimize the value they get from their SAP programs around three fundamentals they need to maintain culture and cost improvements: strategic objectives linked to process and technology, effective process governance and enabling processes and tools.
Process excellence. Through our functional process knowledge and systems integration experience, we help organizations successfully manage transformation programs underpinned by SAP applications. We have a systematic and rigorous approach, including our Business Value Realization framework and diagnostics, to check and assess business process improvements and their resulting value. We have process improvement specializations in Quick-Win, Lean and Lean Six Sigma.
We enhanced our long-standing operations and strategy expertise with the acquisition of George Group, a recognized market leader in process; operational and business transformation; and innovation strategy.
Extensive experience as SAP's distinguished implementation partner. We have more than 30,900 SAP practitioners, more than 1,500 clients served and 20 SAP Pinnaclbae Awards (more than any other partner). We have broad experience in helping clients seize more business value from their SAP-based programs. Our systematic Business Value Realization approach is sustainable and customizable to each client.
Scale, flexibility and global footprint. We have more than 20 Global Delivery Centers with SAP capability; two Accenture Innovation Centers for SAP in Walldorf, Germany and Bengaluru, India; and one Accenture Delivery Suite for SAP—all to meet the full spectrum of our clients' needs. Our experience is packaged and integrated into Business Value Realization related assets, methods and tools, ensuring a consistent approach to value realization by teams throughout the world.


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Elegant black and pure white – the interesting interplay of contrasts starts with the striking KLUDI ZENTA BLACK & WHITE range.
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Twenty-six miles north of downtown Worcester sits the gates of Ayer's Federal Medical Center Devens. And if the allegations made in a lawsuit are to be believed, one of its temporary residents, convicted insider trader Raj Rajaratnam, has been breaching those gates by wiring money to his fellow inmates in exchange for special treatment.
Before getting into the details, let's visit a scene from "Goodfellas." This 1990 Martin Scorcese film portrayed mobster Henry Hill, whose biggest crime was a $6 million theft from the airline Lufthansa at New York's Kennedy Airport. Mr. Hill was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Once inside the jail, he realized that convicts and guards treated Mafia members better than the other convicts � allowing them to enjoy sumptuous meals and special living quarters � thanks to payoffs by crime families.
This movie comes to mind in considering the allegations against Mr. Rajaratnam. Mr. Rajaratnam is a Sri Lanka native and billionaire who used to run a $3.7 billion hedge fund called Galleon Group. On May 11, 2011, he was found guilty of 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy and has spent the last few years serving an 11-year sentence.
A case in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn. � Malaszuk v. Synamon Management Group LLC � alleges that his former driver was fired for complaining about secret wire transfers that Mr. Rajaratnam ordered him to make to fellow FMC Devens prisoners following his conviction for insider trading. (FMC Devens is a federal prison for male inmates needing specialized or long-term health care.)
The suit was brought against Mr. Rajaratnam, his wife, and Synamon, a company she owns, by Peter Malaszuk, a longtime assistant to the hedge fund manager. The lawsuit claims that for several months the wire transfers were made to 20 inmates at the prison in violation of federal law.
Mr. Malaszuk alleges that he worked for 15 years as Mr. Rajaratnam's assistant at Galleon and after it closed, he was hired by Synamon as a caretaker for real estate in Greenwich, Conn., and as a driver for the Rajaratnam family.
The purpose of the transfers, according to the suit, was to "control such prisoners and obtain special treatment and accommodations in prison."
And those accommodations do bring back memories of "Goodfellas." According to an Aug. 27, 2013, New York Post story, Mr. Malaszuk said Mr. Rajaratnam was "living 'like a king' in prison, where he had a servant, a private bathroom, a balcony, an adjustable bed and his own TV set. He allegedly had a 'prime cell' on the top floor of the prison's hospital ward, usually reserved for the most seriously ill inmates."
The lawsuit alleges that when Mr. Malaszuk visited him at the Ayer prison, Mr. Rajaratnam would often give him pieces of paper with names and inmate numbers for prisoners and contact information for family members to wire money through Western Union. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Rajaratnam told Mr. Malaszuk to use false names with Western Union for identifying the sender of the funds and told him to destroy the paper � alleging that one time Mr. Rajaratnam ordered him to 'eat that piece of paper' that he gave him with the names. The suit alleges that such conduct violated federal law and was prohibited by Devens.
Terence Lynam, a lawyer for Mr. Rajaratnam, in a statement to Reuters called the lawsuit "patently false," saying it stemmed from a "long-running effort by an embittered former employee to extort money from Mr. Rajaratnam and his family."
Joseph Tacopina, Mr. Malaszuk's attorney, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, nor did representatives for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
If these allegations are true, they raise many questions about what is going on at FMC Devens: Why would the guards and administration at FMC Devens give Mr. Rajaratnam special treatment if only the inmates were receiving wire transfers? Does this mean that the inmates were paying some of their funds to the guards? Or was Mr. Rajaratnam also directing wire transfers to the guards and management at FMC Devens? Is Mr. Rajaratnam still enjoying the preferential treatment described in the New York Post article? If not, where is he living now, and when was he moved there? Are other prisoners receiving preferential treatment in exchange for payment to FMC Devens inmates, guards, or administrators?
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons did not respond to my request for comment.
Peter Cohan of Marlboro heads a management consulting and venture capital firm, and teaches business strategy and entrepreneurship at Babson College. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Tropical Depression 10 formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico Thursday and is expected to bring life-threatening flash floods and mudslides to parts of eastern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
As of 11 p.m., the tropical depression had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph as it drifted west at 2 mph about 145 miles east-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico and about 240 miles east-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico.
The depression, which is expected to become a tropical storm Friday, could bring 10 to 15 inches of rain over a large swath of eastern Mexico, with isolated amounts of 25 inches possible, the National Hurricane Center said.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Coatzacoalcos to Barra de Nautla.
The storm was expected to slowly and erratically move west during the next couple of days, according to the NHC.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto lost some strength Thursday night, with its maximum sustained winds dropping to 80 mph as it moved north-northwest over the eastern Atlantic, the NHC said.
As of 11 p.m., Humberto was moving north-northwest at 12 mph about 630 miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Humberto, which became the first hurricane of the 2013 season Wednesday, is expected to weaken further during the next 48 hours. It's expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday.
A turn toward the west-northwest is also expected over the next couple of days.
Forecasters are also tracking a third storm, Gabrielle. It was a tropical depression but regained tropical storm strength on Thursday.
As of 11 p.m., Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph as it headed north-northeast at 10 mph about 450 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Mass. and about 690 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Socita. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.
Gabrielle is expected to weaken on Friday and dissipate by Friday night or early Saturday.
More Weather Content:


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Volkswagen Sevenoaks - 01959432847
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Javed Hamim Kakar
Article Images
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghan army's team of disabled players on Tuesday arrived to a warm reception at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul from just concluded Invictus Games in Canada. Acting Defense Minister Tariq Shah Behrami was... read more
ARAFAT (Pajhwok): Saudi Grand Mufti Shaikh Saad Bin Nasir invited Muslims around the world to unity and said Islam was the religion of brotherhood and gave the message of peace and tranquility. The grand mufti urged the Muslim Ummah ... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): More than 100 Afghans sent to the US for training and other purposes have not returned back to Afghanistan, reliable sources claimed on Tuesday. The Afghans had been sent to the US for higher education, military training and... read more
MAHMOOD RAQI (Pajhwok): Two would-be suicide bombers have been shot dead in the Tagab district of central Kapisa province, a military statement said on Tuesday. The 201st Selab Military Corps said the suicide attackers on motorcycles wanted to... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): A Saudi diplomat in Kabul on Monday accused Qatar of supporting Afghan Taliban and parenting other terrorist groups, dragging the war-torn country into the Gulf crisis. Charge de affairs at the Saudi Embassy in Kabul, Mishari Al-... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): The US Central Intelligence Agency has discussed multiple issues of bilateral interest with unity government leaders. Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah tweeted on Monday that US spymaster met him and President Ashraf... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): Religious affairs experts say only the Saudi Arabia government can better manage the hajj operations and services. Millions of Muslims from around the world annually gather in Islam's holiest cities in Mecca and Medina of Saudi... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): Iraq's national security advisor (NSA) says Daesh and Al-Qaeda militants have presented the international community a grossly flawed picture of Islam. Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) Hanif Atamr said and his Iraqi... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): Former Pakistani president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf has denied the Pakistan military earned money from the Afghan war, but acknowledged some groups did so. In an exclusive interview with BBC Urdu, Musharraf claimed... read more
KABUL (Pajhwok): NATO on Thursday strongly condemned the attack on a convoy of international troops in southern Kandahar province. Two US soldiers were killed and four more wounded in the Taliban-claimed assault near the capital of southern... read more


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The governor signaled his support for the fracking regulation bill during the legislative session. Fracking involves shooting pressurized water and chemicals into the ground to extract oil and natural gas.
In a signing statement, Brown said the bill establishes strong environmental protections and transparency requirements for drilling companies. But he also said the measure needs some clarifying amendments, which he'll work to add next year.


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Paper Crafts Handmade Cards Sneak Peek
The walls and aisles of your favorite paper crafting store are lined with tempting products. But what do you do with them all? Handmade Cards will inspire your supply savvy side with clever and innovative ideas for using a wide range of products - from staples like brads, flowers, and ribbon to newcomers like ready-made banners, decorative tape, and journaling cards. With this issue, you'll take your projects from ho hum to holy cow in no time at all!
Click the cover image for a sneak peek of this must-have magazine.
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Continue reading →
Tags: illusions, kids, photoshop
Somefunny is a place where I post funny pictures and videos discovered during my "non-productive-and-wasting" time on the Internet.
Of course, not every picture or video is funny, some of them are simply interesting to me, and I wanted to have them all in one place.
Some of them are not in English, so if you don't understand it, skip to the next one :)
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We got a little crammed for time on this build, and then had 3 days on set, which we weren't really expecting, so I ran out of time for posting!
We even made little bollard cleats for boats, but I didn't get any pictures :(
This was fairly big. At a total of 16 feet wide, by 9 feet deep. Just the way I like it :)
A behind the scenes look at film and television Prop making peppered with everything else creative we do!
When I lent my services to a collegue who was working on a film about 12 years ago, I was introduced to the world of cnc. I remember watching this huge machining centre milling out a slab of mdf and turning it into a fantastic set of gears. I knew that it would have taken me hours to achieve the same thing with traditional power tools. I decided then that I would invest in a cnc router for my own business Oxenham Design. At that time I could turn on a computer, but even to check email seemed like a crazy set of operations. I persevered and learned every piece of relevant software I could get my hands on. I am now fortunate enough to be using Vectric's ASPIRE software, and Techno cnc routers, which has helped us to create some amazing projects, both in part, or in full. I thought that this blog would be a great place to share "behind the scenes" adventures with the software, materials and equipment we use, as well as the projects we build.
Monday, 2 May 2016
Caught up!
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BATAVIA, OH -- An Ohio club owner has been indicted on multiple drug charges, including manufacturing and trafficking steroids and marijuana.
Authorities indicted Jeff Storch, owner and manager of Bodyworx Fitness 24/7 in Batavia, OH, last Wednesday after they recovered evidence at his house after getting a search warrant. The evidence included firearms, currency, a marijuana-growing operation, five pounds of marijuana, anabolic steroids and steroid-producing compounds, according to multiple media reports.
Storch declined to comment to Cincinnati TV station FOX 19 the following day. His attorney, however, told the station that Storch never sold performance-enhancing drugs out of the club and that the charges are baseless.
The investigation that led to the indictments began in May, the station reported.


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Rob Cox, January 24, 2013
Pool Lift Deadline Approaches
Through tireless efforts of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the deadline for commercial pools to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) had been delayed by one year.
One Year is up in One Week! All commercial pools (and spas) in operation during this time of year - must provide at least one means of entry for individuals with disabilities. This can be either a pool lift or a sloped entry, for use with an aquatic wheelchair.
Other Important Points:
- Pools that have a perimeter of over 300 feet (measured around the pool wall edge, at the coping) need to provide more than one means of access. A second lift, sloped entry, transfer wall or a set of built in pool stairs.
- Means of access must be positioned and ready to use when the pool is open.
- Pools with a separate spa must have a separate means of access for the spa.
- Pool lifts have to be attached to the pool deck, even portable pool lifts.
Other Information for Pools and Spas:
Each wave action, leisure river, sand bottom, or other type of pool where entry is limited to one area must have one accessible means of entry.
Spas must provide at least one accessible means of entry which can be a pool lift, transfer wall, or transfer system. If spas are provided in a cluster, 5% of the total─with a minimum of one spa─per cluster must be accessible.
Footrests are not required on pool lifts provided at spas. However, footrests or retractable leg supports are encouraged, especially on lifts used in larger spas where the water depth is 34" or more and there is sufficient space. Each wading pool must provide at least one sloped entry into the deepest part of the pool. Other forms of entry may be provided as long as the sloped entry is provided. The sloped entries for wading pools are not required to have handrails. The detailed technical requirements for the various types of accessible means of entry for swimming pools, spas, and wading pools can be found in the 2010 Standards at Section 1009.
Pool Lifts must meet the following criteria
- Seat width should be 16" minimum
- Footrest and Armrest provided
- Independently operable by user
- Submerged depth of no more than 18"
- Lifting capacity of 300 lbs
- Installed in area with less than 48" water depth
On January 31, 2012, the DOJ issued a document addressing when and how pool lifts must be installed at existing and newly constructed swimming pools. Key points in the DOJ's document include:
- Pool lifts must be "fixed". At existing swimming pools, if it is not readily achievable to have a "fixed" lift, then a "portable" one can be used if it meets all requirements above. DOJ has stated that "fixed" means "attached" to the pool deck.
- What is "readily achievable" will "vary from business to business and sometimes from one year to the next" and will require a review of all the relevant regulatory factors.
- Pool lifts must be poolside, ready for use and fully operational during pool hours. Pool lift batteries must be fully charged and ready for use at all times when the pool is open.
- When selecting a pool lift, a lodging facility or other place of public accommodation should consider the staff and financial resources needed to keep the lift available at poolside and in working condition.
- Each pool must have an accessible means of entry. This requirement also applies to existing pools unless it is not readily achievable to provide means of entry for every pool. In informal discussions with AH&LA the DOJ stated that a lift may not be shared between a pool and a spa.
Sloped Entries must meet the following criteria:
- Be at least 36" wide
- Have a maximum slope of 8.33%
- Extend 24"-30" below the stationary water level
- Have top and bottom landings if the running slope is greater than 5%
- Have handrails on both sides (except in wading pools)
Transfer Walls
A transfer wall is a wall along an accessible route that allows an individual with a disability to leave his/her wheelchair or other mobility device and transfer onto the wall and then into a pool or spa.
- Clear deck space, at least 60" wide
- Height of 16-19" above pool deck
- Level Surface, Anti-Skid
- Grab bars for assistance
Transfer Systems
A transfer system consists of a transfer platform and a series of transfer steps that descend into the water. Users transfer from their wheelchair or other mobility device to the transfer platform and continue transferring into the water, step by step.
- Transfer platform of at least 19" deep and 24" wide
- Transfer space of at least 60" x 60"
- Transfer step height of 8" maximum
- Surface - smooth and rounded
- Grab bars on each step, or one continuous bar - on each side
Pool Stairs
Accessible pool stairs begin at the pool deck level and descend into the water. In addition, to be used as a means of entry for an individual with a disability, pool stairs must have
- Steps should be at least 11" deep, and uniform in height
- Risers must be closed - no open risers
- Handrails should be 20" - 24" apart
For more information, on the 2010 ADA regulations, as they apply to Pools and Spas, See the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
Indoor pools - you have only one week left to comply. For outdoor pools opening later in the season, you must have the proper means of access in place before opening your doors.
Any questions?


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Wall Street Downgrades Apple, and More
What's News: Apple gets drubbing on concerns about the pricing strategy of the iPhone 5C in China. NSA admits privacy protection violations. Gogo unveils new system to speed up wi-fi on airplanes. Joanne Po reports. Photo: Apple
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... Wall Street is giving Apple's new I Phones asset were yet this is what's news I'm WS J live I'm Joann Co ... shares of Apple slumping down another five percent Wednesday in the aftermath of the company's latest launch of a pair of new I Phones with upgraded features ... a trio of high-profile analysts ... downgraded their investment ratings on Apple ... setting pricing concerns about Apple's new low and device called the five CE ... the feisty will sell for ninety nine dollars with a service contract in the U West ... but it's kind of the price of the five seat concept affecting within thirty three dollars ... making it much more difficult expansion even fast expanding market ... import to note though that seventy percent brokers still rate Apple as the five despite today's downgrades ... court documents reveal that the National Security Agency searches of the phone records database of nearly all Americans violated privacy protections ... for three years ... beating two thousandsix into thousandnine only ten percent of the seventeen thousand eight hundred and thirty five phone numbers ... checked against phone records were based on a reasonable suspicion standard ... documents show that the violations continued until a judge ordered an overhaul of the program ... into thousandnine ... the revelation calls into question the NSA is ability to follow the rules helping the nation's domestic surveillance program ... NSA officials say the violations working in Perth ... it's ... nice to be on a flight across the country and not be connected to the wired world ... well for business travelers those days of refuge are over ... in flight Internet service provider Google unveils a system that uses a combination of satellite and cellular towers ... that looking at airplanes to the web at ... the fixed times as fast as it currently available ... Virgin America wants Congo's new in flight why Fi service in the second half of twenty fourteen ... so-called the excuse anymore that just because you're at thirty thousand feet ... you can't answer e mails ... bookie keep us anomaly this is about this tepid and what's his aunt the beest lad I'm Joann Co


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Yahoo gives a new weather report that they rolled out a search index update but not any more detail than that.
There's a particular phrase that's very competitive on Yahoo that I spot check every time an update is announced (286,000,000 search results) and we have 2 of our sites in the top ten for the phrase. With this most recent Yahoo update, we dropped from #1 to #3 and the second listing moved up to #5 which is fine, but Yahoo is completely ignoring our 301 redirects and showing the wrong domain names.
Matt Cutts from Google gave his own weather report as well talking about better handling of supplemental results, related sites, a pagerank export and the insight that there probably won't be too many huge changes with webspam ranking, but in true Matt-style, he leaves the door open a bit.


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A conductor on Metro-North apologized Monday to riders in Connecticut for an express train that failed to show up, delaying their trip into New York City.
Michael Shaw had told passengers Friday at four stations along the Metro-North Railroad to wait for an express train that later was canceled. He says he put 500 copies of his written apology on rail car seats Monday morning.
"I felt like I actually lied to them because I told them the train was right behind us. And then I found out later, it was actually canceled," Shaw said. "It was my fault for not finding out the proper information and getting it to them, so I felt responsible for doing that to them."
U.S. & World
In the note he addressed to "our friends and passengers," he said he was shocked and furious.
"I am as sick of apologizing to you as you are of hearing it," Shaw said in the letter.
Commuters have recently complained about overcrowded rail cars, forcing many to stand for much of their trips into Grand Central Terminal in New York. In January, downed wires left nearly 200 passengers stranded for about two hours in 10-degree weather in Westport.
Shaw, president of the conductors union, said in an interview that Metro-North often apologizes, but not for every problem that occurs.
"I just did my own letter," he said. "I know a lot of the passengers."
Jim Cameron, a commuter advocate, said it's the first time he can remember a conductor apologizing in writing for Metro-North problems. Conductors have made "unofficial apologies" on the loudspeaker, but he's never known of a conductor leaving written apologies on rail car seats.
"That's extraordinary," Cameron said. "It not only speaks to the dedication of the employee but also the frustration they have with management and the embarrassment they have."
Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for Metro-North, said the rail service shares Shaw's concerns, but does "not condone his methods of communicating them."
"Mr. Shaw made assumptions about train service based on his long experience, but Metro-North operations managers can and do make changes based on the conditions they encounter," she said in an email.
Metro-North communicates schedule changes on its website, through an app and in text messages, email alerts and social media posts, she said. Anders could not immediately say whether passengers were notified about the canceled express train.
Shaw, 48, has been working at Metro-North for 30 years and said he loves his job. "I love the people," he said, comparing his work to postal carriers who know residents on their routes.
In addition, Shaw, who lives in North Haven, Conn., said he receives reports from his daughter who rides Metro-North daily.
"I get the complaints when I get home," he said.
For Metro-North, 2013 was among its worst years ever. A train derailed in Bridgeport in May, injuring scores of passengers. A track foreman was struck and killed less than two weeks later by a passenger train in West Haven. And four people died when a Metro-North train derailed in the Bronx in December.
In September, the New Haven line was disrupted for nearly two weeks when a feeder cable failed. Con Edison had taken the other feeder cable out of service at the request of Metro-North to accommodate the railroad's work in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
"If you communicate, people will understand better," Shaw said. "It's when they sit there for 30 minutes and don't know what happened, that's upsetting."


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Industry and Trades >> Boiler-Kiln
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- Click on Add to Cart to register. "Waiting list" indicates a class is full; you may add your name to the wait list.
- Can't find a class? Click on Choose Additional Classes.


text: Fun Stuff Fun Stuff Fun Stuff!Send board games-the ones they have made into key chains. Videotape their favorite shows on tv. Ensure they can watch it. Send favorite magazines. Check the postal restrictions Disposable cameras. Send a few toys. Slinkys, squirt guns, etc. Theme packages. Send pocket electronic games. About $10 each Make and send a miniature scrapbook. Prev Next


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Public Opinion and the Vietnam War
Video Summary: "In order to win a war, you must win the hearts and minds of the people." With this quote, Liz Morrison introduces her students to the Vietnam War, the controversy over U.S. involvement in the war, and the trajectory of public opinion over the course of the war.
Using data cards and a timeline of the war's key events, Ms. Morrison begins the lesson by asking students to predict public opinion at different points during the war on an approval/disapproval continuum. Then students study the events of the war more closely by interviewing people who lived through the war and watching evening news footage that was aired at the time. Students also examine public opinion by analyzing Gallup Polls conducted between December 1965 and February 1968. Students look for trends in polling data -- for example, in President Johnson's approval ratings and in the percentage of Americans who believed the United States was making a mistake by sending its troops to Vietnam. Finally, Ms. Morrison plays music that was written in response to the war and asks students to interpret the lyrics and consider the influence popular music has on public opinion. As the lesson concludes, students compare what they've learned about the war to their initial predictions of public approval and disapproval.
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


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Critical Skills – spellweaving.
Every class has skills to learn – no, not talents, skills at playing – that once learned turn you from a roboplayer to a player who is widely respected for knowing how2play. Today, we're going to look at one such skill for the shadowpriest — spellweaving. No, not shadoweaving – that's a talent that just 'happens' once you pay the points. This one…
Basically, what you're doing is learning to work the order of your skills to maximize the effect – your dps in almost every case. What you're working with are the casting times and cooldowns. And you can start learning this at level 10 — in fact, that's what I'm going to use as our example for teaching.
At level 10, excluding talents and racial spells, we have the following damage spells:
- Shadow Word: Pain (Rank 2). Instant cast. 66 total damage over 18 seconds (in 3 second ticks). No Cooldown (GCD applies).
- Mind Blast (Rank 1). 1.5 second cast. 39-43 damage. 8 second cooldown.
- Smite (Rank 2). 2 second cast. 25-31 damage. No Cooldown.
- Shoot. Instant. damage depends on wand. Cooldown depends on wand. I'm going to assume you bought (or made) a Lesser Magic Wand – because you could start using it at level 5, and it'll outdo most anything that drops for you for quite some time. This means the damage is 12-22 and the cooldown is 1.5 seconds.
Two last things to know before we take this to the table. First, the GCD – Global CoolDown. At level 10 everything you do — well, everything in combat — requires you take a 1-second pause before you do something else. This cooldown isn't in addition to anything else, but it applies if nothing else makes the delay longer. AN IMPORTANT POINT: The global cooldown sets how long you must wait to do ANYTHING else. The spell's cooldown sets how long you have to wait before you use THAT SPELL. hmmm. Anyway, the second you need to know about lag and how it applies.
There is a delay – ideally less than a tenth of a second, but it can be as much as a full second – in the time between when you tell your computer (the client) to do something and when the server gets the message from the client. Now there are tools and techniques to cope with this and I'll discuss some in other posts, but right now we're going to claim it's immutable. What it means is that for your character time is not accurate. That 1.5 second cast time while you wait to start the next spell will stretch to 1.6, 1.7, or more. Add in human reflex and the delay is measurable. For the rest of this exercise, we're going to plan for a 0.2 second lag which will get added to every single spell.
We're going to set up a spellweaving plan that's designed to get the maximum damage despite lag over a 21 second battle. (Yes, I cherry picked that time. You'll see why.)
Our first task (well, second, but we already got damage and timing list of all spells) is to calculate the DPS – Damage Per Second. This will help us rank our spells for maximum punch over time. For those spells with a min and max, we take the average as our damage, and for both those and the absolutes we divide by the number of seconds the spell is active — EXCLUDING the cooldown. (Why? Because we can stuff other things in while the cooldown is processing. Bear with.) Oh – SW:P is an odd one. As a Damage over Time (DOT) spell it can process in the background. Don't worry, we'll get to it.
SW:P is 3 2/3 DPS. MB is 27 1/3 DPS. Smite is 14 DPS, and the wand is 17 DPS.
Now in a perfect and unrestricted world we'd hit SW:P, wait a second, and then start hitting the MB button every 1.5 seconds. 31 dps for 19 seconds is, at our level, sweet. Unfortunately, lag and cooldown say this isn't possible. But it still sets up the first two spells — though not necessarily their best order.
I'm going to start with SW:P, and 1.2 seconds later start MB. MB goes off 1.7 (1.5 plus lag) later, putting us 3.9 seconds into the battle. Because it's so big, we're going to cast it again when the cooldown is done 8 seconds from now (lag doesn't affect cooldown times, but due to reflexes we'll plan it on all GCDs) – at 11.9 seconds into the battle (kicking off at 13.6 seconds). Note that I'll not be able to use it a third time in a 20 second battle as it's not available till 21.6 seconds. We'll come back to that which is why I mention it.
8 seconds, maximum damage. I've got a 2.2 second for 28 and a 1.2 second for 17. Using my nominal dps, I know the 1.2 second does the most damage per time, so I'd like to put it in. Unfortunately, there is NOTHING I can squeeze into the half-second cooldown, and those half seconds would add up. I'd only be able to put 5 shoots into the mix, which means there are 2 wasted seconds in the middle – – though the GCD of the last shoot, plus lag, goes to exactly 8 seconds. (17*5=85 — remember that). This may be bad — at least it sure seems it, so I'll test an alternatives. I'll try to work around this with a bit of tricker. I'll alternate wand and smite. Starting with wand, I get 2 wands and 2 smites that take up exactly 7.8 seconds – again, a near-perfect fit. Since both techniques have a perfect fit, the only question is which does more damage. Our second mix does 2×17 plus 2×28 for 92 points of damage – a whopping7 points more . It's the mix for the win.
Again, our second MB is starting 11.9 (wand/smite) and kicks its damage at 13.6 seconds. The next measure is nominally at 19.2 seconds. That's when the SW:P ends with its last tick, and we have to decide whether to renew it or do something else. Since we're stopping at 21 seconds this doesn't matter – the first tic happens after that. And we won't start a third MB till 21.6 seconds either. So we've got 7.4 seconds to fill. heh – that first fill? The last damage of the wand is before 21 seconds is up. And it's still the best.
My plan for now is SW:P, MB, shoot, smite, shoot, smite, MB, shoot, smite, shoot, smite. I'm going to (nominally) do 66+41+90+41+90= 330 damage or ~15.7 dps. For a level 10 character, that ain't too bad. But… can I make it better?
sorta. If I swap MB and SW:P (back at the very beginning), and sneak in an extra 0.2 seconds, I can drop the very first wand (17 points) and add a third MB (41 points). In the first sequence I could have dropped the last wand (17 points) to do SW:P instead, but it wouldn't do the first 11 points till 22.2, and the MB wouldn't trigger till the 22.5 second mark. I'd have added to the damage but only by significantly adding to the time — and with this 'sorta' swap I'm able to continue roughly the same sequence over the next 20 seconds or so.
So my NEW plan is: MB, SW:P, smite, shoot, smite, MB, shoot, smite, shoot, smite, MB, doing 358 damage over 21 seconds (nominal) for a dps rate of 17.
Now, this is a simple (yes, I said simple) plan. Making modifications to allow trinkets, to maximize mana recovery (the five second rule coming into play), and so forth will change it. What I've done is shown how by PLANNING the sequence you can get a lot better damage. Oh, I guess not. OK, let's say you went SW:P, MB, 4x smite (yes, I know, but we're doing it 'quick'), MB, wand to end. You get four wands in at the end, which means your mana recovery starts early (a bonus). You do 330 points of damage – the same as the original weave. Which at first appears to moot the point – 330 works, after all.
But again, two points. First, with the spellweaving we get an increase of 8% damage. Second, this is level 10. We have yet to add mind flay. And the ability to modify our cooldown with Improved Mind Blast. And Psychic Scream and Vampiric Embrace and various racial spells and… Learn this skill early, and you'll be outperforming your peers by as much as 25%.
Oh, before I go I MUST pass on a key point. See, this is really stage one of spellweaving. We're winding up with what appears to be a fixed sequence. In reality, it gets more complex – but that'll actually help you exceed when the actions of your opponents interfere. To tease with the key point – instead of sequence, you establish priority. Given any combination of spells, which do you choose first (second, third, …) so that over time you maximize the effect you want? The resulting patterns aren't patterns. But if you've learned to dance across the patterns, you'll have half the battle won.


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Citing the conclusions of WCRF/AICR's expert report and its recent updates, the pro-vegan advocacy group called the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has launched a pitched campaign to raise awareness that regular consumption of hot dogs and other processed meats increase risk of colorectal cancer.
PCRM's campaign is certainly arresting: A billboard ad that depicts hot dogs poking out of a cigarette pack has received a great deal of media attention.
Although AICR is not affiliated with PCRM or this campaign, the ad's claims are based on WCRF/AICR's Continuous Update Project (CUP), which built and continuously maintains the world's largest research database on diet, physical activity, weight and cancer. A CUP report on colon cancer risk was released earlier this year, which confirmed the recommendations of an independent, international 21-member expert panel convened by WCRF/AICR.
Among those recommendations: Limit consumption of red meat to 18 ounces per week. But according to the expert panel: "The evidence on processed meat is even more clear-cut than that on red meat, and the data do not show any level of intake that can confidently be shown not to be associated with risk." Processed meat includes hot dogs, bacon, sausage and lunchmeat.
Specifically, the CUP report concluded that, if a person eats 3.5 ounces (the size of one jumbo hot dog) of processed meat every day, their risk of colorectal cancer will be 36% higher than someone who eats no processed meat. If they eat 7.0 ounces of processed meat every day (49 ounces per week), their risk will be 72% higher, and so on.
That's why we recommend saving processed meats for special occasions, such as a slice of ham at Easter or a hot dog at a ball game.
But let's put that extra risk in context.
Take the example of a person eating one jumbo hot dog a day, every day. The fact that his risk for colorectal cancer is 36% higher than someone who doesn't eat processed meat is a real cause for concern. But note that a 36% increase, while substantial, is not anywhere near the risk associated with cigarette smoking.
Smoking doesn't simply increase risk for lung cancer, but multiplies a person's risk by as much as 20 times, according to the CDC.
The increased risk associated with diets high in processed meat is much, much smaller than that. Even a person who eats 7 ounces, day in and day out, increases his risk by 72% — in other words, his risk doesn't even double, let alone multiply by a factor of 20.
Here's the bottom line: An occasional hot dog will not cause colon cancer. What the evidence does show, however, is that making processed meats an everyday part of the diet, as many Americans do, poses clear and serious risks. That is why AICR continues to recommend avoiding processed meats.
And that's also why finding convenient, healthful alternatives to hot dogs, bologna and other school lunch staples is so important.


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Today Elijah and Cora had their first day of school…almost two weeks after all the other kids in their class. Excitedly they put on their new clothes, carried their new backpacks full of school supplies and new lunch boxes full of enviable snacks. Cheesy grins and tilted heads came out for the obligatory "first-day-of-school" picture, and then we were off.
"I'm kind of nervous."
The closer we got to the school, the more they shared about their fears relating to a new school, new teachers, and new friends.
"What if nobody likes me?"
"What's my teacher's name again?"
"When will you pick us up?"
Escorted by the school secretary, we dropped off Eli first, barely saying goodbye before she whisked us off to Cora's class. Looking back his eyes were Charlie Brown-ish in their wide-eyed anxiety. I waved again, to reassure him, and hurried to catch up.
Cora giggled her way through introductions and instructions on where to place her lunch and backpack. She too looked fearful, but covered it up with giddy energy. Once again I'm sending a baby off to school, feeling the slight give as she pulls a step away from me.
I wanted to yank her back, hold her in my arms and run with her to Eli. The amount of change and transition they have experienced in the last few months has been overwhelming. Instead, I walked away, smiling a reassuring smile; my heart tap danced inside my chest.
Calling Josh, we talked about how nervous we each were for them, while at the same time reassuring one another that they would be fine.
And they were.
Six hours later I picked them up; they non-stop chattered about playing Lava Monster at recess, learning to write lowercase "l," and how they saw each other at lunch.
So begins another school year…


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Notice: I know some people are going to be too lazy to read this all the way through. Long story short: this site is no longer active. But fear not. It is being combined with my other site to form a new site in an effort to consolidate and prettify stuff. This post is cross-posted both at the other site and at the new site.
Life's a funny thing, they say.
I started blogging in 2003, as a sophomore in college. It was at the encouragement of a few friends who found my goofy sense of humor funny, and were willing (even eager) to read humorous pieces I had written. And boy, were they goofy. Some of the most creative (and dare I say inspired?) stuff I've written came out of that period, actually. And much to my surprise, people started reading. Not the 'public,' whoever they are, but people I knew - my siblings, and other friends and family - people who I wasn't even writing for originally. They actually found me genuinely funny. It was weird. My siblings, both older, never seemed to really admire me for anything, and now, it seemed, I was impressing them, and their friends. It was very cool, a real ego boost. And time went on, and I continued updating, with the occasional 3-month dry spell. I never got to the point of posting regularly or particularly frequently, likely due in a large part to my commitment to producing original work, rather than linking to other people's creations. Well, that and procrastination....
Allow me to digress here for a minute. I was something of an oddity in the blogging world. Most bloggers maintain readership by posting often. Typically, either these posts involve descriptions of their day-to-day lives, something which one never really runs out of material for, or they'd post links to other creative work, occasionally with added commentary. I was not prepared to broadcast the details of my life to the general public, and I didn't want to exist remora-like, living off the scraps left by the real producers of writing, images, music, and video. I wanted to be one of those producers, by writing relatively impersonal, humorous pieces. And that's pretty hard to do regularly, or it was for me, anyhow. But I kept at it, because even though my number of daily hits rarely crept above 10, it also didn't really sink down to zero. People were reading, so I continued writing, albeit sometimes infrequently. About a year and a half after starting blogging, it occurred to me that I had what to write that wasn't goofy and humorous. The material I had in mind was downright serious. And so I had a problem. I couldn't just post those pieces on the original blog, like nothing was different, because I didn't want to turn away readers who had come to expect humor. But I still wanted to share my thoughts on weightier matters than the odd contents of my fridge.
So I started a second blog, this site.
This just compounded my problems. Ideally, I would have a regularly updated blog, with many readers and an active and lively comments section. By creating a second blog, for my 'serious' stuff, I was splitting my efforts and my readership, and ultimately hurting my progress in reaching my goals. But what could I do? I kept updating both blogs, and people (still very few) read both. I wanted to upgrade. But how? Well, for starters, if I was going to maintain two blogs, when one could probably suffice, I could at least make them both stand out. Thus began the big redesign. After a few false starts, I redesigned each blog in turn, from the bottom up. The functionality remained the same, but they got all dressed up in what I thought were nice makeovers. Still, while I wasn't getting at the main issue, I ran into others. Blogger wasn't giving me the flexibility and control I wanted to have with my site, nor did I have online storage to use. Plus, the web addresses were long and cumbersome - there were regular readers who sometimes forgot them. So I decided on a new non-solution, something I'd been planning on doing anyway. Enter the as-yet-unused bitsofink.com. I thought it was a neat little title which happened to be available - using a play on the word "bits" to connote digital writing, and a kind of meshing of the past and present, something I try to aim for in my writing. (Ok, so I guess that sounds a little pretentious. Mea culpa.) So then the question was "now what?" Well, I could (and did, actually) import the two blogs into one, hosted at bitsofink. But this wasn't a solution either - not yet, anyway. People would need to be redirected to the new site (actually, not such a difficult problem to solve), plus, what would become of the new designs? They centered around their banners, and the new combo-blog would be called something different. So if I wanted a new site, I'd need a new design. I got as far as designing the banner, which I just dropped into a (fairly boring) pre-made template. But I continued updating the two Blogger sites, and nothing really changed.
Finally, the final straw came. You see, as I continued writing in the 'serious' blog, I found that I was writing more and more personal material. And life has a way of not being easily placed into 'humorous' or 'serious' boxes. Life just is, and we just live it - lovely and crazy and giddy and depressing as it is. It's sometimes so terrifying you have to laugh, and sometimes so laughable you have to cry, and sometimes, it's just wabi-sabi. So I was coming up with posts that didn't belong in one of the two blogs, but somewhere in-between. So I decided I'd just have to bite the bullet and do it. So I worked on a redesign that I think is nice enough to justify the move and the abandonment of the old sites. I've imported all of the old posts and even marked them with which blog they originally came from (using fun little icons. I still have a few things to tweak, and I need to clean up the old imported posts so they look right and such, but things are more or less up and running. Now I can get back to posting in earnest, and maybe even persuade some of the other bloggers who read my stuff to throw a link or two my way (hint, hint) to help me finally get this operation off the ground. The old sites will remain up, and I'll put up a notice to that effect within a week, but all new updates will be at the new site.
Phew, who knew blogging could be such hard work?


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From the project github page:
Kmscon is a simple terminal emulator based on linux kernel mode setting (KMS). It is an attempt to replace the in-kernel VT implementation with a userspace console.
Despite its name, KMS is not a hard requirement for kmscon. Kmscon supports the following video backends: fbdev (Linux fbdev video backend), drm2d (Linux DRM software-rendering backend), drm3d (Linux DRM hardware-rendering backend). Make sure one of them is available on your system.
Kmscon can function as a drop-in replacement for the in-kernel linux-console. Features include:
- Full vt220 to vt510 implementation.
- Full internationalization support:
- Kmscon supports printing full Unicode glyphs, including the CJK ones.
- Kmscon provides internationalized keyboard handling through libxkbcommon, thus allowing it to use the full range of keyboard layouts supported in X keyboard.
- Hardware accelerated rendering.
- Multi-seat capability.
NB: KMSCON supports user logins only. If you need to login as root you will either need agetty or log into root using the su command.
Install kmscon from one of the official repositories. Alternatively, you can install kmscon-gitAUR from the Arch User Repository.
Replacing linux-console
As root, issue:
# ln -s /usr/lib/systemd/system/kmsconvt\@.service /etc/systemd/system/autovt\@.service # systemctl enable kmsconvt\@.service
This will make systemd start kmscon instead of agetty on each VT. If for whatever reason kmscon failed to start, then agetty would be started instead.
CJK Support
Kmscon supports rendering CJK characters through the default font engine pango. However, fontconfig has to be globally configured to map the monospace font alias to proper CJK fonts. For Chinese users, the following template is provided and proved to result in satisfactory Chinese characters rendering:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd"> <fontconfig> <match> <test name="family"><string>monospace</string></test> <edit name="family" mode="prepend" binding="strong"> <string>DejaVu Sans Mono</string> <string>WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono</string> </edit> </match> </fontconfig>
You need to have ttf-dejavu and wqy-microhei, both available from the official repositories, installed.
- You may want to add '--hwaccel --drm' to ExecStart if you have problems with switching between Xorg and kmscon.
ExecStart=/usr/bin/kmscon "--vt=%I" --seats=seat0 --no-switchvt --font-name Terminus --font-size 12 --hwaccel --drm


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Matt Reeves, who is directing the remake of "Let the Right One In," promises his vampire flick will be darker than "Twilight." It had better be.
"'Twilight' is kind of a fantasy, this will be a darker, scarier kind of journey," Reeves told MTV in a phone interview.
Considering the tone of the respective films, this point should've been self-evident -- especially to Reeves..
"Reeves hasn't done much to assuage concerns that his remake will be a sloppy and asinine shadow of the original," said The Playlist. "He goes on to describe the film as a 'beautiful coming-of-age story' and as 'being about the difficulties of growing up.' So it will be darker than 'Twilight,' but maybe not as dark as an episode of '7th Heaven.'"
The cast does feature two very talented actors in Kodi Smit-McPhee of "The Road," and Chloe Grace Moretz of the much buzzed "Kick-Ass."
There's almost zero chance the remake will live up to the expectations of the original's fans, so getting worked up about it seems pointless. Folks should wait for the first footage to leak before spitting nails.


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The EDD's Loree Levy said the staff worked through the weekend to fix the problem and clear the backlog. But she said, as of Monday, about 80 thousand people were still waiting to have their claims to be processed.
"However, looking down the road, we do see the right trend in place where we have fewer and fewer people coming into the backlog," Levy said. "At the same time we're clearing some cases out of the backlog, so we do anticipate some progress, certainly, over the days ahead."
Levy said she cannot predict when the backlog will be cleared, but employees will work through the coming weekend.
She said a combination of factors caused the delay. There were EDD staff reductions because of federal budget cuts, more people filed for unemployment and there were problems making the transition to the new payment system.


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Welcome to the Microsoap guide at TV Tome.
Microsoap is based around Emily Parker and her brother Joe, who's parents are total opposites their mom like to Bungee Jump and eat Baked Beans out of cans, whereas their Dad arranges cans of soup in aphabetical order. So they divorce. Their mom meet a builder named Roger and Roger buys the house next door to the Parkers and knocks down the wall between the homes so it's just one big house where Roger, Mom, Emily, Joe and Rogers three children David, Felicity and Robbie can live in. Their Dad meets a theropist and he marries her.
This Show aired on BBC-1 and Disney Channel UK. BBC-1 doesn't air Microsoap.
Broadcast Schedule:
Disney Channel: Disney Channel UK air Microsoap every night at 1.25 am
Where are the cast now?
Rebecca Hunter (Emily): After Microsoap Rebecca auditioned for "Star Street" which she got the role. The Show was about a band struggeling. In real-life a band was part of the audition. T


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January 12th, Book It!
Posted on: Friday, December 30, 2011
Ruby Rose Drive-Up
Posted on: Thursday, December 22, 2011
Posted on: Wednesday, December 21, 2011
six jewels a sparklin'...
five leather boots...
and a swanky floral velveteen chair!
and a swanky floral velveteen chair!
Don't forget...we are open today from 11-4. Come get 'er done!!!
Posted on: Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Posted on: Monday, December 19, 2011
Posted on: Saturday, December 17, 2011
Posted on: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Our Version of the 12 Day of Christmas
Taking Some Time for Tea at Ruby Rose
Posted on: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
At Ruby Rose, we surround ourselves with "beautiful" junk, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy some of the finer things in life, such as taking time out for afternoon tea.
Our friend Tracy of Stewart & Clark has added afternoon tea time at her café, and we were happy to be the first to sample her Full Tea* menu.
One of the teas was a lovely fragrant black tea called Miriage Freres--perfect for sipping out of a delicate vintage tea cup.
If you've ever been by Ruby Rose in the afternoon you will notice that we take our treat time very seriously. It's such a pleasure to sit down for a few moments and just enjoy sweet bites and each other. It's reviving, and in our case, it's a nice break before we attempt moving everything we moved out of the store, back into the store...before it gets dark.
Images by Jennifer Young of I ART U
*Just a note
Full Tea: tea, savory, scones, sweets & dessert
Light Tea: tea, scones & sweets
Cream Tea: tea, scones, jam & cream
Guest Post by Kim: Hidden Treasure // SLO Toffee Company
Posted on: Tuesday, December 13, 2011
We will be sampling the toffee at Ruby Rose on Friday and Saturday, so stop in and give it a try.
Who Knew?!
Posted on: Monday, December 12, 2011
Los Angeles
Posted on: Thursday, December 8, 2011
Sometimes it feels like there should be a support group for what I'm about to say..."I love L.A., yep, I do! I live in paradise in San Luis and can't imagine living anywhere else, but I do love a getaway to San Francisco or L.A., for the cities have a certain energy and endless offerings.
Ruby and I took a little overnighter recently. We visited disneyland one day and L.A. the next.
We woke up early and headed to The Grove--they have some great holiday decor. We had breakfast at DuPars Restaurant & Bakery...this place has THE best pancakes ever! It's a very old school diner that hasn't changed its philosophy since starting up in 1938. They have an early bird special that they charge you the price of the time you come in between 4-6. If you arrive at 4 :12, you pay $4.12! Love it.
Can you see Santa and his reindeer flying overhead?! There is snowfall throughout at dusk!
I love the way people dress to shop here--most were definitely on their game!
There is an American Girl store here and these little ones take it very seriously!
The Grove is connected with the Farmers Market. I remember my parents going there on their date drives. There are over 100 eateries/specialty foods under one roof. It is soooo hard to decide what to eat--the famous French dip, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, pastries, the list goes on, yummm. Ruby and I love the Cuban, there is always the longest line but it is sooo worth it.
We LOVE the shoe department at Nordstrom. Don't you feel like the shoes call to you sometimes?
After spending the whole day at The Grove, we headed out feeling accomplished, and then we ran into this sign! The pop up sale is held at Hollywood High every Saturday morning. Ruby and I decided that it was fate and that we must check it out--we each had 30ish dollars left.
There were dealers with racks and tables, and what seems to be appearing a lot more nowadays--boutique trucks. It makes me want to have a Ruby Rose pop-up truck, what do you think?
What a fun way to end the day! Ruby came home with a sweater, a scarf, and a pearl cocktail ring and I bought some boots, whew.
We are already planning our next trip--to a really fun exhibit at The Getty and a showing of Wicked which is back at the Pantages.
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With Naxals taking on the Marxist-led government in West Midnapore, Bengal is in the grip of what is tantamount to a murderous civil war. That the Marxists brought this upon their head, through their brutal methods of land acquisition and other acts of oppression, is not the main issue. What is at issue is that the sovereignty of not just Bengal but of the Indian state is being called into question. Not only in Bengal, but everywhere where private militias and mobs represent what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the biggest threat to national security.
In one of the most dangerous developments facing the country today, a fundamental public sector undertaking of the nation is being subversively privatised: violence. The Indian state — as indeed any other state — must in order to exist hold a monopoly over the resort to violence, or the use of physical force. When the state imposes capital punishment on a criminal it is a legitimate execution; when a private individual wilfully takes the life of another citizen it is murder, which the state, and only the state, has the right to avenge through the death penalty.
Through the enforcement of its penal code, through its sovereign right to declare war against another nation, the state zealously protects its monopoly on violence, on the actual use or the threat of use of physical force. It must do so if it is to survive as a state and not degenerate into chaos, with each one's hand against his neighbour's in murderous conflict without referee or redress. Violence, its use or the threat of its use, is the foundational PSU without which the state can't exist. And there are signs that in India, this pivotal PSU is being privatised, with private citizens — in the form of mobs or militias — taking the law into their own hands and challenging the state's monopoly on violence, be it Kolkata, Guwahati or elsewhere.
What is the real meaning of mob fury (such as over the Nandigram/Taslima issue, or over tribals demanding their rights) and what causes the smallest spark to ignite it? The general answer is that people have lost faith in the 'system' — an amorphous amalgam of politicians, the police, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, etc — and vent their frustrations in outbursts of mob frenzy, spurred on by a sensation-hungry media that highlights such incidents. Mob rule, however, represents a far graver danger than that of sporadic violence: it questions the very existence of the state as a whole, and not just one segment or manifestation of it. In this sense, mob violence is as subversive of the state as a campaign of terrorism.
A recent press report revealed that, with lawlessness on the increase the total number of private security personnel for the first time has outstripped the aggregate of all our police forces and defence services rolled into one. The police and the defence forces are traditionally the bulwarks protecting the state's monopoly on violence. When the private sector, in terms of sheer numbers, undermines the guarantors of that monopoly, the very fabric of the state is called into question.
Indeed, by encouraging the formation of the Salwa Judum 'people's militia' (whose members are often no more than teenagers) to combat extremists in Chhattisgarh, the state has implicitly abrogated its sovereign and exclusive right on the use of violence. Long before this, 'private armies' like the Ranvir Sena have held sway over large parts of Bihar and elsewhere. And in the vacuum left behind by an absconding state, so-called Naxals have almost total control of some 160 districts in the country.
What instigates the private takeover of the state's monopoly on violence? It is when that monopoly is seen to be criminally and flagrantly misused, as happened in Nandigram and in other cases of forcible dispossession of lands and forests from their traditional and rightful owners. When any state monopoly fails, private players step in to fill the gap. And in this case, those private players include rampaging mobs and armed insurgents. The brick and the bullet and the flaming torch replace the rule of law and disorder.
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BOULDER — Add Chidera Uzo-Diribe to the list of Colorado true freshmen who definitely will not redshirt this season.
Uzo-Diribe is a developing, 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end from Corona (Calif.) High School. He is a former basketball player that had played football for only two seasons in high school.
"He will play," CU coach Dan Hawkins said Wednesday following practice. "He's a good speed guy. He'll go."
Uzo-Diirbe, a top-tier athlete for his size, tallied 7 1/2 sacks as a high school senior.


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This is my first publicly posted fic, so I will welcome any criticism/feedback/etc, positive or negative. But please, if you hate it try not to be a complete ass. )
Cooled Ambition
A Fate/Stay Night Fan Fiction
Chapter 1: Death of a Magus
The world was dark.
But than again, it had been so for the past twenty years.
Now, she would return to correct the mistakes she had ignored twenty years ago that caused this worldly plight, and in doing so, bring hope for the future.
That is all she desires. As a tear ran from her sapphire eyes, she realized that was all he really wanted as well.
It has been twenty years since the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War ? and the end of human civilization as it was known to be. The Servant whom attained that foul object of destruction cared nothing for life, killing his Master at the end, and wishing for nothing else but the destruction of life. Thus the Grail granted his desire, spreading infinitely outward, obliterating all life in its path while he crowned himself King over the world once more.
There was no opposing the power of the Grail. All who tried fell before its might: The Association. The Church. They were the most powerful organization on this planet, yet they were naught but flies before the Grail. They were destroyed within days, leaving the remnants of humanity to fend for themselves.
Two magi, distraught with grief over all they had ignorantly allowed to happen, swore to do what they could to end the nightmare. The man, seriously weakened from the War, lasted ten years before his life finally perished at the hands of the Golden King.
The other, desperate for a way to salvage her world, cried out desperately for aid. An elderly man answered, and offered her an apprenticeship. She accepted his offer, and for the next ten years she proceeded to learn as much as she could from her new master, knowing that she could never learn everything from him, having lived for many centuries while she had barely thirty seven years to her body and soul. She advanced startlingly swift, however, and became able to form a shadowed version of his signature sorcery.
One day, her master informed her that he had done all he would do for her, that the hopes of this world were on her shoulders. She thought back to her younger days, smiling bitterly at the circumstances that had occurred. This was not what she wanted out of life. This opportunity was what he wanted, yet she knew that it was wrong. Only a fool who never knew happiness would dream to be a hero. But she knew that the circle she had helped set in motion had to be closed, and merely nodded and bid her master farewell, setting out to confront the Golden Monstrosity.
The battle was over shortly after it had begun. The magi was skewered, and looked more like a grotesque puppet than a human being. Her raven locks were disheveled and caked in fresh crimson blood. Her right hand, left shoulder, right breast, stomach, pelvis, right thigh, left shin, and right ankle all had weapons protruding from them, contorted at odd angles. The pain was excruciating, but she kept her azure eyes narrowed on the man in Gold, standing before his throne with a blonde woman on the ground beside him, naked, her eyes glazed over. She had obviously been driven mad many years ago.
?Tut, tut. You never learned did you, young lady? True, I am mortal again, but I still have the powers of a Servant.? He looked down at her with a mocking gesture. ?You, as a mere human, never had a chance. Still, I have grown quite bored as of late. I knew the mind of the King of Knights would not survive the blessing of the Grail, but I never dreamed that the body it would give her would become so useless after twenty short years.? He glanced down in contempt and kicked at the unmoving form beside him, than turned back to the magus. ?I shall allow you live, and you shall become my next belonging.? He licked his lips as he began to glance over her body.
She coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat as far towards him as she could, than choked out a laugh. ?My desire to live is not so strong as to relinquish my soul to a fool such as you. You may be a ?King?, but you could never satisfy me.? She challenged him to make her coming death as quick as possible.
The King clicked his tongue and bit at the bait as he stared daggers at the magus as she screamed in agony. Wait, that would be because there were four new holes in her body, located in her left hand, both feet, and where her nose used to be. ?It seems you need to learn some manners before I let you near me. Do not speak unless spoken to, bitch!? He shouted and raised a hand.
She knew that this was it. She knew that she had pushed him too far, that he would kill her with another hail of Noble Phantasms when his arm fell. She was angry with herself, that she could not even correct her mistake that she had worked twenty years to repair! Thus she let loose a primal growl and hung her head.
Do you wish to defeat him?
A voice resounded in her broken mind, and she sharply looked up.
Do you wish for the power to defeat him? You have attempted to aid me, so I shall aid you if you wish for it.
No, her voice said to herself. This cannot be happening! She wasn?t supposed to be the one to become this. She did not want this. This was what happened to him, and she did not want to become like him!
However, she knew that it was going to turn out this way. She glanced at the two images of herself in her head. In one she was skewered by numerous weapons, her current death. In the other she was walking an endless path with no destination. She knew which path he had chosen. And although she did not want to from the bottom of her soul, she chose the same path.
Do you wish for aid? The voice asked again.
She struggled to sigh and softly choked out her answer. ?Yes?.
Time froze, and the weapons skewering the magus simply faded away. Her wounds closed up, the damaged muscles and tissue repaired themselves, and her spilt blood was renewed. The crest symbolizing her family?s magic history impossibly began to grow. At first, it pained her as it had before when it was slowly transplanted, but the pain soon stopped, yet the crest continued to spread until it covered her entire left arm.
Suddenly the voice of her master echoed sadly in her head.
?Know that I did not want this for you. However, I knew this would happen as you had not yet gained what you had needed to be able to truly master the Second Sorcery. In truth, you still cannot fully master it. However, your decision has given you the raw power and understanding to learn how to construct, shape, and use something that can do so in a limited fashion. Thus, I shall depart my final lesson to you, apprentice. You have been a good pupil, perhaps the best in a very long time. For that I shall miss and grieve for the endless existence ahead of you.
She did not show any emotion, and simply replied, ?Thank you, master. Farewell.?
And time resumed, with her now-healed body standing before the Golden King once more. At first, one could say that nothing other than her body had changed from a few seconds before, but anyone able to sense magic would be able to note the astronomical increase in the amount of mana that radiated from her now.
The King flinched. ?What the?what the hell just happened to you?!?? He warily shouted as apprehension began to dawn on him.
She merely smiled and said, ?Nothing within the pitiful boundaries of your mind would allow you to understand. Just note that you will die here.? Her right arm rose and hung in the air before applying the knowledge she had learned just seconds before and she spoke three words.
?Jeweled Sword Zelretch!?
A small sword formed in her hand. The grip and guard itself are simple, but the blade is exceedingly beautiful, seemingly formed of pure crystal at first glance. Nothing radiates from the sword itself, yet it hides an ability that vastly outclasses almost anything that would dare to stand against it, including the so-called ?Holy Grail?.
The Golden King instinctively knew that he had to kill the woman now before he was destroyed, and reached behind him and pulled out the one weapon that had never failed him. A weapon, golden at the hilt similar to the King, was pulled from the Gate, it?s darkened blade decorated with crimson etchings looking anything but the unimaginable force of destruction that it truly was.
?I don?t know what you are planning to do with that small piece of trash, but I allow myself to experience it!? he roared with fervor, and the darkened blade, Ea, began to awaken, the three equal components of the blade slowly revolving, approaching the speed in which, when released, would release a torrent of destruction that was capable of scarring the land.
The magus simply waited, knowing that anything the Golden Knight would use would be useless, even Ea. She simply held her ground and continued to grin devilishly at her hated enemy.
The Golden Knight snapped. ?I?ve had enough of your pathetic attempts to resist me! Enuma-!?
The magus quickly began to concentrate, and the sword began to glow with a prismatic light, the surface of the blade shifting from red to orange, to yellow, to green, to blue, to violet, to white, and back again to red as the process continued to repeat itself an infinite number of times each second.
?Elish!? The Golden King roared, and the torrent of destruction was released from Ea, barreling unmercifully at the defenseless magus.
The torrent never got near the magus.
A wave of light infinitely more powerful than Ea swallowed the destruction and raced towards the Golden King, ready to end his existence.
The Golden King was shocked, knowing that his end had come. However, he was determined not to go quietly. Her laughed manically at her at his death approached. ?Splendid! You truly have defeated me! But you shall not live to witness what happens to this world!? With his last command, he pulled out a blood red lance, spoke it?s name, and was swallowed by the wave of light almost immediately afterward.
The Golden King?s existence was erased from the world, but his final decree was absolute. The magus fell backwards onto the stone floor, a bloody red barb emerging from her chest with her heart skewered upon it.
Thus, the magus known as Tohsaka Rin passed from this world, her twenty year goal accomplished.
Cooling Ambition - Fate/Stay Night
Post any of your TYPE-MOON related stories, artwork, etc. This is a spoiler zone, so spoiler tags are NOT required as fan fiction is bound to be full of them. You have been warned.
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Hi Anthony,
where do you usually hit in downtown?
I work and live in downtown, and I usually play in Echo Park Tennis court. That's the court by the 101 and Glendale Blvd. USC tennis courts are nice, but there's no lights.
Let me know if you want to play.
I can play in the evenings after 6 PM this coming weekdays except Wednesday.
Let me know if you can play this coming week.
Hey Anthony, not sure if the year date on this post is accurate. I'm the same level and can play weeknights at echo park, La Fayette park or riverside. Let me know if you'd like to get together sometime..Your welcome to text/call 818 two eight four nine zero six four. Thankx!
For others reading this post, your also welcome to contact me to set up a time to play!
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OK, not only am I buying a pair of these shoes in every flavor, but I've got this poster up in my living room right now. That f###ing Turtle from Entourage better stay outta my way when Reebok debuts their new Kool-Aid athletic shoes in stores tomorrow, that's all I'm saying. Coaches may have told you that your footwork is solid, but never thirst-quenching and delicious.
The first installment will launch on February 1st in three great flavors: Grape, Cherry and Strawberry, each complete with hoodies, T-shirts, hats and sneakers. Plus, Reebok packed each of the kicks with extra flavor by crating scent-infused sockliners!
Hey, you had me at Strawberry Hoodie.
But I have a feeling that no matter how many "scent-infused sockliners" are used, Hedo Turkoglu's feet are still going to smell like fish.
And, um kids ... try not to walk to school through dirt while wearing these. The Kool-Aid logo on the soles are bully magnets, I'm guessing.
Reebok's New Kool-Aid Collection! [Flickr]
Perfect For Kicking Through Walls [With Leather]


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Through the Garden Gate Home Tour
Put on your walking shoes because this Saturday, April 13, there is a treat in store for all plant lovers and area home and garden enthusiasts. The Magnolia Garden Club has organized speakers and home gardens to tour that "sing the songs" of organic gardening, adaptability to nature and dedication to outdoor beauty.
Four lovely area home landscapes plus the McFaddin-Ward House grounds will be open to tour and enjoy from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., a lecture will begin at the McFaddin-Ward House, 1906 Calder Ave. in Beaumont. While you are there, take a peek at the wonderfully restored grounds and stately home.
We are so fortunate to have the experience of two exemplary gardeners from Blackberry Farms as speakers for the titled "Through the Garden Gate" home and garden tour. What is Blackberry Farm? The story goes that in 1939, Mrs. Florida Lasier of Chicago snagged her silk stockings in a wild blackberry bramble while exploring the idyllic Smoky Mountain foothills, and the name Blackberry Farm was born. Today, 36 years later, one of America's most celebrated intimate resort hotels beckons guests to escape to eastern Tennessee. It is situated on a pastoral 4,200-acre estate in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is one of the top rated properties in the world.
One speaker, John Coykendall, master gardener, Blackberry Farms, started gardening at an early age. Grandson of Congressman John Jennings, he has walked through gardens here and abroad and not only collected knowledge, but also seeds. He always knew he wanted to create and care for some of the best produce in the world. Coykendall brings the knowledge of decades in the garden and centuries old heirloom seeds to us here in our region.
Jeff Ross, another speaker on Saturday, has been general manager at Blackberry Farms since 2006. One of his greatest passions is organic gardening of herbs and vegetables. His mother and grandmothers raised flowers and vegetables and his great-grandfather was a landscape architect in the 1920-30s.
The homes on the tour have weathered Hurricane Ike. Where there was shade, there is now sun. Gardeners adapt. Where there was once a huge tree there is now a beautiful koi pond. Where once a vegetable gardener was challenged for a sunny spot there is now a prolific vegetable garden, bee haven and chickens. A rice field was transformed through years of planning and hard work into a beautiful European style garden with a pond that attracts birds from far and wide.
Tickets are $35 and are available at all home locations: 11782 Brooks Road, 825 Thomas Road, 1350 Audubon Place, 2535 Ashley and at the McFaddin-Ward Home. Children under 12 not allowed. Only the McFaddin-Ward Home is wheelchair accessible. The Magnolia Garden Club (1937) fundraising supports Plant Beaumont Green, Beaumont Botanical Gardens, Garth House garden space, "Bee Aware," Partnering for Plants and Lamar University Environmental Science Department's Summer Program. See you there!
Joette is an avid gardener and prides herself on staying up-to-date on the latest gardening activities and tips. To share your gardening news with Joette, call (409) 832-1400 or fax her at (409) 832-6222. Her e-mail is joreger [at] msn [dot] com.


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Story highlights
- "There is no way this guy's behavior was acceptable," a passenger says
- The ordeal was captured on a passenger's mobile phone video camera
- "If you have balls, this is your time," the flight attendant says
The situation aboard an American Eagle jet waiting to take off from New York's LaGuardia Airport turned into "absolute craziness" when a frustrated flight attendant started yelling over the intercom, a passenger said Friday.
"There is no way this guy's behavior was acceptable," said passenger David Abels, who was with his daughter, 9, on Wednesday's flight.
The flight sat for hours on the tarmac awaiting departure for Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina before it was refueled and eventually canceled.
The ordeal, captured on a passenger's cell phone video during the hours-long delay, was caused by thunderstorms, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely.
In the video, the flight attendant can be heard daring disgruntled passengers to deplane.
"If you have balls, this is your time. Otherwise, you're going to have to fly with [me]," the flight attendant says in the video.
The recording shows the flight attendant demanding silence from the visibly upset passengers, saying, "I don't want to hear anything. We will not hear anything once we close the door."
Two Port Authority police officers were called onto the plane but no charges were filed, said Al Della Fave, press officer for the Port Authority Police Department.
Officers said airline crew members complained that passengers were being disruptive, and the passengers complained of a crew member who acted irrationally, Fave said.
An airline official apologized for the outburst.
"We do not believe that the passengers' frustrations were met with the level of service that we expect from our people, and for that we are truly sorry," Huguely said in a statement.
"For any passenger who was on that plane to say it was the passengers' fault ... it was the flight attendant," Abels said. "They're supposed to reassure everybody and calm everybody."
Jon Wurster, a musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who was seated in the first-class section, said he did not see the confrontation between passengers and the flight attendant, but did hear his controversial announcement over the loudspeaker.
The announcement came after the plane boarded late, waited on the runway and was then sent back to the gate to refuel, Wurster said.
"It just seemed to be this endless perfect storm of everything that could go wrong, and unfortunately the brunt of peoples' ire landed on only a couple of people, which was ... the flight attendant in question and two other American Airlines employees," Wurster said.
He added that the flight attendant appeared to be "on the verge of tears" and told the passengers that he expected the flight would be his last.
"He said, 'I don't care anymore, this probably is my last flight,'" Wurster recalled. "I took it as, this sounds like the JetBlue attendant that slid down the side of the plane."
In August 2010, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater made headlines after his abrupt resignation, which involved a plane's emergency chute, cans of beer and a tirade of expletives.
He was immediately suspended by JetBlue and resigned the following month.


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RICHMOND, Va. – The night started with a look back on a magical run to the Final Four that changed VCU forever. It ended with Ram Nation getting a glimpse of who will be leading them into the future.
Junior Troy Daniels and sophomore Juvonte Reddic combined for 41 points and 16 rebounds to lead the VCU men's basketball team to a season-opening 63-57 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Final Four Banner night at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
"Well tonight we definitely saw some good things and a lot of things we need to work on," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "The atmosphere in here was terrific, it is something that our players and coaching staff are really appreciate every time we step on the court."
Both Daniels and Reddic posted career-highs in points and rebounds on the evening. Daniels drilled five three-pointers en route to a team-high 22 points, while also grabbing six boards and picking up two steals. Reddic registered his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"I actually thought both of them had just ok nights for us," Smart said. "The obviously did a lot of good things if you look at the stat sheet, but there are always things all of we can get better at and that's exactly what we will focus on when we take the practice court tomorrow."
Reddic brought the capacity crowd to its feet with a dunk less than a minute in, but VCU saw the Red Flash hang tough and actually hold a 21-20 lead over the Rams with 6:13 left in the first half.
That's when Daniels caught fire, drilling back-to-back three-pointers to spark an 18-2 run that gave the Black & Gold a 33-21 lead with 2:19 remaining before the break.
VCU would take a 36-27 lead into the intermission thanks in part to 14 points from Daniels and relentless pressure that forced 10 turnovers from Saint Francis.
The Rams would extend the lead to as much as 16 on two occasions in the second half, but the Red Flash continued to display their scrappiness, crawling to within three points of the Black & Gold with under a minute to play. Saint Francis jumped on the back of Umar Shannon, who finished with a game-high 26 points and drilled a three-pointer from way downtown to cut the lead to 58-55 with 46 seconds left on the clock.
Daniels would saw nerves of steel and bang home a three-pointer from the right corner to put the game away and secure the 63-57 victory for the Black & Gold.
The win was the ninth straight home-opening victory for the Rams and marked the fifth straight sellout dating back to last year, a first in school history.
VCU will hit the road for the next five games with the first stop being at the Charleston Classic next week. The Black & Gold will take on Seton Hall in the first round with tip set for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday evening.


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A blind resident at a Florida nudist community has sued the Pasco County resort association, saying that she's been harassed because her service dog exceeds the community's weight limits.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Paradise Lakes Resort resident Sharon Fowler has a black Labrador named Laura who weighs well over the community's threshold. Fowler says the dog is a service animal.
Fowler says the association has told her to only walk the dog in specific areas and that the dog must move out of the way of pedestrians. Also, she's been told her dog is out of control.
Fowler filed a civil rights lawsuit in Pasco court. The suit seeks monetary damages for mental anguish and injunctive relief.