text:
What's the largest ink market segment today? What accounts for the lion's share of offset and gravure printing? And what has become so competitive and dominated by large producers that only a handful dictates the trends of the segment?
The publication ink sector, which includes a cornucopia of products for magazines, books, newspapers and others, generates more dollars than any other sector in the traditional printing ink market, according to the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers. NAPIM estimates that publication ink sales make up roughly 40 percent of the $4 billion U.S. ink market, or about $1.6 billion.
It's also one of the fastest growing. NAPIM's Quarterly Sales Report, which includes sales from most large U.S. ink producers, showed that pounds of litho heatset ink sold in 1998 rose 9.9 percent, and the year before it grew 9.4 percent. Sales of non-heatset offset jumped 6.1 percent last year after posting a 4.8 percent gain in 1997. Products such as magazines and newspapers are mostly printed using these two methods, although more commercial work today can be found produced on web presses.
The outlook for publication ink sales in 1999 is mixed. According to first-quarter print data published by the Printing Industries of America, its members reported an average sales increase of 6.6 percent, which outpaced Q1 growth in 1997 and 1998. Even stronger were sales in Canada, which saw an increase of 8.4 percent.
Ink makers, however, reported weak demand in the first quarter. Several large manufacturers said publication printers bought less ink in the first three months but do see a rebound for the rest of the year. PIA's higher sales results may also reflect printers growing their business with offerings other than traditional ink-on-paper services. In fact, PIA said in its report that electronic prepress and trade binding were the hottest segments, along with book printing.
"The first-quarter economy was fairly strong," said Ron Davis, the chief economist for the PIA. He said that while "some printers are complaining, and some printers are doing great," it seemed that the print industry overall continues to enjoy the strong U.S. economy despite troubles overseas.
Mr. Davis said publication printers held their own, despite the threat from the Internet, whose impact on newspaper and magazine readership and catalog circulation seems minimal so far. A trend having a more immediate impact is the shift from long-run, general interest publications to short-run specialty magazines. For example, he said, circulation and ad revenues appeared to be especially strong for medical publications.
The Magazine Publishers of America, which represents publishers of the largest consumer magazines in the country, reported an increase of 2.2 percent increase in ad pages for the first three months of the year.
Consolidation a Key Driver
Even though the publication sector is the largest, it's certainly not the most lucrative these days. Consolidation among printers and ink manufacturers has led to heavy pricing pressures, increased competition for marketshare and reduced profit margins. Only a few ink manufacturers now account for most of the sales in two of the major sub-categories: news and magazine printing.
Sun Chemical and Flint Ink are the juggernauts of the publication sector, dominating in domestic offset and gravure ink sales. With its purchase of Manders, Flint is now a major player in the global publication ink market as well. Trailing at a distant third is INX International. Other significant players include The Ink Company, Siegwerk, which is partially owned by R.R. Donnelley, and Central Ink, a small producer that specializes in publication ink.
But despite the size of the segment, competition among the market leaders has made this sector almost prohibitive to other ink makers. By nature, publication inks are low-profit products. Despite a plethora of incremental improvements in ink performance over the years, ink makers have been unable to recover its development costs because of customer pressures to reduce ink prices. With companies such as Donnelley, Quebecor and World Color buying huge volumes, they have succeeded in driving down prices, although some ink makers say prices have recently stabilized.
Cost Reduction, Not Price, is Key
Despite their constant effort to lower costs, printers are not necessarily looking for the cheapest ink on the market, said one high-level executive at R.R. Donnelley. Bob Pyzdrowski, president of magazine publishing services at the world's largest printer, said although ink manufacturers focus their selling efforts on price, he believes a better approach is to help printers reduce the overall production costs. If an ink can help reduce makeready waste, if its mileage is higher than a cheaper substitute, if ink makers working with fountain solution makers can create better dot structure, a customer is more likely to pay a premium.
"They need to get out of the mentality of selling ink on price per pound," said Mr. Pyzdrowski, who added that innovations such as waterless offset may ultimately be widely adopted for its efficiencies. He noted that this is one area in which ink makers can try to differentiate themselves.
Mr. Pyzdrowski's advice is difficult to accept for some ink manufacturers, who say that large customers are anything but receptive to a hike of even a few pennies per pound. Moreover, they noted that competition among ink manufacturers is so fierce that any ink maker who tries to increase prices faces the very strong likelihood of losing significant marketshare.
"We're still in the market where they want to buy as cheaply as they can," said Richard Breen, the president of Central Ink. He added that none of the key publication ink manufacturers offer a product so unique for which customers are willing to pay a significant premium.
That doesn't mean there aren't opportunities for innovations, said Vince Bellini, market manager for heatset at Sun Chemical's GPI division. "I think the driving force for anybody in the web offset heatset business is to provide products to make the printer much more efficient," he said. He added that reducing "unscheduled downtime" is a priority for all printers today. Ink suppliers who can successfully contribute to their efforts stand a better chance of gaining business.
So in which areas should ink manufacturers look to improve? In heatset offset, printers demand greater mileage, color consistency and better litho behavior on press. The fewer adjustments pressmen have to make, the less down time will occur. Another key area ink makers are focusing on is meeting the demands of high-speed printing.
Among gravure printers, environmental concerns have dominated industry discussions for years. While toluene-based inks are the most widely used products in gravure houses, many printers want inks with reduced HAP and VOC levels to comply with the Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pricing, however, is still the key limiting factor in gravure publication printing, and even the slightest increase affects an ink maker's sales.
One adverse development for ink manufacturers, Mr. Pyzdrowski noted, is a trend among magazine designers to include more white space on pages. He said some of Donnelley's customers are cutting back on ink coverage, not for economical reasons but for aesthetics. While it's not clear what long-term effect this will have on ink consumption, he said it does hurt ink volume in the short run.
Color usage is not a problem on the news ink side. In fact, color news ink sales are skyrocketing while black consumption remains flat, said Norm Harbin, director, news ink products at Flint Ink.
Unlike the magazine sector, newspaper publishers are actually looking for value-added products to regain readership lost in the past decade. "They are upgrading quality to give newspapers that magazine quality," Mr. Harbin said, pointing out that Flint's most costly news ink is also one of its fastest selling products.
He said in past years, newspaper publishers expressed little interest in inks that cost more; today, they are more open to evaluating products if they can add value to the newspaper. "It allows us to look at things we weren't able to look at years ago because of price constraints," he said.With such a large customer base, the publication ink market is as diverse as it is competitive. While price is the No. 1 criteria many printers look at, there are also segments in which selling value is succeeding. And some ink makers hope that they can succeed in conveying that philosophy across all market segments.


text:
It's a feast that Americans look forward to all year, and you're the cook. Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to be difficult. We've gathered a collection of tips, shortcuts, timetables and recipes to help guide you through the meal preparation.
It's a feast that Americans look forward to all year, and you're the cook.
Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to be difficult. We've gathered a collection of tips, shortcuts, timetables and recipes to help guide you through the meal preparation. The information comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the National Turkey Federation.
Be sure to accept the compliments graciously.
How much turkey should I buy?
For turkeys under 16 pounds, estimate 1 pound per serving (this accounts for bone weight). For larger birds, a bit less is fine because they have a higher meat-to-bone ratio. But if your goal is to have ample leftovers, aim for 1 1/2 pounds per person, whatever the turkey's size.
Do turkey prices go up during Thanksgiving?
No, not normally. In fact, turkey prices often go down during the holidays as many grocery stores use turkey as a "loss leader." This means that retailers run special, low prices on turkeys to entice customers into their store to buy other holiday foods for the traditional feast.
Fresh or frozen?
There is no quality difference between a fresh or frozen turkey. Frozen turkeys are flash frozen to 0 F or below immediately after packaging. Once defrosted, the meat is practically as fresh as the day it was processed. Fresh turkeys are deep-chilled after packaging and have shorter shelf lives. Because they are perishable and require special handling and merchandising, fresh turkeys are slightly more expensive than frozen turkeys.
By purchasing a frozen turkey, you can get the turkey in advance and take advantage of special sales and coupons. Fresh turkeys provide convenience because they do not require thawing.
More than two-thirds (69 percent) of those surveyed by the National Turkey Federation reported purchasing a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving dinner; 31 percent purchased a fresh turkey.
What is a self-basted turkey?
As an option for consumers, some turkeys are sold as "basted" or "self-basted," meaning they have been injected or marinated with a solution usually containing edible fat, natural broth, stock or water and seasonings. Self-basted turkeys are labeled with the percentage of the solution and its ingredients. Do not use self-basted turkeys when brining or deep-frying a turkey.
How do I thaw a turkey?
Turkey can be thawed in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave. Whole turkey takes about 24 hours per 4 pounds to thaw in the refrigerator. The refrigerator method is the safest and will result in the best finished product.
In cold water, changed every 30 minutes, turkey takes about 30 minutes per pound to thaw.
When using a microwave to thaw a turkey, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the size turkey that will fit in your oven, the minutes per pound and the power level to use.
Never defrost turkey on the counter. Once thawed, keep turkey refrigerated at 40 F or below until it is ready to be cooked. Turkey thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
What about the stuffing?
Stuffing or dressing should be prepared and stuffed into the turkey immediately before it's placed in the oven for cooking. If preparing the stuffing ahead of time, wet and dry ingredients should be refrigerated separately and combined right before stuffing the turkey.
Stuff the turkey loosely, about 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of turkey. Stuffing needs room toexpand during cooking, so do not over-stuff the bird.
If the stuffing recipe yields more than the turkey can hold, bake the extra in a greased casserole dish.
Cooked inside or outside the bird, all stuffing and dressing recipes must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165 F. Use a food thermometer to check.
It should be noted that the USDA does not recommend stuffing a turkey. For optimum safety and even cooking, it recommends cooking stuffing outside the bird in a casserole dish.
Once I have the bird, what do I do with it?
Remove the neck and giblets from the neck and body cavities of the thawed turkey. Preheat the oven to 325 F for conventional ovens.
Place the turkey breast-side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. For a picture-perfect turkey, tuck wing tips "akimbo" under the shoulders.
Juices from the turkey will baste the meat as it cooks. For added moisture, pour 1/2 cup water in the bottom of the pan and brush the turkey with oil or unsalted butter and seasonings or herbs.
Place an aluminum foil tent over the breast during the first 1 to 1 1/2 hours of cooking, then remove the foil to allow for browning.
If cooking stuffing inside the turkey, fill the body cavity with stuffing just before roasting. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone. Roast the turkey, uncovered, until the meat thermometer registers at least 165 F.
How long do I roast a turkey?
In a 325 F conventional oven, use these guidelines.
4 to 8 pounds (breast): 1 1/2 to 3 1/4 hours
8 to 12 pounds: 2 3/4 to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds: 3 to 3 3/4 hours
14 to 18 pounds: 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds: 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours
20 to 24 pounds: 4 1/2 to 5 hours
6 to 8 pounds (breast): 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours
8 to 12 pounds: 3 to 3 1/2 hours
12 to 14 pounds: 3 1/2 to 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds: 4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds: 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 hours
20 to 24 pounds: 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 hours
How do I know when it's done?
Use a two-step test for turkey doneness: First, insert a meat thermometer into the deepest portion of the thigh, not touching bone, and verify the temperature has reached 165 F. If the turkey has been stuffed, move the thermometer to the center of the stuffing and verify the stuffing has reached 165 F.
If the turkey is done and the stuffing is not yet 165 F, remove the stuffing from the turkey and place it in a casserole dish to be further cooked in the oven.
Let the turkey sit about 20 minutes before carving, so juices can redistribute throughout the bird.
White meat vs. dark meat
A turkey typically has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat. White meat is generally preferred in the United States, while diners in other countries choose the dark meat.
White meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat. But dark meat has more flavor. It adds richness to soups and stews, and holds up well when grilled or barbecued.
What are giblets?
Giblets are the turkey's gizzard, heart and liver. The giblets and neck, when cooked until tender, are common additions to gravy and stuffing. If you choose to add the liver to the stockpot, do so during the last 15-20 minutes of simmering time. Overcooking the liver results in a bitter flavor.
What does a Thanksgiving meal cost?
The American Farm Bureau Federation reported that in 2011, the average cost of the traditional Thanksgiving feast for 10 people was $49.20. The menu included turkey, stuffing, rolls and butter, cranberries, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and all the trimmings.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The biggest emerging markets are uniting to tackle under-development and currency volatility with plans to set up institutions that encroach on the roles of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The leaders of the so-called BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are set to approve the establishment of a new development bank during an annual summit that began today in the eastern South African city of Durban, officials from all five nations say. They will also discuss pooling foreign-currency reserves to ward off balance of payments or currency crises.
"The deepest rationale for the BRICS is almost certainly the creation of new Bretton Woods-type institutions that are inclined toward the developing world," Martyn Davies, chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based Frontier Advisory, which provides research on emerging markets, said in a phone interview. "There's a shift in power from the traditional to the emerging world. There is a lot of geo-political concern about this shift in the western world."
The BRICS nations, which have combined foreign-currency reserves of $4.4 trillion and account for 43 percent of the world's population, are seeking greater sway in global finance to match their rising economic power. They have called for an overhaul of management of the World Bank and IMF, which were created in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944, and oppose the practice of their respective presidents being drawn from the U.S. and Europe.
Reform Needed
"We need to change the way business is conducted in the international financial institutions," South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a March 15 speech in Johannesburg. "They need to be reformed."
The U.S. has failed to ratify a 2010 agreement to give more sway to emerging markets at the IMF, while it secured Jim Yong Kim, an American, as head of the World Bank last year over candidates from Nigeria and Colombia.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the BRICS nations, who met in Durban today, agreed to set up currency crisis fund of about $100 billion, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters today. He didn't give details of proposed funding for the new bank, which Brazil wants established by 2014. The nation's leaders are due to sign a final accord tomorrow.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


text:
We are just devastated and cant believe that this little angel wont be in our lives anymore.
He was so strong and tried so hard to fight it and was still as happy and giving even in the last days of his life.
Sleep now without pain and confusion my beautiful boy.
and happy birthday today, you were born on this day only 11 short years ago.
We will always love you.
in our ♥ forever


text:
Orange man arrested for dozens of burglaries
According to news from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, on Monday May 9, the agency received a call concerning an auto burglary at the Donut Hole located in the 6300 block of FM 1442.Upon arrival, Deputies met with the caller who reported that her truck had been burglarized and the suspect stole her purse from inside. Deputies were able to view the surveillance camera from the business and observed the suspect to be driving a white and red Ford F-250 truck.Upon completion at the scene, Deputies were dispatched to the Orangefield schools on Hwy 105 in Orangefield concerningseveral vehicles in the parking lots that were burglarized. A witness observed a white and red Ford pickup truck being drivenby a person they knew as Brian Linscomb. The information was passed onto other Deputies patrolling the area. A few minutes later the vehicle was located on Highway 62 near FM 1078. Deputies stopped the vehicle and found the suspect Linscomb, a 44-year-old Orange resident.
Linscomb gave Deputies verbal consent to search his vehicle. The vehicle search revealed several items from the vehicle burglaries that had just occurred and the suspect was placed under arrest and transported to the Orange County Correctional Facility where he was booked for four counts of Burglary of a Motor Vehicle.Orange County Sheriff's Office Investigators spoke to Linscomb and he confessed to burglarizing the vehicles at the Orangefield Schools and also the burglary at the Donut Hole, information from the agency contends.
Linscomb bonded out of jail the same day of his arrest and continued on a crime spree for the next several days, authorities now state. He has been identified as burglarizing vehicles in Vidor, Jasper County, Newton County, Silsbee and Evadale since his release.The Orange County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for a Felony Auto Burglary on May 11 but Linscomb had apparently fled the area. OCSO received information from the Tyler Police Department that they had 30 auto burglary cases in their city and the suspect was driving a white and red Ford F-250 pickup. The suspect also matched the description of Linscomb.On May 15, the Angelina County Sheriff's Office observed the Ford F-250 truck in Lufkin and stopped the vehicle. Thedriver was identified as Linscomb, and he was arrested by the Angelina County Sheriff's Office for the Felony Warrant from Orange County and transported to their facility. He is currently awaiting extradition back to Orange County.There is numerous other auto burglary cases pending throughout Southeast and East Texas and other charges are expected to be filed in the near future, the agency stated in information given to the press..


text:
Welcome to PolytheneOne.Com
Email to a Friend
Vat :
All prices are excluding vat.
Note :The 'QTY' refers to the length in 'MTRS' you wish to order.
- Shortest available length to purchase on this product is 20 mtrs (see other products for shorter lengths).
Availability: Out of stock
Delivery : 10 - 15 Working Days, as this product is shipped direct from the manufacturer, please see here for polytunnel polythene with a quicker delivery. Please see our Delivery Help Pages for excluded areas.
Check items to add to the cart or select all
Anti Hot Spot Tape (White PE Foam)
Starting at:
Anti Hot Spot SEALANT Tape
Starting at:
Polythene Repair Tape
Starting at:
There are no product questions yet.
Please login to your account to post a question
View Product
Use spaces to separate tags. Use single quotes (') for phrases.
Back to top


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Bob Koshinski will be master of ceremonies for this year's ninth annual Electric Lights Parade in the Town of Niagara.
The parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Koshinski, a native of Niagara Falls, grew up in the Town of Niagara and graduated from Niagara-Wheatfield High School and the University of Dayton. He was a member of the WKBW-TV sports department in the 1980s and became sports director in 1989 after the retirement of Rick Azar. Koshinski joined the Empire Sports Network in 1991 and was vice president and general manager of both Empire Sports Network and radio station WNSA-FM until 2005. He was a multimedia and communications specialist for Erie County and NCCC until 2012, when he was named VP/GM of WBBZ-TV in Buffalo.
Koshinski now hosts a weekly sports program called "All Sports WNY" and created a popular website by the same name,www.allsportswny.com, in 2011.
The parade, which once again will feature Santa Claus and a food drive, is organized and presented by the Town of Niagara, the Town of Niagara Business and Professional Association Inc. and the Niagara USA Chamber.


text:
FCC filing indicates LG Nexus 5
The evidence that LG and Google are working together to produce the Nexus 5 mobile phone is starting to stack up.
Documents, which have emerged from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), appear to suggest a smartphone known by the codename of LG D820.
Although the numbers don't indicate whether it is the Nexus 5, it does say that the handset will be covering a lot of North America, which is standard for a flagship handset.
According to Engadget, the official documents indicate the device will have Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and looks to be compatible with every major American network except Verizon's LTE 750.
It's still unclear whether the Nexus 5 will be a project from LG and Google, but the evidence appears to be mounting up to suggest that they are, despite earlier denials.
Reports indicate that the search engine giant accidentally unveiled the device at the Android 4.4 launch event. According to GSMArena, Google showed a video of the event which included an employee using the device, though it has now been removed.
Posted by Simon Thomas


text:
FREE California DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 5 2018 | CA
What's the best way to prepare for your California motorcycle permit exam? Practice, of course! Try this free sample CA motorcycle permit practice exam before you head to your local DMV office for the real thing. The 50 questions on this California motorcycle permit practice test follow the same format as the official CA exam. The information on this practice test comes directly from the official California Motorcycle Handbook. Each question includes an optional hint and an explanation of the correct answer, which make this practice test even more effective. Time to study!
Your Progress
Important:In California, the number of knowledge test questions is different depending on how old you are:
- If you are under 18, you will get 46 questions, 38 of which will need to be answered correctly
- If you are over 18, the written part of the driving test will have 36 questions.
10 mistakes allowed to pass
Passing score required at the CA DMV: 80%
We're preparing your test...
Report a problem


text:
FREE SHIPPING on all orders through 12/17
Sign up for emails to be the first to shop new collections and get exclusive promotions, plus receive FREE SHIPPING on your next order.
Free shipping valid to first-time registrants in the US only. Find offer details in your email inbox.
Peruvian Pima Cotton


text:
PLAINFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Authorities in northern New Jersey say a woman whose body was found with her 3-month-old twins, who were dehydrated but responsive, died of natural causes.
Plainfield Police Capt. Edward Santiago told The Star-Ledger on Friday (http://bit.ly/10B7poY ) that an autopsy confirmed Alice Jackson died of natural causes, but they are still waiting for toxicology results.
Officers on Wednesday responded to a call from a relative concerned that he hadn't heard from the 39-year-old Jackson in days. Jackson was found dead on her bed in her Plainfield apartment. They believe she had been dead for days when she was found.
Her twin girls remained hospitalized Friday, in stable condition.
The discovery comes 10 days after police in nearby Union discovered a malnourished toddler chain-locked inside an apartment with his dead mother.
Information from: The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com


text:
Theatre Bizarre, The (US - DVD R1)
Gabe visits the Grand Guignol theater to see a truly modern horror anthology...
The Theatre Bizzare is the kind of under-the-radar, independent production that obsessive horror fans, like myself, get excited about, and the rest of the world doesn't really notice. I suppose the Hot Topic set might like the trailer. Let me explain why [ Theatre Bizzare is at the very least an exciting prospect. The first thing you need to understand is that horror fans (again, I'm including myself here) revel in obscurity, and revere under-known filmmakers. We also love the grand tradition of the anthology production, so mixing obscure directors with a short form format is like mixing, um, ambrosia with manna. For this particular celebration of the Grand Guignol experience Severin Films and French-based Metaluna Productions have gathered a definitely enticing motley crew, made up of two relatively cabalistic genre veterans, a super-star make-up artist that hasn't directed a feature film in 22 years, and four relatively untried, but exciting underground directors. The short story here is that the brevity of the pieces hinders any major investment, and that the final effect is interesting, but also pretty disappointing.
Richard Stanley is perhaps the biggest cult favourite among the directing cast, and has had a bit of a career resurgence thanks to lovingly crafted DVD and Blu-ray releases of his most beloved features, Hardware and Dust Devil. Stanley's genre output is defined by gorgeous imagery, smarter than average takes on exploitation subject matter, and a disappointing lack of humour. After his final cut of Dust Devil was butchered by the Weinsteins, Stanley spent years developing The Island of Dr. Munroe for New Line, only to be replaced by John Frankenheimer after only four days of filming. For years he disappeared into documentary and short subjects, so The Mother Of Toads marks his return to genre. This one follows an annoying couple on a trip in a remote part of the French Pyrenees, who passive aggressively argue before eventually crossing paths with a lustful toad witch. The characters are dull, and stiff dialogue is a problem, but the short format ensures we aren't saddled with too much outside of Stanley's Dario Argento inspired hypercolour visions and entertainingly non sequitur storyline (nothing about this makes sense). The director calling upon images from Hardware and Dust Devil quite a bit, which is fun, but also kind of smells of fan-service in place of a lack of inspiration. The analogue creature effects are quite charming, and the colours are fun, but overall Mother of Toads is awkward, and likable mostly for the appearance of Lucio Fulci favourite Catriona MacColl as the witch (when her clothes are on).
Buddy Giovinazzo is best known for his feature debut, an utterly, hopelessly nihilistic 1986 release called Combat Shock. Combat Shock sits on a high shelf with only a handful of films that genuinely disturb even genre enthusiasts, and is a suicidal-inducing success despite being an obviously amateur production. As far as I knew Giovinazzo's career began and ended with Combat Shock, but he apparently directed No Way Home, starring a young Tim Roth, and has found steady work on German television over the last decade. Having never seen any of Giovinazzo's later work I found myself most anticipating his part on this film. Generally speaking I Love You, the story of a woman cruelly dumping her emotionally devastated, psychotic boyfriend, meets expectations – it looks like a very well produced modern TV episode (filmed in Germany), and deals in nihilistic human relationships. I actually wouldn't have been surprised had I been told this slot had been directed by Abel Ferrara, which also makes sense given similarities between his and Giovinazzo's bodies of work. Things start rather innocuously, and will probably make the gorehounds in the house squirm in their seats, but the climax is plenty bloody, and for the most part genuinely disturbing. Still, pretty flavourless overall, and generally a weak use of the short format.
Tom Savini is the one member of the directing cast that even non-genre enthusiast will likely recognize. If not by name, they likely know his mustachioed face from Dawn of the Dead, From Dusk Til Dawn and Grindhouse. It's easy to assume his participation here is somewhat ceremonial given his general lack of directorial output, but it's also just as easy to forget that his Night of the Living Dead remake (from 1990) is actually really well made, and that he was often credited as directing the gore sequences in which his famous make-up appeared. The guy has chops, he just hasn't used them in a while. Wet Dreams, which plays kind of like a mix of late night Cinemax softcore and an episode of Tales From the Crypt, utilizes the short format well with dream logic psychosis (events are revealed as nightmares within nightmares just about every two minutes), and features some great, goopy gore effects that will have the fellahs in the audience crossing their legs.
Douglas Buck has been on the horror underground radar since 1997, when he created a little shock machine short called Cutting Moments, which was eventually combined with pseudo-remake, cum sequel Home and Prologue and released in 2003 as Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America. Since then he's only been given a chance at one feature length film, an ill-advised remake of Brian DePalma's Sisters, but his talent for disturbing shorts makes him an obvious candidate for a project like Theatre Bizzare. The Accident fits his mould well, and can easily be lumped with Family Portraits for future releases as an 'upper' finale. This moody tale of a mother trying to explain the events of a horrific motor accident is a bit heavy-handed in terms of its artistic expression and serious tone, but is emotionally quite honest, even moving. Buck obviously understands the limitations of time and budget, and his story is easily the most artfully edited of the bunch.
The wildest of the wild cards is French Canadian Karim Hussain. Probably best known for his cinematography on Hobo with a Shotgun (he acted as cinematographer on The Mother Of Toads[I] and [I]The Accident as well as his own segment), Hussain's feature directorial work is extremely experimental, starting with 2000's plotless arthouse gore-fest Subconscious Cruelty. He followed it up with Ascension, the story of a world where god is dead, and a character study entitled La belle bête (I have seen neither). Vision Stains is an uncompromisingly bleak vision that revolves around a 'biographer' that steals memories from suicidal, drug addicted girls by sucking the liquid from their dying eyes with a needle, and replacing it in her own. Her work is just as gross as it sounds, and Hussain has no interest in having fun with his gore – he wants to unsettle his audience. Like The Accident, Vision Stains is successful because it fills out a short form narrative in a smart manner. It also scores points for originality and an outstanding central performance.
Of the six segment directors, David Gregory is, sadly, probably the least interesting. Best known for directing featurettes and documentaries for DVD extras, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth, Gregory's only feature release is a decent looking, but largely ordinary rural UK set Plague Town, but he's an important figure at Severin Films, and is generally responsible for the entire project, so he's earned his place in the film. Turns out that low expectations can breed some of the best results. Like I Love You, Sweets tracks a cruel breakup, this one between a particularly odd couple perversely obsessed with eating dessert food. Traditionally the final act of a horror anthology is the most outrageous, and Gregory doesn't disappoint in terms of graphic, colourful content or general silliness. It's not quite the bang the film needed to go out on, but it's still plenty memorable, features funny performances, and is uniquely gross.
Everything is supported with a brief wrap around segment from Jeremy Kasten featuring Udo Kier as a doll in a Grand Guignol that slowly turns human while telling the stories. These sections look kind of like a heavy metal music video, which actually works for the film, and they don't take up too much time between pieces.
I admit I've become enough of an HD snob that I was disappointed that Severin and Image didn't spring for a Blu-ray release of Theatre Bizarre. Especially since the bulk of it was shot using RED cameras, and would likely look super sweet in 1080p. Every film in the set is generally pretty colourful, and everything is uniformly framed at a 2:35.1 aspect ratio. The power of the RED system, and my Blu-ray player's upconversion capabilities make for a generally satisfying experience, and compared to other SD transfers overall saturation levels are plenty vibrant (the warmer hues are the most impressive), contrasts are plenty sharp, and details aren't too smudged or messy at any point. The digital grain changes up throughout the film, but rarely becomes an issue, and compression artefacts are actually less prevalent than I normally expect from an SD transfers these days. However, there is one prevalent and likely avoidable issue with the transfer that I don't believe is a case of my eyes having adjusted to HD video too exclusively, that of interlacing effects. These sometimes appear as a shutter of a blend, but more often are represented by chunky scan lines.
This Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is thinner and quieter than I'd been expecting from a series of experimental filmmakers, but generally doesn't have any obvious problems outside of overall 'budget' sound. The centered dialogue is continuously sharp and clear (there is some minor distortion during the high volume screams and laughs of Wet Dreams), and blends well with the basic centered sound effects. Ambient effects are low in the stereo and surround channels throughout, and are a bit of a problem assuming they're ever supposed to sound natural. Everything here sounds canned and digital, which works for the more abstract and musical effects, but sounds cheap where nature and reality are concerned. The best use of abstract directional work is heard during the climax of Vision Stains, where a voice in the central character's head blends into a whirr with the dissonant music. The music, composed by Simon Boswell ( The Mother Of Toads and Vision Stains), Susan DiBona ( I Love You), Pierre Marchand ( The Accident) and Mark Raskin ( Sweet), is pretty eclectic, and mostly manages to lift the thin mixes up to somewhere closer to 'blockbuster' level, especially in terms of bass support.
The extras begin with a series of commentary tracks, featuring each director discussing their own piece. Jeremy Kasten includes Udo Kier on his wraparound track, and tears quickly through the production of his mega-shorts. It's really difficult to discern some of what he's saying thanks to the fact that it appears to be phoned in, but he does a good job overall. Richard Stanley, who supplied a fantastic commentary for Severin's release of Hardware speaks quickly, and offers up amusing anecdotes about the filming processes and his stylistic choices (apparently Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava's films were a visual influence, which I can see). Actress Victoria Maurette and cinematographer Karim Hussain are also included here, and are eventually joined by producer Fabrice Lambot. Buddy Giovinazzo is extremely pleasant on his solo track, and sticks pretty strictly to the basic facts of production, though he does take the time to compare his short to Andrzej Zulawski's Possession and some of the other shorts in Theatre Bizzare. Tom Savini is joined by producers Michael Ruggiero and Robert Lucas. Savini is generally in control of this particularly fun track, and recalls the short's long history, parts of which date back to incomplete projects from the '90s. They're all much easier to understand than Kasten, but also sound like they're being recorded off of a speakerphone. Karim Hussain is joined on his Vision Stains track by star Kaniehtiio Horn and editor Douglass Buck (who did not record a commentary for his own short, The Accident). Hussain is charming enough, credits the guilty parties for their contributions, and does his best to include the more awkward Horn and Buck in the discussion. The final track features David Gregory alone, mostly discussing the technical and stylistic pieces of the film (the general colour palette is supposed to be similar to that of vomit).
The disc also features a series of informative (but somewhat repetitive following the commentary tracks) interviews with ShockTillYouDrop.com editor Ryan Turek, including David Gregory (15:00), Buddy Giovinazzo (10:30) and Jeremy Kasten (12:50), a brief, five part behind the scenes featurette covering The Accident, Mother of Toads, Theatre Guignol, Sweets and Vision Stains (7:50), and a trailer.
I'm sure I just set my expectations too high based on the participating directors, but regardless of presumption, I can't mark The Theatre Bizzare as anything less than a disappointment. The worst news is that the sections I was most anticipating, those directed by Richard Stanley and Buddy Giovinazzo, are the most disappointing. The better news is that the final three entries are actually pretty good, and probably worth the time, assuming you're a discerning horror fan. I'm disappointed Severin couldn't get a Blu-ray release together for their pet project, but this standard definition DVD release looks and sounds pretty good, outside a few unattractive digital artefacts, and the extras are plenty entertaining and informative.
Review by Gabriel Powers
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 24th April 2012
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: None
Extras: Directors Commentaries, Behind the Scenes, Interviews, Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Richard Stanley, Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Tom Savini
Cast: Kaniehtiio Horn, Victoria Maurette, Lena Kleine, Catriona MacColl
Genre: Horror
Length: 113 minutes
5Review Guide
Follow our updates
Latest News
Criterion January Announcements US - DVD R1 | BD RA Peppermint US - DVD R1 | BD RA Evil Dead 2 US - BD RA Searching US - DVD R1 | BD RA The Equalizer 2 US - DVD R1 | BD RA
Unseen Reviews
Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka UK - DVD R2 Stuff, The UK - BD RB Body Double UK - DVD | BD Capricorn One UK - BD RB Columbo Season 1 UK - BD RB
Hot News
Peppermint US - DVD R1 | BD RA Criterion January Announcements US - DVD R1 | BD RA The Equalizer 2 US - DVD R1 | BD RA Searching US - DVD R1 | BD RA Incredibles 2 US - DVD R1 | BD RA
Most Talked About
Solo: A Star Wars Story US - BD RA The Meg US - DVD R1 | BD RA Exorcist II: The Heretic Collector's Edition US - BD RA Mandy US - DVD R1 | BD RA Mission: Impossible – Fallout US - DVD R1 | BD RA


text:
Cruise Itinerary Details
Disney Magic - Recent multi-million dollar upgrade!
Departing from: Dover (London), England
Ports of Call:
- Cobh (Cork), Ireland
- Dublin, Ireland
- Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland
- Liverpool, England
Bars, Clubs & Lounges
Lounges & Bars
Intimate Lounge
Cove Cafe (Adults-Only coffee bar)
Irish Pub
O'Gill's Pub
Pool Bar
Outlook Bar
Signals Bar (located at Adults-Only Quiet Cove Pool)
Family Lounge
Promenade Lounge
Music & Dancing
Dance Club
Piano Bar
Family Nightclub
D Lounge
Teen Spots
Teen Club
Video Games/Arcade
Quarter Master
Casino & Gambling
- Please Note: There is no gambling or casino on this ship.
- Senses Spa and Salon
- Wide variety of body treatments from traditional to exotic
- Chill Spa - Spa treatments for teens 13 - 17
- Barber shop and hair salon
- Additional charge for Spa and Salon services
Sports & Fitness
- Fitness Center: Leading edge cardiovascular equipment, treadmills, ellipticals and weight machines
- Exercise Classes: Aerobics, yoga, pilates, cycling and more (additional fee)
- Outdoor Jogging/Walking Track
- Personal Training (additional fee)
Sports Deck
- The Wide World of Sports Deck
- Basketball court, mini-soccer pitch, ping pong
- Shuffleboard
- All Ages: AquaDunk water coaster, AquaLab water playground, Goofy's Pool
- Adults-Only: Quiet Cove Adult Pool and whirlpool
- Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique NEW!
- Mickey's Mainsail, Sea Treasures, White Caps
- Vista Gallery
- Shutters photo studio
- Walt Disney Theater
- Broadway-style Shows including Disney Dreams - An Enchanted Classic, Twice Charmed - An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story, Tangled - The Musical
- Comedy shows, magicians, and more
- Buena Vista Cinema
- Funnel Vision: Poolside Movie Theater
- Entertainment may vary depending upon ship and itinerary
Parties and Theme Nights
- Sail-Away Celebrations
- Pirate Night
- Frozen Deck Party
- Character Greetings
Music & Dance
- Live Bands
- DJs
- Family dance party
Contests & Tournaments
- Contest and Games: sports, ping pong, shuffle board, air-hockey, card parties, bingo, and more
- Family game shows
Other Features
- Wireless Internet and Internet Cafe (additional fee)
- Wave Phones - all staterooms come with 2 portable Wave Phones that enable guests to text or call their fellow travelers while onboard or ashore at Castaway Cay, without using their personal cell phone. Additional phones are available for a fee.
- Midship Detective Agency
- Art Auctions
- Fireworks at sea (weather permitting)
- Cooking Demonstrations
- Food Tasting
- Health and Wellness Programs
- Kids Oceaneer Lab
Kids & Families
Disney Cruise Line provides a wide array of clubs, lounges and interactive programs including Marvel Super Hero Academy and Club Disney Junior, that are sure to keep your child active, engaged, and more importantly, entertained.
Babies & Tots
It's a Small World Nursery (Ages 12 weeks to 36 weeks)This magical nursery consists of 3 distinct areas - an acclimation zone, a main play zone, and a separate room for children to nap. Activities are unscheduled and vary depending on the mood of the child, but could include movie time, story time and nap time. Guests can find the following at It's a Small World Nursery:
- Baby swings, baby walkers, books, toys and games
- Quiet area with cribs
- TV and DVD player
- Parents should bring baby food, formula, milk and bottles as well as extra diapers, pull-ups, wipes, extra clothing, a favorite blanket and pacifier if applicable when dropping off child.
- Space is limited, reservations are required and the nursery is an additional fee.
Oceaneer Club (Ages 3 to 12)
The Oceaneer Club provides a fantastic place for children 3 to 12 years of age to immerse themselves in the imaginative worlds that only Disney could create, while performing on stage, playing games and enjoying a wide variety of supervised activities. While some activities are recommended for certain age ranges, participation is based on a child's interest level and maturity - not age - so siblings and friends ages 3-12 can play together without restriction. This club is designed with four distinct themed areas inspired by Disney movies and characters including Andy's Room, Monsters Academy, Pixie Hollow and Explorer Pod. Some of the club's amenities include:
- Computer lab with child-friendly computers and multiple tvs
- Dance floor, and a small stage for games
- Activities may include Disney's Once Upon a Time, Tinkerbell's Talent Show, Mouseketeers in Training, arts and crafts, movie time, nap time and more
- Please note: All children must be 3 years of age or older and potty-trained (able to use the restroom independently) in order to participate in Disney's Oceaneer's Club onboard Disney Cruise Line ships. Children 3 years of age who are not fully potty-trained and children under the age of 3 may visit Flounders Reef Nursery onboard the Disney Wonder or "It's a Small World" nursery onboard the Disney Magic, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.
- Activities are subject to change based on ship and itinerary.
Oceaneer Lab (Ages 3 to 12)
Oceaneer Lab is an ideal location for children ages 3 to 12 years of age to play games, perform educational experiments and enjoy a wide variety of supervised activities throughout the day. With a seemingly endless supply of toys, games and Disney movies, Oceaneer Lab is the perfect oasis for children to learn, play and interact with others. While some activities are recommended for certain age ranges, participation is based on a child's interest level and maturity - not age - so siblings and friends ages 3-12 can play together without restriction. Oceaneer Lab amenities include:
- A computer lab with child-friendly computers, Science Lab
- Reading area, Lounge area
- Toys, games and Disney movies
- Media Room, Animator's Studio, Sound Studio, Craft Studio
- Multiple tvs
- Activities may include Monster's, Inc. Open Mike Night, Get Hook!, Super Sloppy Science with Professor Make-O-Mess, and more
- Activities are subject to change based on ship and itinerary.
Edge (Ages 11 to 14)
Edge is a lounge and interactive play space set up exclusively for tweens, featuring plush couches, high-tech entertainment - videogames, televisions and computers - as well as guided activities and special theme nights. Some of Edge's amenities include:
- "Be a Star" - 3 green-screen rooms
- Computer lab, video game consoles, flat-screen tvs
- Tables for arts and crafts
- Activities may include That's Hilarious, Ghost Voyages and more
- Activities are subject to change based on ship and itinerary.
Vibe (Ages 14 to 17)
Vibe is an exclusive teen hang-out is designed to resemble a cozy college dorm or hip coffee shop. Featuring plush couches, overstuffed chairs, a dance floor, a bar with stools and a mirrored wall, Vibe is a haven where teen cruisers can make new friends, play video games, watch television, surf the internet and take part in a variety of activities throughout the day. Parents can relax knowing their teens are having fun, but also being chaperoned by counselors the entire time. A few of Vibe's amenities include:
- Multiple flat-screen tvs, DVD players, Video games
- Internet access (additional fee)
- Board games
- Vibe offers a large selection of non-alcoholic beverages for a fee. Soda is complimentary.
- Activities may include Teen dance parties, Karaoke, video game play-offs and more
- Activities are subject to change based on ship and itinerary.


text:
Birds of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Birds
My son, Sang, has always been interested in migratory birds. Every fall we marvel at their mass departure and await their return to Canada in the spring. When he was younger, if we had a few minutes and were in the vicinity, we would stop by the weir on the South Saskatchewan River at Saskatoon to watch the pelicans. They love to stay near the moving part of the river ... presumably because it is a better feeding area.
You can see their feeding technique if you look at the photo where the pelicans are in a group facing inward and ready to plunge their heads in the water. Apparently doing this in concert keeps the fish or whatever they are after in the middle so they are less likely to escape.
If you notice a peak growing out of the top of a pelican's beak, it means that it is breeding time for them.
Now I particularly enjoy the challenge of spotting sandhill cranes. They are much easier to photograph in the great migratory bird refuges in Nebraska and even further south. They know they are safe and have no problem being approached within reason. As they travel further north, these birds are keenly aware of hunters so it usually takes great patience to be able to approach them within photographing distance. They seem to tolerate someone inside a car without too much problem but if they are further in the field, you would need a telephoto lens far beyond my budget. Therefore, for most of the crane photos in this site, I had to slowly crawl on my belly for more than half an hour, and play dead when a few of them flew within a few meters overhead to inspect me, to take these pictures.
View as slideshow Gear notes Guestbook Gallery map
19 photos found in the category 'All' . sorting: 'author's order/ascending order'. This gallery has 19 photos in total. Gallery was launched 2004-07-09. Combined page views in this gallery is 3240538. Easy link to this gallery is http://www.rickcarlson.com/images/list.php?exhibition=9. Photo gallery code generated by Exhibit Engine 2.02. All rights reserved. All copying and other unauthorized usage forbidden.


text:
Catering and Hospitality Recruitment Agencies Directory
The catering and hospitality industry is one of the most prominent employment fields for recruitment agencies in the UK. There are more than 200,000 catering jobs alone and common places of work include restaurants, hotels and even hospitals. This sector plays host to a diverse range of career opportunities where hospitality recruiters work closely with clients to source staff ranging from kitchen assistant and bar staff to executive chefs and hotel managers.
With close links to tourism, this industry thrives in Britain's numerous resorts, as well as larger cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh and London. Agency Central offers a full range of recruitment agencies in these areas, covering any job role you might require.
Catering and hospitality industry description
Careers in hospitality are typically concerned with accommodation or the provision of food and drink. The industry is renowned for its fast paced environment and many vacancies can be found within customer facing positions. Some of the most common opportunities which are available include kitchen support and waiting / caterer staff. However, these recruitment agencies will also work hard to fill senior and executive management roles that exist within the hospitality and catering industry.
Due to the nature of the catering industry, tourism and seasonality play a large part on employment trends where a peak in temporary work can be expected during the holiday periods. Summer and Christmas result in a rise in the number of student and graduate jobs advertised, with catering agencies aiming to fill a wide range of apprenticeship roles.
Salaries and entry requirements
Candidates searching for hospitality jobs will witness a wide range of advertised salaries, however average earnings tend to be around £20K per annum depending on the position or location of the job. Professionals can earn in excess of £40K, although these are usually senior London based positions for multinational or acclaimed establishments. Temp jobs in catering are typically paid by the hour and this can vary massively from £5-£12.
Although the industry isn't qualification led, some roles will need specific learning related to their duties. A chef job for instance, may require candidates with an NVQ or BTEC in cookery or a Diploma in Professional Cookery, while some employers may also look for food hygiene or health & safety certificates. Conversely, an employer that is recruiting for a catering manager may look for previous experience within a service job as well as accreditations relating to hospitality, leisure or travel and tourism. Regardless of training, hospitality careers require strong customer service and communication skills.
Are you looking for a job or trying to fill a vacancy? Use the search box to find relevant catering & hospitality staffing recruitment agencies in your area.
Press "Search Agencies" when your new query is ready.
Most Popular Catering and Hospitality Job Roles
Most Popular Locations for Catering and Hospitality


text:
travel guide
Popular Destinations - Vietnam & Indochina Hotel Sampler:
• Hanoi hotels • Danang hotels • Hochiminh hotels • Nhatrang hotels • Hoian hotels • Phuquoc hotels • Sapa hotels • Hue hotels • Vung Tau hotels • Quangninh hotels • Haiphong hotels
Jayavarman promotion in summer 2015
The luxury ship Jayavarman has announced a deal for summer 2015 from only US$ 13,00 for the Lost of Civilization
Reviews and safety notes for Halong Bay Junks
Named and designed after an authentic Chinese Junks, the original Red Dragon Junk plied the rivers, seas and harbors of the Far East, from Singapore to northern China
Halong Bay - Masterpiece of Nature
Nowadays, Vietnam is well-known to friends around world with many beauty-spots, historical sites and friendly people, as one of the safest countries. Halong Bay is one of the most impressive destination of our country, where has not only the masterpiece beauty of nature but also marked the national history.
Hotels for sales


text:
Today is the birth anniversary of Lorenzo Guerrero. He's from Ermita, Manila, belonging to the legendary ilustrado family: los Guerrero.
Guerrero was one of eminent painter Juan Luna's teachers during the latter's youth.
Below is a brief biographical sketch of Lorenzo Guerrero written by Héctor K. Villaroel (from the 1965 book EMINENT FILIPINOS which was published by the National Historical Commission, a precursor of today's National Historical Institute).
A great painter and art teacher whose "primitive brush strokes found solidity and vigor in the canvases of Luna and de la Rosa," Lorenzo Guerrero was born in Ermita, Manila, on November 4, 1835, to León Jorge Guerrero and Clara Leogardo.
He studied Latin at San José College; and painting, briefly, under different Spanish masters, like Cortina and Valdez; and, perhaps for a long period, under Agustín Sáez. At the age of 16 he started giving lessons in drawing. José Rizal described him as a "master who had virtually taught himself."
In 1858, together with Lorenzo Rocha y Ycaza, he was appointed ayudante de naturales in the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura. Likewise, he gave drawing lessons at Santa Isabel and La Concordia colleges, and worked as a private tutor of the sons and daughters of Manila's prominent families. Two of his students, Juan Luna and Fabián de la Rosa, won international acclaim.
As a connoisseur of music and literature, he had his house in Ermita turned to a veritable salon where Manila's intellectuals met and exchanged views. As a gifted painter, whose delicacy of execution and handling of light and shadow was incomparable, he centered his work on two subjects — religious themes and scenes depicting native life and customs. His religious paintings that were housed and greatly treasured in the churches were "Nuestra Señora de Guía," "Santa Filomena," "Saint John the Baptist," and "Santa Verónica de Julianus." Similarly appreciated were the reproductions of local scenes, like the "Chinese Vendor of Tsin-Tsao," "River's Bend," and "Scene at a Brook," which were exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904.
Lorenzo married Clemencia Ramírez in 1868 by whom he had two children.
He died rather suddenly of acute asthma in Ermita on April 8, 1904.


text:
Grafton High girls basketball coach Tommy Bayse doesn't remember now why he was so angry at his freshman guard Hannah Olson. How could he after the shot she hit? But he was furious with her after York called a timeout after the Falcons took a two-point lead with 1:15 left.
"I can't even remember what she did — I don't know, turned the ball over or something, and I just chewed her out," Bayse said. "And for her to step up the way she did and take that shot."
That shot, a 3-pointer with 29.4 seconds left in the game, was the winner in Grafton's 45-44 home victory over York (14-7, 13-5 Bay Rivers).
It was Olson's first field goal of the game and helped Grafton (18-3, 15-3) secure the district title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming district tournament.
Not bad for a freshman.
"It was the shot I've always wanted," Olson said. "It just makes me feel good."
It almost didn't happen. Grafton took a 36-31 lead into the fourth quarter, but York, led by Ebony Weddington and her game-high 20 points, came back to take a 44-42 lead on an 8-foot jumper from the right baseline by Brieana Daniel.
The Falcons stopped Grafton on its next possession and went into a four-corners offense before Grafton's Olivia Wilson fouled Weddington with 38.4 seconds remaining. Weddington missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Grafton's Morgan Heath pushed the ball down the left sideline.
Heath drove before passing to Alainna Baxley along the baseline. Baxley then found Olson behind the 3-point line. With her left elbow extended, the freshman calmly drained the 3-pointer to take the lead.
"It was time for me to step up and do my job," Olson said. "I just had to hit the shot."
York still had a chance to win as coach Tim Knapp ran an isolation play for Weddington with 8.8 seconds remaining. Weddington drove from the right and missed a running layup.
But the senior rebounded it, giving her a clean shot at the basket from 4 feet away, which bounced twice on the rim before rolling out of the basket.
"We got the shot — it just didn't go in," Knapp said. "It is a game of inches and it wasn't meant to go in tonight."
Early on, it looked like it would be York's night. Weddington scored eight points, including two 3-pointers, to give the Falcons a 16-11 first-quarter lead. York eventually would take a 25-24 lead into halftime when Bayse changed the Grafton defense from a helping triangle-and-two to a matchup zone meant to shadow Weddington.
Led by Heath, the Clippers' defense held Weddington scoreless in the third quarter and helped Grafton take the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Heath tied Wilson with a team-leading 13 points while playing all but 30 seconds in the victory.
"Morgan, she is just a gamer," Bayse said. "The bigger the game, the better she is going to do."
Heath can lead a young Grafton squad — picked to finish in the bottom half of the league at the beginning of the year — into a postseason for which Bayse hopes his team is ready.
"I hope (the win) gives us some confidence," Bayse said. "But we don't want to get overconfident, because we are a young team, and if we don't show up to play on any given night, we can get beat."
YORK: J. Pandolf 7, Daniel 4, Zentner 9, Weddington 20, Bennett 4. Totals 19 2-7 44.
GRAFTON: Heath 13, Mulherin 8, Olson 6, Wilson 13, S. Baxley 1, A. Baxley 4. Totals 17 9-18 45.
York 16-9-6-13 -- 44
Grafton 11-13-12-9 -- 45
3-point goals: York 4 (Weddington 3, Zentner), Grafton 2 (Mulherin, Olson).
Grafton girls get by York, lock up regular-season BRD title
Grafton High girls basketball coach Tommy Bayse doesn't remember now why he was so angry at his freshman guard Hannah Olson. How could he after the shot she hit? But he was furious with her after York called a timeout after the Falcons took a two-point lead with 1:15 left.
Florida's Election 2018: Our endorsements for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the amendments
Florida amendments: When to vote yes, when to say no
Florida election 2018: Here are the candidates and amendments on the ballot


text:
The U.S. government program that subsidizes cell phones given to low-income Americans has been abused by millions of people who are ineligible for it, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Continue Reading Below
Last year the U.S. government spent $2.2 billion through the Lifeline program, which launched in 1984 to give phones to people unconnected to emergency services and their jobs. Lifeline is funded by landline and wireless customers who pay fees with each monthly bill. On average, Americans pay $2.50 a month toward subsidized communication programs such as Lifeline.
Lifeline is available to people who meet federal poverty guidelines or who are on food stamps, Medicaid or other assistance programs. The program has grown substantially since 2008, when payouts totaled $819 million. More wireless carriers have successfully persuaded regulators to let them offer the service, and millions of ineligible customers have received Lifeline support through carriers.
The Federal Communications Commission last year reworked the phone program's rules to require that carriers verify the eligibility of existing subscribers. Each household is still permitted only one Lifeline subscriber, and carriers must now check state or federal social-service databases to confirm eligibility. Phone companies were required by Jan. 31 to report the number of subscribers removed from Lifeline by the end of 2012.
While the FCC expected 15% of current Lifeline users would be dropped out of the program as a result, many more were deemed ineligible. Carriers discovered millions of ineligible Lifeline users on their rolls.
From carriers' end-of-year reports, the Journal reviewed data from five top companies receiving Lifeline funds. The review showed that 41% of their more than six million Lifeline subscribers either couldn't prove their eligibility or didn't respond to confirmation requests.
The five carriers were AT&T (NYSE:T), Telrite, Tag Mobile USA, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) Virgin Mobile USA unit. They account for 34% of total Lifeline subscribers as of last May. The report said two other Lifeline providers, TracFone Wireless and Nexus Communications, asked the FCC to keep their results confidential.
Carriers said many disqualified customers didn't respond when asked to prove their eligibility, according to the Journal, adding that FCC rules on self-certification and the lack of a national database made it hard to prohibit ineligible people from signing up.
Stricter requirements resulted in nearly $214 million last year, according to the FCC. Total savings over the next three years are projected to hit $2 billion, while disbursements through Lifeline already began to drop in the third quarter after 12 consecutive quarters of increases.
Previously, FCC rules did not require carriers to report back to the agency to certify the eligibility of subscribers. Many states didn't require documentation, consumers had the option to prove eligibility on their own and subscribers didn't have to recertify once approved.
Lifeline is administered by the non-profit Universal Service Administrative Co. and pays carriers $9.25 a customer per month to cover the cost of free or discounted wireless service.


text:
California woman bitten by shark off Hawaii beach
WAILUKU, Hawaii – A 51-year-old woman from California was attacked over the weekend by a shark off Makena Landing Beach Park on Maui.
Maui News reports that the beaches near the park were closed Saturday afternoon after the shark attacked the woman when she was about 20 yards from shore. The shark was estimated to be between 10 and 12 feet long.
Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga says the woman suffered puncture wounds to her right inner thigh and lacerations to the front and back of her right hand from pushing the shark away.
She was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition.
Beaches were closed one mile to the north and one mile to the south of where the woman was attacked while ocean safety officials evaluated the situation.


text:
Travis JonesAtlanta Falcons
Assistant Coach
Ht: | Wt:
News | Stats | Stat vs. Team | Targets | Injury | Depth Chart | Roster
|Falcons | Atlanta adds two coaches
Mon, 09 Apr 2018 12:18:33 -0700
Former Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach Travis Jones and former Dallas Cowboys defensive assistant Aden Durde were hired by the Atlanta Falcons Monday, April 9. Jones will serve as an assistant defensive line coach and Durde will serve as a defensive quality control assistant.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: AtlantaFalcons.com - Will McFadden
|Seahawks | Travis Jones let go
Tue, 23 Jan 2018 07:08:15 -0800
Seattle Seahawks senior defensive assistant Travis Jones mutually part ways with the team.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: The Seattle Times - Bob Condotta
|Seahawks | Announce coaching changes for 2013
Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:21:35 -0800
The Seattle Seahawks have named Travis Jones defensive line coach and Nick Sorensen coaching assistant and special teams coach. Dave Canales will now assume the role of assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive quality control coach with Nate Carroll named offensive assistant. Marquand Manuel was also named a defensive assistant Wednesday, Feb. 13.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: KFFL.com
|Seahawks | Travis Jones added to staff
Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:46:35 -0800
New Orleans Saints assistant defensive line coach Travis Jones agreed to become the lead defensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks Tuesday, Jan. 29.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: ESPN - Adam Schefter
|Titans | Travis Jones could be candidate for DL coaching job
Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:09:05 -0800
The Tennessee Titans may be interested in New Orleans Saints assistant coach Travis Jones for their defensive line coaching position, reports Jason La Canfora, of NFL Network.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: NFL Network - Jason La Canfora
|Saints | Travis Jones suspended for 30 days
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:29:54 -0700
New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Travis Jones has been suspended 30 days without pay for his admitted role in a real estate scam, reports The Associated Press. The scam involved 40 people in Texas. General manager Mickey Loomis says the suspension will begin immediately. Loomis says Jones is cooperating with the federal investigation into the scam and will take part in a program to educate others in the NFL about his experience. Jones entered a plea of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in Junes, and court records to Jones signed a factual statement admitting his role in the alleged scam.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|| Source: The Associated Press
|Saints | Team hires T. Jones
Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:35:46 -0800
Mike Triplett, of The Times-Picayune, reports the New Orleans Saints hired Travis Jones as the team's new assistant defensive line coach Tuesday, Feb. 12. Jones spent the past three seasons as a defensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|Dolphins | Jones fired
Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:15:21 -0800
Harvey Fialkov, of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, reports the Miami Dolphins have fired defensive line coach Travis Jones.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:
|Dolphins | Team extends contract of T. Jones
Sat, 20 Jan 2007 09:08:01 -0800
Harvey Fialkov, of the Sun-Sentinel, reports the Miami Dolphins have extended the contract of assistant coach Travis Jones, according to a source.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:


text:
Tom Brady won his NFL-record 17th career postseason game Sunday, but reaching that personal mark and surpassing Joe Montana, his boyhood idol, in the process was hardly at the forefront of Brady's mind following the Patriots' AFC divisional-round victory over the Texans at Gillette Stadium.
"I know this was an important win for our team," New England's quarterback said, "and that's always the No. 1 goal for me."
The 41-28 win puts the Patriots in the AFC Championship for the second straight year and ninth time in team history.
"It's an honor," tight end Aaron Hernandez said. "We still have one more to go to get to the big dance, so we've got to keep playing and come to play next week."
Everyone, or almost everyone, was anticipating another installment in the Brady-Peyton Manning AFC title game epic, but the Ravens knocked Manning and the Broncos out of the playoffs Saturday, setting up a rematch of last year's AFC Championship. The Patriots will host Baltimore at 6:30 p.m. Sunday with a second consecutive Super Bowl berth on the line.
"I think the best two teams are in the finals," said Brady, who will play in his seventh AFC Championship. "Baltimore certainly deserves to be here and so do we, so it's very fitting."
The Ravens beat the Patriots, 31-30, in the third game of the season.
The Patriots offense overcame the losses of tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Danny Woodhead to injury to roll up 457 yards and score more than 40 points against the Texans for the second time this season. Gronkowski reportedly re-fractured his left forearm while Woodhead suffered a left thumb injury.
"We have a lot of tough guys, mentally tough guys," Brady said. "Whatever happens, you've got to overcome it."
The final score maybe didn't indicate the same kind of blowout as New England's 42-14 regular-season thumping of the Texans, but the Patriots took control of the game when they scored on the opening drive of the second half and maintained it by taking a 25-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
Brady, who played in his Patriots-record 23rd postseason game, completed 25 of 40 pass attempts for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He raised his career playoff total to 41 TD passes and is one of just three NFL quarterbacks with 40 touchdown passes in the postseason.
Not surprisingly, a number of Brady's throws went Wes Welker's way. Welker grabbed eight of them for a postseason career-high 131 yards. In the second quarter, Welker, in tight coverage, made a tremendous one-handed catch along the sideline to set a Patriots record for most postseason receptions. The 47-yard gain set up a Shane Vereen touchdown run.
Welker had six catches for 120 yards before the end of the first half. Three of Brady's completions to Welker in the first half were for third-down conversions. Houston corner Kareem Jackson walloped Welker after an 11-yard reception early in the first quarter. Welker, as usual, popped right up and had another 11-yard catch two plays later.
"The guy's unbelievable," Patriots wide receiver/special teams captain Matt Slater said. "He's probably one of the toughest football players I've ever played with. We feed off him. The guy is unreal. He takes some shots out there and we're like, 'Uh! Is he going to get up?' and he gets up every time. Having a guy like that on your football team is huge."
Welker has 61 receptions in eight playoff games. Troy Brown, whom Welker passed on the Patriots all-time list, had 58 in 20 games.
"They not only made them (Sunday)," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of the Brady-Welker connections, "they've been making them for many years. So that's what you've got to match if you're going to find a way to beat them."
After a Patriots three-and-out with less than a minute left in the first half, quarterback Matt Schaub completed four straight passes to set up a 55-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, and the Texans were in the game at halftime, trailing, 17-13.
The Patriots scored 14 points in the third quarter — an 8-yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley and a 5-yard TD pass from Brady to Brandon Lloyd — and opened the fourth quarter with Brady's 33-yard TD throw to Vereen to take a commanding 38-13 lead.
At 17-6, Brady has the highest winning percentage (.739) among starting quarterbacks in the playoffs. He and Montana are the only NFL QBs with 15 or more postseason wins.
"I love playing and I love competing," Brady said. "I love being part of this team and this organization. I think I've just been fortunate to play on some great teams over the years. I very much appreciate that and I never take that for granted. I'm always going to try to be the best teammate and I leader I can possibly be."


text:
Via this note on RandomStrings (the blog from KillerSoft.com) today, there's a note about the latest version of their SimpleTest package being released.
Just a quick note to say that Pearified.com isn't dead in the water: I put up a release of SimpleTest 1.0.0 last night. Now that I've moved and mostly unpacked and gotten settled, I plan to be updating several of the packages I have on Pearified.com soon, as well as adding some new ones. Stay tuned!
SimpleTest is a lightweight framework for unit testing, web site testing, and mock objects for PHP 4.2.0+


text:
When Frank Beamer's hall of fame tenure as Virginia Tech's football coach ends, defensive coordinator Bud Foster will be a strong candidate to succeed him.
But should the Hokies designate Foster their big-whistle-in-waiting to prevent a conference rival such as Clemson from swiping him before Beamer retires?
The question careened onto the university's radar Tuesday when Texas appointed defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to replace head coach Mack Brown, though the 57-year-old Brown has eight seasons remaining on his contract and said, "I think I have a lot of good years left."
Beamer, 62, is contracted through the 2012 season. In public, he has shown no inclination toward retirement.
Unless Beamer's private stance is otherwise, the notion of guaranteeing Foster the gig now seems ill-advised.
Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver agrees.
"I've never seen or heard of anything like that," he said Wednesday of Texas' pre-emptive strike. "I just can't imagine."
Yes, Foster is among the college game's most accomplished assistant coaches — his defenses are the program's foundation. And yes, he's worked under Beamer since 1981, starting at Murray State and moving to Virginia Tech in 1987.
Moreover, he has emerged as a serious head-coaching candidate at Clemson, an ACC opponent the Hokies recruit against annually — the teams don't play again until 2011.
But unlike Clemson, Virginia Tech does not have a vacancy in the corner office, and, most important, has not been screening myriad candidates. Don't national-caliber programs such as Virginia Tech owe as much to players, donors and fans?
In short, allow Foster to earn the position during a rigorous search that coincides with Beamer's exit.
Texas turned such logic on its head Tuesday. With the Longhorns contending for a second national title under Brown, and with Brown's apparent blessing, university officials handed what is arguably college football's premier job to a 37-year-old assistant with no head-coaching experience.
To an outsider, it's preposterous. This is Muschamp's first season at Texas, and given the Longhorns' resources, recruiting base and tradition, not to mention Austin's quality of life, the position would have attracted a who's who of candidates.
Like Foster, Muschamp was on Clemson's short list. Tennessee's and Washington's too, according to media in those states.
Which, if I'm Virginia Tech or Texas, is fine. Allow your valued assistant to navigate head coaching's management migraines elsewhere and then bring him home when he's more seasoned and the time is right.
"If Bud gets offered the Clemson job, he's got to take it," Weaver said. "If you can get your first head-coaching job in one of the six (Bowl Championship Series) conferences, and at a school with Clemson's tradition, that's a no-brainer to me."
Regardless, Weaver's first phone call Wednesday was to Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds. The two exchanged voicemails, but Weaver wants to know how the Muschamp deal evolved and what escape clauses, if any, are included.
Weaver also plans to consult Beamer, to confirm his belief that Beamer intends to coach at least through 2012.
"He's the bell cow, the lead horse," Weaver said.
"He deserves to have his thoughts and inputs heard."
No head coach is more loyal to, or protective of, his assistants than Beamer, occasionally to a fault. But on this matter he's treading carefully.
On Tuesday's Hokie Hotline radio show — props to host Bill Roth for not ducking issues — and again Wednesday during the ACC's weekly news conference, Beamer raised legitimate concerns about timing and lines of authority.
What if the program declines or skids into a ditch in the lengthy transition? And if the anointed one gets antsy? Does he undermine the boss? Start plotting a jailbreak or palace coup?
Finally, what of the other assistants? To whom are they beholden, the current or future head coach?
A Team of Rivals might have worked for Lincoln's Cabinet, but it will not do for a 21st-century coaching staff.
Such issues are minimized at Florida State, where Jimbo Fisher's promotion to replace 79-year-old Bobby Bowden figures to occur sooner rather than later. And at Purdue, where Danny Hope agreed to a one-year transition before succeeding Joe Tiller after this season. Even with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, who prior to this season appointed Jim Mora to follow Mike Holmgren in 2009.
"Certainly Bud has the qualifications," Beamer said Wednesday.
"He's done a great job here at Virginia Tech, no doubt about that. ... (But) things change in college football quickly. Are there buyouts? How's the whole thing work?"
Beamer's remarks are instructive. Certainly he'd prefer to turn the program over to a protégé, and doing so in advance would spare the university the potential search circus — see Michigan and Rich Rodriguez, Alabama and Nick Saban.
But not this far in advance.
"I think there's some points for it and there's some points against it," Beamer said.
Far more against.
David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/teeltime.


text:
From Openmoko
|Hardware wishes warning! This article or section documents a Hardware Wish List item, the features described here may or may not be implemented in future devices.
Rather than making a custom back as described at Wishlist:Expansion_Back, spacers could be used instead. They would be snapped onto the phone in place of the back, and then the original back snapped onto the last spacer. The user could add as many spacers as desired.
All spacers would be identical (although perhaps available in two colors, to match the current Neo color choices). Only one part needs to be designed and manufactured, and users can make their phones as fat as they need to for their expansion/hobbyist projects.
It may be possible to design one spacer that will fit several generations of Neo hardware.
Very crude artist's conception of a spacer:
One spacer being inserted between the phone and its back:
(The battery has been removed here)
One spacer already snapped into place:
Two spacers snapped into place:
For aesthetic reasons, the thickness added by each spacer could be made identical to the width of the phone's long narrow "side panels" that hold the USB connector, the earpiece jack, the two side buttons, and the two speaker grills. (I think this is several millimeters -- anybody got a more precise measurement?)
The spacer could be made from the same material as the body of the phone, so the color would match. Only the edge of the spacer is visible after the phone is reassembled.
Manufacturing such a spacer would require a simple two-piece injection mold (perhaps? would there be sufficient overhang in the design to require a more complicated mold?). If the expense of injection molding cannot be justified, they could be carved from a sheet of material (almost any radio-transparent carveable material, including wood) with a small CNC machine.
Small breakaway tabs with holes in them (not shown here) could be situated along the inner walls of the spacer to allow components to be fastened securely.
The user could drill holes through the side of the spacer to allow for connectors and buttons to be installed.
Shown in these images are two holes in line with the existing Torx screws. The original Torx screws could be removed and replaced by longer Torx screws to hold the spacer(s) securely in place.
Every Spacer should have ready to solder pins connected to a chained bus system like the I2C or/and perhaps USB and power connectors inside. So someone can easy solder and glue his extension into a spacer and the spacer connects it properly when attached to the phone. The back can become some functionality too, just by connecting to the bus system. See Wishlist:Expansion_Protocols for more details.
Ideas: An RFID reader/writer with I2C bus should work away just soldered to the pins of the spacer and controlled by a little driver.


text:
Well, when your name is Google, you answer this quandary by building a whole new search engine. Meet SearchMash (http://www.searchmash.com), a web site owned by Google but too shy to say so unless you check out its privacy policy. While the interface on the home page is every bit as clean as Google's, there's nary a Google logo in sight:
A good-sized white box is surrounded by a periwinkle-colored backdrop, and contains links labeled Features, About, Privacy, and Terms of Service. The copyright is dated 2006; it mentions SearchMash and only SearchMash.
The obvious question for most Google mavens, before we even start performing searches and clicking links, is why is SearchMash a freestanding website and not in Google Labs? Danny Sullivan asks Google exactly that. He was told that "one of the important factors we wanted to address was the influence that may come from Google branding. Creating a separate site will help us gather more objective data about user response to new interfaces."
Translation: too many people automatically think that anything coming from Google is cool and relevant. We want to get away from that. It may sound a little arrogant, but there are actual studies that back this up. In late April, Barry Schwartz reported on some interesting findings discussed at the SES Toronto's Searcher Behavior Research Update panel. Gord Hotchkiss, one of the panelists, said that one of his eye tracking studies revealed that Google users were much less likely to look past the second or third result returned than those who used MSN or Yahoo. Lance Jones, another speaker on the panel, reported that one of his studies showed that users rated search results they knew came from Google as more relevant – even when the two sets of results they rated were identical.
{mospagebreak title=SearchMash Features}
Given SearchMash's position as an experimental playground, you can expect its feature set to change; the ones I discuss in this article are the ones that were available for me to try out at the time of this writing. Oh, and that's another point; Google said of SearchMash that "This site is only a test and has traffic limitations so may be unavailable at times."
Click on the Features link, and you get a list of current features that explain them in both words and screen shots. Next to each feature is the question "Is this useful?" and you can click on "yes" or "no." The ability to vote makes a lot of sense. Google specifically said that "There is no guarantee that the features tested on SearchMash will be seen on Google Search. As with all of our experiments, one of the main factors we will consider is user response to the feature and how well it addresses their needs."
The "start typing" feature was nothing special. It automatically lets you start typing in the search box without your cursor needing to be there. It's not actually limiting where your cursor can go; if you click somewhere else on the page, then start typing, what you type doesn't show up in the search box. It might save a little time by letting you type your queries as soon as you arrive on the page.
The URL menu, on the other hand, is kind of nifty.
By clicking on the green URL that appears below each result, you can choose a number of options pertaining to that result. You can display it in the same window, a different window (handy if you like to refer back to your search results), or open a cached copy (which brings up a Google-branded cached copy of the page). "More from this site" turns up a search result listing more pages from the same site (nearly 3,000 pages in the case of SEO Chat), while "More similar pages" turns up similar pages regardless of web site.
That last feature needs work. The top result was highly relevant for the search I performed, but others seemed to be all over the place. A number of search engines turned up, which made sense if you thought in terms of "related" rather than "similar" (indeed, clicking on the link for "More similar pages" changed the search in the search box to "related:www.seochat.com/"). There's a difference in the shades of meaning between "related" and "similar" that I guess is tricky to duplicate in an algorithm.
{mospagebreak title=More Features}
The image results panel is a nice touch. It shows the top three images for your search next to the web results, on the right hand side. I don't think of search engine optimization as particularly photogenic, but here is the panel SearchMash gave me when I did a search for SEO:
As you can see, it tells you how many images turn up for your search term, and gives you the option of clicking to see more images. When you click on the image, it takes you to the web site on which the image appears, which might or might not be related to the image – or useful to your search. The cartoon in the center adorned a story about a strategic partnership to provide a suite of press release SEO tools (which is at least vaguely related). The intriguing flow chart on the bottom led to a site in Japanese – fortunately for this poor American, the site offered an English translation.
The more images link takes you, naturally enough, to a page with more images. With more than 200,000 hits for matching images, you would expect to see links to numbered pages at the bottom. Instead, you get a page that barely scrolls vertically and another link at the bottom that says the same thing, more images. What gives?
That can best be answered by explaining another feature of SearchMash: the more results bar, which is also used here. At the bottom of your search results, SearchMash gives you a link that says "more web pages." Click on that link, and the page automatically scrolls upward, giving you another 10 web results. The same thing happens with the more images link: click it, and the page scrolls up, giving you about another screen's worth of images from which to choose. This feature is very similar to the "continuous scroll" once used by Windows Live and discontinued for web site results (though Amazon added it to A9 after a recent revamp that threw out many of its features).
Finally, I'd like to touch on a feature SearchMash says is "just for fun right now, but we have some ideas for how to use this." It's called reorder results. You can click the number next to a search result and drag it around to change the order. The number stays the same though. You can see that in this screen shot of a reordering I did for a search on juggling equipment.
You're probably wondering why I did juggling equipment instead of SEO. Actually, I did do an SEO reordering the day before I did this one. SEO Chat came up in the number three position, so just for fun I moved it to the number one spot. When I came back to finish this article the next day, SEO Chat came up in the number one position rather than the number three spot. (It looks like we're the second organic result on Google for SEO at the time of this writing, so that doesn't necessarily prove anything).
{mospagebreak title=Worth Noting}
SearchMash is Google's testing ground for search engine technology. As such, it's unlikely that we'll ever see any ads on this site, unless there's something about ad technology that Google wants to test – and even then, if I were Google, I might use a different site. (Google is certainly able to do that; the company has bought up a ton of variations on the SearchMash URL).
A number of observers have commented that the reordering search results feature might be a way for Google to let users "tweak" the results so that they are more personally relevant. It could also be a way for users to "vote" on the relevance of particular results and thus influence a web site's actual standing in the SERPs. If that is the case, I'm sure I don't need to mention how open this could be to abuse. It's not a feature implemented in Google itself, of course, and I imagine the search engine would think long and hard before adding it.
Danny Sullivan has pointed out that, with SearchMash being covered in blogs and the SEO-centric press, it is attracting exactly the kind of test audience that Google doesn't want: "people who are the influencers or tech-heads or early adopters that Google's not trying to test against." Google apparently has ways to filter out that kind of traffic and drive the other kind of traffic to SearchMash for particular test purposes. At the very least, Google can put SearchMash in front of focus groups for unbiased opinions of features without even letting them know the true source of the technology.
Speaking of technology, it shouldn't surprise anyone that many of SearchMash's features seem to be powered by AJAX, since Google has already shown signs of heading in that direction. To mention another insight from Danny Sullivan, SearchMash feels somewhat similar to Amazon's A9 – which is interesting in light of A9's CEO Udi Manber defecting to Google.
What does this mean for SEOs? If you want to see what Google is working on, you can go to SearchMash. But my guess is that these are longer-term projects – some engineer's "20 percent time," as Lee Odden of Searchnewz speculated. I'm quite prepared to eat my words if I'm wrong, but I don't think we'll see any features migrating from SearchMash to Google for at least six months to a year (and probably longer). Still, watching Google's playground to see what it is up to ought to be fun. I wonder how long it will be before SearchMash includes a form for users to comment on what features they'd like to see next.


text:
Views: 107
Replies to This Discussion
Hi I am Lynda. I am looking to play in the evenings or on weekends. I would love to fill in in women's doubles or mixed doubles. I am just getting back to tennis after a long time away but I love the game!
i'm relatively new to NOLA, and trying to keep up playing a few times a week. i play often at city park, but open to other courts. thanks!
what days are you available and times?
i have very flexible schedule, so if you want to propose something, go for it. i can probably make it work. best to email me directly if you don't mind:
© 2018 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
I just ran into this problem today with my old OLPC - from the first buy one, get one. I read through the fix, but it's beyond me. I don't know anyone using Linux, etc. to help with the fix. Should we just recycle the unit? If someone can do the repair, we'd love for it to be of use. It's rarely been used and is in great shape, though the original box may not be available.
Thank you so much for any help with this.


text:
I will be doing a lot of (Exadata) talking and teaching in the coming months. Here's a list of events where you'll see me speaking, teaching, hacking, learning and hopefully also drinking beer:
- 16 April 2013 – UKOUG Engineered Systems Summit
- London, UK
- I will talk about the common Exadata performance lessons learned in my "4 years of Exadata performance" talk
- Andy Colvin and Martin Bach of Enkitec will also speak there (yes, Martin has joined Enkitec in Europe!!! :-)
- 30 April 2013 – NYOUG Training Day
- Manhattan, NYC
- This is the first ever public delivery of my new Getting the Most Out of Oracle's Active Session History, Time Model and Wait events seminar!
- 2-3 May 2013 – Advanced Exadata Performance seminar – in-classroom!
- First public delivery of this class – and we'll be going very deep into Exadata internals and performance ;-)
- Irving, TX (in Enkitec HQ)
- 13-16 May 2013 – Advanced Exadata Performance seminar – online
- Same as previous, but online.
- 10-11 June 2013 – My new ASH seminar – online
- Getting the Most Out of Oracle's Active Session History, Time Model and Wait events
- More details will appear in the training & seminar page soon
- 13-14 June 2013 – Oracle Data Warehouse Global Leaders forum (by invitation-only event run by Oracle)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- I will speak about my "4 years of Exadata performance" experience and probably learn from others' experience too
- 5-6 Aug 2013 – Enkitec Extreme Exadata Expo (E4) conference
- Irving, TX
- I will be speaking there, haven't set the exact topic yet, but it will include demos and hacking something I suspect ;-)
- 22-26 September 2013 – Oracle OpenWorld conference
- San Francisco, CA
- I will attend the ACE Directors briefing before the conference, likely speak, hang out at Enkitec booth, probably hack something at Enkitec's Conference HQ for fun and definitely drink beer there. Maybe I'll even attend the Wednesday's party for a change!
As you see, my great plans to not travel much are not going to work out well :)
Actually it _is _better, this year I've managed to only travel twice so far (and one of the trips was for vacation!) and I haven't had to do too many of the crazy around-the-world in 5 days trips I did when living in back Singapore… but looks like I'll get to 2 million km nevertheless this year:
Well, see you in some corner of the world some day!


text:
I know, I know: the Oscars are bullshit, and we hate them. Nevertheless, I can't help but point out that "Argo" was not even close to the best movie of 2012. At best, it was an entertaining historical romp with some decent humor and an eye-rolling Hollywoodized ending.
And Ang Lee winning Best Director for "Life of Pi"? When my buddy KDoe and I saw "Life of Pi" together we were looking around the theater to see if someone was playing a joke on us. Second grade religious philosophy and a few computer-animated visuals (now available in virtually any film that appears in a theater, so I'm not sure why we're associating the words "stunning" with anything in a movie anymore) does not a decent film make.
We all know Clooney and Affleck were strong-arming and schmoozing their way to victory, and I get that the Oscars are more popularity contest than actual critique of the year's films, but still. The sheer obviousness of how much more interesting and entertaining basically any of the other nominees were can't be overlooked. Specifically, I'll target "Django Unchained," which was actually daring, bold, and stuffed with brilliant performances. "Zero Dark Thirty," despite having a huge potential historical asterisk beside it, at least wrestled with some of the more charged political questions of our time, and "Silver Linings Playbook" had actors chewing apart scenery like Great Whites with chum in the water.
Anyway, this pointless grumbling about Oscar winners would not be complete without pointing out that the actual telecast itself was the least entertaining in recent memory. Seth MacFarlane stepped over the inch-high bar that had been set for him, but that's about it. We all had to sit through a James Bond retrospective in case people couldn't catch it on AMC at 1 a.m. On the other hand, the snarkfest on Twitter almost blew up the internet, which was fun.
Oh, and musicals are terrible. If you want to watch musicals go to the Tonys. I hate you, Hugh Jackman.
Bright spots include: Daniel Day-Lewis, D2L, taking Best Actor. D2L is on another level than every other actor alive. He's the LeBron James of acting. It's almost not fair because he's playing a different game. Also, Tarantino taking Best Original Screenplay (not a crowded category since Hollywood is mostly consumed with making Spider-Man remakes and adapting the tween book of the moment) and Jennifer Lawrence, who is like a ray of babe coming down from the heavens: What. A. Babe. Baberham Lincoln, Babe: Babe in the City, Zero Babe Thirty, Babes of the Southern Wild. Just elect me president of the J-Law fan club right now.