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by Ron Petrou
How often young people, especially women, put aside their paint brush, their guitar, their piano playing when they enter adolescence! Then after marriage, bringing up children, and having a career in the working world, they let their artistic talents lie fallow, believing it is too late to start anew.
But Charleen Stevens insists, "You can do it. The world needs more devotion to beauty. Through art we can participate in creation, find ourselves in harmony with nature and better relate to one another."
Charleen, 68, for 29 years a resident of Chestnut Hill, discovered these truths through her own experience. Growing up in Whitestone, Queens, New York, she learned to play the piano with the sympathetic urging of her parents, both of whom enthusiastically played the piano for enjoyment. At first, not consistent in practicing the piano, she was guided and nudged by her mother. Charleen said, "When I was eight, I very, very much wanted a kitten. My mother said that if I played the piano every day for a year I could get one. And I did it. She had to get me a kitten. By then I was into playing the piano."
A good student in elementary school and playing the violin as well as the piano, she auditioned for and was accepted into one of New York City's prestigious specialized public schools, the High School of Music and Art, (now the LaGuardia High School of the Arts). As a sophomore she won a place in the All-New York Youth Orchestra playing the violin and performing at times in Carnegie Hall. She often attended Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. She said, "Leonard Bernstein had a very caring attitude about wanting to bring classical music to the youth."
At Hunter College in New York City she majored in music, took lessons at Juilliard and for a few years after graduation taught music in New York public schools. But she wanted to see the world, so she exchanged teaching for the glamorous role of a stewardess for Capital Airways. This was during the Vietnam War, and she often flew charter flights with American servicemen and women to airbases in Hawaii and Japan.
After working in the business world, however, Charleen returned to the more traditional role of wife and mother (of two girls) but eventually returned to art and then music, teaching piano to adults and children in the Chestnut Hill area.
While at Hunter College, she excelled in musical composition. She had often thought that her experience as a stewardess could provide material for a lively, romantic musical. She has been composing both the music and words for such a musical and has completed several songs about stewardesses and servicemen who meet and fall in love on their way to Hawaii and the Far East during the Vietnam War.
Recently she sang some of these songs, accompanying herself on the piano, to a group of friends in her living room. I was one of them. We were all delighted and impressed by the melodies and lyrics of her songs, some of which are "Swept Away," "I Sure Am Missing You" and "Is Summer Over?"
Not to neglect the piano, last summer Charleen placed two videos on YouTube of herself playing "Rustle of Spring" by Christian Sinding and "La Plus Que Lente" by Debussy. Readers can view these performances by typing "Charleen Stevens" into Google or YouTube.
Furthermore, she has three CDs of piano music available at Amazon and cdbaby. They include, "My Favorite Chopin;" "The German Romantics" with music by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Brahms; and "Happy Birthday Variations," classical happy birthday variations composed by Charleen in the style of Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, Chopin, Wagner, Brahms, Joplin and more..
But Charleen's artistic activity has extended further into painting, painted silk scarves, currently oil painting, and gardening. She thinks that everyone can cultivate their artistic and creative abilities because there are so many possibilities for artistic expression. A three-time winner in Philadelphia's City Garden's Contest, she said about her garden, "It's another way to create beauty. I love to go out into the garden, clean up and dig around. Mainly I have a flower garden. I also grow tomatoes and basil. My apricot tree gives, at the first sign of spring, absolutely heavenly white pink blossoms. And I have a little pond with a family of fish and frogs. Having a garden improves one's quality of life. To me I receive joy being with nature either in my garden or down at the Wissahickon or at Pastorius Park looking at the beautiful trees reflected in the pond. I often get a chill from wonderful music or from poetry or from nature. Who needs drugs?"
Charleen's reverence for classical music and the poetry of poets like Wordsworth — one of her favorite poems is his "Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Reflections of Early Childhood" — awakens in her a question about the relationship between the effect of beauty on our emotions and our bodies. She said, "I think we need to further explore the whole realm of emotions that arise from the richness of the chord progressions in classical music."
She also studied Chinese brush painting for five years during the '80s with Pheebe Shih. She said, "After that I took a silk scarf workshop and used a lot of my paintings as prototypes. In the early '90s it was popular to have hand-painted scarves, so I had a little business doing that for seven years." Currently she is painting in oils.
Stevens is grateful for all the gifts she received from her parents and grandparents who "gave me recordings of orchestral music such as the Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' when I was five years old. As a child I used to listen to Brahms' 'Hungarian Dances' and dance around the living room. My mother would take me to plays and concerts in Manhattan. When she was pregnant with me, she was practicing the piano every day. I believe there is a window of opportunity for children to absorb what beauty is musically, artistically and in nature. If they miss that window, they might not appreciate and value the musical, literary, architectural and artistic accomplishments of our civilization."
About the environment of Chestnut Hill, Charleen said, "This neighborhood is very like the neighborhood where I grew up in Whitestone because it's got older, historical buildings and many, carefully tended, beautiful gardens. It's like a village where I can easily go shopping, and it is at the edge of the city. So when I came to Chestnut Hill, it was a good fit. It felt like home."
For more information, email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Watch how to make this recipe.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Melt butter over medium heat in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan. When it foams, add fennel, onions, and carrots, and cook until just soft and onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and potato, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring rarely, until mushrooms have let off water and are shrunken, about 6 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir to coat, and cook until raw flavor is gone, about 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully add broth and milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, add peas, herbs, and vinegar, and stir to coat. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn filling into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.
Whisk egg together with 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt until evenly mixed. Set aside.
With kitchen shears, cut dough to fit over the baking dish. Place dough over filling and tuck into the edges of the dish. Brush dough with egg wash and cut slits in the top to vent. Place on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbling, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.

subset: commoncrawl


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Microscopics of a regular solid
As our starting point, let us consider the elasticity of a regular material, the string or the metal wire in our earlier experiment. What is elasticity anyway? It is the theory that tells you how much force you need to exert in order to deform/extend a material by a given amount. Let us simplify even further. Let us consider a spring attached to a wall and pulling on it. How much force do I need to exert to do this? This is given by the "Hooke's law" that we all know and love. Let F be the force and x be the extension of the spring from its rest length. Then F=-kx is the statement of Hooke's law, i.e., the amount of force I need to exert grows linearly with the extension. And the force law is characterized by a single constant, the spring constant of the particular spring I am using.
Now, why did we start there? The reason is that you can get a reasonable theory for the elasticity of a solid if you considered it to be made up of atoms connected by springs (see picture along side), whose spring constants are determined by the electromagnetic interaction among the atoms [1]. What is the typical energy scale of this spring like interaction, i.e., how stiff are these springs? It is about a few electron volts typically, which makes them really stiff springs (but for us to realize that the spring is really stiff, I need to compare this energy scale to something else right? We will come back to this later).
Microscopics of rubber
Note that the picture above is how a string or a wire looks like in the microscopic scale. Next let us ask what does a rubber band look like? [2] It looks like the picture along side. A rubbery material is made of coiled up flexible polymers that are "crosslinked" by some chemical agents (the big black dots in my picture) [3]. For clarity I have caricatured the three polymers shown in the picture with different colors. The message here is that the polymers are in some coiled state. When I stretch such a material, what I am doing is pulling the black dots apart. What will this do to a polymer? It will uncoil it some. You already know that uncoiling a string costs much less energy than trying to pull at a fully extended string in an attempt to lengthen it. This is primarily the difference between rubbery materials and regular crystalline solid. These kinds of solids, to which class the rubber band belongs, have a special name, they are called "elastomers". Note that I can say that I understand the elasticity of rubber-like materials, if I can get the equivalent of "Hooke's law" for this system. And for this purpose I need to understand what happens when I pull on a polymer. In the rest of this post, we will try to explain how to describe this theoretically.
The theory
Before we proceed with the theory, let us pause for a moment. How can what I said above be right? If I had a string coiled up on my table and I pull it open to its full length, it does not cost me any energy at all. It comes apart nice and easy. If I were to take the analogy above seriously, the rubber band should not offer me any resistance at all. Pulling at a rubber band must be like pulling on water, it should just come apart. But this is clearly not true. So what did I miss? What I missed is called "entropy". Suppose my rubber band is at zero temperature (no no, not 0C or 0F but 0K). Then the analogy with the macroscopic string holds and the rubber band should indeed flow like water till the polymers are completely extended. But at all finite temperature, the polymers in rubber are jiggling around with some kinetic energy. And that makes all the difference as we will try to show below.
In order to quantify this notion we need to ask what makes physical systems happy (some of these notions are developed in a slightly different context in this post). Let us consider a regular spring again. If we just let the spring be, it has a characteristic length, let us call this the rest length of the spring. This is the length in which the spring is happiest. Now I pull on the ends of the string. I have to do some work to pull it because I am moving the spring away from the state it is happiest in. This work gets stored in the spring as potential energy. Alright, now let us ask at finite temperatures what is the state in which the polymer is happiest? It is happiest when it has the largest entropy.
What is this entropy? For a polymer, we can understand it as follows. Now suppose you have a coiled up string. It looks like a disc right? The size of this disk is called the "radius of gyration" of the polymer (a measure of the lateral extension of the polymer). Suppose the length of the polymer is L. I ask you, "how many ways can you make an object of length L with it?", you will tell me, "Exactly one way, stretch the polymer out to its full length". Similarly, if I wanted to make an object of some length A which is much much smaller than L, again we can do this in exactly one way, namely make a tight coil out of the polymer with each turn of the coil having a radius A. But, if I wanted some intermediate sized object, then I can make it in many many ways, in each of these ways, the polymer will be coiled in a slightly different way. The entropy of a polymer of radius of gyration R is the number of different configurations the polymer can have given this radius as its lateral dimensions. As stated earlier, the polymer wants to have maximum entropy. Hence, from the arguments above it does not want to be fully extended or tightly coiled, but rather be coiled up in some intermediate state. This intermediate state has a size equal to the square root of its length L [4].
So in my unstretched rubber band, I have polymer coils that are happy, i.e., in the state of maximum entropy. Now I pull on the rubber band. What happens? I stretch the polymers. Their radius of gyration increases above the optimal value, their entropy goes down and they are unhappy. So, just like you pay an energy cost to stretch a normal spring, you pay an entropy cost to stretch a polymer. If you calculate this cost, you can derive the equivalent of Hooke's law for these polymers [5]. Then you find that if I stretch a polymer by an amount x, then the force I need to apply is F=(CT/L)x, where C is just a constant, and T is the temperature of the system. So, a polymer behaves like a spring with a spring constant determined by the temperature of the system! And the reason it behaves like a spring is because of a loss in entropy rather than a gain in energy. This is what people call an "entropic spring". Now, suppose I compare this spring constant with the spring constant associated with atomic solids we considered earlier, I find that it is 0.00001 times smaller! Thus polymers form very loose springs. And rubber is exactly like a regular solid but with a really itty-bitty spring constant that scales with the temperature of the solid [6].
In summary, rubbers are solids made by crosslinking polymers. Polymers form entropic springs whose stiffness increase as the temperature increases. And this explains why rubber bands become brittle and break when you try to stretch them on hot summer days! But at the start of the post, I said that such considerations are biologically relevant. How is that? The cell wall is a rubber! It is a crosslinked polymer mesh made of polymers that are called actins and microtubules. You will now say to me, why would I want to know about the elasticity of a cell wall? The reason is that it is the elasticity of the cell wall that allows a cell (those that are not swimmers that is) to crawl. And all questions associated with the motility of such cells boils down to understanding the elasticity of the cell wall. And you need to start by understanding the elasticity of the plain old rubber band first!
Jargon, Caveats and Disclaimers
[1] Coulumb, screened coulomb, Lennard-Jones, you take your pick.
[2] I am fudging scales here, mapping Angstroms to a fraction of a micrometer, but for simplicity we ignore this difference here.
[3] This process is called vulcanization, that turns a complex fluid into a solid, gives it a finite zero frequency shear modulus.
[4] You can see this easily if you think of the polymer as a 3D random walk of length L. Then the RMS distance the walker would travel is Square root of L right?
[5] For the experts, note that you can derive this readily. Take a Boltzmann definition for the entropy as S=k_BLogW, where W is the number of configurations of a polymer of radius of gyration R. Using the random walk analogy earlier, this is W=exp(-R^2/L). So the loss in entropy due to stretching must be S(R)-S(R+x). And force F=-T(dS/dx)x (just a standard response relation).
[6] You should ask me now how come I ignored entropy when considering elasticity of an atomic solid. The fact is that entropy strain independent for harmonic solids and plays no role in the elasticity (a brief note on this is here).


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Commissioner Jim Eckstein, you are a disgrace and embarrassment to the residents of Butler County. You went to a D.A.R.E graduation at the South Butler Intermediate Elementary School, expecting to speak. You aren't even sure if you had responded to the invitation but yet you expected to speak, and as is your usual way of making a grand entrance, you were late.
Your actions and choice of words would make me have second thoughts of you speaking to my child about drugs and the choices you have made, in your exact words, "to not smoke or take drugs, and living a clean lifestyle. I talk from the heart."
It doesn't matter whether you think any of the kids heard you or not, other people did.
I'll just bet if someone talked like that in front of your family, you'd be screaming and filing a lawsuit against them.
You have created your own problems and you continue to create more problems within county government, and now throughout Butler County, as well.
Man up, get over yourself and quit screaming political retaliation every time something doesn't go your way. I'll just bet when you were in school you were the biggest tattletale and the loudest whiner there.
As the saying goes, You can't fix stupid. Well, we voters of Butler County can prove that statement wrong when you come up for re-election.


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HI Sacramento brings California's Gold Rush past to life, while providing the modern-day comforts that travelers need.
Guest Rooms
Our hostel offers a mix of shared rooms and private rooms.
Our shared rooms are dormitory-style, and sleep up to 8-10 people in bunk beds. Both co-ed and gender-specific rooms are available.
We have 8 private rooms of various sizes, accommodating 1-4 people per room. Each rooms has its own unique architecural touches and decor. For details, please see Rates.
Common Areas
On the main floor, there are two elegant parlors, as well as a large, sunny dining room where complimentary continental breakfast is served each morning. On the basement level, there's a rec room (stocked with games, books, and TV/DVD). Our outdoor patio has a barbecue and umbrella tables, and the covered veranda that wraps around the front of the hostel is perfect for watching the world go by.
Our self-serve kitchen is fully equipped with stoves, ovens, microwaves, coffeemakers, pots and pans, dishes, utensils, and ample refrigerator/freezer space.
We offer free WiFi, as well as internet terminals for rent.
"Rooms are spacious, immaculate, and beautifully decorated."
--Let's Go
- Complimentary continental breakfast
- DSL Internet facilities and free WiFi
- On-site laundry
- On-site parking
- 24-hour reception
- Information desk
- Baggage and bicycle storage
- Secure lockers
- Wheelchair accessibility
- Group meeting space and/or accommodations available


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British Broadcasting CorporationHome
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Browse this A-Z list to find programmes that are listed within BBC Archive Collections.
Please note: This list relates specifically to items currently available as part of the BBC Archive collections. This does not represent a definitive list of BBC contributors, nor is it representative of the assets held within the BBC Archives.
To find out more about BBC Archive Collections, please read our Frequently Asked Questions and see interviews with some of the BBC's archive experts.
For information on recent BBC broadcasts, please visit our Programme Pages.
BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
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MSI takes your privacy seriously. Please read the following to learn more about our privacy policy and how we treat personal information that we collect and receive. MSI reserves the right to change the Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion.
MSI collects personal information through various means, such as through Web site cookies, your purchase of MSI products, and your response to MSI surveys.
When you register with MSI as a member or when you register MSI product, during the registration, MSI will ask for your personal information, including but not limited to full name, email address, birthday, gender, postal code, occupation, and interests, in order to provide better customer services. MSI also collects customer's Web browsing activities through Web server log files.
In addition to membership and product registration, MSI may collect personal information you provided in, including but not limited to Events, Promotion, Competition, On-line survey held by MSI or MSI partners.
To provide better services to our customers is the primary goal of MSI when collecting personal information.
MSI processes and researches collected personal information from various sources in order to get closer to customer needs and interests.
Unless you actively choose not to receive information from MSI, we will send you information periodically, such as product release, membership benefits, and MSI Newsletter.
MSI does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or nonaffiliated companies except to provide products or services you've requested
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If you do not want to receive promotional materials regarding MSI partners' products or services, and you indicate this preference when you provide your personal information to MSI, MSI will honor your preference by not providing your information to MSI partners.
In order to improve our site, we use "cookies" to track your visit. A "cookie" is a small piece of information which a web server can store temporarily with your web browser. This is useful for having your browser remember some specific information which the web server can later retrieve.
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Special Collections
AARLCC Special Collections
Local & Digital Selections
Story 1
Daniel M. Johnson Collection
contains more than 5,600 books. Most are first print editions signed by the author and include accompanying materials such as news clippings, program flyers, written correspondence and photographs. Of special note is the extensive collection of books on the history of ancient Egypt, Nubia and West African kingdoms. African-American literature of the "New Negro" era is another strong component of this book collection.
Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection
provides scholars with more than 2,000 books to conduct research on African-Brazilian history and culture, the history of early African-American families, women and gender studies and historically black social organizations and publishers.
Jack Abramowitz Collection
concentrates on the history of African-Americans in the southern United States primarily during the slavery and reconstruction eras.
Frederic Gomes Cassidy Collection
focuses on the history and culture of the Caribbean islands with a strong emphasis on Jamaica.
Charles Mills Collection
provides an outstanding collection of books relating to the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s. Accompanying this collection are jazz music recordings on CDs, audiocassettes and record albums.
Black Heritage Library Collection
contains more than 300 volumes selected from the collection of slave narratives, biographies, literature and historical texts originally collected as part of the Negro Collection at Fisk University Library.
Ephemera and Manuscripts
The ephemera and manuscripts consist of well over one million items. Included are calendars, broadsides, posters, postcards, game kits, obituaries, vertical files, sheet music and collectable stamps. While English is the predominant language, there are works in French, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Portuguese. The manuscripts focus on the papers and records of individuals and some national or international organizations.
Alex Haley Collection
includes eight unfinished manuscripts, multiple letters and postcards from prominent individuals and fans, photographs of cast members from the film Roots and several photographs of the Juffure in the Gambia, West Africa, where Haley's ancestor Kunta Kinte was born.
Niara Sudarkasa Papers
contains nearly 200 archival boxes of documents, correspondence, news clippings and other printed materials relating to Sudarkasa's research as an Anthropologist, her career as a Professor and Associate Vice President at the University of Michigan, and her tenure as the President of Lincoln University. These papers also provide research on Yoruba language and culture, minorities in higher education and the Black Power Movement in the U.S.
Sixto Campano Sheet Music Collection
contains approximately 1,000 pieces of well-preserved sheet music. Song themes cover early 19th century plantation life in the American South, early 20th century popular music and the stereotypical themes associated with black face minstrelsy.
Maurice Dawkins Papers
serve as the largest named collection in the archives with more than 250 archival boxes of documents, correspondence, news clippings and other printed materials detailing Dawkins' career as a member of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) and NAACP, his tenure as a prominent reverend in California and his political campaign as a black Republican candidate in Virginia.
Esther Rolle Collection
focuses on the life of this Pompano Beach, Florida native. Included are artifacts, news clippings, books, photographs and a record album by Rolle titled
In the Garden of My Mind
Margaret and Cato Roach Collection
consists of personal papers, awards, pamphlets and news clippings documenting these Fort Lauderdale pioneers and mentors in the field of education and civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s.
Ethel Mizell Pappy Collection
contains clippings, photographs, correspondence, awards and other miscellaneous papers. The majority of the collection focuses on Dr. Von D. Mizell. Of special note are business documents and photographs relating to Provident Hospital, letters written by Dr. Charles R. Drew to Dr. Mizell and other documents relating to Dr. Mizell's lawsuit against North Broward Hospital District in 1970.
Oral Histories
Kitty Oliver Oral Histories
contain more than 100 interviews of individuals discussing race and ethnic relations in Broward and Palm Beach counties during the 1960s and 1970s, the New River community, the historical community of Liberia and women in Ghana. Printed transcripts, photographs and videos of narrators are also included.
Trailblazers of Broward County, Inc.
contains oral histories that document the stories and lives of Black pioneers in Broward County. These stories are stored on digital format.
Photographs and Prints
African Missions Postcards Collection
contains 600 postcards depicting images of missionary works and native social life and customs in Sub-Saharan Africa spanning from the late 1800s to the early 1950s.
Reverend Clinton Mack Photographs Collection
contains more than 300 images of African-Americans living in Pompano Beach, Florida circa 1930s and 1940s.
Slides of the Sistrunk Corridor
provides more than 1,000 images depicting various cultural celebrations including the Sistrunk festivals and programs held at the Mizell Library.
Audio-Visual Materials
The audio and visual materials are comprised of more than 5,500 videocassettes, audiocassettes, DVDs, CDs and record albums. Rare recordings of cultural programs conducted at the Collier City Library and the Mizell Library are included.
Anthony Rotante Collection
contains more than 300 jazz and rhythm & blues recordings; a significant portion of recordings are by Duke Ellington.
Library of the Spoken Word
provides 300 recordings of lectures, oral histories, stories and documentaries of Caribbean culture and history produced by the University of the West Indies.
Eric Rawlins Record Albums
contain nearly 6,000 albums covering jazz, rhythm & blues, hip hop, Latino and gospel music genres. Formats include 33 rpm and 45 rpm phonographs.
Periodicals, Newspapers and Microfilm
This collection contains African, AfricanAmerican, Caribbean and South American publications. Included are several short-run Black newspapers and newsletters dating back to the early 1800s.
Rare titles include
Africa News
Bilalian News
The Colored American Magazine
The Anti-Slavery Advocate
Negro History Bulletin
Negro Digest and Freedomways
Contemporary publication titles include the
Journal of African-American History
African Arts, Research in African Literature
Caribbean Quarterly
Africa Confidential
Jeune Afrique L'intelligent
African Affairs
, and the
Journal of Negro History
Microfilm and microfiche titles include the
Black Abolitionist Papers
Papers of Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1915-1950
Universal Negro Improvement Association Records, 1921-1986
, and
The Crisis
Artwork and Artifacts
The artwork and artifacts collection consists largely of African masks and sculptures, Haitian and Jamaican paintings, and an assortment of art pieces and graphic prints from African-American artists. The collection also contains a significant poster collection, historical prints, illustrations, cloth art, ivory, bronze and wooden carved objects, and African and Afro-Cuban musical instruments.
This awe-inspiring collection of artwork and artifacts was created from donations by African art collectors Arthur B. Steinman and Mary Sue and Dr. Paul Peter Rosen, award-winning African-American artists Charles Mills and Jonathan Green, illustrators Ashley Bryan, Kadir Nelson and Jerry Pinkney, Jamaican artist Errol "Elgo" Lewis,
Haitian and African art collectors John H. and Vivian D. Hewitt
, aviator Barrington Irving, and prominent individuals such as Samuel F. Morrison, Dorris Avner and Dr. Nina Woods-Charles.
About the AARLCC Special Collections
The mission of the Special Collections is to collect, preserve and provide access to research materials focusing on the history and culture of people of African, African-American and Caribbean descent.
Learn more...


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Each reader may submit up to three recipes (one recipe from each of the categories listed below). Previous contestants, whose recipes were not chosen as a winner or a finalist in past cookie contests are encouraged to submit their recipes again. Please include your name, email address, telephone number and origin of recipe, if known. Recipes must be submitted, via email, to firstname.lastname@example.com and received no later than midnight, on Saturday, Oct. 24. In the event of duplicate recipes, those recipes received first will be considered for the competition. Cookies will be judged on originality, taste, appearance, texture, and ease of preparation. Three finalists will be chosen from each category, with one cookie winning first place in each category. All finalists and first place winners will be notified of their win by 5 p.m. on Oct. 29.
First-place winners, in each of the three cookie categories, will be presented with a Harry & David Oregon Gift Tower classic, plus a canister of Harry & David tea, with the six finalists receiving tea, courtesy of the Harry and David store at 11 a.m. Nov. 3 at the store's Tanger 2 Outlet Center location, in Bluffton. (Those winners and finalists, who cannot appear on Nov. 3, may pick up their winnings at the Harry and David store, during store hours, through Dec. 9. Winning recipes, including the names of those submitting the recipes, will be published in the Nov. 14, special fall issue of Bluffton Today. Contestants may choose recipes from the following categories:
1. Shaped, molded, rolled, refrigerator and no-bake cookies
This cookie category includes any cookie where the cookie dough cannot simply be dropped from a spoon and baked, or is not baked at all: Examples of cookies in this category are: Gingerbread people; rolled and cut out stars, angels, reindeer; biscotti; snickerdoodles; rugelach; molded shortbread; spritz cookies; linzer tarts; pecan crescents.
2. Drop cookies
Drop cookies are the easiest of all cookies to bake. Examples of holiday drop cookies are: oatmeal, cranberry and walnut cookies; meringues; Christmas Lizzies; coconut macaroons; jumble cookies; honey and fruit drops; ranger cookies (containing cereal like Cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Wheaties, etc.).
3. Bar cookies
Bar cookies are cookies made from a batter that is poured or pressed into one pan, then cut into cookie-size pieces after baking. Examples of holiday bar cookies are: Cranberry oat bars; pecan toffee bars; pumpkin-spice bars; cherry-almond chews; date-nut bars, etc. No brownies, please.
Some importantcookie recipe writing hints:
• Note cookie category: Shaped, molded, rolled, refrigerator and no-bake; drop; or bar
• Note instructions for oven temperature, including preheating, if necessary
• Note pan size and pan preparation
• List ingredients in order of use
• List dry ingredients ahead of wet ingredients
• Think through the recipe, step-by-step, as you write it
• List directions for removing cookies from the pan and how to cool the cookies
• List how many cookies the recipe will make


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Panthers sign second-round pick Short
Charlotte, NC – The Carolina Panthers signed defensive tackle Kawann Short on Wednesday.
The Panthers picked Short in the second round of last month's draft.
Short started all 50 games he played at Purdue and ranks third in school history for tackles for loss (49) and sacks (19 1/2) by a defensive tackle.
"We are very pleased to have Kawann under contract," Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said. "We felt he was the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in the draft, and we are excited about what he can bring to our defensive front."
With Short signed, Carolina's unsigned draft choices are first-round selection Star Lotulelei, fourth-round pick Edmund Kugbila, fifth rounder A.J. Klein and sixth-round choice Kenjon Barner.


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Need to reinstall macOS? See HT208020: How to reinstall macOS at your organization.
Use System Image utility
For details, review these Server help pages:
Use the imagetool utility from the command line
For information about using the
imagetool utility, enter this command in the Terminal app:
/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/System\ Image\ Utility.app/Contents/MacOS/imagetool
Learn more
- If your Mac won't start up from a compatible version of macOS on your network volume, your Mac might require a specific build of that version.
- Mac computers that have the Apple T2 chip don't support starting up from network volumes.
- To prevent a Mac from trying to start up from an incompatible network volume, use the Filter Computer Models workflow action with System Image Utility. Or select the image in the Server app, then click Edit to set filtering options.


text:
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Not that they needed any, but there is more bad news for Andrew Bogut and Bucks fans after the 7-footer's latest injury brush.
Bogut suffered a left ankle fracture in Wednesday's game against Houston and is out indefinitely, the Bucks announced earlier tonight.
Bogut left the game in the first quarter and did not return. Bogut has played all 82 games of the regular season just once during six seasons in the league, his rookie season, after being chose with the No. 1 overall pick by the Bucks in the 2005 draft.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel reported that Bogut had a bad feeling about the injury after the game:
"It wasn't good," Bogut said. "I knew when I came down I was in some trouble. Keeping optimistic, everything's fine with the X-ray, but that's to be expected. I know I didn't break a bone.
"But tomorrow's the day of reckoning where I go under the MRI machine and find out my fate."
… "I'm not optimistic. With my history of unlucky injuries I'm hoping this one can do me a favor and (go away). Most of my injuries are unfortunate things and this goes in the same boat as that. It's frustrating."
Bogut, who is averaging 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocks this season, has had to deal with a series of injuries throughout his career. He's had a major injury cost him significant time in each of his last four seasons.
He led the league in blocked shots last season playing with virtually one hand. He had surgery in April on his right elbow, the same one he injured during an infamous April 2010 during a dunk attempt against the Suns where he landed on his own arm. That injury cost him the 2010 playoffs, when the Bucks pushed the Hawks to seven games in a first round series.
It's a blow for the Bucks, 7-10 right now and headed to Chicago for a game against the Bulls Friday night, but one that Bucks coach Scott Skiles and his crew are used to where Bogut is concerned. They'll have to manage without him once again.


text:
Metro-North pins hopes on temporary power solution
Railroad looks to add more buses for start of week
HARRISON, N.Y. -- With normal train service still a week away at best, railroad and utility executives hope a temporary substation they're putting online in Harrison can power a few more trains into New York City by Monday.
Howard Permut, president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Railroad, told reporters Saturday at the Harrison Station the plan is to add buses, park and ride options along with the return of some electric-powered trains to the affected corridor that's been operating at 30 percent capacity since Wednesday.
The failure of a 138,000-volt Con Edison feeder cable at a substation in Mount Vernon brought the railroad to a virtual standstill leaving a nearly 9-mile stretch of the busy New Haven Line between Connecticut and Grand Central without enough power to move Metro-North's fleet of electric trains through the corridor.
The railroad has been operating on its limited fleet of 24 diesel engines.
For the last four days, Con Edison crews have been building a temporary substation at the Harrison Railroad Station that will tap into the local city power grid and pipe it into the railroad.
The company brought portable transformers in, put five power poles in the ground and made hundreds of connections.
About 31 workers were on the site Saturday making final connections and testing was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The extra power would only be made available to run more trains beginning Monday.
"It's a temporary substation," Tom Prendergast, MTA chairman and CEO, said at the station. "It will only provide about 20 percent capacity to run through that corridor,"
Prendergast and Permut explained by using diesel train engines combined with the 20 percent, the railroad could be operating at about 50 percent of capacity if the substation tests show it can power trains through the corridor.
The utility wanted to run several tests, including operating a 10-car express and a 10-car local, to see if the substation could handle the load.
Craig Ivey, Con Edison's president, said crews have been working around the clock on a permanent solution and are expected to get a feeder cable in Mount Vernon in service by Oct. 7 -- a week ahead of its scheduled completion.
Con Edison does not know why the cable failed in the first place, with Ivey explaining the utility is concentrating on fixing the problem before investigating what went wrong.
The exact cost of all this is not known, but it is growing and could be quite high. Con Edison crews are working around the clock to fix the feeder cable and have been working around the clock to build the substation. The substation must be guarded at all times by Harrison police, and that cost is being covered by Con Edison, a local law enforcement agent said.
In the meantime, the MTA's Metro-North New Haven Line is losing revenue as people avoid riding the trains. On top of that, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has asked the MTA to refund riders' money.
"We would look into that whether Gov. Malloy asked or not," Prendergast told reporters.


text: Farm Bill Update: House to Name Conferees This Week October 10, 2013 08:24 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Nate Birt Top Producer Managing Editor Email The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to announce its conferees for farm bill discussions with the U.S. Senate on Friday, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) tells AgriTalk. While she thinks it is possible the House and Senate to reach consensus on spending reductions for the nutrition title, Noem says, it will take work. "We certainly are a long ways apart right now," Noem says. "I think they were at $4.5 billion worth of spending reductions, we were around $40 billion, so that's a big spread and I'm hoping we can meet in the middle." Meanwhile, the South Dakota blizzard that has proven devastating for livestock producers adds urgency to the call for a five-year bill. "We have tens of thousands of dead cattle and no livestock disaster program, which I carried in a bill and had put into our current farm bill that we're still debating," Noem says. "So it needs to get done." As for the continuing government shutdown and debt-ceiling deadline, Noem says she and other House Republicans will visit the White House this afternoon to meet with President Barack Obama. The subject will be a short-term bill that "lifts the debt ceiling, possibly some government funding as well, that allows us to have real honest conversation about the vision for how our financial future looks." Click the play button below to hear the full AgriTalk report: Back to news


text:
Items where Mentor is "Mihelčič, prof. dr. Miran"
Group by: No Grouping | Date | Creators | Item Type
Jump to: Thesis
Marko Pregeljc (2011) The application of data mining to explore the connections between the quality of organization of companies and their business results. PhD thesis.
Matija Krajnc (2010) Estimating the time needed for execution of two phases in software development. MSc thesis.
Staša Ilić (2010) Acquiring adequate information for the strategy-making decisions in the field of business-to-business telecommunication equipment market. MSc thesis.
Ivan Lorencin (2010) Technical and economic optimization of energy investments wih evolutionary algorithms. MSc thesis.
Ana Zaletelj (2010) Determining ranks of the new coordinative relationship's aspects in the MUKOZ method. MSc thesis.
Klemen Ban (2010) Choosing Software Solution for Inventory Management in the Firm Privošči si d.o.o.. EngD thesis.
Anja Verstovšek (2009) Role of information in creation of authority, power and influence in social units. EngD thesis.
Luka Vrhovec (2009) Information support adjustment of unified processes for information and telecommunication service order execution. MSc thesis.
Iztok Setnikar (2008) Decision-making models for evaluating investments in information technology. MSc thesis.
Miloš Fidler (2008) SAP ERP system implementation during the merger of logistic firms. MSc thesis.
Gregor Boroša (2007) . EngD thesis.
Saša Muhič Pureber (2007) . EngD thesis.
Uroš Rot (2007) . EngD thesis.
Jernej Marinšek (2007) . EngD thesis.
Tomaž Dular (2006) . MSc thesis.
France Čop (2006) . EngD thesis.
Ivan Černe (2006) . EngD thesis.
Jurij Petruna (2006) . EngD thesis.
Matej Križaj (2006) . MSc thesis.
Tina Burger (2006) . MSc thesis.
Jakob Zupan (2006) . EngD thesis.
Miran Mlakar (2006) . EngD thesis.


text:
1. Not to be read by anyone under 18. This story contains explicit
descriptions of sexual acts. If this offends you, leave now. This is fiction.
The hypnosis described is nowhere near as realistic as it actually is. Do not
try this at home. If you feel like it, seek help.
2. I know more than a few people were disappointed by my "Mad About
You/Caroline In The City" entry. I hope this makes up for it. I'm actually a
little fond of it, since it's got more of a plot than most of my stories. I
hope you like it.
3. To any students of Greek mythology: This story portrays the gods as they
are shown on the Xena and Hercules syndicated shows. As you will see, they're
not exactly as mythology has depicted them. Keep that in mind.
HypnoTV: Xena, Warrior Princess (FF,mc)
by MAW
Hades was bored. Really bored. It happened sometimes. Immortality and
infinite power got to you after a while. There were times when Hades actually
envied the short life-spans of mortals. Death gave a wonderful sense of
purpose to life. Hades should know. As the lord of the underworld, he
reviewed whole lifetimes, thousands in a day. But, lately, the death rate
seemed to have hit a low. Normally, Hades might be happy, since that would
give him more time with Persephone. But she was on the surface with her
mother, as per their agreement. So, he was lonely and bored.
"You look like you could use company." Hades turned towards the figure
entering his throne room. He was tall, handsome, with a dark beard. His
muscle-bound body was clad in a suit of leather armor. Although handsome, his
face had a touch of cruelty in it. All in all, he had the perfect look for
the god of war.
"What do you want, Ares?" Hades sighed as he began going through a list of
the new arrivals.
"What, I can't visit my favorite bother?" Ares said with a smile.
"The last time you visited, Ares, you yanked Callisto out under my nose and
put Xena in her place. I told you then you were no longer welcome here."
"Oh, is that any way to talk to the man who brings you so many subjects?"
Ares absently cleaned his fingernails with a dagger. "Without me, your little
home would be a lot more empty."
"I think I could live with that," Hades said, apparently not seeing the humor
in his choice of words.
"Actually, that is what I want to talk to you about." Ares sat down on a
chair across from Hades and put his feet up on the table. Ignoring Hades'
look, he went on. "Things have been dull on the war front lately. Seems Xena
has been taking out a few armies. It was bad enough when we just had Hercules
doing good, now she's putting her two cents in. We need to find a way to stop
Hades stared at him. "We?"
Ares smiled. "I thought you'd like to help me."
"Your estimation of my mental stability aside, how do you plan to do it?
Killing her hasn't worked. Trying to bring her back to you hasn't worked. Not
a lot of options left, are there?"
"Hades, Hades, Hades. Eliminating Xena isn't entirely necessary. I want to
stop her. Give her something else to think about. Distract her. A long-range
distraction. That will impede her progress well enough for me."
Hades rolled his eyes. "And exactly what are you planning?"
"The one weakness that can be the downfall of a true warrior. The love of
another person."
"So go bother Aphrodite. This is her department."
"She makes love, not war. Besides, for what I have in mind, her rules will
get in the way. No, I need something from Hephaestus. Only he needs something
from you. A metalworker from a hundred years ago. Needs the expertise with
those new thunderbolts Zeus wants. It's only temporary."
"And if I agree? What's in it for me?"
"If my plan works, there'll be more war. War means death and death means new
boarders for you. Plus, I'll call in a favor from Demeter and get Persephone
down here a little early."
Hades stared at him. He bit a lip in thought. "If Zeus hears of this, this
conversation never happened," he said. "Give me the name and Hephaestus' man
is yours. I want him back in a week."
"Two and I'll have Persephone down here in a month."
* * *
Like most of the other gods, Ares didn't understand Hephaestus. Instead of a
temple or a throne room, he made his home in a dank pit where he worked
constantly. Of course, Hephaestus was never one for indulging vanity. Hard to
be that way with his looks. An argument with Hera had led to his face being
half-scarred and he walked with a limp. It made him the most humble of the
gods and the only one close to being human. But what Ares really couldn't
understand about his brother was why in Zeus' name Aphrodite had fallen for
him and not Ares. The thought that his dirty, lame, backwards brother could
own the most gorgeous being on Olympus rankled Ares to no end. He swallowed
his pride as he approached Hephaestus. No matter how hurt he was, he needed
his brother's skill now more than ever.
"Is it done?" he asked without preamble.
Hephaestus lifted the object in his hands. Without a word, he handed it to
Ares. The god of war took the object and stared at it for a long moment. Then
he did something that scared Hephaestus to his immortal soul: He smiled.
* * *
It was night as Xena and Gabrielle made their way to the small village. It
had been a typical day. For these two, that meant that they had fought off a
pack of raiders who had been terrorizing villagers. The two were looking
forward to a nice relaxing night off. No warlords. No barbarians. No gods,
monsters or other critical matters to deal with. Just a nice night off.
Their night off got off to a rocky start the minute they entered the inn.
Xena walked over to the innkeeper who was standing behind a bar serving
drinks to the several dozen burly men gathered inside. "We need a room," she
said in her naturally hard tone.
The innkeeper sized up the pair. A tall, beautiful dark-haired woman wearing
leather armor and a multitude of weapons. Next to her, a smaller, younger
girl with strawberry-blond hair, an Amazon dress and a staff. "I don't give
rooms to Amazons."
"We're not Amazons," Xena said.
"Well, technically, we're not," Gabrielle added. "We're more like honorary
members. I'm the queen. Well, Xena was the queen, but then she temporarily
died and I got the job, we're really not-" Gabrielle broke off. Xena was
giving her the patented "shut up or I'll kill you" look.
"Hey, you hear that, guys? These two are Amazons!" One of the warriors, one
who had obviously had too much to drink, was calling out to his comrades.
Xena looked at them for a long moment. "Gabrielle, tie Argo up in that
stable. Wait outside for five minutes then come back in."
"You're sure?" Gabrielle looked at the crowded bar then at Xena. "You're
sure." She quickly dug into a pocket and produced a roll of coins that she
handed to the bartender. "For the damages."
The bartender looked at her in confusion.
"Trust me." With that, she turned and quickly made her way outside. She
didn't want to be anywhere near that place when Xena went to town.
After securing Xena's horse in the stable, Gabrielle walked to the small pond
behind the inn. She stared at the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the
water, trying to block out the sounds of crashing, punching, grunting and
yelling that were coming from the inn. Her attention was caught by a shiny
object lying on the ground. Picking it up, she saw it was a necklace with a
green amulet attached to it. Gabrielle wondered who throw away such an item.
It was beautiful. On impulse, she wrapped the chain around her neck and
secured it.
The amulet rested above Gabrielle's bosom. It suddenly began to glow, a
shimmering green in the darkness. Gabrielle suddenly felt a lethargy overtake
her, exhaustion pouring through her body. She felt herself grow tired, more
tired than she had ever felt before. It hurt to stay awake, to keep her eyes
open. It hurt to think, to fight, to do anything except sleep. Closing her
eyes, Gabrielle let herself go.
*Can you hear me Gabrielle?* The voice filled Gabrielle's head, becoming the
only thing that mattered to her.
"..Yes.." she whispered.
*You are asleep, but you can hear everything I say, can't you?*
*Good. Listen to me, Gabrielle. I relax you, I make you feel more
comfortable. You can trust me. You can listen to me. It's good to listen to
me. Very, very good. Doesn't it?*
*Now, Gabrielle, I want you to think about Xena. I want you to think about
your friend very carefully. I want you to think about your comradery, about
your friendship, your bond. You have deep feelings for Xena, Gabrielle. Very
*Yes, Gabrielle. Very deep feelings. In fact, you love Xena. You love her
body, her hair. You'd like nothing better than to inhale her smell, than to
kiss her lips, to taste her. You want her. You desire her. You love her. With
all your heart, you love her. Don't you?*
*Yes, Gabrielle. You want her. You want to love Xena and have her love you.
Remember those feeling Gabrielle. In a moment, you will awaken. You will not
remember seeing this amulet or hearing this voice. But you will remember your
feelings towards Xena. Don't be too afraid to express them. You love her and
she loves you. Remember that and nothing else."
Gabrielle blinked at the moonlight. For a moment, she seemed to have blanked
out. Probably too much stress. She really needed a break. Her and Xena.
Xena. Gabrielle shook her head. Gods, how was she going to tell Xena she
loved her? She didn't want to appear too direct. She also didn't want to
jeopardize their friendship. For once, the bard part of Gabrielle could think
of nothing to say. Except "I love you." As attention-grabbing as that was, it
probably wasn't the best way to approach the situation.
Turning back, Gabrielle walked back into the inn. Xena was bartering a room
from the innkeeper who seemed all to happy to comply. Gabrielle was careful
to step around the dozen or so unconscious bodies lying on the ground, as
well as several discarded weapons, dishes, tables and glasses. One thing
about Xena, you could always generally tell where she'd been.
* * *
Xena paced the room restlessly. It was small, accommodating a single bed and
a few sparse pieces of furniture. Xena didn't mind. She really didn't care
all that much for comforts. A lifetime of fighting and killing erased such
mundane concerns. Xena glanced back to the door leading to the small bath
room next door. Gabrielle had gone in there, apparently lost in thought. Xena
would have to ask her what was going on. Having Gabrielle distractedcould
hurt their chances in a fight.
Xena's eyes suddenly fell on a table and a small necklace lying on it. A
dark green emerald attached to a chain. Probably left behind by the room's
previous tenant. Xena picked it up, examining it. Although not one for
baubles, she did admire this necklace. A wonder that the owner had left it
behind. After pausing for a moment, Xena placed the necklace around her neck.
The moment the emerald settled atop Xena's bosom, it began to glow. The
mesmerizing magic went to work. It invaded Xena's mind. She tried to fight,
but the magic of the gods was too strong. Xena felt her mind drift away, her
will being erased. She closed her eyes and slipped into a trance as the
amulet began to speak to her.
*Xena, can you hear me?*
*Good. You've had a hard life, Xena. One full of misery and death. You've
done things you're not proud of. Things you abhor. There is a lot of pain in
your past, isn't there?*
*But there is one thing that can save you from your pain, Xena. Gabrielle.
Your young friend. Your young, beautiful friend. You enjoy her company. You
enjoy her friendship. You enjoy being with her, don't you?*
*Yes. And you would enjoy even more if Gabrielle would let you touch her.
That's what you really want, isn't it? To touch Gabrielle, to kiss her, to
love her. To claim her as your own. You love her, don't you Xena? You love
*In a moment, Xena, you will awaken. You will not remember seeing this amulet
or hearing my voice. You will remember your feelings towards Gabrielle. And
you will want to express those feelings as soon as possible. You love her.
Remember that and that alone.* With that, the necklace vanished into thin
air. Xena's eyes blinked open as she came back to her senses. Her attention
was drawn to the opening of the door.
Gabrielle stood there, clad in a simple towel, her hair wet and dripping
along her back. She locked eyes with Xena as the two stared at each other
for a long moment. Xena stepped forward, hesitant at first, then with more
determination. She came up to Gabrielle, bent down to the younger woman and
kissed her on the lips.
Gabrielle was too stunned for a moment to respond. Then, she closed her eyes
and returned the kiss. She and Xena embraced each other, Gabrielle's towel
dropping to the floor. She could feel her wet flesh pressed against Xena's
armor. It gave her a thrill.
They broke off the kiss and hurriedly began removing Xena's armor. They
snapped off buttons, undid straps and yanked off restraints. Several clumping
sounds accompanied the armor falling to the floor. Finally, all that was left
was for Xena to pull off the black fabric underneath all the armor. Naked,
the two embraced each other again and kissed. They sank onto the bed, Xena on
Xena moved down her young charge's body, coming to the breasts. Although
small, they were still enough to play with. Xena calmly pinched a nipple,
feeling Gabrielle shudder in response. She cupped one breast in her hand
and massaged it. She caressed it with a care that Gabrielle couldn't have
imagined, one that drove her to the brink of ecstasy.
Moving down the small body, Xena came to the tuft of dark-blond hair. Already
wet from the bath, Gabrielle's pubic hair glistened, an inviting target. If
there was one thing Xena was good at, it was taking on a target. She placed
her hands on Gabrielle's thighs and rubbed them as she placed her mouth to
her clit. She began licking, moving her tongue around the lips, tasting the
young juices coming out. Starting out slowly, her tongue began to move
faster, taking lick after lick, darting in and out. As Gabrielle groaned,
Xena drove her tongue in deeper. Finally, Gabrielle came, her juices spilling
onto Xena's waiting tongue.
Taking a moment to savor the taste of her new lover, Xena moved back onto
Gabrielle. Still on the bottom, the younger woman moved herself down to
Xena's adequate bosom. She buried her face in between the breasts, laying a
series of kisses on the curves. She let her tongue drag along the mounds,
inhaling their scent. A soft moan from Xena let her know she was doing things
right. She placed a nipple in her mouth and sucked on it gently. Xena's eyes
were closed, arousal sweeping through her body. Gabrielle was a fast learner
and soon her breast-sucking was sending waves of pleasure through Xena's
Gabrielle let herself move down Xena's body, her hands caressing her belly,
the lovely hips. She came to Xena's jet-black clit and let her hands drag
along her shapely legs. Xena sat up, her clit right over Gabrielle's face.
With a sigh of pleasure, Gabrielle began to do her own tongue fest. While
her tongue darted in and out of Xena's womanhood, her hands moved all over
Xena's body. Up the hips, along the breasts, squeezing the mounds, along
her legs. The fingers arched at every curve, every muscle, much to Xena's
delight. She began to slowly rock atop Gabrielle, willing her juices along.
Gabrielle's delicate fingers continued their journey as her tongue continued
to lick Xena's pussy. At last, Gabrielle was rewarded with the sweet taste
of Xena's juice. Exhausted, the two collapsed onto one another, taking
massive breaths, trying to slow the beating of their hearts.
* * *
Ares stared at the two figures lying on the bed, an evil smile on his face.
Finally, he had found a way to stop Xena. The love between her and Gabrielle
would be a distraction, bringing Xena's attention away from fighting. She
would be more concerned about Gabrielle than herself, a situation that would
provide Ares with many opportunities to exploit this new weakness. Before
long, war would reign and Ares would be more powerful than ever.
"I wouldn't be setting up my new throne yet." Ares spun to see a tall,
gorgeous blonde standing before him in a pink outfit.
"What are you doing here, Aphrodite?"
"Fixing your mess," the goddess of love replied. She waved her hand towards
the bed and a shimmering glow covered it. When it faded, Xena and Gabrielle
were dressed, with a comfortable distance between them.
"They'll wake up tomorrow with no memory of what happened," Aphrodite said
as Ares stared at her. "Not even a dream. Nothing for you to exploit."
"How dare you--" Ares began.
"Daddy Zeus gave me the authority." That shut Ares up. "You know how he
feels about matings like this. I'm the only one allowed to screw up people's
hearts, Ares. You really overstepped your bounds. Oh, and if I were you, I'd
stay away from Olympus for a while. Zeus is pretty ticked off and you know
what he's like when he has a temper."
Ares stared daggers at her. "Someday, Aphrodite, you'll pay for this. Believe
me. No one crosses me and get away with it. No one." With that, he vanished
into a shimmering cloud of light.
Aphrodite shook her head as she turned back to the bed. She hadn't told the
real reason that Ares had been stopped. He had messed prematurely with love.
Xena and Gabrielle were destined for one another, but on a different
timetable. Messing it up too soon was dangerous. Aphrodite was a little
anxious herself for them to get together, but she could wait. If there was
one thing a god had, it was time.
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text:
"Flattering," "universal," and "easy" are not usually words one would associate with runway makeup, but at Creatures of the Wind's fall '13 show, that's exactly what NARS director of global artistry James Boehmer managed to create. According to Boehmer, the inspiration for the collection itself was a mishmash of influences — from World War 2 Teddy Girls and Memphis furniture to the plasticized nature of candy — but he looked to the patent leather, pearlescent shoes for his makeup cues.
Using a blend of Maldives and Copacabana Multiples with Nepal and Alhambra Eyeshadow, Boehmer concocted a creamy, rose gold shade that he then drew onto the skin in a precise, defined cat-eye shape. "Rose gold looks good on everyone" he says. "It has a warmth and a coolness to it, so it's flattering, and it's really interesting what it does to amplify each eye color in a different, individual way." Boehmer used a brow gel (new for fall '13) to groom models' arches and then mascara on top and bottom lashes to create a frame for the eye. Skin was kept matte and angular, with no color on the cheeks or lips, which allowed the graphic eye to take center stage in a "simple and quiet" way.
For the hair, Odile Gilbert for Kérastase created a multi-textured look that combined sleek, middle-parted roots (tamped down using the brand's Resistance Ciment Thermique) with soft waves in a delicate contrast to the graphicness of the collection. Gilbert used a triple-barrel iron to ensure hair was shaped into a flowing wave rather than a defined curl. To make sure the waves kept that shape, she sprayed hair with Resistance Double Force. To add shine, she finished with a few drops of Elixir Ultime Moringa Immortel and running her fingers through the bottom of the hair to break up waves.
Working with Creatures of the Wind for the first time, nail pros Jan Arnold and Roxanne Valinoti of CND wanted to create a look that reflected the "modern, unique, artsy-but-sporty" aesthetic of the Creatures girl. They opted to go for a graffiti nail that featured a bisected nail down in two corresponding colors, with multi-colored squiggles overlaying one half of the nail. While the nail looked complex, Arnold says it's relatively easy to score at home. She says to simply paint the nail in two colors, wait for it to dry, add a topcoat and wait for that to dry, then use fine-tipped Sharpie markers to do the doodles.
As far as the clothes went, it was a more commercial collection by far, with pieces that tread the line between the sartorially bravehearted and the fashionably adventurous. With short, boxy military jackets, '90s Ghost World-type silhouettes, and a '70s car-salesmen vibe, the collection fused dowdy and dramatic to brilliant effect.
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text:
Dr. Ronda Beaman Guides Others to Successby GDN Shared Post September 24, 2012
If you made it through childhood, you have a story to tell – the question is, are you willing to share it for the sake of making someone else's path through life easier? Are you willing to be a guide? A guide literally is someone who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising.; one who serves as a model for others.
A guide can help you travel through a mountain trail, through emotional turmoil or through a difficult time in your life. A guide can be a role model, a coach, a mentor or sometimes, even a book.
You are the author of your life, after all – you can write and re-write it to create who you want to become – but are you willing to go a step further and become a guide? Are you willing to forge the path and share your story to help others?
Dr. Ronda Beaman, author of Little Miss Merit Badge, was willing to do just that and, as a result, she has positioned herself as a guide; someone willing to make the road forward lighter, and maybe even higher, for those who follow.
Beaman is a nationally recognized university professor and mother of America's Most Creative Family. Her memoir details a childhood spent over-achieving to compensate for some difficult circumstances.
"We all crave connection," Beaman says. "Sometimes, particularly for those that have suffered abuse and been sworn to secrecy, the connection of others through the safety of the written word is enough to give them hope."
By writing the story of her abuse, Beaman has become proof that surviving trauma of any magnitude is possible. She has also proven to others that they, too, have more power than they believe.
This is the true value of a guide. Picture a snowshoe hike through two feet of snow. Is it easier if you are breaking the trail or if someone has gone before you and shown you the way?
A student of Beaman's noted that her life is better today because of Ronda's book. She has overcome social anxiety disorder and learned of her own power – power she may never have discovered without someone else having blazed the way.
Beaman did not follow the traditional victim's path; just the opposite, and as a result she is empowering others to do the same.
Beaman envisioned the life she wanted despite the life she was living and moved towards creating thoughts into reality. She became an over-achiever – the Girl Scout who sold the most cookies, an A student, a doer, a thinker and a leader. Through her example, others have learned to do the same.
"By authoring my own life and telling others of my solutions, perhaps I have opened a new door to their better options," Beaman said. "My solutions to family dysfunction and addiction are not traditional, far from it, but they worked for me. If I can encourage and guide someone else by sharing my story, then I better tell it. And we all have stories like that. We should all tell our stories, that is the ultimate good deed!"
Highly decorated Girl Scout and Patrol Leader, cheerleader, student council officer, honor roll, dean's list and aerobics champion Ronda Beaman is the Author of Little Miss Merit Badge. You will see she's kept up her badge habits! Ronda's goal is to inspire women and her memoir, Little Miss Merit Badge, is a testament to the fact that you can be successful no matter what kind of upbringing you've experienced. When many would become defeated by the "unique" parenting she endured, Ronda channeled what most would consider to be abuse into a flourishing life of overachievement. Ronda is available to speak at troop meetings, book clubs and readings, on broadcast shows, writing seminars, business meeting and conferences, and anywhere else people gather to find humor, insights and answers to life's most basic question, "When do I get my prize?" The first recipient of the NEA's Art of Teaching award, Dr. Ronda is the mother of USA Today's Most Creative Family, highest rated speaker at the Young President's Organization, author of the award winning book, "You're Only Young Twice", director of Leadership Studies at California Polytechnic University, and a highly sought after speaker, life coach and fitness trainer. She is Chief Creative Officer for the research and consulting firm PEAK Learning, Inc. and a national thought leader for The American Health Network. She has been featured on major media including USA Today, CBS, NBC and Fox and was anchor for the television magazine Seattle Today. Dr. Ronda earned her doctorate in leadership, paying her way by singing telegrams dressed in a gorilla suit. She has been Professor of the Year at three universities and named one of the Top Ten Outstanding Women in America. Something notable about Ronda is that she is an MS patient that has never exhibited any effects of the disease. You will see, after reading her book, just why that is. See more about Little Miss Merit Badge here: http://www.LittleMissMeritBadge.com and view a promo of the Book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVyDwTBDUu8


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CHL Game Night: 9/17
Ontario Hockey League
Owen Sound Attack 1 @ Barrie Colts 9
LW/C Alex Hutchings, BAR: 0-1-1,+1, 0 PIM
The Eastern Conference favorite Colts started their season off with a bang by crushing Owen Sound 9-1. The game was well out of hand by the time the third period started as the Colts were sitting back on an 8-1 lead. Hutchings, who has led the Colts in scoring the last two seasons, had a relatively quiet opener, notching just an assist. Luke Pither (undrafted) had 4 goals for Barrie.
Defending OHL and Memorial Cup champion Windsor also started their season Thursday, but a depleted Spits squad lost 6-5 to rival Plymouth in a shootout. Windsor's Richard Panik was in Tampa preparing for tonight's exhibition game for the Lightning. Both Barrie and Windsor are predicted to run away with their respective conference titles.
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Nauticam NA-EM5 housing in use
Posted 26 July 2012 - 12:25 PM
I was also somewhat hampered by never having handled the camera above water! The housing and camera's owner Brett Thorpe of UK retailer Divelife and I literally swapped cameras underwater. I should also state at the outset that I have not used any other housings for this camera, so cannot compare it to anything else on the market. So some brief thoughts are appropriate.
The housing is very small and compact, and despite Brett's somewhat "interesting" lighting that was attached to it, seems well balanced in the water. On the left hand was the zoom control, a nice easily found knob. It features two ribbed control dials that allow for separate shutter speed and aperture settings. I find that this is much more user friendly than sharing these controls via a menu or control pad function.
I found the camera's EVF to be quite useful, even with the standard viewfinder. Given that I am used to magnifying and 45° viewfinders, the standard version felt somewhat awkward to use. It is just a question of getting used to it though. I can certainly see how the use of magnifying viewfinders with EVFs opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
The LCD screen can be tilted within the housing (prior to sealing it). This is very convenient for shooting video. The housing's window gives a full view of the entire LCD. The camera's on-screen display (and that of the EVF) gives a great deal of information.
Brett described how he finds accessing the camera's controls easier in the housing than on the camera body itself. Certainly, the controls seem well spread out on the housing. I was not using gloves, and had no issues using any of the housing controls at all. The shutter release is large and sensitive, and the housing has a "thumb groove" that provides a grip on the reverse. When using the tray grips, the shutter falls easily to hand. The video activation lever is quite small, but the lever is designed to stand proud of the housing body, so can be used easily. In fact, all the levers seemed to use this design, which makes them very functional despite their size.
This camera and housing combination would be incredibly well suited to any fast moving action (whale sharks, whales, dolphins, sailfish etc). Swimming with this housing is incredibly easy! Depending on the subject, combining it with small strobes will make a really useful tool. I do not think it replaces an SLR system for most underwater situations however. The camera and housing size is a compromise, and the controls, whilst very good, are not as easy to use as those on a larger housing.
One last though that is not relevant to the housing or camera's performance, and is entirely subjective, but the OM-D E-M5 is one good looking camera! I always felt that Olympus SLRs were iconic, and I think that the designers of this camera have managed to faithfully replicate this in a EVIL camera.
I would welcome any further questions about the housing or camera and will do my best to answer them if I can. Thanks to Brett for his images.
Posted 27 July 2012 - 10:28 AM
Just packed one to take on the Wetpixel Whalesharks expedition in the morning. Although not in such an unusual configuration.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2012 - 11:24 AM
Edited by John Bantin, 27 July 2012 - 11:24 AM.
I buy my own photographic kit. Diving equipment manufacturers and diving services suppliers get even-handed treatment from me whether they choose to advertise in the publications I write for or not. All the equipment I get on loan is returned as soon as it is finished with. Did you know you can now get Diver Mag as an iPad/Android app?
Posted 27 July 2012 - 06:40 PM
Edited by Glasseye Snapper, 27 July 2012 - 06:46 PM.
Sea&Sea 110a, iTorch, GoPro3 BE
Posted 29 July 2012 - 07:05 AM
Phil Rudin
Posted 29 July 2012 - 08:40 AM
That first shot is truly an aw(e)fish, or did you leave out the J unintentionally. Very promising for macro and some of the wide-angle shots I have seen are great too. In terms of being a low-compromise SLR replacement the two remaining items on my checklist are viewfinder clarity and ability to autofocus on fast moving small fish, yellow/bluehead/rainbow wrasse ... Have you used the camera/housing long enough to have an opinion on that?
Sea&Sea 110a, iTorch, GoPro3 BE
Posted 29 July 2012 - 11:00 AM
AF with wide angle lenses is fast with lenses like the 12mm F/2 and 7-14 F/4, 9-18 or 8 fisheye you will not be disappointed.
Macro with the Panasonic 45mm or any macro lens for that matter is as much about technique as AF speed to me. Olympus has announced a 60mm macro coming later this year which should be excellent because it has a switch to limit the lens to a very short range of focus, like 1:1 to 1:1.1, 1:1 to 0.4 meters and so on.
How well the viewfinder will work for you is the same issue as it would be with any DSLR. Some housings like the Olympus E-M5 have no piclup finder (bad for viewfinder), the Nauticam NA-EM5 housing comes with a pickup finder which I am using now (much better) I have on order the replacement LCD window for the NA-EM5 housing which will allow me to use my Nauticam 45 degree viewfinder (excellent). The down sides are EVF's use battery power, I have done over 225 images with the 45 macro and a +10 C/U lens which involves some hunting as it would with any DSLR macro setup. Image quality in the viewfinder to me is as good or better than an APS-C size viewfinder image. If you go to a 35mm size sensor you will have a bigger image in the viewfinder.
Have you read the review by Alex Mustard posted on Wetpixel, if not you should it may help you further in making a choice, http://wetpixel.com/...mpus-om-d-e-m5/
The upsides become even more compeling when you add the Nauticam housing at its $1350.00 price point and the excellent lens choices offered by Olympus and Panasonic.
Phil Rudin
- Scubysnaps likes this
Posted 29 July 2012 - 02:50 PM
We should have a lot more details very soon from Alex's current trip.
Sea&Sea 110a, iTorch, GoPro3 BE
Posted 29 July 2012 - 05:47 PM
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 31 July 2012 - 01:45 PM
Eleo in Lightbeams:
Mario in beam:
Shark (or is it a tadpole):
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 31 July 2012 - 09:53 PM
Posted 01 August 2012 - 02:50 AM
So what do you think about the dynamic range; hard to see from the images, but they do not seem even close to what you got with your D4
Posted 01 August 2012 - 03:00 AM
Hey Alex,
So what do you think about the dynamic range; hard to see from the images, but they do not seem even close to what you got with your D4
It's a bit hard for the poor small OMD to be compared to such a powerfull camera than the D4 ):
Edited by girelle, 01 August 2012 - 03:05 AM.
Posted 01 August 2012 - 03:25 AM
Edited by fotosub70, 01 August 2012 - 03:29 AM.
- denniscloutier likes this
Nikon D7000, Nauticam Housing
Olympus OMD EM5, Nauticam Housing
Sea&Sea D1 strobes
Posted 01 August 2012 - 07:02 AM
Phil Rudin
Posted 24 September 2012 - 05:20 AM
Posted 24 September 2012 - 06:14 AM
8mm, 12-50mm, 45mm lenses
My web page.
Posted 24 September 2012 - 06:41 AM
Posted 24 September 2012 - 01:03 PM
Posted 24 September 2012 - 07:07 PM
Thanx heaps - I don't see the ttl lag as being a major issue as most of my subjects are fairly stationary - was just looking for confirmation on how to deal with this. Any ideas on how the E-M5 handles video under water with focusing?
Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: Olympus, OM D EM5, NA-EM5, housing
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I'm still making my way through the new batch of emails from Climategate 2.0, and as there are more than 5,000 of them it is an overwhelming job. But keep your eye out for this space–I'm working on an article for the next edition of the Weekly Standard out this Saturday.
But I can't resist this one short excerpt that I haven't seen mentioned in any of the coverage so far–a 2007 email from Tommy Wils, a climate researcher at the University of Swansea in Britain, who wrote: "Politicians like Al Gore are abusing the fear of global warming to get into power (while having a huge carbon footprint himself)."
The climate science community might have done a lot of good and avoided a lot of agony if they'd ever said this kind of thing publicly, or called out the egregious distortions and exaggerations of the environmental activists.
Stay tuned. More to come. . .


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The old adage "you have to be in it to win it" rings true for companies trying to survive in a depressed economy, only it's not the lottery they should be gambling on.
Continue Reading Below
Corporate mergers and acquisitions are expected to remain near decade lows through 2013 due to a weak global economy that has led to a decline in confidence, but perhaps the companies that take the biggest risks will be the most highly rewarded when things start to turn around.
"M&A is now simply much more important to corporate strategy than at any point in the last 30 years," Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group chief market strategist said in a note. "That is because global growth – that tide that lifts all boats - is much slower than historical norms."
Merging operations means reaching economies of scale and finding new synergies that help save costs, expand margins and improve companies' abilities to invest in new strategic opportunities. It also helps consolidate industries, which can translate to better prices and help lift bottom-line results.
M&A, particularly large transformational deals like the 2010 United Continental (NYSE:UAL) merger, provides an additional way to drive value despite broader weakness. While fiscal uncertainty, slower-than-expected growth in emerging markets and economic turmoil in Europe may keep the risk-averse away from risky bets, M&A should be put higher up on the to-do lists of risk takers that have the capital and are looking to drive value.
"There is huge pressure for companies to grow in the sluggish economy and M&A opportunity exists for those companies willing to be bold in today's market," said Richard Jeanneret, Ernst & Young's Americas Vice Chair of the transaction advisory services group.
Yet, deal activity was sluggish in the years during and after the Great Recession, with data from Ernst & Young showing a 10% drop in U.S. deals in 2012 to 6,357 from 7,077 a year ago, making it the slowest year since 2002.
And M&A is expected to continue to be soft at least through next year, which is a change in sentiment from a year ago when experts had been optimistic regarding a turnaround. The number of U.S. companies planning to execute a deal in the next 12 months fell to 23% among U.S. companies from 34% just six months ago, according to E&Y, a reflection of growing uncertainty around the fiscal cliff and worsening economic conditions in Europe.
Of the corporations that are considering striking new deals, 81% said they'll consider transactions valued at $500 million or less, suggesting that deals will fall even from 2012 where overall deal worth slid 26% to $625.7 billion from $846.9 billion in 2011.
That means that even fewer transformational deals can be expected in 2013 unless there are some major changes to economic sentiment, as CEOs instead choose to focus on optimizing their portfolio through divestitures and spinoffs that yield quick capital but usually don't dramatically alter a company's value down the road or the sector generally.
"CEOs have been scouring their companies in the last few years, but they are running out of levers to pull and organic growth options," Jeanneret said. It "is a sign that companies are prepared to grow, which may signal that deals are coming."
Those companies that see opportunities faster than others, aren't as susceptible to current risks or view the uncertainty as ending sooner than others may find they are rewarded if they take the risk and focus on investing in M&A before valuations start to change, Jeanneret said.
"Over the next 5-10 years M&A activity will be increasingly necessary to keep the tailwind of growth in almost every sector of the economy and capital markets," Colas said. "M&A will have to dovetail more closely with fundamental business strategy. There's just no other way to grow."
Of course, some sectors and companies are better positioned than others. Despite the weak economic backdrop, M&A activity remains relatively robust among private equity firms, with total deals dropping just 1% from last year to 810 and the value of private equity transactions in the U.S. climbing 3% to $97.3 billion. That's a reflection of both their confidence in the market as well as the fact that many are privately owned and don't have to answer to shareholders.
PE firms are still sitting on a lot of unused capital, with E&Y estimating they have a total of $360 billion ready-to-be-deployed cash. Activity remains constrained for a variety of reasons, including a noticeable gap between buyer and seller price expectations and a shortage of quality assets.
Of course the risks associated with "bet the farm" M&A are abundant, and there have been plenty of deals that failed miserably.
Deal making will likely remain sluggish until at least one of two things are resolved: the fiscal cliff and the eurozone crisis.
"Until you see resolution on those two issues, I don't think you're going to see much of a recovery in M&A," Jeanneret said, though if the market perceives real progress on either of those fronts there could be a "modest run in the U.S." of M&A activity, he said.
"It's not going to be rocket ship growth, but growth where we haven't had it," he said.


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From MeritBadgeDotOrg
Revision as of 11:03, December 7, 2008 by Missylou2who (Talk | contribs)
|Serving as Instructor can apply towards Positions of Responsibility requirements for Star, Life, and Eagle.
The Instructor teaches Scouting skills.
Reports to
- Assistant Senior Patrol Leader in a Boy Scout troop.
- Team Captain in a Varsity Scout team.
- Teaches basic Scouting skills in a troop/team and patrols/squads.
- Set a good example.
- Enthusiastically and correctly wears the Scout uniform (all four parts).
- Lives by the Scout Oath and Law.
- Shows Scout spirit
The Instructor is the youth instruction leader in its unit. Other youth instruction leaders are:
- Instructor ─ Scouts BSA
- Specialist ─ Sea Scouting
See also
|Scouts BSA portal
|Varsity Scout portal
Troop Positions of Responsibility
(Youth Positions)
(Youth Positions)
Team Positions of Responsibility and Adult Advisers
|Team Leadership:
| Captain • Cocaptain • Team Secretary • Squad Leader • Quartermaster • Chaplain Aide •
Librarian • Instructor • Den Chief • Order of the Arrow Team Representative
|Program Managers:
|Advancement • High-Adventure/Sports • Personal Development • Service • Special Programs and Events
|Other team leadership:
|Historian • Bugler
|Team Coach • Assistant Team Coach(es) • Committee Secretary • Committee Treasurer
|Program Advisers:
|Advancement • High-Adventure/Sports • Personal Development • Service • Special Programs and Events


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Haunted Paramount Pictures
Posted 14 July 2008 - 11:30 AM
I worked at Paramount Pictures back in the 90's and can tell you from my own experiences it is quite...haunted. Stage 19 in particular.
A friend of mine worked on the TV show Wings which was shot on stage 19 also where they shot Happy Days the security guards always say that soundstage is very haunted by ghosts, including the little girl, Heather ORourke, who was in Poltergeist, and died very young. She was on happy days toward the end of the shows run.
One night I met my friend outside the soundstage. Everyone was gone for the evening, and he told me he had to go back in to get something. So he unlocked the door and turned on the main overhead lights. We went to the stage in front of the bleachers where the studio audience sat and he picked up at script from a table and said, Okay, lets go! Right at that split second, the lights went out and we were in inky darkness.
All you could see the green lights from the exit signs above the doors behind the bleachers. Then we heard what sounded like laughter and someone running across the wood catwalks above us, where all the lighting was. There was absolutely no one else in that soundstage. And we were told that the little girl used to love to play on the catwalks.
The studio is on the same block (back to back) with the Hollywood Forever cemetary...makes for fun night-time strolls through the lot.
Anyone else know any other ghost sightings at my beloved studio?
J. Skellington
Posted 15 July 2008 - 09:37 AM
Posted 15 July 2008 - 11:18 AM
Posted 18 September 2008 - 02:53 PM
Although skeptical myself, the stories about Stage 19 and it's 'connection" to the late Heather ORourke are legendary. Several other locations around the lot are purported to be haunted as well.
Stage 25
Hart bldg.
Schulberg bldg.
These I know of first hand since there have been 'incidents" that occurred during my time at the studio. A while back we were contacted by a Ghost Hunter from England. He arranged to be taken around the studio at night by the head of Guest Relations and one of our Pages. He was accompanied by a Medium who he had not previously known. Their "tour" had very mixed results.
Posted 18 September 2008 - 09:24 PM
Anymore Paramount Pictures stories?
gettin' it done everyday
Posted 19 September 2008 - 08:01 PM
You guys just creeped me out with your posts ! I feel bad that if that is Heather's spirit hangin' out in Studio 19 that she hasn't moved on.
Anymore Paramount Pictures stories?
The problem with the Stage 19/Heather O'Rourke story is that Stage 19 is located right off of busy Melrose Ave. In fact, theres a door, seldom used now for the audience to load in right on the sidewalk at Melrose.
Its very easy to see how voices, noises and vibrations of all sorts could filter through the soundstage and be heard and mistaken for voices on the stage itself by guards or studio workers in general. As for the lights, well; Paramount is close to celebrating its 100 year anniversary and that section of the lot was originally RKO Studios. God alone knows how old the wiring is on that stage. Itd be more of a shock if the lights didnt go out mysteriously from time to time.
Also, Heather's connection to this location is tenuous at best. She appeared in only a few Happy Days episodes that were filmed there. Obviously, I have no idea what logic, if any, a spirit uses but it seems odd that she would choose to haunt a location that most probably meant little to her in her lifetime. The sets she was on for Poltergeist 1 and 2, her school, her own home, a favorite relative or playmates home, all would seem to be better places for her spirit to frequent to me.
But then, what do I know about what moves a ghost? Assuming they exist at all.
Posted 26 September 2008 - 08:45 PM
What was on the other side of that wall?
Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
In the Security Guard's Incident Report, he gave a complete descrition of the man he had seen.
When asked by his Commanding Officer the next day if he looked like "this guy" (and the guard was handed a picture), the guard replied that it was indeed the man.
"That's impossible", said the Commander.
"Why so?"
"That's Rudolph Valentino! he died in New York City in 1926."
The Security Guard quit his job that day.
Posted 26 September 2008 - 09:11 PM
Who has seen or experienced it?
Posted 27 September 2008 - 09:51 AM
It was a Security Guard who, while on one of his routine patrols, noticed a young gentleman wandering around the "New York" area of the Paramount Back Lot. The Studio had long since closed for the day, so the Guard walked up to the man who looked to be in his late 20's and told the man he would have to leave. After doing so, the man smiled at the security guard and much to the Security Guard's shock, walked right through the wall.
What was on the other side of that wall?
Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
In the Security Guard's Incident Report, he gave a complete descrition of the man he had seen.
When asked by his Commanding Officer the next day if he looked like "this guy" (and the guard was handed a picture), the guard replied that it was indeed the man.
"That's impossible", said the Commander.
"Why so?"
"That's Rudolph Valentino! he died in New York City in 1926."
The Security Guard quit his job that day.
I have been at Paramount for nearly 20 years, the first 5 with the Security dept. and I have never heard that story. It's possible it happened long before I arrived there and none of the current employees working in Security were around when it occured.
Still, it has the air of an Urban Legend to it. Do you have a time frame for this story? I can try and look into it.
Posted 27 September 2008 - 09:55 AM
By the way, how do you know that Heather O'Rourke ghost is there?
Who has seen or experienced it?
That's my point, nobody knows who or what causes the strange happenings in Stage 19, assuming anything strange is going on in there to begin with.
No, to best of my knowledge, no one has every reported seeing an apparition or spirit or ghost or figure etc...
The only reason I can fathom why people connect it to poor Heather is simply because she's the only famous person that's died that can be connected to that building. Even in the spirit world it would seem that 1+1 must equal 2....
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1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ 4x4 Lift Kit Install - Project Steal J Part 5Posted in Project Vehicles on October 19, 2006
If you tuned in last month, you saw us outfitting the exterior of our '97 Wrangler with some serious body armor from Kilby Enterprises along with a Superwinch winch and a M.O.R.E. rear bumper and tire carrier. We also upped the tire and wheel package to some Rubicon 245/75R16 rubber. While we're digging the look and functionality of the modifications, the added weight caused the stock suspension to sag. Plus, the factory control-arm bushings have been clunking since we bought the Jeep.
Although the tires don't rub, our plans will eventually call for some 33-inch 285/75R16 rubber. To give us the flexibility of anywhere between 2.5-3.5 inches of lift, we ordered a Fabtech 2.5-inch adjustable system, comprised of four adjustable coil spacers. The spacers slip over the factory bumpstop brackets and employ billet adjusters that can be turned up or down with the included spanner wrench.
To cure our control arm clunk and allow for up to 3 inches of adjustment, we ordered a full set of upper and lower control arms from JKS, as well as two of the company's adjustable bumpstop kits. The adjustable arms are incredibly sturdy, have a rotating design that won't bind when articulating, employ quiet rubber bushings, and allow the pinion angles and front caster to be dialed in without the need for eccentric cam bolts.
3PhotosView Slideshow
To handle the install, we visited our official shop of the Steal-J buildup: TAG Motorsports in Escondido, California. Since TAG pumps out several dozen Jeep lifts a month, we were confident head wrench Jay Miller could handle any eventuality that may arise during the install. In our next installment we'll be adding an overdrive so we can eventually ditch the pathetic 3.07 axle gears we're running.
Driving ItAs you may expect, since the spacer lift uses the stock spring, the ride is very similar to before. Our biggest differences on-road is the clunk-free control-arm bushings and the superb Bilstein 5100 shocks. The 5100s have excellent rebound characteristics that make for a much more controlled, jerk-free ride on- or off road. The biggest bummer is if you hit a bump pretty hard at speed, the rear will hit the bumpstop with a noticeable thud because of Fabtech's lowered bumpstop location. It doesn't hurt, but it does get your attention over severe dips and bumps.
Off-road, the huge amount of droop makes it pretty easy to keep all four tires on the ground. Even with open diffs, we were able to get up climbs that the stock suspension was stopped cold on. The biggest bummer is, once again, the rear suspension. Because of the increased amount of droop afforded by the 4-inch lift Bilsteins, the coils become unseated from their buckets and clang on the billet adjuster threads. The springs go right back in their seats, but the rattle and clank may ultimately be enough to make us swap to a longer, soft rear spring to eliminate the rear coil spacers or swap to a shorter shock.
3PhotosView Slideshow


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Connie Edgar, a licensed massage therapist and owner of Serenity Spa of Vandalia, recently announced the addition of two new staff members at the spa.
The first newcomer is Vandalia native Ashley Metzger Miller, a licensed esthetician, who was trained at New Image Technical Center in O'Fallon. Though she's been doing facials for two years, she has been at Serenity since late November.
She uses Bio Elements skin care products to do facials and waxing.
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