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Monday, June 22, 2009
Dan Wiesel and Alysa Binder
Most often at Heroes of Capitalism we celebrate "heroes" who have brought about great social wealth and prosperity as a result of one or many successful ventures. Today I'd like to present the hero(es) from a different angle – the risk-taking entrepreneur who has yet to realize the successes or faults of their endeavor. These individuals are the foundation to building the quality of every good and service we consume. By trial and error these individuals bring valuable information to the market necessary to provide, ultimately, exactly what the consumer wants – be it exactly what s/he is selling, something more or less than what is offered, or none of the good or service at all.
On that note, I introduce Dan Wiesel and Alysa Binder. Dan and Alysa are a husband and wife duo who's personal interest and compassion for animals fostered their idea for an innovative new business, Pet Airways - an airline that transports pets exclusively. The service will officially launch July 14, 2009 and offer only a handful of weekly flights from five U.S. airports: Baltimore/Washington International, and non-commercial airports in the Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City areas.
Dan and Alysa's motivation for Pet Airways stems from their dissatisfaction with current means of transport for our closest companions. According to Dan and Alysa at the company website:
"There was simply no safe way for Zoe [ a Jack Russell Terrier] to comfortably fly with us. She's not a big dog. Just a little one. But a little too big to fit under the seat. Of course, there's one thing Zoe is certainly not, and that's cargo. As we're fond of telling our neighbor Janet, her boxer Samson isn't Samsonite, and she agreed. In fact, we met lots of neighbors, friends and even complete strangers who felt exactly the same way. So we got to thinking. Maybe Zoe was trying to tell us something. Maybe there was a travel solution that would suit her perfectly, and everyone else out there too."
Being a pet owner, I am personally excited by this idea. I've always heard horror stories of mishaps and injuries to animals kept in the cargo area of passenger planes. As a result, I've always been hesitant to "ship" my boy Charlie – a five-year old chocolate lab – whenever I travel and often end up driving long distances instead of flying myself. As Dan and Alysa point out: on Pet Airways, the "pets aren't packages, they're 'pawsengers.'" In fact, aside from the flight crew and "pet attendants", all passengers will be four-legged.
Though not much can be said about the company's success at this point, I applaud Dan and Alysa's effort and acknowledge each of them as a Hero of Capitalism.
Articles about Pet Airways at:
LA Times
written by Travis Wiseman posted at 8:05 AM
2 comments:
- J said...
What a brilliant idea this is! So brilliant, that I do hope to be working with them as they expand.
- August 17, 2009 at 9:36 PM
- thanks for sharing said...
Thanks for sharring importent information in this blog.
It was very nice.
Ask Flashlari
- July 23, 2011 at 12:44 AM
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Blast to the Past: Advice to our freshmen selves
Freshman year of high school is an exciting period of a student's life. Filled with meeting new people, taking more challenging classes and learning more about life. As freshman grow up, graduate and get jobs it's fun to look back on what how've have throughout the years.
Balfour marketing employees look back on their experience as freshman and give their freshman-self advice. What advice they wish they would've had going into freshman year.
Find your tribe
"You don't have to be friends with the first people you meet. Take time and make sure you're surrounding yourself with your type of people. EVERYONE says it and you aren't going to believe it but focus on your grades freshman year! It only gets harder and it's a great time to build a good GPA foundation." – Caroline Blevins, Marketing Intern
Take the risks (and ask her out!)
"Ask Mary Towner out, she has a big crush on you and, apparently, still does 35 years later! You are not Superman, but you should still play with reckless abandon and fly around the field as though you are. Take debate and stick with it, this will help you with your public speaking and law school applications." – Kim Hawley, VP of Commercial Sales
Be patient and enjoy it
"Everything happens at its own time and in its own way. Therefore, enjoy the time you have to the fullest, but always work for a better future." – Valentino Bueno, Regional Marketing Coordinator
Show your colors
"Style is big part of your life. Fashion is a way you express yourself and feel most confident, as bold as that may be. Not every fashion choice will be the best but when walking into a new environment it is easy to hold back from being who you are. Never let people change the way you feel about yourself. Be bold, wear the blue lipstick, bright colors or Hawaiian button up shirts. Feeling your best encourages you to do your best. Lastly, prepare for rough haircuts ahead." – Macey Mercer, Regional Marketing Coordinator
Gain a new perspective
"Expand your world view. Step outside of your comfort zone. Life is so much bigger than what you think you know." – Chelsey Wiley, Manager of User Experience
Stop worrying
"Don't worry about others, and do you. High school is important, the popularity aspect of it isn't." – Jackson Latimer, Brand Manager and Events Coordinator
Speak up
"It's okay to reach out for help. If you're struggling in a class, your teachers are always more than happy to help you understand the subject. Don't be afraid to raise your hand and ask questions. Chances are other people in the class are probably confused too." – Anna Nguyen
Learn to be self aware
"We often hear the advice 'be yourself' when it comes to personal and professional situations—While being yourself is important, be careful with the amount of information and opinions you express around others. Be mindful of different perspectives, ideas, and cultures. Think about tact and timing. This isn't about being fake or being insincere, it's about showing a tactful intelligence that demonstrates a willingness to grow and evolve as a person and as a leader. Being aware of how you come across brings success on both a personal and professional level." – Evan Benet, Senior Manager of B2B Marketing
Keep an eye out for opportunities
"Be yourself, go with the flow, and step out of your comfort zone when opportunities arise!" –Avery Logan, Regional Marketing Coordinator
Challenges are the building blocks of success
"You are so much smarter than you think you are! Don't let your dyslexia hold you back, it's just another challenge that will help you grow into who you are going to be." – Shelby Richardson, Scholastic Print Media Coordinator
Keep going!
"You know you love writing, keep doing it!" – Camille Thomas, Copywriter

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Puzzle Games
Uno Online Unblocked
1076 Users Played
Vortex Point 8
729 Users Played
Ranch Connect 5
715 Users Played
Snow Queen 5
728 Users Played
Galactic Gems 3
806 Users Played
We have been reborn for you with our Friv page, where funny, beautiful games are included. In this page where 100 of the most played games are played, there are various games that everyone can play, small and large. In this page we thought that our male and female players would like to follow, we firstly included cars, barbie, football, food, adventure, 3d and 2 person games. These games you can play under our friv page include mario, zuma and some other popular games. We brought together the best games for you. By following our constantly updated Friv games page, you can experience fun with 7Y7V.


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December 14, 2006
Many Montgomery County children will have a happier Christmas thanks to Wabash College faculty and students. The Wabash community joined with Crawfordsville community members to celebrate Santa Claus' first visit to a REINdeer Program distribution day.
The fifth-annual REINdeer Program distribution was Wednesday in Wabash's Knowling Fieldhouse. But when the workers gathered to sort gifts they discovered there were about 40 names of children who still needed presents.
"The Wabash students and faculty, and community came through," said Carla Sheets, division of Family Resources, Montgomery County, who helped with the REINdeer Program distribution.
Wabash athletic trainer Mark Colston blanketed the college community with a call for help. He told faculty, staff and students there were additional names on the list that didn't have sponsors.
After a story in Tuesday's Journal Review reported a need for sponsors and gift items, the floodgates opened up for additional community support, Sheets said.
"Many people were bringing in extra gifts," Sheets said. Any gift items remaining will be passed on to Operation: Toy Box, she said.
Wabash has also been generous to the REINdeer Program in other ways, Sheets said. The College has given free space for the program distribution for three years, and provides trash bags.
Prior to Wabash, the REINdeer Program distribution day was done for two years in the Montgomery County 4-H Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall.
Several school group members also aided the program.
Some of the school group examples included Willson Kindergarten Center, $300, which went to purchase clothes; Southmont and Crawfordsville Key Clubs; and North Montgomery boys' basketball team members purchased gifts for a family with four children.
"We are teaching our kids to be generous and philanthropic," Sheets said.
Families and children who came for the morning gift pickups were greeted by Santa Claus. REINdeer Program organizers believe it is the first year a Santa Claus has been part of the distribution program.
"It was a surprise to all of us when he came in," said Penny Nephew, Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau. "He came during our rush time," co-worker Jennifer Williams added.
Santa's visit was made possible because of Youth Service Bureau board member Denny Cook and Montgomery County Commissioner Bill McCormick.
The smaller children were all smiles when Santa would bring them their goody bags full of holiday gifts and call each child by his/her first name, organizers said.
Meanwhile, Cook distributed Random House reader books and RR Donnelley coloring books.
"Santa was great and the kids loved him," Williams said.
Hunt is a reporter for the Crawfordsville Journal Review.


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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAKO Surgical Corp. (Nasdaq:MAKO), a medical device company that markets its RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic surgical platform, MAKOplasty® joint specific applications and proprietary RESTORIS® implants that together enable orthopedic surgeons to consistently, reproducibly and precisely treat patient specific osteoarthritic disease, today announced that it intends to offer shares of its common stock in a public offering. Piper Jaffray & Co. is acting as the sole manager for the offering.
MAKO expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for commercialization infrastructure, selling, general and administrative activities, research and development activities and to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes.
This offering will be made pursuant to a prospectus supplement to MAKO's prospectus, dated May 9, 2012, filed as part of MAKO's effective shelf registration statement. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by contacting Piper Jaffray & Co., by mail at 800 Nicollet Mall, Suite 800, Minneapolis, MN 55402, or by telephone at (800) 747-3924.
About MAKO Surgical Corp.
MAKO Surgical Corp. is a medical device company that markets its RIO® Robotic-Arm Interactive Orthopedic system, joint specific applications for the knee and hip, and proprietary RESTORIS® implants for orthopedic procedures called MAKOplasty®. The RIO is a surgeon-interactive tactile surgical platform that incorporates a robotic arm and patient-specific visualization technology, which enables precise, consistently reproducible bone resection for the accurate insertion and alignment of MAKO's RESTORIS implants. The MAKOplasty solution incorporates technologies enabled by an intellectual property portfolio including more than 300 U.S. and foreign, owned and licensed, patents and patent applications.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, statements related to expectations, goals, plans, objectives and future events. MAKO intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the following words: "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements are based on the current estimates and assumptions of our management as of the date of this press release and are subject to risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond MAKO's ability to control or predict. Such factors, among others, may have a material adverse effect on MAKO's business, financial condition and results of operations and may include the potentially significant impact of a continued economic downturn or delayed economic recovery on the ability of MAKO's customers to secure adequate funding, including access to credit, for the purchase of MAKO's products or cause MAKO's customers to delay a purchasing decision, unanticipated changes in the timing of the sales cycle for MAKO's products or the vetting process undertaken by prospective customers, changes in competitive conditions and prices in MAKO's markets, delays in MAKO's product development cycles, unanticipated issues relating to intended product launches, decreases in sales of MAKO's principal product lines, decreases in utilization of MAKO's principal product lines or in procedure volume, the effects of Hurricane Sandy, increases in expenditures related to increased or changing governmental regulation or taxation of MAKO's business, both nationally and internationally, unanticipated issues in complying with domestic or foreign regulatory requirements related to MAKO's current products, including Medical Device Reporting requirements and other required reporting to the United States Food and Drug Administration, or securing regulatory clearance or approvals for new products or upgrades or changes to MAKO's current products, the impact of the United States healthcare reform legislation enacted in March 2010 on hospital spending, reimbursement, and the taxing of medical device companies, the potential impact of the informal Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry and the findings of that inquiry, any unanticipated impact arising out of the securities class action or any other litigation brought against MAKO, loss of key management and other personnel or inability to attract such management and other personnel and unanticipated intellectual property expenditures required to develop, market, and defend MAKO's products. These and other risks are described in greater detail under Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in MAKO's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including MAKO's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed on March 8, 2012. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. MAKO does not undertake any obligation to release any revisions to these forward-looking statements publicly to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
"MAKOplasty®," "RESTORIS®," "RIO®," as well as the "MAKO" logo, whether standing alone or in connection with the words "MAKO Surgical Corp." are trademarks of MAKO Surgical Corp.
MAKO Surgical Corp.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, UNITED STATES


text:
CoverMate Food Covers
Description: CoverMate Food Covers are the anti-plastic wrap and foil solution that effortlessly covers, uncovers and covers again in seconds. Forget endless searches for matching Tupperware tops that never seem to be where you left them. Not only does CoverMate effortlessly fit to any shape or sized serving dish thanks to its FlexBand technology, but this food-grade plastic cover is BPA free, dishwasher safe and microwave safe. This innovative vented plastic is perfect for the transition from fridge to microwave to dishwasher. Great for home or outdoor entertaining needs- CoverMate keeps your food fresh and shielded from the elements.
Price: $1.79 to $3.99


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by Tom Utescher
Placing first in seven individual events and all three relays, the Mount St. Joseph Academy swim team bumped its record up to 2-1 on December 19, posting a 109-71 win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
In previous pool performances, the Magic pulled out a nine-point victory at Hatboro Horsham High, then fell to District 1 power North Penn. Plymouth Whitemarsh slipped to 0-2 with last Monday's setback, having opened its season against Archbishop Carroll.
At P-W the Mount received high placings from across the age spectrum. Katie O'Connell and Dana Zielinski, who are team tri-captains along with senior classmate Taylor Held, won the 100-yard freestyle and the individual medley, respectively. Another senior mainstay, Miranda Rafferty, triumphed in the 50-meter freestyle.
Jen Lehman, a junior transfer from Gwynedd Mercy Academy, backed up Rafferty with a second-place showing in the 50 free. Another 11th-grader, Lexi Meister, won the butterfly, where sophomore Jessie Dolan made it a one-two finish for the visitors. Junior Paige Funchion was the runner-up in the backstroke, coming in behind victorious sophomore Brynn McGovern. Veteran MSJ coach Janet Pudlinski noted that McGovern recorded a personal record in the event.
In the longest race of the afternoon, MSJ sophomore Christina Formica won the 500 freestyle by more than half-a-minute, and her tenth-grade classmate, Julie Sowa was second in the breaststroke. Fellow sophomore Christine Sipos, another transfer student from Gwynedd, placed second in the 100 free and third in the individual medley.
The Magic freshmen held up their end, with Steph Eble and Georgia Kelly coming in first and second in the 200 freestyle, and Sabrina Ghantous placing third in the 500 free. The lone diver for the Mount this year is also a freshman, Amanda Leto. She can only perform at meets on the road, since the Mount's "home" venue, the La Salle High School pool, has no diving board.
In the individual swimming events, Plymouth Whitemarsh made its best showing in the breaststroke, with Lindsey Moyer capturing the win and Liz Malantonio finishing third. Moyer, a hardworking senior for the Colonials, took second place in the individual medley.
The meet got underway with a win by the Magic's Funchion, Zielinski, Sipos, and Rafferty in the 200-yard medley relay, where second place went to fellow Mounites McGovern, Maggie Schoeller, Dolan, and Haley Sannem. Schoeller and Sannem are both freshmen.
Mount St. Joe finished one-two in the freestyle relays, as well. In the 200, the winners were Sarah Wang (junior), Keara Cole (freshman), Meister and O'Connell, while second place was secured by Kelly, Schoeller, Eble, and Rafferty. In the 400, the victorious Formica, Kelly, Lehman, and Maria Finnegan (junior) came in less than half-a-second ahead of Eble, Sannem, Meister, and Ghantous.
50 Freestyle
1. MSJ Miranda Rafferty 27.15
2. MSJ Jen Lehman 27.39
3. PW Carolyn Pontari 27.59
100 Freestyle
1. MSJ Katie O'Connell 56.85
2. MSJ Christine Sipos 1:00.53
3. PW Carolyn Pontari 1:01.08
200 Freestyle
1. MSJ Steph Eble 2:05.94
2. MSJ Georgia Kelly 2:12.79
3. PW Kelly McCreesh 2:21.60
500 Freestyle
1. MSJ Christina Formica 5:30.24
2. PW Kathryn Garvey 6:04.75
3. MSJ Sabrina Ghantous 6:05.33
1. MSJ Brynn McGovern 1:09.82
2. MSJ Paige Funchion 1:09.95
3. PW Tina Kudach 1:12.13
1. PW Lindsey Moyer 1:18.09
2. MSJ Julie Sowa 1:19.50
3. PW Liz Malantonio 1:26.91
1. MSJ Lexi Meister 1:04.17
2. MSJ Jessie Dolan 1:08.22
3. PW Anne Furukawa 1:13.04
Individual Medley
1. MSJ Dana Zielinski 2:24.35
2. PW Lindsey Moyer 2:25.75
3. MSJ Christine Sipos 2:28.20


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Whose chips do you want with that?
"The latter is particularly valuable as SanDisk has long made a song and dance about being the only mp3 player manufacturer to make its own audio chips."
I don't think so - it may use its own flash chips, but it uses AMS audio processor chips (as the frustrated RockBox devs will tell you http://daniel.haxx.se/sansa/v2.html).


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Yesterday we noted Michael Barone's proposition that Democrats seemed to be stuck in the seventies with failed reruns of the scandals of yore. Today Stephanie Mansfield finds a gathering of the clan seeking to relive the glory days of the sixties:
Liberal activists — among them graying leftovers from the Vietnam-era antiwar movement — plan to gather near the Capitol tonight, banging pots and pans to drown out President Bush's State of the Union address.
Yesterday, opponents of the Iraq war kicked off their latest round of demonstrations with an "Impeachment Forum" held downtown in a private dining room at Busboys and Poets.
Featured speakers were 78-year-old former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; longtime war protester Marcus Raskin, 71, who is head of the Institute for Policy Studies; and Cindy Sheehan, mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq.
The entertainment value is high in Mansfield's Washington Times article: "Liberal activists promote a ruckus to silence Bush."


text:
Pointless Haskell: point-free programming with recursion patterns as hylomorphisms
This module defines generic GHood observations for user-defined data types.
Definition of generic observations
Class for mapping observations over functor representations.
functorOf :: Fix f -> StringSource
Derives a type representation for a functor. This is used for showing the functor for reursion trees.
watch :: Fix f -> x -> Rep f x -> StringSource
Watch values of a functor. Since the fixpoint of a functor recurses over himself, we cannot use the
Show instance for functor values applied to their fixpoint.
fmapO :: Fix f -> (x -> ObserverM y) -> Rep f x -> ObserverM (Rep f y)Source
Maps an observation over a functor representation.


text:
The ranking was based on local African-American third graders' reading scores on a statewide achievement test, and the school must present the state with a plan for how GISD is improving scores, said School Supt. Rick Albritton.
Elementary School Principal John Wink, who is in his second year at his post and was not working at Gilmer ISD when the school received the Unacceptable rating, told the board his campus has shown "amazing improvements" in scores.
The Unacceptable rating was based on student scores on the 2011 TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test, which the state has since replaced with a test called STARS (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). Gilmer Elementary pupils took that test this year.
Based on TAKS standards—the requirement for passing STARS has not yet been announced—Gilmer Elementary showed improvement in all areas, Wink told the board. That ranged from six percent in the total student body to a 39 percent improvement in African-American third graders' results, he said.
The only concern is African-American pupils' math scores, which are still short of a desired "threshold" despite major improvement, Wink said.
Albritton said African-American students' scores had improved from 62 percent mastering reading to 78, and from 60 percent to 74 percent mastering mathematics (based on how many would have passed the test under TAKS standards).
"The teachers are doing a fantastic job. They deserve all the credit," Wink told trustees. He said they were responding to students with "targeted interventions" and that the school was focusing on teacher development.
On Tuesday, Wink told The Mirror that under the old TAKS standards, his campus "would have been pretty close to a Recognized rating" after the STARS test. He praised teachers and students alike, saying his "outstanding" faculty is "working hard to meet the needs of every single student in the building."


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The Sekem Farm is an ecological paradise in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Both a thriving business and close-knit community, nothing is lost here, and a delicately balanced relationship between workers and nature has been established. With predictions of the world's population rising to 9 billion by 2050, Dr. Abouleish's ambitious vision may well be the future of farming.
Purchase the DVD at Journeyman TV.
Learn more about Sekem Farm.


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Drones, as I've found out since I recently started writing about the "Drone Revolution," are most often associated with the military. When people hear the word, "drone," they often think of stealthy, high-tech unmanned aircraft running missions and firing missiles in remote areas of the world.
If you actually look up the word drone, it means any type of pilotless aircraft, car, gadget or object. I'm going to pull out the remote-controlled dune buggy I have in storage to put a $29 WiFi camera on it that I can control from an app on my iPhone. Boom — I've got a drone. I can drive it as I hike around my 40-acre ranch to make some killer footage of my property as it recovers from the Little Bear forest fire that whipped through here two years ago.
The average Joe is starting to see more articles about newer flying versions of my little remote-controlled dune buggy drone, the quad-copter. Speaking of which, we have our first good drone stock coming public soon: GoPro. As Marketwatch's The Tell put it, "GoPro cameras also tend to be the "cameraman" on many drones." Ambarella /quotes/zigman/12221594/delayed /quotes/nls/amba AMBA , which makes some of the chips that go into GoPro is another name I'm digging into as a Drone Revolution play.
As I researched the pros and cons of the potential consumer and commercial markets for drones, the potential for invasion of privacy concerns repeatedly came up. There are many new laws coming to address this issue, but the truth is that there are plenty of laws already on the books at both federal and state levels that will have to be enforced when people break them using drones. For instance, if taking pictures of somebody's house and property with a telescopic camera is already illegal, then doing it with a drone is also illegal.
Another example; the Google driver-less cars, also drones of course, have logged over 700,000 miles while filming and taking pictures of the nation's streets and addresses. Google, which was operating the drones, was invading people's right to privacy by putting those images directly up onto Google Maps. Google still operates those drones and Google is still accountable for any invasion of privacy or other laws that the drones might break while they're doing their thing — but Google now blurs out people's faces and license plates and other identifiable individual traits on the images it publishes on Google Maps.
As for drones breaking other laws, did you know that in the course of those 700,000 miles that Google's drone cars have logged, they've gotten a total of … wait for it … zero traffic violation citations?
Which leads me to today's close which is simply a Deep Thought of the Day. How many lives and how much time will be saved (not to mention money) because drones are so much safer on the road than people-driven cars? See below for other ramifications:
You can't stop a revolution that will impact our lives so dramatically on safety, efficiency and prosperity — which is exactly what the Drone Revolution really is.
Cody Willard writes Revolution Investing for MarketWatch, posts the trades from his personal account at TradingWithCody.com, which is not affiliated with MarketWatch, and is the largest shareholder in Scutify's parent company, Wall Street All-Stars. At time of publication, Cody was net long Google. Follow Cody on Twitter at twitter.com/codywillard.
More from MarketWatch:
Stock-market investors should ignore falling Treasury yields
How to increase retirement income with covered calls


text:
Beat Down has about as much finesse as a curb-stomping.
It's brash, violent and might make some gamers outright
in the once hallowed tradition of the beat-em-up genre,
Beat Down will appeal to those who wonder why Final
Fight & Double Dragon just aren't popular these
days. Ironically or at least conveniently, Beat Down
provides the answer to that rhetorical question. No
matter how much makeup you throw on an aging actress,
the wrinkles will manage to slice through the facade,
revealing the cracked foundation lying beneath the
surface. In an attempt to appeal to todays generation
by tossing in unecessary bells and whistles that aren't
welcome in the genre, Beat Down comes off as a convoluted
mish mash of concepts wrapped in an angry blanket
of life-siphoning load times. And that my friends,
is the long view.
aspect the Xbox generation will enjoy thoroughly is
the mind-numbing violence that permeates almost every
playing moment. Beat Down is one of the more violent
offerings I've played in recent memory. As one of
five available characters, you'll make your way through
the mean streets, stopping every step of the way to
converse with strangers and shady acquaintances. It's
these conversations that become a natural springboard
for violence which are instigated by an unwelcome
RPG-esque "choose your response" mechanic
which slows the pace of the game to a crawl and constantly
pulls you out of the reality of the game. Since this
is the way Beat Down advances the plot, you won't
be able to bypass these interludes to destruction
- as I like to call them. Once the decision is made
to interrogate, rob, recruit or fight- and let's face
it, that's what you're playing for in the first place
- then the violence explodes
and faces and bodies are bloodied beyond recognition.
As you progress you'll also be faced with the distribution
of upgradeable power and techniques which seems to
be coming standard in action games these days.
Beat Down: FOV is a muddled affair, but it has its
strengths. Although the fighting engine is weak Capcom
keeps it real by allowing only 4 button play (kick,
punch...it's all in the mind....sorry, Parappa flashback...kick,
punch, block and special). Each character has different
varieties of moves channeled from this configuration
depending on whether you're hitting high or low. You
can also learn new moves from the local barkeep who
will also clue you in on some extra-curricular quests
from time to time. If you can get past the repetition
when it comes to initiating contact with the NPC's,
you'll find that the fighting isn't all that bad,
just extremely watered down. As you progress you will
be able to recruit members to your "gang"
and at times you'll find yourself embroiled in a battle
royal with you battling alongside your partners. Your
CPU-controlled brawling buddies actually handle themselves
very well in a fight which means you can attend to
the guy(s) in the corner and not have to worry about
covering a teammates back. Another highlight is the
ability to play through the game with 5 different
characters all with different moves and storylines.
At the very least you have to give Capcom points for
replay value.
terms of visual glitz and pizazz Beat Down looks very
good. The character models are finely detailed and
players who get off on such things will delight in
the knowledge that realtime damage effects like blood
and other repercussions of fighting are visible and
remain that way until you regain some health - by
drinking alcohol. There's a public service announcement
for you right there.
I can't wholeheartedly recommend this game there is
definitely an audience out there that will get off
on the violence and ultra profanity; that's a given.
Capcom did the right thing by allowing 2 player battles
and extending the replay value with 5 characters but
some gamers will have had enough of the load times
and mind-numbing decisions by the end of the first
story. Rent if you're curious.
is currently working on a new "Old School Beat-Em-Up"
Style of game. The game will have a mix of the old
style that these games had to offer while adding some
new up to date features. Of course the first thing
you will notice from the screen shots is the game
is in 3-D.
Capcom is making the characters larger and the storyline
will be up to today's standards. We all have seen
the craze of taking the "Old School" games
and updating them and re-releasing them. At times
it works and at times the final product just sucks!
(Anyone remember the Contra games that were recently
release?) In any case, the story sounds interesting
and while the details are limited, read on to see
where Capcom is taking this new beat-em-up game and
the features we do know so far.
will get to choose from 5 characters who were set-up
to look "bad" in a family cartel. Hellbent
on clearing their names as well as revenge, they go
out looking for those who set them up. Of course just
running around and talking to people would be boring
so you will fight for info, money and other useful
items as the story unfolds. Players will also try
and find others to join up with them to go head to
head against the Zanetti cartel - the main cartel
that rules over the setting of Las Sombras, and the
people responsible for setting up the 5 main characters.
Or was it someone else other than Zanetti? (Cue in
the sudden dramatic music here). It sounds like you
will need to use your brains and brawn in this one.
The game will also be arriving on the PS2 and both
versions will be released sometime in the fall. Take
a look at the screen shots and stay tuned for more
info as soon as we can get it.


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Schroeder scores winner as Canucks beat Coyotes 2-1
Goaltender Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes is hit from behind from Alex Edler of the Vancouver Canucks during the second period of Thursday's National Hockey League game at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Edler received a five-minute penalty on the play.
Photograph by: Christian Petersen , Getty Images
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- With their depth at forward as thin as a pair of those see-through Lululemon yoga pants, the Vancouver Canucks knew they'd have to try to win ugly on Thursday.
Mission accomplished.
The Canucks got an early goal from defenceman Chris Tanev and rookie Jordan Schroeder scored the winner midway through the third period as they beat the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 in National Hockey League action at Jobing.com Arena.
Vancouver also got terrific goaltending from Cory Schneider and did a nice job of clogging up the middle of the ice for much of the night.
Schroeder's goal, his third of the season, came at 9:53 of the third after an Alex Edler point shot was deflected in front by Jannik Hansen. The puck dropped into the crease area and Schroeder poked it into the empty net.
"Once I saw it sitting on the goal-line my eyes lit up," Schroeder said. "I put it in and I was hoping they weren't going to say high stick or anything. Fortunately, they didn't.
"It was kind of an ugly road win and that's what we need. We need those types of wins and Schneids played great. It was a good team win, I think."
The Canucks' injury situation at forward went from bad to worse at Thursday morning's game-day skate. Winger Chris Higgins was on the ice for only a moment before he left after tweaking his back. Steve Pinizzotto was left back in Vancouver on Wednesday, battling an illness, and Zack Kassian is on injured reserve with a bad back.
And of course, Ryan Kesler (foot) and David Booth (ankle) are out long-term.
All the injuries meant defenceman Keith Ballard played on the third line alongside Andrew Ebbett and Dale Weise. Andrew Gordon, who played his first game as a Canuck after being called up from the Chicago Wolves, skated on the fourth line with Max Lapierre and Tom Sestito.
"We had our work cut out for us tonight with some injuries and a lineup we are not accustomed to," said Schneider who faced 34 shots. "But I thought everyone did their part and I think effort was the key. We worked hard.
"It wasn't necessarily pretty all the time. It wasn't a Picasso, but it was effective and it got the job done."
"It is going to have to be that way for a while," added Ballard, who almost scored on a first-period backhand. "This is what we have, we have a lot of guys down and we have a tough schedule. That's how it's going to be."
The first period went just the way the Canucks hoped it would. They bottled up the Coyotes, managed to get sticks in front of many Phoenix shots and got the period's only goal from an unlikely source.
Tanev took a drop pass from Mason Raymond, skated deep into the slot and beat Phoenix goalie Mike Smith high to the stick side at the 6:32 mark. The goal was just the second of the season for Tanev.
That goal came not long after a nice defensive play by Raymond, who hustled on the backcheck to thwart an Antoine Vermette breakaway.
"The first period was great," Schneider said. "They put a lot into the netting up there on shots and they had some good rush chances where I was just able to play the shooter and the guys did a great job of picking up their guys who were going to the net or the trailers and they turned into nothing plays."
Smith was in the middle of some action in a scoreless second period. He caught Daniel Sedin in the face with his glove as the Canuck winger drove hard to the net at 4:17 of the second. Daniel was cut on the play and had to go the dressing room for repairs but returned later in the period.
Smith was run over behind his net by Edler with less than two minutes remaining in the second. Edler received a five-minute major for charging.
Smith finished the period but did not return to play the third. He was replaced by Jason LaBarbera.
Vermette tied the game on a Phoenix power play at 2:26 of the third. He scored on a rebound after a shot by Radim Vrbata bounced off both Schneider and the crossbar and directly to Vermette. He had an empty net to shoot at from the edge of the crease.
Schneider made a huge game-saving stop on Martin Hanzal, who split the Canuck defence with less than two minutes remaining in the third.
"He kind of pulled it to his forehand and you really don't have a lot of options when you get there," Schneider said. "Usually guys try to snap it five-hole and I made sure I closed that up and I got a piece of it."
"If you are going to win you are going to need different types of contributions from goaltender on out," said Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault. "Schroeds scored a really big goal at the right time and Chris Tanev's goal was about him trying to support the attack. He found a hole and he beat a real good goaltender."
ICE CHIPS: The Canucks were scheduled to charter to Los Angeles after the game. They meet the Kings on Saturday afternoon at the Staples Center ... Defenceman Andrew Alberts was the lone healthy scratch for the Canucks ... The Canucks improved to 15-9-6. Phoenix, now winless in its last five games, fell to 13-14-4.


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2nd Place - Pearce Cycles Downhill Series Final Round - 15th/16th September 2012
Brad Mather (our sponsored rider) at the Pearce Cycles Downhill Series at Bringewood, Shropshire, taking 2nd Place!
Event: Pearce Cycles Downhill Series - Round 5
Date: 15th & 16th September 2012
Place: Bringewood, Shropshire
Riding: Empire Cycles AP-1
Saturday - Practice.
This weekend we headed to the final round of the Pearce Cycles race series in sunny Bucknell, Shropshire. I had been here few times before to race the track held by Pearce cycles, the track hadnt changed since I last rode only a few different lines and jumps. We arrived there Saturday morning to full sunshine and a dusty track, I went up for first run of the day to check the track out, the start was the same as usual over a fire road and into a rooty straight with a bomb hole you could either gap or role, I opted for the gap to keep thing fast and fun. Then into a straight of small jumps which led you up a ski jump, which you could scrub. Then into a large sweeping right hander into two table top jumps, you hit the jumps with a lot of speed and then into a tight left hander, which led into a couple of dusty switchbacks, over a large lump and into two corners. They had been taped so they could be cut out by riding over the top of them. Another rider and myself scoped out that you could send the gap and miss everything out, we both did it without problems apart from landing on a stump. This was a good line, but would cause me to lose the win come race runs. Then into the first woods, which were straight-forward: one switchback then into a straight, which led into a left turn onto off camber roots, in the wet they're hard but in the dry they're fast and easy. Exit the woods and a small step down onto a fire road and back into the last woods, these were longer than the first with fast turns and berms which became rough after a couple of runs, the track winded down until it hit a fast step-down into a rock left turn, over a lump which could be gap from a root just before and over a jump into a drifty left corner and up onto an uphill straight, the straight dropped off into a rocky left turn and exited into long switchbacks. Exit the last switchback and send it of the top of the hill onto the fire road, the road had a natural lip on it which could be gapped off and into the field, then, two sweeping turns and over a hip jump and a straight to cap off to the finish line.
Sunday Race day.
Sunday I woke to an overcast morning but with no rain, practice started at 8.00 oclock, I headed up for first run at 8.00 and just cruised down the track to get back into it. I did one more run in the morning which went well, only a small mechanical by bending my chain ring. First race run started at 1.00 oclock, I was at the top ready to go feeling confident, the track was still bone dry just with a bit of wind in the open parts, top part went well until I hit the open section, that line I had scoped out went well until I overshot the turn causing me to stop and get going again, I tried to make up more time but was making more mistakes, I ended up crossing the line and went into 4th by 1.2 secs, I knew I could win if I would of held that line. Second run went better, with a smoother top half until the open section, on the same line I overshot but even worse, going off track and struggling to get back on, the rest of the run went well and smooth with a few close moments, I came into the finish strong, and crossed the line with a second slower than first run, I was gutted, I knew I would of done a sub 2.00 minute and could of took the win, but thats racing, As this was the last round the overall was to be decided, as I had missed one round I stood in 5th position overall, as the podiums came around I managed to make up 3 places and take 2nd overall which I was pleased with, many thanks to Pearce Cycles for a great season of racing again.
Empire would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support:


text:
Shop the Knik Little League online store and help fundraise when you buy t-shirts, hoodies, polos and more.
15% of all sales from your store go back to your local league
This store is a Little League® approved gear shop and fundraising solution.
Little League® Baseball, Little League, the medallion and the keystone are the registered trademarks and service marks belonging exclusively to Little League Baseball, Incorporated.
Visit Little League® at www.littleleague.org.


text:
Search for emails by size and more in Gmail
Posted by Christian Kurmann, Software Engineer
We're always looking for ways to make it faster and easier for you to find your messages using search in Gmail. So starting today, you can now search emails by size, more flexible date options, exact match and more.
This means, for example, to find emails larger than 5MB, you can search for size:5m or larger:5m or to find emails sent over a year ago, older_than:1y.
Originally posted here: Search for emails by size and more in Gmail


text:
Weekly Profits needed a new banner ad design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 55 designs submitted by 20 freelance designers.
Need 125X125 square and 468X60 banner for relaunch of web site.
The main objective is that the banners create interest and be recognizable and readable . We prefer simple designs.
'save money every week' is one of our slogans.
- Item 1...We use Photoshop and want a psd file.
Looking for a clean simple readable look
- Item 1...Colors not wanted; purple, orange, brown, or pink. Almost any other color is acceptable.
The banner at the web site is just temporary, don't use it as a guide.


text:
Court convicts 'million pound' modchip man
Vows to fight back
A Bristol man has vowed to fight on after being found guilty by a UK court of more than two dozen counts of possessing and selling modchips for games consoles.
Neil Stanley Higgs, 39, of Speedwell Road, Speedwell, Bristol, who called himself Mr Modchips, was found guilty of 26 offences under a 2003 amendment to the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. The amendment was made specifically to tackle console modchipping.
The Bristol Crown Court jury returned a unanimous verdict to find Higgs guilty on 12 counts of possessing chipped games consoles and 11 counts of possessing Xecuter chips, all in the course of business. Xecuter chips allow mod chips to be turned on or off via a switch outside the console,
He was also found guilty on three counts of advertising, supplying and selling mod chips.
However, Higgs was cleared on four further counts of possessing chipped consoles because the jury was satisfied that they belonged to friends and family. Higgs had argued that all the chipped consoles in his possession were the property of others.
An Xecuter 3CE mod chip
The Court was told that 3700 Xecuter chips were found at Higgs' Bristol home, which was raided in January 2006 by Trading Standards officers and investigators from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA).
Prosecutors maintained Higgs had netted more than £1m from sales of modchips.
Higgs is appealing against the verdict, but a hearing date has yet to be set.
Mod chips allow consoles to play copies of games. The software industry has always maintained this is done to enable the use of illegal copies, though advocates of the practice claim they do so in order to use back-up discs, sparing purchased games media from accidental damage.
Phill Carnell, a lawyer with law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, told Register Hardware that the only criminal offence in the UK relating to chipping is "when someone benefits financially from the sale and it's done commercially".
However, mod chipping isn't illegal worldwide. An Italian court judged in 2004 that, under Italian law, gamers can use their own products as they see fit, including modding them. In 2005, the High Court of Australia also ruled that mod chips are legal Down Under. Australia changed the law the following year to ensure that mod chips were legally banned.
Sponsored: Becoming a Pragmatic Security Leader


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"Life of Pi," like the recent "Cloud Atlas," is adapted from a novel widely considered to be unfilmable. While in "Cloud Atlas" the issue was the book's multistory structure, in "Life of Pi" the problem is of a technical nature — the two main characters are a teenager and a fearsome Bengal tiger who share a lifeboat in the middle of nowhere for 227 days. How do you film that convincingly without running through a lot of teenagers?
Way back when, such a challenge would have been met with clever cutting, rear projection, and/or a really well-trained animal — none of which would pass muster by today's high-tech standards. Director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Brokeback Mountain") has relied heavily on the highest of high-tech methods — massive CGI, motion capture and 3-D.
Yann Martel's book was a huge commercial and critical success, so it's wise that Lee has chosen to follow its story closely (though, by necessity, in a trimmed-down form). Our hero is Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma and, as an adult, Irrfan Khan), a 16-year-old eccentric, whose family runs a zoo in Pondicherry, India. Pi is spiritually eclectic: He sees no reason why he can't be Christian, Muslim and Hindu all at once. "Thank Lord Krishna," he exclaims when he discovers Catholicism, "for leading me to Jesus!"
The family decides to relocate themselves (and the zoo) to Canada, but during the voyage their shabby-looking ship sinks, killing everybody but Pi and a handful of animals. Pi makes his way to a lifeboat, as do a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a tiger who (thanks to a clerical error) is named Richard Parker. Nature, of course, has its laws of predation, and soon the passenger list is down to Pi and Richard Parker. Some kind of symbiotic relationship seems to develop between them ... or is it between Pi and the anthropomorphic persona he is projecting onto the beast?
In this regard, the setup is much like Robert Zemeckis' "Cast Away," which employed a tougher, more daring version of the same dilemma. Sure, Lee is able to build an emotionally believable relationship between a human and a tiger, but Zemeckis managed to do the same thing with a volleyball.
What Lee brings to the party, however, is an amazing visual style. In between the moments of conflict, the lifeboat is surrounded by beautiful seascapes and skies. This presumably CGI world has the richness of the Technicolor films of the '30s and '40s. (The closing credits include more than 600 special- and visual-effects people.) And the tiger is remarkably real — which is even more amazing, given that fur is one of the most difficult effects to achieve on a computer.
Is the 3-D worth it? Indeed, it goes alongside "Avatar" and "Hugo" as the most valid recent uses of the technology. It's very discreet — so discreet that halfway through I stopped noticing it. In fact, no matter how well done it is, I have a suspicion that the film would have been just as effective without it.
The only questionable aspect of the production (and the novel) is the spiritual/religious tone in which it's framed. There's a delicate balance between cosmic wisdom and fuzzy-headed New Age-ism; and "Life of Pi" comes awfully close to tipping in the latter direction.
ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on "FilmWeek" on KPCC-FM (89.3).


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2004 Maybach 57 SWB RENNTECH 625HP 57 57S 62 2004 MAYBACH 57 RENNTECH UPGRADES MATTE WHITE PAINT SEMA CLEAN CARFAX WE FINANCE ADV1 HRE FORGIATO ASANTI UGR VELLANO 625HP TOYO TIRES 9 viewed per hour 2004 Maybach 57 SWB RENNTECH 625HP 57 57S 62 Item Information Condition: Used Time left: d h m s day hour hours Time left: 6d 20h Price: US $69,977.00 Best Offer: Make Offer - Loading... Resume making your offer, if the page does not update immediately. Add to watch list Remove from watch list Watch list is full Ships from United States Get low monthly payments get an instant decision Order an inspection from WeGoLook Learn More Shipping: See item description for shipping details Vehicle shipping quote available Item location: Hatfield, Pennsylvania, United States Ships to: Worldwide Payments: Deposit of US $1,000.00 within 48 hours of auction close Full payment is required within 7 days of auction close Report item - opens in a new window or tab Description current Vehicle History Report Shipping and payments item number:173732199458 Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.Vehicle Specifics for 2004 Maybach 57 MAYBACH 57 FORGIATO WHEELS FULLY SERVICED 625HP You've got your eye on a 2004 Maybach 57 MAYBACH 57 FORGIATO WHEELS FULLY SERVICED 625HP We've got our eye on the Vehicle's History AutoCheck found 14 records for this 2004 Maybach 57 MAYBACH 57 FORGIATO WHEELS FULLY SERVICED 625HP VIN:WDBVF78J34A000759 Engine:12 Cylinders Style/Body:Sedan 4 Dr. Buy AutoCheck Report Item specifics Condition: Used Year: 2004 VIN (Vehicle Identification Number): WDBVF78J34A000759 Mileage: 44921 Number of Cylinders: 12 Make: Maybach Transmission: AUTO Model: 57 Body Type: Sedan 4 Dr. Trim: SWB RENNTECH 625HP 57 57S 62 Vehicle Title: Clear Engine: 12 Cylinder Engine Options: CD Player, Convertible, Leather Seats, Sunroof Drive Type: RWD Safety Features: Anti-Lock Brakes, Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Side Airbags Power Options: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Windows, Power Seats Sub Model: MAYBACH 57 FORGIATO WHEELS FULLY SERVICED 625HP Fuel Type: Gasoline Fuel Exterior Color: Alaska White For Sale By: Dealer Interior Color: Black Disability Equipped: No Item description Performance ECU Upgrade 625HP; Renntech Exhaust; ECU, Transmission and Intercooler Upgrades. Renntech Also Modified The Suspension WIth Lowering Module. 2004 Maybach 57 SWB. Series SWB. Make Maybach. See full item description -
00037 Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report is essential when shopping for a used vehicle. Check whether an accident has been reported on the vehicle. Confirm the reported miles are accurate with AutoCheck's OdometerCheck. Make sure the title is clean if any reported problems. If the report misses a problem, AutoCheck will buy the vehicle back! AutoCheck found 14 records for this 2004 Maybach 57 MAYBACH 57 FORGIATO WHEELS FULLY SERVICED 625HP VIN:WDBVF78J34A000759 Engine:12 Cylinders Style/Body:Sedan 4 Dr. Special Offer for Customers Only: Single Report for $10.99- Save 63% (reg $29.99 ) 10-Pack for $19.99- Save 82% (reg $109.90) Buy AutoCheck Report Already purchased a report from AutoCheck? If you have previously purchased a package of Vehicle History Reports from AutoCheck, please sign in now for access to your remaining reports AutoCheck Sign In Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Shipping and handling This vehicle is available for local pick-up. Additionally, shipping arrangements can be made through uShip. Simply review the available shipping options below, choose the option that best suits your needs, and have your item delivered by a customer-rated uShip service provider. Item Location:Hatfield, Pennsylvania, United States Shipping to: Worldwide No additional import charges at delivery! This item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking. Learn more- opens in a new window or tab Shipping Quotes Shipping quotes provided by Need help? Call 1-800-264-7447 Reference Number: B053D Delivery ZIP Code: Please enter a valid US zip code (ex: 64101-4017). Service Provider Service type Pickup timeframe Price View all available quotes on uShip View all quotes
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text:
RIO DE JANEIRO—This hasn't been a very good week for Brazil.
First its national team got spanked by Germany 7-1 in the most lopsided semifinal in World Cup history. Then, 24 hours later, Brazilian soccer fans had to watch hated rival Argentina advance to the final by beating the Netherlands in a penalty-kick shootout.
The home team gets routed and its unwelcome guests win a squeaker. It's almost as if Argentina had God on its side —which is a topic we'll get to in a minute.
The point is, the host country must now busy itself with Saturday's no-one-cares consolation game in remote Brasilia, with Argentina playing Germany in Sunday's final in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium, the holiest shrine in Brazilian soccer.
It's as if the Boston Red Sox were about to play the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Actually, to say Argentina and Brazil are hated rivals probably isn't fair. The animosity, fueled by jealousy and insecurity, goes much deeper than simply hate.
Imagine Auburn-Alabama, only with different accents and no NASCAR.
Brazil and Argentina are South America's unquestioned soccer superpowers, having combined to win seven of 19 World Cup titles and 22 of 43 Copa America crowns, which is emblematic of continental superiority. And though they share a 1,300-kilometre border, Brazilians have steadfastly refused to share a language with their neighbors, insisting on remaining the only country in the Americas to speak Portuguese.
So the haughty Argentines, who have flooded Brazil in the last month, are probably taking more joy in Brazil's pain then they are in their own team's victories.
On the way to Wednesday's semifinal with the Netherlands, a bus full of Argentine fans left the main highway and meandered through crowded side streets in Sao Paulo, looking for locals to taunt. During games the Argentines have taken to singing a colorful little 58-word ditty that concludes with the sacrilegious —for Brazilians —claim that Maradona was better than Pele.
And now, at least in this tournament, Lionel Messi has proved to be better than Neymar.
Perhaps fearing all this might come to pass, Rio's colorful mayor, Eduardo Paes, actually promised to kill himself if Argentina beat Brazil. And that was before the tournament began.
Looks like he dodged a bullet —literally —since the two teams won't actually meet on the field. But in many ways seeing Argentina playing for a title in a game for which Brazil didn't even qualify may be worse.
"They have Messi and the pope," Paes said. "They can't have everything."
Speaking of the Buenos Aires-born pontiff, Pope Francis may be the world's most famous soccer fan. He is a fervent backer of Argentine club San Lorenzo, which rallied from the brink of relegation to its first title in six seasons just months after Francis ascended to the papacy.
It was a resurrection many said could be explained only by divine intervention. And now Argentina, which hasn't made it past the quarter-finals of a World Cup in 24 years, is in the final for the first time in a generation.
Was this too divine intervention? The pope has kept his public prayers neutral during the World Cup; what he has prayed for in private, though, is between him and his maker.
This wouldn't be first time the church has been cited on Argentina's behalf. In the 1986 World Cup, Maradona credited the "hand of God" with an assist on a goal (from a hand ball) he scored against England. And four years later, in what became known as "the holy water incident," Maradona told a TV interviewer that the Argentine training staff gave a Brazilian player a drink laced with tranquilizers during a World Cup game.
Brazil has known World Cup pain and shame before on its home soil. The only other time the tournament was played in Brazil, Uruguay beat the hosts in the Maracana in a final that, 64 years later, is still remembered as such a tragedy it has its own name: the Maracanazo.
At the final whistle one man collapsed and died of a heart attack. Two others committed suicide in the stadium. For four years the national team refused to play in the hulking Maracana, believing it to be haunted. And Brazil never again wore the white uniforms it had donned for that match, switching to the blue, yellow and green of the Brazilian flag.
And now there's a 50-50 chance Argentina —hated Argentina! —could raise soccer's Holy Grail on that very field, the most venerated piece of real estate in Brazil.
For the host country, it can't get much worse than that.


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Judge Pleads for Peace as Apple, Samsung Hairpulling Resumes
Dec 7, 2012 2:36 PM PT
Judge Lucy Koh on Thursday heard another round of quibbling between Apple and Samsung lawyers. Calling for some sort of "global peace," she reportedly asked both sides if there was any endpoint coming in their slugfest over patent issues.
Koh presided earlier this year over the high-profile, often bitter trial between the giants that ended with the jury awarding Apple US$1.05 billion in damages. The judge has yet to approve that verdict. The hearing on Thursday covered several areas of disagreement, including the jury's calculation of damages and Apple's request to ban Samsung product sales in the U.S.
Rather than appearing to reach any compromise or heeding the call for peace, the two sides continued to dig in.
Empty Threat?
It is expected that there will be some injunction against Samsung's device sales, but given how long this case has dragged on, it begs the question whether it even matters at this point.
By the time any injunctions become effective, they're likely to have little impact on Samsung, as the devices will be in the long-tail of their life cycles, noted Chris Silva, principal analyst at Netpop Research.
"I expect to see a lot of pressure put on the court for financial penalties against Samsung as this is where Apple can inflict the most damage," he told the E-Commerce Times.
Apple and Samsung did not respond to our request for further details.
New Round for New Year?
Little new information was introduced at the hearing, based on reports, and Koh previously had indicated that she wanted to be done with her deliberations before the start of the new year. However, she did appear willing to review some of the jury's calculations for damages.
While it doesn't appear that Koh favors one side's arguments over the other, her willingness to review the calculations suggests that the billion-dollar sum might be questioned.
"When the ruling occurred several months ago, it looked like a solid Apple victory over Samsung ..., but the game is not over ... by any stretch of the imagination," said telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan.
"The big question is will the big Apple win slip through their fingers?" he wondered. "While it's too early to tell yet, the truth is it just might."
Holiday Markets
Currently both Apple and Samsung are heavily vying for holiday shoppers' dollars, and Apple could be trailing Samsung in that race, according to data from comScore.
Given the importance of the market, are the companies spending too much energy battling one another and wasting resources that could be spent elsewhere?
"As always, I'd like to see even half of this energy put back into product design and iteration on Apple's side," said Netpop's Silva.
"Their recent releases have been lacking many of the user-centric new features, in contrast to something like Apple's Thunderbolt, which seems only to cost users more in accessories," he said.
While it is highly unlikely that the companies will forge a "global peace" -- especially in time for the holidays -- pursuing it probably would be a wiser course of action than continuing the hostilities.
"The best solution would be for both Apple and Samsung to lay down their swords and find ways to work together," Kagan added. "These problems can be solved if both sides can work together."
Instead of a Christmas truce, it's more likely that both sides will be redoubling their efforts to mount a New Year's offensive.
"Will Apple and Samsung learn to work together to settle these differences, or will they fight till the end?" pondered Kagan. If a fight to the finish does unfold, it could cost Apple a lot -- even if it eventually wins this round.
"Samsung is still one of the industry's most successful players and that will not change because of this legal battle," Kagan noted, "no matter how bad Apple wants it."


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The biggest thing I have done is I made the jump from a blogspot address to a .com. I purchased my Domain name. If you are reading this in a reader than you wouldn't notice but if you are on my page take a look up there it says blueroofcabin.com. No more blogspot in my address. How fun.
There are several different ways to purchase your domain name and several options for hosting. So many that I can't even pretend to know the best option for anybody. There is a lot of information out there for you to make the best decision for yourself.
I found out that the easiest thing for me was to purchase my domain name through blogger. Really it was more like a small step than a jump. Blogger makes it so easy for you. It does have a small cost though, $10 a year. For me the joy my blog brings me is worth it. The other benefit to me was blogger still hosts your blog for free so I did not have to learn any new program. I still log into Blogger and everything looks the same in the background. Blogger does what I need it to do right now. As my blog grows that may change but one thing at a time.
How do you do it?
From your Blogger dashboard go to settings, about the middle of the page is publishing, underneath it says add a Custom Domain. Click on that and it will walk you through the process.
After you go through the steps expect it to take up to three days for everything to be complete. Of course it took all of those three days before my old blogspot address redirected to the .com. I was starting to sweat it but I read that it can take that long so I just had to tell myself not to worry til day four.
So the obvious questions are what happens to followers, subscribers, pinterest, facebook, AdSense.........
That's the best part. People are automatically redirected to the new address and all my old posts are still available. I kept my followers, pinterest traffic and I didn't have to do anything extra for AdSense either.
So why did I do it? I recently met a sweet gal who used to have a blog. She asked me if I owned my domain name and when I told her no she told me a story. Basically she had grown her blog to 1500 followers. She did not register her blogs domain name and someone else did. Okay so I was terrified. Blue Roof Cabin is my name. It's my home, my blog, and now my business no one else can have it. I am emotionally attached to the name. So I came home read up on it and made the decision. Honestly I hadn't been seriously thinking about it until then because I thought it would be harder to do than it is. It was one of those things I would get to eventually.
Some cons on switching include a drop in blog ranking and search engine traffic. Most people said that that only lasted 6 months or so.
Overall I'm happy with the switch and it went smoothly for me. So many of us are figuring things out as we go so I thought I'd share. If any issues come up I will let you know.
So have you been thinking about it? Anything to add?


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ATTENDEES AT the inaugural North American Grain Congress in Reno, Nev., Feb. 19-22, will learn about "synergy in energy" from Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen, who is slated to speak at the Grain Congress general session. The Grain Congress is the first joint conference of the National Grain Sorghum Producers and the National Association of Wheat Growers.
"Ethanol has become the single-most important and fastest-growing value-added market for farmers, stimulating rural economic development, creating jobs and increasing farm income," said Dinneen.
The expanding, broad-based ethanol industry offers producers the opportunity to improve their bottom lines through improved grain prices and plant ownership. Currently, 10 U.S. ethanol plants consistently utilize grain sorghum in their starch mix and two also utilize wheat. The plants have a production capacity of 391 million gallons per year.
With five additional plants under construction and one plant expanding, the production capacity will increase to 561 million gallons per year.
NAWG President Mark Gage of Page, N.D., said that wheat producers are embracing opportunities in the ethanol industry that add value to their crops. He said, "The near-term prospects for making ethanol from straw and other crop residues is another exciting development for wheat and sorghum producers. We expect to see groundbreaking on the first of these plants in 2005."
For grain sorghum producers, ethanol is also an important, growing market. Dan Krienke of Perryton, Texas, NGSP vice president of domestic market development, said that in 2003, 12 percent of the U.S. grain sorghum crop went into ethanol production.
An educational hearing following the general session at the Grain Congress will feature an ethanol manufacturer that utilizes both wheat straw and sorghum stalks to manufacture cellulose ethanol.
Register online at www.graincongress.org or call NGSP toll-free at 800-658-9808 to request a registration form.


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Ithaca, N.Y. – The UMBC women's tennis team dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to Buffalo in a neutral site match played at Cornell University.
The Retrievers started brightly, as senior Josefin Stange-Jonsson (Vasteras, Sweden) and sophomore Shannon Cleary (Little Bay, NSW, Australia) won at No. 2 doubles, 6-2. But Buffalo won at both No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to capture the first point of the match.
Four of the six singles matches went to third set, and UMBC took three of those four. Freshman No. 2 Olga Baikulova (Vladikavlcaz, Russia) triumphed, 11-9, in the third-set tie-breaker to capture her match, while another newcomer, freshman Mariami Dolashvili (Alushta, Ukraine) won her third set breaker,10-6, at the No. 3 position.
Stange-Jonsson was the lone Retriever to post two victories, as she rallied to prevail at No. 6 singles, 2-6, 6-3, 14-12.
But UMBC could not win the fourth match the went the distance, as sophomore Madlena Kuracz (Zlotoryja, Poland) dropped a tight, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 10-8 decision to UB's Laura Fernandez.
The Retrievers slipped to 1-2 on the season and will take on the host Cornell Big Red on Sunday.
1. Tanvi Shah/Miranda Podlas (UB) def. Olga Baikulova/Mariami Dolashvili (UMBC), 6-2
2. Josefin Strange-Jonsson/Shannon Cleary (UMBC) def. Laura Holterbosch/Marta Stoyanova (UB), 6-2
3. Anamaria Candanoza/Margarita Kotok (UB) def. Madlena Kurasz/Isabel Aldunate (UMBC), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
1. Tanvi Shah (UB) def. Kim Berghaus (UMBC), 6-0, 6-3
2. Olga Baikulova (UMBC) def. Miranda Podlas (UB), 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
3. Mariami Dolashvili (UMBC) def. Anamaria Candanoza (UB), 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
4. Margarita Kotok (UB) def. Isabel Aldunate (UMBC), 6-4, 6-2
5. Laura Fernandez (UB) def. Madlena Kurasz (UMBC), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 10-8
6. Josefin Strange-Jonsson (UMBC) def. Laura Holterbosch (UB), 2-6, 6-3, 14-12


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An Apology for Apologetics
from Stephen Nichols Mar 22, 2019 Category: ArticlesMy professor of apologetics in seminary told stories of odd reactions he received when he would tell people what he did for a living. The best story involved a bank loan officer. When he told the loan officer that he was a professor of apologetics, she replied, "That's wonderful... Keep Reading
God's Will and Your Job (pt. 2)
from R.C. Sproul Jun 25, 2009 Category: ArticlesThe question of vocation becomes a crisis at two major points in life. The first is in late adolescence when a person is pressured into deciding what skills and knowledge he should acquire for future use. Some college freshmen feel pressured to declare a major in their first year, before knowing the available options and the limits of their ability. Keep Reading
God's Will and Your Job (pt. 1)
from R.C. Sproul Jun 24, 2009 Category: ArticlesWhen we are introduced to people, the following three questions are generally asked: What is your name? Where are you from? What do you do? The third question is the one that concerns us in this chapter. Keep Reading
Atheism Remix
from Keith Mathison Jun 23, 2009 Category: ArticlesIn 2004, Alister McGrath published a book entitled The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World. Although the book did not suggest that atheism was dead, its publication may have been a bit premature. For in 2006, atheism scored a propaganda coup with the media attention given to three best-selling books promoting a new and aggressive form of atheism: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett, and Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. Not to be outdone, Christopher Hitchens published the best-selling God Is Not Great in 2007. Dubbed the "New Atheists" for their belligerent tone and militant intolerance, these authors have declared war on theism in general and Christianity in particular, and they have emboldened a new generation of skeptics. Keep Reading
Plowing in Hope
from R.C. Sproul Jr. Jun 22, 2009 Category: ArticlesThe kingdom of God is at war. The promise from the beginning was that the seed of the woman, our King, would come and crush the head of the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Jesus' first step out of the tomb at Gethsemane crushed that ancient and wily serpent's head, and from that time forward we, the bride of Christ, created to be a help suitable for our Husband in His dominion calling, have been engaged in what theologians call a "mopping up" operation. The enemy has been defeated, but he doesn't yet have the sense to give up. Keep Reading
The Nadir of Arrogance
from R.C. Sproul Jun 21, 2009 Category: ArticlesJust as with the issue of instrumentation, there is controversy regarding the issue of singing in worship. The controversy erupts when we ask what types of songs are appropriate for use in the context of worship. Most of us would agree that what we want in worship is good music, not bad music. However, for some people, "good" music means classical and traditional music, while for others it means contemporary music. Keep Reading
Top 5 Commentaries on the Book of Revelation
from Keith Mathison Jun 20, 2009 Category: ArticlesPreparing a "Top 5" list of commentaries on the book of Revelation is extremely challenging in a number of ways. I cannot point to a single commentary with which I agree entirely. My own understanding of the book is set forth in a very summary manner in the last chapter of my book From Age to Age (a chapter that is not intended to be read until all of the other chapters have been completed). Keep Reading
The Meaning of Man's Will (pt. 3)
from R.C. Sproul Jun 19, 2009 Category: ArticlesBut what about man's will with respect to the sovereignty of God? Perhaps the oldest dilemma of the Christian faith is the apparent contradiction between the sovereignty of God and the freedom of man. If we define human freedom as autonomy (meaning that man is free to do whatever he pleases, without constraint, without accountability to the will of God), then of course we must say that free will is contradictory to divine sovereignty. We cannot soft-pedal this dilemma by calling it a mystery; we must face up to the full import of the concept. If free will means autonomy, then God cannot be sovereign. If man is utterly and completely free to do as he pleases, there can be no sovereign God. And if God is utterly sovereign to do as he pleases, no creature can be autonomous. Keep Reading
The Meaning of Man's Will (pt. 2)
from R.C. Sproul Jun 18, 2009 Category: ArticlesThe Bible teaches, some will say, that we do not always do what we want to do. The apostle Paul laments in Romans 7 that the good he would do he does not do, and the thing he does not want to do is the very thing he does. Paul's frustration over the wretchedness of his condition would seem totally to refute Edwards's thesis of the relationship of choice to desire. Paul, however, is not giving expression to an analysis of the causal relationship between desire and choice. He is expressing a profound frustration that centers on the complex of desires that assault the human will. Keep Reading
The Meaning of Man's Will (pt. 1)
from R.C. Sproul Jun 17, 2009 Category: ArticlesThe term free will as applied to man is often glibly declared with little or no understanding of its meaning. There is actually no unified theory of man's free will, but a variety of competing, and often conflicting, views about it. Keep Reading
The Genuine Life
from Scotty Smith Jun 16, 2009 Category: ArticlesWith three decades plus change in the pastoral ministry, the gospel seems to be getting bigger and Jesus is appearing more gracious than ever. Maybe that's because I've never been more aware of my brokenness and more disrupted by longings for the day when the already of the kingdom capitulates to the not yet of shalom. Can it really be that we're destined to be as lovely and as loving as Jesus? (1 John 3:1-3). That promise has singular sustaining power when the inward groans of spiritual childbirth feel more like a tumor than a treasure (Rom. 8:22-25). Keep Reading


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Expert patching fills injury holes
OKLAHOMA CITY — When Manu Ginobili crumpled to the AT&T Center floor Saturday night, bringing a hush over a sellout home crowd, it might have seemed like trouble for the Spurs.
Gary Neal looked at it as something different.
"It's an opportunity," said Neal, a reserve guard turned emergency starter by a rash of perimeter injuries. "You go out there and compete, and try to prove you deserve the minutes."
The Spurs were clinging to a one-point lead over Boston when Chris Wilcox's knee slammed into Ginobili's left thigh on an illegal pick, sending the Argentine sixth man hobbling to the locker room for good with 2:42 left in the first quarter.
Behind 20 points from Neal and an all-hands-on-deck approach from everyone else, the Spurs did what they have done more often than not this season. They patched things together and figured out a way to win.
The 103-88 victory they eventually pocketed over the Celtics wasn't their first shorthanded win of the season. Just the latest.
The Spurs are 19-6 this season, despite playing exactly five games at full strength and facing 15 of 23 games on the road.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has a simple solution for handling an injury-shortened bench.
"Whoever is available," he said, "that's who plays."
As the Spurs head to Oklahoma City, to meet a Thunder team that was won 10 in a row en route to the NBA's top record of 19-4, that "next man up" approach takes on its most serious challenge yet.
The Spurs have been playing without a legitimate small forward since Nov. 19, when Stephen Jackson broke the pinkie on his shooting hand two games after Kawhi Leonard went on the shelf with left quadriceps tendinitis.
Both those players were instrumental in limiting NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant to 23 points in the teams' first meeting this season, a last-second 86-84 victory for the Spurs on Nov. 1.
There are signs the Spurs might get Jackson back for tonight's game, but now Ginobili's status is in doubt due to a painful left thigh contusion.
"Every team goes through these ups and downs with injuries," said point guard Tony Parker, whose 21-footer as the horn sounded provided the winning points against OKC in November. "It's the way you handle those ups and downs that makes you a good team."
Neal has been the biggest beneficiary of the Spurs' injury woes to date.
A third-year guard who began the season fighting for time off the bench, Neal entered the starting lineup after Jackson's injury and has lifted his scoring average to a career high 12 points per game.
His 20-point night against the Celtics was his fourth since Nov. 29.
"You never wish for injuries, but just the opportunity to start in the NBA is a blessing," said Neal, who has started 13 of the last 14 games at shooting guard.
He isn't the only Spurs player who has seen his role change dramatically courtesy of injuries to others.
Nando De Colo was expected to spend most of his rookie season as an apprentice. Now the French guard is logging minutes both early and late in games, and providing key playmaking.
Cory Joseph was supposed to be in Austin with the Development League, but the second-year point guard has been a capable minutes-eater in the backcourt at times over the past three weeks.
Brazilian center Tiago Splitter has scored in double figures in seven straight games, proving productive enough to be elevated to the starting lineup next to Tim Duncan.
"Everybody has that 'I have something to prove' mentality," Neal said. "When you have that, it gives you a chance to step on the court, compete and win."
The Spurs realize they can't keep living this way forever. They will need to one day get to full strength in order to make a deep run in the Western Conference playoffs.
Tonight, however, they head into Oklahoma City shorthanded again. And where some sense trouble, they see only opportunity.
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN


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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; So, all this wrangling about who gets to take all the chips off the table has gotten us into this situation: - One playoff victory in 38 years - Four playoff appearances in 38 years - One playoff appearance in ...
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Professor Crab and
Site Donor 2014
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Princeton
Posts: 3,278
Blog Entries: 33
Benson v Louisiana makes us Losers
So, all this wrangling about who gets to take all the chips off the table has gotten us into this situation:
- One playoff victory in 38 years
- Four playoff appearances in 38 years
- One playoff appearance in 10 years
- Mediocre record over past 5 years
- Averaged only 1 Nationally televised game over last 5 years
- Consistant and regular threats to relocate
- No long firm long term lease in place
- Largest state funded subsidy to any professional team
- One of the oldest facilities in the NFL, and yet, still competitive
- Top 10 highest average ticket prices (including "seat license")
- Bottom 10 poorest state in terms of wages earned
- 1 Fortune 500 company
- Petroleum tax as one of the state's most significant revenue streams.
Giving us:
- A stadium that is "un-named" (given the price, are we surprised?)
- Lowest season ticket sales in 25 years (23,000)
- Declining tax base
- No host to the Super Bowl until at least 2012
- An owner who refuses to negotiate and has cut most business ties to the state
- 3 nationally televised games for 2005 (that could be bumped for a better matchup)
- A team not picked to make the playoffs for the 5th consecutive year
- Schools that suck
- Roads that suck
- Aging and welfare classes that are growing.
I'm not an expert here, but the picture is dismal. I hope that I haven't missed any salient point that would make this either better or worse. No corporate sponsor would be willing to make the kind of expenditures on a Stadium name given the limited exposure over the next 8 years, much less regional exposure for an inconsistent team with limited possibilities for post season exposure. Fan base is eroding due to the perceived naked greed and disloyalty by the owner, as evidenced by the lower ticket sales. Without sellouts, local telecasts will be blacked out, reducing marketing opportunities even further. It would not be too much of a stretch to assume that merchandising will be significantly lower this year, as will concessions and parking. A fortune 500 company looking to relocate to Louisiana would only need to watch the current tragicomedy to remind him/her that FL/CA/NY/NJ/TX are the best places to be.
I can't help but wonder whether this mess was a long term project by Mr. Benson to castrate the state of Louisiana and kill the local economy so that he could make the argument that New Orleans isn't a viable sports geography. This is a self fulfilling prophecy. All Benson has to do is make it more attractive to be in NO/LA and he winds up a huge winner. He's picked up all his marbles and is trying to get everyone else's. I guess "investment" is a four letter word that our glorious sensors will star out.
I'm a New Orleanian despite not living there. I am proud of my City and State and it is painful to watch the slow death caused by inept and greedy politicians trying to outplay a greedy and manipulative owner. I don't think this will turn out well, but I'm almost of a mind that if the Saints do relocate, it may turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to the City. Some of the monies could be used to address a crumbling infrastructure and tax incentives for a real company to relocate.
"Give'm a crummy product, charge'm a premium, then scoot out of town before they catch you for the warranty"
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xan, you can type that up, and send it to both sides. Nice job.
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 5,631
RE: Benson v Louisiana makes us Losers
Wow. Great post. I just heard about the season ticket sales myself. I think they've sold 23,000 or something like that. Last year at this time they were over 40,000 or some crazy number (don't quote those stats).
You're right Xan. Benson looks to be hurting himself simply by his comments. He claimed not to be able to make any money when he was making it hand over fist. As a result, it looks like the team really might not make any money. He has disenfranchised his fan base. That article (by Finney of the TP I think) hit the nail on the head. Jim Finks would never have allowed this to happen. Public support for the Saints has never been lower in LA. That makes it real easy for Blanco to stand firm on her offer and make Benson swallow it.... or leave.
Of course, it's looking really hard for Benson to leave. I doubt he'll get a better offer anywhere, and as many people have said, there's no way that LA is going to accept this team. They need a winner with some serious stars and fire power. Until the stadium deal, I thought Indy really might get moved. Now I don't know, but I think Tagliabue is too smart to move this team to LA... at least, not without a change in ownership, Brand, and entire front office staff. That is possible I guess.
My hope is that the Saints have a tremendous season. Both sides need it. Benson should be scared by the reaction he's received during these negotiations, and hopefully will try to strike a deal after a good year when public opinion is more favorable and lenient. Of course, if he's smart he'll try to save face by asking for just barely a little more than the State offered, take it, and shut the hell up for a few years. Likewise, after a good year, Blanco might not be in such a vice. She would be able to negotiaite, but could probably make Benson take the same basic deal that she's offered. Everyone is happy and we've got a winner in NO. That's the best thing I can think for this team. Another .500 season and things only get worse, IMO.
\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That's all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints' organization.\" - Eric Narcisse
\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"
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Report: The Next Windows Update Could Be Seven Weeks Away
Windows 8.1 Update 1 is reportedly coming in mid-March.
Windows 8.1 Update 1 is reportedly coming in mid-March.
New hardware could have a store for games, reports suggest.
It's all about the controller, and playing to Nintendo's strengths.
If you've ever had trouble finding a smartphone with just the right specs and screen size, Motorola feels your pain.
You gotta keep 'em separated.
You may now add movie theaters to the list of places where Google Glass can get you into trouble, along with bars, casinos and strip clubs.
A beloved streaming music service heads to its grave.
Good luck with alllllllll THAT.
Even Sony seems confused by the name of its newest two-in-one.
Some standouts from CES 2014.
The ThinkPad 8 tablet solves the covered-up camera problem.
A customizable gaming rig with plug-in parts sounds neat, but could leave users stranded.


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Great to use for all dumbbell, kettlebell, medicine ball and bodyweight exercises.
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Hyperwear SteelBell 30 lbs (13,7 kg)
- Brand: Physical Company
- Product Code: PC-HWST30
- Availability: In Stock
- £165.48
- Ex VAT: £125.00


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MdPensFan wrote:I just ran into Mario at a Wawa here in Maryland (Don't ask me why he was here, I have no idea).
He saw me fumbling around in my pocket while searching for my wallet. He could sort of tell that I couldn't find it by the embarrassed look on my face when the lady called my number for the foot long roastbeef I had ordered.
Being the great guy Ole 66 is, he gladly paid for my late lunch, and even topped off my gas tank!! I thanked him about ten times then asked about Talbot meeting a fan in Carolina. He replied, "Oh ya, those guys got trashed on top shelf Scotch all night at some dive bar in the bible belt. I think he's even giving the dude his parents season tickets next year. They just clicked like that."
I said thanks for clearing that up for me, I gotta go type.
My batteries were dead, and there was no one else around to get a photo. As soon as I turned around, the Wawa people locked their door so I couldn't even ask them to snap just one shot.
Man, I'll never forget my day at the Wawa...


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School Closures On Tuesday Up To Individual Districts
ST. PAUL (AP) - Minnesota school districts will make their own calls about whether to resume classes Tuesday or keep buildings closed another day.
Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius informed local school leaders Monday that Gov. Mark Dayton won't call off classes statewide for a second day amid dangerously cold conditions. Public schools were ordered closed Monday at the governor's direction.
In a letter to districts, the education commissioner says superintendents should be mindful about health hazards from exposures to the below-zero temperatures as they make decisions.
Some of the state's largest districts - Anoka-Hennepin, Minneapolis and St. Paul - announced schools would remain closed. Another big district, Rochester, said it would open two hours late.
Monday was the first blanket closure of all public schools in 17 years as the state is gripped with an arctic blast of cold air.


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Transform your photos into one-of-a-kind, hand painted masterpieces!
by Munir Alawi
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The image is near the edges of the product but doesn't cover the entire product. Some of the background color may appear around the outside edges of the image.
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An old tower, known as the tower of Beitin is believed to be the site where Abraham, on his way from Hebron to Nablus, built an altar. It is also believed to be the site where Jacob dreamt of a ladder reaching up to Heaven.
Munir Alawi is a photographer, documentarian, and digital artist. He was born and raised in Bethlehem, Palestine. Passion for photography began when he first encountered the extraordinary facets of life in his home city. His work reveals a visual record of his experiences, emotions and visions. Alawi has exhibited in United States, Canada, and in Middle East. His work has been reviewed in Gulf News. Munir Alawi lives and works in Toronto, Canada. If you have an inquiry, please contact Munir by email at email@example.com Thank you for visiting Munir�s Art Gallery, and he would appreciate any comment on his work.
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