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Poll: Sequester to hit economy
A majority of Americans believe the $85 billion in automatic budget cuts scheduled to begin on Friday will hurt the economy, with Republicans most certain of the coming damage, according to a poll Thursday.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans think sequestration will harm the national economy. In the Gallup Poll, 30 percent don't believe the economy will get worse. Forty-four percent also think it will harm their personal financial situations, while 45 percent do not.
Story Continued Below
Republicans are far more certain than Democrats that it will hurt economic growth, 64 percent to 51 percent. They're also more likely to believe, 54 percent to 34 percent, that the cuts will hit their wallet, Gallup found.
But Republicans are also less likely to want to stop the cuts, $85 billion of which would hit this year. By a 43 percent to 40 percent margin, the GOP does prefer delaying the cuts to letting them happen. But 47 percent of Democrats would delay the cuts, compared with 34 percent who would let them happen.
Negotiations to avert the cuts are at a standstill, although President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders on Friday.
The poll of 1,017 adults was conducted Feb. 25-26. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.


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Bella Dahl
Hipster Shirt
$126 $180
The Hipster Shirt is a slightly sheer long sleeve with two chest pockets in a playful dotted print. Your new go-to weekend shirt!
- 100% rayon
- Machine wash cold
We completely understand if an item doesn't work out, and will happily offer you a refund. If you are local, online orders can be returned in-store, if not please follow the steps below:
- Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com within 7 days of receiving your order.
- You will be emailed a Return Number for sending the order back to us. Please ensure the items are sent back within 10 days.
- Place items in original box and securely seal (please include the original invoice in your return parcel). Ensure the Return Number is clearly visible on the box.
- The package can be dropped off at any Canada Post/shipping carrier's location.
- Returns must be sent pre-paid and insured with a tracking number.
Rules and Exceptions
- Online orders and returns must been requested within 7 days of receiving your items
- Once a Return Number has been sent to you, please have the item returned within 10 days
- Returned merchandise must be in original condition with tags on. It may not be washed, worn or damaged. If an item is returned damaged it may be sent back to the customer at their own expense.
- All sale items, bodysuits, intimates, cosmetics, jewellery and scarves are final sale.
Please note Bella & Wren has the right to deny a refund if the item is not in the condition stated above.
Sale Merchandise
- Merchandise purchased at over 20% off will be final sale.
Exchanges can happen in-store with the item in sellable condition and with original invoice.We do offer exchanges through mail as well! Please email email@example.com and include the style number and size you would prefer. A $10 exchange shipping fee will be charged to the original form of payment.

subset: commoncrawl


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MADE TO ORDER, BUT WORTH THE WAIT custom made and ready to ship in 2-4 weeks
LOW PRICE GUARANTEE If you find this item elsewhere for less within 30 days of purchase, we'll gladly refund you the difference.
Estimated Ship Date: Made to Order, but Worth the Wait! Usually ships in 7-10 business days.
Delivery Method: Ships via Standard Ground Service. Please contact us for expedited shipping options.
Return/Exchange: Please select carefully and contact us in advance with any questions about your order. This item is not eligible for return. On the rare occasion that you receive a damaged or defective item, please contact us within 5 days of receiving your purchase, so that we may ship you a replacement.


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Six of my 2nd great-grandparents, twelve of my 3rd great-grandparents and one 4th great-grandfather made their way to Utah from across the plains.
I made an earlier post for Pioneer Day paying tribute to my Utah Pioneers.
Nine of my 2nd great-grandparents left Utah to settle the Bear Lake Valley which I am very grateful for. If you know me, you know how I love my Bear Lake Valley.
The Bear Lake Valley is half in Utah and half in Idaho. For Native Americans, Bear Lake Valley was prime hunting ground. Bear Lake was the site of two fur trader-trapper Rendezvous held during the summers of 1826 and 1827. Such notables as Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger were in attendance.
The following websites are very helpful for Utah research.
- UtGenWeb Project
- Utah State History Research Center
- Utah Digital Newspapers
- Utah State Archives
- Utah History Encyclopedia
- Utah Mailing Lists
- Utah Genealogy Trails
Check out the other posts about the letter U.
Leslie Ann


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Train Wreck 6k - Whistler Trail Running
Decades ago a train derailed south of Whistler near what is now Function Junction. Seven train cars were left scattered next to the Cheakamus River. As it turns out, time and local effort has transformed this mess into a wonderful work of art, an extraordinary bike park, and a great place to hike. The Whistler Train Wreck.
Cheakamus River winds its way, crashing and emerald green along the length of the Whistler Train Wreck, and there are several spectacular river vantage points that shouldn't be missed. The whole length of the train wreck and Cheakamus River hike is 3 kilometres (each way) and the trails go along the beautiful river as well as several, widely spaced train wrecks. The Whistler Train Wreck trailhead is now located in Cheakamus Crossing. The new bridge connecting Trash Trail and the Train Wreck Trail was finally finished in 2016. There are a couple very convenient places to park very near the trailhead to both the Trash Trail and the Sea to Sky Trail.
After heavy use in recent years, the old Whistler Train Wreck trail will now return to a peaceful obscurity. The old trail began at the Flank Trail, trailhead behind Olive's Market in Function Junction, and took you under the constantly changing highway underpass. Graffiti in this wonderful area on the large cement foundations seems to constantly be added. A creek flows though the underpass on its way to connecting with the much larger Cheakamus River. The Flank Trail trailhead is easy to spot if you know where to look. If you don't write down these directions before you head out you will likely have trouble finding it. Memorize or print the trail map below and you will be able to locate it easily. A small "Flank Trail" sign sits at the edge of Alpha Lake Road just before Alpha Lake Road bends sharply right(just before Olive's Market). The Flank Trail immediately runs into the deep forest as it follows the river away from Function Junction.
The Whistler Train Wreck trail is easy to spot as it is well used. Just about 50 metres into the Flank Trail as you bend around the Olive's Market parking lot you will come to the large Flank Trail mapboard. The Flank Trail continues straight and the(usually) unmarked Train Wreck trail heads off left along the right side of the creek.
There is only one part of the trail that may get you lost. About five minutes into the trail you will exit the forest and walk along a wide, clear gravel area. Keep your eyes out for the trail across the clearing marked with two large, painted rocks on either side(see directions, map and videos below for better trail descriptions of where to go and where not to).
Walk through the trees for about 100 metres and you will see and hear the Sea to Sky Highway ahead. You have to turn left here and follow the trail to the river where the highway overpass it. Continue along the trail under the overpass and continue on the trail. At this point you will be walking in a strip of forest about 40 metres wide with the highway to your right and the train tracks about 30 metres to your left.
Follow this trail for a couple minutes as it winds past enormous and ancient, giant cedar tree stumps. You will abruptly come to a small creek in your way. This "creek" comes from a giant drainage pipe under the highway.
At the creek look to your left and you will see the trail lead to the train tracks, don't cross the tracks, but rather, just before the tracks turn right, follow the trail at the edge of the tracks past and over the creek and then pick up the trail again as it veers away from the train tracks into the trees again. Just ahead the trail will end at the train tracks and you will have to carefully cross the tracks here (the only train tracks crossing you will need to do). Keep in mind that walking along the train tracks is illegal and potentially dangerous. Fortunately, travelling on the train tracks to access the Whistler Train Wreck is completely unnecessary due to the new bridge across the Cheakamus River in Cheakamus Crossing.
The first part of the Train Wreck is not train wreckage, but instead some amazing views of the Cheakamus River. This extraordinarily beautiful river crashes violently through here and various viewpoints can be found along the trail. After a few amazing viewpoints, the Cheakamus River forces you back towards the train tracks. Walk past this bend in the river by keeping well left of, off and away from the train tracks. The trail picks up again on the left and descends into the forest again. This is the stretch of forest that contains seven train wrecked cars strewn over one kilometre. Some perched at the edge of the Cheakamus River, others mangled against trees. It is amazing to see the impossibility of where they rest.. with huge trees all around. In the decades since they crashed and wrecked here, trees have grown all around.
Parking & Trailhead Directions to Whistler Train Wreck
To get to the trailhead for Whistler Train Wreck, drive 7.6k south of Whistler Village. At the traffic lights at Function Junction turn left onto Cheakamus Lake Rd, then immediately left again in the the huge parking lot for the Cheakamus Community Forest(aka Interpretive Forest). This is the official parking area for Train Wreck, though still without signs indicating the Trash Trail or Train Wreck. There are much better and closer parking options to the Trash Trail located across from the Sea to Sky Trail entry in Cheakamus Crossing. See the map below. One very large, though still unmarked parking area located a stone's throw, across from the Sea to Sky trailhead has room for about 20 cars. Plenty of signs warn you to not park on the road in any way as the area is used by enormous construction vehicles.
Another good, possible the best place to park is just a few metres into the Jane Lakes Forest Service Road(see map below). Drive just a few metres in and you will spot an old gravel road on the right ascend steeply up into the forest. This road is not too troubling for most vehicles and easy for 4x4's. It quickly narrows and finally blocked by boulders about 50 metres in. You could certainly park here keeping mindful about not blocking other cars or being blocked in yourself. Alternatively you could park at the edge of the Jane Lakes FSR where it met this road. From here you continue up a briefly steep trail for about 1 kilometre before reaching a nicely signed and new junction directing you(for the first time) to the Whistler Train Wreck. From where you park to the amazing new Train Wreck bridge should only take you 15-20 minutes. The Whistler Train Wreck, of course is located just beyond the bridge.
The old trail to Train Wreck begins at the Flank Trail trailhead in Function Junction. This route has now been replaced due to the frequency of hikers walking along the train tracks even when trains are passing through. This resulted in ever-increasing numbers of fines to unsuspecting locals and tourists. It is still a nice trail as it takes you along a cute creek in an unexpectedly tranquil setting, under the Sea to Sky Highway. About 40 metres from the tiny Flank Trail sign off of Alpha Lake Road you will spot the large, old sign indicating Flank Trail to the right and another, unmarked trail heading left. Walk a down this unmarked trail with the creek still on your left and you will pass some ancient, but weirdly idyllic picnic tables. Further along you will come out to a clearing and see two painted boulders on your left on either side of a trail. If you miss this trail you will come to the water tunnel under the highway(video above/right, this is the wrong way).
The trail to Whistler Train Wreck is the one between the painted boulders. Continue along this trail through the forest for a couple minutes and you will come out to a wall of boulders with the Sea to Sky Highway far above. Follow the trail to the left here and you will pass under the highway with beautiful graffiti on either side of the river(see the video to the left here).
From here the trail is fairly straightforward, but keep in mind that you should, and easily can keep clear of the train tracks with the exception of crossing them once. There is a bright blue spray painted line on the tracks at the one place you need to cross. Avoid being on or near the train tracks as much as possible and if a train comes, be sure to not be seen. Having people in the vicinity of the train tracks understandably alarms the train conductors and they will notify BC Rail staff to come down and issue fines if they see people walking on their tracks.
Whistler Train Wreck Trail Map
Cell coverage is reliable on all of the trail to Whistler Train Wreck so you will be able to access the internet if you have a data plan, however saving this map to your smartphone or tablet may be a good idea as Whistler Train Wreck is not indicated except a couple small signs well past the trailheads. You can access Whistler Train Wreck from the Trash Trail side by using the new bridge completed in July 2016. If you want to park close to the Trash Trail you can find road-side parking(make sure you are legally parked) near the Sea to Sky Trail(bottom middle of the map below). The bottom right parking area shown below is easy to find, huge, and so far unmarked. The bottom left parking area shown can be found by driving a hundred metres along the very smooth Jane Lakes Forest Service Road and parking well off to the side, out of the way of large trucks that may drive through. This parking area is fairly narrow and may only accommodate a couple cars, however it is a nice a quick way to get to the new bridge and mangled train wrecks.
Other Trail Running Near Whistler Train Wreck
If 5 kilometres is not enough for you, there is an amazing route around Alta Lake that you can run. Once again, you can start in Whistler Village and run along the Whistler Golf Course on the Valley Trail, continue past Blueberry Park, Lakeside Park and Wayside Park. You then round the south end of Alta Lake and head north on the Valley Trail, then along Alta Lake Road for 1.3 kilometres. Alta Lake Road is a fairly quiet road and has some great views of the lake. You then rejoin the Valley Trail at Rainbow Park and continue along the River of Golden Dreams to Lorimer Road... Lost Lake, in the opposite side of Whistler Village is also home to some great trail running and the most straight forward route is the Lost Lake 6k. From Blackcomb Way in the Village, the Valley Trail takes you across Fitzsimmons Creek by way of a picturesque, covered bridge. After the bridge, turn left and follow the Valley Trail through the forest keeping the Fitzsimmons Creek on your left... Past Lost Lake, the Lost Lake trail ends at a beautiful bridge over Fitzsimmons Creek near the Nicholas North Golf Course. If you follow the Valley Trail across the train tracks and past the golf course's club house you will come to the boardwalk at the southern end of Green Lake. The views from here are amazing. On a sunny day, Green Lake is unbelievably green. This bizarre colour, along with the snow capped mountains all around make this a fantastic place to run to. You just have to backtrack a couple hundred metres to the Fitzsimmons Creek again to regain the trail along the river. If you keep the Fitzsimmons Creek on your left, you can follow it quite closely all the way back to the Village and where you started. The Lost Lake - Green Lake 9k is serene, beautiful and wonderfully varied.
Full List of Whistler Trail Running with Maps>>


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Hanneli is on top of the world in sky-high two-tone Proenza boots.
Photo: Kelly Stuart
Click here for our complete fall 2010 Fashion Week coverage
Think you are Street Chic? E-mail us your photo and you could appear in ELLE.com's Street Chic Daily.
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How To Get Rid Of Moles - Home Remedies For Moles Removal
You find that your moles induce you humiliation, however do not intend to pay an arm and a leg to get rid of the mole, you might find that a natural mole eliminator is just the ticket to help your skin come to be clearer and free from moles. Natural Mole Removal applications have actually been around considerably longer compared to surgery.
Natural Mole Removal is performed by numerous items that will remove the mole, typically by burning it off the skin slowly. Taking out mole normally is extremely similar to wart extraction. You can go to a physician and have the mole or blemish removed promptly though surgical treatment or lasers, yet this can be costly.
You can utilize Natural Mole Removal products as a method to get rid of unwanted moles that are bothering you. Prior to you utilize these products, you need to make sure that the mole is not a hazardous mole. Some moles could bring about skin cancer cells and are most effectively eliminated right away. Generally, however, moles are benign marks on the skin that can be troublesome to those that have them - especially if they are on a part of the physique where they are obvious.
If you have a mole that you wish to get rid of, you could make use of many of the Natural Mole Removal products. They will not work over night to eliminate the mole, but will doing this gradually. You must be advised that the mole could have a tendency to grow back after elimination. Any kind of mole that is hemorrhaging or crusted over ought to not be removed utilizing Natural Mole Removal.
Complying with are some organic solutions for your inquiry of "How To Get Rid Of Moles".
1. Apply onion juice on your moles daily. And after a month you will start feeling the distinction. Proceed the process till the mole fades away.
2. Take the particle form of flax seed and make a paste making use of flax seed oil and honey. Apply this on the dark places 2 times everyday and Get Rid Of Moles.
3. Juice of sour apple is a fantastic solution for moles. Use it on a regular basis on your moles. And after 2 to 3 weeks the moles will certainly begin getting dimmer.
4. Drumstick husks when utilized with fresh lemons functions wonder for your skin. They are a great natural remedy for the elimination of moles.
5. The banana and potato covers are likewise practical natural components which you could apply on your moles. The routine application of these covers could make your moles dry and drop instantly in couple of days.
6. Among the most old methods utilized for dealing with moles is the Dandelion plant juice. When used routinely this juice helps in lessening the moles very successfully.
7. Cauliflower juice is also an effective home remedy for healing moles. Place the squeezed juice from cauliflower to the mole with a cotton cloth and leave it to dry. Repeat this procedure until the mole starts to get dry and prepares to diminish.
8. Mix cooking soft drink with castor oil. Apply this mixture on your moles before you visit the bed. Leave it and clean in the early morning. If you comply with the procedure on a regular basis your moles will definitely fade away.
9. Use a fresh fig oftens onto the mole everyday in order to Get Rid Of Moles.
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Reflections on Thurman: 30 years laterAnimated film to be used as educational outlet for Munson's legacy
Negron is the executive producer of "Henry and Me," an animated film based on his series of children's books scheduled for release next March in Tampa before going to the Tribeca Film Festival. Licensed through Major League Baseball, "Henry and Me" features Paul Simon as the voice of Munson and Richard Gere as the film's central character, Lou Gehrig. The movie is drawn from Negron's latest book, "One Last Time: Good-bye to Yankee Stadium," a story of Yankees greats who gather for one last game at the original House that Ruth Built.
Like with all of Negron's books, a large percentage of the film's proceeds will be donated to charities including the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx and the DeWayne Murcer Memorial Foundation. The project is an educational outlet to Yankees history, one that with Munson's tragic death is left with a gaping hole, just like inside the hearts of many who knew and loved Munson, including a teenager learning to do what was right.
I feel deprived, 30 years later, knowing what I know about life and living, I feel very deprived because Thurman Munson was a man at such a young age. At 32 - thirty-two - you're still a kid and he was a man. I don't know too many 32 year olds that were the type of person with the strength that Thurman had. In essence, I miss him just as much as I did then. I wish my sons had gotten to know Thurman Munson the man.
It's exciting that I'm working on an animation which features Thurman as such a strong character. Thurman had a big love of music. He liked all forms of music: country, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul. To get a guy like Paul Simon to play Thurman, to do the voice of Thurman, I feel it's so appropriate. I remember a song Thurman used to like called, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (the Hollies and later performed by Neil Diamond). I'm excited about Paul Simon doing him.
"Henry and Me" gives children a chance to be introduced to Thurman Munson in the way children like it best, in cartoon form. So when they see and hear Thurman Munson in a cartoon, I'm hoping they're going to be asking a lot of questions about him as well as Bobby Murcer, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and all the greats that are no longer here. I'm very, very excited about that. Cartoons live forever, per se, especially if they're done right. And this is being done beautifully. Thirty years later we are celebrating Thurman's life.
He wasn't crazy about the media, but if you were a good person and the right person, he would have been your friend. I once heard him say, "Are you talking as a writer or as a friend?" I don't remember who the writer was, but I remember him saying, "Are you a writer now or my friend?"
Believe it or not, I learned a lot through Thurman, just like through Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner. They were my educators. Because of my adulation for them, and because of the trust they had for me, I was able to take in a lot. A lot of times Thurman would say, "Don't worry about Ray." The best example of that was one time, this was '79, Reggie was getting on me because he found out I had a girl in his apartment and hanging out in his bedroom. He caught me. He didn't say anything that day, but a day or two later we were in the trainer's room, me, Reggie and Thurman. I was sitting on one of the trainer's tables, talking, Reggie was on another and Thurman on a third.
Reggie was giving me a hard time - remember, I worked for Reggie too - and he said, "I'm going to have to suspend you for a week because you weren't honest with me. You should have asked me." He was right, but Thurman right away took sides with me and said, "Come on Reggie! Why are you beating up on our boy? If you were a teenager under that circumstance, you'd do the same thing!" Reggie reduced the suspension to three days.
Thurman used to love McDonald's cheeseburgers. Back then, the Yankees clubhouse wasn't like it is today with gourmet chefs and all that stuff. Thirty years ago I was the gourmet chef and Thurman would say, "Ray, go get me a cheesy" or "Ray, I'm feelin' for a cheesy." I knew that meant a run to McDonald's to get a couple of cheeseburgers and he would hammer them. One day I picked him up at Teterboro Airport and he asked to stop at McDonald's. We each got cheeseburgers, fries and a soda, and we sat in the back and talked. The one thing about Thurman was that he was a pretty smart guy who can talk about life in general. I remember him talking about his kids, me and school. He said something to the effect of, "Me and Reggie think it's funny that you can be so close to George." I said, "Why? Do you think it's a bad thing?" He said, "No, that's a great thing. George is a great man, but don't you ever tell him I said that."
When Thurman would be flying home, most of the time I would drive him to Teterboro. I loved doing it for two reasons. One, he would trust me with his brand new Cadillac of that year and two, I'd have a brand new Cadillac to take around New York.
I was in my friend's batting cage on August 2, 1979 when all of a sudden his mom comes out and said, "They said Thurman Munson died." We ran inside his house and we watched the news. I was in shock, numb; I don't know what else to say. I was completely numb. It got to the point to where tears starting coming down my eyes. At that point, I was with a couple of my friends, one who was Hector, another Yankees batboy. I said. "Let's go back to the batting cage and hit, because that's what Thurman would have wanted us to do." I know it sounds corny, but that's all I had. That's all I could do.
Nothing can help ease the pain at that time. The next day you're going into the clubhouse and everybody is using everybody from the standpoint of treatment. Every group of guys were talking about the same thing: "Why? Why? Why? Why did he have to be flying? Why did he have to be doing touch-and-goes?" There were guys breaking down in different parts of that clubhouse, guys trying to hide to ease the pain.
Thurman Munson and Ray Negron watch a game from the Yankees dugout (Michael Grossbart).
As a kid, which is what I was, I wasn't going to tell the great Thurman Munson, "Why are you doing this?" I would ask him, "How much do you like it?" and he would say, "I love this. It puts me in a whole 'nother world." I used to stay on the runway and watch him take off or watch him come in. Seeing him come in, and seeing that gigantic plane and that little head ... because of the power of the machinery in my eyes and in my mind, it took a Thurman Munson to be able to do that. In those days, Thurman, like Reggie, Billy and George, were superheroes to me. To me, there's no way that a Thurman Munson could die. That was the shocker to me: Not Thurman Munson. He can't die. It was the first real death of a friend I would go through.
At Old Timer's Day, Thurman would have been like Joe DiMaggio. He would have felt love like Yogi Berra. Remember, he would have played for another three years and then at that point, he would have been the manager of the Yankees. Knowing George Steinbrenner and the influence he had on people, he would have talked Thurman in the essence of, "We need to bring the dignity of the club back and only you can give us that. Please don't let the dignity of the Yankees die. You need to run this club. You need to be our leader. We need you." Thurman would have said. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" and then at the end of the day, Opening Day, he's our manager.
At this point, church bells sounded. Somebody upstairs was apparently eavesdropping.
You hear the bells going in back of me, right? That's Thurman saying, "Ray, you were always crazy, but you're probably right." That's Thurman telling me, "I'm hearing you, Ray. I'm listening, Ray."


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Google launched its Chrome browser back in 2008 promising a faster and simpler way to navigate the web. Now it has launched a beta version of the browser for smartphones and tablets running its Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system.
Chrome for Android is something mobile phone and tablet users have been looking forward to for some time but for the moment it is restricted to certain countries and only to smartphones and tablets running Android Ice Cream Sandwich – which basically means only Galaxy Nexus owners will be able to take advantage at the moment.
The browser promises to let you navigate just as fast as on your desktop with top search results loaded in the background as you type so pages appear "instantly." As with the desktop version of Chrome, both search and navigation can be done from the so-called omnibox.
Full tabbed browsing is supported and taking advantage of the touchscreen medium, you will be able to swipe or flip endlessly between tabs. Another feature is Link Preview, which does away with the pain of hunting for links on a web page by automatically zooming in on links to make selecting the precise one easier.
Google has also made moving between your desktop and portable devices simple. Signing-in to Chrome on your Android phone or tablet will let you view tabs you may have left open on your PC; get smarter suggestions for search results based on sites you visit regularly on your PC and of course it will let you sync bookmarks.
It is interesting that Google has decided to launch Chrome for Android at the same time as its desktop browser has declined in browser market share for the first time in two years. According to Net Applications, Google's Chrome web browser dropped from 19.11 per cent in December to 18.94 per cent in January, The reason behind this is more than likely due to the controversy caused when it emerged that Google had paid bloggers to post a new video of Chrome on their sites. Google subsequently demoted Chrome in search results.
Chrome for Android is now available in Beta from the Android Market in select countries and languages for phone and tablets with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
Are you a Galaxy Nexus owner who has tried out Chrome for Android? Let us know your first impressions in the comments below.
Source: Google Mobile Blog


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China says 'terrorists' killed in Xinjiang
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese security forces on Friday fatally shot eight people who attacked police with machetes and drove cars that carried gas cylinders they detonated as bombs in the restive western Xinjiang region, state media said.
Three other assailants died as they exploded the bombs in the attack in the county of Wushi in Aksu prefecture, injuring four people, according to the Tianshan news portal, which is run by the regional branch of the Communist Party.
The reports did not identify the ethnicity of the assailants, but it was the latest in a series of attacks pointing to growing unrest in the sprawling region. Xinjiang is home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule among parts of the native Turkic Uighur population who want more autonomy from Beijing. Recent clashes, including an attack on police last month, have left dozens of people dead.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the assailants rode motorbikes and drove cars that carried liquefied natural gas cylinders they intended to use as suicide bombs.
They attacked a team of police who had gathered at the gate of a park for a routine patrol in Wushi, Xinhua said, calling the assailants "terrorists."
The Chinese government typically calls such incidents terrorist attacks linked to radicals based overseas, although Beijing has provided little concrete evidence to back its claim. Activists say despair over economic and social discrimination and cultural and religious restrictions are fueling anger among Uighurs.
An exiled Uighur activist accused Beijing of labeling the attackers terrorists in order to justify the authorities' use of armed force against them.
"The cause of the Uighur struggle is China's armed forces' use of violent raids and provocations," said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the German-based World Uyghur Congress. "No one can continue to bear China's provocations and its systematic police of repression."
Police fatally shot eight of the machete-wielding assailants and caught one of them, the Tianshan report said.
Two bystanders and two police officers were injured in the attack, while five police patrol vehicles were damaged, the report said. Photos posted by Tianshan showed a military police jeep and a troop transporter that were heavily damaged, their windows shattered and fronts burned out.
An official from the Xinjiang government who refused to give his name confirmed the Xinhua report, but said he had no more details to offer. Calls to Aksu prefecture's Communist Party propaganda department and Wushi county's party committee and police all rang unanswered, as did calls to Xinjiang's police and party departments.
Aksu was also the site of an attack last month in which assailants threw explosives at police in Xinhe county. Six people died in the explosions and six others were shot dead by police.


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Thanks, Sonnetta. Be sure to message or email me your email address, so I can forward your gift coupon for When the Bough Breaks.
Hello Sonnetta, I originally sent my Ebook information on the 3rd of this month to your email address and I resent it today- so hopefully, this time it works... :) Enjoy your read! Ren,
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text:
Hello, everyone! As some of you may know, Julie's working on her "30 by 30" list. For those of you aren't familiar with this, she came up with a list of 30 things she wanted to do by the time she turned 30. One item on her list included having a guest blogger. That's where I (her husband, Dave) come in.
I don't know the first thing about sewing, quilting, cooking, etc. The closest I get to Julie's craftiness is probably through brewing and winemaking. Along those lines, Julie and I have recently taken an interest in trying our hand at making homemade hard cider. I'll use this opportunity to share some information about our first attempt and how anyone can make hard cider at home.
First things first, equipment / ingredients:
Cider! (unpasteurized from a local cider mill is suggested)
A stock pot (slightly larger than your volume of hard cider that you want to make)
Wine tannin
Pectic enzyme
Cider yeast
Sanitizer (StarSan or Iodophor, for example)
Fermentation bucket with lid
Racking cane w/ tubing
Potassium metabisulfite
Bottling bucket with spigot
Bottle filler
Bottle caps
Bottle capper
Making hard cider is relatively simple process. Julie and I decided to do a 10 gallon batch, but you can scale the amount to whatever is preferred. You'll want to use cider without any preservatives, since any preservatives will inhibit or prevent the cider's ability to ferment into hard cider. We used fresh, unpasteurized cider from our local cider mill.
One of the key things to keep in mind when you're fermenting beer/wine/cider, is that bacteria is usually your biggest enemy. Fermentation works by creating an environment in which yeast can consume sugars and undergo a process that results in alcohol being produced. While making an ideal environment for your yeast, you also make an ideal environment for other bacteria to thrive. Bacteria can easily add off flavors to your cider, or ruin it completely.
To kill off any nasties in the unpasteurized cider, we pasteurized the cider by heating it to 170F for 45 minutes in a large brewing pot. Any stock pot will work just fine. In addition to killing off any bacteria, this process will also kill any wild yeast. There are all types of natural yeasts found with any fruit, and each yeast strain will contribute a different flavor profile when allowed to ferment. Wild yeasts could potentially create a wonderful product, or they could be horrible. We chose to kill off any wild yeast so that we could later add our own specially selected yeast strain that is known to produce excellent cider. I feel that cider is too expensive to gamble on wild yeast working out.
In the last 5 minutes on the heat, we added pectic enzyme, and wine tannin. Pectic enzyme is mainly used to break down pectin to produce a nice, clear looking cider. Wine tannin is used to add a bit of tartness/complexity and will aid in the stability and preservation of your cider. Pectic enzyme is often added in amounts of 1 tsp per 5 gallons, but follow the directions of the package if available. Somewhere between ⅛ tsp and ¼ tsp of wine tannin per gallon should be in a reasonable range depending on the desired tartness.
After pasteurization, it's especially important that anything that comes in contact with the cider is both clean and sanitized to prevent infection. I recommend using StarSan to sanitize equipment, which is a product available at any local homebrew shop or online.
Now that the cider is pasteurized and the additives are in, you'll want to bring the cider down to around 68F for fermentation. An easy way to bring the temperature down is to create an ice bath. This involves filling a sink with ice water, putting a sanitized lid over your pot, and letting the pot rest in the water. Remember if you want to stir a little to cool the cider down faster, or use a thermometer to take a temperature reading, that that equipment should be sanitized!
Once cooled, you'll want to pour the cider into a sanitized vessel that you can use to ferment in. A plastic fermentation bucket with a lid, 20%+ larger than your cider volume, works great. 7.9 gallon buckets are commonly available at homebrew shops and work well for a 5 or 6 gallon batch.
At this point, you're ready to add the yeast! Open up a package of your yeast of choice (we used Lalvin EC-1118) and sprinkle it over the top of the cider. Fermentation buckets generally come with a lid that have a small hole drilled so that you can insert an airlock. The airlock allows the CO2 produced by the yeast to be released, while keeping oxygen out. Put the sanitized bucket lid and airlock on the bucket. The airlock should be filled halfway with either StarSan or a cheap alcohol like vodka.
It's best to leave the cider to ferment in an area that's as close to 68F as possible. At this point, simply let the bucket sit for four weeks to let the yeast work its magic! You should start to notice the first signs of fermentation (a bubbling airlock) in 12-48 hours after adding the yeast.
Once fermentation is done, you'll want to used a sanitized racking cane to siphon the cider into a clean/sanitized bottling bucket. Hard cider can be very dry and tart by default, and it often helps to "backsweeten" by adding sugars to sweeten it up a bit. Adding honey or brown sugar to taste is a common practice.
If you add more sugars, fermentation could start up again, which you don't want, so it's good to add potassium sorbate (in amounts on label) to halt any further fermentation. It's probably good to add the potassium sorbate even if you don't add more sugars just to be sure no fermentation takes place once your cider is bottled. Fermenting cider in bottles can result in dangerous bottle bombs as CO2 pressure increases! It's also good to add potassium metabisulfite at this point to better preserve the cider. This process will create a still / non-sparkling cider.
Sanitize enough bottles and caps for your volume of cider. Fill your bottles using your bottle filler and then put on the caps with your bottle capper. At this point, your cider is done and bottled! The hardest part now is waiting. Young cider can taste outright horrible at first, with strong sulfur smells. This is normal! The most important advice I can give you at this point is to not pour it out and to simply wait for it to mature. The character of the cider will drastically improve if you let it sit in the bottle for an extended period of the time. You'll want to age the cider for six months to a year.


text:
It's Your Starry Day Card
SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (Vintage Cream, Simply Chartreuse, Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening, kraft) Papertrey Ink Clear stamps: (striped, dotted, nested stars; sentiment from Star Prints set; stars from Been Boo'd set) Papertrey Ink Dye ink: (Rich Cocoa) Tsukineko Watermark ink: Tsukineko Specialty ink: (Enchanted Evening hybrid) Papertrey Ink Accents: (green buttons) Papertrey Ink; (silver star beads) Jo-Ann Stores Fibers: (natural twine) Stampin' Up! Template: (debossing canvas) Papertrey Ink Tools: (1" circle, star punches) EK Success Finished size: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
1 Make card from cardstock; adhere cardstock.
2 Stamp sentiment on cardstock rectangle.
3 Deboss cardstock strips, stamp stars, and punch half circles. Adhere to stamped panel.
4 Stitch edges of panel.
5 Thread buttons and beads on twine; adhere. Adhere panel.
6 Stamp stars on cardstock. Punch and adhere with foam tape.
Designer Tip
Get creative with your stamps! Some of the stars on this card came from a Halloween stamp set.
More Sketch-Inspired Projects
If you love these projects, you'll find more great creations following these two sketches from Kim Hughes in the May/June 2011 issue of Paper Crafts magazine. To purchase a copy, click HERE.
Online Product Guide
For more information on supplies used in these projects, see our Product Guide HERE.
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text:
Cheesy Swiss bake
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal889
- fat60g
- saturates34g
- carbs46g
- sugars0g
- fibre4g
- protein38g
- salt3.57g
- 1kg floury potato, cut into bite-sized chunks
The world's favourite root vegetable, the potato comes in innumerable varieties. A member of…
- knob of butter
Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…
- 1 onion, chopped
Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…
- 200g smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
- 125ml dry white wine
- 142ml pot double cream
- 350g raclette cheese, grated
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. In a large pan, boil the potatoes for 5 mins, then drain and tip into a large mixing bowl.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the bacon and cook for a further 5 mins. Mix the bacon and onion with the potatoes in the bowl.
Stir in the wine, cream, most of the cheese and a little paprika. Season and mix together, then spread over a large (30cm long x 4cm deep) buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, cover with foil and cook for 25 mins. Remove the foil, sprinkle a little more paprika over the top and cook for a further 20 mins until the cheese is golden brown.
Recipe Tip
With a different cheeseRaclette is a traditional semi-soft Swiss cheese which is great for melting. It's available in most large supermarkets, but if you can't get hold of it, you could make this with gruyére, reblochon or taleggio instead.


text:
Sadly I have had to delete 3 entries as they were cards....Please take a minute or two to check our rules before uploading your entry to avoid any disappointment.
Thank you..x
Hello, it's Sandie ( aka Rhedd ) bringing you February's Challenge...as always we have some fabulous design team creations to share with you..but before I show you them, we have our January Winner to announce and new for this year our Design Team Favourite...
Myself and the team love your entries and enjoy dropping by your blogs and we love the inspiration you give us....
Our Winner for January is...
No.19.Rasmi Tate.
Our Design Team Favourite is...
No.20. Lys
Beautiful projects ladies..be sure to take your badges from the left side bar and link us to your blog.
We hope you will still continue to enter our challenges.
Remember that everyone has the chance of being showcased, whether you have been a Winner or Dt favourite before..so we hope you still continue to enter our challenges...
We have a mixed bag of projects from my very talented design team for your inspiration this month...remember we love love too, so do drop by our blogs and leave some...
Altered Perfume Bottle
Floating Teacup
Altered Canvas Notebook
A liquor box gets a make over...
a mixed media caddy to hold my crafty goodies
February...the month of love
not a red heart, but one just as sweet
Please check our few rules before linking your project below
Please Note..this blog does not accept papercrafted items..please check our rules under the header for our project criteria...Thanks


text:
So there's a topic where you can introduce yourself---
(sorry I didn't know lol)
My name is... well it doesn't matter, you can call me mikki, akki, akkimikki or in other ways u.u
I'm not English so maybe I don't speak this language very well. (don't kill me if I make some mistakes please! )
My favourite characters in Detective Conan are:
Amuro Tooru, Kaito Kid, Masumi Sera, Akai Shuichi and Vermouth
My personality... is quite complicated lolol
I hope we will get on well c:


text:
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text:
|DM Azure_Zero
A leaning monument to the district's pain,
this four-story courthouse is a crumbling
marvel of cracked plaster and chipped
marble. Once a testament to justice wrought
in shining white stone, the courthouse is
now a crushed dream, its wretched exterior
corrupted by a bloated evil festering within.
Rainwater from a recent downpour mixed
with mulch oozes from ruptures in the
rock like pus bubbling from a wound. The
structure of the eastern wing of the upper
floor buckled long ago, and now the bell tower
tilts perilously, appearing as though it might
careen to the ground below at any moment.
Two massive pillars frame the heavy oak
doors of the court. The pillars' surfaces run
with cracks and fissures like so many burst
veins. The doors sag in their archway like the
drooping eyes of a madman. The surrounding
structures long ago fell in upon themselves
in supplication to the creaking courthouse.
A salt wind blows up the precipice and
rakes across the tangled weeds of Beldrin's
Bluff. The whole building groans as the wind
blows, its tortured lamentation fading to a
rasping hiss as the wind ebbs. This croaking
murmur never completely fades away. The sun
sets in the west, the last slivers of twilight
painting the courthouse blood red as darkness
creeps closer.
Some players will receive a PM of a vision
|DM Azure_Zero
Slowly, the vision fades away as you return to
consciousness, but the sight that greets you
is almost as disturbing. The dying gray light
of sunset peeks through slits in the boarded
windows, barely illuminating a yawning
courtroom replete with pews and a towering
bench covered in cobwebs. A shadowed mural
on the domed ceiling above depicts Iomedae
in her shining plate mail of gilded sunlight,
locked in mortal combat with Norgorber,
Calistria, and Asmodeus, holding the trifecta
of evil at bay with her shining sword. You
find yourself in a jurors' box, and you are
not alone. In the other chairs, figures stir in
the darkness, each emerging from troubling
dreams into a new nightmare.
Jury box is next to southern wall
Mumbling; can i pay cod? as she slowly comes to her feet, Somana looks like a pile of rags that some one discarded. Covering her is a hooded brown cloak, with a rainbow hue of brightly colored patches. The once fine blue blouse she wears is stained and ripped at the seems. Her breeches are mud caked and worn to the point that the patches need patches. The only reasonable article of clothing she has on is a pair of knee high green leather boots. UHG My Head!! Cayden help me but those where some strong drinks. Peaking out from under her hood and matted brown hair, Somana tries to figure out where she is
|DM Azure_Zero
The others you see are;
a large half-orc with a broad,
strong face and tousled mass of wiry dark hair.
His frame is imposing but his shoulders hang
a jaundiced-face
gnome who covers his yellow-tinged skin
(one of many symptoms of his alcoholdamaged
liver) with poor-quality white
makeup that cakes unseemly on his brow
and cheeks. His motley is stretched tight
over his hanging paunch. Several of his
teeth are broken from close encounters
with unamused patrons' fists.
a very beautiful woman who wears her
weight well. She favors bright red lipstick
and an abundance of rouge to add to her
appeal. She still has a sly smile and a
sultry wink. She wears
a figure-hugging gown of red silk that
accentuates her considerable curves.
A old human gentleman with rosy-cheeks,
dressed in threadbare finery with a broad
handlebar mustache and a frayed top hat.
A hobgoblin
Sir Rekkart
a tall, sturdy human man in his
fiftieth winter, with the snow of age gracing
his hair. His face is chiseled as if out of
marble, and his narrowed eyes stare down
an impressive nose with a superior air.
A female halfling with pouty lips, auburn hair
she wears in a topknot, her sculpted
physique draws men's desire even as
her crystal blue eyes and air of
innocence makes them want to
protect her.
And a
male Drawf of 452 years
|Tran Duc Lao
"Stop!" Tran Duc Lao screams in Tian as he wakes up with a start. Wide eyed he takes in his surroundings. I guess it was just a dream, he thinks. But this place is so odd, nothing like home. Maybe this is a dream as well. No... That can't be. My armor wouldn't pinch like this in a dream. He slowly rises taking the time to stretch his muscles, calm his breathing, and regain his composure.
Then Lao hears a woman shouting in Common. Looking in her direction, he revises his assessment, not a woman, a girl. Bowing to the girl, he introduces himself, "My name is Tran Duc Lao."
"I'll let you have it your way, you Goody two shoes.
Just don't get in my way Sir Rekkart, when I find the F***er."
he takes out a cigar chomps on it and lights it up.
Linara's eyes shoot open, fully dilated and filled with horror. They dart around the room, her vision blurred.
What is this place?! That man he...
She tries to scream, but her body is unresponsive. Her legs, her arms, even her head won't move at all. A loud rumble echoes about in her ears. She sits in the chair, terrified and unmoving.
|Pharysene Ssethan
Gasping herself awake, Pharysene clutches at her throat as gusts of angry winds send her hair and scarves flying. As the winds die away for the moment, she breathes in deeply, as if she had been deprived of air.
She looks around, wandering what is going on.
This vision! I NEVER remember my visions! What has changed?
And where exactly am I? Who are these people?
|Llaris Talyn
Keep your eyes closed. They might not be talking about you. What's going on? How many are there? 5,10? More? Too many. Hot breath on my cheek. Stink of tobacco. Seems to be passing you by. The last week is a blur. Any new enemies? Lots of old ones left alive. Should have been harder. Old enemies left alive. A habit I'll have to break.
|DM Azure_Zero
|Tran Duc Lao
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker
"No! that's not me! I didn't kill-" Avaleridis' eyes fly open and she flails her giant frame around. The chair groans under her weight as she thrashes about, her arms knocking into the nearest person.
Suddenly, she realizes it was just a dream, but in the next instant panic sets in again when she doesn't recognize her surroundings. She leaps to her feet, towing over everyone. "Who are you people?!" she shouts in Skald. Switching to Common, she continues yelling, "What on Torag's beard did you do to me! I will smash you to bits!" She clenches her large fists, and she looks ready to pummel someone.
PM back to GM
|Llaris Talyn
Llaris goes toppling to the ground from the impact of the massive arms of the Ulfen woman. Feigning that she has just been awoken, she groans and looks up at Ava. "Please don't smash ME to bits. I'm not the one you are looking for."
She stands up and brushes the grime from her clothes as best as possible. She looks cautiously around at all the others.
"I don't recognize any of you," she says flatly.
|Tran Duc Lao
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker
Avalerdis takes a deep breath as Llaris' words penetrate her brain. The fists unclench. She looks around the room and her jaw drops slowly. "This was in my nightmare. But.... It was much cleaner and filled with people. I was on trial." She looks around the room. "This place looks like it hasn't been used in years."
in a british accent
"Well I say, It looks like nightmarish reunion of about half of the jury here.
And I never thought, I would be back here."
|Tran Duc Lao
taking a drag on his cigar, and letting the smoke stream out of his mouth as he speaks
"I have to agree with F***ing Goody two shoes,
that is the worst joke you have told now Ebin."
|Llaris Talyn
"Seems like some of us know more than others, but everyone knows more than me. This is not a situation I like or am accustomed to. " (turning to Killian) "Good sir, you say you've been here before. What is this place? And more importantly, how did we get here?"
Sir Rekkart
replies to Tran Duc Lao's inquiry in a polite and diplomatic tone and voice
"Yes, it is. but how do you know that.
There were no people of Tian here 10 years ago.
And you would only know that it you were a local 10 years ago"
in his british accent replies to Llaris Talyn
"We were here 10 years ago as members of the Jury in a Murder case. And this is that very courthouse.
As for how we got here I don't know."
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker
Wait. Wait. wait. Glancing over at the the horrible little Gnome dressed as a clown. WHERE are we? Turning to point at the Large ulfan woman. What in the name of all the divines is a giantess assaulting people FOR? Slowly turning back to the young Tian. Somana thinks to herself, Great, Fools to the left of me, Jokers to the right, hear I am stuck in the middle with Tran Duc Lao. Somana returns the man's bow. Nice to meet you Tran Duc Lao, my names Somana.
|Tran Duc Lao
Quick edit cause I was ninjad by Somana, and don't want to be rude.
Bowing to Sir Rekkart, Lao says, "Ten years ago I was a child in my father's house back in Quain. That was before Master Li came to our village with Meilin. I don't know how I could have dreamed of these things. There are mysteries here."
The priest looks around and notices Somana has returned his introdction. He smiles at the girl and says, "Fortunately, Master Li taught me the ways of Lord Qi Zhong. Perhaps I can learn something of these mysteries." Lao starts chanting in Tian "Great Qi Zhong, Lord of Knowledge, Master of Sages. Bring light to my eyes so I can see what lies in shadow."
|Llaris Talyn
Llaris shakes her head. "I forget myself. Just because we are surrounded by suspicious looking people and we've apparently been magically kidnapped and plunged into the middle of some mysterious trial aftermath is no reason to forget my manners. I am called Llaris Talyn."
She bows with a flourish and glances around the room. Settling her stunning gaze on Malgrim, she asks "Pray tell, how are you known, and who was this fuc...uh...person you were looking for? You seem to be here for a purpose, a bit less confused than the rest of us. Perhaps you have some insight to our situation?"
Diplomacy 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker
The Ulfen woman laughs at Llaris' almost-curse. "Ha! I like you! I'm sorry I knocked into you earlier, Llaris." She returns Llaris' bow, which is almost comical considering their vast difference in size. "I'm Avalerdis. They call me Avalerdis Shield-Breaker. Ava in the southern lands, though who knows where we are now."
She turns to Somana. "And I'm not a giantess, little girl. I've seen a giantess. They're bigger, and they would have eaten you by now." She smiles at her.
Ava steps out of the jury box and looks at the axe on the evidence table. She turns back to the others. "Jarbin. Was the man on trial named Jarbin....Mord? That's the name I remember from my nightmare."
Is our gear with us?
|Pharysene Ssethan
Ten years ago, I was flying through the infinite clouds... Pharysene thought wistfully.
"This... murderer." She spoke tentatively. "Was he hung?" Her hands crept up to her throat again with the vivid memory.
|DM Azure_Zero
|Llaris Talyn
|DM Azure_Zero
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker
Ava stands outside the jury box staring at those still within. "And just who are all you people who were on the jury? Maybe we should have your names too."
Her eyes dart around the room, noting all the exits. "Hell, maybe we ought to just get out of here. Whoever brought us here could be coming for us any minute."
|Tran Duc Lao
Pushing hair and hood back from her face. Somana watches Avalerdis study the ax. Her eyes turn a incandescent chartreuse color as she returns the other woman's smile. Miss Avalerdis I am no more a girl then that Loopy-eyed leaping gnome, She points at Ebin I could probably help with your might be giantess issue however.
Siting at an available chair considers whats been said around her for a moment. It seems unlikely that whomever kidnapped these Fools points out those that seem to have been in the jury and us Jokers, deposited us in this disgusting old Courthouse, will come back later to kill us. Much more likley that whomever is behind this will kill us if we try to escape. Don't get me wrong We got to Leave, but not until the cards are laid bare.
Somana then rummages around in her rucksack, bringing out a large jug. She unstops it and takes a long drink, before closing it back up and marking it once with a piece of chalk.
|Llaris Talyn
Talyn flickers her gaze from Ava to Somana, considering the options. Finally she nods to Tran. "I don't know who brought us here or why, either, my Tian friend, and the fact that I don't know makes me want to be elsewhere. But to be honest, I have to say I'll probably be sticking with our 'Giantess' here. I hope you don't mind, Ava, but I think if we run in to something, I'd like you to be in front. While I'm of use in a fight, it's not because of my fists." She winks her blue eye toward the Ulfen woman.
|Tran Duc Lao
Lao nods towards Llaris and says, "It's a pleasure to meet you friend."
Then he starts walking towards the tallest desk and chair in the room, what he takes to be the judge's bench. He keeps talking as he walks, "While we were probably brought here for a purpose, our host has done a poor job telling us what that purpose is. From the fools and jokers gathered, I'd guess it has something to do with the trial and execution of Jarbin Mord. Some of us jokers had dreams before waking up in here. Miss Avalerdis says she dreamed of the axe-murderer's trial. I dreamed of a woman being menaced by a cloaked figure. Funny, I don't remember seeing an axe. Did anyone else have a vision?"
Suddenly a piece of the mural on the ceiling
above (the portion with Iomedae's shining
sword upon it) breaks free from the ceiling
with a groaning crack. The chunk of marble
falls onto the evidence table and sends
the bloody axe on it spinning end over end
across the courtroom, sinking solidly into
the wall of the jurors' box.
Tran Duc Lao takes 1d6 ⇒ 4 points of bludgeoning
damage from the falling chunk of marble.
Rest of you Reflex Save please.
|Avalerdis Shield-Breaker


text:
History of Calvin Buck Smedley
(Written by Grace Ellen Poulsen Smedley)
I was borned June 4, 1897 Paris, Idaho to Ida Buck and Thomas Joynes Smedley. My Father was a brick maker. He had come from England when a young man with his wife and settled in New Jersey, later he came to Paris, where his wife's sister lived. He raised a family of six children. After they were all married and his wife had died he returned to England to do some family research work.
There he met my mother, she was around 28 years old, the oldest of ten children. My father was around 65 years when he married my mother. He came back to Paris to make brick and start another young family which was very hard at his age. He worked hard and it seemed like so many people took advantage of him, he trusted people too much. At the time of his death, he still had a book of accounts that people had not paid for their brick. (never did) This made it very hard for my mother she struggled along the best she could, took in carpet weaving. There were six children myself, Lillian, Irva, Ella, Gertrude, and Arnold.
I was the oldest, when small my father would take me to the brick yard. But I never did much there, never was interested in brick making. When about 14 years of age, I started helping Heber Smedley my half brother, haying in the summer and feeding in the winter time.
My father was getting old, had a mortgage on the field, I had these five younger brothers and sisters. Mother wove carpet, and I did not go to school like I should, as I worked to help with the family expense, stayed out too much and got discouraged. Father was not well for several years, he had a slight stroke, which changed him very much. About a year after I was married he died with pneumonia.
While growin up I worked at many different jobs. I had a team of horses, did some construction work. The summer before I was married, I worked at the mine, also did some logging.
In Oct 7, 1920 I married Grace Ellen Poulsen, Bishop Poulsen's daughter from across the street. After about two months the mine closed down. So for a while, we never had much. I milked four cows and this was our income for a few months. At this time, we moved home and lived in one room of my mother's home. At this time we had one baby our oldest daughter Violet was about one year old.
Later we moved up the street and rented 2 rooms in the old Eborn home. We lived there a while, then we bought a little home log house on the corner, at present this is owned by Edna Law. Bur at that time there were just two rooms, this is where Cloree and Darrell were borned. While living here I worked off and on at the mine for a few years, they did hire a few men, and I was one of them. I got hurt a few times, was gassed once, got my leg and arm hurt another time.
Later we got a chance to buy the house across the street next to Grace's father. It was a little larger, this is where we lived for several years. James, Beverly, Garna, and Tom were borned while we lived here.
I still milked 3 or 4 cows, run the Smedley field. After Grace's father died, we bought his house and field from Aunt Lou. She bought a smaller house and we moved into hers, where we still live.
Calvin in front of the house that Grace's father built
When James was a few months old I took a job feeding cattle for J. Pugmire, this was during the depression years. That winter I fed cattle, for 40 dollars a month. Grace cooked for 3 or 4 men for our board. Some days I would go from 5 a.m. until mine or ten p.m. They fed some cattle in a feed lot, I would have to go up before breakfast, then again at night, besides I had cows to milk night and morning and haul hay the rest of the time. The children would walk two miles to Wardboro to school. Darrell started the first grade there. About ½ way was Camp Stewart, where th Humphrys lived. They had children too, so Sister Humphrys would have them come in and get warm on their way to school, which made it good for the children. In some ways it was plenty hard but we got by. Grace had to wash on the board, we had the four children when we first went down. We were there back and forth until Beverly was about three years old. We were blessed with good health those years we were there.
After we moved back, we got more cows. Later when we got the Poulsen field I had about all I could do. Darrell was good to help until he joined the Navy for four years.
By this time James was able to help some. During the haying season I changed work with George Hulme and others to get our hay up. Started building up a good bunch of milk cows, horse, etc. and farming. Although I had to do it the hard way.
In 1969 we were called to go on a mission to the North Carolina Virginia Mission. Had been asked two years before, but felt like I could not go. I had been as active as I should have been when the children were growing up. Anyway I thought maybe I would not pass the physical as I had some heart trouble, but I passed alright. I have always been thankful that we went was a wonderful experience for us. We had many interesting things happen to us. Grace kept a diary, which will tell all about it.
A few years after our return, we sold the Poulsen field place to him (Darrell) and Beverly. As I just could not do the work. Darrell also bought the stock. The Buck lot we sold to Tom hoping he could come back someday and build a home. So now all we have is our home here in Paris I am not able to do much work.
On the 16th of November we were driving to Franklin, got a ways up the canyon, when I hit some black ice and the truck rolled over. Other than bruises, and all ahook up, I was okay. But Grace got a fractured leg, broken pelvis and is still in a wheel chair. In time she will walk.
At present time we are here in Buena Park, California with Garna and Douglas, they have done so much for us. Our whole family have been good to us. Hope it won't be long before Grace can get around better.
We have also been guides in the summer time at the Tabernacle one day a week for the past twelve years.
Also in 1970, we had our golden wedding anniversary. The children gave us a party which was very nice. We are very thankful for our children, grandchildren, also great grand children. At present we have 16 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren including Deby's.
The summer of 1928 had been a bad drought here in Bear Lake and very little hay was raised in the valley. The government had shipped in cottonseed cake to help feed the cattle the following winter.
That winter I went out to Proverty flat in the east hills to feed Pugmires cattle cottonseed cake and straw. This was the first winter I worked for them. I went out after Christmas, stayed a few weeks, then rode a horse in one night to go to a Relief Society party. I had decided unless I could take Grace back, I was not going to go back.
I made arrangements with her uncle George Price to bring her and the children with him, as he went out once a week to feed his horses, not too far from where I was.
Violet was in the 1st grade so got mother to keep her. Cloree was around 4 years old, Darrell 17 months younger. The day he brought them out there was a bad blizzard after they left Paris but George had lots of quilts hot rocks in the slay. The horses seem to know the way, and they got there to his house and stayed over night. The next day he took them up to where I was feeding. Was a beautiful cold clear morning. We were there about 7 or 8 weeks, then trailed the cattle in to Wardboro.
One night that winter it went to 50 degrees below zero, but we did have a good 2 room house, and coal to burn. We were blessed and kept well.
Leslie Ann


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Aon Corporation, Business Delivery Specialist, Application Deadline, BTT Gateway Job ID 7940
Fri, February 14, 2014
Launch: Aon's Early Career Program
Business Delivery Specialist: Aon Hewitt Outsourcing
Location: Lincolnshire, IL, The Woodlands, TX, Charlotte, NC, Atlanta, GA or Bridgewater, NJ COMPANY OVERVIEW
Aon plc is the leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage and human resources consulting and outsourcing With an employee base of 65,000 people working in over 500 offices in more than 120 countries. We integrate customized services, leverage expertise across industries and apply business knowledge to our clients' strategic goals. Aon helps clients anticipate how change intersects with opportunity. Each of our clients has unique business needs, so we have developed expertise for a complete range of business processes, products and industries. Aon's account and relationship managers form a comprehensive perspective of our clients' organizations, matching our expertise to their business strategy. Launch, Aon's Early Career Program
Every summer, Aon welcomes a class of talented college recruits to Launch, Aon's U.S. Early Career Program established to coach and develop future business leaders. Between January and July, members of the national cohort "launch" their Aon careers in various full-time positions across the company. Then in August, they begin a supplemental year-long development program, which kicks off with a three-day orientation at our North America headquarters in Chicago. Through their work assignments, Launch participants are positioned to tackle real business challenges in a collaborative environment under the mentorship of senior leaders. And the Launch training curriculum prepares participants for success as they explore growth opportunities throughout the organization.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES As a member of the Launch: Early Career Development Program, colleagues will be assigned specific responsibilities and performance objectives with their manager(s). Participants will also be required to complete their assigned formal development plan set forth by the Program and the individual departments. Additionally, participants will be ambassadors of Aon by accomplishing the following: • Discuss assignment specifications and performance with mentor and manager • Complete assigned training curriculum • Support Aon's values at all times • Represent the Program in a professional manner • Develop awareness of policies and adapt behavior accordingly • Approach all development opportunities with an open and positive mindset • Maintain realistic expectations of the Program • Give and receive constructive feedback • Attend and contribute to regularly scheduled meetings and team building activities • Participate in Program campus recruitment activities, if required
Business Delivery Specialist Job Summary
Each colleague will be aligned with a specific team within Aon Hewitt HR Business Process Outsourcing or Benefits Administration based on business need and skill set. Placement opportunities may include (but are not limited to) Total Benefits Administration, Payroll, Workforce Administration, Operations, Talent and Customer Service. The Business Delivery Specialist (BDS) works across multiple areas and with various leaders to support ongoing delivery and project work.
Formal Education:
• Bachelors degree
• Business Internship desired
Knowledge & Experience:
• Ability to learn and apply new skills
• Strong attention to detail and execution
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Able to work independently with minimum supervision.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines managing multiple tasks
• MS Office-working knowledge of MS Excel, Word, and Access
• Ability to navigate and learn multiple systems
• Ability to problem solve and drive to root cause
Personal Attributes
• Responds willingly, promptly, and effectively to changing work environments, changing priorities, and new situations.
• Demonstrates the ability to prioritize and balance multiple demands effectively.
• Builds capability to contribute by taking responsibility for own development, tapping multiple sources of learning to deepen own knowledge, seeking out new experiences, and applying learning appropriately.
• Demonstrates applied learning by continuously improving own contribution.
• Ability to quickly identify problems, opportunities, and alternative courses of action.
• Logical and efficient, with keen attention to detail.
• Strong client service orientation.
• Works with and without supervision and has the ability to prioritize and multi-task.
• Generate new and creative approaches to benefit processes and thinks outside the box.
• Maintains confidentiality.
• Continuous improvement and team work mindset.
Aon Hewitt Expectations: In addition to position qualifications, all employees of Aon Hewitt are expected to demonstrate the following competencies:
• Domain/Technical Expertise
• Client Focus
• Personal Impact
• Operational Excellence
• Business Acumen
Background Check All positions require an applicant who has accepted an offer to undergo a background check. The checks run are based on the nature of the position. Background checks may include some or all of the following: SSN/SIN validation, education verification, employment verification, criminal check, search against global sanctions and government watch lists, fingerprint verification, credit check, and/or drug test. By applying for a position with Aon, you understand that you will be required to undergo a background check should you be made an offer. You also understand that the offer is contingent upon successful completion of the background check and results consistent with Aon's employment policies. You will be notified during the hiring process which checks are required by the position.
Aon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants are evaluated without regard to race, creed, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, color, handicap, or disability.
BTT Gateway Job ID 7940. Application Deadline 2/14


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Welcome to Lucan Spa Hotel
The Lucan Spa Hotel is a traditional Irish family hotel and is located on the N4, just off the M50, 15 minutes' from Dublin Airport and 20 minutes' from Dublin city centre.
The Lucan Spa Hotel offers spacious and comfortable rooms. These luxurious rooms all have en suite bathrooms and satellite TV. Wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel.
The Earl Bistro serves breakfast in the morning and a lunchtime carvery menu. The charming Hanora D Restaurant has an evening a la carte menu, whilst The Ballynetty Bar offers bar food.
The hotel has become one of the most exclusive wedding venues in recent years following the redevelopment of the wedding facilities, including the brand new Boyne Suite Banqueting Area.


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Random checks for farm effluent systems
Environment Waikato will be randomly checking Waikato dairy farm effluent systems to ensure farmers comply with the rules.
Environment Waikato will be randomly checking Waikato dairy farm effluent systems to ensure farmers comply with the rules.
Flowering privet is causing problems for asthma and hayfever sufferers around the Waikato Region and Tuakau residents are required to control it on their properties.
Environment Waikato has granted $5000 to the Te Whei Ao Te Ao Marama Environmental Education Trust, based in Ngaruawahia.
An Environment Waikato staff member has been awarded the Council's Water Sciences Prize.
Environment Waikato has granted $2.1 million in assistance to the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust to help restore the native animals and plants to the Region.
Environment Waikato has granted $2000 from its Environmental Initiative Fund towards Kakepuku Mountain Conservation Society's restoration plan for the historic Reserve.
Environment Waikato has granted $1350 from its Environmental Initiative Fund towards Nawton School's native plant propagation area.
Nine cattle have died after drinking water from algae-contaminated Lake Rotongaro.
A series of workshops on farm effluent management will be held throughout the Waikato this month.
The councils of the Waikato region have joined forces to find out what communities want for the region and how our districts and towns should develop.
Raglan residents can find out more about the health of the Whaingaroa Catchment at an Information Day in Raglan next month.
A fungus disease that infects pine trees had potentially disastrous commercial and environmental consequences for the Waikato and the country, this week's Environment Waikato Biosecurity Committee meeting heard.
Environment Waikato is stepping up work to manage a possible tsunami in the Waikato following the devastation from the Boxing Day tsunami in east Asia.
Farmers entering the Farm Environment Awards are choosing sustainable farming methods for good business reasons, this week's Environment Waikato Environment Committee meeting heard.
Significant river management and flood protection works on the Tongariro River will get underway this summer.
The demand for water for dairy pasture irrigation in the Waikato over the next 50 years is likely to be second only to that from hydroelectric generation, this week's Environment Waikato Environment Committee meeting heard.
Funding failure for biological control initiatives could compromise work to combat a variety of plant pests, this week's Environment Waikato Biosecurity Committee heard.
Miles of shrink wrap sitting idle at Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa is now headed for a new life in Fiji.
Environment Waikato has found infestations of an aggressive water weed on eight properties at Te Kowhai, this week's Biosecurity Committee meeting was told.


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The sign base is made of durable long lasting polyethylene thermoplastic. By filling the base with our base gel, water or sand, it becomes stable and can be moved with ease. Optional wheels offer an even easier way to transport your signs. Available in a variety of colors. Custom logos and signage are also available. Signs and hardware are available for an additional charge. Base size is 22"H. x 22"W x 22"D. FOB Shipping Point.
Steel surcharges may apply.


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Your doctor has recommended you for an X-ray of your upper extremities. Upper extremity X-rays may be of the fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, forearms, upper arms or shoulders. These X-rays can help to find injuries (fractures and sports injuries), joint swelling (arthritis), weakened bones (osteoporosis) or other abnormalities that may be causing pain.
Why choose the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center for an X-ray?
Before Arriving for Your Procedure
Please leave your jewelry and valuables at home and wear comfortable clothing.
If your doctor gave you an order, please bring it with you.
Although we do not anticipate any delay in your scheduled appointment, we recommend that you bring a book, magazine or music player to help pass the time if you have to wait.
During Your Procedure
Depending on the site of the pain, you may be asked to stand, lie on the exam table or sit in a chair.
The technologist will take multiple pictures of the painful area. You may be asked to turn in various ways so images can be taken from different angles.
The technologist may use sponges or sand bags to help hold your arm still for each image.
The X-ray takes 15 to 30 minutes.
After Your Procedure
Your study will be read by an imaging physician who specializes in the interpretation of x-ray scans. The results will be sent to your physician, usually within 48 hours.
Your physician will discuss these results with you and explain what they mean in relation to your health.
To request copies of your pictures on a PC-compatible CD or a copy of your report, please call 310-423-8000, option 2, or submit an online request.
Directions and Parking Information
The S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center provides a full range of advanced imaging, both radiology and cardiology, as well as interventional radiology and interventional tumor (oncology) treatments to the greater Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, Encino, Mid-Cities, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Studio City, Toluca Lake and West Hollywood.


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Look at you, with your body all knotted and abused. Why the hell did you do that to yourself? Well, let Mama Giz kiss it and make it feel better. Or, rather, here's some gear to make yourself feel better.
Body Back Buddy
You know that knot on your back that you just can't quite reach? Or maybe your partner has wimpy little kitten-hands and can't give you the pressure you need. The Body Back Buddy is the answer to your aching prayers. It's cheap, it's strong, and you can finally rub one out all by yourself. A knot, I mean. Rub a knot out. $US30. (Amazon)
Game Ready
You've heard of the RICE regimen, right? That's Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Well, the Game Ready Accelerated Recovery System takes care of two of the four. You wear special wraps around your injury and a computer controlled unit pumps ice-cold water through them, to keep it at a safe, steady, and even temperature for an extended time. At the same time, you can program it to pump some air in there to give you a little compression therapy.
Oh yeah, and you can also get one for your dog or horse. Because, I mean, obviously you need that, right? Prices not listed (which means they're stupid expensive).
The Pilates Reformer
Part sled, part medieval torture-device, part exercise equipment. Pilates isn't a fad. If you do it right (classes with a good instructor are recommended) it's one of the best ways to build yourself up again after an injury. It's also great for future injury-proofing. The Reformer is kind of the king of Pilates artillery, allowing you to perform a number of strengthening and stretching exercises while moving your own weight to and fro. $US400-$US4000 depending on features, quality, and where you buy.
Image: Shutterstock/Eponaleah
I have a love/hate relationship with Thera-Bands. I hate them because it's the most monotonous kind of exercise I can imagine and it makes me want to carve out my own brain with a tiny shovel. I love them because they fixed my knees, and my shoulders, and my elbow, all after serious injuries. With proper instruction these glorified rubberbands may just be the best thing for you on the list. Just do it while you're watching TV or something, so you don't accidentally fall asleep mid-rehab. About $US5 each on Amazon.
Grass-Fed Beef
Like you needed another excuse. As we mentioned back in April, grass-fed beef might is the most delicious performance-enhancing drug on the market. As he esteemed Mr Casey Chan noted: "Grass-fed beef is higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and has an increased amount of CLA. Athletes who've switched over say their joints feel a lot better and some NFL teams have even started to order grass-fed beef to feed their team." So there you go. Football players are never wrong. $US8 per pound via Fresh Direct.
Image: Shutterstock/Petr Jilek
Vapir NO2 Vaporizer
In some places, medicinal marijuana is legal. In other places, people just like to smoke weed. In either case, if you're trying to heal yourself, the last thing you want to be doing is pulling a bunch of carcinogens and free-radicals into your lungs. The Vapir NO2 is a portable, rechargeable vaporiser that allows you to take in the healing properties of medicinal cannabis without breathing in all of the garbage, because it heats it without burning it.
Naturally, only use the Vapir for marijuana if you are legally authorised to do so. But you knew that already. $US180.
The Elite Optima Massage Chair
If you really like massages and you really hate other people, the Elite Optima Massage Chair is as good as it gets. This puppy has all of the bells and whistles you could hope for. It's a heat therapy, 30-inch stroke-length (heyo!) delivering, 170-degree reclining, body-scanning, leg and foot working wonder of self-pampering. Not enough for you? It has six speakers and an iPod dock, so it can sync your massage to the music you're playing. If I could lie face-down on it, I'd marry it. $US4000.
Lead image: Shutterstock/Arber


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[This week, I've invited Cédric Beust to pen the editorial. Cédric writes a popular programming blog at beust.com. He's also the author of Next Generation Java Testing, which I've long considered the best available book on developer-based testing. He is a former Google engineer now working on Android. He is also the founder and lead developer of TestNG, the most widely used Java testing framework outside of JUnit. Ed.]
A few years ago, I had a conversation with a coworker that is still etched in my memory. We were talking about a library that he had recently open sourced and that he was very proud of. I had taken a look at it and I had one question for him: "I didn't find any tests in your distribution, are you shipping them separately?" He looked at me as if I had just insulted him. As it turns out, it's exactly how he felt. "Tests? I'm a developer, I don't write tests, I leave that to others."
Admittedly, this happened more than ten years ago. Back in those days, there was still a strong separation between "real" software engineers, who wrote production code, and "lesser" ones, who wrote tests. This certainly sounds laughable today, which is a testament at how far we've come; but once in a while, it's good to remember where we started. Today, you will be hard-pressed to find a single developer who doesn't think that writing tests for their code (and even other people's code) is part of his job. When I interview job candidates, I typically work on two aspects: "Write code to solve this problem" and "Now that you've written this function, how would you test it?" I would never hire someone who is not comfortable with both of these activities.
Testing is now universally accepted as being an integral part of software engineering and we have also created an entire ecosystem around it, with tools, frameworks, methodologies, design patterns, and countless articles, books, and forums dedicated to this very topic. If you want to improve at testing your code, there is no shortage of material.
There is a lot of good advice to be found in this cornucopia, but abundance often comes with confusion, inconsistencies, and even sometimes downright bad recommendations. I'd like to revisit some testing concepts that have emerged over the past decade and try to shed a more critical light on them.
Unit Testing
A unit test verifies that a single compilation unit works as expected. It's not supposed to use any other class in your code base and I've seen some people add restrictions, such as not allowing file, network, or database access in the interest of speedy runs and minimalistic dependencies. I think these are good rules of thumb to keep in mind, but you shouldn't be afraid to break them if it makes sense to do so. From a practical standpoint, I have found it made much more sense to categorize a test based on how fast it runs than on what it does.
I also question all the attention that unit tests are receiving at the expense of the other kinds of tests (functional, integration, etc.). The truth is that functional tests serve your users, while unit tests serve you the developer. A unit test is just a convenience that allows you to track down bugs faster. At the end of the day, the reason you write tests is to make sure that your users will be able to be productive with your application, not to make sure that you can debug faster.
When should you write unit tests? And functional tests? These are difficult questions to answer that you should ask yourself each step along the way, because the answer will vary depending on a lot of factors such as where you are in the lifecycle of your product, the team culture, the existing testing infrastructure, and so on.
If there is one thing you should keep in mind about unit tests, it's this: Unit tests are a luxury. Sometimes, you can afford a luxury; and sometimes, you should just wait for a better time and focus on something more essential such as writing a functional test.
Test-Driven Development
Test-driven development (TDD) means well. It really does. It's trying to force people into good design by imposing a specific process on the way they write code. I have found that this approach works well for junior developers by forcing them to think about testing very early on.
I have seen a lot of material on the positive aspects of TDD, so I'll skip those to jump directly to more negative aspects that I have observed.
First of all, I find that TDD encourages code churn. Most of the time, it will take two or three iterations on a new piece of code before reaching a stage where you think you have a good starting point. Unit tests for these early versions are pretty much guaranteed to be refactored constantly with little gain, and just eat a lot of time keeping the compiler happy. If you're going to throw away the first two versions of your code, you might as well skip the first two versions of your tests as well.
TDD code also tends to focus on the very small picture: relentlessly testing individual methods instead of thinking in terms of classes and how they interact with each other. This goal is further crippled by another precept called YAGNI, (You Aren't Going to Need It), which suggests not preparing code for features that you don't immediately need. If your experience tells you that very soon, you are indeed going to need a feature, you might as well add it right away, even if it doesn't quite make sense just yet.
TDD appears very convincing on paper, or more precisely, on slides. It looks like a great way to design a scorecard for bowling a Stack or a List or a Currency class but I have always struggled to find how I can use it effectively in my day job (think mobile applications or GUI's), and I haven't yet found a convincing case where using it clearly outweighs its drawbacks.
Don't fall for the false dichotomy claiming that code that is not created with TDD is necessarily buggy. First, there is a lot of untested code out there that is working just fine; and second, testing "last" instead of "first" is an equally valid approach to this problem.
Code Coverage
Engineers like to measure things. Producing and evaluating numbers is a common way to measure progress and plan our work, such as how much of a program has been exercised by tests. This code coverage is derived by running your tests with a tool that keeps track of all the parts of your code that are invoked, and then issuing a report to tell you what areas were not run. It's difficult to argue against the idea, but like all techniques, it's easy to get carried away and lose track of the big picture.
I noticed two specific excesses regarding coverage: focusing on an arbitrary percentage and adding useless tests.
What percentage of your code should be covered before you can ship? 100%? 90%? 80%? You will find a lot of different numbers in the literature and I have yet to find solid evidence showing that any given number is better than another. Obsessing over numbers in the absence of context leads developers to write tests for trivial pieces of their code in order to increase this percentage with very little benefit to the end user (for example, testing getters). You should also keep in mind that these numbers represent static, not dynamic, coverage: 100% code coverage doesn't mean that you are testing everything that can possible happen to your code just that 100% of your code has been run at least once.
Running code coverage tools is a good practice, but you should exert caution when analyzing the reports. I recommend reviewing which pieces of your code base are not being covered and deciding for yourself whether not testing a particular area is reasonable or too risky.
There is a point of diminishing returns in increasing code coverage, so you should always wonder whether adding 1% to that number is more important than, say, improving an existing test case to make it more thorough or adding a new feature.
I have barely touched the surface of some of the testing misconceptions that pervade our profession, and I'd like to end on a positive note: All these techniques have beneficial aspects that you can experience only if you actually try them. Once you've done that, keep in mind that these methodologies are just tools, and that you should consider using them only after carefully examining the problem you are trying to solve and the context that surrounds it.


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Positive Pay protects against check fraud by preventing criminals from cashing fraudulent checks, using stolen account numbers or altering check amounts. When an exception does occur, an email is sent advising you to log into Positive Pay for review. An image of the check will be available to help you decide whether to pay or return.
With Positive Pay, you have the peace of mind knowing only your official checks will be paid. Here's how it works:
Positive Pay system is web-hosted, so it's easy to use and always available. You can send your issued item information in a Microsoft Excel file, delimited file, or fixed-width file. For manual checks, simply enter individual checks into the system.
Positive Pay offers a variety of reports to view or download, such as:
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