text:
Email Abbie!
"I would like to open this site for conversation with women of all ages, convictions and styles of life – wherever situated on the gamut of experience. In principle, there is no bar to men joining in, since how one defines women has a lot to do with what it means to be a man. But it is women I invite to pull up a chair at this virtual café table and put their questions and views into the conversation. I can be wrong as often as right, so specific advice will be avoided. What will be sought is light on how best to frame the situation of women, considered as a highly interesting problematic. What kind of hand have we been dealt, as women, and how can we best play it?
Comments are warmly encouraged on any post at any point."
We're Social.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments and Replies
Abigail on The Death of a Friend Ken Kaplan on The Death of a Friend The Death of a Frien… on Preamble Abigail on It's Our Twentieth! Johan Herrenberg on It's Our Twentieth!
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- July 2012
A picture is worth…
Tag Archives: blue jeans
Posted on October 22, 2019 by Abigail
Androgyny? "The Lure of Androgyny" is the title of an article I just read. It reports that the trend to downplay biological differences between the sexes is now world-wide. This is different from giving women equal opportunity. More like: THERE'S … Continue reading →
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, Anthropology, Art of Living, Autonomy, beauty, books, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Immorality, Institutional Power, Journalism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Medieval, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, motherhood, novels, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged actors and actresses, androgyny, anti-male prejudice, athletes, biological female, biological male, blue jeans, censorship, crude men, cultural change, Dante's Beatrice, debased men, defending honor, defending women's honor, Emmanuel Levinas, entertainment fields, equal opportunity, female vulnerability, feminine security, fire fighting, firefighter rescue, French philosophy, Freudian prohibitions, gender as social construct, Hamlet, hatred of men, high fashion designers, idealizing women, level playing field, Levinas's "And God Created Woman", life or death situation, magazine article, make love like a man, male bashing, male gallantry, male protectiveness, male trustworthiness, marital partnership, marital protection, Marriage, Mary Eberstadt's "The Lure of Androgyny", masculine protection, misandry, misogyny, Ophelia, overcoming inhibitions, parental role model, policewoman, political correctness, pop music, pressures on men, prizes for acting, protective fathers, redemptress, relations between the sexes. human to human v man to woman, respect for women, Richard Lovelace's "To Lucasta on Going to the Wars", sexual revolution, sexual tact, single mother, targeting weakness, the arts, the eternal feminine, The New York Review of Books, the victimized woman, theatre awards, toxic masculinity, trendy article, trust, truth in sports, unisex, unisex bathrooms, unisex designers, unisex outfits, unisex sports, winning the race, women athletes, women firefighters, women in the military, women's liberation, women's self-defense, Woodstock, worldwide trends | Leave a comment
"Blue Jeans"
Posted on October 21, 2014 by Abigail
"Blue Jeans" I may be wrong, but it's my sincere belief that I was the first woman north of Greenwich Village to put on blue jeans for daily wear in Manhattan. At least, when I began the practice, it was … Continue reading →
Posted in Class, Cool, Culture, Fashion, Femininity, Gender Balance, History, Psychology, Roles, Social Conventions | Tagged America, autonomy, beauty salon, blue jeans, California, canvas cloth, ceremony, Civil War, Civilization: The West and the Rest, clothes, democratic values, designer jeans, economics, formality, freedom, gender performance, gold rush, Greenwich Village, high fashion, informality, jacob Davis, jeans, Levi Strauss, Manhattan, New York City, Niall Ferguson, sari, sex appeal, Soviet regime, status, strolling, The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, Union, urban protocol, USSR, work pants, young Russians | Leave a comment


text:
Well.. they get flack a lot of times but two years in a row they got the top 4 teams to the semi's finals in DI and 7 of the 8 in DII the past two years. not bad....
and more amazing this year- 3 out of four 4 teams from the RMLC- i wonder when Westminster makes the jump if they could get all 4 sometime. And only one time in the past 6 years has there not been a RMLC team in the final four. Pretty amazing.
Selection CommitteeThe 2013 tournament returns to Greenville, SC this May.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Selection Committee
Ken Lovic
Georgia Tech Lacrosse
Head Coach
Georgia Tech Lacrosse
Head Coach
- Water Boy
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:16 am
Selection Committee
RML dominance
This years tournament really shows the dominance of the RML. Even the outlier, ASU is geographically close to the other three teams. Since Michigan ascended, the MCLA tournament is getting predictable (boring?). I guess those coastal teams spend too much time enjoying the beach. Anyway, props to the selection committee.
- bhsvideodad
- Veteran
- Posts: 116
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:44 am
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Moderators: BestOfBreed, dungeonjoe
BigJohn94 wrote:No more William. Forever more I will refer to him as Dirt McGirt! I certainly hope he he continues his first 2 rounds (and for that matter previous 6 rounds) performance with a few more low numbers, and dons the mantle with his first tour trophy.
boulder3m wrote:William made a great comeback at the end of the round completed nearly in the dark. All in all, considering the last position starting time and the worst of today's conditions, a great first round in a major! Go low in the morning, William.
Return to Wofford Alumni in the Sports World
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
Original Trinity Hymnal, #450
From Psalm 19:7-11 and Psalm 119:97
Most perfect is the law of God,
Restoring those that stray;
His testimony is most sure,
Proclaiming wisdom's way.
O how love I thy law! O how love I thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
O how love I thy law! O how love I thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
The precepts of the Lord are right;
With joy they fill the heart;
The Lord's commandments all are pure,
And clearest light impart.
The fear of God is undefiled
And ever shall endure;
The statutes of the Lord are truth
And righteousness most pure.
They warn from ways of wickedness
Displeasing to the Lord,
And in the keeping of his Word
There is a great reward.
Page number: Blue 450, Right-Click Here to Download MIDI File


text:
The Preparing an Analytic Dataset course for NHANES III includes four modules:
Module 4. Locate Variables
Module 5. Download Data Files
Module 6. Keep & Merge Datasets
Module 7. Clean & Recode Data
If you are new to NHANES III data analysis, we encourage you to approach these four modules in sequence. By choosing to go sequentially through the different tasks and steps in each module, you will follow an order that resembles the real life process an analyst goes through when preparing an analytic dataset. If you have not analyzed NHANES data before, please complete the basic tutorial covering continuous NHANES before beginning this supplemental tutorial.
If you are an experienced analyst who only needs specific information to help you complete an analysis on your own, you can pick and choose topics of interest from the navigation bar to the left, or from the Tutorial A-Z Index. You may also go to the Sample Code and Datasets page to download and modify sample programs and datasets for your own use.
Sample Code
Annotated SAS and SUDAAN codes are presented in summary tables throughout the tutorial for the sole purpose of demonstration and explanation. These annotated codes do not comprise a complete SAS or SUDAAN program that can be readily submitted for a computer run. If you need the complete SAS or SUDAAN program corresponding to these annotated codes, please consult the 'Download Sample Code and Dataset' links listed under the tasks in the respective module.
More Information
The computer software, knowledge, and skills requirements are listed for your convenience on the Software & Technical Requirements page. The Tech Tips page can help you troubleshoot if you run into technical difficulties. Before beginning the course, please see the Jump Start Guide for more information about how to use the tutorial and its features.
Contact Us:
- National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Rd
Hyattsville, MD 20782
- 1 (800) 232-4636
- firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: SAPI 5 voices
Re: SAPI 5 voices
From: Peter Herngaard <pethern_at_email.dk>
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:36:29 +0100
Hello again
Well, I did it.
Best Wishes,
----- Original Message -----
Hello Daniel
Yes, the line is the correct one.
However, you should be able to find some documentation on SAPI4 and SAPI5 at Microsoft's homepage.
Best Wishes,
----- Original Message -----
Hi Peter
Thanks for replying to my last email. I still have a bit of a problem, the line I found in the script was the following.
spkr.Rate = 1. '-10 <--> +10
This seemed to be different to the one that you said I Should find but if this is all fine then what part of the
spkr.Rate = 1. '-10 <--> +10 line do I have to edit.
Also what part of the script do I have to edit to use SAPi 4 instead of SAPI 5.
All help greatly appreciated.
Cheers Daniel
-----Original Message-----
Hello Daniel
1. Yes you can. Just look for the following line:
spkr.Rate = 2. '-10 <--> +10
2. As far I know Eloquence isn't available as standalone SAPI5 voice. But you can modify voiceutils.vbs to use SAPI4 instead of SAPI5.
Best Wishes,
Peter Herngaard
----- Original Message -----
From: daniel dalton
To: rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 6:52 AM
Subject: Sapi 5 voices
Hi I have downloaded the voice box script and selected Microsoft Mary from the control panel as the computers default voice.
I have a few questions.
1. Can I speed up or slow down my talking mp3 clips in rockbox by adjusting the speed of the default voice in the control panel, and if this doesn't work is there another way to speed up or slow them down?
2. Is it possible to get eloquence as a Sapi 5 voice or, is there any free Sapi 5 voices that I could get apart from Microsoft Mary Sam and Mike to create my talking mp3 clips for rockbox, and if so where would I get them from?
All help greatly appreciated.
Cheers Daniel
Page was last modified "Jan 10 2012" The Rockbox Crew


text:
I don't have many living idols, due to the fact that such folk have an unfortunate tendency to let you down. But I make an exception with this gentleman, who is a big reason that I accepted an invitation to attend the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita this past Saturday. Meeting the great Mel Brooks was certainly a bigger thrill than watching Curlin, who must have had an extra large helping of Fail mixed with his alfalfa that morning, finishing fourth in the Classic. Fortunately, there were eight other races from which to choose an Official Deadspin Horse of the Breeders' Cup, and your Deadspin betting consortium of myself, A.J. Daulerio and the comedian pictured here came up very big indeed. Well, if you call collecting $187 on a $50 bet big, that is. It was just before the seventh race, and my call to Daulerio went something like this: Me: "I'm picking a Deadspin horse of the Breeders' Cup. We're going with Midnight Lute." A.J.: "Who?" Me: "Midnight Lute. He hasn't won a race in a year, has started only once in the past 11 months, and has a crack in one hoof. No way can he win. Are you in for $10?" A.J.: "Put me down for $20." Another factor against Midnight Lute: The horse is named after recently retired Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson. That clinched it: A horse named after someone who decided at the last minute that he wanted to quit sounded like the perfect Official Deadspin Horse. So I was in for $20, as was the former editor of Oddjack. But we needed one more to make this a real consortium. Surely Joe Pesci, star of Casino, could be counted on for a foolhardy wager.
But it was not to be. Pesci had a very enormous bodyguard who went by the name of Rupert, making my attempt to get to Pesci look like that famous photo of the guy and the tank in Tienanmen Square. I tried to ask this guy to go in with us, being that he had the longest, most luxurious pony tail/mullet I have ever witnessed in person. But he was too fast, and I lost him somewhere in the mezzanine section. Defeated, I was making my way to the betting windows when I came upon this scene:
Joe Torre being bothered by Al Michaels; something you don't often see in the wild. After one of Al's long, pointless stories, I was sure that Torre was in no mood for my betting proposition. Time to move on ... but wait. Who is that man just above and to the right of Torre? The theme from High Anxiety ran through my head and I immediately recognized The Great One. Who better than the man who bet it all on Robin Hood, Men In Tights to go in on our doomed wager? I made my way up to the aisle, and approached Mel Brooks' box just as he was standing up. Me: "Mr. Brooks, I'm a great admirer of yours. OK if I get a picture?" Mel Brooks: "Are you a paparazzi?" Me: "With this camera?" (Holding up small Lumix Vario). Mel Brooks: "Sure." (He takes off his sunglasses). Me: "Thanks. I have a tip for you. Midnight Lute in the seventh." Mel Brooks: "Put me down for ten dollars." A perfectly understandable reply from a man worth millions. Especially considering that I saw him later at the "$500 minimum" betting window, not once but twice during a five-minute span. But anyway, I now had our consortium; realizing fully well that Brooks may have been kidding, but me nonetheless perfectly willing to seek him out following the race and demanding my ten-spot. I approached the betting window and slapped down a debit card. "We don't take those," said the bemused teller (not sure what they actually call these people). After a quick trip to the ATM, I returned and gently presented three twenties; possibly the smallest bet she had seen all day. "Fifty dollars to win on number 4." It certainly would make for a humorous post if the Official Deadspin Horse of the Breeders' Cup finished dead last; and if we were lucky, he might even trample Mary Kate Olson. But then a much funnier thing happened:
Midnight Lute started true to form, in last place. But he crept up, and before I knew it, the freakin' horse had won by more than a length. We're rich! I made my way to Brooks' box, but he was gone; probably demanding to security that something be done about me. So instead I went and thanked Breeders' Cup promotions guru Chip Tuttle, who had suggested Midnight Lute in the first place. Tuttle is headquartered in Boston, so never will another disparaging remark about that region come from these fingertips. I partied that night as far as one can with $187 (sorry A,J., I spent your cut on valet parking), and then turned in early. Oh, here's our hero of the hour, jockey Garrett Gomez, who rode Midnight Lute to victory and also evidently has a pretty OK looking wife (jockeys get all the chicks). Frankly I could never get used to remembering to bring a stepladder on dates — I have enough trouble remembering my wallet — but to each his own. Next year's Breeders' Cup is Nov. 5-6, and I am so there. This man hopes to see you there too!


text:
Straight to the references:
Greater Flying Carpet (Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium p85)
A greater flying carpet carries creatures and objects at a speed of fly 6 and can hover. A character on the carpet can mentally command it to fly as a move action. (...) If more than one character on the carpet attempts to mentally command it, the carpet responds to each command in turn according to the characters' initiative order.
Exploration Speed Nothing specific to quote, just providing a reference to the entry in the compendium for your reading pleasure.
So what is the exploration speed for the pair of riders (assuming no other companions are present to slow them down)?


text:
Last week the Tax Policy Center (TPC) released this distributional analysis of the Romney tax plan, exploring how the plan could be made revenue neutral as Romney has claimed it would be. The TPC analysis found that it is impossible to pay for Romney's proposed additional tax cuts (which are skewed heavily toward the rich) with base-broadening revenue offsets (which according to the Romney plan cannot include increasing the taxation of capital income) without increasing tax burdens on net for most Americans. (I quickly summarized what I took as the main findings of the TPC analysis in my previous post.)
By later the same day the Obama campaign had seized the moment by building the TPC calculations into an Obama "tax calculator" where any household can plug in their own income level, marital status, and number of children, and compare what their tax burdens would be under Obama versus under Romney.
The Obama campaign's tax calculator produces honest numbers based on TPC distributional tables, but its presentation is confusing. It makes Obama tax policy look like it gives tax cuts for everyone, even the rich (which is indeed true relative to current law) and to make Romney tax policy look like it raises tax burdens on the middle class (which is indeed true relative to Obama policy, a different baseline). It seems to purposefully switch the baseline–or march from one to another–to come up with the most politically effective punch line that Romney wants to raise taxes on most Americans. The truth is that both Romney and Obama want to cut taxes by a lot relative to current law; it's just that on net, Romney will cut taxes relatively more for the rich and less for everyone else (and more on average). The Bush tax cuts that Obama's calculator touts as the benefits of Obama's first-term tax cuts are relative to the current-law (no Bush tax cuts) baseline. The Obama tax cuts that would happen in 2013 are also relative to the current-law (no Bush tax cuts) starting point. But the "Romney tax plan" numbers are relative to an Obama policy baseline, accurately labeled in the Obama tax calculator as "compared to President Obama's plan." For the vast majority of Americans (the 95 percent or so with incomes below $250,000), the number for "under Romney" will show a tax increase for them. Relative to current law, however, Romney's tax proposal would cut taxes for the middle class–just not by as much as Obama would. And both Romney and Obama plan to cut taxes for the rich; it's just that Obama would cut them less than Romney would.
This strikes me as like shopping for a new car and comparing two cars in the dealer's lot. One car has a sign on it that says it gets 25 miles per gallon (mpg). The car next to it has a sign that says "10 mpg—relative to the first car. " Maybe for some reason the dealer wants to get rid of the first car more than the second, and that's why he chooses to emphasize the relative, plus "10 mpg" of the second rather than the absolute 35 mpg that the second car actually gets. Most buyers wouldn't catch the "relative to" comparison—and would reasonably expect the measures to be based on the same absolute scale (no matter the fine print)—and would thus incorrectly conclude that the second car had (absolutely) poor fuel efficiency when in fact it has relatively better fuel efficiency.
I admit this is not a perfect analogy to the Obama tax calculator, however, because there's no such thing as negative miles per gallon, and a middle-class family's tax burden under Romney would be higher than under Obama (so higher relative to Obama policy), but would still go down compared with current law. Conversely, a rich household's tax burden under Obama policy would be relatively higher than under Romney policy, but would still go down compared with current law. The Obama tax calculator (conveniently) emphasizes how Obama policy in 2013 would compare with current law, because that suggests tax cuts for everyone—even the rich. By switching to the Obama-policy baseline only in the last step of comparing Romney policy to Obama policy, the calculator emphasizes that Romney raises taxes on the middle class (relative to Obama policy), while avoiding calling attention to the fact that Obama raises taxes on the rich (relative to Romney and relative to current policy extended).
For example, the Obama tax calculator highlights these three figures about the tax burdens facing a married, two-child household with $100,000 in annual income—emphasis added:
"Your Tax Savings during President Obama's First Term, 2009-2012": $5,600
"Tax Savings Under Obama, 2013": $3,999
"Tax Increase Under Romney, 2013…Compared to President Obama's plan…": $1,339
…but this really means that under Romney this family would still get a tax cut in 2013, compared to current law, of $3,999 - $1,339 = $2,660. In other words, an "apples to apples" comparison of tax cuts measured against the same yardstick (baseline) would compare a $3,999 tax cut under Obama with a $2,660 tax cut under Romney. The smaller tax cut under Romney is because reduced tax preferences (those "base broadeners" aside from those affecting capital income taxation) would be used to pay for further tax rate reductions at the top of the income distribution.
For a household with $500,000 in annual income, the Romney tax change is in the opposite direction, because Romney would cut high-income households' taxes even further than under President Obama's plan (which extends the Bush tax cuts except for the highest brackets). The Obama calculator returns these three figures (again, emphasis added):
"Your Tax Savings during President Obama's First Term, 2009-2012": $8,676
"Tax Savings Under Obama, 2013": $8,295
"Tax Savings Under Romney, 2013…Compared to President Obama's plan…": $36,319
…and this means that the $500K family would get a $8,295 tax cut under Obama in 2013, compared with current law, but a much larger tax cut under Romney, of $8,295 + $36,319 = $44,614, also compared with current law. A different "apples to apples" comparison could have compared tax changes under both candidates to the policy-extended baseline, in which case there would not be any tax savings under Obama for this $500K household but instead a large tax increase. (This is why the choice of the baseline matters and was not likely random in this campaign material; even President Obama would prefer to avoid showing tax increases, and even on the rich.)
My bigger criticism about the Obama tax calculator is that it ignores the distribution of the burden of deficit financing—as Bill Gale and Peter Orszag emphasized way back during the Bush Administration about the Bush tax cuts. (The lesson from that analysis was that if deficits at least eventually have to be offset by future tax increases or spending cuts, then the distribution of the burden of those future fiscal policy changes should be considered, not ignored, in the policy choice to deficit-finance a current tax cut.) By ignoring the cost of deficit financing any tax cuts (even those "fiscally irresponsible" Bush tax cuts!), the Obama calculator implicitly suggests that there is no cost of tax cuts if you deficit finance them. Instead, the calculator scores a monetary cost if the tax cuts are paid for, but no monetary cost if they are not paid for. This is not the message that encourages politicians to say "ok then, I'll propose fiscally-responsible tax cuts from now on."
The Obama tax calculator calculates the benefits of the extended Bush tax cuts without the burden of deficit financing and claims those (ironically) as the good of Obama tax policy. They then use the net burdens of the Romney plan as estimated in the TPC analysis (which average to zero across all households but burden middle income families on net) to claim Romney's supposedly-paid-for plan raises taxes while the Obama (Bush-extended, deficit-financed) plan reduces taxes.
This gets back to my even broader concern about the Obama campaign's emphasis in their touting of the TPC analysis. (To be clear, I mean no criticism of the TPC analysis itself here.) The Obama campaign has jumped at the chance to highlight the burden of the implicit Romney revenue offset–which should be criticized because of its adverse distributional effect, but not because it is an offset, nor because it is a base-broadening offset. In my view, the most important and very objective, basic-math lessons of the TPC analysis are (i) we can't afford the Romney tax cuts, and (ii) it's not possible to offset the cost of those tax cuts while taking capital income tax expenditures off the table without creating a very regressive tax reform on net. In an ideal world this TPC analysis would lead policymakers on both sides of the aisle to scale back their tax cutting plans and/or restructure the offsets to make for a more progressive package. Unfortunately, the Obama campaign's political capitalizing on the TPC analysis has probably resulted in the Romney campaign saying to themselves now: "gee, we shouldn't have proposed a fiscally responsible version of our huge tax cuts for the rich; we should have just said we would deficit finance it."
In this PBS Newshour segment where Judy Woodruff speaks with one of the authors of the TPC analysis, Bill Gale, and the Tax Foundation's Scott Hodge, at one point Hodge actually suggests it may be wrong to assume Romney would pay for his proposed tax cuts at all (emphasis added):
SCOTT HODGE: …There are many ways in which Romney could fill out the details of his plan. They of course are not forthcoming with that, because they would like to keep to a big-picture approach. So we have to be very careful about reading too much into this, because it really is not the Romney plan.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, so filling in a lot of assumptions, what about that?
BILL GALE: Let me respond to that.
It's correct that Governor Romney has not specified all the details of his tax reform plan. He has specified the goodies, the tax cuts, but he's not specified how he will pay for them. If he would do so…
SCOTT HODGE: He may not even pay for them. He may decide that we are going to scrap revenue neutrality.
Indeed, why should any politician propose a fiscally-responsible, as opposed to deficit-financed, tax cut then? By offsetting the cost of one's tax cuts, whether with specific policy or not, your opponent will attack you on the burden of the offset on whichever households would bear that burden. In contrast, if you don't offset the cost, you can claim all households win.
It's a shame that Romney's particular version of base-broadening tax reform might be a bad-enough version such that the more general (and wise) strategy of tax base broadening for deficit reduction—that emphasized by all of the bipartisan deficit-reduction groups—has now been tainted. Both the President's commission (Bowles-Simpson) and the Bipartisan Policy Center's task force (Domenici-Rivlin) showed that we can broaden the tax base, lower tax rates, and raise revenue—and yet still maintain or improve the progressivity of the overall tax system. But the TPC analysis of the Romney plan makes clear that going further with tax rate cuts, even beyond extension of the Bush tax cuts, is not feasible in any practical sense if we are not willing to pay for it by giving up the major tax expenditures that currently benefit all taxpayers very broadly, and is not palatable from a distributional perspective if we're not willing to increase, not decrease, the taxation of capital income.
The TPC analysis of the Romney tax plan should be taken as a good teaching moment to help policymakers on both sides start constructing better tax policy. But both campaigns have just used it to ramp up their political posturing and sharpen their blame games. Let's hope that this blow to the idea of fiscally-responsible, progressive tax reform is purely superficial and temporary and does not prove deadly.


text: ...and sees a gorgeous woman nursing a drink. Walking up behind her he says: "Hi there, good lookin'. How's it going?" Having already downed a few power drinks, she turns around, faces him, looks him straight in the eye and says: "Listen up, buddy. I screw anybody, anytime, anywhere, your place, my place, in the car, front door,back door, on the ground, standing up, sitting down, naked or with clothes on,dirty, clean... It just doesn't matter to me. I've been doing it ever since I got out of college and I just flat-ass love it." Eyes now wide with interest, he responds: "No kidding. I'm a lawyer too. What firm are you with?"


text:
With chilly winter weather now in full swing across the nation, icicles have grown to extremely large sizes in Saitama Prefecture's Chichibu and neighboring areas, becoming major sightseeing draws.
The Misotsuchi-no-tsurara icicles in the Otaki area of Chichibu are created from frozen fresh water that has trickled among rocks on the mountain surface near the Arakawa river.
This winter, the water formed into icicles in late December, about two weeks earlier than usual. The natural ice sculptures have grown to about 8 meters in height and about 30 meters wide. A lighting display for the icicles can be viewed from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the hours extended to 9 p.m. on weekends. It will run until Feb. 12.
Ref: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201201240021
The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.


text:
Birthstone Promise Ring - 925 Sterling Silver
Birthstone Promise Ring!
Personalised by you, custom made for you! Create your very own one of a kind ring featuring 2 Cubic Zirconia's in your Birthstone or favourite colours along with the option to engrave your names and a message inside...
A unique piece that makes the perfect present to gift a loved one with!
A unique piece that makes the perfect present to gift a loved one with!
...Select 2 Birthstone months (or just choose your favourite colours)
..Decide if you would like engraving and what you wish the engraving to say
(*Optional extra at no additional cost! Maximum of 20 letters inside and recommended 9 letters for each name, including spaces - note that the more letters used, the smaller the engraving will be and even more so on smaller ring sizes that have less space) Plus view our Font Styles and Engraving info here
...Then just fill in all of your personalised selections in our easy to use drop down menu
And that's all there is to it!
You have now made a stunning ring completely unique and special
Set with glittering Cubic Zirconia gems, nicely accentuated by the shine of
Rhodium plating overlaid upon solid 925 Sterling Silver
Rhodium plating overlaid upon solid 925 Sterling Silver
Approximate total weight of 5.3 grams
Presented to you in a jewellery box with postage included to most locations Worldwide!
We hope you have enjoyed creating your very own personalised jewellery with us!
Please Note
- This item is covered for a RRP Discounted Re-order under our OzBuddie Care Policy ~ Read about it here
- Product arrival time may vary from 1.5 to 4 weeks depending on your location, stock availability, holiday peak times etc.
- Standard trackable shipping is INCLUDED Australia Wide - this item ships from overseas
- International - Standard trackable shipping INCLUDED to most locations
Click here for more information and FAQ's
- Express Post option applies to this item when selected at checkout
- Click here and please read for more personalised jewellery information, full ring size conversion guide and plated jewellery information & care


text:
Refine resultsClear all
Keyword search
- Accessible by public transport (6)
- Bicycle rack (3)
- Bus parking (10)
- Car parking (12)
- Children's quiz available (9)
- Disabled toilets (10)
- Display on history (9)
- Dogs not permitted (4)
- Guided tours – ask on site for details (2)
- May close for lunch in winter, please call in advance (1)
- May close for lunch, please call in advance (8)
- Mobility scooters available (2)
- Picnic area (10)
- Restaurant/café (4)
- Shop (12)
- Strong footwear recommended (1)
- Toilets (10)
- Visitor centre (5)
- Water bottle refill (8)
Search results
The search has returned 12 placesRefine results
Balvenie Castle
Face a mighty, curtain-walled fortress, built in the 1200s as the seat of the powerful earls of Buchan.
Corgarff Castle
Unravel the two very different tales of this medieval tower house, a noble residence turned army base.
Dallas Dhu Historic Distillery
Step back in time to see and hear how whisky was made in the 1900s – and then sample a dram for yourself.
Duff House
Unravel the story of how owner William Duff and architect William Adam clashed over the creation of this splendid Georgian mansion.
Fort George
March the length of this massive fort built in the wake of the Battle of Culloden to see why it's served the British Army so well for 250 years.
Huntly Castle
Visit the seat of one of medieval and Renaissance Scotland's most powerful families, the earls of Huntly.
Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement
Delve into more than 4,000 years of human settlement in the same location in Shetland.
Kildrummy Castle
Visit 'the noblest of northern castles' – even ruined, the stronghold of the mighty earls of Mar is a fine example of a 13th-century castle.
Kinnaird Head Castle Lighthouse and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses
Explore a fine castle altered in 1787 to contain the first lighthouse built by the Northern Lighthouse Board.
Spynie Palace
Enter Scotland's largest surviving medieval bishop's house – residence of the bishops of Moray for 500 years.
Tolquhon Castle
Judge for yourself why this noble residence is said to be one of Grampian's most picturesque castles.
Urquhart Castle
Discover more than 1,000 years of stirring history in this grand castle on the shores of Loch Ness.


text: Cyda 446 Report post Posted November 14, 2012 (edited) Link2Int v1.1 This mod is presented as-is. I created it for myself. If it doesn't work for you then you're out of luck. What does this mod do? This mod allows you to use your 2GB Internal storage as additional app storage space. How does it do that? When flashed this mod installs the Link2SD app, a init.d mount script, creates a mount point and sets the correct permissions. Once installed you can move any app to the internal storage via Link2SD. Requirements Rooted with CWM installed An sdcard - seriously you still need one. A rom with init.d support - tested with CM9 and CM10. Installation Flash the following file via CWM - download - (mirror) - md5: fa3789ced7a2589c1ce450bb74656fab If updating from v1; please use the v1 removal zip before installing the v1.1 update. Removal Flash the following file via CWM - download - (mirror) - md5: b787cead683291def9e6fdecd71fa73a Basic usage Once installed and rebooted open the Link2SD app from the app drawer, find the app you wish to move (Link2SD has options for listing apps by size etc) click on it and then press the 'Create link' button. You'll be asked what you want to link, I normally choose all of them, and then click ok. The app will then be moved to the 2GB internal partition. When using this mod you REALLY do not want to be using the 2GB Internal storage for any other use. This mod should be used only when your 2GB internal storage is 'wasted space' and you need another use for it. Having your default storage set to internal storage and having this mod installed is not advised. Reinstall after flashing a rom Once you flash a new rom you will need to re-flash the install file to re-apply the mount script. Additional credits elperroderoke - for his initial work in this thread here Bulent Akpinar - Link2SD Edited January 30, 2013 by Cyda 14 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
.recommended by NCERT , book for 5+, children's literature , fiction, Eklavya
बाल साहित्य की जादुई दुनिया (ऊषा वर्मा) - for reading in PDF format click here .
Eklavya is a non-profit, non-government organisation that develops and field tests innovative educational programmes and trains resource people to implement these programmes. It functions through a network of education resource centres located in Madhya Pradesh.


text:
Traditional Chinese Crafts, Art & Gifts
Chinese crafts and traditional Chinese art have captivated Western culture and collectors for centuries and have always been highly treasured, collected and welcome as gifts. Chinesegiftware.com is proud to bring you beautiful Chinese crafts, Chinese wall art, artwork, folk art and Chinese gifts at affordable prices.
China has been long renowned for it's stunning works of beautiful ancient Chinese artwork and Chinese crafts. Chinese crafts are always enjoyed as gifts and are an important and popular part of the culture. From exquisite Chinese wall art, Chinese folk art and more traditional Chinese crafts, the incredible beauty created by the artisans make Chinese gifts most welcome.
About Chinese Crafts & Gifts
Looking for the perfect gift for your friends, family or business associates? Whether you are looking for wall art for your house, a hand carved jade necklace for that special lady, or a beautiful opera mask as a gift for a friend, we are the only shop you will need. We specialize in the Chinese crafts such as calligraphy, embroidery, hand cut jade, stone and wood carving, opera masks and paintings. You will find great Chinese crafts and gift ideas such as amulets, dinnerware, office and study gifts, paper cutting, shadow puppets, National Minority Arts and Strange Stone.
Buying Chinese Crafts, Gifts & Artwork
Doing business with Chinesegiftware.com takes the guess work out of shopping for Chinese crafts and artwork. We are based in the city of Shanghai. We are located near our artists and we have direct input in the quality control process. You will always receive the highest quality Chinese crafts from our shops. Our partnership with the local artisans ensures that you pay the lowest possible price and that the artist receives fair compensation for their trade. Because we advocate for the artists, you will never deal with a third party located outside of China.
If you are a Chinese giftsshop owner or an internet retailer of chinese crafts, we have wholesale partnerships for all of your business needs. Please use our contact page to tell us how we can provide you with wholesale solutions. Let us know what you need in Chinese crafts, artwork, or gifts and our knowledgeable, international sales manager will be in touch with you promptly.


text:
Background and qualification information is available at FINRA's BrokerCheck website.
Our 3-Minute Confident Retirement® check can help you start finding the answers to your questions. Gauge your retirement readiness and see where you stand.
supports HTML5 video
Market volatility is a natural characteristic of investment markets. Ongoing communication with your advisor can help ensure you have the personalized financial advice you need to maintain a well-diversified portfolio regardless of market conditions.


text:
To give you the best possible experience this site uses cookies. Using this site means you agree to our use of cookies. View Cookies Policy
Item sold out
Penelope Chilvers Riviera Woodstock brocade espadrilles
Women's Footwear Size Guide
We carry a range of items with free delivery. Some items carry a small delivery fee of £3.95, but this is the maximum delivery charge per order. This means you can order as many items as you like and pay no more than £3.95 (even if they're sent in more than one parcel).
All delivery charges are displayed once you've selected the size and colour of the item you wish to purchase. The cost is also displayed in your basket and at checkout.
We're confident you'll love your Secret Sales purchase, but if you need to return an item you can do so using our easy returns methods within 14 days of delivery.


text:
Two open problems from this blog were solved recently. First, there is a solution by Bartal, Gottlieb, and Krauthgamer of the Doubling TSP problem. Next, Raghu Meka gave a deterministic procedure to compute the expected supremum of a Gaussian process.
If you're thirsting for more open problems, I suggest this list on analysis of Boolean functions, compiled by Ryan O'Donnell in conjunction with the 2012 Simons Symposium.
Finally, in the realm of re-proving theorems, let me mention this absolutely gorgeous proof by Lovett and Meka of Spencer's six standard deviations suffice theorem in discrepancy theory. The proof is constructive (i.e., there exists a polynomial-time algorithm to construct the 2-coloring) as in recent groundbreaking work of Bansal, but unlike Bansal's proof is independent of Spencer's bound. It also happens to be elementary and beautiful; my thanks to Aravind Srinivasan for pointing it out.


text:
Solar flares over, Venus Express restarts science investigations
ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has returned to routine operation after its startracker cameras were temporarily blinded last week by radiation from a pair of large solar flares.
Science observations by ESA's Venus Express were temporarily suspended on 7 March after the two startrackers – used to help navigate and orient the spacecraft – were overwhelmed by excessive proton radiation.
The proton storm stemmed from the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) emitted by the Sun, which were associated with a pair of massive solar flares that occurred early in the morning on 7 March.
With the startrackers unable to function properly, mission controllers at ESOC, ESA's European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, had to place the spacecraft into a special mode to ride out the storm.
This meant that all instruments were switched off and routine scientific observations and data gathering were stopped.
"As the radiation faded, the startrackers began functioning normally again on 9 March," said Octavio Camino, ESA's Spacecraft Operations Manager.
"After taking some time to conduct a series of thorough spacecraft health checks, Venus Express returned to regular science operations on 12 March at 20:20 GMT."
Waiting out the storm
This month, Venus Express is going through 'quadrature': a period of about five weeks during which the Sun-spacecraft-Earth angle is between 75° and 95°. They occur twice every 19 months.
During quadrature, the spacecraft must maintain a special orientation so that certain instruments are not over-exposed to sunlight and the radio antenna can still be pointed to Earth.
"At any time, if a problem is autonomously detected onboard, the spacecraft might place itself into 'safe mode'," says Octavio.
However, if a safe mode were to happen during quadrature operations, and the startrackers were not operating, it would be much more difficult to return the spacecraft to normal operations.
"To be very cautious, we simply stopped science activities to wait out the proton storm," says Octavio.
The mission operations team used the gyroscopes to maintain a safe attitude while waiting for the startrackers to return to normal.
Venus Express: a very robust mission
"There were no permanent effects; Venus Express is in excellent condition and the operations team performed very well," said Paolo Ferri, responsible for interplanetary mission operations at ESOC.
"Yes, orbiting Venus means we're closer to the Sun – and in a potentially hazardous environment."
"But we have a very robust mission that is once again returning a large amount of valuable scientific data."


text:
We are committed to improving the lives of the patients we serve through a holistic, high touch patient care and medication management program.
Our medication management programs and protocols are proven to improve outcomes while reducing overall healthcare costs for all of our patients, especially those with multiple chronic conditions.
Learn more about Curant's patient care model that is improving outcomes and lives right now.


text:
Add Ons! Now a lot of people have been asking me about my UI (User Interface) for World of Warcraft, and well, here's a glimpse:
I know, I know, it's not the prettiest thing in the World... of Warcraft, but the important part of this is I managed to find a streamlined balance between the Add Ons I NEED and the Add Ons I DON'T.
This concept is important, because if you end up over loading your User Interface with useless Add Ons, that brand new AMD Radeon graphics card will be utterly useless. So finding balance is key. Here is a list of Add Ons I am currently using for my Warrior:
- Gladius
- Doom_CooldownPulse
- RazerNaga
- Deadly Boss Mods
Now at first glance that may not seem like a lot, and you're right, because it isn't a lot. I hand picked the Add Ons I knew would better my game play, although the cross over between PvP to PvE based Add Ons can be rough, the core things you always want in an Add On package are new action bars, a cool down monitor, and Deadly Boss Mods, because everyone needs Deadly Boss Mods... EVERYONE.
Unless if you're an Arcane Mage, in which case, carry on:
Aside from all this, the number one reason people don't bother with Add Ons is because they don't know either A) How to install them. Or B) How to find, and get them.
One word to both: Curse.
Curse happens to be the number one website for all Add Ons on every major MMORPG, and you can find them here: http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/default.aspx
And if you're not the technical type who likes getting into their World of Warcraft folder to manually insert Add Ons, Curse provides an easy to use interface which you can down load to keep track of all your Add Ons and even automatically update them when patch day comes around:
I hope you guys enjoyed this... guide? and as always, have fun, play to win.


text:
- Taipei was a completely different city just 25 years ago. It was congested and dirty. Now there are world class buildings everywhere and parks seemingly around every corner. Get out and simply wander to see what Taipei has to offer.
- If you like hiking and the outdoors, head to Yangmingshan National Park.
- Head to the Shilin Night Market for a cheap, authentic meal.
Why you should add Taipei to your RTW travel list
- Feel the excitement of a busy Asian city that doesn't like to spell in English
- A fast-paced, dynamic, cool, exciting city
- Could you find your hostel without signs in English? Here's a chance to try
- Use Taipei as your gateway to Taiwan, and see another side of Chinese culture
Why you should not add Taipei to your RTW travel list
- Some claim that its Asian counterparts are more exciting and have more to offer than Taipei.


text: No one knows us quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts. Every office is a family of sorts, and the ad agency Joshua Ferris brilliantly depicts in his debut novel is family at its strangest and best, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. With a demon's eye for the details that make life worth noticing, Joshua Ferris tells a true and funny story about survival in life's strangest environment--the one we pretend is normal five days a week. Published in 2007, 387 pages.


text:
Posted by Editor on 12/15/09
Local Ride Bike Shop in Maple Ridge, BC will introduce regular Women's Only road fitness cycling rides starting on Saturday, January 2nd. The one to two hour sessions will introduce participants to group road cycling, in a fun, supportive, fitness-oriented environment. Just in time for New Year's, Local Ride Women's Only Rides will help motivated women stick to fitness goals.
The rides will be led by friendly Local Ride staffers and experienced cyclists Jean Ann McKirdy and Sandra Walter. Between them, McKirdy and Walter have over 20 years of high-performance racing, coaching, and teaching experience. They are excited to share some of the area's most beautiful and lesser known cycling routes to interested women, facilitate road safety and etiquette, and to help women build their fitness and meet other like-minded cyclists in the area.
"This is such a great initiative," said Walter. "I'm really looking forward to meeting more women cyclists and helping them get excited about biking."
The first Local Ride Women's Only Ride will roll out on Saturday, January 2nd. Road bikes in good working order are mandatory, and bikes must have fenders for the wet weather, as rides will take place rain or shine. The group ride will cover a loop that will take approximately one hour to complete, with the option of an extension for enthusiastic riders.
"We're not looking for racers," said McKirdy. "We're looking for recreational female cyclists with the aim of improving fitness and having fun outside on bikes."
The women's rides will meet at Local Ride Bike Shop, 7-22214 Dewdney Trunk Road, starting January 2nd at 9:30 am for coffee. The ride will leave the shop at 10:00 am. Riders must bring road bikes with full fenders, a helmet, water, food, and a spare inner tube.
Any women who are interested in joining the fun on the roads on Saturday mornings are encouraged to attend an info session on Wednesday, December 30th at 6:00 pm at Local Ride Bike Shop, hosted by McKirdy and Walter. Please RSVP to the shop, at 604-466-2016, prior to the ride. All women who have a sense of adventure and are looking to boost their fitness on two wheels are invited to ask questions and learn more about the rides, including what to expect and what to bring.
What: Local Ride Bike Shop Women's Only Road Rides
When: Saturdays at 10:00 am, starting January 2nd. Come at 9:30 am for coffee.
Where: Rides start and finish at Local Ride Bike Shop, 7-22214 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge BC
Bring: Ride-ready road bike with full fenders, helmet, water bottle, ride food, spare inner tube, and a sense of adventure.
|Return to Cycling 4 Women homepage | Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


text:
I have seen this before. Management wants to be agile and be scrummified, but does not want to step out of the status quo. My latest observation is no different; here, the Scrum is 'tailored' to the organization; specifically into a weird many-people-process.
Here http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6175/modifiedscrum.jpg
The diagram showing the different participants.
I am putting together a document listing why this will not work. Here are the obvious ones:
1. There are product owner agents (an obvious WTF), who report to the product owner: causing dilution of decision making capability
2. There is a role that looks similar to a manager in the traditional approach - development manager: an obvious attempt at command-and-control model
3. The ScrumMaster's role includes collecting timesheets, which are used to track progress instead of burndown charts: detrimental to agile's efforts to build teams with motivated individuals
Leaving the question "how would you convince the management?", my question is more at, "what else do you see as failures in this/similar 'tailored Scrum approaches'?
EDIT: The diagram might use a few more details
1. The development manager is not part of the development team, with not very clearly defined responsibilities, except: developer performance assessemnt, recruitment, etc.,
2. There are more than two teams (with ScrumMaster+development manager+dev team) with the same product owner for all teams!


text:
kksuck2 wrote:
I won this on ebay tonight - I was looking at the dimensions and wondering what kind of frame I'd need - its fucking HUGE - lol
my copy of NWA10 has yet to show up
I have one of those too, number 35/60. Mine was given to me backstage at that show though. It glows in the dark, looks awesome. Creepy, but awesome.


text:
Quote from: Jesse James on December 13, 2013, 07:34 PMI'm getting a case of these for sure but want extras of all of them. :/Is there a case assortment for this wave yet?
I'm getting a case of these for sure but want extras of all of them. :/
It's actually broken into 6 different case assortments with with one new figure per case. The other 11 figures are Anakin from the first wave.
Not possible. 2 of each new figure? For both waves? What a ridiculous concept. How are we supposed to complain about assortments if they're going to pull this two of everything new with no repacks BS!? Cripes.
Page created in 0.044 seconds with 18 queries.


text:
Since the early 1990s, the Ransom Center has been receiving computers, disks, and similar media as part of its manuscript collections. One of the biggest challenges we face when trying to preserve these materials is accessing files that are on older disks.
Some of the items in our collection, such as CDs and DVDs, were created relatively recently and can be read using modern computers. But, to access older types of media—for example, 8-inch and 5.25-inch floppy disks or 3-inch Amstrad disks—we must first find the correct drive or computer.
The Center's collection includes close to 2,300 disks, as well as personal computers from Michael Joyce, Iain Sinclair, and other authors. Approximately 60 percent of these disks are 3.5-inch floppies of various types (single- or double-sided, double density, high density, etc.). Recent acquisitions have also included older formats such as 5.25-inch floppy disks and TRS-80 computer cassette tapes.
Thanks to the generosity of the University's Information Technology Service department and individual donors, the Ransom Center has begun acquiring legacy computer equipment to use in accessing these older formats. Recent donations include a Kaypro II, a Victor 9000, related computer manuals, and blank floppy disks.
We have used these donations in a few different ways. The first is to facilitate physical access to the legacy media in our collections. Staff members have also used the older computers and disks as visual aids when talking with students, the public, and other interested parties about born-digital archives and preservation. The point of these talks is to educate people about the need for digital preservation. Seeing a Kaypro II, for example, or an 8-inch disk often prompts people to share stories about their early experiences with computer technology, or, if the audience consists of younger students, to ask questions about "ancient" media like 5.25-inch floppy disks.
One of the most exciting aspects of digital preservation work has to do with access. How will people who come to our reading room engage with born-digital materials? One possibility is that people will be interested in interacting with a computing environment similar to the one used by a particular author. Loading copies of files from an author's collection onto a replica of the computer he or she originally used to compose a work would enable a visitor to sit down in front of an Apple ][ Plus, for example, and explore drafts of the stories Denis Johnson wrote using a similar machine. To plan for this and other possibilities, we have begun collecting computers similar to ones used by the authors whose born-digital materials reside in our collection.
If you have computer equipment that you would like to donate to help the Ransom Center in its digital preservation, access, and outreach efforts, please contact Lisa Snider, the Center's digital archivist, at firstname.lastname@example.com. Specifically, the Ransom Center is looking for the following items:
- 8-inch disks and drives
- 5.25-inch disks and drives
- 3.5-inch drives
- 3-inch disks and drives
- Amstrad computer with 3-inch disk drive
- TRS-80 computer with cassette player
- Mac Performa 460
- Apple ][ Plus
- Macintosh Wallstreet Powerbook G3
- Blank floppy disks of all sizes
- The name of someone, preferably in Austin, who can repair and align 8-, 5.25-, and 3.5-inch disk drives


text:
Yes, this morning is almost gone, but it's a Monday and that means a late start for me.
I'm convinced that I'm made for the mornings: for me, it's the most magical time of the day. I'm not inclined to talk much on Mondays so for now, let my photos show you how I start my day.
Mornings mean coffee! One day, I sit at my dining table and notice that one of the chairs is illuminated in the morning light. It makes captivating shadows and even more so when I introduce my coffee cup to the scene. There are two things that remain constant in my daily breakfast: coffee and homemade fruit juice with lots of ginger. The fruits change every day. Today, it's pineapple. I blitzed it with some papaya, but that one is camera-shy.
Feel free to share photos of your morning in the Comments section, or tell me why you love the morning!


text:
Exclusively hand-forged tableware in the finest silver, by Jerosinski and Vaugoin.
At Jerosinski & Vaugoin, we believe in perfection. Each of our unique handmade products, highlight the best moments of your life, around your festively decorated tables and homes. Our silversmith history and reputation for using finest silver, dates all the way back to year 1847 and our designs encompass the uniqueness of each era. Our expertise in special cutlery, kitchenware, different tableware and an entire range of other silverware, makes our collection unique. Check out our range of wine accessories like bottle stands, champaigne coolers, tasting dishes, corks and more. Our promise is, you will love our finest silverware to go with the best wines of your collection!
Silver could tarnish if not used, we recommend Hagerty silver cleaning products.
925 Sterling Silver
Jarosinski & Vaugoin


text:
© 2011 Bear McCreary. For promotional purposes only. Images and audio are copyright of their respective copyright owners.
The select protégé of film music legend Elmer Bernstein
Emmy Award Winner 2013
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
"Da Vinci's Demons"
One of the "Ten Best Science Fiction Composers" of all time (Io9.com)
Emmy Award Nominee for
"Human Target," "Black Sails" & "Outlander
One of the "Secret Weapons" of the television industry (WIRED)
ASCAP Composers' Choice Award
TV Composer of the Year, 2013 & 2016
Composed official fanfare for final NASA shuttle launch, July 2011
"The movie's finest feature may be Bear McCreary's playfully malicious score" (TIME Magazine)
"…a fantastic wordless opening set to Bear McCreary's roiling, glorious score" (USA Today)
One of "Fifteen Composers Primed to Take Their Place on the A-list" (Hollywood Reporter)
"A sci-fi score like no other." (NPR All Things Considered)
"Bear McCreary is awesome." (Los Angeles Times)
"Seemingly innocuous events are immediately ominous when Bear McCreary's sensationally skin-crawling notes begin plucking at nerves." (Examiner)
One of the "Top 10 Most Influential Scores of the Past Decade." (Scorecast)
"Dark Void" One of the "10 Finest Soundtracks in Videogaming" (Den of Geek)
A skilled pianist and accordionist.
Also plays hurdy gurdy.
"McCreary's shows became a buzz-generating showcase." (Billboard Magazine)
"A true composer rock-star, in addition to top-notch talent," (International Musician cover story)
Toured with Johnny "Vatos" Tribute to Halloween (2005-2009), with members of famed band Oingo Boingo
Remember Me
Lost your password?
Username or E-mail:
Log in


text:
Matthew G. Bisanz [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, GPL, LGPL or FAL], via Wikimedia Commons
According to the Mayan calendar as some believe, December 21, 2012 will mark the end of the world. Interestingly, this is merely a misinterpretation of the cycle in this ancient calendar. December 21st of this year will simply mark a turnover to the next cycle.
Still, the topic of the Mayan civilization and even the year 2012 bring up some interesting ideas for research. This week's list of links will help fill you in on these topics and possibly inspire some learning in your classroom:
Mayan Civilization & Calendar:
- Wikipedia article: "Maya Calendar"
- History.com provides several good resources on Mayan civilization.
- Mexconnect's resource page dedicated to the Mayans
- eThemes resources for the Maya
- Explore various ancient calendars via WebExhibits.
Will the world end in 2012?
- A report on December 21, 2012 on Good Morning America
- An interesting story on rethinking calendars
- What about solar storms in 2012?
- What does NASA have to say about the end of the earth? Go here to find out.
- Finally, what would a list of links be without an appropriate infographic?
What ideas do you have for discussing the Mayan calendar and/or predictions for 2012? How might some of these resources be the impetus for a unit or WebQuest? What are some other resources on the Mayans people, calendar, or doomsday prophecies that we may have missed?
Zac Early is an instructional specialist and blogger with the eMINTS National Center and he's pretty confident he'll see you all after December 21, 2012.


text:
The Rise of the Ethical Hacktivist
Feb 25, 2014 4:00 PM PT
When Saul Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals more than four decades ago, the world was a very different place than it is today.
Protests and demonstrations were among the most common tactics for bringing about social change, and they were used on such a broad scale that they helped define the Vietnam War era and counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Today there's a new tool available to those who want to change the world, however, and it's already brought about results that are at least as dramatic. It's called "hacking," and it's as controversial as its variations are diverse.
"Try to imagine the organization of an event 20 years ago, and compare it with what is happening today," cybersecurity expert, cybercrime analyst and author Pierluigi Paganini told LinuxInsider. "Just one tweet, a picture, can blow the wind into a revolution."
What's 'Ethical'?
"Hacking," of course, is a term that has long been fraught with ethical connotations. Often considered synonymous with computerized crime, the term has more recently been broadened to include concepts as far afield as product hacking -- essentially, product improvement -- and even "life hacking" for better personal productivity and efficiency.
Where things get really interesting, however -- as the efforts of Anonymous have illustrated particularly well -- is in the distinct and yet related notions of "hacktivism" and "ethical hacking."
In general usage, the term "ethical hacking" typically is used to mean penetration testing for security-improvement purposes, while "hacktivism" means using computers to bring about political or social change. However, the line separating the two isn't always entirely clear.
"There are many aspects of this concept," Rick Falkvinge, founder of the first Pirate Party, Sweden's Piratpartiet SE, told LinuxInsider.
"First, what is considered ethical can have many layers: Is the penetration testing made within the organization in order to promote better security practices, or is it penetration of a corrupt organization to expose corruption? Both could easily be described as 'ethical,'" Falkvinge pointed out.
'We Cannot Ignore Their Voices'
"Since the war in Iraq, hacktivism has been on the rise," Terry Cutler, a Certified Ethical Hacker and cofounder and chief technology officer of Digital Locksmiths, told LinuxInsider.
From the uprising in Iran to the "Occupy" movement, "tools like Twitter and Facebook were the only way to engage and get their stories out, especially since local media was being blocked," Cutler explained. "The tools and technology allow these attacks to happen much quicker than before."
Hacktivism is "the expression of social dissent through hacking," and it's growing rapidly, agreed Paganini.
"Media mainly know the name of the collective Anonymous, but behind those masks there are many people, many cultures and countries that daily face different problems," he explained.
"The common intent is the fight for liberty of expression and free Internet access, but recent revelations have revealed that intelligence agencies monitor everything," Paganini noted.
"I believe that the hacktivists in the future will pass from the keyboards to the streets," he added. "We cannot ignore their voices."
Aaron Swartz's Legacy
Much of the growth in hacktivism is due to the rise in public awareness of Aaron Swartz over the last year, Yan Zhu, staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told LinuxInsider.
"Aaron spent a lot of his time hacking on projects for social and political change," Zhu explained, citing the SecureDrop and RECAP projects as examples.
"He embodied the term 'hacktivist.' I think his death inspired many people in the free software and activism communities to put more energy into doing likewise," she said.
Aaron Swartz memorial hackathons have been organized in more than 20 countries around the world to finish some of the work that Swartz started, noted Zhu, who is also creator of the Worldwide Aaron Swartz Memorial Hackathon Series.
In fact, hackathons are increasingly the means through which hacktivist efforts are organized, said Richard Kastelein, entrepreneur, strategist, writer and founder of The Hackfest.
'It's the First Step'
"It's getting more and more common," Kastelein explained. In addition to a health hackfest being organized by Six Degrees in Brussels in June, Kastelein is working with a UK group to tackle the aging crisis later this year, as well as contributing to a separate effort to help drive innovation and educate developing countries in the Caribbean, he told LinuxInsider.
"There are more and more emerging hackathons around environment, health, LGBT issues and much more," Kastelein said. "We are finding more and more large brands and corporations want to get involved as sponsors via their CSR departments, and there's simply more and more companies in sectors such as health that have APIs and even SDKs that are trying to build their own developer communities."
A key benefit of "'ethical' hackathons," he pointed out, is that they are "part of the process -- a larger process -- of driving innovation forward that is essential because it takes people from across the spectrum, pushes them together, and in a short time, they are forced to work together in a gamified, competitive atmosphere to build something that can effect change.
"It's the first step," said Kastelein. "Ideally, the next step for the great ideas would be bootcamp, incubator, angel investment, VC, etc., or just a lean startup."
'Almost Tragic in Some Cases'
Perhaps the biggest downside of hackathons and coordinated hacking efforts is the possibility of losing momentum after the event is over.
"I'm afraid that the short duration of these events encourages people to work on small, fragmented projects that are not necessarily well thought-out," Zhu said. "It would be great to see more hackathons that bring people together to work on larger, long-term projects, perhaps at regular intervals over the course of a year or so."
Indeed, "seeing great ideas end after a short-term event is almost tragic in some cases," Kastelein agreed. "Ideally, we would like to be the initial stage of an ecosystem that further fosters and nurtures those great ideas and moves them into real working products and services."
On the other hand, "at least the results are made public," he noted. "We are considering adding in an element that if great ideas fall to the wayside, that we work with the groups in putting their code and concept into open source or Creative Commons mode to allow others to pick up where they left off."
Currently, all intellectual property is owned by the groups involved according to public hackathon rules and principles globally, Kastelein pointed out.
Analog Equivalents
There seems little doubt that hacktivism is here to stay; still remaining to be sorted out, however, are the legal issues.
Such questions become more clear when you compare digital hacktivism with its equivalents from the analog world, said Piratpartiet's Falkvinge.
"I would describe the break-in to the FBI of March 8, 1971, that exposed COINTELPRO and numerous other anti-activist methods in light of the Vietnam war as a typical example of pre-Internet ethical hacking," he suggested.
"Today, the equivalent would be to -- illegally -- break into a corrupt organization's servers and copy similarly incriminating documents," Falkvinge explained. "While today's powerholders decry such acts, there is little doubt that the break-in of 1971 has been more than justified by the history books, and it certainly caused social change."
Criminals or Heroes?
The main problem with hacktivism, then, "remains with the legislators and officials who fail to see things in analog-equivalent terms," Falkvinge said. "If getting documents to a reporter was OK in the pre-Internet age as part of our checks and balances on power, then it has to be OK in the digital age, too."
Yet "many powerholders freak out at the slightest occurrence of pentesting, even going as far as to punish students who point out security problems in their schools' IT systems," he noted. "That's not proportional, and that's causing a growing divide of resentment between the offline-borns and the Net generation."
Looking ahead, "I'd pay attention to this growing divide of resentment and its large-scale social effects," Falkvinge concluded. "It may manifest itself as a new political power in some countries, as is happening with the nascent Pirate Party movement, or it may manifest itself as an underground culture of people that has different names depending on whom you ask: 'criminals,' if you ask the powerholders whose crimes are getting exposed, or 'hero journalists' if you ask the average people who are getting news they wouldn't otherwise."
Either way, the trend promises to continue.
"We can arrest hackers and hacktivists that violate our networks and that disclose our data," Paganini said, "but we cannot stop an ideology."


text:
Wonderful especially as a fall or winter salad.
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 45 mins
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place sweet potato and beets in baking dish, drizzle over the butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.
Combine yogurt, orange juice, orange peel, and garlic.
Arrange the spinach, beans, roasted potatoes, and roasted beets on serving plates. Drizzle over the dressing and sprinkle with pistachio nuts and black pepper.


text:
Concerns about insurance fraud and other unpleasantries are inducing many Russian drivers to mount video cameras on their dashes. In their efforts to protect themselves from exploitation, they've also racked up an incredible archive of near-misses and utter insanity. What's the best Russian dashcam video?
We'll start with a classic example of the kind of thing that we always wants to get on tape, just to show everyone and watch that "oooooh! that was close!" reaction: driving at a good speed on an icy road, slowing down, "hmmm, what's up ahead OH GOD WATCH OUT whoa, phew! Is the mirror still there?" It'll spike your system quicker than espresso.
(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of the Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)


text:
No one expects computer hardware companies to once again make mice as boxy as in the early days of personal computing, but is it possible for some to take design innovation too far? The awkwardly designed new wireless Logitech Performance Mouse MX ($99.99 direct) uses Logitech's Darkfield tracking technology to guarantee a smoothly moving pointer on any surface—even glass or highly reflective desks. And when it comes to basic functionality, the Performance Mouse MX lives up to expectations. But not all of its innovations are that successful—or desirable—for those who want an easy-to-point and easy-to-click mousing experience.
For starters, I found the button within the alcove in which my thumb is supposed to rest more a hindrance than a help. As the front of the mouse angles sharply to the left (thus ensuring that no non-righties need look twice at it), there's no alternative way to position your hand on it. Apply pressure in the wrong place or lift the mouse without thinking and you may accidentally click to open Logitech's Apple-like window-switcher app. In fairness, the function of this button, and the others on the mouse, can be changed using the included Logitech SetPoint software (though the customization options are less plentiful than you get with Microsoft's Intellipoint). Then again, the switcher is potentially handy and shouldn't be nearly so easy to unintentionally activate.
Slightly different trouble arises with the three other thumb buttons for forward, back, and zoom (for photos, used in conjunction with the scroll wheel). They're placed just out of reach of the thumb (or at least my thumb), which makes pushing them less than optimally comfortable. Button placement is, admittedly, a tricky science, but it's one Microsoft has mastered with, for instance, last year's Bluetrack-based Explorer, which requires fewer hand contortions to reach all the controls. (The forward, back, and task-switching buttons are more sensibly located even on this mouse's portable sibling, the Anywhere MX, which is also friendlier to the left-handed.)
The other controls essentially work as intended, though the scroll wheel's horizontal motion feels rather soft and unresponsive; thankfully, it's not as excessively clicky as with Microsoft's recent mice, but a middle ground would be ideal. A centrally placed button that adjusts the wheel's scrolling sensitivity can be useful if you prefer to scroll through documents quickly, but it may take you a while to get used to the difference between the modes. (The switching button itself barely feels like it does anything, but once you've pressed it, you'll note that the wheel no longer makes "clicking" sounds when used, and thus moves you around much faster.)
Otherwise, the Performance Mouse MX offers solid usability, moving with equal facility across surfaces as diverse as wood, metal, plastic, carpet, and the promised glass (something Bluetrack mice still have issues with). The 2.4-GHz USB wireless receiver is tiny (not even 0.75 inches in length), so be careful not to lose it, and it can also simultaneously drive a Logitech keyboard. (An extender cable is included in case you don't want to plug the receiver directly into a USB port, or your desk setup would make that difficult.) During my weeklong testing period, I didn't run out of juice on the included NiMH battery, but the mouse is easy to charge using the provided micro USB cable—one end of which plugs into the mouse, the other into either the included wall jack or a USB port on your PC. A stylish black carrying case simplifies carting everything around.
The attractive case definitely makes toting the Logitech Performance Mouse MX convenient whether you're headed to work, home, or somewhere in between. No matter where you are, the Darkfield technology lets the mouse work on most any surface. Whether you'll find the rest of the mouse as user-friendly depends on your tolerance for unusual design—if you're much of a traditionalist, this mouse could easily push too many of your buttons.


text:
Since we opened in 1984, more than two million schoolchildren and teachers have come through our doors — for free. We offer in-depth programs for students and teachers that reach thousands more.
Field Trip Reservations
Planning Your Trip
Chaperone Information
Home School Program
Ocean Explorer Guides
Self-Guided Exploration Guides
Sea Searchers Handbook
Games & Activities


text:
No Carve, No Problem
No Carve? No Problem!
Jack-o'-lanterns have long reigned supreme when it comes to Halloween decorating. But you don't have to wield a sharp knife to make your fall pumpkin festive. Try any of these no-carve methods and enjoy the spooky-fun results!
- Emojis are everywhere these days, so why not put one on your front step come Halloween? The pumpkin's round shape makes it a perfect canvas for emoji inspiration. Place your pumpkin on newspaper, then spray-paint to a solid shade of bright yellow. When the paint is dry, use black and red permanent markers to personalize your emojis with smiles, winks and the like.
- Because Halloween hours extend past sunset, glow sticks and glow jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and crowns are smart purchases. Get your no-carve jack-o'-lantern in on the action by spray-painting it any glow-in-the-dark shade, then using permanent markers to draw funny or scary faces or designs.
- Pumpkins can also go glam when "bedazzled." Buy larger plastic jewels and sequins at craft stores and use a good glue to prettify your pumpkin. Ribbons and bows make great additions.
- Chalkboard spray paint is another creative tool for making your Halloween pumpkin one-of-a-kind. Spray paint the entire pumpkin over a large sheet of newspaper and when dry, decorate with chalk. The sky's the limit for what you write and draw on your pumpkin canvas. And because the chalk drawings are erasable, you can switch things up as often as you'd like!


text:
Taipei, April 19, 2010 — MSI's rise in the motherboard market had its origin in the design of the first global overclocked motherboard some 20 years ago. These two decades have shown endless innovation in R&D development, perfectionist pursuit of quality and an explosion of new functions to satisfy the general public and advanced players alike. MSI's products are so cutting edge that every new motherboard release from MSI creates a stir in the market and redefines its market segment.
MSI's R&D team is the vanguard of technology development and has launched many innovative products over the years. One example of such traffic stopper product is the MSI Big Bang-Fuzion motherboard released in January 2010. It used Hydra Engine technology and still it's unique and is the first motherboard in the world to allow "mixing" 3D video cards from different vendors or different models. It gives the consumers the flexibility to use video cards from different suppliers on a single motherboard like on the MSI Big Bang -Fuzion. Furthermore, MSI's proprietary technologies such as ultra performance energy efficient "DrMOS", overclocking technology "OC Genie", "SuperPipe" cooling design, top of the range "Quantum Wave & THX sound card interface" and the only "hardware based" Active Phase Switching" energy saving technology are all market driven technologies from MSI. All of these technical advantages and unique features present MSI's strong force and push this company to take the lead on motherboard innovations, bringing more value on user experience time and time.
In the pursuit of quality, MSI goes all out to improve power design, better cooling with heatpipes, and material quality to create the ultimate durable overclocking motherboard. MSI, as one of the first-tier branded motherboard manufacturer, its motherboards are regular record breakers in the international overclocking championships and their durability is highly recognized. In 2009 MSI's Eclipse SLI motherboard matched with MSI N275GTX Lightning video card, was chosen by MOA overclocking championship as the official platform. Out of the 20 participating Overclocking teams, eight teams broke the world record for 3DMark Vantage test software; The MSI P55 series motherboard broke 21 overclocking world records since it launched in 2009. The highly acclaimed MSI P55 GD-80 won numerous awards on the HWBOT website and broke 19 world records so far. This level of performance is unmatched by its peers. In addition, Tom's Hardware Worldwide Overclocking Championship has chosen MSI's Eclipse (X58) & MSI P45 Platinum DDR3 motherboard as the official overclocking platform in 2008.
Furthermore, MSI was the winner in the motherboard category at 2009 Taiwan Excellence Awards. MSI P45 Diamond, the world's first motherboard using Gen II server level component " MSI DrMOS" was awarded "Best Choice of COMPUTEX" in 2009. This motherboard has won the award three years running.
MSI's focus on R&D force and pursuit for quality, set the bench mark for the industry. Every motherboard from MSI is backed by MSI's reputation for quality. Positive international press reviews, awards and consumer recommendations are the confirmation of first-tier branded motherboards in the field.


text:
Xfinity Mobile in Emporia, Virginia
Deals on Xfinity Mobile service from Comcast
A different kind of wireless network designed to save you money.
THE XFINITY MOBILE PLAN:Unlimited nationwide talk and text. Access to the most WiFi hotpots nationwide.Shop Now
Fast Internet. Customizable data.
Get Internet for as low as $29.99/mo. Then add Mobile that works for everyone. Change how much shared data you have or switch a line to Unlimited anytime.
By the Gig — Starting at $12/GB
Only pay for the shared data you use each month. Save when you start with 3 or 10 GB. Flexible shared data options let you pay less as a group.
Unlimited — $45/line a month
Get all the data you need every month for one price per line. Mix shared and unlimited data options to create the ideal plan for everyone.
Reduced speeds after 20 GB of usage per line. In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
Mobile Phone service from Comcast near me in Emporia, Virginia.
Emporia, Virginia mobile phone fanatics: get Xfinity Mobile service today!
Good news, Emporia! Mobile service from Xfinity is a new kind of network designed to save you money.
Emporia, Virginia residents can get up to five lines of unlimited talk and text included with your Xfinity Internet at no extra cost, so all you pay for is data.
Emporia Mobile phone users can enjoy America's largest and most reliable LTE network combined with the most WiFi hotspots nationwide.
The latest devices on a new kind of network
Got Xfinity Internet? Go Mobile and choose from the latest devices. This year, you'll save data and money with Xfinity WiFi and LTE.


text:
Image Number: 0519-0908-3119-5100
President Barack Obama speaks with Prince Charles following the President's speech at the memorial service at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings, June 6, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza.
This free, public domain photograph may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement of the President of the United States, the First Family, the White House or any persons appearing in the photos. Stock photography by White House Public Domain.
Copyright: United States Government Works
* This is a public domain image
Free prince charles image - 300x200 pixels
Free prince charles image - 640x427 pixels
Free prince charles image - 3500x2333 - No Linking!
Keywords: art print, art prints, clipart, clip art, graphic, graphics, image, images, picture, pictures, photo, photos, photograph, photographs, poster, posters, stock photo, stock photos, stock photography, web graphic, web graphics , 44th american president, 44th president, african american, african american man, african american president, america, american, american president, american president with prince charles, american presidents, barack obama, colleville sur mer, democrat, executive branch, executive branch of government, france, government, government leaders, man, normandy american cemetery, obama, people, person, pete souza, political, politics, president, president barack obama, president barack obama talking with prince charles at the normandy cemetery, president obama, president of the united states, prince charles, prince of england, public domain, the white house, united states government, us government, us president, white house, white house public domain
search tips
Artist Login


text:
Bushmaster: Be a Man
Posted by Rosepixie on January 12, 2010
I found this ad for Bushmaster Firearms in a men's magazine.
So, to be a man, you must have one of these guns. And since you (presumably) don't have one now, your "man card" has been revoked until you get one.
This appears to be a particularly stupid example of the "invent a problem and then sell people the solution they don't really need" school of advertising. This one is especially insidious considering all the panic being stirred up right now about "traditional masculinity" being in jeopardy in politics, religion and a surprising number of social spaces.
I don't have much else to say about this ad. Does anyone else have any particular thoughts on it?


text:
Hire, Manage and Motivate Millennials
Achieve a better understanding of the next generation
Hire, manage, and motivate in today's millennial marketplace
The Next Generation
Mike Montague, VP of Sandler Online Learning and Development and Sandler Trainer L'areal Lipkins discussed ways to tie your millennial workers' goals to your company's mission and maximize results.
Designed for Managers & Executives
Most leaders can relate to these statements:
Are looking to dramatically improve their processes for hiring and recruiting younger sales talent.
Have had enough of lackluster, under-motivated teams and too much turnover.
Want to better understand and communicate with other generation.
Learn from the experts and gain access to the information you need to create a sales process that will motivate, coach and develop Millennials.
Continue to compete in today's millennial marketplace
L'areal and Mike discussed how to:
Improve your younger talent recruiting strategy and retain their long-term professional loyalty.
Collaborate and communicate with a millennial workforce in order to reach your goals.
Coach, excite, and activate your millennial teams in a language that they will understand.
Sandler Trainer
L'Areal Lipkins
L'areal Lipkins is a Millennial and a certified Sandler trainer in Dallas, TX, where she specializes in helping companies recruit top Millennial sales talent as well as create processes and strategies that motivate and retain them in the business.
VP of Sandler Online Learning & Development
Mike Montague
Mike Montague shares his knowledge and expertise by way of social media and other avenues with quality content and resources designed for sales professionals and managers all over the globe. He is also an accomplished writer, contributing to the Sandler book, LinkedIn The Sandler Way, business magazines, and the Sandler Blog.


text:
Lawmakers: Boost home-heating efficiency
BRATTLEBORO -- On a chilly February morning in Brattleboro, local lawmakers were thinking about home heating.
Specifically, several officials who attended a legislative breakfast on Monday spoke about the need to weatherize tens of thousands of Vermont homes in order to save money and curb carbon-dioxide emissions.
State Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Townshend, believes such an effort is far more valuable to the environment than building wind turbines.
"The best form of renewable energy is the energy you don't use - conservation," Galbraith said.
A recent report from a state Thermal Efficiency Task Force makes the case for a significant push to weatherize homes and businesses. By doing so, a report summary says, "Vermonters will be less vulnerable to volatility in the fuel market and to effects from dramatic weather fluctuations, and more money will stay within the Vermont economy."
Legislators had set a goal of improving energy efficiency in 80,000 homes by 2020.
But state Rep. Mike Hebert noted on Monday that "we're not anywhere near meeting that goal."
The efficiency task force lobbies for tens of millions in state investment annually to meet efficiency goals. That investment, officials said, will pay off.
"Each new public dollar invested would secure $6.18 in direct fuel-price benefits over the life of the measures installed," the task force report says. "Overall, gross state product, including direct and other interactive effects of the recommended new spending and savings on the total economy, increases $1.47 for every $1 invested."
The question, though, is where that state money will come from. Hebert, a Republican who serves Vernon and Guilford, said he does not support a proposal to impose an excise tax on homeheating fuel. Gov. Peter Shumlin has proposed taxing "break-open tickets" - a form of gambling - to generate money for clean-energy development, thermal-efficiency improvements and a state contribution to a heating fund for low-income residents.
Shumlin envisions raising $17 million from that ticket tax, and he said in his budget address that $6 million could be applied toward weatherization.
But Galbraith is not buying the governor's revenue projections.
"I think that's very unrealistic," he said. "I think we're going to have to find a more realistic source of revenue."
Galbraith said many homeowners are unwilling to reach into their own pockets for weatherization. That may be because they simply don't have the money, or they may wonder whether they'll own a home long enough for such a project to pay for itself through energy savings.
One way to get around those problems, Galbraith said, is a revolving loan fund.
For instance, homeowners could take out a weatherization loan that then attaches to their property tax. If the home is sold, the purchaser would be responsible for the balance of the loan.
Adding loan payments to a property owner's utility bills is another possible approach, Galbraith said.
Of course, he noted that still leads to an important question at the state level: "How do we raise the money for the revolving loan fund?"
Lawmakers discussed a variety of other topics at Monday's breakfast, including: - State Rep. Mollie Burke, a Brattleboro Progressive Democrat who serves on the House Transportation Committee, said legislators are working on solutions to projected shortfalls in transportation funding.
That could include tweaks to the state gas-tax formula, which would lead to paying more at the pump.
Burke also said boosting the state's transportation funding is critical because that leverages significant federal cash.
"We do not want to leave federal money in Washington while our roads and bridges need attention," Burke said. - Hebert, who serves on the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, said legislators are undertaking a comprehensive review of Act 200 and Act 250, Vermont's land-use regulations.
"It seems we're opening a can of worms," Hebert said. "I'm hearing from everyone who's ever had an issue with Act 250."
-- State Rep. Tristan Toleno, a Brattleboro Democrat serving on the Agriculture Committee, said there have been applications for more than $10 million in funding from the state's new Working Lands Enterprise Initiative.
That's 10 times the cash available under that program this year.
While noting that board members face a tough decision in deciding which of those projects are worthy, Toleno saw a positive in the program's immediate popularity.
"It shows the richness that's happening in that sector," Toleno said.
-- State Sen. Jeanette White, a Putney Democrat, said she expects the Legislature to tackle campaign-finance reform this year.
White also said her Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony this week on a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients who ask for it.
The bill passed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee last week.
White noted the various labels attached to the bill by supporters and opponents.
"I'm not calling it 'death with dignity' or 'assisted suicide,'" she said. "I'm calling it, 'patient choice.'" - Galbraith said Vermonters must "play to our strengths" - including a clean environment and low crime - in order to attract more people and jobs.
But he also said the state desperately needs better high-speed Internet coverage.
"I know from talking to Realtors that houses without broadband sell for 20-percent less than houses with it," Galbraith said.
Shumlin has pledged that all Vermont homes will have broadband access by the end of this year. The state also has pushed for better cell-phone coverage.
Noting an earlier reference to a bill that would prohibit talking on cell phones while driving, Galbraith offered this take: "We should have the cell-phone coverage before we ban it."
Mike Faher can be reached at email@example.com or 802-2542311, ext. 275.
Mike Faher can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 802-2542311, ext. 275.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.