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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192132042018-03-05T10:17:24.774-08:00Fine ChammyThis is no different than any golf blog out there. I love golf and I like writing about it. I am taking this opportunity to do so. If you want, you can read a little, just don't expect to learn anything.CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-41618223902382614622012-08-28T08:54:00.000-07:002012-08-28T08:54:54.870-07:00We're Talkin 'Bout Practice!?

One distinction between my playing golf five years ago and my playing golf these past few months is practice. Five years ago, I lived at the range. Since then, not so much. While I would love to think that new equipment, more regular play, and positive thinking will shave the ten strokes I've added to my handicap in the past few years - I realize I need some time at the range. More importantly, I need time at a chipping and putting green.

I found both last night. Ten minutes from my house I was able to spend $15 and get a large bucket, time on an empty chipping area, and a bottle of water. A few hours later, I was back on track – I even flushed a final 5 iron into the dark sky.

I sought the range out because I had the beginnings of a swing thought. It started while playing last week and was further ingrained from a comment a club fitter gave me.  Not that it would help anyone particularly, but it had to do with staying behind the ball through impact and feeling my hands reach through the hit and down. I needed to work it out. Halfway through the bucket it clicked. Then my irons did to. It was awesome. I used to describe the feeling I had as "the secret" because when a new thought starts to work and you get on a roll grooving irons, it can feel like you discovered how to play the game at last – uncovered the elusive secret. I know it doesn't last, but the more times I can get a successful thought and work it out through 150 balls or so, the better I have grooved one successful element of a golf swing, right?

Anyway, sorry to bore both of you reading this, but I am getting excited about this great game again and felt like sharing.

CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-13198241906215479822012-08-27T08:32:00.000-07:002012-08-27T08:32:06.692-07:00White Driver and Big Red Grips
As my obsession with the game takes hold of me again, I am finding my 'need' for equipment is increasing.

A sick day Friday led me to Golfsmith where I was able to swat range balls at an electronic screen with a bright white R-11S. The computer seemed to think I hit the thing a touch north of alright.

$300 dollars later, I was talking to the pro shop about re-shafting my Titleist 906F fairway metal and getting new grips on all the irons and wedges. Now my irons will have some fancy Winn synthetic soft oversized grips and my wedges have even bigger grips with one other change - they are bright red.

That is right, bright red for the scoring clubs. Now let's see if they can remember their job.
CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-33764385666814446952012-08-22T10:48:00.001-07:002012-08-22T10:55:20.936-07:00Pleasant Distractions

Since my glorious return to my favorite game I have been thinking about my clubs. I already shared with you that my wife offered to have my Cleveland TA2 irons re-gripped. While I love those irons, they are getting a little old and are probably designed for the golfer I was and not the golfer I am.

If you have no idea what they are, they are what was referred to in 2004 as a hybrid between 'game improvement' and 'shot making' irons. Essentially, I got them because they were the closest a club could be to a blade without actually being a blade at the time. I was an equipment snob of a particular variety and I loved a thin top line at address and looked down at anyone playing with "shovels" or "bulldozers."

Well my recent rounds no longer afford me the right to be an equipment snob. I don't play as much as I did and my 'shot making' clubs now allow me to 'work the ball' into trouble all over the place. So I started to pay attention to my playing partners and other golfers' bags.

You know what I saw?

Two things:

First - yellow and orange golf balls. No, thank you.

Second - white drivers. Yes please.

I know I started by thinking and writing about my irons. Well too bad, I was distracted by something shiny. Besides, I think I can get back to controlling my ball flight eventually. What I cannot get back to with my circa-2005 Launcher is a pretty white Taylor Made.

I want one.

CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-63577168802427639662012-08-21T12:40:00.000-07:002012-08-21T12:40:05.051-07:00Been a while...
I had forgotten about this blog. I really had the bug back when I used to post here.

Well life is funny. It shows up and derails plans and shift interests. I have continued to play over the last five years, but never with the same focus.

It dawned on me when my wife offered to have my clubs re-gripped for me as a present a few months ago. I thought it was a nice idea and would have liked to have had it done, but I never followed up and my Cleveland TA2 irons have the same grips they had last year (and a few years before that).

Contrast that small non-story to my getting the same clubs re-gripped six years ago. Back then I had a golf pro friend who took me behind the counter and re-gripped my clubs with me to avoid dropping them off overnight or for the two-three days it took to turn them around. Not only that, I only agreed to do it after hitting two large buckets and was positively crushed when he told me they needed to sit 24 hours to dry and set. What was I supposed to do for 24 hours without golf clubs!?

Like I said, life is funny and my interests have changed.

Then I found out I was going to have a son. Most soon to be parents know their life is really going to change and that free time will certainly vanish. I thought that my son will certainly extinguish my already faded commitment to a time consuming game.

But then, why am I posting on an ancient blog about golf?

To my own surprise, I started sacrificing to play golf again. I get up at 5 am on weekends to play and get home in time to make my wife breakfast. I started doing it Saturdays and have recently been able to get out Saturday and Sunday.  I am walking with my friend or getting out as a single and just playing.

Golf is the greatest game there is and I want to share that with my son someday. I just needed to go figure it out again for myself. Now if I can get my handicap from six years ago back...
CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1142441419176183392006-03-15T08:49:00.000-08:002006-03-15T08:50:19.193-08:00Two Golf Stories

School has been killing me. For the last few months, this week has been my light at the middle of the tunnel. This week is Spring Break. This week, despite MTV's best efforts, does not involve a beach in Mexico or a V-Jay. It simply means I only work part-time for a week, and I get my afternoons free to play golf. I have two stories I wanted to share from the last few days.

First:

I was putting on the practice green after my round the other day and this guy and his 2 or 3 year old were putting. The guy was practicing, and the kid had those plastic clubs and was knocking a whiffle golf ball around. Every five or ten minutes the kid would yell something when he knocked it into the hole.

After 30 minutes or so the dad says, "Are you ready to go home?"

To which the exasperated kid huffed, "I'm just playing golf dad."

I looked at the dad and said, "Best. Answer. Ever."

The dad just beamed with pride.

I am ordering sets of the plastic clubs today for every friend of mine with kids.

Second:

During one of my rounds a few days ago, I was playing as a single and moving quickly. As I approached the eighth tee, nine high school kids walked out of the trees. I was playing a municipal course near my house and there is an adjacent high school. I imagine they were taking some kind of short-cut, or were off in the woods doing what kids do who hide in the woods on a school day. Either way, I didn't think too much of it.

Then it dawned on me; I was alone at the furthest point from the clubhouse. I am not a small guy, but nine 16-18 year old boys could most certainly kick my ass. In fact, because I am pretty tall, I have not been in too many fights. I have never been picked on, nor am I all that aggressive. Basically, my physical stature has kept me from trouble all my life and so I am sure if I did have to fight, I would undoubtedly lose.

All of that was racing through my mind while I climbed to the tee. I stood over the ball facing a long par four dog-leg left with OB along the left side. The hole was intimidating enough without trying to judge the pack of hoodlums from the corner of my eye.

Then I smoked it. It might have been the purest drive I have hit in a few months. It was a hissing, high, power fade, down the left side that flew the dog-leg and rolled to the right hand side of the fairway. I had an 8i left to a hole I hit 5w the day before.

As I watched my ball, I heard one of the crowd say, "Daaammmnnn, he stroked it."

Now that was fun.CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1139864624832113532006-02-13T13:02:00.000-08:002006-02-13T13:03:44.846-08:00Tax Returns = Golf Toys

The Federal Government says payments made toward tuition are deductible.

Who am I to argue?

So, although I work almost full-time, once you subtract what I pay to go to school full-time my adjusted gross income ends up equaling a pack of Skittles and a Mountain Dew. To make a long story longer, I got a fat return this year.

I was feeling a little flush, so I decided to treat myself to something I have wanted since I first saw one more than a year ago. I went to the store and bought a Sun Mountain Speed Cart. I am far too impatient for things like EBay and sales, so I paid full price, and I don't feel bad at all. It is beautiful.

Like a kid on Christmas morning, I went home to clean my clubs, reorganize my bag, and put the thing together in my living room. In fact, I am typing this at work, looking outside and contemplating excuses to clock out and find a golf course to push my new cart around.

Is that wrong?

If any of you out there have one already and want to comment on how great they are; feel free to do so. I already know, but I love reading it.CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1138307109698192192006-01-26T12:23:00.000-08:002006-01-26T12:25:09.743-08:00Alright here goes…

I am wilting under the strain. It is not entirely my fault; after all, Law school, Work, and Not Much Else, would be the title if my life was a book. Trying to find time to work on my game is difficult. Trying to find time to write for the Fine Chammy is near impossible. The only thing working in my favor is that both golf and writing are therapeutic. My perverse mind has convinced itself of their healing powers over my overstressed, overtired body. So here I am writing about golf, a game I cannot afford the time or money to play.

"Boo hoo," you say?

Well, I only told you that to gain a touch of sympathy before I revealed something about myself. So really, here goes:

I am a Tiger Woods fan. I am more interested in watching golf when Tiger plays. I enjoy watching Tiger play in a playoff as much as I enjoy watching him lap a field. I cannot help it. I think it is awful, and I am somewhat ashamed of myself. Regardless, it does not keep me from watching him play.

Purists cannot stand that Friday coverage will show every shot Tiger takes at the expense of other players in the field, sometimes even the leaders. Not me. I love it. I would rather watch Tiger hit from an impossible lie while he is struggling than watch a guy who cannot possibly be there Sunday shoot a 63 on Thursday or Friday.

None of that makes me unusual. Most 'golf fans' out there feel the same way. That is why Friday coverage will show Tiger's round at other players' expense in the first place. Just because it is usual, does not change the fact that it is polarizing. I read the columns and some of the other golf blogs out there, and I can tell that Undaunted Duffer is rolling his eyes. I might even get lifted from his links.

Despite the injury to my reputation as a 'serious golf fan' I have come clean. I love watching golf, but I really love watching Tiger. Anyway, he is three under with four or five to play in his first event of the year. You can bet TiVo is capturing all of it for me.CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1137524766005978692006-01-17T11:03:00.000-08:002006-01-17T11:06:06.016-08:00Looking for #14…

I carry 13 clubs. I am currently looking for number 14.

Unfortunately, I live in Seattle. Thanks to the recent playoff run of the hometown Seahawks, our near record setting weather has become a national story. In case you had not heard, it rained for 27 straight days. There was one day of reprieve this weekend before it started raining again.

I'm not complaining (actually, that is exactly what I am doing). I have played quite a bit of golf over the last 27 days. I have raingear, and I don't mind getting a little wet. Actually, the temperatures have been decidedly mild over the month long stretch. 50 degrees can be down-right balmy when you are constructing an arc.

What does the weather have to do with the number of clubs in my bag?

Good question. The answer is everything. Before the weather, I had to buy new golf clubs. Then I had to replace those. Eventually, I ended up with stiffer shafts and a different mix of lofts and lies than I had had previously. Playing frequently has helped me learn to hit everything, but because of the weather, I have no idea what my real distances are. I am pretty comfortable with a 7i or 6i, but for the life of me, could not even guess the difference between my 3i and 5w.

How can I justify spending money I don't have for a golf club I might not need? Well, the real problem is that I already justified the expense; I just want the satisfaction of doing it. I want the adrenaline that buyer's remorse brings. I want to go to the range and fight the urge to hit a new golf club over and over and over. Material satisfaction is the light at the end of my rainbow. If only it would stop raining…CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1136407859741414292006-01-04T12:49:00.000-08:002006-01-04T12:50:59.750-08:00The Greatest Game Ever Played

I thought that with winter lingering around most of the country/hemisphere it might be a good time to review golf books. Ludicrous as it may sound, golf books were popular items under the tree for me this year. Mark Frost's, The Greatest Game Ever Played, found its way from the tree to my carry-on bag during my return trip. A layover and 498 pages later, and it made its way to being among my favorite books.

The book is primarily about the 1913 U.S. Open and its players. Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet are the two major characters, and Frost guides the reader through their respective careers and personal lives up to their historic meeting at Brookline. In doing so, Frost chronicles what he believes were the major events that gave birth to "modern golf." Along the way readers are introduced to numerous personalities highlighted by the likes of Walter Hagan and Ted Ray.

Frost is an excellent storyteller. His focus throughout the book is on its characters and his ability to emotionally attach the reader to them is remarkable. The book would be enjoyable to a person with no concept of the Open or the game of golf. Frost, however, is certainly a golfer. His book, although fit for a casual reader, is riveting to anyone who plays the game.

As a golfer, reading this books lets you feel as if you were caddying or keeping score for these men. It attempts to revisit the thoughts created in a golfer by the pressure of an Open. Beyond that, it takes you off the course and into the characters' family lives, gives insight into their professional concerns, and helps frame an understanding of the challenges they faced in forging the basis for professional golf in America. Frost tone is clear. The men and events surrounding the 1913 U.S. Open did more for Tiger Woods and the modern PGA than most realize.

Although his tone can be sanctimonious and sometimes smacks of "the good old days," the author has a genuine appreciation for the game and its well-being both then and now. The Greatest Game Ever Played is a title that not only references a particular Open, it is a title that describes the game of golf.CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1135277287959277302005-12-22T10:47:00.000-08:002005-12-22T10:48:07.966-08:00A Quick Shout Out

So I was watching Playing Lessons from the Pros, on the Golf Channel yesterday and came across Gary McCord's episode filmed in Arizona. Overall, the show offered very little in lessons, but McCord was pretty amusing. Regardless, I'm not writing about the show really.

I'm writing to voice my approval of the cart girl featured in a bit where McCord is boozing while joking about hydrating. I don't remember the course or her name, but if any Golf Channel people are out there: I want to learn a little more about hydration in the dessert. Seriously, how many hours of infomercials can we watch? Does anyone need to see the Big Break 47 times a week? Would it be too much to ask for a show that lifted notable cart girls up from obscurity? Make it an elimination game show and the winner hosts a half hour spot on the 'Inside Approach.' I don't care.

Just my two cents.CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1135106478399797992005-12-20T11:18:00.000-08:002005-12-20T11:21:18.410-08:00Four Balls and an Empty Bag

My theory on winter golf is this: The winter is there to allow you to improve. I liken it to the off-season in the NBA. Remember how Michael Jordan came back with a jumper in 1991? I am looking to come back to golf in 2006 with added dimensions to my game.

That is what I tell myself when my tee shot hits the green, bounces 30 feet in the air, and finally stops 30 yards later. As much as I like the mild climate of the great North West; it is not Los Angeles, and frost is finally becoming a big problem. Temporary greens and rock-hard tee boxes are getting into my way. Judging chips and pitches has become impossible on the frozen tundra, and my only recourse has been to refocus myself on "off-season improvement."

Ball flight has been a major focus of mine lately. On the course, I am constantly trying to produce different flights. Some of them are appropriate for the circumstances, and some of them are just for the practice. Regardless, I stopped carrying a card, so I can allow myself to practice. Practicing on the golf course is liberating. I had always been of the school of thought that practice was done at the range, and the course was for playing. Well, winter golf has doubled my practice time and I hope it will help my game during my playing time come this spring.

The reason I'm writing is to share a practice drill I have started at the range based on my limited success "working the ball" on the course. As recently as 4 months ago, I would have told you I could hit draws and fades on the range, but couldn't reliably carry it onto the course. I would have been telling you the truth, or at least, I would have thought so. Then I found myself struggling to do it on the course and decided to really test how well I could do it at the range. Everyone always says routines and goals are important when practicing, so I cooked this one up to give me a true indication of my progress.

I place a bucket of balls down next to me without pouring them into the tray. I pull 4 balls out and place them on the mat. With my PW, I try to hit a high straight shot, a lower punch shot, a fade, and a draw. If I am successful, I put the club back into my bag. If I don't pull it off, I put the club against the rail, and move to my 9i. I will do this with every club up to a 4i. Whatever clubs are still against the rail get a second shot as I start over: rinse-repeat. I have yet to get every club back into my bag before finishing a bucket, but I am making progress.CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1134678501249880752005-12-15T12:27:00.000-08:002005-12-15T12:33:26.393-08:00Golf Review Rant

So I was trolling the threads on Golf Review this morning at work. You have to love productivity. While reading the various posts I stumbled upon a few about Callaway irons in the great cavity verses blade debate of the day. It seems that same debate rears its head twice a week on golf forums; however, there is never any shortage of opinions.

So here is mine: I don't care whether a player likes cavities or blades. I'm pretty sure that a good swing is a good swing and a bad swing is a bad swing, but I could be wrong. So, I don't care. What I do care about are some of the brands and the reasons people choose them. In particular, I care about Callaways.

I admit it; I cannot stand Callaways. I call them shovels, I lift my nose, and I find any excuse I can to put them down.

Devil's Advocate: Why? There are plenty of clubs out there that are every bit as thick soled, and forgiving. Why do Callaway irons hold a special place in the blackness of your heart?

Me: Well, truthfully, I wasn't sure. The feeling was so visceral I just went with it until today.

Devil's Advocate: (now playing the role of my much needed shrink) What happened today?

Me: While I was reading this morning, I finally stumbled upon the reason. Callaways are extremely expensive.

Devil's Advocate: Well, so are a lot of other brands, and you don't hate them.

Me: That is true, but Callaway combines a big price tag with customers that endlessly talk about the performance of the clubs being paramount in their decision to buy them.

Devil's Advocate: Shouldn't performance matter when selecting a club?

Me: You bet your ass. My real problem is that the extra expense has nothing to do with performance. Like I said before, any number of clubs offer the forgiving cavity back style and thick heel of a Callaway for a fraction of the cost.

I never hear anyone with Callaway irons claim they bought them because they thought they were "sweet." I never hear anyone say, these things are "money," or "don't they look bad-ass." They always say something to the effect of, "I just hit these better," or "they looked great at address and boosted my confidence."

Puh-lease…

In their hearts, they love the logo, love the name, and probably love the 'performance.' Why can't they say, I spent 1,100 bucks on them because they are so freakin' awesome? Why cover it up with how pure their love of the game is and their desire to play better golf?

No shit, they want to play better golf? What a surprise, I thought the more strokes the better. All this time and I had no idea. Oh course they want those things from their clubs, but they cannot admit that on top of it, they want some Callaways because Lefty's got them.

Why not? I can't afford it, but I want a Scotty Cameron because Tiger has one. I'm pretty sure that it won't help my putting to the tune of the extra 200 bucks but screw it, the thing is sweet. It is money. I would buy it, pull head-cover off and show it to my friends so I could feel good about it. It may not be pure, but the feeling is genuine.

Callaway owners of the world unite. Throw off the pompous, holier-than-thou, rhetoric about performance and stand up. Stand up and shout, "I love these things, they cost a ton, and you wish you had them too!"

I would still think they look like garden tools you bought at the Sharper Image, but at least you could respect yourself in the morning.CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1134583838163737642005-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:002005-12-14T10:13:55.970-08:00Bandon Trails

Before I begin, here is a little warning: This entry is about a new course I played a couple months ago named Bandon Trails, and I am an admitted Bandon-phile. I'm seeking help from a support group but none of us really want to get better.

Ten years ago, Mike Keiser, the recycled paper mogul, had an affinity for links golf and an enviable glut in his checking account. That combination allowed his dream to become my reality: world class links golf in the Pacific Northwest. In case you had not heard, he built the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, and attached the tag line: "Golf as it was meant to be."

Fast forward to 2005.

In the summer of 2005, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore unveiled the third course at the Bandon resort: Bandon Trails. Trails is a very different course from its predecessors, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes. The latter are links style; wind-swept, ocean-side courses that dazzle you with their postcard views while mystifying you with their undulating greens and dastardly bunkers. Trails takes a different route. It turns away from the ocean and heads into the hills.

Literally, the golf course starts with as panoramic an ocean view as can be found on the property only to turn inland, meander through the hills, and finally swing back to the sea. Initially, I read about the routing, saw the layout on the website, and thought: why? Why stray away from the ocean and the style of golf that put Bandon on the map in the first place?

A few months ago I got a call, and with it, an opportunity to play the third course free of charge. I was excited, but my excitement was tempered with my hesitation about this third course. After 18 holes, I discovered why that hesitation and the questions I had were unfounded. I am writing about it now to share the reason with all 3 of my readers. The short answer is that Trails is a links/parkland hybrid with tremendous natural beauty, and unparalleled shot variety.

The long answer is the same, but I'll try and fill in some things I liked and disliked in particular. The first tee is tremendous. The view is breathtaking. It is almost too much for an opening hole. I found myself trying to walk and talk slowly in order to calm myself down. Adrenaline has a tendency to hurt my golf swing more than it helps it, and accuracy is pretty important as there is gorse left and the beach right. I will actually go into a bit of detail here as I thought the first hole was illustrative of Creshaw's thought process as much as any other on the course.

If you play a fade off the tee and are interested in being safe, then you need to choose how far right you want to go. There is room far enough right to call it bail out space, but with the way the hole sets up, the longer and farther right your tee shot goes, the more obstructed your view of the green becomes on the approach. A better player will tease the left but as their shot travels it can find serious trouble due to the gorse and slop of the fairway. The safe play is short middle or left. A shot that is short and right will not hurt you too bad, but it is not ideal. I found myself fairly long and right.

For my approach, my lie was below my feet, and I could not see where I wanted to land my shot. It was occasions like these that made the caddie worth every penny. If only I realized that at the time… He encouraged me to pull a shorter club and even changed my line a bit. Of course, I followed half of his advice and ended up taking too much club. I was on in regulation but had a long putt from above the hole. My friend found himself chipping from below it after heeding the caddie's advice. At the time, I thought I had done alright following my gut. Then I hit my putt well. Well, I thought I did. I proceeded to watch it gather speed, roll past the hole, and then end up farther off the green than my friend had been after his approach.

I have said it to a number of friends and I will write it here for posterity's sake: nothing in life had prepared me for those greens. I hit the ball wonderfully that day. I hit more than half the greens in regulation and shot a 92. As I like to say, 'in real life', I'm an average putter. At Bandon, I was awful. It became funny after awhile. I started wearing the growing number of three-jacks like a medal, but my ability to keep a sense of humor about it never helped much. As we neared the end of our round our caddie told us something I thought was hilarious. He said: "Pacific Dunes is proof that Tom Doak hates people, and Bandon Trails is Ben Crenshaw's way of telling the world he is a great putter and you're not."

The greens were in wonderful shape, they rolled true, but there are no easy putts on that golf course. The variety of the scenery as you play the course is matched quite well by the variety of shots required from you. There are vistas and postcard views like its predecessors but not in the same quantity. The ocean is always present in your senses, but rarely in your sights. The truth is that Bandon Trails is a great golf course that is different from its siblings. Nevertheless, after playing a round there I trust, like myself, that you will find it lives up to the lofty ambition of the resort. It is indeed: Golf as it was meant to be.
CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1134422798797258902005-12-12T13:24:00.000-08:002005-12-12T13:26:38.806-08:00Monday, Monday…

After a cold weekend that allowed just enough sun to play a few chilly rounds, I thought I'd report that the fade I wrote about last week in, "The Secret to Golf" was a smashing success. In the words of Tiger, Ranger Rick made an appearance on the golf course. It was the new shot in my bag that left me with two things to think about this Monday.

The first thing is a sense of concern. You see, usually my 'secrets' work on the range and fail spectacularly on the golf course. Sometimes, they are discovered on the golf course, and cease to work immediately after the 18th hole. Either way, they never successfully migrate from one to the other. With those two truisms demolished, I am left questioning: what I am to make of this? More importantly, can I trust it?

The second is yet another lesson from this mysterious game. Ironically, the fact I was able to move the ball from left to right (almost at will) did not help my score at all. I found myself tasting a little success and then, like a freshman at a kegger, unthinkingly trying to gulp down the rest. I found a way justify a fade on every iron shot and ended up leaving myself in a lot of bad positions.

Sidebar: I thought about a Greek tragedy/hubris reference in that last paragraph. Then I thought about tying it to the Greek system/kegger reference. By the time I thought better of it, I figured enough work had gone into it to expound here in italics. The lesson for anyone reading this: never read the italics.

Getting back on point, despite an average round on the card and a mystery left to solve, I am happy. After all, I woke up on a cold Monday excited about golf. What more can I ask?CBhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1133977492043528592005-12-07T09:44:00.000-08:002005-12-07T09:44:52.056-08:00
The Secret to Golf

I have figured out the secret to golf roughly 239 times this past year. The beauty of doing it so many times is that I have the routine down. Surprisingly, no matter how often I stumble upon it, I never get any less excited.

I love that feeling of having the game figured out. I love it, even when it lasts only one swing. It is too bad the secret is constantly changing. I was a big fan of the secret the time it took the form of a reliable punch shot; talk about a scoring revolution for yours truly. Then there was the glorious round when a brush 7 iron from the fairway became easy to hit and judge. I would sooner forget my first kiss than forget how great it was to have a confident stance over a 40 yard pitch. 'Quiet legs' was a secret that extended to a number of other shots as well.

If you are anything like me, the secret, no matter how elusive, is the reason you partake in this maddening game. Well friends, I have another one for you. How would you like to be able to hit a fade with your irons without changing your swing any?

I thought so.

To fully explain, you might need a bit of information about me. When I'm sober and fairly on top of my game, I hit my irons straight with the exception of a 5 to 10 yard pull now and again. I can draw them reasonably well when I want but have to get pretty fippy with my hands to do so. When I try to fade the ball one of three things happens; I hit it straight, I push it straight, or I top it ten yards.

That in mind, the new secret's story started last week. I went to play a round at a local par three and got paired with some magical human manifestation of a benevolent golf god. We'll call him Bob. Bob and I played stroke play for a beer and ended up with a tie. Then we played chipping games to decide the winner. By the time it became a best out of 15 we decided to buy each other beers and called it a draw. Over beer we realized that both of us wanted a winner more than either of us wanted a free beer. We took the game to the range to play a closest to the pin challenge that, sadly, Bob won.

Then Bob said, "How are you at working the ball with your irons?"

"Rubbish" I said.

Then Bob showed me the latest and greatest secret to golf. He simply played the ball forward in his stance and closed the face of his club 10 degrees or so. With his grip set on a closed club he turned the face open and made a regular swing. The important thing to remember is that he tried to hold the face open through impact. I have a number of theories as to why this works and most of them are simple once you try it. What is important is that it does work. It works so easily it felt like cheating. I found I could fade the ball less than five yards by closing the club a certain degree and increase that to ten yards by turning it a few more degrees. It is almost like a dial you set before the swing to dictate the amount of spin you impart.

I was speechless and have yet to get over it. The latest edition of the secret to golf should have me occupied for the next few weeks at least. I hope this helps.
CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1133222978280265812005-11-28T16:04:00.000-08:002005-11-28T16:26:44.960-08:00
My friend's bad habits are wearing off on me. He is in the habit of checking the weather in far away places. Weekend and ten day forecasts are among his internet favorites, and rarely do they apply to his home zip code.

<o:p> </o:p>

I suppose I am jumping the gun. Let me get back to where it all started, the week before Thanksgiving. My friend, Jeff, and I played a municipal course he had raved about near <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Tacoma</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place>. We both live in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:City> and he had assured me that the hour drive to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType> <st1:placename st="on">Spanaway</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> was worth it. At the risk of getting off topic, he was right; <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType> <st1:placename st="on">Spanaway</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> would easily have been the best course I played last week if not for the events that transpired the Saturday after <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> day.

<o:p> </o:p>

When Jeff and I played we talked about what we always talk about: <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Bandon</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>. You see, besides our unbridled passion for the game, Jeff and I share an affinity for the Bandon golf courses along the southern <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State> coast. Jeff informed me that the weather had been terrific for almost two weeks in Bandon. He knew I was traveling to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Eugene</st1:place></st1:City> for family and festivities and thought I should keep an eye on the Doppler radar. I agreed. I was half-hearted about it because Bandon is expensive, a bit far away, and certainly not my first priority over the holiday weekend.

<o:p> </o:p>

Unlike Jeff, my affection for the Bandon courses grew from afar. When I started playing golf I heard about them. My Dad found out I was interested in playing them and he began clipping articles, emailing reviews, and generally encouraging me. I was not a good enough golfer, I told myself, to justify the expense involved in a "Bandon Trip." Well, last summer I played a lot. My schedule freed itself and my game began to flourish. I befriended a pro, played 5 or 6 times a week, and lived at the range. My game got better, my index fell, and my confidence soared. The day I shot 80 from the tips of my local municipal I finally decided to make my way down to southern <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State>.

<o:p> </o:p>

Then my life got in the way, the trip got postponed, and my time evaporated. I was lucky to get a round in every few weeks and the clubs started to feel foreign in my hands. The problem was further compounded when my estranged clubs were stolen from my car. Insurance provided a new set, but new clubs, inconsistent play, and cooler weather did not bode well for my game. In short, the timing was awful a month ago when my Dad called and told me that he was getting a deal and I needed to head down.

<o:p> </o:p>

I finally got my chance to play Bandon. Due to outside circumstances I was able to play just one round and it was on the newest course of the three, Bandon Trails. I had prayed to break 100 and came away with a spectacular 92. Good weather and good play snuck in that day and I have been all smiles ever since. Of course, my golf game fell apart immediately thereafter. I began finding time, squeezing rounds out in the rain, and trying to get back to my mid-summer form. I even traded my 'new' clubs in for a set more like the ones I had lost. Nothing worked, my scores grew and my swing was leaking oil fast.

<o:p> </o:p>

Then, despite failing swing and suffering confidence, I checked the Doppler this weekend and decided to make a break for it. One thing I have learned, when a course like Bandon Dunes is within your grasp, let your golf swing worry about itself and go for it. I drove two and a half hours through the rain, barely trusting the satellite images I had seen just hours before. Nevertheless, my excitement grew as I turned south on 101. When I passed <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Coos</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> the sun broke (of course it did) I knew something special was in store.

<o:p> </o:p>

I walked on as a single with a choice of tee times. Late November may be the best time of year to sneak in18 at Bandon. The temperature never dropped below 55 degrees and my excitement seemed to keep the clouds at bay. I chose a time an hour out and went to the practice facility. Bandon might be worth the drive for the range and putting area alone. I was practicing a twice breaking 90 foot putt when I realized I only had a few minute before my tee time.

<o:p> </o:p>

I rushed to the tee, shock my playing partners' hands and tee'd off. I played inspired golf. I might have to bronze the putter. Every mistake was followed by a smart decision and the golf gods' praise. I scored par on a tricky dog-leg after a penalty drop and a blind approach that scared the hole on its way to resting six feet left and hole high. Did I mention that six feet was a gimmie that day? Ladies and gentlemen, it was a day that will keep me coming back for years. After all, imagine if I had showed up with my game in tune? Next time, a real review of either Dunes or Trails, maybe both…
CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19213204.post-1132686885735450092005-11-22T11:14:00.000-08:002005-11-22T11:14:45.743-08:00The Winter of Our Discontent

With Thanksgiving upon us, I felt it was time to address a common ailment suffered by most weekend hackers, duffers, and even some single digits: seasonal rust.

Let's face it; in most parts of the country, golf slows down around the holidays and waits, like the rest of us, for the thaw. When spring returns, we approach the new season with enthusiasm only to find our game has fallen a few steps behind our imaginations. The low numbers we remember posting in August balloon as we search for our swings.

Most of the rust falls off a golf swing fairly quickly. Even if it that were not the case, there are simple solutions to keeping old man winter away from you full swing. Driving ranges remain open, covered, and heated year round. Banks also remain open to cash golf pros' checks. They even make equipment cheaper and more enticing to try during the off-season while the new stuff trickles in to tease us for next year.

The real trick is the short game. The short game goes first and returns last. It is a lot harder to motivate oneself to get out to a practice green in the winter. If motivation and bravery in the face of the elements are not your hurdles, then the lack of daylight can still obstruct the pure of heart.

I am not writing to lament. I am writing to bring a solution. Make a covered short game practice facility for yourself. The idea struck me while reading about Michael Jordan's basement in Chicago. The man has a 9 hole putting course in his house. Why can't I? Because I live in a modestly sized home and split the rent with my brother is the answer. Then inspiration hit harder one night when, in an effort to annoy my brother, I was flopping golf balls into a laundry basket. He was sitting on the sofa, the basket was next to him, and my misses tended to graze his head. Naturally, the game turned into a betting affair and shortly thereafter I had created an indoor course.

I have been using this model for a couple of weeks. The golf season is still lingering here in the Pacific North West and my creation has already brought about a revolution in my short game. Now, I have one!

Originally, I tried chipping the ball to various spots with different clubs. That progressed to combinations and eventually I had laid out a course. A typical hole will be something like this: chip past the chair but short of the door, the more room you leave to the left the better for the next shot; then chip under the table and short of the sofa; etc… In the end, try and leave a medium to long shot to a small circle, maybe two feet in diameter. Count the strokes it would take to do it perfectly, add one as a tap in, and you have figured out par. Play the course with one club, then again with another. It is challenging with a putter, SW, or an 8i. It has taught me all about trajectory and spin control on short chips and longer runners. There are linoleum hazards, penalty strokes for unplayable lies against a table leg, and numerous opportunities to wager. I have found playing the whole course with one club has helped my game a great deal. My course suits itself to a 60 degree wedge as stopping the balls short is a premium on 6 of the 9 holes.
Maybe the most important thing it has done for me, that an indoor putting machine (a glass on the floor) never has, is create a little pressure. In golf, every shot counts and your score matters. With my new indoor short game clinic, the same is true. There are course records, memorable shots, and a real element of competition.

In a small house, I have a 9 hole course. Par is an unattainable 36. I'm getting better but the third hole is a beast.CBhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
IT WAS no coincidence that just a fortnight after becoming Prime Minister in May 2010, David Cameron chose Yorkshire as the location for his first major speech.
Mr Cameron came to Shipley because he had a specific message to tell – that his was a Government that would not leave the North behind.
Setting out his broad economic plan for the first time, Britain's youngest Prime Minister in almost 200 years made clear there would be three pillars to his approach beyond deficit reduction – cutting taxes and red tape, supporting enterprise and, crucially, "rebalancing the economy".
"Today our economy is heavily reliant on just a few industries and a few regions – particularly London and the South-East," Mr Cameron told the nation.
"An economy with such a narrow foundation for growth is fundamentally unstable and wasteful – we are not making use of the talent out there in all parts of our United Kingdom. We are determined that should change."
Fast-forward three-and-a-half years, however, and questions are being asked whether anything really has. By almost every economic measure, the north of England remains far behind the South-East.
Unemployment is still stubbornly higher across all parts of the North, despite the number of people in work nationally reaching record levels. Economic output is almost a third below that of the South – household income levels too.
Home owners in the South-East are enjoying yet another property boom, but in Yorkshire, prices have been heading in the opposite direction.
Indeed, this was the only region in the country where the average house price went down last year. In the North-East and North-West, prices remained broadly static. In London, they soared by more than eight per cent.
It would be churlish, of course, to blame Mr Cameron for all of this.
It is a story which has been played out over more than 100 years. Every British leader has promised to address the widening North/South divide. Every British leader has failed.
Rewind just over half a century, to 1962, as Britain emerged from another grim recession. Another Conservative Prime Minister – Harold MacMillan – was making a very similar case.
He would strive, he told the country, "to prevent two nations developing geographically – a poor North, and a rich and overcrowded South".
The years pass, it seems, but the underlying issues remain.
But England wasn't always this way. Go back further – much further – to the middle of the 19th century, and it was northern England that was booming. The industrial revolution was well under way, and it was pioneering cities in the North that were leading the charge.
Mill owners, factory bosses and rail entrepreneurs across the North were pushing Britain to the very forefront of the world stage, and bringing enormous wealth into northern cities as they went.
Stunning Victorian city centres sprung up across the North, resplendent with grand town halls, squares and trade halls. People looking for work did not simply head to London – they went to Bradford, to Leeds, to Manchester, to York. Northern cities were the jewels in Victorian England's gleaming crown.
The slow but seemingly unstoppable decline of Britain's once-proud industrial base that followed, from some time around the start of the 20th century, is well documented. One by one, key sectors have disappeared – and it is the North that has borne the brunt. With each world war, and each recession since, the North fell further behind.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main political parties are quick to point the finger at one another for the fact the situation persists to this day.
Labour claims the Government is elitist in its outlook, and does little to help the North. The coalition partners say Labour should have done far more to address the divide during its 13 years in power.
Certainly, by most economic measures, that gap between North and South widened between 1997 and 2010.
But the publication this month of a report on the relative strength of different parts of the UK economy concluded the gap with London and the South-East has continued to grow over the past three-and-a-half years.
"The clearest trend is the increased concentration of Britain's economic competitiveness and growth capacity within London – in particular the City," said Prof Robert Huggins, the author of the UK Competitiveness Index.
One key issue is that successive Governments have done little or nothing to address a long-standing bias in Treasury spending that sees funding flowing into London and the devolved nations, at the expense of the English regions.
Figures released by the Treasury this week show how this Government – just like the last – is still lavishing money on the South-East's transport networks, cultural assets and housing developments in a manner that the North can only dream of.
There is a risk, however, that stereotypes about North and South can lead to a simplistic analysis of a far more complex problem.
"Whether we look at productivity, unemployment, house prices, graduate retention or population growth, it is easy to see a stark divide running loosely between the Severn Estuary and the Wash," says Ed Cox, director of Britain's only northern-based think-tank, IPPR North.
"But there is a danger the statistics and the maps lead us into some unhelpful assumptions.
"First, that we should all be like London. London is a global city. By most measures, it stands apart not just from the North, but also from almost any other regions in Europe. We need to be careful not to compare apples with pears.
"We should also be careful what we wish for. London is by various counts the most unhappy place in the country, riven with social inequality.
"We should also recognise that differences within regions can sometimes be as stark as those on the national level – consider for example Harehills and Harrogate. Inequalities in England are complex, and require tackling on different levels and in different ways."
Indeed, for all the political debate, there is actually a consensus emerging among all three main parties about the broad steps required to help the North begin to grow.
All politicians agree that infrastructure is key – and transport in particular. To that end, the coalition has announced a raft of investment programmes including the high-speed rail link between London and the North, the electrification of key rail lines, trolley bus and tram-train networks for Leeds and Sheffield respectively, and a massive upgrade of the key A63 route into the Port of Hull.
The problem, however, is that work has yet to begin on a single one of these projects. Mark Goldstone, the director of policy at the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce, says the schemes have the potential to be "transformational" for northern businesses – but are taking too long to get going.
Investment in skills training and apprenticeships for young people is also widely accepted as being key, as is the roll-out of superfast broadband to every part of the country. A report published by the Government earlier this month assessing the impact of constructing high-speed internet networks across the UK found that 89 per cent of the benefits would be felt outside London and the South-East.
But there is a broader agenda, too, beyond these big infrastructure projects, that politicians of all creeds are increasingly convinced will allow the North to thrive.
Britain remains one of the most centralised countries in the western world, with almost all major policy and spending decisions taken in Whitehall.
An in-depth study by the Conservative peer Lord Heseltine concluded last year that only the mass devolution of powers and spending to local areas could give northern towns and cities the opportunity to develop their own local solutions to economic growth, with tailor-made skills training programmes and decisions on infrastructure investment made by the people who understand the local area best.
Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council and chair of the Core Cities group representing England's largest urban areas, issued a plea for more powers this week. "The UK is now one of the most centralised states in the world," he said. "The lack of freedom is holding back our cities from doing more to create growth."
Business leaders broadly agree. "In helping to create the environment for companies to thrive, this region is best placed to decide on its own economic and infrastructure priorities. However, it lacks the devolved powers and funding to deliver," Mark Goldstone added.
"We would want to see local enterprise partnerships taking a lead role in decision-making and given access to funds to commission delivery, without Government departmental strings attached."
Publicly, at least, the coalition is committed to devolving power. Last year's City Deal devolution packages for England's largest urban areas were a start, along with measures such as the localisation of business rates. But Lord Heseltine's vision was only partly delivered – the £15bn a year he said should be devolved to council and business leaders via the local enterprise partnerships dwindled to just a fraction of that figure. It is, he says, "a start" and he is confident devolution will grow as the years pass.
Crucially, Labour is now onside, with its own experienced peer former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis now drawing up the party's own devolutionary policies for its next election manifesto. Rather than attacking the Government's "localist" approach, they seem likely to say it should go significantly further.
Many believe that if a genuine power shift away from Whitehall can be achieved, the North may at last start to grow. Mr Cameron, meanwhile, insists the Government's overall approach is beginning to work, with private sector employment at its highest ever level in Yorkshire after three years of his leadership.
"It is starting to have an impact," he told the Yorkshire Post last month. "But I want the impact to be even greater."
The truth is that it will take far more than the policies of one Government to start to bridge a divide that dominated England's economy for much of the last century – and now threatens to do the same in this one.
Your views are needed on this divisive issue
The Big Debate series will air the rich and varied views of Yorkshire on the issues that influence the lives of people living here and that impact on the prosperity of our region.
The series launched in October with the high-speed rail line HS2.
Today we look at the North-South Divide because Yorkshire is still missing out on vital investment, the people who live and work here deserve better and things appear to be getting worse.
In the last financial year Ministers spent less than half the sum per head in Yorkshire on transport, housing and cultural services than they did in either London or Scotland.
The figures add to fears that Britain is once again on the cusp of an unbalanced economic recovery.
Yorkshire Post editor Jeremy Clifford said: "One of the fundamental flaws in the way that funding is provided by central Government is that it is using historic data that does not reflect a current need.
"The Government is failing to properly address this critical imbalance. Given a fairer playing field, growth would be stimulated in Yorkshire, lessening the need to rely on Government funding through welfare.
Get in touch:
• Write to us at Yorkshire Post, No 1 Leeds, 26 Whitehall Rd, Leeds LS12 1BE
• Email firstname.lastname@example.com
• Tweet @Yorkshire Post using the hashtag ypdivide
• Add comments on Facebook

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CoIA country*
Published in April 2011, this strategy provides a framework for the development and implementation of eHealth technologies, with a focus on telemedicine, health information systems, health education, mHealth, and eLearning. It seeks to promote affordable and accessible eHealth solutions in the context of regional and urban-rural imbalances in care, and workforce shortages.
Date of publication: 1 April 2011
Date URL last accessed: 11 March 2016
*Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health


text:
7/19/2011 1:38pm, #1
Overeem out of SF tourney..and now cut from StrikeforceWell sh**. The Reem has been yanked from the SF HW tourney for not agreeing to a proposed date. He's still a SF fighter, but not in the tournament.
Apparently Overeem didn't agree to a proposed Sep 10th date, for the semi-final matchup w/ Bigfoot Silva, and was threatened with removal from the tournament.
In an incredibly thick move (IMO), Overeem has been yanked from the tourney. He will be replaced by undefeated (American Kickboxing Academy) fighter Daniel Cormier.
Cormier has been discussed as an alternate for the tourney in the past, and will now face Bigfoot Silva, in the semi-finals.
I won't write more, because as a fan, I'm pissed.
Thoughts Bullies?
So now he's been axed from the entire promotion. Several other Golden Glory fighters have been let go as well. So Bullies....what gives? Who pissed of their corporate overlords at Zuffa? Reasons?
Still liking the Zuffa upper-level-monopoly?
Last edited by bobyclumsyninja; 8/04/2011 12:32pm at .
7/19/2011 1:45pm, #2
Wonder if there's a back story to this?
7/19/2011 1:53pm, #3
- Join Date
- May 2002
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- Lauren Southern Poverty Law Center
- Posts
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Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo!
Also, it's prolly PED
booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooo!Now darkness comes; you don't know if the whales are coming. - Royce Gracie
KosherKickboxer has t3h r34l chi sao
In De Janerio, in blackest night,
Luta Livre flees the fight,
Behold Maeda's sacred tights;
Beware my power... Blue Lantern's light!
7/19/2011 1:57pm, #4
Sept 10th didn't line up with his cycle?
7/19/2011 2:24pm, #5
- Join Date
- Mar 2005
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/sighReal Join Date: Nov. 2003
Originally Posted by Dilbert
7/19/2011 2:51pm, #6
- Join Date
- Jun 2010
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- Vancouver
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- 875
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- Western Boxing, Tai Chi
Do you think this has anything to do with his interest in starting up a career in boxing?
7/19/2011 3:13pm, #7
- Join Date
- Aug 2009
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- Indianapolis
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7/19/2011 3:20pm, #8
His foot is injured, he wanted to postpone but Showtime were adamant that the next round of the tourney take place on the 10th, this is why they wisely had alternates like Cormier in case something like this happened. Barnett has this now if he can take out silva, which admittedly is a hell of a task.
7/19/2011 3:27pm, #9
7/19/2011 3:29pm, #10
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
- Location
- United States of Amnesia
- Posts
- 160
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- Jiu Jitsu


text: On Wed, 9 Feb 2000, Alan Cox wrote:> This should be all the important stuff now, it shouldnt print> weird messages but it might still lock up if you run it out of> both memory and swap.A fix for that is available from my patches page. I haven'tmanaged to break the patch on my own machine, but I don'tknow for sure if it will work good on all other machines.Please grab the patch from my page and try to break it. Ifnobody manages to really break it in bad ways Alan caninclude the fix in 2.2.15pre8... http://www.surriel.com/patches/regards,Rik--The Internet is not a network of computers. It is a networkof people. That is its real strength.-To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" inthe body of a message to firstname.lastname@example.com read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/


text:
We know little girls will love to dress their dolls up in the coat and we are happy to introduce the coat at a special introductory price.
Tolland, CT (PRWEB) February 11, 2013
Doll Clothes Superstore is proud to introduce their new winter coat, perfect for cold winter days. Winter is an exciting time of year for little girls. For many little girls, it is a time to make snow angels, build snowmen, ski with their family and go sledding with their friends. Dressing up in winter coats is an important part of preparing for outdoor winter fun. Little girls will look forward to bundling themselves and their favorite doll up to stay toasty while playing in the snow.
The winter coat is warm and stylish in a beautiful shimmery cocoa color. The coat is the perfect cold weather necessity for your little girl's doll to wear this winter. The coat is handmade and beautifully detailed in an elegant brocade material, with interwoven black threading throughout. The coat also comes with an attached hood for especially windy days and has two working pockets on the lower left and right side of the coat. The coat has Chinese style back cloth closures for added flare.
Little girls will get excited for fun-filled winter days when dressing their favorite doll up in this new adorable winter coat. Whether they are getting ready to go ice skating or sledding, their doll will now be ready to join in on the fun with both warmth and style.
"I am pleased to introduce our new winter coat for American girl dolls and 18 inch dolls, Bitty Baby dolls and other 15-16 inch dolls. We know little girls will love to dress their dolls up in the coat and we are happy to introduce the coat at a special introductory price. As always, we are committed to providing the widest variety of handmade doll clothes online at the most reasonable prices," said Mary Ann Walsh of Doll Clothes Superstore.
The winter coat is available at a special introductory rate of $7.50, from the original price of $9.50 and can be found and purchased online at Doll Clothes Superstore
Doll Clothes Superstore is an online-based doll clothing company, committed to providing top quality merchandise at affordable prices. Doll Clothes Superstore has doll clothes for the most popular brands of dolls on the market, like Barbie and Ken, GI Joe, American Girl dolls, baby dolls, including Bitty Baby, My Twinn and Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, Beanie Babies, and stuffed animals. In addition to this, Doll Clothes Superstore also offers doll accessories such as shoes, jewelry, hair clips, umbrellas, and hangars, as well as matching girl and doll clothes. Doll Clothes Superstore is independently owned and not affiliated with any doll manufacturer.


text:
More than just match-3
Forgecraft combines the match-3 gameplay you know and love with an intuitive pattern system. Learn the item patterns and use your puzzle solving skills to complete levels.
Use rarer ores to craft more powerful items, and master the Active Forge system to craft advanced, rare, and epic items.
Forging can be dangerous
Fortunately, you can reserve your best loot for your Elite Guard. Keep your guards well equipped as bandits, rivals, and... more powerful enemies await you in the mines.
Explore the world of Eldarus
Your adventures will lead you through a rich and mysterious world scarred by The Surge. Discover the secrets behind The Empire's power and journey to the ultimate forge atop the crystalized peaks of The Spire.


text:
Country music superstar, actress, successful business owner and philanthropist Dolly Parton returns to her singing roots Friday night as she brings her Blue Smoke World Tour to the Agua Caliente Casino.
The performance, in support of her soon to be released album "Blue Smoke," is sold out.
"It's always great to perform at home in the good ol' U.S.A.," Parton said in a statement. "We're kicking off our Blue Smoke World Tour right here at home. I love traveling all over the world; but it's true, there's nothing like home."
This is the first tour in three years for Parton, who's musical career dates back to the late 1950's. Her last tour, The Better Day Tour!, took place during 2011.
Parton's No. 1 U.S. country hits include 1974's "I Will Always Love You," 1980's "9 to 5" (that also hit No. 1 on the U.S. chart), 1985's "Real Love" with Kenny Rodgers and 2005's "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley and many more.
Her acting debut was in the 1980 movie "9 to 5" as well as big roles in "Steel Magnolias," "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and other films.
The Agua Caliente Casino is at 32-250 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage. As of Thursday, there was no tickets available on ticket resellers such as www.ticketsnow.com or www.stubhub.com.


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- "When buying a new piece of clothing, I want to feel like I've explored all my options.
I love Rank & Style – they do all of the research for me, making it super easy and way less time consuming to shop efficiently." – Clara, Marketing Professional, 28
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More Information
Gesel Mason: "No Boundaries: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers"
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: University at Albany Performing Arts Center, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany
Length: 55 minutes, no intermission
In her signature solo, "How to Watch a Modern Dance Concert, or What in the Hell are They Doing On Stage," Gesel Mason conjures up the spirits of Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan; likens a particular type of contemporary dance (you've probably seen it) to "a bad game of charades"; embodies a tree, wind and water; and effortlessly slides into a full split — all within the space of a few minutes.
The clever — and spot-on — piece opens Mason's evening-long work, "No Boundaries: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers," which she performed Saturday evening at the University at Albany Performing Arts Center. In a way, it's also a microcosm of the program, a selection of five solos that requires Mason to segue from one character and movement vocabulary into the next with only a few seconds in between.
Happily, Mason is not only a lithe and versatile dancer but also possesses a stage presence and charisma that make her more than a chameleon who changes color with each dance; rather, she becomes a trusted guide, a lens through which each choreographer's artistry and imagination is filtered.
In "Bent," created for her in 2004 by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Women, Mason undulates, balances, jumps and turns in a self-contained space, juxtaposing power and deliberateness with a sense of abandon. The movement unspools in its own sweet time along with the psychedelic strains of Eddie Hazel's guitar solo on Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain."
"Saturday's Child," which Donald McKayle choreographed in 1948, casts Mason as a portrait of suffering and endurance. She recites Countee Cullen's bleak poem, from which the work takes its title, as she moves painfully across the stage, dragging one leg behind her.
Next, Mason, joined by dancers Erinn Liebhard and Mecca Madyun, premiered "You Are Why!" by Rennie Harris. His hip hop-based vocabulary was fluid and luscious as it rippled through the dancers' bodies. A solo section for Mason sandwiched between two trios had the same introspective, exploratory quality as "Bent," but emotionally cooler.
The dancing was interspersed with video footage of Mason's interviews with the choreographers, both recent and from 10 years ago, when she launched the "No Boundaries" project. They share thoughts about their work and also address the questions that inspired Mason: What is "black dance" and is that label still relevant?
The final piece, Mason's "No Less Black," set to a poem she wrote, brings those issues into focus. As she curved and twirled, arms reaching upward, Madyun read the poem, which includes an answer of sorts to those questions: "Yes, I am a black dancer—and that is not all of who I am."
Tresca Weinstein is a freelance writer.


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"The Internet doesn't work for me." That odious phrase is all too common among agents and brokers. NAR echoed those sentiments for 90+% of all agents when they stated that less than 10% of agents with websites were pleased with the production from them. On the other hand, NAR also tells us that over 84% of all residential real estate sales involve the Internet. How can so much business go to such a small percentage of agents?
Contrary to what you may expect, the answer has less to do with money spent than on poor technique. The most beautiful website in the world is of no value to an agent if it doesn't produce leads on a regular and consistent basis.
I don't mean to say that effective Internet marketing for Realtors® and real estate professionals is not without cost. It costs money to bring buyers to your website. First, you must build the website and hope they'll come. They usually don't. Second, you must subscribe to organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or Pay per Click (PPC) and then they start coming because they can FIND your site. Now what? How do you get them to be more than a blip on an analytics tool and turn them into a living, breathing lead? Traffic is not the panacea, either—a strategy is required to succeed.
This is the real issue in online marketing for Realtors® and for everyone else, too; traffic means nothing but that people are finding your website. Being found is just the first step to succeeding online. Page views and unique visitor data are of value, but the ratio of conversion from visitor to lead is what matters, and you won't ever get enough leads from your visitors until you wise up to the best kept secret in internet marketing: you've got to offer them something to get them to sign in to your site.
How many unique visitors do you need to make your site produce?
Most agents who receive 300 or less unique visitors a month do just fine - the most successful have a conversion rate of 10-15%; that is, 10 to 15% of their unique visitors sign in to the site and are added to the prospect list for drip emails and regular contact. With 300+ unique visitors for an average agent each month - they should receive enough leads to make a living; as more unique visitors come, the agents income should rise accordingly. On the other hand there are those who receive thousands of unique visitors each month and sell little. What explains this?
Not using lead capture is like going fishing with great bait, but no fishing pole
The biggest factor in your site becoming a valuable tool (after optimization and design) is lead capture. Those using effective lead capture have good results with realistic visitor totals; those not using lead capture rarely get any results at all. To visualize this, please close your eyes and imagine yourself going fishing on a pretty summer day: Just toss the bait in the water and the fish will come to it. After the bait is gone, so are the fish, leaving you empty handed if you left your pole at home. But, bring your pole and you could end up catching your limit. Internet prospecting is much the same: a good site and enabling it to be found serves as all the bait you need to succeed, but if you can't capture the lead, it's like you forgot to bring your fishing pole with you-- lots of fish in the water, but none caught.
What exactly is lead capture?
Lead capture can be defined as the practice of converting people who window shop into people who you can communicate with, identify and farm/prospect/cultivate. Hard lead capture is the practice of requiring a visitor to sign in before allowing them to view information, like MLS listings. Soft lead capture is the practice of offering a premium or incentive to incent the visitor to sign in and join your information network. Hard is bad, soft is good; hard makes most visitors exit your site, soft makes them want what you offer them and creates feelings of good will. Lead capture seeks to 'capture' simple information from a visitor; name, email address and phone number are really all you need to communicate on the most important levels: email and telephone.
What does hard lead capture look like and where should I put this?
"Log In (Not a Member? Sign Up Now"
Any site requiring a log in is death for lead generation. A few visitors may docilely give you their personal information, most will not. You should not employ this technique. (Now that DOJ and NAR have settled, perhaps the MLS in certain areas will drop this kind of requirement to view properties—a good thing for clients and a good thing for agents and brokers!) If your site does use this mandatory sign in, my advice is to contact your webmaster right now and have it changed.
What kind of premium should I offer to attract visitors' sign-ins?
How about a map of the town? How about the town fact sheet as furnished by the town government? How about anything interesting about where you sell homes? Lacking that, your newsletter or a relocation kit is good. Where I grew up, agents gave away lots of Town calendars, booklets, ice scrapers and thermometers, hot plates and oven mitts; those still work, too—as long as they have your name and website address on them. Best is some kind of promo that gives good information about where the visitor is looking to come to. One successful agent I know made a list of all restaurants in town and another of all important local phone numbers. She put her smiling face in the center, laminated it, and Viola! Another successful premium was created. Use your imagination-- this isn't rocket science.
No matter what certain agent marketing programs claim, the Internet is where the action is today.
Every time I see that marketing ad that claims that only 11% of sales come from the Internet, I shudder. Look, your own affinity group, NAR, says that 84% of all residential real estate sales begin on the Internet and that 74% of Internet buyers find their agent through a search engine. You absolutely need an Internet presence if you want to stay in this business.
Employ good lead capture today and sell houses tomorrow
It takes only moments to implement this recommendation into YOUR website. Provided it can be found by Internet buyers looking for homes online, this simple change can make the difference between a billboard in space and a real lead generation device. If your site can't be found, however, all the lead capture in the world won't help. You must be one of the sites that come up on the first page of the major search engines when your town is being shopped online; once you are there, implementation of good lead capture will work wonders for you. You wouldn't go fishing without a fishing pole, don't go Internet prospecting without good lead capture!


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Marvel readers may recognize Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (pictured) from his work on "The Stand" comics based on Stephen King's magnum opus. But Aguirre-Sacassa is also quite the playwright. You can get a dose of his stage stories when his "King of Shadows" opens here Oct. 15.
Check out this Art Beat post by arts writer Deborah Martin for more info.
Got geek news, events, insights, outrage or other mana? E-mail me. And follow me on Twitter for more tomgeekery.


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WASHINGTON - A former aide to U.S. Rep. Don Young pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an influence-peddling scandal that has touched the White House, Interior Department and congressional Republicans.
Sound off on the important issues at
Mark Zachares was the 11th person to be convicted in the Justice Department probe.
Zachares admitted engaging in official acts on Abramoff's behalf while working for Young, R-Alaska, who chaired the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Abramoff assisted Zachares in obtaining his committee post. Zachares left Young's staff in 2005. Young's office declined to comment Tuesday.
"Guilty, your honor," Zachares told U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle who asked what plea he would enter to a single count of conspiracy. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines will probably face two years or less.
After the court appearance, defense attorney Edward MacMahon declined to say whether Young was aware of what Zachares was doing on behalf of Abramoff.
Zachares agreed to cooperate with the government's continuing investigation, and outside the courthouse MacMahon reinforced that point to reporters .
The former Republican aide is the fifth congressional staffer to plead guilty in the Abramoff scandal, including two ex-aides to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Zachares provided information to Abramoff about pending congressional actions on the reorganization of federal agencies into the Homeland Security Department.
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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A team of fundraisers are preparing to take on a mountain trek to raise money for a Blyth six-year-old who has suffered from a rare childhood cancer.
Leighton Cook was diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma at the age of three, and despite currently being in remission, his family fear the cancer will return.
Leighton's mum Lynzie said: "He has endured numerous rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, countless blood and platelet transfusions and spent 18 months in hospital away from his brothers and sister.
"Although Leighton is in remission at the minute, the relapse rate of this particular cancer is extremely high and with no cure still remains one of the biggest killers of childhood cancers.
"We started fundraising for Leighton so that if he was to relapse we could afford better life prolonging treatment which isn't available on the NHS.
"This unfortunately comes at quite a cost with families looking to raise anything up to £500,000.
"An awful thing to have a price tag on your child's life, but there just isn't a cure."
Now friends and family are taking on a sponsored trek at Helvellyn in the Lake District on April 12, including staff at the Academy in Bridge Street in Blyth.
They are also holding a 'Cookies Fitness' session every Wednesday at the salon and a Leighton's Leggers walking club every Thursday with a small charge of just £1 per session going to Leighton's fund.
Lynzie is now arranging a banner which will be taken on various events including the mountain trek in April, and is asking for companies to buy a space on the banner to help raise funds.
To support the cause, or to buy a space on the banner, contact Lynzie at email@example.com or call 07507 318096.


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Welcome, United States Customer!
Choose your location and preferred currency for a localized shopping experience.
Now Foods Organic Quinoa Macaroni 8oz
From hearty spaghetti and lasagna to every kid's favorite, macaroni, pasta is a wholesome, versatile and convenient choice. With Living Now Gluten-Free Organic Quinoa Macaroni you and your family can once again enjoy pasta dishes without wheat, corn, soy and other allergens.
Made with three simple organic ingredients — rice, quinoa, and amaranth — this gluten-free pasta offers the delicious flavor and texture you expect from traditional pasta. This wholesome pasta is made without GMOs, allergens and additives and is produced in a dedicated allergy-friendly facility, so your family can enjoy their favorite pasta dishes without sacrificing quality or flavor.
Just pure gluten-free goodness.
- Gluten-free and corn-free
- Always made without dairy, wheat, soy, nuts, corn, eggs
- Produced in a dedicated gluten-free, allergy-friendly facility
- No artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or hydrogenated oils.
- Non-GMO
- Made without the 8 major common allergens
- Vegetarian / vegan product
Additional Information
Note: Note: In the event of a pricing error or fraud alert, we may refuse or cancel any orders placed for that item in accordance with our Terms & Conditions. We will notify you of any cancellation. Also, because manufacturers continually change product specifications without notice. While we try our best to keep product descriptions up to date, they do not necessarily reflect the latest information available from the manufacturer. We are not responsible for incorrect or outdated product descriptions and/or images. It is your responsibility to know what products are legal or illegal in your country. FDA: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


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The next task shows how to use the pppd command to obtain debugging information.
You only need to perform step 1 through step 3 once for each host. Thereafter, you can proceed to step 4 to turn on debugging for the host.
Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.
Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.
Create a log file to hold output from pppd.
# touch /var/log/pppdebug
Add the following syslog facilities for pppd in /etc/syslog.conf.
daemon.debug;local2.debug /var/log/pppdebug
Restart syslogd.
# pkill -HUP -x syslogd
Turn on debugging for calls to a particular peer by using the following syntax of pppd.
# pppd debug call peer-name
peer-name must be the name of a file in the /etc/ppp/peers directory.
View the contents of the log file.
# tail -f /var/log/pppdebug
For an example of a log file, see Step 3.


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September 7th, 2012
Hello! My name is Jonathan and I am a San Diego Chargers Kid Reporter! Today I will be writing about my experience at the NFL PLAY 60 Character Camp.
If you are wondering what Character Camps are about, they are intended to help kids build character while helping them get into the habit of being active for at least 60 minutes a day. Whether it's playing catch, going for a jog, or doing whatever else you like to do to be active, exercising 60 minutes a day will prevent obesity and help kids and adults have healthier bodies.
I had a great, fun-filled experience during this camp because it had amazing football drills, real professional football players from the NFL, and many kids from all over to interact with and meet. There were also fun scrimmage games at the end of they day where we got to play with teammates from our group and our coach. And on top of it, our coach was an NFL quarterback, which was extremely cool!
The football drills were very exciting because the staff members taught all of us how to throw, catch, run plays and play defense the correct way. The coaches and staff were also very interactive and nice, which always creates an even better experience! At the very end of the day at this incredible camp, we all got a healthy and delicious snack to enjoy as well.
This camp was a very cool experience overall, and I would want to attend it again for sure! Thank you to all who helped build this camp and made it what it was. You created a phenomenal time!
NFLRUSH Kid Reporter


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Just two minutes' walk up a pedestrianised street from Nerja's famous Balcón de Europa, it's quiet and intimate. I feel less like a tourist here somehow.
Close attention to detail has been paid in all of the seven bedrooms, which are each named after local beaches. Five of them are suites, each with their own private terrace overlooking the sea. There is an amazing penthouse suite, which spans the width of the hotel with a sitting room (containing two sofas, one of which is a sofa bed), a TV area and a wonderful private terrace overlooking the gardens and the Med.
Public areas
You walk into an opulent lobby, sumptuously decorated with paintings of ballet dancers and the beautiful traje de luces worn by one of Andalucia's most celebrated bullfighters. Best of all is a well-executed fake Velázquez painting, which has a story of its own. The staircase has elegant wrought-iron railings and chandeliers, while there's a charming tapas bar to one side.
Eating and drinking
Carabeo could easily be termed a 'restaurant with rooms' with its highly-rated Restaurant 34, one of Nerja's best places to eat. It is in the Michelin guide, and offers a good mix of classical and more contemporary Spanish dishes. Expect some terrific extra virgin olive oil, free range eggs and fig chutney from the family finca (country house). The son, who is currently running the show on a daily basis, trained at the Savoy in London, before moving to the nearby Berkeley hotel and this shows. I loved the fabulous starter of scallop wrapped in jamon Iberico, and the roast suckling pig was a real treat. I finished with a splendid chocolate fondant pudding with blackcurrant coulis, dark chocolate biscuit and coconut ice cream. Delicious.
Leisure facilities
The grounds are not huge, but there is a welcoming pool in the garden, which becomes the setting for a candle-lit restaurant in the evenings.
Service is exceptional from a team of knowlegeable local Spaniards - 28 in all - who all speak impeccable English.
Who stays there
A huge mixture of northern Europeans and, unsurprisingly, the likes of singer Sade, model Helena Christensen and the odd boy-band celebrity, I'm told.
Price advice
For a hotel offering five-star service, a wonderful location, and which has tons of character, I'd say it's great value.
Recommended for
- Couples
- Foodies
- Honeymooners
- Seasoned travellers
- Celebrity spotting
- Great views / scenery
- Relaxation
- Romance
- Trendiness
Pros & Cons
- Tip top restaurant
- Des res location
- Sea views
- Pool area becomes a restaurant at 6.30pm


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Appliance Repair Questions? Ask a Technician for Answers ASAP
It has a display it shows the length of time each wash should be eg 1.40 for 60 degree it will get down to about 50 and then stops and it show 1.40 again and theres nothing flashing.
It says E52
right well I put it on a 95 degree wash which is normally 2.10hrs but I opted for quick wash so it was 1.30hrs the first 25 mins went with no problems, then at 1.05 to 54 (9 mins) this actually took about 25 mins the machine did nothing except it circled once and that was it. Then at 53 it jumped to 1.40hrs again and there was water still in machine and the doors wont open and the error code is E52 again?
ok yes the water heats up ok and the spin only emptys and spins to problem. The machine is about 5 years old.
I kept the door open and hit start but it gave me code E40. Then I closed the door and hit start again and then held the two buttons together and it then gave me the code E41?
Sorry I'm only getting back to you now I was away for the weekend. No there's still a problem I put it on for 40 degrees wash which should be 1.25, up to 55 it worked perfectly then from 55 to 45 which took about 35 min and not 10 it only did about two small turns then at 44 it did a short spin and at 43 it stopped and is flashing back to 1.25 mins?
E52 again and when it turned it to off it still won't let me open the door so I've had to put it onto spin for 12 mins. Now before I began this was I checked the code which said e52 opened the door so it turned to e41?
What's the carbon brushes I've never heard of that? The spin has just finished perfectly and its went to 0.00. I tried for a code but nothing came up, so I turned it to off and then back to 40 and e52 appears?
Am I better getting someone out?
Ok thanks you've been very helpful


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Training program on Microbiological Examination of Seafood
A week long ICAR sponsored training program on "Microbiological Examination of Seafood" was inaugurated on 1st August, 2017 by the Chief Guest Prof A. Ramachandran, Vice Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) at ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi. The objective of the training programme is to enhance the technical competencies of participants on modern techniques of isolation and detection of pathogenic bacteria in seafood to meet the challenges of maintaining microbiological quality and seafood safety.
Prof. A. Ramachandran, in his inaugural address, briefed about the source of seafood contamination and its impact on human life. Expressing concern over the alarming aquatic environment, he said that there is need to screen the pathogenic bacteria in seafood that causes microbial contamination and also emphasized on hygienic maintenance during handling and processing of fishes. Appreciating the microbiological work done by ICAR-CIFT, he suggested for making research collaborations with KUFOS to face the challenges ahead.
Dr. Ravishankar C.N., Director CIFT in his presidential remarks stressed on the role of microbes in harvest and post-harvest sectors in fisheries and described the contributions made by CIFT for the betterment of seafood industry and the fishermen community. He lauded the effort of MFB Division for taking forward the technological developments in microbiology to the field especially by the technical staff for whom this program is exclusively designed for.
About 25 technical officers from different parts of the country representing universities and leading research institutes of ICAR participated in the programme.
(Source: ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi)


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Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) October 24, 2013
Jostens, a leading designer and producer of custom championship jewelry, has once again partnered with the Miami HEAT to create the team's 2013 NBA Championship ring as well as a collection of championship jewelry.
On October 29, 2013, the ring will be presented to HEAT players, coaches and members of the executive front office during an on-court ceremony at AmericanAirlines Arena hosted just before the HEAT opens the 2013-14 season against the Chicago Bulls. Each custom ring will include symbols of the HEAT championship legacy and personalization that will enable the rings to serve as individual trophies for every player, coach and member of The HEAT Group.
"The selection of Jostens as the designer and producer of our 2013 Championship ring represents their unique ability to not only create the finest championship ring available, but also develop an integrated championship merchandise program to help HEAT fans celebrate our third NBA Championship," stated Nick Arison, Chief Executive Officer of The HEAT Group. "Jostens delivers an extraordinary championship ring and retail program for the HEAT and all of our fans. We are excited to unveil the 2013 championship rings to our team and our fans on October 29th, and look forward to a memorable event as we kick off our 26th season."
This will be the third time the HEAT and Jostens have teamed up to produce the team's championship rings. The HEAT previously worked alongside Jostens in 2006 and 2012 to produce the team's first and second NBA Championship rings.
"The 2013 Championship is a result of the outstanding work by our players, coaches and Basketball Operations staff, and the championship ring is a lifelong reminder of this tremendous accomplishment," said HEAT President Pat Riley. "These championship rings will tell the story of a remarkable season and the role each of them played in helping the team to achieve its third NBA Championship victory."
"We are honored to continue to build on our relationship with the Miami HEAT to deliver a stunning ring that tells the story of the team's 2012-13 season and compliments their 2006 and 2012 championship wins" said Chris Poitras, director, Sports Marketing and Development, Jostens. "Jostens prides ourselves on creating exceptional championship experiences and we look forward to delivering the HEAT and their fans a program that will celebrate the HEAT's 2013 Championship season, while generating excitement for the upcoming season and beyond."
Immediately following the ring ceremony on October 29, HEAT fans worldwide will have access to the HEAT 2013 Championship merchandise collection. The championship collection will be available for purchase at the AmericanAirlines Arena as well as online at TheMiamiHEATStore.com and Jostens.com.
About The HEAT Group
The HEAT Group is comprised of the National Basketball Association's Miami HEAT and the 19,600-seat AmericanAirlines Arena. The HEAT is a three-time champion having won its first championship in 2006, its second in 2012 and its third in 2013. The 2013-14 season will be its 26th season. The AmericanAirlines Arena is a state-of-the-art facility which hosts over 150 events per year. For more information, please visit HEAT.com and AAArena.com.
About Jostens
Minneapolis-based Jostens is a leading designer and producer of championship products, programs and services that help athletic champions and their fans tell their stories and celebrate their achievements. The company's products also include school yearbooks and other memory book products and scholastic products such as class rings and graduation products. Jostens is a subsidiary of Visant Corporation, a marketing and publishing services enterprise servicing the school affinity, direct marketing, fragrance and cosmetics sampling and educational and trade publishing segments.


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Racist, Sexist, Bigot: Microsoft's AI "Tay"
At the end of March, Microsoft released an Artificial Intelligence (AI) account on Twitter named "Tay." Tay was designed as "a chatbot created for 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. for entertainment purposes," wrote Peter Lee, Microsoft's vice president of corporate research, on their official blog. Modeled after a wildly popular chatbot in China named XiaoIce, Microsoft was hoping to bring the success to a Western audience. Tay, like many other modern AI experiments including her counterpart XiaoIce, was an artificial neural network, a rudimentary AI system modeled after the structure of the human brain. Essentially, Tay was programmed to receive input and learn from it, outputting her own tweets in the process. Any Twitter user had the capability of tweeting to her. In turn, she would offer a response.…
Link to Full Article: Racist, Sexist, Bigot: Microsoft's AI "Tay"
Racist, Sexist, Bigot: Microsoft's AI "Tay"


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Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader, held a second day of talks in Gaza yesterday with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister. The cabinet deal was reached when Mr Abbas and Mr Haniyeh settled on an academic with little security experience for the post of interior minister, which oversees key security services. A Hamas official identified the new interior minister as Hani al-Qawasma, who has no known political affiliation. Mr Haniyeh will remain prime minister, but his deputy will be a senior Fatah figure, Azzam al-Ahmed, who heads the Fatah faction in the parliament.
The two rival factions have been negotiating over the cabinet since last June.
The new government will be under immense pressure to tackle lawlessness in the Gaza Strip and lift the international economic boycott imposed on the Palestinian territories since Hamas was elected. Israel is still withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues and has demanded that the Hamas government recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace agreements.
In the hope of resolving the crisis two key cabinet positions have gone to moderates. Salam Fayyad, a respected economist, will be finance minister, and Ziad Abu-Amr, an independent, will be foreign minister. Hamas will still dominate with nine cabinet posts to Fatah's six.