text:
Barbara teaches school and maintains a private tutoring practice on the side. She has a great life -- one she fills with activity. Unfortunately, this fast pace prevented Barbara from really enjoying herself.
While she seemed happy to others, she often felt empty inside.
"I get so busy that life just flies by, and I end up neglecting what's really important -- my own happiness."
Life coach and stress-management expert Cheryl Richardson offers her advice here.
Slow Down and Savor
Barbara appeared to live a satisfying life, but she wasn't actually engaged in it. She needed to slow down and savor the moment. I started her with a simple exercise: eating one meal a day in silence, with no distractions. This meant no reading, watching television, or talking to anyone. Her only goal was to be mentally present to experience her meal.
When she got antsy (and I knew she would), she would close her eyes. This would prompt her brain to begin making more alpha waves, the kind associated with the relaxing, in-between state we experience just before falling asleep.
When Barbara showed up for our next call, she reported that the silent meals had proven difficult. "I wouldn't have done it had I not made a promise. I felt bored and uncomfortable, and by the third day, I was ready to quit. But then I realized something interesting: How I eat is a metaphor for how I live my life. I rush through meals so I can get back to work. I don't slow down long enough to enjoy the flavor of life. I'm just not present."
Over the next couple of weeks, Barbara continued with exercises designed to help her gradually make the shift from doing to being. She cut back on her morning practices, took breathing breaks to re-energize her body, and spent more time on leisurely activities like playing with her dog.
Reduce Stress Levels
While some of these changes helped, it was still quite a challenge for her to be still. During our next coaching call, we discovered why: Adrenal fatigue. "My doctor says that my body's fight-or-flight system has been working overtime for too long and that I need to reduce my stress level as soon as possible," Barbara admitted.
In lay terms, her diagnosis was clear: She was running on fumes. My colleague, Glenn Rothfeld, M.D., medical director of WholeHealth New England, in Arlington, Massachusetts, believes high-achievers who maintain busy schedules, eat lots of sugar, or live on caffeine run the risk of adrenal burnout.
"I call it 'tired but wired,' " he explains. It was time to take the problem seriously. Otherwise, as Rothfeld warned, a weakened immune system could leave her more susceptible to illness and infection.
She had the classic symptoms of adrenal burnout: mental exhaustion yet an inability to relax; sleep deprivation caused by waking at night with thoughts racing through her head; distraction; and mild depression. I suggested that Barbara view her diagnosis as an invitation to care for herself, and take her doctor's recommendation as a permission slip that said, "It's now time to rest."
Write Yourself a Prescription
To complement the advice Barbara's doctor gave her on supplements to take, I asked her to compile her own prescription of things she needed to promote her healing. Her list contained good examples of what anyone can do to support healthy adrenal function.
- Stop pushing myself. I need to notice when I feel tired and allow myself to rest, sleeping late in the morning or taking an afternoon nap.
- Cut back on strenuous exercise for a while to give my body a rest.
- Put more space in my calendar between appointments rather than book clients back-to-back, so I don't have to rush through the day.
- Take a good multivitamin and drink lots of clean water.
- Schedule a weekly day of rest to enjoy unstructured time without any demands or expectations.
At our next session, Barbara felt noticeably better. "I'm slowly getting comfortable with a saner pace of life, and one of my greatest teachers has been my dog. I've enjoyed being outdoors with her, doing absolutely nothing but throwing a stick and watching her fetch it. When I am in the moment, everything seems so clear and vivid. When I slow down and pay attention, I feel so alive. For the first time in a long while, I feel like I'm living my life rather than just doing my life."
To finish our work together, I shared a bit of wisdom given to me by my first coach many years ago during a similar conversation. When I had expressed my discomfort with not always doing something, he explained that what I considered boredom was actually the gateway to peace. Until I could learn to be "bored," I'd never get to the calm on the other side. "That Zen-like message has worked magic in my life," I told Barbara at our final meeting. "You might want to let it work a little magic in yours, too."
Text by Cheryl Richardson


text:
You are about to enter a website that may contain content of an adult nature.
Hello everyone, this is Indian cam girl SexyDulce here. I'm 21 year old Female speak English and Spanish in the Indian live sex chat action. I like to blow cocks, to take it in my pussy and in my ass as deep as posible.Also I like double double penetration. Screaming when cumming.. Hot and sexy latin girl everytime horny.. BJ, hot pussy fucking, anal, dp, multiple screaming orgasms and more... is my expertise and also what I will do in Indian live sex private show. I have Brown eyes, Medium Red hairs and my measurements are 35-35-35. For Turn ons: To get watched while making sex.. For TurnsOff: Smelly feet.. If you prefer kinks, then Piercings,Tattoos,Shaved, are mine. I'm just hungry for a HARD cock, can't wait to see u in my Indian webcam sex chat room! :)
Show more models
This website contains Indian cams, Desi webcam, Hindi live chat and Tamil sex show related sexually explicit content.
You must be at least 18 years of age to enter this website.
Megaindiancams.com Latest News & Blog
Indian XXX Chat -
Indian Sex Cams -
Indian Cam Girls -
Indian Sex Chat -
Live Cams Force -
© Since 2012 myindiansexcams.com All Rights Reserved
AllHosts1 - AllHosts2 - AllHosts3 - AllHosts4 - AllHosts5 - AllHosts6 - AllHosts7 - AllHosts8 - AllHosts9 - AllHosts10 - AllHosts11 - AllHosts12

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Fluor Corp. announced recently that Arlington Valley Solar Energy II, LLC (AVSE II), a member of LS Power Group, has awarded the company a lump-sum engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract, as well as a separate contract for ongoing operations and maintenance services (O&M) for its new nominal 125MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility located in Maricopa County, Ariz. Fluor has received full notice to proceed and booked the undisclosed EPC project value into backlog in the fourth quarter of 2011.
"This significant new win for Fluor positions the company as a leader in the solar power engineering and construction industry," said Dave Dunning, president of Fluor's Power Group. "We look forward to expanding our solar resume and delivering one of the world's largest solar PV projects for LS Power. Fluor's financial strength and backing for this project demonstrates our ability to bring a turnkey solution to our clients for their utility-scale solar developments."
The AVSE II project is located on approximately 1,160 acres with all of the major permits secured. This project will help meet the regional need for renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The Arlington Valley Combined Cycle Facility is nearby, which was designed and constructed by Fluor in 2002. AVSE II has closed financing for the project and has executed the power purchase agreement for the entire power output from the facility.
"We are pleased to be working with a world-class EPC firm like Fluor for LS Power's largest solar project to date," said John King, executive VP of LS Power. "This project brings many benefits to the State of Arizona and Maricopa County, including construction and operations jobs with local business opportunities and longer-term benefits from tax revenues. The State of California will benefit from the green energy delivered from the project as well as the solar panel sales from a San Diego-based manufacturer for a portion of the project."
Engineering and procurement is under way from Fluor's Southern California operations center. The facility is expected to achieve full commercial operation by the end of 2013.
LS Power is a power generation and transmission group with a proven track record of successful development activities, operations management and commercial execution. LS Power has been involved in the development, construction or operations of more than 25,000MW of power generation throughout the United States.


text:
Tonight is the night! [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Snoop Dogg[/lastfm] is taking the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater for an exclusive online web concert as part of the Live on Letterman series.
Come back tonight at 5pm PT/8pm ET to watch the concert event of a lifetime. This show is brought to you by AT&T – Rethink Possible.
Experience the groundbreaking webcast and watch along with all your friends in our chatroom. It's going to be off the hizzle.Vodpod videos no longer available.
More Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg on Last.fm
Snoop Dogg radio
Review of Doggumentary
Snoop Dogg's Greatest Collaborations


text:
Moderator: Moderators
RageAgainstVoid wrote:From a trailer glimpse, that shoulder cam, direct controls and aiming makes it look more intense than usual. And it also has a power meter thing?
Turkey_Slayer wrote:I played in the beta, and it was pretty fun. I think they did a great job with the perspective change. The characters actually seemed fresh and I liked the map layouts. I think I was driven away from the game because I thought they were embracing the LoL monetization system.
RageAgainstVoid wrote:I think it looks good. I were more likely to give it a shot than most other chunk out there.
Also, after seeing how bad this genre is at designing good original heroes, I'm almost glad they at least went with tried&true stock mythology.
Makes me wonder though, discussing design in general, how much individualization of systems/resources towards single heroes or classes is a good idea really. If it gets too complicated, is it tied in enough with the hero's theme to make natural sense still, etc.
For example, I'm not sure about how in D3 the "mana" is something different for everyone, if that's actually meaningful more than an universal system that specializes parameters.
How do you feel about that when playing?
Deacon (AYC) wrote:$30 buy everything option was the only thing HoN ever did right, and really shows the difference between a F2P game and a P2W game. I think something like Smite would fall under F2P technically, because the only restriction is heroes??? (afaik there is no bs like runes, just cosmetics).
People who want to promote a F2P model really need to go along that route because it's more attractive. HoN had the market locked with that sort of shit, but S2's terrible management ran that game into the ground.
I mean, sure, it can still fall under P2W because you are disadvantaged by not being able to select from the whole range of characters, but it is far less of a distance than say LoL's 'f2p' system.
Return to The Fast and the Spurious
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests


text:
WOODSTOCK – A former McHenry police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to theft and official misconduct, admitting that he took seized drug money.
Dale A. Hojnacki, 36, was charged in April after a routine department audit discovered the money was missing.
Hojnacki initially was charged with two counts of theft under $10,000 and later indicted on an additional five counts of official misconduct. He pleaded guilty to one count of each charge, both Class 3 felonies, with the remaining counts dismissed.
Hojnacki entered a blind plea, meaning there is no agreement with prosecutors as to his sentence. He faces up to five years in prison but also is eligible for probation.
As part of the plea, there will be no other charges against Hojnacki stemming from his employment by the McHenry Police Department.
Sentencing in front of McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather is scheduled for March 8.
An 11-year veteran of the department, Hojnacki resigned after being charged.
He had been a patrolman at the time of his resignation, but was a detective from December 2009 to November 2011.
Hojnacki was not assigned to the evidence vault and was not an evidence custodian, McHenry Police Chief John Jones has said.
A McHenry County State's Attorney's Office letter indicated that prosecutors believed at one point that Hojnacki also might have been taking narcotics from sealed evidence bags.
In a May letter to the then-president of the McHenry County Bar Association, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs said he wanted lawyers to be aware of potential evidentiary problems related to all McHenry Police Department arrests.
"A subsequent investigation has revealed that Officer Hojnacki may have tampered with narcotics evidence," Combs wrote. "The McHenry [P]olice [D]epartment has reason to believe that Officer Hojnacki has been opening sealed evidence bags and removing narcotics."
Because of a gag order put in place at the request of Hojnacki's attorneys, Combs has been unable to comment about the results of an additional audit of the evidence room by an outside agency.
The Northwest Herald filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of that audit, which was denied by Judge Prather.
However, Prather said that once the case is completed, she will reconsider. Until then, she said, the gag order stands.
Chief Jones declined to comment Tuesday, saying he also was bound by the gag order.
"I want to speak, but there's a gag order, and I'm respecting that gag order," he said.
Shortly after Hojnacki's arrest, Jones released a statement saying that he thought Hojnacki's actions were "despicable."
Hojnacki deserved to prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, Jones said.
"I will not tolerate any act that makes him no better than the criminals we arrest on a daily basis," Jones said.


text:
Welcome to ChicagoNow.
our bloggers,
post comments, or
pitch your blog idea.
Born in the mean streets of Oak Park but raised in the Northwest Suburbs of Addison. I've been fortunate enough to meet the likes of Derrick Rose, Brian Urlacher, and Devin Hester to say they're world class athletes but also exceptional people.
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
- Michael Jordan


text:
On Wednesday, January 28th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – also known as the Stimulus Package – by a vote of 244-188. As passed, the bill includes $526.5 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts aimed at jump-starting the nation's economy. Included in the final bill is an amendment offered by Jerrold Nadler (NY) that would boost transit spending in the bill from $9 billion to $12 billion. Half of this additional money would be spread across all states and the other half would go directly to new mass transit projects.
Before coming to the House floor, the House Rules Committee eliminated two provisions from the Stimulus Package; a family planning provision and a provision to provide funding for the National Mall. The Mall funding would have been used to address the $350 million backlog of repair, maintenance, and preservation work on the National Mall which may have led to several landscape architecture jobs and contracting opportunities.
The Senate now begins working on its version of the measure where Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (MT) "pledged to work with Senators on a variety of additional tax provisions to the bill."
Kevin FryDirector, PR and Communications firstname.lastname@example.com JR Taylor PR Coordinator email@example.com


text:
When I look at the sky so blue,
I sit there and think of you.
When I look at the clouds so white,
I know I'll dream of you tonight.
When your not with me I'm so sad and blue,
I can't stand not being with you.
You make me feel happy when I am sad,
when your around I could never feel bad.
But that all ended so tragically…
I was so blind,
how could I not see?
That you were not the one for me,
and we were never ment to be.
I broke your heart and you broke mine,
I thought it would work out in time.
But it didn't and now we're through,
All I know is I still love you.
This post was submitted by Gidget.
Category: Break Up Poems, Sad Love PoemsEmail This Poem To Your Friend
More Poems
Be first to comment


text:
Sometimes we change user story scope to complete it during the iteration. For example,
Original story (8 points): As a user i want to save my data as PDF.
De-Scoped story: As a user i want to save my text data as PDF.
Now do i need to decrease the size of the de-scoped story as well?
What do you do in such cases and why?


text:
Sheet music downloads have become the preferred method of acquiring classical music repertoire. Created by professional musicians, EveryNote.com presents classical sheet music download of over 20.000 popular and hard-to-find music scores over 1000 composers. A major Internet provider of classical sheet music files download online, EveryNote.com offers the largest and most complete digital sheet music download library on the Web in the world. Instantly download, view and print your favorite classical music score. Everynote.com currently offers thousands of classical music compositions for Piano, Violin, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Classical Guitar, Voice, Chamber and Choral music.Many more instruments, composers, genres added every day! EveryNote.com has been featured in The New York Times, Globe and Mail, Musical America and many other publications.
Agustin Barrios (Mangore)1885 - 1944
Agustin Barrios short biography
Born in Paraguay, Agustin Barrios was one of the greatest Latin American virtuoso guitarist and one of the most creative performers. Barrios, a super romantic composer, is closely identified with the Indian culture of Paraguay. Barrios adopted an Indian name Mangore and often appeared in Indian costume in concerts. Barrios's compositions are under influence of J.S. Bach's, whom he admired as well as Chopin and Latin American folk music.
More Classical Guitar sheet music download on EveryNote.com
Classical Guitar sheet music download on EveryNote.com
Web design by Web design SEO & Hosting Company - iGenii inc


text:
To resolve this issue, upgrade to iOS 5 or later and iMovie for iOS 1.2.2 or later. iMovie for iOS 1.2.2 includes expanded support for videos imported from external cameras.
iMovie for iOS: Some video clips do not appear in the Video browser
After importing or transferring video clips from an external camera to your iPad 2 or later, iPhone 4 or later, or iPod touch (4th generation), the video clips may not appear in the Video browser within iMovie.
Published Date:


text:
You have no items in your shopping basket.
Each printer cartridge is guaranteed to work with your LEXMARK C950de, or your money back.
LEXMARK C950de Black Toner Cartridge
Original LEXMARK C950X2KG High Yield Toner Cartridge
LEXMARK C950X2KG (C950X2KG) C950 BLACK EXTRA HY C950de Toner 36K
Part code: C950X2KG£393.34 £327.78 ex. VAT
Out of stock
LEXMARK C950de Cyan Toner Cartridge
Genuine LEXMARK C950X2CG High Yield Toner Cartridge
LEXMARK C950X2CG (C950X2CG) C950 CYAN EXTRA HY C950de Toner 22K
Part code: C950X2CG
LEXMARK C950de Magenta Toner Cartridge
Original LEXMARK C950X2MG High Yield Toner Cartridge
LEXMARK C950X2MG (C950X2MG) C950 MAGENTA EXTRA HY C950de Toner 22K
Part code: C950X2MG
LEXMARK C950de Yellow Toner Cartridge
Original LEXMARK C950X2YG High Yield Toner Cartridge
LEXMARK C950X2YG (C950X2YG) C950 YELLOW EXTRA HY C950de Toner 22K
Part code: C950X2YG
Cheap Lexmark C950de Laser Toners
At Ink Factory we sell the printer supplies that we believe offer the best combination of quality and value for your Lexmark printer; wherever possible we offer a recycled or compatible brand of cartridge in addition to the original C950de cartridges.
Genuine Lexmark printer cartridges are manufactured by Lexmark , whereas compatible or remanufactured print cartridges are not. If you are looking for cheap replacement toner, the alternative brands will offer a similar quality print to the C950de toners, but at a lower price.
FREE UK delivery
UK delivery is free when you spend £10 pounds or more. We dispatch most orders with Royal Mail, but we may choose to send an order by courier instead.
Your printer warranty unaffected
Using an alternative to the "Big Brand" will not invalidate your printer warranty.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Not satisfied? Get in touch with our Customer Service team and we'll sort out the problem.
FREE UK delivery
Earn Reward Points for every £1 spent
Award-winning customer service
inkfactory.com is rated 4.8 / 5 based on over 23,000 real customer reviews at eKomi
Lexmark printers that use the same toner cartridges as the C950de
(Useful if you're thinking of buying a new or additional printer and want to use the same replacement toners)


text:
If you're a New Member, then you MUST start here in order to gain full access to the Audizine community pages. Read through the Stickies and then post a hello in order to receive an account upgrade.
© 2001-2019 Audizine, Audizine.com, and Driverzines.com
Audizine is an independently owned and operated automotive enthusiast community and news website.
Audi and the Audi logo(s) are copyright/trademark Audi AG. Audizine is not endorsed by or affiliated with Audi AG.


text:
Product Description
Air Jordan Ele-Mentary Backpack+3.5mm Anti Dust for Cellphone/iPad/MP3 (Black). Iconic style is a breeze with the kid-friendly Air Jordan Ele-Mentary Backpack. Ideal for storing school books, notebooks and even your laptop, the main compartment offers a large space you can really use. Adjust the padded shoulder straps for serious comfort as you dash off to class, while elephant print details and the Jordan Jumpman logo add swag to your look. Ditch that boring backpack and rep one of the greatest hoops superstars ever with this go-everywhere backpack.. Air Jordan Ele-Mentary Backpack+3.5mm Anti Dust for Cellphone/iPad/MP3 (Black)


text:
"... I'm sitting exactly where I belong."
In 1987, Lee Weingrad '66 (philosophy) first traveled to Tibet in search of the 500-year-old Surmang Dutsi-til, the fabled hill of elixir of immortality. What he found instead were impoverished nomads whose hardscrabble existence was a day-to-day struggle for survival.
At 43, Weingrad was changed by the experience. In 1988, the onetime gem wholesaler founded the Surmang Foundation in the remote Surmang region of Qinghai, China. The organization's centerpiece is a health clinic that, over the last 10 years, has provided free medical care to more than 150,000 patients — with a focus on mothers and children. The region in northwest China has among the highest infant and maternal mortality in the world, but Weingrad says the foundation already is reversing the trend.
"We've reduced maternal mortality to zero. The only complaint I've heard is that we didn't get there 10 years earlier," he says from his office in Beijing, China, where he lives with his wife and two children. The foundation has trained 40 community health workers who meet with pregnant women and provide health awareness, attend births and refer patients to the clinic when more care is needed.
Despite their privations — the inhabitants of Surmang earn about 15 cents a day — the population remains happy and generous, says Weingrad, the foundation's CEO. "For me, the awards are mainly spiritual," he says. "Even though there are serious cultural, financial and managerial challenges, I can say that I love my life and I'm sitting exactly where I belong."
The foundation's efforts haven't gone unnoticed by the Chinese government. After the 6.9-magnitude Yushu earthquake of 2010, officials plan to use Weingrad's health care model as a prototype for sustainable rural care practices. In a region that often lacks electricity and phone service — "It's like going back 500 years in time" — the foundation has begun to use iPads to create patient records and consult with Beijing hospitals to provide remote diagnoses, when necessary.
The Surmang Foundation is one of the few international nonprofits in Tibet, which can be like "walking on eggshells," Weingrad says. Although they share an ancient history, it took military action to incorporate Tibet into the newly formed People's Republic of China. But Weingrad keeps his focus on how to help.
"Looking back on my arrival there 26 years ago, I thought I had reached my destination in life," he says. "I realize now that I had only reached the bus depot. I think the best is yet to come."


text:
AP: Gun industry thriving during Obama presidency
WASHINGTON President Obama has presided over a heyday for the gun industry despite predictions by the powerful U.S. gun lobby four years ago that he would be the "most anti-gun president in American history." Gun buyers fear that Mr. Obama wants to restrict their purchases, especially if he were re-elected.
An analysis by The Associated Press of data tracking the health of the gun industry shows that sales are on the rise, so much that some gun manufacturers cannot make enough guns fast enough. Major gun company stock prices are up. The number of federally licensed, retail gun dealers is increasing for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The lobby, the National Rifle Association, a gun advocacy group, is bursting with cash and political clout. And Washington has expressed little interest in passing new gun laws, despite renewed calls to do so after recent deadly shootings in the states of Colorado and Wisconsin.
Mr. Obama has made no promises to impose new gun control legislation and does not have the support in Congress or among voters even if he did. During this week's presidential debate, Mr. Obama suggested renewing a U.S. ban on assault weapons and coming up with an overall strategy to reduce violence, but both Mr. Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said the government needs to enforce gun laws already on the books.
"The driver is President Obama. He is the best thing that ever happened to the firearm industry," said Jim Barrett, an industry analyst at C.L. King & Associates Inc. in New York.
Tennessee lawyer Brian Manookian said he never considered himself a gun enthusiast like others in his state. He owns only one handgun. But the firearms industry has proved so lucrative for him that he is enthusiastic now. Manookian and his business partner, Gary Semanchik, opened a $5 million firearms retail and training complex in September in Nashville.
Inventory is selling three to four times faster than they expected since the facility opened.
"It is a very strong investment," Manookian said.
Others agree. For the first time since 1993, the number of federally licensed retail gun dealers in the U.S. increased slightly in 2010 and 2011, as the country added 1,167 more licensed retail gun dealers, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives records. After the assault weapons ban in 1994, the number of gun dealerships dropped annually until 2010. As of October 2012, there were 50,812 retail gun dealers - that's 3,303 more than in 2009.
"Business has been very good," said Frederick Prehn, who a year ago opened a small gun store above his dentistry practice in Wausau, Wisconsin. In the past year, Prehn has relocated twice to larger spaces and gone from one employee to eight.
Some gun store owners can't keep shelves stocked, said Brian Jones, owner of Bullseye Shooter's supply in Painted Post, New York. Jones said he opened his gun store in November 2010. In his first year, Jones said he sold between 600 and 700 guns. A little more than halfway through his second year, he's already sold 700.
For the first time in the company's history, Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. stopped taking orders for a couple months this year. Ruger, one of the nation's largest gun manufacturers, has since resumed taking orders, though gun-sellers say demand is still outpacing production.
Mr. Obama is not yet through his first term, but the federal government already has conducted about as many background checks for gun owners and prospective buyers on his watch as it did during the first six years of George W. Bush's presidency. In the first 3 1/2 years of the Bush administration, the FBI conducted about 28 million background checks. During the same period of the Obama administration, the FBI conducted more than 50 million. The gun industry uses the number of background checks on gun owners as a reliable indicator of demand.
Ruger and Smith & Wesson represent nearly 30 percent of the U.S. gun manufacturing industry and lead the market in production of pistols and revolvers, according to government statistics. The two companies have been running production lines around the clock, hiring workers and operating at maximum capacity, said Barrett, an industry analyst who also owns Ruger stock.
Ruger's sales have increased 86 percent since Mr. Obama took office, and Smith & Wesson's sales have gone up nearly 44 percent, compared with 18 percent for overall national retail sales.
And the companies have big expectations for the industry's future, as they're spending more money on research and development than ever before.
"Wouldn't you want to be in a business where customers are just begging to hand you money?" said Bill Bernstein, owner of East Side Gun Shop in Nashville, Tennessee.
The NRA itself has done well, too. The lobbying organization has had more cash on hand during the Obama years than it did since 2004, finishing 2010 with more than $24 million, according to the most recent figures available.
"Which makes it incredibly ironic that the gun lobby is opposing Obama," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Gross said Mr. Obama, who initially campaigned to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired under Bush, has done what he said was "disappointingly little" on gun control.
But the gun lobby says the success of the industry does not indicate that Mr. Obama is good for Second Amendment rights.
"This is the most dangerous election in our lifetimes," NRA chief executive officer Wayne LaPierre said in February, a point he's made regularly during the NRA's campaign to defeat Mr. Obama.
The NRA stands by its 2008 predictions that Mr. Obama would be anti-gun. NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam noted Mr. Obama's appointment of two Supreme Court justices whom the NRA considers anti-gun, plus Mr. Obama's support of a United Nations arms trade treaty and the botched gun-walking operation called Fast and Furious, which the NRA believes was concocted as part of a plan to enforce new gun restrictions.
"Gun owners and hunters fear that a second Obama administration with no future political campaigns to worry about will try to destroy this great American freedom," Arulanandam said.
It is hard to find a single aspect of the gun world that isn't thriving.
Fears of a Democratic president taking office and issuing stricter gun control laws led to an initial spike in gun sales in 2008, giving gun dealers some of the highest profit margins they've ever seen. But even after it became clear Mr. Obama was not going to make gun control a priority as president, the industry has continued to do well.
Fear of crime may be driving some sales. The number of violent crimes rose by 18 percent in the U.S. in 2011, according to Justice Department figures released this week. It was the first year-to-year increase for violent crime since 1993, marking the end of a long string of declines.
Firearms sales typically increase during poor economic times, said Steve Sanetti, chief executive officer and president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the industry. More Americans are hunting and shooting for recreation as well, he said. Sanetti attributes that to military servicemen and women with firearms experience returning to civilian life and wanting to keep up with shooting as a pastime. He also said recreational shooting is a relatively cheap and accessible hobby, drawing in new buyers.
Voters have made clear that gun control isn't a priority. A recent AP-National Constitution Center poll found that 49 percent of adults felt laws limiting gun ownership infringe on the public's right to bear arms, while 43 percent said such laws do not infringe on those rights. After the recent mass shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, 52 members of Congress sponsored a bill to track bulk sales of ammunition, but the legislation went nowhere.


text:
ANAMOSA, IA – JULY 10, 2013 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Each summer nestled in the corn fields of Eastern Iowa, the aftermarket motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel retailer J&P Cycles holds one of the largest two day events in the Midwest! The 2013 event was no exception.
The 34th Annual J&P Cycles Open House Rally surpassed the 30,000 mark for visitors the weekend of June 29-30, 2013. Of those who attended, more than 20 different states were represented including California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York.
Those in attendance experienced a great weekend of motorcycle-themed fun! Two of the stars from the hit television show Sons of Anarchy, Tommy Flanagan who plays Filip "Chibs" Telford and Ryan Hurst who plays Harry "Opie" Winston signed autographs on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. 1 Wheel Revolution wowed the crowd with their wheelies and burnouts.
Customers saved all weekend long and were able to see some of the hottest new products in the motorcycle industry with more than 110 vendors on site.
The J&P Cycles Open House Rally started out as a small Customer Appreciation Day held by co-founders John and Jill Parham to thank their customers for their business throughout the year. Now, as the world's largest aftermarket retailer of parts and accessories for Harley-Davidson®, Cruiser, Gold Wing and Sport Bike motorcycles, this event has turned into a two-day rally and, outside of Sturgis, is one of the only places in the Midwest to see this many motorcycle manufacturers in one area.
J&P Cycles General Manager Zach Parham, and the son of co-founders John and Jill Parham, has been a part of the J&P Cycles Open House Rally since he was a youngster. "A lot of work goes into putting this event together each year, so seeing the motorcycles roll in on Saturday morning is truly humbling," he says. "At some point, we thought we would hit a cap regarding attendees and each year we go above and beyond the previous year's records. Next year is our 35th anniversary, so we're hoping to hit the 35,000 mark."
A silent auction held on both Saturday and Sunday raised just over $7,000 for the National Motorcycle Museum. Thank you to the generous vendors and manufacturers who donated the fantastic silent auction items. Additionally, thousands of dollars in products were donated and given away to those in attendance in the way of free door prizes.
Eastern Iowa non-profit Camp Courageous of Iowa raised a tremendous amount of money thanks to the generosity of J&P Cycles® customers. Water stations were set up throughout the grounds, manned by Camp Courageous volunteers. Donations were accepted on behalf of the organization and when the event was complete, $14,700 was raised.
All-in-all it was truly a spectacular time!! Next year's event is scheduled for June 28 and 29, 2014, so it's not too early to make plans to attend! Thank you again to all who attended!
About J&P Cycles
J&P Cycles is the world's largest retailer of aftermarket parts and accessories for Harley-Davidson and V-Twin Cruiser motorcycles. In business for 34 years, we carry a full line of products from the brands you trust: Kuryakyn, Vance & Hines, Performance Machine, Mustang Seats and many more. J&P Cycles carries tens of thousands of items in stock, in print and online, delivers the best customer service and return policy in the industry. For more information, visit www.jpcycles.com and start building your dream today!


text:
What's your favorite Belmont market?
Eddie Turner: "Gibson's, because I've been going there since I was a kid."
Jorge Moreno: "The B&R Market, because it's very close to my home, and they have everything I need."
Margie Halstead: "The B&R Market, because it's convenient, clean, and they have courteous people. If they're closed, I go down the street to Stoney's Market."


text:
NBC Announces Midseason Premiere Dates: When Does The Bible Sequel A.D. Debut?
Dec 12, 2014 6:39 PM EST
Hallelujah! We now have a date for the second coming... of producer Mark Burnett's religious miniseries The Bible. NBC announced its midseason premiere dates Friday, with top-billing going to its risky miniseries A.D. The 12-hour… Read more


text:
The Bromley from Mosley Tribes boasts an over-sized frame and a fresh, modern design. They are constructed with acetate and metal, feature the Mosley ...Tribes logo and are available in an array of colors. The Bromley also comes packaged with a cleaning cloth and case.
Size 62mm Temple 138mm Read More
Sneakerhead.com will issue you a FREE return label if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase. Learn more
Create an account today and start earning points you can redeem for discounts, goods & more.
Get the sneakers & goods you want, shipped to your part of the globe. Int'l Shipping details.


text:
A cat, an economist and a big slice of don't give a damn walk into a bar
I'm sorry but I just can't take this cat culling issue seriously at all.
I've got nothing against cats, but sweet Jesus I wish we could be as concerned about the 270 000 kids in poverty, 7.3% unemployment & the highest inequality rate ever recorded in our country as much as we care about bloody cats.
The country is having our assets flogged off to rich investors while most NZers can't even buy a home in their own country as a right wing Government slash public services, but the issue we want to fire up about is about cats?
I expect Seven Sharp will do an entire month on this one issue which will culminate in a flashmob of 10 000 cats and their owners descending upon Parliament where John Key and Ali Mau will personally do a special Gangnam styles dance for all of them.


text:
I have been engaged with the use and development of technology in one form or another since I was young, and am currently pursuing a career as a software developer. It's not all roses, however: I take a fairly radical and critical stance towards the adoption of technology in society.
I founded this Appium-focused consultancy to meet the need of large companies trying to be successful with the tool. Especially in large and complex testsuites or organizational structures, it's easy to wind up with a sub-optimal Appium setup. Cloud Grey offers training, testsuite architecture, and a host of other services. Cloud Grey also publishes Appium Pro, a weekly newsletter including interesting Appium-related tips and tricks.
I previously worked as Director of Open Source at the San Francisco-based cloud testing company Sauce Labs. At Sauce, I worked on many aspects of the architecture of our web and mobile testing cloud, from backend infrastructure (Python) to frontend interactivity (JavaScript). I built out the Open Source Engineering Team. Our mission was to make sure that the open source projects at the center of our world (Selenium and Appium) stayed awesome, and that the ecosystem that surrounded our core products received as much attention as it deserved. Of course, I spent much of my time leading and maintaining the Appium project.
My (probably not up-to-date) CV is available for download here:
I am passionate about open source and have contributed to a number of projects. Most notably, I am the architect and project lead for Appium [source], a popular cross-platform, language-agnostic mobile app testing framework.
I'm also an active member of the Node.js and JavaScript communities, and maintain the following projects:
The best place to find up-to-date information about my open source involvement is my GitHub profile.
I've spoken at dozens of conferences and meetups around the world on various topics, mainly to do with automated web and mobile app testing, and open source development. Here are a few links to videos and slides of presentations I've given:
I have co-founded two companies and have several other side projects which I maintain:
I was the CTO and co-founder (with Daniel Conrad) of this social recommendations startup. Rather than giving people a list of business to try, we approached the recommendations problem with the idea that recommendations are highly relative to someone's needs and desires. So we built a mechanism for succinctly stating those desires in the form of a question which people answered---these answers were recommendations which were reused around the site.
I was the CTO and co-founder (with Brad Wolfe) of this startup designed to bring creativity and inspiration to online engagement. We encouraged people to add their own creations to the community; along with each creation was its "backlight", i.e., the story of what inspired that creation. We built an amazing community of people and a library of inspiring content. We were also a part of the 2008 fbFund REV accelerator class.
Expenseus is a side project that arose out of a frustration with group expense reimbursement. When you go on a trip with your friends, or when you live in a house with 5 others and share expenses throughout the course of the month, it can be difficult to remember who owes who what. Expenseus keeps track of things and will calculate the smallest possible reimbursement graph that evens everything out. Over 3,000 happy monthly active users of this free service!
I enjoy thinking critically about the technological enterprise in the modern era, and write about this topic frequently on my blog. I am currently blogging through a book on the philosophy of technology by Albert Borgmann, called Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. I recommend starting at the 'Blogging Borgmann' series overview.
As listed above, I've also started trying to give presentations on the philosophy of technology. My first bid in this area was at LXJS 2014, a talk called The Internet of Nothings.
Subsequently, I presented a paper at SPT2015, the bi-annual international conference for the philosophy of technology. I spoke about open source software and Albert Borgmann's Device Paradigm.
In 2017, I presented a keynote speech at SauceCon, on The Philosophy and Future of Automation, touching on a variety of social, historical, and philosophical topics.
I've been playing music for as long as I can remember. Starting with a few years of piano lessons as a child, I opted to switch to trumpet when it came to school. From 6th to 12th grade I practiced just enough to stay involved in the marching bands, concert bands, and jazz bands at my high schools. I also composed for piano and full wind ensemble.
In my junior year of high school, I had two life-changing experiences: first, I took Music Theory AP. Second, I began playing guitar. These two things defined my musical experience through the present. I explored pop, rock, alternative, punk, and ska music for the first time, and started writing songs with words. That meant that I also sang them; and eventually, my voice got good enough for me to appreciate my own music. In the last 15 years since I started playing guitar, I've written and recorded over 60 different songs, and have performed at numerous venues, most notably while on tour with my friends' band, The New Frontiers.
Splendour Hyaline is the indie rock band I started with my brother David Lipps in 2003. I write the songs, play guitars & bass, and sing. David plays drums, produces, records, mixes, masters, and plays a bit of synth. Some of our music is available for free at our NoiseTrade page. Here is our discography:
Hope: A Sliver, Like the Moon (2006, rereleased 2014)
iTunes · Play · Amazon · Spotify · Rdio · Beats · NoiseTrade
This EP was recorded with full band at Spareroom Studios in Orlando, FL.
Regarding Present Fears (2004, rereleased 2014)
iTunes · Play · Amazon · Spotify · Rdio · Beats · NoiseTrade
This EP was recorded at Spareroom Studios in Orlando, FL.
Between (2003)
The very first Splendour Hyaline record, and the inaugural Spareroom Studios project.
Christmas is probably our favorite holiday, and so we've occasionally produced little EPs of our own renditions of Christmas music.
The Holly and the Ivy (2008)
Holy Night (2006)
Christmas (2005)
Speaking of Christmas, my wife Jessica and I collaborated one year on an advent album, under the moniker Bird & Babe. It highlights the contrasting emotions and experiences of waiting characteristic of the advent season.
Northern Star (2012) [NoiseTrade]
I've also worked on several other projects in a solo fashion:
Suite Apocalyptique (2007) [Download]
I wrote this album while on sabbatical at Schloss Mittersill, a castle in the Austrian alps. It was inspired by NT Wright's Christian Origins and the Question of God series, a magisterial work on the origins of the Christian religion within its historico-cultural context. The album is thus accompanied by a bit of an explanation.
Science Fiction (2006) [Download]
This album is the result of a lot of experimentation with composing using electronic instruments and the exploration of more subtle emotional landscapes.
I have loved learning and playing with languages ever since I was young. Like many, it was discovering the wealth of creativity in J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional tongues that opened up a world of fascination with language. It showed me language as a vehicle for expression and exploration, not just communication.
Of course I ended up creating constructed languages ('conlangs') of my own, though none of them ever became very complete. The most fleshed-out project was a language called Enaselvai, which has some pretty obvious affinities with pre-existing natural languages like Latin. I even wrote a paper about constructed languages and the structure of Enaselvai. You can see some of its script to the right.
Eventually I felt that I wanted to approach language and the study of language itself in a less amateur fashion. So I did an MPhil in the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology, & Phonetics at Oxford University, supported by a scholarship at Jesus College.
In this program I had several areas of focus:
Thanks to the wonderful instruction I received from my professors, and especially my supervisor Mary Dalrymple, my MPhil thesis was submitted to the Oxford Research Archive for digital publication, and featured on the department's website as having earned a distinction.
When I went off to college, I was planning on majoring in computer science. The trouble is, I'd also taken to exploring and debating some of the Big Questions, like God's existence, etc... Nothing was quite so stimulating as trying to get to the bottom of the cosmological argument, to see whether it really worked or not.
So, when the computer science department couldn't figure out where I should start when I asked them on my first day of college, I decided to focus on philosophy for a while. Ultimately, I had such a good time I stuck with it. I've still never made any money as a philosopher, but I certainly feel like a professional! The irony is that I went ahead and became a career technologist anyway.
I got my BA (2004) during some wonderful years as an undergraduate at the Stanford Philosophy Department. I can still remember mind-exploding moments in the Philosophy of Mind or Logic courses I took. And the Philosophy of Language seminars no doubt had something to do with my eventual studies in linguistics.
While at Stanford I also took advantage of their co-terminal degree program, which enabled me to work towards and receive an MA in Philosophy as well, also in 2004. As a grad student, I had the rewarding experience of TAing a course on medical ethics, as well as some truly fascinating exposure to the philosophy of quantum mechanics, wherein I finally learned some linear algebra.
In my MA I had several areas of concentration:
One of the most interesting philosophical subjects for me in recent years, and I think one of the most currently relevant for modern society, is the philosophy of technology. In this (nascent) subject, we ask questions about what technology is in essence, and what our relationship to it is. We could also move into ethics and ask what relationship technology has to pre-existing norms, whether it imposes its own norms, or whether there should be any norms for us in our engagement with it.
As a computer programmer by trade, I've spent a lot of time with technology on the ground. More recently, I've been trying to view it through a more critical lens. My favorite guide so far into this world is Albert Borgmann, author of Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. It's so insightful I decided to blog through each chapter in the hopes of making it more accessible to a less academically-trained audience: Blogging Borgmann. I even had the opportunity to interview Professor Borgmann, which you can read all about at Interviewing Borgmann.
In 2015, I expanded on some of Albert Borgmann's work, applying it to the area of Open Source Software. I presented a paper at SPT2015, the international conference for the philosophy of technology, in Shenyang, China. The paper is available as an early draft at my academia.edu profile.
I've been trying to engage my community of software developers with conversations about issues in the philosophy of technology. In 2014, I was able to give a keynote presentation at LXJS in Lisbon, where I communicated ideas from Albert Borgmann and Jaron Lanier.
I also have a strong interest in theology. You might say that I'm a theological philosopher (rather than a philosophical theologian---man, those guys can get pretty boring!). Theology for me is the study of the ground of meaning, which is why it deals with God. For many, including myself, God is a ground of meaning, but even if that weren't the case, it wouldn't turn out that we didn't have a theology (in the way I've defined it). Matters of ultimate personal concern are thus theological in this sense, whether someone believes in God or not.
It's for this reason that I'm interested in 'theology' rather than 'religious studies'. It's not that religion isn't interesting, it's that 'religious studies' takes a perspective which tends to not acknowledge that there might even be matters of ultimate personal concern, or that if there are, they can even be talked about! I prefer to bite the bullet and talk theology.
I like to take pictures when I go on trips. I think the secret to good photography is having something nice to take a picture of, and when I'm on trips I tend to be a bit more observant of such things. I'm certainly not as good at remembering to take pictures as my wife, however, and I have a small fear of photographing people. But I love photographing nature and architecture. Ever since I got a decent camera I've been playing around with angles and lighting.
A fair amount of my photography can be found at my Flickr profile, but for some reason I haven't been keeping it up to date. So I've put some low-quality highlights here for your viewing pleasure!
Some uncaptioned photos I've taken over the last 10 or so years, roughly in order of date taken.
Welcome to the online homepage of Jonathan Lipps! Harking back to an era before social media rendered personal pages superfluous, this website is meant to inform you, dear reader, of everything (indeed, probably much more than) you need to know about me.
I'd say this site is designed around the embarrassing theme that I can't be interested in just one thing. Of course, I like to think that variety of pursuits leads to a more satisfying and integrated life. So I've selected some of the most prominent of these interests to showcase in their own sections; simply click on the links to the left to get where you need to go.
It's hard to say where I'm from. Before I was 6 years old I'd lived in Arizona, California, and Papua New Guinea. I spent my growing-up years in a little town outside of Dallas called Cedar Hill, TX. When we moved there it was a small town of about 10,000, and now it has become a booming suburbopolis, replete with all the big box stores your heart desires and a Macaroni Grill.
Anyway, I finished up high school in Orlando, FL, and went off to college in sunny California at Stanford University in Palo Alto (BA/MA in Philosophy). Since then I've more or less been based around the San Francisco Bay Area, with two notable exceptions: I spent the better part of a year in Kenya at the Tumaini Children's Home in Nyeri, helping to start Hope Runs. And then I spent two years in Oxford, UK, working on another masters degree, this time in Linguistics.
In the middle of all these adventures, I met the woman who eventually agreed to marry me: the wonderful Jessica Kuras Lipps. We now live together in Vancouver, Canada.
You might think that the 5 categories to the left are more than enough for me to be interested in. Not so fast! Here are some other things I love:
It seems fashionable these days to talk about what goes into making a website. So here's all the tools and technologies that were involved in the making of this lovingly hand-coded page:


text:
Irish Rovers: Home In Ireland
|Episode Description
|Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 - 10:00 AM
Filmed entirely on location in Northern Ireland, THE IRISH ROVERS: HOME IN IRELAND celebrates 45 years of the hits made famous by the rollicking Irish Rovers. Known for such folksy jigs as "The Unicorn," "Wasn't That a Party," "Grandma Got Run-Over by a Reindeer," "Whiskey on a Sunday" and "The Black Velvet Band," their songs have become anthems of revelry and joy for generations of fans. With three award-winning television series to their credit, the group takes to the small screen once again to share their love of music and their native land. D
|More Irish Rovers: Home In Ireland on PLUS (PT)
Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 - 10:00 AM


text:
Bake the Book: White Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dried Cherry Sauce
Get the Recipe
White chocolate makes this rice pudding from Southern Living: Classic Southern Desserts just a little more decadent. Sweet and creamy, topped with a slightly tart and citrus-forward cherry sauce, this is a pudding you can whip up on a weekday or make as a holiday dessert.
Tips: If you can't find dried cherries (though they should be readily available in the bulk aisle of a natural foods store, if not your regular grocer), substitute dried cranberries, just make sure they haven't had sugar added to them. Also, be sure to peel the ginger before you grate it.
Tweaks: The rice pudding is plenty sweet on its own without an additional 6 ounces of sugar from the dried cherry sauce. Cut it down to 1/4 cup for a better sweet/tart contrast.
Get the Recipe
White Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dried Cherry Sauce »
As always with our Bake the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'Classic Southern Desserts' to give away.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.


text:
Sept. 21, 2009
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Freshman Juliet Levangie (Middleboro, MA/Coyle-Cassidy HS) of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's women's tennis team has been honored by the Little East Conference.
Levangie was named Little East Conference Women's Tennis Rookie Player of the Week.
Levangie defeated Shaine Cyr at number one singles, 6-0, 6-1, and teamed with junior Blair Dalrymple (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro HS) to defeat Lacey Mailman and Megan Cooper at number three doubles, 8-1, as the defending champion Corsairs won their second consecutive LEC match Saturday by winning at Plymouth State, 8-1. The matches were the first for Levangie at UMD.
"As an incoming freshman, she's earned her way into the lineup," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Ralph Perry. "Now that she's healthy and playing solidly at number six for us, I have high expectations, and so does she. She has a great attitude, and nice strokes, and if she continues to win, it will help our team tremendously."
UMass Dartmouth is 3-0 and will return to action when they visit Simmons Thursday.


text:
Misreported data raises questions about college rankings
Tulane University officials were preparing to send statistics to U.S. News & World Report for its annual graduate school rankings when they noticed something peculiar in early December: sharp drops in admissions test scores and applications to their business school.
Their curiosity became alarm and then embarrassment, as the New Orleans university discovered and disclosed that the business school's admissions figures from previous years had been falsified. Soon afterward, Bucknell University in Pennsylvania announced that for several years it had reported inflated SAT scores for incoming students.
These and similar revelations in the past year have come from Claremont McKenna College in California, Emory University in Atlanta and George Washington University in the District. In each case, the highly regarded schools acknowledged that they had submitted incorrect test scores or overstated the high school rankings of their incoming freshmen.
At a time of intense competition for high-achieving students, the episodes have renewed debate about the validity of the U.S. News rankings, which for three decades have served as a kind of Bible for parents and students shopping for colleges.
Much of the information colleges present about themselves to U.S. News, other analysts and the federal government is not independently verified. That makes it impossible to know how many may have misreported data over the years as they angle for prestige to stand out in a crowded market.
"Rankings have become omnipresent in higher education, and they have enhanced the competition among institutions," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, which represents university presidents. "And in any highly competitive environment, there is always a temptation to cut corners."
In some of the recent cases, college officials said an employee intentionally submitted inaccurate data. In others, it was unclear whether the mistake was intentional. GWU attributed its errors to a flaw in data-reporting systems that dated back a decade.
A survey of 576 college admissions officers conducted by Gallup last summer for the online news outlet Inside Higher Ed found that 91 percent believe other colleges had falsely reported standardized test scores and other admissions data. A few said their own college had done so.
"There's definitely a widespread feeling that this goes well beyond those that have been caught or come forward," said Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed's editor.
U.S. News Editor Brian Kelly said the number of schools that have corrected their record is "a pretty small universe," which he considers a sign that reporting problems are not pervasive. He said he would not be surprised if a few more cases emerged.
"If it was a stampede I would be surprised," Kelly said, "and that might cause us to rethink some things."
Kelly acknowledged that a string of revelations from five prominent colleges is unusual. But he said the disclosures should strengthen consumer confidence in U.S. News rankings because they show that schools take the data seriously.
"These are institutions that teach ethics," Kelly said. "If they can't keep their own house in order, they've got a problem. It's their problem, not my problem."
The U.S. News rankings, a major force in higher education since the 1980s, sort colleges and universities into various lists: best in the nation, best in a region, best value and so on.
The rankings are based on complex formulas that U.S. News invented and that it tweaks from time to time. Inputs include surveys of college leaders and college counselors, as well as statistics on graduation rates, class size, faculty salaries, alumni giving and admissions test scores. U.S. News says these formulas help consumers get information they need and want before they choose a school.
Critics contend the rankings are highly subjective and give students a misleading sense that the college experience can be boiled down to numbers. Some colleges refuse to participate in U.S. News surveys -- and receive rankings anyway.
U.S. News has said that 92 percent of 1,391 ranked colleges and universities returned its surveys in 2012. Some colleges have refused to participate because they say the rankings are counterproductive.
"We just don't want to play their game and fill out their forms," said Christopher Nelson, president of St. John's College in Annapolis. He said he couldn't care less that his school is No. 133 on a U.S. News national liberal arts list. "I'd rather be in a place that's unranked."
Claremont McKenna and Emory, both ranked highly on U.S. News lists, revealed last year that they overstated admission test scores and other data related to incoming students that made them appear more selective. GWU said it had overstated the high school class rank of its students, leading U.S. News in November to strip the D.C. school of its ranking, which had been 51st among national universities.
Tulane's discovery of missteps came in December. The dean of the university's Freeman School of Business, relatively new to his position, alerted top university officials about possible misreporting of data. They hired the law firm Jones Day to investigate.
That review found that the statistical profile of full-time students in the master's of business administration program had been wrongly reported from 2007 to 2011. Average Graduate Management Admission Test scores had been "falsely increased" by an average of 35 points on an exam that has a maximum score of 800, the review found, and the number of completed applications had been exaggerated to make the school look more selective than it was.
Tulane said the evidence implicated a former business school employee whom it would not identify. "This was not inadvertent," Tulane Provost Michael Bernstein said. "It was a goal-oriented manipulation."
The business school, which U.S. News had ranked 43rd in the nation for full-time MBA programs, is now unranked. Bernstein said such incidents are especially painful for all of the university officials, students and faculty who are committed to academic honesty.
"When you discover an error, if you discover a lack of integrity, you've got to put a bright light on it and clean it up," Bernstein said.
At Bucknell, a new vice president for enrollment management sounded an alarm recently about admissions statistics. That led to an internal review and public disclosure on Jan. 25 that SAT scores had been overstated by an average of 16 points -- on a 1600-point scale for math and critical reading -- from 2006 through 2012.
When he learned of the problem, Bucknell President John Bravman said, "it was like getting emotionally punched in the gut."
Like Tulane, Bucknell said the episode traced to the actions of a former employee. Bravman said he spoke by telephone with that person recently but ended the conversation in frustration because he didn't get to the bottom of the problem.
"I'm not satisfied that I know what happened, and I'm not going to make something up for you," Bravman said in an interview, adding: "I'm an engineer. To me, accuracy and precision are both important. On that quantitative measure, this failed."
U.S. News higher education analyst Robert Morse, who oversees the college rankings, wrote on a blog Monday that Bucknell's misstep was not significant enough to affect its position, 32nd among national liberal arts colleges.
Bravman, like his peers at the other four schools, said new controls will be instituted to ensure the problem does not recur.
All five reported cases in the past year occurred at private institutions. William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, said that does not mean public universities are immune from data pitfalls. But Kirwan said state oversight and public records laws provide "some safeguard" for the reliability of the statistics. Public universities, he said, "are used to a level of scrutiny and accountability."
Raymond A. Brown, dean of admission at the private Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, said there is a simple way for schools to ensure data accuracy: Hire an auditor. Brown said he has done that with TCU admission statistics for the past decade, a practice apparently unusual for colleges.
"It makes me able to sleep a little easier at night," Brown said. "Kids and families need to be able to rely on the information we're putting out. It is truly that simple. If [the information] we're producing is garbage, that's not helping anybody."


text:
Born and raised in south . . . Manila?
First, let's get the white, bell-bottomed elephant out of the room. Steve Perry, one of the great voices of arena rock, is praised early and often in "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey,'' this inspiring if sometimes slightly by-the-numbers documentary about the rise of his replacement, Arnel Pineda.
We even get to see clips of Perry during Journey's late-'70s/early-'80s heyday. That's a good thing, because Perry, the Howard Hughes of feather-haired rock, can't be ignored. His voice defined one of the biggest bands of an era. It's also a key reason why the tale of Pineda, who debuted as the band's lead singer in 2008, is so stunning. Whether you love Journey or find them too schmaltzy, Perry would appear up there with Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury, and Steven Tyler as one of rock's least-replaceable singers. The fact that Pineda has Perry down, whether hitting the high drama of "Open Arms'' or the rat-a-tat phrasing of "Lights,'' is no small feat. Pineda is also at least one hip replacement more nimble than the now-64-year-old belter, which has allowed Journey to return to an ambitious touring schedule.
So let's talk about the movie. It takes its name from Journey's 1981 hit, a song that's become a part of pop culture as the anthem for the 2005 Chicago White Sox, the finale of "The Sopranos,'' and the unofficial school fight song of "Glee.'' For Pineda, the song provides its own inspiration. Here's a kid from the Philippines who lost his mother at a young age, lived on the streets, and almost saw his music career fizzle in a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. Then he got discovered.
Directed by Ramona S. Diaz, the documentary is for more than Journey fans. It's a tale that uses the common language of the overcoming-adversity doc. We see Pineda back in the Philippines, we see old clips from his previous bands, and we're shown images of shirtless children wandering dirty alleyways in his native country. Who wouldn't cheer for this guy (other than maybe Perry)?
Pineda's got a baby face, slips in and out of English, and has a story that could make Horatio Alger blush. In the Internet age, the idea of a tribute band singer joining his real-life heroes is actually not unheard of. (See: Judas Priest and Boston.) But nobody has a story quite like Pineda's.
He looks decades younger than the grizzled members of Journey, but Pineda's no rookie. He was 39 when, in 2007, a friend posted a series of YouTube videos showing him singing, among other tunes, several Journey songs.
Neal Schon, the band's guitarist and chief songwriter, happened to be surfing the Net. Perry had left in 1998. Two other replacements had come and gone.
"It's like 12 o'clock at night,'' keyboardist Jonathan Cain says. "Neal calls me. I found this kid on YouTube. It's in Manila. I get online in the office. I look, I listen. I call him back. Kid can sing. Great voice. Unbelievable. But can he speak English?''
Diaz made "Don't Stop Believin' '' not knowing whether Journey would approve the film and allow her to use the band's music. In reality, the band would have been nuts to block her. "Don't Stop Believin' '' is a tear-jerking promotional tool, in a way, and it's no surprise band manager John Baruch is listed as an executive producer. Could Diaz have covered the controversy surrounding Perry more? Definitely. She shows the viewer a computer screen with a few anti-Pineda posts – crude, racist cracks from people who appear to have left their copies of Strunk & White at home – and lets Pineda stick a pin in the hate balloon. But the film would have benefited from giving voice to a few legitimate fans who could argue that Journey without Perry is like Queen fronted by Paul Rogers.
In the end, that debate might not matter, anyway. What makes "Don't Stop Believin' '' work is that we're along for every step of Pineda's journey, from his not-so-stunning first day of auditioning to his performances in front of huge crowds to his backstage massages from a masseuse (presumably the band's). We root for him, we feel his love for the music, and realize that whether Journey continues to thrive — or goes the way of Loverboy — at least Pineda got a chance to live out his rock 'n' roll fantasy.


text:
Judee Sill
AlbumsSee All
Singles & EPsSee All
Live AlbumsSee All
Appears OnSee All
About Judee Sill
A singer/songwriter with deeply religious overtones and a penchant for the occult, Judee Sill is one of rock's more interesting and lesser-known stories. The daughter of old Hollywood money, Sill's father died when she was just a child, and her brother died in a car crash soon after, leading to a bleak outlook on life that she expressed in an arty, disaffected attitude. She disliked her stepfather and condemned her mother for remarrying; as a quiet form of vengeance, Sill set out to travel America and live a rambling lifestyle. She had been interested in playing music although was seemingly not serious about it until she began her travels, playing small coffee houses and dives for fun. She and her friends had always been into drugs for recreational and exploratory use, but as Sill stayed out on the road she began using heroin regularly, eventually developing a hundred-fifty-dollar-a-day habit. It was rumored (partly by Sill herself, although never confirmed) that she at one time had to prostitute herself in order to support her addiction.
In the late '60s Sill was busted for heroin possession and served three months in prison, during which time she was able to kick her habit; when she returned to the world at large, she focused solely on making music. She returned to Los Angeles where, through her Hollywood connections, she was introduced to David Geffen. Geffen was in the process of creating Asylum Records, which was to focus exclusively on non-rock material. Taken by Sill's abilities as a writer and performer, Geffen immediately signed her to Asylum; her self-titled debut was also the first official release for the new label.
It was through Geffen that she met Graham Nash, who quickly became a fan, and produced the first single for her album, "Jesus Was a Cross Maker." The rest of Judee Sill was orchestrated and produced by Bob Harris, Sill's ex-husband. Judee Sill was released in 1971 to immediate acclaim. Lushly orchestrated, the album featured Sill's voice in multiple overdubs, often in a four-part chorale or fugue. The album fit in well with the light rock/folk-rock underpinnings of what came to be known as the "Laurel Canyon sound" associated with other female singer/songwriters such as Carole King and Joni Mitchell (Mitchell, also signed to Asylum, was at work on Ladies of the Canyon at the time, which was also produced by Bob Harris). A tour as the opening act for Nash and David Crosby exposed her intimate songwriting and skillful guitar playing to a larger audience, but her record failed to make much of an impact, despite the somewhat heavy airplay of "Jesus Was a Cross Maker." A self-professed perfectionist, one song could often take her a year to write, and it wasn't until late 1972 that Sill returned to record and release her second and last album, Heart Food. It too received enthusiastic reviews but did poorly commercially. Sill took over the chores of both orchestrating and arranging Heart Food, with the production relying more heavily on multilayered strings and lush expanse. Unable to draw a sizable crowd yet unwilling to play as a support act, Sill's name and moderate fame both receded, and she disappeared from view entirely. Rumors abound as to what happened next, although it is definitely known that she returned to her heroin addiction as well as becoming heavily involved with cocaine. Graham Nash has said that he learned as early as 1974 that Sill had died of an overdose, a claim that would later prove to be incorrect, but considering how closely the two had worked only a few years earlier it does illustrate just how completely Sill had dropped out by this time. She never managed a second return from the abyss and Judee Sill, age 35, died of a drug overdose in November of 1979. ~ Alex Stimmel
- Oakland, CA
- Singer/Songwriter
- Oct 7, 1944
Similar ArtistsSee All


text:
How to Use
Map 1: Eastern half of the United States.
Questions for Map 1
1. Locate Little Rock, Arkansas, and Canterbury, Connecticut (where Prudence Crandall operated her boarding school for young African-American women).
2. In what region of the country is Connecticut located? Was slavery permitted in Connecticut at one time? If so, when did it come to an end, before or after the Civil War?
3. In what region of the country is Arkansas located? Was Arkansas a slave state or free state prior to the Civil War?
4. The events that unite Canterbury and Little Rock occurred more than a century apart and in different regions of the country. What does this indicate about the struggle involved in securing civil rights for African Americans?
* The map on the screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Map 1, but be aware that the file may take as much as two minutes to load with a 28.8K modem.


text:
Making Global e-commerce E-asy
Global e-commerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in 2012 and they are expected to grow another 19 percent this year, according to data from research firm eMarketer.com. While North America leads the world in online sales, Asia is expected to take the mantle by the end of this year. China drives Asia's growth and this year it should surpass Japan as the world's second largest e-commerce behind the United States and its $385 billion in online sales.


text:
CPU: Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E3-1245 v2 Processor 3.4 GHz
When upgrading RAM to more than 24GB, the original 4GB RAM modules must be removed.
For the information of RAM module installation and compatible NAS models, please refer to the QNAP RAM Module Installation Guide
Flash Memory: 512MB DOM
Hard Drive: 18 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA 6Gb/s, SAS/SATA 3Gb/s hard drive or SSD hard drive
The standard system is shipped without hard drives.
For the hard drive compatibility list, please visit Compatibility list
Hard Drive Tray: 18 x hot-swappable and lockable tray
LAN Port: 4 x Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet port
(Expandable up to 8 x 1 Gb LAN or 4 x 10 Gb + 4 x 1 Gb LAN by installing optional dual-port 10 Gb and 1 Gb network card)
For the optional network card compatibility list, please visit Compatibility list of Expansion Card
For the information of network card installation, please refer to chapter 6 in the Turbo NAS Hardware Manual.
LED Indicators: Status, 10 GbE, LAN, storage expansion port status
Storage Expansion Port: 1 (rear)
Buttons: System: Power button and reset button
Alarm Buzzer: System warning
Form Factor: 2U, Rackmount
Dimensions: 88(H) x 439(W) x 520(D) mm / 3.46(H) x 17.28(W) x 20.47(D) inch
Weight: 10.8 kg/ 23.81 lb (Net); 16.28 kg/ 35.89 lb (Gross)
Sound Level (dB): Sound pressure (LpAm) (by stander positions): 44.7 dB(with 18 x Seagate ST9300653SS hard drive installed)
Power Consumption (W):
(with 18 x Seagate ST9300653SS hard drive installed)
Temperature: 0-40˚C
Relative Humidity: 5~95% RH non-condensing, wet bulb: 27˚C
Power Supply:
Expansion Slot: 2 (one PCIe Gen2 x4, one PCIe Gen2 x8)
Fan: 3 x 6 cm smart cooling fan
The TS-x79 rack mount models comply with ANSI/EIA-RS-310-D rack mounting standards. Before purchasing the server racks for these models, please make sure the server racks conform to the following criteria:
1. Rack size
2. The optional rack kits for the TS-x79 rack mount models are only compatible with square-hole server racks.


text:
Waiting for Godot to Deliver a Load File Standard
Waiting for a standard for load files instead of having to rely on a different file format when you're exporting data into different case management and review platforms such as Summation, Concordance, Relativity, Ringtail, etc.? According to ABA e-discovery chairman Steven Teppler, you might have to wait a little longer.
Teppler labels standards such as EDRM-XML, proposed by the Electronic Discovery Reference Model organization, as "premature" for an area in which "best practices are still emerging." Read the full report from Evan Koblentz on LTN online.
Image by Clipart.com


text: The Knoxville Police Department responded to a report of an argument in an apartment in the 1300 block of Gebhardt around 2am Sunday. According to Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada, 20 year-old Brandon Taylor Flesher was in an argument with another individual and became violent, pounding holes in walls and doors of the apartment. He then left the building where he saw two people talking inside a vehicle parked outside the apartment. Losada says Flesher ran towards the vehicle showing a knife in a threatening manner. Police later found Flesher and he was arrested and brought to the Marion County jail on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, criminal mischief 4th and public intoxication.


text:
Right-wing bloggers are pouncing on the Texas Democrat's comments that President Barack Obama should "absolutely" use his executive powers to extend the payroll tax holiday for working Americans and unemployment benefits for those without jobs. During an interview with liberal radio host Ed Schultz, Jackson Lee voiced her frustration over the "ridiculous procedural calamity" she said was caused by House Republicans as Congress attempts to reach a deal.
Conservative bloggers begged to differ.
"Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Pride of Texas) rambles incoherently on payroll tax cut extension," wrote the Right Scoop blog.
The Spokane Conservative Examiner weighed in, saying, "In short, she wants Obama to rule like a dictator on a matter that falls to Congress."
The Patriot Rising blog compared Jackson Lee to a character in The Wizard of Oz:
When I look and Sheila Jackson Lee, listen to Sheila Jackson Lee, or read about Sheila Jackson Lee…I can only think of one thing and it takes me back to when I was a child watching The Wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow was my favorite. Sheila Jackson Lee reminds me of the Scarecrow. IF SHE ONLY HAD A BRAIN!
TheRightState.com went so far as to call for the Texas lawmaker's resignation:
The amazing thing is that Ms. Lee is a sitting Congresswoman, someone who should know better, someone who should know what power Congress has and which of the powers resides in the Congress alone. She should know full well that only Congress can extend unemployment insurance, that only Congress can extend the payroll tax cut. If she wishes to give up this power, she should resign and let someone else assume the responsibility of representing Houston.
One thing we do not need to do is to give Obama even more power to turn the United States into another failed European democracy. Arbitrarily giving the President power reserved for Congress is stupid since doing so would make the President a virtual dictator.
Calling Jackson Lee a "hyper anti-intellectual,"American Spectator's blog sarcastically granted the congresswoman an award in best mixed metaphors for her comments suggesting that Republicans caused Americans to "drown in dusty and dark waters."
"Democrats everywhere are crying crocodile tears about a tax hike of over $1,000 for the average American because of House Republican's actions," the Spectator said. "But, like everything Democrats say about economic policy, it is a lie."
The last time the conservative blogosphere attacked Jackson Lee over her words, she told them to 'shut up." Stay tuned to see her reaction this time around.


text:
Find everything you need to track your success on the road.
Manage your payment options, review trip history, and more.
Change your location
Riding with Uber
Your ride, on demand
Whether you're headed to Shoreditch, Chelsea, STN, Gatwick Airport, LTN, LCY Airport or to London Heathrow, the Uber app connects you with a reliable ride — from low-cost uberX and uberXL to premium UberLUX — in minutes. One tap and a car comes directly to you. Your driver knows exactly where to go, and payment is completely cashless.More about your ride
Explore your options
Get a fare estimate
Earn Money
Drive with Uber in London
Make money on your own terms. Full-time and part-time driving opportunities for independent contractors in London give you the flexibility to access the platform as much or as little as you want. You can focus on driving your car when it works for you.Become a driver
Helping Cities
We're here to serve
We're passionate about making your city better. That's why we partner with thousands of licensed drivers, who keep London moving. Together we're energising the local economy, helping make streets safer from drunk or distracted driving and fostering a more connected, less congested environment.How Uber helps cities
Want to work with us in London?Uber Corporate careers
Still have questions? We're here to help.Help & Support
Uber is not a transportation provider. Applicable tolls and surcharges may be added to your fare. From 25th Jan 2016, all trips starting and ending at London airports will be calculated at standard rates (time + distance) instead of a flat rate. Please note some trips to and from the airport can also incur a surcharge to cover the minimum cost of parking at airport car parks. At times of intense demand, our rates change over time to keep vehicles available. If dynamic pricing is in effect, the quoted fare will take the current rates into account. A Clean Air Fee of £0.15 per mile will also be charged, including on minimum fare trips. Learn more about our Clean Air Plan in London


text:
Changes in kids' genomes linked to chronic stress
A. Nakamura et al./Aging 2009, Wikimedia Commons
Growing up in poverty or an unstable home is associated with shortened protective caps on the ends of children's chromosomes, researchers report April 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Shorter chromosome caps, called telomeres, have been linked to increased risk of death.
In a study of 40 nine-year-old boys, kids from underprivileged backgrounds had telomeres that were 19 percent shorter than those of boys from more privileged environments.
The finding supports other recent studies that found a connection between low socioeconomic status and shortened telomeres. It also raises new questions about the role of genes related to two brain chemicals, serotonin and dopamine. The genes may be involved in moderating the link between telomere length and underprivileged upbringings, the study suggests.


text:
Professions 1 in Spanish
In the following table you find the words you are going to memorize in the first part of this exercise.
Pay attention to them and try to remember its translation.
When you click on "Start the exercise", the green table will disappear and the game will show you one word in Spanish and six words in English. The right translation will be always between them.
With this exercise you are going to learn 30 Spanish words. If you commit more than 8 mistakes, the game is over and youwill have to start gain.
Start the exercise
Correct clicks : 0


text:
Those with a fetish for something and desire to look at pictures will make this section their home. Find more great BDSM, fetish and similar pictures here than anywhere else! Share your fetish pictures in this section.
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.
Forum Rules
◕ LindyList - Top Porn Sites List ◕ Zwei - Top Porn Sites ◕