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Kasumi vs. Ibuki – Cosplay Clash
Dizzy was left disoriented after suffering a loss at the hands of Kasumi yesterday. But now Street Fighter's Ibuki, another ninja girl, has stepped up to the challenge and aims to bring down Kasumi once and for all.
GrellkaLoli's Kasumi has proven that she's a pretty tough adversary, but can she win three more times? This ninja's only got a few more Clashes to go until she achieves total victory.
Carolina Angulo's Ibuki has the more traditional ninja vibe, but she's certainly no slouch in the looks department, even with her face covered. Can she sneak in from behind and take down Kasumi before she reaches the Hall of Fame?
It's up to you to decide who will win this Cosplay Clash between these two fighting game fan-favorites! Voting closes on May 22nd 10AM PST.
Rules of Cosplay Clash:
Fans can vote once per hour for their favorite cosplayer. If a cosplayer remains the reigning champ for seven straight matches, they are retired to the Arcade Sushi Cosplay Hall of Fame. With so many great cosplayers out there, we have to give other cosplayers a chance.


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ELIGIBILITY: Contest open to legal residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older as of date of entry and the parent or legal guardian of a child 18 months or younger as of date of entry. Contest void wherever prohibited by law, or where the registration or filing requirements of any state or local jurisdiction have not been complied with. Employees of May Media Group, LLC ("Sponsor") and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. ("AVEENO®"), their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, production and promotion agencies, and the immediate families and members of the same household of each are not eligible. All federal, state, local and municipal laws and regulations apply.
PROMOTION DESCRIPTION: The KIWI Magazine 2012 America's Cutest Green Baby Contest (the "Contest") provides entrants with the opportunity to submit a photo and a 200 word essay on why their baby is a green baby. Contest begins at 9:00:00 am Eastern Time ("ET") on January 15, 2012 and ends at 11:59:59 pm (ET) on June 30, 2012 (the "Contest Period"). The Contest Period consists of an Entry Phase that begins at 9:00:00 am ET on January 15, 2012 and ends at 11:59:59 pm ET May 31, 2012 (the "Entry Phase"), a first round selection phase that begins at 9:00:00 am ET June 1, 2012 and ends at 5:00:00 pm ET on June 14, 2012 (the "Judging Phase") and a reader voting phase that begins at 9:00:00 am ET on June 15, 2012 and ends at 11:59:59 pm ET on June 30, 2012 (the "Voting Phase").
HOW TO ENTER: To enter visit www.kiwimagonline.com to complete and submit official contest entry form including name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and affirmatively indicate acknowledgement and acceptance of these Official Rules and all other terms and conditions governing the Contest. Then write an essay of 200 words or less explaining why your baby is a green baby and upload a picture of your baby depicting your baby leading a green lifestyle.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Entry is deemed to be the combined submission of essay and photo ("Submission"). Submission must be an original essay and an original picture taken by the entrant. No stock photos can be used. The child in the picture must be 18 months of age or younger as of the date of submission. Entrant must be the parent or legal guardian of the pictured child. If an entrant provides more than one picture of their child only the first image will be judged. Uploading more than one picture does not increase the chance of winning. Any entry, which in the sole opinion of Sponsor is deemed to be inappropriate for publication will be deemed ineligible. Once an essay and picture are submitted they cannot be changed, altered or modified. Submission (a) must be the original and sole creation of, and all right, title and interest including but not limited to the copyright in the picture must be owned solely by, the entrant (b) may not contain any nudity, or in appropriate language as deemed by Sponsor (c) may not have been submitted in any other competition, (d) may not have been published, (e) may not infringe upon any third party's rights, including but not limited to copyright, patent or trademarks/tradenames/logos, or rights of privacy or publicity, or contain material that is or may be considered defamatory, slanderous or libelous, or portray in a false light; (f) may not violate any law, rule or regulation; and each entrant warrants and represents that his/her picture complies with all of those conditions. Non-complying pictures will be subject to disqualification. Entries cannot contain, the trademark, trade name or logo of any third party (but may contain the trademark, trade name or logo of the Sponsor) and cannot contain any material that is protected by copyright. By entering, each entrant grants permission for the use of the Submission and his/her name, to be posted in Kiwi magazine and on the World Wide Web in connection with this Contest, and the advertising, promotion, and publicity of the Contest, and otherwise, as stated in these Official Rules (as solely determined by Sponsor). All submitted entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.
JUDGING/ WINNER SELECTION: During the Judging Phase, a panel of judges, selected by the Sponsor, will review and select twenty-five (25) potential Finalists from among all eligible entries based on: the essay description of why the baby is a green baby (40%); photo depiction of the baby leading a green lifestyle (30%); originality of Submission (30%). Sponsor reserves the right to verify any information contained in the nomination and to request additional information about the Finalist.
During the Voting Phase, the twenty-five (25) Finalists selected by the panel of judges will be posted on the Website. The public will be invited to vote on which Finalists best meets the definition of a green baby based on the above judging criteria during the Voting Phase. The three (3) Finalists who receive the highest total number of valid votes at the end of the Voting Phase will be deemed the Winners. In the event of a tie, the Finalist with the highest score in the first criterion category listed above (the essay description of why the baby is a green baby) in the Judging Phase will be the Winner. Decisions of judges are final and binding in all respects. Sponsors may choose to post fewer than twenty-five (25) Finalists or to not award the prizes if, in their sole discretion, Contest does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.
PRIZE: One (1) Grand Prizes: $1,000 and an AVEENO® Baby ORGANIC HARVEST™ gift pack including Wash & Shampoo, Lotion, & Diaper Rash Cream. (ARV: $1,035.97). One (1) First Prize: $350 and an AVEENO® Baby ORGANIC HARVEST™ gift pack including Wash & Shampoo, Lotion, & Diaper Rash Cream. (Estimated Retail Value: $385.97). One (1) Second Prizes: $150 and an AVEENO® Baby ORGANIC HARVEST™ gift pack including Wash & Shampoo, Lotion, & Diaper Rash Cream. (Estimated Retail Value: $185.97) Estimated Total Retail Value of all prizes $1,607.91.
WINNER NOTIFICATION: All winners will be determined on or about July 9, 2012. The winners will be notified by mail, telephone or e- mail on or about July 11, 2012. All winners will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability which must be signed and received by Sponsor or its designated agent within 14 days of date printed on notification or the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner based on the judging criteria outlined herein. Along with executed Affidavit of Eligibility/ Release of Liability, winner will be required to submit proof of child's date of birth in the form of a photo copy of child's birth certificate. If any prize notification letter or any prize is returned as undeliverable, the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner based on the judging criteria outlined herein.
ODDS: Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received and the decision of the judges. Entries will not be limited, except as expressly provided above. In the event that there is an insufficient number of qualified entries or if the judges determine in their absolute discretion that no or too few entries meet the quality standards established to award the prizes, Sponsor reserves the right not to award the prizes.
GENERAL: This Contest offer is void where prohibited or restricted by law and is subject to applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws and regulations. By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to be bound by these rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final in all matters relating to this Contest. Prizes are nontransferable. By accepting any prize, winner consents to the use of their name, photo, voice, and likeness for promotional, advertising, publicity or trade purposes in any and all media worldwide in perpetuity by Sponsor without further compensation to winner or any other person depicted in photo unless otherwise prohibited by law. Arrangements for the fulfillment of all prizes will be made by the Sponsor. Receipt of any prize is conditioned upon compliance with any and all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations. Winners of any prize(s) will be solely responsible for payment of all federal, state and local taxes. Sponsor and judges not responsible for late, lost, stolen, damaged, incorrect, incomplete, illegible, garbled, misaddressed, or misdirected entries, misrouted or scrambled transmissions or communication, for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, or delays in operations or transmission of information, in each case whether arising by way of technical or other failures or malfunctions of telephone, Internet, computer hardware, software, communications devices, or transmission lines or data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry materials, loss or otherwise. Sponsor disclaims any liability for damage to any telephone or computer system resulting from participation in, or accessing or downloading information in connection with, this Contest, and reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, terminate or suspend this Contest should any virus, bug, technical failures, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In the event of any cancellation, termination or suspension, a notice will be posted and judging will take place from among all eligible entries received prior to such time. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant if his or her fraud or misconduct affects the integrity of the Contest. Entries will be considered made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. By submitting an entry in the contest, you acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall be permitted to use your entry data for marketing purposes consistent with their privacy policies and applicable law. All entrants further agree that in the event of any third party claims, damages, losses or injuries, arising from or relating to this Contest, they will indemnify Sponsor from any and all such claims, including the attorneys' fees related thereto. By accepting prize, winner agrees to release Sponsor, AVEENO®, their respective directors, employees, officers, and agents, including without limitation, their advertising and promotion agencies, from any and all liability, loss or damages arising from or in connection with the awarding, receipt, and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any prize-related activities. Sponsor is not responsible for typographical, printing, or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials related to the Contest.
WINNER'S LIST: The winners' names will be available at www.kiwimagonline.com after September 25, 2012. For a copy of the official rules, visit www.kiwimagonline.com or send a self addressed, stamped envelope to: KIWI Magazine America's Cutest Greenest Baby Contest Rules, PO Box 162, Huntington Station, NY 11746 VT residents may omit return postage.
SPONSOR: This contest is sponsored by May Media Group, LLC, 152 Madison Avenue, Suite 700, New York, NY 10016
In our latest issue:
The green gift guide, 7 healthier holiday recipes, and more See more >

subset: commoncrawl


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Survey Finds Majority of Users Still Willing to Pay for Security Software
Out of the 4,715 computers users from around the world who anonymously participated in the survey, 39.6 percent said they's running a paid Internet security suite solution, and another 15.6 percent run plain antivirus software that's not free. That means 55.2 percent are willing to throw money at security software, versus 41.9 percent who go the pro bono route (37.5 percent use a free antivirus solution and 4.4 percent run a free security suite). But even though paid security is finding a larger audience than the freebie alternatives, the gap is closing.
"Just over half of respondents employ a paid-for security solution, compared with two-thirds last year," AV-Comparatives notes in its report. "Correspondingly, use of free programs has risen to over two-fifths. This suggests that users may be growing more satisfied with the range and quality of free security programs."
What do users look for in security software? The three most popular qualities, all of which were rated by 60 percent of respondents as being important, are good detection rates, good malware removal capabilities, and low impact on system performance. Using a product from a well-known vendor was the least important.


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Developer - IBM
Home page - ibm.com/watson/services/text-to-speech
IBM Virtual Voice Creator: Generating voice personas on the fly
Published on Sep 28, 2017
The IBM Virtual Voice Creator allows you to produce voice-overs for games, cartoons or educational videos with different actors' voices—all generated on-the-fly.
This patented speech synthesis and voice transformation technology from IBM Research offers voice-overs on the fly in a way that's fast, flexible, and inexpensive. It allows you to easily create different voice personas and make last-minute changes in the script without hiring actors or using recording studios.


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Victim of the weather conditions, the Rappahannock Varsity Soccer Team is looking past what they cannot control and looking forward to improving. This includes being led by their new head coach and former assistant Jordan Clary.
"I just want to come in and help the team," said Clary. "I have a good relationship with all the players…I love soccer and its my passion."
This season marks Clary's second year at Rappahannock High and with the team. The difference for her this season is coaching all upperclassmen boys rather than girls on the JV basketball team.
"They are very respectful to me," Clary said. "Going into I was very nervous about me and 18 boys."
Clary is a native of New York and has enjoyed soccer since the age of three.
"I'm trying to bring a program up…and get the kids more excited about at a younger age," Clary said.
As for her team this season, Clary said her top returners include seniors Brandon Gibbs, Brandon Vidra and last year's all district selection Aaron Rock who will be the goalkeeper.
The team is loaded on seniors this including Brandon Harcum, Earvin Gray and Hector; they will be joined by juniors Felix Martinez, Kevin Adams, Isais Dominquez, Ethan Perez, and Fabian Lopez; sophomores Ernesto Cordova, Triston Sebra, Michael Gaines, Francisco Martinez and lobe freshman Brock Belfield.
Clary said she is not looking over one team and preaching to her boys to take "one game at a time."
"I told them that we'll be in it. The way we get out is mentally," Clary added. "As long as we're playing out game I'm not worried—it's when we got to someone else's level, not focusing and starting bickering with each other [that I do]."


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Selecting your vehicle's make, model, and year allows us to display only parts and items specific to your car's model and year.
Part# GRC0017
4 Reviews
OPGI Price: $42.99
Part Type: (R) = Authentic reproduction of the original GM product
Years: 1964-1965
Sold As: PAIR
This felt weatherstrip fits into vertical channel behind the vent window. Includes molded end tips at the top for an exact fit. Fits both coupe and convertible models.


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When I stopped at the Laurens County Library on the trip home, there were two local ladies in the genealogy room when I arrived. They struck up the usual conversation – asking where I was from and what families I was researching. When I rattled off Gamble, Finney, Ewing and Munford one of them said she had some information on the Gamble and Ewing families although she was not actually related them. She had an ancestor's sister who married a Gamble and had thought at one time that her Adair line might have a connection to the Ewing family because they were constantly appearing as witnesses in each other's records.
Mary (as I'll call her from here on out) said she should go home and get her notebooks for me. Next thing I knew she was gone but she returned in a little while with two notebooks. (Did I mention that she doesn't live in the town where the library is but 11 miles away?)
We exchanged phone numbers and before she left Mary asked if I had been to Duncan Creek yet. When I told her I had not been, she said she would just take me out there the next morning when she came to pick up her notebooks. Scotch-Irish settlers founded Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church in 1752 and, apparently, my ancestors were among them or arrived in the area shortly thereafter. Some of them were buried (without headstones) in the cemetery there. In addition to the church and cemetery, the families all lived in that immediate area so I was definitely interested in taking the drive.
When I got back to the hotel and started looking at Mary's notebooks, I was glad I brought my travel scanner. I saw right away that I couldn't "waste" time looking at what was there because I needed to copy as much of it as possible. The notebooks were full of land records for Gambles and Ewings and some of their neighbors along with Mary's hand written notes, which included her analysis of the records. I decided to scan the documents and photograph her notes in order to have a shot at getting through everything. It only took 6 ½ hours.
When Mary arrived at my hotel the next morning, she brought copies of a couple of other things she thought I should have. One was a copy of Rev. War John Finney's estate papers. According to Mary, Rev. War John Finney was the grandfather of my Anna Finney. She also brought a 1987 article from The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research regarding a 1779 petition of the Little River Regiment in support of James Williams. Now I am not connected to James Williams (as far as I know) but Mary thought I'd be interested in the petition because it was signed by four of my ancestors!
Unfortunately, it had rained all night and was still raining the next morning when Mary came by to pick up her notebooks so we passed on the Duncan Creek trip. It's going to take some time to sort through everything I brought back from Laurens County and to piece these families together. I can't thank Mary enough for her help which went way beyond southern hospitality. Mary said she was just glad she ran into me because she'd always thought that someday someone related to these families would come through Laurens County looking for the information she had accumulated.


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US weightlifter calls for more feminine attire
Just because Sarah Robles competes in a sport dominated by men, it doesn't mean she wants to look like one.
But at 5-foot-10 and 270 pounds, America's top-ranked weightlifter says she mostly wears workout clothes made for men because women's athletic attire rarely comes in her size.
"I'm wearing a dude's jacket right now. And a dude's shirt. Dude's sandals. A dude's hat. I've got a dude's watch. I've got a dude's everything," Robles said during a training session in London this week with coach Joe Micela.
On Sunday, she and U.S. teammate Holley Mangold will compete in the women's super heavyweight division. Both say they hope the Olympic spotlight will give their sport more recognition in the U.S., which hasn't won a weightlifting medal since 2000.
Robles, a 24-year-old Californian who trains in Arizona, says the Olympics also give her a forum to encourage the fashion industry to make a greater variety of athletic clothes for plus-sized women.
It's an issue she often discusses on her blog. In one posting, she recalled photo shoots with other Olympians where she had to put on men's clothes because the women's clothes provided didn't come in her size. The men's clothes were big enough, but didn't fit very well.
"I don't think I have a dude-shaped body," Robles said, her laughter drowning in the clang of barbells crashing to the ground at the ExCeL center's cavernous training hall.
"No, you don't," Micela assured her.
Robles said one of the misconceptions about weightlifting is that the sport will make women "look like a man or become a man somehow."
"And that's completely wrong. I think being strong and confident and doing what you love makes you more feminine because you are not afraid to be yourself," she said.
For a long time, weightlifting was a man's world. It was on the program of the first modern Olympics in 1896 but women weren't allowed to compete until the Sydney Games in 2000.
In the U.S., the sport's status has fallen since the 1950's when the United States was the world's No. 1 weightlifting nation. Mangold, Robles and 85-kilogram lifter Kendrick Farris are the only Americans competing in London, with personal records far below the top-ranked lifters in their respective weight classes.
On her blog, Robles described the difficulty of finding sponsors on her road to the Olympics, and how she for a time was living on as little as $400 a month.
Her story resonated with Adrienne Smith, who plays wide receiver and quarterback in a football league for women. She started an online petition, with 47,000 signatures so far, calling on Nike to consider sponsoring Robles.
"I understand what it's like to compete as a woman in a male-dominated sport," Smith said. "In order to be taken seriously you have to excel at your sport. But there's that added pressure of having to be beautiful and having to fit into this petite/feminine image."
Robles said she now has a sponsor but doesn't want to talk about it because athletes aren't supposed to mention their private endorsements during the Olympics.
She said she agrees to "a certain extent" with Smith's assertion that women competing in male-dominated sports often get overlooked by sponsors.
"I feel that in my sport, both genders are overlooked," she said. "Would my chances be better if I were a male? Who's to say?"
The question hung in the air for a few seconds before Micela answered: "As a heavyweight, yes."


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Icelanders wanted to stop fishing and become investment bankers. The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a pinata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted to stop being Irish.
Michael Lewis's investigation of bubbles beyond our shores is so brilliantly, sadly hilarious that it leads the American reader to a comfortable complacency: oh, those foolish foreigners. But when he turns a merciless eye on California and Washington, DC, we see that the narrative is a trap baited with humor, and we understand the reckoning that awaits the greatest and greediest of debtor nations.
Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008.
Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict.
As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself.
Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas.
While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Rickards untangles the web of failed paradigms, wishful thinking, and arrogance driving current public policy and points the way toward a more informed and effective course of action.
From the Hardcover edition.
In short, either we embrace radical change ourselves or radical changes will be visited upon our physical world. The status quo is no longer an option.
In This Changes Everything Naomi Klein argues that climate change isn't just another issue to be neatly filed between taxes and health care. It's an alarm that calls us to fix an economic system that is already failing us in many ways. Klein meticulously builds the case for how massively reducing our greenhouse emissions is our best chance to simultaneously reduce gaping inequalities, re-imagine our broken democracies, and rebuild our gutted local economies. She exposes the ideological desperation of the climate-change deniers, the messianic delusions of the would-be geoengineers, and the tragic defeatism of too many mainstream green initiatives. And she demonstrates precisely why the market has not—and cannot—fix the climate crisis but will instead make things worse, with ever more extreme and ecologically damaging extraction methods, accompanied by rampant disaster capitalism.
Klein argues that the changes to our relationship with nature and one another that are required to respond to the climate crisis humanely should not be viewed as grim penance, but rather as a kind of gift—a catalyst to transform broken economic and cultural priorities and to heal long-festering historical wounds. And she documents the inspiring movements that have already begun this process: communities that are not just refusing to be sites of further fossil fuel extraction but are building the next, regeneration-based economies right now.
Can we pull off these changes in time? Nothing is certain. Nothing except that climate change changes everything. And for a very brief time, the nature of that change is still up to us.
Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally—to think, that is, like a Freak.
Levitt and Dubner offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. As always, no topic is off-limits. They range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you'll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria.
Some of the steps toward thinking like a Freak:First, put away your moral compass—because it's hard to see a problem clearly if you've already decided what to do about it. Learn to say "I don't know"—for until you can admit what you don't yet know, it's virtually impossible to learn what you need to. Think like a child—because you'll come up with better ideas and ask better questions. Take a master class in incentives—because for better or worse, incentives rule our world. Learn to persuade people who don't want to be persuaded—because being right is rarely enough to carry the day. Learn to appreciate the upside of quitting—because you can't solve tomorrow's problem if you aren't willing to abandon today's dud.
Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing—and so much fun to read.
The U.S. dollar has been the global reserve currency since the end of World War II. If the dollar fails, the entire international monetary system will fail with it. But optimists have always said, in essence, that confidence in the dollar will never truly be shaken, no matter how high our national debt or how dysfunctional our government.
In the last few years, however, the risks have become too big to ignore. While Washington is gridlocked, our biggest rivals—China, Russia, and the oil-producing nations of the Middle East—are doing everything possible to end U.S. monetary hegemony. The potential results: Financial warfare. Deflation. Hyperinflation. Market collapse. Chaos.
James Rickards, the acclaimed author of Currency Wars, shows why money itself is now at risk and what we can all do to protect ourselves. He explains the power of converting unreliable investments into real wealth: gold, land, fine art, and other long-term stores of value.
In his bestselling 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang brilliantly debunked many of the predominant myths of neoclassical economics. Now, in an entertaining and accessible primer, he explains how the global economy actually works-in real-world terms. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge of history, and a disregard for conventional economic pieties, Chang offers insights that will never be found in the textbooks.
Unlike many economists, who present only one view of their discipline, Chang introduces a wide range of economic theories, from classical to Keynesian, revealing how each has its strengths and weaknesses, and why there is no one way to explain economic behavior. Instead, by ignoring the received wisdom and exposing the myriad forces that shape our financial world, Chang gives us the tools we need to understand our increasingly global and interconnected world often driven by economics. From the future of the Euro, inequality in China, or the condition of the American manufacturing industry here in the United States-Economics: The User's Guide is a concise and expertly crafted guide to economic fundamentals that offers a clear and accurate picture of the global economy and how and why it affects our daily lives.
Since his documentary, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, was released in 2010 and became a worldwide sensation, Joe Cross has become a tireless advocate for the power of juicing. The Reboot with Joe Juice Diet brings us of the plan that allowed him to overcome obesity, poor health, and bad habits, and presents success stories from others whose lives he's touched.
Joe—who managed to lose one hundred pounds and discontinue all his medication by following his own plan—walks you through his life before juicing, sharing his self-defeating attitude toward food and fitness, and brings you along on his journey from obesity and disease to fitness, a clean bill of health, and the clarity of physical wellness.
In addition to sharing Joe's inspirational story, The Reboot with Joe Juice Diet gives readers all the tools they need to embark on their own journey to health and wellness, including inspiration and encouragement, recipes, and diet plans.
But just what is this thing called a new economy, and how might it take shape in America? In What Then Must We Do? Gar Alperovitz speaks directly to the reader about where we find ourselves in history, why the time is right for a new-economy movement to coalesce, what it means to build a new system to replace the crumbling one, and how we might begin. He also suggests what the next system might look like—and where we can see its outlines, like an image slowly emerging in the developing trays of a photographer's darkroom, already taking shape.
He proposes a possible next system that is not corporate capitalism, not state socialism, but something else entirely—and something entirely American.
Alperovitz calls for an evolution, not a revolution, out of the old system and into the new. That new system would democratize the ownership of wealth, strengthen communities in diverse ways, and be governed by policies and institutions sophisticated enough to manage a large-scale, powerful economy.
For the growing group of Americans pacing at the edge of confidence in the old system, or already among its detractors, What Then Must We Do? offers an elegant solution for moving from anger to strategy.
When Freakonomics was first published, the authors started a blog—and they've kept it up. The writing is more casual, more personal, even more outlandish than in their books. In When to Rob a Bank, they ask a host of typically off-center questions: Why don't flight attendants get tipped? If you were a terrorist, how would you attack? And why does KFC always run out of fried chicken?
Over the past decade, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have published more than 8,000 blog posts on the Freakonomics website. Many of them, they freely admit, were rubbish. But now they've gone through and picked the best of the best. You'll discover what people lie about, and why; the best way to cut gun deaths; why it might be time for a sex tax; and, yes, when to rob a bank. (Short answer: never; the ROI is terrible.) You'll also learn a great deal about Levitt and Dubner's own quirks and passions, from gambling and golf to backgammon and the abolition of the penny.
Our current economic path is coming to an end. The signposts are all around us: sluggish growth, rising inequality, stubbornly high pockets of unemployment, and jittery financial markets, to name a few. Soon we will reach a fork in the road: One path leads to renewed growth, prosperity, and financial stability, the other to recession and market disorder.
In The Only Game in Town, El-Erian casts his gaze toward the future of the global economy and markets, outlining the choices we face both individually and collectively in an era of economic uncertainty and financial insecurity. Beginning with their response to the 2008 global crisis, El-Erian explains how and why our central banks became the critical policy actors—and, most important, why they cannot continue is this role alone. They saved the financial system from collapse in 2008 and a multiyear economic depression, but lack the tools to enable a return to high inclusive growth and durable financial stability. The time has come for a policy handoff, from a prolonged period of monetary policy experimentation to a strategy that better targets what ails economies and distorts the financial sector—before we stumble into another crisis.
The future, critically, is not predestined. It is up to us to decide where we will go from here as households, investors, companies, and governments. Using a mix of insights from economics, finance, and behavioral science, this book gives us the tools we need to properly understand this turning point, prepare for it, and come out of it stronger. A comprehensive, controversial look at the realities of our global economy and markets, The Only Game in Town is required reading for investors, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future.
Praise for The Only Game in Town
"The one economic book you must read now . . . If you want to understand [our] bifurcated world and where it's headed, there is no better interpreter than Mohamed El-Erian."–Time
"A grand tour of the challenges we face, along with ideal solutions and more likely outcomes . . . We desperately need a system in which the central banks are no longer the only game in town."—Steven Rattner, The New York Times Book Review
"A must-read from one of the most astute financial analysts of our time."—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs
"El-Erian's gift for clarity and his use of compelling examples make important economic issues accessible."—Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO, New America
"[A] highly intelligent analysis."—Fareed Zakaria, CNN (book of the week)
Whereas Volume One: Microeconomics dealt with the optimizing individual, Volume Two: Macroeconomics explains the factors that affect the economy of an entire country, and indeed the planet. It explores the two big concerns of macroeconomics: how economies grow and why economies collapse. It illustrates the basics of the labor market and explains what the GDP is and what it measures, as well as the influence of government, trade, and technology on the economy. Along the way, it covers the economics of global poverty, climate change, and the business cycle. In short, if any of these topics have cropped up in a news story and caused you to wish you grasped the underlying basics, buy this book.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Dollar Crisis is divided into five parts:
Part One describes how the US trade deficits, which now exceed US$1 million a minute, have destabilized the global economy by creating a worldwide credit bubble.
Part Two explains why these giant deficits cannot persist and why a US recession and a collapse in the value of the Dollar are unavoidable.
Part Three analyzes the extraordinarily harmful impact that the US recession and the collapse of the Dollar will have on the rest of the world.
Part Four offers original recommendations that, if implemented, would help mitigate the damage of the coming worldwide downturn and put in place the foundations for balanced and sustainable economic growth in the decades ahead.
Part Five, which has been newly added to the second edition, describes the extraordinary evolution of this crisis since the first edition was completed in September 2002. It also considers how the Dollar Crisis is likely to unfold over the years immediately ahead, the likely policy response to the crisis, and why that response cannot succeed.
The Dollar Standard is inherently flawed and increasingly unstable. Its collapse will be the most important economic event of the 21st Century.
"Richard Wolff's constructive and innovative ideas suggest new and promising foundations for much more authentic democracy and sustainable and equitable development, ideas that can be implemented directly and carried forward. A very valuable contribution in troubled times."—Noam Chomsky
"Richard Wolff is the leading socialist economist in the country. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about a fundamental transformation of the ailing capitalist economy!"—Cornel West
"Bold, thoughtful, transformative-a powerful and challenging vision that takes us beyond both corporate capitalism and state socialism. Richard Wolff at his best!"—Gar Alperovitz
While most mainstream commentators view the crisis that provoked the Great Recession as having passed, these essays from Richard Wolff paint a far less rosy picture. Drawing attention to the extreme downturn in most of capitalism's old centers, the unequal growth in its new centers, and the resurgence of a global speculative bubble, Wolff—in his uniquely accessible style—makes the case that the crisis should be grasped not as a passing moment, but as an evolving stage in capitalism's history.
Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Visiting Professor at the New School in New York. Wolff's recent work has concentrated on analyzing the causes and alternative solutions to the global economic crisis. His groundbreaking book Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism inspired the creation of Democracy at Work, a nonprofit organization dedicated to showing how and why to make democratic workplaces real.
A drumbeat is sounding among the global elites. The signs of a worldwide financial meltdown are unmistakable. This time, the elites have an audacious plan to protect themselves from the fallout: hoarding cash now and locking down the global financial system when a crisis hits.
Since 2014, international monetary agencies have been issuing warnings to a small group of finance ministers, banks, and private equity funds: the U.S. government's cowardly choices not to prosecute J.P. Morgan and its ilk, and to bloat the economy with a $4 trillion injection of easy credit, are driving us headlong toward a cliff.
As Rickards shows in this frightening, meticulously researched book, governments around the world have no compunction about conspiring against their citizens. They will have stockpiled hard assets when stock exchanges are closed, ATMs shut down, money market funds frozen, asset managers instructed not to sell securities, negative interest rates imposed, and cash withdrawals denied.
If you want to plan for the risks ahead, you will need Rickards's cutting-edge synthesis of behavioral economics, history, and complexity theory. It's a guidebook to thinking smarter, acting faster, and living with the comforting knowledge that your wealth is secure.
The global elites don't want this book to exist. Their plan to herd us like sheep to the slaughter when a global crisis erupts—and, of course, to maintain their wealth—works only if we remain complacent and unaware. Thanks to The Road to Ruin, we don't need to be.
"If you are curious about what the financial Götterdämmerung might look like you've certainly come to the right place... Rickards believes -- and provides tantalizing snippets of private conversations with those who dwell in the very eye-in-the-pyramid -- that the current world monetary and financial system is on the verge of insolvency and that the world financial elites already have a successor system for which they are laying the groundwork."
--Ralph Benko, Forbes
Akerlof and Shiller reassert the necessity of an active government role in economic policymaking by recovering the idea of animal spirits, a term John Maynard Keynes used to describe the gloom and despondence that led to the Great Depression and the changing psychology that accompanied recovery. Like Keynes, Akerlof and Shiller know that managing these animal spirits requires the steady hand of government--simply allowing markets to work won't do it. In rebuilding the case for a more robust, behaviorally informed Keynesianism, they detail the most pervasive effects of animal spirits in contemporary economic life--such as confidence, fear, bad faith, corruption, a concern for fairness, and the stories we tell ourselves about our economic fortunes--and show how Reaganomics, Thatcherism, and the rational expectations revolution failed to account for them.
Animal Spirits offers a road map for reversing the financial misfortunes besetting us today. Read it and learn how leaders can channel animal spirits--the powerful forces of human psychology that are afoot in the world economy today. In a new preface, they describe why our economic troubles may linger for some time--unless we are prepared to take further, decisive action.
800-CEO-Read "Best Business Book of 2017: Current Events & Public Affairs"
Economics is the mother tongue of public policy. It dominates our decision-making for the future, guides multi-billion-dollar investments, and shapes our responses to climate change, inequality, and other environmental and social challenges that define our times.
Pity then, or more like disaster, that its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date yet are still taught in college courses worldwide and still used to address critical issues in government and business alike.
That's why it is time, says renegade economist Kate Raworth, to revise our economic thinking for the 21st century. In Doughnut Economics, she sets out seven key ways to fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design.
Named after the now-iconic "doughnut" image that Raworth first drew to depict a sweet spot of human prosperity (an image that appealed to the Occupy Movement, the United Nations, eco-activists, and business leaders alike), Doughnut Economics offers a radically new compass for guiding global development, government policy, and corporate strategy, and sets new standards for what economic success looks like.
Raworth handpicks the best emergent ideas—from ecological, behavioral, feminist, and institutional economics to complexity thinking and Earth-systems science—to address this question: How can we turn economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive, into economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow?
Simple, playful, and eloquent, Doughnut Economics offers game-changing analysis and inspiration for a new generation of economic thinkers.
This revised and updated edition adds commentary on hot topics, including the current economic crisis, globalization, the economics of information, the intersection of economics and politics, and the history—and future—of the Federal Reserve.
An Economist Best Book of the Year, 2015
A Bloomberg Best Book of the Year, 2015
The finance sector of Western economies is too large and attracts too many of the smartest college graduates. Financialization over the past three decades has created a structure that lacks resilience and supports absurd volumes of trading. The finance sector devotes too little attention to the search for new investment opportunities and the stewardship of existing ones, and far too much to secondary-market dealing in existing assets. Regulation has contributed more to the problems than the solutions.
Why? What is finance for? John Kay, with wide practical and academic experience in the world of finance, understands the operation of the financial sector better than most. He believes in good banks and effective asset managers, but good banks and effective asset managers are not what he sees.
In a dazzling and revelatory tour of the financial world as it has emerged from the wreckage of the 2008 crisis, Kay does not flinch in his criticism: we do need some of the things that Citigroup and Goldman Sachs do, but we do not need Citigroup and Goldman to do them. And many of the things done by Citigroup and Goldman do not need to be done at all. The finance sector needs to be reminded of its primary purpose: to manage other people's money for the benefit of businesses and households. It is an aberration when the some of the finest mathematical and scientific minds are tasked with devising algorithms for the sole purpose of exploiting the weakness of other algorithms for computerized trading in securities. To travel further down that road leads to ruin.
Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone profound changes—economic cycles that veer from boom to bust—from which it has always emerged transformed and strengthened. Surveying this turbulent history, Paul Mason's Postcapitalism argues that we are on the brink of a change so big and so profound that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system within which entire societies function, will mutate into something wholly new.
At the heart of this change is information technology, a revolution that is driven by capitalism but, with its tendency to push the value of much of what we make toward zero, has the potential to destroy an economy based on markets, wages, and private ownership. Almost unnoticed, in the niches and hollows of the market system, swaths of economic life are beginning to move to a different rhythm. Vast numbers of people are changing how they behave and live, in ways contrary to the current system of state-backed corporate capitalism. And as the terrain changes, new paths open.
In this bold and prophetic book, Mason shows how, from the ashes of the crisis, we have the chance to create a more socially just and sustainable economy. Although the dangers ahead are profound, he argues that there is cause for hope. This is the first time in human history in which, equipped with an understanding of what is happening around us, we can predict and shape the future.
Chua shows how in non-Western countries around the globe, free markets have concentrated starkly disproportionate wealth in the hands of a resented ethnic minority. These "market-dominant minorities" – Chinese in Southeast Asia, Croatians in the former Yugoslavia, whites in Latin America and South Africa, Indians in East Africa, Lebanese in West Africa, Jews in post-communist Russia – become objects of violent hatred. At the same time, democracy empowers the impoverished majority, unleashing ethnic demagoguery, confiscation, and sometimes genocidal revenge. She also argues that the United States has become the world's most visible market-dominant minority, a fact that helps explain the rising tide of anti-Americanism around the world. Chua is a friend of globalization, but she urges us to find ways to spread its benefits and curb its most destructive aspects.
A powerful sequel to Benjamin R. Barber's best-selling Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed offers a vivid portrait of an overproducing global economy that targets children as consumers in a market where there are never enough shoppers and where the primary goal is no longer to manufacture goods but needs. To explain how and why this has come about, Barber brings together extensive empirical research with an original theoretical framework for understanding our contemporary predicament. He asserts that in place of the Protestant ethic once associated with capitalism—encouraging self-restraint, preparing for the future, protecting and self-sacrificing for children and community, and other characteristics of adulthood—we are constantly being seduced into an "infantilist" ethic of consumption.
Connectivity is the most revolutionary force of the twenty-first century. Mankind is reengineering the planet, investing up to ten trillion dollars per year in transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure linking the world's burgeoning megacities together. This has profound consequences for geopolitics, economics, demographics, the environment, and social identity. Connectivity, not geography, is our destiny.
In Connectography, visionary strategist Parag Khanna travels from Ukraine to Iran, Mongolia to North Korea, Pakistan to Nigeria, and across the Arctic Circle and the South China Sea to explain the rapid and unprecedented changes affecting every part of the planet. He shows how militaries are deployed to protect supply chains as much as borders, and how nations are less at war over territory than engaged in tugs-of-war over pipelines, railways, shipping lanes, and Internet cables. The new arms race is to connect to the most markets—a race China is now winning, having launched a wave of infrastructure investments to unite Eurasia around its new Silk Roads. The United States can only regain ground by fusing with its neighbors into a super-continental North American Union of shared resources and prosperity.
Connectography offers a unique and hopeful vision for the future. Khanna argues that new energy discoveries and technologies have eliminated the need for resource wars; ambitious transport corridors and power grids are unscrambling Africa's fraught colonial borders; even the Arab world is evolving a more peaceful map as it builds resource and trade routes across its war-torn landscape. At the same time, thriving hubs such as Singapore and Dubai are injecting dynamism into young and heavily populated regions, cyber-communities empower commerce across vast distances, and the world's ballooning financial assets are being wisely invested into building an inclusive global society. Beneath the chaos of a world that appears to be falling apart is a new foundation of connectivity pulling it together.
Praise for Connectography
"Incredible . . . With the world rapidly changing and urbanizing, [Khanna's] proposals might be the best way to confront a radically different future."—The Washington Post
"Clear and coherent . . . a well-researched account of how companies are weaving ever more complicated supply chains that pull the world together even as they squeeze out inefficiencies. . . . [He] has succeeded in demonstrating that the forces of globalization are winning."—Adrian Woolridge, The Wall Street Journal
"Bold . . . With an eye for vivid details, Khanna has . . . produced an engaging geopolitical travelogue."—Foreign Affairs
"For those who fear that the world is becoming too inward-looking, Connectography is a refreshing, optimistic vision."—The Economist
"Connectivity has become a basic human right, and gives everyone on the planet the opportunity to provide for their family and contribute to our shared future. Connectography charts the future of this connected world."—Marc Andreessen, general partner, Andreessen Horowitz
"Khanna's scholarship and foresight are world-class. A must-read for the next president."—Chuck Hagel, former U.S. secretary of defense
This title has complex layouts that may take longer to download.
In Left Behind, Sebastian Edwards explains why the nations of Latin America have failed to share in the fruits of globalization and forcefully highlights the dangers of the recent turn to economic populism in the region. He begins by detailing the many ways Latin American governments have stifled economic development over the years through excessive regulation, currency manipulation, and thoroughgoing corruption. He then turns to the neoliberal reforms of the early 1990s, which called for the elimination of deficits, lowering of trade barriers, and privatization of inefficient public enterprises—and which, Edwards argues, held the promise of freeing Latin America from the burdens of the past. Flawed implementation, however, meant the promised gains of globalization were never felt by the mass of citizens, and growing frustration with stalled progress has led to a resurgence of populism throughout the region, exemplified by the economic policies of Venezuela'sHugo Chávez. But such measures, Edwards warns, are a recipe for disaster; instead, he argues, the way forward for Latin America lies in further market reforms, more honestly pursued and fairly implemented. As an example of the promise of that approach, Edwards points to Latin America's giant, Brazil, which under the successful administration of President Luis Inácio da Silva (Lula) has finally begun to show signs of reaching its true economic potential.
As the global financial crisis has reminded us, the risks posed by failing economies extend far beyond their national borders. Putting Latin America back on a path toward sustained growth is crucial not just for the region but for the world, and Left Behind offers a clear, concise blueprint for the way forward.
A distinctive feature of Card and Krueger's research is the use of empirical methods borrowed from the natural sciences, including comparisons between the "treatment" and "control" groups formed when the minimum wage rises for some workers but not for others. In addition, the authors critically reexamine the previous literature on the minimum wage and find that it, too, lacks support for the claim that a higher minimum wage cuts jobs. Finally, the effects of the minimum wage on family earnings, poverty outcomes, and the stock market valuation of low-wage employers are documented. Overall, this book calls into question the standard model of the labor market that has dominated economists' thinking on the minimum wage. In addition, it will shift the terms of the debate on the minimum wage in Washington and in state legislatures throughout the country.
With a new preface discussing new data, Myth and Measurement continues to shift the terms of the debate on the minimum wage.
'Mr. Connolly's longstanding proposition that the foisting of a common currency upon so many disparate nations would end in ruin is getting a much wider hearing...' New York Times, 17 November 2011
When first published in 1995, The Rotten Heart of Europe caused outrage and delight - here was a Brussels insider, a senior EU economist, daring to talk openly about the likely pitfalls of European monetary union.
Bernard Connolly lost his job at the Commission, but his book was greeted as a profound and persuasive expose of the would-be 'monetary masters of the world.' His brave act of defiance became headline news - and his book a major international bestseller.
In a substantial new introduction, Connolly returns to his prophetic account of the double-talk surrounding the efforts of politicians, bankers and bureaucrats to force Europe into a crippling monetary straitjacket. Hidden agendas are laid bare, skulduggery exposed and economic fallacies are skewered, producing a horrifying conclusion. No one who wants to understand the workings of the EU, past, present and future can afford to miss this enthralling and deeply disturbing book.
Professor Lindauers previous works include books such as Land Taxation and Indian Economic Development (with Sarjit Singh); various editions of his Macroeconomics series; and his ground-breaking journal articles such as Stabilization Inflation and the Inflation-Unemployment Trade-off.A non-technical explanation of the theories and policies described herein is available as Inflations, Unemployment, and Government Deficits: End Them. It is suitable for journalists, laymen, and lawyers attempting to serve as Federal Reserve governors.
A related explanation of those theories and policies is available as The General Theories of Inflation, Unemployment, and Government Deficits. It is suitable for professional economists and graduate students.Lindauers books have been translated into Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, and Portuguese and his policy suggestions implemented by central banks around the world. In addition to serving as Professor of Economics and Chairman at Claremont, he has served as a visiting professor of economics at Sussex University and the University of California; and as a Distinguished Senior Fulbright Professor at the University of Punjab.


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Silverdream wrote:I'm going to use quite a few of these this weekend (hopefully) with my gaming group. I'll also borrow some stuff from BrikwaRPG
What we're going to do is each have a hero and wander around a zombie infested map(which I finally have the parts for).
My gaming group sucks at heroic feats and I suck at explaining things. It didn't last two turns before my brother put it out of it's misery (by destroying the entire universe with his french time machine).


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Evaluating Expressions
The debugger Watch tool can also be used to view the value of keyboard-entered expressions. These may be entered by clicking on any cell in the Watch manager's display tree and editing or entering the desired expression in the Variable column. Press enter to complete the editing session.
Only expressions that evaluate to a value may be entered. Other statements, like variable assignments, import statements, and language constructs are rejected with an error. These may only be executed using the Debug Probe.
Expressions are evaluated in the context of the current debug stack frame, so this feature is available only when the debug program has been paused or has stopped at a breakpoint or exception. This also means that the value of the same typed expression may change as you move up and down the call stack in the main debugger window.
In cases where evaluating an expression results in changing the value of local or global variables, your debug program will continue in that changed context. Whenever a value is changed as a result of expression evaluation, the updated value will be propagated into any visible debugger variable display areas because Wing refetches all displayed data values after the evaluation of each expression. However, since you may not notice these changes, caution is required to avoid undesired side-effects in the debug process.
Note that breakpoints are never reached as a result of expression evaluation, and any exceptions encountered are not reported. If you need to debug an expression, use the Debug Probe where exceptions will be reported.


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'Burst' is often used for both.
Student or Learner
(1) A force with which you can break out your force suddenly. Is it called "break-out force"?
(2) Spurt
For example: In 100 meter run, at the last minute, you make a brief intense effort to finish the final run.
Can we say you spurt at the last minute?
'Burst' is often used for both.
thrust is a better word.
But I am still carefully checking the definitions in my dictionaries about "burst" and "thrust".
What about?Originally Posted by NewHope
thrust: push with force from the inside
burst: to explode
The door burst open.
He thrust the door open.


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All items > Knives > Automatic Knives > Piranha (Auto) > Piranha Predator
- Overall Length:9.125"
- Blade Length:4.125"
- Cutting Edge:4.00"
- Blade Thickness:0.13"
- Blade Material:CPM-S30V
- Hardness:60-61 RC
- Blade Style:Drop Point
- Blade Grind:Hollow
- Finish:Black
- Edge Type:Serrated
- Handle Length:5.00"
- Handle Thickness:0.63"
- Handle Material:Aluminum
- Color:Green
- Weight:4.00 oz.
- User:Right Hand
- Pocket Clip:Tip-Up
- Knife Type:Automatic
- Opener:Push Button
- Lock Type:Plunge Lock
- Brand:Piranha
- Model:Predator
- Model Number:P-10GTS
- Country of Origin:USA
- Best Use:Tactical
- Product Type:Knife
This Predator has a green anodized aluminum handle with tactical hardware and a titanium pocket clip. The blade is black finished with a partially serrated edge.
The Predator is the latest automatic knife offering from Piranha. It features a machine textured aluminum handle with a tip-up carry titanium pocket clip. The Predator has push button action that is strong and reliable. The blade is CPM-S30V stainless steel with a mean profile for combat duty.


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'Silly Season' Synopsis
Eleven years ago, the NASCAR race team then known as Roush Racing made an announcement of a sponsor change on its flagship No. 6 car. Valvoline was leaving, and the Roush organization had struck a megabucks deal with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to advertise a certain little blue pill on the hood of its vehicle beginning the following season. Jack Roush and Mark Martin revealed the new paint scheme in a splashy unveiling prior to the July race at Daytona International Speedway -- a full seven months before the car would take to the race track.
That's the way it used to be done. Back when sponsor money flowed like water from a spigot, when many corporations were discovering this marketing opportunity called NASCAR for the first time, deals were made so far in advance that companies had months (or in the case of Dodge's return in 2001, years) to plan their grand entrances into North America's biggest motorsports series. Sponsorship became something of an arms race as companies topped one another with deals bigger than the previous one. The dollar amounts being exchanged were astronomical, and they all came with lots of planning and lead time and activation. Very little was done at the last minute. The latter half of each season typically featured a flurry of announcements as sponsor and driver alignments became solidified, and then everyone scattered to Bali or Aspen for the holidays before reconvening at Daytona in their new colors.
It was a process as regular and as dependable as inspection at a restrictor-plate track. Then the economy flattened. And the sponsor market contracted. And the dollar figures involved shrunk. And suddenly here we are, in the midst of a winter every bit as active as a Saturday morning at Pocono, witnessing a prolonged convulsion of personnel moves that didn't really begin to ramp up until after the 2011 season ended. That used to be the time when NASCAR's so-called silly season quieted down. Now, it's just a starting point. Announcements like Michael Waltrip Racing's at the October race in Kansas, where a new driver, new car and new sponsor were all unveiled in one grand swoop, used to be the standard. Now, in this crazy offseason, something like that seems quaint.
In its place we have a feeding frenzy, an environment in which drivers needing rides and teams needing sponsorship take what they can get, where corporate backing is at a premium, where everything takes much longer because careful, cost-conscious companies would rather sit and wait. A decade ago, the driver lineup for the following season was firmed up well before the circuit reached Atlanta for what was then the final race. Today, regular season and offseason have merged into one long, full-calendar-year process with no defined starting or ending point. Between the end of the 2011 season on Nov. 20 and Tuesday, there were a staggering 34 personnel moves across NASCAR's three national divisions -- and we're not done yet. Preseason testing looms at Daytona, and still race-winning drivers like David Ragan and Brian Vickers don't have jobs. Mike Ford, a crew chief who almost won a championship two years ago, has yet to land anywhere. There is no silly season anymore. The whole season has gone silly.
Granted, for the guys back at the shop who build race cars, this has always been the busiest time of year, as teams try to bulk up inventory and get their vehicles squared away for the first few months of the upcoming campaign. Now, they're not alone. Vacation? Forget it. One day after the 2011 season ended, Roush Fenway essentially shut down Martin's old No. 6 team. A day later, Richard Childress Racing shuffled its crew chiefs, clearing the way to hire ex-Rousher Drew Blickensderfer to work with Jeff Burton's team. That same day, Hendrick engineer Chris Heroy was named crew chief on Juan Montoya's team at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, and Rookie of the Year Andy Lally announced he was heading to Grand-Am. Five days later, crew chief Steve Addington quit at Penske. The day after that, Addington was hired to replace Darian Grubb at Stewart-Haas. The sport hadn't even gotten to Las Vegas to celebrate its 2011 season, and already the next one was taking shape.
And the really big moves hadn't even begun. In the middle of Champions Week, the ownerless and sponsor-less former Red Bull operation shut down. Four days later, Brian Pattie was hired as Clint Bowyer's new crew chief at MWR. But that move went almost unnoticed among the clang and crash of Kurt Busch's unexpected separation from Penske, which happened on the same day and wobbled a series of notable dominoes that would tumble in the ensuing weeks: A.J. Allmendinger landing in Busch's old No. 22 car, Nationwide driver Aric Almirola taking over Allmendinger's former No. 43 at Richard Petty Motorsports, Camping World Truck Series phenom Cole Whitt being snapped up to succeed Almirola in JR Motorsports' No. 7 car, and Busch himself resurfacing in James Finch's No. 51 machine.
The moves kept coming, one after the other, speeding by like a pack of cars at Talladega. Joe Gibbs Racing released Ford, and three days later hired Grubb to replace him as Denny Hamlin's crew chief. Eight days later, Greg Zipadelli left as crew chief of JGR's No. 20 to become competition director at Stewart-Haas, and the Gibbs team promoted Jason Ratcliff from the Nationwide tour. Penske hired Todd Gordon as crew chief on the No. 22. Brendan Gaughan inked a limited Nationwide slate with RCR. David Reutimann signed a Cup deal with Tommy Baldwin, and a Truck Series deal with Robby Benton. Rusty Wallace Racing suspended operations on its two Nationwide cars, and released driver Michael Annett. The avalanche was so unrelenting, there was even a news release dated Dec 25: Eddie Sharp Racing named Jerry Baxter as crew chief on Cale Gale's truck. Evidently, Christmas was the only time they'd have the NASCAR spotlight all to themselves.
To those of us who have been around this sport for a while, it's been a dizzying few months, more active from a personnel standpoint than any other offseason -- and we're using that term very loosely -- in recent memory. No question, winter crew chief changes are far from unusual, and Busch's situation is special case. But much of this is also a product of the economy, of potential sponsors taking longer and longer to make decisions with their marketing dollars, forcing teams to wait longer and longer to finalize their programs for the following seasons, forcing drivers to wait longer and longer to see what might be available to them. And given that the monetary pie shows no immediate signs of getting any larger anytime soon, this may very well be the sport's new reality. Maybe NASCAR should follow baseball's lead and just gather all its team owners together in a hotel somewhere for a week after the season ends, and get all this worked out at one time.
That's unlikely, of course, so the moves continue to come in drips and drabs. The latest one arrived Tuesday, when the always-active Turner Motorsports named Mike Shiplett as crew chief of the No. 38 Nationwide Series car to be driven by Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet (which had been announced Jan. 3). More are certain to come. Who knows, we may have a last-minute announcement on the morning of the Daytona 500. Let's just hope they don't wait until after the drop of the green flag to make it official. But in this silliest of silly seasons, not even that would come as a surprise.


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|2012-05-06, 01:52
|Link #8141
Dark Energy
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: United States
As far as I know, the only people who know Jellal killed Simon are the people who were there on the tower. Milliana knows, and it's possible she was the one who told Kagura, but from the way she was talking Kagura had targeted Jellal before Milli even met Kagura, so if it does involve Simon she would have had to have learned about Jellal being the one to kill him some other way.
And anyone who says his name isn't "Jellal" should tell that to the Fairy Tail Wiki, FUNimation, and Del Ray, because they've obviously mistranslated the name somewhere.
|2012-05-06, 02:04
|Link #8143
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
What was the other name people called Jellal? I remember when i first got into Fairy Tail people called him something else on another forum. Gerard or something.
About the keys, i wish all 13 weren't revealed yet. I don't really know why he's revealed all the ecliptic keys already, since it seems like even new keys will lack some of the same suspense. I liked how it was done in cardcaptors/cardcaptor sakura, where the first card was one of the 4 major ones, and also the last one.
|2012-05-06, 02:08
|Link #8144
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Where you're not.
|2012-05-06, 02:10
|Link #8145
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 30
CCS was all about the cards, Lucy's key hunt is more of a side-story. Jellal was a.k.a. Gerard, although I don't see why anyone would care about names as long as you know which character we're talking about.
EDIT: It seems our anonymous "not Jellal" neg-repper is back, just ignore them, everyone.
As for MY crack theory, Kagura wants to kill Jellal because he failed to resurrect Zeref after 10 years and she wanted Zeref all to herself. Discuss
|2012-05-06, 02:16
|Link #8146
Dark Energy
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: United States
Last edited by Kuroi Hadou; 2012-05-06 at 13:57.
|2012-05-06, 02:19
|Link #8147
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Ehh i guess that's true. I just worry it might mean the manga is entering the final stretch soon. Or he's planning to wrap it up in the next couple years.
Kagura wants to do naughty things to Zeref
And does anyone else think Angel and Yukino are related? Both have similar clothes and hair and both have/had 3 gold keys.
|2012-05-06, 02:27
|Link #8148
The Mage of Four Hearts
Join Date: Mar 2010
Age: 28
Frankly, I doubt Kagura is Simon's sister, or is related to him. Perhaps he killed her family somehow or other...
To be honest, I really feel sorry for Jellal. When you think about it, in addition to being a convicted traitor, there must be tons of people out there who want revenge against him like Kagura, and all because he was brainwashed, pretty sad...
|2012-05-06, 14:13
|Link #8151
Hmm, I wonder... I think we may be looking in the wrong place... In the tower of Heaven arc, Ikaruga was the leader of the Trinity Raven group, and she also wielded a sword. In the manga, it appeared the three were dead, but in the anime it looked like they had fled (according to wiki).
What if Kagura is the sister of Ikaruga, and wants revenge on Jellal for the "death" of her sister?
|2012-05-06, 14:48
|Link #8152
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
As such, it's not Mashima saying it was a mistake on his part to let readers think it was a dark guild, but the reporter within the series saying it to readers within the series.
Raven Tail's actual status is up for debate. Back when Ivan was introduced around the festival, even in narration boxes they were listed as a dark guild. When they were reintroduced just before the start of the games, they were listed in narration boxes as a regular magic guild, not an independent guild like Crime Sorciere described themselves in dialogue later that chapter. Then again, back when Eisenwald first appeared, they were listed in narration boxes as a regular guild as well.
So two possibilities exist. 1) Mashima decided to retcon Raven Tail into a non-dark independent guild for most of their existence, only to affiliate themselves with the other guilds at some point after Fairy Tail's return 2) They are indeed a dark guild and have pulled off some shenanigans to get themselves listed as a regular guild and into the tournament.
This all is of course complicated, by the fact that the initial description of dark guilds was "We call whatever guild that doesn't belong to the league, a "dark guild." So for all that Crime Sorciere likes to call them themselves an independent guild, they are by very definition of being independent, a dark guild.
|2012-05-07, 03:38
|Link #8153
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Somewhat unrelated, but I'm bored, but i have to wonder what implications the 2nd Origin Ultear spoke of will have for the rest of the series.
Currently only 7 people we know of have unlocked it:
1. Lucy (the only one to showcase how big of an effect it had)
2. Natsu
3. Gray
4. Erza
5. Wendy
6. Juvia
7. Levy
We know it provides a big magic boost. I just wonder what made Mashima choose those 7? I mean Lucy through Wendy are main characters, so that makes sense, but i wonder why he chose to give the power up to Juvia and Levy as well, especially since Levy isn't even in the tournament. There's a lot of her we don't know even. Tho her narration a dozen or so chapters ago may mean something. I mean he could have put Cana or Gajeel or anyone else from the 7 year skip there, or just had 6 people and not 7.
It makes me think that the two will play a bigger role in the future of the series maybe, or that the whole 2nd origin will have implications long lasting. I always wonder what if Levy and Lucy did some super cool over the top spell together that could only be done after the 2nd origin was unlocked. There might be lots of other spells and magic that are going to sprout with this new power that is only recently found.
Or he could have just needed to find a reason for a random power-up, and decided to throw Levy in there since she hasn't had much screen-time.
i may be reading too much into it, but I'm in a speculative mood tonight
But i do hope to see more Levy in the series. She's one of my favorite characters but we don't know anything about her really. And i want to see how big of a difference that power-up made for her, and Wendy too, since both are probably somewhat of the weaker ones in the Tenrou gang.
|2012-05-07, 04:59
|Link #8154
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
|2012-05-09, 18:12
|Link #8155
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
eek i just want the chapter to get here already. Lol I'm being impatient. Not wanting to finish these essays and studying for finals doesn't help either. I was looking for raws, but no luck =(
Last edited by sergel02; 2012-05-09 at 19:00.
|2012-05-09, 21:20
|Link #8157
AxS HxM TxA RxS JxK HxM
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: akihabara :D
Age: 30
Spoiler for ending??:
fyi, the post itself came from a user name: Sacred_Acre
|2012-05-09, 21:50
|Link #8158
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
But Bleach hasn't ended yet, at least not the manga. Interesting premise though, and i wouldn't really mind it if it is true.
Question tho
I thought the 7-7-7 thing was kinda obvious tho.
Last edited by sergel02; 2012-05-09 at 22:58.
|2012-05-09, 23:59
|Link #8160
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
As for the fear that many characters being used, etc may mean the series is ending, it's rather unlikely. It's pretty common for tournament or war arcs to pull together all known characters and introduce new ones, without there being any intention of ending the series. Likewise while the length thus far is comparatively long, and approaching the length of Mashima's previous longest work, that doesn't mean much either. Especially as there are a number of series that have run much longer. Really, you shouldn't worry about the series ending until it starts setting up an arc with the actual goal of killing Zeref and Acnologia.
|action, adventure, fantasy, magic, shounen
|Thread Tools


text:
Jacques Brel, Vladimir Vysockij, Karel Kryl
Choreography: Petr Zuska
Stage director: Petr Zuska
Sets: Jan Dušek
Costumes: Lucie Loosová
This piece of dance theatre with the subheading "Solo for Three" is a ravishing performance inspired by the lives and songs of three singer-poets of the 1960s and 1970s – Jacques Brel, Vladimir Vysotsky and Karel Kryl. Three singing poets, three great artists, three human beings. Three different cultures, personalities, fates. Although using different languages, musical utterances and poetry of texts, there is much more that unites them than divides them. Today, classics who did not want to become classics, as if speaking a similar language. Using words that spring from the depths of the bosom and are as truthful as only the truth can be. Words relentlessly rebelling against violence, philistinism and betrayal, assiduously accentuating feeling, tenderness and love. Three uncompromising fighters for humanity, with a capital "H".
Photo: Pavel Hejný, Roman Sejkot
Approximate running time, including intermission: 2 hours, 20 minutes, one 20-minute intermission


text:
Nye Koncept Harvey Armchair Modern Contemporary Eiffel Black Walnut Brass Plywood Walnut Veneer Steel Polyester Micro Weave Foam 16012073 192213396312
Nye Koncept Harvey Armchair Modern Contemporary Eiffel Black Walnut Chrome Walnut Veneer Steel Polyester Micro Weave Foam 16012265 192213398231
Estimated Time for Free Shipping: 7-10 business days
Subject to Availability
Subject to Availability
The Harvey Armchair is the perfect blend of comfort and style. Its simple, classic body comprised of molded oak plywood is a stunning complement to any environment. Its 100% polyester micro weave upholstery is a canvas for artistic expression and adds personality to the room. Customize this armchair by selecting the finish that best suits your living space for a piece that is uniquely yours.
- Leg Style: Eiffel
- Foam Detail: High Density Foam Core
- CAFR Approved Foam
- Upholstery Type: 100% Polyester Micro Weave
- Arm Height: 24.75"
- Seat Height:18"
- Frame Finish: Walnut Chrome
- Upholstery Color: Black
- Pattern/Theme: Neutral, Solid
- Style: Mid-Century Modern Contemporary
- Assembly Required: Yes
- Made in USA
|Nye Koncept
|Black, Walnut Chrome
|Plywood Core, Walnut Veneer, Electroplated Stainless Steel, 100% Polyester Micro Weave, CAFR Approved High Density Foam Core
|21"L x 23.25"W x 30"H
|22 lbs
|Shipping Method
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text:
Glasgow: Celtic clinched a famous 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Parkhead on Wednesday night courtesy of a goal in each half to hand the Catalan giants their first Champions League group-stage defeat in three years.
The hosts took a shock lead in the first period when Victor Wanyama headed in Charlie Mulgrew`s superb corner, getting the better of Jordi Alba in the air.
Despite Barca pressure throughout, the Scots grabbed another late on when Tony Watt, the 18-year-old making his Champions League debut, latched on to a long ball, out-pacing Javier Mascherano before coolly slotting home into the far corner.
Barcelona got one back at the death through Lionel Messi when Fraser Forster turned away a Pedro strike from close range, the Argentina international following up to lash home, but it was not enough.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon made four changes to the team that drew with Dundee United in their last outing, drafting in Efe Ambrose, Mikael Lustig, Miku and Georgios Samaras into the side for Emilio Izaguirre, Tony Watt, Thomas Rogne and Scott Brown, while striker Gary Hooper missed out altogether after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.
Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova also made four changes to the side that beat Celta Vigo at the weekend, with Daniel Alves, Marc Bartra, Alex Song and Alexis Sanchez coming into the side for Adriano, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa.
In a cagey opening, the visitors struggled to create anything of note and Celtic took the lead in the 20th minute through a Wanyama header at the back post, the Kenyan beating Alba to reach Mulgrew`s brilliant inswinging delivery.
This prompted a response from Barcelona and Messi struck the bar from just inside the area amidst a period of sustained pressure in the final third, while Alexis struck the foot of the post with a header from an Alves cross 10 minutes before the break.
After half-time, though, the game began to open up more, with Barcelona peppering the Celtic area with wave after wave of attack and Alexis bringing a terrific save out of Forster low to his right on the hour mark.
The constant probing and movement of Barcelona saw them carve open the hosts` defence in the 70th minute and Messi forced another fantastic stop out of Forster. Latching on to Alba`s cut-back down the left, the Argentine hit a sweet strike towards the bottom right corner only to see the goalkeeper claw it away.
With the visitors piling on the pressure, it was Celtic who struck next in the 83rd minute when a long punt down field by Forster was missed by Xavi and Watt was through in on goal past Mascherano before rifling his strike into the bottom left-hand corner to hand his side a two-goal lead.
Barcelona weren`t finished there, though, and they grabbed a goal back in the 90th minute through Messi after Forster parried a Pedro shot inside the six-yard box following an intricate, flowing move, leaving the forward to smash it high into the goal.
Nevertheless, despite some nervy moments late on with Barcelona flooding forward, Celtic were able to clinch the historic win in front of their own fans in what will go down as their best European result since winning the European Cup final back in 1967 against Inter.


text:
Oh La La Cruette Regains Melges 32 Lead In Miami
7 March 2010
Miami, Fla. - Melges 32 racing at Premiere Racing's 2010 Miami Grand Prix just doesn't get any better than this. Three additional races were held today under classic Miami conditions placing Jean-Francois Cruette (La Rochelle, France) on Teasing Machine back in command of the fleet. Four points back is Pieter Taselaar (New York, N.Y.) on Bliksem followed by Joe Woods (Torquay, UK) on Red.
Light breezes, sunshine and a slight chop greeted the fleet for race one. Almost instantly Cruette played the right side rounding the weather mark in third behind Carlo Alberini (Pessaro, Italy) onCalvi Network and Taselaar. Cruette extended downwind getting ahead of Alberini in second and Taselaar in third. The majority of the fleet was left for pressure, but Cruette held on for the finish. Taselaar eventually overtook Alberini in the light and shifty breeze for second. Ryan DeVos (Holland, Mich.) on Volpe moved up for a nice third place finish, Alberini settled for fourth. John Porter (Lake Geneva, Wisc.) on Full Throttle was fifth.
The second start of the day resulted in a massive number of OCSs including Porter, Kilroy and Stephen Pugh (San Francisco, Calif.) on Taboo. Cruette, on the other hand had a tremendous race going all out for the win. That's not to say that the victory was an easy one. Don Jesberg (Mill Valley, Calif.) on Viva and Bob Hesse (Elma, N.Y.) on Lake Effect came on strong to take an early leads with Cruette chomping at their heels heels, Alberini trailing. Woods, Taselaar, Alex Jackson (Riverside, Conn.) on Leenabarca, Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR all took turns trying to edge an advantage, but Cruette had boat speed and apparently all the right things in place to turn a victory. Cruette went on for the win, Jesberg just made second over Hesse in third.
For the final race of the day, more light breeze played a big part in shaking up the results and mark roundings. Lanfranco Cirillo (Italy) on Fantastica shot out front with a great lead and at various moments throughout the race commanded by a minute and a half advantage. The real dogfight was for second. Fleet newcomer Carlo Perrone (Genova, Italy) on Atlantica 19 had a great day peaking the position for the first couple of legs, then overtook by Alberini and Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.) onArethusa. In the end, Cirillo simply ran away with the win, Alberini secured second place and in third was Lotz.
Sunday is the final day of racing and the regatta is anything but easily won or predicted. Cruette still needs to be on his guard as four points could easily be overcome by the likes of Taselaar, Woods, Ecklund or Porter. Mistakes are costly in this fleet and any slight errors could potentially turn the fleet and results into the unexpected.
Top Ten Results
1.) Teasing Machine, Jean-Francois Cruette; 5-1-1-[10]-9-1-1-10 = 28
2.) Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar; 1-2-[14]-6-2-2-7-12 = 32
3.) Red, Joe Woods; 2-[10]-4-4-10-6-4-9 = 39
4.) STAR, Jeff Ecklund; 4-4-[19]-3-1-17-5-11 = 45
5.) Full Throttle, John Porter; [12]-5-5-1-12-5-12-5 = 45
6.) Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini; 6-8-9-[13]-8-4-8-2 = 45
7.) Fantastica, Lanfranco Cirillo; 10-7-6-14-7-8-[22]-1 = 53
8.) Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy; 3-6-12-5-5-14-10-[17] = 55
9.) Ninkasi, John Taylor; 7-11-8-7-3-[16]-16-8 = 60
10.) Arethusa, Phil Lotz; 11-13-11-12-13-10-[17]-3 = 73
Full Results
Full Crew List
There is plenty of Melges 32 eye-candy to go around from the IM32CA Photo Gallery to photographerJohn Payne, Tim Wilkes Photography and Sharon Green. Enjoy!
Did you tune into the Official Melges 32 Blog today? If not, you should! Everyday the blog brings you the latest Melges 32 racing developments. Full race reports, interviews and photo galleries will be posted online each day after racing at the official website of the International Melges 32 Class Association (IM32CA). If you are unable to attend 2010 Miami Grand Prix, stay in touch by subscribing to the IM32CA RSS Feed, or visiting the Official Melges 32 Blog. Friend the fleet on Face book, follow it on Twitter and subscribe to the Official Melges 32 You Tube Channel.


text:
INGRAM MICRO DATA CAPTURE/POS, Wholesale Electronic Equipment, listed under "Wholesale Electronic Equipment" category, is located at 1600 E SAINT ANDREW PL SANTA ANA CA, 92705 and can be reached by 7145661000 phone number. INGRAM MICRO DATA CAPTURE/POS has currently 0 reviews.This business profile is not yet claimed, and if you are the owner, claim your business profile for free. If you are not the owner you can invite this business to join by email or by phone.Browse all Wholesale Electronic Equipment in SANTA ANA CA. Discover census data for SANTA ANA, CA.
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text:
New art project unveiled in Portsmouth Museum and Cow Shed! Dubbed the 'Great Fish Head Stew Cooks of the 1700's', its purpose is to find at least one
Hackles the Rescue dog drops a big ******** after encountering Tanning Master Jenkin's pit bull in rear lane way. Massive ******* expected.


text:
Relationship of Metabolic Abnormalities to Hepatic Steatosis in HIV
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00575757
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : December 18, 2007
Last Update Posted : August 18, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Study Type :
|Actual Enrollment :
|12 participants
|Observational Model:
|Time Perspective:
|Official Title:
|Relationship of Metabolic Abnormalities to Hepatic Steatosis in HIV
|Study Start Date :
|July 2007
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|July 2016
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|July 2016
HIV infected with abnormal liver enzymes in the absence of HCV or HBV coinfections.
- What is the spectrum of NAFLD in HIV [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- How does the spectrum compare in those that are on a PI compare to those that are not. [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- What are the independent predictive factors associated with hepatic steatosis and NASH? [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
Biospecimen Retention: Samples Without DNA
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV antibody positive.
- Age > 18 years
- Abnormal liver chemistries (AST, ALT, and/or ALP) defined as between 1.25 -5 x ULN.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Hepatic decompensation: coagulopathy (prothrombin time prolonged > 2 seconds, INR > 1.5), ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, jaundice (serum conjugated bilirubin > 3.0)
- Thrombocytopenia (platelets < 80,000)
- Use of vitamin E, thiazolidinediones, metformin
- Use of medications associated with steatosis: amiodarone, methotrexate, corticosteroids, estrogen, and tamoxifen
- Renal failure (serum creatinine > 3.0)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Advanced HIV disease with life expectancy less than 1 year
- Alcohol use (> 40 grams/day in men and 20 grams/day in women)
- Presence of HCV RNA or HBV surface antigen
- Other liver diseases including alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency, autoimmune hepatitis, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease, HIV cholangiopathy, bacillary angiomatosis, lymphoma, and Kaposi's sarcoma
- Inability to give informed consent.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00575757
|United States, Virginia
|Virgnia Commonwealth University
|Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23298
|Principal Investigator:
|Richard K Sterling, MD MSc
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Virginia Commonwealth University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00575757 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
1R03DK075416-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|First Posted:
|December 18, 2007 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|August 18, 2016
|Last Verified:
|August 2016
Keywords provided by Virginia Commonwealth University:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Fatty Liver
Liver Diseases
Digestive System Diseases


text:
Every expense against the Community Architecture budget must have a receipt, and it is the responsibility of the person who pays the bill to collect the receipt and submit it. No receipt means no reimbursement. This is non-negotiable, sorry!
The following sections give you options for how to get reimbursed, in order of decreasing preference:
Having others pay for you
You can avoid being a middle-man by having certain other people pay bills directly. This is recommended, whenever possible!
- Max, Karsten, Greg, or Jack can pay with their Red Hat credit card, and their expense reports will go to the Community Architecture budget.
- In India, Sankarshan is your point of contact, and he in turn bills the expense to the Community Architecture budget.
- In APJ, Harish is your point of contact, and he in turn bills the expense to the Community Architecture budget.
- In LATAM, Rodrigo is your point of contact, and he in turn bills the expense to the proper Red Hat budget (either LATAM Marketing or Community Architecture).
- In EMEA, the expense can be paid for directly by Fedora EMEA e.V. with the budget that they are given by Community Architecture. This will eventually allow for bank transfers or direct payment with a debit card for expenses in Europe.
Paying for things yourself
In order to be reimbursed for your own out-of-pocket expenses, one of the following options must be acceptable:
- It is paid for by you, and you are able to be reimbursed via PayPal. This method is preferred in almost all cases.
- It is paid for by you, and you are able to be reimbursed via cash. This method will require you to wait until you are in the same physical location as Max, and it is therefore least preferred except with people who see Max very often and who cannot take PayPal.
We are using FAmSCo's ticketing system to track reimbursement requests. It has the "private ticket plugin" enabled, so that only the ticket creator and FAmSCo members may see the tickets.
Hit "Login" on the right hand top corner and enter your fasinfo to create a new ticket.
Your ticket should include as attachments any receipts, documentation, or other information that is needed. Feel free to encrypt anything you like with Max's gpg key.
It is also essential that your Fedora wiki page be updated with information about yourself, what you do in Fedora, etc. This is necessary because it allows financial auditors to give a "+1" to the expenses, because they can see the connection to Fedora.


text:
Multi-purpose digital panel meters
The PD6080 and PD6081 from Precision Digital are multi-purpose digital panel meters capable of displaying 16 process variables, including Modbus registers, and up to two analog inputs. These are programmable as Modbus RTU Masters, Slaves, or Snoopers (packet sniffers), and can accept both current and voltage signals. They are ideal for level, flow, temperature, or pressure Modbus transmitter applications, the company said. The PD6080 displays in decimal format, while the PD6081 displays in feet and inches, including fractions of an inch.
As Modbus masters, the PD6080 and PD6081 read up to 16 slave devices, scale related data, and display the results. As slaves, they are controlled by a master device, scaling and displaying data sent to them. As snoopers, they listen to the Modbus traffic, picking up specific registers being polled for display and monitoring. Relays and a 4-20 mA output operate based on selected process variables (PVs) in any mode.
Apply math functions
Various math functions may be applied to the 16 process variables. The displays, relays, and the analog output may be assigned to any of four math channels. Three of the front panel buttons can be custom-programmed for a specific operation. A digital input is standard. The Super Snoopers connect to a Modbus network with RS-485 serial communications.
The PD6080 and PD6081 are 1/8 DIN panel meters with NEMA 4X front panels. They also are available integrated into a fully approved FM, CSA, ATEX, and IECEX explosion-proof product: the PD8-6080 and PD8-6081. These models include Precision Digital SafeTouch through-glass buttons.
– Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering, email@example.com.
See more products at www.controleng.com/products