text:
(Literary Masterpieces, Volume 20)
The idea that democracy and freedom are not the same thing is a fairly old one. The French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, author of the 1835 book Democracy in America, was interested in the question of why American democracy had not led to dictatorship, as it had in his native country. Part of Tocqueville's conclusion was that effective democracy must rest on an existing social and legal system that is consistent with popular rule and that prevents majorities from becoming tyrannical. Fareed Zakaria restates this line of reasoning in modern terms, and he extends it by arguing that even in relatively successful democratic nations such as the United States, there can be too much democracy.
Zakaria identifies the current period in history as a democratic age. He points out that more nations than ever before create governments by popular vote and that the support of the people has become the only basis of political legitimacy in much of the world. The age is also democratic because the broad masses of people have more cultural and economic power than in previous times, as well as more political power. The word "democracy" has acquired the connotation of something that is always good and always desirable and that will always tend to produce free and just societies. News media suggest, for example, that the problems of former communist societies or of authoritarian nations can be cured if only sufficient democratization can be achieved.
As Zakaria sees it, however, democracy is not the universal solution. He is not opposed to popular rule, but he does see difficulties with the direct rule of the people. Democracy, he argues, only maintains individual liberty and works properly when it works within a regulated system of elected representatives with limited, legally defined powers. Further, protections of individual liberty must generally be created first, in order to establish a workable liberal democracy.
He begins to support his argument with a quick and rather breathless look at the history of human liberty. He argues that liberty in the Western world does not spring from Greek democracy but from the split between the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire, which eventually freed the Roman popes from imperial control and made the popes competitors with the secular rulers of Europe. Liberty, then, began in the space created by the struggle between church and state. Other struggles, between kings and nobility and between Catholicism and Protestantism, expanded this space. Conflict limited the powers of central authorities, and this led to greater personal freedom. Capitalism pushed the cause of individual liberty further by eroding the powers of monarchies and feudal aristocracies and by putting in place a system based on individual and property rights. While this history might seem peculiar to Western Europe and North America, Zakaria asserts that it contains a pattern that may be applied elsewhere. First, he contends, societies must achieve economic liberalization, with strong protections for property rights, and only afterward move toward popular rule.
There are at least two conditions for the development of liberal democracy, in Zakaria's view. A country must not only have attained a decent standard of living, but it must also have attained this through trade and industry and not through the sale of abundant natural resources. In fact, natural resources may often be a disguised disadvantage for a nation, an easy source of riches that prevents the development of an active and involved middle class. In addition, a nation must have a strong government that can enforce the laws and regulations necessary to protect the property rights and freedoms needed for efficient markets. Zakaria disagrees with those who see government land reform as denial of property rights. Instead, he maintains that land reform moves the ownership of land away from feudal landlords, who merely hold titles, and to those who actually work the land. This can set the stage for industrialization.
Zakaria devotes a chapter to the problem of democracy in the Islamic lands of the Middle East. This chapter will probably draw the attention of many readers because of the American occupation of Iraq and stated U.S. government intentions to establish democracy in that nation. The author maintains that the general absence of liberal democracy in the Middle East is not a consequence of a cultural...
(The entire section is 1805 words.)


text:
Big changes to coming to 23rd and Union according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. According to the brief article a six-story apartment complex with retail on the ground floor is planned for the corner where the vacant lot is located. As many of us remember there was a brick building on the lot before it was torn down due to heavy settlement issues that caused the building to look as if it would fall over. The lot was just sold for $3.8 million and the new owners hope to begin building this spring.
Tag Archives: 23rd and Union Seattle
Central District Key Bank to Close
One of the closest banks to our Madrona neighborhood, the Key Bank Central District Branch located on 23rd and Union is scheduled to close April 12th of this year. Employees of the Central District Branch are being transferred to other Key Banks in the Seattle area. If you opened your bank account at that branch, your account will be transferred to the Key Bank on Capitol Hill on 15th Avenue. If you have a safety deposit box there, you can wait for instructions or contact the bank to make arrangements (contact information on first link above).
Search here to find other Key Bank close to Madrona.
The report is that the location will not be vacant for long. Capitol Hill Housing will be redeveloping the lot and building affordable housing with offices on the main floor.
Central District Arrest Causing Controversy
I was driving in the car today and heard of a controversial arrest made by the Seattle Police on October 6th. Little did I know it happened on 23rd and Union near the liquor store parking lot in the Seattle Central District. Check out the video on Central District News and see for yourself what you think of the arrest. The video is long but if you start at the 4 minute mark you see the suspect refusing to answer the polices' questions. The police then tell him to put his hands behind his back and then the incident happens.
New Restaurant Opening in Madrona: Med Mix
The popular European favorite in Pioneer Square Mediterranean Mix announced that it was expanding into the Central District a while back and we're pleased to announce the restaurant opened last week in Madrona with a slight change in name; Med Mix. The new eatery offers entrees such as gyros, burgers, falafel, as well as pizza, sub sandwiches and several other combos great for lunch hour if you're working in the neighborhood.
The Beehive Bakery had previously leased the space, before closing it's store front last November and before that a Philly cheese steak shop had served on the premise. But the real stipulation surrounding the restaurant's location is the murders that took place on this corner, 23rd and Union. It's also been a common corner used for drug exchanges and where a previous Seattle Mayor was beaten in broad daylight. Residents to the neighborhood are hopeful the new restaurant will bring a better future for the corner. For more information on Med Mix click here.
Central District's Beehive Bakery Closes
Seattle Central District's Beehive Bakery on 23rd and Union closed recently. There is a good article about the closing on Central District News but the long story short is while the corner gets a lot of car traffic it does not get a lot of foot traffic and the Beehive Bakery was not getting the number of customers it needed to stay open. The original plan was to have a drive-through window to take advantage of the car traffic, but the current Seattle city rules did not allow it.
It does not sound like Beehive had a long term lease, since the building owner wants to redevelop the lot, so that may have lead to the decision to close only after being open since August.
The Central District real estate is available lease for $30 per year per square foot. See the link for the listing details.
Road Construction on 23rd Avenue?
As I was leaving Madrona this morning, I noticed on 23rd Avenue between Union (the gas station) and Pine (the power plant) they had blocked off one lane heading south. There were trucks in the area – it looked like they were going to dig up one of the lanes.
UPDATE: I drove by today (Friday) and they have taken up part of the street. They are now working on 23rd Avenue on both sides of Union. I googled Seattle Department of Transportation and found this handy map of Seattle Planned Construction. It does not give a ton of detail about this particular project on 23rd and Union other than it says "Street Maintenance Crew Work" on 23rd Avenue between East Olive and East Spring with project notes stating "Arterial Major Maintenance – mill and overlay on both curb lanes." The work is estimated to be done by today, Friday, March 25th.
Movie Being Made About Central District
I recently wrote a blog about 23rd and Union questioning an article I read that said the corner was improving. I mentioned how the gas station had recently closed and the restaurant space on the corner had been vacant for a couple years. The article that I questioned did give me hope because it mentioned new businesses that were coming. But 23rd and Union has long been an infamous corner and now a movie that was filmed, at least in part, on location this past summer will be coming out soon. The new movie is called "23rd and Union" and is based around the shooting that took place at the above mentioned restaurant space where the owner, Degene Dashasa, was murdered. The tragic murder is the center of a story that talks about the ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood and the issues that arise from it.
The movie is due to be released this summer. Click link to watch the movie trailer.
Central District's 23rd and Union
23rd and Union of Sir Mix-A-Lot fame:
Wheelin 23rd we saw nuttin but thugs
The girlies was too skinny from smoking all them drugs
Cause the rock man got em and their butts just dropped
The freaks looked depressed cause the Benz don't stop
At 23rd and Union the driver broke left…..
– My Posse's on Broadway
There was an article about the revival of 23rd and Union today in the Seattle Times. At first, I thought: "Really?" I drive through 23rd and Union almost every day and stop there about once every two weeks to get gas, go to the Post Office, etc. and if you asked me it was not getting any better. Not that it is as bad as the Sir Mix-A-Lot song would have you think, but the gas station has been closed for the last couple weeks, no one is in the old sub shop for two plus years, the lot on the corner (where the cool old brick building used to be) is still surrounded by a chain link fence with no activity. But after reading the article, I got excited that better times are ahead. The gas station is going to re-open, there is a bakery going in the old sub shop, and the businesses are banning together to improve the area. Honestly, I think 23rd and Union has a real chance. Just down the street in Seattle's Madrona neighborhood on 34th and Union the businesses seem to be thriving. On MLK and Union the Grocery Outlet seems to be doing well and the area really seems booming when they do the farmers markets down there. Around 20th and Union the business seem to be doing well and 12th and Union has new restaurants and apartment buildings. Hopefully with these new businesses, 23rd and Union will be revived.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Surviving an IRS Tax Collection Greenville NC
Greenville, NC
Goldsboro, NC
Pay Only For Results*
Raleigh, NC
Durham, NC
Greensboro, NC
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte, NC
Raleigh, NC
Charlotte, NC
Raleigh, NC
Surviving an IRS Tax Collection
Provided By:
Income Tax Preparation - Prepare Early to Avoid Last Minute RushesAuthor: Gen Wright
Income Tax is levied progressively on the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of a person. The AGI is derived in two steps from the actual income of the individual. The actual income is first taken through basic deductions like employer paid health insurance etc. The amount obtained after the initial deductions is called the gross income. The gross income is then taken through the standard deductions list or the itemized deductions list, as may be applicable for the individual. At the end of the second stage, the AGI amount is obtained and the income tax is calculated on the basis of that amount.
There are multiple progressive slabs upon which the income tax is calculated. Below a certain amount of AGI, the income is considered exempt from tax. The slabs are regularly adjusted for inflation and other factors. Every person with an income is expected to prepare an income tax return and this includes minors and teenagers. Every citizen or resident alien that is earning is required to file a full tax return and pay the tax in full, every year within April 15th. An extension may be requested for the filing the return but the tax must be paid within the give date, which is 15th April every year.
There are several ways to file your income tax but each way requires preparing your returns and this the toughest part for most people. You must be very careful while preparing your return and make sure that you have mentioned everything. The tax returns require full disclosure of every taxable income, property and asset. You may not hide any part of your total income or else it will be considered tax evasion, which is a federal crime and can be charged as a felony.
Any delays in paying the taxes and filing the return will result in having to pay for fines and interest charges. Thus it is important to prepare your income tax return on time and with accuracy. But it is difficult job for many to prepare and submit their income tax because of complicated financial situations, like multiple business owners. So the IRS brought out a very helpful service called e-file, to help taxpayers file their returns online.
The IRS has approved certain competent websites to provide this e-file service to taxpayers. These websites offer complete tax solutions to their client in exchange of a small fee. Using these websites you can calculate your tax, prepare and file your returns and pay your taxes without doing any paperwork whatsoever. Preparing your income tax returns on their advanced software is a breeze and you will get help in form of suggestions and lists of various tax policies, deductions and tax credits. You can also file for an extension online (so that you can submit your returns later but you have to pay your taxes by April 15th). You can also schedule tax payments for future dates and use credit cards to pay your taxes through these e-file service providers.
About the Author:
Learn more about Income Tax Preparation and 1040 tax returns from our website.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/credit-articles/income-tax-preparation-prepare-early-to-avoid-last-minute-rushes-993655.html


text: The following reply was made to PR pkg/32155; it has been noted by GNATS. From: Thomas Klausner <email@example.com> To: firstname.lastname@example.com Cc: Subject: PR/32155 CVS commit: pkgsrc/devel/pcre Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:34:01 +0000 (UTC) Module Name: pkgsrc Committed By: wiz Date: Thu Nov 24 19:34:01 UTC 2005 Modified Files: pkgsrc/devel/pcre: distinfo Added Files: pkgsrc/devel/pcre/patches: patch-ac patch-ad patch-ae Log Message: patch-ac, ad: fix compilation with Sun Studio 11 compilers, patch from author via segv in PR 32155. patch-ae: from martin@, fixes recursion self-test (not installed). To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -r1.16 -r1.17 pkgsrc/devel/pcre/distinfo cvs rdiff -r0 -r1.1 pkgsrc/devel/pcre/patches/patch-ac \ pkgsrc/devel/pcre/patches/patch-ad pkgsrc/devel/pcre/patches/patch-ae Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files.


text:
Troubleshooting for liquid particle counting
How to ensure that quality data is being obtained from optical particle counters (OPCs) in liquid applications
By Roger Carlone, Particle Measuring Systems
Ensuring that your liquid optical particle counter (OPC) is operating within its designed specification is critical to obtaining quality data. As data from OPCs becomes increasingly important to maintaining process control, it becomes more critical than ever for users to have confidence in the data being generated. OPC data is frequently used in qualifying process improvements, in control during chemical manufacturing, and in quality control for production of complex parts. It is not uncommon for users to question the results from their particle counters. Discussed in this article are common misunderstandings and other performance issues that would lead one to question their OPCs.
Users can take several easy steps to ensure that quality data is collected. All OPCs have defined and easily controlled specifications. These specifications are flow rate, background scatter, and concentration limit. Also important is the particle size distribution (PSD). Unless all of these parameters are correct, the data should be considered suspect. Even if one parameter is incorrect, the data quality has been compromised. This article summarizes these parameters and their effects on each other, and it also covers ultimately ensuring that quality data is achieved when analyzing ambient particle distributions in process chemicals and deionized (DI) water.
Normal particle distributions
Thirty years of particle counting experience shows that most ambient particle distributions in continuously filtered liquid systems follow a D-3 distribution (D = diameter) on total cumulative counts. Figure 1 shows a normal particle distribution. In extremely clean DI water systems, the distribution can be steeper (D-4), and in dirty systems, the distribution can be flatter (D-2). It is equally important that whatever the distribution is, it remains consistent from sample to sample.
When analyzing particle data, it is essential to ensure that you have a normal particle distribution. If not, it should immediately alert the user to a potential problem. Things that can lead to abnormal distributions or poor data are incorrect flow rate, excessive background scatter, and exceeding the OPC's upper concentration limit. In addition, real particle events such as pump or valve failures, o-ring problems, damaged tubing, or other process upsets can cause abnormal particle distributions. This is why it is critical to ensure that quality OPC data is collected. Otherwise, one would not be able to identify a real particle excursion from a poorly performing OPC.
Flow rate
All OPCs have a flow rate specification. The specification is most
commonly listed as the set flow rate plus or minus a certain percentage; for example, 50 ml/min ??10 percent. The actual flow rate varies by model.
OPCs are calibrated at a specific flow rate. This means that real-world particles are intended to pass through the particle counter at the calibrated flow rate. If the proper flow rate is not maintained, both sizing and counting accuracy are compromised. As a particle travels through an OPC, it scatters light. The amount of scattered light is converted to an electrical signal, which is counted and measured to determine the particle concentration and size.
If the flow rate is set too high, the particles travel through the OPC too fast. Since the transit time is decreased, the electronics do not have sufficient time to fully integrate the signal, compromising sizing accuracy. Counting accuracy is compromised because the resulting signal is now too small to exceed the particle size threshold. Further complicating the issue is that the accompanying software is normalizing the data to the specified flow rate. Conversely, if the flow rate is too slow, the transit time is increased and the particle appears to be larger than its actual size. It is critical that the OPC be operated at the correct flow rate.
Table 1 shows the effects of changing the flow rate of an OPC. The specified flow rate is 50 ml/min.
Depending on the application and equipment used, there are three ways to control the flow rate through an OPC:
- Syringe samplers require the user to input the correct syringe volume and sample speed. This offers extremely accurate flow control.
- Online applications require a flow controller downstream of the OPC set to the proper flow rate. It is important to calibrate these flow controllers with a stopwatch and graduated cylinder. The accompanying software has no means to set the flow rate nor does it know if the OPC is being used at the correct flow rate.
- Compression samplers have a flow rate adjustment on the instrument to set the flow rate. In this case, the software will report the actual flow rate at the end of a sample.1 A detailed explanation of operating a compression sampler can be found in Particle Measuring Systems' Application Note 56, Counting Challenge.
Background scatter
There is always a small amount of background noise or scattered light in an OPC that originates from the laser interacting with the optical path. The scatter from the capillary walls or optical windows can be measured. Normally, the amount of scatter from the capillary walls is minimal and has no effect on the data. As the capillary becomes contaminated or, in severe cases, damaged, the amount of scatter increases. In other designs, the optical windows from which the sample is viewed can become contaminated. Eventually, the amount of scatter coming from contaminated optics equals the amount of scatter from the smallest detectable particle size. In most cases, simple cleaning of the capillary can resolve this issue.2
There are two ways to recognize whether this is occurring. First, the accompanying software reports the amount of background scatter. Each OPC has a specification for this value. Once this value has been exceeded, the collected data should be considered suspect.
Additionally, if the amount of scatter from contamination equals the amount of scatter from the smallest detectable particle size, there will be an excessive number of counts in the first channel. One will often see hundreds to thousands of counts in only the first channel on known clean DI water, with zero to little counts in the other size channels, as shown in Fig. 2.
Users often ask if they can ignore the first channel. The answer is "no" for two reasons. First, the OPC electronics become busy processing the noise signal, which prevents it from accurately processing real particle signals. Second, there is a constant amount of light scatter hitting the detector. The OPC is designed to measure total cumulative counts from the smallest detectable size and greater. The electronics and signal processing are not designed to handle such situations, resulting in compromised data across all channels.
Upper concentration limit
All OPCs have an upper concentration limit. This is the maximum allowable concentration of particles that the particle counter should be exposed to. This is typically expressed as <10 percent coincidence loss at 10,000 particles/ml total cumulative counts. This means that at 10,000 particles/ml, up to 10 percent of the particles are not being counted.
Optical coincidence is defined as when more than one particle passes through the viewing volume of the OPC simultaneously. As the concentration of particles starts to reach the upper limit, optical coincidence begins to occur. Particles can pass side by side and appear larger, or smaller particles can hide behind bigger ones. The end result is that as more and more particles pass through the OPC, the OPC loses the ability to distinguish one particle from another. As this occurs, the distribution of particles changes and typically appears as if there is the same number of counts in the first several particle channels of the OPC as seen in Fig. 3.
Once you exceed the concentration limit, there is no guarantee of the actual counts or that two instruments will agree with each other. Coincidence loss is neither predictable nor necessarily a linear response as the concentration increases.
In severe cases, if the particle concentration is extremely excessive, the OPC will saturate. When saturation occurs, the electronics are completely overloaded, so they no longer have the ability to respond to individual particles. The particle distribution will actually invert and show fewer counts in the first channel as seen in Fig. 4. In such cases, the OPC can actually read zero counts.
Cosmic rays
A phenomenon that can occur in OPCs with less than 0.1 µm sensitivity is false counts due to cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are normally occurring, natural events. When a cosmic ray hits the photodetector, it will register as a particle. The rate of cosmic rays hitting the detector varies by location and environmental factors but generally occurs about once per minute, resulting in less than 1 count/ml. It is also common for these counts to appear in the second channel of the OPC, which in most cases is 0.1 µm.
In normal applications this is not significant. However, most DI water systems–and even some process chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing–have normal concentrations of particles less than 1 to 2 counts/ml. If the OPC is otherwise within specification, and the normal concentration of particles is less than 1 count/ml, the resulting distribution of particles can appear as in Fig. 5. It is important to note that most OPCs have a zero count spec of 1 to 4 counts/ml. This means that anything below this limit should be considered noise.
Proper operation and adherence to published specifications of an optical particle counter are critical to obtaining quality data. Without quality data, one cannot make informed decisions regarding the control of his or her processes.
A few simple steps can ensure that quality data can and is being collected. First, one should look for a normal particle distribution. This is a good initial indicator of quality data. Even with a normal distribution, one should check that the OPC is operating with the correct flow rate and within the published specifications of background scatter and particle concentration.
Roger Carlone is an applications engineer at Particle Measuring Systems (www.pmeasuring.com) based in Boulder, CO.
- App Note 56, A Counting Challenge.
- App Note 55, LiQuilaz Maintenance: Capillary Cleaning Procedure.


text:
|Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister
XPathing Up levelby mr_p (Scribe)
|on Dec 02, 2010 at 22:51 UTC ( #875032=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
mr_p has asked for the
wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:
Hello Monks,
I am in need of your help again. All the help is apprecicated.
I am tring to traverse an xml get values from it. The program is suppose to parse 'Country' and 'WID'attribute value. The output should look like the below:
but the problem is I am not able to pullout WID value so my out put is incorrect. What am I doing wrong? Please help
Back to Seekers of Perl Wisdom


text:
Colonel sandhurst to the rescue : Poor Relation Series, Book 5. / M. C Beaton.
Electronic resources
Record details
- ISBN: 9780795315411 (electronic bk)
- ISBN: 9780795315404 (electronic bk)
- Physical Description: 1 online resource.
- Publisher: New York : RosettaBooks, 2013.
Content descriptions
|General Note:
| Title from eBook information screen..
|Summary, etc.:
| Owing to an unfortunate wager made by Sir Philip, the poor relations are once again scrounging around for a plan for solvency. This time it is Colonol Sandhurst to the rescue. After happening on Sir Randolph's lovely daughter Frederica, who is running away to escape an awful marriage to Lord Bewley, the Colonel devises a plan to force Sir Randolph to settle his bill and to save Frederica from her fate.
|System Details Note:
| Requires OverDrive Read (file size: N/A KB) or Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 506 KB) or Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 1747 KB) or Amazon Kindle (file size: N/A KB).
Search for related items by subject
Historical Fiction.
|Electronic books.


text:
D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…although I wouldn't have said no for Sanosuke Sagara!
Hi! Well, here goes another SxM fic of mine! I got the idea of this one at 6 30 in the morning, and although I couldn't wait to write it, I had to wait till I finished the other two fics I was writing at that time. Well, anyway, here it is now, and I hope you like it!
Chapter 1: Her First Job
Megumi Takani pressed the buzzer and stood back on the front porch before the beautiful Oak door before her. She fumbled nervously with the straps of her purse, and kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other.
She only waited a few moments before somebody came to the door and opened it. In the doorway stood a man with jet-black hair that fell elegantly over his eyes. The guy looked like he was in his late twenties, and he smiled at Megumi, holding his hand out as he did.
'Hello, you must be Megumi Takani, right?' he asked, and she nodded as she shook his hand. 'I'm Souzu Sagara…do come in, please.'
He stepped aside to let her through. Megumi stepped over the threshold and in through the door. The first thought to cross her mind when she glanced around was how f-i-n-e the Sagaras' house was. She looked around in wonder at the wooden staircase and the beautiful antiques which were scattered here and there…and she was only still in the hallway!
'I hope it doesn't bother you to baby-sit for my son, but it's really important that I go to the office tonight,' Mr. Sagara said from behind her.
Megumi tore her eyes away from the beautiful painting she was gazing at, and turned to look at the man. 'No, it's alright,' she assured her. 'Besides, I need the money…my parents want me to start saving for college.'
He smiled at her. 'Good, I like a hard-worker…but how old are you again?' he asked.
'Fifteen,' she answered shortly. 'I hope it doesn't bother you that a girl my age baby-sits for your son.'
'No, it's fine with me,' he assured her. 'Okay, let me see where my son is, then…follow me, please.'
Megumi nodded and went after him as he led her further into the house. She wondered secretly within herself why a big household such as this didn't have servants around. The Sagaras looked rich enough, so why not have a servant or two, and maybe even a permanent babysitter?
Mr. Sagara led her into what looked like a living room. Comfortable-looking couches were scattered around the room, and a big TV screen rested in the middle, in front of which sat a little boy with a wad of unkempt brown hair.
'Sanosuke, I'd like you to come here and meet Miss Megumi Takani,' Mr. Sagara said in a firm, but yet gentle tone.
The kid nodded. Eyes still glued to the screen, he scrambled up to his feet and headed to the door, almost stumbling right into the coffee table as he did.
'Sano, say hi to Miss Takani,' Mr. Sagara instructed his son.
Sano finally looked away from the screen, and gazed up at Megumi with big, and in her opinion, adorable, chocolate brown eyes. He stuck his hands deep into the pockets of the pair of jeans he was wearing. She saw that he only reached a little above her waist.
'Hi, Miss Takani,' he murmured.
Megumi smiled at him. 'Hello, Sanosuke,' she said softly.
Mr. Sagara bent down and ruffled his son's hair. 'Miss Takani will be staying with you while I'm away at the office, okay?' he told him, and the boy nodded. 'I promise I won't be late.'
He straightened up and looked around at Megumi. 'I've left a list of numbers stuck on the fridge's door in case of any emergency, and don't hesitate to call me if you need anything,' he told her.
'Don't worry, Mr. Sagara, everything will be fine,' she assured him.
'Good, I hope so,' he replied. He ruffled his son's hair again. 'I want you to behave yourself while I'm away, okay?'
'Okay,' Sano said quietly.
'I'll try to be back within two hours,' he told them both. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to be going.'
He detached himself from them and headed to the door. Megumi watched as he took the coat which was hanging on the peg by the door and threw it over his shoulders. He opened the door and waved at his son.
'Bye, dad!' Sano cried, waving back, and his father was gone.
There was an awkward moment of silence while Megumi stood gripping the straps of her purse, and Sano stood fumbling with the hem of his white t-shirt.
'So…' she finally said, smiling down at the boy. 'What should we do now?'
'I don't know,' Sano replied. 'You're supposed to tell me what to do…you're the adult here.'
'Oh,' Megumi murmured. 'Well, I want you to be the one to decide…what do you want to do?'
'Um…okay, I didn't have dinner yet…could we have dinner?' he asked politely.
Megumi grinned. 'Okay, we can have dinner,' she agreed. 'Where's the kitchen?'
'It's right over here,' Sano said, leading the way.
He padded over the carpeted floor in his bare feet, his hands still stuck in his pockets. Megumi set down her purse on a couch and hurried after him. She walked into the biggest kitchen she'd ever seen in her life, and her eyes widened. Sano just crossed over to the fridge and opened it, peering inside.
'Well…we have some left-over lasagna from lunch, a couple of tuna fish cans, eggs…' he said, and turned around to look at his baby-sitter. 'What should we have?'
Megumi smiled. 'Oh, I dunno…the lasagna seems nice, I suppose,' she told him.
The boy nodded. 'Good choice,' he agreed, and reached in for the plate. 'My dad only makes the best lasagna!'
'Should I help you with that?' Megumi asked, walking over to him.
'No, it's okay,' he replied. 'I can manage on my own…you can sit down while I heat it up.'
Megumi nodded. She perched herself up onto a stool at the table. 'Hey, Sanosuke, where's your mother?' she asked.
The boy placed the plate in the microwave and pressed the heating button. 'Mom died two years ago,' he whispered.
Why the hell did I have to ask? 'Oh, I'm sorry,' she said softly.
'Yeah, me too, I liked her, her name was Itsuko; I thought it was a pretty name, don't you think?' he said, his eyes shining with tears; he was obviously trying real hard not to cry in front of her. Megumi nodded. 'I think your name is nice, too.'
Megumi smiled at him. 'Why, Sanosuke, that's a very nice thing to say,' she replied. 'Thank you.'
Sano nodded but didn't say anything. He placed an empty plate before her and another plate for him across from her. Megumi watched silently as he took the lasagna out of the microwave and placed it on the table. She assumed he knew how to handle himself pretty well since there were no servants in the house. He sat on the table, and Megumi noticed that his feet hung a foot above the ground.
'Let's eat!' he said brightly.
Megumi didn't have much since she had only just had dinner with her parents, and when she finished, she just sat and watched the little boy eating.
'How old are you, Sano?' she asked.
Sano swallowed the food in his mouth. 'Eight,' he answered. 'I turn nine in five months.'
'So you were born in February, right?' she asked. He nodded, since his mouth was too full to be able to speak. 'My birthday is in June.'
'Mom's birthday was in June,' he told her, after he had swallowed. 'The nineteenth of June.'
'Ah, well, mine's on the tenth of June,' she told him.
Sano finally finished his plate, and he pushed it away from him. 'Done!' he exclaimed.
'Well, then, I guess I'd better rinse off those plates,' Megumi said, sliding off her stool. She picked up the plates and went to the sink. She turned on the water. 'Tell me, Sanosuke, don't you have servants in the house?'
Sano shook his head. 'No,' he answered, dangling his feet off the stool. 'Mom didn't like servants, and after she died, dad didn't get any servants in respect of her memory…we don't mind, though, dad and I do all the house-work on our own…and I don't think it's nice to order people around.'
Megumi smiled inwardly. She just couldn't believe how sweet this boy was. He was polite, and kinda deep, and he even made compliments. At first, she had been worried about taking this babysitting job, after all, it was a great responsibility…and she was really grateful it turned out to be really easy.
She finished rinsing the plates, and dried her hands on the towel hanging on the wall beside the sink. She looked around at Sano, who was swiveling around on the stool. 'What should we do now?' she asked him.
'Would you like to play?' he asked her, grinning.
'Play?' she repeated, blankly.
'Ouch! No, stop! Ow, that hurt! No!'
Megumi's fingers pressed any button on the PlayStation's joystick she was holding, but nothing seemed to work with her. She watched frantically as Sano's fighter threw several punches and kicks at her own fighter. When Sano had first talked her into playing the game with him, she really wasn't interested. She never liked these games…let alone street fighting games, but now she was so immensely absorbed in it, she had asked for rematches six times in a row.
'You lose…again,' Sano said, smirking, as his fighter sent her fighter to the ground with one final blow.
Megumi groaned. 'Well, you can't blame me, this is the first time I've even tried this thing!' she protested.
'Really? How come? Don't you like to play?' he asked, looking confused; there was someone in this world who had actually never tried a PlayStation before?
'No, it's not that, sweetie, I just don't have time to play,' she told him, smiling. 'I spend most of my time studying.'
'Why do you do that?' he demanded. 'I mean, I study too…but my dad keeps telling me that I should keep time for playing too.'
'I have to study to get good grades so I'd be able to go to a good University,' she explained. 'When you grow up, you'll understand what I'm talking about.'
'I want to be a fire-fighter,' Sanosuke said, grinning happily.
'That's nice, you like helping people, no?' she said, and he nodded vigorously. 'Well, me…I want to be a doctor.'
'What type of doctor?' he asked curiously. 'A children's doctor? An adults' doctor? A surgery doctor?'
'I still haven't decided,' she replied. 'But I think I might become a children's doctor…how would you like that?'
Sano beamed at her. 'That's great! So when I'm sick, I can come to you, right?' he said, sounding genuinely excited.
Megumi laughed. 'Sano, by the time I become a doctor, you'll be an adult too,' she told him. 'I don't think you'll be coming to me for treatment.'
'Can't you treat adults' sickness as well as children's?' he asked, looking slightly crest-fallen.
'Well, I suppose I could,' she replied.
'So I can still come to you when you become a doctor!' he exclaimed.
'I doubt you'll even remember me when you grow up and I become a doctor,' she said.
'No, I will always remember you,' he said seriously. 'You're a nice person, and I don't forget nice people.'
'Aw, Sano, that's so sweet,' she said softly. She held her arms open. 'I want to hug you, can I hug you or does that violate any boy rules?'
Sano blushed. 'No, it doesn't,' he murmured.
Megumi smiled and pulled him into her arms. The boy encircled his thin arms around her neck and hugged her back, although Megumi could feel that he was shaking slightly. She let go of him, and he sat back, his face a deep shade of red.
'I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?' she asked gently. He shook his head, and murmured something unintelligible. 'I'm sorry, what did you say?'
'I just never hugged a girl before,' he murmured.
'Never?' she repeated, frowning. 'Well, that's weird; because you seem like a perfectly adorable and huggable boy, it's strange that no girl actually hugged you before.'
Sano looked cautiously at her. 'Do boys hug you, Miss Takani?' he asked shyly.
Megumi sighed; her love life and social life sucked. She was so isolated from the people around her. The only people she ever really got close to were her parents. Nobody seemed to want to be friends with her…and she felt…lonely.
'No, not really,' she mumbled.
'Why not?' he asked, sounding highly surprised. 'You're so pretty, if I were a grown-up I'd hug you every single hour.'
Megumi smiled fondly at him. 'Oh, I dunno…I suppose boys find me scary,' she murmured. Sano blinked. 'You really mustn't worry yourself about such stuff, Sano, I'm pretty sure that when you grow up, girls will be running to…um…hug you.'
'But still…we're talking about you, aren't we?' he said, frowning. 'If grown-up boys are so stupid to not notice you, then I don't think I want to grow up…I'd prefer to be a kid who likes you than a grown-up who doesn't like you.'
'Oh, Sano…' Megumi whispered.
'But I know if I were a grown-up, I would've liked to be your boyfriend,' Sano said, smiling at her.
Here he was…a little adorable boy she only met forty minutes ago, and he was telling her how much he liked her. Kids were always so innocent, and when they said something, they meant it. And to have a boy such as Sano tell her that, Megumi was just over-whelmed.
Megumi's eyes brimmed with tears and she hugged the boy again. 'You're absolutely precious, you know that?' she said softly. 'Thank you.'
'You're welcome, Miss Takani,' he replied.
'Well, Sanosuke, your dad says he's gonna be late a bit, and he's asking you to go to sleep now,' Megumi said, after she had returned the mouth piece to its place.
'Can't I stay up a bit longer?' he whined.
'I'm sorry, Sano, but your father says it's already past your bedtime,' she replied. 'I'm afraid you'll have to go to bed.'
'Oh, okay,' he huffed.
'Good, let's get you changed into your PG's then,' she said. 'Where's your bedroom?'
'Up there,' Sano told her, taking her hand and pulling her forward. 'C'mon, I'll take you to it.'
Megumi allowed Sano to drag her up the staircase and down the corridor to his bedroom. He pushed the door open and went inside to turn on the lights. Megumi walked in just as he turned on the lights.
'Wow! This is two times bigger than my bedroom!' she exclaimed.
'Really?' he said. 'I could share my bedroom with you, I don't mind.'
Megumi smiled at him. 'No, but thank you, Sanosuke,' she replied. 'My parents would want me to stay at the house with them, don't you think?'
'Yeah, I guess,' he agreed.
She clapped her hands together. 'Okay, where are your pajamas?' she asked him.
Sano turned around to his closet, and pulled a blue pajama out of the drawer. 'Here it is,' he said. His face turned scarlet. 'Um…would you mind not looking while I change, Miss Takani?'
'No, of course not!' she said, laughing. 'You need your privacy…I understand.' Sano smiled gratefully at her and she turned around from him. 'Tell me when you're finished.'
She heard him shuffling around in the background, and did her best not to turn around and peek at him; kids were always so cute when they dressed and undressed themselves. Instead, she gazed at the picture hanging on the wall in front of her. She walked closer towards it.
'Hey, Sanosuke, is that your mom?' she asked, pointing at the woman in the family picture.
'Huh? Oh, yeah, that's my mom,' he replied. 'We took that photo when I was only four.'
Megumi touched the four-year-old Sano in the picture with her finger and smiled. He looked even more adorable then, something she didn't think was possible.
'I'm done!' Sano announced from behind her.
Megumi looked at him. He was now wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of blue pajama trousers. She smiled appreciatively at him. 'Good,' she said. 'Now why don't you run along and brush your teeth so I could tuck you in, what do you say?'
Sano nodded and hurried out of the bedroom. Megumi crossed the room over to his bed and pulled back the sheets for him, and then sat down and waited for him. He came back a few minutes later, hands stuck firmly in his pockets.
'Did you brush your teeth?' she asked him.
'Yup,' he answered.
'And did you…?' she said.
'Yeah, did,' he replied.
'Good, okay, now get into bed,' she instructed him, getting up to make room for him.
Sano nodded and climbed onto his bed. Megumi pulled the sheets over him and tucked him in.
'Good night, Miss Takani,' he said softly.
'Good night, Sanosuke, sweet dreams,' she replied. 'Shall I turn off the lights?'
'Yes, please,' he agreed. Megumi started to head to the switch, but he called her back. 'Miss Takani?'
'Yes, Sano?' she said. 'Do you want something?'
'Um…would you mind giving me a goodnight kiss?' he said quietly. 'Nobody gave me a goodnight kiss ever since mom died…and I'd really like it if you gave me one.'
'Oh, sure, Sano,' she replied, smiling. She went and leaned over him, kissing him on the forehead. 'Is that good?'
'Can I kiss you back?' he asked timidly. Megumi laughed and nodded. Sano raised his head a bit and planted a kiss on her cheek; Megumi was amazed at how soft his lips were. 'Thank you, Miss Takani.'
'No…thank you, Sanosuke,' she whispered.
She went and switched off the lights. Then she headed to the door. She stood and watched him for a while from the doorframe, before closing the door on him.
'Good night, Sanosuke,' she breathed.
12 years later…
A highly disgruntled Megumi found herself being squeezed further to the edge of her seat as more people loaded into the subway train. She sighed in exasperation. Why did her car have to break down today? On her graduation day?
She hugged the bag in which she had neatly folded and placed her graduation clothes tightly between in her arms.
Ten years in University…and it all comes down to this…me, Megumi Takani, a pediatrician…
She smiled inwardly at her success. She had finally achieved what she wanted. Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted to be a doctor, and now…her dream was coming true. She sighed in contentment. All the hardships she had gone through had finally paid off. She had earned this; she had worked hard for it and she had definitely earned it.
She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, and tried, but failed, to block the loud chattering of the other passengers. She scowled; she wanted this journey to end quickly.
She sighed again.
'Miss Takani!'
Megumi nearly jumped, and cast a quick look around. Who had just called her? Who had called her Miss Takani? Nobody ever called her that; everybody called her Takani or Megumi or Meg…but not Miss Takani. It had been twelve years since anybody called her by that name.
It would be impossible if that person was the one calling her right now. Her gaze fell on a young man, pushing through the passengers to…get to her? He saw her looking at him, and he waved at her, grinning widely.
Megumi frowned. What was this guy's problem? How did he know me?
The man finally untangled himself and was now standing right in front of her, panting slightly. Megumi, still frowning, cast a studying look over him.
He was slightly tanned, and had spiky brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes. He was dressed in a designer suit of white cloth. But there was something oddly familiar about him. He grinned at her.
'Miss Takani, how are you?' he asked. 'It's been a long time.'
Megumi continued to frown. 'Excuse me, but do I know you?' she asked.
'What? Oh, I'm sorry! Of course you wouldn't recognize me!' he said, grinning sheepishly. 'It's me; Sanosuke Sagara, remember?'
Megumi stared at him. 'You're the one I…?' she said, and her voice trailed off.
'Yup! You babysat for me twelve years ago,' he told her. 'Do you remember now?'
'But you're all…grown-up now!' she exclaimed, still staring at him. It was Sanosuke, but yet, just not the same Sanosuke she saw twelve years ago. She couldn't believe that this tall, handsome guy was the adorable boy she babysat for.
'Of course I am, you don't expect me to remain a kid, do you?' he said, smirking. 'Miss Takani, you just won't believe how happy I am to see you again!'
Megumi could only nod her head.
A/N: Whee! I'm done! Isn't Sano so kawaii? I thought he was the most adorable thing ever, didn't you? I know it seems weird that he should be all sweet and adorable, but you just wait till later; little Sano is nothing like big Sano! Plz review! And wait for my next chappie!


text: Bdale Garbee <email@example.com> writes: > Ian Jackson <firstname.lastname@example.com> writes: >> * Possible minimum discussion period for TC resolutions. > I'd prefer this not change. The circumstances that led to my recent use > of no-wait CFVs was extremely unusual, and in the past we've used this > ability to quickly come to closure on issues where there was strong > consensus. However, if others on the TC also want to impose a > (reasonably short) minimum discussion period, I guess I'm ok with it. Adding a minimum discussion period means that any dispute over construction of a ballot will always be resolved in favor of adding more ballot options. That may be fine and people should just vote down all the other options. I'm not sure what I think about that. I have a vague but unsubstantiated feeling that lots of ballot options leads to a higher likelihood of weird edge cases and tactical cases in the voting system, but maybe it doesn't if we fix the FD dropping issue that we specifically ran into. An alternative would be to have an explicit cloture vote in the case of a dispute over adding more options to a ballot, or some other similar level of indirection such as a vote over what ballot to vote on. -- Russ Allbery (email@example.com) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>


text:
October 24, 2013 — Valtech Cardio Ltd., a medical device company that develops solutions for mitral valve repair and replacement, said 11 patients have been treated with the company's transcatheter (transfemoral) Cardioband Annuloplasty System in three European medical centers.
A clinical update on the Cardioband study will be presented at the 25th Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Symposium in San Francisco on Oct. 30-31.
The Cardioband device enables transcatheter mitral regurgitation (MR) repair, thereby avoiding open-heart surgery and the use of cardiac bypass machine. Another advantage is that the size of the Cardioband is fitted while the heart is beating, which optimizes the results of the repair. The form and clinical function of the Cardioband closely replicates that of the annuloplasty rings that are the standard-of-care in surgery.
The patients were treated as part of an ongoing multi-center study at the Asklepios Klinik St. Georg Heart Center in Hamburg, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital in Paris and San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. The objective was to study the safety of Valtech's Transfemoral Cardioband Annuloplasty System in patients suffering from functional MR who were at high risk for open-heart surgery. The study focused on the overall rate of Major Cardiovascular adverse events (MACE) until hospital discharge and at post-operative 30 days.
"The safety profile of the device is impressive," said Francesco Maisano, chief medical officer, Valtech. "Throughout these 11 procedures, the Cardioband device has demonstrated an excellent safety profile with no MACE to date…. Cardioband is the most promising valve repair technology. Early outcomes are extremely favorable with profound reduction of MR in most patients."
All patients that have been implanted with the Cardioband system have experienced a reduction in the mitral valve annular size and an increase in coaptation length. To date, two patients have completed six months follow-up demonstrating a stable improvement from severe MR to mild MR while nine patients were discharged with mild or no MR.
"We have been waiting for a long time for a transcatheter treatment for mitral regurgitation that can reproduce an effective surgical technique," said Alec Vahanian, principal investigator, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital, Paris, who implanted five patients. "The preliminary results we now have with Cardioband suggest that the Cardioband can do it."
"The Cardioband annuloplasty system provides an excellent alternative for patients who are at high risk to undergo surgery," said Karl-Heinz Kuck, principal investigator, Asklepios Klinik, St. Georg Heart Center, Hamburg. "The procedure is safe and has the potential to become the first-line interventional therapy."
Valtech Cardio plans to expand the study in the next few months by recruiting additional heart centers throughout Europe. Data from the trial will be used to support and obtain the CE mark and other international regulatory approvals. The company expects to complete enrollment in the first half of 2014.
For more information: www.valtechcardio.com


text:
You may have heard of Kickstarter, it is crowd-sourced fundraising website for businesses of all shapes and size. The concept is simple: an organization proposes a project on the site, and sets a monetary goal. Then consumers vote with their wallets until the goal is met. If you don't meet the goal, you don't get the cash. If you do, you're in business. Everything from funding the purchase of professional ovens for bakeries, to independent films have been funded using Kickstarter campaigns. But none has been as successful as the efforts by the makers of the Pebble watch.
Recently, a total of $10 million was raised as start-up capital via Kickstarter for a small Palo Alto-based watch company which makes what's called the Pepple watch. Those funds will be used in part to fulfill the 75,000 requests for watches that Kickstarter contributors "invested" in the company. It is the most financially successful fundraising campaign in Kickstarter history.
It askews the traditional notion of fund-raising, asking friends and family, and venture-capitalists to fund fledgling companies. Eric Migicovsky, the 25-year old Canadian-born entrepreneur behind the Pepple watch had tried raising money prior to Kickstarter, but reportedly was finding it harder than expected to raise needed funds. A group of angel investors had invested $375,000, but not enough to pay for a significant production run.
The folks at Pepple set an initial goal of $100,000 to be crowd-funded on Kickstarter. That goal was achieved in the first two hours on the site.
Dubbed a "smart watch," the Pebble watch syncs with IPhone and Android smartphones to deliver e-mail, text messages, and calendar alerts, among other things.
If the idea of crowd-funding $10 million sounds like a good thing, please note that too much of anything is not necessarily good. In fact, the Pepple watch has disproven the old notion that you can't have too much of a good thing.
After getting commitments for 75,000 watches, the Pepple team said "enough is enough" and announced that at 85,000 watches, they'd pull the plug on the campaign—which is essentially a system of pre-orders. The campaign is now complete, the product is sold out, and now the makers of the Pepple watch need to take that money, fulfill those orders, and make a real business out of all that dough.
Let's hope they spend it wisely, and make all those "investors" glad they helped kick-start this business.
Sources: San Franicsco Chronicle and c|net


text:
Brandon Jennings makes Detroit debutAP , Associated Press
Nov. 3, 2013 6:30 PM ET
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Brandon Jennings made his debut with Detroit on Sunday after missing the Pistons' first two games and most of the preseason because of a fractured jaw caused by a wisdom tooth.
The guard entered the game against Boston midway through the first quarter and wore a clear mask that covered his face and chin.
Jennings averaged 17.5 points and 6.5 assists last season with Milwaukee. He was acquired in July in a sign-and-trade deal that sent Brandon Knight and two other players to the Bucks.
© The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.


text:
Big Ten Week of our 49 in 49 pre-draft series concludes with a look at a versatile and veteran defensive player from Ohio State.
In the changing landscape of the NFL, versatile players have become key parts of team's draft strategies. When it comes to versatility, John Simon certainly fits the bill.
Though he made his name as a relentless defensive lineman during his career at Ohio State, Simon's future position in the NFL is yet to be determined. At 6-foot-1, 257 pounds, Simon hounded opposing teams in the trenches during college, but he might be better served as a linebacker at the next level.
"I'm projected by some teams as an outside linebacker in a 3-4," Simon said. "That's just a standup D-end which I played a lot of at Ohio State. I'd definitely feel comfortable if a team wanted to put me in that position. I'd do whatever they want me to do. I'm not going to tell a coach no."
Aside from new head coach Urban Meyer, who turned Ohio State's program around from its 6-7 record to an undefeated 12-0 mark in 2012, Simon has also benefitted from the tutorship of former NFL veteran Mike Vrabel. During his 14-year NFL career that included three Super Bowl rings, Vrabel was used in a variety of roles on defense after excelling as a defensive end at Ohio State.
"I definitely know I'm going to have to be adaptable and do whatever I can do to help the team," Simon said. "Coach Vrabel taught us so much on the defensive line. I feel we're similar players. I've watched a lot of film on coach Vrabel and have seen how he handled different positions. He played standing up, with his hand down and a couple yards off the line."
Instead, Simon had to sit out the Combine and Ohio State's Pro Day on March 8 until his shoulder was fit for action. On Monday, Simon reportedly held a private workout for 12 NFL teams, running the 40-yard dash in 4.68 and 4.73 seconds. While he didn't have the strength necessary to get back on the bench at his private workout, Simon's reputation as a workout warrior should help him make the next step.
"It's a big step and it comes with the same requirements as it did from high school to college and that's hard work," Simon said. "I'm rehabbing every day doing everything I can, coming in here trying to meet with some coaches and leave my mark and do everything I can to help myself out."
Despite suffering his shoulder injury in the second week of the season, Simon played through the pain and finished his senior year with First-Team All-Big 10 honors after racking up 44 tackles, nine sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.
"I'm a true teammate who's going to help the team no matter what it takes and a guy who's going to go non-stop to the whistle for four quarters," Simon said. "Hopefully I'll get picked up by a team that really wants me and I can help out. … They're going to get the hardest worker on their team and a guy who's going to be loyal to the team."


text:
What does IESC mean in International Business?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand IESC in the Business field in general and in the International Business terminology in particular.
International Executive Service Corps
Find a translation for IESC in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss this IESC abbreviation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this abbreviation to your bibliography:
"IESC." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. 18 Mar. 2018. <https://www.abbreviations.com/term/29851>.


text: First off, if you are getting the CD image to burn a CD to install Debian... that won't work.. You need to read the rsyn download if you want a person install CD... http://cdimage.debian.org/ch3111.html But if you look at the Debian site at all you will know.. Debian don't really suggest people do that.. just the fact that Dselect will do everything for you after you get your base system setup.... if you want to just download the base system install image http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist If you are going to do a mirror site... take a look at http://cdimage.debian.org/ch4.html that will tell you why you need a password for the location you try to ftp that is mainly for rsync and the password you need to email the maintainer I hope that help a little... for your situation more question you can look the debian site or email me email@example.com P.S. sorry I keep typing english here... I type english a lot faster then chinese.. > > 这里怎么要密码? > 谁能告诉我密码?或者,别的不需要密码的下载点? > N□I@R □□hu驸jw!□□□□操b槽y□□嗦+aj□□-←□骒r□y:韫□ > □i□□fj□□□□n&□□- > | This message was re-posted from email@example.com > | and converted from gb2312 to big5 by an automatic gateway. > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to firstname.lastname@example.com with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact firstname.lastname@example.com -- | This message was re-posted from firstname.lastname@example.com | and converted from big5 to gb2312 by an automatic gateway.


text:
To purchase a drink package or not
We are first time cruisers and are debating whether to pre purchase a package or get a bill at the end of our cruise. I looked at the classic package and the premium package..the classic package for 2 of us would be around 670.00 and the premium package would be 900.00. Our cruise includes 3 ports and 3 days at sea so because the port days we would be off the ship anywhere from 2-6 hours we would not be drinking on the ship during those times. Is it really worth pre buying a package or get a bill at the end of your vacation. Both my hubby and I are social drinkers and love a few glasses of wine at dinner.
I averaged the classic package as being about $47-$49/day/person and the premium as $65-$70/day/person...
My question is to seasoned cruisers what is your preference; have you done your cruise both ways and what are the pros and cons in both situations; and what was your average bill at the end of your cruise.
Another idea I had was to purchase one wine package so we could have a bottle of wine at our dinner and purchase one pop and water so we could have something other than alcohol during the day.
Some tips would be great
The cost of the classic package would be the same as 7 or 8 glasses of wine per day. Or six $8 mixed drinks per day.
You have to weigh how many drinks and what kind you will drink a day and decide if it's worth the cost.
While my wife and I, especially my wife ;), have a two or three drinks a day we could never cost justify the package even with purchasing bottles of wine with dinner.
Take care,
Celebrity drinks packages seem too expensive, so do the cabin drinks deals.
I don't buy the package because I don't drink enough to justify it however if you make the purchase on board, make sure you buy it once you are out at sea. If you purchase it while in port, they are required to charge taxes to your account.
thanks for your great ideas...i think your right that buying a package may not be worth it..we enjoying a few drinks socially during the day, and a few glasss of wine at dinner so it may not be a good idea for us to buy a package..i certainly don't want to feel like i have to drink alot just to get my money worth if we did buy the package..
The wine packages aren't worth the money in my opinion. Celebrity states the discount is about 10%...so why would you pre-purchase and lock yourself into x bottles of wine and only a limited choice.
OTOH, if you drink premium liquors then the premium package can save you quite a bit. At $12 a drink it can add up quickly.
You need to do the math...and if you think it is a close question, go ala carte.
We never buy a drink or soda package that is on a per day cost . On HAL they used to
have punch card system for soda's . 24 soda's for $50 . These cards where/are good
between different ships if they weren't fully punched . We always buy a coffee card or
two for our Princess Cruises (again transferable between ships):cool:
|All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:26 AM.


text:
By the end of the century, the woodlands of the Southwest will likely be reduced to weeds and shrubs. And scientists worry that the rest of the planet may see similar effects
Jeff Tietz
How Climate Change May Alter Forests Worldwide
Love and Death In the House of Prayer
Tyler Deaton, a self-appointed apostle in one of the fastest-growing evangelical movements, loved Jesus, Harry Potter and, much to his dismay, other men. When his wife turned up dead, the secrets began to spill out
Jeff Tietz: The Sharp, Sudden Decline of America's Middle Class
They had good, stable jobs - until the recession hit. Now they're living out of their cars in parking lots.
Boss Hog: The Dark Side of America's Top Pork Producer
America's top pork producer churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat
The Unending Torture of Omar Khadr
Captured on the battlefield when he was only 15, Khadr has been held at Guantanamo Bay for the past four years — subjected to unspeakable abuse sanctioned by the president himself


text:
Maintenance for a Toyota Corollaby Doug Desjardins
Though not as popular as the Toyota Camry, the Toyota Corolla is a less expensive and reliable alternative that is great on gasoline and extremely durable. You can easily get more than 200,000 miles out of your Corolla by following some simple maintenance tips.
Change Oil Regularly
The best thing you can do for your Corolla is change the oil regularly. That means every 7,000 miles for most cars and every 5,000 or 6,000 miles for an older engine. Most newer models are equipped with a light on the dashboard that will turn red when it's time to change the oil. You can change the oil yourself --if you have a wrench to remove the oil pan bolt to drain the old oil and an oil filter wrench to remove and install a new filter--or you can spend $25 or $30 to have the oil changed at a Jiffy Lube or your local garage. Whichever way you choose, keeping fresh oil in your engine will keep the parts well lubricated and make them last longer.
Check your Tires and Brakes
Keeping your car safe should be your No. 1 priority and that means maintaining your tires and brakes. If your brakes make a high-pitched squeak or a grinding noise when you come to a stop, have them checked out. It usually means you need new brake pads, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. Letting the pads wear out completely can damage the brake drums or rotors, parts that are expensive to replace. Always check your tires for wear and replace them when the tread begins to wear thin and show bald spots. Tires tend to wear first on the outside and inside edge. To make tires last longer, rotate the back tires to the front so that they wear evenly (front tires tend to wear out quicker than rear tires). Also, have your front-end alignment checked if you notice your front tires wearing out faster than normal. Excessive tire wear is a sign that the front-end is not properly aligned.
Keep Fluids Topped Off
In addition to changing your oil regularly, check on other fluids such as engine coolant, transmission fluid and brake fluid. To check engine coolant, take off the radiator cap when the engine is cool. If you don't see the green fluid pooled near the top, add more until it tops off. If your coolant keeps disappearing, check the radiator for leaks or the water pump (a leak from the water pump usually means it needs to be replaced). Take the same approach to transmission fluid, which you can measure with a dip stick the same way you check your oil. If you're low on transmission fluid, add some and measure it again to make sure you have the proper amount. Brake fluid is stored in your brakes and in a clear, plastic reservoir near the back end of the engine compartment. Check the fluid and take your car in to have the brakes inspected if it keeps running low. Your car's "dummy lights" will come on when any of these fluids run dangerously low but it's best not to wait that long, since damage can be done to the engine, transmission or brakes by the time the lights flick on.


text:
Who's Really Putting the Troops at Risk?
One of the most common attacks against whistleblowers in this country is that their leaks put American troops at risk. The position is: sure, whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning are exposing governmental wrongdoing, but isn't it ultimately more wrong to endanger members of the U.S. military? Won't somebody please think of the troops?!
Forget whistleblowers, though: let's level that charge against the United States government first. After all, it's not the whistleblowers who are choosing to place troops in perilous situations on a daily basis. If this nation's leaders were so concerned about the wellbeing of its armed forces, it could demonstrate that by stop inventing reasons to send our troops to war in the first place.
It's not hard to figure why the government trots out this rhetoric each time it gets caught with its pants down: it misdirects the conversation. By associating whistleblower support with the death of Americans, people who might otherwise be critical about the information leaked are put in the impossible position of having to defend why the news is worth jeopardizing American lives — even when there's no substantial reason to believe that troops have been endangered.
Following murmurs of a potential pardoning of Snowden in recent weeks, these troop-harming criticisms have remerged. Some members of Congress are now claiming that most of the intelligence Snowden nabbed concerns military operations, not the NSA. They're alleging that American troops are likely to be endangered as a result. Considering that not one piece of military intelligence has leaked from Snowden in six months, these accusations amount to alarmist distortion.
As far as Manning is concerned, many of the documents he turned over to Wikileaks proved far more damaging to the military's reputation rather than its security. Manning's most prominent revelations exposed widespread torture, the astonishing number of civilian deaths abroad, and the cruel joke that is the Guantanamo detention center. What this information really put at risk was business as usual for casual war crimes, which ultimately takes a shot at the military industrial complex as a whole, not the troops themselves. Although it was barely publicized, experts testified at Manning's trial that no Americans died as a result of these leaks.
Suppose that a whistleblower were to have shared information that exposed the claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a fabrication back in 2003. Would this military intelligence leak have risked the lives of American troops? On the contrary, assuming the truth was sufficient to stop Congress from supporting the war, it could have saved the lives of the 4,400 American soldiers who perished in the war in Iraq – not to mention a half-million Iraqi lives, as well.
Whistleblowing goes a long way toward revealing not only wide-scale corruption, but also the true atrocities of war. If their campaign to convince American citizens to oppose war is successful, ultimately whistleblowers could protect more lives – both American soldiers and otherwise – than a military with well-kept secrets ever could.
Again, forget the whistleblowers. If you're legitimately concerned about the wellbeing of troops, question the U.S. political elite — they're the ones hell-bent on perpetually having troops engage in warfare.


text:
|Advisory Opinion No. 94-21:
|Application of the revolving door provision of Public Officers Law §73(8)(a) to a former employee who seeks to contract with his former agency.
Pursuant to its authority under Executive Law §94(15), the Commission concludes that the post-employment restrictions of Public Officers Law §73(8)(a) prohibit a former State employee from contracting with his or her former State agency during the two year post-employment period.
No person who has served as a state officer or employee shall within a period of two years after the termination of such service or employment appear or practice before such state agency or receive compensation for any services rendered by such former officer or employee on behalf of any person, firm, corporation, or association in relation to any case, proceeding or application or other matter before such agency.
In response to the Commission's informal opinion holding that these restrictions would prohibit [the requesting individual] from serving as a contractual per diem examiner, [he] questioned the Commission's interpretation of the term "appearance." He argued that parties and attorneys "appear" before an examiner who acts in a quasi-judicial capacity, but an examiner should not be "deemed to be 'appearing' before the agency who (sic) hires him."
[The requesting individual's] position is inconsistent with Advisory Opinion No. 89-9. There, the Commission considered the same issue as presented by the instant case: whether a contract between a former employee and his former State agency constitutes a prohibited appearance. The Commission noted that the New York State Attorney General, in interpreting Public Officers Law §73(8), as it read prior to its amendment in 1987, determined that the submission of a contract proposal by a former employee to his or her former State agency constituted a prohibited appearance during the two year post-employment period. Following that precedent, the Commission rejected the argument that a sole source contract between the former employee and his former State agency should be outside the meaning of "appearance" for purposes of the Public Officers Law. While noting that the federal government's post-employment provisions permit agencies and their former employees to contract, the Commission found that the absence of an exception in §73(8) was an indication that the Legislature in New York did not wish to exempt such contracts.
In another situation, the Commission, in Advisory Opinion No. 91-9, concluded that a former employee of the Public Employees Relations Board ("PERB") could not serve as a mediator/fact finder or arbitrator on panels administered by his former agency during the two year post-employment period. The Commission found that the required submissions of documents to PERB for review and approval constitute 'appearances' before PERB, prohibited by Public Officers Law §73(8). The Commission made this finding because PERB's administration of the panels required the exercise of substantive judgment and was not ministerial.
That opinion was challenged in the Supreme Court of Albany County. The Court upheld the Commission's determination, Kelly v. New York State Ethics Commission (Alb. Co - Index No. 7093-91), finding that the former employee's proposed service as a mediator/fact finder or arbitrator for his former agency undermined the public's trust and confidence in government. It noted that the former employee might be afforded preferential treatment in appointment to the mediation and arbitration panels, that he might receive preferential treatment in assignments, and that his recommendations in specific cases might be given greater deference by his former agency.
The case presented here is similar. In his proposed capacity as a contractual per diem hearing officer, [the requesting individual] would be rendering decisions for review and approval by [the State agency], his former agency. Further, his former colleagues might afford him preferential treatment and deference, as in the Kelly case. For all of these reasons, [the requesting individual's] proposed service as a contractual hearing officer for [the former State agency] is barred for a period of two years after he leaves State service.
This opinion, until and unless amended or revoked, is binding on the Commission in any subsequent proceeding concerning the person who requested it and who acted in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or misstated by the person in the request for opinion or related supporting documentation.
All concur:
Joseph M. Bress, Chair
Barbara A. Black,
Angelo A. Costanza,
Robert E. Eggenschiller,
Donald A. Odell, Members
Dated: November 21, 1994


text:
ANCHORAGE (AP) -- Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has appointed a former Coast Guard commander as head of its tanker escort and oil-spill response program.
Joe Kuchin will be manager of the Ship Escort/Response Vessel System starting in June. He will replace acting SERVS manager Dennis Maguire, who will return to his job as SERVS regulatory manager.
Kuchin served 29 years in the Coast Guard, much of the time spent in marine safety and response to oil and hazardous material emergencies, Alyeska said.
SERVS, based in Valdez, includes a number of tugs, barges and other equipment to guide tankers in and out of Alyeska's marine terminal and respond in event of a spill.
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


text:
How to take successful time out: the psychologists' guide
Five tips for a successful sabbatical
Agree expectations
It is vital to work out what you both hope to gain from the break, says relationship psychologist Francesca Moresi. "If your reasons are not clear to your partner, they'll feel vulnerable," she warns, "and your request could seem like rejection." Taking time out because you've forgotten who you are outside the domestic grind or to reignite feelings that have become buried under an avalanche of stress are valid reasons, she adds.
Make a contract
If one person is thinking "a couple of weeks at mum's" and the other is envisaging a year in a Portuguese finca, things could get sticky. It's essential to draw up an agreement which details the exact parameters of the sabbatical. "Agree on how much contact you intend to have – daily, weekly or less – what the rules are, what the budget will be, and what you both hope to gain," says psychotherapist Rachel Morris.
Consider it early in the relationship
People may assume a sabbatical is only useful for bored couples who have been together a long time. However, Moresi says, a break can be just as beneficial early on. The younger a couple is, she adds, the more useful a sabbatical may be.
"Young adults may still be discovering themselves," she says. "A sabbatical can help to nurture their identity as separate people."
Ensure it's not a trial separation
"A sabbatical is not a separation; it should be about two people investing in each other's needs to make the relationship better," Moresi says. "Whereas a trial separation is for when being together is not working, and you're working out how to live apart." It is important not to pretend a break is a sabbatical when one of you is already planning a solo future, she warns. "It might be more of a trial separation if the partners fail to communicate regularly, want to start seeing other people or lose the desire to return."
Try a compromise sabbatical
Not everyone can afford to escape the daily grind for a long stretch of time. But most of us can manage a day. "A day that's committed to helping the relationship, once a month, can make a huge difference," advises Morris.
Irish Independent


text:
BBC's killer documentary called "The Power of Nightmares". Top CIA officials openly admit, Al-qaeda is a total and complete fabrication, never having existed at any time. The Bush administration needed a reason that complied with the Laws so they could go after "the bad guy of their choice" namely laws that had been set in place to protect us from mobs and "criminal organizations" such as the Mafia. They paid Jamal al Fadl, hundred's of thousands of dollars to back the U.S. Governments story of Al-qaeda a "group" or criminal organization they could "legally" go after.
Monday, Mar 19th
Last update05:20:13 AM GMT


text:
The work being carried out by the Ministry of Tourism's Planning Department in the historic center of Puerto Plata will change the city's overall profile.
This will be the city's second major overhaul in the past four decades when, in the seventies, the north coast's most important city underwent major changes.
Downtown Puerto Plata, near the oceanfront boulevard section and one of the city's first tourist attractions, is benefiting the most from the remodeling project.
Once the project is completed, the local authorities will continue to invest to improve and upgrade the beauty of this important north coast city.
Maribel Villalona, from the Ministry of Tourism, is currently in charge of the team of architects and planners working on this initial phase of reconstruction.
In all, the Ministry is working to dynamize and improve the city's historic center.
Other Areas Being Worked On
The following important city structures and destinations are also included in the reconstruction program:
- The "Mercado Nuevo," or local market, an important destination for visiting tourists.
- Various city parks, including the "Plaza Independencia" park, Puerto Plata's largest.
- Puerto Plata's "Malecon," or Oceanside Boulevard.
- "La Puntilla," the area near the San Felipe Fort, built by the Spaniards in the 16th century. An amphitheater is currently under construction.
Other Improvements
Most of the sidewalks in the area will be completely redone, as well as improvement of sewer systems; underground power lines; and new street lighting.


text:
White Chocolate Caramillican
Our White Chocolate Pecan Caramillicans are sent to you in a decorative gift box. We mix butter, rich caramel with our fancy pecans and topped with white chocolate.
White Chocolate Pecans
A Gift Tin of our White Chocolate Pecans are made with hand selected pecan halves that are enrobed in a rich, creamy white chocolate.


text:
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Senate on Monday unanimously approved Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney who supervised the prosecution of New York mob boss John Gotti, to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. White, 65, formerly a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, served for almost 10 years as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
Read the full story: Senate approves Wall Street prosecutor to head SEC