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General Information
The United Kingdom (UK) includes Northern Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. It has been the main University destination for Irish students opting to leave home to study, as well as for thousands of students annually from a wide range of international countries.
Application for study in the UK is through UCAS. It is the earliest application date on the academic year calendar for Leaving Certificate students in Ireland, with a date of 15th October for Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary, Oxford and Cambridge applications. 15th January is the general undergraduate UCAS application deadline.The UK is well respected for its world-class standards of teaching – four of the top six universities in the world are in the UK (QS World University Rankings here).
Northern Ireland is always attractive as it is so easily accessible. The University of Ulster is bigger than any University in the south and, it is considered the best-value university in the UK. It also receives some 34,000 applications, making it one of the most popular destinations each year.
Primary Teaching in the UK
Irish students may apply for a place on primary school degree programmes in Northern Ireland or Britain. All primary school teaching courses are listed on the UCAS website, through which application is made. The closing date for normal applications is 15th January each year.
Entry requirements
Check out individual undergraduate teacher traning programme entry requirements in the UK on UCAS here.
Details of entry requirements for Initial Teacher Education in Northern Ireland are available here.
If you successfully complete a UK-based qualification and wish to teach in southern Ireland, you must register your qualification with the Teaching Council of Ireland. All teachers employed in State-funded schools in Ireland must be registered with the Teaching Council to be paid a salary by the Department of Education.
To be eligible to apply for registration in Ireland, you must be a fully recognised and qualified teacher, under the terms of EU directive 2005/36/EC, in the state in which you completed your teaching qualification.
To be fully qualified in the UK, you must successfully complete an initial teacher education qualification, together with a period of induction. It is worth noting that Northern Ireland does not require induction to be completed before it issues a teacher with a letter confirming that they meet the terms of the EU directive. This means that teaching graduates in the North may choose to complete their period of induction in Northern Ireland or in the South.
Graduates applying for registration in the South, before completing a period of induction in Northern Ireland, will have "induction" attached as a condition of their registration status. On securing a UK-based teaching degree, you will be required to demonstrate that your qualifications are comparable to Teaching Council requirements, as set out in its registration regulations. [Click here] Your qualification will be assessed by the council, and any shortfalls that are identified will be attached as conditions to your registration status.
The current Irish primary school teaching degree programme is now a four-year programme. UK-based courses are mainly three years, so there may be a significant shortfall of specified course work to be made up.
Garda Vetting
Registration to teach in the South is subject to Garda vetting.
Irish Language Requirement
The study of the Irish language is also a requirement. Those who qualify to teach in Britain or Northern Ireland must address the latter by successfully completing either an aptitude test - An Scrúdú le hAghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge – Scrúdú (the SCG) or an adaption period - Oiriúnú le hAghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge – Tréimhse Oiriúnaithe (the OCG). Further information can be found here at www.ilrweb.ie
A period of three years is granted, from the date of registration, to address all identified shortfalls attached to registration. During this time, you may be employed as a primary school teacher. Failure to address the shortfalls within the three-year time frame will result in your registration lapsing.
Scotland is particularly attractive for Irish students as there are no tuition fees payable. See Fees and Finance.
Nursing in the UK
Every year lots of Irish students who want to do Nursing opt to go to the UK, perhaps to avoid the competitive entry to Nursing here, or simply because they want to move further away from home and claim their independence. However, it is important to be aware of the 2015 decision by the UK government to end NHS funding for nursing and paramedical degrees, which previously covered the £9,000 (€10,410) fees.
Here are some useful links to help with finding Undergraduate Nursing Programmes at UK Universities:
UCAS Undergraduate Nursing courses
Study in the UK (provides independent advice for international students) - Nursing
Individual college websites where Nursing Training is offered provide comprehensive information for both students and parents. The following universities are highly ranked – the links will give you basic information about each one and take you directly to the Undergraduate Nursing Faculty with course details, entry requirements and open day information etc. You can request a prospectus from them:
Useful Links
Searching for Courses in the UK
UCAS is the UK shared admissions service for higher education. Like the CAO system here in Ireland, UCAS manages all of the applications for full-time undergraduate courses at over 350 universities and colleges across Britain and Northern Ireland.
Making your application for UK courses through UCAS
While UCAS is similar to the CAO, the application process is very different.
The first deadline for applying to UCAS is in mid-October each year. The general deadline for the majority of UK courses is January 15 at 6.00pm.
Exceptions to the January 15 deadline are art courses, which close in March, and veterinary, medicine, dentistry and any Oxford and Cambridge applications, which close in mid-October. Many of the latter require aptitude tests [i.e. UKCAT, BMAT - see below].
Unlike the CAO system, when applying through UCAS, institutions judge applicants based on more than just exam results. The UCAS application involves students completing a Personal Statement, providing an Academic Reference and providing information about Work Experience. As well as the extra work involved in preparing an application, UCAS will send the completed application to each institution for which a student applies, for their consideration as soon as they receive it.
All UCAS applications are made online through ucas.com.
Students should first use this website to search for courses and institutions in which they may be interested. They should then contact the particular institution to enquire about Irish Leaving Certificate entry requirements, fees and any other requirements such as aptitude testing.
Students can apply for up to five courses in a normal UCAS application. Start by finding out about different courses and colleges in the UK. Here are some useful online resources to guide you:
|A search tool is available from UCAS to help you find undergraduate courses and courses at conservatoires across the UK.
Search for courses that interest you and then compare entry requirements, course content, assessment procedures etc. Explore what the different colleges have to offer. The UCAS site also has a range of information to help with your decision including an information area for parents.
Converting Leaving Cert points to UCAS Tariffs
UCAS tariffs system is a points system used for entry to higher education in the UK. It allows you to compare Leaving Certificate and GCSE A level grades. A Leaving Certificate subject at honours level is approximately equivalent to two-thirds of an A level. Explore the UCAS tariff calculator here.
2016 UCAS Tarriff Table for Irish Leaving Certificate Grades
2017+ UCAS Tarriff Table for Irish Leaving Certificate (Higher Level)
Updates for 2017 entry and therafter to reflect changes to the Leaving Certificate Grading Scale made in 2017:
2017+ UCAS Tarriff Table for Irish Leaving Certificate (Ordinary Level)
Source: UCAS 2017
Note: There is also a new UCAS Tariff calculation system from 2017 entry - view this useful video from UCAS
The British Council website Education UK allows you to search for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses on a particular subject, in a particular university or in a specific area such as Northern Ireland.
The site contains a summary of information about each college or university with contact details. You can make an online request for course brochures and information. The site also has general information about living in the UK including accommodation and working while studying.
The GOV.UK website gives information about UK higher education institutions and courses. The website also has a 'quick answers' section and a student finances calculator.
What next?
- Contact the colleges that interest you and request further information on the courses that appeal to you, or ask any questions you might have.
- Check out the College Open Days – see if it's possible to arrange to be there, or alternatively, find out if they be at Higher Options in Dublin?
- Check out the application deadlines for the courses that interest you
Application Procedures for undergraduate courses in the UK
|Note: The application process for UK courses starts earlier than in Ireland, so you need to begin looking at courses at least 12 months before you plan to start studying.
Key Dates for UK applications
As a guideline, the key dates for applying for undergraduate courses in the UK are as follows:
- 1 September – applications for UK courses for entry the following year
- 15 October - deadline for applications to Oxford or Cambridge universities and for applications to medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science to arrive at UCAS by midnight
- 15 January - deadline for most other UK course applications to arrive at UCAS
- 24 March – 16.00pm deadline for (some) art and design courses to arrive at UCAS
A complete list of the Key Dates UK applications is available on the UCAS website here.
How to apply
The application procedure for all UK undergraduate courses is via UCAS. Applications are completed online. In the UCAS system, you apply for a maximum of 5 courses. It is not necessary to list your choices in order.
If you are applying for medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine, you can only apply for 4 courses in any one of these areas.
|Note: Applicants can only apply to Oxford or to Cambridge, but not to both. The closing date for applications to Oxford and Cambridge is mid-October. For detailed information see:
Personal Statement
All UK course applicants must also complete a Personal Statement as part of their application. This is an essay style exercise of about 4,000 characters (approx. 1.25 A4 pages or 47 lines). It is an opportunity for students to argue why they should be offered a place on the courses they have applied for. The Personal Statement typically addresses:
- Why you chose to study in this particular area
- Evidence of skills you have developed
- Details of your interests and achievements to date
- Relevant work experience you may have completed
Read: What makes a good personal Statement?
Academic Reference
The majority of UK colleges require the submission on an academic reference. This is usually supplied by your school principal. It is an opportunity for your school to vouch for your participation and achievements both in education and non-academic activities to date and on your suitability for higher education in the environment you have chosen.
Late applications - UCAS Clearing
UCAS Clearing is the UK equivalent of CAO Available or Vacant Places. UCAS clearing is available from July-September each year.
Check out theUcas Clearing Video Guide here.
How to go about it
Additional Assessments
Some courses, medicine in particular require an extra assessment for admission e.g. an aptitude test or an interview. Students will need to take a test for entry such as UKCAT, BMAT or HPAT UK.
Studying Medicine in the UK
What is the UKCAT Test?
UKCAT is one of a number of entrance exams for entry to medicine. You may need to sit it if you plan on applying to UK colleges to study medicine. In the Irish system, all schools of medicine require students to take the same admissions test for entry (The HPAT). In the UK, there are a number of tests available from which the colleges can choose, including HPAT UK.
UKCAT is probably the most popular test. It is is the preferred test for large number of colleges including Queen's University, Belfast (QUB). Intending applicants for mediciane should always check which assessment their preferred course requires.
Key Dates
The deadline to apply for medicine in the UK is October 15. Applications for medicine in the UK and Northern Ireland must be submitted to UCAS by this date.
UKCAT registration opens in the first week of May each year. Booking closes sometime in October - check here for details. Results are forwarded to universities in November.
UKCAT is similar to the HPAT. The test is held at locations all over Ireland. Applicants are advised to register early and nominate their preferred centre, as some locations fill-up faster than others. There is no curriculum science element to UKCAT, however, like the HPAT, it is useful to get some practice for the test before sitting the assessment. Sample papers are available.
Students need to register for UKCAT at www.ukcat.ac.uk.
What is the BMAT Test?
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is a subject-specific admissions test for applicants to medicine, veterinary medicine and similar courses at universities.
Certain UK Colleges require students to sit BMAT:
The BMAT is a 2-hour, pen-and-paper test divided into three sections. It does not require a lot of extra study as it is a test of skills and knowledge that learners are expected to have already. Full details are available on the BMAT website .
Where to apply
UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service) is the central applications body for full-time undergraduate courses at UK universities and colleges.
The UCAS website contains all the information you need to apply to college including: How to apply, Fees, and Information about the colleges.
Applications can only be made online through the UCAS website. You can apply through your school or as an individual.
Duration of Undergraduate Courses in the UK
Undergraduate Degree Courses (Bachelor's Degree) in the UK are generally shorter than in many other countries, which helps to reduce tuition fees and accommodation costs. In the UK, an undergraduate course typically last 3 years, but in Scotland they last 4 years.
Q: Will my UK qualification be valid in Ireland?
Qualifications can cross boundaries, is an updated leaflet that gives a rough guide to comparing qualifications in the UK (Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales) and in Ireland.
The leaflet shows how qualifications are organised and how they relate broadly to each other through the different qualifications frameworks, including the European Qualifications Framework.
As qualifications frameworks continue to develop around the world, they contribute to greater mobility opportunities for learners and to the internationalisation of education and training.
Qualifications Recognition- an updated leaflet explaining how QQI works with the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC). It provides advice on fair academic recognition of foreign qualifications that may be used for access to unregulated employment and/or further study in Ireland. The leaflet is availabe here in six languages'
The Qualrec website – www.qualrec.ie explains education and training systems in different countries in EU and beyond, and gives access to other relevant information updates.
The popular leaflet, Travelling with your Irish Qualification has also been updated and provides advice on the initial steps involved in getting Irish qualifications recognised abroad, whether for study or employment purposes.
College Fees and Living Expenses in the UK
College courses in the UK are generally shorter than in many other countries, which helps to reduce tuition fees and accommodation costs.
Note: Depending on your income you may be eligible for a maintenance grant under the Irish Student Grants Scheme, but this may not include tuition fees – further details below.
Tuition fees
Before applying, you should find out about the different structures and costs for third-level education in the UK, in particular fees and living costs.
There are different fee arrangements within the UK. The fees can vary quite a bit, even for similar courses.
As an EU national you are treated in the same way regarding fees, as UK students.
England: Since 2012-2013 universities and colleges can charge new students up to ST£9,000 a year for undergraduate courses, and this fee level is being charged in many colleges in England.
Northern Ireland: Maximum fees payable by EU students in Northern Ireland are available here.
Wales: Maximum fees payable by EU students in Wales stand at £3,575
Scotland: There are no tuition fees payable by EU students, who started their first full-time degree course in Scotland, wishing to study there.
You can apply for a tuition fee loan which you only have to repay after you have graduated and are earning over ST£21,000 a year. However, you are not entitled to maintenance support in the same way as home students.
If you are an EU national who has been settled in the UK for over 3 years you will be classed as a home student and will be able to apply for financial support for living costs.
UCAS includes a table showing the maximum tuition fees at present {here}
Accommodation & living Costs
Tuition fees are not the only expense when studying in the UK - you also need to consider accommodation and living costs.
Sample Budget for Studying in the UK
Accommodation: on-campus
£350-460 pm
Accommodation: off-campus
£300-400 pm
£25 pm
Mobile phone
£40 pm
Food and groceries
£150 pm
£30 pm
GBP £830 p/m
Source: Sample Living Costs Budget Brunel University London
So based on this budget, a student planning to study in London will need around £7,000 for each academic year of study to cover their living costs (not including tuition fees).
Every student is different, and you should calculate your own budget based on your personal circumstances. You can find a useful cost-of-living calculator on the UCAS website.
The following student finance websites provide a range of useful information:
- Information for study in Northern Ireland
- Information for study in England
- Information for study in Scotland
- Information for study in Wales
See also Fees and Finance UK
Irish Student Maintenance Grants
Note: If you qualify for a student maintenance grant here in Ireland, you may be able use this grant to pay for study in the UK:
"Under the Student Grants Scheme maintenance grants are available for undergraduate courses of at least 2 years' duration in a publicly-funded third-level institution in another EU member state. Depending on your income, you may be eligible for a maintenance grant provided that you fulfill the conditions as to residence, age, academic attainments and nationality". (Source: SUSI )
There are TWO Conditions:
- The college you are considering must be a publicly funded college
- The Course you are considering must meet the requirements of the student grant scheme
Detailed information on the range of Irish grants and funds for students in further and higher education are available on www.studentfinance.ie.
Working while you Study Abroad
You might be able to work while you study. Further information is available at theUK Border Agency (UKBA) and The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) on working during and after your studies.
Useful Links for those interested in Studying in the UK, Scotland, Wales


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- 4 quarts fresh picked strawberries, rinsed and drianed
- 3/4 cup turbinado or raw sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or other fruity vinegar
- Cap berries (take off the green tops and discard.) If strawberries are large then cut in half, if small then leave whole. Put all capped berries in a large bowl. Sprinkle a layer of the berries with a few tablespoons of the sugar. Repeat until all berries are capped and sprinkled with sugar. Allow berries to sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Use a fork to smash about half the berries to release juices.
- Stir in balsamic or other fruity vinegar.
- Fill glass jars with strawberries and juice, leaving about 3/4 inch of each jar unfilled.
- Put lids on jars snugly. Place in freezer until you are ready to use.
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The recipe was originally published as Canned Strawberries on Relish.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Yeah, yeah. You know you can use that crockpot to make a Sunday Roast. And maybe you heat up chili or meatballs for parties or potlucks. But, who wants to just keep making the same-old stuff? It's time to shake up the routine a bit and add some slow cooker shazam! to your dinnertime routine with French Dip.
This delicious recipe takes two things your family already loves—the rich savory goodness of cheesy French Onion soup, and the craveable comfort of French Dip sandwiches. Then puts them together to create an all new meal, slow cooked until tender in your crockpot. The recipe makes it's own au jus, so it's simple as can be, and wildly delicious. Perfect for serving on busy weeknights, lazy weekends, and every other eating event in between!
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 (2-3 pound) roast
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 packet au jus powdered mix
1 (10.5 ounce) can French Onion soup
12 small dinner rolls
1 ½ cup gruyere or baby swiss cheese, shredded
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until sizzling. Salt and pepper the top and bottom of the roast. Brown the top and bottom of the roast in the hot skillet.
Place onion, au jus, French Onion soup, and 1 cup water in the bottom of a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Place roast on top. Cover slow cooker and turn to low, cooking roast for 5-7 hours, until tender.
Remove roast, use a fork to shred the meat. Slice the dinner rolls sandwich-style. Place the shredded meat inside each roll. Use a slotted spoon to remove onions from the slow cooker and place the onions on top of the meat on each roll. Top with shredded cheese. Place sandwiches open-faced on a baking sheet.
Preheat oven to broil, and place rack on the top shelf of the oven. Broil sandwiches on top rack for 1-2 minutes, or just until the cheese turns bubbly and golden brown.
Top each sandwich with the top part of the roll. Serve with au jus from the slow cooker for dipping. Enjoy your French Dip!


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For Young Learners (18)
Cambridge English Qualifications Young Learners Practice Tests
CatalogueSecond edition
Practice tests for all Cambridge English Qualifications Exams
Language Level: A1 - A2
Practice tests for all Cambridge English Qualifications Young Learners exams
American Family and Friends
CatalogueSecond Edition
Supporting all teachers, developing every child
Naomi Simmons, Tamzin Thompson, Jenny Quintana
Language Level: pre-A1-B2.1
One of the world's most popular American English courses for young learners is now even better!
Oxford Picture Dictionary Content Areas for Kids
CatalogueSecond Edition
Accelerates Academic Language Development
Jenni Currie Santamaria and Joan Ross Keyes
Language Level: Beginner to Intermediate
The Oxford Picture Dictionary for the Content Area for Kids builds direct, explicit, multifaceted vocabulary instruction using rich visuals and brings meaning and context to words to activate learning for English Learners.
Useful and free
English Time
CatalogueSecond Edition
Susan Rivers & Setsuko Toyama
Packed with interactive illustrations, stories, and activities, English Time is a six-level course that develops students' speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills – while they have fun.
Oxford Picture Dictionary for the Content Areas
Dorothy Kauffman and Gary Apple
Language Level: Beginner to Intermediate
The second edition of this well-loved dictionary with an increased emphasis on academic language, alignment to curriculum standards, and a research-based pedagogy.
CatalogueSecond Edition
English graded readers series for upper-primary / lower-secondary
Bill Bowler and Sue Parminter
Language Level: Dominoes are carefully graded from Starter Level to Level Three according to the Bookworms syllabus.
Build your language skills through reading Dominoes, the interactive readers series.
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Series Editor: Hazel Geatches
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Language Level: Pre-intermediate to Intermediate
Read and Discover more about the world...
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Course advisor: Norman Whitney
Language Level: High Starter to Intermediate A1 to Mid B1
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Language Level: Beginner to Intermediate
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text:
New Pain Treatment Uses Ultrasound at Home
New devices let patients treat their pain with ultrasound almost anywhere and for longer periods
The Ache: Ultrasound energy is widely used by physical therapists and other clinicians to treat sports injuries and chronic pain. But because the machines are hand-held, treatment is generally limited to 15 minutes or less. Some scientists think longer treatments will be more effective.
The Claim: New wearable ultrasound devices can be used almost anywhere for four to six hours, sometimes more, at a time.


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We have written several times over the years about our friend Tom Cotton, most recently here. Tom's story was summed up in a good article in the Weekly Standard.
Tonight I co-hosted a fundraiser for Tom in Minneapolis. Scott and his wife were among the donors who attended. This was the email invitation that I sent out:
You are invited to a fundraiser in support of my friend Tom Cotton, who is running for Congress in Arkansas' Fourth District. The event will be on September 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Minneapolis Club. I hope you will come and meet Tom; if you do, I am confident that you will support his candidacy.
Tom grew up on a farm in Arkansas and attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was just beginning his legal career when airplanes flew into the Twin Towers in September 2001. Tom completed his clerkship commitment, practiced law long enough to pay his debts, and reported to the nearest Army recruiting office. They told him he was eminently qualified for the JAG corps; he told them that wasn't what he had in mind. Tom trained as an Army Ranger and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 101st Airborne. He served in Iraq, where he led a platoon in combat during the darkest days of the Iraq war.
At that time, the New York Times was leaking intelligence-gathering secrets as fast as it could get its hands on them. Tom wrote a letter to the editors of the Times, telling them, "You may think you have done a public service, but you have gravely endangered the lives of my soldiers and all other soldiers and innocent Iraqis here….I hope that my colleagues at the Department of Justice match the courage of my soldiers here and prosecute you and your newspaper to the fullest extent of the law." I don't think the Times ever published Tom's letter, but my web site and others did, and it became something of a sensation. Liberals claimed the letter was a fake and that no such person as Tom Cotton existed, apparently believing it impossible that anyone would give up a promising law career to fight in Iraq.
Tom served in combat in Afghanistan as well as Iraq, and was awarded the Bronze Star along with other decorations. He was discharged as a captain after five years of active duty. Since then he has worked for McKinsey, and has now returned to Arkansas to run for Congress in his home district.
The Fourth District is currently represented by a Democrat who has announced that he will not seek re-election. Tom has an excellent shot at the seat, and already has supporters across the country. He has been identified by the NRCC as one of its "Young Guns" for 2012. If we can help Tom get to Washington, he will be a leader of the GOP and the conservative movement for many years to come. Tom is not only a solid conservative, but has the drive and the ability to become one of our country's top leaders. I hope you will be able to take the opportunity to meet him and extend your support on September 26.
I took this photo of Tom at dinner after the event:
I hope you will take a moment to visit Tom's brand-new web site and contribute what you can to his campaign.


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|Image from here
Today Nugget said he wants to "draw cartoons". Either that, or be a journalist (although he had to ask what a journalist actually does. I referred him to my sister's blog).
Doo Dah said he wants to be a karate teacher so he could teach others how to do karate (complete with ninja moves. Not that he even knows karate).
Dew Drop wants to be "Bob" (the Builder for those of you beyond the pre-school years. No further discussion, just a return to his pretend screwdriver to 'fix' his car seat).
And the Minx said she is "too young to know." Okay then. (Dew Drop piped up that she could be a 'plincess' which may just have melted my heart).
Once everyone had had a turn, and they were deep in their own thoughts about their lives ahead (well, that is what I tell myself. The reality is that were probably thinking about fart jokes). Doo Dah asked me what I want to be when I grow up*.
I said "A kid".
I wonder how many of us actually became what we thought we would. I can remember that my job choices included a forensic scientist and a paediatrician. I became neither.
I hope the children find a way to enjoy their jobs and make a tidy living, whatever they end up doing. Combine that with finding a partner that rocks their world and I can't imagine a better way to live a contented life.
*I have actually been wondering when you do grow up. As I am approaching 40 I guess he means now? Right?!?


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RSBS Presents: Virtual Worlds
Computers have made our lives much easier. They do our taxes, write our research papers. They give us access to whole worlds of information we might never have known existed. Interested in particle physics? Wikipedia will give you a crash course or an even more simple explanation and then point you in the right direction to learn more. Dating a body pillow more your speed? Wikipedia can also point you in the right direction for all your assorted otaku interests.
The internet allows access to communities that might not exist otherwise or that might have steep barriers to entry. Checking the classifieds for your local branch of NAMBLA probably isn't going to reveal many results. Troll around on the right message boards and chances are that you'll gain entry relatively quickly.
However, with so much information out there, it's easy to get lost. And sometimes you just don't quite know where to start. Since we here at RSBS consider ourselves custodians of the needs of our community, we decided it might be helpful if we provided a brief primer introducing people to some of the larger worlds that exist out in cyberland.
With that, we present an RSBS guide to virtual worlds:
Second Life
If your first life isn't going so hot, why not give a second one a shot? You're a morbidly obese unemployed diabetic in the real world? That doesn't mean you can't be an Amazonian warrior goddess in the second one. Just remember to eat in the real world because that big juicy steak you're sharing with some Fabio-esque hunk doesn't count for real world calories, even if the credits are costing you real world money.
When we say Facebook here, we're really referring to the entire social networking scene. If you finally gave up on staying current a couple years ago, that means MySpace. If you really had issues, Friendster. The one thing they all have in common is allowing you to be cyber friends with people you already interact with in real life. Unfortunately, this also forces you into awkward decisions when people you don't really like attempt to friend you. Our advice for you here is to set your standards low and your privacy settings high.
Fantasy Sports
So, you think you can run a team better than Matt Millen, huh? Ok, that's a given. Some dude living in a village in Papua New Guinea could do it better. But when you get a bunch of middle aged guys together, all of whom think they're the next Theo Epstein, those thoughts intermingle and before you know it, you end up with fantasy baseball. In the interest of full disclosure, the RSBS team are both full on addicts. But that's not to say that playing fantasy will make you the next hit baseball blogger. If that kind of causality were true, all you'd have to do is hoover up a couple grams of blow to become the new manager of Texas Rangers.
The Blogosphere
Still haven't found your niche? Well, we do have one more option. Maybe you really want to share the boring, mundane details of your life with anyone who has the misfortune of stumbling across your site or maybe you're under the misguided notion that you need to forcefully champion some underrepresented opinion. Or maybe you are just convinced that the entire world wants to read your take on baseball, politics and the intersection of the two. *ahem* Well, if any of these are true, the blogosphere might be the place for you. However, the competition is fierce.
Hopefully this little guide has helped brighten up the murky waters of the internet worlds for you. If not, you can always grab one of those old AOL disks and start from scratch. If even that is too much for you, the disks also make fantastic coasters.


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|Project Details
|Einstein Center for Clinical Competency
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|Stantec, Inc.
|NATURAL CREATIONS Mystix
ColorArt MEDINTECH
How does an unfinished basement with concrete walls and no natural light become a state-of-the-art training and learning environment for medical professionals? For their transformation, the Einstein Center for Clinical Competency in Philadelphia, Pa. called Designer/Architect Tasso Karras at nearby Stantec, Inc. By using Armstrong NATURAL CREATIONS Mystix Luxury Flooring and ColorArt MEDINTECH Sheet, Tasso was able to create a warm, comfortable environment that was also a realistic representation of what the trainees would encounter in the real world.
The Simulation Center at Albert Einstein Hospital is a 6,500 square foot, state-of-the-art facility designed to give physicians, nurses and other allied health students and professionals the opportunity to learn best practices, procedures and skills in a safe environment. The Center gives students and professionals real life patient experiences with artificially created scenarios that replicate actual patient care.
But before it became a leading center for simulation education, the space the Center was slated to occupy could hardly be considered an ideal learning environment. "It was like a basement," said Tasso Karras, a senior project designer and an associate with Stantec in Philadelphia, PA. "It was on a lower level of an existing building with no natural sunlight and concrete masonry block walls. It was very institutional."
The hospital and community worked tirelessly to raise funds for the new Simulation Center and turned to Karras to bring their vision for this cutting-edge learning environment to life. "The Simulation Center needed to incorporate teaching and training spaces that mimicked the environment healthcare professionals might encounter on a regular basis," said Karras. Patient rooms, intensive care units, suture rooms, an operating room as well as several multipurpose rooms were all incorporated into the design of the Simulation Center.
"I wanted the space to be warm, but not distracting, especially since I knew some students would be spending several hours in the Simulation Center for classes," said Karras who focused on flooring in neutral colors with a natural look. Karras knew his clients wanted something outside of a traditional wood look so he suggested a luxury vinyl tile in a more contemporary pattern called sideline warm brown from the Armstrong® NATURAL CREATIONS Mystix Luxury Flooring collection.
Natural Creations Mystix Luxury Flooring includes dramatic wood, metal and stone patterned-tiles styled to express a space's ultimate fashion statement. Playful colors mix well with more neutral tones for truly innovative floor design. Mystix includes a collection of contemporary styles and colors created to reflect current and future design trends and can be easily mixed and matched with other NATURAL CREATIONS Luxury Flooring collections including EarthCuts and ArborArt. "The pattern offered texture in a neutral color and allowed me to coordinate fabric and paint colors easily in the common areas of the Simulation Center," said Karras
Performance was also important to Karras who said, "The flooring needed to stand up to not only foot traffic, but wear and tear from gurneys, wheel chairs and other rolling medical equipment." Natural Creations Mystix Luxury Flooring is as durable as it stylish, offering an abrasion-resistant wear layer with a UV-cured coating for low maintenance. Natural Creations Mystix Luxury Flooring is third-party FloorScore™ certified for low VOC emission, compliant with California Section 01350 and LEED® eligible. "Low VOCs was important to me," said Karras. "I was designing a space for healthcare students and professionals and I wanted to provide them not only with an inspiring learning environment, but a healthy one."
In addition to the common areas, Karras also specified Armstrong flooring for the Simulation Center's operating room. "I wanted the operating room to be as realistic as possible so I specified ColorArt MEDINTECH sheet flooring." ColorArt MEDINTECH Sheet is a proven industry standard, offering a broad range of colors that coordinate with Armstrong's portfolio of flooring solutions. Karras selected ColorArt Medintech Sheet in brushed sand—a soft neutral—for the Simulation Center's operating room. It is easy to find different products that connect with color since Armstrong products are designed to coordinate with each other.
Versatility is the hallmark of sheet flooring offering a winning combination of resilience, aesthetics, durability, maintainability and value. Patterns and colors are easily integrated for area-to-area design flexibility and coordination. Armstrong offers homogeneous, heterogeneous and in-laid structures for various applications. And like Natural Creations Mystix Luxury Flooring, ColorArt Medintech Sheet is third party FloorScore™ certified for low VOC emission, compliant with California Section 01350 and LEED® eligible. "My clients love the flooring. The whole Simulation Center feels warm and comfortable, and provides an excellent learning space for current and future students," said Karras.
The new Simulation Center at Einstein's Center for Clinical competency was installed in May of 2010. The partnership between Armstrong, Stantec and the Center created an environment that offers allied healthcare students learning comfort and real life patient experiences.
Armstrong is the industry's 150 plus year old trusted source for commercial flooring, offering a broad selection of flooring products with variety of colors, patterns and sustainable attributes suitable for any healthcare facility. Let Armstrong make your job a little easier by being your one-stop-shop for all your flooring needs.


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Toby Keith Not Injured As Tour Bus Catches Fire
A tour bus for country singer Toby Keith caught fire on a highway near Indianapolis, though the singer wasn't on board and no one was injured.
Lebanon fire chief Jason Lee says the bus was taking crew members to Nashville, Tenn., after a Sunday concert in Chicago when the driver spotted the flames around 4:45 a.m. Monday on Interstate 65.
The fire caused police to close the highway's southbound lanes for a couple hours about 15 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
Lee says firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the rear engine compartment. The fire badly burned the back of the bus, destroying some equipment and personal items of crew members.
Keith is scheduled to perform next at the Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert on Saturday in Norman, Okla.


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Stop !
Please tell us what you know about the bike. When was it restored ? How many miles since the rebuild. Was it re-bored ? Does it have a new top-end ?These bikes take time to break in when assembled. You may simply need a re-torque and valve adjustment. Sometimes several re-torques and valve adjustments till all is well. If you give us some simple information we may be able to help !
And, yea. We all have fallen in love with these bikes !


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Phoronix: Ex-NVIDIA Engineer Patent Issue With Open-Source
An ex-NVIDIA engineer that had a patent concerning high compression rate texture mapping attempted to attack an open-source project for supposedly violating this patent related to software graphics texture compression. The open-source software in question is Crunch and it's written by a Valve Software developer...
No announcement yet.
Ex-NVIDIA Engineer Patent Issue With Open-Source
new posts
Ex-NVIDIA Engineer Patent Issue With Open-SourceTags: None
Originally posted by -jK- View PostNot to forget that none current driver implements it in hw afaik. Mesa supports it, but I don't assume any gallium driver implements it.
My feeling was that TC formats that are arithmetically similar to S3TC could leverage existing hardware acceleration through some creative driver tricks (such as the creation of a compressed intermediate format, or transformation). Whether the performance benefits would outweigh the costs of such an implementation is unknown to me. Round pegs can fit into square holes if you make the hole bigger, or the peg smaller, or file the sides flat first.
Leave a comment:
According to Wikipedia the patent number for the claim is US5956431 which would be referenced in law docs as the 431 patent. You can see the patent here http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publi...E&locale=en_EP you can check the claims and legal status by clicking on the left hand side. If you do that then the patent office has not posted any thing indicating that the patent is now invalid. Further I see no reference to this patent at all in the Apple law suite pdf posted above. So unless this is the wrong patent I see no indications that it is now invalid. Of course that could be in another document. But this site doesn't seem to show it as being part of the law suite at all. http://tech2.in.com/news/smartphones...om-suit/316892
Wikipedia claims here that US patents are now good for 20 years from the filing date. Which from the application number US19970942860 19971002 would seem to be 1997. So we have roughly 5 more years of this shite.
Wikipedia patent length link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_of..._United_States
This is about as far as my knowledge takes me. If there are further questions I would suggest asking at Groklaw.
Leave a comment:
Not to forget that none current driver implements it in hw afaik. Mesa supports it, but I don't assume any gallium driver implements it. And if I want to compress my textures on hdd and uncompress them before sending to GPU, there are much better image formats (png, jpg, ...). You use S3TC not cause it compress so well, you use it cause it stays compressed in memory (e.g. we use it for groundtextures which would be >300MB if uncompressed), saving bandwidth & storage.
Leave a comment:
Originally posted by russofris View PostI was under the impression that FXT1 was open, and that Nvidia owned the core tech.
BC-6 & BC-7 are good candidates, but their implementation is very complex, so there is just MS's compressor so far. Also it is unknown if it is really free of patents.
Leave a comment:
Originally posted by -jK- View PostSide note, all 3d-devs want a new hw-based (open) compression format for ages but this news showed the field of image compression is already such mined, that just cause of such patents we will still work with S3TC in year 2035 - (software) patents are soo great .....
Looking at the arithmetic involved, I'm pretty certain that S3TC accelerated hardware could be made to support FXT1 due to the intrinsic similarities. I imagine that this will come at a cost though, in either performance or IQ.
Perhaps a SME could post regarding the technical hurdles that would need to be overcome.
Leave a comment:
Software patents should be abolished.
And patents should expire after 5-7 years. 20-40 years is very bad.
High compression texture mapping is a logical (and obvious)conclusion of ancient texture compression algos.
Leave a comment:
We use index maps for further compressing our DXT already since ~2005 (Doug's patent was filed 2010!) in our open-source project, and I assume many projects did so before us - such an index map is a natural conclusion from the fact that S3TC is block based.
I know (or assume) Doug just filed the patent to project his project. But the fact he uses the patent (against a non-commercial competitor) is a very bad act imo.
Not to speak from the patent office that accepted such an application ... (do they even have any knowledge of prior art?)
Side note, all 3d-devs want a new hw-based (open) compression format for ages but this news showed the field of image compression is already such mined, that just cause of such patents we will still work with S3TC in year 2035 - (software) patents are soo great .....
+1, expect item (4). The jury should decide the time the patent is granted (in a 2-7years range).Last edited by -jK-; 07-26-2012, 10:36 PM.
Leave a comment:
Originally posted by Compholio View PostIt took a little digging, but it looks portions of the S3TC patents were considered invalid for obviousness (page 276):
Maybe Valve could get some clarification for us on whether the patents are still applicable with those parts thrown out, or better yet just get HTC to give open source a free license.
Leave a comment:


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You are a talented student with a huge love of art! Spending late nights in class is what you love the most. Even though people assume you are a quiet girl, you can be blunt with your words if you need to. Customise your own character name <3
Your best friend Lixa! She's bubbly and sweet, but she's got quite a temper! Boys are quick to like her, but she's generally too busy daydreaming and being a little airheaded to notice.
Leon, the kansai-exchange student! He's cheeky, and can come off a little rude if you don't know him well enough. Although on the face of it, he seems like a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, maybe you can try and find out more about him and why he moved to Hoshigawa?
Takumi, your childhood friend. He can seem a little scary, but he's a big softie. He's a deep thinker and doesn't talk about his personal feelings much. In many ways you share in a lot of the pain that Takumi still suffers from. He seems to be quite a fan of Lixa.
Designers Notes
Hey guys! This is a mini android game that I've been working on for a while. It started off as a personal project, but I wanted to see how much I could optimise Ren'py for android so I've tried a variety of ways to make things work more smoothly! The story is light-hearted but it's one that will contain some of my personal experiences too, so it's kind of close to me! The sprites are from Tokudaya whom have a variety of free-to-use sprites for non-commerical projects, and the backgrounds are from Mao. My other project Idol-eyes will have fully customised artwork, but this is going to be small and also free!
Finally, yes it has a Japanese name. The story is set in Japan, the characters have Japanese school uniforms, and so it would make little sense to me to make the story with an English name (I know Japanese names by English creators can annoy some people which is why I brought it up.)
Oh yes, I almost forgot. Feel free to read about this and my other projects here: http://slblake.blogspot.co.uk/
I hope you enjoy what I have for you so far, please feel free to comment/critique as much as you want.
Credits: all images used were listed as free to use for non-commercial projects.


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Cedar Grove shows remarkable innovations for the time through an indoor oven and a hot-water boiler. See how these domestic features combine with a style of practical simplicity and refined elegance.
About Cedar Grove
Learn about informal country living and hear how each descendant of the family made this house a home during their time of continued occupancy. This farmhouse served as the summer residence for five generations of the Coates, Paschall and Morris families of Philadelphia. Built in 1748-50 by the wealthy widow Elizabeth Coates Paschall, the original small home of grey native stone received numerous additions over the years, with rooms which illustrate the evolving styles of the family as seen through their furnishings. They enjoyed this lovely summer home until 1888, when increased industrialization made it no longer a peaceful country retreat. They then built a large county home in Chestnut Hill and developed its gardens into what is today the Morris Arboretum. Originally located in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, Cedar Grove was moved to Fairmount Park, stone by stone, in 1926-28.
Celebrating country living, Cedar Grove has no central hall, and the downstairs rooms all have access to the piazza. The original building, in Wissahickon schist stone, consisted of only the present dining room and upper bedchambers. As succeeding generations of the family lived here, additions were made to the home, including the parlor, the kitchen and the third floor. This floor incorporated the original gable roof into what is now a gambrel or "broken pitch" roof. And later the porch was built, providing the house with its present appearance.
Interior and Furnishings
Grove contains an extensive collection of furniture and the decorative
arts, with objects in the home original to the family
and the house. This provides the rare opportunity for visitors to see these materials
displayed in a historic context. The documentation that the
family kept includes the medicinal recipe book of the house founder,
healer Elizabeth Coates Paschall, and the 1809 wedding dress and
trousseau receipts of Lydia Poultney Thompson. Cedar Grove has the stories of 150 years of
day-to-day living—the moments of happiness and those of struggle--as told through these treasured items.
The home includes innovative domestic details, such as an unusual two-sided wall of closets, an indoor bake oven and a hot-water boiler in the kitchen. The style reflects a practical simplicity from the long line of Quakers who lived here; but the furniture has an elegance that is anything but plain. See exceptional examples of early Pennsylvania furniture, including Baroque, Rococo and Federal styles. The evolution of the family's taste over the years is illustrated through objects displayed, including items from a wedding dowry in 1809, a dressing table, and a rare triple chest circa 1750.
The house is nestled in a wooded glen known as Sweet Briar Vale, for its neighbor Sweetbriar Mansion, located five minutes away. Philadelphia Museum Guide volunteers maintain a traditional colonial herb garden as part of the interpretation of the site. Cedar Grove is unusual in that it was moved from its original location in the Frankford section of Philadelphia to the western part of Fairmount Park in the early 20th century.
The Charm Symbol
Each of the Charms houses is represented individually in the logo. These key icons are based on the unique qualities of each home --- here the key represents the V shape center of the windows found at Cedar Grove.
More information:
For more information regarding Cedar Grove on the Philadelphia Museum of Art's website click here.
Visit another one of the Charms:
Laurel Hill | Lemon Hill | Mount Pleasant | Strawberry Mansion | Woodford


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Discuss all modern toys and collectibles based on any Television Series.
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.


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Here are a few quilts that caught my eye during the show.
You never know where selvages will pop up!
Cover to Cover book quilts.
|Amazing detail!
Any chance you would recognize this as a row by row?! Me either! How ingenious!!
I liked the machine quilting in the border. From a distance it looks very traditional
Plain squares with ric-rac running diagonally through them. Another terrific idea!!
I hope you've been inspired to think out of the box when making your next quilt.


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- Home
- I Want To...
- Request
- Public Records
Public Records Request
Welcome to the Public Records Request page. We want to help you submit a request to the correct department. You will find a list of commonly requested records under the "Subject" tab, or if you already know which department has the record, you can click on the "Department" tab to find links to each department's request system. If you are a member of the news media, go here to find a department communications officer.
Arizona law defines records into two types:
Non-Commercial Purpose Public Records Request: The use of public records for personal information, not for profit.
Commercial Purpose Public Records Request: The use of public records for sale or resale including any of the following (A.R.S.§39-121.03 (D)):
- Producing a document containing all or part of the copy, printout or photograph for sale.
- Obtaining of names and addresses from such public records for the purpose of solicitation or for creating a list for resale.
- For any purpose in which the purchaser can reasonably anticipate the receipt of monetary gain from the direct or indirect use of such public records.
Air Quality Compliance Documents
Air Quality Environmental Assessments
Air Quality Permitting
Animal Bite Reports
Animal Control Activity Reports
Animal Identification Reports
Board of Supervisors Actions
Board of Supervisors Agendas & Minutes
Building Permits
Certificates - Vital Records
County Contract Solicitation
County Contracts
Environmental Complaints
Fleet Maintenance Records
Flood As-Built Plans
Flood GIS Topography
Flood Plain Elevation Certificates
Food Permits
Fuel Management Inquiry
GIS Requests
Guardianship Records
HR Investigative Reports
Hydrology Models
Liability Claims Costs
Maricopa County Owned and Leased Facilities
Medical Examiner Reports
News Media
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Outstanding Checks
Ownership/Mailing Information for Property Owners
Parks Contract Information
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Personnel Files
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Public Defense Billing Records
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Roadway Project Information
Ryan White Program Data
Salary Information
Septic Permits
Site/Development Plans
Stadium District Agreements
Traffic Signal Information (County Only)
Transportation Contracts/Bids
Vendor Payment History
Zoning and Land Use Cases
Air Quality
Animal Care & Control
Clerk of the Board
Clerk of the Superior Court
Correctional Health Services (CHS)
County Attorney (MCAO)
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Human Services
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Medical Examiner
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Public Defense Services / Contract Counsel
Public Fiduciary
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Ryan White Part A
Stadium District
Superior Court
Technology / GIS
Transportation (MCDOT)
Waste Resources


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Oakland adds versatile Punto to infield mix
OAKLAND -- The A's have always valued versatility in their infielders, and on Wednesday, they added yet another one who personifies this to their growing collection.
Oakland signed 13-year veteran Nick Punto to a one-year contract with a vesting option for 2015, using its first move of the offseason to add depth to the middle infield.
OAKLAND -- The A's have always valued versatility in their infielders, and on Wednesday, they added yet another one who personifies this to their growing collection.
Oakland signed 13-year veteran Nick Punto to a one-year contract with a vesting option for 2015, using its first move of the offseason to add depth to the middle infield.
According to a source, the deal guarantees Punto $3 million, including $2.75 million in base salary for the 2014 season, along with a $250,000 buyout on a $2.75 million option for '15.
Punto, 36, has played every position except pitcher and catcher in his career, but he has spent the majority of his time at third base, second base and shortstop, most recently splitting his time at all three positions while batting .255 with two home runs and 21 RBIs in 116 games for the Dodgers.
He also went 2-for-6 in five National League Championship Series games against St. Louis, marking the fifth time in his career he's appeared on a postseason roster.
"We've been looking at him since the beginning of the offseason, looking at his versatility, his ability to play three infield positions, to switch-hit," said A's assistant general manager David Forst. "This is a role he's comfortable in and done very well over the last few seasons. He just fits in really well with the way we've built the roster here over the last couple of seasons."
Despite speculation that Jed Lowrie could be on the trading block, the A's are not expected to make their everyday shortstop available, even after signing Punto.
"We're not looking to move Jed Lowrie," manager Bob Melvin said on 95.7 The Game on Wednesday morning.
Forst confirmed this very sentiment, saying emphatically that acquiring Punto "has absolutely nothing to do with Jed. He's our starting shortstop."
"It's November, so we don't have to figure out exactly how Nick will be used right now," said Forst, "but whether it's his ability to give [third baseman] Josh [Donaldson] or Jed a day, play second base against lefties, come in late for defense or pinch-hit or pinch-run, there's a lot of things he can do, and it's nice to give Bob those options."
Punto isn't exactly an offensive threat, bringing with him a career .248 average and .680 OPS. But he did hit .309 with a .723 OPS against southpaws in 2013, upping his career clip against lefties to .263. The A's have thrived on the platoon, utilizing as many as four at a time in each of their last two seasons that culminated in division titles, and Punto may very well help form another next year.
The A's already employ a platoon of Eric Sogard and Alberto Callaspo at second base, but Punto figures to get plenty of playing time there, perhaps even allowing Callaspo -- owed $4.875 million in 2014 -- to be had in the trade market this winter.
Then again, the A's have traditionally enjoyed stockpiling infielders in advance of Spring Training and letting the roster form there.
"There's a long way to go between now and March 31," said Forst. "It's nice to have some pieces like that who can fit in different spots, and they're all very good players in their own right.
"We do feel like we've had a good mix of guys who are good and versatile at the same time, and it's really allowed Bob to move guys around and have some success with it."
Punto's vesting option was designed with a rather complicated formula, essentially based on time spent on the disabled list. Should he spend fewer than 30 days on the DL, Punto's 2015 option automatically vests. But there are also ways that happens even if it's more than 30 days, depending on the injury. If it doesn't vest, it turns into a club option.
Jane Lee is a reporter for MLB.com.


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MeritBadgeDotOrg talk:Community Portal
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
(→Links from the main site: E-mail sent to Optimist)
(→Links from the main site)
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:: Okay, E-mail sent to Optimist. (He's the only one that can edit MeritBadgeDotCom.) --'''''[[User:RWSmith|RWSmith]]''''' ''[[MeritBadgeDotOrg:Sysop|(Sysop)]]'', 16:49, January 22, 2008 (EST)
:: Okay, E-mail sent to Optimist. (He's the only one that can edit MeritBadgeDotCom.) --'''''[[User:RWSmith|RWSmith]]''''' ''[[MeritBadgeDotOrg:Sysop|(Sysop)]]'', 16:49, January 22, 2008 (EST)
Revision as of 01:43, January 23, 2008
Community Portal Discussions, a.k.a., The Cracker Barrel...
Welcome to the cracker barrel! (Would you like some cheese with that?) Discussion pages are also known, in wiki lingo as the "talk" pages. --RWSmith 05:10, March 26, 2007 (EDT)
Adding to the discussion... <-- This is the "Subject/headline"
To add (or start) a post here, simply click on the "+" sign, above. <-- And this is the body of the text. --RWSmith 05:10, March 26, 2007 (EDT)
- Pretty exciting so far (yep, I like tech stuff)! Let's see how it goes. --WVBeaver05 18:26, March 26, 2007 (EDT)
- Looks like I need to setup some stuff. Wayne
Uh, is there a problem with the "old" Discussion Forums?
I can't open them. I get a SQL error. Sounds serious. Is it related to this test site or just coincidence? --WVBeaver05 21:00, March 26, 2007 (EDT)
- MeritBadge.net is back up and running as of 9:20 EDT --Optimist 21:34, March 26, 2007 (EDT)
Sample Subjects / Threads
I think it would be good if we could create some sample subjects and add a few threads to them to see how this will work compared to the "old" discussion forum.
What do you all think? --WVBeaver05 07:19, March 28, 2007 (EDT)
Go ahead and try something thats why you were recommended to try it --Wagionvigil
First impressions on the new site
What were your first impressions on the new site and the wiki format?
Mine were very positive. I was pleased to see this set up as a wiki, so that information from many sources could be combined, with out overloading a few volunteers. It was apparently set up in a clear and very easy to maneuver format. Kudos to those who started this. --SM890 15:35, April 7, 2007 (EDT)
- I think it's great! I contribute to wikipedia and wanted to incorporate wiki on the Philippine Merit Badge website, but just didn't find time. Kudos to all. Great job indeed. -- Jay Lee 14:47, April 10, 2007 (EDT)
Likewise, I like the Wiki format. As a technology director for a school district, I would like to state that this is a great way top get many involved and to provide quality resources to the boys and leaders. I applaud the use of MediaWiki (I use it too) and would suggest that you think of incorporating the captcha routine to keep SPAMmers and others from abusing the login. I have used these captchas successfuly. Just a suggestion... --Sm777 22:21, June 24, 2007 (EDT)
First impression? I liked the old meritbadge.com format better. It was more userfriendly and was just more fun to use. The skin was great as well. Now, this site is great too, but it has much to be desired to be on par with meritbadge.com. I'm ready and willing to help do whatever you need to make this site better. However, if it were possible, try to incorporate the old skin with the wiki skin. The wiki one just seems too... Plain. Besides that, excellent site! I look forward to using it further on. One suggestion however- where are the merit badge worksheets? --Swim4lyfe 19:21, July 2, 2007 (EDT) I really like the new layout, I think it makes it easier to read and access information. I'm sure it will look stupendous when it is complete. As of now, there are many pages that should, I think, be redirected to other pages. For example, until I edited it, Small Boat Sailing did not link to the Small-Boat Sailing Merit Badge. This might confuse people. Great Job!--BigTuna 14:10, July 5, 2007 (EDT)
Categorization of merit badge pages
Completed placing categories under each merit badge page [[Category:Boy Scouts]] [[Category:Merit Badges]]. --Jay Lee 18:07, April 11, 2007 (EDT)
- I may be a little late, but i would suggest making a merit badge template and a rank template, etc. to put on each page. that way, i you decide to change the organization, it is very easy. --Yakatz 22:52, April 11, 2007 (EDT)
- here is how it's done http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Template --Yakatz 23:02, April 11, 2007 (EDT)
- We can probably use the templates for Merit Badge groups and stuff. Its been a long time since I did a template I forgot all about it already. Jay Lee 01:27, April 12, 2007 (EDT)
- I knew there was a better way! I knew why; but my brain lock-up on the how – templates. Oh well. Learning process. By the way... Thanks, Jay!----RWSmith 02:51, April 12, 2007 (EDT)
How about a page that categorizes all merit badges by type, like Outdoors (Sports, Athletics, etc), Eagle Required, Environmental (Bird Study, Nature, etc), and so on? I'm sure it'd be a great way for those looking for certain merit badge genres to find what they want quick and be satisfied. --Swim4lyfe 19:24, July 2, 2007 (EDT)
Award images
I'm trying to find out what the white knot on a purple background was, but having to go through all the pages is a chore (is it even here?). Could someone with more knowledge of awards and badges go through and make a few tables? Blast 10:26, May 12, 2007 (EDT)
- Ah, here they are. I'll see if I can't whip something together in the way of a table, then. Blast 10:33, May 12, 2007 (EDT)
User Page template
I'd like to suggest a User Page template for use on, well, User Pages. That way the pages can be categorized by this template.--BigTuna 12:05, July 25, 2007 (EDT)
- Maybe something like this? {{User talk header}}... (Developed by Yakatz) --RWSmith 04:04, July 26, 2007 (EDT)
If you want to leave a message, please do it at the bottom as a new section, for better formatting. You can do that by simply pressing the plus sign (+) on the top of this page. And don't forget to sign your messages by four tildes, like this: ~~~~
Attention: We, Wikipedians, dislike fragmented discussions. If you leave a comment for me here, I will most likely respond to it on this same page, my talk page, as an effort to keep the entire conversation in one place. By the same token, if I leave a comment on your talk page, please respond to it there. Remember, we can use our watchlist to keep track of when responses are made. At the same time, feel free to send an alert to me on this page about a comment you have left elsewhere.
Thank you!
Well, that's a user TALK template. I meant for the actual pages.--BigTuna 11:09, July 31, 2007 (EDT) As in user:BigTuna as opposed to user_talk:BigTuna.--BigTuna 07:47, August 3, 2007 (EDT)
Acceptable page topics
Howdy fellow MeritBadgeDotOrg-ians! I have a question: any appropriate Scouting-related subject can become a page? Not just merit badges? As in, a page on the Order of the Arrow, Wood Badge, National Youth Leader Training, and many others that are currently redlinks? Or even basic concepts like "Council" and "District;" how can you understand what the District Award of Merit is if you don't know what a district is? If so, I have no problems with "stealing" from wikipedia and/or typing some stuff up myself. I will look for a response either here or on my talk page. —ScouterSig 17:54, September 10, 2007 (EDT)
- Welcome, ScouterSig! Our primary mission is "helping Scouts advance". However, anything and everything that's Scouting-related... and constructive... is okay by me. So, go for it!!! In fact, we need editors (and mentors) to grow the Main namespace. (I'm working on the back-office (admin) stuff.) And again, welcome aboard!!! ---RWSmith (Sysop), 03:59, September 11, 2007 (EDT)
I think that all the merit badges should have the category Category:Boy Scouts removed, since Category:Merit Badges both fits better and is already applied to all the pages. If this seems OK, I may start on it this week. —ScouterSig 23:56, October 9, 2007 (EDT)
Links from the main site
I went though the trouble :) of creating an account to inform you ( even though im sure you already know) that every single merit badge on meritbadge.com links to a page with a 404 ( page not found) error. can someone put this on top of thier to do list since im sure its a major turn off [Scouter01]
- Ooh! That is bad. I'll e-mail Optimist about this problem. Thanks for letting us know. --RWSmith (Sysop), 04:08, January 22, 2008 (EST)
thanks. its been like that for a while


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Giorgio Modelli - Real Style, Real Shoes, for Real People


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Haven't found anything yet?
• Living world: living room, bedroom, hallway, office, bar
• High quality - made in germany
• Material: non-woven
• Highly wash resistant - good lightfastness – dry strippable
• Design match: offset match 21,3 cm / 8.39 "
Queens 2013
Your own home. A place in which to relax and feel at ease, to live and laugh in, to entertain friends or to be alone in. In which to breathe deeply in the midst of all the hurly-burly of a fascinating metropolis – a small work of art that this wallpaper collection succeeds in creating quite wonderfully. Quietly assertive, the high-quality designs create a varied composition effortlessly combining modern and natural styles. In addition to silver, red, petrol and soft earth colours, the Queens wallpapers also work well with pastel colours - as if the crazy world of the city were seen in soft focus. The question of where the nicest places are answers itself
references: Rasch


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Yes, it's absurd that a special edition BMW M6 Gran Coupe costs $458,000. No, you shouldn't buy it even if it honors the Year of the Horse. Doesn't matter if there are only six of them. Still ridiculous.
In fact, Earthbound And Down picked up on that ridiculousness:
Too bad it's not the Year of the Cow, because BMW is milking the shit out of the Chinese market.
Got ya there, BMW. We'll see ourselves out.
Photo: BMW


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Connect with members and get the latest state and local news.
Keep up with the latest innovations and expertise in diabetes care technology.
Professional resources, opportunities and tools from AADE with education, information, and solutions to help the practice of
Diabetes Education.
Managing diabetes is challenging. But Diabetes Education helps people live long, healthy lives. Find resources for use with patients and caregivers
MY AADE NETWORK is designed to help members learn more about what's going on at the local and state levels, and in the industry. State Coordinating Bodies (CBs), Local Networking Groups (LNGs), and Communities of Interest (COIs) all utilize this community platform to create better member access for peer-to-peer professional development.


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I am currently working on a freelance writing project on the works of Satyajit Ray's cinema.
My major concentration is on the style of Ray's film making: portrayal of his characters, composing his storyline and the musical scores.
I need your valuable suggestions and comment on this subject.
I also solicitate your reccomendations about the materials to consult, for my research works.


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Recommended reading for cops
If you're looking for just one more gift idea for an LE loved one who enjoys reading or you're a bookworm and have an as-yet-unused gift card burning a hole in your pocket, this list may be of use to you
Regular readers of this space know that I have two hobbies — I shoot stuff and I read stuff — and with Christmas now just three short days away, it is time for my annual book list. If you're looking for just one more gift idea for an LE loved one who enjoys reading, this list may be of use to you. Further, if you're a bookworm and have an as-yet-unused gift card burning a hole in your pocket, I'm sure Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local mom-and-pop book shop would gladly fix you up. During the past 12 months, I've read every one of the books listed below — three of them I read this year for the second or third time — with the exception of three, all of which just recently came into my possession or just came out in print.
Let's begin with those three unread items, shall we?
For starters, I recently received an email from a fellow journalist named Robyn Walensky who has written what looks like a very compelling read on the Casey Anthony case and trial. In writing Beautiful Life?, Walensky interviewed CSIs and detectives from the Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office. From my initial glance, it looks like she got a lot of great information the jury was never allowed to hear (go figure!). I barely know Ms. Walensky — a "veteran news reporter and anchor who has been covering crime, terrorism, politics, and breaking news for more than twenty years in both radio and television" — but during my brief phone and email interactions with her, well, I just get a feeling she's "one of the good ones" who truly understand and support police officers. Perhaps my intuition is incorrect, but presently that's my belief. I'll let you know my better-educated conclusion once I've read her book.
Next on the list to read in coming weeks is a book I learned about from a friend of mine — again, another scribe like me. It's called Tell to Win and it's by Peter Gruber. I recently received my copy from Amazon and just from perusing the inside front jacket I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this book. It says, in part, "Historically, stories have always been igniters of action, moving people to do things. But only recently has it become clear that purposeful stories — those created with a specific mission in mind — are absolutely essential in persuading others to support a vision, dream, or cause."
Um, wow. I wish I had been the person to pen those sentences because I agree completely with the sentiment!
Finally, I'm a die-hard Tom Clancy fan — have been since The Hunt For Red October was brand-spakin' new and Clancy was unknown to all but a few of us "geeks" when that came out during my Junior year in High School. Well, Clancy's latest — Locked On — came out on December 13th and it's taken all of my willpower to not buy it for myself. I wait in hopeful anticipation that Mrs. Claus will lay a copy beneath the Wyllie family Christmas tree this year.
2011 Book List, Fiction, Checked!
Speaking of Clancy, another of his books which merits consideration for your bookshelf or eReader device is Against All Enemies, which came out in late June of this year. I had finished it before the Independence Day Holiday. Great stuff.
Another work of "fiction" is one about which I've recently written. Simply said, John Weisman's Kill Bin Laden is a riveting read. In the pages of this book, you will find perhaps the most accurate and vivid account of the hunt for and the mission to kill the terrorist leader than any newspaper, magazine, or TV account we've seen yet. Weisman, a former trainer for Heckler & Koch and Team One Network has trained some of the top tier warriors about whom he writes. His wit is razor sharp, his research meticulous, and his characters believable and enjoyable. I own just about every book John Weisman has ever written — most of them first editions in hardcover — and now that I've had the time to speak with him directly on the phone I can safely say I've begun with John Weisman a friendship that I'm hopeful will last many years into the future.
A brief word on fictional works. I believe strongly in the therapeutic value in flexing your imagination — daydreaming, in a way — in the pages of fictional works which take you on an impossibly unlikely adventure. Novels which center on a single protagonist's unnatural physical abilities, sheer cunning, and amazing 'way with the ladies' are not only fun to read, they can actually enhance your health. Reading a "heart-pounding adventure" can, at certain times and in certain people, trigger the release of endorphins which are known to reduce stress, arrest the sensation of pain, and actually lead to feelings of "euphoria."
So, in my constant quest for this natural high, in spring of this year I happily found a series of four books by Brett Battles. I began with The Cleaner (2008), moved quickly to The Deceived (2009), then on to Shadow of Betrayal (2010), ending my "set" of Jonathan Quinn novels with The Silenced (2011).
Another set of four novels read this year by yours truly is the great work of Jack Coughlin, a retired Gunnery Sergeant of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). I discovered him due to an Amazon "recommendation" to check out his autobiography, (more on this book in a minute). After reading that book about his extraordinary life I began my adventures with fictional Marine sniper Kyle Swanson in his debut Kill Zone (2007). I then read Dead Shot (2009), Clean Kill (2010) and Act of Treason (2011). Awesome fun.
2011 Book List, Non Fiction, Checked!
Let's keep going with Jack Coughlin. As I mentioned, I first learned of him through his book Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper. Coughlin was with the Third Battalion, Fourth Regiment Marines during the drive to Baghdad and has operated on a wide range of assignments in hotspots around the world. There were points during my time reading this book that I had to intentionally remind myself, "This is not a novel!" It reads like a thriller but in fact is Coughlin's own, first-person, accounts and observations on the modern battlefield from Somalia to Iraq.
Another work of non-fiction which reads like a hair-raising thriller novel is The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. There was a quiet period during the spring when no new books were coming out, and I had read all the ones on my shelf, so I was faced with the question, "Which of these should I read a second (or third) time?" Well, The Gift of Fear was an easy choice. Some of the accounts he uses seem like they're out of a movie or a TV show on the Lifetime channel (not that I watch a ton of Lifetime channel movies). But these are real people — the stories told in this book are about de Becker's clients — whose real-life brushes with death instruct us to trust our instincts, pay attention to the telltale signs of danger, and to act on those "gut feelings" that a situation is just not right.
Speaking of "instruction" this list would be woefully incomplete without one more book about which I have previously written. No other firearms training book has had as much of a positive influence on my abilities than Building a Better Gunfighter by my friend and PoliceOne colleague Dick Fairburn. Despite the fact that he's tackling some pretty heady stuff, Fairburn is straightforward in his language and delivers a delightful read. The way in which he breaks down the three Ms — Marksmanship, Mechanics, and Mindset — and advises a training technique he calls the Circular Staircase have both radically helped me in my own range training. Great, great instruction from a man I consider to also be a great friend.
Speaking of great friends, in closing this column I simply must mention the many works of Chuck Remsberg, particularly Blood Lessons. Chuck has been a mentor to me since my first days here at PoliceOne, and I'd have a hard time counting the number of times I've read Blood Lessons. I have two copies, actually. I have one that sits on my bedside table at home, and one that sits on my desk at work. Every so often — probably about once a week — I flip it open to a story of the life-and-death struggle between cops and bag guys. Conservatively figuring it, with 25 chapters being read and re-read at a rate of around 50 times a year — taken over a three-and-a-half year period — I would have to believe I've read Blood Lessons in the area of six or seven times. Maybe more, who knows? It's simply not a book I read cover to cover. I take bites of it to sate my appetite, and I cannot imagine any cop out there who wouldn't have a similar "relationship" to this amazing piece of writing.
Looking Ahead to 2012
I've read a great many more books than just this during 2011, but this list should get you started with a few ideas for last-minute holiday gift-giving. Add your own suggestions in the comments area below. There is a wealth of great books (and great writers), and I'm eager to hear from you which titles should be added to my 2012 list. On that note, let me finish by speaking directly to the authors and publishers out there.
In my position as PoliceOne editor, I get a lot of books mailed to me from out of the clear blue sky. Many of those books make it into conversations I have with cops, get quoted in my PoliceOne tactical tips, or get a full "review" by yours truly. However, sometimes I must politely decline the opportunity to even crack the spine on a book because, well, the people who sent it to me clearly were not paying much attention to my interests. For example, I will forever remain mystified that anyone would think I'd be even remotely interested in a book entitled In Defense of Flogging. Yeah, seriously, someone really actually did send me a copy of that this year! No thanks. I think I'll just save that one for the next time someone invites me to a "White Elephant Party."
So please, if you're an author or a publisher and you want to send me your work, go ahead and knock yourself out. If it is of interest to me, perhaps I'll end up including it on this list for Christmas 2012. But please don't be offended if you never hear a word from me on your manuscript. I won't write negatively about stuff I'm not interested in — I simply won't write anything at all.
- Tags
- Patrol Issues


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With draft's importance, Prospects Game is pivotalby Mike G. Morreale
CALGARY -- Calgary native and former NHL player Tim Hunter said he knows just how important the NHL Draft has become during the past decade.
Following a 16-year career with the Flames, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks, Hunter served as an assistant coach for three NHL teams. He's seen many top players drafted and develop into NHL stars while others struggle to rekindle that magic they once had as juniors.
"You can't make a mistake and take a flyer on someone with the hope he'll be a player," Hunter said. "You have to be precise on your positions at the draft."
Team Cherry (Coach Jim Peplinski)
Goalies: Ty Edmonds, Prince George, WHL; Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth, OHL
Defense: Anthony DeAngelo, Sarnia, OHL; Haydn Fleury, Red Deer, WHL; Aaron Irving, Edmonton, WHL; Roland McKeown, Kingston, OHL; ^Jacob Middleton, Ottawa, OHL; *Nelson Nogier, Saskatoon, WHL; Alexis Vanier, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL
Forwards: Daniel Audette, Sherbrooke, QMJHL; Ivan Barbashev, Moncton, QMJHL; Conner Bleackley, Red Deer, WHL; Michael Dal Colle, Oshawa, OHL; Chase De Leo, Portland, WHL; Robert Fabbri, Guelph, OHL; Nikolay Goldobin, Sarnia, OHL; Ryan MacInnis, Kitchener, OHL; Matt Mistele, Plymouth, OHL; Sam Reinhart, Kootenay, WHL; Nick Ritchie, Peterborough, OHL; Nikita Scherbak, Saskatoon, WHL
Team Orr (Coach Tim Hunter)
Goalies: Julio Billia, Chicoutimi, QMJHL; Mason McDonald, Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL
Defense: Aaron Ekblad, Barrie, OHL; Aaron Haydon, Niagara, OHL; Julius Honka, Swift Current, WHL; Brycen Martin, Swift Current, WHL; Alex Peters, Plymouth, OHL; Ben Thomas, Calgary, WHL
Forwards: *Samuel Bennett, Kingston, OHL; Clark Bishop, Cape Breton, QMJHL; Blake Clarke, North Bay, OHL; Eric Cornel, Peterborough, OHL; Leon Draisaitl, Prince Albert, WHL; Nikolaj Ehlers, Halifax, QMJHL; Josh Ho-Sang, Windsor, OHL; Brendan Lemieux, Barrie, OHL; Jared McCann, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL; Brendan Perlini, Niagara, OHL; ^Brayden Point, Moose Jaw, WHL; Jake Virtanen, Calgary, WHL; Spencer Watson, Kingston, OHL
*- injured and unable to participate
^- injury replacement
Hunter will have the opportunity to get a first-hand glimpse of many of the brightest 2014 NHL Draft-eligible prospects in action Wednesday when he works the bench as coach for Team Orr at the 2014 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The 19th annual Top Prospects Game will showcase 40 of the Canadian Hockey League's top draft-eligible players, featuring talent from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
One player who won't be participating is center Samuel Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He sustained a groin injury last week. Bennett, began the week fourth in the OHL with 66 points in 40 games, on Monday was named the No. 1 skater in NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American prospects for the 2014 draft.
"This is an event that all NHL scouts look forward to attending," NHL Central Scouting Director Dan Marr said. "The 40 players competing in this game were chosen by the 30 NHL clubs with the game being a unique opportunity to evaluate 40 of the top draft-eligible prospects on a single stage in what has annually become an intense competition."
The rosters include many of the top-rated players recognized on NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings for North American skaters and goaltenders.
"A lot of NHL teams are targeting the key areas; not just skill but character and hockey sense," Hunter said. "There's no room for error. The draft has become a vital tool for every franchise. I'm just glad the kids have these types of opportunities and scouts have a way to make solid evaluations."
Team Cherry coach Jim Peplinski, who played 11 seasons in the League and won a Stanley Cup alongside Hunter with the Flames in 1989, doesn't deny the fact players today are better equipped to handle the rigors of the NHL.
"I'm a firm believer in the older we get, the better we were," Peplinski said. "There's no question the game today is faster and different. The one thing that is similar for scouts and NHL teams is the fact it's a lot better to see prospects against better competition than average competition. Today's players have a lot more experience on the world stage and in stressful situations than what we had 30 years ago.
"I'm not worried about the players being nervous at this game. The one thing I would look at when determining if a particular player can play for my organization is how they perform against players comparable or better. Fans and scouts get that chance at this game."
Last year's game featured 19 players who were taken in the first round of the 2013 draft, including top-10 selections Nathan MacKinnon (No. 1, Colorado Avalanche), Jonathan Drouin (No. 3, Tampa Bay Lightning), Seth Jones (No. 4, Nashville Predators), Sean Monahan (No. 6, Calgary Flames), Darnell Nurse (No. 7, Edmonton Oilers) and Bo Horvat (No. 9, Vancouver Canucks).
Since the event was introduced in 1996, the game has featured 11 players chosen with the first pick in the NHL draft, including Chris Phillips (Ottawa Senators, 1996), Joe Thornton (Boston Bruins, 1997), Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning, 1998), Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets, 2002), Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2003), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks, 2007), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2008), John Tavares (New York Islanders, 2009), Taylor Hall (Edmonton Oilers, 2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers, 2011) and MacKinnon.
The first choice of the 2012 draft, Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting of the OHL, sat out the 2012 Prospects Game after sustaining an ankle injury at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice (WHL) will be the captain for Team Cherry and Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts (OHL) will be the captain for Team Orr. They were teammates with Canada at the 2014 WJC in Malmo, Sweden. Canada finished fourth in the tournament.
Joining Reinhart with letters on their jersey for Team Cherry will be alternate captains Roland McKeown of the Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) and Ivan Barbashev of the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL). Wearing letters for Team Orr along with Ekblad will be alternate captains Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) and Nikolaj Ehlers of the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL).
In addition to Bennett, Saskatoon Blades defenseman Nelson Nogier was invited but will be unable to participate due to injury.


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That is why I won't date religious guys.
Is that "nice guy" in the cartoon Jackie Chan?
If you call Jackie a bad man, you're taking your life in your hands.
Is that sung to the tune of "I Feel for You" substituting "Jackie Chan" for "Chaka Khan"?
Ive had that happened. I replied with "but you seemed like such a smart girl" in short, we are no longer dating.


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This is the DVD that redefines bowling training videos with 20 high-quality lessons, sharp graphics and a step-by-step approach to improving your game.
From the moment you press play, you will be accessing 30 years of PBA knowledge from bowling legend Norm Duke. Norm will share with you the things that have made him a PBA Hall of Fame member and earned him the reputation of the most versatile bowler in history. You are sure to elevate your game to the next level and beyond. This is a must have video for any league or tournament bowler.
These lessons were filmed using a full production crew and the latest high-tech equipment to give you the best quality learning experience. Filled with 87 minutes of bowling principles, tips, exercises and stunning graphics, this is the video that will improve your game immediately and permanently.


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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Melissa Zornig's open three-pointer at the buzzer hit off the back of the rim and it kept UC Santa Barbara winless on the road as the Gauchos lost a heartbreaker, 52-51 at New Mexico State on Monday night.
UCSB held its largest lead of the game at 44-36 with 9:00 remaining, but watched it dwindle away when New Mexico State's Erica Sanchez hit a pair of three-pointers in a 43-second span to give NMSU a 47-46 lead with 5:07 left.
Another trey by Kaitlyn Soto pushed the lead to 50-46 before Zornig buried a three from the corner after the teams traded baskets to make it a one-point game with 0:49 left.
Tabytha Wampler missed the front end of a one-and-one with just under five seconds left and Emilie Johnson pushed the ball up to Zornig, whose attempt at a game-winner just missed.
The loss dropped UCSB to 4-6 overall – and 0-4 on the road – while NMSU snapped an eight-game losing streak and won its first game at home this season. New Mexco State improves to 2-8.
UCSB, known as defensive stalwarts this season, only allowed the 52 points, but the Aggies did it on even 50% shooting. Santa Barbara hadn't allowed its previous six opponents to score 50 points and had allowed opponents to shoot just 35.5% on the season.
Sweets Underwood and Zornig led the Gauchos with 13 points apiece while Kirsten Tilleman and Nicole Nesbit each had 10 points.
The Gauchos play at UTEP (10-0) on Wednesday with tip-off at 6:00 pm PDT. The game can be heard live online by clicking here with the pre-game show starting a half-hour prior to tip-off.


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How to Choose a Vet for Your Chickens
If you plan to raise chickens, you must find a good veterinarian who treats poultry. Don't wait until a bird gets sick. Know where to go before an emergency arises in your flock; you'll save valuable time looking for a vet. Your best resources are livestock vets, university animal hospitals, and the county extension office.
Almost every county in the United States has a county Extension office, which is an outreach of a university — often a university with agricultural and veterinary medicine schools. Your Extension agent, or educator as they are sometimes called, should be able to refer you to poultry researchers and labs that can diagnose problems with chickens. In some states, diagnostic work is done for free, but in most states you have to pay a fee for the service.
If your Extension educator doesn't have an answer, he or she has resources at the college to turn to for help. You can find your county Extension office by looking in the phone book's government section, usually under "county government." You can also go to www.csrees.usda.gov and click Local Extension Office under the Quick Links heading. When the U.S. map appears, click on your state. A county map will appear. Click on your county for contact information.
Don't assume that a vet will treat chickens. Some small animal vets consider chickens livestock and won't treat them, but others may if they treat exotic birds in their practice because they are familiar with birds. Even some large animal vets may not know much about chickens and prefer not to work with them. But livestock vets often have close ties with university animal hospitals and can refer you to a source of help.


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Shalom, and a warm welcome to the InterNations Community for expats in Tel Aviv! InterNations is a network for expatriates in cities across the globe through which our members can share tips and advice about living and working abroad, as well as meet up offline at events and by joining groups. If you've recently moved to Tel Aviv or are considering doing so, you'll find a wealth of knowledge here, with our members always happy to answer any questions you might have. You may be wondering, "is it easy to find international schools in Tel Aviv?" or "how easy is it to get by in Tel Aviv if I only speak English?". Whatever your question, the members of our community are sure to have the requisite knowledge to help you out.
With InterNations, you never stand alone. Whether you move to another city or go on a business trip somewhere — our communities are there to make you feel at home wherever you are in the world. Feel free to also check out our other vibrant InterNations Communities like the ones in Hong Kong or Riyadh.
Attend our monthly events and activities for Tel Aviv expatriates to get to know like-minded expatriates in real life.
Get trustworthy advice and local insights from fellow members in our Tel Aviv expat forums.
Tel Aviv is the center of much of the Israeli economy for finance and industry, which, combined with its liberal culture, makes it a popular destination for tourists and expatriates alike. The proximity to the coastline means that you'll be able to make the most of the great weather, while the fascinating mix of cultures has led to some of the best cuisine in the Middle East. A modern and cosmopolitan city, Tel Aviv is known for its liberal attitudes, and most Western expats should feel right at home when they compare it to the more conservative Jerusalem. Whatever you're here for, you're sure to find Tel Aviv an endlessly fascinating, yet relaxing, place to be.
InterNations is the largest global network for expatriates, with communities in 420 cities across the globe. Get to know fellow internationals in your city, before you're moving, or when traveling somewhere and never feel like a stranger. InterNations makes it easy for you to stay in touch with your expat friends, both online and offline, so you can grow your network of friends and contacts from all over the world. Whether they live in Dubai or Singapore, InterNations allows you to be close to them even if they are miles away.
Our members here on InterNations all go through a careful approval process to ensure that you get the best advice possible and that your interactions with fellow expats and global minds, both online and offline, will all be safe and helpful. Our members are always happy to help newcomers and answer any questions they might have, so don't hesitate to join up and start talking to other international people. If you want to go further, you can also take things offline — you can join a variety of groups, whether it's for the arts, food and drink, or sports. Our larger social events for the entire community are also great opportunities for both personal and business networking, and should be taken advantage of whenever they come along!


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Get started checking out restaurants and food - you will
have an option to create an account at checkout if desired.
Enter Your Address
Please give us 24 hours notice for more than 2 platters.
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Delivering 7 days a week 11:00am - 9:00pm
7:00am - 11:00am breakfast orders available with 24 hrs notice.


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Go here for the original post of the Think Out Loud show featuring PSU Prof. Natan Meir on OPB.
As unrest continues in Ukraine and the country's Crimean peninsula is poised for a vote on whether to rejoin Russia, the U.S. is attempting to wield influence by diplomacy. President Obama has spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin and has said that the U.S. will not recognize the "so-called referendum."
On Wednesday we aired a conversation with Masha Gessen, a Russian-American journalist who wrote a book about Putin as well as one profiling the protest art collective Pussy Riot. On Thursday we're sitting down with Portland State University'sNatan Meir, who has written about Jewish history in Kiev. Meir says the outcome of this conflict will define what Europe looks like, and have an impact on international relations between east and west more broadly.
How closely are you following events in Ukraine? What questions do you have about the unrest in the region?