text:
Secretariat: The Heart of a Champion
There's something about a horse that all horse lovers recognize and understand, although none can put it into words that will fully explain and convey the feeling to non-horse lovers. The concept is easy to grasp for equine aficionados, but it's impossible to transfer the emotion to those who have never experienced it. As a lifelong horse lover, the best word I can think of is "heart." While true of most horses, this term is especially appropriate for Thoroughbreds. There's an old saying about the breed's heart: "A Thoroughbred throws its heart over a fence first, and then its body follows."
Secretariat was foaled on March 30, 1970, at Meadow Farm near Richmond, Virginia. Meadow Farm was owned by Christopher Chenery, who divided the horse farm into Meadow Stud, the breeding farm, and Meadow Stable, for the racehorses. Secretariat's sire was Bold Ruler, and his dam was Somethingroyal. It was actually just the luck of the draw, or rather the toss of a coin, that gave Secretariat to Chenery.
Bold Ruler was owned by Wheatly Stable and Ogden Phipps. Phipps and Bull Hancock of Claiborne Farms put their heads together to come up with a way to get the best Thoroughbred mares available to breed to Bold Ruler. They wanted Bold Ruler's fillies to be part of their own breeding programs. They decided that instead of a stud fee, they would breed their impressive stud to appropriate mares—either two mares from the same farm or the same mare two years in a row—and Phipps would keep one foal and the mare owner would get the other. A simple coin toss decided who would get first choice.
Christopher Chenery sent two of his mares to Bold Ruler in 1968—Somethingroyal and Hasy Matelda. The next year, the two Chenery mares delivered a colt and a filly. After Hasty Matelda gave birth to her foal, she was replaced as a broodmare by Cicada. In 1969, both Cicada and Somethingroyal were bred to Bold Ruler, but Cicada didn't conceive.
The famous coin toss took place in the autumn of 1969. Three foals were at stake: Hasy Matelda's, Somethingroyal's, and the unborn foal of Somethingroyal. It was agreed that the winner of the toss would get first choice of the three foals, and that the loser would keep the other two foals. Phipps won the toss, and he chose Somethingroyal's weanling filly.
Chenery eagerly awaited the arrival of Somethingroyal's foal. It arrived on March 30, 1970. It was a beautiful chestnut colt with a star, a white strip, and three white socks. The colt remained unnamed for months, due to the stringent rules of the Jockey Club, the registry for Thoroughbreds.
The Chenery colt was often called "Big Red" by his handlers and by those closest to him. The nickname was the same one given to the great Man O' War, another chestnut. By the time the colt was a weanling, he finally got an official name—Secretariat. On her 11th try, Chenery's sectretary, Elizabeth Ham, was successful with her name submission to the Jockey Club.
According to those who knew Secretariat personally, he had a wonderful temperament and a playful attitude. He had been known to steal writing tablets from reporters and to hold a rake in his teeth and move it back and forth, as if he were cleaning the stables. He also had an unusual way of running. He lifted his forelegs high before stretching them as far as he could.
Secretariat had a very close relationship with his groom, Eddie Sweat. Sweat once told a reporter, "Only way horses win is to sit there and spend time with 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. Now, that's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you too. People may call me crazy, but that's the way it is."
Secretariat grew into a big, powerful horse. As an adult, he stood 16.2 hands tall and weighed almost 1200 pounds. He had a deep chest with a girth of 75 inches. He also had a thick neck and very muscular quarters. He began his official training as a racehorse on January 20, 1972, at Florida's Hialeah Park.
Secretariat had an unimpressive start as a racehorse. In his first race, on July 4, 1972, at Aqueduct, he came in fourth. In his next five races, however, Secretariat outran his competitors. As a matter of fact, he wowed onlookers at the Hopeful Stakes by passing eight other racehorses in just a quarter of a mile and going on to win by five lengths.
After the five aforementioned wins, Secretariat came in first in the Belmont's Champagne Stakes, but he was disqualified for bumping Greentree Stud's Stop the Music on a turn. The track stewards awarded the win to Stop the Music and gave Secretariat second place. The two horses, however, would meet again as two-year-olds.
In November of 1972, both Secretariat and Stop the Music were entered in one of the most important events for two-year-olds in Thoroughbred racing. Held at the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, the Laurel Futurity measured 1 1/16 mile over turf. Secretariat won by eight lengths, with Stop the Music coming in second. After the Laurel, Secretariat also won the Garden State Futurity, once the richest contest in the world for two-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses. As a result of his impressive performances, Secretariat was awarded the Eclipse. He was also named American Horse of the Year, which is extremely rare for a two-year-old.
Secretariat's horse racing career as a three-year-old started out well. He won the Bay Shore Stakes easily, and went on to nose out his competitors and win the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, tying the track record. In April of 1973, Secretariat was entered in the Wood Memorial, a testing ground for Kentucky Derby hopefuls. Secretariat came in third. Big Red's stablemate, Angle Light, won, and Sham came in second. This was the last race Secretariat would compete in before the 1973 Kentucky Derby, and his loss in the Wood Memorial was unsettling. What had happened to the super horse?
There are two theories about Secretariat's defeat. Many handicappers thought that the big chestnut just didn't have the stamina for the Wood. It was 1 1/8-miles long, and Secretariat was used to shorter races. This had to concern his owner and trainer because the upcoming Kentucky Derby was even longer, at 1 ¼ miles. Secretariat's trainer, Lucien Laurin, had another theory for Secretariat's loss. He found a painful abcess in Big Red's mouth and felt that the discomfort averted the horse's concentration.
The Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby of 1973 was an exciting race. Secretariat and Angle Light were the favorites to win, with Sham being next in line. As he often did, Secretariat started out last, but he made his move in the backstretch. He passed Sham, the leader, and went on to win the race by 2 ½ lenghts, setting a new track record, which has yet to be broken. To those who thought Secretariat lacked stamina, he proved them all wrong. Amazingly, the big red horse ran each quarter-mile of the race faster than the one before.
1973 Kentucky Derby video:
The 1973 Preakness
In May of 1973, Secretariat was entered in the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing. Secretariat again started from behind, but by the first turn, he overtook the field and won the race by 2 ½ lengths. Sham came in second place.
With two legs of the Triple Crown under his girth, Secretariat became a household name. Horse racing fans were hungry for another Triple Crown winner. After all, it had been 25 years since Citation's Triple Crown win in 1948. Secretariat's picture adorned the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, and Newsweek. His fans just couldn't seem to get enough of him.
The 1973 Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown
The 1973 Belmont was held on June 9. Only five horses were entered, but it was really a match race between two great racehorses—Secretariat and Sham. Secretariat was the favorite, but Sham was certainly a contender. The two horses jumped out in front quickly and left the other three horses ten lengths behind. As Sham began to tire, Secretariat opened up an amazing distance. He won the Belmont by an astonishing 31 lengths and set a new world record that stands to this day. The crowd went wild! America had another Triple Crown winner—the ninth one ever.
After winning the Belmont, Secretariat didn't rest on his laurels. Just three weeks later, he won the Arlington Invitational. Next, he lost the Whitney Stakes by one length to Orion. He redeemed himself in the Marlboro Cup, beating Orion and Riva Ridge and setting another world record. Riva Ridge had won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont in 1972.
After the Marlboro, Secretariat was entered in the Woodward Stakes, but he lost to Prove Out. Next, he took on the field in the Man O' War Stakes and won by five lenghts and setting a new track record that has never been broken.
On October 22, 1973, Secretariat ran his last race—the International Stakes in Toronto, Canada. There were several concerns about this particular race for Big Red's owner and trainer. For one thing, Secretariat had run on grass only once before. For another, he had never run such a long race—1 5/8 miles—before. Another problem was the jockey. Secretariat's usual jocky, Ronnie Turcotte, was out because of a suspension, so Eddie Maple rode Big Red in the race. All these concerns didn't seem to bother Secreatariat. He won the International Stakes by 6 ½ lengths—a great ending to his racing career.
Secretariat once again earned the title of Horse of the Year, along with two Eclipse Awards. Secretariat had been placed in syndication, so he wasn't allowed to race as a four-year-old or beyond. Even so, he had won 16 important races out of the 21 in which he competed. He had come in second in three races, and had placed third in one race. As a result, the famous racehorse had won money in every race he ran except for one. His career racing earnings were $1,316,808. Not bad for a horse won on a coin toss.
After retiring from racing, Secretariat was sent to Claiborne Farm, where he stood at stud. The racing world was eager for his foals, and 57 of them went on to be stakes winners. Of his 653 offspring, many were disappointments. Most all of them lacked the speed, power, and stamina of their famous sire. It was another story when it came to the broodmares produced by Secretariat, however. Many of the foals born to his daughters grew into great Thoroughbreds. You probably heard of some of Secretariats descendants: Smarty Jones, A.P. Indy, Storm Cat, Gone West, and Elusive Quality.
During his years at Claiborne Farm, Secretariat might meet as many as 10,000 fans a year. People from all over made the drive to Kentucky to get a close look at the legendary champion. He loved all the attention and would often "pose" willingly for pictures.
The X Factor
How was Secretariat able to win so many races against so many excellent racehorses? And why were the foals born to his daughters so much more impressive, overall, than his own offspring? Many experts believe it was something called the X Factor—an abnormally large heart that can be carried only on the x-chromosome. In other words, Secretariat couldn't pass on the propensity for a large heart to his sons, but he could pass it on to his daughters. In turn, the mares out of Secretariat could pass it on to their sons.
The Heart of the Matter
The heart of an adult Thoroughbred generally weighs around six to eight pounds, but occasionally a much larger heart is discovered with a necropsy. This phenomenon was first noticed with the famous racehorse Eclipse in the late 18th century. His heart weighed 14 pounds. Another great racehorse, Phar Lap, was discovered to have a heart just as large as that of Eclipse. When Secretariat was necropsied by his veterinarian, the heart was not weighed, but the attending vet estimated that it weighed 22 pounds. It was perfect in every way—just huge. Secretariat inherited his enormous heart from his dam. She was a descendant of one of of Eclipse's daughters.
The Death of a Legend
On October 4, 1989, Secretariat died at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He had been suffering from laminitis. Laminitis is an inflammation of the laminae within the hoof, making it painful to walk or even stand. It can cause the coffin bone to rotate, or even worse, the coffin bone can sink in extreme cases. Laminitis is often difficult to diagnose in the early stages. By the time it was discovered in Secretariat, he was treated, but the laminitis did not respond favorably. After weeks of watching him suffer, the decision was made to have the great horse humanely euthanized. He was 19 at the time.
When a successful racehorse dies, its head, hooves, and heart are usually buried, and the rest of its body is cremated. Horses are large, heavy animals, and burying them in their entirety is difficult. Secretariat, however, was so loved and honored that he was buried whole at Claiborne Farm. The ceremony was private, but fans somehow found out about it soon. By the morning after, more than 100 flower arrangements adorned Secretariat's grave. Since his death, an anonymous fan leaves 12 red roses on Secretariat's grave every year on his birthday to honor and memorialize one of the greatest ever produced by Thoroughbred racing.
secretariat is the best horse in the whole world. Secretariat is going to be on my birthday cake! I love secretariat so much!!!!!!!!
I am in love with this horse. Secretariat is AMAZING! I have the same B-day as him too! He was a great champion. Rest In Peace Big Red.
I met Secretariat in 1973 after he won the International Stakes. Absolutely powerful, stunning and beautiful horse. I cried when I saw the videos because you had to be there that day when he won, the excitement of the crowds, the victory of winning.
@habee...Great job on a great champion! You've said about everything that can be said about Secretariat -- but I'll say some more later, anyhow! I loved viewing his winning races again!
This is very interesting hub.Pics are so beautiful.Well done.
I was twelve when I first heard of Secretariat. I was greatly intrigued by the Horse that God made. When he beat Sham in the Derby and went on to take the Preakness, I believed in my heart that I was seeing something truly phenominal !! The Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown were the logical conclusion to Big Red's run, But he made a statement that day that I will never forget !!! I'm still very emotional whenever I read a story or see any clips of his races. He was and always will be the best racehorse that ever lived ! The movie was good, but I don't know if it is possible to do the great horse justice in a film. I wish that I had ever had the opportunity to see him in person. I'm sure that those who've had that chance were touched by his immense heart !!! Secretariat, Big Red I am blessed to have lived during your lifetime !
I've been in Love with this horse for years. Thanks for the memories. I had chills all the way to the finish line of each race.
Great hub. What an inspiring story.
Wow really nice hub Habee!
Now, if only my next horse were more like Secretariat lol that would be pretty cool. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, although I have my doubts. :)
There can be only one...and he was that.The greatest to ever run.
I say the film and just loved it. Good hub.
i did my speech on secretariat, and it was awsome!! I have the movie, and it's awsome!!
I've been meaning to watch the movie, but I'm glad I read this first. Gives me a lot of perspective on the actual events before watching the movie.
Such an amazing horse!
Thanks for this great hub!
Amazing article you have written here. So much new information that I didn't know. I loved the show. I saw it twice.
Thank you for so many details which I didn't know. A brilliantly written story.
I remember watching Secretariat winning the Belmont like it was yesterday! I was glued to the tv every time he ran. I still have the newspaper clippings I cut out and saved of him. He was one super horse referred to as the horse God made! Great hub with lots of info I didn't know. Thanks for writing this.
Awesome hub. Thanks for the videos. It reminded me of when I watched the last TC winner!
I've never been to a horse race. I should probaly see the movie of Secretariat.
I'm saving this hub to read later. Oh, I loved that horse!
Thank you, Holle, for these great videos. Secretariat was an amazing horse and his races were thrilling to watch. Especially the first two of these videos where he started out dead last and then overtook every horse to win. And in the third race, set a new record. Unbelievable.
Excellent timing. I plan to watch the film this weekend. Thank you for this informative and excellent hub!
What great timing - I saw the film just yesterday and have been quite smitten by Secretariat since then! What a wonderful horse he was! Thanks for including the original videos! :)


text:
One common sight in today's world is the prevalence of chaos. Look at the Middle East, Europe, and here in North America. It seems as though we just wait for the next act of violence. We wait to see what horror gets posted next.
Riots in California, lawlessness in Sanctuary cities, slanderous accusations made against decent people, and anarchy keeps raising its ugly head. Chaos occurs when events seem to spiral out of control. Chaos also occurs when forces behind the scenes keep stoking the fires. Of course the results of chaos are fear and anger. These become a vicious cycle. Chaos occurs, it is driven by anger, and people become afraid. And the cycle repeats itself, and the culture spirals downward.
If you want to gain some insight into what is driving all this insanity, pick up a copy of my latest book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell. You can get your discounted copy at DrJerrySutton.com.
One of the great challenges in contemporary Western culture is answering the question of how Christians can best help the next generation shape a Christian worldview in its children. Public education, government agencies, the media, and multiple student-oriented activities have embraced secularism as the norm. Lip service has been given to the legitimacy of religion in America, yet society's encroachment continues unabated. Churches and their leaders are constantly the target of criticism, and the facts surrounding the significant role of Christianity shaping our nation is systematically being marginalized, eroded and erased.
If parents do not aggressively assume the responsibility to educate and disciple their children, the culture will make absolutely certain that secularism and humanism will be the default worldview. Two non-negotiables of a Christian worldview are almost self-evident. One, it must be true to Scripture; and two, it must be true to reality.
Scripture is the normative authority for authentic Christianity. What it teaches about life, its origins, its problems, its meaning, its purpose, and its end constitute the Christian understanding of life. A Christian worldview must also be true to reality. By this, I mean it helps people to understand how to respond to circumstances, how to see cause and effect, how temptation, sin, and death factor into life, how to understand human need and scarcity, for example.
One reason I wrote Lectures from the Gates of Hell was to help Christians better shape a Christian worldview. There is more to life than meets the eye. Unseen realities exist that play significant roles in how the world operates. To gain a better understanding of this Christian worldview, let me encourage you to get your copy, and read it carefully. You can get yours at a discount at DrJerrySutton.com.
Much has been said in recent months about "leaked information," especially in our political deliberations. Democrats have concluded that the leaked emails from the DNC were a major factor in Donald Trump's election to the Presidency. Republicans are concerned with "leaks" from various government agencies. The complaints are not that the leaks were untrue, although some of this has been duly noted, but rather that these were confidential even secretive deliberations that no one needed to to see. When they were made public, they damaged credibility, cost jobs, and the election. Yet, it helped people see (as awful as it was) what was actually transpiring.
Last month, my newest book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell, was released. It is the fictional (not fantasy) accounting of Satan and his demonic hierarchy's strategies and tactics on how to destroy God's work and people's lives. If you are curious about how the enemy stalks, tempts, and attacks, then this book is must reading. A devious design exists with the intention of destroying your life, your family, your influence, and your work. Reading Lectures is like eavesdropping on the enemy's plans.
This book contains a warning that every serious person should consider. I wish that I had read it 40 years ago. It is like reading "leaked information."
During this time of year, I love to hear "Merry Christmas." When someone says, "Happy Holidays," it has an empty ring of secularism that, frankly, I do not appreciate. No matter how this greeting is dressed up, it still contributes to redefining the Christmas season. So, Merry Christmas!
My favorite part of Christmas is giving gifts. Fern and the girls will testify to the fact that I have always been one who gives Christmas gifts out of proportion to what is normal or expected. Why? I am not sure, but I just love giving gifts. Perhaps Gary Chapman can explain why I am like that.
I like to get gifts, too. I just like to give them more. My favorite gifts are books. I like to call them the gifts that keep on giving. I look back over my years of ministry and I recall giving hundreds of books to church leaders, deacons, staff members, teachers, parents, students, and young people in (or entering into) ministry. To me, books have been tools, and I have loved putting those tools into needy hands. As I have gotten older, I have had the privilege of writing five books. Number six is seventy-five percent completed.
If you are like me and want to put a solid, biblical, challenging book into the hands of someone you love for Christmas, let me suggest that you give them a copy of my newest book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell . It has a wealth of insight into the struggles we face against the unseen enemy. It is a warning of what can happen when believers are not on guard. It is an encouragement for everyone who is attempting to faithfully serve Jesus Christ. To get the best price consider ordering it from DrJerrySutton.com. I hope you are blessed by this labor of love. And, Merry Christmas!
Years ago, I read Presidential hopeful Jimmy Carter's autobiography, Why not the Best. The title for the book went back to the dreaded mandatory interview Carter had with Admiral Hyman Rickover prior to being accepted into the officer corp of the US Navy's nuclear submarine fleet. After the Admiral asked Carter if he had always done his best, his follow-up question (after Carter's admission of "no") was "why not?" This became the title of Carter's life-story up to the point of his quest for the presidency.
This conversation identifies a salient issue in our world today. Are we accustomed to consistently doing our best, or do we simply want to get by? I am amazed at how often people settle for mediocrity.
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He answered that it was to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself." Normative here is the word "all." Whole-hearted devotion, whole-hearted commitment, and whole-hearted discipline mark the person who consistently performs at an excellence level.
One reason I wrote Lectures from the Gates of Hell was to help believers understand that doing one's best will generate considerable opposition from a determined adversary. To you I say, do your best! God rewards the faithful. And should we not continuously look to Jesus who was a living demonstration of continuously doing His best even to the point of death on the cross?
Whenever you turn on the news, you get multiple assessments of our nation's and world's problems ad nauseam. Depending on which pundits, networks, or politicians you listen to, the explanations of the reasons for all the turmoil go on and on. In my latest book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell, I attempt to give Hell's perspective. Assuming you take seriously what Scripture teaches, this volume should offer some insight into what is happening all around us. Consider a few basic observations.
First, people are not the enemy. Spiritual forces are at work to destroy humanity. Jesus pointed out that Satan's agenda is to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan's goal specifically is to destroy the work of God, and to create as much misery in the process as he possibly can. Satan's attacks are against people, all of whom are created in the image of God. If you are a living breathing human being, you are a target.
Second, life is a massive battle-field where Satan is attempting to destroy God's work, God's people, and humanity in general. When you look at the sources of all your troubles, they are all rooted in the spiritual dimension. Consider what is driving the turmoil and misery you observe. Instead of pointing at a person (or a political party) to affix blame, consider the true source.
Third, the real problem for each person is the presence of sin in the human heart. That is the foot-hold of Satan in each of us. And that is what Jesus came to deliver us from. Until we see this clearly, we will continue to swirl around in the circumstances created by Satan.
Until we see life from God's perspective, we are simply spinning our wheels as the old saying goes. Learn more in my new book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell. You can get it on sale at DrJerrySutton.com, or your local bookstore.
Today is not just Halloween. Today also marks the 499th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. On this date in 1517, an Augustinian monk/professor, named Martin Luther nailed his
"95 Theses" to the church house door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. This action was the customary means of introducing a subject for academic debate. Luther had no idea that he was launching a movement of massive proportions. Yet, that is precisely what he did.
The root issue embedded in the proposal for debate was the understanding of salvation. The Dominican monk, John Tetzel, had been commissioned by Pope Leo X in Rome to raise money to complete the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The means for raising these funds was the sale of Indulgences. Supposedly (and this theology was a complete fabrication by the Roman Catholic hierarchy) all the good works of past saints was collected in a treasury of merit. When someone purchased an Indulgence, they purchased enough merit to have a deceased loved one's sins forgiven and thus escape purgatory. The slogan used by Tetzel was, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs." Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk, had no love for Tetzel, the Dominican monk, nor his heretical theology. Hence, the challenge penned in the "95 Theses."
Luther had come through an excruciating spiritual ordeal that culminated in his his "tower experience," that moment when his eyes, mind, and heart were opened to the truth that salvation was by grace through faith, and not of works or even for sale. That was a monumental moment in history when western civilization made a cosmic shift back to biblical truth.
So, what truths did Martin Luther help rediscover and uncover for future generations? First, that the only authentic authority for Christians is the Bible, not traditions, popes, or even councils should they disagree with Scripture. Second, he declared that salvation was a gift received by faith and not something that could be earned by human effort. Third, he pointed out that salvation was by God's grace and that it was initiated by God's sending His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins. Truths that we take for granted had to be painfully rediscovered some 500 years ago.
As we think back to the Reformation, we are reminded that it was a time to refocus on biblical truth. My newest book, LECTURES FROM THE GATES OF HELL, is similarly, an attempt to refocus Christians' understanding on the biblical truth of who the real enemy is...lest we forget.
The lynchpin in Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion on demand in the United States was the sudden "right to privacy." In other words, if a woman wanted to terminate a pregnancy, the conclusion was that it was nobody's business but her own and her doctor's. This became a legal precedent. In the hearing before the Supreme Court, Justice Thurgood Marshall asked the Attorney General of Texas a critical question, "when does life begin?" The Attorney General was not prepared for the question, and subsequently had no satisfactory answer. Here was a two-fold fiasco which has led to all most 59 million abortions. Joseph Stalin liked to say that one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. In America, the catastrophic number of deaths through abortion is a statistic.
In assessing this phenomenon, I keep going back to this whole notion of "privacy." If a child was being abused physically, would the courts overlook it because it was done in private? If a child was being sexually molested, would the courts look the other way and conclude it was permissible because it was done in private? If a woman was being abused in the home, would the courts overlook it stating that it was a private matter? When does a privacy issue take priority over someone else's, anyone else's, health and safety? This whole idea is a fabrication.
The issue in abortion is the fact that a human person is being exterminated. No honest medical professional who understands modern medical science would fail to answer Marshall's question with the answer "life begin's at conception." Yet, the eventual outcome of the present mindset is that life becomes cheapened, and the only test for the value of a person is whether or not they are wanted. So, if an unborn child is wanted, they live, if they are not wanted, they are terminated. It is a matter of convenience.
When the architects of Nazi Germany termed the phrase, "Lebensunwertes Leben," (Life not worthy of living), they permitted themselves to play the role of God, determining who would and would not be allowed to live. In Nazi Germany this mind-set was a barbarity, in modern America it is a right. It appears to me that our nation has consumed a massive dose of propaganda. This is still evil of the worst magnitude even if everyone applauds it. This is a national decision which needs to be reversed.
I am an avid CS Lewis fan. My favorite volume is the Screwtape Letters which I have read and reread multiple times. It is a fictional account of the correspondence between senior devil, Uncle Screwtape, and his fledgling demonic nephew, Wormwood. The book consists of 30 fictional letters written to advise, counsel, admonish, and chasten young Wormwood in his work to corrupt his human client. Uncle Screwtape, whom I like to refer to as The Grand Old Demon, gives his young protege his best "wisdom from below."
What I like about this particular volume is the fact that Lewis is helping Christians to understand how Satan and his minions operate to "kill, steal, and destroy" as Jesus explained in John 10:10. Fiction is not the same as fantasy, and sometimes sober truth is actually communicated in the guise of a fictional narrative. One of the great ways Satan has opposed the work of God on earth has been to cast a cloak of secrecy over his own enterprise. Keeping Christians confused over who the real enemy is has been one of his most effective weapons in his ongoing attempt to destroy the work of God on earth.
If this volume had been written for the 21st century and subsequently addressed the issues found in the present circumstances of the world, I think it would look very similar to my newest work. My newest book is written in the genre of fiction, consists of a series of lectures given by demonic luminaries, and details from a demonic perspective Satan's strategies and tactics to destroy the work of God on earth. The title is Lectures from the Gates of Hell. I hope you find it enticing, provocative, and sobering.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There are many ways to support DCIS at Fairmont. Throughout the year our classroom teachers may ask for your help with specific items for their rooms or for special projects.
You may make a financial donation to the school through the DCIS Foundation. When you click on DONATE NOW, and complete the form, you will see a space for special instructions. All you need to do is indicate that you would like your donation directed to DCIS at Fairmont.


text:
All events for Concourse Gallery
February 2020
Concourse Gallery
Elementary School Show On view February 4-28 Reception February 9, 2-4 pm Enjoy works by students creating art in our schools. Work on display comes from Barrington, Greensview, St. Agatha, St. Andrew, Tremont, Wellington, Wickliffe and Windermere Elementary Schools.Find out more »
Submissions to our Community Calendar
As a service to the community, the City hosts an online Community Calendar. We invite you to submit details of upcoming special events that are open to and promote government interests of the community at-large, as determined by the City of Upper Arlington.
To submit a calendar listing, please use this online form. Submissions should include a photograph (no posters or logos) with a exact size of 1920 pixels wide x 1275 pixels high. We recommend that you submit items at least three months in advance, since we may include some community events in the City's print and e-newsletters as space allows.
The City will not post routine items such as programs, club meetings or classes. The inclusion of a special event does not represent an endorsement from the City. The City reserves complete control of any event postings on the Community Calendar and has final approval authority over them. Community Calendar postings are not intended to, and do not, create a public or designated forum for private speech of any kind. The City reserves its right to refuse a submission


text:
Windows Restore Points Guide
How to create restore points
System Restore is a Windows feature that allows the user to roll back the configuration of their system to a previous state where everything worked fine. Normally, this is used when something goes wrong with your PC and you need to reset its settings to an earlier configuration where the system was still stable.
Note that using System Restore isn't an effective method for removing computer viruses. However, if you have had some unwanted software on your PC that you have managed to remove, it might be a good idea to use the Restore feature. Do this in order to bring back your old system configuration as the undesirable program might have made changes to the PC that are still present even after its removal which could in turn make your computer unstable or cause other issues.
Normally, Windows automatically creates Restore Points each week that you can use if something goes wrong. However, it is advisable that you manually create such points on your own. Here, we will show you how to configure and create Restore points that you can use later.
Enabling System Restore
On some PCs, System Restore protection is enabled by default, whereas in others, it isn't. First you will need to check if the feature is enabled and if it is not, you will have to enabled it.
- Open your Start Menu and type Create a Restore Point.
- Open the first search result.
- From the System Properties window, select the partition that you want to have protected by System Restore. Normally, it is good to at least have your system drive (which is usually C:) with enabled protection.
- Once you have selected a drive, click on Configure.
- At the top, you can choose if and what System Restore protection you want to have for the chosen partition. It is usually preferable to select Restore system settings and previous versions of files.
- You can also choose how much disk space would be used for Restore Points – alter the HDD usage if you so desire.
- If you want, you can also delete all older restore points to free up more space for new ones.
Creating a Restore Point
Now, that you have enabled the system protection, you can create new Restore Points for future use. Here is how to do that:
- Go back to System Properties, the System Protection tab click on Create.
- Type in whatever name you want to give to the new Restore Point and select Create.
- Wait for the Point to be created. Now, that you have a new Restore Point, you can roll back your PC to its configuration at the time the point was created.
Using a Restore Point
Assuming that you or your PC have created a Restore Point for future use, here is how you can utilize that, should you have the need to do so.
- Once again, go to your Start Menu and type Create a Restore Points.
- Open the first result and then click on System Restore.
- Read the description from the first page of the setup wizard and select Next.
- Choose a Restore Point from the list. If you want, you can check the Show more restore points box which could reveal additional entries in the list to choose from.
- Once you have selected a Restore Point, you can click on the Scan for affected programs option to see which programs on your system would get uninstalled or altered by the restoration process. Once the scan is finished, you will see two lists: programs that will get removed and programs that will get rolled back to an earlier version.
- After you are certain that this is the Restore Point that you want to use, click on Next.
- Read the restoration details in on the next page and if you agree with them, click on Finish.
- A warning would get displayed, telling you that the process should not be interrupted. Select Yes and wait for the restoration to finish. Be patient as it may take a while to complete. Whatever you do, do not interrupt the procedure!
Hopefully, this brief guide has given you the information that you need on how to configure, create ans use System Restore. If you have any questions or difficulties following the steps above, do not hesitate to reach us in the comments!
Boris Writer; Editor
Boris is a writer and an editor of the articles on Malware Complaints. His mission is to provide the readers of our website with essential information and details with regards to various malicious programs, software viruses, potentially unwanted applications and any other form of malware that you, the users, might encounter. In addition, he also posts reviews of different programs and applications as well as news articles on various interesting and important topics related to the software world.
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.


text:
The hamlet of Lamole, famous for its Chianti Classico wines, is situated high up in the Chianti hills near Greve in Chianti and Panzano in Chianti. Lamole is a popular vacation location on account of its fabulous views and its temperate summer weather. The one and only restaurant in Lamole, Ristoro di Lamole, is a bit pricey but has a good reputation for tasty and original food. There is a grocery store in Lamole and the nearest Coop supermarket is in Greve.
Note that there is an excellent, economical and innovative restaurant on a side road soon after the turnoff to Lamole from the main road (via Chiantigiana). This is Ristorante Dondoli.
The road leading from the Via Chiantigiana to Lamole alone justifies a visit to the village. On the lower slopes you pass Villa Vignamaggio, a beautiful Renaissance villa, and the road crosses a mediaeval road that runs through the woods from Lamole and the Castello di Lamole down into the valley of the Greve stream, and as far as Panzano. The higher parts of the road pass the hamlet of Castellinuzza and so on through avenues of cypress trees and then stretches where the road overlooks precipitous drops, including one right next to the village of Casole.
A good range of holiday villas, farm houses and apartments is available in the area around Lamole. Our recommended vacation accommodations are described briefly below.
More about Lamole in Chianti.
Holiday homes near Lamole in Chianti
Country vacation apartments and rooms near Lamole in Chianti
|The vacation rental known as Le Chiantinelle is located in a small hamlet known as "La Villa" and located just beyond Lamole. We offer a cottage for 5 guests, an apartment for 2 - 5 guests, plus rooms, with their own entries, for 2 and 4 (+1) guests. There extensive gardens all round the house and each vacation rental is allocated a table and chairs for outdoor relaxation. More about Le Chiantinelle apartments and rooms for rent.
About Elena Spolaor
Although Elena was born in Venice, she was brought up in Tuscany and is a historian and frequent contributor to online articles about life in Tuscany and Umbria. Her specialities are Tuscan and Umbrian local history and folklore.
- Web |
- Google+ |
- More Posts (68)


text:
things are good. i've just been taking a much-needed breaking from updating everyday. i have lots of pictures to show of you of the things we've been enjoying during the 2 week break brock had from chemo.
he started the last phase of chemo today. maintenance. it lasts until 2/8/13. that's not a typo. he will be 4 1/2. the same age jaycie is now. i can't imagine.
we went to clinic today for a spinal tap (that didn't work) and iv chemo. THE dr there (read: the boss doctor) said to a PA "so brock made it to maintenance, huh?" huh, indeed.
and thank you, Lord.


text:
Sci-fi has a long history of celebrating diversity, so in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day*, today and tomorrow you can download the Kindle version of Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos absolutely free! Just click the link and it will take you right to the Amazon page for the Kindle version. If you prefer print, you can buy it at Amazon or at CreateSpace.
* Yeah, I know MLK day was yesterday. Kindle Direct Publishing has a little monthly calendar on which you can set up your promotions and I did not notice it is set up as a Monday – Sunday calendar. Who uses those? I can't remember the last time I saw one actually being used. All the ones my office uses are Sunday – Monday, 'cause you know, SUNDAY is the first day of the week! So, this promotion was delayed a day. Sorry.


text: On mercredi 12 nov. 08, at 18:06, Peter Dyballa wrote: > > Am 12.11.2008 um 07:50 schrieb Jean-Christophe Helary: > >> Is there a place where one can buy the latest emacs lisp reference ? > > > With TeX you can convert the texinfo source files to a PDF or PS > file that can be printed ... I know that :) What I wanted is to get the book from the FSF not only as a "sign of support" but also because it is easier for me to read the reference as a book. Jean-Christophe Helary ------------------------------------ http://mac4translators.blogspot.com/


text:
Just a sneak peek of what's about to come for this Fall, held by the hand of MAC Cosmetics, with the amazing and most-beloved Marilyn Monroe!!. Her memory, her sensuality, and her gorgeous image still live with us and inspire MAC creative artists, so that what's about to come feels like a complete homage to her beauty and the mythical legend of a star whose shine never faded from this world.
Featuring eternal shades of blue-reds and scarlets with iconic names like Deeply Adored lipstick (a deep scarlet in a matte formula), Love Goddess lipstick (a mid-tone pink red in a satin formula) and eyeshadows like Preferred Blonde (pale champagne beige in a veluxe pearl finish) and How to Marry (soft white in a veluxe pearl finish), this collection seems to be extremely promising!!
Knowing that MAC never leaves a collection which, they already know is going to be a complete no-brainer in selling out (let's admit it, we're already waiting for the collection to be released like snipers and hunters waiting for their prays to appear, mwahaha!), the central piece of this season will be the translucent Beauty Powder in Forever Marilyn (sheer pale peach highlighter).
So, are you already planning your wishlist for this collection?. I already have, and believe me, I am so gonna grab that beauty powder which looks so promising...
Are you gonna miss it?.


text:
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sew chatty
I had a wonderful time at my first modern quilt guild meeting the other night - I'm so excited I found one near me. Such a lovely bunch of women to chat and share ideas with. Leanne, the president, was so welcoming and I was chuffed that she first recognised me from my blog. Jody's shop, All About Sewing, was a fun relaxed place to chat (and sew a bit) -I almost forgot to take photos.
I did get a shot of one of Leanne's quilt - loved this one.
It uses Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks fabric.
Loads of chatting going on... not so much sewing. Check out the lovely range of solids on the left.
My youngest sister, Ellen, came along with me and finished her first quilt! A lovely little raggy flannel. I started out on raggy quilts. They're great for beginners because you quilt the squares before you put them together. I wonder if she'll catch the quilting bug.
She also knitted me this lovely scarf. I've worn it nearly every day she gave it to me. It's cold here - we had our coldest day in 60 years last week. You may be wondering why this giraffe is wearing my scarf - well I can't be bothered looking half decent for a photo (it was taken on my day off with the kids!) Thanks so much for the scarf little sis, I just LOVE it (and thanks for the kid's scarves too).
Last but not least, this gorgeous little pin cushion arrived from Cindy at Sewing on the Edge.
Its beautifully made and has a lovely weight - its filled with crushed walnut shells so it doesn't slide all over the place.
You can check out Cindy's unique range of pincushions using selveges at her etsy shop.
Speaking of pincushions, I just found a couple of cuties here too.
6 comments:
I have to admit I am one who visits lots of blogs but doesn't leave lots of comments.ReplyDelete
Your sister is very talented, the scarf is lovely. And I love the pin cushion, I have been trying to find somewhere that sells ground walnut shells.
I enjoy looking at your posts because you use fresh modern colours, and you are a young aussie like me!
Your sister is adorable (you are too--I've seen pictures of you!) The scarf looks so soft. While we are having HOT weather here, I always forget that you are just the opposite of us.ReplyDelete
And thanks SO much for the nice mention of the pincushion. I'm so happy that you like it!
Glad to know that was a toy giraffe - I was afraid you were having a really bad hair day! Really, though, cute scarf! You have a very talented sister!!ReplyDelete
- Ellen ArthurJuly 6, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Thanks Katie :) It was so much fun to hang out with you for the short time I came up and you'll be happy to know I'm in the process of trying to find the quilting guild down my way! :) I must say that regan's scarf hasn't seen much progress ... whoops!!ReplyDelete
love ya
Ellen xo
What a fun group to get together with! I love that quilt. Your scarf is gorgeous even if it makes me break out into a sweat just looking at it {it's 100 degrees here} LOL!ReplyDelete
I know what you mean about taking that first stitch in a new quilt... I'll be doing that tonight myself. Good luck!
Jennifer :)
love that pincushion! so cute :)ReplyDelete
Thanks so much for leaving a comment! I try to respond but life sometimes gets in the way. If you have any questions please email me at kateeconklin(at)gmail(dot)com


text:
One of our favorite parts of our work is that we get to learn about organizations that are doing amazing things for their own community in each country we visit. Here in Morocco, one of the first organizations we were introduced to was a women's refugee center called El Amane, located in a very poor area outside of the medina in Marrakesh. El Amane provides single women with children a safe place where they can take classes and learn vocational skills to make money.
Often times, women who have a child before marriage in Morocco must find a way to provide for their family on their own. Women who are in this situation can come to El Amane to get counseling, learn to read & write Arabic and French, cook, bake, do hair & makeup, massage and sew. Our good friend, Laura from Germany, moved to Marrakesh to work specifically for El Amane, so she offered to take us there and show us around.
We began our tour by visiting the classrooms and meeting the teachers who teach the women how to read and write.
We also saw classrooms filled with massage tables and mirrored vanities, where women could learn about massage therapy and how to do hair or makeup. Next was the sewing classroom where we saw the women making colorful traditional Moroccan dresses that they would later be able to sell.
My favorite class room was the "sport" class where only women were allowed, so Jonathon couldn't come in this one. Laura and I walked in and as we did, it was like walking into another world. The women were dancing & clapping to the traditional Moroccan music as it blared throughout the small room. It was a celebration, so the women took off their burkas and let loose as they danced together around a large table of food and lemonade. Everything about the experience was beautiful and taught me so much more about the culture we were living in. Before I knew it, the ladies grabbed my hands and I began dancing away with them all.
After a bit of food and a fun dance party, we continued our tour of the building. Down the hall from the sports room was a computer classroom that was taught by a very nice young Moroccan boy who spoke a bit of English. The women were in class learning how to use the different programs of Microsoft Office. It was wonderful to see these useful programs being taught in the community to people who might not usually have access to computers.
We then went downstairs and saw the cooking/baking class where all of the women greeted us with smiles and offered us chocolates they had just made. The chocolates were like homemade Reese's peanut butter cups, but yummier and in the shape of a pretty diamond.
Overall, we were both so impressed with the work that El Amane was doing and what they were providing for these women. At the end of our tour, we met with the director to talk about the organization's needs. We were eager to hear what her thoughts were on how Life Out of the Box could make a difference in the community. She taught us a lot and emphasized that education was the most important thing here & the best way to make a lasting impact. After a long wonderful meeting with her we were all excited about working together and what was to come in the future.
To learn more about the great work that El Amane is doing, click here.


text:
If you've never shot a pistol chambered in the original 22 TCM, you are missing out. Pushing a tiny bullet at nearly 2,000 FPS out of a 1911 style platform resulted in a feeling that was similar to shooting a very noisy airsoft gun. To put it mildly, it was rad. But the original 22 TCM was too long to function in most modern semi-autos. Until now, because Armscor has just launched the 22 TCM 9R round, and a set of Glock conversion barrels for it!
So what's the difference? Simple, really. Using the same brass, Armscor shortened the length of the projectile, bringing to the same OAL as a standard 9mm round. What that means is that now using one of the conversion barrels for either a G17 or a G19, you can have the maximum amount of fun you're allowed to have with a handgun.
It's difficult to explain, but imagine shooting a .22 LR that sounds a 9mm, or imagine shooting a 9mm that has basically no recoil. That's a 22 TCM 9R, it's just unbelievable fun to shoot such a flat shooting round, and now you can do it out of a Glock with these conversion barrels. The barrels are priced at the extremely affordable level of $140, and come with everything you need to get started shooting, except for ammo. There's the barrel, a guide rod, and a recoil spring, which is specifically designed for the .22 TCM 9R round, guaranteeing optimal function.
There are some practical uses for this cartridge as well – it's great for small game and varmints, and it would make a good "in-between" round for a new shooter who's ready to graduate from a .22, but maybe isn't ready for a full on 9mm yet. No matter what though, the first time you drop the striker on one of these rounds, you're going to be grinning from ear to ear.
What are you waiting for? Order your .22TCM9R barrel today!


text:
Grand launching ceremony of Unique Anmol (the first flagship project of Unique Shree) with the blessings of Shree Shree 1008 Sant Shiromani Shree Ratinath Ji Maharaj, Pithadhishwar Shree Bau Dham on 27th May, 2017
This Website shall not be construed in any respect as an offer to sell/lease or a solicitation to purchase/lease any real estate property. No real property is offered or will be sold in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation, purchase or sale would be prohibited under the applicable laws of said jurisdiction.
Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this Website, there may be inadvertent technical/factual inaccuracies and typographical errors in this Website, for which UNIQUE SHREE shall not be held responsible.
UNIQUE SHREE reserves the right to make changes and corrections in the content of this Website at any time, without any prior notice. The content of this Website is provided "AS IS", AND/OR "AS AVAILABLE." UNIQUE SHREE (hereinafter, collectively, "we," "us" and "our") do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained on the Website, and we expressly disclaim liability for errors or omissions in these materials.
Also we expressly disclaim all liability for the use or interpretation by others of information contained in this Website. Decisions based on information contained in this Website are the sole responsibility of the visitor, and in exchange for using this Website the visitor agrees to hold us and our affiliates harmless against any claims for damages arising from any decisions that the visitor makes based on such information.
All information regarding a property for sale, rental, taxes or financing is from sources deemed reliable. No representation is made as to the accuracy thereof, and such information is subject to errors, omission, change of price, rental, commission, prior sale, lease or financing, or withdrawal without notice. All areas and dimensions are approximate. Exact dimensions can be obtained by retaining the services of a professional architect or engineer.
All intellectual property rights owned or controlled by UNIQUE SHREE or its affiliates and shown in this Website, including without limitation, copyrights, trademarks, service marks and information, shall inure to the sole and exclusive benefit of UNIQUE SHREE and its affiliates. It is hereby acknowledged that UNIQUE SHREE is the sole and exclusive owner of all such intellectual property.
This Website may contain third party advertisements and sites and links to third party sites. UNIQUE SHREE does not make any representation as to the accuracy or suitability of any of the information contained in those advertisements and sites or sites and does not accept any responsibility or liability for the conduct or content of those advertisements and sites and the offerings made by the third parties.
Third party advertisements and sites and links to other sites where goods or services are advertised are not endorsements or recommendations by UNIQUE SHREE of the third party sites, goods or services.


text:
The hottest topic of last week was obviously the Apple iPhone. At first I was quite excited about the device and, as always, Apple does a good job of hyping up a product. However, after reading more on the iPhone details, including David Pogue's Ultimate iPhone FAQ part 1 and part 2 we can see that the iPhone really is not designed for the business user even though the pricing is up in the enterprise range. It may be designed for the consumer, but even then there are existing devices that consumers should take a look at too before succumbing to the Apple hype. We thought it would be a good idea to post some facts on a few other high end devices priced over US$450 that compete well with the iPhone and actually work much better for the business user. So let's take a quick look at the Apple iPhone, Nokia N95, and Cingular 8525 (HTC Hermes variant).
Apple iPhone: Most of us gadget fans were initially hit by the shock-and-awe of the Jobs keynote announcing the Apple iPhone, but after the dust settled out and we started diving into the specs, price, and functionality we saw that Apple does a good job of putting a new face on existing technology and functionality. Granted, there is some cool new stuff like the multi-touch display panel, but Apple also made some apparent trade-offs that many users may not be willing to compromise on. According to information released by Apple, the iPhone will not sync to Outlook or allow you to sync with other 3rd party PIM applications, will not allow you to view or edit Office documents, may not work as a modem for a MacBook or laptop, only responds to skin touch with no fingernail or stylus response, can only be used with Cingular (maybe for as long as 2 years), has a closed Mac OS X variant operating system, has no removable battery, has no memory expansion slot, has no GPS, and currently has no voice dialing capability. I think the 8GB is a bit too limiting as well since videos you purchase from iTunes can take over 1GB of memory themselves and many people have music collections much larger than this. While the device looks beautiful in photos and images, if they want it to be a phone first it needs to have physical keys. Microsoft has had touch screen phones for several years and while they are powerful and functional for people that want a phone first the touch screen just doesn't cut it. If Apple wants the iPhone to be a multimedia device then it really needs more memory and a removable battery would be nice as well.
Nokia N95: The N95 release is imminent and the device has been shown at various trade shows since October. I have had opportunities to play with the device for a total of about 20 minutes at the Nokia Open Studio event and CES. The Nokia N95 sports 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dual mode sliding display, bright 2.6 inch QVGA display, WiFi, Bluetooth (including A2DP), HSDPA radio, integrated GPS radio, FM radio, microSD card slot, 150MB internal memory, TV-out functionality, and 3.5mm audio jack. The N95 runs Symbian 9.2 with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 and there are is a huge collection of 3rd party and integrated applications that allow you to sync with Exchange and a number of other server clients, create, view, and edit Office documents, sync to Calendar, Contacts, and more via USB to a PC or Mac, and much more. The browser in the S60 3rd Edition is actually based on Apple's own Safari open source technology and blows every other mobile web browser out of the water with its visual history, integrated RSS aggregator, and full website support that doesn't strip out or limit your viewable content while making navigation and viewing a pleasure. The dual slider on the N95 reveals either multimedia buttons or a phone keypad so you can quickly transform the device from a phone to a media player. The Nokia N95 is much more powerful than the Apple iPhone and could be made even better with 4GB or 8GB of flash memory like the Nokia N91 devices.
Cingular 8525 (and many other HTC Hermes models):Microsoft has had touch screen Phone Edition devices for a few years and manufacturers like HTC have continued to refine and optimize them with the latest and greatest model being the Cingular 8525. This device is also sold overseas (codenamed HTC Hermes) with a front facing camera used for video calls, but Cingular removed it from their device. The device sports a 2.8 inch color display, 400MHz processor, HSDPA (3G) radio, integrated Wifi and Bluetooth 2.0, 128 MB ROM, 51MB user available RAM, and 2 megapixel camera. The 8525 appears to be almost all display with a few hardware buttons down at the bottom, but it also has the ability to slide open to reveal a very functional QWERTY keyboard for fast and accurate text entry. The user has the option of using the device touchscreen, like the iPhone, or even opening it up to be more productive. External storage capability lets you use the device to listen to music or watch movies too. Like the Nokia N95, there are a large number of 3rd party and integrated applications that let you sync to Exchange servers, create, view and edit Office documents, sync to PCs, watch Slingbox and other video streaming content, and much more. Again, devices like this are more functional and powerful than the Apple iPhone and are available on multiple carriers. Users have even figured out how to customize the Today screen to look and act like the iPhone main display shown in the keynote.
There are also many more Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices that have more capability than the Apple iPhone. As I stated earlier, Apple does have some new technology in the device, but even as an Apple MacBook Pro user it does get a bit tiresome seeing all the hype for a device that is not as revolutionary as it first appears. The good thing about Apple's announcement six months before we even see the device is that companies like HTC and Nokia have some time to add some of this flair to their existing models and competition is generally always good for improving devices for the end user. I have been using Apple products since 1989 and although the iPhone looks great, I will not be switching to Cingular just to pick one up for myself so you won't find an iPhone in my collection anytime soon when there are so many more open devices out on the market.


text:
The purpose of this topic is that I wanted to comment on the critiques people have made on certain games as I thought some of the criticisms were odd or didn't make much sense. I'm not trying to insult anyone with this topic; rather, I want there to be some dialog on what has been written. Feel free to shoot at me, too.
"i was genuinely expecting something of a lightweight history lesson when i got this, so i was really disappointed when i found out that all the historical names, countries, landmarks, were all nothing but pretty packaging for an admittedly decent strategy game. you could replace everything with star wars lingo and it wouldn't make a damn difference."
Either you have an extremely poor understanding of history or you didn't pay much attention to the historical influence in Civ V. Either way, you're wrong. A lot of components of Civ V are based on actual history - for example, each Civ's unique traits are based on actual history:
The Aztecs get a culture bonus each time they kill a unit. The reason for this from a historical perspective is that it was based on how the Aztecs would capture their enemies and use them as a sacrifice. Human sacrifice was very much a part of Aztec culture, thus the devs utilize this aspect of their history as a gameplay mechanic.
Ethiopia has a combat bonus against civs with more cities than they do. This is based on how the Ethiopians had overcome overwhelming odds to reject European colonialism during the race for Africa, notably in their success at the Battle of Adwa which the game outright references. It's logical to give Ethiopia a bonus in this direction considering their history.
It's also important to consider the flavor here too - Much of the music, diplomacy screens, and aesthetics are based on real history. For example, the Mongolian peace theme is based on one of the classics of Mongolian music. If it were based on Star Wars, this is something you'd surely be missing.
For someone who argues that games are more than just gameplay, it seems rather ironic of you to have an oversight like this.
Least we forget the massive modding community behind Civ - if history did not matter to the overall product, why is it that people make so many based on history and use history as a basis to design these civs, much like the devs 2K do? I mean, I doubt people would make something like this if the game was about Star Wars.
http://civilization-v-customisation.wik ... sei_Tutu_I)
On a final note, your argument can be applied to anything based on history. You could say the exact same thing about Schindler's List, Band of Brothers, Lawrence of Arabia, or Europa Universalis. All of these things could be about Star Wars and there'd be no difference over the essence of what these products are about. However, what Civ and these other products would lose is the context of history and the flavor that it would bring. Schindler's List would ultimately be the same regardless, but its impact would be lost if it were about Wookies rather than Holocaust survivors. The same could be said about Civ - we'd lose the dynamic utilization of history and game mechanics, as well as the cool flavor that brings in music, visuals, and so forth. To argue that actual history has no effect on the experience of Civ V is objectively untrue.
"aggravating. the animation is fluid and exciting, but the aesthetic makes the game entirely unclear. some tires can be bounced on, others are just background animations, and that lack of clarity is compounded by enemies which also fall into this ambiguous artistic design. seems like something I'd grow to enjoy more if I had nothing else to play, but I'm not so generous with movies, and that's not going to change for a game."
I don't get this argument at all. Earthworm Jim was an extremely coherent game. You use the example of tires, but if you go back and look at the level design it was pretty clear what you could bounce and what you couldn't be based on the placement of tires. Hell, levels after that one don't even use tires so I'm under the assumption you didn't play very far into the game.
And even if it was, with the way the tires were placed you wouldn't have been at a detriment in any way. There wasn't some dumb, amateurish shit where a game presents something looks like a platform and you get screwed over for acting like it is. I also have no idea what you mean by "ambiguous artistic design."
"Fighting games by nature have built in obsolescence."
This coming from someone who clearly knows nothing about fighting games - tell this to the people who continue to play SFII, 3rd Strike, MVC2, or various KOF games. If anything, a lot of people in the competitive scene tend to prefer older games for a variety of reasons.
Ocelot on Timesplitters:
" a staple feature of Walmart bargain bins everywhere"
Niggah, wut? Timesplitters is a cult classic and has a dedicated fanbase. If it's a staple of bargain bins, then it was certainly far above the heap in that case.
Ocelot on Smash 4:
"rating the Wii U version: the kinetic excitement of the first two games is largely back, and while it sharply blunts the skill curve from Melee, there's still enough technique involved to make the game fun from a competitive perspective. likely as balanced as the series will get, though the DLC characters, particularly Cloud and Bayonetta, are so much better than the rest that it's a little disheartening."
This isn't wrong so much as it is misleading. For one, it's ONLY Cloud and Bayonetta that are dominant. While the other DLC characters are strong, Roy and Lucas are considered mediocre. Plus most people don't rate the likes of Ryu, Corrin, and Mewtwo as highly as they do free characters like Marth, Diddy, or ZSS. Smash 4 isn't a "pay 2 win" game as you seem to imply.
But even then Cloud and Bayo are not as prevalent in the top 10 like what Fox or Marth is in Melee. It seems rather ironic you'd give such a criticism towards Smash 4 but then ignore how Melee is even more imbalanced in terms of picks.
Take Canada Cup, for example. There was only 2 Clouds and one Bayonetta in the top ten, and MKLeo didn't even consistently play Cloud throughout the tournament.
In contrast, we saw 4 Fox players and 1 Marth reach top 10 in Melee.
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2017/oct ... -and-more/
Evo 2017:
5 Fox players and 3 Marth's in top 10
4 Bayo's and one Cloud in Smash 4
http://shoryuken.com/2017/07/16/evo-201 ... s-results/
It's pretty clear you're ignoring Melee's balance in your criticism here.
Critiquing critiques
For in-depth discussions of specific games.
6 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Velvet Crowe
- Posts: 138
- 2202 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:26 pm
- jeff_h
- Posts: 12
- 1267 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 12:54 pm
Re: Critiquing critiques
someone critiquing other people's reviews while their own has gems like "autism simulator" and "unlikable pretentious faggot" is pretty rich
- CosmicMonkey
- Posts: 410
- 1095 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:52 pm
Re: Critiquing critiques
You're missing "This game has the Jewiest developers, I swear."
Hey, this isn't Mel Gibson's secret account is it?
Hey, this isn't Mel Gibson's secret account is it?
- Daisoujou
- Posts: 14
- 1256 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:46 pm
Re: Critiquing critiques
CosmicMonkey wrote:You're missing "This game has the Jewiest developers, I swear."
Hey, this isn't Mel Gibson's secret account is it?
It doesn't help that it's wrong. The only acceptable pick for Jewiest developer is Dave Gilbert, for making The Shivah.
- Velvet Crowe
- Posts: 138
- 2202 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:26 pm
Re: Critiquing critiques
jeff_h wrote:someone critiquing other people's reviews while their own has gems like "autism simulator" and "unlikable pretentious faggot" is pretty rich
Haha, I admit to being crude in my reviews but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Daisoujou wrote:CosmicMonkey wrote:You're missing "This game has the Jewiest developers, I swear."
Hey, this isn't Mel Gibson's secret account is it?
It doesn't help that it's wrong. The only acceptable pick for Jewiest developer is Dave Gilbert, for making The Shivah.
Damn, you got me there.
- dunbar
- Posts: 204
- 1019 Ratings
- Your TCI: na
- Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:00 am
Re: Critiquing critiques
Some of this is critique and a lot of it is semantics.
Post Reply
6 posts • Page 1 of 1


text:
Holiday shoppers are more satisfied with their recent online shopping experiences than they were at the same time last year, according to the latest ForeSee Results Holiday Retail Benchmark.
ForeSee scored online shopper satisfaction at 77.6 on a 100-point scale for the week of December 3-9, 1.7% higher than the previous week and 3.3% higher than the same week in 2006. The data was collected from more than 54,000 visitors at more than 40 retail Web sites, ForeSee said.
"Customer satisfaction has rebounded to preholiday levels, a very encouraging trend for the 2007 holiday shopping season," Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results, said in a statement. "The combination of retailer readiness for the holiday rush and positive reaction to promotions has resulted in robust satisfaction, which should spell strong results for the holiday season and beyond."
Happy holiday shoppers are more likely to make purchases online as well as in brick-and-mortar stores or through catalogs, ForeSee said. This year, online shoppers are 4.6% more likely to make purchases online and 4.1% more likely to buy offline than they were during the same week in 2006, according to ForeSee.
"The Web this year has truly come into its own as an integral channel to drive sales beyond the virtual world," said Freed. "Retailers have successfully integrated the Web into their multichannel strategy, so that it's a better sales channel and a better tool for increasing store and catalog sales."
According to ForeSee, many consumers who don't buy anything from a particular retailer online -- even after they've put items into their shopping carts -- plan to shop offline with the same retailer. This season, shoppers who abandon their online shopping carts are 8% more likely to make an offline purchase from those retailers, which means those sales are not really "lost," according to ForeSee.
On a related note, online holiday spending is also up from last year, according to comScore. For the first 41 days of the shopping season -- from November 1 to December 11 -- consumers spent more than US$20 billion. That's up 19% from the same time last year.
And on December 10, or "Green Monday," online shoppers spent US$881 million, up 33% from the same time last year, according to comScore. That was the heaviest online spending day in history, comScore said.
The term "Green Monday" was recently coined by eBay to describe the second Monday in December as the heaviest online spending day of the season.


text:
Customer service is all about 'convenience.' Whenever a question pops up about a product or service, think about how you want to be helped: in real-time and as quickly as possible. Your instant reaction isn't to grab your telephone, your preferred 'go to' is the internet . In that case, live chat and social media customer service, are a company's way to go! In the case of Royal Bank of Scotland, …Read More
Tag Archives: Sales
How Social Proof Killed the Sales Funnel (and Reinvented It)
RIP, good ol' sales funnel. Deep in our hearts, we knew this day would come. Like used-car salesmen, the sales funnel was too polished and slick to survive in the chaos of social media today. Before online marketers and inside sales folks weep into their beers tonight, there may be a silver lining in this chaos. Social proof is the new currency of credibility today. Because buyers now rule the marketplace, their words …Read More


text:
See more »
Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 66 – Wink of an Eye
Compliance and Coronavirus-Andy Goldstrom on Making Your Business More Sustainable
Great Women in Compliance -Episode 71- Haydee Olinger on the Secret Sauce of Life After Compliance
Compliance into the Weeds: Vindman and Whistleblowers
31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program - BOD Compliance Committee
Daily Compliance News: August 5, 2020-the Great Timing edition
The Compliance Life With Louis Sapirman - Episode 1- The Personal and Professional Journey of a CCO
Daily Compliance News: August 4, 2020-the Apocalypse edition
Compliance and Coronavirus-Maurice Gilbert on Compliance Hiring During Covid-19
Innovation in Compliance -The Disaster Avoidance Doctor with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky
31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program - Prudent discharge of compliance obligations
31 Days to a More Effective Compliance Program -Legal requirements of the Board of Directors regarding compliance
Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 64 – The Tholian Web
FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 489 – Mike DeBernardis on the 2020 Update to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs and FCPA Resource Guide, 2nd edition
Daily Compliance News: August 3, 2020-the New Normal edition
The Sunday Book Review-August 2, 2020, Untouchables edition
Daily Compliance News: August 1, 2020-the Corruption in Sports edition
Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 63 – For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 62 – Day of the Dove
Trekking Through Compliance-Episode 61 – Spectre of the Gun
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
© Thomas Fox, Compliance Evangelist
Refine your interests »
This website uses cookies to improve user experience, track anonymous site usage, store authorization tokens and permit sharing on social media networks. By continuing to browse this website you accept the use of cookies. Click here to read more about how we use cookies.


text:
10 Fastest Things In The World
Top 10 People, vehicles, animals and things with the fastest speed in the world. Subscribe to our channel: http://goo.gl/9CwQhg For copyright matters please contact us at: firstname.lastname@example.com Description: Humans are obsessed with speed. Throughout our history it seems like we have been trying to make everything go faster. In a … Continue reading


text:
Monday, December 14, 2009
bunnies 12/10/2009
Playlist for Bunnies in Space 12/10/2009
Thanks to Britney for subbing!
Song, Artist, Album
Agoraphobia, Deerhunter, Microcastle
Quik Canal, Altlas Sound, Logos
Turtle Island, Beach House, Devotions
Tokyo Glasgow, The Pastels/ Tenniscoasts, Two Sunsets
Kettering, The Antlers, Hospice
I Wish I Was A Pony, Felix, Youre The One I Pick
Queenie The Doggie, Daniel Johnston, Is And Always Was
Anecdote, Ambulance LTD, LP
Blue Monday, Flunk, For Sleepyheads Only
St. Augustine, Band Of Horses, Everything All The Time
House Of Diamonds, Bowerbirds, Upper Air
Meorial Day, Drew Danburry, This COuld Mean Trouble You Dont Speak For The CLub
Little Garcon, Born Ruffians, Red, Yellow & Blue
Toothpaste Kisses, The Maccabees, Colour It In
what You Cant See, Cyptacize, Mythomania
Hands, The Dutchess & The Duke, Sunsets/ Sunrise
Black Water, Edward Shapre And The Magnetic Zeros, Up From Below
Oh No, Dr. Dog, Easy Beat
Going Out When Its Warm At Ngiht, That Ghost, Young Fridays
Standing At The Station, Ty Segall, Lemons
The Start Of Something, Voxtrot, Raised By Wolves
Wake Up, The Walkmen, Everyone Who Pretends To Like Me Is Gone
Errand Of Tongue, Holiday Shores, Columbus'd The Whim
Bros, Panda Bear, Person Pitch
I will be back this Thursday to do my show! Fall programming continues for the next few weeks, then it's a new schedule for Winter quarter in January.
by Unknown at 1:44 PM
categories crew members, missions accomplished
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Listen to the live interview #430: A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://tobtr.com/9804821
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
My Safety…
is a song about being constantly disappointed and let down by someone over and over again (im sure most of us can relate to that) and getting to a point where you say enough is enough and having the strength to walk away from someone who just isn't capable of giving you the safety and love that you need.
My EP "Fearless" is…
definitely written to be inspiring and challenges the listener to think about not only their own lives but about the world we live in and the state of humanity at the moment. Each song is very personal to me; they are my perspective on life, love and other stories and they all have their own unique message. The title track "Fearless" is about going through the hardest of life's experiences, acknowledging that you are not perfect but coming out the other side a stronger, wiser and better version of yourself.
I live in Melbourne Australia…
it's a great city for live music. Its often been referred to as a sister city to New York. We have some iconic music venues and local bars where you could catch an acoustic set or band in a small bar/pub, or you could catch international acts flying under the radar doing impromptu shows like Lady Gaga did last time she visited at The Cherry Bar. The Provincial in Fitzroy is another iconic pub that supports local artist and you can catch a band there most nights of the week. Even though the scene is dominated by DJs its great to still have these venues that support local acts.
Music business..
I love what I do and being apart of such an amazing community. I get to do what I love and have created a successful career out of it. It has led me to work with and meet some amazing people. I've been fortunate to sing for superstars like Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon that was definitely a career highlight. What I love most about what I do is getting the opportunity to create music that effects people, touches them and inspires them to follow their own dreams and never give up!
What I don't like about the industry is the superficiality especially with reference to women. We are expected to look and act a certain way and I don't like the ageist mentality we have as a society with women who create music at a more mature age, it shouldn't matter. What I dislike most of all is the lack of support you sometimes receive from your peers and the dishonesty of some of the people you meet in this industry that promise the world and deliver nothing or see an opportunity to make a quick buck.
I would have loved to have had 5 minutes alone with Amy Winehouse…
I just love her voice and her unique way of expressing herself . She was such an old soul and such a unique artist and it seems that when it came to her music she wasn't afraid to share her story with the world, which can be such a personal and frightening thing to do. The hurt, the pain, the torture, the joy it's all there in her music and in her voice, its raw its honest and authentic. You can really relate to what she is feeling through her lyrics and hear it in her velvet voice.
Purchase music from:
Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1091881781?ls=1&app=itunes
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=sarah+c+fearless
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=sarah%20c%20fearless&c=music&hl=en
Social Media Links for Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook: @misssarahcmusic
Youtube: sarahcmusic : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjFzdpl903Xz-CMSpELbxOw
Website: www.sarahc.com.au
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/sarahcmusic
Youtube: https://youtu.be/A8urA1ETbis
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/sarahcmusic/song/25529205-my-safety
About the Artist…
Melbourne Singer Songwriter Sarah C, possesses a combination of ferocious talent, dynamite energy and an extremely unique, powerful and soulful voice. Its no wonder she has rapidly earned the reputation as "Melbourne Soul Diva". As a seasoned performer, her versatility and range has led her to working with some of the biggest names in the business such as Kylie Minogue, Jessica Mauboy, Daryl Braithwaite Anthony Callea, Tim Campbell, James Reyne, Carrie Bickmore and recently Sarah had the exclusive honour of performing for Hollywood Royalty and Oscar Winners Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon.
She has just released her debut EP "Fearless" which debuted at number three on the Australian R&B/Soul Charts, "Fearless" showcases Sarah's voice that stands as the central "instrument" and the most stirring element of this collection of Pop/R&B all-original tunes. Sarah will embark on live concert dates throughout Australia featuring her brilliant live band and will then make her way to the USA in the summer and reach the shores of Europe by the end of the year. Sarah says of the EP, "Fearless" is about going through the hardest of life's experiences, acknowledging that you are not perfect but coming out the other side a stronger, wiser version of yourself. Each song is very personal to me; they are my perspective on life, love and other stories and they all have their own unique message."


text:
Barry just now 33" blue off the surf. North end of love ladies. #lbi. On bunker. #fishing. Dusk is magic hour
Daily Fishing and Outdoor Report
"Wow, that's was fun! Can we do it again??"
Below: "Knock it off ..... Knock it off ..... Knock it off ... I said ..."
Tuesday, May 24, 2016: Another fine-ass day … on a whole. The late-day south winds kicked up a bit, expectedly.
Winds will be highly changeable for the rest of the week and into the weekend. At the same time, I see no systematic winds higher than 15 mph. In fact, early morns should be excellent for angling. I'll again note that late-day winds – in this case, non-systematic – could gust to near 20 if there is enough mainland heating. That will surely roughen the ocean and bay. For surfcasting that won't be the worst thing since the roughed up water might urge bunker-stalking bass closer to the beach to dine on crabs and worms being stirred up. Yes, those are usually smaller bass drawn to close-in crabs but schoolies keep the lines active.
Recent actions by Egg Harbor City (Atlantic County) and Washington Township (Burlington County) to force anglers off the Lower Bank Bridge over the Mullica River have many locals fired up! The Pinelands Commission which shoulders much responsibility in this recent action will hold a regular meeting of their Policy and Implementation Committee on Friday, May 27 at 9:30 a.m. at the Richard J. Sullivan Center's Terrence D. Moore Room 15 C on Springfield Road in New Lisbon. There is a public comment portion of the meeting for those who would like to be heard. We'll have more information on this in future editions of The Fisherman Magazine.
My thoughts are: And will all Mullica bridge fishing soon be outlawed. I got buddies on those bridges. Could this move be because those anglers are often minorities ?????
RUNDOWN: It's the never-ending bluefish story, sans dragon. The blues are happily emerged in the cooler ocean waters we've had all month.
Surfers, who knows water temps like the back of their neoprene, are griping over the current bootie-demanding low 50s in the suds. Hell, a few waveriders are still wont to shed their gloves, a traditional first shed as waters warm. Not that far back, I recorded May ocean temps in the low to even mid-60s.
While we're not overly far from normal, more than a few of us are awaiting one of the few upsides to climate change: warmer waters.
Hey, if we're eventually going to go down in a bowl of scalding sea soup, how about our being able to enjoy the changeover to tropical conditions. I'm ready for some 80-degree sea.
Also, hardly liking the cooler water are fluke.
The summer flounder season began last weekend and even though the sharpies had a decent showing of take-home meat, many a drifting vessel wasn't so lucky, short of some shorts. I think it's too early for shorts showing up at the rate they're coming up. It could spell real low keeper percentages come the heat of summer.
Despite that whininess, I think the coming fluking-heavy holiday weekend will shine, providing we get some shining help from above. I've always had this sense that summer flounder get rockin' when things are bright and sunny. Of course, that could be because brightness gets more anglers out and about.
Seeking striped bass is a real interesting call this week. With seas calming, bait balls are become easier to sniff out using fish finders to listen around in nearshore zone. There should also be some early-day sight-fishing on nervous water. Once the bait is below, snag'n'drop-style kicks in, though many a jig -- or some deep-diving plugs and metals -- can readily draw hits when the bass are thick below. Still, the few 50-pounders I saw caught recently were taken live-lining.
Barry just now 33" blue off the surf. North end of love ladies. #lbi. On bunker. #fishing. Dusk is magic hour
Marty Supsie takes over 1st place in our store tournament. 25#, 1oz Bass from the North end surf of #LBI this AM
Eating Seafood Once a Week Slows Cognitive Decline
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Newsweek] By Douglas Main - May24, 2016
The global population of cephalopods—a group of animals that includes octopus, squid and cuttlefish—has been slowly but steadily growing for more than 50 years, new research shows.
The growth of these populations may be due in part to increasing temperatures, says Bronwyn Gillanders, a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Warmer waters allow some cephalopods to grow more quickly, get bigger and live longer, she says.
For example, Humboldt squid, (Dosidicus gigas), also known as jumbo squid, have increased in size and may live twice as long now than they did decades ago, a trend which scientists think is due to warmer water temperatures caused by the El Niño climate oscillation. Prior to the late 1990s, fisherman in South America sought jumbo squid that generally reached weights of four pounds. But since that time, there are many more large Humboldt squid, which can weigh more than 80 pounds, Gillanders says, and those can live two years as opposed to one year, as they used to.
The increase in world cephalopod populations may also be due to the decline in some fish species that prey upon the creatures, says Gillanders, lead author of a study describing the finding, published May 23 in the journal Current Biology.
It's unclear exactly what effects this may be having in different areas of the ocean, and whether or not these effects are positive or negative. On the one hand, the animals are "are voracious predators and could impact many prey species," Gillanders says. But "increases in cephalopod abundance may benefit marine predators which are reliant on them for food, as well as humans" who fish and eat them, she adds.
Most cephalopods are also cannibals, so it's possible the cannibalism may help check further increases in growth, Gillanders adds.
Ocean acidification, which is caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, may hurt cephalopods, but research is just beginning to address this topic, she says.
Views: 437
© 2020 Created by jaymann. Powered by


text:
Columbus Day post: Failed Columbus settlement found no silver
October 8, 2010 Leave a comment
Columbus may have made his name for the history books by "finding" the Americas, but his real claim to fame may have been his world-class snake oil salesman ability. After returning from his famed voyage of 1492, Columbus bowed before his patrons, Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and spun a tale of precious metals in the new world. His fairy stories about a land of silver and gold lit a fire under the Spanish royals, leading them to finance a much larger second expedition to the New World Columbus had stumbled on.
Tall tales of silver and gold
His tall tales also attracted a huge crowd of settlers with gold in their eyes and riches on the brain. This hapless group, 1500 strong, landed on the north shore of today's Dominican Republic in 1494, only to find a land of sand and hardship, not the streets of gold they'd expected. Catastrophe piled on top of catastrophe in the form of hunger, disease, hurricanes, and conflicts with the indigenous people. Mutiny not unnaturally followed, and four years after the settlement was established, the few hundred remaining settlers abandoned the effort and returned home.
This failed first European town in the New World left behind a treasure trove for archaeologists, however. Among the finds was about 100 pounds of galena, a lead ore containing silver. Medieval people used galena to determine how much silver a substance contained. They could create galena with a known amount of silver, or galena could be found and its silver content compared with galena containing the known amount of ore.
Why is all this galena lying around?
For many years, scholars had thought that the galena found at the settlement, which its founders had called La Isabela after the financier queen, was the result of the settlers' discovery of silver in the area. The odd thing was, no settler ever left a written record of such a discovery. Given the 100 pounds of it and the detailed records people on such expeditions tended to leave, such a find usually would have earned a mention.
In addition to the pounds of galena, researchers also found several hundred pounds of slag, which turned out to be lead silicate with flecks of silver in it. This slag also could have been the result of settlers' attempts to extract silver from a local discovery. But again, there was no mention in the record of what would have been a significant operation, given the 400-plus pounds of slag. The galena and slag were discovered near a building that was used to store royal property.
Starving and desperate for silver
To address the discrepancy between the written record and archeological inference, a group of researchers applied chemical analysis to the galena and slag and compared it to known samples of Caribbean ores. They found that the galena and slag did not come from a Caribbean location and instead probably traveled with the settlers from Spain. The researchers speculate that the settlers, starving and desperate, were frantically trying to extract silver from items in the royal coffers.
Supporting this idea is the fact that the lead in the galena would normally have been more useful to them, for things like musket balls or supports for a ship. The waste, in the form of the lead silicate slag, was of no use to them at all.
An expert in medieval chemistry told the researchers that people of that era commonly mixed galena with ores they thought might contained a precious metal, using galena with a known quantity as a marker for how much gold or silver their discovered ore contained. This explanation may provide the reason the settler had galena with them in the first place.


text:
Here's a marvelous computer-generated graphic video in the steampunk genre, with plenty of other bits and pieces thrown in. I recommend watching it in full-screen mode.
Great work by the Media Design School of New Zealand.
The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
New Zealand also has a steam punk themed town.
This one had me chuckling...


text:
3 Steps for MS Exchange root cause analysis
Article written by Ehsan Youssef, Premier Field Engineer
So many times as a field engineer I've been engaged to help resolve issues that were ongoing for an extended period of time and the root cause was elusive. Mostly, the issues were performance-related but service outages also came up. On the Microsoft Exchange platform, these issues were incredibly visible and political charged. Quick resolution was a must, but not enough. When onsite with customers, my mandate was not only to put out the fire but also to help insure we knew the root cause to avoid future issues.
Root Cause Analysis Strategy
My 3-step strategy is simple:
- Deploy the required performance baseline and data capture tools
- Educate the operations team on the tools and decision making process (sometimes with a nice Visio diagram posted at their cube! During my PSS days, it was called a cube note)
- Monitor closely and react appropriately upon recurrence
With the appropriate data in hand and the required Subject Matter Expert from Microsoft Premier Support Escalation Services or the Microsoft Product Group, there wasn't a single issue that could not be identified and resolved swiftly.
Preventing Issues From Happening
So you might think, why wait until there is an issue to go through the above process? Why not prepare your environment and staff proactively to minimize the recurrence of service outages? Is this possible? Absolutely.
As part of the planning and engineering phase of any project, we usually think about monitoring and backup as part of the day-to-day requirements of a technology or solution, but is that enough? What about the support activities? What about knowing the common type of issues that arise in the environment and what tools are used to identify and resolve them?
This is where the engineering team, in collaboration with operations, can build the required tools into the deployment plans and part of the "gold image" of the server solution. These tools are in place and with the appropriate readiness and training delivery to the operations staff, the data required for root cause analysis can be captured upon the first occurrence instead of waiting for two or more occurrences to capture the needed data and send it over to Microsoft for analysis.
What tools are we talking about here? Here are some tools I have used for supporting Exchange and Active Directory:
- The basics: Windows Support Tools & Windows Resource Kit tools
- Windows Debugging Tools: ADPlus and User Dumper are critical tools
- Sysinternal Tools: these are some absolutely awesome tools
- Performance Monitor
- Network Monitor
There are obviously more that I haven't included, so please chime in if you have any personal favorites that you'd like to share.


text:
A voice for the Tzibbur by the Tzibbur- overcoming challenges. We take no responsibility for comments posted you are solely responsible for any comments you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comments posted by you or any third-party.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Not so fast
We are aware that the Asbury Park Press and the Lakewood Scoop are "reporting" about last nights planning board meeting. Unfortunately they are leaving out all of the details.
As it was discussed at the meeting, this developer has no legal contract on the property. The developer was not present for the meeting.
A lawyer representing the developer talked for our property AND several others that are being presented under different LLC's (In true Lakewood fashion). Plans were being presented for future development.
This is the seventh developer over the 36 years we have been in Lakewood that has tried to push their plans for our property. No developer has gotten their plans through State and Environmental approvals.
Now we are not stupid and we know we will not be able to stand our ground forever. But be assured that when the time comes for us to leave Lakewood (which won't be for years) we would have another site secured and go bigger and better than we ever could in Lakewood.
3 comments:
- AnonymousDecember 18, 2015 at 11:20 AM
Dear flea market owners,ReplyDelete
Regarding the Lakewood Scoop's "accurate reporting", please realize although you think you discovered America today, we knew about it long ago. The Scoop is far from accurate, very slanted, missing the real news, and frankly he has been loosing lots of readership due to better sources. Other sources that dont use their blog as a way to blackmail and extort with lousy reporting
- AnonymousDecember 18, 2015 at 11:37 AM
As "W" said after 9/11, "We will prevail."ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 22, 2015 at 4:02 PM
all it takes is One Satmar Chosid in Wiliamsurg to sell his 150 year old house for 2 million dollars to buy your Flea MarketReplyDelete