text:
This month's Charcutepalooza Challenge is stretching. That means we are taking a duck or chicken and making it feed as many people as we can, using all the bits and scraps, letting nothing go to waste.
I made a Chicken Gallantine - a precious rolled-meat concoction that requires you to flay the skin off the chicken - Spanish inquisition style - in one single piece, debone the whole chicken, make pate out of the forcemeat, fold the forcemeat over the partially-grilled breasts so they are a snug surprise in the middle of the roll, and force all of it back inside the skin - that you just took off the chicken - and poach it in broth.
It sounds epic, like a kid who takes a radio apart and then reassembles it in a totally different way, and it's a little like that. Making a Gallantine is part mischievous kid and part mad-scientist-with-a-boning-knife, but the exercise helps you really get to know the chicken. It forces you to see and feel everything. And it does take a smallish chicken that might feed four people and turns it into a lovely, flavorful dish that feeds eight easily.
Also, this was much easier than any of our casing challenges. Once you've stuffed your own sausages, made your own hot dogs, the Gallantine is child's play. Cathy got us in tip-top shape over the summer.
I used Ruhlman's recipe out of Charcuterie. I did a few things differently - I added sauteed spinach to boost the flavor, used more chicken liver, added some extra chicken fat I had in the freezer instead of the pork fat, and poached it in broth made from a smoked chicken - thanks Peter! - to give it a little kick. You can really play with this dish.
Here's one of the side dishes that worked well with the Gallantine. It is, I think, the very last hurrah of summer: Yellow Beans Braised in Cream & Thyme. It's rich and fatty along-side the dainty, elegant slices of Gallantine. Serve it with roasted root vegetables and a salad, and the meal blends together all the best of late summer and early Fall.
Yellow Beans Braised in Cream & Thyme
This recipe was one my mother made for me as a child when dad's garden beans came in. Actually she made the dish much differently, but this is how I eat it now. It is a marriage of an old food memory made better by reading Jennifer Perillo's Milk-Braised Zucchini recipe, something she made after we ate (and swooned over) the same dish at Prune. I used her technique for coating the beans in a roux, something my mother wouldn't have done, but makes a simple dish all the more decadent. That and the copious amounts of cream and butter - that was my touch.
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon or so flour
1 lb. yellow beans, trimmed and cut into spoon size lengths
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt 1/2 the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir into the butter. Let it cook for about a minute. Add the beans, making sure they are well-coated by the four/butter mixture. Stir in the cream, milk, the remaining knob of butter, thyme, and salt and pepper. Turn heat to a simmer and let braise for 10-12 minutes. The cream will occasionally froth up, just give it a stir or bring your temperature down a little. Just make sure you don't over-cook your beans or they'll get soggy. You want them to have just a little bite.
Serve in a bowl with flecks of thyme.
Here are the best posts from September's Packing Challenge:
1. Foodie Lawyer
Pate de Campagne
2. Cookbook Archaeology
Pork & Prahok Terrine - Cambodian style
3.Lighter & Local
English Pork Pie
4. Butchers Apprentice
Gala Pie
5. Good for the Palate
Vietnamese Spiced Paté and Banh Mi
6. Naomaly
A very piggy birthday & Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Pork Pie
7. Do Love Walk
Pate & Fried Oysters
8. Bite Me New England
Pate en Croute (Duck Breast and Pork) - hilarious, beautiful & Goober makes an appearance
9. Saint Tigerlily
The Titus Andronicus Meat Pie
10. Biscuits of Today
Rustic Chicken Liver Mousse with Pistachios
And the best photos:
1. Tasting Notes from the Edge
2. Eat Drink RI
3. Leave Me The Oink
4. Nic Cooks
5. Dabblings & Whimsey


text:
Dear Network Executives and Editors:
As Scott Pelley replaces Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News and Glenn Beck prepares to leave Fox News Channel, a question looms. Where is the diversity?
People of color comprise more than a third of the U.S. population. The 2010 Census shows the minority population is growing from coast to coast, and the majority of children in the U.S. will be minorities by 2050. So, there's a strong case to be made that news media is running in the wrong direction of its audience.
The Big 3 networks and cable news channels have undergone a series of rare changes behind the desk. While the replacements are all seasoned journalists, what is glaringly missing in the flurry of changes is the failure to elevate African Americans to any of these positions.
The National Association of Black Journalists finds this troubling – particularly since there are dynamic African Americans poised to ascend to these coveted positions. For nearly four decades, NABJ has worked tirelessly as advocates for diversity, calling out those guilty of maintaining the "status quo."
As America inches toward a world that is more black and brown, corporations are adjusting their cultures to embrace diversity because they know it makes good business sense. But too many network executives are ignoring this reality.
Russ Mitchell of CBS News, Lester Holt of NBC News, and CNN's T. J. Holmes are weekend warriors who possess charisma, journalistic heft, and the handsome qualities to front a prime-time show. Mitchell's poise and professional bearing as he commandeered the historic announcement of Osama bin Laden's death surely put to rest any doubt about his prime-time readiness. Holt has been the go-to guy as a substitute for vacationing "stars," but his primary shift is the weekend.
While we are encouraged by Ann Curry's promotion as co-anchor of the Today Show and Natalie Morales' selection as the news reader, NABJ still has serious concerns about a lack of diversity during prime time. Robin Roberts is a veteran on Good Morning America. MSNBC's Tamron Hall and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux have their own slots, but not in prime time.
On the print side, NABJ applauded The New York Times for its recent decision to promote an African American, Dean Baquet, to managing editor of news. Unfortunately, black editors are becoming an "endangered species" in the midst of layoffs. For example, daily newspapers in Houston and Savannah have staffs that are disproportionately white. Yet, the communities they serve are overwhelmingly of color. The Houston Chronicle does not have a single black metro editor deciding what gets covered on a daily basis.
The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) reports that the percentage of African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American journalists continues to decline in U.S. newsrooms for the third consecutive year. Astoundingly, there were "929 fewer black journalists in the 2010 survey than were recorded in 2001," a drop of 31.5 percent.
This horrifying report strongly suggests that the perspective and unique insight that black journalists, in particular, and minority journalists, in general, bring to their newsrooms and communities are being marginalized and devalued – and, by default, so is the paying readership.
While the recession and digital revolution can be attributed to some of the dip, NABJ believes that the downsizing decisions should be proportionate to the populations served by each newspaper.
As you buck the trend, newspaper bundles get thinner; the network viewership tics downward; advertisers abandon you, and readers increasingly turn to other outlets, online destinations and bloggers for news and information.
Because some news organizations don't "get it," NABJ will continue to push for diversity and accountability. Failing to respond to your entire audience will be at your own peril and will most certainly threaten your ultimate survival.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Faroe Islands Animal Rescue
|Animal Rescue Groups
|New Location ▼
|Select Breed ▼
|Find a Home for an Animal ▼
|Rescue Alerts ▼
|Donate to Animal Rescue as a gift or memorial, and we will mail a free acknowledgement card within 24 hours.
1,239,554 animals have been adopted on Rescue Me! ☛ Email Me New Animal Postings in Faroe Islands.
|Faroe Islands Fact Sheet
|Faroe Islands is Iocated in Europe.
|Help Spread the Word! Please link to Faroe Islands Animal Rescue from your website.
Rescue Me! Website
Follow @RescueMeOrg


text:
Recommended Products
Guests who bought this also bought
CH23e Easy Knit Baby Blankets - Collection I - PDF
Fiber Trends Pattern CH23- PDF
Design by Bev Galeskas
Three styles, all in worsted weight yarn for fast and easy knitting.
Ruffled Ridges: (in pink) 36" x 40" (91 x 102 cm)
Two-Color Thermal Knit: (in cream and yellow) 36" x 36" (91 x 91 cm)
Diamonds: (in blue) 35" x 40" (89 x 102 cm).
Yarn Requirements: Worsted weight yarn.
Ruffled Ridges: 1250 yds (1143m)
2-Color Thermal Knit: 1000 yds (914m) main color & 400 yds (366m) contrast
Diamonds: 1250 yds (1143m)
Photographed models are made in Lamb's Pride Super Wash Worsted from Brown Sheep Co.
Needles: All styles, 29" (80cm) circular needles in US size 8 (5mm), or size needed to obtain the gauge.
Two color thermal knit blanket also requires a size 7 (4.5mm) circular needle for border.
Gauge: 18 sts = 4" (10cm) in stockinette stitch with larger needles.
Please note that this is a digital format pattern that will be available for download from your Shopatron account immediately after your payment has processed. If you are interested in purchasing a hard copy of this pattern that will be shipped to you please go to CH23 Easy Knit Baby Blankets Collection 1


text:
This crisp can be made with any frozen fruit. Blueberries are my favorite with pineapple licking its heels.
Also check out the single-serving variation!
Links from people who have made this dish:
Bean Quesadillas and the fruitiest Berry Birthday Crisp
Blueberry Heaven!
Cinnamon Rolls, Berry Crisp, Pizza and Spinach Chickpea Curry
Yummy Blueberry Crisp and Notes


text:
Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys). Saunders Island, Falkland Islands.
Magnificient Frigatebird
Magnificient Frigatebird
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-billed Tropicbird
White-Cheeked Pintail
White-Cheeked Pintail
Common Gallinule
Common Gallinule
These albatross need to run across the water for several meters before they have the necessary speed to become airborne. Black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys). Carcass Island area, Falkland Islands.
Great Egret Fishing
Great Egret Fishing. Ft. Myers, Florida, USA
Little Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron, Ft. Myers, Florida, USA
Great Blue Heron
All images Copyright © Nigel Roberts


text:
In preparation for Saturday's 12 hour race, featuring 58-year-old Hans-Joachim Stuck in the GT2 class in a Porsche, Audi has put their new cars on the track, decimating the opposing Peugeots.
The #2 Audi R15 of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello lapped the 3.7-mile track in 1:43.596, half a second quicker than their teammates Marco Werner, Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller in the #1 car, and a full 1.4 seconds clear of the Frenchies in their Peugeot 908's.
Allan McNish, who scored the first victory for the R15's predecessor—the R10, pictured above at last year's race—with teammates Kristensen and Capello at Sebring in 2006, had this to say about the new diesel racer:
The car feels more agile, it feels more reactive, especially at high speed and through Turn 1, which is a very bumpy corner, it's more stable than the R10 was. We're actually going through there a gear higher.
We've got a better response from the engine as well. I think the V10 being a bit shorter and lighter is allowing the chassis to be more agile in the other parts of the circuit.
Performance-wise, what we've seen to date is that we're a little bit ahead of Peugeot on short runs and also on long runs. Acura are very early in their running because they didn't run on Saturday, so I think we've got to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to see their full potential.
Poor Peugeot. They have been trying to beat Audi since 2007 to no avail. If the R15 wasn't such an absolute treat for the aluminum and carbon fiber heart, one would almost feel compelled to root for them.
Source: Autosport.com
Photo Credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images


text:
A few years back, I was on a road trip in the States with my friend Dan. We drove through Maryland and Virginia to the sites of American Civil War battles—Gettysburg, Antietam. I was reading Tom Standage's magnificent book The Victorian Internet at the time. When I was done with the book, I passed it on to Dan. He loved it. A few years later, he sent me a gift: a glass telegraph insulator.
Last week I received another gift from Dan: a telegraph key.
It's lovely. If my knowledge of basic electronics were better, I'd hook it up to an Arduino and tweet with it.
Dan came over to the UK for a visit last month. We had a lovely time wandering around Brighton and London together. At one point, we popped into the National Portrait Gallery. There was one painting he really wanted to see: the portrait of Samuel Pepys.
"Were you reading the online Pepys diary?", I asked.
"Oh, yes!", he said.
"I know the guy who did that!"
The "guy who did that" is, of course, the brilliant Phil Gyford.
Phil came down to Brighton and gave a Skillswap talk all about the ten-year long project.
Now Phil has restarted the diary. He wrote a really great piece about what it's like overhauling a site that has been online for a decade. Given that I spent a lot of my time last year overhauling The Session (which has been online in some form or another since the late nineties), I can relate to his perspective on trying to choose long-term technologies:
Looking ahead, how will I feel about this Django backend in ten years' time? I've no idea what the state of the platform will be in a decade.
I was thinking about switching The Session over to Django, but I decided against it in the end. I figured that the pain involved in trying to retrofit an existing site (as opposed to starting a brand new project) would be too much. So the site is still written in the very uncool LAMP stack: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.
Mind you, Marco Arment makes the point in his Webstock talk that there's a real value to using tried and tested "boring" technologies.
One area where I've found myself becoming increasingly wary over time is the use of third-party APIs. I say that with a heavy heart—back at dConstruct 2006 I was talking all about The Joy of API. But Yahoo, Google, Twitter …they've all deprecated or backtracked on their offerings to developers.
Anyway, this is something that has been on my mind a lot lately: evaluating technologies and services in terms of their long-term benefit instead of just their short-term hit. It's something that we need to think about more as developers, and it's certainly something that we need to think about more as users.
Compared with genuinely long-term projects like the 10,000 year Clock of the Long Now making something long-lasting on the web shouldn't be all that challenging. The real challenge is acknowledging that this is even an issue. As Phil puts it:
I don't know how much individuals and companies habitually think about this. Is it possible to plan for how your online service will work over the next ten years, never mind longer?
As my Long Bet illustrates, I can be somewhat pessimistic about the longevity of our web creations:
The original URL for this prediction (www.longbets.org/601) will no longer be available in eleven years.
But I really hope I lose that bet. Maybe I'll suggest to Matt (my challenger on the bet) that we meet up on February 22nd, 2022 at the Long Now Salon. It doesn't exist yet. But give it time.


text:
Dir: Jonathan Zarantonello. US-Italy. 2012. 87mins
This psycho-horror film is constructed around the magisterial presence of British-born actress Barbara Steele, who emerged as a major presence in horror in the early 1960s with roles for Mario Bava in Italy (La Maschera del demonio, aka Mask Of Satan, aka Black Sunday) and Roger Corman in Hollywood (Pit And The Pendulum), though she also appeared in Fellini's 8 1/2.
The Butterfly Room is about smothering motherhood and the instinct to control and preserve offspring.
Latterly active as a producer (the Winds Of War TV miniseries), Steel here has the sort of star turn venerable genre icons like Boris Karloff and Vincent Price often found in their golden years. Ann, the mad mother Steele plays, feels like the sort of ageing female maniac popular in the wake of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? and often found in the films of Curtis Harrington in the 1970s - and gives Steele more to chew on than her last psychopath casting, in the 1978 slasher film Silent Scream.
Set in Los Angeles, The Butterfly Room is about smothering motherhood and the instinct to control and preserve offspring. Ann, a stylish oldster, is estranged from her own daughter (Heather Langenkamp, erstwhile teen star of A Nightmare On Elm St), whom she rejected at menarche, and lives in a well-appointed apartment with her butterfly collection and a secret concealed behind the wall.
Ann takes an interest in Julie (Ellery Strayhorn), neglected daughter of an irresponsible neighbour (Erica Leehrsen, from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake). The little girl becomes intrigued by what goes on in the eponymous room, which is dimly-lit so as not to fade the butterflies' wings. In an overly complex structure, flashbacks detail Ann's previous interest in Alice (Julia Putnam), another precocious little daughter substitute.
The devious Alice who has worked out a scam for extorting money from a succession of older, maternal protectors in order to augment the income her one-legged mother (Elea Breitling) makes as a specialist call girl. Ann is willing to kill to conceal what happened to Alice - which is slightly too guessable - and racks up a body count in order to keep various people from interfering with her obsessions and to allow for regular dollops of inelegant gore.
Steele, still a formidable presence, isn't quite the whole show here – she has barbed encounters with other genre veterans in mostly sinister roles, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) as a builder, Camille Keaton (I Spit On Your Grave) and Adrienne King (Friday The 13th) as competing surrogate mothers, P.J. Soles (Halloween) as a bystander, even James Karen (Return Of The Living Dead) as a salesman and director Joe Dante as a cab driver.
This in-joke casting takes the film into areas of camp which undercut its horror element, though Langenkamp - little-seen since her interesting turn in Wes Craven's New Nightmare - is outstanding as the real daughter of the world's worst mother, desperate to keep Ann away from her own child. Perhaps the best work in the film comes from young Julia Putnam, in creepy yet perfect-seeming child mode, which slightly unbalances the grand guignol.
Alice - a mercenary schoolgirl who has seemingly invented a non-sexual form of prostitution by renting herself out as a living dress-up doll for middle-aged matrons - is a more unusual character than the fairly standard menace she is pitted against though the final revelation shows that she has not come off best in their confrontation.
Production companies: Achab Film, Wiseacre Films
International sales: Archstone, www.archstonedistribution.com
Producers: Enzo Porcello, Ethan Wiley
Screenplay: Paolo Guerrieri, Luigi Sardiello, Jonathan Zarantonello, from Zarantonello's novel Alice dalle 4 alle 5
Cinematography: Andrew Strahorn
Editors: Clelio Benvento, Charles Bornstein
Music: Pivio, Aldo de Scalzi
Website: www.Thebutterflyroom.com
Main cast: Barbara Steele, Ray Wise, Erice Leerhsen, Heather Langenkamp, Ellery Sprayberry, Julia Putnam, Elea Breitling


text:
Many homeowners believe the money they spend on home improvements will always make their property worth more. There are plenty of projects that will do exactly that, enhancing your enjoyment of your home and making it more valuable. However, there are renovations and remodels that can work against you when you're ready to sell and […]Read More
Putting your house on the market during the cold months may not be your first choice, and the prospect may give you a case of the winter blues. Perk up! Nearly a million homes were sold in December 2018 through February 2019. There are many good strategies for speeding winter homes sales, starting with this […]Read More


text:
Azerbaijani President Aliyev Named Corruption's 'Person Of The Year'
A Eurasianet partner post from RFE/RL
In 2012, corruption watchdog Transparency International reported that two-thirds of the world's countries may be considered "highly corrupt." It would seem tough to choose someone for the dubious honor of corruption's "person of the year."
One investigative-journalism NGO has done just that.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), based in Sarajevo and Bucharest, has awarded the crown to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The group, which specializes in reporting on corruption in the region stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia, also gave out some "honorable" mentions. They went to alleged Kosovo-born cigarette and drugs smuggler Naser Kelmendi, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Russian President Vladimir Putin, politically connected Serbian entrepreneur Miroslav Miskovic, longtime Uzbek President Islam Karimov, and wanted Serbian drugs smuggler Darko Saric.
The informal list was determined by representatives of the 15 international media organizations that make up the OCCRP. It is aimed at highlighting the intrepid and often courageous reporting that is needed to expose corruption in these notoriously opaque countries.
The OCCRP gave the nod to Aliyev, citing extensive reports and "well-documented evidence" that "the Aliyev family has been systematically grabbing shares of the most profitable businesses" in Azerbaijan for many years.
Secret Ownership Stakes
The reports include secret ownership stakes in banks, construction firms, gold mines, and telecommunications firms. Many of the reports about Aliyev were investigated by OCCRP affiliate Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service.
"President Aliyev and his family, in fact, along with other persons in his inner circle are involved in so many secret businesses that we uncovered, actually together with Radio Free Europe this year," says Paul Radu, OCCRP's executive director. "We identified hidden companies that were owned by the first family of Azerbaijan in Panama, for instance, or in the Czech Republic. And we identified assets that they owned back in Azerbaijan via these companies."
Radu is optimistic about the new tools that are making this kind of reporting more and more effective. One example he cites is that OCCRP has successfully partnered with a Scottish computer hacker.
"He works right now with us at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and he is the one who scraped [eds: got into] the Panamanian registry of companies and that allowed us to perform name-based searches," Radu says. "And this is how we found the companies that are owned by the daughters of Aliyev and by his wife in Panama."
However, Radu adds that the impact of such reporting in the case of the Aliyev family has not been what one might hope.
The ownership structures of the family's foreign assets have been changed; the Azerbaijani parliament in June passed a law making it more difficult to discover who actually owns commercial companies and shielding Aliyev and his family from prosecution.
A Terrifying Campaign Of Threats
Moreover, journalist Ismayilova was subjected to a terrifying campaign of threats and harassment that she alleges was orchestrated by Aliyev's political allies.
Nevertheless, OCCRP editor Drew Sullivan says that "2012 was a banner year for those of us who cover organized crime and corruption. It is a growth industry around the world."
According to Radu, the OCCRP is now combining numerous international databases and linking them to the organization's ongoing files of "persons of interest" -- future candidates to unseat Aliyev as "person of the year."
The OCCRP list is also intended to highlight the global impact of crime and corruption. Radu maintains that most of the people on the OCCRP list have dubious and opaque ties far beyond the borders of their country.
"There are persons such as Darko Sadic, for instance, who is a well-known drug trafficker," he says. "And these sorts of persons are not well-known outside of the Balkans, but in fact they are part of very, very large networks that stretch sometimes across continents. In this case, this person was involved in cocaine trafficking from Argentina all the way to the Balkans."
Radu adds that organized crime from the Balkans and the former Soviet Union is deeply involved in the savage drug wars in Mexico and in massive resource theft from impoverished countries in Africa. This makes it all the more important to expose these people and the corrupt schemes they exploit, he says.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.


text:
Derek Hough to tour all-new dance show
Following the sold-out successes of the Move Live on Tour and Move – Beyond – Live on Tour acclaimed shows, including multiple sellouts at large prestigious venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Derek Hough returns with a monumental experience for 2019 – Derek Hough: Live! The Tour. From his Emmy Award-winning mind comes this live dance show, which is the first-ever solo tour for the dynamo.
The show will feature brand-new stage production, astounding versatility and, as always, Hough's magnetic stage presence. Fans will journey through a true fusion of dance and music as Hough explores styles ranging from ballroom and tap to salsa and hop-hop — and everything in between.
Creative team and two-time Emmy Award winners Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo, also known as "NappyTabs" (Jennifer Lopez's All I Have Residency; Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour; Grammy's creative direction), will co-create, direct and supervise choreography for the tour.
Derek Hough: Live! The Tour kicks off Friday, April 5 in Charlotte, NC and continues through Atlanta, Boston, New York, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Memphis and more before concluding in Reading, PA on Saturday, June 15.
For tour dates and other up-to-date information, visit DerekHough.com.


text:
MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton showed how much more potent the Miami Marlins are when he is in the lineup.
Stanton hit his first homer since coming off the DL, a two-run drive with two outs in the eighth inning that lifted the Miami Marlins to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
With Juan Pierre on first following his one-out infield single on the eighth pitch, Stanton connected on a first-pitch slider from Jim Henderson (2-2). It was his fourth home run this year.
"It was all set up by J.P. with that great at-bat and giving the big boy a chance to get up there and make that great swing and win the game," manager Mike Redmond said.
Henderson struck out Ed Lucas for the second out before Stanton's drive.
"I felt like my stuff was pretty sharp. Stanton was looking for that one pitch. I left it up," Henderson said.
Stanton hit his first three homers in the two games before straining his hamstring on April 29. He went on the disabled list the following day and was activated Monday.
"It's a good start, but we can't really tell (if I'm picking up where I left off), especially with the few at-bats I've had so far," Stanton said. "It's a good start to move forward from."
Chad Qualls (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Steve Cishek a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
"Stanton was getting hot before he got hurt, and to have him back and have (Logan Morrison) back and (Marcell) Ozuna swinging the way he is it takes pressure off the other guys," Qualls said.
Derek Dietrich had a two-run homer for Miami, which has won three of four.
The Brewers took a 4-3 lead in the seventh when Yuniesky Betancourt tripled in a run to tie it before scoring the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett's suicide squeeze.
Milwaukee's four-game winning streak was snapped.
Wily Peralta allowed three runs and five hits — all in the second inning — with a walk and a strikeout in six innings.
Jacob Turner gave up four runs — three earned — and five hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out six and threw two wild pitches.
"We got the win, so it wasn't too bad," Turner said of his outing.
After Rickie Weeks walked with one out in the seventh, Betancourt hit a line drive to right. Stanton ran to his left and slid feet first but failed to stop the ball from getting past him for a triple.
Betancourt broke from third as Gennett, hitting for Peralta, laid down a bunt to third baseman Ed Lucas. Betancourt scored before Lucas threw out Gennett.
Dietrich's two-run homer highlighted Miami's three-run second.
Marcell Ozuna opened with a single and scored on Morrison's double to left-center. Dietrich followed with his sixth home run, a shot to right.
"To have LoMo and Stanton back in the lineup is a big lift," Redmond said. "LoMo was behind me when Stanton hit that home run and he gave me about three rob shots. I might need an ice pack."
Milwaukee scored an unearned run in the fourth to make it 3-1.
Carlos Gomez led off by reaching first when Turner threw a wild pitch on a swinging strike three. Gomez advanced to third on Turner's errant pickoff throw and scored on Jonathan Lucroy's sacrifice fly.
Milwaukee manufactured a run in the sixth to get to 3-2.
Jean Segura opened with a single off Lucas' glove and then stole second. He advanced to third on Gomez's grounder to second and scored when Aramis Ramirez grounded out to third.
NOTES: The crowd of 13,110 was a season-low at Marlins Park. … LF Ryan Braun (right thumb) was not in the Brewers lineup for a second straight night. Braun and the Brewers hope a trip to the disabled list can be avoided. … Marlins manager Mike Redmond said OF Chris Coghlan would be "out for a while" after an MRI showed a back strain. Coghlan was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with what then was called a right calf nerve irritation.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
A band suspended forever between the formalism of Dennis DeYoung's Broadway pretentions and the harder-edged banalities of James Young and Tommy Shaw, Styx sounded different every time it came on the radio. Yet, critics insisted, somehow the same: Mediocre.
They were, by turns, soft-prog keyboard-tweaking intellectuals, CroMagnon guitar shredders and dorky show-tune pompsters … though with very little circumstance. Every gesture, as Lester Bangs once wrote, is writ huge — to the point of flatulence. (DeYoung knows he's not English, right?) That makes them easy to hate, or love, or whatever. They were, at once, everything … and thus, to many, nothing.
Yet … how many times have we turned this stuff up? Your friends over at SomethingElseReviews.com have sorted through it all — the adult-contemporary crap, the hair-sprayed arena rock, the robot thing — to uncover a few clues to Styx's enduring fame …
"MISS AMERICA" (GRAND ILLUSION, 1977): Love 'em or hate 'em, Styx was part of many an American boy's soundtrack of the late 1970s and early '80s. When I think of arena rock, the first two bands I think of are Journey and Styx; both bands encapsulated everything that was good and not so good about that style of rock.
Chicago-based Styx hit its chart stride slightly before Journey, when guitarist Tommy Shaw's entry into the band in 1976 added another songwriting voice to guitarist James "JY" Young and keyboard player Dennis DeYoung. The following year they had the breakthrough hit album The Grand Illusion and DeYoung's "Sail Away" and Shaw's "Fooling Yourself," introduced their brand of big sound, bombastic rock to millions of young listeners who were having none of the punk or disco emerging at the same time.
Now, there are Styx songs I am sick to death of ("Too Much Time On My Hands"; more on that in a moment) and some I never did care for ("Babe," which I just heard somewhere the other day. Bleh). And then, there's a few I just can't hear enough of, such as Young's hard-rockin' entry in The Grand Illusion, "Miss America." There's a real simple reason why I like "Miss America": it's that dope guitar riff. A good, straight, down-the-line, butt-kicking head-thrashing American riff.
That aggressive galloping riff, performed by Shaw, goes hand-in-hand with JY's snarling vocals, as he sneers at the facade of the USA's most famous pageant ("well it's true, just take a look/the cover sometimes makes the book"), and after one of DeYoung's surging synths, Young takes a solo. He's not a terribly original guitarist, sounding more than just a little bit like Jimi Hendrix (which, admittedly, is what most rock guitarists sounded like in 1977), but it's as nasty as his vocals. In this case, his cover does make the book.
"Miss America" was one of those moments when Styx was actually great, putting that dual lead-guitar attack to some good use. They didn't do that enough for my tastes, but when I go back and play the high-school soundtrack of my memories, this is the Styx song that gets the airplay on my mental radio. — S. Victor Aaron
"TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS" (PARADISE THEATRE, 1981): Maybe the most successful of Styx's half-measure mixture of prog-rock ideals and AOR musicality, Paradise Theatre was based around a loose concept: The story of a Chicago movie house, from opening to closing. That was a metaphor, I think, on the swift changes sweeping the country at that time. OK. But there was also this, Tommy Shaw's propulsive, synth-driven slice of bitchy modern-day paranoia.
It didn't fit, really. But I liked it anyway. They played it on the radio too much. And Shaw's stuttering tah-tah-tah-ticking-away line was like a bullet rattling around in your skull after a while, too. I liked it anyway. That phrase about jet-fuel genius was smart. And an album of often too-grandiose piano pieces certainly needed the kick in the pants that this song, the anti-drug screed "Snowblind" and the rumbling "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" provided.
"Too Much Time" zoomed all the way to No. 9 on the Billboard charts, becoming Shaw's lone trip to the Top 10 and helping the band to the fourth of what would become a record five consecutive triple-platinum sellers. Despite their best efforts, and some efforts that weren't very good at all, Styx was a singles band, and this one remains one of their catchiest. — Nick DeRiso
"SHOOZ" (CRYSTAL BALL, 1976): The new addition of Shaw, after original guitarist John Curulewski's sudden departure, further defined one of Styx's many penchants — this time, for the heavy-blooze number.
Writing with James Young, Shaw quickly puts his stadium-rattling growl to use, tearing through a slide solo before giving way to Young and his best melty Hendrix. (All loose and merry, Young even name drops a hometown spot, as they happily howl "way down there in Chicago, down along Division Street.") I remember listening to Crystal Ball the first time, and thinking this was a throwaway. That was before Styx trapped us all in the gauzy grasp of snoozers like "Babe" and "Show Me The Way," not to mention the robot thing. "Shooz," crisp and attutude-y, sounds like a lost gem, these days.
The transitional Crystal Ball, dragged almost to a standstill by a piece of Debussy-on-meth claptrap called "Claire de Lune," could get no higher than No. 66 at first, but later went platinum after The Grand Illusion went supernova. — Nick DeRiso
"LORELEI" (EQUINOX, 1975): "Lorelei" was one of Styx's first hits — reaching No. 27 on Billboard's charts — although a pretty minor one compared to those that came later. Grand synthesizer sweeps, crashing dual guitars and, of course, Dennis DeYoung's over-emotive singing all wrapped up in a pseudo-prog song structure — ingredients that later pushed the band to the upper echelon of arena rock bands by the end of the 1970s. All those things were already present in "Lorelei."
There were a few other things that made it a little more notable: the topic of a girlfriend about to shack up wasn't all that uncommon in 1975, but it might have been a little out there to sing so openly and enthusiastically about it on a radio hit. And then, those soaring, overlapping vocals at the ending chorus put the exclamation point on a song that's a lot like an American muscle car: Bigger and louder than it really needs to be, but they're the very things that make your heart beat faster. Because, dammit, it's made in America.
Tommy Shaw wasn't in the band yet (he would soon be), but this song put them on their way to sold-out stadium shows. Bombastic, over the top, and a little thrilling, it's the kind of song you'd like about Styx, if you ever liked them at all.
Oh, and DeYoung dances worse than Elaine Bettes. — S. Victor Aaron
"MR. ROBOTO" (KILROY WAS HERE, 1983): Part of a blindingly self-flattering "rock opera" about a world without, you know, rock that features a character named Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK, right?), "Mr. Roboto" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Styx seemed to cop to this on the resulting tour for the album Kilroy Was Here, airing a lengthy and quite boring preamble video that outlined a plot centering on this performer imprisoned by an anti-rock-and-roll group called the Majority for Musical Morality, and its founder Dr. Everett Righteous. Kilroy escapes by overpowering a robot prison guard, sneaking away inside its metal shell.
There's more. But nevermind. It was a master's thesis on tedious faux-Orwellian bugaboos. And that's leaving aside DeYoung's teeth-splintering mispronunciation of the word "modern."
To the surprise of absolutely no one (except, I guess, Dennis), the tour was a disaster — both artistically and commercially. Yet, the album sold more than 2 million copies, peaking at No. 3 in America. Mainly because this confusing-but-what-the-hell earworm was so inescapably, hilariously memorable — from its crunchy synthesizer riff to its mid-century B-movie-inspired video to its zeitgest-shifting catch phrase. It's cheese. But cheese, you're reminded, tastes so good.
For that, and some would say for only that, I must say: Domo arigato, Mr. DeYoung. — Nick DeRiso
Continue reading here …
Even without the mustache, John Oates' new solo release is a cool-rocking, bluesy delight
A two-part Something Else! interview with Jon Anderson, co-founder of Yes
Deep Cuts: Sting, "Island of Souls" (1991)
Follow the Something Else! Reviews webzine on Facebook, on Twitter, or on MySpace.


text:
Kindred Spirits: a forum for the discussion of relationships between adult family members.
consanguinamory, incest, love, alternative, genetic, attraction
Free forum : An e-fed where your oc or existing wrestler can run amuck. With weekly shows and relationships galore, you'll never be bored.
free, forum, championship, wrestling, alliance, e-fed, where, your, existing, wrestler, amuck, with, weekly, shows, #relationships, galore, you'll, never, bored
We are a group of gifted individuals coming together as one seeking to establish relationships with parents, their children and others who have experienced, have questions or seek knowled
third, realm, group, gifted, individuals, coming, together, seeking, establish, #relationships, with, parents, their, children, others, have, exper
Free forum : A WWE and TNA Slash Roleplay site. Original Characters are welcome. This site contains male/male and female/female relationships. Don't like it? Don't Join.
slash, central, roleplay, site, original, characters, welcome, this, contains, male/male, female/female, #relationships, don't, like
Free forum : A forum for women by women. A safe friendly place to discuss problems and get advice from people in similar situations, share tips on everything from parenting to where to find the best bargains or to just have a chat and find like minde
free, forum, femme, fatales, women, safe, friendly, discuss, problems, advice, share, tips, parenting, #relationships, friends, chat, bargains, competitions, celebrities, gardening, health, pets, paranormal, weightloss, cooking
From sleeping to snot, this is the playroom for daycare providers to give and recieve advice, vent and just have a break.
daycare, room, from, sleeping, snot, this, playroom, providers, give, recieve, advice, vent, just, have, break
A forum for fans of the Manchester group Elbow. elbow room only
elbow, messageboard, garvey, potter, community, room, only, mark, craig, pete, turner, richard, jupp, seldom, seen, cast, thousands, asleep, back, leaders, free, world, grounds, divorce
Old ways is a forum dedicated to preserving what old forums used to be like
oldways, forumotion, #relationships, nature
Most Popular UK Forum. FREE TO REGISTER, FREE TO CHAT, RELAXED RULES.
free, beyonce, dating, #relationships, advice, sports, romance, electrical, football, music, digitalspy, black, people, hair, youtube, male, female, movies, games, computers, phones, cameras, politics, religion, money
Free forum : A WWE and TNA Slash Roleplay site. Original Characters are welcome. This site contains male/male and female/female relationships. Don't like it? Don't Join. Slash Only, no het here!
free, forum, you're, slash, roleplay, site, original, characters, welcome, this, contains, male/male, female/female, #relationships, don't, like
Jaipuria Jaipur Forums provides Jaipuria community with a way to connect to each other. It is a fantastic tool to swap ideas, create meaningful relationships.
jaipuria, jaipur, forums, community, connect, fantastic, tool, swap, ideas, meaningful, #relationships
you will find here everything about egypt:- eg- culture, relationships, visa problems, cooking, religion, music, egyptology, news and more.
egypt, culture, #relationships, visa, problems, cooking, religion, music, egyptology, news
Single lesbians, tired of the bar scene, who enjoy intelligent conversation, and meaningful relationships. Local chapter in Denver area meet up for all that plus game nights, food and beverages, excur
lesbians, denver, discussion, social, networking, lesbains, forum, bulletin, board, community, women, united, states, communication
A place to kick back, relax, and talk about all the little things in life. Positive or negative.
debates, chat, room, current, events, pets, careers, chatroom, animals, health, wellness, friends, discussion, recipes, hobbies, crafts, cars, sports, family, #relationships, employment, movi
A place dedicated to Western-Egyptian relationships, where those who have experience can share, and those who are just beginning can explore.
egyptian, marriage, relationship, international, interracial, muslim, islam, western, american, woman, marry, wedding, egypt
Let's talk, play and love!. TALK PLAY LOVE. talk, play, love, forum, music, movies, korean, japanese, share, anime, love, health, fitness, relationships, fashion, sports, dbsk, super junior, lyrics, songs, download, ft is
talk, play, love, music, movies, korean, japanese, share, anime, health, fitness, #relationships, fashion, sports, dbsk, super, junior, lyrics, songs, download, island, profile, asian, european
A place for women to learn about the seduction community, attraction, communication, and how to achieve success with men.
women, seduction, attraction, communication, #relationships
Free forum : A WWE and TNA Roleplaying site. Both Slash and Het Relationships are allowed here. Original characters are welcomed and loved. Start your legacy today
free, forum, legacy, roleplaying, site, both, slash, #relationships, allowed, here, original, characters, welcomed, loved, start, your, today
A Chat Room For PUA's. PuaHeaven. Chat PUA Sarging Pick up artist sarge the game love relationships winging night club mystery method aa england america openers neil strass heaven puaheaven peacocking
club, chat, sarging, pick, artist, sarge, game, love, #relationships, winging, night, mystery, method, england, america, openers, neil, strass, heaven, puaheaven, peacocking, peaheaven.com
Free forum : Online Forums for Personal Relationships.
all about life in genral. . THE ANGELS OF LIFE
#relationships, community, angels, life, friends, chat, sharing, children, health, media, family, work, hobbies, beauty
This forum is for teens to chat to each other, and generally have a good time.
teen, chat, laughs, #relationships, love, myspace, bebo, advertising
This is a private forum for a group of friends who have been brought together by the tragedy of divorce and/or the need for support in marriages and relationships.
relationship, support, group, moms, this, private, friends, have, been, brought, together, tragedy, divorce, and/or, need, marriages, #relationships
Get a chance to win cash & chat with awesome FRIENDLY teens about entertainment, relationships, homework, fashion, & MUCH MORE!
teen, chat, make, money, popular, scene, indie, punk, prep, goth, heavy, metal, rock, love, life, relationship, beauty, health, depression, friends, games, gaming, music
Lancashire Online is lancashires number #1 online website. Were you can place all your Classified Ads and Search all are local jobs, Offbeat News, Lifestyle, Health & Fitness, Dating & Relationships,
lancashire, sale, classifieds, news, ormskirk, advertiser, lancashirenews, forsale
Free forum : A forum to discuss the ins and outs of life, love, work and anything else that pops up
free, forum, daily, lives, general, australia, discuss, outs, life, love, work, anything, else, that, pops
Todays Gays - Free safe space with a selection of topics and forums for everyone. At Todays Gays we've got you covered.
todays, gays, today, lesbian, transgender, queer, questioning, dating, singles, safe, pace, free, #relationships, debates, friends, support
Relationship advice for Guys and Girls in all lifestyles.
#relationships, extra-marital, affair, domination, submission
Free forum : Gives advice on relationships, pre-, and post
free, lovedoctorhowto, gives, advice, #relationships, pre-, post


text:
Industry vet Patrice Dsilets has returned to Ubisoft following the firm's purchase of THQ Montreal, where Dsilets had previously been employed.
The Assassin's Creed designer rejoined the publisher after the wholesale purchase of THQ's Canadaian-based studio, an Ubisoft rep confirmed to Polygon.
"We are very pleased to welcome Patrice to Ubisoft again and anticipate that this renewed partnership will produce new ideas and high-quality titles for Ubisoft's customers," the Ubisoft rep said.
An Ubisoft spokesperson had told the outlet, at the time of the THQ Montreal acquisition, that it was too soon to know if Dsilets would rejoin Ubisoft; however, the rep mentioned at the time that unannounced projects from the now-defunct studios were included in the purchase.
"In the coming weeks we'll be looking at how to offer an organizational structure that provides continuity for the creative teams involved. Unannounced projects from THQ Montreal are included as part of the acquisition."
The projects the rep refers to include 1666, the working title for the project helmed by Dsilets, and another project with the placeholder title of Underdog.
Dsilets served as creative director when he left Ubisoft in 2010, and held the same position at THQ until its recent bankruptcy.


text:
Do you need a case for your smartphone?
In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon offers some advice on smartphone cases and also helps a reader decide between the iPad Mini and the fourth generation iPad.
You know those old ladies who cover their sofas with plastic? That's what I think about people who get cases for their smartphones.
People love their gadgets, and some people will do almost anything to make sure they look as cool and clean as they did when they first came out of the box. There's a whole industry that has emerged to help people keep their shiny new devices just like new. There are hundreds of cases customized for just about any kind of smartphone. And because there are so many options, some people start to feel like they "need" one of these cases to protect their precious device. In this Ask Maggie, I explain why that is not the, um, case.
I also offer some advice to someone deciding between the iPad Mini or the fourth generation iPad as a gift.
The smartphone-case/no-smartphone-case debate
Dear Maggie,
Do I really need a protective case for my Galaxy S3?
Dear B,
The short answer to your question is no. You do not really need a case for any smartphone. I have owned various smartphones for many years and have never used a case. Personally, I feel the outer shell the device already comes in is adequate. I also don't like the bulk a case adds to the device. I'd prefer to risk getting a few minor scratches or scuffs than buy a case.
I would describe myself as an average smartphone owner. I'm not overly cautious when it comes to my cell phone. I throw my device in my purse, backpack, tennis bag, or whatever else I have handy. I often slide it into my pocket and have been known to even sit on my smartphone when it's in my back pocket. (I don't really recommend this.)
So far, I haven't experienced any major issues. I've been using a Samsung S3 off and on for several months, I haven't noticed any significant scratches. The touch screen has also been fine. In fact, I haven't had any problems with my Galaxy S3 or any other smartphone I've owned getting banged up.
But that's me. I know plenty of people who feel more comfortable when their devices have cases on them. And there are plenty of good reasons to buy a case. There are a lots of people who drop their devices. There are lots of cases available that will absorb the shock from an unexpected tumble.
Best Samsung Galaxy S3 cases (pictures)See all photos
Also, it's a good idea to get a case if you plan to resell your smartphone at a later date to help defray the cost of a new smartphone. Minor scratches and scuffs can devalue your device on the secondary market. So if you can keep your phone in pristine condition, you're likely to get a better price for it.
Another popular reason for getting a case is simply to show off some personal style. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is one of the hottest-selling devices on the market. And that means there are tons of people walking around with the exact same phone that you have. While I don't really care too much about that, some people do. A case offers you a way to add some color or style to your device to reflect your own personality.
In addition to protecting your phone and adding some style, some cases can enhance the functionality of your device. For example, the BoxWave Color Splash case offers a kickstand, so you can position your Galaxy S3 horizontally to watch video. The MiniSuit Versatile Case Cover + Stand + Book Folio Wallet is a cover and case that allows you to store credit cards or cash alongside your phone.
My CNET Reviews colleague David Carnoy has reviewed several cases for the Galaxy S3. He just updated his "Best Samsung Galaxy S3 Cases" post on Friday with five new additions. So if you're in the market for a new Galaxy S3 case, you should check out his article and the corresponding slideshow.
One good piece of advice David offers potential smartphone-case shoppers is that the same exact case with the same design may be offered by multiple suppliers. The name-brand case makers often offer it for much more than off-brand suppliers. So you may want to broaden your search and look around before you buy. With this in mind, he said you don't have to break the bank to get a decent case for your device.
"While higher-end cases tend to cost $30 to $50, perfectly good cases can be had for less than $10 shipped," he said.
So to reiterate. You definitely do not need to buy a case for your Samsung Galaxy S3 or for any other smartphone. But if you do want a case, make sure you shop around. And check out David Carnoy's "Best Galaxy S3 cases" post for some help. Good luck!
iPad Mini or fourth gen iPad?
Dear Maggie,
My dad's birthday is approaching and I am planning to buy an iPad as a gift. He would use it for occasional e-mail, light browsing, and mostly for Facetime chat with the grandkids. I am clear about buying the 32GB Wi-Fi version.
I need your suggestion on deciding between the iPad Mini and the fourth generation iPad. I feel that the Mini is underpowered and may not be useful after a year or so. But its size and weight (or lack of it) makes the Mini appealing. Is it worth spending roughly $200 more for the 10-inch model (including taxes) or is the Mini sufficient for his use?
iPad Buyer
Dear iPad Buyer,
As you've stated in your question the iPad Mini is less expensive than the fourth generation iPad. I'm a bit of a cheapskate. So I'd likely opt for the cheaper version.
But the less expensive price tag isn't the only reason I'd recommend the iPad Mini over the bigger fourth generation iPad for your dad. Personally, I just like the smaller size tablets. I don't own an iPad or an iPad Mini. But I do have an early Android 10-inch tablet and the Nexus 7-inch tablet. My husband and I use the 7-inch Nexus much more than we've ever used the 10-inch tablet. We've taken it on vacation with us. He uses it as an e-reader. And yet we still use it as a coffee table Internet device to browse the Web or check e-mail.
Meanwhile, I never found a real use for our larger tablet. It was too big and bulky to take on trips, especially since I already travel with a laptop and smartphone. And we almost never had it sitting out on the coffee table.
As for whether the iPad Mini is up to the tasks your dad will likely use it for, I'd say it's definitely a good fit for his needs. The iPad Mini is more than adequate for light e-mailing, searching the Web, and FaceTiming with grandchildren.
The only reason to get the 9.5-inch iPad is because you think he'd appreciate the bigger screen for viewing the grandkids when he's FaceTiming. Sometimes older people like the bigger screen size. But to be honest, the screen size is really only moderately bigger on the fourth generation iPad compared with the iPad Mini. Overall, the difference in size is really about two inches.
The only exception to my advice is if you think he'll watch a lot of video or view a lot of high definition pictures on his iPad. If that's the case, you may want to consider the fourth generation iPad, since it has a Retina display and the iPad Mini doesn't.
But just because the iPad Mini doesn't have the Retina display, doesn't mean the screen isn't nice. Again, I think the Mini is more than adequate for what your dad's needs are.
Keep in mind, if you go with the bigger, fourth generation iPad, it will be heavier than the iPad Mini. How much heavier? It's almost twice as heavy. The added weight and size sometimes make it more cumbersome to use.
So my advice to you is save the extra money and buy your dad an iPad Mini. I'm sure he'll love it! Good luck!
Correction Sunday December 23, 2012:This story mistakenly characterized the price difference between the iPad Mini and the Fourth Generation iPad. The price difference is actually $170. The story has been corrected to reflect this information.
Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.
Mobile Guides
Foldable Phones
Mobile Accessories
Wireless Plans


text:
IELTS READING ACADEMIC TEST 39 | Ielts reading academic tests are for practices for Ielts bands preparation for securing highest bands in Ielts Exams System.Below Ielts practice test is given:
IELTS Reading Academic Test 39 | The Life And Work of Marie Curie
Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity, and was twice a winner of the Nobel A Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie. and Henri Raeqiierel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her earnings, she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education.
ln 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on little more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the physical sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in mathematical sciences It was not until the spring of that year that she was introduced to Pierre Curie.
Their marriage in 1895 marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve results of world significance. Following Henri BecquereI's discovery in 1896 of a new phenomenon, which Marie later called 'radioactivity', Marie Curie decided to rind out if the radioactivity discovered in uranium was to be found in other elements. She discovered that this was true for thorium.
Tuming her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende, a mineral whose radioactivity, superior to that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in thc orc of small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre Curie joined her in the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem. and that led to the discovery of the new elements, polonium and radium. While Pierre Curie devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations, Marie Curie struggled to obtain pure radium in the metallic state. This was achieved with the help of the chemist André-Louis Debierne, one of Pierre Curie's pupils. Based on the results of this research. Marie Curie received her Doctorate of Science, and in 1903 Marie and Pierre shared with Becquerel the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of radioactivity.
The births of Marie's two daughters, Irene and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to internrpt her scientific work. She was appointed lecturer in physics at the Ecole Nor-male Supérieure for girls in Sevres, France (1900), and introduced a method of teaching based on experimental demonstrations. In December 1904 she was appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre Curie.
The sudden death of her husband in 1906 was a bitter blow to Marie Curie. but was also a turning point in her career: henceforth she was to devote all her energy to completing alone the scientific work that they had undertaken. On May 19, 1906, she was appointed to the professorship that had been left vacant on her husband's death, becoming the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. In 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the isolation of a pure form of radium.
During World War I, Marie Curie, with the help of her daughter Irene, devoted herself to the development of the use of X—radiography, including the mobile units which came to be known as 'little Curies', used for the treatment of wounded soldiers. ln 1918 the Radium Institute, whose staff Irene had joined, began to operate in earnest, and became a centre for nuclear physics and chemistry. Marie Curie, now at the highest point of her fame and, from 1922, a member of the Academy of Medicine, researched the chemistry of radioactive substances and their medical applications
ln 1921, accompanied by her two daughters, Marie Curie made a triumphant journey to the United States to raise funds for research on radium. Women there presented her with a gram of radium for her campaign. Marie also gave lectures in Belgium. Brazil, Spain and Czechoslovakia and, in addition, had the satisfaction of seeing the development of the Curie Foundation in Paris. and the inauguration in 1932 in Warsaw of the Radium Institute, where her sister Bronia became the director.
One of Marie Curie's outstanding achievements was to have understood the need to accumulate intense radioactive sources. not only to treat illness but also to maintain an abundant supply for research. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of o stock of grams of radium made a decisive contribution to the success of the experiments undertaken in the years around 1930. This work prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and, above all, for the discovery in 1934 by Irene and Frédéric Joliot- Curie of artificial radioactivity. A few months after this discovery, Marie Curie died as a result of leukaemia caused by exposure to radiation. She had often carried test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket, remarking on the pretty blue-green light they gave off.
Her contribution to physics had been immense, not only in her own work. the importance of which had been demonstrated by her two Nobel Prizes, but because of her influence on subsequent generations of nuclear physicists and chemists.
IELTS Reading Academic Test 39 Questions 1-6
Do the following statements.
TRUE it the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
- Marie Curie's husband was a joint winner of both Marla's Nobel Prizes.
- Marie became interested in science when she was a child.
- Marie was able to attend the Sorbonne because of her sister's financial contribution.
- Marie stopped doing research for several years when her children were born.
- Marie took over the teaching position her husband had held.
- Marie's sister Bronia studied the medical uses of radioactivity.
IELTS Reading Academic Test 39 Questions 7-13
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer
Marie Curie's research on radioactivity
When uranium was discovered to be radioactive. Marie Curie found that the element called 7 …………………… had the same property.
Marie and Pierre Curie's research into the radioactivity of the mineral known as 8 …………………… led to the discovery of two new elements.
In 1911, Marie Curie received recognition for her work on the element 9 ……………………
Marie and Irene Curie developed X-radiography which was used as a medical technique for 10 ……………………
Marie Curie saw the importance of collecting radioactive material both for research and for cases of 11 ……………………
The radioactive material stocked in Paris contributed to the discoveries in the 1930s of the 12 …………………… and of what was known as artificial radioactivity.
During her research. Marie Curio was exposed to radiation and as a result, she suffered from 13 ……………………


text:
When it comes to design, young professionals and trend-setters who keep pace with the times have specific expectations: they expect a sophisticated and modern look and a cool, smooth feel. This is where the new Neo Slim comes in as it meets these very needs: The writing instruments in the series have an especially slim design.
For pen engraving, kindly click this link to fill up the request form.
Product Details
- High quality stainless steel in matt finishing for the long lasting stunning impression
- Comes with high-precision stylus that's compatible with most smartphones and tablets
- Spring-loaded clip
- Large capacity ball pen refill


text:
Enron's reach in Congress
The company's deep connections to both parties renews calls for campaign-finance law.
As evidence of the reach of Enron's political tentacles continues to mount, the question in Washington may no longer be "Who had ties to Enron?" but "Who didn't?"
Campaign-finance figures show that in recent years, the Houston-based energy company poured money not only into the campaign coffers of George W. Bush but also into those of many members of Congress.
While more than two-thirds of the company's donations have gone to Republicans, a number of top Democrats have received Enron cash as well - a fact that could complicate the party's efforts to capitalize on the scandal in the 2002 elections.
So far, there's no indication that Enron called on any lawmakers to intervene on its behalf in the days leading up to the bankruptcy.
But there is some evidence that Enron's interests were served on a variety of other issues in the past - such as the White House's energy plan and its
proposed repeal of the corporate alternative-minimum tax - both of which have passed the House.
While this may be well within the bounds of the law, it's the appearance of undue influence that could ultimately prove damaging - a realization that has clearly struck lawmakers from both parties, many of whom are hastening to return Enron's donations.
As a result, analysts say the real impact of the probes may be less political than substantive - in that it may reinforce the push for campaign-finance reform.
"What's coming through as a result of Enron is not necessarily what the Democrats want," says Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. "The message that is coming through is that they are all bought."
One challenge, some experts say, is that some of the people whose campaigns have benefitted from Enron's largess are now tasked with investigating the floundering giant and its Washington connections.
No fewer than eight congressional committees are already investigating the debacle, with more likely to take up the issue in coming weeks. Insiders say the investigation will focus on federal oversight of energy trading markets, as well as accounting practices.
The company prospered - and then plunged - largely outside the view of federal regulators.
The probes will examine ties between Enron and the Bush administration, key legislators, and others. Some critics, for example, have questioned the actions of Wendy Gramm, the wife of Texas Sen. Phil Gramm (R), one of the Senate's strongest advocates of deregulation. Mrs. Gramm, as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, proposed a rule to exempt energy swaps from federal oversight.
The rule was subsequently adopted - after which she resigned to join Enron's board of directors. Enron has contributed $233,000 to Senator Gramm's campaign since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.
Gramm isn't the only member of Congress with ties to the company. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 71 sitting senators and 188 sitting members of the House have received money from Enron over the past 10 years, including Democrats as well as Republicans.
Democrat Charles Schumer of New York received more than $21,000 during his campaign to defeat Sen. Al D'Amato. In his campaign, Mr. Schumer supported deregulating electricity as a way to lower consumer prices.
These types of donations, say analysts, while not illegal, can create a perception of impropriety. "Enron has cast into stark relief the whole issue of Washington drowning in soft, unregulated money," says Marshall Wittmann, an analyst at the Hudson Institute. "It is a story of soft money buying access to both parties."
As a result, the Enron affair could create a renewed push for campaign-finance reform on the Hill. A measure to ban soft money contributions passed the Senate last summer, then stalled in the House. But it has been gaining momentum in recent weeks - and now needs only four signatures to force a vote in the House.
"Enron does help the cause of campaign finance," says Rep. Christopher Shays (R) of Connecticut, one of the bill's cosponsors. "It shows that large corporate-treasury money has brought them access in the ways that large contributions always do."
He concedes that large firms, inevitably, will have some access to government officials. "A company like Enron is going to have access by the fact of what it is and what it does. But in the end, there shouldn't be such vast sums of money going into the ... process."
And while the rules currently allow for such contributions, a number of lawmakers are nevertheless scrambling to return their Enron donations.
Two Democrats - Sen. Jean Carnahan and House minority leader Richard Gephardt, both of Missouri - have already promised to return $1,000 contributions they received from the energy company, and the National Republican Congressional Committee is returning $100,000.
President Bush has been opposed to campaign-finance reform, but some analysts say the Enron fallout may cause him to change his position. Less certain is Enron's impact on the 2002 congressional races. Most of the top recipients of Enron cash in the Senate are not up for reelection this year. All House members are.
And in the Senate race with the biggest links to Enron - the race to succeed Gramm in Texas - the effect could cut both ways. The GOP candidate, Attorney General John Cornyn, has recused himself from the Justice Department's probe because he has received more than $150,000 from the company, while the leading Democrat, Rep. Ken Bentsen, has received more than $42,000 - the most of any House member.


text:
David Leonhardt is a Louisville native who has made his mark accompanying jazz greats such as Jon Hendricks and David "Fathead" Newman. In the September 2010 Louisville Jazz Society Newsletter , I reviewed his Bach to the Blues. The new CD's title clearly states its raison d'etre. The music of Cole Porter has, of course, provided grist for the mill of jazz artists for some eight decades now. By choosing to credit "The David Leonhardt Jazz Group," Leonhardt shares credit with his accompanists, as well as varying the sound by sometimes performing in a trio context, while at other times spotlighting the saxophone of Larry McKenna, and at other times adding vocals by Nancy Reed. Matthew Parrish on bass and Paul Wells on drums round out the group.
The disc opens with a "power trio" version of "Love for Sale." They slow the pace with "Every Time We Say Goodbye," with vocal and a warm tenor solo. Among the other selections, Leonhardt's arranging skills are evident, as he gives a bossa nova feel to "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," and imbues the ballad treatment of "I Concentrate on You" with a Latin feel. Conversely, the normally gentle "In the Still of the Night" is taken for a fast ride. In short, as many times as so many of these tunes have been interpreted over the decades, Leonhardt and company still find a way to keep Porter's music fresh. One hopes Leonhardt can find a way to return to his home town to perform again for us. He is always a delight.


text:
How to Become a Successful Forex Trader.
Justin Kuepper has 15+ years of experience as a freelance financial news writer and subject matter expert in investing, trading strategies, technical analysis, as well as options and derivatives. He is also a published author of Day Trading: Beat the System and Make Money in Any Market Environment.
Updated September 29, 2022.
Reviewed by.
Reviewed by Gordon Scott.
Gordon Scott has been an active investor and technical analyst of securities, futures, forex, and penny stocks for 20+ years. He is a member of the Investopedia Financial Review Board and the co-author of Investing to Win. Gordon is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT). He is also a member of CMT Association.
Fact checked by.
Fact checked by Marcus Reeves.
Marcus Reeves is a writer, publisher, and journalist whose business and pop culture writings have appeared in several prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is an adjunct instructor of writing at New York University.
Starting out in the forex market can often result in a life cycle that involves diving in head first, giving up or taking a step back to do more research and open a demo account to practice. From there, new traders might feel more confident to open another live account, experience more success, and break-even or turn a profit. That is why it's important to build a framework for trading in the forex markets, which we outline below.
Key Takeaways.
New forex traders should often start by opening a demo account to get used to trading and using the tools involved in trading. Forex traders may be interested in short-, medium-, or long-term investing, depending on their interests, skills, time commitments, and risk tolerances. When considering a forex trading plan, it is important to first master the platform from which you will execute your trades, setting the most useful indicators and other tools to your greatest advantage. Even with a perfect forex trading strategy, no system is foolproof—expect that you will experience volatility in the market.
How To Become A Successful Forex Trader.
Why Should We Focus on Medium-Term Forex Trading?
Why are we focusing on medium-term forex trading rather than long- or short-term strategies? To answer that question, let's take a look at the following comparison table:
Type of Trader Definition Good Points Bad Points Short-Term (Scalper) A trader who looks to open and close a trade within minutes, often taking advantage of small price movements with a large amount of leverage Quick realization of profits or losses due to the rapid-fire nature of this type of trading Large capital and/or risk requirements due to the large amount of leverage needed to profit from such small movements, and spread costs are more significant Medium-Term A trader typically looking to hold positions for one or more days, often taking advantage of opportunistic technical situations Lowest capital requirements of the three because leverage is necessary only to boost profits Fewer opportunities because these types of trades are more difficult to find and execute Long-Term A trader looking to hold positions for months or years, often basing decisions on long-term fundamental factors More reliable long-run profits because this depends on reliable fundamental factors Large capital requirements to cover volatile movements against any open position.
Now, you will notice that both short-term and long-term traders require a large amount of capital – the first type needs it to generate enough leverage, and the other to cover volatility. Although these two types of traders exist in the marketplace, they are comprised of high-net-worth individuals, asset managers or larger institutional investors. For these reasons, retail traders are most likely to succeed using a medium-term strategy.
The Basic Forex Trading Framework.
The framework covered in this article will focus on one central concept: trading with the odds. To do this, we will look at a variety of techniques in multiple timeframes to determine whether a given trade is worth taking. Keep in mind, however, that this is not intended to be represented as a mechanical/automatic trading system; rather, a discretionary system. You may choose to act on signals you observe or dismiss them. The key is finding situations where all (or most) of the technical signals point in the same direction. These high-probability trading situations will, in turn, generally be profitable.
Forex Chart Creation and Markup.
Selecting a Trading Program.
We will be using a free program called MetaTrader to illustrate this trading strategy; however, many other similar programs can also be used that will yield the same results. There are two basic trading program requirements:
The ability to display three different timeframes simultaneously The ability to plot technical indicators, such as moving averages (EMA and SMA), relative strength index (RSI), stochastics and moving average convergence divergence (MACD)
Setting up the Indicators.
Now we will look at how to set up this strategy in your chosen trading program. We will also define a collection of technical indicators with rules associated with them. These technical indicators are used as a filter for your trades.
If you choose to use more indicators than shown here, you will create a more reliable system that will generate fewer trading opportunities. Conversely, if you select fewer indicators than shown here, you will create a less-reliable system that will generate more trading opportunities. Here are the settings that we will use for this article:
Minute-by-minute candlestick chart RSI (15) stochastics (15,3,3) MACD (Default) Hourly candlestick chart EMA (100) EMA (10) EMA (5) MACD (Default) Daily candlestick chart SMA (100)
Adding in Other Studies.
Now you will want to incorporate the use of some of the more subjective criteria, such as the following:
Significant trendlines that you see in any of the timeframes Fibonacciretracements, arcs or fans that you see in the hourly or daily charts Support or resistance that you see in any of the timeframes Pivot points calculated from the previous day to the hourly and minutely charts Chart patterns that you see in any of the timeframes.
In the end, your screen should look something like this:
Figure 1: A forex trading program screen.
Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2021.
Finding Forex Trading Entry and Exit Points.
The key to finding entry points is to look for times all of the indicators points in the same direction. The signals of each timeframe should support the timing and direction of the trade. There are a few particular bullish and bearish entry points:
Bullish candlestick engulfing or other formations Trendline/channelbreakouts upwards Positive divergences in RSI, stochastics, and MACD Moving average crossovers (shorter crossing over longer) Strong, close support and weak, distant resistance.
Bearish candlestick engulfing or other formations Trendline/channel breakouts downwards Negative divergences in RSI, stochastics, and MACD Moving average crossovers (shorter crossing under longer) Strong, close resistance and weak, distant support.
It is also a good idea to place exit points (both stop losses and take profits) before even placing the trade. These points should be placed at key levels and modified only if there is a change in the premise for your trade (oftentimes as a result of fundamentals coming into play). You can place these exit points at key levels, including:
Just before areas of strong support or resistance At key Fibonacci levels (retracements, fans or arcs) Just inside of key trendlines or channels.
Let's take a look at a couple of examples of individual charts using a combination of indicators to locate specific entry and exit points. Again, make sure any trades that you intend to place are supported in all three timeframes.
Figure 2: A screen showing several indicators that point in the same direction.
Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2021.
In Figure 2, above, we can see that a multitude of indicators are pointing in the same direction. There is a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern, a MACD, Fibonacci resistance and bearish EMA crossover (five- and 10-day). We also see that Fibonacci support provides a nice exit point. This trade is good for 50 pips and takes place over less than two days.
Figure 3: A screen showing indicators pointing in a long direction.
Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2021.
In Figure 3, above, we can see many indicators that point to a long position. We have a bullish engulfing, Fibonacci support and a 100-day SMA support. Again, we see a Fibonacci resistance level that provides an excellent exit point. This trade is good for almost 200 pips in only a few weeks. Note that we could break this trade into smaller trades on the hourly chart.
Money Management and Risk in Forex Markets.
Money management is key to success in any marketplace, but particularly in the volatile forex market. Many times fundamental factors can send currency rates swinging in one direction – only to have the rates whipsaw into another direction in mere minutes. So, it is important to limit your downside by always utilizing stop-loss points and trading only when your indicators point to good opportunities.
Here are a few specific ways in which you can limit risk:
Increase the number of indicators that you are using. This will result in a harsher filter through which your trades are screened. Note that this will result in fewer opportunities. Place stop-loss points at the closest resistance levels. Note that this may result in forfeited gains. Use trailing-stop losses to lock in profits and limit losses when your trade turns favorable. This may also result in forfeited gains.
The Bottom Line.
Anyone can make money in the forex market, but it requires patience and following a well-defined strategy. Therefore, it's important to first approach forex trading through a careful, medium-term strategy so that you can avoid larger players and becoming a casualty of this market.
Investopedia does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.


text:
Unite Gallery Error:
Gallery with alias: open_house not found
Gallery with alias: open_house not found
13 March 2018, Tuesday. We have another great open house event coming up. Come see our school, engage with our outreach in science and world culture, view classes (8:30-10:00 AM), talk with teachers (5:30-6:30 PM). We welcome families considering enrolling their children, as well as others who wish to see what we do in the community. You can just show up; no appointment is necessary. We are a private school serving academically advanced or motivated students; classes are small, teachers are highly qualified, and we provide a stimulating, supportive environment. Current openings are for early K through grade 8. More information is at lascrucesacademy.org or by calling Head of School Dr. Lou Ellen Kay at 575-521-9384.


text:
Expert's Rating
- Fast autofocus
- Touch-focus controls for video and stills
- Very small for an interchangeable-lens camera
- Underexposed images in Auto mode
- Touchscreen is ineffective for some controls
Our Verdict
More than any device in recent memory, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is a showpiece for the benefits and drawbacks of a touchscreen interface. Although the camera's touchscreen UI introduces a few groundbreaking features to the compact interchangeable-lens camera category, it may leave you longing for old-fashioned analog controls more often than not.
At heart, the Lumix DMC-GF2 ($700 as a kit with an optically stabilized 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 lens or a 14mm/F2.5 prime lens; price as of May 16, 2011) is a souped-up successor to the groundbreaking Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1. The GF2 improves on the GF1's basic specs with a smaller, more streamlined body; higher-resolution, 1920-by-1080 60i video recording; higher ISO sensitivity (ISO 6400 versus ISO 3200); and compatibility with Panasonic's optional 3D conversion lens.
The most noticeable new feature in the GF2 is its 3-inch touchscreen, which provides significant benefits while you're shooting stills and video. Namely, it lets you use touch-to-focus controls like the ones you'll find on many smartphones—a powerful, versatile feature in a camera with the GF2's bigger sensor and swappable lenses. The camera's touchscreen interface is also customizable, so you can touch-access your favorite settings quickly, and the camera's aesthetic design is clean and uncluttered due to the lack of physical controls.
But the 3-inch touchscreen is also where this camera's problems start. A touchscreen simply isn't an effective substitute for some physical controls—most notably a mode dial—and menu navigation via the touchscreen can make you perform a lot of screen presses, smudging up the only native viewfinder the camera has as you go. You don't need to use the touchscreen for everything; if you don't use it, however, you still have to navigate a lot of menus via the camera's directional pad to access some important settings.
The result is a good camera, but a frustrating one. To please novice users, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 tries to do a bit too much with its touchscreen, which ultimately hampers its usability for seasoned shooters. The GF2 is still a phenomenal step-up camera for anyone who is seeking to trade in a point-and-shoot for interchangeable-lens power, but manual-minded photographers will be slowed down by the GF2's touchscreen interface.
Design and standout features
The 12-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is certainly small for an interchangeable-lens camera, as its body (without a lens attached) measures just 1.29 inches deep, 4.44 inches wide, and 2.67 inches tall. Not only is it smaller on every dimension than the Lumix GF1, but it's also skinnier than the interchangeable-lens Sony Alpha NEX-5 (1.56 inches deep, 4.38 inches wide, 2.38 inches tall) and even more compact than some point-and-shoot cameras, such as the Canon PowerShot G12 (1.9 inches deep, 4.4 inches wide, 3.00 inches tall).
Like many recent Panasonic cameras, the GF2 offers extremely fast autofocus, which you really need to see to believe. As long as a subject is at least a few inches away from the lens, the autofocus system is lightning-fast and rarely fooled—and if it is fooled, you have the option of touching the screen to focus wherever you want.
In addition to a manual focus mode, you'll find a 23-area focus system, continuous autofocus in video mode, motion-tracking autofocus, and the ability to transition between focus points while you're filming video. When it comes to focus options, the little GF2 crushes the vast majority of full-size DSLRs.
It's also a very solidly built, aesthetically pleasing camera, with a slightly more modern look than that of the GF1 thanks to its redesigned, swoopy handgrip. Despite its diminutive size, the Lumix GF2 manages to pack in a pop-up flash, which you can manually tilt (and hold) upward to use as a makeshift bounce flash. The GF2 also offers a hot shoe that accepts proprietary flashes, an optional eye-level viewfinder, and external microphones.
A few of the GF1's physical controls have been moved to the touchscreen menus. The top of the GF2 has neither a mode dial nor a toggle switch for burst shooting or bracketing modes; on the back of the camera, you'll find neither a dedicated toggle button for autofocus/manual focus nor a button to lock focus or exposure.
You do have the option of assigning the GF2's 'Quick Menu' button as a Function control that locks focus and exposure; the GF2's directional pad offers access to continuous shooting mode, too. However, not having dedicated buttons and dials for so many settings adds up when you're using this camera extensively. You have to adjust all those settings by navigating the menus in different ways: by tapping icons on the touchscreen, navigating the on-screen selections via the camera's four-way directional pad, or a combination of the two.
The GF2 has a few button-based shortcuts. On the top is an iA (Intelligent Auto) button, which gives you direct access to the camera's auto mode; you also get a physical shutter button, a dedicated video record button, and a power switch. The iA button works as a toggle: Pressing it once brings you to auto mode, and pressing it again jumps back to whatever manual settings you were using before.
The back of the camera is very clean around the 3-inch touchscreen, with just a button for popping up the flash, a click/scroll wheel for dialing in aperture values and other settings, a playback button, a programmable 'Quick Menu/Function' button for accessing user-defined controls on the fly, and a four-way directional pad that doubles as one-press access to ISO, white balance, focus controls, and burst mode.
Like all of Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds System cameras, the GF2 has a crop factor/focal length multiplier of 2x, meaning that the kit zoom lens has an effective zoom range of 28mm to 84mm in 35mm film equivalent. Even without a dedicated macro lens, macro performance is surprisingly good with the 14-42mm kit lens, especially when you dial in a focal length of about 50mm, buffer or bounce the flash, and compose your shot from there.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 offers RAW and RAW+JPEG capture modes, as well as a burst mode that captures 3.2 images per second at full 12-megapixel resolution. When shooting JPG photos, you can record images in burst mode until your SD Card fills up; in RAW, you're limited to seven shots in a row.
The GF2 performs surprisingly well at high ISO levels, as both image sharpness and noise aren't much of an issue until you get beyond ISO 1600. You notice quite a bit of grain at ISO 3200 and 6400; but even at those high ISO levels, color accuracy is impressive. See the test shots we took at ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200, and ISO 6400 with the GF2.
Performance, image quality, and video quality
In our lab's subjective tests for image and video quality, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 exhibited the same tendency to underexpose images in Intelligent Auto mode as other recent Panasonic Lumix cameras did. The camera's Auto mode produces muted images and gravitates toward grayer whites than we'd like.
Using manual exposure controls, the camera jumps to the other end of the exposure spectrum, as colors and whites tend to look oversaturated and blown out. Overall, using a combination of auto-exposed and manually exposed test shots, the GF2 earned an imaging score of Fair. We rated its color accuracy as Fair and its exposure quality as Fair; on image sharpness the GF2 earned a score of Good, and on lack of distortion it turned in a score of Fair. As with many Panasonic cameras, image quality gets drastically better when you use the GF2's manual settings, which makes it all the more frustrating that they're not particularly easy to access.
As for shooting movies, the GF2 produced decent-looking 1920-by-1080 AVCHD video in our subjective tests, with smooth motion and bright, vivid colors. The white background in our bright-light test clip looked a bit blown out, however, and the camera's autofocus searched a bit at the beginning of our clip.
In low light, the GF2 was a less-impressive video performer. It's also important to note that the GF2 lacks the full manual controls for video that you'll find in the higher-end Lumix GH2 and the point-and-shoot Lumix LX5. However, the camera's touch-to-focus controls and its array of automated metering, continuous focus, and wind-blocking microphone controls add to its standout video capabilities.
You can view the test videos we used for our subjective tests below. Select 1080p from the drop-down menu in each player to see the highest-resolution video footage.
Touchscreen controls: the good, the bad, and the awkward
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2's touchscreen is an innovative and indispensable instrument in one particular area: focus controls. Autofocus on this camera is very fast, and the ability to touch an area of the screen and have the camera lock focus and snap a shot within a fraction of a second is a major plus. The touch-focus controls are especially outstanding in video mode, as you can jump between focus points while recording merely by touching different parts of the screen. Put simply, no other camera in the GF2's class can do that, and it's a huge draw for anyone who wants to shoot video with this camera.
Where the touchscreen stumbles is in performing somewhat basic tasks. Due to the camera's lack of a mode dial, you access the GF2's shooting modes by pressing the menu button in the center of the camera's directional pad, selecting one of the eight options (Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, iA, Color Filters, Scenes, or user-defined Custom settings) via the touchscreen or the directional pad, and then adjusting exposure controls via either the touchscreen or the camera's back-mounted scrollwheel.
Although that doesn't sound like much of a hassle, most on-the-fly adjustments require you to use both hands and/or reframe your shot. And due to the wealth of touchscreen controls and programmable buttons, it's easy to get lost in this camera. While the top-left corner of the screen displays which shooting mode is currently active (P, A, S, M, and scene modes), nothing beats clearly marked analog dials and buttons when it comes to knowing what the camera is up to.
What's more, the touchscreen is always active while the camera is on, which means that if you have the touch-shutter function turned on, you'll almost always take a few accidental shots while you're putting on the lens cap or trying to wipe off the screen.
The larger Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 also employs touchscreen controls, but in a much more successful way. What makes using the GF2 radically different is that the touchscreen is the only game in town for many of the controls; you can also use the directional pad to access many settings, but it still adds steps to the process. Unlike the GH2, the GF2 doesn't give you the option of using traditional, physical buttons for the camera's core features.
Long story short: After using this camera for an extended period of time, I missed having a mode dial and dedicated buttons, even though the touchscreen is unparalleled in focusing tricks.
Macworld buying advice
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 is a good camera, with fast autofocus, useful touch-focus controls for stills and video, and an impressively small size for the performance it provides. Ultimately, however, it had me itching for a Lumix GF3, which I'm hoping will offer a return to more-traditional physical controls in addition to touchscreen-focusing options and improved performance in Auto mode. A combination of the GF2's touch-focus capabilities and the GF1's real buttons and dials would add up to a compact interchangeable-lens camera that pleases both casual and more-experienced shooters. As it stands, the GF2 leaves a few too many important controls to its touchscreen while abandoning the old-school knobs and buttons that would make it easier to shoot with.


text:
Introduce meaning in Hindi is Pravesh Karana (प्रवेश करना) - Synonyms and related Introduce meaning is Acquaint, Enclose, Enter and Inaugurate and Inclose. Check out Introduce similar words like Hindu Translation is Pravesh Karana प्रवेश करना.
Dictionary is an essential part of individual life and the world of digitalization helped to carry a dictionary in your pocket without hassle. Know the meaning of the Introduce word in Hindi with this amazing online English to Hindi dictionary. Introduce is an English word that is translated in Hindi and carries a lot more information on this page. Introduce meaning in Hindi is प्रवेश करना and it can write in roman as Pravesh Karana. Along with the Hindi meaning of Introduce, multiple definitions are also stated to provide a complete meaning of Introduce. Check the spelling of the word Introduce here and learn the appropriate use of the Introduce in a sentence. This English to Hindi dictionary also allows you to translate the word in Hindi to English by searching in a given bar.
Hamariweb has developed this platform with huge data of vocabulary to provide ease in learning new words, languages, and meanings. You can search your desire word meaning same as Introduce meaning in the Hindi language with detailed information as synonyms, similar word are also provided on the related pages. Be bilingual; learn a lot of new words as a person feel better to communicate if he/she has sufficient vocabulary in mind. This mindboggling English to Hindi dictionary surely enhance your linguistic skills with is huge data of word, their meaning same as Introduce meaning is well described here. Introduce meaning in Hindi has been searched times till Oct 03, 2023.


text:
RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Time Warner Cable (TWC), one of the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, has formally submitted a bid to play an integral role in the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) project. The NCNGN is a regional initiative to support educational and economic development by accelerating the deployment of ultra-high-speed Internet access.
"With more than 6,600 employees and 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, Time Warner Cable has a vested interest in the region's continued success and development," said Rob Marcus, Time Warner Cable president and chief operating officer. "We have a long history of providing innovative technology to the state and believe our highly reliable, advanced network can exceed the future requirements of the NCNGN to deliver speeds of 1 Gigabit per second."
Already, Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) is the largest school data provider in North Carolina, serving 25 school systems across the state. With TWCBC's education investment, 16 of those systems and more than 717 schools utilize superfast speeds up to 1 Gigabit today. To date, Time Warner Cable has invested more than $1.5 billion and built more than 28,000 miles of fiber and coax infrastructure throughout the areas covered in the NCNGN request for proposal.
"Time Warner Cable has been a valued business partner for the state of North Carolina and is committed to seeing the state succeed," said North Carolina Representative Marilyn Avila. "The additional infrastructure investment Time Warner Cable proposes will position our region with even more broadband capabilities that can lead to educational and economic growth."
"As a technology leader in Raleigh and across the country, Time Warner Cable is well-positioned to help our community thrive by bringing the next generation broadband network to our area," said North Carolina Senator Neal Hunt.
"We remain committed to delivering products that meet the high-speed data needs of our customers who want the fastest speeds for their computers, smartphones and game consoles. Our network is capable of, and is already delivering, multiple Gigabit speeds and so much more, meeting customers' needs today and into the future," added Marcus.
About Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting more than 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers and managed and outsourced information technology solutions and cloud services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.twc.com, www.twcbc.com and www.twcmedia.com.