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Sympathy & Funeral Flowers
Sympathy & Funeral Flowers : Home Sympathy Flowers - by Apple Blossom Florist
At Apple Blossom Florist we understand the difficulty of sending sympathy and funeral flowers and are here to help you send your condolences with a tasteful funeral arrangement or sympathy flowers for the home. We have a wide variety of sympathy flower arrangements, as well as plants. We offer sympathy and funeral flower delivery in Oakland, CA and nationwide to the recipients home or to funeral homes.


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Extend Your Knowledge
In this section, you will expand your understanding of connecting school and home literacy. You will compare the ideas from the workshop video with passages from various publications. Read and respond to the ideas presented as they relate to your own experiences.
One of the most frequently offered suggestions teachers give to parents is to read at home with their children. However, parents may not know how to make reading at home meaningful and enjoyable. Read the following passage Children Practicing Reading at Home by D. H. Tracey and compare it to your expectations and communications with parents.
Consider these questions:
Now read these suggestions to support parents reading with their children:
Consider these questions:
* Used with permission of Teacher's College Press. Permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center.
© 2003 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved.
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy

subset: commoncrawl


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Training for CNA and Medical Assisting
Working as a CNA or Medical Assistant can be both rewarding and challenging.
In today's job market, the medical field is one of the few career fields that provides stability and growth. Did you know that you could be trained to work in medicine in as little as a couple of weeks? You can! One of the growing medical careers is work either as a Medical Assistant or a Certified Nursing Assistant.
What do these careers look like? CNAs and Medical Assistants work in a variety of medical settings, including doctor's offices and hospitals, working directly with patients. They serve as an important part of any medical team, and they work closely under RNs, physicians, or LPNs. A CNA or Medical Assistant is trained in all of the basics of healthcare, and they can often be found checking vital signs, administering medication, and caring for patients.
CNA programs and medical assistant programs are available throughout the US. Want to see the training options in your area? Just enter your zip code in the box, and you'll see a complete list of available training programs.
Getting started as a CNA or Medical Assistant may be easier than you think! You'll go through formal training, which involves learning how to care for patients, deal with emergencies, report status changes, and manage infection control. You could be trained in as little as three weeks if you attend full-time or as little as eight weeks if you go part-time.
A Medical Assisting career may just be the right next step for you. Whether you're looking for extra income, a new career or a way to break into the medical field, working as a CNA or Medical Assistant can be both rewarding and challenging. Start exploring your options becoming a professional today. Enter your zip code now!


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Contemporary artist, Carrie Goller, is known for a wide range of styles/subject matter in multi/mixed-media, such as oil, encaustic, egg tempera & watercolor.
All images and artwork under copyright of artist © and Carrie Goller ©/Carrie Goller Gallery 2004-2019. Artwork images on this site may not be duplicated or redistributed in any form without express permission of the artist. Any use of these images outside the guidelines set by the Fair Use Laws for Copyrights of the United States of America is strictly forbidden. If you would like to use images from this site, please contact the artist for permission.


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Paul-backed group hits Republicans
Sen. Rand Paul, the tea party favorite and possible 2016 presidential candidate, is raising money for a conservative gun rights group that's targeting fellow Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
And when one congressman complained, the message from Paul's camp was: too bad.
Story Continued Below
The Kentucky Republican has lent his name to fundraising pitches for the National Association for Gun Rights, a group that says the National Rifle Association is too willing to compromise on gun rights.
( Also on POLITICO: NRA plan: Let teachers carry guns)
The group has blitzed the districts of Virginia Republicans Cantor and Rep. Scott Rigell with $50,000 worth of TV and radio ads accusing them of helping President Barack Obama pass gun control legislation.
Paul's email pitches for the group don't mention Cantor or Rigell by name, but his activity for an organization that attacks fellow Republicans shows the potential 2016 presidential contender isn't afraid to pick a fight inside the party.
( Also on POLITICO: Paul hits Hollywood on gun control)
Paul chief of staff Doug Stafford is unapologetic.
"Rand signs normal, run-of-the-mill activist emails and letters for numerous groups and this is one of them," Stafford told POLITICO. "That's all he's ever done for them, he's not affiliated with the group in any way, he doesn't control how they decide their activism should take place in terms of who the people are that need to be shored up on an issue."
Paul poses a formidable challenge for fellow Republican lawmakers. He has a built-in base of libertarians, and his profile rose again last month after he filibustered against the Obama administration's drone policy and won the Conservative Political Action Conference presidential straw poll.
Rigell, a second-term congressman from Virginia Beach, reelected with nearly 54 percent of the vote, this year introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen penalties for straw purchasers — those who knowingly buy guns for people who cannot pass a background check.
( PHOTOS: Politicians with guns)
But he also has an A-minus rating from the NRA, and said the ads caught him by surprise, forcing him to air several radio spots of his own to refute their claims.
"I outright oppose any initiative that would directly or indirectly result in the creation of a national database of firearms and or firearm owners," Rigell said in an interview. "Their charge that I am leading this, that I am supporting this, is an egregious lie, and completely unfounded."
When he discovered that Paul was fundraising for the NAGR, he called the senator and Paul promised to investigate and get back to Rigell.
The congressman also sent Paul a two-page handwritten note asking him to repudiate the group.
"It is true your name is not on any email, direct mail piece, nor is it mentioned in the television or radio ads," Rigell wrote, according to a copy of the letter viewed by POLITICO. "Yet it is also true, irrefutably, that your good name is being leveraged, with your permission one must assume, by a corrupt, detestable outfit."
A day or so later, Stafford told Rigell's office that nothing would be done, according to Rigell.
"The reply essentially was: 'It's between you and this group and the senator will not disassociate himself from that organization.' Which surprised me," Rigell said.


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Iddea® is a corporation formed by two manufacturing plants and two marketing and distribution companies, covering the market of North America, Mexico and Central America for the auto and light truck vehicles and a second company focused on heavy duty vehicles.
The operations started in 1965 in electroplating processes. Currently, our group is specializes in: design, fabricating, electroplating process, marketing and distribution of auto parts and truck accessories as well as heavy duty truck accessories.
Recently Iddea® achieved the ISO 9001:2000 certification with "Underwriters Laboratories – UL" and registration with "Registrar Accreditation Board – RAB" under file number A13109.
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Putting Technology into Practice
A version of this article appears in the March/April 2001 issue of Home Energy Magazine.
March 01, 2001
At the Village Green in Los Angeles, new kinds of partnerships and new energy-efficient applications work hand-in-hand.
Village Green was on target to become another typical project of Lee Homes when the firm got an invitation in March 1998 to attend a talk on the brand new Partnership for Advancing Technology (PATH, see sidebar). Participating in PATH seemed like a good opportunity to learn something new, says Jay Stark, director of development for Lee Homes, so we volunteered our site.The development has become a working laboratory for energy-efficient applications. Following that meeting, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to assign a Building America Consortium team to work with Lee Homes on Village Green. The team chosen, the Building Science Consortium (BSC), led by Joseph Lstiburek and Betsy Pettit, began by conducting a system engineering analysis of the proposed project. Working with the builder, BSC redesigned the homes from the house-as-a-system point of view. Subsequently, construction of the first of the reengineered houses began in November 1998. A lot of the technologies that BSC introduced were new to me, while others I had heard about but never worked with, says Stark. As ...
To read complete online articles, you need to sign up for an Online Subscription.
Once an order has been placed there is an automatic $10 processing fee that will be deducted with any cancellation.
The Home Energy Online articles are for personal use only and may not be printed for distribution. For permission to reprint, please send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Cleartax is the easiest way to e-file your Income tax return online in India.
You can prepare and e-file your I-T return on ClearTax in 5 minutes by simply uploading Form-16 or entering your income data.
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Michelle Obama Hilariously Breaks Down Why Melania Trump's Inauguration Gift Exchange Appeared So Awkward
The former FLOTUS also explained to Ellen Degeneres how Barack stepped in and saved the day.
LONDON (AP) — Africa Village was supposed to showcase the Olympic best of an entire continent. But the cultural celebration in London's Kensington Gardens has been forced to shut five days early in an acrimonious dispute over unpaid bills, organizers said Thursday.
The village was one of the biggest social spots created especially for the London games. Its Africa Club offered private parties for Africa's medal-winning athletes, national Olympic committee executives and corporate sponsors. The bigger Africa Land attracted more than 80,000 visitors enticed by free musical performances and regional cuisine.
But the party came crashing down Wednesday amid bickering between Africa Village's predominantly French organizers and local suppliers. Mar-Key, the company that supplied the tents and canopies housing each nation's showcase of food and events, secured a court order blocking access.
"Significant promised funds have not been forthcoming and the company has no option but to use legal force as required," said Mar-Key Chairman David Tabb, who expressed hope that an 11th-hour settlement might permit a weekend reopening. Africa Village was supposed to stay open through the end of the games Sunday.
Pixcom, a French events management company at the other end of the dispute, did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.
The surprise closure left groups from several African nations in the lurch and wondering who would pick up the tab for food they had stockpiled and entertainers they'd booked.
Each participating nation had been assigned a particular day when its culture and cuisine would be the focal point. The Moroccans had a VIP party planned for Wednesday; the Ethiopians had flown a dance troupe from Addis Ababa for their day Saturday.
"It's sad. It's very bad news for the African countries who are not showcasing their culture anymore," said Jean Mboglem, manager of the Cameroon section of the village.
She expressed surprise that the London organizing committee or International Olympic Committee had not stepped in with emergency funding.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said he didn't know whose responsibility it was to ensure that suppliers and vendors were paid. It was "really premature for us to say whether we are paying, or who's paying or whether they should pay, or whatever," he said.
Seventeen countries are running their own "hospitality houses" in London to promote their food and drink, and to celebrate athletic triumphs. Brazil, host of the next games in 2016, has taken over much Somerset House, a grand 18th-century complex on the Thames riverside.
BET Global News - Your source for Black news from around the world, including international politics, health and human rights, the latest celebrity news and more. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
(Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The former FLOTUS also explained to Ellen Degeneres how Barack stepped in and saved the day.
"When my teacher asks me a question thinking I'm not paying attention, but I get it right."


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If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
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absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
Can we sell 500 tickets by 12pm Mountain time?
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Latest News
Exxon says it's moving to develop Alaskan oil and gas field
Exxon Mobil is on track to develop part of the huge, remote Point Thomson oil and gas field east of Prudhoe Bay, as required under a court settlement reached earlier this year with the Parnell administration, the company's senior manager on the project told state legislators Tuesday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has been holding oversight hearings examining whether the settlement is a good deal for the state. Numerous administrations have tried and failed to force Exxon to develop Point Thomson, which some call Alaska's remaining crown jewel on state lands. So far there's only been minimal activity.
"I'm looking for mousetraps," Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat who chairs the committee, said early in the daylong hearing. The agreement "was crafted in secret. It was crafted between the administration and Exxon. That should make the hairs on the backs of the necks of Alaskans stand up."
The new settlement imposes timetables and requirements for work that should gradually lead to production -- or Exxon will have to return leased acreage to the state, according to state officials and their legal advisers.
"We've ended the warehousing of these resources," Joe Balash, deputy commissioner of Natural Resources, told the committee.
Point Thomson holds hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, but the main target there has always been the natural gas, estimated by the state at 8 trillion cubic feet. The field contains about a fourth of the North Slope's recoverable gas, so resolving the legal issues has been considered key to the viability of a large natural gas pipeline.
Exxon is committed to making the project work and has invested more than $1 billion in the last four and a half years drilling two initial wells, with plans to spend billions more, senior project manager Lee Bruce told the committee. Under the agreement, Exxon needs to complete those wells and drill a third. It's applied for all of its major permits but still needs those regulatory approvals to move forward, Bruce said.
The settlement contains provisions for hiring Alaskans, and that's already happening, Bruce said. The project management team numbers 80, but that's just the start, he said. The engineering alone involves 350 people. In 2010, some 1,500 people from more than 150 companies worked on Point Thomson, he said.
Still, for now, Bruce himself is based in Houston. After testifying, he rushed out to catch a plane.
Point Thomson is a high-pressure field and challenging to develop. The wells are being drilled horizontally from land, with the bottom holes about two miles away to reach a reservoir under the Beaufort Sea. Steel for pipe strong enough to withstand high pressures will come from Germany, Bruce said.
Exxon expects superior performance in every area: safety, security, costs, scheduling and the environment, he said. It's working with village and Native corporation leaders in Kaktovik, which is 60 miles away, and soliciting feedback from residents. It consults with whaling captains so its work won't interfere with whaling season. Its pipelines will be elevated at least 7 feet to allow caribou to migrate.
"And we want to build trust with the state of Alaska. We recognize the history that Exxon has had here," Bruce said. He didn't have to say the Exxon Valdez.
Other than at Point Thomson, Exxon hasn't drilled on the North Slope since the 1990s, according to the company. It has had a low political profile since the 1989 spill.
By spring 2016, Exxon expects to be processing 200 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, along with 10,000 barrels of condensate, a sort of light oil. With no big pipeline yet to get the gas to commercial markets, Exxon plans to repressurize it and inject it back into the reservoir through an injection well. For oil and condensate, Exxon plans to build a new pipeline that would connect with an existing pipeline at the Badami oil field to the west. The Point Thomson oil then would be piped and pumped into the trans-Alaska pipeline.
Still, 10,000 barrels a day isn't much oil, French said. If Point Thomson is developed mainly as a gas field, and gas is not reinjected there, more oil would be left in the ground without gas pressure forcing it to the surface. That's one of his concerns with the settlement.
One possibility is for the Point Thomson gas to be piped to Prudhoe Bay and reinjected there, to force more oil from that aging field. The gas later could be produced from Prudhoe. The state owns a portion of the gas, but the percentage isn't the same between the fields or even consistent within Point Thomson, Balash, the deputy commissioner, told the committee.
How would the state ever be sure it got what it was due in royalties if the Point Thomson gas later was produced out of Prudhoe Bay? French asked. That seemed to be an accounting nightmare -- a rat's nest, he said. State officials say those royalty calculations have been done elsewhere successfully.
And while a big gas pipeline could be built, there's nothing in the agreement that requires Exxon or any of the other oil and gas producers to put large quantities of gas through it, French said.
If the pipeline is built, gas will move through it, state officials said.
Sen. John Coghill, a Republican from North Pole on the committee, said the settlement might not be perfect, but it's a big step toward getting a natural gas pipeline.


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Toyota has identified what it believes is causing its sudden acceleration problem and how the automaker plans to fix it, as company president Jim Lentz went on a media blitz Monday to restore confidence in customers affected by the massive safety recall.
In a release, the company said it will begin fixing accelerator pedals this week by reinforcing the pedal assembly, thereby eliminating friction that sometimes cause the sudden acceleration to occur.
Lentz told NBC's Today Show that the reinforcement parts were shipped today and dealers have been trained on how to install them. He said the company became aware of the sticky pedal problems last October and denied that the company's rapid growth hindered their ability to quickly identify and resolve the issues.
"There's no question that we were fast growing," said Lentz. "Could that have had an issue with some of our quality issues? It's quite possible."
Lentz also appeared on a video posted on the company's YouTube channel Monday, saying he was "truly sorry" for concerns over the recall.
"I apologize for this situation and I hope you'll give us a chance to earn back your trust," said Lentz, adding that customers will be notified via mail on how affected models can be remedied. Yet, some safety analysts say the announcement comes too little, too late.
"They're at a point where their reputation is rapidly declining, and the credibility is rapidly declining in a way where probably no one would have expected," said safety expert Sean Kane.
In Washington, the failure of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to spot the problem sooner is also drawing questions.
"There's no reason they could not have known about this and been further involved in pushing Toyota," said former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook.
Toyota refused repeated requests from ABC News for its executives to answer questions about the problem, and when its president and CEO Akio Toyoda was tracked down in Switzerland at an economic conference, he said he was "deeply sorry" but offered no other explanation of what went wrong.
Toyoda then got into a black Audi station wagon and drove away.
Fixing Runaway Toyotas
Toyota has been similarily quiet in full newspaper advertisements the company has been placing, offering scant new information about what it called a temporary issue except to say it had found an effective remedy for the sticky gas pedals.
Nine million vehicles are affected by the recall announced last week. The recall includes the following models:
• Certain 2009-2010 RAV4
• Certain 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry
• Certain 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia
Toyota dealers, like Ernie Boch, Jr. of Boch Toyota in Norwood, Mass., have been told that all affected vehicles will be fixed by summer. Boch said, "I would estimate to take care of the recall, four or five months."
Last Wednesday, Toyota told millions of owners of cars involved the giant safety recall to keep driving.
"Stop sales does not mean stop driving," said John Hanson of Toyota USA.
On Thursday, Toyota told ABC News that new accelerator pedals, manufactured by CTS, had passed tests for problems and were being shipped this week.
"We are looking to repair or replace as many of the accelerators in as short a time as possible," said Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons.
Lyons said some accelerator assemblies could be replaced in their entirety and in other cases existing accelerators could be repaired.
He said Toyota engineers determined that the accumulation of water in an interior part of the pedal assembly was causing excessive wear, "making the pedal slow to return to idle."
The company said owners should continue to drive their cars but be aware of a possible problem with the gas pedal.
"It happens only rarely," said John Hanson.
Safety experts say Toyota owners should practice shifting gears to neutral in case their cars experience a runaway condition.
ABC News' Drew Sandholm contributed to this report.


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The purpose of the Hero Campaign on the NJIT campus is to promote common sense and responsibility when making decisions about their personal safety and well being. It promotes the use of sober designated drivers if students choose to legally partake in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. It also allows for students to chose to participate in campus sponsored events that does not involve alcohol on nights that our students are more likely to engage in high risk behaviors.
The NJIT HERO Campaign Council is always looking for new members. If you are interested in becoming a member of the NJIT HERO Campaign Council please feel free to contact Officer Eric DiFrancesco at NJIT Police Department at email@example.com or Council President is Christian DeSousa at email@example.com
Sponsors: NJIT Public Safety, Residence Life, Campus Center, Athletics; Student Organizations: Senate, SAC, IFSC, RHA, ROTC, COCS


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I adore liquid eyeliners although my favourite form is the refillabe felt tip type (because with the refillable ones, I can pump more product into the brush if I want to.)
I'm always open to trying new things though and paid £20.50 for this Guerlain Divinora Liquid Liner a few months back:
Pretty bottle? Check. Inky black liner? Check. Frosted Glass? Check.
Read more the see the brush!
This is more of a traditional type applicator which I am ok at using these days, but was awful at years ago.
The brushes on these things need to be tapered for a fine line, but they also need to not fray in any way shape or form – they need to be firm but not too firm, soft but not too floppy.
It needs to pick up the right amount of product, and not overload the eye with liner. Fussy moi? Yes.
In terms of the liner itself, it is a little on the thick, gloopy side which means it takes a few moments to dry (Asian eyes need to keep those peepers shut or it will be smudge city) but its not bad texture and it certainly gives a very true, jet black line which is excellent.
I hate black liquid liners that give off an ashy grey – ugh, not acceptable. A black liner should be a true, opaque jet black. This one is highly pigmented.
And yet, I am not entirely won over. I guess for a thick, really lush almost wet look black liquid liner this would be wonderful but I like a bit more control in my applicator (which is why I like felt tip type liners the most). The line is not thin enough for it to be my everyday product.
It also takes too long to dry on me, and when I have had the misfortune to blink at the wrong time, it stings my eye and goes everywhere. Then I have red eyes and black cheeks.
Overall: 3/5. It's alright really but in light of modern, erm, make up technology, it's like a dated tea cosy amongst a rack of USB heated coasters.


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Bier and Brats: 10th Annual Oktoberfest
As summer passes away, the colors of the Aspen leaves transform and we reign in fall with the 10th Annual Oktoberfest at Squaw Valley on October 1st! The key phrase you need at Oktoberfest (or anytime you're in Germany):
"Ein Bier, bitte." Meaning, "One Beer, please."
Known by locals as one of the best events of the year at Squaw Valley, Oktoberfest is a flurry of traditional Bavarian music, folk dancers, brats and kraut and of course, brews. Proceeds from the Benefit Bier Garten assist the Tahoe Truckee Lacrosse Association. The following line up of live entertainment is complimentary:
- Joe Smiell & His 20 Piece Bavarian Band
- Almenrausch Schuhplattler Folk Dancers
- Alpentazer Schuhplattler Dance Troop
To top off the liveliness of the weekend, be sure to participate in Oktoberfest Games:
- 3pm – Keg Race
- 4pm – Brat Toss
- 5pm – Stein Holding Contest
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Wildlife Monitoring & Research
This Game Reserve was proclaimed as a conservancy in 2003 and added more than 30,000ha to conservation close to the Kruger National Park. The reserve is typical of the savannah grassland biome with six different veld types offering a great diversity of habitats that support 26 species of large mammals, and bird and plant life in the reserve is prolific. The reserve also boasts a unique type of cycad (EncephalartosDyerianus) that, in the whole world, can only be found on one hill in the Game Reserve.


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Angry Birds Theme Park Opens Illegally In China
Angry Birds enthusiasts, gather 'round. Your dream of entering a larger than life, Angry Birds-themed world is now a reality. A theme park based on the popular cellphone videogame has opened in Changsta, a city in China's Hunan province. Now, I have never played the game in my life, but I know that there are many crazed fans out there for whom this is excellent news. Congrats, you guys, and finally!
The only problem, however, is that the newly opened theme park is already facing legality issues. The park was built and opened seemingly without anyone asking permission from the Angry Birds people, and is thus in violation of, duh, several copyrights. This is yet another incidence in a string of intellectual property disputes in China: last July, for example, several counterfeit Apple stores were shut down after an American blogger shed some unwanted attention on the illegally operating stores.
A spokesperson for Rovio, the Angry Birds' developer, suggested that there might be a partnership in the works, so perhaps Angry Birds World will have a long and happy life after all. Listen here, Rovio, I am a Business Expert (I am not a Business Expert) and you would be crazy to walk away from an opportunity like this. Strike while the iron is hot! If there is a market for an Angry Birds theme park, of which there certainly seems to be, then give the people what they want. And what the people want is a park filled with life-sized birds and enormous slingshots.
Next year in Angry Birdsville, everybody!


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As early as the 14th century, people relied on the clay and herbs found in the Tuscany region of Italy to improve their appearances and their overall health. The fertile Tuscan countryside features nutrient-rich soil and produces remarkably nourishing plants, making herbal remedies that come from the region incredibly effective. The Borghese collection uses Tuscan-sourced ingredients as the base of its formulas, which heal damage to the hair and skin and improve overall beauty. Many of the formulas found in the range are based on early herbal remedies that have been fine-tuned with modern research to make them as effective as possible.
With the Borghese skin care collection, you can treat your complexion to the benefits of visiting one of the luxury natural spas found in Tuscany without ever leaving home. From pampering skin masks to powerful exfoliators, the range has a variety of treatments that can address common skin care concerns. The Borghese collection also includes the essentials necessary for everyday hair and skin care, including shampoos, conditioners, cleansers and moisturizers for a variety of hair and complexion types.
The line of the Borghese brand skincare products was founded in the 1950s by the Princess Marcello Borghese, but the roots of their formulas date back thousands of years, based in the tradition of using mineral waters to improve health. Thermal mineral springs have been treasured for their healing and restorative powers dating back to the days of the Roman Empire; the region of Tuscany was particularly renowned for the variety and quality of its mineral springs. Today, under the experienced leadership of Georgette Mosbacher, the Borghese skincare products continue the long tradition of healing waters and mineral earths, combined with modern scientific techniques, to create treatment products of unparalleled effectiveness and quality.
One of the mainstays of these formulas - the Acqua di Vita Living Water Complex - contains a unique balance of sodium chloride, magnesium, calcium carbonate, potassium and other mineral compounds - which help revitalize, strengthen and support skin health. By attracting and binding moisture to the skin tissues, the minerals in this water complex help maintain the skin's moisture balance, providing a smoother and more resilient skin texture. Borghese is committed to bringing superior anti-aging skincare, daily skin maintenance and self-renewal care in a spa setting and at home. The formulas are built on a heritage that goes back to the 14th century, employing the proven treasures of mineral-infused water and earth to provide nourishing, re-energizing care. They are offered today with modern sensibilities, backed with scientific understanding for their interactive value. Now the treasures of the nobility are available to all.
If it is time to step up your beauty care routine with a few new formulas, why not consider Borghese Products? Combining traditional Italian recipes with modern treatment techniques, each of these formulas includes an aromatic medley of natural botanicals and innovative ideas that blend well together to create an effective solution for a woman's beauty needs. Please browse through a comprehensive listing of our Borghese Products on the remaining portion of this page for a look at exactly what your choices are.
No matter what type of skin concerns you are currently experiencing, one of our available Borghese Products should be able to address it for you. Each formula is designed to treat your skin to a bit of rejuvenating magic as it instills fresh vitality into your life. Many of these solutions work well together, providing an added boost to your skincare routine with little or no effort at all.
Care for your individual beauty needs with the effective formulas of Borghese Products - a full line of innovative treatments designed with time-honored ingredients and the quality that makes them so distinctive.
For a luxurious experience with skin-softening Italian mud, try the hydrating treatment delivered by Borghese Fango Delicato Active Mud for Delicate Dry Skin. It offers firming relief that boosts your skin, calming redness, hydrating dryness, and minimizing the depth of expression lines and wrinkles. While this Italian mud product has been recommended for normal to dry skin types, it is gentle enough for even the most sensitive conditions. This is a delightful concoction of moisturizing goodness that treats your skin to renewed dermal vitality!
A hydrating lotion with a lightweight consistency, Borghese Cura Di Vita Protettivo Protective Moisturizer SPF 15 offers necessary protection against the harshness of the sun's UVA and UVB rays, safeguarding your skin against the damage that can occur with too much exposure to the elements. Suitable for all skin types, this antioxidant lotion soothes and softens your skin while protecting it through its unique Filtrex sunscreen system. You receive two skin-friendly experiences with this product - deep moisturization and strong protection.
Treat your eyes to a rejuvenating treatment that is both ophthalmologist and dermatologist tested when you begin to use Borghese Botanico Eye Compresses. Designed to produce immediate results that transform your eye zone from sad and tired looking to bright and perky in appearance, these soothing eye compresses provide soothing relief for this area of your face. Existing expression lines are minimized as your skin's moisture balance is restored and the entire eye zone is refreshed with new life.


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Settlement talks falter in Lake Tahoe fireworks suit
Settlement talks have failed in a lawsuit alleging the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is violating the Clean Water Act with its twice-annual fireworks shows and debris from the spectacular shows falling into the lake. That raises questions about whether there will be any fireworks shows this year in South Lake Tahoe.
"We felt that anything being offered was not in the best interests of the lake, and that's our highest priority, protecting the health of the lake," Joan Truxler said about the impasse in the voluntary settlement talks.
Truxler and her husband, Joseph, of PineWild on Marla Bay, filed their lawsuit last November, alleging that large amounts of fireworks debris washed ashore in Marla Bay following a July 4 fireworks show and again following a Labor Day show in September.
The lawsuit argues that the fireworks shows are a point source of pollution as defined by the federal Clean Water Act. It further argues the visitors authority must get a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from either the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection or Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board to hold the shows.
Truxler said the lawsuit, which names the LTVA and Pyro Spectaculars North, which put on the show, was filed only as a last resort after the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and other agencies failed to acknowledge or address concerns about the fireworks debris. She added neither she nor her husband stand to benefit financially if they prevail.
"It was out of frustration, and the fact that (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency) said they were working on the issue, then Labor Day came and boom, it happened all over again," Truxler said.
The Truxlers say they and other neighbors collected more than 8,000 pieces of fireworks debris that washed ashore on Marla Bay beaches as a result of the two shows.
The lawsuit was first referred to a voluntary dispute resolution process. The visitors authority, which has not yet replied to the Truxlers' complaint, has described its cleanup efforts after the fireworks shows as extensive and said they involved netting from boats, divers in the water and beach cleanup crews.
While the lawsuit does seek to require the visitors authority to get a pollutant-discharge permit for its fireworks shows, there is no injunction in place to prevent it from holding shows, Truxler said.
"We don't want to stop the shows. We don't want the shows canceled. We just want responsible cleanup after the shows. We want a legally enforceable permit for the shows that allows public input into cleanup efforts."
Other groups, including the city of South Lake Tahoe, are raising the specter of no fireworks shows this year in South Lake Tahoe because of the pending lawsuit.
"The issue of residual debris can be solved, unlike the devastating economic impact of canceling our nationally recognized fireworks show on the heels of the driest winter on record," City Manager Nancy Kerry said, calling the potential loss of the fireworks shows "in a word, unnecessary."
"The solution of debris can be achieved through improved clean-up efforts, which requires funding, which again can be obtained from events such as the fireworks show," Kerry said. "I've reached out to the Truxlers and their lawyer and offered assistance to develop a solution that doesn't involve canceling the show, which would require their withdrawal of the lawsuit."
The lawsuit states that violators of the Clean Water Act face civil penalties of up to $37,500 per violation. It further alleges each of the 200 or more mortar tubes used for each of the fireworks shows over the last five years is a separate violation under the law.
With settlement talks failed, the lawsuit presumably will proceed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.
Carol Chaplin, executive director of the LTVA, declined to comment on the case. An update on the lawsuit and its ramifications on this year's fireworks shows is the focus of an emergency LTVA board of directors meeting Thursday, Chaplin said. That meeting starts at 4 p.m. and is open to the public.


text:
The Woman's Hospital of Texas Houston, TX
Registered Nurse (RN) - Post Surgical Unit - Shift: PRN
The Woman's Hospital of Texas opened in 1976 and ever since has remained the state's premier facility dedicated solely to the health of women and newborn infants.
Located near the Texas Medical Center, Woman's offers 397 licensed beds, including a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and a full range of women's health services and newborn infants.
More than 650 board-certified physicians at Woman's offer their expertise and an outstanding level of quality care in the areas of gynecology, obstetrical care, high-risk pregnancy and minimally invasive surgery.
The Woman's Hospital of Texas is currently looking for a Registered Nurse (RN) - Post Surgical Unit.
Under the supervision of the Charge Nurse and/or Nurse Manager, responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and, when applicable, appropriately delegates and supervises tasks to provide optimum patient care.
Fulfills the duty and responsibility to maintain competence and to continue personal and professional growth.
Participates in establishing, maintaining, and improving patient's health care goals through patient assessment, planning and implementation of nursing interventions and evaluation of patient outcomes.
Identifies and assists with opportunities for performance improvement activities on the unit and with other service areas.
Accurately and completely documents all aspects of care given.
Demonstrates fiscal responsibility by taking ownership of time management, decreasing waste (of time and supplies) and promoting cost effectiveness.
Demonstrates the ability to be an advocate for and strive to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient.
Interactions with patients and colleagues demonstrate compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status or cultural beliefs.
Communicate effectively with other care providers (physicians, nurses, business office, and medical records) to provide for continuity of patient care and to meet the needs of the customers we serve.
Demonstrates ability to fulfill requirements of attendance, punctuality, and timekeeping practices.
Behaviors and interactions demonstrate a positive attitude, personal initiative and motivation to achieve the goals of the unit.
To uphold the standards of the profession and organization and practice ethically and with integrity.
Other duties as assigned
Position Requirements:
Current RN license in Texas
BSN, required
Minimum of 1 year Medical Surgical experience in an acute care hospital setting required; minimum of 2 years required for RN's with ADN.
BLS, issued by the American Heart Association Healthcare Provider, required.
ACLS, issued by the American Heart Association Healthcare Provider, required


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In an age of sophisticated computer modeling, Boeing engineers relied on the same test used for tiny cellphone batteries to gather data about the safety of the heftier lithium-ion battery on its new 787 jets: they drove a nail into it to see what happened.
As the nail pierced one of the eight cells, it accomplished its goal of setting off a short circuit. But only smoke, not fire, belched from the battery.
But the test and other evaluations that Boeing conducted while the plane was in development proved to be far off the mark in predicting what would happen when the plane was in use and led Boeing to severely underestimate the likelihood of a fire in the 63-pound battery.
Now, as Boeing tries to recover from a battery fire on one of the jets and a smoke incident on another that led to a worldwide grounding of the 787s in January, federal officials say it is crucial that the company collect better data this time from its laboratory and flight tests. That is particularly important, they said, since the cause of the jet's battery problems is still unknown.
Boeing won approval on Tuesday from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin an extensive array of 20 types of tests to determine if its proposed new battery protection system works.
"It is clear from what happened in January that there are other ways for the batteries to catch fire that clearly weren't captured by the nail test," said Donald R. Sadoway, a materials chemistry professor at M.I.T.
He said the test — it is standard in testing lithium-ion batteries in cellphones, laptops and electric cars — measures just one kind of failure mode and represents an extreme short circuit of the battery in a very short period of time.
"It can work on a cellphone battery with a single cell, but you're talking about a very different configuration here," he added.
A preliminary report on the fire that occurred in a plane parked at Logan Airport in Boston on Jan. 7, released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board, provided new details of Boeing's initial battery testing, including its reliance on the nail test for some of the basic data on the odds of incidents with smoke and fire.
The board's report said that Boeing also gathered information from companies using the lithium-ion batteries in other industries and, based on that and the test data, it calculated that the odds of smoke being emitted from a battery was only one in 10 million flight hours.
Given that Boeing has never made its own batteries, it assigned other crucial tests to its subcontractors, including GS Yuasa, the Japanese battery maker, and Thales, a French company that oversees the battery charging system.
The F.A.A. also delegated much of the testing to Boeing, except for a safety assessment conducted once the plane's electrical power system was certified. The F.A.A.'s decision to delegate some of its certification authority was done under a decades-old program meant to help the agency keep up with fast-changing technology but also to fill a gap in its own expertise.
In the course of the original testing, the batteries were also subjected to other kinds of destructive tests, including provoking an external short circuit, overcharging the batteries for 25 hours, subjecting them to high temperatures of 185 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period, and discharging them completely. Boeing found that none of these tests in its computer modeling resulted in a battery fire, according to the safety board's report, leading it to conclude that the chance of a battery fire was one in 1 billion flight hours, a negligible probability. In fact, the Boston fire occurred after the entire 787 fleet had flown with passengers for only 52,000 hours.
F.A.A. and Boeing officials said they did the best they could, given what was known about the batteries when the agency approved them for the 787 in October 2007. The innovative plane, which uses lighter-weight composite materials to cut fuel costs by 20 percent, makes more extensive use of the new batteries than any other commercial aircraft, and the F.A.A. imposed a series of special safety conditions to compensate for that risk.
But in March 2008, the R.T.C.A., an advisory group that suggests regulatory measures, released new and more rigorous guidelines for testing lithium-ion batteries — standards that Boeing says it will meet in its new round of testing.
The safety board's report said that Boeing continued to test its original battery design in 2010. But the company, which was busy dealing with many other problems that had led to multiyear delays in the 787 program, did not change its test plans to follow the R.T.C.A. guidelines. It was not obliged to do so under the law and Boeing officials said they had not run into any problems with the battery in tests anyway.
It is not clear whether the nail test will be included in Boeing's new testing regimen. In the test, a metallic nail is driven with blunt force by a machine into a battery to provoke a short circuit. The test is supposed to show whether the battery cells are properly insulated from each other. If they are not, this increases the risk of a thermal runaway where one cell overheats, catches fire and the fire cascades to the other battery cells.
But according to a 2011 presentation by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a federal research lab, the nail test and other so-called abusive test methods are not representative of the kinds of failures that can happen when the batteries are used in real life. Further, the report found that many of the failures that occurred with lithium-ion batteries in laptops or cellphones originated in an internal short "that was not detectable or predictable" during manufacturing.
Boeing officials said they now have a deeper understanding of what might cause the batteries to fail and how to minimize that possibility. After weeks of engineering work, Boeing has proposed redesigning the batteries to insulate the eight cells from each other to keep a short circuit in one from cascading to the others, as investigators believe happened on the plane parked in Boston.
Boeing plans to enclose the batteries in stainless steel boxes, more resistant to higher temperatures than the earlier aluminum ones. While the original batteries could leak hazardous substances into surrounding bays, Boeing also plans to create tubes made of titanium to vent any overheated air or hazardous gases outside the planes.
Boeing is hoping it can rapidly complete the tests of the new design and get the planes refitted by mid- to late April, though government officials expect a slower timeline. While domestic regulators have approved testing of the redesigned system, Boeing must still convince Japanese regulators and is sending a delegation to Japan to present its technical fix this week.
Ray Conner, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial plane division, said in a statement on Tuesday that this "permanent resolution" was designed to "significantly minimize the potential for battery failure while ensuring that no battery event affects the continued safe operation of the airplane."
But safety and battery experts are still questioning whether regulators can approve a permanent fix even when the cause of the fire remains unknown. Boeing has brought in a number of outside battery experts, including some from General Electric and companies like General Motors that make electrical cars, to help it design the new system.
One of the plane's two batteries provides power to start up the cockpit instruments. The other battery helps provide power when the plane is on the ground.
Boeing officials said the batteries never suffered any serious problem during more than 1 million hours of laboratory and flight testing before the first 787 was delivered in late 2011.
Hans Weber, an aviation consultant, said Boeing's new effort to eliminate every possible source of a problem "is what I would call brute forcing it, which is what you do when you don't know what went wrong." Still, he said, "One of the challenges of new technology is that it takes time to learn the ways a technology can fail. And the only way to learn more is to start using the planes again."


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Wanted to share this video I found tonight on Game Set Watch in case you guys hadn't seen it yet.
Brazilian artist Rafael MSP made a very nice sit-down arcade-style driving cabinet built around the Atari 2600 game Enduro. Enduro! I thought that was pretty wild. And as if that isn't impressive enough - he built it so that it would be portable. So now if he's ever in the mood for some Enduro on the go he just opens up the swanky custom Atari Enduro briefcase and pulls out the pieces like an old-school Iron Man unpacking his armor.
I thought it was pretty darn impressive and cool. Of course it makes me feel kind of bad about myself since he built all that to play Enduro racing and I don't even really want to get off my ass to go to the kitchen and get a Dr. Pepper. And I'm thirsty.
Check it out:
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Portable Arcade Cabinet for Enduro Racing
Wanted to share this video I found tonight on Game Set Watch in case you guys hadn't seen it yet.
Posted by MadPlanet at 4:28 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Barcadia in Houston, Texas
Well, this post probably won't be of much interest to anyone living outside the Houston area but my gaming pursuits lately keep leaving me with thoughts of "meh - that's not really post-worthy" and as a result I go a month or so at a time without posting anything. Well I'm not goin out like that! Post or die!
Mrs. MP and I were eating lunch at the 59 Diner last weekend before heading out on a little birthday road trip to Austin to play some vids and pins at Pinballz when it occurred to me that it was a perfect time to check out Barcadia, the still relatively new bar in midtown that serves up not only alkeehawlic beverages but some classic arcade games and giant-sized Jenga as well. I had my usual hesitation about checking out a downtown bar and the associated risk of potentially being surrounded by a douchey/hipster crowd, but trepidation be damned I was ready for some games and some afternoon beer - after all I was on vacation!
Parking was limited along the curb but there was a big dirt lot across the street with plenty of space, although strangely there was some loose barb wire on the ground in the lot. Not sure what that was about but we didn't run over it so OK.
First thing I noticed when I walked in was that the place was pretty small. It was fairly early in the afternoon so there weren't many people and only a couple of people were playing the games, but it didn't seem like it would take too many people to get unbearably crowded in there. Anyway, I moseyed on up to the bar and ordered a brewski to kick things off.
I saw a few guys commenting online that the bartenders were jerks but the guy that was there when I went was quite friendly. Everyone was pierced and tatted but cool. I think some people just like to bitch on sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor.
So now - the games! The good news is that they had a pretty good collection of 15 old classics and 2 different multicade machines, the bad news is almost half of them had significant mechanical problems that interfered with their play The games included:
Asteroids Deluxe (I didn't play this one because people were on it but appeared to work fine)
Defender (the Reverse button was broken - ever tried Defender without being able to turn around? It's aggravating)
Dig Dug (the up direction on the joystick worked about 10% of the time - also aggravating)
Frogger (out of order)
Galaga (graphics were messed up and everything was in red - weird)
Ghosts n' Goblins (Worked great! Still hard as hell but that's normal for G&G)
Mario Brothers (I didn't play this one)
Mortal Kombat (I didn't play this one)
Ms. Pac-Man (I didn't play it but looked to work OK)
Multicade (I assume this worked but multicades have lost some of their appeal for me since I have one at home)
Paperboy (Am I the only person in the world that hates this game? I think I am. I didn't play it)
Phoenix (Worked fine and is still a fun classic. Spent most of my playtime on this one.)
Popeye (Never cared much for Popeye so I didn't play this one)
Star Wars (Worked part of the time but sometimes the tie fighters would distort and flatten out which made them a lot harder to shoot)
Street Fighter II (didn't play SFII - although it is one of my all-time favorites)
Track & Field (worked but one of the run buttons on the P1 side was broken so it was a little shaky)
Williams Retrocade (meh another retrocade - would be fun to play with friends over beer though)
Skee-Ball (not a vid but classic fun anyway - 1 of the 3 machines worked fine).
So I was a little disappointed that several of the machines were buggy, but they were all in pretty good shape cosmetically and if they would just put a little more work into them it would be a nice mix of old games with the multicades for flavor. Also, I heard that you had to pay for the games but when I went everything was on free play - they had outfitted the machines with buttons on the front that you pushed to insert credits. So I didn't feel cheated since the games were free anyway and the beer selection was pretty decent for a small joint.
The only problem with the whole 'drink beer while you play games' deal is the same exact issue I have with it at Joystix - there's just nowhere to put your beer while you play! You have to leave it on a table or the bar which isn't exactly nearby.
So, in a nutshell, I thought it was a decent little joint and I definitely like the idea of a bar with retro arcade games, but they really need to work on their games to get them all working right for me to consider returning. Even then I don't really see myself making the drive downtown with Barcadia as the target destination, but if I was already downtown with friends I wouldn't mind stopping in sometime so I'm officially adding it to the Arcade Journal.
[Updated 4/12/2012]
A while back I heard through the arcade grapevine that the reason Barcadia's arcade games weren't working is that the owner stiffed the arcade repairman who was working on them and so word spread and so no one in the Houston area would work on his games. I don't know for sure if that is true, but now I heard through the ol' grapevine again that Barcadia has officially CLOSED. And word is that the owner skipped out on the landlord and didn't even tell his employees that he was shutting down. They just showed up for work and found the place cleaned out. Class act - this Barcadia. Headquartered in Dallas. Ah.
Posted by MadPlanet at 9:32 PM 4 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Lone Man Who Gave His Soul to Gaming - or - I Love Japanese Video Game Commercials
A recent post on Gnome's Retro Treasures featured Chu Chu Rocket - a neat little game for one of my favorite consoles - the Sega Dreamcast. More than the game itself, the post reminded me of the Japanese TV commercial I saw for it on YouTube whose song (the melody anyway) stuck in my head despite the fact that I didn't have any idea what the heck the guys were saying at the time:
My Japanese friend Hiroshi translated the commercial for me today - thanks Hiroshi!:
Chu chu rocket, save the mice
Chu chu rocket, cats are scary
Chu chu rocket, rocket is great
xyz puzzle chu chu rocket 2,800 yen, cheap! Dreamcast. (He said he couldn't quite catch the xyz part. He also informed me that in Japan "chu chu" is considered to be the sound that mice make - like "squeak squeak" is in the US).
And that sent me back to YouTube to watch another few old Japanese video game commercials I recalled seeing. I've always enjoyed those commercials - so exuberant and over the top. I never saw any of them back in the day of course but only discovered them much later after the birth of the internet and when the internet begat YouTube.
Most of my favorites were, as one might guess, developed by Sega and I was going to embed a bunch of them here from the SG-1000, to the Mega Drive, to the Dreamcast but then I rediscovered one of my absolute favorite Japanese commercial advertising campaigns - Sega's Segata Sanshiro - and immediately deleted all the other embeds out of respect to the one true master.
Segata Sanshiro was a martial arts master who cherished his Sega Saturn so much that he made it his mission to travel the world - or at least Japan - and beat into submission all those who did not play the Sega Saturn often enough or with sufficient respect. I like Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man in the World" - but if I was starting a super hero team of advertising icons Segata would be my first draft pick. Sega did it first and did it better.
I had seen a couple of the Segata Sanshiro commercials before, but last night I stumbled across this one awesome video that chronicles Segata's birth, rise to power, and tragic end as he gives his life to protect the very board members of Sega who are ushering in the Dreamcast and thus ending the life cycle of his beloved Saturn. I defy you to watch his tragic death and not shed a tear. It is an opera-worthy climax. And in the usual random full-circle meaningless coincidence style that I love, Segata (whose real first name is Hiroshi) is killed by a missile that looks quite similar to the rocket in Chu Chu Rocket - well I guess they all do really... His last words as he clings to the missile in deep space - "You must play Sega Saturn... You must play Sega Saturn... You must play Sega Saturn!". And then the end - oops, guess that was a spoiler.
This stuff is pure gold. If I saw these commercials back in the day I probably would have bought a Saturn and gotten back into console gaming a decade before I bought my PS3. I even put the mp3 of his theme song on my iphone (thanks SegaShiro!) - hell it kept reverberating inside my head anyway - Segata Sanshiro! Segata Sanshiro! Sega Saturn Shiroooooo!! Rest in peace Segata Sanshiro.
and if you didn't get enough Segata Sanshiro from the official music video - here is a little clip of a cover of the theme song by Segarocks - a Japanese Sega tribute band.
Posted by MadPlanet at 2:35 PM 7 comments Links to this post
Labels: Chu Chu Rocket, Sega Saturn, Segata Sanshiro, Video
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Meteor - My Favorite Asteroids Clone
I was going through some older games on the MAME cab to see which arcade game from the 70's I felt like writing about and given that one of the all-time great arcade games was from the 70's AND starts with the letter A it didn't take long at all to come across Asteroids.
Well, I'm pretty sure everyone currently reading this is quite familiar with the arcade classic Asteroids so I won't bore you with my thoughts on that game other than to say that I am a fan and unlike some I've spoken to I prefer the sequel Asteroids Deluxe to the original. But no - this post is to give a shout out to an Asteroids clone called Meteor. There were a few clones and bootlegs of Asteroids when it became popular and they all play pretty much identically to the original, but it was the go-get-'em attitude of the sales staff at HOEI International that really turned me on to Meteor. I envision the brainstorming session to produce the flyer for Meteor went a little something like this:
Manager of Flyer Production: "OK Marvin. We've got this game Meteor that we ripped off from that new game Asteroids and I've never seen either one because that ain't my job. What is my job is getting these flyers out the door to move these units. So what have you got so far? What's the point of the game?"
Flyer Engineer: "To destroy salling meteors"
MOFP: "To destroy what?"
FE: "Meteors. As they sall by. And destroy salling UFO too."
MOFP: "You mean SAILING meteors? I mean sailing is an odd fucking choice of words to describe a meteor, but it makes more sense than SALLING. Pretty sure salling isn't a real word. Let's just make it 'Destroy deadly meteors'."
FE: "Yes sir, we'll make that change."
MOFP: "OK what else? How do you destroy the meteors? Are you firing up at them like Space Invaders or what?"
FE: "No sir. You fire in all directions."
MOFP: "All directions? Are you sure about that? I've seen video games and you're usually at the bottom shooting up at things."
FE: "Yes sir. In this game the space ship rotates 360 degrees so you fire in all directions."
MOFP: "OK well confirm that with the guys downstairs. Make sure it is OUR spaceship that rotates and not the enemy UFO and then make that point clear on the flyer because that is gonna to throw a lot of people off. And spice it up with some impact buzzwords like NEW! EXCITING! EMERGENCY! ESCAPE! and use lots of exclamation points - that kind of stuff. That it?"
FE: "We also want to include a picture of the evil galactic emperor that sent the UFO and meteors to destroy us. As you can see from the sketch he is a reptilian being from..."
MOFP: "WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Goddammit Marvin, you may be a hell of a programmer but you don't know shit about making a sale. You think guys want to see lizard aliens? No! Listen. Change the lizard to a hot lookin' broad - and make sure her tits are showing and BAM we're done! What other new games we got? I'm on a roll!"
FE: "Um - her... tits sir? You mean you want us to have her wearing a tight uniform that accentuates..."
MOFP: "Who cares about the uniform? A couple of leather straps and a choke collar and the uniform is good to go man. Marvin. Let me be clear. When you come back in here this afternoon with the mockup of the flyer in your hand, it better have a hot blonde... no... make that brunette... It better have a hot brunette on it with both her tits out or you can start looking for a new fucking job. Now get out of my office."
And the rest was history.
Posted by MadPlanet at 12:30 AM 11 comments Links to this post
Friday, July 1, 2011
Arcade Games of the 70's: Clowns
No 'on-this-day' segue here - just thought I'd ramble a bit about a really old favorite of mine that I used to play on my Commodore 64 - or maybe even on my VIC-20, I can't remember - and I never actually realized it was a port of an arcade game until I accidentally rediscovered it one day on MAME a few years ago. That game is Clowns. If you are one of those people with a fear of clowns (coulrophobia - gotta love Google) then the C64 game box is gonna scare the livin shit out of you because they managed to squeeze a half-dozen of the grinning maniacs on the front.
Clowns was released by Midway in January 1978 and was apparently a ripoff of Exidy's arcade game Circus which was released the previous year (and subsequently ported to the Atari VCS), but in the bitter Clowns versus Circus rivalry I'm down with the Clowns baby.
Clowns is a simple 2-D single-screen black and white game, but uses blue, green, and yellow horizontal overlays for color. It is sort of like Breakout with gravity and slightly better graphics - and I do mean slightly.
In the game there are 3 rows of balloons floating horizontally along the top of the screen and you control a see-saw at the bottom of the screen that can go left or right. There is one clown standing on the see-saw and soon a second clown comes barreling his crazy ass off an elevated platform and you have to position the see-saw correctly to catch him and launch the other clown into the air to collide with and pop the balloons. Each balloon nets you points with the balloons at the top level being worth more than the ones at the bottom. When the clown comes falling back to earth you move the see-saw under him and launch the other crazy bastard into the balloon-filled sky to bounce around and burst some more. These clowns really hate balloons. Once you burst all the balloons of a particular row/color you get bonus points and then a new row appears to replace it. The clowns hurtle through the air faster and faster and if you don't get the see-saw under the flying clown in time to catch him - well, that's a dead clown. And the circus only has so many before it's game over.
As you would expect from such an old game, the sound effects and the graphics are both very simple but surprisingly satisfying (except for the jarring noise to alert a player when he gets a bonus jump - not a fan of that). The game is pretty addictive so the replay value is good (if you're me anyway) and although the 1-player play is OK, like most old games it really shines when you have 2 players competing (turn-based play rather than simultaneous).
I finally got a chance to see a real Clowns machine in person when I made the pilgrimage to the American Classic Arcade Museum in New Hampshire last fall. I managed to snap a picture of this young man as he sidled up the game to start clowning around. Look at how joyful he is to find a real Clowns!
But that joy quickly turned to rage when he discovered the game was broken! The poor sap wanted to play it so badly he even inserted a second token which the machine politely swallowed as it had the first without any sort of compensatory entertainment return whatsoever. It even went so far as to taunt him with the screen in play, but the see-saw was frozen in place so the suicidal clowns just jumped blindly off the ramps to their doom.
The gentleman was escorted from the premises by arcade security and forced to cool down over a turkey dinner at Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant down the street. I never knew there were so many different meals made out of turkey. But I digest.
David Nelson holds the official record for Clowns with 61,390 points on June 1, 2004. So far my best effort has only netted 19,320.
Assuming you're playing it on MAME (and not the real thing) be sure to play it with a trackball, spinner, or mouse. If you try to play it with a joystick you are going to completely hate it. I booted up Clowns on the MAME cab before writing this and discovered to my dismay that the colors were gone. I guess the devs got rid of the workaround code that added the color. Now I have to wait for someone to add it back in as an artwork file. You'd be surprised how much 3 little plastic strips of color adds to a black and white game.
I give it 7.4 insane clown posses out of 10.
Oh, and in addition to my VIC-20/C64 version, Clowns was also ported to the Bally Astrocade in 1981 as the combo-pack Clowns and Brickyard. There were several other ports/clones in the Circus/Clowns "genre" as well.
Circus by Exidy in 1977
T.T. Acrobat by Taito in 1978
Acrobat TV by Taito in 1978
See Saw Jump by Sega in 1978
See Saw Jump II by Sega in 1978
Circus Atari for Atari 2600 in 1978
Clowns & Balloons for Atari 400/800 and TRS-80 Color Computer in 1982
Stunt Clown (public domain) for Atari 400/800 in 1983
Monkeys and Balloons for Atari ST in 1988
There have even been a couple of modern-day remakes of the game based on the Atari 2600 Circus Atari that you can download for free - Circus Irata and Circus Linux.
Posted by MadPlanet at 7:14 PM 6 comments Links to this post
Labels: American Classic Arcade Museum, Arcade, Arcade Games of the 70's


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In America in the early 1900s, families would have professional photographs made into postcards. The back was the regular postcard format - left half for a written message and right half for the address, with a spot in the upper corner for the stamp.
I have many of these old photo postcards, but only one that was actually mailed. The rest only identify the people on the front, weren't addressed, but apparently slipped into an envelope with a letter instead.
The two young ladies here are Edyeth "Edith" Anna MORRIS, 6 1/2, and her baby sister, Hazel Velma Morris, b. 10 March 1910 in Lemoore, Kings Co, Calif. They were the youngest children of my great-aunt Eunice Josephine "Aunt Josie" (Cupp) and Samuel Grant MORRIS.
Little Hazel looks to be about 3 months old, so I'm guesstimating this was taken in late May or early June 1910, probably at a studio in Lemoore.
Edith lived to a ripe old 96 (2000), but Hazel passed away in April 1924 at the tender age of 14, the fourth of Sam and Josie's seven children to die in childhood.


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'Flash Freeze' on Wall Street: Nasdaq Paralyzed by 3-Hour Halt
Trading in all $5.65 trillion of Nasdaq-listed securities was halted for more than three hours on Thursday due to a technical glitch, representing the latest stark example of how complex equity markets have become.
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After hours of confusion and several false starts, test trading resumed at about 2:45 p.m. ET and then in other securities at about 3:25 p.m.
The trading halt was announced to market participants through an alert sent by Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ) at about 12:15 p.m. ET.
"The market has become very complex. The plumbing is very ornate," said Sal Arnuk, co-author of Broken Markets and a partner at Themis Trading.
Nasdaq cited a UTP-SIP issue, which involves the system used to distribute stock quotes to human investors. In an update sent just before 1 p.m. ET, Nasdaq said it has implemented a "regulatory halt" for all Tape C securities "until further notice." Tape C securities refer to securities that aren't primarily listed on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
Stay on top of the latest news on Nasdaq's 'Flash Freeze'
Nasdaq said in a statement Thursday evening that "technical issues with the SIP were resolved" in the first 30 minutes, and that for the remainder of the time "NASDAQ OMX, other exchanges, regulators and market participants coordinated with each other to ensure an orderly re-opening of trading in NASDAQ-listed securities."
The statement also said that Nasdaq would be working with other exchanges that are members of the SIP to investigate the issue and pledged to "support any necessary steps to enhance the platform."
The electronic exchange stated it had identified the root of the issue and addressed it. Adding that "there was a connectivity issue between an exchange participant and the SIP, which lead to a degradation in the ability of the SIP to disseminate consolidated quotes and trades."
Shares of the New York-based exchange closed down 3.42% once trading resumed, while rival NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) jumped 1.50%.
"I think this was handled terribly on the part of Nasdaq. It seemed as if they didn't really know how to respond to these events," Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the SEC, told FOX Business. Nasdaq's handling of the situation "left the markets in a state of complete disarray."
Obama Briefed on Outage
"We will all know more of the details about exactly what caused today's disruption but I am glad to say the markets are up and running," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said from an event in California after U.S. markets closed.
Lew also said he sees no reason to "believe that today's incident has any of the more frightening aspects to it, but we're going to have to learn all of the facts."
The White House said President Obama was briefed by Chief of Staff Denis McDonough about the disruption.
U.S. stock-market officials and the Securities and Exchange Commission convened a conference call soon after the Nasdaq outage began, sources told FOX Business. The conference call continued as Nasdaq worked to fix the problem.
Thursday evening SEC Chair Mary Jo White issued a statement on the matter saying, "Today's interruption in trading, while resolved before the end of the day, was nonetheless serious and should reinforce our collective commitment to addressing technological vulnerabilities of exchanges and other market participants. The Commission is determined to enhance the safeguards necessary for strong market systems. "
Further, White vowed to "convene a meeting of the leaders of the exchanges and other major market participants to accelerate ongoing efforts to further strengthen our markets."
The Nasdaq Composite had been stuck at 3631.17 since the trading halt began, but began moving at about 3:25 p.m.
Despite the frustration over the Nasdaq issues, U.S. markets remained in the green throughout the outage and closed solidly higher, with the S&P 500 ending up 0.86% to 1656.95.
"This is a big deal. I don't think I've seen [a major halt] during the day in a long time," Dennis Dick, a market structure consultant and proprietary trader at Bright Trading in Detroit. "This market is so complex. Fifteen or 20 years ago it was so much simpler."
"We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the exchanges," John Nester, a spokesman from the Securities and Exchange Commission, told FOX Business.
A source said the House Financial Services Committee said the panel is "monitoring" the situation.
An FBI spokesman for the New York Field Office told FOX Business the agency is aware of the issue at the Nasdaq but has no further comment at this time.
The CME Group (NYSE:CME), the owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, said the Nasdaq outage has not had an impact on its markets.
'Nobody Knows Exactly What's Happening'
It's worth noting that many stocks were still trading on Wall Street as orders were routed away from Nasdaq.
The "Flash Freeze" did not appear to significantly impact NYSE trading volume. As of 1:30 p.m. ET, some 1.493 billion shares had changed hands in NYSE composite volume, which is about 12% below the exchange's one-month average.
"I think people realized it's a technology issue rather than a major news event or something that would create panic and dysfunction," Christopher Nagy, former head of trading at TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD), told FOX Business.
But market participants did express confusion over the outage, with one senior official at a market-making firm saying: "Nobody knows exactly what's happening."
"It's extremely irritating (for market participants) that trading isn't happening now," a source from a major U.S. investment bank told FOX Business.
The source also expressed doubt that Nasdaq-listed stocks were trading on so-called "dark pool," pointing to a rule the exchange has prohibiting such trades when Nasdaq-listed securities aren't changing hands.
Cold Hard Truth: 'Flash Freeze' Shows Increasing Complexity of Equity Markets
The UTP SIP plan, which stands for unlisted trading privileges of securities of the securities information processor, governs the "collection, processing and distribution of all UTP SIP data," according to UTPPlan.com.
With 2,448 listed stocks, Nasdaq is the No. 2 exchange in the U.S. behind NYSE and is heavily weighted in with technology stocks like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). The total market value of the Nasdaq Composite is $5.647 trillion, according to a Reuters calculation.
Nasdaq's trading volume represents almost one-fifth of the entire market's volume. According to data maintained by BATS Global Markets, Nasdaq's "matched volume" market share as measured by month-to-date average trading volume is about 18%.
There didn't appear to be any concrete evidence that the Nasdaq outage was caused by anything other than a technical glitch, but it's no secret that financial exchanges represent the ultimate bulls-eye for activist hackers.
Are the Markets Too Complex?
Thursday's trading halt comes amid a slew of glitches in the equity markets.
Earlier this week, an equity options unit of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) made a number of erroneous trades that caused problems across a number of exchanges.
The "Flash Freeze" nickname for Thursday's plays off the May 2010 "Flash Crash," the mysterious and scary selloff that sent the Dow Industrials plummeting 1,000 points in just minutes before they quickly recovered.
"Regulators have to begin to realize that the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of machines and they need to reevaluate the way they think of the market," said Doreen Mogavero, president and CEO of Mogavero, Lee & Co.
Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) May 2012 initial public offering was also marred by glitches on the Nasdaq that left investors in the dark for hours about what price they acquired the hot IPO at.
Somewhat ironically, the January 2013 the attempted IPO of exchange operator BATS was scuttled by technical glitches on its own exchange.
All of these incidents have reinforced concerns expressed by market structure experts about how complex the markets have become.
"We go through this charade every once in a while with the electronic market centers, yet, never hear about 'issues' when the humans get involved,"Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital, wrote in an e-mail. "I'd rather have a slower trade execution with data integrity than this kind of repeated nonsense."
FOX Business reporters Rich Edson and Adam Samson contributed to this report.


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Williams Sonoma Weeknight Gluten-Free Cookbook
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- Summary
After discovering that she had celiac disease, and facing significant changes to her lifestyle, author Kristine Kidd had one objective: to eat as well as she always had. In this book, she presents more than 100 of her favorite quick dinner recipes developed during her self-described "year of glorious experimentation." These vibrant but simple meals are free of wheat, rye and barley, and so satisfying and delicious, you'll never realize those ingredients are missing. Emphasizing quick, flavor-packed meals, Kristine transforms easy-to-find fresh ingredients into tempting gluten-free dishes that are perfect for busy weeknights. Featuring poultry, seafood, meat and meatless dishes, along with a handful of desserts, the book includes advice about preparing the fresh ingredients that inspire the recipes. Sprinkled throughout the chapters are recipes for starchy, gluten-free staples that can replace wheat-based pastas, breads or crusts in meals. Clever tips and an extensive how-to section offer ways to round out meals, customize recipes and turn leftovers into new suppers later in the week. Hardcover, 224 pages.
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Rated 5 out of 5 by lauramcperin from My "Go To" Cookbook I absolutely love this cookbook. The recipes are delicious and not difficult. Almost all recipes create a complete meal so you don't have to figure out side dishes. The recipes are light, fresh, and flavorful. We are not gluten-free so I do not use gluten-free substitutes.Date published: 2015-12-14Rated 5 out of 5 by FLdoxiemom from Excellent! I have made many of the recipes in this book. These are excellent! Even if you do not have to eat gluten free, this is real food! Also, you just have to make the cherry ginger cookies first! They are our faves out of any cookie recipe I have had, gluten free or not!Date published: 2015-02-24Rated 5 out of 5 by Jmwhite7 from Great Gluten-Free Recipes for All As a newlywed with Celiac Disease, this is my go-to cookbook. There is a great variety of recipes that both my non-gluten-free husband and I find delicious. In the past year, we have made about 40% of the recipes and have yet to find a bad one. The ingredient lists are reasonable, although most recipes take me longer than indicated. I highly recommend for the beginner-to-intermediate cook.Date published: 2014-08-18Rated 1 out of 5 by zuzuspetals from disappointind I bought this with high hopes since I recently found out I had celiacs. Williams Sonoma usually has great cookbooks and products so I figured why not. I think there was one recipe that I was interested in making. Most recipes were uninteresting or things I did not need a cookbook for. I think I will use my old recipes and replace with gluten free products.Date published: 2014-08-04


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