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Ethical questions raised as amateur basketball recruiters engage in a high-stakes battle for blue-chip recruits
First in a three-part series on the sneaker industry's influence on amateur basketball in New England.
SPRINGFIELD -- A brazen foot soldier in a multibillion-dollar war between sneaker makers for the soles of America's youth, Thomas J. ``TJ" Gassnola has peddled basketball dreams to inner-city adolescents across New England despite a lengthy criminal history and prodigious legacy of financial delinquency.
The face of youth basketball in the region for Adidas, Gassnola is a free-wheeling recruiter whose tactics often have clashed with rules set by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to protect amateur athletes who aspire to careers in college sports. Some of his practices underscore the inability of the NCAA and other watchdog agencies to adequately police abuses in summer youth basketball.
A Globe investigation of the sneaker industry's influence on youth basketball in New England found that Gassnola has handed cash to members of his Adidas-sponsored summer travel teams for expenses unrelated to basketball. Several parents of elite players said the Springfield-based recruiter offered them free airfare or Adidas merchandise while pursuing their sons, and another parent said he interpreted Gassnola's sales pitch to mean the recruiter would provide his son improper financial aid. NCAA rules bar amateur players from receiving anything but ``actual and necessary travel, room and board, and apparel and equipment for competition and practice."
The Globe also witnessed Gassnola drive his teenage players in several states, even though his Massachusetts driver's license has been revoked or suspended 24 times and was not valid from 1993 until last month.
``You're talking about putting kids at risk in so many different areas," said John Kottori, chairman of boys' basketball in southern New England for the Amateur Athletic Union. ``It makes my stomach turn to think about it."
Gassnola, whose supporters include Adidas, and numerous parents and players, has done it all in the company's name. As the sneaker giant's top New England recruiter in its quest to wrest supremacy of the market from archrival
The system has created a cottage industry in which corporate agents such as Gassnola lavish free travel, shoes, gear, and other benefits on predominantly needy youths with basketball skills. For the players, it is a heady environment with a sometimes shady underside: For all the future college and pro stars who have prospered in the system, some have seen their reputations tarnished by their company-backed coaches or recruiters.
One of the most egregious cases involved a Nike-funded coach, Myron Piggie, of Kansas City, Mo., who was sentenced to 37 months in prison in 2001 for fraud and tax convictions after paying more than $35,000 to five teenagers, including future NBA players Corey Maggette, Kareem Rush, and Korleone Young, to play in his summer program. Three of the players, after enrolling in college, were suspended from basketball competition by the NCAA for periods ranging from five to nine games (the NCAA has no jurisdiction over amateur athletes until they are enrolled in member schools).
Subsequent efforts by the NCAA to crack down on abuses in summer youth basketball have produced few results, largely because of its limited jurisdiction.
``Every time we try to make rules, somebody tries to circumvent them," said Tom Izzo, who guided Michigan State to the national championship in 2000 and serves on a select NCAA committee of college coaches.
Gassnola, 34, aspires to make his New England Playaz the top power in summer youth basketball in New England, a distinction long held by the Nike-sponsored Boston Amateur Basketball Club. He declared himself ``hell-bent on destroying" the BABC and engaged in a verbal confrontation with BABC coach Leo Papile last winter that nearly became physical during a tournament in Chelsea.
``It's a personal war, a turf war, and a sneaker war," said Gassnola, who has stocked his team with some of the region's best talent, including stars he has poached from clubs in Greater Boston, including the BABC.
``When I die, I want it to say on my tombstone: `TJ Gassnola, The Guy Who Put Leo Papile Out Of Business,' " Gassnola said.
Papile, 52, who founded the BABC in 1977, also serves as assistant executive director of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics. His program receives $50,000 a year from Nike plus sneakers, gear, and apparel, while Gassnola said he receives no cash from Adidas but an unlimited supply of merchandise.
Gassnola recently enhanced his program by gaining an endorsement from NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, whose name now appears on the team's uniforms. But Papile, whose program has won 11 national championships and sent more than 200 players to Division 1 colleges, including NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing and former Celtic Dana Barros, shrugged off Gassnola's challenge.
``I don't know know how old he is, but all I can say is, `Good to luck him, if he lives long enough,' " Papile said. ``I've seen guys like him come and go, and when they go, good riddance. They're not good for basketball."
The scramble among the sneaker giants for the nation's elite young athletes has escalated since the early 1990s, spawning dozens of company-sponsored teams that barnstorm the nation from April to July competing in showcases that often attract college recruiters, NBA scouts, and national scouting services.
Nearly every American-bred college and NBA star in recent years has played for a company-sponsored team, and organizers such as Gassnola and Papile have come to wield enormous influence with young players, helping them land lucrative scholarships to private secondary schools, fielding inquiries from college coaches, and advising them on their college choices.
In turn, players who make it big both by turning pro and reaping lucrative sneaker endorsement deals sometimes reward their summer coaches, though Papile said none of his alumni have given back to his program. Gassnola said he receives a combined $20,000 a year from three NBA players whom he declined to identify (none of his alumni has reached the NBA).
Indeed, a number of NBA stars, including Tracy McGrady, Tim Thomas, and Tyson Chandler, have designated portions of their multimillion-dollar sneaker contracts to their company-sponsored coaches or handlers.
``This is a big-time business," said Gassnola, a fast-talking recruiter with a self-portrayed ``degree in bull" and close ties to former University of Massachusetts coach John Calipari's program at the University of Memphis.
Papile raised eyebrows in the 1980s when he became a Boston-based assistant coach for Cleveland State University after five members of his BABC teams went to play for the school. Responding to rumors that he may have sold players to colleges, Papile issued an emphatic denial in a 1997 interview with the Globe.
``Anybody who has the courage to confront me with that, I would go into a steel cage with them and pound them to smithereens, because that's how untrue it is," he said. One summer coach who recently clashed with Papile over a player questioned the propriety of Papile serving as both a high-level scouting adviser for the Celtics and an amateur coach whose former players the Celtics could draft. Two former BABC players, Iowa State's Will Blalock and Notre Dame's Torin Francis, recently participated in predraft workouts for the Celtics.
``It's absolutely absurd that he's getting paid by an NBA team and running an AAU team," said Rick Isaacs, who coaches the H Squad, an elite independent travel team based in California. ``Is that not a conflict of interest?"
Papile said he has long reported his BABC role to the NBA, which has approved the activity as a community service. Papile, who said he is not paid by the BABC, also noted that Blalock and Francis worked out for many NBA teams other than the Celtics.
Though Papile has long served as the face of the BABC, his name has not appeared on corporate documents the organization has filed with the secretary of state. Instead, Papile's wife, Kimberly Johnson, is listed as the BABC's president, treasurer, and clerk, while Frank Burke, a basketball operations assistant for the Celtics, and Stuart August, a lawyer, are listed as directors. Papile explained his absence from the documents as a consequence of his work for the Celtics, which requires him to travel about 200 days a year. He also owns and manages a number of real estate properties.
``All I can do is coach," he said. ``I don't have time to do all the other stuff."
Before going nonprofit in 2003, the BABC functioned for many years as a for-profit corporation, though Papile said no one in the organization received a salary and ``we never came close to making a profit."
As a nonprofit, the BABC reported raising nearly $99,000 in 2004, the most recent year for which its federal tax return was available. The club reported spending more than $94,000, including more than $6,700 in charitable donations to scholarship funds at Chelsea High School and Charlestown High School.
Numerous coaches, however, have complained through the years about losing players to Papile's higher-profile program -- Kalon Jenkins of the Stoughton-based Bay State Magic said the core of his 15-and-under team jumped this year to the BABC -- yet Papile generally has maintained a favorable reputation while reigning as New England's dominant force in summer youth basketball.
He was inducted in 2004 into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
``If I feel my kids need to be at the next level, I deal with Leo only," said Pete Washington, who heads the Young Achievers Basketball Club in Mattapan and previously coached at Roxbury Community College and East Boston High School.
Gassnola said he has ``made a ton of mistakes in my life." He attributed many of the lapses to a ``dysfunctional" upbringing and said, ``I absolutely robbed Peter to pay Paul to make this [basketball] program work." But he said he has turned his life around.
Gassnola has been convicted three times of larceny over $250 or receiving stolen property, among other charges, and has been ordered by judges in at least 11 civil cases to make good on more than $45,000 in bad debt.
``This is what I do and I love it," he said of his basketball program. ``I've stepped on some people's toes I shouldn't have, but I didn't do it intentionally and I'll never do it again."
Court records show Gassnola's criminal record dates to 1988, when he was convicted of delinquent larceny at age 16 and ordered committed to the Department of Youth Services for a year, with the sentence suspended.
Gassnola said he has applied the lessons of his troubled youth to help a new generation of at-risk teenagers.
``Imagine a guy who sits in juvenile court with a chip on his shoulder the size of you and me," he said, referring to himself. ``He went from one juvenile home to another. His father left him at a young age and his mother never understood him. There were a lot of bumps in the road, but he tried to do the right thing. This guy understands kids better than anybody because he used to be one of them, and he doesn't want those kids to go down the same bumpy road."
The road remained bumpy for Gassnola in adulthood. At 22, he was convicted of assaulting a man outside a Springfield bar, for which he received a 90-day suspended jail sentence.
Less than a year later, Gassnola was indicted on charges of felony assault and unarmed burglary stemming from a confrontation in which one of the alleged victims told police he aimed a licensed handgun at Gassnola to ward him off. The alleged victim also reported a subsequent encounter with Gassnola.
``He told me he could have me killed and that he belonged to one of the highest organized crime families in Springfield," the man told police, according to court records.
A jury in Hampden Superior Court found Gassnola not guilty of the charges. (In an interview, Gassnola denied having any connection to organized crime, though he said he once was involved in bookmaking.)
Gassnola's criminal record also includes convictions for receiving stolen property and uttering a false check in 1998, larceny over $250 in 2000, and larceny over $250 in 2001 (the larceny convictions involved nearly $2,200 he stole from two women). He received probation or suspended jail sentences in each case and was ordered to pay a total of $3,091 in restitution.
Meanwhile, the list of plaintiffs who have received civil judgments against Gassnola for bad debts include a former basketball associate, a college in Springfield that rented him a gym, and a Hadley company that installed audio equipment in his SUV.
``It's tough to get started in this business," he said, estimating his program costs $100,000 a year (he said he already has invested nearly $32,000 of his own money this year).
``You kind of live beyond your means and sometimes you ruffle some feathers," he said.
Gassnola, whom the Globe witnessed driving teenage players in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Arkansas while his license was revoked, also has amassed a voluminous record of traffic violations such as speeding, operating with a suspended license, and operating an unregistered vehicle. (None of the violations involves alcohol or drugs.) He has been classified five times as a habitual traffic offender, with his latest four-year revocation ending May 3.
``He has continued to drive in blatant violation of the law," Amie O'Hearn, a spokeswoman for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, said before Gassnola regained his license last month.
Registry officials said they did all they could to sanction Gassnola while he continued driving. The rest, they said, was up to police and the courts.
Gassnola has heard critics voice the most derogatory assertions about him, he said, none more incendiary than that he has paid athletes to play for him and has directed players to colleges in return for cash. He said he has done neither.
``I'm not proud of a lot of stuff, but the proudest thing in my life is that I've been able to build this program with a level of success," he said. ``I'm trying to do the right thing."
An Adidas spokesman, Terrell Clark, said the company has received ``no complaints or criticism" about Gassnola.
``We have, however, taken note of a great deal of praise by the parents of players directed to both the club and its officials," Clark said.
Carol Price said Gassnola played a key role in helping her son, Kendric, secure his basketball scholarship at Michigan.
``I can't say anything negative about the experience," Price said. ``It was one of the best things that could have happened for Kendric in terms of exposure."
Veronica Brantley credited Gassnola with transforming her son, Jamual Warren, a 6-2 guard from Springfield, from ``a hard-headed little boy to a responsible young man." Warren, whom Gassnola has mentored for more than eight years, attends Globe Institute of Technology in New York and will play next season for the University of Cincinnati.
``From the outside looking in, people will see what they want to see about TJ," said Brantley, a single mother of five. ``But TJ has been a blessing for me and my family, and he's done it all out of the kindness of his heart."
Coaches Marvin Avery at Lynn Tech and Mike Hart at St. Andrew's said they have encountered no problems with Gassnola. In 2001, Gassnola also received a recommendation in a sentencing hearing in Springfield District Court from John Robic, who then coached Youngstown State between stints as Calipari's assistant at UMass and Memphis.
``He's a good man," Avery said of Gassnola. ``I'm a big supporter."
Yet Gassnola has no shortage of detractors, many of who portrayed him as a hustler more concerned about enhancing his image with Adidas than protecting the interests of young athletes.
``He could end up hurting a lot of kids," said Darryl Bishop, of Roxbury, whose 16-year-old son, Darryl, is one of several players Gassnola tried to poach from Papile. ``I don't think he's very good for youth basketball and what it stands for."
Bishop, a former football star at Western Kentucky who serves as athletic director of the Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury, said Gassnola arrived there uninvited to try to lure away three of Papile's players: the younger Bishop and 6-7 Jamal Coombs-McDaniel of Dorchester, both of whom Papile helped steer to Lawrence Academy, and 6-8 Alex Oriakhi of Lowell, a 16-year-old phenom whom Papile helped enroll at the Brooks School.
``He didn't offer me anything directly, but he did talk money, about how he had helped out some kids in the past," Bishop said. ``I've been there before, so I knew what he was talking about. I told him, `Anything you do now could hurt my son down the road.' I explained to him that we're not about that."
Bishop, who rejected Gassnola's invitation, said he took Gassnola to suggest he would provide his son improper financial support. Gassnola denied offering anything inappropriate.
``I would never say anything like that," he said. ``I don't operate like that."
Still, Gassnola said he is bound by few, if any, regulations, largely because the NCAA is hampered by its limited jurisdiction and no other agency carefully monitors the summer basketball universe.
``You can do whatever you want [because] there are no rules," he said. But while he insisted he would never entice a player or his parents with money, Gassnola acknowledged delivering small amounts of cash to a number of players who have joined his program. He made clear the money was for things unrelated to basketball competition -- such as food and leisure travel -- and thus a possible violation of NCAA rules on amateurism. He said his only motive is compassion for his players.
``Do I wire a kid $40 so he can get something to eat? You're damn right I do," he said. ``I'm not leaving a kid on the side of the road who's got nothing at home."
In one recruiting ploy, Gassnola told Coombs-McDaniel's father, Pernell McDaniel, he would provide the elder McDaniel with Adidas footwear if his 16-year-old son joined the Playaz.
``He said, `What size sneaker do you wear? I'm going to take care of you,' " said McDaniel, who declined the offer.
Gassnola, who acknowledged making the offer to McDaniel, described the goods he receives from Adidas as a valuable resource.
``When a guy like me has product behind him, that makes a difference," Gassnola said. ``Kids say, `That's what T-Mac [Tracy McGrady] wears.' If I had no product behind me, this wouldn't be as easy."
In another recruiting episode, Gassnola failed to impress Doug Millard, of Goffstown, N.H., whose 6-8 son, Chad, played as a freshman last season for Rick Pitino at Louisville after starring at Trinity High School in Manchester, N.H., and Brewster Academy. Doug Millard said Gassnola invited his family to dinner at a Manchester Applebee's while he was recruiting Chad, but when the bill came Gassnola produced three credit cards, all of which were rejected. Millard then picked up the check.
``At that point, I said to Chad, `You're not playing for this guy. How can his team afford to travel if he can't buy a $50 dinner?' " Millard recalled.
Gassnola then encouraged Doug Millard to let Chad play in a tournament in Memphis. By Doug Millard's account, which Gassnola confirmed, Gassnola said, ``If you let Chad go, we have an extra plane ticket. You can go, too."
The offers to McDaniel and Millard could have posed a potential problem with the NCAA, under a provision that bans prospects and their families from receiving preferential treatment, benefits, or services based on an athlete's reputation.
``We met hundreds and hundreds of people in the basketball world over the last few years and 99 percent of them were great people," Millard said. ``They're not all TJ Gassnolas."
But his prime pursuit has been youth basketball. He got his break in 1998 when he steered Warren to the powerful Playaz Basketball Club of Paterson, N.J., an Adidas-funded organization whose alumni include the NBA's Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter, and became one of coach Jim Salmon's assistants.
With the Playaz's blessing, Gassnola spun off his own team in their image two years ago. Both Gassnola and Salmon said they have no financial relationship, and Gassnola said he raises most of the money for his team from Springfield-area businessmen and the unnamed NBA players.
At the core of Gassnola's mission is delivering some of the region's premier talent to major national tournaments and camps, particularly those sponsored by Adidas. Under NCAA rules, the events represent the last major showcases for prospective college players before the November period for players to sign with NCAA schools, further boosting the influence of operatives like Gassnola.
``It's a world most people don't know very much about," said former Celtics coach John Carroll, whose 16-year-old son, Austin, plays for Papile's BABC. ``There are guys like Leo who have been doing it a long time and have built a good reputation, and there are bottom-feeders like [Gassnola] who try to make a name for themselves by going into inner cities and doing whatever they can to entice kids. It's sad."
Gassnola, who last year incorporated the New England Playaz as a nonprofit and listed himself as the president, treasurer, clerk, and sole director, insisted he cares more about helping his players secure college scholarships than scoring points with Adidas.
``I'm going to make sure they go to college and aren't walking the streets doing nothing," he said of his players. ``That means more to me than Adidas going, `Holy [expletive], you got Antonio [Anderson]. He's a [potential] pro.' "
At times, however, Gassnola has put basketball before education. In 2004, he helped 6-9 Travis George, of Roxbury, enroll at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, only to quickly remove him over philosophical differences with the school administration. Bill Barton, Notre Dame's principal and basketball coach, said the differences included Gassnola expecting George to leave campus and compete with the Playaz when Barton insisted George remain there during summer school to study.
``We will not take TJ's kids anymore," Barton said. ``There are some coaches who should not be guiding young men."
George has attended five prep schools since Notre Dame and has yet to meet the NCAA's academic eligibility standards. For his part, Gassnola acknowledged personally assailing Barton for requiring George to study rather than play basketball.
``[Barton] was killing the kid," Gassnola said. ``Travis won't be going to Yale to be an engineer."
Gassnola also acknowledged owing money to Notre Dame after reneging on a pledge to pay Warren's tuition. To date, Notre Dame has taken no legal action, though word of Gassnola's debt has spread through the youth baskeball community, further tainting his reputation.
Several AAU coaches told the Globe Gassnola has snatched away players from them by making promises the coaches could not or would not match. Most youth teams charge athletes to play, while high-powered programs such as Gassnola's and Papile's cover all the expenses, including travel to tournaments across the country.
No one in Greater Boston has lost more players to Gassnola than Mauricio Vasquez, who runs the Reebok-affiliated Metro Boston program in Dorchester. The players include Anderson, Price, George, and Alvin Lewis, a freshman at Kentucky Wesleyan.
Vasquez said he no longer cares to speak to Gassnola.
``However he got the kids, so be it, I'm not going to sink to those levels," Vasquez said. ``If someone sells you a dream and you feel that's going to get it done for you, so be it."
Gassnola said he respected Papile's turf in Greater Boston until he learned that Papile advised a relative of Dominique Price, a star guard at Holy Name in Worcester, to steer clear of Gassnola because of his troubled past. (Papile denied the assertion.)
``If [Papile] had shut his mouth, I would have left him alone out of respect," Gassnola said. ``But now, it's like I told him in a voice message, `You know what, bro? Boston is open game.' "
Gassnola has little chance of unseating Papile, according to Sonny Vaccaro, who revolutionized the relationship between sneaker companies and youth basketball players as a Nike executive in the 1980s before he moved to Adidas in 1992 and joined Reebok in 2004.
``That's like taking on the Red Sox or the Yankees if you're the Pirates," Vaccaro said. ``It's silly to even say that."
But Gassnola, who hit the road this year with a team he stocked with Division 1 college prospects, said he has no plans to go away.
``Mark my words," he said. ``In 10 years, the No. 1 program will be the New England Playaz."


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Paula Abdul to (Finally!) Guest-Judge So You Think You Can Dance
Jul 8, 2013 7:09 PM EDT
After 10 seasons, Paula Abdul will finally make her debut as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance Tuesday, Fox announced Monday. "It's the girl I've waited ten seasons for," executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe tweeted when breaking the… Read more

subset: commoncrawl


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- Length: 21 cm. - item number: 1874426030
- Material: Cromargan stainless steel 18/10 partially matt finish. Rust-free, dishwasher safe, dimensionally stable, sanitary, acid resistant and indestructible.
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text:
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text:
Kamara rescues Sporting against Dynamo
Kansas City, KS – Kei Kamara netted his first goal this season for Sporting Kansas City, helping the club salvage a point against the Houston Dynamo in a thrilling 1-1 draw on Sunday at Sporting Park.
The fan favorite, Kamara, recently returned from his loan spell with Premier League side Norwich City and made sure Sporting collected a point with his tally in the 68th minute.
Houston had the better of the play early on and had the first excellent chance of the afternoon in the seventh minute as Brad Davis unleashed a well-struck free kick, but it skittered wide of the right post.
Controversy arose five minutes before the halftime break when Davis was put through on goal and Sporting's Oriol Rosell broke up his scoring chance with an expertly-timed challenge on the ball in the penalty area.
Referee Drew Fischer whistled a foul on Rosell and immediately pointed to the spot, awarding a penalty kick to Houston, but the call was overturned by the assistant referee.
The Dynamo shook off the reversal of the call and struck first in first-half stoppage time as Will Bruin brought down a ball with his back to goal and slid it to Davis, who fired it past Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen to the near post.
But Sporting found its equalizer in the 68th minute as Kamara ripped a left- footed strike past Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall low to the right corner to make it 1-1.
Both sides had chances over the final 20 minutes but a winner could not be found as the clubs settled for a share of the points.


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Forest products handled by ABP include timber, pulp, paper, and board to and from Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic and beyond in containers, roro, and conventional shipments.
The Humber is the centre of forest products trade in Britain. The Ports of Hull and Immingham combined handle more than one million tonnes of forest products each year. ABP invests in modern facilities and equipment; a good example being a £1 million upgrade of paper handling equipment at the Port of Hull.
Further down the east coast, the ports of Kings Lynn and Ipswich specialise in forest products and sawn goods, with regular services from Scandinavia and the Baltic states and extensive areas of covered storage available. Ipswich also offers a dedicated timber treatment service. For more information about ABP's Ipswich Timber Treatment Centre please visit: www.abports-timbertreatments.co.uk. At other ABP ports such as Swansea and Newport regional markets and beyond are served by facilities capable of handling some of the largest forest product vessels serving the market. The Port of Barrow handles wood pulp shipments on behalf of the adjacent Kimberly-Clark manufacturing plant.
ABP's Scottish Ports of Ayr and Troon offer the dedicated Timberlink service. Operated with the support of the Forestry Commission Scotland, Timberlink transports around 100,000 tonnes of west coast timber by sea from a variety of locations in an environmentally friendly fashion.
Our ports also offer specialist forest product operators, dedicated facilities and excellent road and rail connections, offering a comprehensive logistic solution to entire the British market.
Our commercial team would be pleased to put together a package of port facilities tailored for your business in our unique network of 21 ports.


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Aside from conventions and Toy Fair, solicit release week is one of the best times to be a collector. Like the comics that inspire many of the statues and action figures that get the most attention, some toy companies also release solicitations to let fans know what they'll have available in the coming months. This week both DC Collectibles and Diamond Select Toys unveiled their upcoming line-ups and there's a lot to talk about. Lots of other companies like NECA, Sideshow, Funko and more also showed off lots of collectibles to get potential purchasers excited for the rest of 2014.
DC COLLECTIBLES | DC Collectibles came out hard and heavy with their latest batch of solicits. In addition to the huge Clayface piece which we've been talking about for the past few weeks, they also unveiled a Powergirl and Huntress 2-pack, a 3.75-inch tall Batman and Joker 2-pack from "Injustice" and a "Red Hood and the Outlaws" 3-pack featuring the title character, Starfire and Arsenal. On the statue side of things, Stargirl made her way over to the Bombshells line of WWII-era vintage pin-up art inspired pieces, Harley Quinn earned a statue based on her appearance in "Batman: Arkham Asylum" and Jae Lee's version of the Dark Knight entered into the Batman: Black and White line. Finally, DCC will also offer a Batman utility belt prop replica with giant pouches for everything from Batarangs to shark repellent. All of the above will bow in July.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 | With the May 2 release of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" looming, a lot of companies will be debuting their collectible tie-ins. Diamond Select Toys is getting in on the action too with a brand new figure based on Andrew Garfield's portrayal of the character in the upcoming Marc Webb film. Marvel.com showed off the 7-inch figure which comes with alternate hands and even a fireman's helmet to reflect the image released last fall.
MARVEL | Speaking of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" collectibles, Funko has a variety of pieces that will be out in time to celebrate the film's debut. Spider-Man and Electro will appear as both Pop! Vinyl figures and Wacky Wobblers bobbleheads. They're not the only live-action Marvel characters getting the Pop! treatment, though, as Agent Phil Coulson from "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." gets his own figure as well!
BATMAN | Christian Bale might be the Batman most people think of these days, but there was a time when Michael Keaton was THE guy. Sideshow Collectibles gives the man his due with an October-shipping Premium Format Figure statue based on the 1989 film "Batman." Like most Sideshow pieces, this 26.5-inch statue will come with a regular version and a company-exclusive that comes with a swap-out right hand holding the grapple gun!
SIN CITY | DST also recently unveiled the first wave of their movie-based "Sin City" figures. The 7-inch figures come painted in gray scale to reflect the film with character appropriate accessories and display bases. The first wave includes Mickey Rourke's Marv, Bruce Willis' Hartigan and Jessica Alba's Nancy.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE | Behold the majesty of Eternia's Snake Mountain! After teasing the piece way back in August, Icon Heroes finally released the final images for Skeletor's house! The statue includes elements from the Filmation animated series "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" as well as the playset released back in the '80s. The piece stands 18 inches wide, 16 inches tall and looks ready to house all kinds of appropriately named villains.
POWER RANGERS | It's time to fire up the Megazord because S.H.Figurarts is completing the original Power Rangers gang. The upcoming release of the Yellow Ranger, who comes with various hands, Power Daggers, Blade Blaster, Thunder Slinger and the third part of the Power Blade to go along with the pieces that came with Blue and Black. The figure is exclusive to Bluefish Tamashii Nations and debuted on their Facebook page.
POP! ANIMATION | Funko continues their mission to bring every character ever into their line of Pop! Vinyl figures by continuing with a quartet of classic cartoon stars. All four title characters from "Rocky & Bullwinkle" and "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" will get their own figures in the near future. Hopefully Boris and Natasha aren't far behind!
GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION | The "God of War" franchise has kept video game fans busy, running around mythological locations and tearing apart man, god and monster alike. The latest game, "God of War: Ascension" which debuted last year, takes a year one approach to the character of Kratos, who would go on to kill Ares and take his place on Olympus. Gaming Heads goes back to the character's roots with their life-size bust that stands a whopping 28-inches tall. Limited to just 500 pieces, Kratos here will ship in the summer.
PLANET OF THE APES | NECA took several different approaches to letting fans know about their upcoming slate of Planet of the Apes collectibles based on the existing movies as well as the upcoming "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." In addition to releasing the teaser video featuring "Dawn" sculpts and a press release detailing the plan, they also used Twitter and Facebook to show off a pair of "Classic Apes coming later this summer." The first batch of collectibles will hit in June 2014 just before the film's July 11th, release.
STREET FIGHTER | Pop Culture Shock's line of Street Fighter statues will continue just as they should, with two characters from the franchise trying to beat the digital tar out of each other. The latest offering features Vega facing off against Chun-Li in her classic togs. The PCS-exclusive version of the statue comes with two versions of Chun-Li, the one seen in the regular version of the piece as well as the fan favorite character in her "Alpha" outfit. Both versions will ship in the summer.
MOVIE MINIMATES | Three very different movies from three very different directors are making the leap into the wonderful world of Minimates from Diamond Select Toys. The Alien line continues with individually boxed figures featuring "Aliens" characters like Spunkmeye, Colonial Marine Wierzbowski, Carter Burke and a trio of different xenomorphs. Meanwhile, a "Kill Bill" House of Blue Leaves 4-pack will include a bloodied Bride, O-Ren Ishii, Gogo Yubari and Sofie Fatale. Finally, Kevin Smith's ViewAskewniverse continues with Moobie and Buddy Christ as seen in "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Dogma."


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Hi everybody!
1. Yesterday's strip has been uploaded: it should show up by a reasonable hour of saturday morning. (It's queued. I think. Perhaps.)
2. Timeliness of creation and posting has been delayed by illness, both personal and in the family, and the delays been entirely my fault: that's improved, and I'm hoping to return to twice a week shortly (and perhaps, even, eventually, The Grail of thrice-weekly.)
3. I have finally logged in and looked at the stats. They blow my mind. There are numbers in hundreds and thousands and very nearly tens of thousands, and they're consistent.
I'm a trifle giddy. :) Thank you all.


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Fornax, (Latin: "Furnace") constellation in the southern sky at about 3 hours right ascension and 30° south in declination. Its brightest star is Alpha Fornacis, with a magnitude of 3.9. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille formed this constellation in 1754; it represents a type of furnace that is used in chemical experiments.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Constellation, in astronomy, any of certain groupings of stars that were imagined—at least by those who named them—to form conspicuous configurations of objects or creatures in the sky. Constellations are useful in tracking artificial satellites and in assisting astronomers and navigators to locate certain stars.…
right ascension
Right ascension, in astronomy, the east–west coordinate by which the position of a celestial body is ordinarily measured; more precisely, it is the angular distance of a body's hour circle east of the vernal equinox, measured along the celestial equator. It is often expressed in units of time rather than…
Declination, in astronomy, the angular distance of a body north or south of the celestial equator. Declination and right ascension, an east-west coordinate, together define the position of an object in the sky. North declination is considered positive and south, negative. Thus, +90° declination marks the north celestial pole, 0°…
Star, any massive self-luminous celestial body of gas that shines by radiation derived from its internal energy sources. Of the tens of billions of trillions of stars composing the observable universe, only a very small percentage are visible to the naked eye. Many stars occur in pairs, multiple systems, or…
Magnitude, in astronomy, measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial body. The brighter the object, the lower the number assigned as a magnitude. In ancient times, stars were ranked in six magnitude classes, the first magnitude class containing the brightest stars. In 1850 the English astronomer Norman…


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In your head: Sounds like old friends
Published September 23, 2004, in issue 0338 of the Hook
The Damnwells with Justin Jones and Small Town Workers
Starr Hill
September 18
The shushing was in full force Friday night at Starr Hill during the performance of singer/songwriter Justin Jones. An alt country crooner of sorts, Jones was the opening act for Brooklyn's The Damnwells, a group about as awash in the hooks as you can get. Jones performed his set of original alt country tunes seated before an audience that was still building as he went on.
Speaking to the crowd after his first song, Jones explained that he had the flu, though nothing in his set stood out particularly as evidence of his sickness. Except for the occasional female scream from the audience along the lines of, "I want your babies" (met by "I don't know if you want his babies– he has the flu" from my friend Ray), the crowd seemed fairly subdued, content to sway to and fro, gazing into each other's eyes with overwhelming emotion. Or at least that's how it looked.
The Damnwells were the group I had come to see, and I enjoyed my time, even if the group revealed themselves to be a bit more "Musical Guest on Dawson's Creek" than I would like (or care to admit that I liked). A hair band without the awkward '80s baggage (a catchy way of saying they looked like Urge Overkill, or– for you non-rock types– they simply had a lot of hair).
Their tune "Assho**s," started off their set. As the first track on their latest album, Bastard of the Beat, the song is a slow moving alt country tune, but live, it was an up-tempo rocker, with serious pop undertones.
"Everybody grew up and turned into assho**s" sang guitarist Alex Dezen, as the group put on their best rock star show moves for the appreciative crowd. A one-second break at the song's end led into the second number, "Kiss Catastrophe," a slower tune, where the group's pop leanings ratcheted up even higher.
"I will keep the bad things from you" began a song of the same title which most listeners of modern rock radio probably know (or will soon). Splashed with slide guitar throughout the tune, Dezen's slurred and purring vocals seemed more like a sleepy lullaby than a rock song, though when it was time for the ever-present guitar solo, things got a lot more crunchy.
The most amazing thing about The Damnwells was that, despite the fact that I had spun their CD to completion only a few times before last Friday, at least half of their set was composed of songs that already felt like old friends. This suggested to me that these friends were ones I want to know well, for a long time.
The Damnwells


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Morenci police chief Larry Weeks told an audience at Monday's city council meeting that he's heard about problems with bicyclists on downtown sidewalks ever since he arrived here five years ago.
Reaching a solution isn't an easy thing for him and for many residents with whom he's spoken.
"I'm not comfortable confronting an eight-year-old child and saying, 'Get off the bike or I'll ticket.'"
At the same time, he said, he hesitates to force young bicyclists into the downtown street traffic.
It's not eight-year-olds that are the problem, an audience member answered during a question-and-answer session.
Laws should be enforced equally, Weeks said, noting that being struck by a bicycle can cause an injury no matter how old the rider.
Resident Doug Erskin said he's witnessed teenage bike operators doing tricks on downtown sidewalks and damaging the decorative flowerpots.
He said he spoke to a police officer, but didn't see any action taken.
Chief Weeks he said hasn't made enforcement of the ordinance a priority, but his department can take a more proactive approach if that's what council wants.
He said he believes he has some discretion in enforcing ordinances. Resources are people, he said, and he will have to shift priorities to increase sidewalk patrolling.
Due to budget cutbacks, Weeks said, his department has fewer officers than five years ago and can't do what he believes to be proper drug surveillance.
"There's a give and take to everything we do," he said.


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And yet, so many of the human elements of the institutional side of the church have succeeded in tarnishing, trashing, and for so many people of good faith, demolishing the whole experience. The Church is so much more than the "institution", as Jesuit Avery Dulles always stressed, but it is this external edifice that usually draws the most negative attention to itself. And it is often those externals that have affected our families, our friends, and ourselves most significantly. Is it any wonder that so many people find peace in saying that they are people of faith, but that they are not "religious"? We can try to correct that view by saying that religion is more than the externals, but those words can sound awfully hollow and false to someone suffering great pain at the hands of external religious practices and authorities.
America magazine's associate editor Kevin Clarke recently wrote a very thoughtful piece for the Washington Post, which can be read in its entirety here. Clarke writes in part:
Outsiders are locking miters with the U.S. Catholic bishops, but inside the church itself a creeping factionalism accelerates the animus. On the left, Catholic "progressives" mock the bishops, seeing them as a crooked gang of celibate old men making rules for women; and on the right, conservative firebreathers continue their scorched church policy, offering new directions toward exit doors for Catholics caught in the middle. See these Christians: how they love to fight each other.
This is not what I signed on for. Where's all the good stuff that used to energize me about being Catholic? Where's all the feeding of the hungry, the clothing of the naked, the caring for the sick, the loving as we have been loved? Where is the community gathered to break bread not heads? The broader secular culture already regards us as somewhere between delusional and dangerous, we seem to be hurrying to confirm that diagnosis.Speaking for myself at least, I find Kevin's reflection an exact echo of my own feelings this Lent.
I have the sense that we Catholics, this Lent, have some serious soul-searching to do during this period of Purification and Enlightenment (as we refer to it in the RCIA). Anyone who has followed the blogosphere or any number of media outlets covering the latest scandals, the latest lawsuits, the latest public debates on religious freedom realizes that it is not only WHAT people are saying that is so disturbing, but HOW they are saying it! Is this REALLY how Catholic Christians should engage in the kind of serious, reasoned discourse that our contemporary world -- and its amazingly complex realities -- deserves? How does this kind of public behavior reflect the inner transformation that should mark our ongoing metanoia as people of faith?
Specifically for readers of this blog (assuming there are any! LOL!): how can we deacons best serve the common good of all peoples? How can we find ways to reconcile and unite rather than continue the vitriolic alienation of good people who are simply trying to do their best with their lives?
In Hebrew numerology, the number 40 is always associated with a period of human preparation and testing for a mission. It is, in a way, a kind of spiritual "boot camp" to prepare people for what is to come next. The forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert on their way from slavery into the freedom of the Promised Land were to help prepare them for their new covenant with God. The forty days and nights of the great Flood were to prepare the people for the new covenant with God. The forty days Jesus spent in the desert being tempted were to prepare him for his own public ministry.
May our own desert wanderings this Lent help us find ways to move from the slavery of our own passions, anger, resentments and pain into a Promised Land of freedom of the Christ who came to reconcile all things, to heal and to save. We need that Light today more than ever, not the Darkness that seems so often to be engulfing us.


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Steve Nathan, a new rabbi at the Synagogue of Pike County in Lords Valley, said the essense of Judaism involves a sense of community.
Steve Nathan, a new rabbi at the Synagogue of Pike County in Lords Valley, said the essense of Judaism involves a sense of community.
It's a departure from the conservative rabbi at his boyhood synagogue in Scranton.
"Judaism isn't what you believe or how you practice. It's about belonging to a community," he says, "which is why I'm a good fit for the fellowship (Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms). It's unaffiliated with movements because of their diversity."
Nathan hopes to attract the diversity of Jews wandering in the desert of religious estrangement.
"I just started here, but I get the sense that many Jews in Pike and Wayne counties are unaffiliated and looking for something. I'd like to reach out to them," he said. "Pike has the biggest lesbian and gay community in the state, but they feel disenfranchised and alienated. I know Jews who are single and some from interfaith families may not feel welcome. But I'd like to reach out to them."
For Nathan, Judaism embraces an array of beliefs.
"Judaism ranges from belief in the supernatural God who intervenes in history to a rational belief in a non-intervening God as source of knowledge, to the Kabbalah, with its mystical vision of God and our relationship with God."
He agrees with the Reconstructionist Judaism of Mordecai Kaplan, which is a Judaism that is always evolving. Consequently, he likes to vary forms of observance, too.
"I experiment with music, chanting, meditation and alternative services," he says.
He does thought-provoking sessions revolving around the Torah — the Jewish scriptures — and related comments appear on his blog.
The Saturday morning service is more conservative than the Friday night one, followed by a potluck lunch and Torah study.
While the synagogue is a physical symbol of contemporary decorum, Nathan found the congregation to be "less formal than elsewhere."
"I was told, 'Don't wear a tie and jacket. You'll feel out of place,'" Nathan said.
He prefers a relaxed service.
"I like to joke around with people. It's easier with a small congregation than with 350 people at a High Holy Day service, or with the 1,400-family congregation in Philadelphia where I was assistant rabbi."
As the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms approaches its 40th anniversary, Steve Natt, the president, says, "It hasn't changed since the '70s. It's a diverse congregation, very intense with different input. But there's no single authority. I lead discussions, but I don't have a vote."
In addition to having different religious views, they also have differing commitments to the community.
"We have full-time residents, weekenders and snowbirds. Very few young families move here full time, because of the lack of jobs," says Natt, who is retired from corporate accounting. "There tends to be erosion at the top without growth at the bottom, but the last couple of years we've gained as many as we've lost."
Like the Judaism he advocates, Nathan, too, is always evolving.
Coming from a third generation Scranton family involved in business — his mother's family owned a pretzel factory — Nathan went to Columbia Teachers College for a counseling degree. By the time he was 28, he realized he wanted to combine his work with people with Judaism, and he found his way to a Reconstructionist rabbinical school in Philadelphia.
He still works part time as therapist for teens and families at a private Scranton agency, he is director of a religious school at a Scranton synagogue, as well as rabbi for the Hemlock Farms Fellowship, leading services every other week. On his off weeks, congregants lead.
Check Steve Nathan's blog at mindfultorah.com.


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Given that spacetime is not affine Minkowskispace, it does of course not possess Poincare symmetry. It is still sensible to speak of rotations and translations (parallel transport), but instead of
$$[P_\mu, P_\nu] = 0$$
translations along a small parallelogram will differ by the curvature. I have not thought carefully about rotations and translations, but basically you could look at the induced connection on the frame bundle, to figure out what happens.
This is all to say that spacetime has obviously not exact Poincare symmetry, although the corrections are ordinarily very small. Most QFT textbooks seem to ignore this. Of course it is possible to formulate lagrangians of the standard theories in curved space and develop perturbation theory, too. But since there is no translation invariance, one can not invoke fourier transform.
My questions are:
- Why is it save to ignore that there is no exact poincare symmetry? Especially the rampant use of fourier transforms bothers me, since they do require exact translation invariance.
- How does one treat energy momentum conservation? Presumably one has to (at least) demonstrate that the covariant derivative of the energy momentum tensor is zero.
Any references that discuss those issues in more detail are of course appreciated.


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Building Citations for Google Places SEOPosted by oicadmin on 05/17/12
Tags: citations , local seo , google places
In today's digital age, there are few alternative to improving your business's online visibility if you want great marketing ROI. SEO and Internet marketing have evolved, and now Google Places is taking the hot seat for online advertising exposure. As a result, Google Places SEO (or Google Places optimization) has become a high demand marketing solution for local businesses.
Google Places Optimization via Citations
One of the most effective ways of improving a business's ranking in Google Places is by citations. Many interested in search engine marketing often confuse Google Places citations with links, but the two are not the same. Google Places citations help local businesses earn higher ranking in Google Places results.
A citation refers to an external listing (outside of the Google Places page) of company's name, address and phone number (NAP). In essence, Google will compare the citation of a business's Google Place page with that of the business's citations on other websites. The more citations that exactly match the NAP of the Google Places page, the greater potential to rank higher in the Google Places listings.
The Righteous Path to Building Citations
There are several ways and resources for building citations. As you begin to build citations on other websites, it is absolutely imperative that you keep your NAP's consistent. You should note that using multiple phone numbers often hurts your ranking, as does changing the name of your business in the heading.
Additionally, be as specific as possible in your NAP, as to include suite #'s and other details that might conflict your NAP with that of another business. So remember, the same NAP in every citation is critical. Some of the best places to build citations are through local directory listing sites other than Google Places. Google pulls a lot of information from these directories. You could try such directories as Open Table, Yelp, Urban Spoon, Kudzu.com, YP.com, CitySearch.com, Merchantcircle.com, and Superpages.com.
Simply establish your business's listings in these directories that apply to your company. This alone can drastically increase your chances of earning a higher ranking in Google Places. These directories and Google Places combined show the world that you are credible, legitimate business with an actual place on the planet and that benefits your local SEO optimization strategy.
There are also many other variable that go into the Google Places optimization process. Most of these factors surround the word choice of your business's description, the images and videos that you use, and the "offers" you post on your Google Places page. The www.webpresencegroup.net offers valuable services and resources that focus specifically on Google Places SEO. You can visit the website optimization company to learn more.
This article written by Tyler Tafelsky, one of our Internet marketing specialists here at OIC Group, Inc.


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Fish Weight CalculatorFormulas have long been developed in freshwater and saltwater for using length and girth to estimate the weight of a fish, and these have been evolving since the days (at least the 1940's) when a formula for fish with a cylindrical body shape was applied to all fish, although this didn't take into account especially elongate or round species.
In all cases you need to know the length. To make measurements, use a soft tailor's tape measure or a piece of marked cord or thin-diameter rope that will not shrink and is marked at regular intervals. In a pinch, you can measure small fish by spreading your fingers and using the distance from pinky to thumb. Another emergency measure is to use your fishing rod, aligning the butt with the tip of the fish's jaw. Still another is to cut nylon line off the reel and cut it to the exact length (and girth) of the fish.
Catch & Release Tips
- Play fish quickly. Avoid netting if possible
- Handle carefully, avoid stress to eyes, fins, gills, and protective body slime
- Remove hooks with pliers. Cut line if gill-hooked or swallowed
- Measure fish, photograph and release as quickly as possible... to fight again!
- Use the fish measurements here to find out how much it weighs!
- Put the picture of your fish on Lake-Link's Photo Gallery!


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2014 model?
2014 model?
No expert opinion but considering the number of changes that have occurred thus far (opt out 21" wheels for P85, Performance Plus, dropping of the 40kWh) is there a reason to assume additional options (you want) will be held over for the next model year if they come at all?
Tesla doesn't do model years the way other car companies do. The answer you got was correct. All cars built in 2013 are 2013 models and all cars built in 2014 are 2014 models. And this has nothing to do with features.
They don't do year model stuff that's why the lady was confused. They make improvement whenever they want. If you want one just get one. You received the answer you got because of the only reason possible, the government VIN assignment rules forces them to label a 2014 as a 2014 even if there are no changes.
My 2013 car is no different than the Dec 2012 car of like options yet I have a 2013. Other people who purchased the same car as me have different minor thing because changes were made, already.
I don't know how the whole resale value thing is going to work. I think they will have to base it on the last four digits of the VIN. All VINs under 5023 are worth X amount and all VINs between 9430 and 5024 are worth y amount for that model year. (those are just examples)
I have a feeling if Tesla sources an adaptive cruise control they like in a few months they will just add it or make an options package for it and not wait for next year. They have already added side lighting and removed fog lamps. If you wanted fog lamps you should have ordered last year.
@rdalcanto...Tesla uses the calendar year as the model year. They build the cars more like computers and continually change features and software.
I believe Tesla has said that rather than doing 'model years' they will just continually update their car. For example when they add AWD, they'll start putting it on the cars when it's ready. They 2014 Model S will be 2014 because they start selling it Jan 1st, 2014.
The only thing so far that they've done that's close to a 'model year' is when they increased the price. That came into effect on Jan 1st, 2013.
Here's a thread that talked about it earlier
And a price increase is the only thing they seem to warn you about. A feature addition (or subtraction) seems to get no warning. If you want adaptive cruise control, you may have to wait a long time (or not).
"A feature addition (or subtraction) seems to get no warning."
Which is
- OK for additions
- tolerable for subtractions of non-advertised features
- but completely intolerable for subtractions of advertised features.
For some reason the people running Tesla don't seem to have figured this out yet. Until they do, I frankly wouldn't order a Model S unless you have concluded that you cannot tolerate any other car.
IIRC, after learning about the Performance model Alcantara headliner kerfuffle, Elon Musk wanted any substantive changes to the car to be cleared through him.
I'm thinking that the foglight change might have been initiated before the Alcantara issue came to light. I doubt that we will see any substantive changes to the car's features without notice in the future.
@ncn, I believe 99% of current owners (even those that didn't get their fog lights...like me!) would disagree strongly.
And I bet the only reason Tesla designates model years at all is because the whole industry and even legal system surrounding cars use the model year as part of the identifier for a car.
Add me to the list of people that can't tolerate any other car. :-)
Most likely in future Model S:
Well hold onto your Model S guys for MANY years. Imagine 20 years from now, Vin #2001 - 2005 which were the only ones made with this one special dohickey, or specific lining, or has a very rare or switched part from a specific manufacturer/provider, etc.
Could be like a classic car worth millions 60 years from now.
I'm not a "car" guy, other than the Model S haha, so maybe one of you guys knowledgeable in car collecting could fill me in on how that would work?
I may have been seeing things, but I thought I saw a Twitter exchange between Elon and a owner with the 3rd row seating in the last few days. In the exchange the owner complained about how warm the 3rd row gets when sunny and how there are no vents. The owner said he would get his back widow tinted and Elon agreed.
Elon also said vents can't be added to the current Model S, but perhaps next year's model...!!! So will there be a new 2014 Model S? However, I don't see the Tweets anymore, so maybe I was imagining things...
Adaptive cruise control is a huge plus. I am often on the 401 headed to work, moving along at 110km/h (err, I mean 100km/h) and then hit some slower traffic. It forces me to disengage the cruise control to travel only slightly slower, then reset it. Seems like a decent adaptive cruise control would've simply met the new speed of traffic without any manual intervention, saving me the hassle.
Blind spot and lane departure warnings would be nice, too! (All features I believe are alluded to in the previous link provided by TS.)
Doesn't hard down (2 stops) lower the setting 5 khm? Doing that a couple of times should make you legal! ;)
We are all aware that there are several things "missing" from the current MS (adaptive CC, lane departure, parking sensors). I went ahead and purchased mine (picked up in early March). Although I have most of these things on my Lexus, I am so happy with everything else about my MS, that I really don't mind that these things are missing. When I go out to the garage and I have the choice of the Lexus, or the Tesla, you can bet that I will choose the Tesla!


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In an ongoing effort to engage scientists in advocacy for research funding and science policy and to provide innovative new tools for our member societies, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has rolled out several new electronic resources.
•The NSF Clearinghouse can be found at www.NSFadvocacy.org.
•The Congressional Visit Toolbox is available at http://bit.ly/3V5Dzr.
•FASEB's compilation of education and employment data is at http://bit.ly/EJSaN.
The National Science Foundation Advocacy Clearinghouse is a comprehensive resource developed for the NSF advocacy community, policymakers and members of the public interested in supporting NSF and its pioneering scientific research and education programs.
The site contains links to data, policy reports, NSF-funded scientific breakthroughs, advocacy tools and relevant government and nonprofit information.
"We hope that this new resource will inspire and help the many friends of NSF in their efforts to tell the story of this remarkable driver of progress," said FASEB President Mark O. Lively.
The Congressional Visit Toolbox is an online resource aimed at empowering, training and equipping scientists to build relationships with their elected representatives in Congress. The toolbox contains everything needed to plan and conduct a congressional visit, including templates for meeting requests and follow-up letters, printable state-specific "leave-behind" materials and customizable talking points on the importance of biomedical research. Training materials, such as a slideshow tutorial on advocacy and a video of congressional visit role-playing, are also linked to the site.
The launch of the toolbox comes at a time when science advocacy is critical. "With the recent investments in biomedical research through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set to expire next year, and future funding for the National Institutes of Health and other science agencies uncertain, scientists have an important role to play by directly contacting their legislators to talk about their concerns and priorities," said Lively. "Hopefully, the toolbox will provide scientists with all they need to convey their messages effectively, whether they are new to biomedical science advocacy or longtime leaders in the field."
To field-test the toolbox, several members of the FASEB board of directors and Science Policy Committee conducted visits with their elected officials over the August recess. Larry J. Suva, director of the Center for Orthopaedic Research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, did a test run in his home state and remarked, "The templates for leave-behind information and introductory remarks for setting the stage were invaluable. I was well prepared, and it showed."
FASEB also has updated its compilation of survey data on education and employment in the biological and medical sciences.
Recent data from national surveys indicate that the number of graduate students in the biological and medical sciences continues to grow and that the postdoctoral population is also growing. However, for both graduate students and postdocs, the growth rate has slowed for temporary residents. Among postdocs, the growth rate for U.S. citizens and permanent residents now exceeds that of temporary residents for the first time since the mid-1990s.
*Howard Garrison and Kimberly McGuire of FASEB's Office of Public Affairs also contributed to this article.
More from the current issue


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Soupfly app shows El Paso restaurants' inspection scores
Juan Hernandez, vice president of marketing for Spectrum Solutions, an El Paso marketing company, shows a phone displaying the company's new Soupfly app that gives health-inspection ratings and consumer reviews for El Paso restaurants.
Many air travelers wondering what exactly to use the safest airlines when traveling. Here are the winners based on several criteria:
safest Airlines
Allegiant Airlines
Probably the most important criteria for a safe airline, the number of fatalities airline has in recent years. This may be the best way to judge the record of maintenance, but also of personnel, such as pilots and engineers.
Qantas is a name known to those who are interested in the safety of aviation. Based in Sydney, Australia, Qantas safety has plummeted as of late, but still quite high scores include airlines in the world in terms of overall safety.
TV celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan shares methods with El Paso
Television celebrity and dog trainer Cesar Millan brings his tour to El Paso on Saturday at the Abraham Chavez Theatre. (COURTESY PHOTO). "Life is simple. We make it complicated." That
British Airways operated for many years in a protected position as certain routes were only offered to them and they were (and to some extent still are) given preferential placement at most of the major UK airports like Heathrow and Gatwick. british airways Unfortunately this protection did not last, and like many state-owned airlines, BA has had to re-invent the business in some respects in order to survive the increase in competition. Sometimes this was not handled well, for example with the Virgin Airlines fiasco. British Airlines was eventually fined and forced to apologise for 'dirty tricks' that it carried out against Virgin Airlines.
So you ask how big is American Airlines? Well, depending on who you ask they say that they have a fleet of between 660 to 669 Aircraft, one mechanic I asked at an International airport said that they had 666 aircraft. He said he was a Christian but did not care because he is retiring soon.
From an economic standpoint, it is time for American Airlines
american airlines to completely update its fleet to the newest Boeing Aircraft because they are the most efficient in the World and must safer, as well as need so much less maintenance than the comparable Airbus (same number of seats). Aircraft which can operated with less cost in fuel and maintenance make sense if American Airlines is to survive into the future.
cheap tickets flights
Shopping around for the the lowest priced flights is as ordinary as shopping about for cheap groceries. Even my young nephew knows how to use these online booking systems
travelocity flights – orbitz flights to hunt around for the the best priced flights. At any one time the identical seat you are looking to get can frequently be found on another site at up to half the price! If you know what you are doing or have access to some good information you can save yourself some serious cash.
cheap tickets
Flying to cheaper, less congested secondary airports and flying early in the morning or late in the evening to take advantage of lower landing fees; short flights and fast turnaround times, allowing maximum utilization of the aircraft; direct sales of tickets, especially over the Internet,
spirit airlines avoiding fees and commissions paid to travel agents and reservations systems; eliminated in-flight catering and other complimentary services, replaced by optional paid-for in-flight food and beverages.
Since the early 1990's a number of these airlines have sprung up all over North America as an alternative to the major, long-established carriers. The most successful low cost/charter airlines operating in the United States and Canada are
spirit airlines
In this article I will sum up for you a selection of the best techniques and tricks on how to get cheap airline tickets consistently.
kayak flights search Choosing when to book is very important and there a lot of variables here. Such as buying flights in advance generally presents you with the lowest fares. Whilst you are looking for airline tickets don't ever think that all the results you see are all that is obtainable.
lastminute.com To view these extra options there are about a handful of different techniques to utilize.
Most airlines are designed with the intent to get their customers from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. continental airlines But sometimes, efficiency isn't enough. With so many choices for airlines and airplanes, the little touches make a huge difference. So many people choose Continental because it's a company that believes in customer service and appreciation.
continental airlines reservations If you have to get across the world, and there are so many options for how to do it, wouldn't you choose the most comfortable one? Combined with their affordable pricing and international network, choosing Continental to take you across the globe is a decision to travel with comfort and class.
Southwest Airlines is the largest airline measured by number of passengers carried each year within the United States. It is also known as a 'discount airline' compared with its large rivals in the industry. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher founded Southwest Airlines on June 18, 1971. Its first flights were from Love Field in Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, short hops with no-frills service and a simple fare structure.
southwest airlines reservations
Mileage Plus is United Airlines's frequent flyer program. The main benefit of the program is that the recipients receive never-ending mileage. However, in order for this to be effective, the flyer has to either redeem or earn travel miles every eighteen months.
united airlines
The organization also provides elite-level memberships. This provides more benefits than the standard memberships. This facility was initiated in 2010 and was accessible only by members who held Premier, 1K and Premier Executive Membership status.
A huge number of people would like to know how to get cheap airline tickets but sometimes the solution is right under their nose. Here's an example of why information is everything.
airline tickets Everyday hundreds of people are missing out on savings that they are entitled to because they don't know to ask for them. I'm absolutely positive that you don't know about all of these possible savings, Most of people don't.
To make things even worse sometimes people infact do know that these discounts are there but are too afraid or hesitant of how to go about asking for them. The most regularly overlooked deals are savings for kids, elderly and the armed forces. Remember, if you don't ask, you won't get. But, you've got to ask the right question at the right time to the right person.
The economy plays an important role in the health of all companies and very few can say that these last 5 years have been easy. American's are found to be thriftier now than 5 years ago thanks to the economic recession. In general, the nature of spending has changed in America.
allegiant air airlines A report by Fidelity investments show that personal debt is down and investments are up. This shows that the population on a whole is examining their purchases more closely than they did before the recession.
frontier air The focus on cutting costs during these uncertain economic times has led to Allegiant Travel's success over the past 5 years when other airlines were losing money. They have focused on keeping costs down and providing their services at the lowest price point. This focus on innovation and being a price leader has provided Allegiant Travel with a strategic advantage over other larger carriers.
allegiant Although in most sectors the larger the company the lower the costs due to economies of scale, this is not the case in the airline business.
Delta Airlines is based in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the most important American airlines, Delta is also the second largest airline of the world in terms of passenger carried, third largest in terms of revenue passenger and sixth in terms of operating revenues.
delta airline It maintains alliance with SkyMiles. It operates both international and domestic flights. Delta airlines flight status is available at all the major hubs of this airline. 1,632 flights are operated by this airline on a daily basis. The subsidiaries of Delta Airline are Comair, Delta Shuttle and Delta AirElite.
vacations to go
Most of the time when people plan for family vacations; there are many details that must be put in place in order to ensure the success of the entire program. From matters dealing with transportation, renting of cars and especially accommodation, things become a little tricky where you want to go with your entire family. Real estate investors have realized that people who plan family holidays want nothing but the best and they are not taking chances as far as accommodation is concerned. vacation packages The quality of accommodation actually defines how the rest of the programs will fall into place.
aer lingus airlines
Airlines at the present are those that possess flight information advantages over the consumers or customers. They are equipped with all the data and the customers are kept in the dark. Do you want to know how many free seats left so that you can plan your trip to somewhere? The airlines have all the information, but they will not tell you. When will your flight be here? They said they know, but in reality, they have no idea where the plane is.
flight tracker More useful sites are emerging to help you getting the information needed, allowing you to demand your right as a customer. What you need is a real flight time tracker. It is able to track all airplanes that are flying at that moment. Imagine that you have to pick your friend up who is flying from another state. You were given the time of departure and estimated time of arrival, but flights are often delayed. By using the real flight time tracker, you are able to track your friend's flight accurately, it's location and time.
The very first page of a website is called the main page or home page. The home page usually contains very basic information on what the website is about and what users can gain from exploring the rest of the website.
altavista Clearly stating what the goal is will help visitors get an idea of what they can find on the website. Also featured on the home page and any other subsequent pages are links to other pages available on the website. By clicking on one of the page links,
how to make a website visitors are redirected to the corresponding web page. This allows for visitors to the website easily navigate to the different pages to get the information they are personally seeking.
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SCCAR office, 2525 Main St.,Soquel
Tour Marketing Meeting
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Network with fellow members, hear the latest tidbits related to your industry, market your listings and hear a one minute mortgage update and so much more, all within 30 minutes at our weekly Tour Marketing Meetings. Program includes coffee and a snack to get your morning started. Contests and prizes are happening at every meeting!
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Download Asus Boot Setting Utility
You can start downloading the Asus Boot Setting Utility ver. 1.00.22 for Asus H97-PRO Motherboard. To start download file, click green «download» button on page below. We advise you to use a variety of download managers like «FlashGet» or «Download Master». Also, you can go back to the list of drivers and choose a different driver for Asus H97-PRO Motherboard.
- Drivers
- Motherboards
- Asus
- This File
To start the download, select one of the servers and click "download"
Version, Date:
1.00.22, 03.08.2015
Operation Systems:
Windows 10 x64, Windows 10 x32, Windows 8.1 x64, Windows 8.1 x32, Windows 8 x64, Windows 8 x32, Windows 7 x64, Windows 7 x32
The ASUS Boot Setting utility provides better flexibility in customizing your PCs startup process. You can enter the BIOS directly with one click through a user-friendly interface, and quickly select your preferred system boot up method: either get to the OS in seconds or opt for regular boot up. Whatever your choice, settings are saved and persistent, with no need to choose every time you power on.
Asus Boot Setting's DirectBIOS button allows your system to restart and go to BIOS Setup directly. It also lets you to easily change the boot speed.
Other drivers:


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You will be notified by email when the transcript and captions are available. The process may take up to 5 business days. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com if you have any questions about this request.
Active transportation advocates Mia Birk, Jennifer Dill and Joe Kurmaskie discuss groundbreaking work being done in Portland, Oregon to encourage increased walking and cycling for transportation.
The Nov. 19, 2010 event was part of "Moving Forward," a three-day symposium, hosted by the Organization of Cornell Planners, to engage students, community members and national leaders in a critical dialogue about bicycle and pedestrian planning, design, research and advocacy.


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Baltimore police have turned over to prosecutors their investigation into the death of Anthony Anderson, who the state medical examiner says died in September from blunt force traumaduring an arrest in East Baltimore.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the case is now under prosecutorial review, and prosecutors did not give a timetable for a decision.
Anderson, 46, was walking through a vacant lot when he was stopped by police officers Detective Gregg Boyd, Detective Michael Vodarick and Detective Todd Strohman.
Relatives and others who say they witnessed the encounter say Anderson was unnecessarily thrown to the ground and that officers ignored his rapidly deteriorating condition, and have called for criminal charges. Anderson suffered multiple internal injuries, an autopsy found, and his death has been ruled a homicide.
Activist Cortly "C.D." Witherspoon said supporters of the family have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and will continue to remember the death on the 21st day of every month until the officers are charged. "We continue to monitor the state's attorney's office's activity, or lack thereof, communicate with the family to evaluate progress, and explore next steps and mobilize in the community," he said.
Attorneys for the officers involved say they are confident that the officers will be cleared.
There's nothing requiring prosecutors to make a decision within a specific time frame - prosecutors took eight months to decide not to press charges against anyone in the Select Lounge police shooting case last year, for example, but took about a week to file charges against Officer Gahiji Tshamba after he fatally shot a man outside a club while off duty in 2010.


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16 Feb PacificWealthD52cR03bP02ZL-Hoover3b
Posted at 06:54h in
David Yu is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner with over 10 years of industry experience helping people make smart, lasting financial decisions. He believes in developing strong, lasting relationships based on mutual trust and honesty. He also provides helpful resources via his blog, THE INQUISITIVE MIND. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, tennis, and USC football.


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The World Cafe
Mon - Thu, 8pm - 10pm
- Hosted by David Dye
Every day, The World Cafe with host David Dye serves up an eclectic mix of music from blues, rock, and world, to folk, and alternative country. Each show features live performances and interviews with celebrated & emerging artists. The Cafe also presents segments on books, movies, TV and plays related to music.
Search playlists by clicking here.


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Arab Human Development Report 2016: Youth and the prospects for human development in changing reality
The report examines challenges and opportunities facing youth in the Arab region, especially since 2011, and seeks to provide an overview on youth in the region and stimulate a broad dialogue between youth and key stakeholders on the future of development in the region, focusing on the role of youth as critical partners at this very point in time.
The region in photos
Check out our work in the Arab region and how to contribute to development through working on the main focus areas: Sustainable development, Democratic governance and peacebuilding, Climate and disaster resilience.
Responding to Crisis in the region
UNDP has been at the forefront of new initiatives, working with national and international partners and across the UN System to bring about a shift in approach towards building resilience by addressing the humanitarian and development aspects of the crisis at the same time, in a coordinated fashion, through sustainable and nationally-led responses.
Who we are
The Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) based in New York serves as the headquarters for UNDP regional programmes and country offices in 17 Arab countries, with the 18th located in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Bureau is headed by Dr. Mourad Wahba, United Nations Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director.
Get Involved
Join us
Join us
Are you interested to work with UNDP? Check out our job opportunities in the region.
Connect with us
Join the conversation on social media and learn more about the issues you care about. See the impact we're having for real people and communities.
Follow our events
Follow us
Follow the latest events that are taking place in the region.
About Arab States
392.4 million
People living on less than $1.25 per day
Labour force participation rate
Human Dev. Index


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Engineering Physics lab Manual free download. Download EP Lab Manual for JNTUK, JNTUH & JNTUA Students. Engineering Physics laboratory notebook is a primary record of research, so students have learned in their first year of courses. EP Lab is for various branches, such as CSE, Civil, ECE, EEE, IT, Mech and other branches. So scroll down and download Engineering Physics Lab Manual or EP lab notebook of JNTU Hyderabad, JNTU Kakinada & JNTU Anantapur B.Tech & B.Pharmacy Students. This Lab Manual is Common for 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, 4-1 & 4-2 Semester.
JNTU - kakinada lab manuals :
JNTUK 1-1 / 1-2 Lab Manual, JNTUK 2-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUK 2-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUK 3-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUK 3-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUK 4-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUK 4-2 Lab Manuals.
JNTU - Hyderabad lab manuals :
JNTUH 1st year Lab Manual, JNTUH 2-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUH 2-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUH 3-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUH 3-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUH 4-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUH 4-2 Lab Manuals.
JNTU - Anantapur lab manuals :
JNTUA 1st year Lab Manual, JNTUA 2-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUA 2-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUA 3-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUA 3-2 Lab Manuals, JNTUA 4-1 Lab Manuals, JNTUA 4-2 Lab Manuals.


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So I want to make an ability where by hero throws out a spinning projectile (hero pit lord weapon). Now for collision, this isn't really a sphere but rather a rotating line. Every time it passes through enemies it would deal damage. Also, it can spin at a controllable and varying speed. Right now, I've made the model for the projectile and spin it manually using triggers. This way I know the collision line and model line up perfectly. However, i could, instead, add a spin animation, but I'm wondering if it is worth it to do it that way.
I also have another question, this one is 2 parts and is sort of modelling and triggering and related to the first (this is using a modified pit lord model):
For the previously mentioned ability, when my hero casts it, he loses the weapon in his hand until the missile comes back. Now I worked around this by removing the weapon and making a special effect of it instead. The only problem is that there is interference with the model when he runs (on the original model, the weapon slides down and both hands grasp it properly, but with the version using the attachment, it stays in the same place on his one hand, and his other goes through the blade)
With this in mind I thought of 2 solutions to fix the aesthetic dilema:
1) Perhaps find a method of modifying the attachment point to move properly for that animation or
2) split the animations on the model to have 2 separate forms and try to switch the forms between casts
so my questions are:
1) Can I even modify the attachment point to move down for the specific animation?
2) Is there a way to smoothly shift between 2 alternate forms without it showing or being obvious and without resetting ability cooldowns?
I was able to modify the weapon attachment point but it's kinda shitty where weapon buffs appear now.


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The Perfect Diamond Ring
The smart groom-to-be does his research before buying his fiancée a diamond ring! There are more styles and cuts to choose from than ever before. It's not enough to be educated about the four Cs of diamonds – cut, color, clarity and carats. Now there are all types of diamond cuts and settings to choose from. The most popular style is still the round brilliant. It's one of the earliest cuts ever developed and now relies on precise mathematical equations to create a stone with fire and brilliance that the earliest gem cutters could only have dreamed of. But many brides want ...
A Diamond's Fire
The term fire is commonly used to describe a diamond, but what does it refer to? The ancient Greeks thought that fire in a diamond symbolized the eternal flame of love. Fire in a diamond is the dispersed light that appears as rainbow-like flashes of color. You can usually observe a diamond's fire in places like restaurants or clubs where the light is lower. The amount of fire depends on how the stone is cut and faceted. Older cut diamonds appear as if they have more fire because they're cut with steep crown angles and flatter tables of the facets. Other ...
A Diamond's Clarity
Diamond clarity is one the 4Cs of diamond qualities. It refers to any flaws, or inclusions in the diamond, and how visible or detectable they are. Inclusions can be foreign substances, or minute cracks or flaws. It also refers to the appearance of any surface flaws or scratches. As with the color grading scales, clarity also has a grading scale, with FL used to denote a flawless diamond. What FL means is that there are no flaws or inclusions that can be seen when the stone is examined under 10X magnification, the standard for examining for flaws. Other clarity designations are: IF ...
DIAMOND INFORMATIONA Diamond's Clarity
Diamond clarity is one the 4Cs of diamond qualities. It refers to any flaws, or inclusions in the diamond, and how visible or detectable they are. Inclusions...Color Of Diamonds
When it comes to the 4Cs of diamonds, color, or lack of it, is an especially important characteristic. Diamonds are given letter grades to denote the level...Carats Equals Weight?
Many people equate the term carat with the size of a diamond, and as carat size increases, so will the carat weight. But the operative word there is weight....Diamond Cutting Styles
Our love of diamonds and admiration of their fire and brilliance has given rise to many different cuts of diamonds. While we still see some of the earliest...Read More Articles From This Category
DIAMOND ADVICEHow To Care For Your Diamonds
Diamonds are durable and strong, but should be cared for as though they were fine breakable china or more fragile gems. They can chip or scratch if you're...Diamond Shapes
The cut of a diamond refers to the way the stone is shaped and polished, how the facets are arranged and how deep or shallow it's cut. There are various...A Diamond's Fire
The term fire is commonly used to describe a diamond, but what does it refer to? The ancient Greeks thought that fire in a diamond symbolized the eternal...A Diamond's Fluorescence And Why It's Important
We're all familiar with the 4Cs of diamonds – cut, color, clarity and carat weight. But diamonds also possess a quality called fluorescence that's...Read More Articles From This Category
ARTICLES ON DIAMONDSDiamonds – An Excellent Heat Conductor?
Except for most blue diamonds, which are semiconductors, diamonds are good electrical insulators, meaning they reduce the flow of electricity. Blue diamonds owe their semi-conductive property to boron impurities, which act as a doping agent and cause... [Read more]Industrial vs Gem Quality Diamonds
Diamonds are the hardest known naturally occurring material Its hardness has been known since ancient times, and is the source of its name. However, there have been synthetic diamonds created which are even harder. The hardest natural diamonds in the... [Read more]Are Diamonds Really Indestructible?
Diamonds are among the hardest substances on earth; in fact they use diamonds and diamond dust to cut diamonds. Other gemstones are hard as well, but not nearly as hard as a diamond. Diamonds and other gemstones are measured by the Mohs scale. It runs... [Read more]Diamond Mines – The Source
The very mention of diamond evokes fantasies of fabulous riches and dreams of love and power. Up to the Middle Ages they were so rare and expensive that only royalty could afford diamonds. But in modern times even ordinary people are able to possess a... [Read more]Ever Wondered How Diamonds Are Made?
Diamonds form between 75-120 miles below the earth's surface. According to geologists the first delivery of diamonds was somewhere around 2.5 billion years ago and the most recent was 45 million years ago. The carbon that makes diamonds comes from... [Read more]Diamond Certification From Independent Laboratories
Diamond certification is essential when you're buying a diamond and is different from a jeweler's appraisal, although the certification is part of any appraisal. Many diamonds look the same, but not all of them are going to be of the quality you... [Read more]Read More Articles From This Category


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(Address Confidential)
Norway, Wisconsin 53185
Listing Office: Century 21 Herget & Plavsic, Inc.
Disclaimer: The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity Program of MetroMLS. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than @properties are marked with the Broker Reciprocity thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers.
Norway is located in Racine County, Wisconsin. The population is 7,600 and it was home to one of the first Norwegian-American settlements. The town shares a border with Muskego.Learn More
School Assignment Data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics
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