text:
not registered yet?
join now!
join with facebook
The No.1 Website for Pro Audio
The No.1 Website for Pro Audio
Today's Posts
Mark Forums Read
Best Gear
Deal Zone
Gear Database
Pro Q+A
Music Biz Articles
Tips & Techniques
Video Vault
Directory / Jobs
Posting Guidelines
Support Us
deal zone
gear database
Pro Q+A
Best Studio Gear
Today's Posts
support us
our advertisers
Gear Database
Gear for sale
Login / Join
Join with Facebook
I would like to join
I am already a member
Remember Me?
Connect with Facebook
Gearslutz is part-supported by our visitors. When you buy products through links across our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Learn more
Mark Forums Read
Open Contacts Popup
Social Groups
User Control Panel
Edit Avatar
Edit Your Details
Edit Options
Tips & Techniques
Video Vault
Directory / Jobs
Support Us
The Forums
Last post
AES 2019 - 147th Audio Engineering Society Show, NYC
News, coverage, rumours, discussion, gossip, pics & videos from the show floor at the 147th AES Convention in New York City - co-located once again with the concurrent NAB Show - October 16-19, 2019.
AES 2019: Tannoy Gold - the next generation of studio monitors
54 minutes ago by
Best Studio Gear
The gear that the Gearslutz community talks about the most.
Sponsored By
Ten of the Best FREE Effects Plug-Ins
2 hours ago by
So Much Gear, So Little Time
General recording equipment discussion + session politics.
Music Business Articles
Studio Business
Sponsored By
Michael Rother and Neu! gear and sound?
10 minutes ago by
High End
The expensive stuff!
Sponsored By
Amphion... Beautiful
1 hour ago by
Low End Theory
Big sounds out of small pockets, a don't-break-the-bank recording gear think-tank.
Sponsored By
Warm Audio Wa-47 or Wa-251
2 minutes ago by
Newbie Audio Engineering + Production Question Zone
Rudimentary/basic/newbie questions should be posted here. Selected threads may be moved here from other sub forums at the discretion of the forum staff.
Is it a bad idea to record vocals on a dynamic mic?
1 hour ago by
Audio Life
An off-topic discussion zone for sharing & getting help with life hacks, tips, everyday issues, fun stuff and more.
The Good News Channel
Life Hacks
Career / Work
Work/Life Balance
Health and Hearing Loss
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Hobbies, Sport, Holidays, Movies, TV Shows and Downtime
Personal Stuff
Gear free zone - shoot the breeze
Sponsored By
Do any washing machines made today not suck
1 hour ago by
hello people
So Many Guitars, So Little Time
Guitars (electric/acoustic/bass/etc), pedals, effects, amps, cabs, backline, pickups, accessories and more!
Sponsored By
Searching for Vintage speaker IRs ??? Do they Exist?
2 hours ago by
Bruxo Negro
Music Computers
Computers, software, plug-ins, interfaces, peripherals & issues relating to them.
DAW Talk - DAW-specific subforums are here
Sponsored By
Mobile High End Laptop for music production
17 minutes ago by
DAW Talk
Digital audio workstation-specific subforums for help, tips, advice, news and discussion.
Ableton Live
Apple Logic Pro
Avid Pro Tools
Bitwig Studio
Cakewalk Sonar
Cockos Reaper
Harrison Mixbus
MOTU Digital Performer
PreSonus Studio One
Propellerhead Reason
Steinberg Cubase + Nuendo
Other DAWs
Alternatives to Pro Tools Ultimate with HDX
9 minutes ago by
Brent Hahn
iOS + Android Music + Audio Production Apps + Peripherals
Everything about mobile sound creation and manipulation with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows Phone and others. Apps, hardware, accessories & techniques.
under $200.00 best lightning stereo mic for video shure/rode/zoom
1 day ago by
dharma one
Remote Possibilities in Location Recording & Production
From Acoustic to Electric Music Environments & Beyond + Live Performance, Mobile/Location Production & Broadcasting. Moderated by Steve Remote of Aura Sonic Ltd. NYC, NY USA
All Things Technical
Mobile & Location Rigs
Gear, Crew & Musician Jobs & Referrals
Powered By
Zoom F series or SD Mix Pre doubling as audio interface (headphone amp?)
3 hours ago by
Live Sound
Live Sound Reinforcement
Stage Lighting
JBL EON 1 portable system, or continue with powered speakers?
2 hours ago by
Pro Sound Guy
Rap + Hip Hop Engineering and Production
Trade tips with fellow hip hop & rap engineers & producers.
Post your rap, hiphop & urban music here
Sponsored By
Trip-Hop from the Pros!
8 hours ago by
Mastering Forum
All things to do with mastering audio!
Mastering for Beginners
Audio Transfers, Restoration and Archiving
Where to
Sponsored By
Comparing a Vinyl Master to my original mix. Realistic expectations?
49 minutes ago by
Studio Building / Acoustics
Post studio construction and acoustics questions here
Bass traps, acoustic panels, foam etc
Photo diaries of recording studio construction projects
Knauf Insulation Board with ECOSE® Technology
18 minutes ago by
Geekslutz Forum
A forum for techie geekie nerds! Debate diodes, talk tubes & evaluate the potential of potentiometers!
DIY electronic build + refurbishment photo diaries
A spark from tube mic power supply
2 hours ago by
Ox Han
Electronic Music Instruments and Electronic Music Production
Electronic Music Instruments + Electronic Music Production.
Post your electronic music here
Label and Industry Offers
Electronic Instrument User Reviews Link
Modular Mania (quick link)
Electronic Music Q+A Archive
Sponsored By
Recording Lead Synths like a Vocalist?
2 minutes ago by
Modular Mania - All Things Eurorack and Modular Synths/Effects
Discuss your modular setups! Synths, effects, patch cables, power, controllers and more!
Modular Mania Moderator Thread Picks
Which particular Attenuators do you like and why? Plus Attenuverters...
1 hour ago by
Post Production forum
Audio Post Production for Television, Film, Video and Radio.
Post Jobs Offered
Video Production and Post-Production
Sponsored By
Voice over - increase voice as music increases, or increase music duck?
5 hours ago by
Brent Hahn
Music For Picture
Discuss the composition & creation, production, licensing and ins and outs of music for film, TV, commercials and any other motion picture sync.
Music For Games
How to proceed in joining a PRO? (newbie questions)
3 hours ago by
VR (Virtual Reality), Immersive + Ambisonics
A new subforum for the discussion of virtual reality, immersive and Ambisonics production in both the music and audio post/game audio production worlds!
Sponsored By
Affordable mics for immersive sound
7 hours ago by
Connectors, Cables, Stands and Accessories
All the stuff you need to to hook your gear up. Leads, Looms, Snakes, Cable Converters, Stands, Covers, Cases etc
How to connect as many synths as possible to a audio interface?
2 hours ago by
Talk about the nuts & bolts of getting the song down on paper before the gear is remotely a worry.
Lyricist's Corner
Post your rough demos
1 hour ago by
Gearslutz en Español
Pro Audio discusiones en Español!
Aston spirit vs shure sm7b ??? I need more mic profesional no sibilant
1 day ago by
Want to collaborate with other members on music or audio projects? Use this forum to seek out like-minded souls to help pursue your creative endeavours. (Beta)
Looking for a producer / engineer for 80s style pop record
3 hours ago by
Read-only archive of old forums.
Piracy discussions
Hurricane Sandy
New mobile responsive web design for Gearslutz.com
Music Business
The Big Sweetwater Mic Shootout 2017
The Sweetwater Virtual Mic Shootout 2018
Sweetwater's Virtual Mic Shootout
1 week ago by
Lynn Fuston
Last post
New Product Alert
Manufacturers and equipment PR companies you can post your New Product (only) press releases here. The latest news from the last few months.
Product Alerts older than 2 months
Sample, Loop, and Preset Libraries
New Products - Coming soon
Sponsored By
Acustica Audio releases Scarlet4: The mastering EQ that rules them all
6 minutes ago by
User Reviews
Write reviews of studio gear - review your whole studio!
Pro Audio News
Other pro audio-related news and discussion not specifically about new product announcements.
Focal Celebrates 40 Years in Business
5 days ago by
The Press Desk
Competitions! Click here for our latest contests + giveaways!
Events - Audio events, trade shows + meet-ups worldwide
Gearslutz YouTube Channel
Reports from International Trade Shows , New Product Walkthroughs, In Depth Product Reviews and More!
The Moan Zone
Session getting you down? Stuck in a rut? The shrink is in! Hop on the couch and spill the beans. An engineer & producer self help group. Stick to audio related / recording session issues - No politics, religion, off topic stuff please!
WARNING: Potentially dishonest trader
9 hours ago by
Gadgets Gadgets Gadgets
Cameras, HiFi, TV, Gadgets, Electronics etc!
$400 Multisport watch...
6 days ago by
For those we have lost. Memorials, RIPs and Obituaries
A place to remember and honour fellow engineers, producers, audio industry people & artists who are no longer with us.
Ed Cherney RIP
6 hours ago by
Introduce yourself to the Gearslutz community! Where are you from? What kind of music or audio do you create or work on? What are some of your key pieces of gear?
Greetings you slutz!! Lol
3 hours ago by
Synth Guru
Gearslutz Instagram
Check out a curated stream of cool gear/studio/instrument snaps from our Instagram page
Captain's Blog
News from the forum founder, Jules Standen
Last post
Gearslutz Secondhand Gear Classifieds
Buy & sell secondhand gear in the world's largest pro audio Classifieds. You can also promote your eBay auctions & Reverb.com listings.
Neumann TLM 103
3 hours ago by
Deal Zone
Found a genuine bargain on some new gear or software and want to let others know? Looking to save a bit of cash on your next purchase? Have a peek inside!
Sponsored By
Hot Deals & Sales thread (This is not a discussion thread)
12 hours ago by
GS DealZone
Mic pres
Compressors + Limiters
DAW interfaces
Pro Tools
Gear Shootouts / Audio File Uploads / Interviews / Podcasts
Last post
Gear Shoot-Outs / Sound File Comparisons / Audio Tests
Evaluating AD/DA loops by means of Audio Diffmaker
23 hours ago by
Work In Progress / Advice Requested / Show and Tell / Artist Showcase / Mix-Offs
Bats Brew Halloween Music video.....turn it up!
13 hours ago by
Podcasts and Interviews
Jules' interview of Woody from Mackie about Onyx 820i, 1220i, 1620i, 1640i consoles
15th September 2009 by
Q+A Archives
Last post
Expert Question and Answer Archives
Visit our Electronic Music Q+A archive here
Q+A with Andrew Scheps
Q+A with Geoff Emerick
Q+A with Che Pope - brought to you by Universal Audio
Q+A with Vance Powell - brought to you by Universal Audio
pureMix Live - Universal Audio Apollo Artist Session with Joel Hamilton and Lyrics Born - July 8, 2017
Q+A with Jacquire King - brought to you by Universal Audio
Q+A with Robb Allan
Q+A with Mark Needham
Q+A with Sylvia Massy - round 2
Q+A with Dave Jerden
Q+A with Ross Hogarth
Q+A with Sylvia Massy
Q+A with Howie Weinberg
Q+A with Michael Beinhorn
Q+A with engineer Al Schmitt
Q+A with engineer / producer Jay Messina
Q+A with Eric Valentine
Q+A with engineer Phill Brown
Q+A with producer / engineer Ken Scott
Q+A with engineer / producer / artist - Alan Parsons
Q+A with Butch Vig
The Miloco producer interview series
Q+A with Tommy Lee & The Public Record
Q+A with producer John Leckie
International Music Software Trade Association Q+A
Q+A with Tony Maserati
Q+A with Dave Pensado
Q+A with Daniel Lanois
Downloads, the future - Q+A forum with expert guests from CD Baby, Tunecore and Nimbit
Q+A with Haydn Bendall, Mick Glossop, Mike Howlett and Tony Platt
Q+A with Russell Elevado
Q+A with Tchad Blake
Q+A with Justin Frankel (designer of Reaper)
Q+A with Kevin Killen
Q+A with Bruce Swedien
Chuck Ainlay, Ed Cherney, Frank Filipetti, George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt
Q+A with Michael H. Brauer
Q+A with Mike Shipley
Q+A with Charles Dye
Q+A with Dave Derr (designer of the Distressor compressor)
Stop Presses! A little "thank-you" bonus for all Q+A participants from MWTM...
31st May 2019 by
Mark Forums Read
View Forum Leaders
What's Going On
Gearslutz Statistics
Threads: 1,028,322, Posts: 12,162,840, Members: 371,832
Currently Active Users: 3916 (408 members and 3508 guests)
Most users ever online was 31,166, 30th August 2019 at 10:23 PM.
Welcome to our newest member,
Contact Us
Terms Of Use
Privacy Policy
All Advertisers
Advertise with us
-- Gearslutz Logo
---- Gearslutz Mobile
---- Gearsz Logo
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Gearslutz.com LTD - UK Company Number 7597610 (England & Wales).
Registered Office - Suite 19, Maple Court, Grove Park, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 3LW.
By using this site, you agree to
our use of cookies
Code by
Port Forward
. Hosted by
Nimbus Hosting
Gearslutz Members don't see this.
Join here
for free!


text:
This cannot be. Playboy Buddy Rose, contemptible scourge of the Pacific Northwest, practitioner of vile villainy and kilt burning, is talking to dachshunds.
Long distance.
"Presley and Pixie, they're my babies," Rose said last month after a swing to the East Coast separated him from his wife, Tammy, and their prize-winning dachshunds. "They were crying when I was leaving. I called home and they knew it was me talking."
Well, of course. For 30 years, when Rose has spoken, all manner of man and beast has paid heed. With a compelling presence in and out of the ring, Rose, nee Paul Perschmann, carved a niche as one of pro wrestling's most memorable heels throughout the 1970s and 1990s.
His career, if not his love of dachshunds, will be front and center this week, when the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC), a fraternal wrestling organization, honors Rose, 51, at its annual reunion in Las Vegas.
"It's an honor to be associated with all the legends of professional wrestling over time," Rose told SLAM! Wrestling. "It's nice to see some of the people that paved the road to help me have a career and some of the people that came after me."
A fan as a kid in the Midwest, Rose made the transition from sitting in chairs to swinging them after he was trained by legends Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in their famous "wrestling barn."
He entered the mat wars in December 1973, going to a 15-minute draw in Wisconsin against another Gagne-trained newcomer, Bob Remus, later known as Sgt. Slaughter.
After initially working in Gagne's American Wrestling Association and in Texas, Perschmann morphed into the haughty, heavyset Rose for Portland promoter Don Owen in 1976 and immediately became the region's headlining heel, holding the Pacific Northwest singles title eight times.
While Rose wrestled all around North America, he might be remembered most for his work in those Portland-Seattle area rings, particularly against Roddy Piper.
In 1979-80, Rose teamed with Ed Wiskoski (aka Col. DeBeers; also a 2004 CAC honoree) in a series of brutal tag matches against Piper and Killer Tim Brooks.
Those encounters spun into an unforgettable singles program that reached a true "flashpoint" when Rose stole Piper's Scottish kilt and set it on fire during a television promo. Piper and Rose tried to settle the score in a serious of bouts that stipulated the loser would have his head shaved.
In fact, the locks of fan favorite Red Bastien fell prey to Rose's tonsorial skills in the run-up to the Rose-Piper matches. But Piper got the final say when he pinned Rose in a steel cage match in Portland that featured Bastien, now the president of the Cauliflower Alley Club, as special referee.
"Buddy's a good guy. A real pro, and very respectful of the business," Bastien recalled.
Rose appeared in the WWF in the early 1980s against world champion Bob Backlund, and was in the first match at WrestleMania I, losing as the masked Executioner to Tito Santana. The reason for the mask - despite the telltale girth - was simple; he said. WWF booker George Scott didn't want "Playboy Buddy Rose" to lose at WrestleMania.
He spent much of the mid-1980s in the AWA, where he teamed with Doug Somers in a series of bloodbaths against the Midnight Rockers team of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. A televised match from 1986 still makes the round of tape traders and is considered one of the top matches of the year.
Rose and Somers even captured the AWA tag belts, but Rose looks back on his partnership with Wiskoski with more fondness. The two held the Pacific Northwest tag belts multiple times and twice were world champions in the San Francisco market.
"God love Doug Somers, but when Ed and I teamed up against the Rockers, we had much better matches," he said. "We both could wrestle technically, and we both could bump great, but we still had completely different styles. When I did interviews I was like the Ray Stevens-kind of barking guy, and he was the educated one, talking with the bigger words."
So it's fitting that Rose and Wiskoski, who co-own a wrestling school near their homes in Washington state, will be recognized together at the CAC event. What's more, a third member of the Class of 2004, Ed Moretti, can attribute his first ring in-ring mauling to Rose.
In 1978, as the U.S. champion in the Los Angeles territory, Rose taunted the crowd in the famed Olympic Auditorium, claiming he could take on all challengers.
He chose Moretti from the audience and delivered a bloody and convincing thrashing designed to portray himself as a ruthless rival for his real challenger, Hector Guerrero.
"I knew Ed Moretti was going to work with me. I said, 'Hey, he's never wrestled, but he knows what to do, so let me have this little thing with him.'
"Now, here we are 25 years later, and with Col. DeBeers, whom I first met in 1975 when I was going through Kansas City," Rose said. "It's pretty nice the way it worked out."
Far from being a stereotypical jovial big guy, Rose used his ample bulk to raise fans' ire. He insisted that ring announcers check him in at 217 pounds (he was a good 40-60 pounds heavier for most of his career) to help sharpen his arrogant, over-the-top persona.
To caricature his character, Rose created the "Blow Away" diet for a series of TV vignettes. He sprinkled some white dust on himself, turned on a fan, and magically "blew away" excess poundage.
In fact, with apologies to Dr. Atkins, the weight-reducing powder was nothing more than Tide laundry detergent.
"I didn't lose any weight, but I sure smelled a lot better," Rose laughed. "It was a part of the gimmick."
Yet Rose was surprisingly nimble for his size. He could perform one-arm pushups and nip-ups, and take more than his share of bumps to help advance the status of up-and-coming stars like the late Jay Youngblood, whom he considered one of the five best wrestlers he ever faced.
"No matter what shape my opponents were in - normally, they were in much better shape looking than me - I was always the all-around athlete," he said. "The babyface, when he made his comeback, believe me, I was all over the place, falling on my head on the floor, doing the flips in the corner."
And he was just as willing to stand up to executives who wronged him as opponents like Piper or Jimmy Snuka. Rose caused a stir in 1979 when he publicly dressed down San Francisco promoter Roy Shire during a show at the Cow Palace.
Rose had just returned from a minor disciplinary action by the California athletic commission. Though he had been cleared to wrestle, Shire sent two other wrestlers to the ring to fight for Rose's U.S championship belt. Rose entered the ring after the first fall and berated Shire's actions in a very real speech that took many fans behind the happy fa�ade of pro wrestling.
"It was pretty unprecedented for the time, but it was the right thing to do," he reflected. "And I wouldn't say my career was affected by it. In fact, I got a lot of support from other wrestlers."
And he's likely to get even more when he steps on stage at the Plaza Hotel and Casino at the Cauliflower Alley Club gathering this week.
"I saw parts of the world I never imagined as a kid ... New York City, Japan, Nigeria, you name it. I went 30 years without a serious injury. It was a great run."
For more on Buddy Rose, visit his site at www.playboybuddyrose.com. For more on the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, check out Greg Oliver's reports from Las Vegas, this weekend on SLAM! Wrestling and read the archived reports from previous years in our special CAC section.
Steven Johnson is a writer in Virginia. He can be reached at email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Meme Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: An Interview with Limor Shifman (Part Three)/
Discussion of the internet is often polarized between those who stress the personalized or individualistic nature of net culture and those who see the network as a form of collective behavior. How might the idea of the meme clarify this discussion?
I think that the idea of internet memes is so powerful precisely because it bridges these two perceptions. While internet memes are all about individuals creating content, they are also all about individuals creating content with awareness of each other. Memes not only involve pervasive mimicry, they are also based on intense collaborative work and complex multi-participant choreographies. Moreover, studies conducted by Ryan Milner, Assaf Nissenbaum and Kate Miltner show that memes function as a type of cultural capital: knowledge about memes and the "right" ways to use them have become a marker of membership in some communities. In these contexts the duality of being both an individual and a part of a community is flagged on a daily basis: community members are expected to be original, but not too original, when creating memes.
Throughout, you place a strong emphasis on the visual nature of the meme as a mode of communication. What do you see as the implications of this shift towards the visual in contemporary net culture?
The implications of the visual turn are pervasive, going way beyond my somewhat narrow emphasis on memes. Within the scope of the book I discuss this issue mainly in the political context. I claim that visual display allows greater integration between politics and pop culture, as it becomes extremely easy to Photoshop the US president's head on the body of a Jedi knight, for instance. A second implication of the visual nature of internet memes relates to their polysemic potential, that is, their tendency to be open to multiple readings. Whereas in verbal jokes the target of mockery and the scorn expressed towards it are often clear, the openness of visual images and the lack of a clear narrative may invoke contrasting interpretations. A third implication relates to memes' global spread: Images may potentially cross international borders much more easily than words. However, such international flows still depend on local norms and conversions: In some cases, images need to be replaced or localized to make sense in new territories. For example, in the book I describe the migration of the American "Successful Black Guy" meme to Israel, which resulted in a local take titled "Akiva, the Humanist Ultra-Orthodox". I am currently exploring some other implications of this, focusing on photo-based memes. It seems that meme creators subvert some of the fundamental roles traditionally associated with photography, such as the notion of photographs as "windows to reality". But I've just started thinking about these issues so I hope to have more to say in a couple of months…
Let's talk a bit about what gets excluded in a meme culture. Are there some groups or individuals who are excluded -- either implicitly or explicitly -- from meme culture? Is it easier to use memes to support dominant frames of reference rather than to challenge existing structures of belief?
This is a crucial issue which I address only briefly in the book. It would certainly appear that many groups and individuals are excluded from meme culture. Ryan Milner's current work on memes traces some of the racist and misogynist modes of discourse emerging in 4chan and reddit—prominent meme hubs that seem to be governed by white, privileged men. He shows that both gender and race representations in these websites are dominated by familiar hegemonic stereotypes. The framing of these stereotypes as ironic lulz is used in many cases to whitewash exclusion. At the very same time, Milner notes that at least in relation to gender, misogynistic framings are often resisted and attacked by many participants. It is extremely important to continue thinking about these issues and broaden our scope of investigation beyond the major meme hubs. Phenomena such as "Shit X says", which generated heated debates about sensitive issues, may constitute interesting cases for further research.
My main assertion in the book is that we should take memes seriously. And doing that also means – to a large extent – critically examining the power dynamics that constitute memes and that are constituted by them.
Limor Shifman is a Senior Lectureer at the Department of Communication and Journalism, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is the author of Memes in Digital Culture (MIT Press, 2013) and Televised Humor and Social Cleavages in Israel (Magness Press, 2008 [in Hebrew]). Her work focuses on the intertwining of three fields: communication technologies, popular culture and the social construction of humor. Shifman's journal articles explore phenomena such as internet-based humor about gender, politics and ethnicity; jokes and user-generated globalization; and memetic YouTube videos.


text:
Strength in numbers: International Day of Cooperatives
2 July 2010, Rome – Education, information, and productive assets are among the resources that cooperatives can provide to women in rural areas, empowering them to become active agents of change, FAO said in a message to mark the 3 July observance of the International Day of Cooperatives.
FAO said cooperatives could provide "a safe environment where women increase their self-confidence, identify their own challenges, make decisions and manage risks." But the Organization also said more needed to be done to boost the participation of women in agricultural cooperatives, and to document their involvement in such organizations.
The theme for this year's observance is Cooperative enterprise empowers women. It ties into the 15th year of the Beijing Platform for Action, which sets out an international agenda for women's empowerment. The Platform for Action underwent a major review this year, with a view to overcoming remaining obstacles and new challenges, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals.
As the lead UN agency in the fight against hunger and extreme poverty through agriculture, FAO works with producers' organizations and cooperatives to support both rural women and men who are small producers in agriculture and who, otherwise, might not gain access to the resources or services they need to improve their livelihoods.
"Cooperatives can provide a wide range of economic and social services to women in rural areas. These include access to input and output markets, as well as financial services such as credit and insurance. By acting collectively within cooperatives, women increase their bargaining power and income while redufcing their transaction costs. In addition, cooperatives play an important role in job creation by directly supporting productive self‐employment and generating additional employment opportunities," FAO said.
Cooperatives provide over 100 million jobs fworldwide, 20 percent more than multi-national enterprises, according to the International Cooperative Alliance.
In addition to encouraging the formation of women-only cooperatives, FAO encourages women to take leadership roles in "mixed" cooperatives, where the participation of both men and women bring together complementary skills and perspectives that can equally benefit all members.
But women's active involvement and leadership in agricultural cooperatives continues to be "rather low," said FAO, although it also said there was a need for more data on the extent of their involvement.
"Beyond the social, political and economic constraints, women often face cultural barriers that restrict their involvement in public meetings or that place their domestic responsibilities before their economic or social involvement in agricultural cooperatives. In some countries, this is due to the basic fact that only owners and tenants of land, most often men, can become members of agricultural cooperatives or that the fee charged for cooperative membership is beyond the means of economically dependent rural women," the Organization statement said.
FAO called on development programmes and projects to consider earmarking resources and setting quotas specifically geared towards improving women's skills and participation in producers' organizations and cooperatives and towards increasing the capacity of cooperatives to address the needs of both men and women.
"The effective participation of women in cooperatives is key for redressing some of the imbalances between women and men in decision-making processes related to agriculture and rural development."
As it issued the statement, FAO was concluding a study, along with other Rome-based UN agencies and their partners, on the strengthening of rural institutions, with case studies from various countries.


text:
Are you getting tired of working at only 50% efficiency? This list of quick tips, optimizations and productivity strategies will get you working at 100% power in no time.
Read them, apply them, and watch as your work output improves, your time input decreases, and your lifestyle shoots right up dramatically. Let's go:
Personal Productivity Tip #1: Micro-test your work times.
Do you often find that you're more efficient and productive in the mornings? Shape your work day around those times.
For example, spent a week or two working with different day times for your major workload, and see which one produces the best results. After the quick test period, shape your workday around those peak times and watch your results increase.
Personal Productivity Tip #2: Remind yourself to work.
This can be as simple as posting a message on your laptop screen or setting a new desktop wallpaper.
Get an inspirational quote, a personal message, or even just a text file saying "get more done." These changes aren't huge, but they'll teach you how to improve personal productivity like no other.
Personal Productivity Tip #3: Limit and restrict yourself.
Are you often tempted to waste time on irrelevant websites? Use a Firefox plug in (Leechblock is one of the best) to make sure that you don't waste any more time on websites that aren't directly related to your work output.
Personal Productivity Tip #4: Don't look for optimizations, look for major changes.
What major problems are sucking up most of your work time and minimizing the amount of time that you can spend on your workload? For many, the things that waste the most time aren't the things that are easiest to change.
Spend a couple of weeks working on the big changes, and then use the small optimizations to improve your stable work platform.
By applying these quick tips, you'll learn how to improve personal productivity, boost your work output, and enjoy a lifestyle that isn't 100% dominated by work.


text:
There is much speculation about where quarterback Alex Smith will land in 2013.
Is he a fit in Kansas City, where new coach Andy Reid will be looking for an upgrade from Matt Cassel? Could he be headed to the Arizona Cardinals, where Kevin Kolb hasn't worked out? Might he go to the Jaguars? The Browns? The Jets?
Plenty of teams in the NFL reportedly are intrigued by Smith, who lost his starting job with the 49ers in November when head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to stay with Colin Kaepernick when Kaepernick stepped in when Smith suffered a concussion.
Smith had led the 49ers to a 6-2 record in 2012 and was leading the NFL in completion percentage when he was knocked out in a game against the St. Louis Rams, And, he had quarterbacked the 49ers into the NFC Championship Game in 2011 after helping the team to a 13-3 regular-season record.
If the 49ers were to release him, Smith undoubtedly would be a hot commodity in the free-agent market.
Smith's ability to play mistake-free football the past couple of seasons – while making the big play when necessary – has vaulted him to wanted-man status and wiped away the shaky reputation he had in his early years in San Francisco, when he struggled under a succession of head coaches and offensive coordinators.
"I'll tell you what you've got," former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt told the Kansas City Star, when assessing Smith's talents recently. "You ever play golf? Scramble? Well, Smith's the guy you want on your team because he won't win it for you by hitting it 500 yards and all this other stuff, but he might win it for you by hitting it right down the middle every time."
But what if the 49ers throw the rest of the league a curveball and decide to keep Smith? The common line of thinking is he's too expensive to keep around on the roster as a backup to Kaepernick, due for a salary of $7.5 million and a roster bonus of $1 million.
But as Bay Area News Group Columnist Mark Purdy wrote earlier this week, the Niners might be able to afford that in 2013 because Kaepernick will cost so little – just about $1.2 million against the salary cap – and Smith is an excellent insurance policy.
Kaepernick, after all, is a running quarterback and always vulnerable to injury (if, that is, defenders can catch him).
As Purdy wrote, who would the 49ers feel more comfortable coming in to lead the team, Smith or Scott Tolzien, the current No. 3, if Kaepernick goes down? Obviously, it would be Smith.
Plus, Smith has been nothing but a good teammate since Kaepernick took over. It's hard to picture him making a fuss about being kept on the team in a backup role. It just doesn't seem to be in his nature.
"If Smith were a different type of personality, it might be a risk to keep him around," Purdy wrote. "But he's the kind of guy who understands the NFL's business model."
As Jim Harbaugh said this week, just because Smith would like to go somewhere else to be a No. 1 doesn't mean that's in the best interest of the 49ers to accommodate him.
"I don't think any player (asking for his release) has those wishes granted when they're under contract," Harbaugh told reporters, noting Smith is signed for two more seasons. "And everything's different. Every scenario is unique. It's certainly not something we're going to delve into and get into specifics."
Plus, the 49ers could hold on to Smith for a while and see what develops while also playing keep-away from the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals have some good talent and a new head coach in Bruce Arians, but have struggled to find an effective quarterback. Smith might be the perfect fit – yet it would boost a division rival, something the 49ers might want to avoid. Especially with the Seahawks emerging as a power and the Rams also likely to improve under Jeff Fisher.
NFL analyst John Clayton of ESPN spoke about that scenario this week.
"I would have to think that if (Smith) is released, he'll make a beeline to Arizona and compete against the 49ers two times a year for the next several years," Clayton told an Arizona radio station, according to CBS Sports. "Knowing the 49ers probably don't want (that), the best thing to do is hang on to him and see if you can trade him to an AFC team, maybe the Cleveland Browns. I think the Browns would be the most interested."


text:
[Pomperipossa Records # PRLP3]
Full length 24 bit wav DL [36:24].
Cover image: Maria von Hausswolff
Cut by Jason @ Transition
1. back to the station
2. cutting the screen
drøne: Mark Van Hoen & Mike Harding
"I love everything about this release. Such a great presentation and exciting project! And most important: the music is sublime." [Label boss Anna von Hausswolff]
oleg belyaev - baroque 'cello
charlie campagna - 'cello
paul haslinger - piano
philip jeck - pulse
bethan kellough - violin, viola
marie takahashi - baroque viola
anna von hausswolff - voices
baritone guitar & cymbals
dulcimer & psaltery
field recordings
lorenz cipher machine
1877 henry willis organ
short wave
Disruption between then and now/memory and presence, dulcimer, psaltery, 'cellos, violas and violin embroider radio, static, stray voices and electronics… 'a perfect blind' is the second album by drøne (Mark Van Hoen & Mike Harding) with an array of guest artists, including label supremo Anna von Hausswolff, dreamer and composer Paul Haslinger, field recordist and sound designer Charlie Campagna and Touch artists Bethan Kellough & Philip Jeck. Strings by Seattle-based Marie Takahashi and Oleg Belyaev are also layered into this complex and perhaps more musical offering. Moving in all directions, 'a perfect blind' continues where 'reversing into the future' [pomperipossa records, 2016] left off;
'a perfect blind' was conceived and designed in Los Angeles with organ recordings from London (at Union Chapel), short wave radio, treated voices and other archaic sound sources.
A stunning front cover image by Maria von Hausswolff and miss-taken typography by Nico embrace this sense of dislocation; as the mediaeval language which enfolds our collapsing 19th Century institutions fails to find relevance, our sense of entrapment in the old is accompanied by an assault on the senses. The destabilising effect of "post-truth" adds to our sense of unbelonging, of being elsewhere, observers not participants.
'a perfect blind' is the term used for the best possible observation point where the viewer is unseen by the object of interest. Is this the best place to be? Memories which slowly fade away, also reverse back from the past shoving us into the future...
What they said about 'reversing into the future', released also on Pomperipossa Records in 2016:
"This thrilling piece – surely the most kinetic non-dancefloor record in an age" [Lend Me your Ears]
"The collisions of these sounds where out of the hands of their creators. When composing, there would be no way to fully predict or control the result. Rather than the paths wandered by so much of contemporary Electroacoustic Music, I was hearing the result of an adventure, and risk." [The Hum]
"…hurtle we do on broad beams of warm synth past pizzicato pulses, snaking sines, sparkling glass, telecom crackles and radio leakage towards the audio equivalent of a black hole. Constantly brimming with energy, yet filled with rich contrasts, the parade manages to be both musical and non-musical and seems different on each subsequent playback, maintaining its curiosity and charm." [The Quietus]
"...parched, summoning a buzzing electrical field of layered tones embedded with fragmentary melodies and prone to melt and squeeze with an amorphous, tarmac-prickling quality that gives off noxious, hypnagogic gases. It could be used to soundtrack some sci-fi flick filmed in the valleys below them…" [Boomkat]
'reversing into the future' is still available on Bandcamp: thisstrangelife.bandcamp.com
See also 'schubert dip' - music from the classical period given the drøne treatment
Released by Pomperipossa Records
Published by Field Music
pomperipossarecords.com | field.nu/drone
drøne@field.nu | @dronefield
Further information/reviewsFor more information, please visit this product's webpage.


text:
Police constables in London will be recruited exclusively from people who live in the capital, it has been announced today.
For the first time in its history, the Metropolitan Police Service will recruit exclusively from Londoners in a bit to ensure the force is "more resilient and more reflective of the city it serves".
The Met said it is on track to recruit 5,000 new police constables before 2016 to maintain police numbers at or around 32,000, as pledged in London Mayor Boris Johnson's 2012 election manifesto.
The new policy means that from Friday, August 1, only job candidates who have lived in Greater London for three of the last six years will now be eligible to apply at entry level.
The Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: "London is a 24/7 global city with a dynamic and intensity not seen in other parts of the UK.
"And with London's population increasing and becoming even more diverse it is essential that our workforce is able to maintain the trust and confidence of London's communities.
"Recruiting Constables with a knowledge and understanding of this reality through living in the capital makes sense to help us achieve this aim.
"They will have a better understanding of local issues, knowledge of local communities and an inbuilt insight into London's varied cultures. We need great talent to help us fight crime."
Mr Johnson said: "It is vital that London's police force reflects the city it serves. Recent recruitment rounds have attracted a more diverse pool of applicants, but by focusing exclusively on Londoners from now on, we can achieve our goals more quickly.
"By putting Londoners first, we can fill the Met's ranks with the talented recruits who understand the people and culture of this great global city the best.
"Every police officer is always and will always be selected on merit, but there is more than enough talent in this great city to give the Met all the devoted and skilled new recruits they need to go on keeping Londoners safe."
The policy change will not affect serving officers, existing Met staff, members of the Special Constabulary, or existing police officers seeking to transfer from other UK forces.
People who live outside Greater London will still be able to apply to become an MPS Special Constable, Police Community Support Officer, or member of police staff, or under the existing recruitment process for a Police Constable, until Thursday, July 31.
What do you think? Should London's police be made up of only Londoners? Leave a comment below or email: email@example.com.


text:
NAME | Synopsis | Description | Options | SSL OPTIONS | Examples | Exit Status | Attributes | See Also | Notes
install-path/ds6/bin/entrycmp [-D bindDN] [-w password] [-n] [-p port] [-j file] [-T timeout] [-J file] [-W keypassword] [-K keydbpath] [-N certname] [-P certdbpath] [-e SSL port] ServerSpec entryDN
The entrycmp command compares the same entry on two or more different servers. An entry is retrieved from the master and the nsuniqueid of the entry is used to retrieve the same entry from a specified consumer. All the attributes and values of the two entries are compared. If they are identical, the entries are considered to be the same.
The following options are supported:
The distinguished name with which to bind to the server. This parameter is optional if the server is configured to support anonymous access. If a DN is specified in the ServerSpec, this overrides the -D option.
If specifying the default password at the command-line poses a security risk, the password can be stored in a file. The -j option specifies this file.
Specifies that entrycmp should not run in interactive mode. Running in interactive mode allows you to re-enter the bindDN, password, host and port, if a bind error occurs.
The TCP port used by Directory Server. The default port is 389. If a port is specified in the ServerSpec, this overrides the -p option.
Specifies the number of seconds after which entrycmp will time out if the server connection goes down.
The password associated with the distinguished name specified by the -D option. If a password is specified in the ServerSpec, this overrides the -w option.
The DN of the entry that you wish to compare.
The server specification. The server specification is of one of the following forms.
-s|-S HostSpec [-c|-C HostSpec ...]
-c|-C HostSpec [-s|-S HostSpec ...]
Here, -s refers to the supplier replica. -c refers to the consumer replica. Lower case specifies non-SSL options. Upper case specifies SSL options.
The host specification, which takes the form [bindDN:[password]]@]host[:port]. The following is an example:
If you are using SSL, use -S and -C in the server specification. In this case, HostSpec specifies the certificate name and key password, rather than the bindDN and password. Specifying both more than one -s, and also more than one -c generates an error. If no -c option is specified, the -s HostSpec may refer to any server, either a consumer or a supplier.
You can use the following options to specify that entrycmp uses LDAPS when communicating with the Directory Server. You can also use these options if you want to use certificate-based authentication. These options are valid only when LDAPS has been turned on and configured.
Default SSL port, 636.
This option has the same function as the -j option, for the key password.
Specifies the name of the certificate key used for certificate-based client authentication. For example, -K Server-Key.
Specifies the certificate name to use for certificate-based client authentication. For example, - N Server-Cert. If this option is specified, the -W option is required.
Specifies the location of the certificate database.
Specifies the password for the certificate database identified by the -P option. For example, -W serverpassword.
$ entrycmp -D cn=admin,cn=Administrators,cn=config -w mypword \ -s myserver:1389 "uid=csmith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
The following exit values are returned:
Successful completion, that is a match was found.
An error occurred, and no match was found.
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
Stability Level
insync(1), repldisc(1)
The node on which you are running the entrycmp, insync, and repldisc tools must be able to reach all the specified hosts. If these hosts are unavailable due to a firewall, VPN, or other network setup reasons, you will encounter difficulties using these tools. For the same reason ensure that all servers are up and running before using these tools.
When identifying hosts, you must use either symbolic names or IP addresses for all hosts since the replication monitoring commands do not address resolution between symbolic names and IP addresses. Using a combination of the two can cause problems. Moreover, on multi-homed hosts, referring to the same Directory Server instance using different names may cause unexpected results.
When SSL is enabled, the directory server on which you are running the tools must have a copy of all the certificates used by the other servers in the topology.
The replication monitoring tools rely on access to cn=config to obtain the replication status. This should be taken into account particularly when replication is configured over SSL.
NAME | Synopsis | Description | Options | SSL OPTIONS | Examples | Exit Status | Attributes | See Also | Notes


text:
Slum Film Festival
(3rd -12th August) 2012
Submission Eligibility
· The festival welcomes film submissions of any country that are made by and about the slums.
· You may submit short films of all production techniques and genre including drama (maximum duration 20mins), documentary (maximum duration 20mins), music (maximum duration 20mins), Public Service Announcement (maximum duration 1mins), and Community News reporting or feature (maximum duration 10mins). Exploitation and pornography genres are not eligible.
A Public Service Announcement (PSA) is a type of advertisement featured on media with an intention of public interest by raising awareness of an issue affecting public attitudes and potentially stimulating action. Mostly they talk of health, environmental issues.
· The primary contact completing the application form must be authorized to submit the film for consideration including permission from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and must have obtained necessary permission for the inclusion of copyrighted music and/or images within the films.
Submission Format
Films for consideration must be submitted on DVD only. The title, screening format and running time must be clearly labeled on the DVD cover. Submitted copies will not be returned.
Entry Fees
There are no any fees charges for submission of any films.
Deadline All entry forms, film submissions must be received by 5pm on 15th June 2012.
Selection and Notification
We will confirm that we have received your entry by email.
Every submission is watched from start to finish and reviewed by an invited jury that includes the festival organizers and professional filmmakers. Films are selected based on the quality of narrative and production values – regardless of budget.
If your entry is selected, you may be asked to supply a screening format of your film. You will be advised of the format we require, publicity material and important shipping information. Due to restrictions of screening facilities at some venues, DVD may be the format that films are screened. Successful entrants will be notified of their inclusion in the festival by 30 June 2012.
A list of all films selected will be made available on our website http://www.slumfilmfestival.wordpress.com. We aim to contact all unsuccessful applicants by 30th June 2012. The festival cannot enter into individual correspondence regarding films that have not been selected.
Foreign Language Films
If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled in English.
The festival reserves the right to reproduce stills and clips of selected films for festival publicity – this includes print, festival trailers, website promotion, press, TV coverage and screenings to promote the event. The festival will publish the email and telephone number for the primary contact and distributor in the festival catalogue of all films selected for the programme.
Submissions should be sent to:
Festival Submissions Slum Film Festival 2012 c/o Hot Sun Foundation Kibera Olympic
PO BOX 30933, Nairobi, Kenya.
If you have any queries, please email: firstname.lastname@example.com or call +254 020 251 6909. 9:00am-4:30 pm +3GMT. We look forward to receiving your films.
Slum Film Festival
(3rd-12th August) 2012
Please TYPE or PRINT your information clearly
Film Details
Film Title: _____________________________________________________
Date of Completion: _____________________________________________
Running Time: _____MINS SECS
Original Format
HD o HDV o DV o Other, please specify:
Digital Screening Formats Available (please tick all that are available)
DVD o
Aspect Ratio
4:3 o 16:9 o
Audio Format
Stereo o
If stereo, does your soundtrack make use of stereo effects? YES/NO*
If your film includes music, is it original?
Yes o No o
If no, has all copyright clearance been received in respect of your entry?
Yes o No o
(It is the filmmaker's responsibility to obtain copyright clearance)
Main Genre (please only tick one)
oCommunity news reporting or feature
oPublic Service Announcement (PSA)
Other, please specify:
Short Synopsis (50 words maximum)
Main Credits
Director: ______________________________________________________
Writer: ________________________________________________________
Producer: _____________________________________________________
Screening History (including festivals & broadcast)
Prizes or Awards
Your Contact Information
Name: ________________________________________________________
Position with Film _______________________________________________
Company: _____________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
Telephone No: _________________________________________________
Email: ________________________________________________________
Website: ______________________________________________________


text:
Eaton Intelligent Power Manager
Eaton's Intelligent Power Manager (IPM) software provides the tools needed to monitor and manage power devices in your physical or virtual environment. This innovative software solution ensures system uptime and data integrity by allowing you to remotely monitor, manage and control UPSs and other devices on your network. IPM provides a solution that is easy to use and maintains business continuity.
Eaton's Intelligent Power Manager Software enables you to:
- Remotely monitor and manage multiple devices across your network from a single interface
- Suspend non-critical virtual machines, consolidate critical virtual machines and shut down unused servers to extend battery runtime
- Initiate a virtual machine move or graceful shutdown in the event of an extended outage
- Set server power consumption limits for extended battery runtime with Cisco UCS management software or HPE OneView
- Automate disaster avoidance with a planned migration application, such as VMware Site Recovery Manager and Microsoft Live Migration
- Integrate with VMware's vRealize Operations Manager using Eaton's Infrastructure Management Pack to manage health, risk and efficiency of power and environmental devices
- See how IPM integrates into a Network and IT closet solution or a Server room solution
Not sure which license to choose? Check out this comparison
One licensed node is defined as a UPS, rack PDU or IPM instance.
See how IPM integrates with:


text:
I bought my D5 in Berkley in 1978 and have used it…
Design: front loading
Number of Pockets: 7
Max. Load Carried: 110
Height of Owner: 6'
Price Paid: $125 (25 years ago)
I bought my D5 in Berkley in 1978 and have used it for every camping trip since. I also use it for most of our family trips as my suitcase (I check it with our other bagage). It's a lot easier to carry away from the luggage carousel! The D5 has been around the world with me! It is very comfortable to wear, the hip belt/hinged "u-frames" are very effective at transfering the load to your hips.
I purchased my D5 in 1976; I used it last weekend…
Design: front-loading external classic
Size: Large
Number of Pockets: 7 including map pouch behind head
Max. Load Carried: Just under 70 pounds
Height of Owner: 6' 3"
Price Paid: $200
I purchased my D5 in 1976; I used it last weekend in Sedona! It's simply a great pack. I've carried between 65 and 70 pounds in it. (Guadalupe, TX--no water on top) It creaks and moans under the weight. I carry lightweight wrenches and cable ties for field repairs; it's in pretty rough shape and makes a great conversation piece on the trail too. I want to have my JanSport tent refinished because the lash straps on the pack match up to the loops on the tent bags. Also, other b'packers get jealous when I pull it off and stand it upright on the hip-hoops. It's a great backpack!
Got it so many years ago that I can't be sure what…
Price Paid: $120 in 1978?
Got it so many years ago that I can't be sure what I paid. Maybe $120. Simply the best backpack ever. I still own two of them.
I believe that mine is the D-5 model, the d-3 is taller.
Max. Load Carried: 65lbs for a week
Height of Owner: 5'9"
Price Paid: $120 USD
I believe that mine is the D-5 model, the d-3 is taller. I bought it nine years ago, and have had it all over the country. The special "wings" that transfer the weight of the load directly to the hip bones are remarkable. On every trip I have been on I carried more weight than the other hikers. The surprising thing is that the others would ask to trade packs with me for a mile or two to take the weight of their backs. A great pack if you can find one. Please e-mail me if you want to sell one.
The D5 was my 2nd pack. It was a step up from a canvas…
Price Paid: $99
The D5 was my 2nd pack. It was a step up from a canvas back with shoelace tiedowns and an aluminum frame held together with screws. What an amazing step up. I got this pack in '76 and took it on weeklong trips up San Gorgonio, San Jacinto and Whitney.
As a Boy Scout, I took some ribbing for the weird looking wings on the waist belt. But I got a lot of converts when I let my fellow scouts try it on and feel how well those "wings" center the pack weight over your legs.
This old pack was a real lightweight in its day and still stands up pretty well compared to some of the best modern packs. I still have it, but all the waterproofing has worn off the inside of the bag, so I figured it was time to retire it to the attic. It may still see some trail use someday.
Does anyone know where you can buy a good used Jansport…
Size: D3 or D5
Number of Pockets: 4
Max. Load Carried: 5500
Height of Owner: 5'10"
Price Paid: $129 in the early '80s
Does anyone know where you can buy a good used Jansport D3 or D5? I'm not sure which is the largest. I loved my old one till I wore it out, and Jansport (which is their loss) doesn't make them anymore.
i loved my d5. i used it snow camping, summer for…
Design: front loading external
Size: big huge
Number of Pockets: 3 pockets
Max. Load Carried: 70 lbs
Height of Owner: 5 feet 8 inches
Price Paid: 30 dollars
i loved my d5. i used it snow camping, summer for sure. i could put everything in it and be gone for 2 weeks no problem. the sad thing is the big d happened that's divorce and it was gone. i am looking for another one but i think they are a rare item. if anyone can help mail me at srt80@live .com please. stephen taylor
Where to Buy
The D5 has been discontinued.reviewers paid:
$30.00 - $129.00
The JanSport D5 is not available from the stores we monitor.


text:
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Saturday afternoon's match-up on the campus of the University of West Florida (2-2) was the first road test for the Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team in the 2011-12 season. In a sloppy, grinding type of game, it was only fitting the game would be sealed when Phillip Brown would rebound his own missed free throw with .9 seconds left. Brown would make the front end of the following pair of free throws to give GSW the 64-62 victory in Pensacola, Florida.
GSW faced early adversity after their first two possessions ended with an illegal screen call and a missed Phillip Brown shot from point blank range. The Hurricanes would go into the first media timeout trailing 12-9 with UWF's Jamar Moore scoring eight of the Argonauts first twelve points.
It would take a prayer bank three-point shot from junior Bobby Glover as time expired in the half to give the Hurricanes the 35-34 halftime lead. Neither GSW's offense nor defense would find much consistency throughout the first half. Offensively, GSW was plagued by twelve turnovers, and 58.8% free throw shooting. Conversely, the Blue & Gold were unable to get consecutive stops defensively, which attributed to UWF leading for a vast majority of the first half.
Phillip Brown, Evan Mobley and Marlon Rivera all shared the first half scoring lead for GSW with seven points apiece. Brown also had a first half high on seven rebounds with two blocks and a steal.
UWF's Jamar Moore led all scorers with ten points and a team-high four rebounds for the Argonauts. The forward paced the West Florida scoring attack that shot 43.3% on 13-30 shooting for the half.
A back-and-forth affair carried the game's action for the initial nine minutes of the second half. Each team took turns leading, but GSW would take a 51-47 lead after a Jamon Hawkins three-point play. The game's see-saw pace would continue as runs were answered with runs by the opposition.
The grinding pace of play would end with the Hurricanes leaving Pensacola with the victory. Georgia Southwestern's mediocre offense committed 17 turnovers to just seven assists. The Blue & Gold also finished the night shooting a putrid 15-29 (51.7%) from the charity stripe.
Defensively, the Canes forced 13 turnovers, blocked three shots and outrebounded the Argonauts 38-30 despite conceding a dozen offensive rebounds.
Phillip Brown, who made just enough plays down the stretch to win the game, finished the night with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks on just 4-8 shooting from the field. Evan Mobley led GSW with 15 points and two assists.
UWF's Jamar Moore led all scorers with 18 points on 6-12 shooting. The Argonaut forward also grabbed eight rebounds in the losing effort.
Saturday's victory pushes the GSW record to 2-0, and the Hurricanes will look to improve on their start when they take on Fort Valley State on Monday night at 7:30 pm in the Storm Dome.


text:
Just this week I trimmed down my living space by at least 1,000 square feet. I went from a suburban home with tons of storage to a downtown city loft with practically none. It was one of the best decisions I ever made and my life has become not only so much simpler, but also way more inexpensive!
What many people don't realize is that downsizing and decluttering can really save you a lot of money. In addition, downsizing and decluttering can make your life considerably more stress-free.
First, I want to analyze our attachment to "stuff" and resistance to downsizing. Then, I'm going to give some tips on downsizing and how it can help you save a ton of money.
Our Attachment to "Stuff"
Before I became a full-time writer, I owned a thriving professional organizing business. My job, in a nutshell, was to help people declutter and organize their homes.
So I understand completely how attached we can become to our things, as well as why so many of us buy big homes or spend money on storage units to store all our stuff.
Many of our things help give us a sense of identity. For instance, that tower of books helps reaffirm that yes, we love to read (and it proves how intellectual we are to our friends). Our closets full of clothes reinforce our individualist sense of "self." Our antique furniture might help us feel grounded in a way that modern furniture just can't.
We also might inherent stuff from our family and friends. These items can have a powerful hold on us. Many times we can't let go of these things because they're a crucial link to a person we love. Stuff can take on a life of its own, especially if it's given or bequest to us by someone special.
The problem occurs when we don't self-regulate our consumption of stuff, and we don't get rid of what we already have. This mentality manifests itself when we buy stuff to fill a void in our life, when we buy to make ourselves feel better after a bad day, or when we buy because we don't have anything else to do.
This kind of consumption easily leads to packed homes that require significant investments to keep up. We spend time cleaning around this stuff. We pay a larger mortgage (or monthly storage unit payments) to store it all, and we pay the larger utilities that go along with the bigger house.
In a sense, the stuff we own ends up owning us.
The good news? Well, the good news is that we can hop off this consumption train any time we want. And if you do, you just might find you're happier, have more time, and definitely have more money in your pocket.
How to Save Money Downsizing
There are several ways you can save money and have a happier life when you downsize:
1. Save on Home Costs
The less stuff you have, the smaller space you need to store it all.
The move I just made is going to save me $260 per month on housing. Because I got rid of so much stuff before my move, I didn't need such a big space anymore. My savings are going to add up instantly.
Stop and think about the size of your home, and how much of that space you're paying to store stuff. You might be surprised at how much your stuff is costing you!
Here's an eye-opening exercise I used to use with all my organizing clients:
- Write down the total square feet of your house.
- Write down how much you pay monthly for your house or apartment.
- Divide your total square feet by your monthly payment; this is how much you pay monthly per square foot.
- Now estimate how many square feet you're using to store stuff: include your closets, your basement, extra bedrooms, and your garage.
- Multiply that times your "monthly square foot" cost. Yikes!
For instance, imagine your home is 2,500 square feet (including storage space) and your mortgage is $1,600 per month. You're paying .64 cents per square foot, per month, for your home space.
If you're using 1,000 square feet total to store stuff, this means your stuff is costing you $640 per month. How much would you save by downsizing to a smaller home with a smaller mortgage payment? You do the math!
2. Save on Utilities
A bigger home means you're spending more every month to heat and cool the space. Not only is this bad for your wallet, but it's also bad for the environment because you're consuming more energy.
You can use the same exercise that we just did to figure out how much you're spending to heat and cool every square inch of your home.
Simply take the yearly total of your heating and cooling (or you can do just one month) and divide your square footage into that number.
For instance, if you're spending $300 per month on electricity and heat, and your home is 2,500 square feet, you're paying .12 cents per square foot for utilities. That 1,000 square feet you're using to store stuff is costing you $120 per month to heat and cool.
3. Save on Health Care
When you live in a home that's packed with stuff and clutter, chances are your air quality is not as healthy as homes with fewer things.
Because homes that are cluttered are almost always dustier and dirtier than homes without it. They are much more difficult and time-consuming to clean.
Owning a house full of stuff is also often stressful. You worry about it. You groan when you have to clean it or move stuff around.
This stress can also negatively impact your health.
Added Bonus: Making Money off Downsizing
Sites like eBay or Amazon are a boon to "declutterers" because you can sell your stuff there and recoup some of your investment back.
In fact, I've sold several of my used books on Amazon. Last month, I brought in over $250 selling books online. The month before, close to $100. And it was a cinch to set up and sell!
Find ways to sell your stuff. It's worth it!
Last Word
I know it's easy to get attached to stuff. And the process of downsizing is not easy or quick. Even with my professional experience, it took me months of regular decluttering to trim down our stuff. And I still feel like I have too much!
If you decide to declutter and downsize your life, give yourself time and space to do it. Work slowly! Focus on one room, or even one corner, at a time. Don't haphazardly declutter because you'll likely feel you aren't making progress (because you can't see it) and quit.
Decluttering and downsizing can be a challenge, but I promise it's worth it in the end. The more you get rid of, the more you're going to save for things that truly matter, like living a debt-free life or saving for your kids' college education!
(photo credit: John Pannell)


text:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Techniques Tuesday: Crochet Cables
14 comments:
- Bells said...
that's an excellent tutorial. Really clear with helpful photos. I am definitely going to have to try it some time because I'd like to add that to my crochet skills. Nice work.
And of course you're going for the red. Duh.
- 27 October, 2009
- MadMad said...
Wow - cool! And it makes such a pretty fabric, too!
- 27 October, 2009
- 2paw said...
I don't think I will ever do this, but if I need to, I know where to come. I think the red was the only choice really!!!
- 27 October, 2009
- Michelle said...
You're speaking my language (the crochet language) and I think that's cool.
Also - red? Are you sure? I'm so surprised!!!!! *snort*
- 27 October, 2009
- Donna Lee said...
I like the way it looks. I haven't croheted anything in a long while and you've made it look intriguing.
- 27 October, 2009
This was so helpful. If I ever crochet cables, I know where to look.
- 28 October, 2009
- Easy crochet gal said...
I Love the look of this. I have never tried doing cable work but plan to now...you have give me inspiration!
- 28 October, 2009
- LynS said...
This is so impressive. I can't imagine ever developing my very limited crocheting skills to this level - this is a whole other level of proficiency.
- 28 October, 2009
- Ann said...
Thank you for the tutorial. The cables look so good. I have just learn crochet & I am hooked. Now I am torn between knitting & crochet!
- 28 October, 2009
- kim said...
Wow, I have a new-found respect for crochet. That is amazing. I didn't even know you could create such intricate stitches with crochet. That is amazing.
- 28 October, 2009
- Maria said...
Thanks for doing this tutorial. I was intruiged about how it was done. Will use it for something I have in mind
- 28 October, 2009
- Em said...
Thanks for the great tutorial, it always helps to be able to see something, rather than just picture it in your head. I'm amazed you chose to go with the red, it's so out of character for you! ;)
- 28 October, 2009
Do you have a braided line across the back of the fabric, or am doing something wrong?
- 21 January, 2013
Great tutorial, but I'm still getting a back post dc when I try to work behind. And I know that's not right.This is driving me crazy! Help!
- 22 November, 2013


text:
07 December 2012 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau
Swinburne Sarawak signs MoU with biotech company for joint research
From left: Ms Shirley Koh, CEO of Biotechnology Alliance International, Prof Ken Heskin, pro-vice chancellor and chief executive of Swinburne Sarawak, Mr Syed Isa bin Syed Alwi, chief executive Officer of Algaetech International, and Mr Ting Ing Sun, chai
Singapore: As a commitment for joint research, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus in Malaysia has signed memorandums of understanding with three companies. One of the them, Biotech Alliance International, is a biotechnology company with presence in Australia, China, Myanmar and Indonesia.
The other two deals are with Algaetech International and the Association of Consulting Engineer Malaysia Sarawak Branch.
The cost of the joint research exceeds $327,657 (RM1 million).
Biotech Alliance International is a bio-nexus status company that specializes in environmentally sustainable oil palm waste management system. The company has successfully developed and marketed its bio-fertilizer and bio-fungicide.
Swinburne Sarawak and Biotech Alliance had in 2009 entered into an agreement to conduct research on rapid composting of organic wastes from oil palm processing.
Algaetech International, based in Kuala Lumpur, spearheads the technology used in algae cultivation. It has businesses in Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa. In 2011, it was awarded one of the top 100 of Malaysian SMEs. The company, which started off as a technology provider for algae cultivation, is now venturing into large scale biodiesel production using algae, which is biodegradable, renewable, and sustainable.


text:
That's what I was thinking. It makes it a bit less useful with all the different keyboard layout files hidden away in different directories so you can't load any of them up with INIST.
I guess I'll need to learn how to use it.
Sedoric 4.0
This is the best place to discuss about the various Oric operating systems like Sedoric, Randos, FT-Dos, and others.
Post Reply
Re: Sedoric 4.0
I can't recall, but if you can use CHDIR in INIST, then you could reach the file you need and load it (but it makes things more complicated, sure).
Post Reply


text:
2008-05-20, 07:14
NineT9mustang Wrote: Read my above post about this... The 4:3 part... its not that we dont care, or we dont want to... its just that it wouldn't fit with how the skin is
dont worry, someoen will come along for you guys and get it done Hopefully they can pull it off
Thanks for the great response, NineT9mustang. That all makes good sense except the last part, quoted above. 480p is widescreen mode, the same as 720p and 1080i. This means it can fit the exact same information as 720p as long as everything is scaled properly. My TV can display 480p and 1080i, but has no automatic conversion from 720p. This is common in older HD tv's. I've been able to get Aeon looking 99% correct by just adjusting the sizes in Fonts.xml, since it's really just scaling things differently.
In an ideal world, XBMC would automatically scale widescreen fonts the same as it does the images. But alas, it's not there yet.


text:
BROCKTON – The third annual Futures Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game was a night of fun at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.
The home crowd got to see a little bit of everything, but it was the West, led by Nashua's Matt Sanchez and Dylan Harris of Worcester who provided the early offense en route to its 4-1 victory over the East.
"The game was a blast," said Rox manager Bryan Stark, who coached the East squad. "The Rox, from owner Chris English to all the general managers in the league, did a great job."
There were some unusual happenings in the game. The East had 11 pitchers combine for 12 strikeouts, including the side in the second inning by Simon Mathews of the Rox. Mathews earned the pitcher of the game honors.
The East had four stolen bases as a team and they were all by members of the Rox. The unusual part was that there were two by first baseman Apolinar De La Cruz, who has only one so far for the season.
"I asked Apolinar where that speed was during the season," said a smiling Stark.
Zach Short of the Rox had a very productive evening for himself. Short, who is the Rox starting shortstop, played second base and recorded three assists and a putout. He got on base twice, with a double in the first inning and he reached on an error in the third inning. Short stole both second and third after reaching on the error, but was stranded there as Tom Marcinczyk was caught looking at a Phil Reese fastball.
The Rox infielder drove in McDonough with a groundout in the fifth inning for the East's only run of the game.
The East had only four hits for the game against 11 West pitchers.
Harris, who earned the game's MVP honors, came up with the defensive gem in the early going to go with his leadoff triple in third inning. The Worcester second baseman made a diving catch on a sizzling two-out line drive by Seacoast's Alex Merritt to end an East threat. Harris had two hits in the game.
Sanchez started the game with a double and scored on a double play. He added an infield single to score Harris and scored on a Mike Odenwaelder ground out to short as part of a two-run third inning.
Kurtis White scored on a Michael Pierson single in the sixth inning to give the West a 4-1 lead.
The pre-game Home Run Derby belonged to Worcester's Mark DeYoung. He was the first hitter for the West and homered on four of his first six swings, but was tied in the first round by Pittsfield's Zack Tower. DeYoung won the sudden-death playoff in the third round.
The finals featured Max Ponzurick of the Rox, who hit four of the East's seven home runs in the first round, but he was shut out in the finals and DeYoung won the derby on his second swing, 1-0.


text:
Pacific Islands Forum needs to reaffirm its relevance (PERSPECTIVE)
FACT: Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 (census 2006), out of the country's total population of 19,569. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Because it is the most populous island, Cook Islanders may often be referred to as Rarotongan, but they may come from one of the other 14 islands in the group, such as Aitutaki or Mangaia. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. (WK)
The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Summit in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands that opens today will be a watershed. It will either forge a new path for the region's pre-eminent institution or give ground to the alternative architecture that has grown since Fiji's suspension from participation.
That the stakes are high is evidenced by the unprecedented attendance of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be joined by a large Chinese delegation, underscoring the point that the region is geopolitically important.
The summit provides an opportunity for Australia to influence how the region deals with outside powers and on what terms. In recent months Foreign Minister Bob Carr has injected a note of pragmatism into Australia's relations with Fiji and it remains to be seen what impact this will have.
The challenge for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is twofold. First, its place at the centre of regional architecture needs to be cemented in light of the drift towards alternative forms of regional and sub-regional co-operation. Second, it needs an organizational renovation to face the challenges of globalization and development.
Australia and other donors have long identified the PIF as the key institution for implementing development policies in the Pacific. This is the orthodox function of the PIF and one Australia and New Zealand have largely bankrolled for more than 40 years. More recently, the PIF has taken on a diplomatic role. This political role was compounded by the response to the 2006 coup in Fiji as the PIF became the central vehicle for legitimizing the Australian-led sanctions regime.
Six years of sanctions have not achieved their stated aims, in so far as Fiji has not returned to democracy. That said, Australia has reaffirmed its leadership to the other members of the PIF and to external powers and organizations such as the US, China, UN and the European Union. However, come 2014 when elections are held in Fiji the rationale for sanctions will end. Fiji will presumably be welcomed back into the PIF and as such Australia and its supporters will be faced with much more challenging diplomacy.
The rise of alternative forms of regionalism is a direct result of Fiji's suspension and poses the largest challenge to Australia. The Melanesian Spearhead Group, engaging with the Pacific meetings and the Pacific Small Island Developing States grouping at the UN have much in common, not the least that Australia is excluded from membership. They are largely driven by Fiji's "Look north plus" policy.
Fiji has made new friends and opened up new avenues of co-operation and as Australia chooses to re-engage it will be operating in a vastly different Pacific seascape. In this climate the continuing relevance of the PIF will need to be demonstrated rather than simply asserted. Fiji is not likely to accept the status quo and may need to be encouraged to resume its engagement with PIF.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group, etc, lack the institutional capacity of the PIF but are growing fast. As such, organizational renovation of the PIF is also a necessity.
The Pacific Islands Forum has greater capacity than other nascent forms of regional co-operation and the potential to remain the clearinghouse for aid. However, its central role is under challenge while its effectiveness is also being questioned. A recent internal review of the PIF Secretariat's operations found much to criticize and sparked a spirited defense from the Secretariat itself. The challenge will be to respond constructively to meet the diverse expectations of its members and the challenge from The Melanesian Group, etc.
Renovation must also focus on the role of the metropolitan powers (Australia and New Zealand). Their dominance of the political agenda highlights the importance of getting the balance between the interests of Pacific Small Islands Developing States and larger powers right. This dominance is relatively new as it arose in the context of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Pacific "arc of instability".
It is evident in current Prime Minister Julia Gillard's focus on using the PIF to renew the "Pacific Solution" (the name given to the Australian government policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centers on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland).
(Video: Al Jazeera)
However, tension in the political agenda is evident in the stalemate over Fiji and is underscored by the growing regional interests of other powers, such as China, Russia and the US.
Australian policymakers have attempted to limit the influence of outside powers in their backyard. However, a failure to closely engage with Pacific interests could also make Australia appear like an outsider to some in the PIF. From this perspective it is no coincidence that sub-regionalism has grown during recent years.
The metropolitan powers have a central role to play, not least in regard to funding, but also in respect to middle-power leadership in relation to the 21st-century challenges facing the Pacific, such as those posed by climate change or illegal fishing in their extended economic zones.
It may be that the Rarotonga summit will be a turning point in the development of Pacific architecture for co-operation. Australia has major strategic interests in the region and it is an opportune time to refocus efforts and to reinforce the enduring nature of Australian support and friendship. Carr's recent leadership towards normalizing relations with Fiji is a positive development, but after six years the switch can't just be turned on. It may be that a possibility for enhanced regional co-operation exists within the PIF itself.
The Polynesian sub-group within the Pacific looks set to expand as the region's main representative body prepares to welcome Hillary Clinton as a VIP visitor.
Leaders of Polynesian countries are looking favorably at giving full membership to representatives of the indigenous people of New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island.
Cook Islands' Prime Minister Henry Puna and his Samoan counterpart Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi said the sub-group would address the issue of expansion in their final communiqué on Friday.
The Polynesian leaders will also discuss ways of improving their countries' access to the latest communications technology.
Two proposals to lay marine cables past the island nations have collapsed. Mrs. Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, is the forum's top-level visitor this year.
-- This article first appeared in the Australian, written by Michael O'Keefe.


text:
Morning guys,
I'm new to this board and wanted to thank you for having me, I'm dead chuffed to of found this place and I already have my eye on a few bits for sale!
If it's okay I wanted to send out an open invite to a private group I've started up called 'The Vintage Action Figure Marketplace' on Facebook. As you guessed it's a group for buying and selling vintage toys. The whole thing is in its infancy right now but it's steadily gaining momentum. When we reach 500 likes I'm giving away a TMNT Chief Medical Officer Raphael MOC so it's worth it just for that.
Obviously in the future I'm going to need a few admin guys to help me out too and was keen on them being UK based and Star Wars experts as it's the clear fave for us all!
Anyway thank you again and please remove if this is unallowed in anyway.
P.s FB won't let me copy a link so please search for 'The Vintage Adtion Figure Marketplace' on FB if you are interested.


text:
Free shipping over € 149
Free shipping over € 149
The Bibo stainless steel sugar bowl is characterised by its curved shapes. The melamine lid is provided with a small opening which allows the insertion of a spoon,
Designed by Valerio Sommella, Bibo is a set of tea and coffee accessories available in two versions: one for professional use and the other for home table. The common item is a small melamine tray that holds two stainless steel containers. They are minimal and elegant objects, with slightly soft shapes that arise from the careful control of curved lines. The bar set consists of a tray, a container for sugar sachets and a paper napkin. The tray provides a stable place for the two containers, facilitating the transport of the set. A central rod with a ring closure allows you to grip Bibo even with one finger of the hand. The handle's asymmetry ensures stability and a perfect balance while moving the set.
Valerio Sommella, born in 1980 and graduated cum laude from the Politecnico of Milan in 2004, began his design career working with Stefano Giovannoni. In 2007 he moved to Amsterdam where he joined Marcel Wanders' team. Since 2009, when he settled down in Milan and opened his design studio, he designs products in different fields, from furniture to consumer electronic goods and lighting both for Italian and international clients. He alternates this activity teaching at some Italian universities and design schools


text:
Durable protection
The Turquoise Kabuto Dual Layered Rugged Case offers durable protection for your smartphone. With an inner shock resistant skeleton, overlaid by an outer silicone body - you can rest assured your device is protected.
All ports and buttons remain accessible with cut outs for the camera built-in to the design. Reinforced corners protects from minor drops and bumps.
• Shock resistant, dual layered
• Absorbs and dissipates impact from drops and falls
• Outer silicon body protects against scratching
• Slim fitting design does not add bulk to your phone
• Inner protective skeleton
• Complete with a raised screen bezel for added protection
• Integrated buttons and access to all ports
• Available in Black, Purple, Pink & Turquoise
Dimensions (h) 161 x (w) 82 x (d) 11
Weight 47.1 g


text:
Full Swing Leather Flogger
Full Swing Leather Flogger
Sign In or Create Account to rate.
Swing the praises of sensation play with the Full Swing Leather Flogger.
Swing the praises of sensation play with the Full Swing Leather Flogger. A longer version of the Handy Flogger, the Full Swing features 30 midweight cowhide tails that are ½ inch wide and 21 inches long, and a 9-inch rubber-wrapped handle for a total overall length of thirty full inches. Like its smaller cousin, the Full Swing delivers sensations ranging from a gentle thump to a moderate sting and works as well for some more experienced aficionados as it does to those beginning their intense explorations. Sleekly designed and beautifully constructed, this elegant flogger is an irresistible invitation to get into the swing of things.
Full Swing Leather Flogger
Cowhide leather and rubber
Handle: 9", Tails: 21" (Handle: 22.86 cm, Tails: 53.33 cm)
Made in the USA -- Many sex toy and products are produced overseas. Choosing one that's manufactured and assembled in the United States reduces shipping and has a lower carbon footprint.
Brand: Bare Leatherworks
Product Details
Color: Purple / Black or Black
Dimensions: 30" long
- Recommended for int/adv users
- Textured handle
- Long falls
Reviews & RatingsRate and Review It
Sign In or Create Account to save favorites.
You have reached the favorite limit. You will need to delete some to save favorites.


text:
- This event has passed.
Aqua Fit
February 1 @ 9:00 am - 9:50 am
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 9:00 am on Monday and Friday, repeating until May 31, 2019
This is an invigorating, low-impact aquatic exercise class that will increase your cardiovascular endurance, while easy on your joints. Suitable for all fitness levels.


text:
Road to Mac Office 2008: an introduction
Office for Mac 2008
Ten years after the 1997 deal between Apple and Microsoft, the two companies are again directly competing in productivity applications. While Apple's latest iWork 08 offers a reworked, simplified approach to page layout, word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets, Microsoft's upcoming Office 2008 suite layers together elements of the unified Leopard interface with concepts borrowed from the Windows version of Office--including bits that look like they belong in Windows Vista. While offering a lot of new ideas of its own, the MacBU has also worked to closely follow the Windows version, making it easy for users to move between them.
Originally expected this summer, Microsoft announced a six month delay in the arrival of Office 2008, which now targeted for mid January, a full year behind the Windows version of Office 12. Faced with competing against iWork, Microsoft has also relaxed the restrictions in its education version pricing. It will now offer Office 2008 in three reworked packages:
- The new Home and Student Edition is now $149, with no restriction to education buyers.
- The Standard Edition is $400 ($230 upgrade). It adds "full support" for Exchange Server in Entourage and Automator scripting.
- A new Special Media Edition costs $500 ($300 upgrade). Since Virtual PC is now obsolete, Microsoft acquired the QuickTime-based iView MediaPro and now includes it under the name Microsoft Expression Media, as an asset management suite designed to import, annotate, organize, archive, search, and distribute media files.
What's New in Office 2008
Like the v.X and 2004 versions before it, Office 2008 is a significant release. It's now a Universal Binary, allowing it to run natively on Intel Macs rather than relying on Apple's Rosetta translation technology used to run PowerPC code. Until today, all Intel Macs have effectively run one of their most important productivity packages in a mode that rendered it artificially sluggish.
Microsoft also adopted an iWork-style template-based design in Word (below top), Excel (below middle), and PowerPoint (below bottom).
Along with those main applications, Office also includes the most recent version of MSN Messenger and new revision to Entourage, which includes the new My Day application (below) for presenting events and reminders in an organizer widget view, although on the desktop rather than only within Dashboard.
A Mixed Bag
In some areas, Office 2008 delivers new features missing from both iWork and the Windows version of Office. In other areas, it falls short of its Windows cousin: some elements are awkward and aren't helped by a sometimes ugly mix of user interface elements that look and feel clumsy compared to the unified look of iWork. Whether users can overlook these odd details largely depends on how they use Office documents.
For example, the new Office promises greater compatibility with Exchange Server and the Office 2007/OOXML file formats supported in the Windows version. While iWork already offers support for these formats, Microsoft uses them natively, not just for import and export. If you are constantly exchanging documents with Windows users, you might find iWork's translation inconvenient or impractical.
One of the most obvious new changes in Office 2008 is its overhauled user interface. Rather than using the floating button bars Office has always used (above, Word 2004), the new version adopts the look of standard Mac OS X toolbar within the document window (below). This offers user configurable icon layouts, although not in the standard drag and drop sheets Mac users will expect.
Below the new toolbar is the new Elements Gallery (above, the blue section), which displays a menu of templates and themes as well as selection of graphics, charting, tables, and text art tools. Its new animated and colorful interface may sometimes be labeled overpowering and busy, but the oddest aspect is its abrupt juxtaposition in the otherwise subtle grey document window. Among the items displayed in the Elements Gallery are Word's Document Elements, which presents templates for adding a cover page, a table of contents, headers and footers, and a bibliography.
A More Sophisticated Palette
The new Office 2008 apps also present the existing Formatting Palette (as appears above in the Word 2004 screenshot) with new iWork-style Inspector icons (below). This expands the Formatting Palette to include:
- an Object Palette of drag and drop shapes, characters, and clipart.
- a smart looking Citations Palette for managing works referenced in a bibliography.
- a Scrapbook manager for organizing multiple clippings for pasting into documents.
- a Reference Tools section for presenting definitions, synonyms, language translations, and encyclopedia entries.
- a Compatibility Report tool for checking features that may not translate to earlier versions (it saves file formats back to Word 97).
- and a Project Palette for organizing documents and related information together by project.
Some aspects of the new Palette are interesting and seem very compelling, but other portions feel overloaded and largely impractical. Why squeeze a shelf of reference works into the Inspector? Why spin the Inspector around like a Dashboard Widget to present settings (below)? Why use a transition like Apple's "genie" Dock effort to place the Inspector into the Toolbar?
This mixed bag of innovation and oddity runs throughout the new Office 2008. Users wanting access to more sophisticated features will love some of the new features, and might like the new graphical feel of Elements Gallery. Mac users accustomed to the iWork interface and the general look of Leopard may find the new Office excessively animated and garish. Nobody can say its just conservative and boring however.
Coming up next: a preview of how the new Office for Mac compares with Microsoft's latest Windows version, how it stacks up as a modern Mac app, and how the MacBU has changed the Office user interface and installation system over the existing 2004 version.


text:
Interview by James Eatock - September 1998
Can you tell me some of your work on He-Man?
In 1983, before "Masters" became a series, Mattel had produced the action figures. Once they were on the market, children contacted the company because they were confused. Who were the good guys? Who were the bad guys? Where did they come from?
What was your job?
Mattel asked me to come in and create the back story (bible) for "Masters" that could act as a device for merchandising the figures as well as the premise for the TV series (Filmation had begun the process of designing the cartoon characters -- but they had no stories). I was Creative Consultant to the series during its first year (65 episodes) with the job of approving all story lines. I'm proud to say that I brought Larry DiTillio into the series. His Dungeons and Dragons gaming background proved invaluable as a writer. He was what I looked for in story creation. I worked with Larry on the development of the "Granamyr" story although it was his original idea and he deserves all the credit for a great character. I was intimately involved with Filmation. Although I had a contract with Mattel, my position was as liaison with Filmation. Meetings were held at least two or three times a week. I worked with most of the writers, Lou Scheimer, Art Nadel, etc.
Several stories in the bible become episodes. Teela's origins, for example, when she's discovered by Man-At-Arms after following Zoar (the Sorceress) into the mountains -- that's when we find out that Teela is the daughter of the Sorceress. They also did the story of Marlena's landing on Eternia, but skipped the origins of Evil-Lyn, Tri-Klops, and Beast Man (real names: Evelyn Powers, who was a brilliant chemist, physicist, and biologist; Dr. T. E. Scope, optical inventor who was the Hubbell of his time; Biff Beastman, Chief Technician who retreated to his farm when off-duty)
What are the main stories you developed?
I developed the story of how Prince Adam became He-Man; the origins of Teela; why Castle Grayskull existed in the first place; the "secret" of Castle Grayskull which I believe has never been revealed; how Queen Marlena arrived on Eternia; the topography and geography of Eternia; Snake Mountain, the abode of Skeletor; the origins of Evil-Lyn, Tri-Klops, and Beastman, etc.
How was the cartoon in fairness to your scripted bible?
The original notion behind "Masters" was to create a series more aligned with mythology and legend -- but who's going to argue with success? Regarding the sci-fi elements: they were part and parcel of the original notion. I would have preferred a more mythic environment. In addition, Adam was supposed to look like a seventeen year old boy. When he makes the change, he would become He-Man (muscles, armor, and definitely would not look the same). Economics changed that.
Any thoughts on She-Ra?
I had nothing to do with She-Ra and subsequent permutations of the series. Later, Mattel requested I help develop some other characters, but they never made it to reality for a variety of reasons. Many of them were research and development ideas.
What happened to Orko, or should I say Gorpo?
Yes, Orko was originally called Gorpo. Filmation created him because they had a deal with Mattel that they would have royalties on any characters they created which made it into the toy line. He wasn't part of the original bible. However, he worked because they needed a "court jester" type although in the original, Adam was the practical joker and prankster. Why the name change? There's a saying in comedy: "words with a K are funny -- Alka Seltzer, chicken, pickle." That's as good a reason as any.
Thanks for your time.


text:
Don't forget to catch this week's edition of Rapids Report, which airs on Altitude each Thursday at 6pm.
Tonight Rapids legend Marcelo Balboa, talking tactics, scouting and preparation with Colorado Rapids head coach Oscar Pareja.
Balboa's co-host, Richard Fleming, catches up with former defender Chris Martinez, who played for the club between 1997-2001.
And, in the week that the Rapids got an insight into who they may meet in the U.S. Open Cup, the show looks at how another Colorado club made their own slice of history in the competition.
As always, Rapids Report will reflect on the most recent game - Colorado's 2-0 win at Columbus - and take a quick glance ahead to the trip to San Jose this weekend.
Also, join Fleming and Balboa on Altitude on Saturday starting at 8 pm MT for comprehensive coverage of the Earthquakes versus the Colorado Rapids.


text:
A fair amount of my homework is of the form: prove some statement then paste in a bunch of graphs verifying it experimentally.
LyX makes me save images I paste in, which is really annoying when I just want to copy them over. (e.g. in Word you would just paste it in, you don't have to save the image separately.) Is there a preference somewhere that I can say that I don't want it to ask me where to save all my images? (i.e. can I specify some default image directory?)
EDIT: To be more clear, what I want is some way to tell Lyx: when I paste an image, just save it in this directory without popping up a dialog and asking me where to put it.