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By Frederick Dreier, Wall Street Journal
The top American at this year's Tour de France is a rookie whose journey to cycling's pinnacle has been anything but ordinary.
Andrew Talansky, 24, is in 24th place in his debut Tour, 13 minutes behind Chris Froome of Great Britain and 25 minutes ahead of the next American, Tejay van Garderen.
After finishing alongside Tour de France-caliber pros at the Tour of the Gila race, Talansky saw Garmin-Sharp team boss Jonathan Vaughters leaning up against the team car. Like a kid from the mailroom giving his elevator pitch to the CEO, Talansky approached Vaughters to ask for a job.
"I saw my opportunity and decided I had better take advantage of it," Talansky said. "In this sport, to get to a higher level, you have to perform. But you also have to know how to put yourself out there."
For most top American cyclists, the path to the Tour de France involves years of racing in unglamorous youth leagues in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Since 1999, USA Cycling, the sport's domestic governing body, has shipped the fastest teenagers to its development houses in Izegem, Belgium, and Lucca, Italy, where the cyclists eat, drink and sleep bike racing.
The gritty European leagues hammer some of the young riders into the stars of tomorrow. Many others wash out.
Talansky, however, took a different path. A high-school cross-country runner in Key Biscayne, Fla., he picked up cycling at age 17. But after a few rides, Talansky could pedal 100 miles alongside some of the region's top amateur racers. He quickly churned through South Florida's amateur-racing ranks.
Local racer Todd Hancock recognized Talansky's talent and started coaching him. But Hancock steered him away from USA Cycling's European program.
"I know how that meat grinder in Belgium works and I didn't think he was ready," Hancock said. "I thought he needed another year of development."
USA Cycling wasn't that hot on Talansky either. Jim Miller, USA Cycling's vice president of athletics, said Hancock regularly emailed him data from Talansky's training. The numbers were good but not great.
Talansky instead went to Lees-McRae College in hilly North Carolina, where he won the collegiate national-championship race his freshman year. He dropped out after one year to compete with the Amore & Vita team in Italy. But the team's poor living conditions and disorganization chased him out of Europe in the spring of 2009.
"There was no heat. No hot water," Talansky said. "If you woke up and the Nutella was frozen, you knew you were going to have a bad day."
Back in the U.S., Talansky queried team directors and the USA Cycling development program for a job, but no one responded. He raced the remainder of the season in the U.S. without team support, lumping his expenses on his credit card.
But the following season, Talansky's fifth year riding a bike, his body began to change. His legs bulked up. His boyish rosy cheeks collapsed into a gaunt, chiseled face. The training files that Hancock sent to Miller began to tell a different story.
"There was this big jump in the numbers, and it was like, whoa," Miller said. "He had developed power."
Talansky wowed the peloton at the Tour of the Gila that spring, then raced for the U.S. team in Europe that fall. By year's end, Vaughters offered him a deal to race on Garmin-Sharp on the world stage.
His results at cycling's biggest races have shown continued progression: ninth at the 2011 Tour of Romandie, seventh at the 2012 Vuelta a Espana, second at the 2013 Paris-Nice and a berth at the Tour for Garmin.
"Andrew wasn't raised up racing bikes, supported all the way by coaches, parents, and money," Vaugthers said. "He had to scratch and claw. It made him tougher."
In today's cycling climate, boosts in performance raise red flags, due to the sport's decadeslong history with doping. But both Miller and Hancock said there are credible explanations for Talansky's improvement at age 22. Miller called Talansky a "late bloomer," and said he has seen other cyclists struggle through their teens before achieving physiological maturity in their early 20s.
Hancock said Talansky's progression was actually gradual. But since he wasn't affiliated with any pro teams or the national development program, he flew under the radar. "Andrew wasn't in the pipeline—he was an outlier," Hancock said. "In our sport, it can be difficult for outliers to make it in.
Talansky credits his progression to talent and preparation. An outspoken opponent of doping, Talansky has been critical of his sport's previous generation, including Lance Armstrong. He said the success of van Garderen, Taylor Phinney and other riders from his generation are proof the sport has progressed.
"The results we've gotten show that the culture has changed—if it hadn't, we'd be suffering at the back of the pack," Talansky said. "Everyone has a natural amount of physical ability, and now it comes down to what you do with that."


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A History of the World in 100 objects
A 100 part series by Neil MacGregor, made during his time as Director of the British Museum, exploring world history from two million years ago to the present.
Objects featured in the series can be explored and their stories discovered in the Museum galleries or here on the website through the links below.
A BBC / British Museum partnership
Explore the objects
Book of the series
Neil MacGregor, British Museum Director, explores over two million years through objects in the Museum's collection.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Magical, Musical Homage to The Legendary Beatle Years!
Imagine it is Sunday night, Feb. 9, 1964, and you are part of a television audience of 73 million tuning in to watch four mop-topped kids from Liverpool on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Imagine, further, that you are able to fast-forward through the rest of the 1960s, with all of its turbulent history, while the boys mature from bubblegum tunes like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" into a band that reflects the social consciousness of the decade with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be." The Beatles' explosion onto the American musical landscape is one of the most spectacular events in television history, and, through the magic that is The Fab Four – The Ultimate Tribute, you become a part of that history nearly 50 years later!
Life in America during the 1960's, spanned the hopes and promises of the Kennedys and Camelot to the despair and disillusionment of Nixon and Vietnam, and the Beatles chronicled the times with their music. For those who lived through the era, The Fab Four – The Ultimate Tribute, featuring Ron McNeil (as John Lennon), Andy Sarraf (as Paul McCartney), Gavin Pring (as George Harrison,) and Eric Fidel (as Ringo Starr) – takes you back in time to recall teens screaming from the balcony of the Sullivan theater. For those of you who were weaned on Nirvana and Green Day, this is an exhilarating history lesson about the music of the '60s that you won't want to miss. In fact, if you sit back, close your eyes and listen to the music of The Fab Four, you WILL be transported back to the days of the 60's Beatles!
Formed in 1997, The Fab Four, hailed world-wide as the Ultimate Beatles Tribute, have amazed audiences in the United States and around the world, including Japan, Australia, France, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. Their precise attention to detail and note-for-note live performances of such classics as "Can't Buy Me Love," Yesterday," and "Hey Jude" puts The Fab Four 'head and shoulders' above the rest. "Everything you hear is live," says McNeil. "There are no tapes or backing tracks."
In order to create an authentic Beatles sound, The Fab Four use musical instruments identical to those used by John, Paul, George and Ringo. Live performances include at least three costume changes as the boys morph from the four lovable "moptops" in suits and ties who appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 to the psychedelic Sgt. Pepper personas of 1967 to the long-haired, disillusioned icons who barely were speaking to each other while recording what became the "Let It Be" album in 1969-70. ""We also include the song 'Imagine' from John Lennon's solo career because it encapsulates his message about peace and the brotherhood of man," McNeil said.
For the Holidays, the Fab Four has released "Hark!" -- a CD compilation of 22 Classic Christmas Songs performed in Authentic Beatles' sound and styling. Transport yourself to a Beatles 'Winter Wonderland," where "Frosty The Snowman," "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer," and "The Little Drummer Boy," bring "Joy To The World," on that "Silent Night, Holy Night!" Other Christmas classic favorites include "Sleigh Ride," "The First Noel," "Jingle Bells," "Feliz Navidad," "Hark! The Herald Angeles Sing" and many more! Here's a sampling of "Hark!"
THE FAB FOUR – THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE GROVE IN ANAHEIM ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2013. For ticket information, to view their touring schedule or to purchase "Hark!", please visit the Fab Four online!


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I actually got a post up! yay, I'm really sorry about the computer crashing thing. kind of a load of fail.
hey man anything you want, i just want to rp with some of my old friends on here so... that's really all it is lol
I'm going to be in the process of moving for a while, but I'll try to come in later, if that's okay.
I dunno if you still roleplay man, but if you want check out my new quest I put up! much thanks bro.


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|Sesame Street
|Big Bird finds a suitcase outside of 123 Sesame Street.
|Air date
|December 27, 1971
|Season 3 (1971-1972)
This episode guide has been compiled from materials at the CTW Archives. ⓘ
- Oscar is installing a trash can lid closer on his home. Bob helps him, pleased that Oscar is trying to cut down on the noise of his trash can, but as soon Oscar realizes he's doing something "nice" for the neighborhood, he removes the trash can lid closer.
- Cartoon: "N" for naughty and nice. (First: Episode 0140)
- Sherlock Hemlock with the N sound.
- Bob sings "Picture a World". (First: Episode 0118)
- Big Bird presents the lower-case letter "n" and provides some "n" words.
- Maria sings the Sorting Song using different Spanish foods and a set of toy cooking pots. The kids guess that the pots don't belong in the set.
- Cartoon: "N" - Nancy the nanny goat nibbles her nails and notices noodles. (First: Episode 0240)
- Muppet & Kid Moment — Kermit and Tracy recite the alphabet. (First: Episode 0120)
- Bob tells the story of the Three Unicorns in the garden. Using art cards, he asks the kids to find the hidden unicorns, camouflaged in the garden pictures.
- Kermit's Lectures: Kermit and Cookie Monster demonstrate the idea of "some, more and most" using three piles of cookies, each one bigger than the one before. Cookie Monster gets his choice of the piles, but he doesn't want "some", "more", or even "most". He wants them all!
- Film: Getting Dressed
- Maria piles 10 thick, heavy books into Bob's arms, and explains that "ten of anything is a lot."
- Bob and Big Bird spot a suitcase sitting in front of 123 Sesame Street. First, Big Bird thinks that he'll gain a new friend because someone new is moving into the neighborhood. Next, he thinks that he'll lose an old friend because someone is moving away. As it turns out, Maria has just bought the suitcase at a sale.
|Previous episode:
|Next episode:
|Episode 0305
|Episode 0307
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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Commercial, Products, Services
By By Chris Baur | April 1, 2012
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The sixties were great. I wasn't old enough to fly then, but several of the aircraft I flew were of that vintage—the UH-1, OH-58, C-130 and the B727. (I won't mention the Cessna 150, TH-55 or the T-37). Many didn't have radar and the aircraft that did had a single monochrome display that was not integrated into a flight management system. In the industrial heyday of their prime, pilots with starched white shirts and skinny black neckties worked complex radar techniques and interpretations from smoke-filled cockpits with mixed, and sometimes, disastrous results. In my early flying days, helicopter radar was rare, and at the time, I was told airborne weather radar was something reserved "for the big boys." Techniques such as "skud running" or the use of ADF receivers as a "poor man's lightning strikefinder" were more common. My first experience with weather radar was in the Coast Guard, and my success consisted of much trial and error. But once you become accustomed to flying with airborne radar, it becomes difficult to fly "blind" without it.
Today, there are several options for both single and multi-engine helicopters that can be forward or retrofit, with costs ranging from $35,000 to $150,000. Many radar or multi-function displays (MFDs) are night vision goggle (NVG) compatible so you won't lose a minute of what you've been missing.
If you majored in auto hobby like me, you can take it apart and put it back together, but how does it work? I'll compare radar to a flashlight. The "beam" is the light transmitted from the flashlight into space until it dissipates or hits an object, and the light reflected back toward the holder of the flashlight is the echo or return. The closer the object (range) is to the flashlight, the clearer the image (attenuation). Also, the brighter the flashlight, the better the range and attenuation.
As with radar, if there is one object in front of another, you may only see the object at the closer range, such as being positioned in front of a building—you only see the building. Unlike stadium lighting, the flashlight is a pencil-like beam; you are more likely to detect an object by sweeping the flashlight in an arc of 120 degrees. So imagine holding a flashlight at your waist and navigating your way out of dark, unfamiliar building. As you slowly pan the flashlight right-left-right-left, you will probably adjust the angle (tilt) of the flashlight up and down slightly to check for obstacles and illuminate the path.
Excessive tilt down and you only see the ground at your feet (ground clutter) while excessive tilt up and you miss some or all of the obstacles. Once an obstacle is detected, most people would instinctively offset left or right to see if there is anything behind it. Now replace the flashlight with a 10 to 12-inch antenna that is transmitting 4 to 12 Kw of energy and receiving the reflected returns. While greatly simplified, this is the basic premise of operating weather radar. Helicopters such as a Eurocopter AS350 and AgustaWestland AW109 use a 10-inch antenna, while larger helicopters can accommodate 12, 15, 18 or 24-inch antennas. Even a 10-inch antenna will provide a 200 nm range, but the larger antennas will provide better attenuation. When flying in heavy rain you can experience degradation in range or attenuation created by the film of water that forms on the radome.
Today's radars will typically display four colors, depicting the level of intensity of the reflected return.
In terms of weather avoidance, the higher the moisture content, the greater the reflection or echo and higher probability of turbulence. Hence green for light, yellow for moderate and red for heavy while magenta depicts either severe turbulence or windshear. You can have turbulence without moisture and you can have moisture without turbulence. "Dry" participation such as snow and ice crystals do not reflect much of the transmitted energy back to the antenna and typically cause the radar signal to scatter. Other forms of precipitation will cause the signal to be absorbed and reduce the range and possibly mask the true intensity of the weather ahead. Wet participation such as rain, wet snow and hail reflect quite well. The intensity level of the turbulence can also be assessed by the contour of the returns. Like isobar contouring, the closer the contour and change in color (intensity) the higher the probability of strong turbulence and bouncing yourself and your passengers off the ceiling while you figure this out (I have never done this).
As mentioned with the flashlight example, be wary of an echo presentation with nothing depicted behind it. Occasionally one echo or cell can block another more intense one. It pays to use the tilt feature and offset your heading to see what behind an echo. This begs the reminder that today's airborne radar's don't come with a hood and cape or provide the ability to penetrate weather. Airborne radar is for weather avoidance, and combined with interpretation based on training, experience and common sense works quite well.
One of the most misunderstood features on any radar is the use of the tilt function. Most are calibrated between in positive degrees (tilt up) and negative degrees (tilt down) from 0 to +/-15 degrees. Too much tilt down and you will paint nothing but ground clutter, like having your head in the sand. Too much tilt up and you will either miss the large echo in front of you entirely, or get false returns. The operation of the tilt function is a fluid one depending on the attitude of the aircraft, phase of flight and type of returns that are depicted. If you are on the ground and using the radar to make a go/no-go decision, a high angle of tilt up can aid in determining the location of hazardous weather approaching your location.
On takeoff with a nose-low attitude, a mid-range tilt up will keep you out of ground clutter and looking ahead. In cruise flight, set the tilt so you just start to paint some ground clutter. While in cruise flight I typically set the range out 20-80 miles at low altitude and work the range and tilt together to determine the location, height and intensity of weather ahead. I also like to use FMC/GPS/IRS data to determine wind direction, velocity, cross track, and cell movement to develop my Plan A, Plan B and Plan C for avoiding weather. The same technique can be used on decent or approach when using the radar for weather avoidance, adjust the tilt up slightly to avoid painting ground clutter. Most contemporary radar systems allow you to either manually adjust the gain, or leave it in an automatic setting. If you are not familiar with gain—leave it in the auto mode. I would compare manually adjusting radar gain as similar to manually adjusting squelch on a radio. On older radar systems, there is benefit in adjusting gain to eliminate "ghosting" in the weather mode and sea clutter in the sea search mode.
Another common mistake with radar is not turning it on. Pilots sometimes forget, encounter weather and get behind in the weather avoidance business. This may be caused by the fear of leaving the radar on after landing. Some radar systems are connected to the transponder. If configuring the radar is not currently part of your checklist or flow item, consider developing procedures or best practices for testing and configuring the radar for different phases of flight. Pilots also like to estimate the size of the cell or precipitation ahead. A simple rule of thumb is to estimate 100 feet for each degree of tilt per nautical mile. Although probably not something you would consider attempting in a helicopter, never try to out climb a thunderstorm.
Doppler radar is a terrific tool for detecting windshear in both ground and airborne based systems. Doppler doesn't detect the location of moisture but detects motion, and in the case of Doppler radar, the motion of updrafts, downdrafts, microbursts and even mountain waves. The back of your 10-9 page will indicate if the airport you are operating near has Doppler. Airborne weather radar can also be equipped with Doppler to depict turbulence and windshear. Windshear systems are categorized as either reactive or predictive. Reactive windshear will indicate you've encountered windshear, while predictive windshear will indicate presence of windshear prior to encountering it. These systems are most commonly found on Air Carrier aircraft.
Ground mapping is a feature inherent to many airborne radar systems that allow you to paint various features on the ground using the signature of the returned echo. Most radar systems are capable of depicting recognizable features such as coastlines, significant terrain and man-made objects such as bridges and large buildings. Certain radar systems have advanced ground mapping capabilities that enable off-shore navigation and compliance with AC-90-80B, approval of offshore standard approach procedures, airborne radar approaches and helicopter en route decent areas. Airborne radar can be a tremendous asset for navigation in defined situations. The radar imagery can be combined with other navigation data from flight management computers, GPS or inertial reference system, providing an integrated solution, depicted on an MFD. Heliports or runways can be defined or highlighted though the use of radar reflectors, designed to provide precise depictions. To avoid collision and also assist in being located by SAR aircraft, many vessels carry and display a radar reflector to enhance the appearance of their echo. Many manufacturers incorporate GPWS/TWAS, radar and map functions into an integrated MFD unit or a head-up display (HUD).
There are several radar manufacturers in the marketplace, but two of the largest for weather radar are Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. Both manufacture standalone or completely integrated systems for a variety of aircraft. Honeywell's lowest cost system, the RDR 2000, has a catalog price of $31,199 and weighs in at just 10 lbs. It has many features such as Target Alert providing automatic alerting of weather hazards regardless of range setting. Moving up to the Primus 660/880 brings the cost to $77,998-$119,284 and features REACT—Rain Echo Attenuation Compensation Technique—which helps depict one cell or echo blocking another from view. It also comes with Auto Tilt, Doppler Turbulence Detection and ground mapping. The Primus 700 Series can be found on large helicopters such as the S-92 and AW139.
In addition to the airborne weather and ground mapping functions found on other Honeywell systems, the Primus 700 provides sophisticated mapping and navigation features such as sea clutter reduction, sea search for locating small targets and target de-confliction in a variety of sea conditions.
Honeywell is also developing advanced technologies that apply their radar technology to integrate a helicopter Cable Warning and Obstacle Avoidance (CWOA) that will be capable of identifying hazardous cable, wires, towers and other potential CFIT obstacles. It will also support the ability to "see through" degraded visual environments, or DVEs, such as sand, dust, weather, or brownout landing conditions. A Honeywell spokesperson reports positive results from the first test flight.
Dan Toy, principle marketing manager at Rockwell Collins, said the company is currently offering the RTA-4100 series of weather radars with MultiScan capability for the helicopter market. It is a solid-state radar system providing clutter-free weather detection out to 320 nm and features certified turbulence detection using Doppler measurement techniques. It will also support up to four independent display solutions, each with an independent range capability, as well as dual independent mode and gain setting inputs for pilot and copilot controls. As light as 15 lbs depending on type selected, the RTA-4100 MultiScan radar offers a significant weight savings over many of the systems that are currently available for helicopters."
While radar was not readily available for helicopters in the past, and if it was, it was heavy, complicated and provided limited benefits. Today's helicopter radar systems provide fully automated detection and display capabilities for both airborne weather avoidance and ground mapping navigation use. Many vendors offer radar training as well as practical hands-on experience in simulators and flight training devices.


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Lumension has launched its Risk Manager v4.2 to target the need for security professionals to establish and trend critical IT security metrics across the enterprise. This solution aims to gather, correlate and measure key risk data across the enterprise, giving clear visibility into overall security posture within the company and across individual business units.
The company suggests that while most mature IT security organizations have implemented a long list of defensive controls along with layers of vulnerability, compliance, and event management systems — security leadership still lacks a straightforward method of discerning their current standing in relation to real-world risks and communicating those indicators to senior management in a clear-cut manner.
Lumension Risk Manager also claims to provide the added visibility and trending scores needed for understanding how well internal security and external compliance policies have been applied.
"The ability to track and benchmark an enterprise's security posture on a continuous basis is vital to maintaining a protected network," said Jeff Hughes, director of solution marketing for Lumension. "Security posture trending offers key metrics about how secure a company is becoming. In tandem with this, IT security managers also need to know how well they are complying with internal policy mandates. This type of metric has typically been difficult to measure with any degree of accuracy because internal policies are not often tracked through software."


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Former Dolphins czar Bill Parcells voted into Hall of Fame
Dec. 20, 2007: Former Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga said he wasn't afraid to spend money to win. So he spent it on Bill Parcells with a four-year, $16 million contract as vice president of football operations. The Parcells era started promising enough. With new GM Jeff Ireland, coach Tony Sparano and quarterback Chad Pennington, the Dolphins finished 11-5 and AFC East champions. But the legacy of the Parcells era will best be remembered for using second-round draft picks on quarterbacks Chad Henne and Pat White, consecutive 7-9 seasons in 2009 and 2010 and the 6-10 team he left behind in 2011 after he cleaned out his office and disappeared without a word.
Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel
Copyright © 2019, Sun Sentinel


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Alan Moore in EW:
"I was also quite heartened the other day when watching the news to see that there were demonstrations outside the Scientology headquarters over here, and that they suddenly flashed to a clip showing all these demonstrators wearing V for Vendetta [Guy Fawkes] masks. That pleased me. That gave me a warm little glow."


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AllPrep PowerViral DNA/RNA Kit
For isolating viral or bacterial total nucleic acids from waste water and stool samples
The AllPrep PowerViral DNA/RNA Kit is designed for fast and easy purification of viral and bacterial total nucleic acids even from samples high in PCR inhibitors; including waste water, stool, biosolids and gut material. Inhibitor Removal Technology ensures complete removal of inhibitory substances often contained in these materials, such as undigested plant material in the gut or heme compounds from lysed red blood cells that are abundant in stool. The result is DNA and RNA from virus and bacteria that is ready to use in the most demanding downstream applications. Nucleic acids are eluted in RNase-free water and ready to use in PCR, cDNA synthesis, RT-qPCR, RNA-seq, Sanger sequencing or next-generation sequencing.
Tools to complete your workflow:
The AllPrep PowerViral DNA/RNA Kit was previously sold by MO BIO as the PowerViral Environmental DNA/RNA Kit.
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One of the important things we've determined is stars don't all form at the same time. The earlier stars tend to have an influence on the later ones.
Wishes may be forever, but the stars we hang on them are not. Instead, new stars are constantly forming as others die off. Astronomer Ned Ladd studies how stars are born out of the remnants of their predecessors.
"As stars die, they tend to blow up and all the pieces get spread out over space," says Ladd. As the pieces cool off, they form giant clouds of gas and dust tens of light years across that eventually start to contract and form the next generation of stars. That's the stage where Ladd's research begins.
"The process I look at is the contraction of those clouds – how long it takes, what kinds of stars get made, whether it is a bunch of little stars, or fewer large stars," Ladd says.
Stars tend to form in groups, so astronomers have asked whether the formation of one star influences its neighbors. "One of the important things we've determined is they don't all form at the same time," Ladd says. "The earlier stars tend to have an influence on the later ones."
Each time a star forms, wind blows outward from the collapsing star with enough force to push around any nearby material. Whether this disruption reduces the number of stars that form out of a given region, by pushing the material apart, remains to be answered.
In addition to understanding the universe itself, Ladd is also studying new ways to make the universe comprehensible to others. The same concept that gives astronomy its popular appeal – the vast openness of space – also proves difficult for most people to fully grasp.
"Students and people in general have a hard time visualizing the scale of the universe," Ladd says. "It is hard to get people to really understand how big and how empty the universe is."
Ladd, along with education professor Katharyn Nottis, and a colleague at Harvard recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop new ways to teach the concepts of size and scale in introductory astronomy classes. The researchers are developing exercises using Microsoft's free, online World Wide Telescope visualization software, which enables users to virtually fly through the universe, zooming in and out and visiting features along the way.
Ladd also enjoys inviting the public to explore astronomy at events that fuse art and science. In the winter, Family Night provides children's activities, storytelling, folk singing and the chance to peer through the observatory telescopes. In the summer, Music in the Dark provides a coffee house atmosphere with a jazz quartet and telescopes on the Quad.
"We saw an opportunity to connect science with the community and with all the other ways that people look at the world," Ladd says. "I wish we could do more of it."
Posted September 26, 2013


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CD-i: 16 bit or 32 bit?
>> Sunday, October 18, 2009
CD-i is not easy to categorize in the line of game consoles of the past years. At core is it a 16 bit design which sounds like it should be capable of games that were also possible on the Super Nintendo/Famicom or Sega Mega Drive. The fact CD-i was CD-based made it slower compared to cartridge-based systems. But I doubt it could handle the speed of SNES games, simply because the system design of CD-i was not positioned at games in the first place. On the other hand: CD-i could be upgraded with a Digital Video Cartridge which was equipped with a 32 bit RISC processor. A few months back we took a look at the Digital Video Cartridge. The acronym RISC stands for reduced instruction set computer, it represents a CPU design strategy emphasizing the insight that simplified instructions that "do less" may still provide for higher performance if this simplicity can be utilized to make instructions execute very quickly. Although it made 3D graphics possible like in Chaos Control, it didn't make CD-i a 32 bit machine. But it's definately more than a 16 bit machine. So what is it?


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DOD urged to spare tuition aid
If the Pentagon hoped that canceling troops' tuition assistance would get Congress to undo sequestration, it hasn't worked. Instead, Congress may simply force the Defense Department to restore it.
Lawmakers are angry about the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps decisions to cancel tuition assistance for the rest of the fiscal year. An indignant Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) suggested that President Barack Obama ordered the cuts to make sequestration appear more severe.
Story Continued Below
"The president wants Americans to feel the pain of the arbitrary across-the-board budget cuts from sequestration, but to cut off promised education assistance for our service members when there are other, lower-priority spending programs to draw from is an injustice," Inhofe said.
Defense officials have spent months warning Congress that even though sequestration is technically supposed to exempt the budget accounts for military personnel and the war, the defense budget is so interconnected that there is no practical way to fully spare anyone.
But for now, Congress isn't even contemplating trying to tackle the larger problem of sequestration — first, it must pass a temporary spending measure to avoid a government shutdown later this month. Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has teamed up with Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) to offer an amendment that would mandate the military services restore tuition assistance.
Hagan wrote to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday to argue that cutting tuition assistance was an "alarming decision" that would hurt the military services by taking away opportunities for troops to further their educations.
The department's tuition assistance program allows service members to go to school part-time while they're on active duty. The Marines, Army and Air Force have said they'll terminate the program for the rest of the fiscal year.
Last year, service members took 870,000 courses and earned 50,500 degrees, diplomas and certificates, Inhofe and Hagan noted in a news release. Inhofe's office later said Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas had joined as co-sponsors.
Meanwhile, the general sentiment of the amendment received broad support.
"I know that these are tough times, but I'm not sure that's the way you want to save money," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, told POLITICO when asked about the severance of tuition assistance.
The Senate punted action on the continuing resolution to Monday, and over the weekend, staffers worked to compile a list of amendments the Senate will consider. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said she hopes that final passage on a temporary spending measure — amendments and all — will take place by Monday evening.


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I'm not sure if this stuff all falls under what most would just term "probability", but I'm researching applied macroeconomics and need to get a handle on the following concepts ASAP:
- probability spaces and sigma algebras
- Borel sets
- convergence
- stationarity/ergodicity
- martingales
- laws of large numbers
- spectral analysis
The text I'm using right now, Fabio Canova's Methods for Applied Macroeconomic Research, touches on all these things briefly in the space of about twenty-five pages, but it's pretty impenetrable. Does anyone know anything off-hand that presents these topics in a more practical, easier-to-digest way? This is a little bit better, but does anyone have any other suggestions?


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You will make silk handkerchiefs, streamers, and other objects fly around the room like magic! Power Reel pulls in up to 50 feet of thread.
Built to last with a powder coated aluminum body and an industrial quality micro motor, just palm the Power Reel in your hand and you're ready to go.
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Using Your Profit And Loss Statements And Balance Sheets
Here is how to analyze your P&Ls and balance sheets to help grow your business successfully.
By Larry and Jane McGrath
To guide your business in the financial direction you want to take it, you must know where you're making money and where you're spending it. This requires keeping meticulous records and analyzing financial reports regularly.
Your two most informative reports are profit and loss statements (P&L) and balance sheets.
A P&L details your profitability. It reports your financial activity—income and expenses—over a given period of time. It restarts from zero at the beginning of each fiscal year.
A balance sheet details your financial health. It reports the value of your business—assets, equity and liabilities—at a specific point in time. It started at zero when you opened your business and will continue to accumulate until the business closes.
Individually, the reports give a limited view of your finances. For example, a look at the P&L can reveal a healthy profit, but will not show if you are running out of cash as you increase stock. For this information, you'd need to look at your balance sheet.
Used together, in consultation with your accountant, the reports are a valuable management tool and the source for building a realistic and helpful budget. Because, as Trent Hamm, author of The Simple Dollar says, "a budget plots your financial path to where you want to be."
The P&L is also referred to as an income statement, earnings statement, revenue statement and operating statement. It details how much money you made and how you made it, and how much money you spent, over a period of time.
The time period could be a month, a quarter, a half-year, or a year. For example: "For the Four Weeks Ended August 4, 2012" (the time period July 1 through August 4, 2012) or "For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012" (the time period July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012).
While the format of the P&L will vary depending on your accounting system, the sections are arranged in a standard order. Within those sections, most retailers recommend using consistent revenue streams as your categories.
The first section displays your gross income (all money that has come in) minus any discounts, allowances, refunds, and returns, resulting in your net income.
As an example of the categories within the gross income section, Eric Anderson of Vroom Network recommends separating out three revenue streams: Parts (items needed to keep things running or racing), Accessories (items wanted to add the look or sizzle in racing), and Garments (dressing the driver and fans). If your shop provides services such as tuning services, chassis adjustments, and parts installations, that income would also be categorized.
The last entry in the first section subtracts the cost of sales, such as packaging and delivery, from the net income, giving your gross profit.
One caution: Don't confuse "revenues" with "receipts." When using the standard accrual basis of accounting, sales revenues are shown in the period they are earned, not in the period when they are collected. In other words, revenues occur when money is earned, receipts occur when cash is received.
For example, if you sell merchandise in December and give the customer 30 days to pay, the revenue occurs and is reported on the December P&L. When you receive the check 30 days later, you have a January receipt, not January revenue.
The next section of the P&L details your operating expenses, sometimes called fixed costs. Operating expenses are your basic overhead costs, such as utilities and insurance, which do not vary with sales or production. Subtract these operating expenses from your gross profit and you have your operating profit.
Next, variable expenses are factored in. Variable expenses are your production-related expenses, such as raw materials and shipping, that are directly affected by sales. On the P&L, they are listed as "Cost of Goods Sold" (COGS) and are probably your largest expense category.
Finally, any other income, such as interest, is added in to give your profit before tax. Subtract the tax from that profit-before-tax amount and you have your net profit or loss.
The balance sheet, also called a "statement of financial position," is a snapshot of the financial health of your business at a certain point in time. It shows how the profits listed in the P&L have been used.
Typically, a balance sheet is prepared on the last day of a profit period, such as at the end of a month, quarter, and year.
Matt Quinn of the Wall Street Journal's corporate finance blog says a balance sheet is "intended to be a gateway to understanding a company's financial position." But, he advises, "there are lots of places on one for valuable information to hide."
A balance sheet is presented in two sections: 1) Assets such as property, equipment, stock, cash, and money owed to you, and 2) liabilities such as loans and other money you owe.
Within each section, the items are often organized by how current the account is: in assets, accounts from most liquid to least liquid; in liabilities, from short- to long-term borrowings and other obligations.
But it's what the numbers can tell you that's important. Some numbers are uncomplicated. For example, if receivables are increasing significantly faster than revenue, you'll want to investigate if you have a problem with collections.
Other analyses require a bit more math. For example, determining if you can meet your short-term obligations (liquidity) and sustain your activities over a longer period of time (solvency) require financial ratio calculations.
One key ratio, called "current ratio," is your current assets divided by your current liabilities. Current assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and any other assets that can be converted into cash or used up within the current period. Current liabilities are what you need to pay off in the current period.
According to Dr. Tom Robinson, managing director of the education division of the CFA Institute, a good current ratio for a small business is 2 to 1. That is, if you have twice as many current assets as liabilities, you are considered to have good short-term financial strength.
For example, if SpeedShop Racing's current assets are $2,000,000, and its current liabilities are $1,150,000, then its current ratio is 1.74 ($2,000,000 divided by $1,150,000). This means SpeedShop Racing is in a relatively good short-term financial position.
As a current ratio number dips closer to 1, it can signal that the business will have trouble meeting its short-term obligations. As a current ratio increases to 3 or 4, it can be a sign that the business has so much cash on hand, it's doing a poor job of using/managing it.
Other calculations, such as determining how many times your inventory is sold and replaced over a period time, can give you specific information about your efficiency. To determine your inventory turnover ratio, you can divide the cost of goods sold by the average inventory, or simply divide sales by inventory.
But remember that in analyzing the resulting ratio, it's your call what the number means. For example, a very low ratio can mean you have too much inventory because of poor sales, or that you've just beefed up your inventory getting ready for the season to start. An unusually high ratio could mean sales have been strong, or that your buying has been ineffective.
You can also get useful information from one or more common-size analyses. In a vertical common-size analysis, you express assets, liabilities and equity as a percentage of total assets.
Comparing these percentages across years lets you spot changes, and changes can give you information. For example, if inventory was 10 percent of your total assets last year and 12 percent this year, you would want to investigate why your inventory grew faster than your total assets.
In a horizontal common-size analysis, you calculate the year-to-year change for each line item in the P&L and balance sheet, looking for how an item has changed relative to total assets and revenue changes.
If, for example, revenue grew by 8 percent, assets increased by 5 percent, and inventory jumped 12 percent, you would investigate why you're building up inventory when revenue is increasing at a strong pace. Is there any chance you are building up too much stock?
A budget isn't like a credit limit; it's not a ceiling for how much you can spend. It's a planning tool to take some of the stressful guesswork out of running a retail business.
But without building your budget from real data, you run the risk of spending more money than you're taking in. Or, conversely, not spending enough money to grow your business and stay competitive.
One solid approach to budgeting is to use your previous P&Ls and balance sheets as your basis, factoring in industry performance trends and your good sense of what you expect to happen in the coming year.
As planning expert Tim Berry says, "This is where you plan your expenses. You are estimating expenditures across the business, from rent and overhead to marketing expenses such as advertising, sales commissions, and public relations. Decisions you make here are as important as the mathematics are simple: Your sum of expenses ultimately determines your company's profitability."
Analyzing your P&Ls and balance sheets with your accountant and other financial professionals can give you the information you need to grow your business successfully.
In order to guide your business in the right direction, it's important to know precisely where you're making money and where it's being spent. And keeping accurate, up-to-date records and regularly analyzing financial reports are crucial to making sure the company is on solid financial footing. That said, the two reports that will best help you chart your business's fiscal path are profit and loss statements and balance sheets. Understood and taken together, these reports will ensure you are both bringing in money and allocating it appropriately.


text: We understand that some prospective students are still having difficulty utilizing the Law School Admission Council website. If you are encountering problems (technologically-speaking) trying to apply to Northeastern, give us a call at (617) 373-2395 and we will see what we can do to help. Do not panic; we will work with you submit your application!


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Katherine Crawford
Katherine Ann Crawford, 68, of Tuscon, Ariz., died Sunday, Jan. 19, in the presence of family at their new home in Peoria, Ariz., after a long battle with cancer.
Born Oct. 1, 1945, in Wichita, Kan., to the late Joe and Katherine Reznicek, she and her parents moved to Arizona while Katherine was just a toddler. She graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School in 1963 and received a BS in nursing from the University of Arizona in 1967.
She married Gordon Crawford in 1975, and they lived together in Tuscon for 38 years, relocating to Peoria in 2013.
Katherine is survived by four children: Gary (Debb) Crawford of Marion, Ohio, Gordon "Chip" (Terri) Crawford Jr. of Mesa, Ariz., G. Brandon (Luise) Crawford of Gilbert, Ariz., and Greg (Kim) Crawford of Peoria. She is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Yvonne Hittle.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Father Kapaun Guild, The Chancery Office, 424 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS 67202, or online at www.frkapaun.org.
A memorial Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at Corpus Christi Parish in Tuscon. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at East Lawn Cemetery.


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Justin Rose was trying not to lose the BMW Championship until he decided to play like he wanted to win.
Rose already was feeling the pressure from watching a five-shot lead over John Senden shrink to one. He hit another mediocre shot that came up short of the 17th green, and while he faced a relatively simple chip, Rose thought about using his putter because it would eliminate any chance of a mistake.
Cog Hill Golf & Country Club is the venue for this week's BMW Championship. Have you played it? If so, click on its name to write a review of your experience. Also, be sure to check out our PGA.com Course Guide to review all the courses you've played and to find the perfect course for your next round.
The BMW Championship, now in its sixth year, has its roots in the venerable Western Open, which was first played in 1916.
"I knew it was kind of coming down to me," Rose said. "Either I was going to fritter it away or make something happen to win the tournament. That's how it felt. I nearly took the 'chicken stick' out there and putted it on 17, and I had a little chat with myself. ... I said, 'These are the moments where tournaments are won.'
"It was an easy chip, it just needed committing to, just not wimping out."
It turned out to be the right move.
Rose chipped in for birdie to restore his lead, then played the 18th without fear to close out an even-par 71 and a two-shot victory that sends him to the Tour Championship with a shot at the $10 million FedExCup prize.
"It was just nice to have made the right decision and then execute it," Rose said. "That's a great lesson to learn that down the stretch. It does come down to one moment sometimes, and you just need to be ready for it."
Rose's third career PGA Tour win came at just the right time. He was at No. 34 in the FedExCup when he arrived at the third playoff event -- only the top 30 from the 70-man field at Cog Hill would advance -- and he moved to No. 3 with the victory.
The top five -- Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Rose, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar -- at East Lake next week only have to win the Tour Championship to collect the biggest payoff in golf.
There were plenty of consolation prizes to go around.
Senden played bogey-free, an amazing feat in the rain on a tough course, and closed with a 70. He moved from No. 55 to No. 9 in the FedExCup, and his spot in the Tour Championship effectively assures him a spot in all four majors next year.
"That chip-in definitely turned things around for him," Senden said.
Geoff Ogilvy had a 69 to finish the week with four rounds in the 60s. He had a decent chance of winning on the back nine, although it didn't take long for the Australian to appreciate the benefits that came with third place.
At the previous playoff event, Ogilvy had to made birdie on the final hole just to advance to the BMW Championship at No. 69. Now, he is on his way to Atlanta for the Tour Championship, and he moved high enough in the world ranking to assure himself a spot in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, where he has a home off the 14th fairway.
"I'm glad I played well," Ogilvy said. "I just holed some putts for three days, and hit the ball well today on the hard day."
Indeed, there was more than one cup at stake on Sunday.
Rose captured the most important trophy. He finished at 13-under 271 for the biggest win of his career, worth $1.44 million. The BMW Championship also was the final event for the top 10 players to qualify for the Presidents Cup.
Despite all the possibilities for the U.S. team, there was no change except in the order.
David Toms went from No. 10 to No. 8 with his tie for 10th. The heartache belonged to Bill Haas, who was tied for third at the BMW going into the final round. He was poised to claim one of the 10 spots until he posted a 42 on the back nine and shot 78, when a score of 75 would have been just enough.
"I knew if I played well, something good would happen," Haas said. "And I knew if I played bad, nothing would happen."
It's the second straight year that Haas walked away from Cog Hill feeling empty. A year ago, he finished 31st in the FedExCup by a mere seven points.
Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk nailed down the last two spots for the United States. The other seven who had locked up spots were Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson.
Nothing but the order changed for the International team, too. Its list is based on the world ranking. Ogilvy, who was narrowly No. 10, moved ahead of Ryo Ishikawa to No. 9. The other eight players are Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els and Y.E. Yang.
Captains Fred Couples and Greg Norman will make two picks after the Tour Championship. Couples already has said Tiger Woods will be one of his picks.
For the FedExCup, Bo Van Pelt nailed down the 30th spot by a comfortable margin over Martin Laird. Even so, there were some tense moments. Despite difficult conditions, Camilo Villegas made nine birdies and had the best round of the day at 66. But he made bogey on the 18th hole, walked off the green to check a scoring terminal and slammed his fist onto the table. Turns out it didn't matter.
The final round proved relatively flat, with only three players having a serious chance throughout the day. Rose was headed for a runaway when he birdied the sixth and seventh holes to reach 14 under, giving him a five-shot lead over Senden.
Back-to-back birdies for Senden around the turn, along with a bogey by Rose at the par-5 ninth, made it tight at the top.
Rose did well to save par on the 13th and 14th holes -- this after a two-putt par from 80 feet on the 12th -- before running into trouble on the 15th by hitting his tee shot into the trees for bogey.
Senden kept the pressure on him with pars, and twice had putts to take the lead that just missed.
Ogilvy, playing in the group ahead of Rose, ran off birdies on the 13th and 14th to get in the hunt. Ogilvy had good looks at birdie on three of the last four holes and failed to convert.
"It was a slightly flat feeling when you look back because I might have had a chance to win the tournament," Ogilvy said. "But who am I kidding? It's my best tournament in months."
Donald, the world No. 1 who opened with a 75, closed with a 68 and finished alone in fourth.
The best part for Rose was walking to the 18th green without worry. After all that struggle, he reached the scariest hole at Cog Hill and put together his best two shots for a simple par.
"Wobbled a little bit but managed to get it done," Rose said. "And it was an amazing feeling making two great swings at the last and being able to enjoy the walk up there."


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This is another one of my mom's recipes. Such a great way to use fresh strawberries. You can use a store bought crust to make this super simple or a homemade crust just makes this even more irresistible!
This is a great treat for your Memorial Day BBQ. Have a great weekend everyone!
Fresh Strawberry Pie
- 4 cups strawberries
- 1 prepared pie crust we usually use a graham cracker crust, but a pastry crust would work well, too
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 oz. package strawberry jello
- Freshly whipped cream
- Cut stems off strawberries and leave whole or at least in large pieces. Place in pie shell.
- Combine water, sugar and cornstarch and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Continue on low heat for 2 minutes until it thickens and is clear.
- Add jello to mixture. Stir and pour, while hot, evenly over strawberries. Chill until set.
- Serve with freshly whipped cream


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Miami-Dade County
Jeffrey Garcia, ex-aide to Rep. Joe Garcia, pleads guilty, will serve 90 days in jail
Almost unrecognizable in a trim beard, Jeffrey Garcia, the former chief of staff to Congressman Joe Garcia, hugged his relatives, kissed his wife and stepped up to the lectern in a Miami courtroom Monday morning to apologize.
He had directed the Miami Democratic congressman's political campaign last year to request some 1,800 absentee ballots without voters' permission, breaking Florida elections laws that require voters or their immediate family to ask for the ballots themselves.
"I should not have done it," Garcia, 41, told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie. "I'm sorry, and I accept responsibility for my actions."
Then he pleaded guilty.
A few moments later, three police officers placed him in handcuffs and escorted him to jail. As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, he will serve 90 days behind bars, followed by 18 months' probation — including the first three months under house arrest, wearing a GPS monitor.
During his probation, Garcia, a professional political operative who is not related to the congressman, will be prohibited from volunteering or working for any campaigns.
His sentencing marks the culmination of an investigation by the Miami-Dade state attorney's office, triggered by a Miami Herald report, into thousands of fraudulent absentee-ballot requests that rolled into the county elections department's website last year, a sign of a worrying trend of campaigns using technology to take advantage of the convenient online system.
"It was a very just resolution given the severity of the crime and the preciousness of the democratic process," State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle said.
The cases of two others who participated in the scheme under Garcia's guidance, former communications director Giancarlo Sopo and former campaign manager John Estes, will likely be resolved soon, given Garcia's admission of guilt.
Still pending is a federal investigation, also prompted by a Herald report, into Garcia's ties to Jose Rolando "Roly" Arrojo, a bogus tea party candidate who ran for Congress in 2010. The Herald found Garcia might have secretly funded Arrojo's campaign to siphon off conservative votes from Republican David Rivera, who defeated Joe Garcia that year but then lost to him in 2012.
Separately, Rivera is also under federal criminal investigation for his possible connection to another ringer candidate, Democrat Justin Lamar Sternad, who challenged Joe Garcia in last year's primary and has pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations.
Both Garcia and Rivera have denied any ties to the fake candidates.
In court Monday, Jeffrey Garcia emphasized that the campaign did not tamper with any ballots. It requested them to target infrequent voters the campaign thought could be persuaded to vote for Joe Garcia.
"My intent and actions were calculated merely to increase voter participation," Jeffrey Garcia told the judge.
The congressman, a friend of Garcia's for more than a decade, underscored the same point in a written statement in which he called Monday "a difficult and sad day."
"It is painful to watch a friend go through this very difficult ordeal," said Joe Garcia, who has not been implicated in the scheme. "As we all move past this investigation it must be noted that while these actions were wrong, no ballots were touched or manipulated in any way, and no voter had their votes interfered with or impeded in any way."
His likely leading challenger next year, Carlos Curbelo, said on Twitter that he wishes Jeffrey Garcia and his family well.
"This is an indictment of Joe Garcia's judgment and of his win-at-all cost approach to elections," Curbelo said in a statement. "His unhealthy obsession with elected office has hurt our families and makes him unfit to serve us in Congress. He should take responsibility and apologize."
As the congressman's top political strategist, Jeffrey Garcia advised Joe Garcia's campaign last year in the 26th congressional district, which runs from Kendall to Key West. Joe Garcia defeated Rivera in the Nov. 6, 2012, general election.
About a month later, a grand jury convened by the state attorney's office disclosed that the elections department had identified more than 2,500 fraudulent absentee-ballot requests submitted through its website for the Aug. 14, 2012, primary election. None of the ballots were mailed.
Prosecutors said they couldn't discern the origin of the requests targeting Republican voters in two state House districts because they were masked by foreign Internet Protocol addresses. But a Herald investigation in February found that almost 500 requests targeting Democratic voters in Garcia's congressional district came from Miami and their origin could be pinpointed.
When they reopened the investigation, prosecutors led by Tim VanderGiesen found not only those primary-election requests but also an additional 1,400 or so previously undisclosed requests for the general election. They linked the IP addresses to the homes of Sopo's cousin and Estes' parents.
The day investigators raided the homes for evidence, Jeffrey Garcia told his boss he orchestrated the scheme and was fired. Sopo was placed on unpaid leave and later resigned.
Garcia pleaded guilty to one felony and three misdemeanor charges. The third-degree felony charge of requesting absentee ballots on behalf of voters carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, and each of the misdemeanors one year.
The three misdemeanor counts — for soliciting others to request the ballots — stem from directing Sopo and Estes; Sopo's cousin, Laura Rossello; and Estes' brother, Nicholas Estes, to submit the online requests.
One of Jeffrey Garcia's attorneys, Henry Bell, indicated that his client had accepted what Bell called "relatively severe" punishment because prosecutors could have tried to charge Garcia with a more serious, first-degree felony for misusing voters' personal information.
Dressed in a dark suit, checkered shirt and no tie, Garcia appeared somber in court but at peace with the punishment. He smiled occasionally and was affectionate with his lawyers, friends and relatives. He spoke in a clear voice as his wife, Patricia Rodriguez, sitting in the first row, wiped away tears.
After he was booked and handcuffed, he was led away from the courthouse in front of a succession of television cameras.


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Co-operative Bank PPI Claim
Co-operative bank Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was originally designed to cover the cost of your Co-operative bank Loans, Co-operative bank Credit Card, Mortgage or Co-operative Overdraft should you become unemployed, or unable to work due to illness and could not keep up with the payments.
Many people paid for it and were not told that they had it. Sometimes it was not even called PPI!
Has the Co-operative bank group sold you any of these products?
Extra Care
LBS Mortgage Cover
Lifestyle Protect
Payment Protection
Payment Protection Plan
Protected Payments Scheme
Total Care
Even if you are not sure or if your loan has finished, contact us straight away so that we can offer you free advice as to whether you may have a Co-operative bank PPI claim.
To find out whether or not you can make a claim fill out the inquiry contact form below and then one of our advisors will be in touch within 24 hours to discuss your possible Co-operative bank PPI claim.
Even if you no longer have any paperwork relating to your agreement with Co-operative bank we may be able to legally request this from your lender, as many customers may have taken their loan or credit card out up to 17 years ago. Throughout the process, we will provide you with an expert advisor who will help you and explain anything that you do not understand. Please note this does not affect your relationship with your bank or your credit rating in any way.
The Co-Operative bank is one of the high street lenders that sold PPI to thousands of customers all around the country, so if you are a Co-operative bank customer and you have taken out a loan or any finance out in the past, then there is a good chance that you were sold Co-Op PPI.
It is important you do not delay though. When the banks including Co-operative bank – lost in court they were forced to set aside a huge sum of money for people to claim back their (PPI) and some of this money could well be yours.
If you think that your PPI was mis-sold to you by Co-operative bank and you would like to make a claim simply complete the below form and one of our specialist advisors will contact you to discuss your case. You can also use this form to find out whether you had PPI with your Co-operative bank loan or not.
There are no limits to the number of PPI claims you can make – if you have had PPI with Co-operative bank then you are eligible for a claim. Remember, it is not just on a loan that you have had PPI; you could have PPI on credit cards, store cards, mortgages, car finance or even overdrafts with Co-operative bank. Claimspower has extensive experience dealing with all types of Co-operative bank PPI claims. We will work on your behalf to ensure that you get the maximum refund you are entitled to.
So why wait? Fill in our no hassle submission form and one of our specialists will contact you at a time that suits you best.


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Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions of a Class of Potential Operators in the Plane
Department of Mathematics, Stanford University., 1964 - Analytic functions - 208 pages
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7 pages matching Schwarz inequality in this book
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analytic annulus associated non-negative normalized Borel measures boundary component bounded sets characteristic convergence compact operator compact set compact subsets conclude conformal mapping connected admissible domains constant continuous extension continuous with respect D X D defined definition denote dielectric Green's function differential equation disc of radius Doctor of Philosophy domain of given dominated convergence theorem double-layer potentials dz dz eigen eigenfunctions associated eigenvalue and associated extremal problem follows given transfinite diameter Green's identity applied harmonic Hence Hilbert space implies interior minimum kernel Lebesgue measure log r2 log|z Moreover neighborhood non-negative normalized eigenfunction obtain operators G pointwise and boundedly satisfies Schwarz inequality sequence simply connected slit plane solution spectrum subharmonic sufficiently small superharmonic Theorem 2.4 uniform convergence uniformly unique negative eigenvalue vanish identically vanishes at infinity variational vergence weak derivative zero


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The Razor scooter was introduced in 2000 and went on to sell over 5 million units in less than a year. We manufacture kick and electric scooters for boys and girls of all ages. Our inventory has a vast selection of color and sizes that are a good fit for children and adults. The Razor Lil Kick is ideal for toddlers who like to get around. The Folding Kiddle Kick is great for travel and is recommended for children age 5 and older. The Razor line of Pro scooters is best for older or tall children. We also carry the Ripstik casterboard, which is similar to a skateboard but rides like a snowboard on pavement.
BabyGiftsOutlet.com is your one stop shop for all your baby product and baby gift needs. We bring the highest quality products from trusted brands and manufacturers at affordable prices so that you can be rest assured that you get the most for your money. Feel free to browse our large selection of baby gifts by narrowing down the color, brand, and price range that fits your needs for your baby.


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SRINAGAR, India — Three Kashmiri rebels and two Indian soldiers have been killed in a fierce gunbattle in the disputed Himalayan region, police said Sunday.
The fighting erupted Saturday after Indian troops raided southern Awneera village on a tip that at least seven rebels fighting New Delhi's rule over Kashmir were hiding there, said top police officer S.P. Vaid.
He said militants lobbed hand grenades and fired automatic rifles from two civilian homes and an apple orchard, killing two soldiers. At least three other soldiers were wounded.
Police said the firing stopped late in the night but resumed early Sunday, when three rebels were killed. Vaid said they were affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest Kashmiri insurgent group.
Residents said a civilian home was destroyed after troops blasted it with explosives.
Anti-India protests followed the fighting Saturday and Sunday, leading to clashes between rock-throwing residents and government forces who fired shotgun pellets and tear gas.
At least seven protesters were reported injured in the clashes.
Separately, two police officials and a soldier were injured after rebels sprayed gunfire at government forces laying a cordon in northeastern Hajin area early Sunday.
Also Sunday, a civilian who was wounded in a petrol bomb attack in the region's main city of Srinagar died in a hospital. Police said unknown perpetrators hurled the bomb at a police party on Saturday but missed the target, hitting the passer-by.
In recent years, Kashmiris, mainly youths, have displayed open solidarity with anti-India rebels and sought to protect them by engaging troops in street clashes during military operations against the militants. The anti-India protests and clashes have persisted despite the Indian army chief warning recently that "tough action" would be taken against stone throwers during counterinsurgency operations.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Rebel groups demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir's mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels' cause against Indian rule.Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.


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Science Friday® is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Science Friday® and SciFri® are registered service marks of Science Friday, Inc. Site design by Pentagram; engineering by Mediapolis.
How well did 'Lucy' walk on two legs? New research says that upright walking may be an ancient skill. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe the discovery of a partial skeleton of a relative of 'Lucy,' the famous Australopithecus afarensis skeleton. The new find, named 'Kadanuumuu,' or 'Big Man,' is also an Australopithecus afarensis, but dates from 3.6 million years ago, compared to Lucy's 3.2 million years.
"We can now confidently say that 'Lucy' and her relatives were as proficient as ourselves walking on two legs," said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, one of the authors of the paper. We'll talk with him about the find.


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Carol Burnett, Phil KeoghanOn Wednesday April 25th, 2012 Craig opens up with a monologue and then welcomes the following guests Carol Burnett, Phil Keoghan
Damn reruns.
If anyone can figure out the national schedule of 5 events starting with the one in Minnesota May 12, I would be interested in that information. I have attempted to fight through a thicket of web pages that do not reveal that information.
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How to Use
Map 2: Chatham, above the Rappahannock
River (inset), and Fredericksburg, Virginia,
and surrounding area, 1861-65.
Questions for Map 2
1. Locate Chatham on Map 2. What are some of the natural and man-made features near Chatham?
2. Why do you think the Union forces might have found Chatham's location helpful?
3. Find the general location of the Civil War battles mentioned in Setting the Stage that took place in the area and use the scale to determine approximately how far each battlefield was from Chatham.
* The map on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Map 2, but be aware that the file may take as much as 45 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


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"THE GAME" � (8:30-9:00 p.m. ET)
"The Fall of the Roman" (TV-14, DLS) (HDTV)
JASON INTRODUCES HIS DAUGHTER TO HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND � Jason (Coby Bell) decides he's ready to introduce his daughter, Brittany (Erica Gluck), to his new girlfriend, Camille (guest star Stacey Dash), and Kelly (Brittany Daniel) reluctantly agrees. Melanie (Tia Mowry) unintentionally finds the perfect wedding dress while shopping with Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson), but hesitates about buying it. Hosea Chanchez and Pooch Hall also star. Salim Akil directed the episode written by Elaine Aronson (#40596-062).


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|Goals scored
|Attempts on target
|Attempts off target
|Fouls committed
|Yellow cards
|Red Cards
By Paul Saffer
Norway took a massive step towards qualifying for the 2005 UEFA European Women's Championship as they cruised to a 7-2 victory in the first leg of their play-off with Iceland.
Gulbardsen sisters star
Former world, Olympic and European champions, Norway were disappointed to be pipped to automatic qualification by Denmark. But only a nightmare in their home return on Saturday will prevent them competing in England next summer after a dominant performance tonight, sisters Solveig and Ragnhild Gulbrandsen claiming five of the visitors' seven goals in Reykjavik's indoor Egilshollin.
Experienced squad
Having admitted her tactic was to "defend in numbers", Iceland coach Helena Ólafsdóttir named a cautious 4-5-1 formation. Her opposite number, Åge Steen, had a full-strength and experienced squad, and it only took three minutes for Norway to break the deadlock as Trine Rønning's bouncing cross was headed in by Solveig Gulbrandsen.
Home chance
The home side eventually settled, and Erla Hendriksdóttir's curling free-kick was well saved by Bente Nordby. However, just as it seemed Iceland were getting back into the game, they conceded two goals in quick succession.
Clever lob
In the 22nd minute, Rønning sent in yet another incisive ball from the left-hand side of the box and Dagny Mellgren tapped in. Three minutes later Solveig Gulbrandsen spotted Thora Helgadóttir - Nordby's deputy at Kolbotn IL - off her line and lobbed the ball brilliantly into the net from 25 metres.
Lead increases
Iceland now had a tremendous task to stay in the tie, and their deficit increased on 39 minutes as Unni Lehn's shot was blocked by Helgadóttir but Ragnhild Gulbrandsen was on hand to pick up the rebound and calmly shoot into the empty net to join her younger sibling on the scoresheet.
Domination continues
The Norwegian domination continued after the break and early in the half Mellgren rolled a centre past the penalty spot and Ragnhild Gulbrandsen outpaced her marker to sidefoot the ball in.
Hat-trick complete
Just after the hour the athletic Rønning was withdrawn following an impressive performance in favour of Siv Skard. Within six minutes of her introduction Skard had herself made a goal with a cross from the left, Solveig Gulbrandsen connecting to complete her hat-trick.
Iceland on target
Margret Vidarsdóttir then shot just past the far post, and 18 minutes from time Iceland did get a goal back as Ingvild Stenslend deflected Gudlaug Jónsdóttir's effort in following a goalmouth scramble. Seven minutes later it was 6-2 as Vidarsdóttir ran on to Olga Færseth's clever pass and finished confidently.
Comfortable lead
However, in the in the final minute Ragnhild Gulbrandsen's header was saved by Helgadóttir but bounced in off the luckless Erla Hendriksdóttir. That ensured Norway a comfortable lead for the return in Oslo's Vallhall arena, and only a dramatic result will stop Steen celebrating qualification as he steps down on Saturday after four years in charge.
©UEFA.com 1998-2011. All rights reserved.


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Within minutes of Code Pink's emailing out a press conference invitation in the name of Blackwater's new Department of Corporate Integrity, Blackwater was on the phone to the Code Pink D.C. house. We hadn't sent them the invitation, but they got it right away, anyway.
The release read:
"Blackwater USA Unveils New Corporate Integrity Department
Where: Phoenix Park Hotel, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m.
"As part of the 2007 Annual Summit of the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), Blackwater will be unveiling its new Department of Corporate Integrity. Given the public's concern over recent allegations about the lack of oversight and accountability for private security contractors in Iraq, Blackwater has felt a need to defend its corporate name and clear up its public image. "Just as in warfare, a good offense is the best defense," says Eric Prince, chairman and CEO of the Prince Group and Blackwater, USA. "So we are going on the offense to defend the image of our great company.
"Blackwater has become synonymous with mercenary, but the public doesn't understand that mercenary has actually be a positive term throughout history," said Max Boot of the Council of Foreign Affairs at the IPOA opening plenary. [Code Pink's Medea and Gael snuck into the Sunday night opening session of the IPOA convention.] "Mercenaries have provided service to kings, popes, and national governments that armies could not provide. So instead of running from the label mercenary, Blackwater should embrace it and reclaim the term.
"Directing the new Department of Public Integrity is Kitty Laver, who has 20 years' experience in public relations and corporate responsibility. "My job is to put the mercy back in mercenary," says Laver, who will be unveiling the department's new code of conduct and presenting new measures the corporation is taking to hold its employees and contractors accountable for unethical behavior. "I'm certain the American public and the Iraqis will embrace the new, improved Blackwater," says Laver.
Baffled by this press release, Blackwater didn't know who they were calling, just the number in the announcement.
"We're Blackwater and we don't know anything about this," our confused caller said.
"Well if you're Blackwater, how come don't you know anything about this?..." a Code Pinker replied.
Code Pinkers stayed in character as Kitty Laver of Blackwater while our phones rang off the hook from Blackwater and the press, confused because the mercenary firm was claiming they didn't know anything about this and the press couldn't find any information on a Kitty Laver [aka Medea Benjamin]. A television network called us to schedule Blackwater president Eric Prince for their morning talk show. We accepted, and arranged for a friend to show up as Prince, but that appointment soon fell through, given the growing questions about this press conference. Through Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, no one admitted we were not Blackwater, though the occasional irrepressible whoop of glee in the background might have raised suspicions. Code Pinkers planned the Wednesday press conference in three hours of late-night brainstorming Tuesday.
The next morning we headed over to the Phoenix Hotel, Medea and Des all in black as Kitty Laver and her assistant, and with a "minister" carrying a wood cross marked:
"Put the mercy back in mercenary!"
We also had a "disgraced Blackwater employee" in an orange prisoner's jumpsuit, and his plain clothes guard. The rest of us wore white coveralls with (paper) Blackwater logos, logo hats, and white rubber gloves as we gathered in front of the hotel, while hefty security men in suits and ties blocked the hotel's entrance and watched us, unsmiling.
The press was gathered, waiting to find out who we really were. As we walked up, someone said, "Oh, it's Code Pink!" But we stayed in character.
Medea as Kitty explained that while Blackwater had not had corporate integrity before now, we were here to take on the task of cleaning up its tarnished image, starting with a generous gift to the disadvantaged of the next generation. As Des displayed some macho fighting man action toys bearing the fierce Blackwater logo, Kitty said the new corporate cleanup crew would be distributing them to disadvantaged youth in the city's homeless shelters during the holidays, "to help them on the road to growing up to be mercenaries themselves!"
Kitty described the public's misunderstanding of the heroic role of mercenaries in America's shining history, and introduced the new head of the Division of Corporate Spirituality. The Reverend (Jay Marx), holding his cross, spoke of Blackwater's deep missionary zeal and the need to reclaim the term "mercenary." Finally, Laver explained that henceforth Blackwater would be policing its own employees, and in a program of tough love, imposing painful penalties on sinners, "such as the one we brought here today, for our demonstration of waterboarding."
Steve Lane as the erring employee in the orange jump suit and Jim Preston then gave a chilling demonstration of waterboarding while our white-clad colleagues held the prisoner down. (It was a good fake, not the real thing. No one drowned.)
We concluded, as we'd started, with our corporate chant:
In God we trust,
Leave the killing to us.
No matter what you do,
We'll clean it up for you.
Be it blood or guts,
Leave the cleaning to us.


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My friend Bill McClay writes:
You might want to post something on PL about this. Ken Dryden is a friend and a solid jazz journalist, both on radio and in print. He's written liner notes for literally hundreds of albums. (Joe Biden has not entirely ruined the word "literally" for me, not yet.)
I haven't heard this particular show yet, but I've heard other things Ken has done on Brubeck, and they've always been excellent. I don't know of anything else like this to be done in honor of Brubeck, at least not yet. Interested PL readers can listen to this tonight starting at 8:20 PM Eastern time streaming through the WUTC website (click on Listen Live in the upper left hand corner).
Doug Ramsey, who does the Rifftides blog on the Arts Journal website, has this about it. But PL has the power to reach beyond the devotees, not to mention finding devotees-to-be, which is precisely what Brubeck did, in and with his marvelous career…
Well, here's hoping anyway. If you have any interest in the music, please check out the show tonight and pass the information along to those who might be similarly inclined.


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Delaware North's Gaming and Racing Locations Pony Up Triple Crown Promotions, Offer Simulcast Wagering on Belmont Stakes
BUFFALO, N.Y. (June 6, 2014) – When California Chrome tries to become the first horse to capture the Triple Crown in 37 years at Saturday's Belmont Stakes, racing fans will be enjoying plenty of special promotions at many of Delaware North's gaming and racing locations across the United States.
(Wheeling, WV – April 6, 2012) - Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack will present Michael Bolton, live in the showroom on Sunday, May 27 at 8pm.
Tickets will go on sale today at 5pm at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or at the Wheeling Island gift shop. Reserved seating ticket prices are $45 and a limited number of tickets are $75 including a Meet & Greet with the legendary artist.
Ohio Man Wins $100,000 Free Play in Wheeling Island Slot Tournament
And the $100,000 winner is…William Selby of Heath, OH. Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack presented Selby a check for $100,000 on Sunday, November 20, 2011 following the Final round of Wheeling Island's signature $150,000 Slot Tournament event.
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack Opens New Live & Simulcast Racing Area
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack recently unveiled their newly upgraded live and simulcast greyhound racing areas as part of a majority facility renovation.
Wheeling Island Presents Classic Rock Favorites America
Live entertainment is back! Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack presents America "40th Anniversary Tour" in the showroom on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 8pm for a live performance.
New Year's Eve Party and Giveaways at Wheeling Island!
Wheeling, WV – December 29, 2010) Wheeling Island will host the area's hottest New Year's Eve party this Thursday, December 30th and Friday, December 31st with a live dance party featuring The Celebrity All Stars band in the showroom.
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack Announces Wheeling Island Christmas Wish
In the spirit of giving, Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack is working to make a difference in the community this holiday season with their Wheeling Island Christmas Wish toy drive.
Wheeling Island Donates Thanksgiving Turkeys
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack is helping feed families in Ohio County this holiday season with a charitable donation of 250 turkeys to the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, The Wheeling Salvation Army, YWCA and Wheeling Health Right.
Hard Knocks Fight Night 30 Coming to Wheeling Island
Jerry Thomas' West Virginia Sports Promotions, Inc. and the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack are pleased to present "Hard Knocks Fight Night 30", a special night of live boxing and kick boxing featuring the region's top MMA fighters, professional Boxers, Kick Boxers and more. Coming this Saturday, October 23rd at 7:30pm in the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack Showroom.
Hard Knocks Fight Night 21 This Friday and The Beach Boys This Saturday
Whether you are a fan of martial arts or the classic vocal harmonies of American rock, Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack has something for everyone this weekend!


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Members Fuel the Museum
Help Keep SAM Running into the Future
Membership makes the difference! The Saratoga Automobile Museum thrives because of the participation and support of nearly 1,000 active and enthusiastic members. SAM's members play an important role in helping the Museum achieve our mission
With programs, events and benefits designed to accommodate a wide range of interests and budgets, a SAM membership offers the best way to get involved and take advantage of everything the Museum has to offer. Whether a casual enthusiast or a serious collector, a retiree or a family with kids, a teacher or a student, you'll find the right membership package just a few clicks away. Learn more by exploring the links above.
See what Level of Membership works for you


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Possible white Christmas for LeFlore County
The National Weather Service in Tulsa is predicting snow for Christmas in eastern Oklahoma. The NWS lists every county in the state as either under a winter storm warning or winter storm watch.LeFlore County is currently under a winter storm warning.The National Weather Service expects significant snowfall in eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.According to the NWS, precipitation will begin as rain before mixing with sleet and transitioning to snow early Christmas morning. The snow is expected to continue to fall through Christmas night.Northeast Oklahoma is expected to be hit the hardest with four to eight inches of snow average and wind chills falling to near zero.


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In August of 2008, cable internet provider Comcast imposed a 250GB limit on bandwidth, scaring many of their internet gaming customers. Now the company is rolling out an internet usage meter, so customers can obsessively track every single megabyte. Great!
As a Comcast customer who regularly downloads four to five games off of Steam a month, not to mention large amounts of high resolution screenshots and uncompressed video, news of the bandwidth cap in 2008 hit me like a ton of bricks. So far I've managed to avoid going over, but there have been times where I've seriously sweated it out. Once I went out of town for the weekend and left a game patch torrent running in the background, only to return and discover I had uploaded 120GB of data while I was out. Not a good feeling.
So in a way, Comcast's new usage meter feature, currently being rolled out in select coverage areas, including Crecente's Colorado home, is a godsend. If you fear you've used too much internet, simply log into your account and take a peek. Then quickly unplug your cable model and huddle in the corner, waiting for the internet withdrawal to pass.
On the other hand, some people, given the ability to check and see how much bandwidth they are using on a regular basis, will completely freak the f*** out. People like me.
When Crecente passed along his notification email, I immediately logged into my Comcast account to see if the feature was available to me. Luckily, it is not. If it were, I would keep it open on my secondary monitor, watching it out of the corner of my eye every second of every moment I spent on the internet.
Believe me, that's a lot of moments.
Those interested in seeing how the usage meter works can visit Comcast's information page on the new feature.
You can also see that it initially rolled out to Portland, Oregon in December, and now it's reached Colorado. I can feel it slowly creeping towards Atlanta. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck raise. Perhaps I should set up a spam filter for Comcast mail now, so the announcement never reaches me.


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Detachable Hood Down-filled Parka Coat
€550.00 €550.00
€280.00 €280.00
All orders will be fulfilled by Burberry Limited and shipped from the UK. When you place your order, you accept Burberry's Terms and Conditions and confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy.
Size Guide
Use the Size Guide to choose the best fit for your measurements.
In this window, you can find out the shipping and returns options for the selected item.
In this window, you can contact customer service for further assistance.
- A down-filled parka coat updated with a fishtail and faux shearling-lined detachable hood.
- Outer: 100% polyester
- Trims: 90% cotton, 9% polyamide, 1% elastane; 100% leather
- Lining: 68% polyester, 32% acrylic
- Fillings: 100% duck down; 80% duck down, 20% duck feathers
- Wadding: 100% polyester
- Button, press-stud and concealed zip closure
- Press-stud flap pockets
- Detachable hood
- Signature details: hook-and-eye collar closure, storm shield
- Machine wash
- Imported
Item 80034741
Wear this with
Relaxed Fit Stretch Denim Jeans


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Wine & Scotch Tastings
The Wine and Scotch Tastings are sold out
We're a little more than 1 month away from sailing from Miami with you! Excited? We are too!
As many of you heard during our CHASERS AT SEA: Cruise Info Week, we are excited to be hosting 4 days of amazing events while with you aboard the Carnival Destiny. In addition to our 3 concert events, our Q&A, Album Preview, and photo sessions, we're hosting a two very cool events for our 21+ fans. Check them out, below:
Friday, October 12th, 2012 at 10:00pm - Scotch Tasting with Walt & Don
Cost Per Guest: $25.00 (inclusive of gratuity)
Sign up today!
To book the Scotch Tasting with Walt & Don, log into your account and choose add more options.
Saturday, October 13th, 2012 from 7:00-8:00pm -- Wine Tasting with Cheese and Fruit hosted by DR
Cost Per Guest: $35.00 (inclusive of gratuity)
Sign up today!
To book the Wine tasting with Dave Roberts, log into your account and choose add more options. For more information on both of these tastings, click here


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Hello People,
I found ThinkAtheist through a Twitter search for #Atheism, and Im lovin' it.
I love how friendly and positive the atmosphere in here...
My name is Hany, Syrian and working in Dubai right now.
I come from a religious family, where my parents will have an instant heart attack if they hear me discussing religions and gods :) and I am very well educated when it comes to Islamic stuff...
The turning point in my life was, when I discovered a couple of Hadiths (Mohamed's sayings) that talks about weird stuff... and when I say weird I mean absurd, weird, non-sense, stupid and immoral stuff, which I will mention later on in different posts :)
so, I started asking questions and no one was able to answer them... not even people with a PhD in Islam studies.
and here I am, six or seven years later... spreading the word... waking up people from the religious dose they have been taking since they were born.
Last year I met some Raelians, and it's just funny how in the 21st century someone actually believes such crap.
My favorite Atheism debate line:
"You believe in a book that has talking animals, wizards, witches, demons, sticks turning into snakes, food falling from the sky, people walking on water, and all sorts of magical, absurd and primitive stories, and you say that we are the ones that need help?"
Views: 71
Welcome Hany - Ah, yes, we need to know a lot more about Islam - I am in Australia, and we are starting to get a problem with Muslims. A face covered muslim woman was stopped by the police for a breathalyser - to see if she had been drinking - a very common occurrence in Australia - she accused the policeman of ripping off her face mask - blah, blah. Didn't happen, not true. The problem was, it was all caught on video - to make a long story short, she got off on a technicality, because they couldn't see her frigging face.
There was a documentary on TV tonight. A muslim man could divorce a muslim woman, but she can't divorce him, only if he approves. I only found out in the last couple of days, it's the same rules with Jews. The man has to give his wife a Get, his approval. Secular or Australian law doesn't come into it. What the....
There is going to be a big stink over this, well, I hope there is. There is a growing number of fundamentalist muslims coming to Australia, they want there own courts, with sharia law, (which has been the case in England for the last four years) not Australian law, where the man has complete control over the women. Even if a man beats his wife, she still has no say, she can't get a divorce. Is this true. Do you know anything about this.
There are a lot of moderate muslims here too. The women are coming out and saying the burqa is man made rubbish to control the women. The women who wear the burqa are brainwashed and fearful. It is very sad. Welcome again.
Hey Suzanne, the face covered woman are, as you said, brainwashed, and these are the extremists... in Syria the gov prohibited women from working in educational institutions with the niqab (burqa) in order to avoid raising a new generation of extremists... and this rule was one of the reasons of the protest that has been going for 4 months now in one of the northern cities.
Yes, it's true... in Qura'an the man is allowed/"ordered" to beat his wife if he believes that she is not following the right path of Islam or the way of her husband :)
and yes, women can't "Officially" divorce, however, they can request a separation in the courts but she will have to give up everything including the dowry and bride price in order to get an official divorce.
Islam is a great religion for men :D it allows us to marry 4 women (plus captive women), it gives us twice what a woman gets from anyone's (father, mother, brother...etc) inheritance... and alot more.
Did you know for instance that Mohamad (the prophet) had 11 wives at the same time? although he limited all muslims to 4 wives but he got 11... Lead by Example :)
Believe me you don't want the sharia court in your country... otherwise, Australia will turn into another Saudi Arabia.
if they are living in Australia they must obey by the Australian laws not create their own.
Thank you for the great welcome.
Hi Hany,
Some more questions - what do you think about the head covereing of women - what is your point of view of this, why do they do it.
I live in Sydney, and over the way, just a few miles, is a place called Parramatta - it is working class, but has fabulous shopping. There one will see muslim girls, say, teenagers and up, I would say unmarried. They wear really tight jeans, really high heels, varnished nails, lots of makeup, their head scarf is very colourful, and quite often have beads and sparkles etc. and it just looks incongruous when they smoke. Not allowed to drink, but are allowed to smoke.
What the!!! I just think it is funny. It is in my lifetime that catholic nuns wore the shroud, same style of head gear that muslims are wearing, but now just wear a simple dress, just below the knee and head gear of sorts. So things are changing. But the fundamentalists have a lot of sway here, and getting more vocal.
There is a really interesting bloke here called Waleed Ali, educated, smart, a lawyer, on TV for investigative, analysing of politics journalist, used to be in rock band, he has had so many awards, etc. so I really lost my respect for him, when I found his Australian born wife also wears the burqa.
His profile is really interesting reading - so what could make this bloke tick - why, when he is so smart, and his wife is smart - why do they go down this religion track. I just don't get it.
I have heard that one of Mohamad's wives, concubine, I don't know what, was nine years old????? Is this true.
I will start from the bottom, yes, Aysha was his best-friend's daughter and she was 9-year old when he married her... he was 53. (btw, he liked Aysha more than any other wife he had)
But, the funny part is, although in all Islamic and Arabic cultures this was (and still is in most regions) a disgusting act... Muslims brag about Mohamad's marriages including Aysha's.
I have read many books trying to understand how people are accepting this, there is actually a 500-pages book that is called "Prophet's Wives" :) you should read it, it's funny. (and another one called "The Mothers of all Muslims")
One more crazy fact, which most of the muslims don't know about... that "Zainab" who is Mohamad's wife (I think number 6) was his adopted son's wife... he asked him to divorce her so he can marry her.
Regarding the head covering, it's two parts:
1. Religiously: and those are usually the minority.
2. Traditionally: and those are the majority of women... they can't take it off even if they want to. their families and society will torture them. even when they are in Australia, they live in their own society of Muslims.
I have seen the kind of girls you see in Parramatta, those are the kind that is lost between the two cultures, but those are the open-minded Muslims... soon they will loose the head scarf, and hopefully the religion.
Waleed's profile looks like he is a hypocrite, a Muslim singer who forces his wife to burqa... this typical Islam, built on hypocricy and contradictions. (FYI: singing is not allowed in Islam, not even listening to songs)
I lost my respect to all religious people... long time ago.
but looking at the positive side, Islam is vanishing slowly in my region... although governments are having tough time doing that.. but it will eventually go away.
Welcome my friend. It is always great to meet another godless heretic. I must admit my deconversion followed a similiar path to yours. i was a christian untill i actualy sat down and read the bible, by the time I got to the end of that damn book there was just no way i could believe anymore, not without a labotomy atleast.
Hey John,
Now everytime i read a religious book i feel so stupid that at one point i believed this bullshit... and never questioned it.
This is great. I'm glad to see someone speaking about the Islamic side of things. Very informative! Looking forward to more. Welcome to TA!
Thank you Rick.
Please let me know if you have any specific topics about Islam you would like to know about... this way would be much more easier for me than coming up with new topics :)