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By Mark Cobley
The fees charged by retirement-plan managers were big political news in the U.K. over the past week, after the government announced it was considering a ban on plans charging more than 0.75% of assets – that's less than the average U.S. 401(k) plan.
The U.K. pensions minister, Steve Webb, announced the fee-cap plans in Parliament on Oct. 30, and followed up with a formal proposal the following morning. A softer cap of 1% of assets might also be considered.
These fees – 0.75% or 1% of your savings a year –add up to a lot over the course of your working life, thanks to compound interest. The British government says the difference between a 0.75% fee and a 1.5% fee could be £100,000 ($160,000) by the time you retire.
I've been covering the story for Financial News, which like MarketWatch is owned by Dow Jones & Co. Here's a link to my most recent coverage of the fee-cap proposal (registration may be required).
With that much money at stake, it's perhaps surprising how little controversy the fee-capping idea is generating over here – even among the pension-fund managers, who stand to lose out. (In Great Britain, the phrase "pension fund" also includes defined-contribution plans that are similar in structure to American 401(k)s.) In fact, this week they have been lining up to back the government's proposal.
Although it seems to fly in the face of free-market principles, it's been proposed by a government that's led by the Conservative Party. Their big rivals, the left-wing Labour Party, support it too.
One of the biggest insurance groups in the U.K., Legal & General /quotes/zigman/160233/realtime UK:LGEN , which provides pension plans to over 750,000 people, says it is capping all its fees at 0.5% of assets. Adrian Boulding, head of pensions strategy at the insurer, said that 0.5% "is the benchmark for value, and large schemes have already demonstrated that it's perfectly achievable. All consumers deserve this level of value, whatever the size of firm they work for."
Meanwhile, David Nish, the chief executive of Standard Life /quotes/zigman/423566/realtime UK:SL – another big U.K. pensions provider – said that 99% of his firm's pensions business charges less than 1%. A Standard Life spokesman added that many of the firm's 1.4 million savers are already paying 0.5% or less.
It should be pointed out this consensus isn't universal – a smaller insurer, Scottish Life, warns of "unintended consequences" from the cap. Ewan Smith, its managing director, said: "We believe it is unnecessary and undesirable, as ultimately it will become the market norm, and halt the trend that has seen scheme charges decline sharply in recent years."
Nevertheless, with the industry mostly relaxed about the prospect, and both main political parties backing it, it's quite likely a fee-cap of some form will be introduced. If it is, it would be brought in from April next year, and then retroactively applied to existing plans provided they are open and accepting new joiners. If they're closed, it won't apply – though there is a separate government review of those plans happening, too.
U.S. readers might find the debate interesting, given that the average 401(k) plan at a larger employer – those with 2,000 employees – charges 0.87% of assets. That's according to data from the 401k Averages Book, an annual overview of plan benchmarks. And the average smaller plan, those with under 50 employees, charges a lot more than that – 1.46% according to this data. Remember, that extra could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement.
All this is happening in the U.K. because of another fairly state-interventionist policy, called "Auto-Enrollment".
In its simplest form, auto-enrollment is just what it sounds like: automatically putting workers into company pension plans, without necessarily asking them first. This is increasingly common in the U.S. as well, according to David Huntley, editor of the 401k Averages Book.
But in the British government version, auto-enrollment is compulsory for the companies. This means every company in the country has to offer all its staff a pension, and the staff are then automatically enrolled into it.
This is aimed at getting 9 million British workers who are not currently saving anything in private or workplace pensions to do so. This takes pressure off the state social-security system, which isn't terribly generous over here.
In some ways it resembles Obamacare – the state isn't providing the pensions, but it is more or less obliging people to take up private ones in the workplace.
This explains the support from the finance industry: nine million new customers they don't have to work to get, who will eventually be paying in £11 billion a year into pensions, according to the government's estimates. Workers have the choice to opt out of the system, but of the 1.7 million automatically-enrolled so far, nine in ten have chosen to stay in – or maybe not even noticed.
Webb, the pensions minister, thinks that in many ways this has been quite remarkable. Earlier this year, he told me: "We have just started taking money out of people's pay packets without their permission, and there has been no public outcry. There have been no protests outside my office. It really is the 'dog that did not bark'."
Webb is keen for the pensions industry to improve its public image, as he told me in another interview last month.
The fee-cap is part of this. If the government enrolled people into "rip-off" pensions with high charges, that public outcry would soon follow. That's the thing with state-intervention; intervene once and you tend to have to intervene again. But right now, in the U.K. pensions industry, there aren't that many people who are saying this is a bad thing.


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From one to another!
User reports
How mechatronics makes good vibrations
The global music market is profiting from 5-axis machining technology with highly flexible prototype production for the quickest possible time-to-market.
"Guitar tuning from outer space" - that is about the only way to describe what even experienced guitarists can hardly believe: the limited edition "Robot Guitar" manufactured by the world famous GIBSON company is based on a mechatronic tuning package from Hamburg!
It is common knowledge that Hamburg has developed into a creative market place for the music sector. Less well known is the fact that it is also where the "robotization" of the tuning process for guitars began and is still based.
But to begin at the beginning: At some point during his 20-year career as a guitarist, Chris Adams finally got fed up with having to tune his guitar again and again, and came up with the revolutionary idea of "robotization". It was soon obvious that such a "tuning fork" could have a great future if it did not interfere with the acoustics, the design, the weight or the handling. So after the idea came the task of designing and then manufacturing the device.
"Harmony made in Hamburg"
"We had to develop the hardware and software from scratch," recalls Chris Adams. "TRONICAL has been into tuning musical instruments since 2005, but still this project was full of completely new challenges.
In order to concentrate the available know-how and ensure a short time-to-market phase, we decided to implement the mechatronic solutions for tuning the guitar ourselves. We didn't want to have to rely on service providers who might see us as freaks and not really understand what what it's all about. And anyway, we wanted to be highly flexible and not have to wait around for others."
HERMLE enters the stage
TRONICAL, which now employs 40 people, sought and then found the required equipment. The first thing was to gather information about the performance and working area of the machining center. So TRONICAL's mechanics team visited the Nortec trade fair in Hamburg on the search for the right machine. And they found HERMLE.
Before they had even left the fair, they ordered a C 30 U with an NC swiveling rotary table (Ø 630 mm), a motor spindle with 18,000 rpm, an HSK A 63 tool holding fixture, a RENISHAW touch probe and a tool failure measurement and monitoring system. With the amply dimensioned working area (X = 650, Y = 600, Z = 500 mm) and the NC swiveling rotary table they could be sure that all component sizes could be handled.
As Chris Adams puts it: "The HERMLE C 30 U fulfills all our requirements in respect of technical capacity, performance, precision, flexibility, speed and quality. That makes it an essential element for ensuring rapid, autonomous work. In our business, time-to-market has to be fast, and with this universally adaptable machine we can be sure of being able to fulfill the developers' requirements and wishes in respect of prototypes, adaptations and modifications without delay.
"Investing in the machining center was the best decision we could have made; without HERMLE we wouldn't be where we are now. The investment has proved its worth many times over in view of the rate of development, priority management and instantly being able to try out ideas. Especially as all the products can be developed up to series production almost completely without being dependent on mechatronic service providers."
The success of the products made by Chris Adams and his team completely proves the point: the automated guitar tuning system has received prestigious awards at the most important music fairs worldwide. The success story looks like becoming a serial, as new developments in the form of manufacturer-independent tuning kits for retrofitting are in planning.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Curry Trees and Curry Plants
Do you recognize this plant? It's not aquatic and, while it resembles lavender, its distinctive scent will tell you that's not so. While on a plant expedition, Bob detected the unmistakable aroma of curry and followed the scent to these immature gray plants tucked in a corner of the nursery. He was intrigued and brought them home for me to investigate. Anyone who can boil water knows that curry is a blend of spices, so, I was taken aback when my nose picked up the curry-like scent that came from the plant. A quick bite revealed a taste similar to a blend of black tea and wild greens. The flavor was strong and didn't have much to commend it, but I wanted to learn more. I'd done some rudimentary research on the leaf of the curry tree and how it was used it Asian and Indian cooking. Taste alone told me this was not a curry leaf. I wanted to learn more about the curry plant and how it differed from the tree. Google to the rescue. The curry tree above is an aromatic shrub that can grow to 6 or 7 feet tall. Its leaves are glossy, aromatic and look like bay leaves. They have a mild citrus flavor and are used in curries in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The gray curry plant shown at the beginning of this entry has little, if any, culinary value. You can blend a very small amount of it with cream cheese or mayonnaise to make a passable spread but it's not a dip you'll dream about or yearn for. It real value lies in its essential oils and those do have some medicinal value. That doesn't do much for gardeners or cooks. That leaves us with that lovely fragrance that's released each time a branch is cut or bruised. If you love the aroma of curry, this plant's for you. Otherwise it's a classic case of caveat emptor.
23 comments :
- Maria said...
Great info!
- June 30, 2009 at 5:20 PM
I grew these in Canada in my herb garden as an annual strictly for their gray foliage, but I found I couldn't put it in a bouquet. They are in the straw flower family as you no doubt found. Helichrysum italicum. They might be perennial here in Florida, but to me, they just overwhelmingly stink.
- June 30, 2009 at 6:17 PM
- Norm said...
great post! you have a very interesting post, thanks for the visit..
- June 30, 2009 at 7:10 PM
- Amongst The Oaks said...
Every one of your posts makes me drool all over myself. How do you do it?
I have something for you on my blog. Please stop by.
- June 30, 2009 at 7:41 PM
- My Little Space said...
Very interesting!
- June 30, 2009 at 8:22 PM
- Martha said...
I've had these in my herb garden as well -- the only plus IMO is that they do smell like curry -- I never did anything culinary with them.
- June 30, 2009 at 9:22 PM
- fitty's pinky rose cottage said...
I love curry.. infact I cook curry almost every week and I also have curry plants in our garden.. the second photo is curry plant.. I don't know what plant it is as for the first photo..
even tho' I am not Indian, but as an Asian people, we can't ran away from eating curry.. Try to have few curry leaves in your curry cooking.. and your curry taste awesome!
- June 30, 2009 at 9:49 PM
- Selba said...
An interesting info about curry, thanks for sharing!
- June 30, 2009 at 9:57 PM
- Zoe said...
interesting post! Thanks!
- June 30, 2009 at 10:19 PM
- Liza said...
It's the first time I've seen one, thank you for sharing. I learned something new today. :)
Would you mind exchanging links w/ me?
- June 30, 2009 at 10:27 PM
- MyKitchenInHalfCups said...
I've had one of these curry plants several years now. I was very lucky the first time I found it the sales person was knowledgeable and told me straight off don't cook it, it turns bitter. Of course I had to try it. She was right. But I can see that it would be ok (not anything outstanding) in a cool uncooked dip. Still I really love the foliage and the scent in the garden so I keep getting one most years.
Nice post Mary!
- June 30, 2009 at 10:52 PM
- Mary said...
Liza, I've left another comment for you on your blog. Check the Visits to Special Friends Area of my blog.
- June 30, 2009 at 11:11 PM
- Liza said...
Thank you Mary. I have added you as well. I don't have a follower account for Yummy but I have followed you using my blogger account.
Thanks again. :)
- June 30, 2009 at 11:31 PM
- Claudia said...
I love this post - I have seen these but never bougght them and now I will. I am attracted to strong aromas from the garden. Gorgeous!
- June 30, 2009 at 11:33 PM
- girlichef said...
Huh. Very cool info..thank you..I love learning new things (food related or otherwise) ;)
- June 30, 2009 at 11:42 PM
- Country Wings in Phoenix said...
Oh Mary!
How wonderful is that. You actually found curry at the nursery? I am like you as I am always intriqued by a new plant. I just love, love, love trying to grow something new. Your Oregon posting is beautiful. I was going to post our Oregon vacation, but decided to stick with the 4th this week. You'll have to keep watching. We went to a bed and breakfast in Brookings, right on the Ocean. It was so wonderful. Thanks for stopping by, and loved your post. "Country Hugs", Sherry
- June 30, 2009 at 11:48 PM
- Mary at My New 30 said...
Well, maybe it's "smelly" and not fit for consumption, but I think it's pretty!! Thanks for sharing the info.
- July 1, 2009 at 12:28 AM
- NatureFootstep Photo said...
Hi there, I hav had a bit of a problem accessing your blogg. Now I am on a different location and it works. But now I can´t find your blue monday entrance. :( Anyway, there is some blue plant in this entry. :)
Hope to see you again, when I get my new computer up and runnung.
- July 1, 2009 at 4:59 AM
- Hootin' Anni said...
This is one great post!!!
- July 1, 2009 at 6:08 AM
- Lori said...
Are you reading my mind. Two night ago I was in search of a curry tree for my house. And here you have it. I simply must get one! Now I just have to find where to order it!
- July 1, 2009 at 12:40 PM
- Katy ~ said...
I would have bought it too, just for the novelty of it as I'm not a big curry fan. I think it was a fun purchase, and I learned something today!
- July 2, 2009 at 9:13 PM
- Maria Berg said...
Thank you for the lesson.
Yes, Curry is a mixture of many spices and When I was in India, different family had different things mixtures.
- July 3, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I happened upon the "ice" curry plant (name the nursery had given it) last year and am now actively looking for one again.
All winter I used sprigs in "pots" of cooking...to flavor broth, pots of beans, chicken stock and the like. It adds a dimension to the flavor that was well received (I prefer it over rosemary). Served it in prepared spreads for some "love to cook&eat" friends....not so much.
Not sure how the British make it palatable but that was the only use I could find for it.
- October 23, 2010 at 3:20 PM


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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
November 28, 1994
Dear Name*,
Thank you for your letter dated May 6, 1994, concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). You specifically request an opinion on two issues that involve an employee's entitlement to FMLA leave to care for a child with a serious health condition. The first issue seeks an explanation of how FMLA distinguishes between a child who is under 18 years of age and one who is over 18 years. The second issue seeks a ruling on whether an employee who is a parent may be entitled to FMLA leave to care for a child over 18 years who has given birth or who has a serious health condition related to pregnancy.
Issue No. 1
Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(C) , a parent who is an eligible employee under FMLA is entitled to take up to 12 workweeks of leave in any 12-month period to care for a son or daughter if that child has a serious health condition. "Son or daughter" is defined under-FMLA, at 29 U.S.C. 2611(12) , to be a child who either is under 18 years of age or is "18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability." A child 18 years or over, who does not have the limitations described in the statutory definition of "son or daughter," is not among the immediate family members for which an eligible employee may take FMLA leave.
The Senate Report cited on page three of your letter, Senate Report No. 103-3 "Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as reported in the Daily Labor Report (BNA on February 8, 1993 at S-34) states that the definition of "son" or "daughter" includes disabled children over 18 years. In drawing the line for when a parent may be entitled to FMLA leave to care for a child with a "serious health condition," Congress has determined that there is a "compelling need for parental care" both when a child is under age 18 and when a child is over age 18 and is mentally or physically disabled. Although the Senate Report specifically addresses the situation of a child whose disability existed prior to age 18, the statute by its terms, makes no distinction between children who were mentally or physically disabled prior to age 18 and those who became disabled after age 18.
The interim regulations (29 CFR 825.113(c) ), which incorporate the statutory provisions, qualify an eligible employee's entitlement to FMLA leave for a son or daughter older than age 18 to those who are "incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability." Subparagraph (c)(1) defines "incapable of self care " as "requiring active assistance or supervision to provide daily self-care in several of the activities of daily living or ADL's." Subparagraph (c)(2) defines "physical or mental disability" by incorporating the regulations issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. and codified at 29 CFR Part 1630. The age on which the child became disabled is not a factor for determining an eligible employee's entitlement to FMLA leave under these regulations.
Issue No. 2
For an eligible employee to be entitled to take leave to care for a daughter with a serious health condition, the statute and regulations require that the statutory definition of child be met. As mentioned above, a parent may be entitled to FMLA leave to care for an adult child with a serious health condition if the child has a physical or mental disability within the meaning of the ADA Regulations, 29 CFR Part 1630. A parent is not entitled to FMLA leave to care for a child-over age 18 who is not disabled within the meaning of the ADA regulations, including a daughter over 18 years who has a serious health condition because of pregnancy or is recovering from childbirth. As you have correctly observed, "disability" within the meaning of the ADA does not include pregnancy. We see no "conflict" in this regard between the ADA and FMLA.
I hope that the above fully addresses your concerns. If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. I apologize for any inconvenience caused by our delay in responding to your request.
Daniel F. Sweeney
Deputy Assistant Administrator
cc: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
* Note: The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(7).


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Monday, April 14, 2008
A Huge Mistake
She surprised herself with the venomous tone. She could not believe that the man she was dating had lied to her. That the woman he was sharing a house with was also sharing his bed. What a jerk. She turned up the radio to try and get his voice out of her head.
"But honey, she doesn't mean anything to me. She just needs a place to stay."
God. Did he think she was an idiot? Ok, well. She had just had her first and last fight with her new ex-boyfriend.
She was recklessly heading home at a slow boil, slowly coming to terms with the fact that she was indeed an idiot when she decided to drive around a while to cool down. Spontaneously she turned right instead of left.
She had always enjoyed driving and she had a new car. It was the first new car she had ever bought. She loved the sunroof and the teal green color that reminded her of the sea. It was a standard shift and she enjoyed the sense of control it gave her.
It was a lovely summer day in the country. She drove with the windows down and the sunroof open. She switched on the radio and poked the scan button until she found a country station. Perfect. A song about a cheating man.
They had met at the local community garden. She was helping the Girl Scout troop plant peas and beans so they could earn their gardening badge. As a master gardener she often volunteered her time. He was helping that day too. She had never seen him before and they had struck up a polite conversation. As the girls giggled and complained about getting dirty, Michele chatted with the garden guy and soon found herself agreeing to go out for a drink. To talk about the Master Gardening program—nothing else. Well, one drink led to two and here she was months later dating a younger man who had lied to her about everything.
She found herself in an endless loop of self-pity and righteous anger. Fuming again, she turned left onto a narrow gravel road. Not paying attention, she rounded curve after curve, picking up speed on her way out of the turns. As a college student they used to call this playing race car driver.
As she came out of a turn, going way too fast, she saw a pair of bicyclists stopped in the middle of the road looking at a map.
What the hell were they doing standing in the middle of the road out here in the middle of nowhere?
She slammed on her brakes, the car started to fish tail; the gravel on the road was just like ice. The faces of the bicyclists were frozen in shock. She fought the car, finally bringing it to a stop, the nose sunk deep into a muddy bank.
She had not hit them.
She leaned her head back against the seat, shaken. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was alone. The bikers had hopped on their bikes and were now distant specks.
As she put the car in reverse to ease out of the bank, there was a ripping sound. She got out to look at the damage. It did not look so bad. The hood and right fender were scratched from the tree roots in the bank, but more ominous was a large piece of black plastic lying in the road. She stood looking at it, puzzled. She picked it up and hoisted it in the trunk, then got back behind the wheel.
How was she ever going to explain this?
She drove slowly and carefully home thinking of possible scenarios. She pulled into the drive and fished around in her purse for her wedding ring and slipped it back on. She leaned back against the seat taking deep breaths.
Suddenly, the car door opened and she started.
"Hi Hon, what took so long at the store?"
Michele looked up at her husband.
"Oh my God. You scared me; I was just in an accident. On my way home there were 2 bicyclists just standing in the middle of the road. I swerved to avoid them and hit a mud bank. They didn't even stop to see if I was OK." She started to cry. "I am an idiot. I wrecked the new car. I could have been killed."
She got out of the car and he gathered her in his arms.
"Don't worry about the car. Are you OK? I don't know what I would do if I were to lose you."
3 comments:
What was the mistake? Her taste in men, the affair, the speeding, the wreck, the lack of judgment? You got a lot going on here.
- April 15, 2008 at 8:13 PM
- Bevson said...
Wow. I guess all of the above. She does appear to be a self-centered jerk. I love that you said lack of judgment. That hits the nail on the head I think. Thanks for stopping by!
- April 16, 2008 at 4:59 AM
I forgot about this story! This is such a good one...I love how you totally sympathize with her until the end when you realize that she, too, is a jerk! I think you're right when you call her self-centered, because nowhere in the story is there concern for anyone else. When she starts crying, it's not because she might have hurt the bicyclists, it's because they left without attending to her obviously more important needs! ;)
- June 21, 2008 at 7:21 AM


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Pittsburgh Pizza Crawl
This came across the Twitter wire yesterday from @jelsas: A two man, twelve pizza tour of Pittsburgh! There's a detailed report on Pop City that includes snippets of the Twitter log from the tour and mustache ratings of each pizzeria.
Brad Stephenson and Patrick Jordan visited the following pizzerias in and around Pittsburgh: Vincent's Pizza Park (Slice review), Fiori's Pizzaria, Il Pizzaiolo, A'Pizza Badamo, Don Campiti's Pizzeria, City Oven, Pasquarelli's Pizza House, Pizza Italia, Mineo's (Daily Slice), Aiello's, Dinette and Mio Pizza.
Click through to view the video»
This a pretty good jumping off point for covering the major players in Pittsburgh. What are the favorites out there in Slicelandia? Any they left off?
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.


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Grype is an internet phone calling service present in Grand Theft Auto IV . Its main website can be accessed in-game, and though it is unusable, the site details how it is bringing major phone companies down with its service. Grype is a parody of the real-life internet calling service Skype, and it's name is a play on the word 'gripe', which means to point out something wrong with something that's been pretty well received.
Grype.org is the website for the Grype internet telepone serivice in Grand Theft Auto IV, which claims to be bringing major phone companies down with its service. It is an obvious parody of Skype. The product is not available in the game.


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Ver Por Ella Soy Eva Capitulo 129 Online. August 16, 2012, Por Ella Soy Eva Capitulo 129 will be broadcast on telemundo. The videos are linked Immediately after the live broadcast and are high quality, Enjoys Clone Replacing all your favorite novels and novel here. I hope you enjoy all of Completos Por Ella Soy Eva Capitulo and don't forget to come back again to follow the next episode Each episode Because you a story interesting and suspenseful
Por Ella Soy Eva: Juan Carlos Caballero, unrepentant seducer who uses women and does not believe in love, is a prominent executive of Empire Group, a leading company engaged in business activities and tourism. Using his famous conqueror skills pretends to be a foreign employer and tries to rob Helena Moreno, a single mother entrepreneur-its innovative tourism development project for a Mexican beach, however, against all odds, to live with her lover is discovered first. When you think reveal the truth is discovered by her, and yet is wrongly accused of a substantial fraud by the CFO of the company where he works, the perverse Plutarco Ramos, who is also the one who actually has won a major project Helena and now, like the Tourism Commission, accused of plagiarism. Pursued by police, Juan Carlos flees, while in Group empire, hire Plutarco decide Helena to be she who directed the project, the young, unemployed and with a charge over, is forced to accept the position to demonstrate that he suffered a deception. Por Ella Soy Eva Capitulo 129 Avances


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
A Palestinian Arab man recently admitted to poisoning a Jewish family with intent to kill simply because he "hates Jews."
Israeli courts on Sunday cleared for publication details of the attack, which occurred last October in the central Israel town of Raanana.
The suspect, 46-year-old Adnan Othman Nasaara, was a construction worker who had previously done some work at the victims' house.
The Lerner family initially thought they were the victims of a simple robbery, and called police to the scene. But during the post-break-in interview, Eyal Lerner and one of the police officers collapsed after drinking water from the kitchen.
Eyal's wife, Yifat, and their two-year-old child also became ill. All four were hospitalized, with Eyal spending a week in intensive care in serious condition.
Police later found that most of the drinks and staple food items in the Lerner's kitchen had been laced with highly toxic pesticides. Officers later traced the robbery to Nasaara and two other suspects. They found pesticides in Nasaara's house.
Police told Israel's Ynet news portal that Nasaara admitted to the poisoning, saying he did it because he "hates Jews." Officials are now describing the incident at nationalistically motivated, or, in other words, a terrorist attack.
The attack again brings to light two important aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
First, Israel is constantly criticized for restricting the freedom of movement in Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank"), and especially for denying Palestinians easy access to Israeli-controlled areas. But most of those restrictions are new, having only been implemented over the past decade due to rising Palestinian violence. The poisoning of the Lerner family demonstrates why Israel is so careful with access to Jewish areas.
Second, it has become increasingly important to limit access because the Palestinian Authority has so utterly failed to educate its population to view the Jews as neighbors and partners. In fact, it has done the opposite, and many Palestinians today, like Mr. Nasaara, view it as a national and even a religious duty to take the lives of Jews, be they men, women or children.
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Tapped In: Martin on hitting, TV hosting and fashionby Kathryn Tappen
In 217 games in the NHL, Matt Martin has amassed 379 penalty minutes. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Martin is not shy to drop the gloves and be the physical left wing that has been instrumental to the New York Islanders finding success. Little do his opponents know, Martin's image off ice is anything but what his game-day face portrays.
Kathryn Tappen: Is there a reason you wear No. 17?
Matt Martin: I used to wear 19 when I was younger because my favorite player was Joe Sakic. When I went to Sarnia there was already a player wearing 19 so I switched to 17 because my mom and dad's birthdays are both on the 17th. Now my number means a lot to me.
KT: You get to play against Joe Sakic's team this season.
MM: I know! I'm pretty excited. I've never actually met him or seen him in person, so it would be really cool to get to do that.
KT: What was your welcome-to-the-NHL moment?
MM: I was in Pittsburgh and I was stretching. I looked over and saw Sidney Crosby warming up with the puck and it all hit me right there. I remember thinking that I had finally accomplished my dream. Playing a guy like that who you watch on TV who is one of the best in the League, and then seeing him live on the ice was definitely something I'll remember forever.
KT: You have the NHL record for most hits in a single season with 374. Who is the hardest player to hit?
MM: There are a few guys in the NHL who are really hard to hit. I ran into Dustin Byfuglien and I thought I was going to lay him out and he didn't even see me coming and stopped me dead in my tracks. Zdeno Chara is another guy who is really hard to knock over. I have fun trying to knock those guys over; it's a great challenge, but there's definitely been a few times where I feel it more than they did.
KT: Well I hate to ruin your tough-guy image, but you hosted the red carpet for BCTV at this year's MTV VMA's at Barclay's Center.
MM: It was a different experience, something I'll probably never get to do again in my life so it was pretty cool to be a part of. My co-host Alyonka (Larionov) made me feel comfortable and made it easy for me. A lot of the people we talked to I didn't even know who they were.
KT: You know you've given your teammates some serious ammo here with your red-carpet hosting.
MM: Oh for sure, I'm never going to hear the end of it, might as well enjoy it right?
KT: Who was your favorite celeb?
MM: I talked to former UFC Champ Tito Ortiz for about 20 minutes. He's a big hockey fan. He knows Dustin Penner well. He told me when he's in New York he'd love to come to a game. It would be nice to get some fighting tips from him actually!
KT: So no future in entertainment reporting for you?
MM: No thanks, I'll stick to sports.
KT: What do you mean? Your assistant coach Doug Weight is a pro at the TV thing!
MM: Yeah I know. I always see him on with you guys on the NHL Network during the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs. He's pretty good at it. He walks into our dressing room and when he starts talking everyone wants to listen and pay attention to him. He takes control of the room.
KT: I know you're a huge country music fan. Do you ever get up and sing it karaoke?
MM: I think I did karaoke once in Bridgeport at our rookie party.
KT: Nice! What did you sing?
MM: I can't remember. Something girlie.
KT: Must have been a good rookie party then?
MM: (laughs) It was. Absolutely.
KT: Needless to say we won't be seeing any karaoke videos of you pop up on You Tube anytime soon?
MM: No, every time I always start singing, everyone gets mad at me, telling me to shut up. No one really likes my voice too much, so I don't think I'll be standing on stage singing anytime soon.
KT: I hear you're a fashion buff.
MM: I always buy GQ magazine to read on the plane, I like to look good and dress well. With so much free time we go to the mall and walk around and end up buying stuff. My mom likes to chirp me and call me a shopaholic. But that's not something I like too many people to know, especially guys around the League, so can you word this a certain way and kind of take care of me?
KT: Sure you got it.


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|RE: Too bad Portugal got bounced out of the group stage
|Thursday, 28 August 2014 03:23
If only Portugal's line-up consisted of: Bale, Di Maria, Ozil, Khedira, Varane, Ramos, Kroos, Modric, Rodriguez, Alonso, and oh and lets not forget his Manchester teammates from long ago.
This is a comment on "Cristiano. The Greatest?"


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lizatkinson1 needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 55 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
Zest Marketing Concepts
We are a face to face event promotions company who specialize in creating brand awareness for a range of International clients. We currently have 4 locations- Melbourne is our head office; Sydney; Auckland & Wellington.
Most of our clients are International charities, some examples are Australian Red Cross, Amnesty International, Fred Hollows Foundation, and many more (but no charity logos are allowed to be shown).
The success of the company comes down to our youthful, fun and vibrant culture and we attract people who have BIG personalities who enjoy coming to work to do a very 'different' and 'spontaneous' job.
We are a BOLD and ENERGETIC company- we do everything at 100 miles an hour, and our aim is to give everybody that steps though the door an opportunity to advance in a dynamic workplace.
Our personality..... Lively, Determined to be the best!!
Our website is mainly to attract people to work for us.
Our target audience is 18-35 yr olds (male and female). Basically, we want people who are determined, bubbly, and are looking to work for a company with a difference.
No boring people as this is not a sit down behind a desk office job!
Simple but eye catching, modern design. Not too "busy". The company colors are purple and pink (see logo attached), but NOT "girly".
Rounded edges might be nice?
Web 2.0 feel to it...
I want the fun, vibrant atmosphere of the company to come through but with a strong tone of professionalism.
I am very open to ideas with this site. I want the companies personality to come across- BIG and BOLD, young and hip, but showing we are company that means business (so it needs to have a professional edge while being attractive to our target audience)
We tend to expand very fast- so I want to show we are already in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington - maybe using city photographs?
We are very motivational so anything that shows that also would be good (I can provide quotes...)
2 Templates...
1) Home page (with links to "Photo Gallery", "Our Team", "About Us", "Opportunities", "Join our team", "Contact us" )
2) Suitable template that we can put the other pages on.
We have a facebook page it can connect with.
Smooth,clean design is what I'm really worried about. Very excited to see what ideas you can come up with...
Home Page- Including Tabs to the to other main pages (as above)
Maybe buttons along the bottom of both templates that will allow people to quickly apply for a job in their desired city.
Example: Work in Melbourne / Work in Sydney etc
2nd Template -
Along the same theme but basic enough to be flexible and host other types of pages...about, contact, maps,etc...
Open to ideas - I've looked long and hard but haven't found anything I love...sorry :(


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Comment letter regarding Overdraft Protection Guidance
Overdraft Protection Guidance
August 6, 2004
Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary
ATTENTION: Comments
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20429
via e-mail to: firstname.lastname@example.com
Re: Overdraft Protection Guidance
Dear Mr. Feldman:
On behalf of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois (hereinafter, "CBAI"), I am submitting this comment letter in response to the proposed "Interagency Guidance on Overdraft Protection Programs" (hereinafter, "Proposed Interagency Guidance"). The Proposed Interagency Guidance was published by the federal regulatory agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in the Federal Register on June 7, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 109).
With more than 500 member financial institutions and more than 140 associate members, CBAI is the largest state-organized trade association in Illinois representing the interests of financial institutions and is the third largest such association in the United States. CBAI is the leading advocate for community banks in Illinois, the state with more active bank charters than any other state in the nation. Our members include state-chartered and federally-chartered banks, savings banks and savings and loan associations that can be found in every one of Illinois' 102 counties.
Among our roles on behalf of community banks in Illinois are the review of products and services in the marketplace that may be of interest to our members as well as the review of legislative and regulatory proposals that might affect the ability of our members to offer those products and services or the efficiency with which they can be offered. Given those roles, we appreciate this opportunity to comment on the Proposed Interagency Guidance.
General comments on the regulators' assessment of overdraft protection services
CBAI supports reasonable and accurate disclosures that are designed to educate a customer so that the customer can make an informed decision regarding whether he or she will elect to purchase or enroll in a particular product or service. To the extent that the Proposed Interagency Guidance recommends clear, accurate and useful disclosures, CBAI concurs with those recommendations. Unfortunately, the Proposed Interagency Guidance goes beyond that threshold by suggesting actions or obligations pertaining to overdraft protection programs that may not be warranted.
In setting the stage for the recommendations, the Proposed Interagency Guidance acknowledges an increase in "customer acceptance" of overdraft protection programs but states that certain aspects of such programs "have raised concerns...." Later, the Proposed Interagency Guidance refers to "existing and potential concerns surrounding the offering and administration of such overdraft protection services." CBAI would prefer that federal regulations or guidelines addressing a currently available banking product or service should be rooted in evidence or data rather than concerns, whether those concerns are existing or potential. The Proposed Interagency Guidance does not include persuasive evidence that overdraft protection programs are generally anti-consumer in concept or in application. By comparison, in recent years there were numerous instances of predatory lending practices by mortgage brokers and other non-bank mortgage lenders. Regulators at both the state and federal levels responded to real and demonstrable abuses that cost unsophisticated mortgagors substantial financial losses and often resulted in foreclosure actions. If there have been abuses on a similar scale with respect to overdraft protection services, or if there is data indicating such an abusive trend, such evidence or data is lacking in the Proposed Interagency Guidance.
CBAI does not assume that overdraft protection services are somehow quasi-abusive and therefore should be reigned in by regulations or guidelines. Rather, CBAI takes the position that legitimate, reputable overdraft protection services are a modern extension of a service that has long been offered by banks. It was not necessarily safer for a bank to permit overdrafts on an ad hoc basis without the disclosures and policies that usually accompany today's programs. The fact that today's programs are more systematic and usually more automated may raise certain operational issues that are rightly addressed in the Proposed Interagency Guidance, but CBAI urges the federal regulatory agencies to be deliberate and not to act prematurely or unnecessarily unless there is data showing that the service is increasingly being utilized in an abusive or predatory manner.
Safety and soundness considerations
CBAI agrees that prudent policies and procedures should be in place to address operational risks associated with overdraft protection services. We disagree, however, with specific recommendations contained in the Proposed Interagency Guidance. For example, the suggestion that "overdraft balances should generally be charged off within 30 days from the date first overdrawn" is arbitrary, unrealistic and inconsistent (as conceded in the Proposed Interagency Guidance) with existing regulations affecting credit unions. The ability of the customer to pay down or fully repay an overdraft is in large part a function of his or her payroll periods and his or her historical account relationship with the bank. There is no magic to a 30-day rule and a bank should have ample discretion to assess repayment probabilities and schedules without imposing a one-size-fits-all rule. To tie the bank's hands by suggesting that 30 days is the maximum allowable time frame in which the customer must resolve the overdraft status could result in negative credit information being reported to credit bureaus when, had the bank been left to its own reasoned judgment, full repayment of the overdraft might have occurred on Day 35, or Day 45, or some other day that would be within a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, as identified in the Proposed Interagency Guidance, federal regulations permit a credit union to carry an overdraft for 45 calendar days before the customer must repay the negative balance or come to some approved credit terms to cover the overdraft. There is no reason why a 30-day maximum should be urged upon some financial institutions while another set of their competitors (i.e., credit unions) is operating with a 45-day window. CBAI believes that a one-size-fits-all time frame is not advisable and that banks should be given discretion to establish their own standards, but that under no circumstances should the recommended time frame be less than the 45-day time frame under which credit unions may operate.
CBAI also disagrees that the dollar amounts of overdraft protection services that are available to customers should be reported for regulatory purposes as "unused commitments." There are at least two problems with this provision. First, the vast majority of customers who automatically qualify for a bank's overdraft service will never use the service because they manage their finances in such a way as to not create overdraft balances. These customers will nominally show an unused overdraft protection balance but will be unlikely to utilize it, and therefore categorizing these balances as "unused commitments" will vastly and unfairly misstate the true risk exposure of the bank. Secondly, unlike approved lines of credit, the Proposed Interagency Guidance stresses the discretionary element of overdraft protection services (i.e., the fact that the bank reserves the right to not pay any or all overdrafts pursuant to the bank's policies). It occurs to CBAI that an unused overdraft protection service cannot simultaneously be (1) a discretionary privilege unilaterally under the control of the bank; and (2) a "commitment" to extend the unused balance to the customer such that it should be reported as an "unused commitment" for regulatory purposes.
Best practices
CBAI agrees with the following general principle stated in the Proposed Interagency Guidance: "Clear disclosures and explanations to consumers of the operation, costs, and limitations of an overdraft protection program and appropriate management oversight of the program are fundamental to enabling responsible use of overdraft protection." The Proposed Interagency Guidance goes on to list numerous "best practices" that financial institutions are encouraged to consider. Many of the proposed best practices are reasonable (e.g., banks should not encourage routine and intentional overdrafts; banks should clearly disclose applicable fees; etc.). Some, however, raise issues or potential unintended consequences that may be worthy of further consideration.
One proposal suggests that bank personnel, when informing a consumer about overdraft protection, should perform a comparative analysis by describing and comparing the costs, advantages and disadvantages of other products or services that might be an alternative to overdraft protection. While CBAI believes that the bank should provide accurate and not misleading information about overdraft protection, we have concerns about a bank employee assuming a role that a customer could perceive as advisory in nature. However well-intended this proposed best practice may be, a bank employee should not be channeled into a conversation in which he or she is telling a customer that one product or service may be more beneficial than an alternative. Those types of conversations, even for a well-trained employee, can easily become a subject of dispute and potential liability exposure in extreme cases where the customer subsequently claims that he or she suffered some economic or reputational damage because he or she relied on the advice or analysis provided by the bank employee when, in retrospect, another alternative would have allowed the customer to escape a loss or damage that the customer has now sustained.
Another proposed best practice states that the bank should "(c)learly disclose to consumers the order in which the institution pays checks or processes other transactions (e.g., transactions at the ATM or point-of-sale terminal)." Clarification may be necessary with respect to suggested disclosure of "the order in which the institution pays checks...." Section 4-303 of the Uniform Commercial Code states that a bank may accept, pay, certify or charge against the account of its customer "items" in "any order."
The Proposed Interagency Guidance suggests that when consumers attempt to execute non-check withdrawals (such as an ATM transaction), the consumer should first receive a message that completion of the transaction will trigger overdraft protection fees and the consumer should have the option to cancel the transaction after receiving that message. The Proposed Interagency Guidance, perhaps in recognition of the fact that such messages and technology would not be uniformly available at every ATM terminal accessible by the bank's customer, also states that if the fee message and the right to cancel are not uniformly available, then the bank should post notices on its "proprietary ATMs explaining that withdrawals in excess of the actual balance will access the overdraft protection program and trigger fees for consumers who have overdraft protection services." For some customers, this proposed best practice might be confusing and might lead to a misunderstanding. The customer, seeing that notice posted at the proprietary ATM but seeing no such notice posted at a competitor's ATM on the other side of town, might draw an inaccurate conclusion that use of the ATM with no notice posted (i.e., the competitor's ATM) will not have the same consequences as the use of his or her bank's proprietary ATM where he or she saw the notice posted.
CBAI's membership includes many banks that offer overdraft protection services contemplated by the Proposed Interagency Guidance and many banks that have chosen not to offer such services. CBAI has never condoned abusive or predatory practices, and we have no objection to the imposition of reasonable and necessary restrictions, terms or conditions that are uniformly applied to all financial institutions and that do not impair the banks' ability to efficiently deliver legal and common bank products and services to their customers. With respect to overdraft protection services, disclosures that are clear, accurate and not misleading are reasonable expectations. Prudent policies and internal risk management controls are also reasonable components of such a program. Many of the aspects of the Proposed Interagency Guidance are sensible and CBAI believes that banks and third party providers of overdraft protection programs or consultative services should implement them. However, CBAI is not persuaded that the federal regulatory agencies have stated a strong case for comprehensive regulation or guidance in this area. Absent data showing that customers are suffering significantly more harm than good from these programs, CBAI would encourage the agencies to avoid premature judgments about overdraft protection.
Specific areas of disagreement or concern, as expressed above, are based on CBAI's assessment that the various proposals are arbitrary, that they are not reflective of the true nature or risk exposure associated with the overdraft protection service, or that they invite unintended consequences that could adversely affect the customer, the bank or both.
The community banks that are members of CBAI have outstanding records of customer service. We understand that many regulations and guidelines are designed to target the "bad apples" within our profession rather than to unnecessarily burden the vast majority of financial institutions that would not be inclined to engage in deceptive or unethical practices. CBAI urges the federal regulatory agencies to adopt only those guidelines that are reasonably necessary and that will allow financial institutions, and particularly community banks, to operate as efficiently as possible in the delivery of legal products and services to their customers.
Thank you for your consideration of these comments.
Jerry D. Cavanaugh
General Counsel
Community Bankers Association of Illinois
Legal Link is a free benefit of CBAI membership. To pose a banking-related legal question to CBAI General Counsel Jerry Cavanaugh, e-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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MTX and Stinger Audio Upgrade - Good Vibrations
Our EcoBoost Gets An Audio Overhaul From MTX and Stinger
Although it's true that factory sound systems have significantly improved in the last decade, they still leave much to be desired, especially for those of us who are used to high-dollar audio gear. This was also the case with our EcoBoost project truck, as its factory Ford speakers left much to be desired. However, we didn't want to tear up our dash to install a new head unit, so we called up the experts at MTX. They provided us with two sets of Thunder Axe component speakers, a TH90.4 four-channel amp, and a ThunderForm 10-inch underseat subwoofer. For wiring, we turned to Stinger, who supplied high-quality RCA cables, amp wiring, a power distribution box, and Stealth Roadkill sound-damping mat. We also chose this time to upgrade our battery to an Interstate MT7 AGM battery with 48-month free replacement. With all of our new goodies in the bed, we drove out to Audio Innovations, in Glendora, California, where their experienced techs put it all together. To see how these simple upgrades drastically improved our F-150's sound without changing the OEM head unit, read on.
Audio InnovationsGlendora, CA 91740
MTX AudioPhoenix, AZ 85042
Interstate BatteriesDallas, TX 75251
Stinger Electronicshttp://www.stingerelectronics.com


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So my readers probably noticed the fact that this blog just stopped mid-February, without any explanation. Life in our local part of the universe was substantially more chaotic than usual. World wide protests, devastating natural disasters, nuclear fears, war, and us just trying to go about our day to day lives, buying a home, securing funding, getting sick, planning a wedding, all the while not looking at what was sitting just out of the corner of our eyes.
When the world is in crisis, physics doesn't stop, science doesn't stop. Wars, famine, the need to rebuild – all of these are actually great motivators for researchers. Unfortunately, most of us aren't in fields that can actually offer anything close to intellectual assistance during these times. There is a strange and sad fact about this planet and the animals that inhabit it though, and that is that there is always some part of the world that is in crisis. If we took a pause every time something unimaginable to us happened, very little would ever get done. Nevertheless, I paused.
To get back into things, here's about a months worth of reading – there should be two other posts out later this week (back to some more serious blogging too). Astrophysics and Gravitation gives us some updates on the MOND versus dark matter debate (is MOND winning? or have we already seen dark matter?), a silly paper on stars with wormhole centres, another success for Einstein@Home, a possible explanation for the "Fermi Bubble", a new value for the Hubble constant, a long overdue fix for the Pioneer Anomaly, and a huge explosion in space for NASA. Lots of news from CERN and Fermilab in High Energy & Particles, including the search for SUSY at the LHC, the hunt for the Higgs, a single top quark at the CMS, heavy antimatter for ALICE, the much hyped results of new physics at the Tevatron, and using a Fermi-Fermi gas to model the Big Bang. Finally in General Relativity & Quantum Gravity we get a lesson on quantum Riemann surfaces in Chern-Simons theory, a curious experiment using gravity waves to suss out dimensionality, an introduction to group field theories, BF models of gravity, and spin foams, an update on the status of Horava gravity, an absurd paper on life inside black holes, and an essay from the 1960s by George Gamow.
Astrophysics and Gravitation:
MOND vs Dark Matter, Again?
MOND is Winning?
Stacy S. McGaugh (2011). A Novel Test of the Modified Newtonian Dynamics with Gas Rich Galaxies Phys.Rev.Lett.106:121303,2011 arXiv: 1102.3913v1
No, it's not (maybe in the Charlie Sheen sense though). I've honestly never been enchanted with dark matter, the fact that it's this giant unknown bothers me, and MOND holds a lot of appeal, logically for me, but the fact is, it doesn't work, in the original form or any current one. Yes, some observations do fit into MOND predictions – we wouldn't be talking about it now if it was entirely unphysical – but MOND is also wrong about a lot of things (you know, like the CMB). Yes, whatever this data was collected on gas rich galaxies probably does fit with what MOND predicts, and may very well disagree with Lambda-CDM (it's certainly not a perfect model), but if MOND is wrong about other things, it's still wrong. If someone comes up with a Modified Modified Newtonian dynamics that explains the CMB and fits with the Bullet Cluster, then we'll talk.
For more, see Gas Rich Galaxies Confirm Prediction of Modified Gravity Theory (PR), Is this the end of dark matter?, Alternate theory poses dark matter challenge, More Evidence Against Dark Matter?, Dark Matter: Just Fine, Thanks,
Has EDELWEISS Seen Dark Matter?
EDELWEISS Collaboration (2011). Final results of the EDELWEISS-II WIMP search using a 4-kg array of cryogenic germanium detectors with interleaved electrodes arXiv arXiv: 1103.4070v2
No, it hasn't. Well, probably not, anyway. So, the EDELWEISS-II collaboration released some fairly unexciting results, that some people are jumping on as evidence for dark matter. Why? Because the results point to possible evidence for signals for a few WIMP candidates. The CDMS collaboration last year published similarly tentative claims, though the energies of the EDELWEISS and CDMS candidates are different and thus both cannot be the same WIMP (if they are actually anything at all). The noise here is very high, so high that it's not even clear if any of these are signals at all. People on the project don't even really believe they've seen anything. The spokesman for EDELWEISS, Gilles Gerbier, said, "We cannot say for sure that there is no signal. We are in the uncomfortable situation… We may have a signal but we cannot make any claim now." So, have we seen dark matter? No, it doesn't sound like it. It's not 100% out of the question, however (but probably 99.9% out of it).
For more, see Have Physicists Already Glimpsed Particles of Dark Matter?, Dark matter signal sparks interest, but falls short of discovery.
"Stars Could Have Wormholes at Their Cores"
V. Dzhunushaliev, V. Folomeev, B. Kleihaus, & J. Kunz (2011). A Star Harbouring a Wormhole at its Center arXiv arXiv: 1102.4454v1
I'm sad I left talking about this article for so long because now it's old news, but it's just silly. Hey, let's create some nonsensey sounding "phantom" matter and then say that wormholes can connect stars because of it! Why? Because speculation is fun! If anyone is taking this seriously, I can write up a "why this isn't based on anything" post. I don't call this science, I call it science fiction (but that doesn't mean we're not working on teleporters and cloaking devices today).
For more, see Stars Could Have Wormholes at Their Cores, Say Astrophysicists (TechReview arXiv blog), Stellar Wormholes May Exist.
Another Einstein@Home Success
B. Knispel, et al., (2011). Arecibo PALFA Survey and Einstein@Home: Binary Pulsar Discovery by Volunteer Computing The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 732, L1 (2011) arXiv: 1102.5340v2
I love these citizen science accomplishments. The Einstein@Home project has made its second discovery of a radio pulsar orbiting a white dwarf star. The pulsar, J1952+2630, was discovered within data collected back in 2005. J1952+2630's white-dwarf companion is especially massive, suggesting the pulsar belongs to this rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars, making it the 6th of its type known. Congrats, Einstein@Home!
For more, see Volunteers find another prize pulsar, Einstein@Home Discovers New Binary Radio Pulsar.
Possible Origin of the Fermi Bubble?
K. S. Cheng, D. O. Chernyshov, V. A. Dogiel, C. -M. Ko, & W. -H. Ip (2011). Origin of the Fermi Bubble arXiv arXiv: 1103.1002v1
Remember that "unknown" gamma ray "bubble" structure discovered last year? A recent paper has suggested that it might be caused by some supermassive black hole "star capture process" at the centre of our galaxy. Honestly, I've got no means to judge this one; they claim it's better than any other explanation, so let's leave it at that for now.
For more, see Star-hungry black hole could blow galactic 'bubbles'.
Hubbles Gives a Better Estimate for Speed of Universe's Expansion
Riess, A., Macri, L., Casertano, S., Lampeitl, H., Ferguson, H., Filippenko, A., Jha, S., Li, W., & Chornock, R. (2011). A 3% SOLUTION: DETERMINATION OF THE HUBBLE CONSTANT WITH THE AND WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 The Astrophysical Journal, 730 (2) DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/730/2/119
Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 has provided a new and more accurate measurement of the Hubble constant, H0 = 73.8 ± 2.4 (km/s)/Mpc based off of distance and redshift data. In 2010, gravitational lensing data helped put H0 at 72.6 ± 3.1(km/s)/Mpc, while the WMAP seven-year results arrived at H0 = 71.0 ± 2.5 (km/s)/Mpc. So, are we narrowing in on the right value? With those errors, it's really hard to say. Does this prove anything about the existence of dark energy? No…
For more, see (in order of increasing credulity) Have scientists cracked the speed at which the universe is expanding?, The Universe is expanding at 73.8 +/- 2.4 km/sec/megaparsec! So there., The Hubble telescope eliminates one possible alternative to dark energy, Dark energy is not an illusion after all.
Say Good-Bye to the Pioneer Anomaly?
F. Francisco, O. Bertolami, P. J. S. Gil, & J. Páramos (2011). Modelling the reflective thermal contribution to the acceleration of the Pioneer spacecraft arXiv arXiv: 1103.5222v1
This isn't one I've read thoroughly, but it seems quite plausible. The Pioneer anomaly has never sat well with me, so I might be a little too eager to accept this explanation, but if it just comes down to some uneven heat radiation, I really wouldn't be very surprised. I'd be happy not to call this an anomaly anymore.
For more, see Pioneer Anomaly Solved By 1970s Computer Graphics Technique (TechReview arXiv Blog). Solved by a 1970s computer graphics technique? No, no it wasn't, but I won't necessarily argue with the "solved" part.
NASA Sees Huge Explosion
By their powers combined, NASA's Swift, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory observed a massive, and beautiful, explosion (now named GRB 110328A) at the centre of a distant galaxy. What was it? The usual party line is "supermassive black hole up to no good", but with what little we know about the centre of galaxies, it's not very meaningful to speculate in any particular direction.
For more, see Star-Eating Black Hole May Be Producing Universe's Biggest Blast, NASA Telescopes Join Forces to Observe Unprecedented Explosion (PR).
High Energy Physics and Particles:
LHC Searches for Supersymmetry
Philip Bechtle, Klaus Desch, Herbi K. Dreiner, Michael Krämer, Ben O'Leary, Carsten Robens, Björn Sarrazin, & Peter Wienemann (2011). What if the LHC does not find supersymmetry in the sqrt(s)=7 TeV run? arXiv arXiv: 1102.4693v1
O. Buchmueller, & et al. (2011). Implications of Initial LHC Searches for Supersymmetry arXiv arXiv: 1102.4585v1
ATLAS Collaboration (2011). Search for Supersymmetry Using Final States with One Lepton, Jets, and Missing Transverse Momentum with the ATLAS Detector in sqrt[s]=7 TeV pp Collisions Physical Review Letters, 106 (13) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.131802
Dine, M., & Mason, J. (2011). Supersymmetry and its dynamical breaking Reports on Progress in Physics, 74 (5) DOI: 10.1088/0034-4885/74/5/056201
Part of me hopes that "SUSY" will be the new "it" baby name for this year, seeing how often everyone is saying it these days. There is practically as much excitement for ruling out (or in) supersymmetry as there is for finding the Higgs. Has the LHC (or anyone else) seen evidence for supersymmetry? No. Should they have yet? No, but it depends on what you were looking for specifically. Like everything HEP, some models have lower energy predictions, some have higher, and experimental physics is all about ruling out segments of those predictions. What if the LHC doesn't see supersymmetry at all? Okay, some people will move on, some people will push their theories to higher energies. Things like SUSY are almost impossible to rule out entirely because there are so many different versions out there. I realise a statement like that sounds rather unscientific, "Well you can never completely rule out the existence of [blank] because maybe [blank] is more like this instead and you couldn't see it where you were looking before", and, wait… Hmm, I wasn't trying to make an anti-SUSY point when I started this, I actually kind of like SUSY. Let me come back to this. At this stage, all we can say is that the parameter space for SUSY has been further constrained, thanks to ATLAS and the CMS.
For more, see Implications of 35/pb SUSY searches on best fit parameters., Beautiful theory collides with smashing particle data, What if the LHC doesn't see SUSY?, The Large Hadron Collider enters the race for supersymmetry, Results from the first published search for supersymmetry at ATLAS have arrived.
The LHC Hunts the Higgs
CMS Collaboration (2011). Measurement of WW Production and Search for the Higgs Boson in pp Collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV arXiv arXiv: 1102.5429v2
ATLAS and the CMS have decreased the MSSM Higgs parameter space a little bit more, which is exactly what we'd hoped for. It seems like the LHC might be very close to the Higgs by the end of this year.
Rivalry Drives Higgs Hunt
For more, see First Measurement of W+W− Production and Search for Higgs Boson in pp Collisions at √s=7TeV (pdf, CMS Statement), LHC publishes first Higgs measurements, LHC seriously into Higgs searches.
The CMS Sees a Single Top Quark
Almost surprisingly fast, the LHC has seen evidence of single top quark production, something that took the Tevatron years to build up too (the difference in energy is what really matters here). The ease at which the data was mined for this signal should make people very optimistic that if new physics is in there, it won't stay buried in bins for too long.
For more, see Speedy single top sighting at the LHC, Standard Model Measurements: CMS Collaboration, March 14th, 2011 [pdf].
ALICE To Present Results on Record Size Antimatter Observations
CERN's ALICE collaboration has seen the formation of four anti-nuclei of Helium 4, which are the heaviest kind of antimatter we can currently make in a lab. ALICE is catching up to RHIC quickly in the quest for large anti-nuclei. This is not only an impressive accomplishment, but it can help us understand the early universe better, by creating nuclei that would have existed then.
For more, see ALICE's wonderland reveals the heaviest antimatter ever observed (CERN Bulletin).
New Physics at the Tevatron?
Starting in March, gossip began coming out of Fermilab that the Tevatron had seen some "new particle" or "new physics". A sad truth about big projects that lose their funding is that you often get a lot of over-hyped, lacklustre, results getting publicized as the money runs out. In some cases it's a mad dash to secure more last minute funding (not likely in this case) and in others it's more of a "you'll miss me when I'm gone" kind of PR stunt. Given the fact that the Tevatron's latest efforts in narrowing in on the Higgs mass range yielded no improvement, I'd say that it's unlikely that new physics, or new particles, will be able to come out of their data. However, all of the hype neglected to mention what this "new physics" was…
For more, see the hype: Interesting effect at the Tevatron hints at new physics, At Particle Lab, a Tantalizing Glimpse Has Physicists Holding Their Breaths.
And then we got to see the results:
CDF Collaboration, & T. Aaltonen (2011). Invariant Mass Distribution of Jet Pairs Produced in Association with a W boson in ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV arXiv arXiv: 1104.0699v1
So, it appears the CDF collaboration has seen some particles with a mass distribution that doesn't quite fit with anything we know or would expect. They don't have a huge number of these events, so the statistics aren't great, and there is also some discussion that the energies (mass distributions) haven't been measured or interpreted correctly, so unfortunately, nothing can be said for certain at this point (although when is that ever the case). There are some good remarks here A hint of something new in "W+dijets" at CDF and Fermilab: CDF "new force" seminar tonight as well as the recorded seminar: Invariant Mass Distribution of Jet Pairs Produced in Association with a W boson in proton-antiproton Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. It's really too soon to say much of anything yet on this "possible discovery". Despite some reports, it's not evidence for some non-standard Higgs; we don't even know if the signal is a real one or not yet.
Strongly Interacting Fermi-Fermi Mixture Gives Insight into Big Bang?
Trenkwalder, A., & et al. (2011). Hydrodynamic Expansion of a Strongly Interacting Fermi-Fermi Mixture Physical Review Letters, 106 (11) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.115304
This one was too quantum/condensed matter for me, but is of some interest to cosmologists: an ultracold Fermi-Fermi mixture provides an interesting model for very early universe conditions.
For more, see An Icy Gaze into the Big Bang, Model offers icy gaze into the Big Bang.
General Relativity, Quantum Gravity, et al.:
Quantum Riemann Surfaces in Chern-Simons Theory
Tudor Dimofte (2011). Quantum Riemann Surfaces in Chern-Simons Theory arXiv arXiv: 1102.4847v1
This is a sizable volume on quantum Riemann surfaces within the Chern-Simons theory and definitely a worthwhile to read for those interested in topological quantum field theory. Dimofte ends up with a state integral model like I've never seen before for finding analytical solutions for the holomorphic blocks of Chern-Simons theory. It's not a light read.
Seeing Vanishing Dimensions with Gravity Waves
Mureika, J., & Stojkovic, D. (2011). Detecting Vanishing Dimensions via Primordial Gravitational Wave Astronomy Physical Review Letters, 106 (10) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.101101
This is a really interesting concept, but a paper I haven't read especially well yet. The authors are suggesting that we might be able to use gravity waves to determine if, at high energies, our spacetime has a lower dimensionality. The basic idea actually seems pretty brilliant – we know we can't have gravity waves in a (2+1) spacetime, so if we could find a situation with energies high enough that we should expect dimensional reduction, use something like LISA to look for gravity waves. If we see gravity waves, we must be looking at a (3+1), or higher dimension, spacetime. The basic concept really only hitches on us being able to see gravity waves (which we currently can't, and may not even theoretically ever be able to) and LISA existing (and LISA has just been cancelled). Hmm… Despite the obvious huge problems, there is something I really like about this concept. This is an idea I think warrants further consideration.
For more, see Testing for Vanishing Dimensions, Physicists investigate lower dimensions of the universe.
A Field-Theoretic Approach to Spin Foam models in Quantum Gravity
Patrizia Vitale (2011). A field-theoretic approach to Spin Foam models in Quantum Gravity arXiv arXiv: 1103.4172v1
I've been seeing more and more work on BF models of gravity lately, so I think it might be time I start looking at them more seriously. This is a nice, and fairly short, introduction to some concepts of Group Field Theory as it relates to BF models.
Some Remarks on the Status of Hořava-Gravity
Matt Visser (2011). Status of Horava gravity: A personal perspective arXiv arXiv: 1103.5587v2
Here is a nice, thoughtful, analysis of some of the current investigations into Horava gravity. I especially like some of his concluding remarks:
Without a deeper understanding of the fundamental framework one is operating in, detailed phenomenological studies (and in particular specific applications to cosmology and astrophysics) are simply premature. Specifically, one needs more than hand-waving "of course it runs to general relativity in the IR" arguments. There may be subtle (or even not so subtle) qualitative deviations from general relativity due to the preferred foliation, and really pinning that issue down would be a good idea before investing more time on detailed applications.
Is there life inside black holes? What? No.
Vyacheslav I. Dokuchaev (2011). Is there life inside black holes? arXiv arXiv: 1103.6140v1
I was confused when someone first sent me this paper because it sounded alarmingly crankish. After reading briefly into it, I was convinced it was especially crankish. Could super advanced civilizations live on some weirdly "spacious" orbits "inside" a black hole? This isn't science, this is an episode of Stargate SG-1. The language issues (and strange diagrams) make it fairly painful to read, but if pushed, I can go through it thoroughly.


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This list is work in progress, and will grow and evolve over the coming months and years, so check in again soon for updates. What follows are personal suggestions for some places to get great olive oil in America, and some brands from various parts of the world to watch for.
I also have a separate list of supermarket oils, which provides a range of authentic oils available at major supermarkets, big box stores and wholesalers. Here again, this is by no means a complete list, and I'll be adding more as I try them.
(For more on how this list came about, see here. Some of the companies below have supported aspects of Truth in Olive Oil's work – details here.)
- Stars indicate reader assessments, not (necessarily) my own views.
- VF – olive oils at these locations are supplied by Veronica Foods, a pioneering importer run by Veronica and Mike Bradley, whose work is described in detail in my book Extra Virginity. These stores sell a range of olive oils in stainless steel fusti, encourage customers to sample before buying, and frequently offer solid information on their oils.
- We Olive – a rapidly-growing franchise in California, offering the cream of the crop of California-made olive oils, which encourage customers to taste before they buy, and have knowledgeable sales people to guide their purchases.
- Oil & Vinegar – another fast-growing franchise, this one nation-wide, also on the taste before you buy model. The clear glass "amphorae" that Oil & Vinegar uses to store their oil are UV filtered, and the oils I've tasted to date have been quite good.
- Williams Sonoma, Dean & Deluca, Sur la Table – these stores offer a small but carefully-curated selections of oils in bottles, mostly from Italy and Spain. As with every chain, the quality of an oil at a given location depends not only on the oils they buy, but how they are displayed, how rapidly inventory turns over, etc.
Click on each store/producer listed below to open its individual page.


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Localization management platform for iOS developers that are dreaming about hassle-free localization processes.
We've developed the fastest and most handy cloud technology to help you easily and more productively manage your localization project so you can get back to coding.
Integrate your translation resources with app code using our restFul API or synchronization tool and automate routine tasks to get more work done in less time.
Your project members can be granted with translator, proofreader and manager roles, which makes the management a whole lot simplier.
Who will translate: your community, in-house people or Crowdin translation vendors is completely your choice, which giving a space to experiment with costs and speed of translations.
Cloud-based technology with all the must-have localization tools, user-friendly interface and powerful automation technology.
Crowdin has everything possible to assure that your translations are qualitative and ready for production: text validators, proofreading mode, issue management and communication channels are quality guards.
Sending files and their updates for translations and back, store translated content where it belongs in code and keeping track on the progress is an automatic process that leaves you more time to work on your app.
Crowdin provide you a complete picture on how the project is running on activity, translators' time investments and costs. Comprehensive reports about the project will keep you updated and clear on next steps.
Writing texts for your app, always keep in mind that your texts in many languages will be much longer than they appear in English. According to the latest research, Russian texts are 35% longer than the same ones in English. At the same time, Chinese texts are usually 30% shorter.
Few steps you need to follow to make your iOS app localization compliant:
Along with that, make sure you change your pics and screenshots to be culturally appropriate. Translate your app description as it makes the first impression to the user and the content is critical to your sales.


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Katie Holmes to speak at fundraiser
Tickets are still available for the annual Rose of Hope Luncheon featuring a keynote speech by actress Katie Holmes.
The event, which will benefit Bridgeport Hospital's Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center, will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on June 13 at the home of Patti and Tom Keegan in Fairfield.
Holmes has appeared in several notable films, ranging from the action blockbuster "Batman Begins" to critically acclaimed art house pictures such as "The Ice Storm" and "Pieces of April."
Despite her varied credits, Holmes is probably best known for two things: Playing Joey Potter on the iconic WB soap "Dawson's Creek" and her recently ended marriage to actor Tom Cruise.
Holmes is also an active philanthropist. In 2009, she co-founded the Dizzy Feet Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to support, improve and increase access to dance education in the United States.
The Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center, the first free-standing, community-based breast care center in Connecticut, has helped women in the community fight breast cancer for more than a decade.
One of the area's largest fundraisers, the center's Rose of Hope Luncheon takes place each year in June and typically draws an audience of 500 Fairfield County women and men.
Ticket prices range from $350 for a single seat to $1,500 for reserved seating for two at the luncheon and access to the celebrity champagne reception preceding Holmes' talk.
There are also several levels of sponsorship available. For ticket information, call 203-255-5300.


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Sleep & Sleeping Disorders
Sleeping is one of the most important functions in life. Teens spend one-third of their day sleeping – meaning that by the age of 15, you will have spent about five years of your life asleep. That seems like a lot, but it is not wasted time. In fact, sleep is vital for a healthy body and mind.
What is sleep?
People used to think of sleep as a time during which nothing happened. Studies show, however, that the brain and body are very active while we sleep.
There are two kinds of sleep: non-rapid eye movement eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These two states affect the body and mind in different ways.
NREM Sleep
If we are lucky, we fall asleep within 10 to 20 minutes of going to bed. Our bodies begin a cycle of sleep. The first four stages are NREM. Stages one and two are light sleep where we can be awakened easily and contractions of our muscles can be seen. In stages three and four our brain waves slow and we enter into deep sleep – it is very difficult to wake someone up in this stage. There is no eye movement or muscle activity at this point.
REM Sleep & Dreaming
The fifth stage of sleep occurs normally after about 90 minutes, and is characterized by dreaming and rapid eye movement. No other muscles move during this time. If you have the chance to watch a friend or family member sleep, check to see if their eyes are moving back and forth, like they are watching a movie underneath closed eyelids. If so, they are likely in the middle of a dream.
The cycles of NREM and REM sleep repeat throughout the night. The first period of dreaming only lasts five minutes. REM periods are longer with each subsequent cycle. We typically spend more than two hours each night dreaming.
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How much sleep do I need and why?
Most teenagers need between nine and nine-and-a-half hours of sleep each night. Yet surveys show that most teenagers get only six to seven hours. Twenty percent of high schoolers say that they have fallen asleep in class.
If you don't get enough sleep, you may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation. These include:
- Falling asleep in class.
- Irritability.
- Difficulty waking up in the morning.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Depression after prolonged sleep deprivation.
There are many other ways in which the right amount of sleep can keep you healthy. During sleep the body:
- Repairs cells: Sleep slows metabolism, heartbeat, and breathing rate which helps the body replenish after daily physical activity.
- Releases growth hormones in young adults: While you sleep, a hormone is released that aids the growth of bones, tissues, and new red blood cells.
- Strengthens your immune and nervous systems.
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Sleep Disorders
While scientists don't understand everything about the importance of sleep, it clearly influences how you feel when you are awake. Those who have trouble sleeping because of a sleep disorder can have difficulty dealing with school, work, and relationships when awake.
Many adolescents actually have a common sleep disorder called a delayed sleep phase syndrome. The disorder, which is caused by changes in the body's internal clock associated with puberty, means it is normal to be a "night owl" at just about the time your family wants to go to sleep. It also means you want to sleep later in the morning. This pattern is hard to change, so teens end up sleep-deprived because school starts early, before the required nine to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep have occurred.
More serious sleep disorders include sleep apnea, in which someone temporarily stops breathing during sleep, or chronic insomnia, in which someone regularly has difficulty falling asleep. If you think you suffer from one of these disorders, please see your doctor.
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Getting a Good Night's Sleep
Everyone has problems sleeping at times, especially during adolescence. Below are some tips to increase your chances of sleeping better:
- Eliminate caffeine from your diet (or foods that have caffeine, such as chocolate).
- Set a regular sleep schedule and stick with it, even on weekends.
- Avoid exercise after dinner.
- Wear comfortable clothes or pajamas to bed.
- Make sure your room is not too hot or too cold.
- Avoid stimulating TV, music, or computer time before bed.
- Use meditation or relaxation techniques.
- Try the old standby: counting sheep – in other words, activities that are repetitive and lack stimulation.
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Written By: Katie Ransohoff,
high school student writer
Reviewed By: Nancy Brown, Ph.D.
Last Reviewed: October 2013


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I'd like to delve a little bit further into the pernicious effect of parking minimums, particularly as it distorts the market tenets of supply and demand. Seeing an article over the weekend in Crain's Chicago Business about the decline in parking demand in downtown Chicago residential buildings, I could not avoid beating my favorite drum about the high cost of parking and its negative externalities. Here is the problem, according to Crain's:
Demand for parking is dropping in downtown apartment buildings. At Lakeshore East, a development of mixed use high rise apartment and condo buildings just north of Millennium Park, south of the Chicago River and east of Michigan Ave., around 40% of renters lease a parking space, down from the developers projection of 55%. This would be fine in a true free market where the developer would assume the risk of overbuilding on parking. However, the City's zoning code, in its infinite wisdom, requires parking in new residential developments at ratios of 0.55 to 1 space per unit. Thus, the developers initial projection for parking is at the lowest end of the parking ratio in the zoning code and is still over market demand.
Of course, I agree with Matt Yglesias in that the "problem with this regulatory minimum is that it makes it harder for existing buildings to recoup the losses previously incurred through overbuilding of parking." Because the zoning code won't allow for pooled or shared parking between buildings, each building must have its own allocated parking. The costs of this parking, of course, get passed onto the occupants of the building indirectly, regardless of whether the occupants have a need for a car.
Because of the over supply of residential parking downtown as mandated by zoning, parking is artificially cheaper than it should be. This, of course, encourages greater auto use in the densest part of the city, the part in which public transportation of various modes operate at a very high frequency practically around the clock. It also encourages the catering of urban design towards the car and away from alternate transportation modes, despite the fact that the alternate transportation modes may make up a larger share of trips in this area.
Ideally what I would like to see in this circumstance is free market pricing for residential parking, or if the zoning will continue to manipulate the market, parking maximums (for all types of parking). This will allow for shared parking at closer to the true cost of providing that parking. It will also allow the free market to decide what the best use of property is under right and can reduce the cost of development and occupation of residential and other space. Most importantly, removing the parking minimums and over-supply of parking will be supportive of the existing public transportation infrastructure in place downtown, as it is the dominant mode of travel within the area and its externalities are significantly better than the car.


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Total Impact Football is an XBOX 360-based "sim" football franchise featuring dedicated and active members. We have a group of owners who enjoy having "chess match" type games of Madden and value sportsmanship first, rather than trying to find cheap tactics to abuse for hollow victories. We have a very well thought-out and fair set of gameplay rules that ban the use of known exploits (nano-blitzing, rocket catching, etc...) and create fair competition, while still making the game fun and enjoyable for everyone. Our mission is to create an environment where owners with families, jobs, girlfriends, etc... can come together with like-minded people and play some fun, meaningful and competitive games of Madden. If you feel that our franchise may be the right fit for you, let us know. We'd love to see you out on the field with us, so that you too can begin "The Quest For The Lombardi Trophy".


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Studio-D needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 14 designs submitted by 7 freelance designers.
This should be a page that highlights the system's capabilities, gives examples of other sites that use the system, and has a short form to request more information.
Not Disclosed
The design should include all of the elements that are described in this wireframe.
The layout does not need to match the layout of the wireframe. Be creative!
Our logo is blue and gray.
- A corporate design/feel.
- We are a tech company - it can be "web 2.0" themed or not.
- Include the elements that are detailed on this wireframe (your design doesn't need to follow the layout exactly.
- A logo
- An outdated or templated look.


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SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
Please read all of the following guidelines before posting in this contest thread to prevent you from making any inadvertent errors that could possibly disqualify you from winning the grand prize package.
Thank You
Hello all and welcome to our second week Sundragon Paintball Products & Supplies 4th anniversary contest thread. There will be one contest per week here throughout the whole month of September. As the weeks progress, so should the bulk worth of prizes per contest. So may the difficulty of means to acquire the prizes as well. No special skills should be needed to participate in these SPPS sponsored giveaways.
Rather than just one contest with a few prize winners, we will be offering only one grand prize winner per week. As I mentioned in the other announcement thread in this section, there have been some new developments since the inception of this idea. That being; I spoke with some of my suppliers and associates and a few of them have pledged additional products to be included in the final prize tally per week. Isn't that just too sweet?! Another sponsor that I spoke with last Friday should be added since the first weeks tally. I have yet been able to contact all of these associates so I'm in hopes that may possibly increase throughout the endurance of the month.
Just to keep everyone on the edge of their seats, unlike most all contests you've seen, the prizes to be distributed here will not be announced till the winner of the contest is announced. Just like Christmas one week at a time in September! The only difference being, you can't shake the package to guess what's inside. Though for the most part they will, not all items will be Spyder related parts and products. Most assured they will all be paintball related.
There will be one primary winner each week. There will be two secondary winners chosen as well in case the primary either forfeits acceptance of the winnings, does not supply us with the information we require to safely ship the prizes to them or does not contact us within the alloted time frame listed below.
The primary winner has 2 days after the posted announcement of winning to claim his/her prize package so be sure to frequent these forums for results. If we are not contacted within that time frame, the grand prize goes to the next in line secondary winner. This primary winner must provide SundragonPPS with their full name, mailing address, city, state, zip code and full phone number through PM's(private messages) on these boards. If you don't know how to use the private message system here, you might acquaint yourself with them before the deadline just in case. If the prize package is returned to us for any reason at all(unless it is directly in our error), the primary winner unconditionally forfeits the package to the next in line secondary winner who must then provide us with the same aforementioned information in the same manner and conditions.
Any current contributing member of these forums may enter to win this contest without condition of race, creed, gender, position on this website or location of residence.
Any of these terms or conditions may be changed at any time at our discretion during the endurance of this contest or after the announcement of the winner has been posted. By posting your entry below you are confirming that you fully agree to all the above conditions without objection or debate. If you do not agree to these conditions, we ask that you kindly refrain from posting in this contest thread. Thank you
OK, let's see who's the chatterbox poster of these forums!
1) Opposite of week one's parameters, make as many posts as you can in this thread of 10 words or more. There are no stipulations of content(please be civil) but that you type the 10 words or more out yourself. Hint: quotes or copy and paste entries do not count as words you typed. Post anything you'd prefer such as off topic content or even random entries if you feel inclined.
2) Do not make 2 posts in a row in this thread or you will be automatically disqualified of any winnings or entry. You must wait till someone else has entered a post after yours before you may make another entered posting.
3) Do not post the same thing repetitively in your posts. You could be disqualified for doing so.
4) Any less than 10 words in the post you make, will automatically disqualify you of any winnings or entry.
5) If you edit, delete a post or change your post in any way, you will be automatically disqualified.
6) Please do not contact me by private messages with questions or comments concerning the contest as I will not answer them. If you have any further questions, comments specifically pertaining to the SPPS contests, please post them in the initial contest announcement thread in this section, not this contest thread.
7) The winner of this contest will be chosen by the number on their post in the upper right hand corner. Numbers will be thrown into a hat. First pulled will be the primary winner. Two additional numbers will be pulled as well as secondary candidates. Secondary in line opportunities will be in the order that they're pulled. Similar to a State or local lottery, the greater number of posts you make in this thread will increase the odds of your chances of winning the grand prize. Only difference being, this one won't cost you anything but a little of your time to increase those odds of winning.
8) Post(s) entry deadline is by September 14th at 11:59PM EST
9) The winner and prize package of week 2 will be announced some time during course of September 15th at our discretion.
This weeks grand prize has increased from last week so go get'em chatterbox!
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
I really like this contest! I'm having a good feeling this thread is going to be HOPPING! #1 reply baby! :D
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
Well let me tell you about this story from way back in the day....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
.... way back before Viking and Druid walked the Earth, and dinosaurs roamed....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
....but wait what is that over there, OMG its a huge, hairy....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
... BEHEMOTH! Lurking from the depths, ripping nubes apart heartlessly and unrelentlessly....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
....for name sake we will name this beast hacker, bamf-hacker....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
... with piercings made in it's ears from nubes' collected bones.
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
....and fancy designs of colored flesh from the spatter of bunkering these weak nubes'....
Re: SPPS 4th Year Anniversary Contest Week #2
... mainly in its favorite color, PINK! That's right, PINK! This monster is purely heartless...
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