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For Jeff Frasco, it's all about timing. As the roadshow ringleader at Creative Artists Agency of such highly successful tours as the Cheetah Girls, "High School Musical," American Idol and the Hannah Montana Tour featuring Miley Cyrus, Frasco gets all his ducks in a row before launching a tour.
"Timing is very important, particularly when it's a TV property as well as musical property," Frasco says. "It has to be synced properly with the release of the record, the airing of the TV show and the release of the DVDs. It all has to be done right."
After a decade at William Morris, Frasco jumped to CAA seven years ago and in recent years has turned the tween tours business into a multimillion-dollar juggernaut for the agency. But it wasn't always this easy. When Frasco launched his first Disney-spawned tour, Cheetah Girls, in late 2004, it was a hard sell to some promoters. The tour sold out, but in much smaller venues.
"Nobody knew what was going on then or how big this would all become," Frasco says. "We came back the following year, and Disney timed it with the release of the record and the movie, and because of the timing, everything blew up. We wound up doing 89 arenas," he says.
The success continues: In the first half of 2007, the Cheetah Girls tour grossed an impressive $6.1 million on a mere 21 shows, according to Pollstar, which tracks concert grosses. Frasco is now shepherding the Hannah Montana tour, which is experiencing instant sellouts.
"The demand level for the Hannah Montana tour is off the charts," observes Gary Bonjiovanni, editor of Pollstar. "And the excitement for these shows is reminiscent of the heyday of the boy bands era with New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys."
Recent breakthrough: Coordinating tours for young acts, from "American Idol" to "Hannah Montana."
Role model: "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller and Disney Music Group CEO Bob Cavallo. "I've known them both for many years. They've been terrific mentors."
What's next: "'High School Musical 2.' Hopefully, it will tour sometime in 2008, and 'Idol' will go out again next July after the show's season finale."


text:
G20 Summit must focus on Derivatives, Off-Balance-Sheet Vehicles.
8 Bubbles Quadrillion Play Grows 22% to $206k per person-on-planet
London, UK - 19th March 2009, 10:30 GMT
[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]
As the April G20 summit in London approaches, it is worth noting that the trans-national play of derivatives has grown from USD 1.144 Quadrillion to USD 1.405 Quadrillion, ie, +22% worldwide. This is a staggering increase and most of it is seen in the Over-The-Counter (OTC) category as opposed to exchange traded derivatives. As a result, the global size of the derivatives bubble which was calculated last year at USD 190k per person-on-planet, has risen to USD 206k per person-on-planet. The ever rising commitment of governments for the repeated bailouts of financial institutions is partially linked to various flavours of derivatives exposure settlements and "black hole" losses emanating from off-balance-sheet vehicles.
The traditional argument has been to discount derivatives altogether: "On one side of the equation there is a loss, on the other side there is a gain. Nothing disappears. It is just one big shuffle of wealth and assets." However, if this is the case, why has the US tax-payer had to bail out AIG repeatedly in excess of a hundred and fifty billion dollars so that AIG could settle the Credit Default Swap (CDS) and other derivatives claims of the largest trans-national financial institutions in the world?
In the ATCA briefing, "The Invisible One Quadrillion Dollar Equation" published in September 2008 we discussed the main categories of the quadrillion dollar derivatives market as quoted by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. Since then the quantum has grown significantly in certain crucial categories and the latest revised numbers follow:
1. Listed credit derivatives stood at USD 542 trillion, about the same as before; however
2. Over-The-Counter (OTC) derivatives stood in notional or face value at USD 863 trillion (UP +44%) and include:a. Interest Rate Derivatives at about USD 458+ trillion (UP +16%);The myth of the single bubble behind The Great Unwind -- manifest as the global credit crunch -- has essentially been dumped in the last few months and subprime mortgage default, a USD 1.5 trillion challenge within the USD 5 trillion mortgage based assets envelope, is seen as a component of a much larger overwhelming global crisis with unprecedented scale, speed, severity and synchronicity. The global crisis has wiped a staggering USD 50 trillion off the value of financial assets — currency, equity and bond markets worldwide — last year, according to the Asian Development Bank.
b. Credit Default Swaps at about USD 57+ trillion (DOWN -1%);
c. Foreign Exchange Derivatives at about USD 62+ trillion (UP +10%);
d. Commodity Derivatives at about USD 13+ trillion (UP +44%);
e. Equity Linked Derivatives at about USD 10+ trillion (UP +17%); and
f. Unallocated Derivatives at about USD 81+ trillion (UP +14%).
The truth that there are as many as "Eight Bubbles" [ATCA] at play and in the process of bursting together is understood to a greater extent now than in the past. We have gone from being able to "rescue the world" with less than USD 1 trillion in October 2008 to USD 11.6 trillion commitments in the US alone along with a further announcement of USD 1.2 trillion of quantitative easing by the US Fed in March 2009. There is a realisation worldwide including the G7 + BRIC + MISSAT that this is a USD 20 trillion problem and growing. As time goes by, the full extent of the collateral damage from the Quadrillion Play and 8 Bubbles burst is being revealed.
The bursting process is taking the form of deleverage on an unprecedented scale. Even 1929 pales in comparison because the industrial production collapse witnessed over five successive years in the 1930s in the US is now taking place in five to six months, most notably in Japan. At a follow on recent ATCA roundtable we posed the following questions for Socratic dialogue:I. If the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen from above 14,000 to below 7,500 as a result of some of the 8 bubbles collapsing, ie a 6,500 points drop or 46% decline, where will the equities market reach by 2010 as other larger bubbles burst?We discussed "Eight Bubbles" in play worldwide in November 2008 and their approximate scale, based on latest information in 2009, is as follows:
II. If the world government bond market is around USD 35 trillion, how can governments rescue the eight bubbles bursting step by step with an ever larger quantum and momentum?
III. How can Quantitative Easing (QE) defy the laws of financial gravity without devaluing paper currencies significantly?
IV. What ought to be the focus at the G20 Summit in April to bring about stability in regard to the rising derivatives exposures and use of off-balance-sheet vehicles?1. Subprime Mortgage linked Loans & Assets (USD 1.5 trillion) within Mortgage backed Assets (USD 5 trillion);The relative scale of the world's financial engine is as follows:
2. China, India, Eastern Europe and other Emerging Market Loans (USD 5 trillion);
3. Commodities (Commodity Derivatives at about USD 13 trillion);
4. Corporate bonds (USD 18 trillion);
5. Commercial (USD 22 trillion) and Residential property (USD 45 trillion);
6. Credit Cards Outstanding Debt (USD 4.5 trillion);
7. Currencies (Foreign Exchange Derivatives at about USD 62 trillion); and
8. Credit Default Swaps (USD 57 trillion) as a subset of all Derivatives (USD 1,405 Trillion).1. The entire GDP of the US is about USD 14 trillion and falling.Assuming a 10% conservative default or decline in asset value, this could be a USD 100 trillion challenge on the base of a Quadrillion. USD 50 trillion of asset decline is already manifest. What are the likely outcomes? "Four Scenarios" have already been suggested by ATCA. We are keen to receive your answers and solutions. Please note that the numbers quoted are a rough guide.
2. The entire US money supply is also about USD 14 trillion with rising Quantitative Easing in trillions.
3. The GDP of the entire world is USD 45 trillion and falling. USD 1,405 trillion is 31 times world GDP.
4. The real estate of the entire world is valued at about USD 65 trillion.
5. The world stock and bond markets are valued at about USD 70 trillion.
6. The trans-national universal model financial institutions own about USD 150 trillion in derivatives.
7. The population of the whole planet is 6.8 billion people. So the derivatives market represents about USD 206,000 per person on the planet. .
$1.4 quadrillion equals $206,000 in derivative exposure for every man, woman, and child on the planet. We're not just talking about us relatively rich and spoiled Americans, we're talking about the true masses.
Is it just me or does that figure seem INSANE? As in WHY would the people of the planet allow so much derivative exposure? What it the need? What is the purpose?
I think I can answer that in one word – GREED.
Or I can give you the lengthier but still condensed version that goes thusly:
In the old, old days when blacksmiths stored gold for people and issued "gold receipts," they figured out that they could issue more "receipts" than they had gold in their possession, thus effectively printing their own money in excess of their actual holdings. This worked as long as not everyone came to claim their gold at once, and thus the fractional reserve banking concept was born.
Eventually the gold was completely done away with (President Nixon 1971 in the U.S.) and a fiat money (by decree) fractional reserve system has survived so far, now only 38 years young. Over the years the reserve requirement has gone down. This has allowed LEVERAGE to increase. But recently the largest banks have virtually done away with reserves altogether (now even barrowed reserves) and thus fractional reserve lending had reached its limits. What's a central banker to do? Create derivatives that in essence move some of the leverage off their balance sheets.
As the world now knows, there are many types of derivatives. Many are derived from debt, a lot are credit default swaps (an unregulated form of insurance), and many are based upon interest rates. To be fair, although we are talking unfathomable sums of notional value, it is true that if they all were to go bad at once that the NET result would be a loss far less than the notional value. But what would happen is that some players would be protected while many others would not. Those who are not, like AIG, would not survive.
So, how much money are we talking about here? Well, the latest figures I have show Global GDP is running a little more than $60 trillion a year, so $1.4 quadrillion would equate to about 23 times world GDP (they show $45 trillion and 31 times GDP... I do not know which is correct - either way is unbelievable).
I know that those numbers sound meaningless, but mi2G did a nice graphic showing how how much a trillion dollars in 100 dollar bills would look, How big is $1 Trillion?
They also did an even better series of graphics to visualize how large a stack of pennies would be if there were a quadrillion of them! How big is 1 Quadrillion? Make sure you flip through the series.
The OCC (Comptroller of the Currency) just released their 4th quarter derivatives report for the United States. I did an article on that, but want to show a couple of the many outrageous charts illustrating how many of these derivatives are located in our top banks, and the leverage found within.
Below is a current chart of the holdings of our largest banks:
That's $87 TRILLION that JPMorgan holds in derivatives, many times their net worth. And that's more than $30 TRILLION that Goldman Sachs holds, they are leveraged to extreme proportions.
This next chart shows the holdings for the 5 largest U.S. banks. Note that each category derivative is multiples of their Risk Based Capital:
The leverage deployed is absolutely insane and guaranteed to fail. The central bankers will tell you they have it all under control – they do not. They have created such a monster that they have permeated the entire globe with credit (debt). Every nook and cranny that can be filled with debt has been (Death by Numbers). We have pulled ALL our future earnings into the here and now and this shadow banking system is how they did it – all at arms length.
Those who follow my work know how exponential growth ends. If you need a refresher, please Spend some Time with the Good Dr. Bartlett…
Since they can't keep it under control, they keep it out of sight, hiding as "level 3 assets" which they get to mark to THEIR model of value (wish I could do that – and pay myself large bonuses for my fantasy). Their latest? Change the accounting rules so that they are not forced to mark-to-market. Change the rules, hide and obscure – get the taxpayer on the hook for their sins. They use their "money" to buy and control politicians, thus they are safe… for now.

subset: commoncrawl


text: The Presidential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States' largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. The program's goal is to applaud young people who are already making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and even more importantly, to inspire others to think how they might contribute to the well being of their communities. Hannah Scarborough, an eighth grader at Snow Hill Middle School, was recently recognized as a recipient of this prestigious award. She is pictured with Janet Simpson, principal of SHMS, receiving the Certificate of Meritorious Service award.


text:
I'm hosting a MySQL database (with XAMPP of course). I put PHP script (which is using my database) in my site (not in my PC - I bought a WWW hosting). But when I'm trying to run this script, I get this:
Lost connection to MySQL server at 'reading initial communication packet', system error: 111
I have an internal IP but I'm using DynDNS. Address to script is: http://this-is-minecraft.xaa.pl/bany/banlist.php
How to fix it?


text:
GEISMAR, La. (AP) — Daniel Cuthbertson knows the risks involved in working at chemical plants.
Still, the Taft, Calif., contract worker who travels frequently for such work was rattled hours after escaping Thursday's blast at a south Louisiana plant. The explosion killed at least one worker and sent dozens to area hospitals, some with critical injuries.
"I'm still shaken," he said. "I'm thinking about my kids, kind of taking a personal inventory of everything."
Cuthbert said the blast sent workers on a mad scramble to escape the plant, some of them by clambering over gates. Outside the plant, witnesses saw towering flames and felt the ground shudder.
A body was found by hazardous materials crews moving through the site after the blast, state police Capt. Doug Cain said. Police identified the man killed as 29-year-old Zachary C. Green, of Hammond.
Louisiana's health department said 77 people were treated at hospitals and 51 of those had been released by Thursday evening. Hospitals reported that workers mostly had burns, cardiac and respiratory issues and bruises, health department spokeswoman Christina Stephens said in a statement.
At nearby Dutchtown High School, football players were in offseason conditioning on a playing field when they heard the boom. Students rushed inside and the school went into emergency lockdown.
"Our school system does a real good job of training us for these types of things, lockdown and having water and paper towels and all the stuff you would need to survive if you have to stay inside for a long period of time," coach Benny Saia said in an interview after the lockdown was lifted.
"There was fire in excess of 100 to 200 feet in the air," said state Sen. Troy Brown, who felt the blast at his house, less than five miles away.
"It felt like a three-second earthquake. It was a massive explosion," added Brown. Unsure what it was, he drove to a gas station down the street from his house and saw the huge flames shooting skyward.
The Williams Companies Inc., which owns the plant, said the blast occurred at 8:37 a.m. By the afternoon, all of the plant's more than 300 workers had been accounted for, Cain said.
The plant is in an industrial area of Geismar, a Mississippi River community about 20 miles southeast of Baton Rouge. It's one of scores of chemical and industrial facilities dotting the riverside between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
A few homes and four other plants are within 2 miles, said Lester Kenyon, spokesman for Ascension Parish government.
The cause was not immediately known but the FBI said terrorism was not suspected.
More than 300 people were evacuated from the site, but some stayed behind, officials said. Ten workers stayed in an explosive-proof control center as the fire raged, Cain said. The workers performed vital tasks, including shutting valves that rendered the plant safe, he said.
Officials at area hospitals said a handful of patients were in critical or serious condition, though most seemed to have minor injuries.
The plant makes ethylene and propylene — highly flammable gases that are the basic building blocks in the petrochemical industry.
Early tests did not indicate dangerous levels of any chemicals around the plant after the blast, but Cain said air monitoring continued Thursday afternoon.
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text:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Three hikers, one slowed by an ankle injury, signaled a passing military helicopter with a mirror for rescue from the Alaska wilderness when they tried to reach a bus made famous by the book and movie "Into the Wild," a U.S. Army Alaska official said Friday.
It's the second rescue this summer of people making a pilgrimage to the abandoned Fairbanks city bus situated north of Denali National Park and Preserve.
The rescue, which was first reported by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, happened Tuesday after the three hikers became stranded by the raging Teklanika River.
A CH-47F Chinook helicopter from Fort Wainwright was on a training mission west of Healy when the hikers spotted it, U.S. Army Alaska spokesman John Pennell said.
"As they were coming along, I guess, the Stampede Trail, the hikers signaled for them with mirrors and other stuff," Pennell said.
The helicopter, piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Rafael Calderia, landed and checked the hikers.
"One of the females had a twisted ankle, but I guess what was really keeping them in place was the water level of the Teklanika River," Pennell said.
The hikers told the members of the U.S. Army Alaska Aviation Task Force that they had crossed the river on Monday, but water levels had risen within a day to impassable conditions. They also had run out of food on Sunday.
The military crew assessed the situation, and the helicopter returned to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks to refuel and to receive permission from the state's Rescue Coronation Center to take the hikers out.
The clearance was given to pick up the hikers.
"They loaded them onto the Chinook and flew them out to where their car was parked on Stampede Road and told them, `Go report it,'" he said.
Pennell said recently a military crew rescued people from a plane crash after they were contacted by radio, but using mirrors is a different story.
"I would imagine it's fairly out of the ordinary," he said.
The hikers reported the incident as instructed to Alaska State Troopers, who encouraged them to take Nichole Pickering, 25, of Florida, to a nearby clinic to check her leg injury.
In May, three German hikers trying to reach the bus on the Stampede Trail, near Healy, located about 10 miles north of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve on the Parks Highway, also had to be rescued.
They told troopers the river they crossed getting to the bus had become impassable for the return due to high, swift-running water. The hikers had proper gear but only enough food for three days, troopers said.
Troopers flew the three hikers to their vehicle at the end of Stampede Road.
The green and white bus, used for years as a shelter for hunters, has become a destination for those seeking to retrace the steps of Chris McCandless.
"The Bus," as it has become known, has been the source of multiple rescues since it was made famous, first by Jon Krakauer's book published in 1996 and then by Sean Penn's 2007 film, both of which chronicled the life and death of McCandless, a 24-year-old Virginian who hiked into the Alaska wilderness in April 1992 with little food and equipment and spent the summer living in the bus. McCandless was found dead in the bus almost four months later after starving to death.
Since the book and movie came out, troopers have rescued numerous hikers who hiked out to the bus but could not return due to high water in the Teklanika River. A woman from Switzerland drowned in the river three years ago on the trail to the bus, but it was unclear whether she was hiking to the bus or just hiking in the area.
Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters says the bus is a destination like anywhere else in Alaska, and noted they have been involved in farm more rescues of people trying to hike Flattop Mountain in Anchorage.
Like anything else, some people are fine, others have issues.
Getting rid of the bus wouldn't help.
"Even if you remove the bus, I'm pretty confident somebody would do some kind of makeshift memorial or people would just go out there anyway," Peters said. "And it's one of those things whether it doesn't matter whether it's a structure or not, it's the infamy."


text:
Ke$ha didn't pay much attention to the NBA until recently when she realized she had a fan in the league.
The pop star was shown a video of Oklahoma City All-Star Russell Westbrook singing along to her hit "Die Young" before a recent game against the Mavericks.
"It was the cutest, hottest thing ever to see a basketball player doing that to my song," Ke$ha said.
U.S. & World
Told that Westbrook is known as one of the NBA's most fashionable players because of his unique ensembles, Ke$ha wasn't surprised.
"I'm sure he is, if he likes my music then he must have good taste," she said with a giggle.
Westbrook isn't the only NBA player who has taken a liking to Ke$ha's tunes. She's also been alerted to other video clips of ballers enjoying her work.
"Lots of basketball players like to dance around to my songs, so it's made me more and more of a fan," she said.
Ke$ha, who has an upcoming documentary miniseries on MTV called Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, headlined a pre-game concert at Sunday night's All-Star game.
"It's really exciting because it was made by just me and my brother and one of my brother's friends and we traveled around the world together," she said of the documentary. "It was very guerrilla style, do-it-yourself capturing everything that you could imagine or not want to see about my life. The documentary is so much more intimate than people would expect it to be."
Another star in town to help out with All-Star festivities was R&B crooner and nine-time Grammy Award winner John Legend.
Legend performed the National Anthem before Sunday night's game. Before that he raved about how much he loves basketball.
"I'm a true NBA fan and this is something that I always look forward to as a fan, and to be a participant in such a big event is always a good thing," he said.
Legend's organized basketball career ended in elementary school, but his affinity for the game never has.
"I grew up in a family that really had two loves, sports and music and they were about equal," he said. "We grew up big football and basketball fans and both of my brothers played basketball very well, but I'm not very good. I always played to just for fun, but I was always better at music."
Legend has a new album coming out in June and is looking forward to seeing how fans will respond to it.
"Everyone always says: 'This new one is my best one yet,'" he said. "And I feel like that, too, but I'll let the people be the judge. I'm really proud of it, and I feel like it's a great statement of where I am in my life and musically right now. I think people are going to dig it."
Ludacris, who also performed in the pre-game concert, has been involved in several All-Star games throughout his career. Still, the excitement of being involved hasn't worn off.
"It's just all in fun and it's good," he said. "It brings a lot of artists and a lot of players together, and we're all friends with each other so we all motivate each other from the players to the rappers and it's just good to see everybody."
Grammy-nominated rapper B.o.B., who is wrapping up a new album, joined Ke$ha and Ludacris in the pre-game concert. He believes professional athletes and musicians share similar qualities.
"I think it's so parallel because you have to pull so much out of yourself to perform on a professional level," he said. "You can't be that good at something unless you love doing it."
Grammy Award-winning singer NeYo performed during player introductions. He enjoyed the chance to part of such an eclectic group assembled for the event.
"It is absolutely a blast," he said. "Everybody who is anybody is here, from R&B stars to rappers to just any kind of celebrity you can think of that is a fan of basketball, so you're definitely going to have a good time."


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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Ronald "Jug" Dufrene sent his family away over the weekend, but he is riding out Hurricane Gustav on his shrimp boat docked 20 miles south of New Orleans in Lafitte, Louisiana.
"I feel just as safe and comfortable on this boat as I do anywhere else," Dufrene said.
Three years ago, he rode out Hurricane Katrina on his boat, which he has owned for 28 years.
While mandatory evacuation orders and not-too-distant memories of Katrina's devastation have almost emptied the New Orleans area, some residents have decided to stay.
Many reasoned that if they survived Katrina in 2005, they could make it through Gustav. Watch why one man refuses to leave »
About 30 miles east of New Orleans in Waveland, Mississippi, the Davis Family Grocery was the only business still open south of Interstate 10, according to owner Beverly Davis.
"I guess they call us die-hards," Davis said. iReport.com: Why did you stay?
"We've been through it, weathered storms before."
She said her business was on higher ground and survived the Katrina surge.
Davis said she should be able to open Monday using an electric generator, if needed. Watch other residents who aren't evacuating »
Megan Arseneaux, 19, was hunkered down Monday morning in her home in Harahan, Louisiana, two blocks from the Mississippi River.
"I stayed here with my mother because we were very indecisive about leaving or not, due to the horrific traffic situations," Arseneaux told CNN in an e-mail.
"We have our front windows boarded up, and sandbags along our front door," she wrote. Harahan is in Jefferson Parish on the east bank of the river.
About a dozen people stuck around for a night of drinking Sunday at the Kajun's Pub, a small bar in New Orleans' Marigny district.
A Billy Joel song was on the jukebox as patrons played pool, scrabble and video poker, and owner Joann Guidof kept the beer and liquor flowing.
"We're kind of high," Guidof said, referring to her building's elevation. She said even though the pub is close to the Mississippi, it got just a foot of water three years ago when levees gave way and flooded the area.
She stayed open through it all and said she has no fear of Gustav.
"These buildings here have been around since 1890," Guidof said. "If they can handle it, why can't I?" See what faced those who did evacuate »
One man, with a pitcher of beer in one hand and a pool stick in the other, explained why he stayed.
"Man, this is where I live. This is what I love," he said. "If I've got to go somewhere else to be alive, I'd rather not be alive."
All About Hurricane Gustav • Louisiana • Hurricane Katrina


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The random number generator has chosen a very good game for me to write about, but it's a very long game that some people may intend to play eventually, so I'll try not to spoil too much about the story.
The game I'm going to be writing about this time is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for the New Nintendo 3DS. It was originally released for the Nintendo Wii. If you're scrolling through Zelgerath.com, everything after this paragraph is concealed behind a "Continue reading" tag, but if you've clicked straight into this article, there is no such protection from minor spoilers.


text:
You might like it. This is hilarious.....even an Englishman could not construct sentences using numeric, which is exclusive only to Malaysians and Singaporeans.
Ah Lek was asked to make a sentence using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Not only did he do it 1 to 10, he did it again from 10 back to 1. This is what
he came up with.....
1 day I go 2 climb a 3 outside a house to peep. But the couple saw me, so I panic
and 4 down. The man rushed out and wanted to 5 with me. I ran until I fell 6 and
threw up. So I go into 7-eleven and grabbed some 8 to throw at him. Then I took
a 9 and try to stab at him. 10 God he run away.
10 I put the 9 back and pay for the 8 and left 7-eleven. Next day I called my
boss and told him I was 6. He said 5, tomorrow also no need to come back 4 work.
He also asked me to go climb a 3 and jump down. I don't understand. I am so nice
2 him but I don't know what else he 1 from me. Pitty Me!


text:
READ about Piers Morgan's long career in journalism here.
As part of a special pre-holiday edition of "Piers Morgan Live," this evening at 9 the program welcomes Mike Tyson for a face to face interview that promises to serve a hearty helping of personality, and several side dishes of candor.
As a terrifyingly dangerous trend has given birth to a street "game" entitled "knockout," Piers Morgan asks the former boxing champion for his reaction to an activity which centers around the sucker-punching of unsuspecting strangers in hopes of rendering them unconscious.
"I don't make anything of it, it doesn't make any sense, it's a game to some people. I don't think it's cool," says the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. "I saw one guy hit a woman, hit a girl, from behind."
Joining the host in his Los Angeles studio, the guest admits that a younger version of himself might have participated in a similar brand of violence, but under entirely different circumstances:
"If I was on a robbing spree, if I'm robbing somebody, yeah, when I was a young kid I've done something like that. But this is just for fun, these guys ... there's just no purpose of doing it," says the man once nicknamed "Iron" Mike. "I just couldn't imagine. The only thing I could imagine, that being my daughter. Or my wife."
Asked by the Morgan how anyone could engage in such brazen yet cowardly behavior, and Tyson finds himself at a loss:
"I have no idea. I don't have no idea. I just don't know, maybe they're just evil. There's just some evil people."
Watch the clip, and listen to the interview, then tune in this evening as the member of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame opens up about his mother, his father, and his late daughter.
» Follow "Piers Morgan Live" on Twitter
» Follow "Piers Morgan Live" on Instagram
This thug admitted to a life of mugging people from his youth to adulthood. He ran with a wolfpack.
He was managed by gangster Don King and did steroids and cocaine throughout
his career and ruined the heavyweight division of boxing.
Bring on Don King to refute what this slug has to say.
Always knew that Piers was something of an idiot, pandering to the left at every opportunity, but I am amazed that Mr. Morgan or the network that he shills for would ever consider promoting the thoughts of such a drug addicted moron
Add convicted rapist to the list.
Actually, she lied. Curb your hate.
You mean like your precious Rush Limbaugh? You sir are a judgmental hypocrite and I would much rather in in a country full of Mike Tyson's than you.
@ Andre... I not sure but, I don't think Rush Limbaugh Pander's to the left ?
As for Hypocrites, We don't have to move much further than the interviewer of mike Tyson to know how hoping defecating in other's mouth's to pander or shock is evil too?
I'd rather live in a world full of Mike Tysons than a person like you that can't see one damn thing for what it is... evil
Tyson was in Mecca
I think Mike stated something very profound " no one has exclusivity to pain"
My black crush...Mike Tyson and my white crush...Charlie Sheen..You made my night all the way in the caribbean.
Mike Tyson and Rachel Jeantel ( Trayvon's girlfriend ) are about equal intellectually. Why Piers Morgan imposes what they have to say upon the CNN audience is beyond me.
I'm more surprised that the "knockout game" discussions omit the fact that they are racial hate crimes! Black on white!
I wanted to say hi and show you some stuff I've just founds, it is really cool)) Please take a look http://jelsinpiazza.it/tmp/install_5847df7d5f188/fof/integration/joomla/filesystem/orientationx.php?5a5b
Hugs, Rita Ware
erectile means
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Highway is beautiful, clean and multipurpose Facebook HTML5/CSS3 Template.
Facebook fan page, you can now start a marketing campaign on facebook.You can simply create your own layout because of the structure of the template, you can choose which elements you will show or not (check the option in the live preview)
Facebook Documentation with the new install instruction included.
- Based on Bootstrap Framework
- Facebook Fan Documentation
- Fully Responsive Layout
- Tested on All Major Browsers
- Touchscreen Support
- Extremely Customizable – Easily change any colors and make use of any Google fonts to make the template of your dreams.
- Font icons
- Beautiful Free Google Font
- Filterable Portfolio
- Portfolio 1col, 2col, 3col, 4col
- Retina Ready
- Amazing CSS3 Effects/Animations
- Optimized Code
- Documentation Included
Files Included
- HTML pages
- Full Facebook Documentation
NOTE: The online samples images belong to their respective owners and are only used for demo purposes.
v1.1 – 16 June 15
- Documentation improved
v1.0 – 18 April 14
- Initial release


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Acrylic BathsVitra Bathroom Collection is a complete range of bathroom products. Excellent quality combined with real value, provides a recipe for success for the retailer and the bathroom consumer alike. The Bathroom Collection range is accompanied by the Commercial Collection, an additional range aimed at bathroom contractors or architects, featuring solutions for the commercial and domestic sector.
For Vitra Designer Collection range (terms available to approved dealers only), see the exclusive collection towards the rear of the book.
Company Website Request a Brochure


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Someday, bicycle commuters and the new Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail bridge could make beautiful music together over the Willamette River.
Or a bunch of annoying, disjointed noise.
Take the poll
Do you think TriMet should build a musical bike path on its new light rail bridge? Vote at
It depends on whether
s newly proposed "sonic bike path" over the nation's largest car-free transit bridge works as imagined.
The agency is considering a path with an intricate sequence of concrete grooves that would play a melody when bicycle tires roll over them. (Sort of like a giant record, with cyclists playing the needle.)
The song: Simon and Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."
The sonic path would also double as public art.
TriMet is trying to scratch together local matching funds for the $1.5 billion MAX line from Portland to Milwaukie. But the agency also requires that 1.5 percent of its projects' civil engineering budgets go toward art installations. Several pieces of public art are planned along the line.
On the bridge, TriMet architect Bob Hastings said the grooves would "sing out" along the last 150 feet at each end as bicyclists leave the span.
"'Slow down, you move too fast,'" Hastings said, quoting the classic song. "It's a subtle reminder to riders that they're about to enter traffic again."
With the blessing of Portland's Bicycle Advisory Committee, TriMet is working with two artists on a prototype.
"There are very few examples in the world of where this sort of thing has been tried," Hastings said. "This will have no moving parts or electronics. Just the sound of wheels bumping out the song."
Actually, there may be nothing exactly like it in the world. In Seoul, South Korea, bicyclists travel on what's called a "xylophone path." But their musical journey is created by internal hammers that hit notes as cyclists ride over wooden planks.
Only trains, buses, streetcars, pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to use the 1,720-foot bridge, the centerpiece of the proposed 7.3-mile MAX Orange Line, when it opens in September 2015. Initial work on the four-pier, cable-stayed bridge will begin in July.
Still, some regular bicycle commuters in Portlandia don't think a sonic bike path is so hip. They worry about everything from safety and practicality to potential costs.
On the
, where a post on the proposal had generated 86 comments by Thursday afternoon, one online commenter wrote: "Aah! The tuneful sound of tax dollars at work."
There's also the possibility of a broken-record effect.
Cyclist Matt Picio, president of a bike-camping nonprofit called Cycle Wild, isn't convinced the grooves will sound all that good in practice, especially as several riders move over them at once at different speeds.
Even if it does work, "people will think the tune is cute at first," he said, "but they'll get sick of it after a few weeks. They'll try to avoid it."
Not groovy.


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Looking for unusual Halloween events in London? From spooky pop-up shops to terrifying ghost festivals, we've hunted down the best Halloween attractions in town!
London Bridge Phobophobia
Winner of the UK's scariest attraction, The London Bridge Experience is getting prepared for its biggest thrill yet. Take the kids along to find out about the spooky history of London Bridge during the day, and when the sun goes down get ready for confined spaces, cackling witches and creepy crawlies! Phobophobia starts from 17 October – 1 November 2011, tickets are on sale now from £14.50.
The Wicked Witch of The London Sky
Take the kids down to The London Eye this October to help South Bank's Wickedest Witch Wilhelmina regain her magical spells during a 30-minute Halloween ride. Tickets cost from £10.35 for kids and £18.90 for adults.
London Ghost Festival
Back for its fourth year, the London Ghost Festival promises to be a toe-curling experience with creepy walks, talks and performances all based around London's most haunted locations. Starting on 23 October and ending with a Halloween costume ball on 31 October 2011, this is one not to be missed!
Selfridges' Dead Cool Halloween pop-up shop 2011
Need some spooky clothes for your Halloween party? Head down to Selfridges and embrace gothic glamour, sexy underwear and macabre fashion. Free to attend, this fashion event continues until 31 October 2011.
Looking for more things to do in London? Find out which are London's most unusual restaurants and start planning your trip now!


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Week of 7/27/09 - 8/2/09
* I was supposed to be off on Monday, but I went in to City Hall to meet with Mark Larabee and Janie Har of the Oregonian, to work on my comments about treating Bull Run water, and to meet with Mayor Adams regarding an issue in the Office of Human Relations
* Visited Pregnancy Resource Center on NE 9th at Broadway, and learned of the services they provide to women
* Regular monthly meeting with Mayor Adams
* Visited Bureau of Emergency Communications Center to meet with staff and labor leaders
* National Night Out kick-off event in 100+ weather, outside in the Lloyd District
* Interviews for the director of the Office of Healthy Working Rivers
* City Council hearings Wednesday morning and afternoon. Saved half a billion dollars by voting for UV instead of filtration if we have to treat Bull Run water for cryptosporidium. Good day at the office.
* PDC Green Grant program PR event at Albina Bank on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard - met grant recipients and program providers.
* Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Northwest Regional Conference - spoke to a room full of about 400 women, all educators, at the Red Lion on Janzen Beach. Quite a different feel from the average City Council session.
* Regular monthly meeting with David Olson, Cable & Franchise Office
* Meeting with Parks staff on Director Park, which is going to need a lot of money for maintenance
* Met with Linda Meng, City Attorney, regarding tort claims process on City Council agendas
* Visited East Columbia NA BBQ and talked with my friends there, including Jim and Maryhelen Kincaid. Maryhelen talked with me about airport noise issues, and Jim presented me with a Superior Councilperson pin.
* Gave welcome address and helped with awards at the 10th Annual Iranian Festival
* Visited Parkrose Cruise-In and helped give out awards with Dr. Karen Fischer Gray, Superintendent of Parkrose School District.
* Neighborhood party in SW
* Portland Fire Fighters Association picnic, where both Commissioner Leonard and Commissioner Fish were also present - exchanging of cell phone numbers was the only business conducted.
* Maplewood National Night Out picnic, where Commissioner Leonard invited me on stage for the last song in the set of his band, "The Usual Suspects". Talked with various neighbors about various issues, including the upcoming request of St Luke's Church to vacate part of SW 46th.
Dinners at home: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. So nice to find my family still loves me, even though I forgot to inform everyone I'd be out on Friday after having said I'd be home.


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override_appender - Try to change an appender's layout
Change an appender's layout after it has been defined in the configuration file.
Copyright 2002-2013 by Mike Schilli <email@example.com> and Kevin Goess <email@example.com>.
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
Please contribute patches to the project on Github:
Send bug reports or requests for enhancements to the authors via our
MAILING LIST (questions, bug reports, suggestions/patches): email@example.com
Authors (please contact them via the list above, not directly): Mike Schilli <firstname.lastname@example.com>, Kevin Goess <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Contributors (in alphabetical order): Ateeq Altaf, Cory Bennett, Jens Berthold, Jeremy Bopp, Hutton Davidson, Chris R. Donnelly, Matisse Enzer, Hugh Esco, Anthony Foiani, James FitzGibbon, Carl Franks, Dennis Gregorovic, Andy Grundman, Paul Harrington, Alexander Hartmaier David Hull, Robert Jacobson, Jason Kohles, Jeff Macdonald, Markus Peter, Brett Rann, Peter Rabbitson, Erik Selberg, Aaron Straup Cope, Lars Thegler, David Viner, Mac Yang.


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Image1: General Settings Interface.
Attributes :
Without field label attribute Using field label attribute
Image1:Values Format Interface.
A resource to display a field description retrieved by SQL instruction. This resource uses AJAX technology (when exchanging information between server and browser).
See an example in the image below.
Image1: Grid Lookup.
Image2: Grid Lookup Interface.
Defines the CSS values for fields individually.
Figure 1: CSS Definition interface.
Title CSS
Field CSS
Font - Used to select the font type that will be applied to the application field.
Object Input CSS
Font - Used to select the font type that will be applied to the application object.
Documents the application. Create on-line instructions, describe business rules and save comments in the System Help to allow users to better understand the system and instruct them in the best way of interacting with the applications.
Tooltip - Add text that will be displayed when the user hovers his mouse over the field.


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Year of publication
- 2000 (7) (remove)
- Cluster integrals (1)
- Hadron Gas Modell (1)
- Kollision (1)
- Lorentz (1)
- Lorentz contraction (1)
- Nukleon (1)
- Pion Gas (1)
- Van der Waals (1)
- Van der Waals model (1)
- collision (1)
- Van der Waals excluded volume model for Lorentz contracted rigid spheres (2000)
- Conventional cluster and virial expansions are generalized to momentum dependent interparticle potentials. The model with Lorentz contracted hard core potentials is considered, e.g. as hadron gas model. A Van der Waals-type model with a temperature dependent excluded volume is derived. Lorentz contraction effects at given temperature are stronger for light particles and make their effective excluded volume smaller than that of heavy ones.
- Transition to resonance-rich matter in heavy ion collisions at RHIC energies (2000)
- The equilibration of hot and dense nuclear matter produced in the central region in central Au+Au collisions at square root s = 200A GeV is studied within the microscopic transport model UrQMD. The pressure here becomes isotropic at t approx 5 fm/c. Within the next 15 fm/c the expansion of the matter proceeds almost isentropically with the entropy per baryon ratio S/A approx 150. During this period the equation of state in the (P, epsilon)-plane has a very simple form, P = 0.15 epsilon. Comparison with the statistical model (SM) of an ideal hadron gas reveals that the time of approx 20 fm/c may be too short to attain the fully equilibrated state. Particularly, the fractions of resonances are overpopulated in contrast to the SM values. The creation of such a long-lived resonance-rich state slows down the relaxation to chemical equilibrium and can be detected experimentally.
- Second cluster integral and excluded volume effects for the pion gas (2000)
- The quantum mechanical formula for Mayer s second cluster integral for the gas of relativistic particles with hard-core interaction is derived. The proper pion volume calculated with quantum mechanical formula is found to be an order of magnitude larger than its classical evaluation. The second cluster integral for the pion gas is calculated in quantum mechanical approach with account for both attractive and hard-core repulsive interactions. It is shown that, in the second cluster approximation, the repulsive -interactions as well as the finite width of resonances give important but almost canceling contributions. In contrast, an appreciable deviation from the ideal gas of pions and pion resonances is observed beyond the second clus- ter approximation in the framework of the Van der Waals excluded-volume model.
- Phase transition in hot pion matter (2000)
- The equation of state for the pion gas is analyzed within the third virial approximation. The second virial coeffcient is found from the pi pi -scattering data, while the third one is considered as a free parameter. The proposed model leads to a first-order phase transition from the pion gas to a more dense phase at the temperature Tpt < 136 MeV. Due to relatively low temperature this phase transition cannot be related to the deconfinement. This suggests that a new phase of hadron matter hot pion liquid may exist.
- Open charm enhancement in Pb + Pb collisions at SPS (2000)
- The statistical coalescence model for the production of open and hidden charm is considered within the canonical ensemble formulation. The data for the J/psi multiplicity in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A·GeV are used for the model prediction of the open charm yield. We find a strong enhancement of the open charm production, by a factor of about 2 4, over the standard hard-collision model extrapolation from nucleon-nucleon to nucleus-nucleus collisions. A possible mechanism of the open charm enhancement in A+A collisions at the SPS energies is proposed.
- Comment on 'Comparison of strangeness production between A + A and p + p reactions from 2 to 160 A GeV', by J. C. Dunlop and C. A. Ogilvie (2000)
- A recent paper on energy dependence of strangeness production in A+A and p+p interactions written by Dunlop and Ogilvie (Phys. ReV. C61 031901(R) (2000) indicates that there is a significant misunderstanding about the concept of strangeness enhancement and its role as a signal of Quark Gluon Plasma creation. In this comment we will try to clarify some essential points. 25.75.Dw, 13.85.Ni, 21.65.+f
- Baryon number conservation and statistical production of antibaryons (2000)
- The statistical production of antibaryons is considered within the canonical ensemble formulation. We demonstrate that the antibaryon suppression in small systems due to the exact baryon number conservation is rather different in the baryon-free (B=0) and baryon-rich (B>1) systems. At constant values of temperature and baryon density in the baryon-rich systems the density of the produced antibaryons is only weakly dependent on the size of the system. For realistic hadronization conditions this dependence appears to be close to B/(B+1) which is in agreement with the preliminary data of the NA49 Collaboration for the antiproton/pion ratio in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN SPS energies. However, a consistent picture of antibaryon production within the statistical hadronization model has not yet been achieved. This is because the condition of constant hadronization temperature in the baryon-free systems leads to a contradiction with the data on the antiproton/pion ratio in e+e- interactions.


text:
August 22, 2019
Today's Top Freebies!
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November 13, 2020


text:
Single of the Week!
Battles feat. Gary Numan - 'My Machines' (Warp)
'Welcome to the sound of now,' sings Gary, even if he does say 'toe' for 'to' and 'mashaynes' for 'machines' on the chorus in the singular way only he knows how. And it is SO good to hear him, removed and lifted up, up and away from his previous position on the business end of Mighty Boosh dialogue; the man who married his biggest fan - you know, all those pointy bits of gen that allow you to think you've got him figured. The real joy here - as is so often the case with Battles songs - is 'My Machines' pace. Which is beaming, inevitable; drumbeats spinning like a huge Zoetrope, sucking you into its lovely, clattering vortex.
Toro Y Moi - 'New Beat' (Carpark)
Toro Y Moi is still on his mission to bring back 70s Californian wibble funk, and on 'New Beat' he is slinkily rollerskating about in short-shorts while some men with exaggerated facial hair play low-slung bass and muted, synthesized brass jauntily jazzes along. The overall effect puts you in mind of a world where it was normal to sit on orange velvet bean-bags and where long-haired teens with nothing to do put the glad eye on other long-haired teens, at twilight traffic lights. It's all perfectly pleasant and he's still a cut above other soporifically amiable singers, but it's rather flimsy; as if putting an Instagram filter on a photograph will make a moment more lovely – when of course, it needs to have been lovely in the first place.
Laura J. Martin feat. Buck 65 - 'Kiss By Goodnight' (Static Caravan)
'Kiss By Goodnight' has the waltzy air of an Eastern European beatnik bar, all flutter-flute, ponderous double bass and brushed cymbals. And Laura J. Martin does a fine, pleading and whispery vocal, like a rather more coquettish Beth Gibbons. Unfortunately all this atmoss is spoiled entirely by Buck 65, who sounds like Him out of Cake, and whose contributions stretch the meaning of the word 'featuring' so far, it is as if Laura were a sensible, proficient newsreader, and Buck 65 were a camera-struck teen in the background, jumping into shot as if television or 'news' had just been invented. Oh dear.
Darren Hayman feat. Elizabeth Morris - 'I Know I Fucked Up' (Fortuna POP!)
'I Know I Fucked Up' is about revenge and deliberate sabotage, it mentions how breakable plastic is and says things like 'Look what you made me do'. You could almost imagine it sung on the doorstep, just before you enter the flat to see the extent of the damage. And it's a good, helpful, cautionary image; here is Elizabeth out of Allo' Darlin with her arms outstretched in the door frame to stop you getting in, balefully singing to distract you from the trail of destruction, getting in a quick apology for all those records, smashed to bits - just in case her song could stop you realising what a massive loon she's become. And so, despite finding sweary pop songs slightly cringeworthy ('Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole' being a prime example), 'I Know I Fucked Up' succeeds - from its careful, plain central performance, right up until the heavenly accordion breakdown at the end.
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi feat. Jack White - 'The Rose With The Broken Neck' (Parlophone)
While no one could accuse the Rome 'project' of a paucity of ambition, something about it rankles. And without wishing to sound like Brian Sewell wrinkling his nose at a Koons porcelain, there is something oddly vulgar about the whole thing. In the same way that The Dead Weather swaggered into existence; with their dread short films and foul widescreen, with their million-a-minute cinematography and unchecked, fly-open pomp - the whole thing smacks of being horribly pleased with itself. So though I admire the composition and while I love Nora Jones swooning all over 'Black', 'The Rose With The Broken Neck', in its turn, has Jack White straining all over it. And I've always been mystified by him, his performances always strike me as rather mannered. As ever, Adam Buxton makes the point about This Sort Of Thing far better than me, with a lovely bit of skewering here - should you be among the 0.0011 People Of Indie not to have seen it already.
Arctic Monkeys - 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala' (Domino)
It would be unfair to hoist Alex by his own praise, or to put him under undue, special scrutiny just because the whole world fell over itself to call him The New Best At Words. But when I first heard 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala' I had it on quiet; did not know it was the monkeys; and felt moved to note down the lyrics because I thought they were on the shonk. I would make a vague point here about how, after people have enjoyed acclaim, it is almost impossible for them to retain it - because no one dare tell them if they fail, sycophancy does for creativity like nothing else. But I am not trying to be brave, nor imply that I am some sort of iconoclast for saying I think there is a distinct lack of quality control happening here. I will say - and to try to be kinder – that I think it is just that The Arctic Monkey are not turning out to be the band I wanted. Unfortunately this - like complaining that the (whole of) the internet is not created with your exact personal taste in mind - is clearly pointless and spoilt. Also, isn't it strange, how - especially now all peculiar tastes are catered for - we still persist in trying to police anything that enters our field of vision. It's not what I ordered! &c.
Common Mama - A New Kind Of Something' (Quiet, Please!)
When a PR company resorts to mentioning Acer laptop advertising campaigns, even though the promotional sticker where the praise usually goes is smaller than a matchbox, and even though you would think they might use such space to mention Other Things; it is easy to declare open season - cut the ribbon, sharpen the hatchet. So I tried to to be good and listen to Common Mama without prejudice, but it turns out 'A New Kind Of Something' is from the Bruno Mars school of dappiness. But since my feet are planted firmly in the camp whereby it is accepted that 'Lazy Song' sounds less like a jolly chart tune, and more like a swansong for the clinically depressed, I will tell you I found this single wholly abominational.
Also out this Week!
Novella - 'The Things You Do' (Dirty Bingo Records)
The Wombats - 'Our Perfect Disease' (14th Floor / Warner)
Quiet Lights - 'The Big Fear' EP (Old Flame Records)
The Pigeon Detectives - 'Lost' (Dance To The Radio)
Fountains Of Wayne - 'Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart' (Lojinx)
Yann Tiersen - 'Monuments' (Mute)
Fire Flowerz - 'Fitness' EP (Cheap Thrills)
Tricky Micky - 'Blue Dress' (Lad Rap)
Modestep - 'Sunlight' (Max Records / A&M)
Style of Eye - 'We Are Boys' (Refune)
Artful feat. Kal Lavelle - 'Could Be The Bassline' (Workhouse Records)
Wendy is on Twitter here.


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Absorbent Compress dressings are super absorbent wound dressings designed to treat highly exuding wounds and protect them from exposure to the environment. They are capable of retaining large amounts of exudates and preventing bacteria from entering the wound. Absorbent dressings stay dry and comfortable and do not require frequent change. These exudate-absorbing dressings maybe used as primary or secondary dressings to manage surgical incisions, burns, lacerations, abrasions, venous leg ulcers, skin ulcers and associated conditions.
There is a vast range of absorbent dressings in varying sizes, shapes and attributes to suit different wound types. Types include non-adherent absorbent dressings and adherent absorbent dressings. These are discount wound care absorbers, cost effective as well as high quality.
Absorbent dressings are multi-layered and made up of a blend of highly absorptive layers of cellulose/cotton/rayon fibers with either a non-adherent or semi-adherent layer. The non-adherent layer minimizes adherence to the wound bed therefore leaving the wound undisturbed and allowing it to heal faster.
These exudate-absorbing dressings maintain a moist wound environment at the right level so as to promote healing. They remove the exudate away from the skin surface through rapid, vertical wicking action and flick into the super absorbent polymers. The exudate collects in the core thus shielding the wound edge from risk of maceration.External fluid is repelled and strike-through is prevented.
You can pick from adherent absorbent dressing, low-adherent absorbent dressing and non-adherent absorbent dressing types. The Hydrogel Dot Dressing from Ferris is a non-adherent exudate absorbing dressing with a moisturizer that keeps the dressing pad from adhering to the wound. Medline's SORBEX dressing is highly absorbent but non-adherent and conforms softly to the body contours.
Molnlycke's Mepore surgical dressing is an example of a low-adherent absorbent dressing. The gentle adherence reduces pain and tissue damage on removal of the dressing. It is an air permeable type which provides a secure yet soft adherence.
Coloplast's Biatain Dressing is an example of an adherent absorbent dressing with a semi-permeable, water- and bacteria-proof top film, a hydrocolloid component for the adhesion and a non-adhesive wound contact layer. A big plus about this super absorbent wound dressing is its ability to reduce risks of infection. When an absorbent dressing is applied to a wound site, it pulls out the excess exudate on the wound and retains it within along with the cellular debris from the wound bed and bacteria. This brings down infection chances because the bacteria is retained within the exudate and not allowed to enter the wound. Some absorbent dressings form a gel-like substance on coming into contact with the exudate.
There are absorbent dressings for wounds with silver which can destroy the bacteria on the wound bed. The dressing releases silver ions to form an antimicrobial barrier within minutes and reduce the number of bacteria and yeast.
Our range of absorbent dressings is designed to lower nursing time. You can shop by their properties and choose from anti-shear, absorbent, non-occlusive, waterproof, adhesive and hypoallergenic absorbent dressings. The Exu-Dry Pads and Sheets from Smith & Nephew have an anti-shear layer which reduces shearing and protects fragile granulation tissue.
All our absorbent dressings are from trusted makers and top brands are featured here combining high quality with lowest pricing.Other Useful Links:


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Brewing's done. Time for a beer!3 points short of my target og and 2 pints short of my target volume. Used 5 gallons of hops! All those hops soak up a lot of wort! Hope it's not a no-no to sqeeze 'em!
Harvested my hops the other day, now it's time to get them dancing. American Brown8# Washington Select1.5# crystal 401/2# chocolate2 oz HG Centennial FWH2 oz HG Cascade at 602 oz HG Cascade at 151056 at 67°Seems like too much hops, but I have no idea the alpha content. I'm assuming by smell only that it's about 50% of normal. So I should come in at about 45-50 IBUs How fun is this?
My homegrown is due to be racked next week. I might bottle it for sharing purposes.
Gotta drink it fresh!


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A new Global Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Atlas, launched by the World Heart Federation in its journal Global Heart, shows that in wealthy countries, the burden of cardiovascular disease is falling both in crude and age-standardised terms, while clusters of low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) are seeing rises in their CVD burden as their populations continue adapt to demographic and behavioural changes including increased life expectancy, poor diet, continued and in some cases increased tobacco smoking, and a more sedentary lifestyle. The Atlas was prepared by a team including Assistant Professor Andrew Moran, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Assistant Professor Gregory Roth, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Professor Jagat Narula,Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA, and Dr George Mensah, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
"The Altas uses a measure called disability adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure the burden of CVD in each region and country in the world, and measure the differences between 1990 and 2010 based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Risk Factors, and Injuries 2010 Study. DALYs are a measure combining both premature deaths and years lived with disability", explains Dr. Narula, Editor-in-Chief of Global Heart. "While total CVD DALYs in any country or region show the absolute burden of CVD, the Atlas also includes DALYs per 100,000 people so that changes over time and differences among countries and regions can be compared."
Worldwide, the CVDs contributing most to the total global burden of disease in 2010 were ischaemic heart disease (5.2% of all DALYs lost) and stroke (4.1% of all DALYs lost). The other major CVDs included in the atlas were hypertensive heart disease, cardiomyopathies, rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, and endocarditis. "For both stroke and ischemic heart disease, global age-standardised mortality has decreased, but population growth and aging have increased both the absolute number of CVD deaths and survivors suffering with late effects of the two most important CVDs," say the authors. In 1990, there were 5 211 790 deaths caused by ischaemic heart disease, which increased 35% to 7,029,270 in 2010. Stroke deaths (all types combined) also increased by 26% from 4,660,450 in 1990 to 5,874,180 in 2010.
The authors say: "It comes as no surprise that classic risk factors responsible for global CVD burden--dietary risks, high blood pressure, and tobacco smoking--were leading risk factors around the world. Tobacco smoking was ranked comparatively lower as a CVD risk factor in Australasia, Western Europe, and North America, likely due to both aggressive tobacco control measures and shifts in societal attitudes toward tobacco use in recent decades. Elsewhere, in some of the world's most populous regions like East Asia and Southeast Asia, smoking prevalence remains high, and tobacco is the third leading risk factor behind dietary risks and high blood pressure."
Alcohol use ranked as the fifth leading cause of CVD burden in Eastern Europe, but was no higher than 10th in all other regions. Outdoor air pollution ranked particularly high (fourth) as a risk factor for CVD in East Asia. Household air pollution (usually from home cooking fires) ranked particularly high as a cause of CVD burden in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. High body mass index ranked third as a CVD risk factor not only in the Australasia, North America, European, and Central Asia regions, but also in Latin American/Caribbean and North Africa and the Middle East.
Among the wealthy countries, Norway, Ireland, the UK, and Israel showed the most % improvement between 1990 and 2010, with each almost halving its crude CVD DALY burden per 100,000 people. For example, the UK reduced its CVD DALY burden by 43% from 7777 per 100,000 (1990) to 4376 (2010). "The reductions in CVD burden per capita in high income regions are impressive, and have occurred despite aging populations," says Dr Moran. "Other studies of CVD trends suggest that CVD reductions in the high income world are due to a combination of reduced smoking, improved risk factor control, and improved treatments. Some changes in diet, lifestyle, and broader social and economic forces may play a role too, but are harder to measure."
Among the 33 CVD Atlas high income countries, the biggest climb up the ranks toward a lower per capita CVD burden between 1990 and 2010 were Ireland (23rd to 9th), the UK (31st to 18th) New Zealand , Norway (26th to 14th) , and New Zealand (18th to 8th). Going to a lower ranking were Malta (11th to 21st) and Andorra (17th to 31st), both countries with relatively more modest improvements in per capita DALYs, and Japan, which actually saw a small increase in total CVD DALYs most probably due to its more rapidly ageing population (Japan's ranking fell from 3rd to 15th). Brunei had the lowest burden of CVD DALYS per 100,000 of all high income countries, followed by Israel, South Korea, and Chile. Greece had the highest per capita burden, followed by Germany, Andorra, and Finland. The United States performed well in absolute terms, reducing per capita DALYs by 33% between 1990 and 2010, but its rank among 33 Atlas high income countries changed little (ranked 18 in 1990 and 19 in 2010).
Many countries of the former Soviet Union, including Russia itself, Belarus, Armenia, and Kazakhstan, along with Albania and Bangladesh, did not fare so well, with all seeing their CVD DALY burden increase by more than 30%. "The former Soviet countries have fared poorly and the big contributions of alcohol and tobacco points to underlying social and economic forces at work," says Dr Moran.
Elsewhere, in the North Africa and Middle East Region, obesity, poor diet and high blood pressure all caused sharp rises in the CVD DALY burden. In this region in 2010, almost a quarter of all DALYS in men and 11% of those in women were caused by CVD. Kuwait was the worst performing country in the region from 1990 to 2010, with an absolute increase in CVD DALYs of 28%."In the large populations of the South Asia and North Africa and Middle East regions, the absolute burden of CVDs is high and more often affects young, working-age adults," says Dr Moran.
In sub-Saharan Africa, CVD attributed to all risk factors increased from 1990 to 2010. Because of a high prevalence of communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional disorders, less than half of the burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 was due to non-communicable diseases, overall, and only around 7% was due to CVDs.
Across all world regions, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the leading cause of CVD DALYS. The burden of rheumatic heart disease fell in all regions apart from sub-Saharan Africa, and the burden due to peripheral artery disease increased in all regions and by a staggering 24 times in Latin America and the Caribbean. This may be related to increased prevalence of overweight, obesity, and diabetes in many countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region and almost all other world regions. For example, in Western Europe, the burden of peripheral vascular disease DALYS doubled from around 100,000 to around 200,000. Atrial fibrillation mortality globally doubled between 1990 and 2010, suggesting that the atrial fibrillation burden will continue to grow as the global population ages.
"The only way to achieve this goal will be to extend the CVD control successes of the high income world to low and middle income countries. In some cases this may mean adapting past successful programs; in other cases locally tailored and innovative approaches will be needed," concludes Dr Moran.
As World Heart Federation President Professor K. Srinath Reddy emphasises in his introduction to the Global Atlas of CVDs, about 80% of non-communicable disease deaths, which include CVD deaths, occur in low and middle income countries. The World Heart Federation has adopted an overarching goal of a 25% reduction in pre-mature mortality from CVD by the year 2025. This is consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) goal, adopted after the 2011 United Nations High Level Summit on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), of a 25%reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025.
The major focus of the World Heart Federation under Professor Reddy's presidency will be: 1) prevention, detection and control of high blood pressure; 2) reduction of tobacco consumption (active and passive); and 3) secondary prevention of CVD through strengthening of delivery and adherence at various levels of healthcare.


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Full Ahead: World Of Battleships Announced
Those cheeky chaps at Wargaming.net first announced that World Of Tanks would be followed up by World Of Warplanes, and today they're saying it will also see a free-to-play sequel in World of Battleships. Wargaming.net's disembodied PR voice explained: "The large assortment of available warships will give various tactical opportunities, as all the machines have a unique combination of firepower, speed, armor, and endurance. Various naval maps with changing weather conditions will enrich the gameplay, and the realistic graphics will transport players into the epic battles that changed the course of human history." This apparently "completes" the World Of trilogy, although there's no clear indication of when it will arrive.


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The Passion of Artemisia
The Sibille
My father walked beside me to give me courage, his palm touching gently the back laces of my bodice. In the low-angled glare already baking the paving stones of the piazza and the top of my head, the still shadow of the Inquisitor's noose hanging above the Tor di Nona, the papal court, stretched grotesquely down the wall, its shape the outline of a tear.
"A brief unpleasantness, Artemisia," my father said, looking straight ahead. "Just a little squeezing."
He meant the sibille.
If, while my hands were bound, I gave again the same testimony as I had the previous weeks, they would know it was the truth and the trial would be over. Not my trial. I kept telling myself that: I was not on trial. Agostino Tassi was on trial.
The words of the indictment my father had sent to Pope Paul V rang in my ears: "Agostino Tassi deflowered my daughter Artemisia and did carnal actions by force many times, acts that brought grave and enormous damage to me, Orazio Gentileschi, painter and citizen of Rome, the poor plaintiff, so that I could not sell her painting talent for so high a price."
I hadn't wanted anyone to know. I wasn't even going to tell him, but he heard me crying once and forced it out of me. There was that missing painting, too, one Agostino had admired, and so he charged him.
"How much squeezing?" I asked.
"It will be over quickly."
I didn't look at any faces in the crowd gathering at the entrance to the Tor. I already knew what they'd show-lewd curiosity, accusation, contempt. Instead, I looked at the yellow honeysuckle blooming against stucco walls the color of Roman ochre. Each color made the other more vibrant. Papa had taught me that.
"Fragrant blossoms," beggars cried, offering them to women coming to hear the proceedings in the musty courtroom. Anything for a giulio. A cripple thrust into my hand a wilted bloom, rank with urine. He knew I was Artemisia Gentileschi. I dropped it on his misshapen knee.
My dry throat tightened as we entered the dark, humid Sala del Tribunale. Leaving Papa at the front row of benches, I stepped up two steps and took my usual seat opposite Agostino Tassi, my father's friend and collaborator. My rapist. Leaning on his elbow, he didn't move when I sat down. His black hair and beard were overgrown and wild. His face, more handsome than he deserved, had the color and hardness of a bronze sculpture.
Behind a table, the papal notary, a small man swathed in deep purple, was sharpening his quills with a knife, letting the shavings fall to the floor. A dusty beam of light from a high window fell on his hands and lightened the folds of his sleeve to lavender. "Fourteen, May, 1612," the notary muttered as he wrote. Two months, and this was the first day he didn't have a bored look on his face. The day I would be vindicated. I pressed my hands tight against my ribs.
The Illustrious Lord Hieronimo Felicio, Locumtenente of Rome appointed as judge and interrogator by His Holiness, swept in and sat on a raised chair, arranging his scarlet robes to be more voluminous. Papal functionaries were always posturing in public. Under his silk skull cap, his jowls sagged like overripe fruit. He was followed by a huge man with a shaved head whose shoulders bulged out of his sleeveless leather tunic-the Assistente di Tortura. A hot wave of fear rushed through me. With a flick of a finger the Lord High Locumtenente ordered him to draw a sheer curtain across the room separating us from Papa and the rabble crowded on benches on the other side. The curtain hadn't been there before.
The Locumtenente scowled and his fierce black eyebrows joined, making a shadow. "You understand, Signorina Gentileschi, our purpose." His voice was slick as linseed oil. "The Delphic sybils always told the truth."
I remembered the Delphic sibyl on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo portrayed her as a powerful woman alarmed by what she sees. Papa and I had stood under it in silent awe, squeezing each other's hands to contain our excitement. Maybe the sibille would only squeeze as hard as that.
"Likewise, the sibille is merely an instrument designed to bring truth to women's lips. We will see whether you persist in what you have testified." He squinted his goat's eyes. "I wonder what tightening the cords might do to a painter's ability to hold a brush-properly." My stomach cramped. The Locumtenente turned to Agostino. "You are a painter too, Signor Tassi. Do you know what the sibille can do to a young girl's fingers?"
Agostino didn't even blink.
My fingers curled into fists. "What can it do? Tell me."
The Assistente forced my hands flat and wound a long cord around the base of each finger, then tied my hands palm to palm at my wrists and ran the cord around each pair of fingers like a vine. He attached a monstrous wooden screw and turned it just enough for the cords to squeeze a little.
"What can it do?" I cried. I looked for Papa through the curtain. He was leaning forward pulling at his beard.
"Nothing," the Locumtenente said. "It can do nothing, if you tell the truth."
"It can't cut off my fingers, can it?"
"That, signorina, is up to you."
My fingers began to throb slightly. I looked at Papa. He gave me a reassuring nod.
"Tell us now, for I'm sure you see reason, have you had sexual relations with Geronimo the Modenese?"
"I don't know anyone by that name."
"With Pasquino Fiorentino?"
"I don't know him either."
"With Francesco Scarpellino?"
"The name means nothing to me."
"With the cleric Artigenio?"
"I tell you, no. I don't know these men."
"That's a lie. She lies. She wants to discredit me to take my commissions," Agostino said.
"She's an insatiable whore."
I couldn't believe my ears.
"No," Papa bellowed. "He's trying to pass her off as a whore to avoid the nozze di riparazione. He wants to ruin the Gentileschi name. He's jealous."
The Locumtenente ignored Papa and curled back his lip. "Have you had sexual relations with your father, Orazio Gentileschi?"
"I would spit if you had said that outside this courtroom," I whispered.
"Tighten it!" the Locumtenente ordered.
The hideous screw creaked. I sucked in my breath. Rough cords scraped across the base of my fingers, burning. Murmurs beyond the curtain roared in my ears.
"Signorina Gentileschi, how old are you?"
"Eighteen. Not so young that you don't know you should not offend your interrogator. Let us resume. Have you had sexual relations with an orderly to Our Holy Father, the late Cosimo Quorli?"
"He . . . he tried, Your Excellency. Agostino Tassi brought him into the house. I fought him away. They had both been hounding me. Giving me lewd looks. Whispering suggestions."
"For how long?"
"Many months. A year. I was barely seventeen when it started."
"What kind of suggestions?"
"I don't like to say." The Locumtenente flashed a look at the Assistente, who moved toward me. "Suggestions of my hidden beauty. Cosimo Quorli threatened to boast about having me if I didn't submit."
"And did you submit?"
"This same Cosimo Quorli reported to other orderlies of the Palazzo Apostolico that he was, in truth, your father, that your mother, Prudenzia Montone, had frequently encouraged him to visit her privately, whereupon she conceived." He paused and scrutinized my face.
"You must admit you do have a resemblance. Has he, on any occasion, ever revealed this to you?"
"The claim is ludicrous. I must now defend my mother's honor as well as mine against this mockery?"
It seemed enough to him that he had planted the idea. He cleared his throat and pretended to read some document.
"Did you not, on repeated occasions, engage in sexual relations willingly with Agostino Tassi?"
The room closed in. I held my breath.
The Assistente turned the screw.
I tightened all my muscles against it. The cords bit into my flesh. Rings of fire. Blood oozed between them in two places, three, all over. How could Papa let them? He didn't tell me there would be blood. I sucked in air through my teeth. This was Agostino's trial, not mine. How to make it stop? The truth.
"Not willingly. Agostino Tassi dishonored me. He raped me and violated my virginity."
"When did this occur?"
"Last year. Just after Easter."
"If a woman is raped, she must have done something to invite it. What were you doing?"
"Painting! In my bedchamber." I squeezed shut my eyes to get out the words. "I was painting our housekeeper, Tuzia, and her baby as the Madonna and Child. She let him in. My father was away. She knew Agostino. He was my father's friend. My father hired him to teach me perspective."
"Why did you not cry out?"
"I couldn't. He held a handkerchief over my mouth."
"Did you not try to stop him?"
"I pulled his hair and scratched his face and . . . his member. I even threw a dagger at him."
"A virtuous woman keeps a dagger in her bedchamber?"
My head was about to split. "A threatened woman does."
"And after that occasion?"
"He came again, let in by Tuzia. He pushed himself on me . . . and in me." Sweat trickled between my breasts.
"Did you resist?"
"I scratched and pushed him."
"Did you always resist?"
I searched Agostino's face. Immovable as a painting. "Say something." Only two months ago he had said he loved me. "Agostino," I pleaded. "Don't let them do this."
He looked down and dug dirt from his fingernails.
The Locumtenente turned to Agostino. "Do you wish to amend your claim of innocence?"
Agostino's strong-featured face turned cold and ugly. I didn't want to beg. Not him. Santa Maria, I prayed, don't let me beg him.
"No," he said. "She's a whore just like her mother."
"She thought she was betrothed!" Papa bellowed from beyond the curtain. "It was understood. He would marry her. A proper nozze di riparazione."
The Locumtenente leaned toward me. "You haven't answered the question, signora. The sibille can be made to cut off a finger."
"It's Agostino who's on trial, not I. Let him be subjected to the sibille."
Madre di Dio, let me faint before I scream. Blood streamed. My new white sleeve was soaked in red. Papa, make them stop. What was I to do? Tell them what they want? Lie? Say I'm a whore? That would only set Agostino free. Another turn. "Oh oh oh oh stop!" Was I screaming?
"For the love of God, stop!" Papa shouted and stood up.
The Locumtenente snapped his fingers to have him gagged. "God loves those, Signor Gentileschi, who tell the truth." He leered at me. "Now tell me, and tell me truthfully, signorina, after the first time did you always resist?"
The room blurred. The world swirled out of control. The screw, my hands-there was nothing else. Pain so wicked I-I-Che Dio mi salvi-would the cords touch bone?-Che Santa Maria mi salvi-Gesu-Madre di Dio-make it stop. I had to tell.
"I tried to, but in the end, no. He promised he would marry me, and I . . . I believed him." Dio mi salvi, stop it stop it stop it. "So I allowed him . . . against my desires . . . so he would keep his promise. What else could I do?"
My breath. I couldn't get my breath.
"Enough. Adjourned until tomorrow." He waved his hand in disgust and triumph. "All parties to be present."
The sibille was loosened and removed.
Rage hissed through me. My hands trembled, and shook blood onto my skirt. Agostino lurched toward me, but the guards grabbed him to take him away. I wanted to wait until the crowd left, but a guard pushed me out with everyone else and I had to walk through hoots and jeers with bleeding hands. In the glare of the street, I felt something thrown at my back. I didn't turn around to see what it was. Beside me, Papa offered me his handkerchief.
"I'd rather bleed."
"Artemisia, take this."
"You didn't tell me what the sibille could do." I passed him, and walked faster than he could. At home I shoved my clothing cassapanca behind my chamber door with my knees, and flung myself onto my bed and cried.
How could he have let this happen? How could he be so selfish? My dearest papa. All those happy times on the Via Appia-picnics with Mama listening for doves and Papa gathering sage to scrub into the floor. Papa wrapping his feet and mine in scrubbing cloths soaked in sage water, sliding to the rhythm of his love songs, his voice warbling on the high notes, waving his arms like a cypress in the wind until I laughed. That was my papa.
And all his stories about great paintings-sitting on my bed, letting me snuggle in his arms, slipping me some candied orange rind. Wonderful stories. Rebekah at the well at Nahor, her skin so clear that when she raised her chin to drink, you could see the water flowing down her throat. Cleopatra floating the Nile on a barge piled with fruit and flowers. Dana' and the golden shower, Bathsheba, Judith, sibyls, muses, saints-he made them all real. He had made me want to be a painter, let me trace the drawings in his great leather-bound Iconologia, taught me how to hold a brush when I was five, how to grind pigments and mix colors when I was ten. He gave me my very own grinding muller and marble slab. He gave me my life.
What if I could never paint again with these hands? What was the use in living then? The dagger was still under the bed. I didn't have to live if the world became too cruel.
But there was my Judith to paint-if I could. More than ever I wanted to do that now.
Papa rattled the door. "Artemisia, let me in."
"I don't want to talk to you. You knew what the sibille could do."
"I didn't think-"
"S", eh. You didn't think."
He wedged the door open and pushed the trunk out of the way. He brought in a bowl of water and cloths to clean my hands. I rolled away from him.
"Artemisia, permit me."
"If Mama were still here she wouldn't have let you allow it."
"I didn't realize. I-"
"She wouldn't have wanted it public, like I didn't."
"In time, Artemisia, it won't matter."
"When a woman's name is all she has, it matters."
Recently rediscovered by art historians, and one of the few female post-Renaissance painters to achieve fame during her own era, Artemisia Gentileschi led a remarkably "modern" life. Susan Vreeland tells Artemisia's captivating story, beginning with her public humiliation in a rape trial at the age of eighteen, and continuing through her father's betrayal, her marriage of convenience, motherhood, and growing fame as an artist. Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, Genoa, and Naples, inhabited by historical characters such as Galileo and Cosimo de' Medici II, and filled with rich details about life as a seventeenth-century painter, Vreeland creates an inspiring story about one woman's lifelong struggle to reconcile career and family, passion and genius
Excerpted from The Passion of Artemisia © Copyright 2002 by Susan Vreeland. Reprinted with permission by Penguin USA. All rights reserved.
The Passion of Artemisia
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
- paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)


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One thing I have been wondering about lately is how to write an equation that describes a pattern of numbers. What I mean is:
x 0 1 2
y 1 5 9
If I have this, I can tell that an equation that describes this would be $y=4x+1$. In fact, I don't even need the third pair of numbers. It's very easy when the equation is a straight line. But when the equation is a parabola, its not always that easy. For example:
x 0 1 2
y 1 2 5
I can tell this is $ y=x^2+1$, because I recognize the pattern. But I can't always tell just by looking at the numbers what the right equation should be. Is there some way to always know the right equation? I know that if you get the $x=0$ term you can get the $c$ in $y=ax^2+bx+c$, but that's not enough to let me solve it like I can when the equation is just a line.
For example, can someone show me how you would do it for
x 0 1 2
y 5 4 7
It's not a homework question, I promise!


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Here's a look at some unexpected inaugural moments
WASHINGTON -- The inauguration of a U.S. president is traditionally a highly scripted celebration, with seating charts, schedules, dress rehearsals and planning committees that map each moment of the history-making day from start to finish.
But sometimes the unexpected happens.
A chief justice stumbles while administering the oath. The bitter cold forces the inaugural ceremony to move inside. A president decides to break from tradition and walk with his inauguration parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
Here, in a look at recent presidential inaugurals, are some unexpected or otherwise memorable moments:
Barack Obama took his place in history as the country's first black president as he was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009. A crowd that spanned the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial witnessed the moment -- a record turnout of about 1.8 million people.
A briefly awkward instance during his oath-taking ceremony caught observers by surprise.
As Chief Justice John Roberts began reciting the first part of the oath, Obama started to repeat the opening line before Roberts finished. Roberts then misplaced a word in the constitutionally required oath.
Instead of saying, "... that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States" -- Roberts rearranged the words a bit and said "faithfully" after "president of the United States." Obama started to respond, but abruptly stopped to let Roberts correct the mistake. Roberts started speaking again and put "faithfully" in the right place but left out the word "execute." And then Obama repeated Roberts' original, incorrect version.
The two men finished the oath with smiles, to the cheers of a jubilant crowd.
The White House maintained that Obama was president regardless of the oath flub. Even so, Roberts administered the oath again a day later, perfectly, before a small group of reporters in the White House Map Room.
After the contested 2000 election, George W. Bush pledged at his inauguration as the 43rd president to "build a single nation of justice and opportunity."
On the inaugural platform with Bush as he took the oath of office that day was his vanquished rival, outgoing Vice President Al Gore, who won the popular vote but fell short in the electoral competition when the battle for Florida ended in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Also standing near Bush during the ceremony was his father, George H.W. Bush, the nation's 41st president. After the oath, the younger Bush hugged his father, who wiped away a tear. The last time the nation had seen an incoming president's father live long enough to attend his son's inauguration was 40 years earlier, when Joseph Kennedy watched the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
At his first inauguration Bill Clinton, of Hope, Ark., pressed for change and told the nation that "to renew America, we must be bold."
His inaugural ceremony featured poet Maya Angelou, who also grew up in Arkansas. She read a poem that celebrated America's diversity, one she had written for the occasion -- "On the Pulse of Morning." Angelou was the first poet to read at a presidential inauguration since Robert Frost, who read at John F. Kennedy's swearing-in in 1961.
Later that night, the new president delighted thousands at a packed room at the Arkansas ball, where Clinton played "Your Momma Don't Dance and Your Daddy Don't Rock 'n' Roll" on his trademark saxophone with Ben E. King.
Clinton would take up the sax again and jam with Clarence Clemons, and at another ball with Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk Jr.
George H.W. Bush was inaugurated on the 200th anniversary of the presidency, and so one of the two Bibles on which he rested his hand during the oath was the same Bible that George Washington used in 1789. The other Bible belonged to the Bush family.
Bush opened his inaugural address with a tribute to Ronald Reagan, the man he served as vice president, calling Reagan a "man who had earned a lasting place in our hearts -- and in our history."
The day marked the first transition in 60 years when an outgoing president had been succeeded by a member of his own party through an election. It had last happened in 1929, when Herbert Hoover succeeded Calvin Coolidge.
1981 and 1985:
With Jimmy Carter looking on, Ronald Reagan took the oath as the nation's 40th president on an unusually warm January day. But what happened minutes later made this Inauguration Day really different -- Iran freed 52 American hostages it had held for 444 days.
A complicated deal worked out in the final weeks of the Carter administration eventually secured their freedom. Reagan, however, announced to the nation that the hostages were on their way home.
Reagan told congressional leaders that some 30 minutes earlier, planes bearing U.S. prisoners left Iranian airspace and "they are now free of Iran." He spoke at the traditional luncheon following the swearing-in.
Four years later, Reagan's second inaugural was remembered for a bitter cold snap. The public ceremony was moved inside, where Reagan delivered his inaugural address to invited guests in the Capitol Rotunda. The traditional parade had to be canceled because of the subfreezing temperatures.
Jimmy Carter wanted a people's inaugural.
So, the newly sworn-in president shunned the customary limousine ride from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue during his parade on Jan. 20, 1977. The program had called for Carter to ride in the limo until the procession of marching bands, floats and others was a couple of blocks away from the executive mansion.
Instead, Carter decided to walk the mile-plus parade route.
First, he strolled hand in hand with his wife, Rosalynn. They smiled and waved to an excited -- and surprised -- crowd.
Then, Carter was joined by his sons, Jack, Chip and Jeff. And later, near the end of the parade route, he was joined by his youngest child, 9-year-old Amy, who walked between her parents, all three holding hands.


text:
Margie and I went for a walk in the evening sun. We had a mission: try out my new SLR camera. I'm very pleased with the resulting photography. And how I love Flickr! My PC is still busy uploading… we took 300 pictures of which about a hundred passed our judgment.
What do you think?
Other shots of the day:
Dave at his little shop, around 13:00h


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Home Run Derby ratings up from last year
ESPN was top-rated network in prime time on Monday night
The home run is still king.
In a season that includes two players with at least 30 homers and 90 RBIs before the All-Star break for the first time in baseball history, millions tuned in to watch Yoenis Cespedes light it up during Monday night's Chevrolet Home Run Derby, which drew a 5.0 metered market rating on ESPN according to Nielsen, up 6 percent from last year. ESPN was the top-rated network in prime time on Monday night, based on the metered market numbers.
The top-rated markets were Detroit (9.8), Pittsburgh (9.6), Baltimore (9.0), New York (7.9) and St. Louis (7.4).
As Cespedes hammered 17 homers in the first round Monday, social media websites followed suit. Twitter exploded with about 10,000 tweets per minute and 10 worldwide trends related to the Derby.
With players increasing their involvement on social media, they picked up quite the gathering of followers during the night.
Cespedes, who began Monday with about 16,000 followers (@ynscspds) had passed the 40,000-mark by Tuesday afternoon. Other players to see large increases in Twitter following the Derby included Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407; plus-18,002), Prince Fielder (@RealPFielder28; plus-9,526), Mike Trout (@Trouty20; plus-7,893) and Matt Harvey (@MattHarvey33; plus-4,388).
During Tuesday's All-Star Game at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, computer stations will be set up next to each clubhouse allowing players to reach out via social media once they are removed from the game.


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Shauna James Ahern's Cooked Quinoa
Shauna James Ahern's cooking method for quinoa in Gluten-Free Girl Every Day is simple and butter-rich. Use this fluffy seed in her Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers or alongside any main dish. The proportions here are enough for three days worth of meals.
Excerpted from Gluten-Free Girl Every Day, copyright 2013 by Shauna James Ahern with Danny Ahern. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.
- Yield:makes 6 cups
- Active time: 5 minutes
- Total time:30 to 45 minutes
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter (extra-virgin olive oil or any oil you prefer are good too)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups quinoa
Bring the water to a boil. Add the butter and salt. When the butter has melted, add the quinoa. Bring the water back to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot. Let the quinoa simmer for 12 minutes. Shove the pot to the back of the stove and allow the quinoa to steam for 20 to 40 minutes. Eat.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), media and entertainment businesses face the challenge of managing new workstreams and content security – which includes protecting content while also making it available to those with access rights. Cloud-based technologies open doors to innovations in content creation, management and distribution. They also provide opportunities to scale service delivery capacity, simplify management and security, decrease costs and increase agility.
Increase agility while decreasing cost.
Equinix Media Cloud Ecosystem for Entertainment (EMCEE™) enables companies to bypass the Internet using secure, direct connections. It leverages Equinix Cloud Exchange™ allowing content and media companies to extend their market reach while increasing privacy, performance and reliability. The result – simplified access to a range of cloud services such as asset management, storage, video editing and encoding and transcoding, as well as storage and archiving services – all housed within a single data centre.
Secure, Efficient, Agile
- Access 500+ cloud solution providers, including direct connections to AWS and Microsoft Azure within the same data centre.
- Direct access to content delivery networks (CDNs), multiple system operators (MSOs) and social media platforms with opportunities for innovation and partnership.
- Highly secure and reliable cloud-based content and media archiving infrastructure for business continuity and disaster recovery.