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LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. stocks ended lower Wednesday, with miners extending their losses from the previous session and weakness in bank shares also contributing to modestly bearish investor sentiment.
The FTSE 100 index (UKX) fell 0.6% at 5,743.53. Read more in European Markets.
Heavyweight miners led the London benchmark lower, with Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) RIO, -0.04% trading down 3.1%, Anglo American PLC (AAL) dropping 2.7%, and Vedanta Resources PLC (VED) losing 1.7%. BHP BillitonPLC (BLT) BHP, +0.46% sank 1.5%.
Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ) shed 2.7%, Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) dropped 1.4%, Fresnillo PLC (FRES) retreated 0.9% and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO) dipped 0.8%.
Metals prices were lower Wednesday.
In the spotlight, Xstrata PLC (XTA) fell 0.7%. Late Tuesday, the Financial Times reported, without citing sources, that Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management opposes the proposed merger of Xstrata with Glencore International PLC (GLEN). Norges Bank Investment Management declined to comment on Wednesday.
Shares of commodities trading powerhouse Glencore fell 3.2%.
Banks were also on the move to the downside, with Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) RBS, +1.10% giving up 0.8% and Barclays PLC (BARC) BCS, +0.86% losing 1.4%. HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA) HBC, -1.94% and Standard Chartered PLC (STAN) both fell 0.8%.
In the energy sector, shares of Tullow Oil PLC (TLW) eased 0.4%, while BP PLC (BP.) BP, +1.15% fell 0.5% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) slipped 0.7%.
Oil prices (LCOV2) traded lower.
Among Wednesday's other notable decliners, shares of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) GSK, +0.98% fell 0.5%, British American Tobacco PLC (BATS) dropped 0.7% and AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) fell 0.5%.
Among London's gainers, restaurant firm Whitbread PLC (WTB) gained 1.4% and peer firm Compass Group PLC (CPG) rose 1.2%.
Babcock International Group PLC (BAB) climbed 1.5% and Serco Group PLC (SRP) picked up 0.6% after releasing strong first-half results despite "challenging U.S. conditions."
Admiral Group PLC (ADM) jumped 1.6%.
SSE PLC (SSE) rose 1.1% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the utility firm to buy from neutral, while Centrica PLC (CNA) added 0.6% as investors shrugged off a Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgrade to an underperform rating from neutral.


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The old saying - If you don't use it you lose it - often describes the cognitive setbacks that many students experience over the summer months. Exercising children's brains with engaging and fun activities is a must. Here are 5 strategies you can use this summer to help your little ones sharpen and strengthen their skills.
- When watching TV, discuss the commercials. See if they can figure out what product each commercial is promoting and see if they can uncover any inferences or hidden messages.
- Play with anagrams - Write down a word that has at least 6 letters. In 5 minutes, see how many new words you can create by scrambling the letters.
- Play catch with a football, baseball or beach ball. When you first toss the ball, call out a main idea such as days of the Week. When your child catches the ball, they have to say one of the days of the week. When they toss it back to you, you say another day of the week. Players can only say each detail once. If a detail is repeated, the player can't think of another detail, or there are no more detail options, that player loses the round. Keep score and play to 10. Other main ideas could be vegetables, types of dogs, forms of transportation, shapes, presidents and so on.
- Read a short passage aloud to your child. Before you read it, explain that their job is to visualize or create a mental image of what you read to them in their mind. Once you have finished the passage, give them a blank piece of paper. Ask them to draw an image of what they saw.
- Take a beach ball and on each color write a different part of speech: verb, noun, adjective, adverb, preposition, article and so forth. When you toss the beach ball back and forth to one another note where your right thumb lands on the ball. If your thumb lands on a verb, you have to say a verb. If your thumb lands on a adjective, you have to say an adjective. Each word can only be played once. The game continues until a player repeats a word or can not think of another option. You can play the same game by using figurative language terms such as metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, assonance...
If you would prefer to purchase some workbooks that focus on language skills, Dr. Warren has a few products that you might like. Click on the following titles to learn more.
Making Inferences: A Fun and Easy Way to Understand and Practice Implied Meaning
Word Shuffle
Hey, What's the Big Idea

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Real Estate Ads
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Map Location
Similar Properties
Night Club Disco for Sale, Marbella Marbella


text:
okay so..are we even going to try and keep this a community? You know get some members? promote? Vote? We don't even post anything! It's kinda sad...and.....disspiriting? haha...yah so...uh..what's up with our what..like 3 or 4 members?
<P>( read more...Collapse )
Woow! This is thee coolest...most awesome community that I am in!!!WOW!!
Well I'm the mod of this community.It's still a work in progress so bear with me!<3Liz


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Cerebral Blood Flow Is the Optimal CT Perfusion Parameter for Assessing Infarct Core
Background and Purpose—CT perfusion (CTP) is widely and rapidly accessible for imaging acute ischemic stroke but has limited validation. Cerebral blood volume (CBV) has been proposed as the best predictor of infarct core. We tested CBV against other common CTP parameters using contemporaneous diffusion MRI.
Methods—Patients with acute ischemic stroke <6 hours after onset had CTP and diffusion MRI <1 hour apart, before any reperfusion therapies. CTP maps of time to peak (TTP), absolute and relative CBV, cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), and time to peak of the deconvolved tissue residue function (Tmax) were generated. The diffusion lesion was manually outlined to its maximal visual extent. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis area under the curve (AUC) was used to quantify the correspondence of each perfusion parameter to the coregistered diffusion-weighted imaging lesion. Optimal thresholds were determined (Youden index).
Results—In analysis of 98 CTP slabs (54 patients, median onset to CT 190 minutes, median CT to MR 30 minutes), relative CBF performed best (AUC, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.77–81), significantly better than absolute CBV (AUC, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.73–0.76). The optimal threshold was <31% of mean contralateral CBF. Specificity was reduced by low CBF/CBV in noninfarcted white matter in cases with reduced contrast bolus intensity and leukoaraiosis.
Conclusions—In contrast to previous reports, CBF corresponded with the acute diffusion-weighted imaging lesion better than CBV, although no single threshold avoids detection of false-positive regions in unaffected white matter. This relates to low signal-to-noise ratio in CTP maps and emphasizes the need for optimized acquisition and postprocessing.
Advanced imaging of acute ischemic stroke has the potential to expand eligibility for thrombolysis beyond rigid time window-based selection. MRI perfusion–diffusion mismatch has been proposed as a method to identify patients likely to have salvageable brain tissue and therefore potentially benefit from reperfusion.1,2 The clinical application of MRI has, however, been impeded by limited emergent access to scanners. CT perfusion is a contrast bolus-tracking technique that can be performed on virtually any multidetector CT scanner currently in service in emergency departments throughout the world.3,4 To date, however, there have been limited studies of CT perfusion parameters and thresholds that optimally define irreversible infarction, a critical parameter in predicting the risks and potential benefits of reperfusion therapies.5 This is in contrast to MRI in which diffusion imaging has recently been confirmed as a reliable indicator of irreversible infarction.6,7,7a Previous research based on ROC analysis of concurrent diffusion MRI and CT perfusion in 25 patients8 proposed that absolute cerebral blood volume (CBV) <2.0 g/100 mL was the optimal method to determine infarct core. One study of 14 patients treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis suggested that relative cerebral blood flow (CBF) might be better than CBV.9 Other analyses have demonstrated correlation between infarct volume on MRI with empirical thresholds of cerebral blood volume10,11 but did not systematically compare parameters. CT perfusion has lower signal to noise compared with MRI, necessitating significant postprocessing (smoothing) of the data. This currently varies between CT perfusion processing software packages.12 We therefore aimed to systematically examine the effect of smoothing and determine the optimal parameter and threshold for irreversible infarct core in a larger series of patients with contemporaneous diffusion MRI and CT perfusion.
Consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke within 6 hours of stroke onset at a single center had diffusion MRI (1.5-T Siemens Magnetom Vision) obtained <1 hour after CT perfusion (CTP). Both imaging modalities were acquired before thrombolysis. The study was conducted from 2003 to 2007 and was approved by the institutional ethics committee. All patients gave written informed consent.
CT Acquisition
CTP was acquired (16-slice Phillips Mx8000 scanner) as 2 separate 24-mm slabs positioned to maximize supratentorial coverage. Iodinated contrast (40 mL) was injected at 5 mL/s and 35 images acquired every 1.3 seconds (total acquisition time 45 seconds). CT angiography was performed after CTP. Baseline major vessel occlusion was rated for site: internal carotid artery; middle cerebral artery—proximal (M1) or distal (M2); anterior or posterior cerebral artery; and severity using Thrombolysis In Myocardial Ischemia grade13 by consensus of 2 stroke neurologists (B.C.V.C. >5 years' experience, M.W.P. >10 years' experience).
CTP Analysis
Because commercial image processing software packages use a variety of postprocessing techniques, which are often incompletely specified and usually not customizable, we developed our own image processing pipeline using open-source MINC tools (Montreal Neurological Institute) and in-house developed Matlab scripts (R2009b; Mathworks, Natick, MA). Automated motion correction (in-plane) was performed and the raw CTP data were downsampled (bicubic without antialiasing) from 512×512 to 256×256. Gaussian smoothing was applied to the raw data using a range of kernel widths from 0 to 10 pixels (0–9.1 mm radius). All nonbrain tissue voxels were excluded from the kernel weighting to avoid edge smearing. An arterial input function was selected from the anterior cerebral artery14 and venous outflow function (VOF) from the superior sagittal sinus by a user-supervised (B.C.V.C.) arterial input function detection algorithm.15 Singular value decomposition deconvolution was performed with standard (sSVD, delay-sensitive) and oscillatory index-regularized block circular (oSVD, delay-insensitive) algorithms to create maps of CBF, mean transit time (MTT), and time to peak (Tmax). CBV and TTP were calculated from the concentration–time curve. CBV and CBF were calculated both as absolute quantities and relative (by ratio) to the mean of the contralateral hemisphere. TTP was expressed relative (by offset) to the mean of the contralateral hemisphere. For quality control, the visual appearance and peak intensity in Hounsfield units of the VOF were assessed by 2 independent observers (B.C.V.C. and S.C. >5 years' experience) who reached consensus. The bolus acquisition was classified as "truncated" if the VOF concentration failed to reach a plateau before the final time point.
Coregistration and Regions of Interests
The diffusion MRI was coregistered to each CTP slab using the noncontrast CT as an intermediary (MINC tools) and visually verified for accuracy using interactive image blending (B.C.V.C.). The maximal visual extent of the coregistered diffusion lesion and relative TTP lesion were manually outlined (B.C.V.C.). These manual regions of interest were drawn without reference to other imaging over a 1-week period and independently verified by a second stroke neurologist (M.W.P.) with disagreements resolved by consensus. Patients were included in this analysis if at least 1 CT perfusion slab contained abnormal perfusion and a component of the coregistered diffusion lesion. Patients were excluded if the contrast bolus arrived before the start of the acquisition or did not give rise to a detectable arterial input function.
ROC Analysis
ROC analysis was performed to assess the discriminative power of each perfusion parameter with respect to the coregistered concurrent diffusion-weighted imaging lesion as reference standard following the method of Christensen et al16 and detailed in an online supplement (Supplemental Methods; http://stroke.ahajournals.org). CIs for the global AUC statistics were derived by bootstrapping 10 000 random samples with replacement. The performance difference between CBF and CBV was also assessed by measuring sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive values, and the median volume of contralateral false-positive tissue below threshold (Wilcoxon).
Contemporaneously acquired CTP and diffusion MRI were available from 64 consecutive sub-6-hour patients with ischemic stroke (126 CTP slabs). Of these, 98 slabs from 54 patients were analyzed after exclusion of 18 slabs that did not cover a region of abnormal perfusion, 8 that did not cover a region of diffusion abnormality, and 2 with inadequate contrast bolus. The mean age of the patients was 71.8 years (SD 11.3) and 48% were male. Baseline major vessel occlusion (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Ischemia [TIMI] grade 0–1) was present in 81% (17% internal carotid artery, 57% proximal middle cerebral artery, 9% distal middle cerebral artery).The median time to CT was 190 minutes (interquartile range, 183–232 minutes) and median time between CT and MR was 27 minutes (interquartile range, 25–35 minutes).
ROC Analysis
The visual effect of smoothing the raw data on perfusion maps (sSVD) is illustrated in Figure 1 and was associated with improved global AUC values for all map types (Figure 2). Relative CBF had the highest AUC followed by absolute CBF, relative and absolute CBV, and the time-based parameters TTP, Tmax, and MTT. The global optimal thresholds from Youden index (Table 1) also shift with increasing smoothing. The AUC values for maps produced using oSVD were slightly lower for an equivalent level of smoothing due to increased noise. As expected, the optimal thresholds for CBF (but not other parameters) also differed using delay insensitive oSVD (Supplemental Table I).
A smoothing kernel of 6 pixel width (5.5-mm radius) was felt to be optimal based on the plateau in AUC and optimal threshold values at this level as well as the excessively blurred visual appearance created by wider kernels. Using these maps, CIs for the global AUCs were generated using bootstrapping. The 95% CIs for relative CBF (AUC, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.77–0.81) did not overlap those of any other parameter, including the previously proposed absolute CBV (AUC, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.73–0.76). The difference in AUC between relative CBF and absolute CBV was significant (mean, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.029–0.059; P<0.001, sign test). The optimal threshold for infarction using relative CBF (sSVD) was 31% (95% CI, 29%–32%) with sensitivity 72% and specificity 72%. Applied to whole brain, the global specificity increased to 88% with no change in sensitivity. This compared with sensitivity 66% and specificity 72% within the TTP lesion for absolute CBV <1.8% and specificity 75% in the whole brain (full results, Supplemental Table II). Baseline vessel occlusion did not alter the optimal threshold (relative CBF 30% versus 31%).
Applying the Thresholds
Visual inspection corroborated that CBF thresholds had better agreement with the diffusion lesion than CBV (Figure 3). The higher AUC for CBF resulted from a reduced volume of "false-positive" subthreshold white matter at any given level of sensitivity. In the contralateral hemisphere, this false-positive volume was significantly lower for relative CBF than relative CBV (median, 6.2 mL versus 35.5 mL; P<0.0001). The performance of a global threshold for relative CBF and CBV was superior to their absolute counterparts. It was visually evident that this resulted from random variation in scaling of the absolute parameters due to VOF and arterial input function partial voluming in these relatively narrow slabs. Normalization to the contralateral mean to produce relative CBF or CBV corrected for these scaling errors.
The main "false-positive" errors occurred in regions of noninfarcted white matter. The volume of false-positive brain with relative CBF <31% in the contralateral hemisphere had a significant inverse correlation with the intensity of the contrast bolus as assessed by the peak VOF intensity in Hounsfield units (r=−0.30, P=0.003). False-positive low CBF was also prominent in regions of leukoaraiosis (Figure 4). There were also false-negative regions, usually surrounding large vessels (eg, sylvian fissure; Figure 3) where the "halo" of partial voluming falsely elevates CBF and masks regions of infarction that are evident on diffusion MRI. Another cause of heterogeneity in the data was temporal truncation of the contrast bolus. Truncation occurred to some degree in 30 of 98 slabs. Although there was essentially no change in global AUC, the resultant underestimation of CBV and CBF led to a shift in optimal threshold in these patients (Table 2). As a result, the volume of infarct core would be overestimated if the standard optimal threshold were applied to truncated data.
This study has demonstrated that relative CBF is the optimal parameter to determine irreversible infarction using CTP, performing significantly better than CBV and in contrast to the main previous work in this area.8 Relative CBF remains consistently superior across a range of postprocessing conditions, although the quality of infarct core prediction is clearly dependent on factors such as degree of smoothing and the specific deconvolution algorithm used. Using our customizable processing pipeline, we found an optimal threshold of <31% of the contralateral mean CBF, although alternative software with different processing may require a different threshold. Our data highlight the potential variability in infarct core estimates that may result from the current wide variety in postprocessing algorithms used by different CT manufacturers and independent software vendors. Clinical trials using CTP selection therefore need to use the same software across all sites.
The key issue in this analysis was consistency in performance of a chosen threshold across a broad cohort of patients. For this purpose, relative CBF performed significantly better than absolute CBF. This occurred due to random variability in the scaling factors applied due to partial volumed VOF and arterial input function available for selection in these relatively thin (24 mm) slabs of brain. The performance improvement in AUC using CBF rather than CBV corresponded to a visually apparent reduction in false positive regions in white matter. Our finding may differ from the previous data,8 which favored absolute CBV due to the nature of the ROC analysis used. We analyzed the full range of CBF and CBV values, whereas Wintermark et al restricted the analysis on the basis of previously published values to relative CBF 40% to 90% and absolute CBV 0.5% to 3.5%. Our optimal threshold of relative CBF <31% was below this arbitrary range. Furthermore, our sample is twice the size of the previous analysis (54 patients with acute diffusion-weighted imaging versus 25 patients). In our analysis, the sSVD (delay-sensitive) deconvolution used by Wintermark et al performed at least as well as oSVD (delay-insensitive), although the derived optimal thresholds differed. Other previous studies, using follow-up infarct as the reference region, have suggested that average CBF values in the infarct core had less overlap with the penumbra than did average CBV values.9,16 More recent studies using concurrent diffusion MRI lesions and ROC methodology have also reported better performance with CBF than CBV.17,18 Our results go some way to explaining the potential methodological differences that may underlie the observed variation between the specific commercial software packages used in these studies.
There remain several important factors that limit the accuracy of CTP in identifying infarct core. Normal white matter has considerably lower CBF than gray matter.19–22 The threshold of <31% relative CBF is generally below the level of CBF in normal white matter. Therefore, the gray–white CBF gradient does not necessarily impact infarct core delineation unless suboptimal acquisition reduces signal to noise (already lower in CT compared with MR perfusion), leading to failure to detect flow in regions of normal white matter. We have identified that contrast bolus intensity is one determinant of the volume of "false-positive" white matter below the optimal threshold for defining infarction. In addition, it is well recognized that patients with leukoaraiosis have low CBF in affected regions.23,24 In this study, it was apparent that leukoaraiosis led to "false-positive" regions with CBF below the optimal threshold for infarction. These regions are often symmetrical and periventricular and identification may be aided by assessing the noncontrast CT and CTP in parallel. Another technical pitfall is failure to capture the entire transit of the contrast bolus, which shifts the optimal threshold and, if unrecognized, will overestimate the volume of infarct core. This is relatively common in clinical practice because acquisition length is limited by concerns about excessive radiation exposure and patients with poor cardiac output and resultant slow bolus transit are frequently encountered. In our sample, 30% of acquisitions had major truncation of the venous outflow curve and, although we cannot exclude minor truncation of the tissue concentration curve within the infarcted region in the remainder, VOF truncation was associated with a shift in optimal threshold. A longer acquisition time (at least 70–90 seconds) should be considered to avoid this issue, as recommended by expert consensus.25
Use of CTP thresholds is also subject to "false-negative" errors. We have observed that this is generally surrounding large blood vessels in which the partial voluming of very high CBF/CBV may mask regions of infarction that would be evident using diffusion MRI. This particularly occurs in the sylvian fissure where middle cerebral artery branches sometimes obscure assessment of the insular cortex. Eliminating vascular pixels can be used to mask out vessels. This does not, however, prevent the partial voluming effects in adjacent brain and cannot distinguish whether these regions are infarcted.
CT technology continues to evolve. Our data were acquired on a 16-slice scanner, which has been superseded in many institutions by machines with significantly greater slab coverage. Although this is a potential limitation, there is no reason to suspect that the performance of individual perfusion parameters in 16-slice data would differ using current state-of-the-art CT. The greater brain coverage of these newer scanners does, however, lead to advantages in analysis of mismatch between perfusion lesion and infarct core, which is a potential future avenue for research. A strength of this study is the use of sequential CT and MRI data, which overcomes much of the variability introduced by reperfusion, infarct edema, and atrophy that complicates interpretation of studies based on follow-up infarction.
This study has demonstrated that relative CBF is the optimal parameter for identifying infarct core using CTP. We have demonstrated ways in which different processing pathways alter the optimal thresholds and some of the potential pitfalls that lead to false-positive and false-negative regions. Accurately identifying infarct core is a crucial parameter in the estimation of the potentially salvageable brain tissue in the ischemic penumbra. Future work on optimizing smoothing algorithms and managing leukoaraiosis and vessel contamination will hopefully lead to improved sensitivity and specificity.
Sources of Funding
B.C.V.C. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia postgraduate scholarship 567156, the Heart Foundation of Australia, a Cardiovascular Lipid (CVL) Australia grant, and the Neuroscience Foundation of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. M.W.P. receives grant support from an Australian Research Council Fellowship FT0991128.
The online-only Data Supplement is available at http://stroke.ahajournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.618355/-/DC1.
- Received February 19, 2011.
- Revision received June 19, 2011.
- Accepted August 12, 2011.
- © 2011 American Heart Association, Inc.
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- Cerebral Blood Flow Is the Optimal CT Perfusion Parameter for Assessing Infarct CoreBruce C.V. Campbell, Søren Christensen, Christopher R. Levi, Patricia M. Desmond, Geoffrey A. Donnan, Stephen M. Davis and Mark W. ParsonsStroke. 2011;42:3435-3440, originally published November 28, 2011https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.618355
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- Cerebral Blood Flow Is the Optimal CT Perfusion Parameter for Assessing Infarct CoreBruce C.V. Campbell, Søren Christensen, Christopher R. Levi, Patricia M. Desmond, Geoffrey A. Donnan, Stephen M. Davis and Mark W. ParsonsStroke. 2011;42:3435-3440, originally published November 28, 2011https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.618355


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|Matthew Rosewarne on 2 Apr 2007 01:57:05 -0000
If you absolutely have to have updated deb packages before they are packaged for your distro, it is a much better idea to take the source deb from the current release, replace the orig.tar.gz, and bump the version. Using packages, especially ones as complex as OOo, that aren't packaged properly is playing russian roulette with your machine.
___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug


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Congressman Bill Owens voted today in favor of H.R. 436, legislation that would repeal a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices. The Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011 passed the U.S. House of Representatives with Owens' support by a vote of 270-146. Owens cosponsored H.R. 436 after first being approached at a town hall by a constituent in Plattsburgh who serves as the controller of a medical device manufacturer in Clinton County.
"After considering both sides of the issue and gathering information from a medical device manufacturer who was concerned that an excise tax may have a disproportionate impact on his business, I decided there are better ways to pay for expanding health coverage," said Owens. "This is another opportunity for both parties in Washington to put politics aside and work together for the good of the country."
Owens also cosponsored a separate bill that would repeal the same device tax, but pay for the loss in revenue by eliminating subsidies for oil and gas companies.
Source: http://owens.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=298916


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User: kyle_uff99
Info Reviews Forum Msgs. Contact
These are the most recent forum messages posted by kyle_uff99:
Re: Can't wait
Maybe if you all knew what the hell you were talking about then you would know that it is a instore credit to pay for the phones. Credit goes directly on the sale to use that day you port over. tards


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International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said organizers are considering the possibility of new Olympic sports, but before you start getting excited about hooping in the Olympics, here's what else Rogge had to say. Apparently he doesn't know hooping is alive and well and here to stay. When asked "One of the other things you talked about a lot during your time as president has been modernizing the Games and bringing in sports that appeal to youth. How can the IOC improve in bringing in sports or disciplines with growing appeal and removing sports and disciplines declining in appeal?" His response: "We're always very careful before including a sport in the Olympic program to be sure it's not a one-day trend — that it's really something popular and something universal. There are many examples of sports that took up and disappeared. … I'm someone who was raised in the hula-hoop generation. I was good [at] hula hoop. I could hoop very well, and it was a rage, but it never got to the Olympic Games, thank God. We only put it in the Games once it's withstood the test of time." Sporting News
2 thoughts on "Hula Hooping an Olympic Sport?"
I'm really good at hula hooping and it's my dream to be in the Olympics.
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SIGGRAPH 1998 - Matte Painting
in the Digital Age
Digital Matte Painting
Traditional matte painting techniques
are as old as the motion picture camera and have changed
very little since they were first developed around the
turn of the century. But today, computers are redefining
matte painting as they have already revolutionized so
many other aspects of filmmaking. Matte paintings like
the ones you have just seen are becoming obsolete --
a lost art. But the need for creating effects sequences
like those in "The Paradine Case" remains.
New, digital techniques like "virtual
set-building" are becoming more and more essential to
filmmaking. So, why are traditional matte paintings
being replaced by computer graphics solutions? Well,
the matte painting has been an excellent solution for
static shots where the camera does not have to move
through a scene. Skilled matte cameramen could employ
tricks to simulate camera moves by zooming, panning
and tilting over the painting.
Great Expectations - Creating
We just saw an example of this in that shot from "The Paradine
Case" where Gregory Peck is standing in the distance next to the
lamp. Still, ordinary matte paintings are two-dimensional artwork.
They are limited to moves that don't change in perspective. The
gift of computer graphic solutions to visual effects is that we can
now move through the third dimension in digital matte paintings.
This is a sequence from 1997's Great
Expectations that had similar requirements to The
Paradine Case. It was our job to create an interior
establishing Miss Havisham's dilapidated mansion. Using
what's called "3D match-move," we have tracked the camera
movement from the "real world" motion-picture camera
to our 3D software's "virtual camera" in the virtual
After visually confirming that we have
matched all the camera's movement with the wire frame,
we can now attach the real world set to the virtual
set at any transition point. In this case, from just
below the balcony. Now, we call this final rendering
stage "two-and-a-half-D" (instead of 3D) because the
next step is for the matte artist to create custom texture
maps with his or her 2D paint tools that will ride on
the wire frame geometry as the camera moves through
the scene.


text: Dominion Command is the senior level. Each province has a Provincial Command. However Nova Scotia Command includes the Northwest Territories and the Manitoba Command includes Northwestern Ontario. Provincial commands are divided into districts with District Commands. The Districts are further divided into zones. Branch 58 is part of Ontario Command, District B, Zone B-6.


text:
In 2004 a movie directed by Mel Gibson took the theaters by storm. No one could have imagined the impact this movie would have. This movie was The Passion of The Christ. It has been said that the domestic total gross of the movie was $370,274,604.
I think a person would have to be made of stone to have watched this amazing account and not be broken, challenged and thankful.
The details of the crucifixion is found in several different passages in the scriptures.
I want to focus on a part of the last twelve hours of Christ leading up to the crucifixion, which is not always given a lot of thought. This act is the betrayal of a kiss.
Lets look at Matthew 26:48-49
48: Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he.Hold him fast.
49: And forthwith he came to Jesus and said hail master; and kissed him.
I mean, Judas was offering up to the enemy the man who was not only his friend, but was also his savior. Why would he call him master? Why would he choose a kiss to point him out?
To be honest, I wanted to go find Judas and hang him myself!
I was forced to look inside myself as I reflected on these actions. I couldn't get that kiss out of my mind.
We are called to be the bride of Christ. I have been married a long time. I know a little something about what it means to be a bride.
I have had many co-workers, acquaintances and friends. I care about these people. With all of these relationships, I am only a bride to one. What kind of bride would I be if I didn't share a more intimate, deeper relationship with my husband than I do with others in my life?
Let's look at this in our spiritual relationship with our heavenly bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
How many times has the Lord tried to draw me into an intimate time of worship with him? How often has he longed for me to take time to sit at His feet and learn of Him through His word? Do I often put those times off and just play a praise song while I go about my business and call it worship? Do I just pick a verse out to quickly read on my way out of the door? In these ways, am I betraying my bridegroom by just offering up a quick "kiss" instead of realizing the importance of my time alone with Him?
The word betray means to prove faithless. Am I proving to be faithless when I don't take the time to develop into the bride He is calling me to be?
Let's be honest. There are always times when we must get things done. We can't always spend as much time with the Lord as we would like. We all have things we must attend to. Like with marriage, some time away focusing on other things won't hurt. It is when we allow it to become what's normal for us that our relationship will suffer. I feel that as we determine to set this time aside for Him, He will redeem the time we need for the other day-to-day things we are all responsible for.
The word discipline is where we get the word disciple. We must learn to discipline ourselves to set aside time to read His word, listen to His voice, and worship Him. In this time alone, we will truly learn what it is to become one with Him. Let's not betray His love with a quick kiss… let's truly enter into the intimate relationship with Him that He has designed for all of us.
~Connie Robinson


text:
Get dining news including restaurant closures and qualify for giveaways.
Mandalay is a modern Euro-Asian restaurant located on Steveston's Waterfront.
There are more scenic places to dine in Steveston, but Mandalay Lounge is not bad.
Had the Tuna Sashimi Salad, was small but tasty. Waitress kept calling me 'man' like we were old high school buddies,which was weird, but she was pleasant and was mostly funny.
Looks pretty clean inside. A little too 'modern bullshitty slick' for my taste. But hey its a little bit more private than the main pier in Steveston there. Not a bad place.
Having lugged an enormous painting through Steveston with my bare hands, I deserved a rest and a good meal. We stopped at Mandalay overlooking the channel of the Fraser River. The chairs didn't seem to match the tables but that was okay; I only wanted to sit on one piece of furniture and eat from the other and once I'd used my engineering skills to remove the chair from under the table I was okay.
My fiancée and I had a beer each and we both opted for the fish and chips after the waiter enthusiastically said it was halibut.
The sun was in my face and I felt like I was either in heaven or the Mediterranean. The music was like an old-fashioned Cuban salsa and I was able to take a couple of photographs before the dinner arrived.
The waiter proved to be even more enthusiastic than we first thought. He returned with our plates, delivering mine like a frisbee and launching most of my chips onto the table. "Oh, that was amazing", was his review of the situation, whereas I just laughed and presumed he was desperate to put my fish in the middle of my plate, which was where it finished up. My fiancée's food landed more safely in front of her and we ate amused.
My meal was the best fish and chips I've had in Canada. The fish was fresh, beautifully cooked and lightly battered and my fries - at least those I managed to salvage - were fine. Even the tomato and tartar sauces were lovely. Having asked my fiancée, she says her fish was outstanding, thoroughly cooked and light. She says the fries could have been crispier but the flavour of both the fries and the yam fries was lovely. She got a nicely spicy mayo with her yam fries, which she also loved.
We finished with the cheesecake. I thought it was too thick, but that's how the lady likes it so I suppose there can be no complaints there. It was a bit dull though as I could barely tell the difference in texture between what was supposed to be the biscuit and the cheesecake. I like a light cheesecake with a crispy biscuit!
The ambience was, for my taste, flawless. I sat facing the sun and there was nothing ugly between it and I, and the quaint harbour feel could charm a dead man to sing.
The charming waiter brought extra fries for me and I think he bought one of my beers, which he really didn't have to but I was very grateful.
The bill came to about $60, which I was okay; perhaps a little on the mean side, but okay. My fish and chips were of the very highest order so I wouldn't complain.
I went to Mandaly for the first time last night. The menu has a lot of different types of cuisine so I would not call this a steak house.
The quality of food was good , the pricing reasonable and the service excellent. Plus they have a nice variety of wine options.
It was a slow tuesday night so know wait for anything.
Went for dinner with the guys. We wanted a quality steakhouse and thought to try Mandalay. The restaurant is located on Steveston's waterfront. Beautiful ambiance and views with good quality live music. The staff was friendly and worked hard. The variety of the menu was extensive but steak section was limited for a steakhouse. My party of three all ordered rib eye steak. The steak came with mashed potatoes, vegetables and a choice of sauce. The rib eye was sub-par meat at best. The steak was thinly cut and pre-sliced on the plate. Never been to a steakhouse that pre-slices a rib eye in the kitchen. Hence, the steak was not juice anymore. I have been to quality steakhouses that slice the steak on the table not the kitchen. I was really disappointed with the quality of the steak. The restaurant was great except for the quality of the steak. Lots of potential but need improvement.
Having read the reviews here, I was not expecting much from Mandalay. However, it turned out much better than I expected. I went on a Thursday evening with a couple of friends, and since it was nice out, we sat on the patio. Our server was very pleasant, as was the buser. We ordered the spinach, crab and artichoke dip for an appetizer, and it arrived warm without being too hot to touch, and it didn't have an overpowering seafood taste, which I was afraid of. Both my friends ordered the steak burger, and they both liked it a lot. One of my friends is very picky about the toppings on her burger, and basically asked for a customized version of what was on the menu. I was a little embarrassed by it, but our server didn't seem to mind, and the burger arrived just as my friend had requested. I had the asparagas and asiago ravioli. The sauce was the main source of flavour, but I enjoyed it well enough. Dessert is my favourite course, and it was delicious here. I had a pear shaped chocolate hazelnut frozen dessert, that I found very unique. My friend had the creme brulee, which she pretty much breathed in. At one point, it was beginning to get a little chilly, and we were given blankets, which I thought was a very considerate touch. I would definitely come back here.
Came here with my mom and brother for sunday night family dinner. We walked in and behind us was a party of 10. We were seated at the same time. We ordered 2 appies and 3 entrees. our appies came 30 minutes later and then we waited..and waited..and waited..our entrees took another hour and a half.
We spoke to the server 3 times..he kept apologizing. He kept telling us that it was because the kitchen was slammed. I've worked in restaurants before and when they say a kitchen is slammed, it's usually when several tables get seated at the same time and order at the same time and then restaurant is usually busy...this wasn't the case..the restaurant was not busy and it was just our table of 3 and 2 tables after us - the party of 10 and another party of 4. I thought it was ridiculous. The manager/owner came to us and said that they were still trying to work out the kinks of being a new restaurant. She wasn't very apologetic and didn't offer anything in return so we decided to get our stuff and leave.
When we got up, another person (another manager?!) ran up to us and said he would take care of our entrees and that it would be only another 7 mins. We decided to stay since entrees would be free and we only had to wait another 7 mins...umm, we waited another 15 mins and our entrees were terrible. My mom's burger was burnt (who burns a burger?!), my mahi mahi was dry and my brother's salmon was overly salted.
We got the bill and it turns out that they only took 50% off our entrees. WTF?!
We paid our bill, I still gave my server 15% cuz i know it wasn't his fault. Management/owner is poor..food is poor. Don't waste your time. Steveston has much more better restaurants.. GO ELSEWHERE.
Wife and I decided to dine in Steveston and have heard much about this new restaurant.
Luckily for myself, they have a sport lounge side which was perfect. The wife truly enjoyed the funky modern atmosphere and water view and I relished the opportunity to watch the game on nice big screens.
We both had a set menu special and the food was a nice surprise. We paid $35 for a three course meal that I would say costs maybe twice as much as if I was downtown. Crab Cakes, Filet Mignon & a nice home made dessert .
We love coming into Steveston and we live in Richmond. It's a nice change from Cactus Club or Earl's. Our dining options are pretty slim for what we like in Vancouver. A GREAT alternative to having to go downtown.
We'll be back!
Very Yaletownish decor, was pretty impressed with what the overall had to offer. Was with a party of 4 celebrating a birthday and we had a really good time.
Food was above average but isn't 5 star like some of the high end players downtown but this isn't fine dining as there's a sports lounge and a casual yet upscale feel. Like a mini Joey's with a water view (and I'm a big fan of Joey's)
I had a burger while my other 3 guests had steaks. Steaks looked GREAT but I didn't have a chance to taste. My burger was awesome.
Definitely the place in Steveston to go to when in Steveston.
We tried this restaurant for the first time but won't be returning. There are many other choices in Richmond.
The noise level of the "background music" was irritating. The seating in the dining area was cramped. The selection of local beer was the poorest I've seen anywhere in Richmond. The price for wine was ridiculously expensive - including what should have been average-priced brands.
The service was somewhat annoying as the waitress was interrupting us too frequently.
The food was average-to-good.
I don't recommend this restaurant.
Was her during a weeknight and Steveston has been a good hang out of mine for the past year since my best bud moved to the area.
Now I'll be honest, I my first time here about a yr ago wasn't the best experience. My friend had told me the got rid of their old chef and we gave Mandalay another chance a couple of nights ago.
They have THE RIGHT combination for an ultra modern & urban style restaurant and I felt like i was in montreal or even New York.
Food was awesome (try the spinach dip) and my steak was legendary. I far cry from my last experience here. We'll be back a LOT in the summer. great hang out with a GREAT crowd even on a monday night.
Heard about Mandalay Lounge and Steakhouse on the radio and needed to experience it. Arrived with a friend and was shocked to hear they had no room for us. I believe there UFC night is quiet a hit there. But our timing was great and ended up squeezing into a table. WOW! had a great food, Fabulous evening. What a little secret in Steveston.
We had been to Mandalay once before, and were quite disappointed. We decided that we would give the place one more try to see if things had changed.
The restaurant is in a great location overlooking the water. The decor is OK...not to my taste...just a matter of preference. Others may love it. I think it has a confused identity between being a bar/lounge or a restaurant. I don't necessarily want to have 6 TV's in my line of sight when I go out for "nice" dinner.
The service just wasn't good. The best way I could put it is our waitress was very flaky. I don't want to be doted on or want our server to be hovering, but I do like someone that is attentive and there at the right times.
The food: The first time we went it was just plain bland. This time I had the burger, which was a little too dry and just OK. With it, I had a salad (instead of fries)that was absolutely inedible. They had drowned it in so much dressing. Thankfully they didn't charge me for the salad (which was extra $). I guess they could see the limp lettuce and the pool of dressing and realized the mistake. No apology though....just an "Oh."
My wife had the Thai Salad. Absolutely bland...no flavor/awful. We had no idea what relation this salad had to with anything Thai.
We were really hoping for something different. We live in Richmond and go to Steveston quite often. Another good restaurant in that area would be more than welcome. The place is in a great location and could be successful if they just got their act together. If the food was better, we could overlook the service as this is any easy fix. However, their problems are much deeper and they need either a new owner or a chef with some skill to overhaul their menu. Until that happens, we won't be returning.
My wife and decided to try this new restaurant on valentine's day. the atmosphere and ambience immedaitely impresses you as you enter the door. the actual dining area and bar isnt too big, but there is a 2nd flr which is the lounge area for drinks.
for valentine's celebraiton, it seems that they are either poorly trained or unpreapred. first thing i see on the bar countertop is the clean up rag, beside a bottle of cleaning liquid, which was so close the bottles of wine and beer and plates on the bar table.
as soon as we were shown to the table, the attendant, left as standing right in the middle of the dining room. she went to speak with other customers and left us hanging. after she realized her mistake, we were then seated. i ordered a PRIME RIB ANGUS burger, while my wife a rack of lamb ( which we were informed they had no stock. ) so she went with the 10oz steak with lobster special. we also had the mandaly shrimp to start.
our water goblets were filled only once, as i had to flag the waitress for a refill. now on to the food....shirmp was mediorce in taste. shrimps broiled then drizzled with butter and herb sauce. the shrimps werent seasoned at all. tasted bland. any fool could make it at home. my wife's steak was bland and poorly cooked. only her lobster was the saving grace because surprisingly it was the meat was juicy. my burger came and was charred beyond taste. it was dry and tough, consireing it was supposed to be angus. VERAs made better burgers. it tasted like a MCDONALD'S angus burger. im certain that it was a frozen patty. after calling the attention of the waitress, she even asked me "what do you want me to do with it?" ---what the helluva quesiton is this? i said, well, "how about replacing it??" oh boy! long story short, i wasnt even offered a discount or a free dessert for their screw up. i mean, what kind of "fine dining place" burns a burger?? if you cant even do that right, good luck with the lamb and steaks. the menu offered so little choices, specially for seafood, considering it is a waterfront restaurant, on a fishing village. no prk entrees. 1 soup choice and 2 salad choices. it even went so far as to offer 1-2 chinese dishes, and believe it or not...butter chicken!!
my conclusion, first, there is no "chef" in this place. i'll bet it is a level 1 cook or even a student cook. the manager doesnt have a good knowledge about restaurant operations and proper procedures. appy plates and cutlery were never changed, the tabel next to us even had to request this. no steak knives were given.
i met the manager as i was paying. when he asked me how was everything, i told him the story and that my food was replaced. he didnt even apologize or offer any kind of compensation for the bad experience. all he said was "ok" turned his back on me and walk away to do other things.
will i go back...NEVER!
We went to try this restaurant on a quiet saturday night and got seated in the bar, even though there was only one table in the dinning room that had been seated. There was techno music that played all night and the hockey game was on the flat screen. We ordered the prawns and calamari to start. Prawns were excellent but our calamari was overcooked. I had the lamb special which was overdone and my boyfriend had the special ribeye which was great. If we had been seated in the dinning room with the one other table, we probably would have enjoyed ourselves much more. The fact that we had not made reservations and were seated in the empty bar, even though there was tons of room in the dining room, the bad ambience has left us determined that we will never go back.
I have to agree with lilac on this restaurant. I was one of the diners from the table of ten. The food took a long time to arrive even though the restaurant was only half full. When the food did arrive it was under satisfactory levels. The common problem with all the dishes I tried was seasoning. Salt should be the first ingredient you season with and it wasn't present. Everything was bland bland bland. The grilled calamari was basically frozen tiny squid rings that were blanched and tossed in a pan with oil. There were no grill flavour in it at all. The chicken wings while nicely presented were not seasoned and failed to bring any flavour out of the chicken. I had the ahi tuna entree and while the tuna was well cooked it was not salted. The sides consisting of baby carrots, squash, and rice were all undercooked. All were crunchy and unappetizing. I would definely come back to enjoy the view with a couple drinks but food is definitely a no.
Went there last week of Aug 2009. My friend and I each ordered a filet (after all, it's a steakhouse). The waitress told us to order the balsamic vinegar reduction sauce with our steaks. The beef was okay, but not all that flavourful and the mashed potatoes tasted like they were made a week ago. How hard is it to make mashed potatoes every night? Earls and The Keg seem to do it just fine. The balsamic reduction looked like tar and overpowered the steak. The rest of the veg (3 sprigs of baby carrots and one mini squash bulb) were very undercoooked. My friends steak was overcooked and they gave her a discount on her meal after she complained. My dinner cost $60 and it was really lame. Nice room though.
The location and atmosphere of this restaurat is very nice. They did a great job decorating and creating a trendy, inviting space. Unfortunately, Mandalay's food can not be as nicely complimented. This is suppose to be a steakhouse and we did not order steak, so I can not comment on that. Their $8 garden salad was the biggest waste of money I have ever seen and incredibly uncreative. Literally a handful of bagged salad on a plate with a couple cherry tomatoes thrown on the plate. Do not order the lobster ravioli, whoever created this dish needs to go back to chef school. The butter chicken was decent, but tasted like it came out of a jar. The thai curry chicken was good, but the vegetables weren't cooked thoroughly. All in all do not be fooled by the enticing looks of this restaurant...unless you want mediocre food.
I joined a group of friends for dinner at Mandalay last weekend and I was pleasantly surprised by the great food and superb service. Everything from the scrumptious appetizers to the special menu of exotic drinks was made to impress. The friendly and knowledgeable staff made sure everything about our dining experience was perfect. The interior design was modern and swanky without being pretentious, the floor-plan could accommodate a number of different sized parties and tastes, and the waterfront location lent an air of tranquility to the otherwise 'happening' atmosphere.
I'd definitely recommend Mandalay to others and hope to make it back soon!
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Getting On | iPlayer
Attenborough's Journey |iPlayer
Wonderland: Mad Cats and Englishwomen | iPlayer
How to Get a Head in Sculpture | iPlayer
Child Genius: Five Years On | 4OD
Virtue has been rewarded with a return to the schedules for BBC4's dark and unglamorous hospital comedy Getting On, launched last year with three superbly measured episodes of low-key wit and broad hilarity. Who (of the 19 people who saw it) can forget the fun had with the self-important Dr Moore's faecal stool research programme or the eloquently brief wrangling over the ethics of eating a dead woman's birthday cake, or those oases of tedium, ticking with wicked purpose.
The first thing I noticed, though – even as the great Richard Hawley title song lulled us into the new series – was how healthily Daz blue everything looked. Here came the familiar cameras, zooming and retreating in homage to The Thick of It (courtesy of director Peter Capaldi), but where was the bilious washed-out decor and bad complexions and air of neglect? Had the MRSA police been in with the Mr Muscle and a lick of paint? Had someone been ironing the uniforms?
It soon began to ooze some of the old malodorous promise with the arrival of a comatose female of no fixed abode smelling like "an every-orifice cocktail", as dogsbody nurse Kim (mistress of droll, Jo Brand) put it, vying with ward sister Den (Joanna Scanlan) for best evocative observation of human pungency. Something was rotten down there…
There was more laughter to be milked out of it with the entrance of no-nonsense consultant Dr Moore (the excellent Vicki Pepperdine), blind to preposterousness as she urged her retinue of horrified dimwit trainees to peer into the poor woman's back passage and see a valuable learning opportunity. "So… perineal abscess? Rectal prolapse? Anal fistulae?" It was funny, but it did start to dribble away into a dull scene about the new gerontology wing, only to be picked up again by Donald the porter, trying to offload the offending patient on other unwilling departments, his gurney journeying back and forth with diminishing comic power. By the time he parked it in the corridor the only smell I could detect was the new lino.
To be fair there were entertaining skirmishes but they lacked the friction that gave the last series its crackling energy. Den has lost her fear of the officious Dr Moore. Sexually bi-curious matron Hilary – a monster of neuroses held in check by self-help psychobabble – has been stripped of his menace (like Samson before him, I believe) by the blowjob Den gave him in the back of a taxi. And where were the delicious lingual infelicities, the absurdities of NHS jargon, the workplace correctness that left Kim floundering in useless common sense – the whole pickle of moral compromise without which drama can be neither funny nor tragic? Perhaps it will all be back next week. I hope so.
David Attenborough has been working in television longer than almost anyone on earth has been watching it, so he was bound to have a few stories. But it was the way he told 'em that made Attenborough's Journey the treat it was. There was one about the difficulty of trying to remove a gecko from his finger, and the occasions during his Zoo Quest years when he and Mrs Attenborough had friends round for dinner with the house smelling of animal piss ("That's surely not mulligatawny soup…"). And who could resist the one about the race to beat the Germans to colour TV, when he was controller of BBC2 in 1967? "Well, we had just won the war," he explained, measuring time as only someone interested in fossils can.
There was a lot of ground to cover, not least Attenborough's pioneering role in the classic series Civilisation and The Ascent of Man, forerunners in ambition for his own epic programmes that brought us swooping aerial shots and night cameras and the miracles of photography that could slow a bee's wings in flight or make flowers bloom in an instant. But it was just as enjoyable watching him fool around on location for his new series (First Life, which starts on Friday). Here he was with his old chum Professor Fortey, chortling abstrusely to themselves about Moroccan Trilobites, like characters from Harry & Paul. Elsewhere he was muttering about being required to wear an interested expression, or walk in a particular way. "You can give them the John Wayne, which is tight-buttocked," he said wistfully. "But I'm not allowed to do it much these days."
It was worth watching just to see Attenborough swat a mosquito. "Got the bastard," he said.
The British are proud animal lovers, but imagine the racket if London's half a million stray cats told their own story. As it happens, Wonderland: Mad Cats and Englishwomen did it for them, though at times it sounded more like an argument to keep dogs. How brave – or possibly ill advised – were Celia and Pat, the former running a frenzied inner-city neutering and castration service, the other scouring the streets looking for abused and starving strays to join the dozens already infesting her modest and frankly less than salutary domestic arrangements. They had cats coming out of their ears. I've never seen two women look more knackered, and of course cat collecting isn't something you can get out of without adding to the problem. It's not like owning racehorses. Pat dreamed of romance, though she had tried and failed. "You have to have a special guy. One that can put up with dirt trays all over the house. Men hate that." Yes, I believe they do.
I enjoyed How to Get a Head in Sculpture presented by the actor David Thewlis, who asked three artists to do his likeness. While they got on with it, we learnt (from contributors as diverse, in their attachment to ballroom dancing, as Ann Widdecombe and Maggi Hambling) about the symbolic value of heads in western culture, from the emperor Augustus – he of the lunatic staring eyes in the British Museum – to Marc Quinn's equally compelling Self, the model of his own head made from pints of frozen blood.
But was the point to go for physical accuracy or something that stood for the person beneath the skull? You had to ask artist Tom Price, whose miniature sculpture not only depicted Thewlis as a black man, but a black man who didn't look anything like Thewlis. So in what sense was it Thewlis's head? It had me scratching mine.
If Child Genius: Five Years On showed us anything, it was how being older and less cute than you used to be can take the shine off the most precocious talent. One chess prodigy hadn't got beyond No 42 in world rankings; the 10-year-old published novelist of 2005 was now concentrating on his GCSEs. And was budding film director Aimee's irritation at her mother's inferior intellect a sign of astronomical cleverness or just a sign of being 15?
I preferred the new intake: eight-year-old "mini-Monet" Kieron who had just bought a nice house in Cornwall with the money earned from his paintings; and how about cheerful maths wizards the Ahmed boys, 10 and 12, whose parents proudly revealed their masterplan to sell their sons' souls into corporate actuarialism? Well, we can all dream.


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Retail gasoline in the U.S. fell to the lowest level in a year as refineries restored production and stockpiles rose to an eight-month high, blunting criticism of President Barack Obama's energy policies.
Regular gasoline dropped 9.5 cents yesterday, or 2.8 percent from a week earlier, to $3.254 a gallon, the lowest since Dec. 19, 2011, according to data posted on the Energy Department's website. Crude prices, by comparison, are up 2.2 percent from a week ago in New York.
"Retail gasoline has been falling faster than crude prices have," David Hackett, president of independent fuel consultant Stillwater Associates in Irvine, California, said in a telephone interview. "The real story here is that gasoline inventories have built across the board."
Prices at the pump rose as high as $3.878 in September, stoking debate over Obama's policies in the months leading up to this year's U.S. presidential election. Retail costs are down 16 percent since then, with demand for gasoline lagging behind pre- recession levels, U.S. refineries coming back on line after disruptions, and domestic crude production rising.
The U.S. is riding a technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to produce an increasing proportion of its domestic needs. Fracking, which uses pressurized water to drive gas and oil from shale rock, has helped America meet 83 percent of its energy needs in the first eight months of this year, the highest annual level since 1991, Energy Department data show. An intelligence advisory panel said last week the nation may achieve energy independence in as little as 10 years.
Stockpiles Rise
Gasoline supplies in the U.S. increased 2.4 percent in the week ended Dec. 7 to 217.1 million barrels, the highest since April 6, the Energy Information Administration said Dec. 12. They climbed another 1.9 million barrels, or 0.9 percent, to 219 million in the seven days ended Dec. 14, according to the median of seven analyst estimates before an Energy Department report tomorrow. It would be the highest inventory since March 30.
U.S. gasoline consumption fell 1.2 percent to 8.54 million barrels a day in the four weeks ended Dec. 7 and is down 8.1 percent from the same period in 2007, before the worst global recession since World War II, according to the Energy Department.
Consumption peaked at 9.68 million barrels a day during July 2007, according to the four-week average data from the Energy Department. Demand slipped to an 11-year low of 8.04 million during February.
Retail gasoline fell in every region of the U.S. this week. The Midwest had the biggest drop, declining by 14 cents to $3.144 a gallon, the Energy Department said.
"Whatever refinery problems they had in the Midwest got solved last week," Hackett said.
Maintenance Turnaround
CVR Energy Inc. (CVI)'s Wynnewood refinery in Oklahoma was starting equipment Dec. 7 after a maintenance turnaround, a notice to federal regulators shows. Phillips 66 (PSX) also finished a turnaround Dec. 10 at the Borger, Texas, refinery, which delivers refined products by pipeline to markets in West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and the Midcontinent.
Falling gasoline prices, along with rising home values and job growth, prompted more Americans last month to say the world's largest economy will improve than at any time in the past decade. Lower gasoline prices may help cushion the blow if U.S. lawmakers agree on a deal to raise reduce government spending and raise taxes for the wealthiest Americans.
When U.S. gasoline prices rose before the U.S. summer driving season, Republican challenger Mitt Romney in March referred to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and the secretaries of Energy and Interior as the "gas-hike trio." The American Energy Alliance, funded in part by oil companies, criticized Obama in a television commercial titled "Nine Dollar Gas."
The U.S. is among the nations feeling the least pain at the pump, with a gallon of premium gasoline costing Americans 3 percent of their daily income in October, 55th out of 60 nations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.


text:
After School Apple Snack Cake
From my story, "Law & Order: After School Special"
The Ingredients
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon zest
The Process
Preheat your oven to 350˚F and prepare an 8" x 8" square cake pan by thoroughly greasing and lining with parchment.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, oil, and lemon zest until slushy, approximately 2 minutes.
Add the egg, and with the mixer on medium high beat until smooth.
Stop the mixer, and add the vanilla, and yogurt. Beat on high speed until the ingredients are combined and smooth.
Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine on the lowest speed just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool before topping with cooked apples (below.)
Easy version: line up slices of two uncooked apples on the top of the unbaked batter. Sprinkle generously with sugar, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Skip the steps below.
Cooked Apples
The Ingredients
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, sliced, and cored
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 tsp frozen concentrated orange juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a sauté pan and cook until the apples are softened and cooked through.
When both cake and apples have cooled assemble by lining up the cooked apples in rows on top of the cake.


text:
|Reviews for Dance of the Chimera
| Coli Narago chapter 8 . 11/28/2012
No! This cannot be the end! The last update cannot have been five years ago! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o! *gets into fetal position* This cannot be happening to me...
| colinarago chapter 2 . 11/16/2012
I love Milina. Can I have one? Please? I'd kind of like one with wings, and just to be my friend, not my servant. Though, if she could pick up my room a bit, organize my xbox games...
| Colinarago chapter 1 . 11/15/2012
This is amazing. :D
The story is interesting, I love your writing style, and honestly, your characters are interesting so far. Especially Knox, though. I ca't wait to find some more out about Taverus' personality. :)
| la cocaina chapter 8 . 3/30/2011
What there isn't more? Ah! This is so enteraining how could you not update this?
| papermachee chapter 8 . 8/26/2010
I really really like this :)
I only recently found this and I was hooked and could not stop reading. Needless to say I was disappointed with the fact I could not continue on after chapter 8 but if you don't update again (or at least for a while) I guess I can make it up? haha
So yeah, I really like this and I wanted you to know :]
| Madame Penguin chapter 8 . 7/6/2010
I love it when people come up with sybolism in fortune telling in their stories. It always makes me smile and wish I could be playing along with them just to see what I would get. Did you make this form of fortune telling yourself or is there an actual game?
...Gosh I am wondering how everything is going to work out with that wife of his...it confuses the heck out of me and makes me come up with a whole new story about how as he is off being trapped in Knox's castle, she is off trying to con his family and somehow taking all the money and running off or something with her secret lover or something.
Interesting story and looking forward to the next update
| lijuan chapter 2 . 6/3/2010
hi !
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| lijuan chapter 1 . 6/3/2010
This is zhuli from China. We Wholesale also accept Drop Shipping Brand Super A Shoes, Shirts/T-Shirts,Jackets,Hoodies,Jeans, Handbags, Sunglasses. Use Safest and Fastest Shipping, Shipping cost is free. For more information, please feel free to contact me :
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| eiyuang999 chapter 1 . 5/23/2010
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| KeitarosKeroNeko chapter 8 . 3/21/2009
I know you asked us to review, but I really am awful at this sort of thing...
Anyways, just wanted to let you know that I'm loving your story so far and can't wait for the next chapter
| Chasmodai Blue chapter 8 . 11/30/2008
I really appreciate the character development in this story. The personalities are very distinct and they make it very easy to get to know each of the different players. I liked Milina a lot, even if she was minor. Another good thing about your character development: their back stories were expertly worked in, another plus, because it is typical of pasts either be completely mysterious or thrown at the reader all at once. Nice change.
The description of the worlds is nice as well, although it was a bit confusing sometimes, keeping track of all the different locations (my fault though, I believe). The backdrop added interest to the story.
The only constructive criticism to come to mind was that there was a lack of conflict (irony indeed, considering the story takes place during times of war) between characters. Beyond basic bickering, I didn't think there was a lot of emotional clashing.
No matter. You did a wonderful job, and if you post your works elsewhere on the internet, I would be interested in finding them one day.
| Tasha chapter 8 . 6/20/2008
Amazing. I really enjoy the story so far, the cultural details are as interesting as the characters themselves, and the grammar wasn't too bad though I did catch a few mistakes here and there. I was simple amazed at how easily it was for me to enjoy their interaction, although the idea the Taverus is married really kinda made twitch. I'm still very interested in seeing how their relationship grows, try not to rush into though please.
I also really want to know more about their respective backgrounds, especially Knox. The introduction of the sisters at first irritated me simple because I had liked the image of them alone, but I have to say that I do enjoy them now, Tahelia most of all. Oh and am I the only one who feels that their names are all too similar and has trouble keeping them strait. Cause I really do, but then I'm bad with names in real life as well.
Yes, an amazingly well written Romance. Enjoyed it so far and is simple drooling for the next.
| angel-Janna chapter 8 . 1/23/2008
Well, I must say it's not fair to leave me on a cliffhanger like that- I need more, dammit!
I have a few teensy gripes: not passed, past, and not lowly, quietly... but apart from that I have nothing else to moan about. I love how you've built a relationship and not plunged straight in with Knox and Taverus (imaginitive names, by the way), and I loved the description of the land you set this in. I also love the shift between the formal and the colloquial aspects of their relationship: the way one minute they're joking like old friends and the next they are so incredibly awkward... really lovely, talented writing. (oh, and it's rapt attention, not wrapt... no presents involved! ;D )
Keep it up (impressed!)
Janna X
| Feyla chapter 8 . 9/15/2007
This has been quite interesting so far. I just stumbled on it today when I was looking for some new, good stories to read and it was so nice to find one. So many I just can't tolerate. I like this so far though, the personalities of the characters are different, especially Knox. He's a rather strange character I guess would be the best way to describe him. As the story progresses though, more is being revealed about him.
I can't think of much to say honestly that would be very interesting, so I'll just stick to commenting on this chapter. Seeing Knox's family come in has added something new to the story and is revealing more about him. It's adding a contrast to his relations with Taverus. And in this chapter especially, the predictions were quite interesting. I have to admit if it had gone on much longer you would have lost me, but it was just enough. I'll have to read over it again later for it all to make sense, but that part between Taverus and Knox was like, come on boys! wake up and see the similarities here! It was quite amusing to me. I'll stop my rambling though and put this on my alerts so I'll know when the next chapter comes out and I look forward to reading it!
| Haven36 chapter 5 . 9/7/2007
This is a very interesting and original story. I can't wait to find out why they had to take the uterus.


text:
|Half Baths
|3,300 sq. ft.
|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|7 nights
Summer oasis in Town! Beautifully appointed summer home , recently renovated with top of the line amenities and furnishings. Wonderfully private in-ground heated swimming pool and a professionally landscaped enclosed back yard complete with outdoor teak furniture. Immaculate and fresh, this compound includes 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths in the Main House and an adorable 1 bedroom, 1 bath Guest Cottage All bedrooms offer ensuite baths, the finest linens and flat screen T.V.'s. Leave your cares on the mainland, this destination property awaits your arrival with a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, central air conditioning and internet access.
irst Floor Description: Open Dining/Living/Kitchen; antique oak floors; fireplace and sliders to beautifully landscaped back yard with porch, patio and heated pool; well equipped Kitchen with 6 burner Thermador gas range, Bosch dishwasher, Sub Zero refrigerator, 2 sinks; pantry; center island with seating for 4; large dining table- seats 8; Den with large flat screen T.V., sectional sofa and computer station; powder room; Bedroom with king bed and w/ ensuite bath (tiled shower); Laundry.
Second Floor Description: Master bedroom with king bed, walk in closet and ensuite bath with double sinks and tiled shower; Guest Bedroom with twin beds and ensuite bath with tiled shower;Guest Bedroom with twin beds and ensuite bath with tub and shower. All bedrooms are equipped with flat screen T.V. All bathrooms are tiled attractively with tumbled marble.
Guest Cottage: Fully equipped one bedroom cottage with a loft. Bedroom with queen bed and flat screen T.V.; Loft with twins; Bath with double sinks and tiled shower. Laundry; Open kitchen/living/dining area with cathedral ceilings, fireplace and sliders to yard and pool. Well equipped kitchen with Sub Zero refrigerator, Bosh dishwasher, microwave and Thermador range. This is an idyllic quiet spot on the property for grandparents or special guests.
Highly successful high-tech entrepreneur living in Cambridge. Avid fisherman!
Property Owner purchased this house in 2009
My extended family wanted an East Coast vacation home that would work perfectly for a range of ages, from grandparents to teens to toddlers. The house works perfectly for everyone: some of us like to lounge by the pool with the little ones while the older kids go to the beach to surf. At night we either cook out on the patio or go to one of the many amazing restaurants. Pretty much every night we all walk to one of the ice cream shops and treat ourselves!
The separate cottage makes it easy to accomodate extra guests.
Proximity to the heart of town, private pool (rare in town), and separate guest cottage. Perfect space for entertaining or just lounging with instant access to all Nantucket has to offer.
Rare house with private pool and separate guest cottage located right in historic Nantucket Town an easy walk down Main Street! Bike or drive to any of the island's beaches by day (all are public on Nantucket) and enjoy the incredible culinary treats of Nantucket's famous restaurants in the evening. Easy access to all the islands attractions -- perfect for all generations from grandparents to teens to toddlers.
Security Deposit Required


text:
Interview of Jean-Michel Ferat, FCPA Expert, Senior Director, Ankura Consulting
Episode 9 -- The Need for a Robust Criminal Antitrust Compliance Program
FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 320, John Hanson on the IAICM
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 8, big data, risk assessments, the compliance profession and implications from the Yates Memo
The Challenge of Returning Forfeited Assets to Corrupt Countries
"Damages" in an Injury Lawsuit: An Introduction for Lay People
Trial by Jury: Why It Matters in a Democratic Society
What Does the Supreme Court Ruling in Alice v. CLS Mean to a Software Entrepreneur?
What should I do when I receive a letter from a prosecutor?
Two-Pronged Approach to Defending Lawsuits – Interview with Dominic Picca, Member, Mintz Levin
Class Action Litigation Reform – Interview with Dan Pascucci, Member, Mintz Levin
Elmo Sex Scandal: More Accusers May Come Forward, Says Lawyer
Newtown Shootings Could Give Rise to More Litigation, Says Pinsky
Whalen: Go Back To The Future To Fight Fraud With Equity Receivers
The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality ("MCEQ") and Applewhite Recycling Systems LLC ("Applewhite") entered into a December 20th Agreed Order ("AO") addressing alleged violations of a storm water permit. See...more
On December 21, 2017, the Washington Supreme Court issued a decision interpreting the private right of action under Washington's Model Toxics Control Act ("MTCA"), Douglass v. Shamrock Paving, Inc. The decision analyzes three...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training publishes an environmental Case Crimes Bulletin ("Bulletin") that summarizes publicized investigative activity...more
A group of landowners and farmers (collectively "landowners") filed an October 10th lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against Lawrence County, Arkansas. See No. :...more
The California Supreme Court recently held that you can't have your cake and eat it, too. Two adjacent homeowners, with oceanfront properties in Encinitas, California, live on a coastal bluff that "cascades steeply down to...more
The D.C. Court of Appeals (the Court) recently issued a decision covering some important public construction contract principles, most notably notice, cost and pricing data requirements, and the implied duty of good faith and...more
On September 19, the California Supreme Court held unanimously in Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College, that agencies—and not courts—must decide whether the "subsequent review"...more
On May 27, 2016, in Town of Lakewood Village v. Bizios, the Texas Supreme Court held that general law municipalities do not have the authority to enforce building codes within their extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs). This...more
Anyone working in waterfront construction long enough has a story (or knows someone who does) about pulled permits or burdensome local rules and regulations which may turn a waterfront dream renovation into a nightmare....more
On April 8, 2016, we posted a blog regarding the case of Quality Built Homes, Inc. v. Town of Carthage, ___N.C. App. ___, 766 S.E. 2d 897 (2015)(unpublished). In this case, the Court of Appeals had held that the Town of...more
In Ottercroft Ltd v. Scandia Care Ltd (1) and Rahimain (2), the court of Appeal has upheld a first instance decision to award an injunction against a developer who infringed an adjoining owner's rights of light.
On August 27, the day before it was set to become final, a federal district court in North Dakota halted implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' "Waters of The...more
In an opinion filed June 8, and ordered published on July 6, 2015, the Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's judgment denying a CEQA plaintiff's motion for attorneys' fees under CCP § 1021.5,...more
As the old adage goes, the three most important things to consider with real estate are location, location, and location. But any developer who has lived through a real estate cycle, and any public agency that is under a...more
The New Jersey Supreme Court has unanimously held that the administrative process run by COAH in which municipalities show compliance with affordable housing obligations is no longer working and municipalities are no longer...more
Slavin Doctrine; Design Contracts - Under the Slavin doctrine, a subcontractor design company was not liable despite negligently designing intersection traffic lights that resulted in a fatal car...more
The Third District Court of Appeal, in a published opinion filed November 20, 2014, affirmed the trial court's order denying plaintiffs' application for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt construction of a massive new...more
Any person or entity seeking to construct a natural gas pipeline and successful in obtaining a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may exercise the power of eminent domain to...more
Cities Sue State Calling SB 7 an Unconstitutional Restriction on Municipal Affairs -
Several California charter cities challenged the constitutionality of Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) last week by filing a writ of mandate and...more
In a decision of national importance for rail transit and highway projects, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected NEPA and Section 4(f) challenges to the 20-mile Honolulu Rail Transit Project. HonoluluTraffic.Com v....more
Significant amendments affecting the liability of self-regulating organizations and building owners became effective on 1 July 2013.
The private right to light is an arcane area of law and which many developers would agree is long overdue for reform. Development schemes can be thwarted by private landowners even after the proposal has passed through the...more
In July, Governor Perdue signed two bills into law which make substantial changes to the state's mechanics lien and bond laws. With respect to private projects, the most significant changes relate to the creation of "Lien...more
On December 2, 2011, the Sacramento Superior Court invalidated the numeric limits on turbidity and pH in California's Construction General Permit (CGP) because the limits were not supported by substantial evidence. The State...more
Death and taxes aren't the only sure things in this life. Another event you can take to the bank is the annual tweaking and twisting of Utah's mechanics' lien laws in the legislature. It is always a dynamic process to watch,...more
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text:
Hot House Superstar Matt Cole (pictured) returns to Palm Springs, the hottest destination in America, to suit up with Kyle King and a host of Speedo clad hotties in Trunks 6!
Steven Scarborough has once again assembled a world-class line-up of beefcake who've packed their bulging muscles into skimpy Speedos and sweat it out poolside in the 107 degree heat…
Trunks 6 proves once again that there's hot – and then there's HOT!
• Available from www.hothouse.com


text:
What's with all the ads?
- 16 comments
- 4198 Views
Honestly, these forums beggar belief sometimes. The post you linked regarding watermarking actually does not answer the question. Unfortunately it is a poorly worded response that seems to talk about advertising, not watermarking, but I'll assume she meant watermarking - so she's effectively saying that HBO is forcing Foxtel to watermark its shows. Ok, fine. So why the decision to watermark EVERY show on Showcase, including all non HBO shows? Bet we don't get an answer for that one.
I understand that this is a peer to peer forum, but one of the problems is there is little to no interaction anywhere else from Foxtel. On twitter you get a copy and pasted response that often just says "We'll pass that on". You can fill in the complaints form on this website, which I have done, and never get a response of any kind. You can call the call centre, and get, I suspect, rerouted to India where the poor people on the phone have absolutely no idea how to answer this sort of question/complaint.
I suspect this is all deliberate by Foxtel. Obfuscate to the point where anyone with any complaint gives up in frustration.
I know I certainly have. I only responded to this post because you claim Foxtel have answered certain questions, but they haven't, sorry.
@Steve88 Once again, you are spot-on! This is a peer-to-peer community, yet I was directed (by Foxtel staff) to comment here as a way to raise issues whichneed addressing. I now feel that this is as you say, a deliberate attempt to obfuscate and derail anyone who does not agree with Foxtels myopic greedy position. Make money guys, for sure, but not by ripping us off. Do it by providing a good product....taking a bit of poetic licence.."build it, and they will come...."
No real responses, no solid answers, just a lot of fluff. I don't believe them anymore.
So Foxtel, what is the correct forum to get real answers about your unconscionable actions and decisions?
The old curmudgeon
Becareful mate, if you express an opinion that differs to certain people, you'll get accussed of making a personal attack You can logically type out a considered response pointing out the flaws in their argument but they'll just scream back at you and swear black and blue that they are correct, they'll even use lots of CAPTIAL letters to prove that what they are saying is FACT!
Then you'll get to the point where trying to point out all of the errors in their response to a given issue would take about a good half hour of typing....but you know what response you'll get - "PERSONAL ATTACK!"
I'm leaving these forums now. There are too many large post count members who seem to think that disagreeing with them is a personal attack.
Also I'm struggling to see the point of these forums. You get little to no response from Foxtel, and when you do its often a confusing post that doesn't answer your question, and it seems the only sort of post that doesn't attract a swathe of anger are those that go along the lines of "I love Foxtel. I love it how they put watermarks on every channel because I'm too stupid to know what channel I'm on. I love the way Foxtel fills up every show with advertising on top of my already inflated subscription fee, because I know they need to money to fight the endless legal cases against illegal downloads of their shows."
But before I go, I will admit something I do love Foxtel for, and I'm actually quite embarrassed to admit it. Thankyou Foxtel for having "The Real Housewives of - " express from the US. Its my guilty addiction that no one knew about....
Gentlemen I would like to put this one to bed. As such, we have provided you links to make a complaint as well as talking to ASTRA. plus as well you can send through a message via Foxtel and Twitter. I'm sorry we cannot assist you further.
We are users here helping other users so there is only so much we can do.
Ctrl Queensland > IQ3 Satellite, Foxtel Now, PS2, PS4, Samsung QLED, Apple TV, iPhone 7, iPad Pro, Apple Watch Series 1, Mac Mini, MacBook Air
@Steve88 you are right there. So many people have given up on these forums or hardly ever come on anymore.
Dazza3 wrote:
Gentlemen I would like to put this one to bed. As such, we have provided you links to make a complaint as well as talking to ASTRA. plus as well you can send through a message via Foxtel and Twitter. I'm sorry we cannot assist you further.
We are users here helping other users so there is only so much we can do.
I made enquiries to ASTRA around Christmas after I was told that Foxtel adheres to their guidlines after my complaint of excessive advertising.. the thing is that ASTRA doesn't have any guidelines regarding advertising.. none whatsoever.. ASTRA is virtually in bed with Foxtel..
Hey guys,
We appreciate your feedback and hope that we will continue to see you around the Community!
The Foxtel Community is a space for members to support members and to talk all things Foxtel, exchange ideas, tips and information.
For servicing enquiries and a rapid response, visit our Contact Us page.
Click ACCEPT AS SOLUTION
yeah ads and watermarking.. drama same price $20.. extra per month.. maybe they should reduce the price


text: This collection represents a sample of faculty work from the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literature offers three distinct programs in French Studies, German Studies, and Hispanic Studies. Faculty members are specialists in the literature and culture of their target language and are either native to or have spent considerable time in the foreign countries of their teaching.


text:
A Locust Valley electric company pleaded guilty today to failing to pay six of its employees a total of $149,557 they were owned under the state-required minimum wage standards.
Anker's Electric Service pleaded guilty today to failing to pay wages to its employees, a misdemeanor. The plea will force Anker's Electric to pay restitution in the amount of $149,557, plus almost $16,000 in fines.
The problem stems from several contracts Anker's Electric received between 2008 and 2011 from municipalities including the town of North Hempstead and the village of Garden City. Anker's was contracted to provide various electrical maintenance and repair contracts to the municipalities, as well as to install new outdoor lighting stations at Eisenhower Park, Nickerson Beach Park and Wantagh Park. Since these were public works projects, Anker's was obligated under state labor laws to pay its employees the prevailing wage rate of pay. However, the Nassau County District Attorney's Labor Unit said the company failed to do so, underpaying its six employees as much as $17 per hour.