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It happens every year on the morning of my birthday. Mom calls and relives the day that I was born. She tells me, "When you were born, I couldn't believe how tiny you were; you were just like a little baby doll. I held you in my arms and your eyes were bright and fixed on my face." And then Mom says those words: "You were perfect." Well, the "perfection" didn't last long. Recently, I asked Mom to share her earliest memory of when I did something wrong.
She started laughing. "I remember when you were just a toddler," she said, "and I heard giggling coming from the kitchen. When I came in, there you sat stirring raw eggs you had cracked on the floor. With your older brother and sister watching in delight, I asked you, 'Nancy, did you make this mess?' You looked up at me, shook your head, and answered, 'Nah.'"
So I wasn't born perfect after all, and neither were you. Unfortunately, we didn't have a choice. We were born into a world that was already in a battle between good and evil. And as perfect as we may have looked to our moms when we were born, we all committed that first sin and the second and the third.
Have you ever looked back on your life and wished you could start all over—be born again? With the knowledge you have now, you could make better decisions, resist more temptations, and have less guilt. Well, that wish can come true.
How is this possible? A man named Nicodemus asked Jesus that very question. "'How can a man be born when he is old? . . . Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!'"(John 3:4).
Jesus explained, "'No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit'" (John 3:5). He was talking about baptism—about being immersed in the water, which symbolizes death to self, and being raised out of the water, which symbolizes resurrection to a new life.
Baptism is much like a marriage ceremony. You publicly marry someone as a symbol of your love, devotion and desire to spend the rest of your lives together. You make the decision to be baptized as a public witness to the entire universe that you have given your life to Jesus and you want to spend eternity with Him.
My baptism
I've heard people say that nothing mysterious happens to us at baptism, and I agree. There's nothing magical about the water or the words the pastor speaks. But I do know for a fact that something wonderful happens because I've experienced it. I was born into a loving, yet non-Christian home. When I was a pre-teen, my dad felt empty and started searching for something to fill the void. That something was actually someone—it was Jesus. Dad started reading through the Bible, and some where between Genesis and Revelation he gave his life to Jesus. Because of his changed life, before long, we all gave our lives to Jesus. We felt the need to start over—individually and as a family. Baptism is the perfect symbol for beginning again.
On that life-changing day, my family watched as we were born again one by one.
After my baptism
Two things happened the week after my baptism that I certainly did not expected. When I went to school on Monday morning, my three best friends meet me in the hallway. "Were you baptized this weekend?" one of them asked while the other two glared.
"Yes," I answered, "I was." "Well, then we are not your friends anymore," and with that they walked away. I spent the morning recess crying in the bathroom. It was my first experience standing up for what I believed. I had made the first of many choices to follow Paul's example when he said in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." And to this day, I am not ashamed. Why? Because Jesus loved me enough to die for me and isn't ashamed to call me "daughter."
I also sinned that week. Out of love for Jesus and my newfound faith, I tried so hard to live a sinless life that first week. I was born again, so I shouldn't sin, right? Wrong. I wasn't prepared for the temptations that came or to my yielding to them. It was time to pack the family in the car and head for church, but I couldn't find one of my shoes. Everyone was waiting for me in the car as I threw things out of my closet. I even asked God to help me find my shoe, but I didn't find it. And then it happened. I got angry and said a mild curse word that I'd thought was OK to say before I was baptized. I was stunned. I was greatly disappointed in myself and felt that God was, too. But as I read my Bible and got to know Jesus better, I came to realize that baptism didn't make me perfect. I still needed the blood of Jesus to cover my sins.
It's been many years since that first post baptismal sin, and I still don't live a perfect life. But each time I sin, I ask for and receive forgiveness, and I do my best to not repeat that sin. But I know I can't overcome alone. I need God's help. And I access His help by staying close to Jesus. I read my Bible, talk with Him throughout the day and worship with other Christians. And not only does God forgive my sins and yours, He also promises to forget them. He said, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions ... and I will not remember your sins'" (Isaiah 43:25). He doesn't hammer us with the offense over and over again. He chooses to forget it.
And He does even more. He changes our desires so that we don't even want to sin. This is what God means when He says, "'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh'" (Ezekiel 36:26). Can you believe it? God forgives, He forgets and He gives us a new heart.
"Whoever believes ..."
When Jesus was talking with Nicodemus that night, He spoke those promising words that give us hope: "'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'" (John 3:16).
Whoever believes in Him. Do you know who this "whoever" is? It's you, and it's me. We can have eternal life. Don't think you can't give your life to Jesus and be baptized because you're not worthy. Baptism is for everyone. Whether you've grown up in the church or want to accept Jesus for the first time, He invites you to make a lifelong commitment to Him through the rite of baptism. Your first birth was passive. It just happened to you. Your second birth is active. It's a deliberate, well informed choice. A choice I have never regretted making—and neither will you.
This article originally appeared in Signs of the Times magazine, February 2010.


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Plan and share activities for IYC 2011
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In this section, your ideas for IYC2011 can start to become reality. Here, you can submit activities for consideration and, after a short review, they will be listed below and any related events will populate the IYC calendar. Activities listed here have a clearly defined theme and describe how, when, and where they will take place.
If you are not quite ready to submit a plan, keep working at it and come back soon. And remember, you can always browse and search this forum to find out what others are planning and even add your own comments to the discussion.
Workshop: Science and patents: linking university research and intellectual property and knowledge transfer Natasa Doslik | added on Apr 14, 2011 | Switzerland The workshop on 15. June 2011 will cover topics including commercialisation of research, patenting, importance of searching prior art, and exploiting intellectual property, with particular reference to the field of chemistry.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Hillsborough
Hillsborough inquests date set
An application by the Attorney General to quash the original Hillsborough inquest verdicts is due to be heard at the High Court next Wednesday.
The application was made by Attorney General Dominic Grieve on Monday after an independent report into the Hillsborough disaster exonerated Liverpool supporters of any blame for the deaths of 96 fans at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
A spokesman for the Judicial Office said on Wednesday: "The Attorney General's application to quash the Hillsborough inquest verdicts has been listed for a substantive hearing before the Divisional Court on Wednesday, December 19, subject to any applications by interested parties to adjourn.
"The Lord Chief Justice, sitting with two other judges, will hear the application."
The Hillsborough Independent Panel's report, published in September, revealed that 41 of the supporters who died had the potential to survive beyond that cut-off point. Campaign groups have long maintained that the original inquest verdicts prevented a proper investigation into the tragedy.


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Al Qaida-linked group Syria rebels once denied now key to anti-Assad victories
When the group Jabhat al Nusra first claimed responsibility for car and suicide bombings in Damascus that killed dozens last January, many of Syria's revolutionaries claimed that the organization was a creation of the Syrian government, designed to discredit those who opposed the regime of President Bashar Assad and to hide the regime's own brutal tactics.
Nearly a year later, however, Jabhat al Nusra, which U.S. officials believe has links to al Qaida, has become essential to the frontline operations of the rebels fighting to topple Assad.
Not only does the group still conduct suicide bombings that have killed hundreds, but they've proved to be critical to the rebels' military advance. In battle after battle across the country, Nusra and similar groups do the heaviest frontline fighting. Groups who call themselves the Free Syrian Army and report to military councils led by defected Syrian army officers move into the captured territory afterward.
The prominence of Nusra in the rebel cause worries U.S. and other Western officials, who say its operations rely on the same people and tactics that fueled al Qaida in Iraq – an assertion that is borne out by interviews with Nusra members in Syria.
Among Nusra fighters are many Syrians who say they fought with al Qaida in Iraq, which waged a bloody and violent campaign against the U.S. presence in that country and is still blamed for suicide and car bombings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis since the U.S. troops left a year ago.
According to Nusra members, some of the group's leaders, including the emir, or top ruler, in Syria's Deir al Zour province, are Iraqis.
The group's prominence makes clear the dilemma of Syria's revolutionaries, as well as those who might provide support to them. Though members of Nusra operate independently of the other rebel groups that have taken up arms _ and particularly those that are calling for elections if Assad is deposed _ it is increasingly clear that their operations are closely coordinated with more secular rebels.
Some Syrians say that Nusra's importance is a result of the West's failure to support those secular rebels. But the closeness of the coordination between Nusra and other rebels makes it difficult to support one without empowering the other.
Nusra leaders argue that the West should not fear their rise in importance.
"The West must not fear Islam _ when Islam is in power, all people will live peacefully," said Iyad al Sheikh Mahmoud, the leader of a recently founded Jabhat al Nusra group in this central Syrian city of about 30,000. Before becoming the leader of Nusra's group here, Mahmoud had been part of Ahrar al Sham, another group of fighters that has branches across the country and subscribes to a similar ideology.
"There is no difference at all between the ideology of Ahrar al Sham and Jabhat al Nusra," Mahmoud said, indicating that he had largely changed groups for the opportunity to lead one. Like Nusra, Ahrar al Sham is also not aligned with the military councils.
Nusra's rise is most evident in Syria's north and east, where anti-Assad forces have recently been racking up impressive military gains. Gone are the days just five months ago when Nusra's actions seemed limited to car and suicide bombings. Now, Nusra fighters are organized in battalion-sized groups that are often armed with heavy weaponry.
On a trip to Syria that spanned most of the month of November, a journalist found Nusra's fighters on every frontline he visited.
In the country's largest city of Aleppo, they were advancing on the army to try to take key intersections. In Maarat al Numan, a strategic city on the highway between Aleppo and Damascus, they were laying siege to a military base. In Ras al Ayn, in the country's northeast, they captured a strategic border post, allegedly summarily executing a number of Syrian soldiers they had trapped on a base there in the process. In Deir al Zour province, in the country's southeast, they were at the fore as rebels captured parts of Syria's oil infrastructure and laid siege to an artillery base near the city of Mayadeen in hopes of capturing the weapons inside.
"Our financial support is greater than other groups, and our faith makes us more effective fighters," said Mahmoud, explaining why the group had grown so quickly. He said the financial support came from individual donors, not directly from any government.
The mujahedeen groups also appear to have clearer structures than the military councils, whose leadership is sometimes less than obvious as newer defectors of higher rank demand control from less senior officers who've been fighting against Assad longer.
Car bombings have also increasingly killed civilians in Damascus neighborhoods sympathetic to the government. The first operation Mahmoud's group supported was a suicide bombing by a Libyan man against an army base north of here.
Mahmoud said he saw no reason to hold elections if Assad falls.
"Eighty percent of Syrians want Islamic law," he said.
Many fighters said they were aware of the accusations about Nusra's links to al Qaida. But they generally discount the importance of those ties when speaking with journalists.
"In Europe, they consider all Muslims terrorists, not only Jabhat al Nusra," Mahmoud said.
Still, there are moments when Nusra's ideology shines through.
"When we finish with Assad, we will fight the U.S.!" one Nusra fighter shouted in the northeastern Syrian city of Ras al Ayn when he was told an American journalist present. He laughed as he said it and then got into a van and drove off, leaving the journalist unable to ask whether it had been a joke.
In Ras al Ayn, the burning of a liquor store by Nusra fighters frightened Syrian Kurds and Christians living there, and the group has come into direct confrontation with Kurdish militia members in the area who've said they are willing to negotiate with moderate rebels but will not allow groups like Nusra into the territory they hold.
There are tensions developing between local military councils and Nusra and other non-aligned groups. On Saturday, one group planning an attack in the Qalat al Mudiq area was asked by the military council to call it off, to avoid endangering a local truce that holds in the city.
In the eastern province of Deir al Zour, Muhammed Mustafa Aboud, the military council commander, said that in meetings with U.S. officials in Turkey and Jordan, the main concerns had been "Nusra and al Qaida."
"We say to them they are small groups and they are not very powerful and it's your fault because if you had supported FSA they wouldn't be here now," Aboud said. "Eighty percent of Syrians are moderate Muslims . . . the West is too afraid of these groups."


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I received a lot of disagreement for my post over the weekend defending Speaker Boehner, and I understand the frustration. But I maintain my ground that taking out our frustrations on him is not simply unfair but probably imprudent, too, for reasons that may just now be coming into focus. I can see that I may need to book space in brother Mirengoff's bunker where he had to flee after defending Mike Castle over Christine O'Donnell in the 2010 Delaware Senate race.
Here's the problem: it is foolish to suppose that a more "dynamic" or "principled" Speaker would be sufficient to turn around the fiscal cliff debate of the present moment. This impulse both overestimates the power of—and underestimates the difficulty of—political rhetoric in the short term. The contours of the present losing hand the GOP holds were set months ago, when Romney and the rest of the Republican Party leadership failed to contest Obama effectively on the issue of taxes and "fairness." Dumping Boehner now is like saying the Jets, down three touchdowns with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, should now switch to Tim Tebow and the wildcat offense to try to pull it out of the fire. Demanding that Boehner and House Republicans go down with guns blazing and refusing any tax increase in order to protect the Republican "no-tax" brand is to turn away from how a tactical retreat may prepare the ground for larger victories ahead. The GOP isn't going to lose its brand ID because it accedes to a tax increase on millionaires under these circumstances. This is not the same as 1990, when the first President Bush botched the budget deal. The public knows which party is, and which party isn't, driving this mess.
We've been among the many voices urging the House GOP to seize the initiative by passing something—Simpson-Bowles, anything—to force Obama's hand. Now, as Paul noted earlier today, it appears Boehner is ready to do so with his "Plan B." It may turn out that Boehner's patience will be rewarded: having offered a grudging concession on taxes, we are starting to see that Democrats are fracturing over any serious spending cuts. If Obama can't deliver Democrats, it will shatter the media meme that Republicans are the obstacle to any deal, and Democrats will suddenly become the final cause of going over the fiscal cliff.
No, this is far from ideal. Ideal would have been winning the election. Or at least a Senate majority to join the House majority. Failing this, Boehner is playing his bad hand as best as might be hoped with surviving to win the next hand in mind.
I'd like to draw everyone's attention once again to something Harvey Mansfield said in his recent Wall Street Journal interview:
Conservatives should be the party of good judgment, not just of principles. Of course there are conservative principles—free markets, family values, a strong national defense—but those principles must be defended with good judgment. Conservatives need to be intelligent, and they shouldn't use their principles as substitutes for intelligence. Principles need to be there so judgment can be distinguished from opportunism. But just because you give ground on principle doesn't mean you're an opportunist.


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Speedplay's Light Action Chromoly pedals are the easiest Speedplays to get into, so they're the perfect solution for seasoned cyclists with delicate knees, and first-time clipless-pedal users alike. They provide 15-degrees of knee-saving float without the self-centering action inherent in most pedals, so you don't work against spring tension. Their compact and low-profile design positions your feet closer to the axles for maximum power transmission and excellent cornering clearance. They boast chromoly axles with needle and cartridge bearings for smooth spinning and feature dual-sided entry and early release for super easy starts and stops.
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these pedals rule! I was coming out of cheap strap in pedals after purchasing my bike. The strap pedals were bothering my toes and hurt my knees. I got these and the first time I tried I could not get into them at all. [...]After that they were easy to use. I only fell once because I wasn't used to them. They have decreased my time and increase my mileage by the hour. I love these for my first clipless pedals. They are so easy to get in and out of now. No more knee problems either! [...] I've done 2 40 mile rides since I've had them and they RULE!
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My first road bike was equipped with SPD type pedals. I didn't know any better at the time so I used them for about 2 months. In that time (remember I was a novice) I pulled myself over trying to clip out (adjusted tension and didn't have the issue again but still) and accidentally unclipped the pedals numerous times sprinting. I had persistent numbness in both feet within 20 minutes of every ride and started having knee problems. (This was all after I had the shop do a bike fit on me) The shop manager convinced me to try speedplay and it was the single best modification made to my bike (even better than upgraded saddle). The first day with the new pedals my feet were admittedly a little uneasy. It only took one day to get used to and 6 years later and 10k+ miles there is no other pedal system for me. The introductory pedals are excellent, solid constrcution, and last with little to no maintenance. You can not go wrong with any level of Speedplay systems.
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Great, but it feels like your feet will not stay on them
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These are great pedals. They pitch these things for people with bad knees (which I don't have) so I was hesitant to buy them. The reason they say they're for people with bad knees is that these pedals allow for slight (they say 15 degrees) pivot action on the ball of your foot. This has allowed me to rocket up steep hills, and sprints from a dead stop are great with these, too. I was also worried that given the movement, these pedals wouldn't be as secure - this is most definitely not the case. Highly recommended.
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How do you feel about vegetables and fruits? In today's world many people feel like they don't have time to incorporate this crucial food group into their diet. When people are often so short on time and the fastest food often seems like the best option it's inevitable that dietary trends can take a turn for the worse. Meals are usually fit into tightly cramped schedules with a substantial inclination towards ready to eat snacks and fast foods.
While meats and breads are easy to include into most diets, vegetables are usually missing despite being the richest source of fiber, minerals and essential vitamins. Poor dietary habits that lack a sufficient amount of greens, in both adults and children can cause quite a number of health problems, especially over an extended period of time. Below are a list of symptoms that indicate a shortage of greens in your diet. If you're experiencing any of these, you should consider the lack of greens in your diet as a possible cause.
Signs You Need More Greens
- Fatigue, Weakness, Inability to Concentrate? You might have anemia. Characterized by a deficiency of vitamin C, folic acid and iron, Anemia causes the red blood cells drop to dangerously low levels resulting in a constant physical and mental exhaustion and can also be marked by easy bruising.
- Sick all the time? Not having enough greens often leaves the immune system ill equipped to sustain its recuperation phase and as a result not eating enough greens can contribute directly to more frequent bouts of infections, colds, coughs and more.
- Can't Seem to Lose Weight or Experiencing Rapid Weight Gain? Green vegetables are well known for helping speed up the body's metabolism and aid digestion. An imbalance can cause individuals to be more susceptible to weight gain.
Bathroom Issues? Green vegetable are one of the best sources of fiber and not consuming the daily recommended amount can result in digestive disorders such as constipation and irritable bowel syndrome(IBS).
- Cavities, Bad Breath & Brittle Teeth? The high calcium content in greens improves dental health and prevents gum disease, helping you save up on your dental bills and maintain your sparkling smile.
The vital role that green vegetables play in the apt functioning of a healthy body is undeniable. Commonly most people avoid greens due to taste or oftentimes it can be difficult to find adequate time to prepare and consume the large portions necessary for a healthy diet. A daily greens supplement can solve both of these problems by providing a tasty and easily prepared solution for your daily serving of green vegetables.
Vegetable and fruit supplements provide a range of serving amounts that can be perfect for one person or an entire family. The single serving packets in particular are great to have around the house or travel with due to their compact size and pre-measured daily serving amounts. Not to mention the wide variety of flavors now available for greens supplements like chocolate or mocha café which make it easy to convince even teens and kids to take them as well.
One of the biggest benefits a daily green supplement can offer a person with a fast paced lifestyle are the pre-measured amounts. This literally takes the thought out of incorporating this vitally important food group into your diet. The packages already have the exact quantity you need for maximum nutrition, eliminating the need to buy the produce, measure out the right amounts and prepare it yourself. If you're still unconvinced, the benefits you can experience with just one green shake every morning might make you change your mind.
What to Expect When Taking a Daily Greens Supplement
- Cancer Prevention – research shows many of the nutrients and minerals green supplements provide can help prevent cancer.
- Diabetes Prevention – Type 2 diabetes may also be prevented by incorporating the appropriate amount of daily greens into your diet.
- Improved Nutrition – Green foods are rich in a number of necessary vitamins and minerals like Iron, Calcium, Proteins, Dietary Fiber and Phytochemicals such as Carotenoids, Folate, Lutein and vitamins C and K.
- Healthy Pregnancy – Greens can be vital for mothers during pregnancy. You unborn baby needs the crucial vitamins and minerals provided by greens and a deficiency of fruit and vegetables in a pregnant woman's diet can put the unborn baby at serious risk. A few consequences your child might endure are:
- An underdeveloped brain or spinal cord
- Premature birth
- Weak skull development
- Anemia
- Greater risk of osteoporosis in later life
- Weight Loss – Greens can help increase metabolism and improve digestion for improved weight loss.
- Improved Blood Pressure – Greens help relieve hypertension and maintain healthy blood pressure levels.
- Improved Heart Health – The rich Phytochemical content of greens strengthens the blood vessels and the human heart and shields them from diseases. Thus consuming greens improves cardiovascular health.
As you can see, the facts speak for themselves. Green vegetables are an extremely essential part of a healthy diet and shouldn't be underestimated. If you want healthy children, a disease free life, high energy levels, improved emotional and physical health as well as appearance and can't find time to squeeze green foods into you and your family's diet; we highly recommend investing in a daily green food supplement.


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Burlais Primary
Bergoni have been in business since 1986 and have been supplying various schools with school uniform in this time. We now supply a wide range of schools in the local area and further a field. We look to set up a partnership between us and our schools to make sure that we give a good quality product and service in a timely manner.
We supply a number of items to all our schools from the basics of school jumpers and polo shirts to school leaver hoodies and book bags. To compliment the service we give we now have the online shop so that you can order your school uniform straight to your door.
Click on an item to view more info and add it to your basket


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Emergency Texting.
If you go to http://www.emergencysms.org.uk you can register your phone so you can send text messages to 999 which are more likely to be received in poor reception areas, such as the Erme should you need the emergency services. We are ALL welcome to use the service. To use this service your number must be registered before the service can be used
General letterboxing discussion.
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That very good service. I am going to register now. Thanks for sharing with us.
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That great administration. I am will enroll now. A debt of gratitude is in order for offering to us.
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SANFORD—Another member of the famed L'Heureux family will be honored for athletic achievements next week. Sanford High School graduate Karol L'Heureux, who has served in various capacities at the University of New England, will be inducted into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honor in a ceremony to be held at the YMCA of Greater Waterville on Sunday.
L'Heureux, who is beginning her 33rd year as volleyball coach at the University of New England, will be honored for her outstanding accomplishments as a player and coach from her high school years right up to the present time.
L'Heureux, who knew at a young age that she wanted to coach someday, began her athletic career at Sanford High School in the early 1970s where she received varsity letters in baseketball, track and bowling all four years. She then went on to a successful career in basketball and volleyball at the University of Maine-Presque Isle where she graduated with a major in physical education and recreation in 1979.
Upon graduation, she headed for St. Francis College in Biddeford to pursue a master's degree and to do some coaching. She arrived in 1980, about the same time St. Francis merged with the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine to form what became the University of New England.
Because of her education background and familiarity with sports, she was given the job as athletic director and helped develop the women's basketball, volleyball and basketball teams as well as direct the boys teams.. She held the athletic director position for 26 years, giving it up in 2006. During that time she played a key role in the successful development of the school's athletic program. In her early years she was the only athletic director in New England who was the AD of both the boys and girls programs at the college level.
There were only 350 students at the school when she arrived, most of them males. But under her direction that changed dramatically through the years. She helped the school's athletic program develop from its primitive beginnings into an NCAA Division III member. From just a handful of teams she had at the start, she saw the sports program expand to the 15 varsity teams that it has today.
She also played a role in developing the school's outstanding modern athletic facilities. When she arrived, a small gym was the only physical recreational facility. At the present time, the facilities include softball and soccer fields, a synthetic turf field, a press box, and a state-of-the-art scoreboard for the field hockey and lacrosse teams.
When she gave up her AD position in 2006, she didn't bow out of sports all together. She kept her position as volleyball coach, a position she intends to hold on to for a long time. She has had tremendous success at the sport. Through the years her teams have won 631 volleyball matches, leading her to be ranked sixth among active NCAA Division III coaches and 12th all-time.
Other members of her family to receive state wide recognition include her father, Henry L'Heureux and her uncle Walt L'Heureux who both have been inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. It would be difficult to find a Sanford athletic team, especially a successful one, that didn't have a player named L'Heureux on it.
Karol L'Heureux heads for Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honor
SANFORD—Another member of the famed L'Heureux family will be honored for athletic achievements next week. Sanford High School graduate Karol L'Heureux, who has served in various capacities at the University of New England, will be inducted into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honor in a ceremony to be held at the YMCA of Greater Waterville on Sunday.


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Mediabistro Course
Create and manage a top-notch freelancing career in our upcoming online event. Through a series of webcasts and workshops, attendees will be able to learn the tools necessary to launch a successful freelancing career. Weekly sessions will cover topics including pitches, query letters, portfolios, and financing. With St. Patty's Day quickly approaching, we invite you to try your luck with code GETLUCKY and win anywhere from $ 10-$ 50 OFF registration! Register Today!


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Two 8' adjustable height benches are up and the lathe is put together. I have two power strips that I have yet to install on the back of both benches. Benches are set to the height comfortable sitting in the bar stools or standing.
On each side of the dropdown on the ceiling are going 30" wall cabinets. I'm waiting on slat walls to come in to install the cabinets.
Inside the cabinets are 2 movable shelves. So far I am happy with the quality and construction from this mfg.
Hopefully other items will be coming in soon.
Stay tuned.


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"Underlying everything I write is the essentiality of the creative act. For me, creative self expression is the truest form of empowerment, giving us the life-long tools to deal with whatever difficult or wondrous surprise life throws our way."
Tracy Mack's first novel, Drawing Lessons, was named a Booklist Top Ten First Bovel for Young Adults, a New York Public Llibrary Book for the Teen Age, a Bank Street College Best Book and a Teen People Next Award Finalist. Birdland, her second novel, garnered praise from Walter Dean Myers, Mary Pope Osborne and Julia Alvarez.
Tracy grew up in a one-square-mile village near the Hudson River, just north of New York City. She attributes much of her early daydreaming and writing to attempting to transport herself from her two loud older brothers and their ever-present rock bands.
Tracy studied literature and art history at the University of Pennsylvania and has worked as a camp counselor, a waitress, an English teacher in Spain, and an editor. She is also a devoted yogini, a champion jacks player, a passionate mountain climber, a novice potter, and a very enthusiastic dancer. She and her husband divide their time between Brooklyn, New York and the Berkshires.
Tracy Mack is also Executive Editor of Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.


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A kitty this way cometh
Tabatha Ann Stevens is special not only being a half breed but she also has visions. Soon after seeing the Cullen family in one she finds herself part of the family. Then she has another vision that ties her not only to the the Cullen family but to Jacob's pack forever. Seth Clearwater was her future and she now knew it. Going to make this rated adult just in case
1. It could happen to anyone...right?
Rating 4/5 Word Count 3026 Review this Chapter
I clung to the counterfeit documents as I walked into the small town high school office. The frumpy secretary was sitting at her desk she looked up and smiled at me as I walked up to the counter that separated the room between us.
"Hello I'm new here and I guess I need to register for classes."
"What's your name dear?" she asked as she searched threw the papers on her desk and brought over the appropriate ones for me to fill out.
"Tabatha Ann Stevens. My mother sent me with all the documents that you'll need." I said as she handed me the papers. I intern handed her my fake birth certificate, shot records and all the other documents in my hand.
I took a pen out of my bag and began to fill out the paper work that would register me for my third time in high school. This was the easy part all I had to do was write down all the information that was on the counterfeit birth certificate and give the address of the house that I was staying at alone on the out skirts of town. Not that I didn't know what brought me to this small sunless town that I knew all to well it was six months ago when I had the dream…well not really dream cause my dreams were never just that it was a vision. Just like the one that I have had since I was born.
The beautiful group was the largest I had ever seen and that included other visions I had had. The group included a young girl that had bronze hair just like the male that stood next to her looking down on her lovingly and I knew that was her father. My father didn't stick around after he had controlled himself enough to create me. I killed my mother during the birthing process. But that was how I thought that life went for a half vampire like myself. This family was happy and I was a part of it. The excepted me as I was and the loved me I felt it. When I awoke I packed my minimal possessions and headed for this small town. Now I was looking for the right time to approach this group of vampires that would be my family.
"Here you go I'm finished." Handing the papers to the frumpy blonde who the introduced herself.
"Well Tabatha I'm Ms. Jameson and this is your schedule and a map of the school. Please have all your teachers sign this and return it to me at the end of the day"
I took the schedule and map and headed to my first class another day in freshman English yay!
I walked into the class which had already started and walk to the teacher handing him the slip of paper for him to sign.
"Well look it here class we have a new student it seems her name is Tabatha and she just moved here. From where dear?"
"From London"
"Just find an empty seat ." he handed back the paper after scrolling his signature on it and handed me something else. A list of the years reading of course I had read all of it since this was my third time in ninth grade.
By lunch I had decided that I would go out to the Cullen's place after I got out of this place they called a high school.
My sixth period science class was basic at the best and the teacher Mrs. Manner was just like the rest. She introduced me and had me tell the class about myself . It was a good thing that I wasn't shy in the least. I told the class easily of my life of the last few years in London. And then I took my seat next to a cute little girl that I could tell was way more interested in me then she was willing to admit. She had short black hair that was cropped just above her ears. Her eyes were blue and friendly looking I could also tell that she was unbelievable shy and she would never think about starting a conversation with me so I decided to start one to make her feel like more comfortable.
"Hello partner" I smiled my most friendly smile and sat down next to her. "So what's your name?" I said as I turned to face her not really caring much about what the teacher was talking about but I half listened while I talked to the cute girl with the fairy features.
"Er… Samantha but most people call me Sam." she said looking happy that I had struck up a conversation with her.
"Well my friends back home call me Tabby Cat so feel free to do the same. I need to make a new circle of friends now that I'm in another new place and you seem like a good place to start."
She smile largely and the timidly continued "that's nice of you but I don't have very many friends. I've known all these people basically since birth I really just don't fit in all that well if you know what I mean."
"That's perfect! I never said I wanted a large circle of friends now did I?"
She smiled largely and turned as the teacher called on her for an answer and she turned an attractive color of red. I had never seen anyone who looked so good when the blushed. I leaned over and whispered the answer to the question so quiet only she heard and she repeated what I had said. The teacher smiled and continued on her lecture.
"We better pay attention we can talk after class" Sam said as she gave all her focus to the teacher. I smiled and let my mind wonder only half listening to the teacher drone on and on.
Finally the day was over and I walked to the parking lot where my Grand am was parked. I got in and quickly put my foot on the brake and the clutch to start in. Then I pulled out of the space before a line started to form.
I was sitting at the opening to the drive that would take me to the Cullen's home. I knew that Alice couldn't see me as I was a half breed but I also knew that as soon as I started the drive that not long after hitting the drive Edward would be able to hear my thoughts and as of right now I didn't know if I wanted to stay in Forks or not. I knew what my vision had shown me but that didn't mean anything like Alice's visions they were based on decisions and I had not made mine yet so that future could change. I wanted to make my thoughts as friendly and non chaotic as possible so that Edward would know that I meant this happy family no ill will. I took and deep breath and turned my car down the drive there was no way to find out unless I went and talked to them.
"Here goes nothing."
When I got to the front porch there they were Jasper, Alice, Edward, Emmett and a woman that I hadn't see in any of the visions of this family that I had. I stop a little confused then I just shrugged I would know who she was soon enough.
"Hello" I said as I stepped out of my car with a large smile on my face. "Edward I know you know why I'm here would you like to tell Alice why she didn't see me coming or would you like me to explain?"
Alice looked at me and then at Edward with a look of confusion and then I could see it click in her eyes. "Your some kind of half breed either shape shifter of half vampire."
"Half vampire" Edward said and I smiled
"Just as quick as knew you would be. Jasper how are you the others must be nervous I see it on your face. I assure you all I mean no harm coming here."
"She speaks the truth." Edward said
"Who are you?" The woman I didn't know spoke to me and then looked up at Edward and he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. She must be his mate I deducted mentally which only took a half a second and Edward nodded once before I spoke again.
"I'm Tabatha and I know all of you well most of you. The gift I got from my parents is similar to what Alice does but I can see everyone just fine which is why I don't understand why I didn't see you. You see my visions come to me in the form of dreams and you kind of blind sided me which has never happened."
"I'm Bella, Edward is my husband."
"I guessed that." I smiled at their joined hands
"I know that Edward has a daughter just like me. Would that make you Renesme's mother?"
"I guess she is more special than me she has both parents and I have none. I have been on my own since birth but of course I learn quickly with the gift that I possess. So of course I taught myself everything before my dead beat father Gerald decided to show himself when I had been in this world for more than four years. I know that you knew that there was more than just Renesme in this world so I knew that I would not surprise any of you by showing up here." I finished and took a deep breath.
"You have a gift like mine." Alice said her pixy features lighting up as she spoke. "Can you see the dogs?"
I returned her smile but before I could answer Jacob walk out of the house holding Renesme in his arms. So I answered by greeting him by name.
"Hello Jacob how are you this afternoon."
"Wwwhat?" He said kind of sounding like Scooby doo
"This young half breed can see you Jacob." Bella informed him
"What do you mean?"
"She has a gift like me" Alice informed him
"Oh great well no more hiding now."
"I know that you like the fact that Alice can't see you but I see what I see sorry. I don't have the control over my gift that Alice here does. Which is apparent since I didn't know about Bella until I pulled up here."
Emmett had been quiet this whole time and from what I knew of him that was unlike him but he finally spoke to Bella then.
"Well Bella I guess your just not all that important. This young girl seems to know the whole family but you."
"Well to be fair I had my vision six months ago. Renesme was just born so perhaps I was looking for her. Apparently she was going threw her change then. She in between human and vampire I guess that's why." I still didn't like the fact that I didn't know about Bella
"What you didn't think I was dangerous enough for the whole family? Where Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle?"
"Hunting" Emmett said with a shrug "Your just one half breed I could take you all by myself shoot Nessie could probably take you, your just a slip of a girl.
That was true I was all of five foot two and was very slim. My long brown hair hit the lower part of my back and my eyes where a clear blue. The clothes I wore made me look like I was some sort of vagabond I didn't have much when it came to personal possessions so they made me look smaller than I really was.
"We should take this in the house." Alice said swooping down the steps and taking me by the hand pulling me with her.
I didn't fight her I just followed her just like everyone else into the house.
"Ok we know who you are now why are you here?" Jasper asked me he looked a little uncomfortable still
"She wants to be part of our family. She doesn't have one and she wants one desperately." Edward said and for the first time in my long life I was embarrassed I could feel the blood rise in my face as the blush spread across it.
"Now that's something I have missed seeing someone blush. Bella used to do that a lot when she was human. I'll have to make you do that as much as I can Tabatha." Emmett said laughing
"You can all call me Tabby Cat that's what I prefer."
"You said something about your father? Who is this vampire Gerald that you sneer about in you thoughts?" Edward asked
"Gerald is nothing but the sperm donor in my creation. Like I said he disappeared and showed up four years later saying he wanted me to join his coven and that he left my mother cause he didn't know that he was able to create life the way he had and it scared him. Ha! Scare and immortal creature right. He claimed to love my mother and also claimed that he still mourned the loss of her everyday. Of course I knew all of this to be a lie because I had seen that he had been creating half breeds like me for over fifty years. I was the third. I have three sister that have chose to join him me I prefer people that actually care for my welfare. Anyways that was more than 40 years ago now so it's water under the bridge. I haven't seen him even in my dreams for quite some time. Last I can recall he was some where in Ireland. I have no desire to see him or his other creations." I finished and sat down smiling warmly at Renesme although we looked totally different I couldn't help seeing myself in her.
Renesme reached up and placed her hand on Jacobs cheek. He looked down at her to answer her question.
"You would have to ask her yourself" He put her down then and she walked over to me with her hand out expectantly. I nodded one so that she knew that I had no problem with her touching my face. She quickly placed her hand on my face and showed me a picture of each one of her family asking if I wanted to be one as well. It also seemed like an invitation to me like she wanted me to be part of this happy family.
"More than anything young Nessie." I said color coming to my face again.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that." Emmett chuckled
"I have never blushed before this day in all my life. It's odd for me I don't get embarrassed but for some reason needed something as bad as I need all of …" I trailed off as Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle walked threw the door.
My eyes went directly to Esme this was the woman that would be the mother that I never had and so desperately wanted. I knew that she would except me as I was and love me with all her still heart. I took a deep breath and I heard Edward chuckle right before I flung myself off the couch and into her arms. She hugged me as I buried my face in her chest taking in her smell she smelled so good. She placed her hands in my hair and held me to her and turned to face the others.
"Who is this child?" Esme asked
"That would be Tabatha or Tabby as she prefers to be called and she has decided that she is going to be part of our family. She's a half breed like our Renesme." Bella told her in a soft voice.
Esme put her finger under my chin and made me look at her. "Well Tabby you can have Edwards old room there's a bed in there and Alice can take you shopping she will really enjoy that. But tell me one thing how did you know about our family and where to find us?"
My eyes focused on her golden eyes seeing the love in the as she smiled at me. I knew that she already loved me.
"I have a gift…like Alice in a way."
"She's too modest she can see the pack." Alice said
"Wow your very special indeed although I already knew you would be." Esme said to me as she hugged me close to her once before setting back to look at me.
"Welcome to the family Tabby. We'll have to get her registered for school of course we'll have to send Jasper to acquire the correct forms."
"I'm already registered under the name Tabatha Stevens" I informed her "I've been threw high school two other times so it's not hard to do that anymore to bad it's so very boring."
"Looks like I have to let the pack and Sam know that we have another Cullen to watch for and that's she's a half breed like Nessie." Jacobs said as he walked out the door pulling his shirt off as he left.
Alice took me to my room and came back with some clothes that she informed me belonged to Bella. I took them and she left to give me some privacy. That night was when it happened I knew I was going to see something that night in my dreams I just didn't know that it was going to change the rest of my existence.
I crawled in the large iron bed and slipped into sleep easily. The vision was of a sandy brown colored wolf at first then he change into the most beautiful Indian boy that I had ever seen. He smiled and embraced me and told me in a soft husky voice "You're my life my world now and I will love you for the rest of forever." My breath caught and I awoke the sun was just coming up and so I got out of bed and changed into the clothes that I would wear to school then taking a deep breath I opened the door to my house and family. For I knew without a doubt now that my life would be forever tied to these people.
- It could happen to anyone...right?
- In the blink of an eye
- Must love dogs
- Hustler
- Smells Familiar
- Fog
- Darkness
- My other life
- Completely Distracted
- Birthday Surprise
- The Gods are punishing me
- Why should I be surprised
- Catch and disappear
- Everyone should take the time to dance in the rain
- Oh God... I do
- The time has come to fight
- Life does continue
- Author
- alicecullen27
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text:
Tigers Looking to Improve in Final Round of OVC Championships
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee State women's golf team will enter the final round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships looking to improve on day two. The second round was played under mostly sunny skies and 70 degrees at the Par-72, 5,964 yard GreyStone Golf Club in Dickson, Tenn.
The Tigers remained in 10th place after shooting a team score of 396. Kelly Merkel continues to lead as she tied her career best round with a 79. Amelia Dap was able to cut four strokes off her first round and shot an 88. Sarah Needleman came in with a 103 and Chelsea Marlin at 126.
Merkel (85-79=164) dropped 12 pars as she hit nine fairways and eight greens on her way to a 7-over on the day. After hitting her approach shot short onto a steep uphill slope on the par-4, 5th, Merkel chipped on and made a six-foot putt to save par. The Columbia product closed out the day with a par on the par-4, 18th. Merkel drove a 3-wood off the tee and used a 4-iron to just off the green to within 10-yards for an up and down to set up a one-putt.
After a bogey to start the day, Dap (92-88=180) seemed to be in trouble on the par-5, 2nd as she missed the fairway off the tee. Dap used a 6-iron to the center of the fairway and chipped onto the green setting up a two-putt to make par. The Murfreesboro native drove the fairway on the par-5, 9th and followed with a 3-wood to 100-yards out. Dap overshot her third shot that landed just off the green on the backside. The redshirt-freshman chipped to within four feet of the hole giving her a one-putt to save par. On the day, Dap hit nine fairways and three greens.
Needleman (95-103=198) shot even on the par-5, 2nd and a pair of par-3's, the 6th and the 16th. The Fishers, Ind. native highlighted her day with a bogey on the par-5, 12th. Needleman found herself out of bounds off the tee box, but used a wedge shot from 45-yards out to put herself in position to putt to save bogey. Marlin (109-126=235) found her most success on holes five through seven. The freshman just missed par putts on five and seven, but was able to make par on the par-3, 6th.
The final day of the OVC Championships will begin with Marlin teeing off at 8:00 am and followed by Needleman at 8:10 am, Dap at 8:20 am, and Merkel at 8:30 am.


text:
Jump to navigation
Abstract: Individuality and Innovation in Greek Sculpture
After briefly examining the ancient and modern scholarship on this problem, I offer a few cautionary remarks about craftsmanship and the limitations it imposed on individual initiative in ancient Greek sculpture. Then I turn to some test cases from the fifth century B.C., in order to show what individual achievement could amount to in that golden century. Included are the Tyrannicides by Kritios and Nesiotes; the sculptures of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia; Polykleitos's Doryphoros; Pheidias's Athena Parthenos, and Paionios's Nike at Olympia.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
Burford, A. 1972. Craftsmen in Greek and Roman Society. Ithaca, N.Y.
Carpenter, R. 1960. Greek Sculpture: A Critical Review. Chicago.
Furtwängler, A. 1895. Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture. London. (Repr. Chicago, 1964)
Sennett, R. 2008. The Craftsman. New Haven.
Stewart, A. 1990. Greek Sculpture: An Exploration. New Haven.
Stewart, A. 2006. Classical Greece and the Birth of Western Art. Cambridge.
AIA Tours


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A Joel On Software reader asked the other day for examples of recursive functions other than old chestnuts like Fibonacci or factorial. Excellent question. I suggested topological sort, of course, but there are plenty of other examples that are way better than the Fibonacci numbers. Why do I think Fibonacci is bad? Read on.
In case it's slipped your mind, the Fibonacci numbers are defined as follows:
fib(1) = 1
fib(2) = 1
fib(n) = fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)
thus, they go 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …
The Fibonacci numbers have many interesting properties. For example, suppose you have a pair of rabbits that every year gives birth to a pair of rabbits, rabbits take one year to reach maturity, and rabbits never die. In that (admittedly unrealistic) situation, the number of pairs alive at any given time is a Fibonacci number. Clearly the number alive this year is the number alive the year before (who all live) plus the number alive two years before (who are now mature enough to breed.) Fibonacci numbers also have a relationship to the Golden Mean, logarithmic spirals, and many other interesting nooks of mathematics. But that's not what I want to talk about today.
Because they have a straightforward recursive definition, it's natural to introduce recursive programming to students by simply translating the definition into code:
function fib_1(n)
if (n == 1 || n == 2)
return 1;
return fib_1(n-1) + fib_1(n-2);
I am in principle very much for this pedagogic approach. Recursive programming can be difficult to get your head around. Starting with recursive definitions, getting your head around those, and then using those definitions in code is a pretty good way to approach the material. If you think of lists as being "zero or more items in a row", it is conceptually hard to think of anything other than an iterative approach to processing the list. If you think of a list as "a list may be empty, or may be an item followed by a list", then the definition of the data leads itself to a recursive programming approach very naturally.
Practically however, this is probably the worst possible simple way to solve the Fibonacci problem. When you introduce recursion by using it to solve a problem which iteration solves much, much better, students come away thinking that recursion is dumb -- that it is both harder to understand and produces worse solutions. Better to pick an example where the iterative solution is not better!
In fact, this is a good whiteboarding question for interviews: implement me a recursive Fibonacci algorithm, tell me why it is terrible, and write me a better algorithm. A good candidate should be able to come up with the above and something like this:
function fib_2(n)
if (n == 1 || n == 2)
return 1;
var fibprev = 1;
var fib = 1;
for (var cur = 2 ; cur < n ; ++cur)
var temp = fib;
fib += fibprev;
fibprev = temp;
return fib;
Typical questions that I might ask at this point in an interview are
- What are the asymptotic running time and memory usage of the two algorithms you've written?
- Can you write me an algorithm with even better asymptotic running time and memory usage? Alternatively, can you convince me that this is as good as it gets?
- Suppose I asked you to make this algorithm absolutely as fast as possible. What would you do?
- Now suppose that I do not care much about raw speed but I do want the method to be robust in the face of bad input. Now what do you do?
and so on. (Anyone who cares to propose answers to these can leave comments; consider this a spoiler warning if you want to work them out for yourself. Working out the asymptotic running time of recursive fib is quite easy and produces a somewhat surprising result.)
Another old chestnut that's often used as an introduction to recursion is the famous Tower Of Hanoi problem. Briefly stated, you have a number of disks with a hole in the middle, and three spikes upon which you can place disks. The disks are all of different sizes and are arranged from biggest to smallest in a pyramid on one spike. You must move one disk at a time from spike to spike, you must never place a larger disk on top of a smaller disk, and you must end up with the entire pyramid on a different spike than you started with.
The recursive solution is straightforward. Moving a "sub-pyramid" of size one is obviously trivial. To move a sub-pyramid of size n, first move a sub-pyramid of size n-1 to an extra spike. Then move the bottommost disk of the size n pyramid to the other extra spike. Then move the sub-pyramid of size n-1 onto the disk on the second extra spike. A nice recursive solution!
Many recursive implementations for this old chestnut exist. But I'm not a big fan of this problem as a pedagogic approach to recursion for two reasons. First, it's totally contrived (as is "fib"). Second, there is a very simple iterative solution for this problem, which is almost never mentioned when it is used as an example of the power of recursive programming! Again, we should pick examples where recursion is clearly preferable.
In case you're curious, the iterative solution can be produced by writing a program that implements these rules in a loop:
- Number the disks 1 to n starting from the top.
- Never move an odd disk onto an odd disk.
- Never move an even disk onto an even disk.
- Never move a larger disk onto a smaller disk.
- Never move the same disk twice in a row.
- Never move a disk onto an empty spike unless you have to.
- Move disks until there are no legal moves.
If you don't believe me, try it yourself with ace through ten of a deck of cards sometime. Or, perhaps start with ace through four -- ace through ten will take you a while. Both the recursive and iterative solutions are optimal in the number of moves. The recursive solution is O(n) in terms of memory usage, the iterative solution is O(1).


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Opinion: Why KDE is People, Not Software
As the first of several opinion pieces exploring current issues in KDE, we offer you a video of Aaron Seigo explaining how KDE's success as a community producing all kinds of software led to outgrowing our old name, the "K Desktop Environment", what KDE means now and why it matters.
Aaron Seigo on KDE Branding (Ogg Theora version)
A little over a year ago, an article was published on the Dot titled 'Repositioning the KDE Brand'. The article publicized the outcome of a process within KDE to make sense of the relationship between the community and its products, and to reach a durable solution regarding the terms that should be used to refer to both.
Since then, good progress has been made with people understanding, accepting and using the new terms. Spreading awareness within and beyond KDE, and increasing the understanding of how the brands are now used, takes time and continued communication. This effort is still ongoing.
Justin Kirby caught up with Aaron - Plasma developer extraordinaire, former president of KDE e.V. and KDE promoter - to ask him to explain the KDE brands and the reasoning behind them. As Aaron lucidly describes, the central element of the new terminology is the fact that KDE refers to the community, and not to any one of the products that the community creates. Thus, KDE is a community that makes three different types of products: workspaces, a platform, and applications.
You can watch the interview in the embedded video above if you have a compatible Flash player or download the free format Ogg Theora version.
HTML5 <video>
It would be nice if you could embed the video directly into the article with the tag. There are a few JS libraries (e.g. VideoJS) which provide the ability to fall back to the embedded Flash player if the browser doesn't support .
By Matt Williams at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 2:09pm
Something to think about...
I just had a quick play both here on the Dot and with the VideoJS demo...
Firefox: fine, plays HTML5
So the JS solution is not necessarily foolproof (the browser has to correctly report what it can do and JS needs to be on, of course).
However, we could consider a reversal of the current situation: switch to HTML5 by default and a link to a Flash version for people for whom HTML5 does not work - something to think about...
By Stuart Jarvis at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 3:04pm
Now I understand!
You know what Aaron?
And that thing is that there are two brands, two overlapping brands: the "KDE" brand and the "Plasma" brand. They inadvertently compete with each other for mass attention in the headlines of every press release and news bit that has to announce something related to KDE and its world.
And when you started to talk about "obsolete" denominations I immediately started to think that perhaps that is exactly what is happening to the KDE brand! The project became something different over the years, and perhaps even its name just doesn't suit it anymore...
Plasma from the start sounded as a great name and over the years has become a brand on its own, with more impact, appeal, and certainly one that ignites imagination the moment people gets exposed to it. Moreover, with each new release more and more things around the whole user experience have more to do with the Plasma name than with any other one, including KDE.
...I know there is quite a baggage of roots, history and tradition in the KDE name, but quite frankly I'm starting to re-evaluate if this is the more appropriate name for the project and its future.
Why not simply reach people and the press with
Admitedly it doesn't change a bit in the programming side of things, but I envision it can really change minds quite a bit.
Thanks for listening!
By Gabriel Gazzán at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 4:08pm
or perhaps
...or perhaps, if KDE is to be maintained as the main brand, at least be more clean and completely remove the Plasma brand from communications and reach the masses with:
- KDE Workspaces: Desktop | Netbook | Mobile
I don't deny I really foresee a marketing opportunity in the shift from "KDE" over to the "Plasma" brand. But even if this never happens, the current marketing situation seems to be unnecessarily confusing, from my point of vew.
By Gabriel Gazzán at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 5:06pm
Re: Plasma umbrella brand
That won't solve a thing. The problem was/is that the KDE brand was used for everything related to the KDE community, and different meanings of KDE are confused with each other. Replacing s/KDE/Plasma/g everywhere won't clean up the confusions.
By majewsky at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 9:38pm
One umbrella
Well... It won't clean up confusion... But at least it will reduce it.
Also, there will be only one brand to focus on, to develop, and to promote. It will be much easier to promote one "umbrella" than two
By alvise at Fri, 2011/01/14 - 10:43pm
Yeah we used to have that...
We called it KDE and it led to people thinking that you either took KDE (the desktop, the apps, the platform for developing your apps) as a whole or rejected it as a whole.
So now, we have a group of people called KDE that provide:
And the beautiful thing is that you can mix and match:
Choose Plasma Desktop with apps from KDE, GNOME and other projects such as Libre Office.
Choose GNOME shell, but rediscover your music with Amarok
Choose Windows, but manage your photos with digiKam
By Stuart Jarvis at Sat, 2011/01/15 - 1:07pm
I think...
...in the past there wasn't a visible Workspaces, Platform, Applications (let's call them) groups of software related to KDE.
That wasn't good, I agree, but now having a different brand for the main working environment than for everything else related to the community doesn't seems to be working great either.
Moreover, what you imply is that we wanted to "save" the applications from being discarded beforehand by being associated with KDE. So people working with Gnome, Windows, OS X, etc. wouldn't be using them just because they saw those applications associated to KDE.
But, surprisingly enough, the solution seems to be that we've changed the name of the working environment to something else: Plasma. Different, but still always being mentioned as a subproduct of the KDE world, and have kept the KDE reference in every application we wanted to "save" from being associated to KDE?
So, frankly, I don't get the logic behind this...
By Gabriel Gazzán at Sun, 2011/01/16 - 1:26am
So we defined (or really just talked more about) the three groups you mentioned.
However, the workspaces lacked a name. What do you think would have happened if we'd talked about KDE Desktop etc? Do you not think people would just have said 'KDE'? Then KDE remains associated as only/mainly a desktop and any KDE apps are associated only/mainly with use in that desktop. So we gave the workspaces proper names - Plasma Desktop etc -just as the other applications have names - Kontact etc.
So, we could have ditched KDE completely - or kept KDE for the workspaces and come up with some other name for the community. But what we chose was to keep KDE for the community, KDE by that point did not just belong to the workspaces. But either approach could have been ok and can separate the 'made by X' association from the 'only for use in desktop X' association. I think KDE is a valuable brand and being known as a 'KDE app' is a good thing, mostly. The challenge is to loosen the close association with the workspaces by building a distinct workspace brand and using 'KDE' to refer to us. It will take a lot of time, but so would the other approach.
By Stuart Jarvis at Sun, 2011/01/16 - 2:20pm
I get it
it's just there are two things in what you say that I don't agree with:
- workspaces doesn't have to have a separate name. you separate the workspace from the framework and the apps, by just establishing, (as you said) talking about and exposing more clearly these different categories
- the second one is that frankly KDE is not anything that sounds like a community name. It sounds like what it is (or was), an acronym, something that resumes or simplyfies a long descriptive name.
Going back to the first point, I sincerely believe to be confusing and redundant promoting and having two names. Just one name, with a proper handling in communication, would be a much more powerful and effective message.
...and Plasma is not a bad name for doing this, at all.
By Gabriel Gazzán at Tue, 2011/01/18 - 4:02pm
About names
Wow, this discussion is probably evolving much beyond what could have been expected.
That namechange might be a very nice discussion topic for K16:
By alvise at Tue, 2011/01/18 - 5:04pm
Plasma as name has a problem
Plasma as name has a clear problem, though: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=plasma
KDE is well known, and it is google-able. Plasma just is not. "I use plasma" ⇒ "oh, so you're a particle physicists" ⇒ "no, I'm a poor but happy TV-geek"…
If you ditch the name KDE, you lose the work of more than 10 years for establishing a brand.
And one thing you should not ever do is ditching an established brand.
KDE is just that: KDE. You name your son "Jon" and not "Hyper-Bang". He might choose a secret and possibly more descriptive name when he joins a wicca community, but he will still be "Jon" (too). KDE is a real name, and it has meanings beyond anything Plasma can be. For me it means:
"KDE is the Key to your Digital Experience"
By Arne Babenhauserheide at Fri, 2011/01/21 - 9:47pm
it might have problems, but...
It might have problems, just as every other name, but the one you point out it's not one of those.
I guess if you search for 'apple' or 'windows' you'll get non related results too, but that doesn't mean the names themselves aren't good ones.
By Gabriel Gazzán at Tue, 2011/01/25 - 4:34am