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Ping Component and Client
Desktop-as-a-Service Designed for Any Cloud ? Nutanix Frame
System requirements
- Windows NT 4.0 [Workstation, Build 1381: Service Pack 4]
- Windows Sockets 1.1 Network Support [wsock32.dll, ws2_32.dll]
- Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, ATL 3.0 [ole32.dll, oleaut32.dll], MFC 4.2 [mfc42.dll]
Install and ConfigureUnzip ping.zip retaining directory structure to any location with approx 40Mb of free space. You'll get a folder ./pingcomp
Ping componentOpen workspace ./pingcomp/pingcomp.dsw, select say 'Release MinSize' configuration (faster build), run build. If building a debug configuration, browse info will be available.
Ensure that component is registered properly, as indicated by output window: "Performing registration RegSvr32: DllRegisterServer in .\ReleaseMinSize\Pingcomp.dll succeeded."
If not try it manually: 'regsvr32 .\ReleaseMinSize\Pingcomp.dll'
Ping clientOpen workspace ./pingcomp/pingclient/pingclient.dsw, select 'Release' configuration (faster build), run build. If building a debug configuration, browse info will be available.
RunAfter a component and client are built, you're ready to run the program, but **you should login as administrator** to get valuable results, because of programs use of raw sockets, which can be opened only with admin privileges - that's an operation system limitation.
Program's DesignPing component (Pingcomp.dll) encapsulates ping implementation and exhibits corresponding COM interface - IPing.
CPingImpl class provides low level ping functionality, i.e. creates socket, form packets, sends, receives and decodes responses.
CProxyIPingEvents class implements IPingEvents interface, it's generated by classwizard.
Ping client (Pingclient.exe) provides user interface and interaction with the component.
CPingDlg class - initializes COM library, creates an instance of Ping component, advises connection for sinking events.
CPingEvents class - a bridge for transmitting events fired by component to dialog.


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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA Columnist
Forty years ago in Wilmington, N.C., there was a serious struggle of Black Americans to end racial discrimination and violence over the manner in which public schools were desegregated. The NAACP, national and local, had won a series of important court battles in Wilmington and across America to desegregate public school systems. But, during the Nixon Administration in the early 1970's, African Americans in the south, as well as in other regions of the nation, were being challenged with the systematic racial disparities involved in the details of how federal court-ordered school desegregation was being enforced.
We are grateful that at the recent 2011 Black Press Week in Washington, D.C., the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) committed to lead a national initiative to get a "Pardon of Innocence" for the Wilmington, N.C. Ten. The NNPA is a vital association of our nation's leading newspapers that for 184 years have served the news and journalistic interests of the Black American community in the United States and throughout the Pan African world. While the specifics of case of the Wilmington Ten are unique, this case of political prisoners raised the broad issues and plight of the struggle for African American liberation and empowerment to a global level during the 1970's.
Black students, parents, and community leaders made a decision in Wilmington in February 1971 that they would stand up and fight to protect and secure the "quality" education of African American students by attempting to preserve the high academic integrity and institutional legacy of African American public schools such as Williston Senior High School. The United Church of Christ, as a progressive mainline Protestant denomination of 1.7 million members, and its Commission for Racial Justice led by The Reverend Dr. Charles E. Cobb, decided to stand with the student-led coalition in Wilmington to demand fairness and equal justice. As a young civil rights activist, I was dispatched by the Commission for Racial Justice to give organizational assistance to our brothers and sisters in Wilmington.
Because we dared to speak out and to engage in nonviolent street protests to the long, unprecedented history of racial violence and injustice in that port city, the African American community became the targets of a violent, paramilitary, anti-Black terror campaign led by the Ku Klux Klan and the Rights of White People (ROWP) organization. Our movement's headquarters in Wilmington – Gregory Congregational United Church of Christ – and the surrounding African American community was placed in a state of siege by armed White vigilantes, who opposed racial justice and equality.
The Civil Rights Movement evolving from the 1950's and 1960's into the 1970's had to grapple with the fact that the Nixon Administration took steps to counter and suppress the momentum and progress of the movement in the wake of the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Thus, what we faced in Wilmington, N.C. in 1971 was not only the vile of local racial hatred and violence, but also we later found out that right-wing law enforcement officials in the Nixon Administration aided and abetted the concerted frame-up, unjust conviction, and imprisonment of the Wilmington Ten.
We are the Wilmington Ten: Wayne Moore, William Joe Wright, Connie Tindall, Marvin Patrick, James McKoy, Ann Shepard, Willie Earl Vereen, Jerry Jacobs, Reginald Epps, and Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Because of our involvement in the struggle in Wilmington in 1971, we were unjustly charged, arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to a combined maximum total of 282 years in prison in North Carolina in 1972. We all were completely innocent of the alleged charges of arson and conspiracy to assault. In 1978, Amnesty International declared that we were "Political Prisoners." We stayed in prison during most of the 1970's while our case was on appeal. On December 4, 1980, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the unjust convictions of the Wilmington, Ten because of "prosecutorial misconduct" in the unconstitutional and unfair frame-up. Yet, to date there has not been an official "pardon of innocence" issued by the state of or by the federal government.
NNPA Chair, Danny J. Blakewell, Sr. affirmed, "We are going to tell the story of the Wilmington 10." The story of the Wilmington 10 is the story of Black Americans speaking out and standing up for equal justice and basic fairness. We live in a world where we have to tell our own stories and remind ourselves that our struggle for justice and empowerment is not yet complete.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is Senior Advisor to the Black Alliance for Educational Options and President of Education Online Services Corporation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Are We All Pee Pots?
by, 04-11-2008 at 09:35 PM (7577 Views)
Ok, when I was about 14 my two cousins from Michigan and I were walking home from the drug store talking about the boys we had seen there. One of my cousins had a real crush on one of them but thought he ran around with too many girls. I cant remember what she was saying but she had me laughing so hard that I peed my cutoffs while walking down the street. My other cousin thought it was so funny that she peed her pants just from laughing at me. We were all laughing so hard when we got home that the first cousin
was running to get to the bathroom. My Mom thought we had lost our minds.
To tell the truth, I wasnt really embarrassed because it was just too funny.


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Useful Numbers:
|Business payment Support Service – Self Assessment (SA)
|0845 302 1427
|Business payment Support Service – PAYE
|0845 302 1435
|Online helpline – Technical SA helpline
|0845 900 0444
|Online helpline – SA & PAYE & Corporation Tax (CT)
|0845 605 5999
|Online Helpline – VAT
|0845 010 8500
|PAYE for limited companies
|0845 366 7816
|National Insurance (NI) helpline (newly self-employed)
|0845 915 4515
|New Employer
|0845 607 0143
|Employers Helpline
|0845 714 3143
|PAYE Payments
|0845 366 7816
|Pension Forecast
|0845 3000 168
|Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Helpline
|0845 366 7899
|PAYE Orderline
|0845 764 6646
|0845 010 9000


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All kinds of vegetative devastation happens to the Big Apple in EA's upcoming threeequel. We've already gotten a preview of the new mechanics and weapons of the Cryek-developed FPS but these new screens show even more detail than before.
Flooded streets, crumbling buildings and a scarcity of any other human beings hint that this Crysis will be a different, moodier affair than Crysis 2 when it hits next year.
(Note: Images appear as they did today on the site All Games Beta)


text: Scanty Demon Report post Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) My second attempt at a contest; I'm hopping this time I actually get far. The protagonist is Gorast because I thought she needed character development. Here you go. Hunter's folly When Teridax's victory is told by chroniclers throughout the ages, there will no doubt be stories of his defeat over Miserix. They will also pass down stories of how one by one Miserix's Brakas monkeys were hunted down one by one. But I feel these stories of how each Makuta was defeated will only be side notes that only the most keen Onu-Metru Matoran archivist will touch upon. I wouldn't mind that, except one Makuta I chased down changed me forever. In writing this I hope to keep one story from becoming a mere piece of trivia. It all started after Teridax's great revolution, because not every Makuta had agreed to Teridax's plans for a better Brotherhood. Five Makuta decided to fight for Miserix, who would undoubtedly keep the Brotherhood weak. But they were outnumbered; they could not fight for what was right for the Brotherhood of Makuta. However the five traitors realized this and joined the right side; but Teridax doesn't forgive traitors. After Miserix's defeat, Krika was supposed to dispose of him. Why Teridax chose Krika and Spirah to do it is a mystery to me. I would've been more than happy to end the old fool's pathetic life, but there was no point in arguing once Teridax made his decision. The sad truth about Krika is that he allows his defeated foes mercy, even when they have nothing valuable to offer in terms of information, something I find repulsive. Suspiciously, he and Spirah returned without Miserix's mask. I wouldn't be surprised if he just threw Miserix in some cell Mata Nui knows where. While I couldn't have the pleasure of finishing Miserix's pathetic life, I could end his minions' lives. But there was a hitch; I had to do it with Icarax. I saw it as counterproductive to say the least, but what was done was done. Despite working with Icarax we managed to track down four of the five Makuta. I enjoyed every part of it, though Icarax only saw it as practice for something bigger he was planning. Never bothered to ask him about it; I was more concerned with killing the defiant Makuta than hearing his bragging. We had only killed four of the five Makuta; there was still one we had to track. I couldn't remember her name, only that she was supposedly the deadliest of the five Makuta. The more powerful the better I thought, as I assumed this would pose some sort of a challenge to me. The fourth Makuta was hardly any trouble at all; he put up a noble (if pathetic) fight but he ultimately was defeated. I had him on the ground, my foot pressing down on his neck, and I decided to ask if he knew anything about where the fifth Makuta was. "You want..." he paused as he gasped for breath "to hunt that crazed spawn of Karzhani?" This was odd I thought, why would he call his own ally a mad Rahi? "He won't talk," Icarax said from the shadows, "just snap his neck and be done with him!" I ignored Icarax's order, but I knew I couldn't for long. "Where is the last Makuta hiding?" I asked, adding more weight "Just tell us and we'll make your death less painful." "Listen to me.." he coughed. "She is nothing... to the Brotherhood. She... has lost all sanity, any sense of..." "Gorast! Just put him down we won't find out anything from him!" He was interrupted by Icarax. Icarax was already on the verge of pure rage. I almost agreed with him, I was even considering that Icarax could have the killing blow, but we had found this Makuta by 'persuading' the one before him to tell us this Makuta's location. Could it work again? "I know... what you doing," he said as he tried to breathe, "but I'm trying to help as... shocking as that sounds. She'll kill you, not just that, but she'll hack your limbs off and use them for torches! If you want to see your glorious leader Teridax succeed with his plan, you'll give up looking for her and say she's gone forever. I was afraid of her myself, and when you find her you will be too." "Any Makuta against Teridax is always something," I retorted. "Besides, if she's anything like you described, I'm sure we'll get along real well. Now where is she?" I saw the look in his eyes change from fear to defeat. He lowered his head then closed his eyes. "Then, you are forsaken. I tried to stop you. Remember that," he said before Icarax burst out of the shadows filled with rage. Icarax pushed me aside, falling face first onto the floor. The next thing I heard was the sound of Icarax's fist breaking the fallen Makuta's skull; with a deafening crunch. I turned to face Icarax and saw the Makuta's mask had just barely escaped the same fate its wearer's skull had endured. "What was that for?" I asked as I got back on my feet. "I had it under control." Icarax just glared at me. "You were just letting him live a little longer than he should have been. So I thought I'd help by putting him to sleep for you." "He might have known where the final Makuta was!" I almost screamed. "And you just made our jobs a lot harder." "Funny, I thought you hated mercy," Icarax responded, regaining his composure. As we left the island of the slain Makuta I began wondering how bad the punishment would be if I "accidentally" flung a dagger through Icarax. Back on the Tren Krom peninsula, I let my rage escape at the acid falls. Throwing daggers at any Rahi who was unlucky enough to cross my path. "I had it under perfect control!" I said to myself as I hurled another sharpened branch at an ash bear. "I thought I'd help by putting him down," I said with my best attempt at Icarax's voice, "Well maybe you should have waited!" while I was mad -- no enraged -- at him he was partly right I hated to admit. He would not have revealed the location of his former ally. I was trying to make a dead Matoran breathe again. Another thought pushed aside my rage at Icarax; why was the slain Makuta afraid of his former ally? He had called her a "crazed spawn of Karzhani" and said she'd use our limbs for torches. I wondered if he was trying to scare us off. If that was the case he had failed beyond any reasonable doubt. Now I wanted to hunt down this Makuta more than ever before, if only for the challenge. I continued to let my rage out until sunset. I heard a low moaning off in the distance, it was an easy target. While hunting Rahi wasn't as fun as hunting sapient beings it was still fun nonetheless. Besides I figured it help me take my mind off of Icarax. I followed the moaning, careful not to make any noise. But as I neared my target I saw flames and heard Matoran voices. "Hurry brother," one of the Matoran said. "We do not want this gift the Mistress has provided us." "The Mistress"? Certainly I wasn't responsible for this. But if I wasn't then who was? It had to be some lost Ga-Matoran or some Dark Hunter that had wowed the Matoran. My curiosity urged me to follow them. Staying hidden in the shadows I watched the Matoran drag the source of the moaning: an injured Ash Bear. I had to admire the perseverance the Matoran, I watched them lug the Ash Bear over a small mountain and through a forest. Soon they neared a large clearing in the woods. That was when I noticed something odd about the Matoran. They had painted their bodies and some had Rahi bones for armor. The paintings resembled claw marks, teeth, eyes, and horns. I turned my attention to the large fire; I saw shadows dancing around chanting "Praise our goddess". It was almost surreal. I stopped at a nearby tree to watch. The Matoran had left the most likely dead Ash Bear in front of the fire before bowing and then backing away. Suddenly everyone stopped and turned their attention to a large shadow. A figure stepped out and I instantly recognized who it was.The figure had blue armor covered in what appeared to be tribal paintings. She towered over the Matoran, she may have even been able to almost tower over a Toa. Her mask was covered in scratches, but these looked like they were self inflicted rather than from battle. Her body was covered in Rahi bones that made up her new armor. She walked toward the Matoran; all turned towards and bowed their heads. This was the final Makuta, I thought. I quietly backed away from the clearing, however I decided to leave some marks on the trees so I could remember where I had gone. I wanted to go after her, I wanted to hunt her down and bring her mask to Teridax myself. I couldn't do that though I needed Icarax and I had to wait until morning until I could inform Icarax about my discovery. ------------- The next day, a fog had rolled in coating the land in a grey blanket. "Gorast," Icarax spoke as we reached the mountain where the Matoran dragged the corpse. "Just think about it please. Why would a Makuta on the run hide in the place that her hunter lives? Perhaps it was a hallucination brought about by your need to catch this Makuta." I ignored his disbelief as I climbed the mountain. I knew that what I saw had been very real. I reached the top of the mountain and began to look for the marked trees. I spotted one, then another, then another. There were markings that I don't remember placing. Someone did this, but how had the Matoran known I was there. "Gorast, you're not listening," I heard Icarax say as he reached the top. "Just how stupid do you think this Makuta is? I mean, allying with Miserix is one thing, but hiding here is something else entirely. I've seen Spirah's creations act smarter." I pretended to ignore him as we wondered the forest. A part of me was agreeing with Icarax. I kept trying to reassure myself that I wasn't imagining things, that there was a Makuta who was being worshiped. I kept following every path but every one led to the same thing: more marked trees. As much as I hated to do it I swallowed my pride and came out with it. "There is no one here. I could've sworn..." "I think you're taking this assignment way too far. To the point where you're mistaking a little cult leader for being a Makuta. I've seen some Matoran worship rocks, not even the Rock of the Great Spirit, just rocks." I was glad to have gotten his gloating out of the way. We began the long trek back to the Acid Falls; surprisingly he kept silent through the entire trip back. Was he thinking up more insults to throw at me? The fog hadn't lifted yet, so it turned simple trees into giants. I kept checking every direction to make sure we weren't being followed. I wasn't taking any chances, even if I was with Icarax. I noticed a Matoran shaped object in the distance. It stood between two trees glaring at us. It made no movements or noises. I threw a rock at it and still nothing. I continued to follow Icarax but I noticed two more Matoran figures. These didn't move either; were we being followed? I noticed more figures that made no movements along our path. "I warned you!" a voice called out. I turned around with great speed but there was nothing. All I saw were the motionless Matoran. I turned my attention to catching up with Icarax. He stopped to examine something, a Matoran? "Gorast, you may have been on to something when you were talking about that little celebration you saw," he said showing me the Matoran. It was dead -- had been for a while -- with spears sticking out of his body. There was no denying it, we were being followed. I readied myself for anything, but what happened next took me by surprise. A sharpened branch struck Icarax in the thigh, then another hit him in the arm. I felt something sharp hit me; my vision blurred as I saw another spear enter my stomach. I fell to my knees watching Icarax shouting in all directions desperately looking for something to respond to. Darkness consumed my vision. -------------- I woke up to the smell of burning embers and facing mask to mask with a Matoran. The Matoran immediately scurried away as I woke up. "The Goddess was right," a Matoran on tall ledge said to a group. "Demons would come and condemn us!" He then bowed as a tall figure approached him. "My, my, what do we have here?" The figure spoke. It was the Makuta I saw that night. She stood in front of a large fire; the Matoran were crowded around us. "I never thought the wise Teridax would send a Makuta like you. Bravo to Teridax." I attempted to move but realized my arms and legs were bound together. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't forget, I'm also a Makuta, so I can fry your pretty little face." She said as she held my head and dragged her finger across my mask. "Now Gorast..." "Where's Icarax?" I asked throwing myself forward but hardly far enough. "He -- excuse me -- limped away. But that was alright with me, because you were the one I wanted to talk to." She chuckled when she finished. "I know exactly why you're here. Before you kill me, do you want to know why I didn't join you?" "Why not, I don't have anything better to do," I replied as I tried to loosen the bonds. She knelt on one knee and we met face to face. She smirked "Didn't I just say not try that?" I stopped. "Good. Do you know what every petty crook, every cheater, every fraud wants in life? Redemption of course. That is what I wanted, for you see I have done and seen many horrible things in my life, sights that would drive anyone insane. I realized the only way I would only gain redemption was if I sided with Miserix and I believe you know how that turned out. But soon I came to realize, because of who I am I can never achieve redemption; not even siding with Miserix could do that." "What does this have to do with the Matoran?" "I'm glad you asked. I remember how my kind could never receive redemption from the Great Spirit -- Teridax's victory made our chances even lower -- so then I came up with an idea. Perhaps I redeem those who believed they couldn't be redeemed." Suddenly another version of her appeared from behind her. This clone spoke "You see, my 'cult' is made up of condemned souls. They saw no hope and no purpose in their life. But then I promised a path toward redemption." Another clone of the Makuta stepped out from behind her. "That is why they serve me. Now I bet you're wondering what in the name of the Great Spirit is going on? Well, can you swim?" The clones began to laugh, I desperately tried escape as more clones of her appeared. I briefly looked upward as the stars made the shape of her mask. Then bubbles appeared, the world began murky, and the sky disappeared. I realized rather quickly that I was underwater. Where? I wasn't sure. I quickly broke my bonds and made a mad dash to the surface. I broke the surface; finding myself deep in the forest. "How did she do that?" I asked myself. I wondered just what the Karhzani had happened. I quickly looked up to see that clouds blocked the sky. Then I looked around me to see only trees. I attempted to move but the pain in my left arm stopped me. I also realized that Icarax was nowhere to be found. Sometimes Icarax could be a pain, but I needed him alive. I began the long trek through the mountainous forest, checking every direction for any sign of Icarax. Every part of my body was filled with anger at that Makuta. I thought of all the ways I could gut her and rip that smirk right off her face. I seemed be getting nowhere, as I only saw more of the same: trees. I also came across the occasional motionless Matoran but I knew they were dead. Midday soon gave way to sunset and there was no sign of Icarax. I sat myself down in front of a tree stump and examined my situation. I'd need a plan. "Get over here!" Someone called. I turned to face the voice, making sure I was still hidden; it was one of the Makuta's cultist. What was he yapping about? "We found one of the demons!" He had unknowingly gotten my attention. "He's putting a huge fight!" I noticed an explosion off in the background. It was definitely Icarax, putting his rage to good use. The Matoran's friend finally reached him. "Hurry! Our brothers need us." With that the two disappeared into the forest in the direction of the blasts. I waited a little while before following them. I made it my top priority to remain silent as I followed the two Matoran. Soon the noises got louder and the explosions drew nearer. So much so I thought I could see some pieces of wreckage fly over head. At last the two reached the explosions. I was right, Icarax was in the middle of it all, fighting Matoran. Normally I would've been laughing at Icarax being unable to fend them off, in fact I almost did, but I saw one Matoran fighting without an arm. All the Matoran had some sort of crippling injury. Once the two Matoran had ran down to help their 'brothers' I leaped into the fight. I sprinted through the onslaught of Matoran until I reached Icarax. "Glad to see you here," he said as he kicked a Matoran "Did she have you in you a mind trick too?" I threw a Matoran onto the ground before I answered. "Yes, she made clones of her..." I was cut off by the Matoran I had slammed into the ground jumping onto me with a dagger in his hand. I threw him off then leaped onto him and delivered a killing blow to his face. "Forgot to mention that," Icarax said. He then summoned a bolt of lightning from the storm clouds and struck two Matoran that were both missing some limb. I dodged a Matoran that tried to jump on me. The Matoran held a torch in his hand and danced toward me twirling the torch as he did. I grabbed the dagger the earlier Matoran dropped and dodged his attack. I grabbed him and proceeded to slam him against a tree. I slashed his neck in one sweeping motion. Icarax unleashed another bolt of chain lightning that knocked the last three Matoran to their knees. I leaped to the three Matoran and snapped his neck. I moved onto to the other two. One began his suicide charge which resulted in him getting smashed into the ground by me. The third one did something rather extraordinary. He gave up. He threw his hands up and just gave up. I grabbed him by the neck and showed him the dagger. "If this is a trap then, you'll be on the business end of this!" I said. "I know," he replied. I let go of him. He appeared to be an Onu-Matoran, his mask was cracked and scratched, his war paint was starting to peel, and his arm appeared broken. Icarax walked over to the Matoran. "You expect us to trust you after nearly half an army attacked us?" He asked with rage in his voice. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think we have a choice." I said to him. The Onu-Matoran led us through a forest nestled near a dormant volcano. I had to help Icarax walk because he had taken a severe beating in the attack. He hated being seen like this, I secretly enjoyed every minute of it. "How did you know you were under an illusion?" I asked him. "She just set herself on fire, then everything else on fire," he replied. "She also said you limped away, I couldn't remember if that was true." "She said the same thing about you," I added. "The Goddess is known for her mind tricks," the Onu-Matoran said. "She has used her ability to promise riches, or as she calls it, redemption." I asked him when she first showed up on the island. "Nobody knows, but when she did she used 'prophets' to spread her message. I was eager to hear her message, as much as I hate to say it." "Why did you-" I was cut off because Icarax's foot had caught on something. Once we freed it I continued "-want redemption?" He didn't speak for a moment "A long time ago I robbed a merchant, during my escape he was severely injured when a tree that I had cut down landed on him. I exiled myself from the village ever since. This being that promises redemption comes along and all my troubles seem to go. You know those Matoran you saw earlier? I did that." His voice was filled regret, were the other Matoran cultists like this too? We reached a volcanic mountain.He turned to us "This is where she is. I'll run to the nearest village from here." He said as he pointed to the mountain. "Matoran..." Icarax spoke "thanks." I never thought I'd hear him say that but he wasn't finished. "Do not expect any favors from us. Understand?" The Matoran just smiled "No worries, you killing her is enough for me. Now go." The Onu-Matoran ran off disappearing from view into the woods. We climbed the mountain though carrying Icarax made it difficult. When we reached the peak, we saw the Makuta speaking to her subjects. I set Icarax against a rock; I could already tell he wanted to give the Makuta a piece of his mind. "I'll be right back," I said before sliding down into the volcano.Shadows danced on the walls, all armed with staffs and spears. I heard the Makuta's voice echo throughout the room. She stopped speaking she knew I was here; just as I wanted. "It seems we have an uninvited guest in our meeting," she said. I leaped out from hiding spot, dagger tightly clenched in my hand. "I'm here to put an end to all this," I said. The Matoran readied their weapons but the Makuta stopped them. "This is between me and her only," she said, readying her weapons -- two wavy swords. The Matoran lowered their spears. "Let's get started shall we?" She asked. All of a sudden there was a bright flash that blinded me. I opened my eyes to a burning forest. "This is what I protect my followers from," her voiced echoed. I saw someone made of flames walk toward me, it was the other defiant Makuta. "I warned you, now we'll be together in Karzhani," he said. As he fell apart the female Makuta lunged at me. I managed to dodge her but she struck me from behind. She swung her two swords at me I blocked both with my dagger. She struck; I dodged but she shattered my dagger. I didn't need it now. She swung both her swords but again I dodged both. The traitor swung and struck in the upper arm. That made me mad; I had to get one her swords to make this a fair fight. Now the scenery changed, we weren't in a burning forest but we were in a stone tower. She almost had my head when she swung her sword but now it was my turn. When she swung her sword at me I dodged then kicked it out of her hand. I grabbed the sword. Now it was even. Our swords clashed with speed and ferocity, the sound of colliding metal echoing throughout the illusion. I attacked but she jumped out of the way of the sword's blade. I chastised myself for letting her dodge that. I swung again and our swords made contact with a loud ping. "There is no denying it," she said "one of us is leaving this island and it won't be you!" She swung her sword, her arrogance increasing the speed at which it was swung. I managed to dodge it; my sword was still intact miraculously but I couldn't handle another blow like that. The fight continued, with every miss I grew angrier. My rage propelled my sword to incredible speeds. I knew I would have to finish this soon. I finally let all my rage go at her and I managed to strike her. I struck her again and again before I kicked her in the face and sent sliding across the floor. Consequently the illusion disappeared and I returned to the real world. I walked over to the fallen Makuta. She was about to reach for her sword but I swung my blade in her face. "Well done Gorast," she said making no effort to resist. "I guess I can't run anymore. You can kill me." "Why are you so smug?" I asked with suspicion. "I beat and I will kill you; you won't be able to fight Makuta Teridax now." "I know, but wherever I'm going, I'll see you there soon," she replied. "Teridax will lead you down a path of darkness and cruelty. He will kill you all, he does not care about you at all." What happened next was something that I never regretted. I made one quick slash across her torso then drove the sword through her with all my anger. I believe I saw her eyes close before I killed her, accepting her fate. I turned to face her followers; the look on their faces was that of horror. I saw them all scramble to leave the volcano, probably to remove all reminders of their service to their mistress and blend into society. I turned to the body, I removed her Kanohi and piece of her shoulder armor. I walked back to Icarax who was readying to strike the Matoran. "Don't," I said to him dropping the Kanohi at his feet. ---------------- When morning came I snuck into the village the Onu-Matoran had run off to that night. I found waiting outside a hut with a sling on his arm. I gave the shoulder armor to him. "She's dead, here's the proof" I said. "If you speak of this to anyone your head will be my next trophy." He looked at me and gave me an approving grin. "Because you killed that Makuta I will respect your wishes. Thank you Makuta." I turned to walk away from the village. "You too," I said with haste. I gave him a death glare and he got the message. I met up with Icarax at one of the peninsula's beaches. "I hope you're not going soft on me Gorast," he said "aren't Matoran below us?" "Don't worry, after this no Matoran can expect kindness from me," I reassured him. Icarax teleported back to Destral. I took one last look at the mask I had gotten from my victory. Did she get what she wanted? I asked myself. Was she right about Teridax? I knew she was very wrong about that, so very wrong about that one. The threat of Miserix -- if he posed any -- was eliminated; that was all that mattered. Now whenever any being sees the last mask in the convocation chamber they will know the story behind it. It will always be known to every Makuta who reads this. It will also be unforgotten throughout the history of the Matoran Universe. Words: 4,713 Trivia: The sword that the rebel Makuta is using is called a Kris. Look it up for more. Edited May 22, 2014 by bonesiii Format reconstructed after a BZP glitch. -bones Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Relationships tend to become strained over time in the entertainment business, but Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood seem to move together in lock step as they grow.
"I think we all truly love hanging out and look at the other person with a lot of respect and as a great friend," says Haywood. "So I think when you have that as your foundation, when we do have a big decision, it's easier to handle it."
For their fourth studio album, Golden, the platinum-selling group had to decide if they should play it safe with their sound or try to shake things up. They chose the latter, and Golden features new songwriters, a return to a "band" feel and fresh vocal attitude from Scott.
The group dropped by the CMT offices to let fans know where Golden is coming from.
CMT: This seems like a very happy, exciting time in each of your lives. How did the song and idea of "Golden" come to you?
Kelley: That was actually the last song we wrote for the album. We'd been trying to get together to write with Eric Paslay because we just love his songwriting style. It just happened that it was really late in the process. So we sat around at my house, and it just came out of nowhere. Sometimes a really special song can come out of that, and "Golden" was back to the basics of us as a group — just us sitting in a room and laughing and having a great writing session, not having the distractions of being on the road. It was just a really soft, calm night.
Once we started thinking about a title for the record, I kept saying "Hopefully, this will be a good road trip record" — one where you're just riding down the road and you can see the golden streaks of light coming through the trees. It kind of reminded me of records that I've had driving from my home in Augusta, Ga., to college … like a golden, vintage vibe to it.
Reinvention was also on your minds since this is the fourth album. You've never really been stuck on recording only your own material, but now there are a few more outside songs. How does it feel to get outside of your comfort zone?
Scott: I think it's probably one of the best decisions we could have made at this point in our career. For one, we were pitched the best songs we've ever been pitched before. And two, we write a certain way, like what naturally comes to us, and this pulled us out of our shell. The subject matter is said in a way that we would never have said it, so it's made us grow. And then there are melodies that we didn't write to go along with the lyrics, so a song like "Get to Me" — which kicks off the record and was written by Hillary Lindsey and James Slater — I can truly say I'm a better singer now because of that song. It stretched my range higher than I've ever sung before, and it's more powerful. It's a different place for me.
Haywood: And even the lyrics like in "Downtown," talking about jaywalking and smoking and all these fun lines that we might not have put into a song …
Scott: (sings) "Show a little uh huh/But you ain't getting nuh uh"
Haywood: Yeah (laughs). So I think lyrically they push you along.
"Downtown" is one of the most distinctive songs on the record. What drew you to it?
Kelley: It just had a feel to it. This could be a weird reference, but it reminded me of Sheryl Crow's first album — (sings) "All I wanna do, is have some fun." It just had that kind of fun vibe, and it's unique. Plus, it had a little edge. At first, Hillary was a little scared of doing it. She was like "I don't know if I can pull that off." Again, it was another song that showed a different side of her.
Scott: To myself.
Kelley: Yeah, and we needed to mix it up a little bit. I think when you go into your fourth record, fans are going to start to think they know what to expect. And I feel like the people that have heard it so far, you can just feel a different energy now from when we were doing the last record. Maybe that sound was a little more expected, and this one feels like people are refreshed a little.
Hillary, you mentioned taking a few chances with your voice. On "It Ain't Pretty," I heard some rawness to it. Is that a new direction for you?
Scott: Yeah, and it's two-fold because the mic that I had been singing on since the beginning broke for this record.
Haywood: Passed away.
Scott: Yeah, we had to lay it to rest, which was really sad at first. But in the long run, I think it was time because I got to try new mics. It sounds weird, but it really does make a difference what mic you're singing on. So between the mic choice and the song — and the way we tracked it and all of that — it can really dictate a performance. I mean, the emotion is the most important part, but those elements factor in, as well, so it pushed me outside of my comfort zone in another way.
For that song in particular, I wanted it to be "not pretty," as much as you can. I wanted that to be felt through my vocal because what it's talking about isn't pretty. It's this girl's story of heartbreak and her fall from grace, in a way, and not making great decisions after a really bad heartbreak. And having been there myself at certain points in my life, when you really let yourself go there, you can give a performance that you didn't even know you had in you.
Dave, you've said there are fewer instruments on this record. Does that change the connection that the listener might have?
Haywood: We always rehearse before we go into the studio to work the songs up. But when we were working these up, the arrangements just felt full the way they were. We didn't feel like we needed to go in there and start stacking electric guitars and orchestras and stuff, which we love doing and have done on a lot of our songs. We just didn't feel like these songs lent themselves to that.
Kelley: It lets the vocals shine through more when you don't clutter it up.
Haywood: Yeah, and the harmonies all come through a little bit better when you don't have tons of electronic instruments floating all the way through everything. There are no drum loops or any of that kind of crazy stuff for this record. So it's much simpler. More like a band, as opposed to "We built a track and we added this and that." We wanted to sound like a band again on this record.


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lipscomb Lady Bisons have been to an NCAA Regional two times and for the second time they find themselves playing the host team for the chance to advance to a Super Regional.
Sunday afternoon at 1 the Lady Bisons, 41-14, will face Tennessee, the No. 10-seed nationally with a 44-10 record at Lee Stadium. Coming out of the loser's bracket is never easy in a tournament, but the Lady Bisons climbed back into contention with a 12-3 win over Virginia Tech Saturday night that was preceded by a 4-2 victory against Charleston Southern.
"This is exciting for us," Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. "The girls have worked really hard to get to this point."
The Lady Bisons had opened the regional with a 4-3 loss to Virginia Tech. Now they are one of 32 teams still playing.
If a second game is needed it will be played at 3:30.
"We got not only a win tonight, but a big win over a team that beat us Friday," Ryman said. "Right now, our players are just excited about the opportunity. They know if we bring the fire that we brought against Virginia Tech we are going to have a chance.
"I am very excited for our players. This is a feeling I have had before but this is a feeling I have been dying for them to have…to not only get to a regional but to get to the final game. To still be standing on Sunday is huge."
The Lady Bisons pounded out 12 hits. Haley Elliott, with two home runs and a single drove in six runs. Bridgett Begle also had three hits.
Elliott cleared the left field fence to drive in two runs in the fourth. She bounced a home run off the top of the scoreboard in left center for three runs in the seventh. She also had an RBI single.
Brittany Elmore added two hits and two RBI. She drove a ball in the seven-run seventh inning that went past the right fielder with the bases loaded. Elmore was credited with a single and two RBI but all three runners scored. Elmore also scored due to the error.
Paige Neely finished with two hits.
Brianne Welch got it started for the Lady Bisons offensively in the second inning with an RBI-triple to right field.
"We finally got the offense clicking again which is huge going into Sunday," Ryman said. "For this team hitting is contagious. This was survival mode for us. We were able to grind out two wins.
"In the first game as a team we could tell we were tensed up a little. As we were getting to the end of the game we told them we needed to go out and play our game.
"We needed the spark that we had Friday night. We got a couple of key hits and found a way to win. In game two the spark returned. After the first game there was a sense of relief. We have played well as the underdog all year."
The Lady Bisons have never beaten the Lady Vols in eight games. The last time they played was a 6-0 decision Feb. 26, 2013.
Ryman met with Tennessee co-head coach Ralph Weekly following the Virginia Tech win.
"He had his congratulations for us and we appreciate that," Ryman said. "We tried to find a way to schedule them this year. It was hard to find a date that worked out for both of us. I just told him we are going to get to play each other after all."
Tennessee has won both of its regional games in five innings beating Charleston Southern 12-3 and Virginia Tech 12-0. The Lady Vols hit six home runs against Virginia Tech.
"They hit," Ryman said. "Top to bottom they can hit it out and they did it against Virginia Tech. It is going to be a challenge."
Sanders was smooth: Right-hander Tanner Sanders raised her record to 12-4. She has two wins over Virginia Tech this season. She also has beaten Baylor and Iowa along with a pair of wins over UAB.
Sanders allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out one.
The coaches agreed Friday night that Ashley Anderson would pitch game one and Sanders would face Virginia Tech.
"This was the point in the tournament where we needed a good performance out of someone other than Ashley," Ryman said. "Tanner was ready to go in game one in relief if we needed her.
"In game two she did everything we needed her to do. She stayed tough mentally out there for us."
Regional notes: The Lady Bisons are the first Atlantic Sun team to win two games in the same day in a regional since Florida Atlantic did it in 2004.
The last time an A-Sun team has won two games in a regional was 2010 when the Lady Bisons beat UAB in two games and lost twice to then top-seeded Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
The Lady Bisons are 4-3 overall in regional games.
The Lady Bisons are the only A-Sun team still playing in a regional. Both USC Upstate and Stetson were eliminated after winning their first games Friday.
"We were happy for Stetson and Upstate getting their wins in extra innings against two very good teams," Ryman said. "We felt like we didn't do our part for the conference when we lost to Virginia Tech even though we played a good game."
Game one recap: Left-handed pitcher Ashley Anderson won her 20th game of the season in the 4-2 defeat of Charleston Southern. She scattered six hits, walked four and struck out four.
Kristen Sturdivant hit a solo home run over the 220-foot mark in center field to lead off the seventh that almost went to the railroad tracks beyond Lee Stadium. It proved to be the game-winner though the Lady Bisons added an insurance run.
Sturdivant has 10 home runs for the season.
The 42 wins are the second most for the Lady Bisons in the NCAA era. They won 50 in 2010, the last time they went to an NCAA Regional.
Brittany Elmore collected her 26th stolen base of the season.


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One of the privileges New York University School of Law students enjoy is also a challenge: How to choose among the wide range of careers an NYU School of Law degree makes possible. The success of NYU School of Law students in finding jobs in the private sector is well known, as is their success in the world of public service.
Students are assisted in their job search by the most extensive placement program in the country. The Office of Career Services, together with the Public Interest Law Center, organizes numerous recruiting programs, panels and workshops, practice interview programs, and offers individual counseling sessions.
Similar success is enjoyed by students seeking judicial clerkships nationwide. NYU School of Law graduates have clerked at the United States Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Graduates also obtain positions on the faculties of law schools worldwide.


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Needed something relaxing, brainless and that I wasn't looking forward to much so watched The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Premise: Lodge (Nathan Rice) is playtesting a new D&D campaign but his players, led by the arrogant Cass (Brian Lewis), keeping getting killed so they decide to recruit new players including Cass ex and newbie Noanna (Carol Roscoe) joins.
I found it quite fun, clearly a cheap movie so impact on some of the effects but cast (including Scott C. Brown, Christian Doyle and Jennifer Page playing the group) do a nice job with a sense of fun. The bits outside gaming are alright but it really gets going when the gaming begins, be it the OC battles between players and DM/each other and disputes or the IC stuff where it isn't afraid to be a bit silly. Some fun running jokes (like one player forgetting his character's gender), characters working their way out of trouble is enjoyable, slightly loses it's way during the big boss stuff but has a nice ending.
Had nice, fun time


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Mike Boyer waited 20 hours in line to legally buy marijuana in Spokane, Washington. Boyer wanted to be part of the historic day and made up his mind to be the first man in. His determination and will to succeed earned him some prime shit—"20.4 percent certified...that's pretty high."—but it also got him fired from two companies he worked for. He's handling it pretty well, though.
Boyer, who made news earlier in the week for being the first man in Spokane to legally buy weed, told CNBC that after he was seen smoking on the news (in a different tie-dye T-shirt), customers called his temp agency to complain. He was then called in for a urine test. He refused the test and was fired. After the story became a sensation, the temp agency said they fired him because they thought he was high while working, but also claim to have seen him getting high on television in what appears to be his backyard. So, unless he works for a temp company that staffs landscaping jobs, they're probably backpedalling.
It turns out, Mike had taken time off from both jobs so he could go and make history. The temp agency eventually offered him his job back (the other said he was never fired), but Mike isn't so sure now. He's going to take the weekend, mull his options, and if he can't find anything better, he'll go back to work Monday.
If there's a better example of the disconnect in the weed debate than Chilled-Out Mike Boyer In His Tie-Dye Shirt Not Giving One Shit About Anything talking about his new career options with a bunch of CNBC suits yukking it up about Seinfeld and fiduciary duties, we haven't seen it.
"I don't smoke at work!" Boyer told the News of his patch of rough luck. But, he added, "I regret nothing."


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Martin Popoff – eBook – Mercyful Fate - Melissa
This variant is currently sold out
The 2013 Martin Popoff 17-page ebook about the making of the Mercyful Fate album, Melissa.
Proud of this one, as we explore one of the most imposingly scary and skilled metal classics ever, the grand and merciless debut from Satanic Dane masters Mercyful Fate. It's a long hard look, including much interview footage never before published from my chats with Hank Shermann, Michael Denner and of course, King Diamond his charming self. Not since Sad Wings Of Destiny had a record from an unknown band sound so shockingly perfect. Was the hand of Satan involved? You be the judge.
Learn more about Martin Popoff at http://www.martinpopoff.com
Bonus! - This short 17-page eBook is available here as a full high-resolution PDF to provide images at the highest quality. You can also chose standard ePub format, or .mobi for your Kindle.
eBook File Size - PDF format – 4.47 MB
eBook File Size - ePub format - 3.5 MB
eBook File Size - Kindle (.mobi) format - 0.85 MB


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Items where Department is "Mathematics and Statistics" and Year is 2001
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Belton, Alexander C. R. (2001) Quantum Ω-semimartingales and stochastic evolutions. Journal of Functional Analysis, 187 (1). pp. 94-109. ISSN 0022-1236
Blower, Gordon (2001) Almost sure weak convergence for the generalized orthogonal ensemble. Journal of Statistical Physics, 105 (1-2). pp. 309-335. ISSN 0022-4715
Blower, Gordon (2001) Gaussian ensembles for the non-linear Schrödinger and KdV equations. Stochastics and Stochastics Reports, 71 (3-4). pp. 177-200.
Chetwynd, Amanda G. and Diggle, Peter J. and Marshall, A. and Parslow, R. (2001) Investigation of spatial clustering from matched and stratified case-control studies. Biostatistics, 2 (3). pp. 277-293. ISSN 1468-4357
Christensen, O. F. and Møller, J. and Waagepetersen, R. P. (2001) Geometric ergodicity of Metropolis-Hastings algorithms for conditional simulation in generalised linear mixed models. Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability, 3 (3). pp. 309-327. ISSN 1387-5841
Cleary, Tom and Sleight, Allan and Jonathan, Philip and Blackhurst, Paul and den Heijer, Kees (2001) Statistical analysis leads to working-capital reductions. Oil and Gas Journal, 99 (4). pp. 52-54. ISSN 0030-1388
Crouchley, R and Davies, R B (2001) A comparison of GEE and random effects models for distinguishing heterogeneity, nonstationarity and state dependence in a collection of short binary event series. Statistical Modelling: An International Journal, 1. pp. 271-285. ISSN 1471-082X
Crouchley, R and Oskrochi, G (2001) Testing for sample-selection bias due to location in the labour-market behaviour of respondents from the British Household Panel Survey. Environment and Planning A, 33 (11). pp. 1963-1984. ISSN 0308-518X
Dales, H.G. (2001) Derivations from Banach algebras. In: Recent progress in functional analysis. North-Holland Mathematics Studies . Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 75-94. ISBN 9780444502193
Dales, H.G. and Rodríguez-Palacios, A. and Velasco, M. V. (2001) The second transpose of a derivation. Journal of the London Mathematical Society, 64 (3). pp. 707-721. ISSN 0024-6107
Dales, H.G. and Villena, A. R. (2001) Continuity of derivations, intertwining maps, and cocycles from Banach algebras. Journal of the London Mathematical Society, 63 (1). pp. 215-225. ISSN 0024-6107
Dolby, P. and Seviour, R. and Lambert, C. J. (2001) Transport across a normal-superconducting interface with coulomb interactions: a novel probe of electron-electron interactions in the normal metal. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 13. L147-L152. ISSN 1361-648X
Dornan, T. and Hollis, Sally (2001) Critical appraisal of published research evidence treatment of gestational diabetes. Diabetic Medicine, 18 (Supple). pp. 1-5. ISSN 0742-3071
Dunn, C. E. and Kingham, S. and Rowlingson, B. S. and Bhopa, R. S. and Cockings, S. and Foy, C. J. and Acquilla, S. D. and Halpin, J. and Diggle, P. J. and Walker, D. (2001) Analysing public health data: a comparison of three methodological approaches. Health and Place, 7 (1). pp. 1-12. ISSN 1873-2054
Dupuis, Debbie J. and Tawn, Jonathan A. (2001) Effects of mis-specification in bivariate extreme value problems. Extremes, 4 (4). pp. 315-330. ISSN 1386-1999
Elton, Daniel M. (2001) Fredholm properties of elliptic operators on R. Dissertationes Mathematicae (Rozprawy Matematyczne), 399. pp. 1-72. ISSN 0012-3862
Elton, Daniel M. (2001) Spectral properties of the equation (' + ieA) ' u = '? Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Section A Mathematics, 131 (5). pp. 1065-1089. ISSN 1473-7124
Fearnhead, P. (2001) Perfect simulation of population genetic models with selection. Theoretical Population Biology, 59 (4). pp. 263-279. ISSN 1096-0325
Fearnhead, Paul and Donnelly, Peter (2001) Estimating recombination rates from population genetic data. Genetics, 159 (3). pp. 1299-1318. ISSN 0016-6731
Feng, Q and Liu, K and Liu, Y X and Byrne, S and Ockleford, C D (2001) Plasminogen activators and inhibitors are transcribed during early macaque implantation. Placenta, 22 (2-3). pp. 186-199. ISSN 0143-4004
Fokianos, K. (2001) Truncated Poisson regression for time series of counts. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, 28 (4). pp. 645-659. ISSN 0303-6898
Fokianos, K. and Qin, J. and Kedem, B. and Short, D.A. (2001) Semiparametric approach to the one-way layout. Technometrics, 43 (1). pp. 56-65. ISSN 0040-1706
Francis, Brian J. and Soothill, Keith L. and Dittrich, Regina (2001) A new approach for ranking crime seriousness : the use of paired comparison methodology. British Journal of Criminology, 41 (4). pp. 726-737. ISSN 1464-3529
Friede, T. and Kieser, M. A. (2001) A loss function based approach for dose selection in two-stage dose-response trials. Journal of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 6 (4). pp. 317-324.
Friede, T. and Miller, F. and Bischoff, W. and Kieser, M. (2001) A note on change point estimation in dose-response trials. Computational Statistics and Data Analysis, 37 (2). pp. 219-232.
Friede, Tim and Kieser, Meinhard A. (2001) Comparison of methods for adaptive sample size adjustment. Statistics in Medicine, 20 (24). pp. 3861-3873. ISSN 1097-0258
Friede, Tim and Kieser, Meinhard A. (2001) Sample size adjustment in clinical trials for proving equivalence. Drug Information Journal, 35. pp. 1401-1408. ISSN 2164-9200
Friede, Tim and Kieser, Meinhard A. and Victor, N. (2001) Blind sample size adjustment in clinical trials: a case study. Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, 21. pp. 19-27. ISSN 0208-5216
Glazebrook, Kevin and Nino-Mora, J. (2001) Parallel scheduling of multiclass M/M/m queues: approximate and heavy-traffic optimization of achievable performance. Operations Research, 49 (4). pp. 609-623. ISSN 0030-364X
Green, Richard and Losonczy, J. (2001) Fully commutative Kazhdan-Lusztig cells. Annales de L'Institut Fourier, 51 (4). pp. 1025-1045. ISSN 1777-5310
Heffernan, Janet E. and Tawn, Jonathan A. (2001) Extreme value analysis of a large designed experiment : a case study in bulk carrier safety. Extremes, 4 (4). pp. 359-378. ISSN 1386-1999
Henderson, Robin and Jones, M. and Stare, J. (2001) Accuracy of point predictions in survival analysis. Statistics in Medicine, 20 (20). pp. 3083-3096. ISSN 1097-0258
Herrick, A. L. and Illingworth, K. J. and Hollis, Sally and Gomez-Zumaquero, J. M. and Tinahones, F. J (2001) Antibodies against oxidized low-density lipoproteins in systemic sclerosis. Rheumatology, 40 (4). pp. 401-405. ISSN 1462-0332
Jarner, S. F. and Tweedie, R. L. (2001) Locally contracting iterated functions and stability of Markov chains. Journal of Applied Probability, 38 (2). pp. 494-507.
Kaskavelis, E. and Martin, E. and Jonathan, P. and Morris, J. (2001) Statistical analysis of catalyst degradation in a semi-continuous chemical production process. Journal of Chemometrics, 15 (8). pp. 665-683. ISSN 0886-9383
Knorr-Held, L. and Best, N. G. (2001) A shared component model for detecting joint and selective clustering of two diseases. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 164 (1). pp. 73-85. ISSN 0964-1998
Knorr-Held, L. and Rainer, E. (2001) Prognosis of lung cancer mortality in West Germany: a case study in Bayesian prediction. Biostatistics, 2 (1). pp. 109-129. ISSN 1468-4357
McIllmurray, Malcolm B. and Thomas, Carol and Francis, Brian J. and Morris, Sara and Soothill, Keith L. and Al-Hamad, A. (2001) The psychosocial needs of cancer patients : findings from an observational study. European Journal of Cancer Care, 10 (4). pp. 261-269. ISSN 0961-5423
Mcglone, R. and Fleet, T. and Durham, S. and Hollis, Sally (2001) A comparison of intramuscular ketamine with high dose intramuscular medazolam with and without intranasal flumazenil in children before suturing. Emergency Medicine Journal, 18. pp. 34-38. ISSN 1472-0213
Morton, A. S. and Tunnicliffe Wilson, G. (2001) Extracting economic cycles using modified autoregressions. Manchester School, 69 (5). pp. 574-585. ISSN 1463-6786
Power, Stephen C. and Donsig, A. P. and Pitts, D. (2001) Algebraic isomorphisms and spectra of triangular limit algebras. Illinois Journal of Mathematics, 50. pp. 1131-1147. ISSN 0019-2082
Prince, Martin I. and Chetwynd, Amanda G. and Diggle, Peter J. and Jarner, Mikala and Metcalf, Jane V. and James, Oliver F. W. (2001) The geographical distribution of primary biliary cirrhosis in a well-defined cohort. Hepatology, 34 (6). pp. 1083-1088. ISSN 1527-3350
Scarrott, Carl J. and Tunnicliffe Wilson, Granville (2001) Building a statistical model to predict reactor temperatures. Journal of Applied Statistics, 28 (3-4). pp. 497-504. ISSN 1360-0532
Soothill, Keith L. and Morris, Sara and Harman, J. and Francis, Brian J. and Thomas, Carol and McIllmurray, Malcolm B. (2001) Informal carers of cancer patients : what are their unmet psychosocial needs? Health and Social Care in the Community, 9 (6). pp. 464-475. ISSN 0966-0410
Soothill, Keith L. and Morris, Sara and Harman, J. and Francis, Brian J. and Thomas, Carol and McIllmurray, Malcolm B. (2001) The significant unmet needs of cancer patients:probing psychosocial concerns. Supportive Care in Cancer, 9 (8). pp. 597-605. ISSN 0941-4355
Steiner, Thorsten and Friede, Tim and Aschoff, Alfred and Schellinger, Peter Dieter and Schwab, Stefan and Hacke, Werner (2001) Effect and feasibility of controlled rewarming after moderate hypothermia in stroke patients with malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery. Stroke, 32 (12). pp. 2833-2835. ISSN 1524-4628
Thomas, Carol and Morris, S. M. and Harman, J. C. and Mclllmurray, M. B. (2001) Informal carers in cancer contexts: their activities and needs. In: ECCO 11 European Cancer Conference, 2001-10-212001-10-25.
Thomas, Carol and Morris, Sara and McIllmurray, Malcolm B. and Soothill, Keith L. and Francis, Brian J. and Harman, Juliet C. (2001) The psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their main carers. University of Lancaster, Lancaster.
Thomas, Carol and Morris, Sara M. and Gatrell, Anthony C. and McIllmurray, Malcolm B. (2001) Place of death in Morecambe Bay : patterns and preferences for place of final care and death among terminally ill cancer patients and their carers. Morecambe Bay Medical Journal, 3 (10). pp. 356-358.
Tunnicliffe Wilson, Granville and Reale, Marco (2001) Identification of vector AR models with recursive structural errors using conditional independence graphs. Statistical Methods and Applications, 10 (1-3). pp. 49-65. ISSN 1618-2510
Victor, N. and Kieser, Meinhard A. and Friede, Tim (2001) The potential of adaptive designs. Bulletin of the International Statistical Institute, 59 (3). pp. 57-58.
Wan, M. C. and Moore, T. and Hollis, Sally and Herrick, A. L. (2001) Ankle-brachial pressure index in systemic sclerosis: influence of disease sub-type and anticentromere antibody. Rheumatology, 40 (10). pp. 1102-1105. ISSN 1462-0332
Whitehead, Anne and Higgins, Julian P. T. and Omar, Rumana Z. and Savaluny, Elly (2001) Meta-analysis of ordinal outcomes using individual patient data. Statistics in Medicine, 20 (15). pp. 2243-2260. ISSN 1097-0258
Whitehead, John and Patterson, Scott and Webber, Dawn and Zhou, Yinghui (2001) Easy-to-implement Bayesian methods for dose-escalation studies in healthy volunteers. Biostatistics, 2 (1). pp. 47-61. ISSN 1468-4357


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Custodial Services - Safety Plans, Videos & Training
We recommend the following OSHA safety plans, videos, and training programs to help make your company compliant with the required OSHA Government standards in Custodial Services Safety in the workplace.
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About Custodial Services Safety Training for OSHA and NIOSH Compliance
In Many cases your custodian knows almost as much about your facility as your engineer. So it makes sense to make sure they have the most up to date safety training, They also come in contact with chemicals on a daily basis so making sure they have training in the use of appropriate PPE, understand hazcom and know how to read the new SDS as required by the new OSHA Standard for Hazard communication including GHS, is very important to everybody's health and wellness. In years past this was known as RTK or "right to know" which explained the chemicals and the hazards they present to the user. As chemicals, the use of them, and the way in which they are disposed of becomes more regulated due to environmental issues outlined by EPA, Employers must ensure that both OSHA Standards for safety are met, along with EPA standards for use and disposal.


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One of the best parts of being a state legislator is encouraging more Iowans to get involved, whether it is though civic engagement or volunteer work in their communities. This week, we saw those two things come together in a bill that passed the Iowa Senate.
Senate File 2129, a bill that I introduced, would allow schools to create a philanthropy account within their student activity fund. The money raised could be used for educational, charitable, humane, scientific, public health or welfare, environmental or disaster relief purposes. This includes charitable causes related to the school district or to local students.
The idea behind this bill is extra special because it came from a group of government students at West Marshall High School. They wanted to raise money for a family that had gone through an especially hard time. Unfortunately, there wasn't a way for the money to be kept separate from other student activity funds, and the state Department of Education did not permit setting up a separate account.
Article Photos
State Senator Steve Sodders
Rather than giving up, the West Marshall students researched the problem, came up with a solution, proposed legislation, advocated for it and saw it pass the Senate this week.
I enjoy going "back to school" by visiting with students and educators in classrooms across my senate district. I always encourage students to think of things they'd like to improve and then to get involved to make those changes a reality.
While the conflict we see in Washington, D.C., can be disheartening, there are plenty of opportunities to make a difference in our communities and in the lives of our fellow citizens. Senate File 2129 and the students who proposed it are proof that in Iowa, civic action makes a difference.


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The great bake off: How to bake your face for long-lasting makeup
From YouTube star Heidi Hamoud, to superstar Kim Kardashian, it seems everyone is baking their face. But what does 'baking' actually mean, and does it involve lots of sugar and choc chips? Unfortunately not, because this is baking of a different kind. Baking your face is a technique makeup artists have been using for years, but finally us mere mortals have caught on and it's become a worldwide makeup phenomenon that's resulting in a flawless base, less creases and makeup that lasts all day long.
From pictures we see on Instagram, baking can look daunting with all that packed-on powder underneath the eyes. But we promise it's not that scary! It's also super easy, so why not give it a try?
Here are 5 easy steps to achieve the ultimate baked - not caked - makeup look. To make your life even easier, we've linked some of our favourite products to get the job done.
Step 1: Apply your base
Apply your foundation as normal. Once that's on, it's time to contour. Grab a contouring stick, drawing it in a line in the hollow of your cheeks (from your ears to the corner of your lips), around the hairline, along the bottom of the jawline and on either side of your nose. Use a beauty sponge to blend it into your skin for a bronzed, dewy finish.
Image via @maxmade
Step 2: Conceal sleepy eyes
This is technically the first step of the baking process. Take a creamy liquid concealer and, starting at the inner corner, apply it under the eye in four diagonal tiger stripes. It's super important not to be heavy-handed at this step - less is more! These four stripes provide the perfect amount of product to conceal dark circles and act as a base for the baking powder, without being caked on. Again, take your beauty sponge and dab lightly to blend the concealer into the skin. Repeat if necessary (aka, you're extra tired today!)
Image via @kimkardashian
Step 3: Time to bake!
This is where the magic happens. It's also the part where most people get a little scared off, but stay with me! To achieve the ultimate bake, take a flat-topped brush and dip it into your baking powder. Pack it on generously under the eyes, to completely cover the area. Now, go and get dressed, brush your teeth, or fill in your eyebrows, because you need to wait 5-10 minutes for the powder to do its thing. Once the time is up, simply grab a fluffy brush and dust off the excess! You'll be left with a fresh face with bright under-eyes that reflect the light. Most importantly, no dark circles in sight.
Image via Heidi Hamoud on YouTube.
Step 4: Finish your makeup
All that's left to do is finish the rest of your look - sweep on bronzer, highlighter, blush, eyeshadow and mascara and you're good to go!
Image via @chloemorello


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I'm getting tired of having to spoonfeed this to some of you people individually. As it turns out though, thankfully, I can edit the OP so at least read this. I am not arguing against love, relationships or commitment, or anything the like. Quite the opposite, I'm saying they're good enough on their own without the need for the legal paperwork, money-waste and label of marriage. I welcome any opinion whether I like it or not, but not when you're missing all of the actual points like a little boy splashing the rim and substitute your own. No one's forcing you to read the whole thread, but at least read the damn OP of the thread next time or don't bother. It's getting frustrating having to read through your condescending tones just to find out you just didn't pay attention.
Hey. I'm not sure if I made a thread before but I'd like to put some of my thoughts on marriage here and see what all of you guys think. I see many of you as much smarter than me, and I think I can learn some. This got a little long, and I don't know if I should post it as a blog instead, but since my objective is to get some sort of exchange/discussion going a thread is more fitting. This is my opinion only. I'm not going to talk about gay-marriage or things like that, we all already know enough about that. I want to talk about marriage itself.
My stance on marriage is not that everybody should be allowed to have one, including gays. My stance is that nobody should get married, including straight people. And I'm often confused as to why atheists, secular intelligent people, would want to engage in this antiquated, forcefully contrived and often religious social construct.
I've said this in one form or another before. People like to think about marriage as this magical bond between two people in love, but for the bigger part of its history marriage wasn't about love at all. We know that in the past ages marriage was only used as a form of sales-contract, a political relationship building tool between two parties, and a way for the rulers to keep tabs on their subjects, while making sure they don't run amok fucking and raping each other aimlessly. It was an easy social structure to introduce into a primitive society that would otherwise kill each other over women to rape (which they did, and still do regardless). As a religious construct, it has been solely used for the above mentioned purposes, plus turn women into property. We need only look at some religious men and their harem of wives, to see that in that marriage women have become nothing more than a commodity. In marriage, even today, women are often nothing more than merchandise. Why do you think religious men always emphasize the importance of staying pure and staying away from sex until marriage? Because some men have very small penises. And some men with small penises are willing to pay high prices for a certain commodity: virginity. They want sex with virgins, because the small-dicked man knows the virgin doesn't know any better, so he has a confidence boost. Same reason they marry old geezers to little children, under the ruse of "our prophet did it." It's all about keeping the business running. Tell girls not to fuck. Slut-shame them should they dare to have sex outside of marriage. Call them whores, sluts, whatever. Put peer-pressure on them. Because if they do, the market will run dry.
There are a some popular arguments for/about marriage that I'd like to take on.
- It's a public declaration of loyalty. / It shows commitment.
This is a common error. Marriage doesn't make someone any more loyal then s/he would've been anyway, and if it does it's either because of peer-pressure (look up countries with the lowest divorce rates) or simple disingenuity. If you are in a relationship (which is not open), then you should be able to stay loyal and make it clear you're committed all by yourself, without a ring on your finger to vouch for you. Saying marriage ads to the commitment and shows loyalty is really no different than, for example, saying the bible gives us strength and hope. We should be able to have those things by ourselves, and those who cling to it show only a lack of those traits in themselves; just as someone who can not be as loyal without marriage shows a lack of confidence in their loyalty to begin with.
Now there also many people who say that they want a marriage to make sure their partner is committed. To me, a person who says they cannot expect loyalty and commitment unless their partner agrees to marry them is a person who displays a severe lack of trust, confidence and faith in their partner. A crucial flaw which wouldn't work out too well for a relationship to begin with.
I'm quoting the next point from a post from another member, MikeLong, here. I originally wanted to answer you in that thread, but the lack of a reply button was getting on my nerves, sorry.
- If shit goes south, marriage makes us try harder to preserve the relationship, rather than simply cast it aside as just another failed relationship.
Again, I think this should go without having to be married. If the relationship is worth it you should put all effort in, but not because you think "Oh well, we're married now. And it's kinda too much work to get divorced anyway." If marriage is your only incentive to keep a relationship alive, it's not a relationship of love as it is a cold iron chain locking you together.
More importantly though, just because a relationship is over doesn't mean it's failed. We fall in love, and then often we get jaded, and it's over. But that doesn't mean it wasn't worthwhile, that it was a waste of time, or that it failed. We experience something nice, and then it's time to move on. What marriage does is hold you trapped, after you've had enough. And I believe that the idea of an ended relationship being a "failed" relationship is something, more often than not, pushed into our culture by clergy. They are mostly the ones we hear bitching about divorce rates in secular countries and how it's somehow directly related to the moral decline in that country. That's bullshit. The only thing a divorce means is that two people no longer want to be together. What does the reason matter? Clergy often pretend like it's because people turn gay and the men divorce their wives because they want to go to a gay bar and have wild gay sex out of wedlock (ironically the solution would be to allow same-sex marriage, but I digress). But even if it were so, so what? How would it make those two people any more happy if they were continuously trapped in a marriage? Even when, at first, only one of the two partners wants a divorce, to me it would be much more horrible to force the other person to stay married. I certainly wouldn't want to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't want me anymore. Platonic love doesn't end well for either party.
So what I'm rambling on about it that ending a relationship is not always a bad thing. Call me a cynic, but I believe that it's a good time even most of the time. Something sucks, you work at it. But at some point you have to stop and accept that it might just not be worth it to try and pick up all the pieces off of the floor so you can glue them together and hope it sticks for just a little while longer. At some point you just have to leave the pieces lie and move the fuck on.
- marriage is the sacred bond between a man and a woman
Obviously, this is an argument that comes from the theist camp. Now I'm not going to argue about how retarded it is to suggest that gays have any less of a right to a marriage, we already know that, but instead tell you why I think religion loves pairing different genders so much. It's because man + woman = baby. Baby = another unit in the army. That's it. Nothing profound to it. Sacred bond my ass. It's about growing numbers like a virus. Rulers in all ages understood that if you want to build a powerful nation, what you need are people. Many many people. As many as possible. Living conditions, quality of life - doesn't matter. If he can hold a weapon and become cannon-fodder he's good enough. Same reason religion values men more than women. They're physically stronger. Same reason clergy are against abortion, it kills potential units and dwindles their numbers. (It also kills off all the pussy in the age range they like.)
- We do it for the civil / legal / financial rights.
I actually don't know enough about this to be able to fairly comment, so I'd love some input. Obviously I still don't like it. I know people who have been together for years but have no intentions of getting married for any benefits, my own sister included, and they seem to lead happy lives. But are the benefits worth compromising your integrity?Is there no other way to achieve those rights? Would it be at all possible for us to change this? I'm aware that gays fight for marriage because they want the rights that come with it. Now I remember Strega saying in a different thread that if they made some other civil construct which would allow her, as a gay person, to have all the benefits of a usual marriage provides, she'd do it right away. Even if it wasn't called a marriage. Do you agree with this, or do you think that, if anything, both straight people and gays should get the exact same thing? In which case it cannot be a religious union, because all major religions are homophobic. And so...I'm tired.
That's it for now. I actually have much more to say, but I kinda already wrote more than usual and I'm getting bored and I'm sure I've bored most of you by now too. I might add some later. Cut me some slack!
Views: 3059
Well damn this got long, sorry.
tl;dr: marriage is stupid.
So, writing an unrelated post, using childish insults trying to vent your anger over me not caving into the platitudes you made in the other thread. I'd usually feel attacked and respond, but this is just weak. Thanks for bumping the thread though :)
40 years doesn't mean you automatically have proportionate wisdom. If anything, again, it might indicate a lack of objectivity. And even if it did, you didn't elaborate or share your insight with us. You threw a weak jab at thin air and that was it. I could say I have 41 years of experience, but that doesn't mean anything if I just leave it there. It's like old people when they say "I'm 4 times your age, you better listen to me!" and then they pretend like all their opinions magically have merit while they wallow in the mud of their self-aggrandizing agism.
I see you still don't have any arguments, pro or con, or relevant. It's still the same "I'm old therefore I know!" white-noise logical fallacy.
I will be like your perception of "old people"
You already are. You think being old automatically validates your opinions, and negates everybody else's without the need of scrutiny, because otherwise you would've mentioned at least one single opinion, but alas, like I said you have yet brought forth nil. You just came in here, said "I have 40 years of experience" and that was it. Nothing to back it up, nothing to show for it, no opinion, no argument, no insight, no advice, no refutation, no nothing.
You need to back up your claims no matter your age. Whether you're 6, 16, 26 or 66. You also cannot dismiss arguments based solely on age. I'm guessing that the majority of people on this website are younger than you are, but I have yet to see a single person you can surpass in terms of making good points.
What you tried to pull was a heavy-handed attempt at asserting unwarranted authority through ageism, and I called it out. Just deal with it.
will be back in 40 years
Oh, fortunately I don't have such high hopes of your life expectancy. With a little luck in 10 years or so I might be even 6 feet more over your head than I'm now.
Yes, you quoted my profile on the question "Why are you here?" So now you're desperately looking for irrelevant flaws you can nitpick?
I indeed did write
To remind myself every now and then that there are intelligent people on earth too and not put a bullet in my head.
I'm so sad and arrogant that I believe the people here on this forum are intelligent and that communicating with them gives me joy.
Oh the humanity...
Yeah. I find most people here to be very intelligent, many easily more so than myself. You're the exception, frankly judging by our correspondence up to this point you rather seem to be below average, and you'll have to deal with the fact that one person on this planet just isn't going to suck up to you just because you're old or because your daddy died in a war, because those things don't automatically make you great and infallible.
Since, despite your glorious age, you have failed to stop writing and humiliating yourself, I'll do you a favor by being the bigger man and stop responding to you. Ramble on as a derelict army-boy if you like, I don't care to derail this thread any more, and the only reason I originally responded to you was to bump it up. Thanks.
40 years as a Christian doesn't give us any more reason to believe the truth claims about the religion or the fact that you know much about it at all.
So your claim to have 40 years of experience in marriage doesn't really address a lot of KOrsans issues.
Perhaps you could have stayed with this person and not made it 'marriage' and not gotten those rings - Or would you have strayed away eventually without the rings and the thousands of dollars spent on the wedding?
Allso kOrsan is that "O" just to be difficult? It's a bitch everytime I type your name on my phone.
Nah, it's the beginning of my last name, and when you put the k in front of it you get korsan, which is turkish and arabic for pirate. You don't have to cap it at all, in fact people often just use "k." Browsing TA on a phone is a bitch though, I know.
Wow, that's a whole lot of thoughtful material. Luckily you have a very readable style.
Not in any order...
1. Your point about religion promoting procreation - I loved the whole paragraph because I think it is true, and it applied at the time of writing it, to a people that needed to increase their numbers. It is a left-over, nobody at that time could have imagined 7 billion people on an overcrowded planet. It is part of the doctrine that has gone from being positive to negative, a victim of its own success, almost. If we made contraception freely and widely available, the positive benefits are simply too exhaustive to list.
2. The use of the word 'Marriage' to describe a unity between two people. Its a word. Get over it. If the theists want a special word, let them call their version, "Holy Marriage'. It might help them bring their god to mind more frequently. Atheists get married. Jews get married. Muslims get married. Hindus get married. Druids get married. It's not a special Christian word. It never was. The Christian bible may have defined what marriage should look like to its believers, but it did not invent marriage. That already existed. So all this 'special religious bond' nonsense is just that. Nonsense.
3. Civil rights that are entwined in law through marriage. Federal healthcare for spouse of employee. Inheritance tax when a spouse dies. Living will and competency decisions for an incapacitated spouse. Parental rights e.g. schooling, health. Legal rights regarding giving testimony against a spouse. Divorce rights - court based process ensuring both parties rights, equitable distribution of property, access to children of partnership. Immigration rights (close to my heart) of foreign spouse, and that is to just skim the surface. There are so many civil rights entwined through the single institution of marriage, it is almost impossible to list them all. Or to untangle them.
4. Abolish marriage. Well then the civil rights concept would have to be untangled from a domestic perspective, and internationally we have the issue of mutual recognition of marriages. I think that may well be where humanity is going in the longer term, if religion fades as it looks like it might some day.
Someone once said that divorce should be made as easy as marriage is today, and marriage should be made as difficult as divorce is today. I quite like that principle.
Someone once said that divorce should be made as easy as marriage is today, and marriage should be made as difficult as divorce is today. I quite like that principle.
Never heard of it but so do I.
All the things you have listed about civil rights are ridiculous. I can see how many of those things require some proof of the partner really being the partner, but that could as well be done by a will instead of a marriage.
Do you mean inheritance tax? Legally married M/F couples do not pay inheritance (capital gains tax) on the property and belongings that they shared, when one dies. If they are not married, then the surviving one has to pay tax on inheriting of the dead ones interest in the property. A will makes no difference to the tax payable by the beneficiaries.
All the other civil rights are on the assumption both parties are alive and married to each other. Americans only accept marriage as the evidence of partnership.
I never had a desire to be married. I have had a few relationships where it would have appeared to the world that we were a married couple. I was in a relationship with someone and we lived together for 18 years. Neither of us wanted to get married. It was never due to any lack of commitment to each other but rather that the concept being married held no meaning for us nor did we deem it necessary. Even 25 years ago I got lectured by Christians about "living in sin". The amount of times I showed them the finger beside my ring finger!!
As in another post today I am all for allow people the right to get married for whatever reasons if they so wish. For me though it has no meaning. It is not necessary for raising children either. It is certainly not a fix for broken relationships as I have often seen. It is not necessary for happiness either. For anyone about to be married – I wish you the best.
I agree half and half here. First off, you're right. But there are also many .. let's say not-so-alpha people out there who get lulled into a marriage by their partner's or peer pressure.


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Story highlights
- Two killed U.S. civilians are from State and Defense departments
- The civilians and 3 U.S. service members killed delivering books to a school
- Afghan civilians also die in the bombing of the military convoy
- Meanwhile, top American general arrives in Afghanistan to assess military situation
Two attacks in Afghanistan killed six Americans -- four service members and two civilians -- on Saturday as a top U.S. military official arrived to assess the country's security, officials said.
The deadliest attack was the bombing of a military convoy delivering books to a school in southern Afghanistan's Zabul province in which three service members, a State Department civilian and a Department of Defense civilian were killed, according to U.S. officials.
Afghan civilians also died in that incident, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Four more State Department personnel suffered injuries, one of them critically, Kerry said.
Meanwhile, another U.S. service member was killed in a separate attack, a U.S. official said.
Kerry described the killed State Department civilian as "an exceptional young foreign service officer" whom he met last week in Kabul.
She was on her second tour in Afghanistan, and had been working out of the embassy in Kabul since last summer.
Information on the other killed Americans, including their identities, wasn't immediately available.
"I wish everyone in our country could see first-hand the devotion, loyalty and amazingly hard and hazardous work our diplomats do on the front lines in the world's most dangerous places," Kerry said in a statement. "Every day, we honor their courage and are grateful for their sacrifices, and today we do so with great sadness."
Meanwhile, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived at Bagram Airfield on Saturday for meetings with coalition and Afghan leaders, the Defense Department said.
Dempsey will be apprised of an ongoing military transition where Afghan security forces are taking greater control of their country.
He will meet with Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, who took command of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) about two months ago.
"One of the things I'm going to ask [Dunford], is ... what have you learned. If he tells me 'Nothing,' I'm going to say, 'Maybe we got the wrong guy,'" Dempsey told the American Forces Press Service.
Dempsey spokesman Col David Lapan later told CNN that Gen Dempsey was simply joking when he made the remark about Dunford.. Lapan said Dempsey has total confidence in Dunford.
Dempsey's other meetings will be with Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command; U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James B. Cunningham; and Dempsey's Afghan counterpart, Army Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the Defense Department said.


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Volleyball Pal
Buy 24 for $18.40 each
- Volleyball Pal is a useful device that allows for hours of practice without the need of another person
- It consists of a VELCRO® Brand fastener strap that secures around the waist, a neoprene pouch that holds the Volleyball, and an elastic cord connecting the waist strap to the ball pouch
- The smooth action of the elastic cord guides the ball back to the player every time
- Use the Volleyball Pal to practice serving tosses or arm swing technique without ever having to chase a ball!
This item is stocked at our St. Louis, MO facility.
Stocked items/orders placed before 1pm CST are shipped that day (business days only, Mon-Fri.).
Stocked items/orders placed after 1pm CST ship the next business day (Mon-Fri., no holidays).
Standard delivery time is between 1-4 days (see map below for delivery estimates).
We will notify you via email within 1 business day if there is any expected delay.
If there are non-stocked items on your order those will be shipped separate from your stocked items at no additional cost.
Team orders and orders paid with PO's may take additional processing days (between 3-5 business days).
Printing requires additional processing days. Please visit our Uniform Printing page.
For more information please visit our Shipping page and our Shipping Practices page.