text:
- In:
- Posted By: admin
- Comments: 0
Become vendor on our truck and trailer repair directory, Advertising your Towing, Trailer, Tire and Truck Repair Location Becoming Breakdown and Repair Provider, Mobile Truck Repair, Repair Shops, Diesel Mechanics, Commercial Tires, Heavy Duty Towing on Truckrepairdirectory.com Breakdown and Repair Directory is fast and easy.
Placement below Premium listing; List up to 3 service categories this price $199.99 its per year you get listed on 5 directories (websites)
Truck Repair Directory provide truck dealers roadside assistance and mobile diesel repair for tractor trailers, refrigerator trucks, commercial vehicles, dump trucks, flat beds, tanker trucks & more. We service all makes & models including Freightliner™, Peterbilt™, Kenworth™, International™, Mack™, Volvo™, Western Star™, Sterling™,Paccarr™,Thermoking™,carrier Transicold™ & many others! Our ASE certified & licensed experts trucks & trailers repair for all your diesel engine repairs needs.
Click To Call Nationwide U.S. & Canada 24/7
Truck Repair Directory Semi Truck Repair, Trailer Repair, Breakdown Directory U.S. and Canada. Directory provides drivers and dispatchers current information on repair shops nationwide Search results with names, addresses, phone numbers and driving directions, including those offering 24 hour road service. Why you should join Truck repair directory? Truck Repair Directory contains over 1 million sites and over 30 categories! Search fast thousands of truck repair related services, Locate the nearest Commercial Truck Parts, Towing Service, Truck Repair Service, Truck, Trailer, Tire Breakdown Repair, including trucking, logistics and warehousing companies in U.S. and Canada.
Online Directory for trucking business, trucking jobs, repairs, tires and services along with finance, equipment loans, logistics, truck sales, truck stops, towing, Online business directory of links to transportation companies offering a variety of freight transport services.
We provide links to commercial(for-hire) and private owner operator trucking.
The goal of this online directory is to include only quality websites with highly relevant content. This is possible because our moderators carefully review websites before inclusion into the directory. 1-800-592-3295
Truck repair directory it's network platform between trucking companies, truckers, truck repair shops and thousands of trucks vendors that will supply roadside service, loads and delivery services and other important related logistics services.
List our own business for free. Be visible and be searchable to millions of users.
Review and recommend places that you visited. Share your feelings, your experiences and earn praises.
Be a part of a growing community, with a thousand of businesses, just like you.
Click to Call 1-800-592-3295 Need Truck Repair? Can't find what you are looking for 24/7 Live Dispatch!
Truck Repair Directory National Truck & Trailer Vendors Services Breakdown Directory is your most comprehensive guide to semi truck repair facilities nationwide. We provide a comprehensive helps you Locate the nearest Semi Truck Repair, Commercial Truck Parts, Towing Service, Truck Repair Service, Truck, Trailer, Tire Breakdown Repair.
thod="post" target="_top">
|Road Service, Towing, Trailer, Tire & Truck Repair Advertising
|You can be billed up to $199.99
|Sign up for
Why choose Truck Repair Directory?
Easily Accessible
Truck drivers and carriers want easy and fast access to nationwide service locations when they need them. We provide an accessible, easy to use and fast search on our website, mobile site, apps, Google, and through industry partners. Your business will be easily found by truck drivers and carriers on Truck Repair Directory.
Tracked Advertising
Truck Repair Directory tracks all user interactions with your business on our website and mobile site. We track when mobile users call you and view your business, we also track when you're the first and closest vendor shown to our desktop users. You'll know exactly how your business listing is performing with Truck Repair Directory.
Why choose Truck Repair Directory?
Easily Accessible
Truck drivers and carriers want easy and fast access to nationwide service locations when they need them. We provide an accessible, easy to use and fast search on our website, mobile site, apps, Google, and through industry partners. Your business will be easily found by truck drivers and carriers on Truck Repair Directory.
National Users
Truck Repair Directory website and apps are utilized by thousands of truck drivers and carriers daily. Our users search for services across the country, in every state and thousands of cities every day. This assures that our nationwide service vendors will reach new customers as well as repeat business regularly.
Trusted Source
Truck Repair Directory is a U.S. based company operating out of the greater San Francisco area since 2001. Thousands of businesses of all sizes use Truck Repair Directory as their national advertising source to reach new and repeat customers. We've helped thousands of businesses grow and expand their services.
Proven Results
We've been tracking thousands of nationwide business listings on Truck Repair Directory and their performance. All advertised vendors on Truck Repair Directory generate business, depending on the area and services some generate more than others, but overall the estimated minimum return on investment is well over 10 times the cost.
Wide Exposure
We provide the best online advertising exposure for heavy duty services. Thousands of truck drivers and carriers, as well as breakdown call centers and insurance companies use us, our apps are the most downloaded truck service locating apps in the industry and our Google search ranking is unmatched with millions of #1 organic search results nationwide.
- Log in to post comments


text:
Ethier's HR propels Dodgers over Diamondbacks
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dan Haren didn't let a little thing like a four-run inning discourage him. He had plenty of confidence in his teammates' ability to get him some runs, and they didn't disappoint him against a pitcher they'd never seen before.
Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer and the Dodgers rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-6 on Saturday.
"That inning was kind of fluky there. It seemed like everything that could have gone wrong did," Haren said. "Even when I got back to the dugout, I was saying: 'If we can keep them there at four, we're going to win this game.' Then the offense really stepped up, and it was one hit after the other. It was really fun."
Haren (3-0) was charged with five runs — two earned — and seven hits over 7 1-3 innings. The right-hander struck out five in his fourth start of the season, six days after his 8-6 victory over the Diamondbacks at Phoenix.
"He has a few weapons he likes to go to," Diamondbacks left fielder Mark Trumbo said of his former Angels teammate. "He usually likes to work the outer half of the plate, and that's what he did tonight with his cutter, his two-seamer, his split and his curve. He's had a great career — and more than anything, he knows how to pitch. So you take the runs where you can get them. We got four, but he battled back and they battled back."
Haren departed with an 8-4 lead and was replaced by Brian Wilson, who gave up a two-run double by Martin Prado before retiring Chris Owings on a grounder with runners at the corners to end the eighth. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Mike Bolsinger (0-1) made his first major league start and was charged with seven runs — six earned— and seven hits in four-plus innings. He struck out five of the first 11 batters he faced.
The 26-year-old righty was inserted into the rotation in place of an ineffective Trevor Cahill, who went 0-4 with a 9.17 ERA before earning his first career save on Friday. Cahill pitched three perfect innings of relief Saturday, and has retired all 12 batters he's faced since his 8-6 loss to Haren on April 13.
Bolsinger pitched three innings last Monday in his big league debut, allowing two runs and six hits against the New York Mets after winning both of his starts with Triple-A Reno.
Los Angeles was trailing 4-0 in the fourth when Ethier hit his second homer of the season.
"I think any home run like that energizes you," teammate Matt Kemp said. "We're never out of a game, especially with the offense that we have. We have a lot of guys who can drive the ball our of the ballpark. We just need to get guys on base. And if we continue to do that, we'll be very successful. Today we got big hits with runners on base, and we didn't do that too much last night."
The Dodgers grabbed an 8-4 lead with five more in the fifth, including a two-run single by Adrian Gonzalez and a two-run double by Kemp. Haren led off the inning with a single and later scored when Prado fielded a potential double-play grounder to third base by Hanley Ramirez with the bases loaded and dropped the ball as he looked toward second base.
Bolsinger got his first big league hit during Arizona's four-run third. Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run single with the bases loaded. Ramirez's fifth error of the season at shortstop made three of the runs unearned.
"We had a quick four-run deficit and we were kind of playing back on our heels and not playing the way we were capable of doing," Ethier said. "But Gonzo and Matty came up with big hits right there and Haren did a good job from there on out and kept their guys off the bases."
NOTES: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who hasn't pitched in a game since beating the Diamondbacks in the season opener in Australia, is scheduled to throw to batters in simulated game conditions on Sunday. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined by a muscle strain in his upper back. ... Haren, who came in leading all active major leaguers with a 4.09 strikout-to-walk ratio, has 20 strikeouts and two walks this season. ... The Dodgers' rotating outfield of Ethier, Kemp, Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig all entered Saturday hitting .235 or lower through the team's first 17 games. ... Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 14 games. His longest streak in the majors is 18, two seasons ago with Boston.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Back in Opening Day lineup, Utley hits homer No. 200
ATLANTA -- Chase Utley looked like the old Chase Utley on Monday at Turner Field, so consider that the silver lining in a 7-5 loss to the Braves.
He went 3-for-5 with one triple, one home run and three RBIs, playing in his first Opening Day since 2010 after spending the previous two on the disabled list because of injured knees.
"Same guy," Utley said.
So this doesn't surprise him?
"No," he said.
Utley, whose homer in the fourth was the 200th of his career, joined Ryan Howard in the lineup. Howard missed last season's opener because of an injured left Achilles.
"It's pretty obvious the physical significance of it," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before the game. "But maybe even as importantly, just their overall presence, just having them around, having them active has an immediate impact on our club. You talk about the core players on our team, and they're two very important ones. Missing those guys makes quite an impact, not just physically, but the psyche of the club."
Manager Charlie Manuel agreed, even after the loss. How couldn't he after watching Utley hit the ball hard and run the bases well?
"Yeah, when Ut is on, he's still a real good player," Manuel said. "And tonight he had a good night, and that's great. I'm sure that's going to play a big part in our success down the road."


text:
Sanchez outdueled by Greinke in Bucs debut
LOS ANGELES -- The Pirates keep playing the same game over and over. Perhaps they will until they get it right. Right now, their pitchers lead the league in hang-with-'ems and their hitters are tops in befuddled looks.
The Bucs dropped their road opener to the Dodgers, 3-0. No, seriously, that was Friday night's final.
The 3-1 and 3-2 losses were to the Cubs earlier this week. The Bucs' lone win, by 3-0, was in between. Try to keep up.
"It's been basically the same game the first four of the season," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle nodded. "Similar to what we saw out of the chute last year."
The 2012 Bucs had an extended silent spring, averaging fewer than two runs through their first 11 games. They eventually came out of that with a bang, reviving memories of the old Pittsburgh Lumber Company in June and July. Nobody wants to squirm through another two-month wait.
Through four games, the Pirates have scored six runs and gotten 15 hits. Hurdle was reduced to finding encouragement in the eight times they could stretch Zack Greinke to a three-ball count -- although, not once could they coax a fourth ball out of him.
"On three-ball counts, he'd come with the fastball every single time. He was able to sneak it in there, and keep pounding the zone," said Andrew McCutchen, whose seventh-inning single was one of two hits Greinke allowed in 6 1/3 innings.
Greinke found a worthy mound adversary in Jonathan Sanchez, with each pitcher making his first start for his new club. Both had been offseason free agents, with slightly different resolutions. Greinke signed a six-year, $147 million deal. Sanchez signed a Minor League deal that got him to Spring Training and, when he made the club, vested at $1.375 million.
On the mound, if not at the teller's window, they were peers, until back-to-back RBI doubles by Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez chased Sanchez in the sixth.
Greinke's departure was less dramatic: He was lifted after McCutchen's single.
"He's pounding the zone, getting ahead, using his offspeed pitches," McCutchen said. "We were aggressive, were making contact, hitting the ball hard. But he stuck with it, and threw a pretty good game. It's about making adjustments -- and I did. You have to adjust throughout the game, or he'll just continue to do the same thing."
With both pitchers dealing, there would be no sustained attack in this game. The sense that the Pirates would need a flash of power -- to counter Andre Ethier's solo homer in the second inning -- set in early.
The Pirates' cannons remained jammed, however. They remained without a home run through four games, their longest season-beginning silence since 1998, when they didn't go yard until Game No. 6.
When threatened at first, Sanchez toughened. He faced a hazard in the fifth, signaled by A.J. Ellis' one-out double. The next two batters also hit the ball flush, but left fielder Starling Marte charged up to snare Justin Sellers' liner and also charged Greinke's single to stop Ellis at third. Sanchez then fanned Carl Crawford to end the danger.
"Just being aggressive, trying to make them swing the bat and give the team a chance to win," Sanchez said modestly.
"It was more of what we saw in Spring Training," Hurdle said of the 30-year-old's effort, reflective of how he had earned his spot. "He was pretty sharp. I'm very encouraged by his outing. He's soft-spoken, but there is a very fierce competitor inside. I like the fact that his fire is lit again."
Sanchez often faced the Dodgers for the rival Giants, with exceptional results. The guy to whom he gave the most trouble, however, got one back on him in the second inning, when Ethier picked on a high fastball to launch his first homer of the season into the right-field pavilion.
Ethier had come in hitting .133 (4-for-30) against Sanchez. After that shot, his .161 average against Sanchez looked better.
The Bucs' offensive misery briefly had some Dodgers company, as they kept Kemp still looking for his first hit of the season through two at-bats, which made him 0-for-12. Having a lot to do with that was third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who laid out for Kemp's fourth-inning smash between him and the foul line, sprang to his feet, and fired a throw in the dirt short-hopped by first baseman Garrett Jones.
The Dodgers returned the favor a few minutes later: Sellers smothered Jones' grounder to the right of short and threw a one-hopper to Gonzalez at first to keep Greinke's one-hitter intact.
As for Kemp, his response was the sixth-inning double to score Mark Ellis -- who had begun the inning by drawing the first walk off Sanchez -- and double the Dodgers' lead to 2-0. Gonzalez followed with another RBI double -- even louder -- into the right-field corner.
That ended Sanchez's night. He departed the mound with pats on the back. Morse code for "Hang with 'em."


text:
Sizelabels for clothes with double sizes and name on the backside. You fold the label and saw it into the seam of a garmet. The label is not folded from the beginning to avoid sharp edges that may itch.
The text, layouts, graphics, and logos at this site are protected by EU copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights and laws3exter is a registered company with a Swedish VAT number.


text:
Find us on:
Find out how to make the most of your child's well-baby visits.
Review Date: Thursday, December 18, 2014
National Health Information Center - NHICU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Find out how to prepare for checkups for kids ages 1 to 4.
Newborn screenings will help you make sure your baby grows up healthy. Talk about newborn screening with your doctor or midwife before your baby is born.
Review Date: Thursday, March 03, 2016
The doctor or nurse may ask you these questions at your baby's 1 month visit to make sure that you and your baby are well.
Review Date: Monday, June 01, 2015
American Academy of Pediatrics
The doctor or nurse may ask you these questions at your baby's 2 month visit to make sure that you and your baby are well.
The doctor or nurse may ask you these questions at your baby's 4 month visit to make sure that you and your baby are well.
Get answers to common questions about babies and vaccines.
Review Date: Thursday, January 31, 2013
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDCU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
This page answers the most frequently asked questions by parents about the newborn screening test, often referred to as the PKU or heel-stick test.
Review Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Save Babies Through Screening Foundation, Inc.
RSV is the leading cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in babies and is the most frequent cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children. To help protect your baby, here are some simple steps that parents and caregivers can take.
Review Date: Wednesday, December 02, 2015
The doctor or nurse may ask you these questions at your baby's 6 month visit to make sure that you and your baby are well.
These questions will guide you in discussions with the pediatrician to make sure that you and your baby are well.
Milk, formula, juices, and other sweet drinks such as soda all have sugar in them. Sucking on a bottle filled with liquids that have sugar in them can cause tooth decay. This easy-to-read tip sheet presents advice on how to protect your baby from tooth decay.
Review Date: Monday, November 12, 2012
NIH National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - NIDCR
Air travel with an infant typically is safe. However, air travel during the first two weeks of life may not be advisable, as a newborn's body is still adjusting to life outside the uterus, and is especially vulnerable to the germs that circulate in the aircraft's recycled air.
Review Date: Thursday, October 30, 2014
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Learn what to do if you notice crossed or wall eyes persisting in your infant.
Review Date: Friday, March 02, 2012
Prevent Blindness America
Pediatricians from the American Academy of Pediatrics provide answers to your health questions.
Review Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Did you know that the leading causes of unintentional injury-related death for infants are suffocation, car crashes, drowning, fire or burn injury, falls, and poisoning? Many of these injuries are preventable, and this guide provides safety essentials you need to know when caring for your baby.
Review Date: Monday, January 05, 2015
Home Safety Council - Safe Kids Worldwide
Get answers to some of the common questions that come up about newborn screening.
Review Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Genetic Alliance
BPA is a chemical that has been used for more than 40 years in the manufacture of many hard plastic food containers. While BPA is not proven to harm children or adults, recent studies on the effects of low doses of BPA in laboratory animals have led federal health officials to express concern about BPA's safety.
Review Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The experience of breastfeeding is special for so many reasons – the joyful bonding with your baby, the cost savings, and the health benefits for both mother and baby. Read this article for tips and suggestions on how to successfully breastfeed your baby.
Review Date: Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Office on Women's Health
Yes, babies who are born prematurely (before the due date) may need special care during their first 2 years, especially if they were very small at birth (less than 3 pounds). Here's some advice on how to care for your baby when he or she comes home from the hospital.
Review Date: Sunday, January 04, 2015
American Academy of Family Physicians
This fact sheet answers common questions parents may have about circumcision.
Review Date: Monday, December 15, 2014
Diaper Banks provide absorbent products to those who cannot afford to purchase them. Some diapers banks are focused on the needs of a newborn or small child, but many include adult incontinence products.
Review Date: Monday, November 05, 2012
The Simon Foundation For Continence
LactMed is a database of drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It gives information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible harmful effects in the nursing infant.
Review Date: Friday, September 28, 2012
NIH National Library of Medicine - NLM
In the first few years of life most kids gain weight and grow much more quickly than they will later on. It is important to get help if your child does not reach developmental milestones.
Review Date: Wednesday, December 07, 2011
The Nemours Foundation
Learn how immunity against pertussis (whooping cough) is only obtained after a child has received all of the required doses. This brochure illustrates the importance of immunization for everyone in contact with infants and small children.
National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
How you feed your newborn is the first nutrition decision you will make for your child. Take a closer look at these guidelines for breastfeeding and bottle-feeding so you can make an informed decision.
Review Date: Thursday, August 09, 2012
Search for an American Academy of Pediatrics member pediatrician, pediatric sub-specialist, or pediatric surgical specialist in your area.
Review Date: Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Read this information to help get ready for the arrival of your new baby.
Review Date: Thursday, April 02, 2015
Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Your baby should have a hearing screening within the first month of life. It's important to detect deafness or hearing loss as early as possible.
Review Date: Friday, November 09, 2012
NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Learn about newborn and infant development. Remember that babies do not develop at the same rate. There is a wide range of what is considered "normal."
Review Date: Monday, January 16, 2012
Infant botulism is a rare illness that can occur when an infant ingests bacteria that produce a toxin inside the body. Since honey is a known source of the bacteria spores that cause botulism, it should not be given to babies under 12 months of age.
Review Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are warning against the use of sleep positioning products for infants under 6 months old. These positioners place infants at high risk of suffocation.
Review Date: Tuesday, November 06, 2012
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Under the InfantSEE program, AOA optometrists provide a comprehensive eye and vision assessment for infants within the first year of life regardless of a family's income or access to insurance. Use the InfantSEE doctor locator to find a provider near you.
Review Date: Sunday, March 24, 2013
American Optometric Association
Find ten useful tips on giving medicine safely to infants and children.
Consumer Healthcare Products Association
This article offers information about how to breastfeed successfully.
Review Date: Monday, February 20, 2012
Low-birthweight babies are at increased risk for serious health problems. Learn what you can do to reduce your risk of having a low-birthweight baby.
Review Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2014
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
March of Dimes provides information on planning a pregnancy, and on prenatal and postnatal care.
Review Date: Friday, January 02, 2015
Find out which newborn screening tests are required by each state.
Review Date: Monday, March 18, 2013
Educational Institution — Click the resource link above to learn more
All states screen newborns for certain birth defects. When test results show that the baby has a birth defect, early diagnosis and treatment can make the difference between lifelong disabilities and healthy development.
Review Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Being a parent of a baby or a toddler can be both fun and hard work. If your child is age three or younger, these resources will help you learn how to give your child a healthy start to life.
Review Date: Thursday, February 24, 2011
As an expectant parent, there is so much to learn about caring for your unborn baby and even more to learn about caring for your newborn once you're home from the hospital. Here is a timeline of tips that provides accurate and up-to-date information on infant health and survival.
First Candle/SIDS Alliance
Babies sleep safest on their backs. This PDF lists ways that you and others who care for your baby can reduce the risk of SIDS.
Review Date: Wednesday, April 01, 2015
NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - NICHD
This downloadable, English/Spanish brochure highlights safe sleep practices for parents and their infants.
Review Date: Friday, July 20, 2012
Answers to commonly asked questions about shaken baby syndrome (SBS) including medical consequences, prevention and ways to get help and additional information related to SBS.
Review Date: Monday, January 29, 2018
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
Every newborn in the U.S. receives a newborn screening test. Select the state initials on the map or the state name in the table below for newborn screening information in your state.
Review Date: Tuesday, November 01, 2011
National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center
The Period of PURPLE Crying® is the phrase used to describe the point in a baby's life when they cry more than any other time. Parents will learn about the normal crying curve, how to cope when emotions run high, and the dangers of shaking a baby.
Review Date: Monday, October 29, 2012
Know what to expect at your baby's well-baby visit.
Review Date: Monday, December 01, 2014
Find out how a lactation consultant can help you breastfeed your baby.
Review Date: Friday, January 20, 2012
International Lactation Consultant Association
Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®.
Language Assistance Available


text:
Kevin Duffy: UConn feels impact of Newtown tragedy
STORRS -- About an hour before tipoff of a November game at Gampel Pavilion, Shabazz Napier briefly snuck out of the shootaround to greet a little girl who exclaimed, "Uncle Bazz!"
"My niece is 2 1/2" Napier said after Sunday morning's practice, "and she's a bundle of joy ... I love her to death."
No Huskies were directly affected by the most heinous crime of our generation, but all felt the impact -- to some degree -- of a Newtown elementary school shooting that robbed six adults of their lives and 20 children of their futures.
"I had to give my sister a call," Napier said. "Let her know I had to talk to my niece. It's one of those tragedies that makes you cherish what you have."
Chatter of rebounding and Enosch Wolf as the starting center and DeAndre Daniels' breakout performance 10 days ago all seemed trivial Sunday morning. So did Kevin Ollie's contract situation and the always-dramatic conference realignment saga. Some things, as Ollie conceded, are beyond basketball.
"I just stressed it -- go home and love your family," Ollie said. "You never know if it's going to be your day or your family that's close to you." Ollie has often spoken about his 11-year-old daughter, Cheyenne. He even shed tears during his introduction when he mentioned her name, proclaiming that the walk to the bus stop with Cheyenne was the best part of his day. So Sunday, Ollie spoke as a father, not necessarily as a basketball coach.
"It could have been any of our kids that got on the bus," he said. "I walk my daughter to the bus every day, and 20 families didn't get their son or daughter back."
The UConn basketball family has a few ties to Newtown: Former Husky manager Kyle Lyddy, now an assistant coach at Immaculate High in Danbury, graduated from Newtown in 2005. And P.J. Cochrane, a 2008 Newtown grad, was a walk-on with the Huskies from 2010-12.
"Our hearts are broken here in Newtown," Cochrane wrote in an email to Hearst Connecicut. "It is still so hard to understand how something like this could happen here. My heart breaks for the families that lost such little children and their loved ones. I don't know how you move on from such a tragedy. However, if there is a town that can cope, comfort and help heal these wounds, it is this community."
Truth is, the wounds will never fully heal. That's the harsh reality of such an inexplicable act.
But the Huskies wanto to help in any way possible, when the time is appropriate, it seems they will. Ollie talked Sunday about making the 75-mile trip to visit the town. The Huskies also plan on wearing a patch to honor the victims, perhaps as early as tonight's game against Maryland Eastern-Shore (7 p.m., XL Center).
"I don't know if it's going to help, but it's better than sitting here and doing nothing," Ollie said.
Shortly after the tragedy, Ollie addressed his players, preaching that life is "more than basketball." "It's grabbing your loved ones," he said.
And Napier's niece, who comes to almost every game, is sure to get an extra-tight hug from Uncle Bazz.
"It struck me to the core," Napier said.
At the same time, though, Napier and the Huskies realize that it's not about them. Their reaction was sought-after because Newtown sits 57 exits west of campus on I-84. Anyone from Japan to California to Storrs should feel the same emotion: complete heartbreak for the families involved and, above all, the 20 futures that were destroyed Friday morning.
"Those are children who are 6 and 7 years old who can't live their lives," Napier said. "Those are 20 futures that we just don't know. One of those kids could have found the cure to cancer, something like that. It hurts."
email@example.com; @KevinRDuffy


text:
NTP Canada, a division of Keystone Automotive Operations Inc., named Robert Edwards as the new sales manager focusing on the RV aftermarket for Canada.
"He brings a wealth of experience in serving the needs of RV dealers throughout Canada as well as extensive product knowledge. We're excited to have him join our team," said Ralph Ruzzi, vice president of sales for NTP Canada.
According to a press release, Edwards draws on over 30 years of experience in multiple segments of the industry. He started at the dealership level working the wash bay and steadily climbed the ranks as shop technician, parts manager and on to general manager.
NTP said that Edwards' experience with the supplier manufacturer segment of the business "enabled him to apply his understanding of dealership operations to aftermarket and OEM sales."
"That's why I'm here," Edwards said. "This is the most exciting opportunity I've seen in my career. The concepts and principles that drive Keystone Automotive and NTP are a natural fit. There's much we can do to service the needs of RV dealers throughout Canada."


text: The La Quinta Inn & Suites Tupelo has been awarded the 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award. Ideal for anyone looking for a great hotel in Tupelo, Mississippi, the La Quinta Inn & Suites Tupelo is centrally located in the heart of Tupelo, MS. Whether your destination is Tupelo or you are just passing through, the all new La Quinta Inns & Suites Tupelo invites you to experience our warm southern hospitality. Our guest rooms will treat you to many of the comforts of home including luxurious bedding and decor complimented with amenities such as microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, free high speed internet - both wired and wireless, and 32 inch flat screen LCD TV w/cable. While staying at our Tupelo hotel, wake to our Free Bright Side BreakfastTM featuring ""make your own waffles"", biscuits and Gravy, sausage and eggs as well as fresh coffee and tea, assorted juices, pastries, breakfast breads, hot and cold cereals, hard boiled eggs, and a fresh assortment of fruits. We invite you to experience the La Quinta Inn & Suites Tupelo hotel's warm southern hospitality while you are visiting our city. Reserve your room today and our friendly staff will greet you upon arrival and make sure all your needs are met at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Tupelo hotel in Tupelo, MS.


text:
Our clients
Some of the most successful referral schemes are powered by Mention Me
We've really enjoyed working with Mention Me. The AB testing has proven invaluable and it's amazing how much difference small changes can make to referral.
Glasses Direct
The Mention Me system delivered really good numbers from day one - far surpassing our previous referral scheme.
We always felt referral should be a significant driver for our business and with Mention Me we've delivered that.
Bloom & Wild
Recognised as referral marketing experts
Grow new customer acquisition up to 30%
Happy customers are your best marketing tool. Harnessing their advocacy increases not just customer growth but quality too. Referred customers have 2x the LTV.
Awesome client success team
Our clients recognise the value they bring: 80% of them score us 10/10 for satisfaction! It's like having additional members of your own marketing team.
Be up and running fast
Our referral software works with just two javascript tags. Mention Me works with ecommerce platforms and tag containers.
Award winning for our technology
Recently voted best tech start-up by Drapers and finalists in the Retail Week tech awards, reflecting our effectiveness for retailers and in the fashion sector specifically.
Product Tour
We serve offers that you control
With AB testing by cohort you can test all elements of your campaigns, typically resulting in an uplift of 3-7x during the first 6 months.
Powerful sharing mechanism
Only the Mention Me platform offers Name Sharing* to capture real world conversations. Combined with other social sharing options, this drives up to 35% more referrals.
Easy for new customers
Friends can access discounts just by entering the name of the friend who sent them
Rewards fulfilled by us
We deliver the rewards to new customers and the friend who introduced them. Our insight from 400+ programs can help find the referral rewards which work for your brand.
Market leading results portal
You have control over every element of your campaign, and can see real time results in your referral dashboard.
See our referral platform in action
See how our referral marketing software can drive your new customer acquisition
What are the costs?
We deliver results. So we get paid when you make money.
After an initial set up fee, we charge a percentage of the first order value from new customers that we deliver.
All businesses are different and we need to understand yours before we can come back to you with a quote that works for you. Contact us to find out how cost effective a referral scheme powered by the Mention Me software can be.


text:
Find a great deal on for your upcoming business trip or vacation. Browse a variety of Candlewood Suites® hotel offers and book today!
Enjoy a little something extra with your next Candlewood Suites stay. Choose hotel packages to make your stay more special.
Explore our discount programs to find great hotel rates for members of affiliate programs.


text:
Treble Charger - Red
Rolling back through old albums in my archive… Treble Charger's album NC17 was released in 1994. (Check out those glasses!)
Love Song / Not A Love Song
A diptych of love/not love songs across almost two decades…
Airbourne - "Runnin' Wild"
This is important. You should watch it.
The Black Eyed Peas - "Weekend" ft. Esthero
I miss this version of BEP… Also.
Purity Ring - "Fineshrine"
I know I'm pretty late to the party with these guys…
Winning the NCARB AREs (or any exam, really)
Version 0.9.1
This is a strategy for how to study—specifically for the NCARB Architecture Registration Exams (AREs), but the ideas could be adapted to pretty much any type of studying/exam preparation.
I'll be updating this page periodically if necessary. So what you're reading now is version 0.9.1. Enjoy!
The key to quickly winning at NCARB AREs is, I think, to always remember that your goal is to pass the exam (NOT to know everything), and studying efficiently basically means being aware of what you know and what you don't. People who just start blindly reading the Kaplan/Ballast study guides either don't have or have lost this awareness, and thus waste a lot of time.
So, you have to track it. I used Evernote to track my studying (it does checkboxes fast and easily), but you could use a spreadsheet or Word document, etc. I maintained an ongoing list as I was studying of questions or topics I knew I needed to study more. If something was checked off, I knew I had at least some basic understanding. If unchecked, it represented a gap in my knowledge to be filled. (Example entry from Building Systems: "[ ] review plumbing terms: stack, arrestor, trap, vent, valve, cleanout" or "[ ] sensible heat vs latent heat?" )
This is the concept of "known-unknowns" and "unknown-unknowns" that Rumsfeld got panned for. It's actually a crucial distinction. So your job in studying is to (a) discover the unknown-unknowns, (b) track the then known-unknowns, and then (c) turn them into known-knowns using efficient, targeted studying efforts.
It's really hard to say exactly what you will need to study, because there are thousands of questions in the NCARB pool and they can come out of nowhere. Better, I think, to have an overall strategy for filling your brain, since everyone's personal benchmark coming into the exams will be a bit different. For example, I had a great academic track record, 3+ years work experience, plus I was LEED AP and I'd done an intensive Passive House course—all before writing most of the exams. This experience wasn't always directly applicable, but it definitely gave me a head start in some areas.
The good thing about this technique is that it acknowledges a key motivator: You probably know more than you think!
I think it's true that you'll just need to study what you'll need to study—which is different than what I needed to study. Use the practice exams as your barometer. You should feel pretty confident going into the exam with practice scores around 70+% (or 65+% maybe) by the end.
I passed all 7 divisions on the first try. I tried to record my cumulative study time, listed here in the order I took the exams:
- BDCS: lots, too much, wrote this one first (probably 40+)
- SPD: unknown (not much, fairly straightforward exam, if I recall)
- CDS: 18 hrs
- SS: 24 hrs (+ Thaddeus course)
- SD: 12 hrs
- BS: 9 hrs (+ Mibelli course)
- PPP: 20 hrs
I suggest studying in the 3-5 weeks before the exam. Too long before is a nice idea, but it's hard to stay motivated, and you'll forget stuff anyway. Three weeks is good time pressure, but not much time to study, so 4-5 weeks is ideal. Some might say this is cramming, but I say there are better things in life than studying for exams.
I don't know if order of the exams matters too much. I'd suggest doing a few of the supposedly easier ones (SD, SPD) first to build some momentum and get a feel for the Prometric "experience." SS, BDCS, and BS are generally thought to be the most difficult. I wouldn't leave all hard ones until the end, however. CDS and PPP are meant to be more practice-based, I think, so pushing them to the end (after you've potentially logged more work experience) makes some sense.
Before you go any further, I highly recommend you read Paul N Edwards' guide, "How to Read a Book": http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtoread.pdf
I didn't use his exact strategy. Instead, I used a slightly modified version, applicable to any piece of study material—especially anything 100+ pages long.
- I usually copied out the Contents to understand the book's structure, and then I'd skim through to find important parts, taking note of content I felt comfortable with and keeping a list of questions I had or things I definitely needed to read.
- Go back and read the necessary parts in more detail
This doesn't mean you're just browsing the book. Sometimes you'll feel like you need to read a whole chapter, so if that happens, do it!
These are the best way to uncover your "unknown-unknowns." You should try to do all practice exams available to you (Ballast, Kaplan, etc). I usually started with the NCARB exam guide, to get a sense of the overall content and begin generating my study list. I would list any question/topic I didn't know the answer to (while doing the practice exams) and then at the end, I'd add any practice question I got wrong. Correct answers are usually "known-knowns" and you should be wary of spending any more time on them.
List in hand, then you study. Kaplan is pretty good, Ballast is decent, Google/Wikipedia is great for general knowledge items. I also used the Kaplan Flashcards iPhone app. It's quite expensive, but it's nice to have something to review during your commute or when waiting around…
Your study list at first could be quite long. If your first practice exam score was low-ish (say <60%), use the study guides/books to generate more topics you need to study and study them. The practice exam score doesn't matter so much, but 70-80% is a good place to be I think, and I've heard of people passing with practice-exam scores in the 50's (myself included).
After that, time to do another practice exam. Add topics to your list, then study, then do another practice exam. Repeat until you run out of time.
(I heard they're changing the vignette software, so this advice might be out of date soon.)
- You MUST download the practice software from NCARB and practice using the drawing tools. They suck, but you just have to get over it and pretend it's an architectural video game (NOT AutoCAD).
- Use the Norman Dorf "Solutions" book as your vignette Bible. Do whatever is required to get a copy of this.
- Alternate vignettes can be loaded into the software in DWG format. You can find many of them on ARE Forum, but they aren't well sorted: http://www.areforum.org/up/ (lots of study content there, too)
- The vignettes are mostly tests in being organized and following rules. Practicing will help you come up with a protocol for each vignette, which usually involves parsing the instructions and making notes on your sketch paper in an intelligible form, and then swiftly executing the actual vignette. Dorf has a protocol for each exam. You'll probably adapt it a bit to your own way of working.
I did both the Thaddeus Structures course and the Mibelli Building Systems course. If they're offered in your area, I highly recommend them. It meant spending ~$300 on each course, but you can think of it as highly compressed, targeted study time. It's the only way I was able to write and pass Building Systems with just an additional 9 hours of studying.
I used a pretty basic exam technique:
- 1st pass: read quickly and answer the questions as you go. The system lets you mark any question for review later, so mark anything you don't know or are guessing at.
- 2nd pass: review marked questions and answer. You might have come across answers or clues in other questions during the first pass. Now you should have all questions answered, and likely some still marked.
- 3rd pass: Re-read all questions from the beginning and check answers
Before each exam, I'd also do the math and know how many minutes/question I'd have (usually <2 minutes/question). This helps for pacing. The system's "mark for review" function is OK, but I also made a list of the question numbers on my sketch paper (during the initial 10-minute computer introduction) so I could manually mark questions for review, or check off ones I knew were correct or had checked to the best of my knowledge. There's no way to mark a question "Definitely correct; Do not spend any more time on it" on the computer, so the list on paper can be handy.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
HAIM - "Falling," "Don't Save Me," and "Forever"
I couldn't decide which of these songs was the best, so you get all three! This "female '80s pop redux" reminds me of later Fleetwood Mac and, of course, Wilson Phillips. (HAIM is three sisters.)
Patrick Wolf - "The City" (Richard X Remix)
The original is OK, but this is SO much better. I thought I was listening to an '80s dance original….
Finding Nemo
I did not like this movie. It's not bad, but since I was expecting a happy-go-lucky animated feature and had just paid $20 to own it on iTunes, I wasn't prepared for a mass slaughter (mom and fish babies) and a child abduction in the first 15 minutes. Then (then!) we spend the balance of the film exploring the worst of what the ocean has to offer: sharks, abandoned mine fields, wreckages, deep black trenches, stinging jellyfish, terrible Anglerfish, giant whales, fishing boats, etc. Nature is cruel, and the ocean is frankly terrifying.
Upsides: It's visually stunning, and Ellen DeGeneres as the forgetful but loveable Dory (above in blue/yellow) is the real star here. She speaks whale.
Mysterious Skin
This was a super intense film. Fairly disturbing subject matter, but extremely well executed. I was doing the literal "edge of my seat" thing for probably the last 20-30 minutes.
Toro y Moi - "So Many Details"
The car. The girl. The house. The airplane.
New album is out! Go get it!
Hudson Mohawke - "FUSE"
Big, beautiful beats. Two for two so far on "stuff I like from Glasgow."
Top 12 Songs of 2012
Since I'm woefully behind the times of a music industry that moves at lightning pace, here's my top 12 tracks of 2012, simply ranked by number of listens in Last.fm. I've included the release date of each so you can see how behind I am (only one song actually released in 2012):
12. Chromatics - "Kill For Love" (2012)
From the album of the same name. Posted here before, commenting that, "Feels a little bit like Erasure, or Depeche Mode, or the only Jesus and Mary Chain song that I know."
11. Flo Rida - "Wild Ones (featuring Sia)" (2011)
I have a soft spot for the occasional epic club track. This one works just right.
10. Beach House "Walk In The Park" (2010)
Had to look this up to remember the song. It's not great. Just ended up on some Genius playlists on heavy rotation…
9. The Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition" (2009)
From the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack of course. I guess I'm still hooked on this one. Did not like the rest of this single's album, however.
8. M83 - "Midnight City" (2011)
I heard this described as "synthcore." Well constructed, and saxophone solo to boot. Yes, please.
7. Warpaint - "Undertow" (2010)
A 2010 Fluxblog Survey find. Really shines at 2:45 onward.
6. M83 - "Claudia Lewis" (2011)
Maybe it's considered cliché now, but the standout tracks on Hurry Up, We're Dreaming are just great songs.
5. Jay Electronica - "Exhibit C" (2009)
Mean, mean track. Love this. Only hip-hop song to make this little list.
4. Passion Pit - "Swimming In The Flood" (2009)
Not even a single, but easily my favourite Passion Pit track.
3. Crystal Castles - "Not In Love (featuring Robert Smith)" (2010)
Early start to my current interest in this sort of "industrial synthpop" genre.
2. Robyn - "Dancing On My Own" (2010)
An enduring classic? Probably.
1. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Round and Round" (2010)
Gotta like that chorus hook. Also discovered on the 2010 Fluxblog Survey. Feel embarrassed that this is my most listened track, but sometimes the truth hurts!
Look forward to my 2013 list for top hits from 2011 and 2012!
Chvrches - "The Mother We Share"
I've had this on repeat for about two days straight, interspersed with whatever I can scrounge of CHVRCHES' other work or things I'm dredging from related styles. But this track is my fav. It feels perfectly modern yet nostalgic all the same ("recalling the very best of the genre," said one Youtube commenter).
"Lies" is the other hit "officially" released:
Information is sparse, but an album is expected in early-mid 2013. For now, there are a few remixes on Soundcloud and a smattering of Youtube clips that I've compiled into a playlist. Of those, I'd highly recommend this beautiful Prince cover, "I Would Die 4 V."
Update: This 23-minute live radio session on BBC Radio Scotland is also quite good.
Def Leppard - "Animal"
I just want you to know that somebody in this video is playing his synth drums in bare feet.
Simple Plan - "Jet Lag"
Often, I'm intrigued enough by an unknown song that I take the effort to whip out my phone and Shazam the track… only to find that it's a band I dislike – probably more because of principles or prejudices than because I have any familiarity with the band, of course.
So, Simple Plan, you've bested me this time, with your melancholic pop hooks and "emotive" lyrics, slotting casually into my Guilty Pleasures playlist.
However, a few comments on this funny "ha ha" video:
- There are FOUR versions of the song/video, featuring different female voice leads: Natasha Bedingfield (above), French-Canadian singer Marie-Mai, Chinese pop singer Kelly-Cha, and KOTAK vocalist Tantri. I like the Kelly-Cha version is best, with the "late-night radio announcer" bookends and the subtle AsiaPop overproduction. (Did you notice that extra bit of reverb?) I've hunted down all three other versions for you below.
- The song is about these two special lovers being apart and how it's tearing them up, BUT bro is clearly working at least FOUR international ladies simultaneously.
- Shout outs to WestJet, but then why is there an Air Canada jet flying away at the end? You couldn't wait, like, 10 minutes to catch a WestJet plane?
- Did you know Simple Plan was from Québec? I didn't.
- Lead singer Pierre Bouvier (I know his name now. What's happening to me?) carries a guitar case throughout the video, but doesn't seem to play guitar in the band. What's actually in that guitar case?
- Here, watch this behind-the-scenes clip. Ha.
Maylee Todd - "Baby's Got It"
Wonderful video. Can't wait for the album.
The Naked City
I was probably drawn to this title either by the promise of nudity, or perhaps by reference to the famous psychogeographic diagram by Guy Debord (the diagram was apparently inspired by the film). The story is, fairly simply, about the investigation of the murder of a young model in New York. There are a few good twists, but it's rather linear by today's standards.
The film was recognized with Academy Awards for cinematography and film editing, which is apparent during the vignettes of the Big Apple (it was filmed on location). The stylistically documentarian moments, complemented by a somewhat dark and mysterious narrator make it a little more than a typical run-of-the-mill whodunnit.
Worth watching if you have a hankering for something in black and white. Catch a taste here:
The Constantines - "Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)"
Pretty boring video, but I love this song.
City and Colour - "Fragile Bird"
I usually only post things I really love. I can't decide on this one, but wanted to log it somewhere for posterity. Great hook in the chorus, though! (Kinda NSFW, but you know, depends where you work…)


text:
This happens often. After I write about generational drivers or changes in the social mood, readers will contact me and ask: OK, so much for the drivers and the theory, Neil—what do you think will actually happen?
So let me try to pre-empt those readers. In my last post, I talked about how and why different generations lean toward or against the 2012 presidential candidates. In this post, I'll talk about the connection between generations and some of the more conventional ways pundits currently handicap the election. I won't exactly say who I think will win, but I will discuss some of the indicators I am following closely.
Futures Markets. Everyone knows that Republicans believe in futures markets (and in weird options and derivatives based thereon, like CDFs) more than anyone else. So here's the bad news they have to swallow: Futures markets are now predicting Obama to beat Romney by roughly 16 percentage points. (This is not the predicted voter margin in the election; it is the probability margin by which of most investors think Obama will sneak by in at least a razor-thin victory.) That's 57-40 percent on Intrade or 58-42 on Iowa Futures. Obama has been leading in these markets since last fall. Bless those markets. Because of the "law of one price" (look this one up under "arbitrage"), all of these futures market prices have to match, worldwide. Even brainy liberals (see Infotopia by Cass Sunstein, ) give very high praise to futures markets.
I agree that futures markets have a great track record and need to be taken seriously. Why do they lean more pro-Obama than the weekly polls? Maybe they sense that the sentiment for Romney is merely the way Americans vent their anger (always at the incumbent when talking to pollsters) before settling down and voting for the incumbent after all. Or maybe they sense that the strong preference of the rising generation for a cool and pragmatic Gen Xer as POTUS really does represent where the nation is heading—and that most voters will wake to that fact come November 6. Young Pompey once declared (to aging Sulla) that "more people worship the rising than the setting sun." Maybe the markets agree.
Then again, markets no less than polls can be greatly mistaken this far away from the election. At the very least, I think that buying a Romney contract on Intrade at $4.00 and waiting to sell it once it hits $4.50 is an extremely safe trade—since sooner or later Romney is bound to have a surge carrying him at least this far. Even John McCain in 2008 surged in early September to 0.47 in the futures markets. It is also possible that the markets could gradually drift to a sizable Romney advantage between now and mid-October, and that after Romney wins everyone will congratulate the markets for being so prescient.
The Economy. According to the Pew Research Center, Romney leads Obama in his handling of one big issue, the economy, no matter how you phrase the question. And the economy—for example, the creation of jobs and the revival of wage growth—is now far more important to voters than any other issue (environment, gay marriage, immigration, foreign policy, what have you) by a very large margin. This is a big advantage for Romney. The unemployment rate is now 8.2 percent; looking at current indicators, it may not decline at all between now and November. No President since FDR has won an election with an unemployment rate over 7.2 percent. (That was the rate in November of 1984, when Reagan won re-election; and unlike Obama, Reagan brought the rate down from the date of his first election.) See The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight column for a detailed update on the link between the economy and election outcomes.
The economy is as good an argument for Romney as the futures markets are for Obama. Still, it has potential weaknesses. Voters have yet to buy into Romney's economic program—or even to understand it—in any big way. Is Romney going to cut deficits faster than Obama? Who knows? However he runs deficits, Romney says he wants to do it more through tax cuts than spending increases. Is John Q. Public OK with this? Also, keep in mind the "no President since FDR" proviso. If the public comes to equate George W. Bush with Hoover—and Obama with FDR—well then all bets are off. FDR won as an incumbent in 1936 with an unemployment rate of 16.9% and in 1940 with a rate of 14.6%.
I agree that if the economy worsens in the next couple of months, or if we simply learn more about how bad the economy now is (at least one eminent forecasting group thinks we're already in a recession, it just hasn't been called yet), the news will certainly give a further boost to Romney. But the link between each generation's pocketbook and vote is seldom simple or direct. The Silent Generation has done the best economically in recent years and will never bear much of the burden of large deficits, yet the Silent are the most anti-Obama. For the Millennials, it's the other way around. Liberals often complain that red-zone Americans would switch parties if they only understood their own economic self-interest. Conservatives say the same today about Americans under age 30. The problem is, most people don't respond to piecemeal economic incentives. They either do, or do not, buy into a whole vision.
Likeability. How much do you like the candidate? How much would you like to have a beer with him? These are the sorts of warm-and-fuzzy questions that many political analysts believe turn the tide in an election. In most of the critical elections I can remember, GOP candidates have had the likeability advantage: Reagan over Carter; Bush Sr. over Dukakis; Bush Jr. over Kerry. But this election, it's tipping the other way: The Democratic candidate in 2012 is currently much more likeable than the GOP candidate. It hardly matters what you ask—which candidate is more "friendly," "connecting," "honest," "good," "trying," or "engaged,"—Obama comes out ahead, typically by double digits. Likeability could be a huge plus in an era of great anxiety when many voters will want to go with their "gut. It certainly worked for FDR.
Speaking of whom, there actually was a time when the least likeable candidate was, routinely, the Republican. And that was the 1930s and 1940s. Herbert Hoover and Alf Landon were less likable than FDR, and Tom Dewey was less likeable than just about anyone, including FDR and Harry Truman. So Democrats, yes, can be likeable. Are we reverting to the last Fourth Turning in party likeability? Or is there a simpler explanation? Perhaps Mitt Romney, whom nearly everyone who knows him would call him very "likeable," has simply not yet had the chance to get his charm on in prime time. We'll see.
Intangibles & Wildcards. I give most of the intangibles at this point to Romney. He is the challenger, and it is an old maxim (though some disagree) that challengers do better late in the campaign. A much larger share of his supporters say they are "enthusiastic" about this election—no doubt reflecting the higher relative energy of older voters this time around. He also remains relatively unknown, which means that millions of Americans will be taking a close look at him for the first time in the ten weeks between the GOP convention and the election. Since much of what is known about Romney thus far is negative (thanks to the attacks from his primary opponents and to the Obama campaign's efforts to "predefine" him), it is likely that his strengths—for example, his intelligence, wit, and dedication to his family and the community—will get plenty of play. Romney may surprise voters during the debates by coming across smarter and warmer than most voters are expecting.
Another possible plus for Romney is the "reverse coattails effect." Since the GOP are odds-on favorites to retain a majority in the House and gain a majority in the Senate, Romney could be pulled along by state and local candidates. That assumes of course that most voters prefer to vote a straight ticket and have a single-party government. It's often said that Americans are happy with divided government, but according to one recent study a large (and possibly rising) majority say no, they really do want one party in charge.
Any intangibles for Obama? Confidence, maybe. Though Obama supporters are less enthusiastic, they are more likely to say they want to cast a positive vote for their candidate (as opposed to voting against the other guy) and are a lot more confident than Romney supporters that their candidate will win. Obama must hope that confidence doesn't morph into complacency and that his supporters are still ready to sprint. Many pundits also say that Obama has an advantage in the electoral college by leading in the bigger states. That could make a difference, but only if the popular vote is extremely close.
As for wildcards—meaning sudden big surprises—these usually break for the incumbent Commander in Chief, unless voters associate them with mistakes made by the incumbent. An attack on Iran (by Israel and/or the United States, though the most likely date now mentioned in the media is October, after the election), would likely break favorably for Obama. Seismic financial news (like a crash triggered by an impending breakup of the Euro) may not break as well, since it may persuade many voters that the world needs better global economic leadership.
Obama and Romney. Let me conclude with a few thoughts on the two candidates themselves—and how they are, or are not, representative of their generation.
As readers of our books and this blog know, I consider Obama (born, 1961) to be a first-cohort member of Generation X (born 1961-81). The Gen-X dates we've explained and defended at length elsewhere (too many books to hyperlink!). But what about Obama? Does he fit the basic Xer picture? I've always thought so: Son of a new-age mom; child of a broken family; growing up disoriented amid incessant travel, change, and social experimentation; coming of age agoraphobic, feeling (as he puts it) "like an outsider"; and ultimately constructing his own persona (like Gatsby), a quality I see in many successful Xers. What's more, Obama knows he's not a Boomer: In his books (Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope), he repeatedly mentions how he feels he came along "after" the Boomers and wants to put an end to much that Boomers have done wrong (culture wars, ideological polarization, and so on). Back in 2008, Obama often referred to this as a contrast between an earlier "Moses" generation and his own "Joshua" generation.
Obviously, opinions differ about who Obama "really" is. I think he is at heart a canny survivor, a masterful tactician, a pragmatist who doesn't let emotions cloud his judgment. He knows when to play rope-a-dope (always let the GOP make the first budget move, then counter), or when to rouse his base by inveighing against Wall Street tycoons (even while hiring them to staff his Treasury), or when to ignore his own base and make a shrewd cost-benefit call (War on Terror by Predators, anyone?). On the Boomer cusp, Obama is certainly capable of crusading oratory—which adds to his versatility. Many of the most memorable crisis-era leaders in American history have been, like Obama, Nomad-Prophet hybrids: FDR, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Adams. Yet clearly Obama would need a very different and far more effective second term—and another opportunity handed to him by history—to enter these ranks.
As for Mitt Romney (born 1947), no one doubts he is a Boomer. He's led a committed religious life; he's always won accolades as a driven achiever; he's made tons of money as a blue-chip yuppie; he believes in Values and Culture and Principles; and he tends to see America's future in heavily moralistic terms (for example, in his recent book, No Apology: Believe in America, he juxtaposes his father's "Greatest Generation" against his own "Worst Generation"—a dark figure of speech that Obama would never use). Will his religion be a problem? There is lots more talk about Mormonism as a Christian heresy among older than among younger Americans, that's for certain. Many Millennials are impressed by the strong community ethic of Romney's LDS Church.
One mystery about Romney, though, is the impression he gives to many of his fellow Boomers that he never shared their passionate coming-of-age experience, never broke from Mom and Dad, and never drank from the same deep well of authenticity and inner fire. We used to call this the "Dan Quayle problem." Boomers have never been drawn to someone who seems to paint by the numbers. In the GOP primaries, when running against Gingrich and Santorum, Romney consistently did worse among Boomers than among other generations.
Yet in the general election, this weakness may rebound to his advantage. In the GOP primary, Mitt Romney consistently did better with young voters than any of the other candidates (with the occasional exception of Ron Paul). Millennials may actually like Romney's cool and precise 7-point memo responses. (Romney, far more than McCain, will be able to debate Obama this fall on his own Ivy-League level.) Silent voters, similarly, may also prefer the buttoned-down Romney over the totally unplugged Boomer radical.
Yet at some point, for all of his advantages on paper, Romney will have to show some flame, some focus, and some real killer instinct. He will have to get ahead, stay ahead, and systematically thwart his opponent's comebacks. In a national election, Romney has not yet demonstrated he has that endurance and resolve. Obama has.


text:
Uh oh!
It looks like you're using a browser that QuitNet doesn't support. To use the site, you'll need to upgrade to a newer version. If you get started with the browser upgrade and need help, please contact us at email@example.com. If you're using a work computer and can't upgrade, please contact your IT department.
Don't forget that you can grab your phone and use the iPhone or web version of QuitNet! They have all the same features and can go everywhere you do.


text:
Despite the provocative headline that got you this far, I'm sure there's something to it.
So few women top executives exist that I'm sure there's some "boys club" reason behind it in the board rooms of major corporations where, not coincidentally, there are relatively few women.
But what about female line workers: the female clerks, saleswomen, scientists and engineers. Not the woman who aspires to being the CEO, but the woman who, like most men, just wants to earn a living.
I've often wondered about the statistics and have yet to find an answer to this question: are the statisticians comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges?
Here's what I mean:
Most men are ready to travel or even relocate away from friends and family if it will improve their career opportunities. I strongly suspect that while many woman are also ready to improve their careers in this way, most women are not.
I strongly suspect that many women still head toward careers in line with natural feminine inclinations to nurture: teaching, nursing, veterinary care and assistantship jobs, art and craft-oriented jobs.
Add to this some of the disadvantages of women in the workplace such as, greater absenteeism (female health and family commitment reasons), more likely to be a smoker (less likely to give up a break in a crisis situation), and less likely to accept a career move if it means leaving office friends behind, and...
...I wonder what the stats about advancement opportunities and pay would look like if one compared the women who were more like men against their male counterparts.
Views: 1386
I'm tracking you here but does that really alter the logic any? Or if so, how does it alter the logic? 7 billion people can be wrong.
It's like the difference between trying to stop a cabin cruiser or an aircraft carrier. It's a problem of inertia.
Having cycled poor and well off many times,
I noticed that the equation has a smell about it,
that is often times quiet off.
Forgive my disrespect and sarcastic tone of voice,
But when I see others in the gutter,
And myself looking down,
I feel a little betrayal and memory,
Of other souls and I seeking a peace,
That seems very hard to find.
So here I am amide the remains of other lives,
A museum of memories and creation as castoffs.
Reminding me that I am not artsy,
Or failed in some way,
But now a care-taker of my and other memories,
Compassion forbids a dumpster run,
Association's web induces a storm of pain,
That then subsides.
I hear the crackle of lighting strikes,
As Association's web is touched again,
Mother and family gone,
Replaced by a silence,
And puppies playing in the yard.
I have loved so,
And watched the death closeup,
And far away!
I have smelled pepper spray,
And the sounds of loose,
And the march of jack boots with batons on the ground,
And one block from the action,
Nothing but silence and coffee cups in the wind.
kk & James - both really cool.
It's like the difference between trying to stop a cabin cruiser or an aircraft carrier. It's a problem of inertia.
- kk
thanks Simon - kk
Hey Sarah,
Don't be silly. I didn't and I know the feeling, I do it, too.
- kk
BTW, Sarah, don't be fooled by KK's icon. Just as I'm not really Max Headroom, he isn't really a cute 10 year old boy. He's very much a grown up.
You're not really Max Headroom? Next, you'll be telling me there's no Santa Claus!
Hey Unseen,
You're not really Max? Dang, I thought you were famous. I was playing the harpy with you :-) Oh, it was 14 and I really don't look much different today. The main difference is that the proportion of my head size to my body has changed ;-)
- kk
But to the discussion question of the glass ceiling, there is no question, women as a whole have extra challenges. Would you agree?
Of course they do, yea, I agree. But women are also abusing men in family courts, too, which was my earlier point. Just to be fair and balanced. Moral of this lesson: make sure when you have a child with someone they are not a sociopath, man or woman ;-)
- kk
Hey Sarah,
... a mother is always a mother first. That's universal
I don't think so.
- kk


text:
Hernando County
Sponsored By
Best Kids Eat Free Restaurants In Pasco & HernandoIf you are looking for a family style restaurant that has a relaxed atmosphere and a bargain, you're in luck. We have found 5 Pasco and Hernando County restaurants that offer reduced, or even free, kid's meals. With so many of us on a tight budget now-a-days, who wouldn't appreciate a break like this?


text:
- This event has passed.
Alemany Farm Volunteer Workday
June 16 @ 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
An event every month that begins at 12:00 pm on day Third of the month, repeating until April 18, 2021
Event Navigation
Join the Friends of Alemany Farm and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department in a food security project that helps countless San Franciscans. Alemany Farm produces over 13 tons of fruits and vegetables annually, all distributed for FREE to the neighboring community, volunteers and San Francisco at large. Alemany Farm drop-in volunteer workdays are integral to the success of the farm as it takes many hands to grow the high quality organic vegetables on the Farm. We always welcome new volunteers with an orientation to the farm followed by farm work overseen by dedicated staff and volunteers and finish up workdays with a shared harvest fresh from the farm. Click on the Register tab above to register for this individual event and check out alemanyfarm.org for a full listing of all things Alemany Farm. Please wear closed toed shoes, long pants and layers and bring a bag for vegetables!


text:
Pastern Equine Wrap - Adjustable from 6" to 18" one size fits all. Sold as singles. A Velcro fastener allows easy adjustment for pressure and comfort. Provides firm support and protection. Long lasting, soft cotton pile inner lining. Available in 3" width x 21" long. The pastern joint is the site of degenerative joint disease (high ringbone.)
Use magnetic therapy as a supplement to conventional treatment. This information is provided for educational purposes only. It does not recommend self diagnosis and treatment with magnetic products. Anyone experiencing health problems should consult with a health care professional before starting any new therapy. The author will not be held responsible for anyone using this information to treat themselves or others. Do not use magnets or magnetic therapy if using a pacemaker, implanted medical device or insulin pump as they may interfere with the delicate electronic equipment. Magnetic products are not recommended with transdermal patches or during pregnancy.
magnetic mattress pads |
necklaces | magnetic rings |
magnetic bracelets |
magnetic pillow pads
magnetic seats |
magnetic insoles
| magnetic therapy books |
natural cures magnets
neodymium spot acupuncture
magnets | magnetic fuel saver |
magnetic water conditioner
block magnets |
magnetic pet
products | magnetic equine products |
electromagnetics |
wholesale magnets
nikken comparison |
coconut oil |
email@example.com by Computer Geek


text:
Battle of Azanulbizar
This article needs to be rewritten to comply with Tolkien Gateway's higher standards...
|Battle of Azanulbizar
|Conflict: War of the Dwarves and Orcs
|Date: T.A. 2799
|Place: The Dimrill Dale and the steps of the East-gate of Moria
|Outcome: Pyrrhic victory for the Dwarves
Longbeards, Broadbeams, Firebeards, and Houses of the far East numbering at possibly 10-30,000 (taking in mind that most of the Longbeard, Broadbeam and Firebeards would've been assembled), plus 500-1,000 (est.) Dwarves from the Iron Hills[source?]
Goblins of Moria, and the remnants of other Orc-dwellings throughout the Misty Mountains, (est.) at 50-70,000[source?]
Half of the host; 7-12,000[source?]
At least 50,000 as the Orcs of the Misty Mountains never really recovered from the war, the rest of the force likely fled into the White or Grey Mountains, or remained hidden[source?]
The Battle of Azanulbizar (T.A. 2799) was the penultimate battle in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. It was fought beneath the East-gate of Moria in the valley of Azanulbizar, called Nanduhirion in Sindarin or Dimrill Dale in Westron. Therefore the event is also known as the Battle of Nanduhirion and the Battle of Dimrill Dale.
Prior to the Battle
The War of the Dwarves and Orcs was started when Azog the Orc-chieftain of Moria captured and mutilated Thrór, King of Durin's folk. Azog carved his own name in runes onto Thrór's severed head, and then let his companion Nár escape so that all Dwarves would know that an Orc now ruled Moria. Full of righteous fury, Thrór's son Thráin II gathered a great army of Dwarves, including those not of Durin's folk (Firebeards and Broadbeams from the Blue Mountains and those from the far East of Middle-earth). For six years they systematically destroyed the Orc-holds of the Misty Mountains, until only Moria was left where those Goblins that survived the destruction fled.
Opposing Forces
The exact number for the Dwarves was not specified, but it can be estimated at being somewhere between six to ten thousand Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stonefoots, Blacklocks, and Stiffbeards.
The Orcs, as stated above, came from Moria, and from as far north as Mount Gundabad. So their numbers can be estimated at fifteen to twenty thousand Orcs.
The Battle
The battle started on a dark day of cold winter with no sunlight. The Dwarves had marched into the Dimrill Dale where they found the great East-gate and sent up a great noise. They discovered that on the western slopes above thousands of Orcs had gathered and more were coming out of the East-gate, outnumbering them and holding the higher ground.
The first Vanguard led by King Thraín, assaulted the slopes but were driven back with casualties, into a wood near the Mirrormere, where Frerin youngest son of Thraín was slain along with Fundin, father of Balin; and many others. Thraín himself was wounded, as well as his eldest son Thorin II Oakenshield. Who's shield was broken during the battle and had to use an oak branch that he hewed off a tree to defend himself.
Elsewhere, the battle swayed back and forth until Náin from the Iron Hills, arrived with a host of fresh troops. Naín, and his Dwarves hewed through the Orc lines with their mattocks shouting AZOG! AZOG! AZOG! until they got to the steps of the gate, in-which Naín called upon Azog to come out and fight. When Azog emerged from the inner gate with his guards, Naín was very tired and half blind with rage and tried to swing as hard as he could at Azog but the orc darted aside, and he missed, which splintered his mattocks on the ground. The orc kicked him in the leg when he dodged the Dwarf's blow, making him stumble, at which Azog tried to decapitate him but Azog only broke Naín's neck because of the strong mail he was wearing, Naín died instantly.
Azog laughed at this, but when he looked out into the valley he found that his entire army was routed. Those that could were fleeing southwards, and all his guards were killed as well. With that he fled back to the gate. But Náin's son, Dáin, leaped up the steps after him with his red axe and just before the gate he hewed off Azog's head, thus ending the war. He was just 32-years old at the time, very young for a Dwarf, and it was remarked an amazing feat. Dáin would later become King under the Mountain as Dáin II Ironfoot.
The Dwarves were victorious, but with heavy casualties. Half of their forces dead or mortally wounded. But the Orcs casualties were ten thousand. After the battle, King Thráin wanted to enter and reclaim Moria, the ancestral home of Durin's folk. However, since the Dwarves had taken heavy losses and the Dwarves of the other Houses did not see any benefit in it for them unless they got some treasure from Moria. More significantly, Dáin had peered beyond the East-gate after slaying Azog, and saw that Durin's Bane still lingered within and advised Thráin not to enter.
They then stripped the dead, so the orcs couldn't plunder them, and felled all the trees in the valley which they made many pyres with, and put there dead on them to burn. For they could not bury them all in fashioned tombs of stone, as was their custom for it would take many years. So those that fell in that battle were known proudly as Burned Dwarves.
The Houses then parted ways, returning to their homes to the North, East, and West.
Thráin, with what was left of Durin's folks' forces, went back to Dunland, and shortly afterwards wandered in Eriador till they settled in the Northern Blue Mountains. There Durin's folk regrew slowly in population and waited till the days they could take back the halls of Erebor, and Khazad-dum.
Although the Dwarves suffered heavy casualties, the battle would have lasting effects for the Orcs of the Misty Mountains. Their numbers were severely shrunken after the battle and never fully recovered. If it hadn't been for the battle, Bilbo Baggins and his thirteen Dwarf companions may have never made it to Erebor; the Battle of Five Armies wouldn't have been won by the army of Elves, Men, and Dwarves; and The Fellowship may have never got through Moria alive.


text:
DOE turns uranium to solar
Those big piles of radioactive waste have long been the bane of communities where uranium mining and milling tailings serve as a dirty reminder of the atomic era. Now, one of those piles in Colorado is going to lend itself to a solar project.
The Department of Energy Legacy Management program is seeking bids to put solar collectors on top of the 42-acre tailings pile southwest of Durango. DOE figures there is enough space on the pile to create enough solar energy to power about 1,000 homes. A DOE spokeswoman said 14 entities have expressed interest in bidding to carry out this unusual project.
It's not unheard of to make lemonade out of lemons when it comes to radioactive waste. DOE has also turned some tailings sites into grazing lands or hay fields around the country. In the future, other DOE-managed sites in Colorado have the potential to house solar collectors or be remade into greener pastures for livestock.
Stay tuned. DOE hopes work on turning Durango's tailings pile to solar could begin as soon as March.


text: Fall classes begin this week! That means it's time for us to come together and celebrate a new school year! Formerly just a weekend of services, we now include all of the early events under the title of ALPHA – the first letter in the Greek alphabet, meaning new, the beginning, off to the right start. We invite EC's students, faculty, and staff to welcome God's ALPHA and ask Him to get us off to His right start. For more information and access to this year's Alpha Week schedule CLICK HERE!


text:
The organizers of the Chinese Music Chart Awards deceived the Taipei City Government by applying to hold the award ceremony at the Taipei Arena using a different title, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday, accusing Taipei Deputy Mayor Timothy Ting (丁庭宇) of facilitating the application process.
The event's co-organizer in Taiwan, the Taipei Artist Agency Association (TAAA), applied to the Taipei City Government's Department of Cultural Affairs in January to hold a TAAA annual event at the Taipei Arena this month that would aim to revive the nation's music scene. However, in April the TAAA changed the title of the event to the Chinese Music Chart Awards.
The department and Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC, 台北大眾捷運公司), operator of the arena, approved the application without reviewing the change of title or the event details, DPP Taipei City councilors Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) and Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said.
Wu cited the TAAA's application in January as saying that the "annual event" would invite Taiwanese musicians to perform and promote the spirit of the nation's music industry to the world. The department's review committee later agreed to the request to hold the event at the Taipei Arena from Dec. 25 to Dec. 30 amid competition for the venue, including a request by popular Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) to stage a concert.
"The organizer obtained the right to use the arena using a different title. Why did TRTC and the department still approve the case after it changed the title to the Chinese Music Chart Awards? It's against application procedures and I don't think the department would have dared to ignore the procedures if wasn't instructed to do so," she said.
Liang accused Ting of facilitating the application because he is a close friend of former New Party lawmaker Chao Shao-kang (趙少康) — whose younger brother is TAAA president Chao Shao-wei (趙少威) — and urged the department to organize another review of the application to hold the Chinese award ceremony in Taiwan.
"Ting must have put pressure on the department and TRTC to approve the TAAA's application, otherwise the review committee would not have ignored the change of title and content," Liang said.
Ting denied any involvement and said that he did not know Chao Shao-wei.
Kuo Pei-yu (郭佩瑜), a division chief at the department, acknowledged that the committee had approved the TAAA's second application in April without knowing about the details of the event and promised to hold another review of the application.
Controversy about the event arose after the Chinese organizers announced last week that this year's event would be held in Taipei on Dec. 29, despite not having received official approval from the government.
Meanwhile, a meeting led by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to review the case yesterday afternoon reached no conclusion.
The meeting cast doubt on the purpose of the event, which was listed as a "concert" in the application to the Taipei City Government, but as an "awards ceremony" in documents filed with the NIA.
The NIA also requested that the organizers clarify if it is purely a private-sector event, amid media speculation that the Chinese government plays a role in holding the annual extravaganza.
A second NIA review meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday next week.


text:
Everything You Need to Know About the New 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ Cast
It's happened: they've officially announced the cast of 'Star Wars: Episode 7.' We knew that original trilogy stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher would be returning to the roles that made their careers, but it's the new cast members that have us really excited. It's going to be nice to see Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa reunited on the big screen, but it's going to be truly exciting to see what characters director J.J. Abrams will create from scratch.
The new cast members are a fantastic combo of established character actors, on-the-rise stars, living legends and complete unknowns. But, just in case you aren't familiar with them we've assembled a basic primer. Here's what you need to know about each of the new additions to the 'Star Wars' universe!
Oscar Isaac
Although he's been acting steadily for the better part of a decade, Oscar Isaac only recently became a real Hollywood player with his stunning performance in Joel and Ethan Coen's 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' a role that would have netted him an Oscar nomination in a just world. He appeared in plenty of interesting films through the 2000s, working alongside Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan as a troubled ex-con in 'Drive' and playing a role in Steven Soderbergh's 'Che.' He also his his fair share of experience in the blockbuster arena, having played Prince John in Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood' and Blue Jones in Zack Snyder's 'Sucker Punch.'
Still, it's difficult to imagine him nabbing the 'Star Wars' gig without his restrained, hilarious and melancholy work as folk singer Llewyn Davis. Hilariously, 'Inside Llewyn Davis' sees Isaac performing back-up vocals on "Please Mr. Kennedy," a song where he begs to not be sent into outer space. We're very glad he reconsidered.
John Boyega
We've been waiting for John Boyega to explode ever since he rocked our world with his leading performance in 'Attack the Block' back in 2011. As the stoic teenage hood Moses, Boyega commanded the screen before the aliens invaded his apartment block and forced him to step up and become an unlikely action hero. It's the kind of badass performance that makes you a star and he's been rumored to be in contention for all kinds of roles in the past few years, including Marvel's Black Panther.
Boyega has worked steadily since then, appearing in a handful of smaller films and TV movies (as well as an upcoming stint on FOX's '24: Live Another Day'), but a role on 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ feels like the culmination of that 'Attack the Block' goodwill. At least he has plenty of experience battling aliens!
Adam Driver
Long-rumored to be playing the villain of 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' Adam Driver feels like an outside-the-box choice for this particular universe … which is also why we can't wait to see what he brings to it. Although best known for playing Hannah's eccentric actor boyfriend on HBO's 'Girls,' Driver has worked with his fair share of noteworthy filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood on 'J. Edgar,' Noah Baumbach on 'Frances Ha,' and Steven Spielberg on 'Lincoln.' He may be best known for playing weirdos and goofballs, but there's always been a certain danger attached to his sillier characters. Even the awkward Adam has his dark and terrifying moments and we can't wait to see an actor as talented as Driver really get a chance to stretch his muscles, especially when his new canvas is the 'Star Wars' universe.
And most importantly, he was also in 'Inside Llewyn Davis' and he also sang on "Please Mr. Kennedy" with Oscar Isaac, making him the second 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ cast member to have begged, through song, to not leave their planet. Trivia!
Domhnall Gleeson
Even if you don't know his name, you've seen Domhnall Gleeson. The son of the great Brendan Gleeson, he's worked steadily in films both massive and tiny, playing everything from wizards to tech geeks to loving fathers and husbands. If you didn't see him in the heartbreaking sci-fi drama 'Never Let Me Go,' you surely saw him as Ron Weasley's brother Bill Weasley in the 'Harry Potter' series. If you missed his brief but vital turn in the fantastic 'True Grit' remake, you may have seen him bring humanity to the goofy-as-hell dystopic action flick 'Dredd.' Most recently, he played the lead role in 'About Time,' taking a potentially silly concept about a man who learns he can travel through time and creating one of the most heartbreaking performances of 2013.
Domhnall Gleeson may not be too well known yet, but his presence in a film as big as 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ has been a long time coming.
Daisy Ridley
When the 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ cast was announced, you could practically feel a giant question mark appear above the internet's head when Daisy Ridley's name was announced. Who is this girl and how did she manage to beat out so many other big names that were in contention for this film? Right now, her filmography is composed almost entirely of appearances on British television shows like 'Silent Witness' and 'Toast of London,' where she played characters like "Stage Hand." So, yes: Ridley's casting is J.J. Abrams and Disney taking a chance on an unknown. Hey, it worked out well for George Lucas nearly 40 years ago!
We may not know much about Ridley, but we know even less about her role in the film. She reacted to the casting announcement with a tweet:
Overwhelmed by all the support. This is the greatest day of my life. I'm told I can't say who I'm playing yet, but it's exciting!
— Daisy Ridley (@DaisyRidley) April 29, 2014
Andy Serkis
Of all of the new actors being added to the 'Star Wars' line-up, Andy Serkis is undoubtedly the most well-known and beloved by the geek community. Although he's been working as an actor since the late '80s, his became an unlikely superstar with his performance as Gollum in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, which made him a go-to guy for technically challenging genre projects. Although he's appeared in his human form in films like Christopher Nolan's 'The Prestige,' he's spent much of the past decade helping push motion capture technology forward, playing King Kong for Peter Jackson, Captain Haddock in 'The Adventures of Tintin' for Steven Spielberg, and Caesar in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and the upcoming 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.'
So here's the big question: will Serkis be playing a human character or is Abrams taking advantage of his mo-cap experience to cast him as visual effects heavy alien character? In either case, it's really hard to go wrong with putting him in your movie.
Max von Sydow
Most of the actors joining 'Star Wars: Episode 7′ are relatively young people on the rise, but Max von Sydow is nothing short of a living legend and one of the best actors of all time. He got his start in Sweden, acting for legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman in soul-shattering classics like 'Through a Glass Darkly,' 'The Virgin Spring,' and 'Winter Light.' Eventually, Hollywood came for him and he became a fixture of American popular culture with his iconic performance as Father Merrin in 'The Exorcist.'
And he hasn't shied away from genre filmmaking since! He played Emperor Ming in 'Flash Gordon,' King Osric in 'Conan the Barbarian,' Doctor Kynes in 'Dune' and voiced the evil Vigo in 'Ghostbusters II.' More recently, he played key roles in 'Minority Report,' 'Robin Hood,' 'Shutter Island' and 'The Tudors,' making him the busiest 85 year old in the business. There was a big Alec Guinness=shaped hole in the 'Star Wars' universe and von Sydow looks like the perfect man to fill it.


text:
McRobbie poses the question this way. Given post-Fordist work conditions -- the general intellect and the dissolving work-leisure divide, and all that -- individuals experience precarity as a kind of anxious freedom, a requirement to be entrepreneurial with the personal brand: "Joyful ideas of communality and even communistic sentiments are countered by a powerful regime which inculcates cynicism and opportunism, manifest in the context of the party and events culture of network sociality where self-promotional public relations holds sway." Of course, social media fits right into that diagnosis, helping administrate these requirements, permitting us to be self-promotional with less pain and shame, while naturalizing the necessity of such selling oneself out, rationalizing the self-exploitation. McRobbie asks, "How do young men and women experience distress differently in their attempts to make an independent living in these new informal fields of work?"
McRobbie notes that post-Fordist relations of production have led to a feminization of the workplace -- more women working as a result of neoliberal policy (safety net elimination), work becoming more service-oriented and communication-based (affective work traditionally performed by women), the "mancession," the centrality of tastemaking (drawing on women's traditional role as discriminating shopper), and so on all play into this. But at the same time, though this provides more opportunities for women, the freelance precarious nature of the work means the weakening of institutional protections against harassment and discrimination.
as both Gill and Scharff point out, the informal conventions of network sociality in fact negate the relevance of legal entitlements associated with 'normal work'. This makes it difficult for questions about sexism or racism to be raised. Instead there is a privatisation of grievances or, as Scharff argues, young women begin to see sexism as simply another obstacle which, by sheer grit and determination, they must be able to overcome individually. Nothing, she claims, is more 'uncool' than appearing to be a feminist in these workplaces. It is this same privatised and deeply individualised culture which gives rise to intense forms of mental stress, breakdown and dependence on drugs or alcohol.These are the realities of the neoliberal risk shift, which are perhaps more ambivalent for women experiencing new economic opportunities. Successful women can end up being allied with neoliberalism against its left critics, against the less fortunate among the so-called precariat.
Criticizing naive optimistic takes on the rise of the entrepreneurial self, McRobbie suggests that left critics, for example, pay "more attention to the role of female models and the image industry in the creation in the last two decades of the feminised and hyper-sexualised consumer culture." Through this we might see "the pivotal place of (mostly young) women as consumers and producers in the global corporations of the fashion and beauty complex." That is to say women are instrumental in creating and circulating the symbolic meanings that enhance the value of goods. As sexualized objects whose images are themselves trafficked, they are the medium of circulation as well as a circulating agent.
With women's role in creating value becoming more formalized in the economy, moving beyond unwaged domestic carework and consumption, a political opportunity emerges for women, which in turn generates new countermeasures.
Where women's centrality to contemporary production could mark out the contours of a new form of gender power, this political potential is decisively pre-empted by the intense forms of biopolitical governmentality which constantly address women and their bodies (through media and magazines in particular) so that earning power is inextricably tied up with consumer culture and the promises of personal satisfactions therein.McRobbie doesn't say this, but perhaps women's economic and creative power ends up being bound up with their value as a gendered, sexualized object -- in beauty and charisma that is inherently precarious, at the mercy of time's ravages and male judgment. The power is circumscribed and redirected toward personal beauty achievements -- becoming a better, more revered object rather than expanding power and autonomy.


text:
Welcome to OrchidTalk Orchid Forums
The Friendliest Orchid Community on the Internet!
OrchidTalk - "Bringing People Together to Grow Orchids Better!"
Let us help you grow your Orchids better; Join our community today.
YES! I want to register an account for free right now!
Register or Login now to remove this advertisement.
Below you will find a list of discussions in the Genus Specific forums at the OrchidTalk Orchid Forums - Grow Orchids!. The Genus Specific forum Please title threads with a Genus name, for example: "Cattleya - cold tolerance?"


text:
Scott Rigsby
There are currently no posts in this category.
Do you have your EdTechTalk stuff yet? Did you know there are T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, buttons, magnets, and tote bags available? They're all based on Wordle interpretations of the EdTechTalk Delicious tags.
What are you waiting for? These are limited edition items. Shop now and avoid the rush!


text:
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Informix as part of IBM. While IBM has purchased many software companies since 2001, Informix represents the only other major DBMS (besides DB2) in IBM's Data Management portfolio. Informix has had a proud tradition of innovations, as seen in the attached diagram.
Starting with the Dynamic Scalable architecture which dates back to the early 1990's where multi-threading was inherent and features such as Data Fragmentation came as early as the late 1990's. Beyond that, the product included key replication features for Enterprise Replication (ER), High Availability Data Replication (HDR) leading up to the release of Flexible Grid in 11.70. That release also includes significant warehousing capabilities by completing the "Arrowhead" project that was started prior to the IBM acquisition. With the recent addition of the Informix Warehouse Accelerator, Informix now provides a highly performant, highly reliable database platform for OLTP and Business Analytics workloads with minimal administration.
We have also seen a resurgence of interest in the Extensibility features that have been part of the product since its acquisition of Illustra. The Time-Series capabilities has now found tremendous popularity in the Smart-Metering market resulting in wide acceptance within the Energy & Utilities industry segment. And with the thousands of customers running on 4GL, the recent release of Informix Genero is providing them with new ways to modernize their application environments.


text:
Installing TomTom HOME
TomTom HOME is the essential tool to keep your TomTom up to date - easily install maps and services, shop for more services, prepare trips and much, much more.
After you have installed TomTom HOME on your computer, click here to
add the item to your device
To download TomTom HOME from the TomTom website and for more information about HOME, click 'Continue'.
Note: TomTom HOME is not compatible with TomTom NAVIGATOR 3-5 and TomTom MOBILE/MOBILE 5.