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Mar 06, 2013– Sunnyvale, USA (Techreleased) – The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $284.4 million fixed-price contract to procure long lead parts for the fifth and sixth Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) missile warning constellation.
Featuring a mix of GEO satellites, hosted payloads in highly elliptical earth (HEO) orbit, and associated ground hardware and software, the SBIRS program delivers resilient and improved missile warning capabilities for the nation while simultaneously providing significant contributions to the military's missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness mission areas.
Lockheed Martin previously received a contract to complete non-recurring engineering activities for GEO-5 and 6 and procure select long lead spacecraft parts enabling supplier production lines to deliver the lowest possible price for each component. This next phase authorizes the purchase of the remaining long lead spacecraft components. A final contract for full production under fixed-price terms will be awarded at a later date.
"This contract award is a testament to the importance of the SBIRS program and reinforces the government's confidence in our ability to produce these vital satellites efficiently going forward," said Jeff Smith, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) mission area. "As we produce follow on SBIRS assets, we aim to continually reduce the cost and cycle time of each space vehicle to ensure we deliver critical and resilient infrared surveillance capabilities to the nation at the best value to the government."
Lockheed Martin's SBIRS contracts include four HEO payloads, four GEO satellites, and ground assets to receive, process, and disseminate the infrared mission data. Under the new contract, the team will procure long lead parts for the fifth and sixth GEO satellites.
Two HEO payloads and the first geosynchronous (GEO-1) satellite have already been launched. GEO-2 is scheduled for launch in March of 2013.
The SBIRS team is led by the Infrared Space Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Lockheed Martin is the SBIRS prime contractor, Northrop Grumman is the payload integrator. Air Force Space Command operates the SBIRS system.


text: Show Hide image Culture 24 January 2013 Baudelaire: To the flâneur born La Folie Baudelaire - review. Sign-up La Folie Baudelaire Roberto Calasso (translated by Alastair McEwen) Allen Lane, 352pp, £35 The charm of Baudelaire is something most writers would give their eye teeth to be associated with. The poetry, a gripping mix of aesthetic refinement, physical torment and mystical self-transcendence, is inimitable. The prose meanwhile opens a window on mid-19th-century Paris – life on the streets is rendered in the kind of minute detail also found in the novels of Flaubert (who, like Baudelaire, was born in 1821). The mingling of beauty and horror, of the pathetic and the obscene, became Baudelaire's aesthetic trademark. He was the first flâneur, the city-dweller who is "interested in the whole world". That quote is from what Roberto Calasso rightly deems Baudelaire's finest prose work, "The Painter of Modern Life" (1863). His marvellous evocation of the painter Constantin Guys is of a dandy, a café-goer, a man who dislikes being called an artist and doesn't sign his drawings but whose curiosity is the source of his genius. He is, Baudelaire writes, "a great lover of the crowd and of going incognito . . . who pushes his originality to the point of modesty . . . [R]ecently he asked me . . . to leave out his name ". Calasso's best essays in La Folie Baudelaire send us back to this unique reinvention of creativity in the city to which Baudelaire signed his name. He was the prototype middle- class drop-out: self-impoverished, at war with his army general father, living rough and fond of dope. He took a gorgeous, voracious black mistress, a relationship that tormented him. He customised his clothes to show he was not bourgeois – he used sandpaper to give them a worn look. He was like some overdressed Francis of Assisi whose self-appointed to task was to love the ruined and the abandoned, the sick characters he found on Paris streets, women mostly. As he wrote, every night someone would die around him after the lamplighter had done his round. Calasso thinks it would be vulgar to inquire into Baudelaire's psychology too deeply. He loves him for his electric, modern, nervous sensibility and praises him for representing everything that the Enlightenment, with its stress on progress and productivity, was not. However, I wish I could be more admiring than I am. Calasso, the author of several acclaimed works perched on the border between fiction and essay, confounds even his most enthusiastic readers. What's La Folie Baudelaire about? What kind of book is it? Didn't the publishers think to give us just a tiny bit of help by way of an introduction, or notes? Not heading in any obvious direction, it's a meditation on Baudelaire and his contempories, in which writers quote writers on writers. I knew the reference to Walter Benjamin but I needed to look up Adorno. David Lodge noted years ago that the postmodern response to a text is another text, presumably to avoid seeming interventionist, didactic or judgemental in the elusive matter of truth. It's also Calasso's way. He believes that the artistic word exists to "resist the aggression of ideas" (hence his constant attacks on "the Enlightenment"). He wants to bypass the tyranny of the organising principle and somehow render experience more directly. He's a kind of literary antiquarian, piling up borrowed and remembered phrases and images. La Folie Baudelaire, printed on fine paper, contains much of interest, as well as handsome illustrations of Manet, Ingres and others. But it is obscure and, unlike the title of its opening essay, "The Natural Obscurity of Things", the unnecessary obscurity is not helped by a translation that, having passed through Italian, French and English, is often ungrammatical and incomprehensible. (Just one example: Baudelaire did not write a poem entitled "To She Who is Too Gay".) "Roberto Calasso is publisher of Adelphi", reads the Italianate grammar of the English jacket. Adelphi, we note, is Calasso's original publisher. The result, sadly, in English, is a kind of self-parodying continentalism for the coffee-table. Lesley Chamberlain's second novel "Anyone's Game" is published by Harbour Books (£12) Subscribe For more great writing from our award-winning journalists subscribe for just £1 per month! This article first appeared in the 21 January 2013 issue of the New Statesman, The A-Z of Israel SUBSCRIBE More

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Building the XSELinux Function Test Application
Building the XSELinux Function Test Application
The X-setest application allows a user to execute all of the SELinuxGet/Set.. functions that are integrated with the X-Windows object manager. The application is shown in Figure 1 and should be easy to drive.
This application does not require any specific policy module to run, however it will require permissions to be granted if you want to obtain information when running in other domains than the default. This has been tested with the Reference Policy once the X-windows object manager is running by setting the xserver_object_manager boolean to TRUE. Important note - The new x_keyboard and x_pointer object classes and their permissions must be be available. Red Hat F-12 policy RPMs from selinux-policy-3.6.32-100.fc12.noarch.rpm will have these added.
The Calling the XSELinux Functions section explains some of the issues around error handling and the source code has plenty of comments.
The functions 12, 13, 19, 20 & 22 return an XError of BadAlloc when access is denied and generates a USER_AVC entry in the audit.log. Note however, XErrors are checked first and are not logged in audit.log, only USER_AVC errors will be logged
When entering Atom names, the application will check if they are valid, however they are NOT checked to see if they are valid for the specific function (e.g. PRIMARY can be entered for a GetProperty... function, but it will fail with BadMatch).
Window and Resource IDs entered are not checked by the application and if incorrect the function will fail with BadMatch.
The 'o' option allows an output file to be specified to log the session, only minimum information is then displayed on the screen.
The application requires the following to be installed if recompiled:
- libX11, libX11-common, libX11-devel - These are standard Xlib packages.
- libXi, libXi-devel - These are required for retrieving Xdevice information.
- The XSELinuxOMFunctions.c and Xlib-selinux.h files that are located in the ./x-windows/x-common directory.
- The application source code X-setest.c that is located in the ./x-windows/x-setest directory.
The X-setest application can be built using the following command:
gcc X-setest.c ../x-common/XSELinuxOMFunctions.c -o X-setest -l selinux -l X11 -l Xi
The X-setest application can be called as follows:
# Output all information to the screen: X-setest # Output all information to a specified file [log_file_name], # with minimum information displayed on the screen: X-setest [log_file_name]


text:
Water safety important, especially during summer
Water-related deaths, injuries reported in June
It's summer in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay and other area waterways beckon families to sail and splash in the cool waters.
From the 10-mile beachfront and boardwalk at Ocean City to the 65-mile shoreline at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland is packed with great things to do all summer.
Fun is the goal, but safety has to be on the agenda. This month, a kayaker died in Big Gunpowder Falls, a Bel Air toddler drowned in an area pool and nine people were injured in a boat fire on Solomon's Island.
Baltimore has three beautiful reservoirs with opportunities for biking, hiking, bird watching, boating and fishing, but no swimming. Illegal swimmers have already been rescued, and last summer, hundreds of citations were issued to violators. So far this year, 40 swimming-related citations have been issued.
Temperatures in these deep waters can drop quickly and currents can change resulting in drowning. This is a great season to enjoy water activities, but parents must be responsible for the safety of their children, and adults must obey rules of safety. The "No Swimming" sign is posted for a reason.


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PG Editors pick their top gear from the third day of NAMM. See everything from day 3 in our photo gallery.
Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction Fuzz
Electro-Harmonix founder honored the importance of the Rolling Stones and the Maestro FZ-1 to his own career with the new Satisfaction fuzz. The best part?....it'll have a street price around 53 bucks!
Les Paul Melody Maker
One of the real steals at NAMM 2014 has to be the new Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker. The $569 street price gets you a mahogany body with maple cap and Alnico bar P-90s. Punky, spunky, and a little bit classy--a really fun and solid guitar.
Z.Vex Fuzz Factory 7
We're guessing Buddha is laughing because his fuzz is so fat! Z.Vex Effects unleashed the Fuzz Factory 7 hand painted in Anaheim. The newest Fuzz Factory was spawned by discovery of a cache of black glass germanium transistors dating to the '50s. The hand painted version will go for $449.


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Whether you have a minor residential roof leak or a massive commercial roof replacement job, we can get the job done right.
Modern Tech
Project on time
Latest Design
We started with a vision to raise the bar on professional management, honest and ethical practices and just plain good solid roofing service in the roofing industry here in Whitefield, ME. We want our practices to be in agreement with the name of our company both in character, conduct and roofing service.
Quality Work, Quality
We are a comprehensive roofing contractor in Whitefield, ME offering a full- range of services and material options to chose from.
We offer the following roofing services in Whitefield, ME:
Residential Roofing
Roof Repairs
Roof Inspections
Roof Maintenance
Roof Replacement
Commercial Roofing
Nearby Cities that National New Roof Offer Services in:
Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland, Auburn, Brunswick, Biddeford, Sanford, Augusta, Scarborough
Nearby Zip Codes that National New Roof Offer Services in:
04019, 04050, 04101, 04102, 04103, 04108, 04109


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Once the daydreaming of spending long days lazing on the beach being cut off from the rest of the world wears off, the reality is that we do still need to be reachable. You will want to know if something goes wrong or somebody needs you, whether its a family member, household accounts or your bank. However, its not as complicated as it sounds, and we have some advice on how to stay in contact, as and when you choose to.
Keeping In Touch With Friends and Family
By Phone and Internet
You may be wary of taking your smartphone or tablet to a rural place or a crowded city because of the possibility of petty crime - but these gadgets do have multiple uses so can help you cut down on other gadgets, which means youll look less like a tourist:
- Pre-download city maps, some of which can be used offline. Create a google map while online and pinpoint places of interest youd like to see and use your phone as a map
- Your smartphone can work well as a camera
- Edit your images with apps like Instagram and BE Funky which require no internet connectivity
- Improve your images with the OlloClip - Its a clever 3 in one lens that enables you to take pictures using a fisheye lens which captures 180 degrees, a wide angle which doubles the normal field of view and the macro lens which applies roughly 10X magnification
Connecting to the Internet
You will pay big bucks if youre using your home contract while travelling. Instead, either replace the sim with a local one or switch off data roaming so you can still use other features of the phone that don't require internet connectivity. Connect only when in wi-fi spots.
Unravelling Wifi
Some wifi may be free but some you might have to pay for - and wi-fi costs in hotels can be confusing and expensive as different hotels will charge you differently. Be aware of the hotels costs as some may offer 30 minutes of free internet and then start charging you, others charge per minute, hour or 24 hour period. You may be billed for data usage charging per Mb, or you could be hit with a double fee if two devices are using the internet. Its best to check beforehand in case of any hidden costs.
Cheaper Calls
Making calls is the easiest way stay in contact yet often the most expensive. However, there are ways to get around the cost. In order to use your mobile abroad:
- Your phone will need to be a tri-band GSM. This means that your phone is compatible with any SIM card in the world. This platform is used in over 195 countries
- Youll need to make sure your phone is not locked to your service provider in your home country, then youll be able to use your phone and any local SIM card
Using your UK service provider equipped with a roaming plan is still going to turn out relatively expensive.
With HolidayPhone (www.holidayphone.co.uk), youll get a local SIM card for the country youre visiting, which can be easily set up in English and registered before you leave. Customers can benefit from a fixed low rate of internet access and cheaper call rates. Youll also keep your UK number and people will get through to you on your local number without having to pay international roaming charges. Order your SIM online, register and set it up before you leave - forward all your calls to a fixed UK landline, change your SIM card when you land in your new country and voila it works - call home for reduced rates, receive calls from your UK number and access the internet at a reduced fixed rate.Although youll need a new SIM card in every country, if you know where youre travelling then you can organise this beforehand, and they do deliver internationally.
Klas Hoberg spokesperson for HolidayPhone tells us "when travelling abroad the last thing you want to worry about is high mobile costs from keeping in touch with friends and family at home. With HolidayPhone you can use voice, text and mobile Internet without expensive roaming costs, helping you save hundreds of pounds. Keep connected through Facebook, Twitter, mail, Skype or whatever you would like without worrying about a high mobile bill. Either use a local SIM card from us in your phone, or get one of our Mobile WIFI Hotspots to share the Internet connection with your friends. Our goal at HolidayPhone is to help travellers around the world keep use their mobile phones freely when going abroad."
Skype is arguably the best invention but it is heavily reliant on good connectivity. There is nothing worse than pixelated images, frozen conversations, slow calls and dropped connections. When Skype does work without a hitch, it really is a great way to contact home as its free and youll have live video streaming (provided you have a webcam) of your loved ones and theyll be able to see you. Youre also able to buy skype credits where you can call a landline or mobile numbers at very reduced rates to stay in contact with those that don't have internet or aren't online.
Facetime is similar to Skype in that its free video calling provided its from one Apple user to another and can work on a range of platforms - iPhones, iPad, iPod and Mac. iPhones automatically register your phone number so youll get the option to Facetime anyone in your addressbook who has Facetime. You will need to download the feature if using an iPad, iPod or Mac laptop or desktop.
We suggest setting up a Skype account, downloading all relevant apps and sending your contact details to those youre likely to stay in touch with on your travels. Be careful not to add everyone to your phonebook as you are going away to see the world and experience life - you can always share stories when youre home.
Viber is similar to Facetime, but without streaming video. It works using your internet data or wi-fi connection, allowing you to send images, texts and make calls. Youre able to use it on iPhones, Blackberries, Samsung and Android devices: just download the free app and itll seamlessly integrate with your existing contacts.
Share Video and Images
Now and again its nice to see pictures and videos of family and friends, a great way of doing this is through DropBox or WeTransfer.
If its images or music youve picked up on your travels or important documents that you need to keep then Dropbox will offer you a convenient solution, its basically an online hard drive that can be accessed from any device - laptop, computer, tablet or smartphone provided youve downloaded Dropbox on each device. Setting up an account means youll get 2GB of data free and 500MB for every referral up to 18GB, so tell your friends! For a price youll be able to add more space to your account. You will need internet connectivity to sync all your Dropbox folders and keep them up to date.
WeTransfer differs from Dropbox as theyre an online file-transferring platform, which basically means that you can send a file on their website and theyll transfer it to whichever email address youre provided. Youre able to send an image straight to your loved ones inbox! Their service is completely free. Youre able to send files up to 2GB in one transfer but can send files as often as youd like and you dont have to sign up do so - it really is that simple.
Many travellers keep their friends and family back home updated on their adventures by creating a blog. You can set one up for free at Blogger (www.blogger.com) - and its so simple youll be up and running within half an hour.
There have been many travellers who have gone on to keep up their blog once they return, and even start to earn money through through adding ads like google Adsense or joining affiliate programmes. At the very least you will have a record of your adventures that you can refer to on those wet days when it feels like you never went away.
Keeping in touch with official mail
Snail mail
When leaving to travel for an extended period of time, youll need to think about your mail.
First youll need to sort your mail:
- Eliminate as much mail as you can
- Cancel unnecessary subscriptions
- Try get off any mailing lists
- Where possible switch to online statements
Second, think about where your mail will go during your time away. Having letters sent to you can become a hassle, as well as expensive and youll need to go to the trouble of finding your local post office and ask them exactly how to have your mail addressed. Whats more, many countries don't deliver letters to your doorstep meaning you will need to go to your post office to get them.
ePostbox is an innovative company which is designed for the longer or frequent traveller, those going on a gap year or career break. ePostbox requires you to forward your mail to their secure location in the Isle of Man, and there a small team will open your letters and scan them in. All you do is sign up for £12 a month for a single user and youll have the option to read the letter, discard or archive from absolutely anywhere in the world.
Keeping in touch with your finances
Set up online banking
Online banking means you can keep an eye on your money, make payments, transfers and set up and manage direct debits while anywhere in the world from any computer. Its also a good way to stay in contact with your bank in case of any changes to accounts, interest rates or costs. Its also handy if any kindhearted relatives want to send you some money or you could suggest birthday presents for your time away come in the form of money. This way itll be helpful on your travels. All the major banks have online banking, and it is best to set this up before you leave.
Keeping your gadgets charged
Of course all these need internet access which also means carrying around an array of universal plugs. With limited space in your backpack or luggage it really can get quite bulky quite quickly with plugs, chargers, double adapters not to mention the actual gadget. If youre going to a sunny destination then you should look into solar charging - youre able to charge a number of different gadgets and some youre able to do at the same time. Its also really useful if youre in nature or not near a plug source or if youre travelling between two destinations. The Solar Monkey, uses direct rays from the sun to generate an electric current via the solar panels, without needing batteries or a mains power supply, youre able to charge your phone, iPod or tablet. This cool gadget works best in direct sunlight and retails at £35.00.


text:
I have always been fascinated by vintage photographs. Each of these antique images is a window into the past of a moment in time that would have otherwise been lost.
These forgotten moments come back to life in my darkroom. It is always a thrill for me to see a print appear from a vintage negative in the developing tray, knowing that it has not been seen for many years.
My favorites are the historic photographs of New York City.
I hope you will take some time to explore and enjoy my site. Please check back often for we are always adding additional vintage photos.
-John Cline


text:
"Enhance the atmosphere at your event for adults and children.
Create the Mood mixes and mingles with your guests as a character, teaches easy historical dancing, chats about amusing social history and entertains.
Babies stop crying, Small children become mesmerised and adults comment on how good it is to hear early music rather than the usual 'pop' stuff.
Put a smile on your visitors' faces
Create the Mood uses experienced staff in superb historic costume, court and country, all periods Medieval Elizabethan to Victorian & early 20th century to suit your event.
We go to all places where people gather in their leisure time, indoors and out: historic venues and museums; community, arts, folk and heritage festivals; craft fairs and fetes; local authority and shopping centre promotions and receive guests at receptions, weddings and birthdays."
Visit website for more information. (ed.)
Category: Builders/Restorers/Suppliers / Period Costume Supply
Added on: Feb 14, 2012 | Hits: 2760


text:
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Found 3 resultsTitle
Filters: Author is Sorenson, W [Clear All Filters]
Partners for child passenger safety: a unique child-specific crash surveillance system." Accid Anal Prev. 2001;33(3):407-12."
Patterns of Inappropriate Restraint for Children in Crashes. Barcelona, Spain: Professional Engineering Publications Ltd.; 1999.
Patterns of inappropriate restraint for children in crashes.. London, England: Professional Engineering Publishing Limited; 1999.


text:
Professional Community for Car Dealers, Marketing, Advertising and Sales Leaders
Check out this blog by Jenn Mayer as she tells why you as a dealership should be using Google+ and how to use it!
Previously, Google Places was always on the "SEO checklist" for dealerships and other businesses that were interested in climbing to the top of the search results page. Creating a Google Places page for your business was fairly simple and required little attention afterwards from the business owner.
All that has changed. Google recently announced its new platform for businesses, called Google+ Local. Those businesses with Google Places pages will automatically be merged to the new platform, but the time-frame for this to happen is not certain. Now, your Google presence is not just a vertical listing, but also a social media page. Google+ Local is a necessity for SEO value, but it also enhances your social media presence. However, with this new development, businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition can no longer "set it and forget it" as they could before.
Google+ Local Pages will give businesses a method to communicate with users in much the same way businesses can use Twitter and Facebook, and therefore needs to be maintained in order to keep pace with the competition. The new layout is part of Google's mission to expand it's own social platform, Google+. Google+ users will be able to see local businesses on their sidebar, and you must have a Google + account to review a local business. Google hopes that this will prompt people who have previously avoided Google+ to create an account and become more active users.
Google+ Local Pages will be much more visible than its predecessor. Google+ Local Pages will get precedent when a user makes a Google search for a place. So, if you have a Google+ Local Page, you will automatically get an advantage over the competition. In addition to being integrated into search, Google+ Local pages will also appear in Google Maps, the mobile version of Google and as a new tab in the Google+ sidebar. In essence, it's crucial to build and grow your page as quickly as possible in order to appear at the top of the search results and above your competition.
A new and integral feature of Google+ Local pages is the scoring system. Since Google bought Zagat last year, they have integrated their famous reviews and scoring system into all Google+ Local pages. Because Google+ users can now leave reviews that are seen on your page and affect your score, it is essential that you are constantly monitoring your page and its content.
Another intriguing thing about Google+ Local is that Google has actually scarified a large part of its ad revenue in order to promote these pages. Now, there is only one paid aid showing up on these local searches. Now, the top organic, or unpaid, listings are even more valuable – and completely free!
Your Google+ Local page is now a vital part of both your social media and SEO efforts, and it is indispensable in placing you on the first page of the Google search results. Google uses an extremely complicated algorithm that takes hundreds of factors into account. While you can't control all these factors, the number one driver of ranking results is a strong presence on Facebook and other social media accounts. Effectively, search is now social. If you want to be successful in search, you have to be successful in social media.
Does this new platform seem like a lot of work? Let us manage your social media presence. Contact us today!
Views: 488
@Nicole--Yes indeed! It's a really awesome feature. Here's our showroom:
Additionally, Google has also rolled out Google Business Photos which embed 360 spin tours of a business interior right on their G+ Local page. It is the same technology as Street View but for interiors. You need a Google Trusted Photographer to do this. They can be found here, http://maps.google.com/help/maps/businessphotos/get-started.html
Here are some examples of dealers who have utilized this service. This is there G+ Page so you can see how it looks. LaFontaine Honda, https://plus.google.com/104762543428830184329/about?gl=us&hl=en Tom Holzer Ford, https://plus.google.com/109304065516551976171/about?gl=us&hl=en
Google+ Local is game changer for the automotive industry and integrates social sharing and reviews. As mentioned above it is more important than ever for your dealership to establish a presence on both Google+ and Google+ Local. As with any new roll-out there have been some kinks we noticed in the transition and developed a Dealership Conversion Checklist that you can download on our blog http://info.localsearchgroup.com/blog.
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text: If I may be so bold I think a thread for Beta related info might be a good idea as a few of us have or are thinking about them. Perhaps then some resource may build. There's short threads here, on TT and elsewhere but the info is patchy. I don't actually know what I am talking about when it comes to thumpers so I am hoping for incoming faq and ideas although perhaps collecting info here I find out as well as what others know may be a help generally. A Beta sign in thread if you may Some resources: The official website for Betamotor and for the RR 4T. The Beta RR 4T Enduro information source, tech, how-to, cross referencing...very useful. Looked after by Scud. American Beta the US importer. Beta UK , Lampkins UK importer (mostly trials bikes but enduro too). Thumpertalk, Exotics section a few threads. Of course the engines are KTM and so far it looks like they are a straight bolt in so no Beta specific issues at least in the motor department. So KTM info directly relevant. What is this thread about? These, in 400, 450 and 525 cc The RR above. The RS is the same but has road kit on installed.


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Norma,Although the protocols were not identical for the last three milk kefir Lehmann doughs, you have demonstrated that you can get good results using your milk kefir poolish at 15%, 30% and almost 50% of the total formula flour. Since your kefir leavening system is not the same as a commercial yeast leavening system, I don't see any reason to keep you from using a milk kefir poolish above 50%. The only way to know what you are likely to get is to just try it. Was the most recent milk kefir Lehmann pizza the best of the the three that you made using the milk kefir poolish? Also, was the crust coloration acceptable? And were there any other revelations with the last dough?At some point you might also consider making a larger milk kefir dough batch if only to see how a larger amount of dough behaves. Peter
I like the pizza make yesterday with the added amount of poolish the best. That is why I wondered what would happened if I tried a higher amount of milk kefir poolish in the Lehmann dough. Do you have any recommendations of what amount of poolish to try next? I would like the crust to be a little browner and had thought about trying an addition of some diastatic malt powder. Do you think that would possibly give me a browner crust? If it would what amount would you recommend, if you think the malt powder would work.
Norma,You might try using the milk kefir poolish at 60% of the total formula flour and see how that goes.As far as the diastatic malt is concerned, you might try using some and see if that helps with the crust coloration. Usually the lack of residual sugar that results in reduced crust coloration is because of an overly long fermentation that depletes the natural sugars. I don't know if that is the case with your milk kefir poolish, but it might be worth trying some diastatic malt. The amount to use is harder to say since the range of use that I have seen recommended is fairly wide. As you will note from Reply 140 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5851.msg86827/topicseen.html#msg86827, Professor Calvel recommends 0.1-0.2% but Didier Rosada recommends 0.5-1%. Both sets of numbers are with respect to the total formula flour. However, I believe the amount mentioned by Professor Calvel is apparently for a straight dough. For one of his dough recipes using poolish, he uses 0.25% diastatic malt but that is for a dough where the poolish represents only one third of the total formula water. If you go to about 60% poolish by flour weight, that is over 95% of the total formula water. So, if we assume that a highly hydrated poolish (100%) used in large quantity is hard on sugar, then I think I would use around 0.75% diastatic malt. I should caution you, however, that you shouldn't use the diastatic malt entry in the expanded dough calculating tool because the conversion factor is off by a decimal point. Instead, when you arrive at the dough formulation you want to use, multiply the flour weight, in ounces, by 0.75% and divide the answer by 0.0864583. That will give you the number of teaspoons of dry diastatic malt to use.Peter
Norma,I agree with you that it did not appear that your milk kefir poolish and dough were fermenting too quickly. However, I thought that it might be worth trying some diastatic malt to see if more sugars can be produced by the added diastatic malt. Diastatic malt acts on damaged starch and, although I would expect that the barley malt added to the flour is balanced against the degree of starch damage in the flour, if there are enough sites for the diastatic malt to work on maybe there will be more natural sugars released from the damaged starch. Up to this point, I had been counting on the lactose in the milk kefir to contribute to crust browning. Maybe there isn't sufficient lactose to accomplish that purpose and/or there is something that is consuming the lactose, such as friendly bacteria as was discussed earlier in this thread at Reply 49 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12173.msg115232.html#msg115232. There are other ways of trying to increase the degree of crust coloration, such as using different forms of sugar and dried dairy whey, which is rich in lactose, but I would rather defer those possibilities pending the results you get from using the diastatic malt. You mentioned that you used diastatic malt for the Montreal-style bagel dough that you made using the milk kefir in lieu of the commercial yeast. In widespreadpizza's bagel dough formulation, the only form of malt that I saw was non-diastatic barley malt (dry or liquid). Did you use the diastatic malt in lieu of the non-diastatic barley malt product, or did you supplement the flour with diastatic malt while still using the non-diastatic malt? That aside, I would fully expect the eggs to contribute to final crust coloration, making it difficult to isolate the independent crust browning effects of the eggs and malt.Some time ago, either a member used the basic Lehmann NY style dough to make bagels or suggested that possibility, so to reverse that process and use bagel dough to make a pizza might work. Peter
Norma,Would you say that the last two milk kefir poolish Lehmann pizzas were the best of the lot of the several versions that you tried? Since the 60% version was made only recently, what was the amount of poolish you used for the second dough ball that went out to 11 days? And was that dough ball cold fermented but not frozen?I can't say that I am really surprised that the diastatic barley malt did not help as much as we would have liked. I have experienced the same ineffectiveness of diastatic malt when I used it but I was using only small amounts of it. If the friendly milk kefir bacteria are cleaning out the lactose sugar, then you might have to resort to traditional ways of increasing residual sugar to contribute to final crust coloration. I think that would rule out using dried dairy whey, because of its high lactose content, but might permit using something like ordinary table sugar, at around 1-2% (so you don't get bottom crust burning in your deck oven), or maybe even some honey. You perhaps could also use non-diastatic malt power or liquid but that might darken the crumb more than you would like.Peter


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A lovely way to set up a course, code breaking game or treasure hunt whilst engaging with letters.
The discs have holes drilled in the top so that you can hang them up.
The letter height is 25 mm. Please note that each noggin may vary slightly in size, due to the nature of the natural product.
*Please note that this is a natural product. It will have knots and imperfections and there may be small cracks in the wood. This is all perfectly normal and does not detract from the quality of the product.
- Uppercase letter: M


text:
Introduction Asrar Rashid of Birmingham, UK, is a preacher who claims to be non-partisan, non-sectarian, and an objective, unbiased "Sunnī Muslim". However, the subjectivity, and often baselessness, of his claims on the nature and roots of one of the most pronounced intra-Sunnī divides in the Indian Subcontinent proves otherwise. His …Read More »
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text: What a ride..... right now we are in Sucre, the official capital of Bolivia, after pushing ourselves and our bikes pretty dam hard through the Altiplano region of Bolivia.....but boy was it worth it. The colours, the light, the scenary, the landscape.....were all like something out of a Jules Vern novel. We dreamt for so long about being in this region it felt strangely surreal to finally be here. Like so many of us we saw first pictures of this remote landscape when the r1100gs adventure was launched and the brochure and advertising campaign were shot here. We can tell you....its even better in the flesh! Getting to the Arbol del Piedra (rock tree) felt wonderful. We left San Pedro de Atacama on 8th August both a little nervous of what laid ahead. Simon's having problems with his 1100gs and we'd already spoken to several friends in Salta (Mike and John, Katrin and Ralph) who'd warned us that they'd had to turn back on one sandy section, that and the fact that neither of us have been atover 16,000 feet let alone ridden a bike that high ....the Bolivian Aduana is at 16,522 feet! As we rode higher the temperature was dropping by the second, and even in the midday sun our sexy black thermals were hard at work. By the time we'd reached Lago Verde we'd comletley forgotten about the temperature.....as our eyes feasted on the turquoise/emerald green waters sitting at the base of the snow capped volcano, Licancabur. The hairs on the back of our necks were stood to attention, for so many reasons the both of us there was more of a 'buzz' and sense of achievement getting here than there had been arriving in Ushuaia. The days came and went as did the long sandy sections of volcanic dust and grit, the rocky tracks and the flocks of candy-floss pink flamingos that call this area home. It's almost pointless to try to verbalise this incredible landscape so instead we'll let a few photographs do the explaining. As you know we've ridden through some pretty tough terrains over our 3 years and 3months on the road......however, the last section from Laguna Hedionda (see photos) over the mountains to the 'so called' main road before the small pueblo of San Juan was still testing stuff...as we clumsily bounced our over-laden heavy machines up and down boulder-ridden tracks at over 15,000 feet. Sillly mistakes were made with tiring consequences. We were getting little sleep at night as temperatures plummeted to minus 20 deg C. and during the day our unconditioned lungs were struggling with the thinner air.......and still it was all worth it. hope you enjoy the photographs, if you want to read more our diary will be up in the next few days at www.2ridetheworld.com along with the re-worked and NEW gallery! see you on the road, Simon and Lisa www.2ridetheworld.com


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Lectio Divina
Mondays 11:45am to 12:30noon
Lectio Divina
(Latin for "Divine Reading") is an ancient prayer practice that teaches that
God speaks to us through His Written Word – the Bible
. The format is the Scripture Reading, Meditation, Prayer, and Contemplation. We use the
Gospel for our Prayer
. This promotes
as a means to grow in Communion with God and increases knowledge of God's Will in our life.
Lectio Divina
does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as God's Living Word spoken to us.
11:45am Gathering
Read the Scripture passage yourself.
with the "ear of the heart" to any phrase, sentence or even
one word
that stands out for you. Repeat the word or phrase over and over.
12 Noon
The Gospel passage is read
Circle or underline
a word, phrase, sentence that speaks to you. Ask yourself WHY God is drawing you to this.
The Gospel passage is read aloud again
. Share your word or phrase aloud. Be attentive to others for God speaks through others.
/Rest in God and Listen
Begin with prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and enkindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Be quiet in Solitude and Adoration.
(bells) - Leave the Church in silence.
N.B. Keep a small journal book with the phrase, sentence or even one word that stands out for you during
Lectio Divina
to pray and meditate through the week.
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Hometown tragedy for Argyle community
Fire leaves 3 children dead, mother hospitalized
ARGYLE, Wis. — Three brothers are dead and their mother is in the hospital after a house fire in Argyle. It's a tragedy that is affecting the entire community.
Shortly after 3 a.m. Friday, crews responded to a fire in the 400 block of Oak Street.
Argyle police confirm the children are Allen Wand, 7, Jeffery Wand, 5, and Joseph Wand, 3.
UW Hospital says their mother, Sharon Wand, is still in critical condition.
Two others were treated at a hospital and released.
About 15 minutes from the house that went up in flames, Pec-Argyle football took the home field under the Friday night lights. The crowd held a moment of silence for the family, the first show of support from the community.
"Coming from a small community, we all know each other," fan Stephanie Kleppe said.
Kleppe says she lives close enough to the fire station to hear the sirens and describes the noise as "eerie" since it's almost definite that she will know whoever is affected by an area emergency.
Kleppe adds that the situation is unimaginable for her as a mom.
"As a parent," Kleppe explained, "you can't fathom the thought of losing any child let alone three."
Cher Schliem is a teacher at Pecatonica High School, but says her students are feeling this tragedy too.
"The kids at school today were so upset by it," Schliem said. "And knowing the pain the other kids in the community were going through, just, you know, it touches everyone around us."
Neighbors who watched the family's house engulfed in flames, described screams from people trapped inside.
In the end, Schliem and Kleppe are confident in their community and what it will do to support this family.
"We go through things together, and we try to be there for one another," Schliem said. "Sometimes it's a small world for a good reason."
Friends and family of Sharon Ward who were with her in the hospital did not want to talk to the media.


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A day in the life of Jack Bauer would go so much easier if anyone would just listen to him when he barks commands like, "Stop that couple!" Fat chance when what seems like half the armed personnel of the ...
A day in the life of Jack Bauer would go so much easier if anyone would just listen to him when he barks commands like, "Stop that couple!" Fat chance when what seems like half the armed personnel of the CIA's London bureau have guns pointed at the good guy instead of the fleeing bad guys.
Will they never learn? Apparently not. Which is no doubt exactly the desire of the fans who've been waiting four long years - that's roughly 35,064 hours in real time - for 24, one of TV's most electrifying thrillers, and Kiefer Sutherland as its beleaguered yet seemingly indestructible hero to snap back into action. The novelty - and thus, a bit of the edge - is gone as Fox's 12-part 24: Live Another Day seeks to prove that less is more, slowly revving up the comfortably formulaic engine while visceral split-screen editing once again intensifies the literally explosive twists. And yet, because a sad, mad, badass Jack Bauer is the only Jack we've ever known, there's something grimly satisfying when he mutters bleakly to one of his few allies, "I don't have any friends."
That's not quite true. It's no spoiler to applaud Live Another Day for bringing sourpuss techno-punk sidekick Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) back into Jack's violent orbit. How they reunite involves a nifty subterfuge that unfortunately puts Jack in the crosshairs of vengeful government agents who should know better, including Chuck's alluring Yvonne Strahovksi, and White House weasels like chief of staff Mark Boudreau (Tate Donovan), husband of Jack's former flame Audrey (Kim Raver), who likewise needs to wake up and smell the carnage.
All Jack wants, after all, is to save Audrey's dad, the ailing president (William Devane), from the scheming evildoers and their misappropriated (and topical) drones. And all we can hope for are more moments such as the one in the two-hour opener (Monday, 8/7c) when Jack is outnumbered and outgunned and, assessing the situation, remarks, "You probably think I'm at a disadvantage. I promise you I'm not." We never doubted it for a minute. Welcome back, Jack.
ANYTHING BUT ROUTINE: What doesn't kill Louis C.K. makes him funnier. Stewing in middle-aged angst and back pains - he announces at the top of Louie's long-awaited fourth season (10/9c) that he's just turned 46 - this maestro of melancholy humor sees life as one long punch line, and he's the one usually taking the punches.
Embracing with raw, unsettling honesty the random absurdities that regularly befall this urban dweller, Louie brilliantly mines the all-too-human comedy of anxiety, insecurity and disappointment - in himself and others. In back-to-back episodes (10/9c), a pattern the show will generously follow for the next seven weeks, Louie gets off to a very strong start with Charles Grodin a special treat in the first half-hour as Louie's new doctor, and in the second, a smug Jerry Seinfeld (allowing himself to look most unsympathetic and unpleasant) inviting Louie to the Hamptons for an ill-fated benefit performance. That outing almost has a happy ending, when a beautiful woman (the very busy Yvonne Strahovski) takes to her Hamptons palace, but it doesn't take long for the fantasy to sour.
"You don't look like you laugh a lot," observes the goddess. Maybe not, but Louie is so painfully hilarious you're likely to laugh till it hurts.
MOTEL HELL: In a hallucination that is every mama's boy's worst nightmare, young Norman Bates (the excellent Freddie Highmore) hears the words, "Everybody's mother lives inside them," while locked in an underground box by kidnappers during last week's penultimate episode of guilty pleasure Bates Motel's second season. Any Psycho fan understands the psychological implications of this epiphany, courtesy of a phantom version of Norman's smothering mother Norma (the fearless Vera Farmiga), who in a flashback was "inside" Norman urging him on when he apparently murdered vixen teacher Miss Watson in last season's finale. This year's finale (10/9c), which has arrived too soon, involves Norma trying to keep a haunted Norman from making what A&E describes as a "horrible mistake." Meanwhile, in the much lesser subplot, older brother Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Sheriff Romero (the ubiquitous Nestor Carbonell, seen Sunday on The Good Wife) try to put an end to White Pine Bay's drug war, and let's hope that's the case so everyone can move on next season. Because we all know this is really all about the Norma-and-Norman Show.
REALITY CHECK: Is it really a good idea to give Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller a paddle? We'll see as she guest-judges ABC's Dancing With the Stars (8/7c), which features Mark Ballas singing, not dancing, to his new single Get My Name, while in the latest stunt, a "Celebrity Dance Duel" pairs two couples who'll dance side-by-side, during which the pros will leave the amateurs to dance together. ... And it's hardly unusual on NBC's The Voice for the coaches to steal the spotlight from the contestants. Such is the case in this week's live performance show (8/7c), featuring Blake Shelton performing the single "My Eyes" with former Voice contestant Gwen Sebastian, and in a preview of coming coaching attractions, next season's new chair-turners Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani will take the stage to perform their own hits.
THE MONDAY GUIDE: In the first part of a two-week season finale, NBC's The Blacklist (10:01/9:01c) awaits the arrival of the mysterious "Berlin," while Liz, who has severed ties with Red (for now), decides to let the FBI in on just why she and husband-in-name-only Tom have split (for now, maybe forever). ... Some of the best players in Jeopardy! history reunite for the two-week finals of the 30th-year "Battle of the Decades" tournament (check tvguide.com listings), in which winners of the '80s, '90s and 2000s rounds square off against each other. ... One of journalism's most scandalous chapters is recalled by PBS's Independent Lens in A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at The New York Times (10/9c; check tvguide.com listings), which examines how reporter Jayson Blair (who is interviewed in the documentary) was able to publish stories with fabricated or plagiarized details at the renowned daily, the discovery of which cost several top Times editors their jobs and served as a wake-up call to the entire industry.
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View original Monday Review: The Return of 24 and Louie at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com Charles GrodinFreddie HighmoreJerry SeinfeldKiefer SutherlandMax ThieriotNestor CarbonellTate DonovanVera FarmigaWilliam DevaneLouis C.K.Mary Lynn RajskubDancing with the StarsKim RaverBlake SheltonYvonne StrahovskiMark BallasLouieThe VoiceAbby Lee MillerBates Motel24: Live Another DayTV Guide iPhone App TV Listings New Tonight on TV


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Desktop Couch Troubleshooting
If desktopcouch seems to not be working for some reason, here are some things you can try.
When I open the couchdb.html bookmark file I get "Unable to connect"
This normally means that desktopcouch didn't properly write the bookmark file last time it started up. Try killing and restarting desktopcouch, below.
My data is being stored in desktopcouch but it's not replicating to other desktopcouches or Ubuntu One
If data isn't syncing to other CouchDBs properly, so (for example) your Evolution contacts are stored in desktopcouch but are not appearing in the Ubuntu One web interface, check the replication log. This is a logfile listing the output from replication, and is at
~/.cache/desktop-couch/log/desktop-couch-replication.log. This log may give you some clues as to what's going wrong. Ask on irc.freenode.net
#ubuntuone if the log makes no sense.
Verify that you have Avahi running: #506601 Pairing and replication does not work if Avahi is down.
Verify that desktopcouch is properly started. The correct way of desktopcouch startup is via desktopcouch-service (or DBus autolaunch e.g. on getPort()). desktopcouch.records module is able to start couchdb if it is not running, but it does not start related services: #519028 Desktopcouch replication and org.desktopcouch.CouchDB.service are NOT started on desktopcouch.records calls.
Killing and restarting desktopcouch
To re-start desktopcouch from scratch, do the following, in a terminal window:
killall beam.smp- this will kill any existing desktopcouch processes. (Note: do not do this with
sudo!) If this says
beam.smp: no process found, then do
killall beaminstead.
rm ~/.config/desktop-couch/desktop-couchdb.ini- this will remove the desktopcouch configuration file, which will then be re-generated. (This will not lose any data stored in desktopcouch, do not worry.)
dbus-send --session --dest=org.desktopcouch.CouchDB --print-reply --type=method_call / org.desktopcouch.CouchDB.getPort- this should restart desktopcouch. You can ignore messages printed by this command
xdg-open file:///home/YOURUSERNAME/.local/share/desktop-couch/couchdb.html- open the bookmark file, which should then correctly take you to your desktopcouch web interface
Can't open CouchDB addressbook from Evolution contacts
This usually means that desktopcouch is not running, but it might be due to other causes, so to troubleshoot it, please run, on a terminal:
$ evolution --force-shutdown
$ /usr/lib/evolution/evolution-data-server-2.28 # note that this path might be different depending on your distro/version
# so make sure you check where the evolution-data-server binary is on your
# system if this doesn't work
Then, start Evolution again and try to open again the CouchDB addressbook. If it fails, have a look at the output on the terminal, it should have some hints as to why it failed. If you don't understand it, please copy all the output and file a bug here, making sure you paste the output from the terminal to the bug report.
There is a command line application written by aquarius to manage your couchdb instance located on Ubuntu One servers: ubuntuone-couchdb-query2


text:
It's the noon hour on a Thursday, and Sen. John Boozman, R.-Ark., arrives for an interview at a downtown Little Rock restaurant. He takes a look at the offerings on a chalkboard menu and orders a grilled cheese.
The interview lasts an hour and is based on a tough premise: Things look bad. The country is sinking ever deeper in debt at the same time that Congress and the White House have become incapable of addressing problems. Must the country hit rock bottom? If so, what would happen next?
Boozman has more hope than that. He points to Congress passing a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, a bill to fund the highway system for a year and a half, and a bill for inland waterways. Not exactly crowning legislative achievements, but they do show that Congress is at least capable of passing something. The sequester that's occurring now, where cuts are being made sort of indiscriminately — that was the fallback position of congressional negotiators during the fiscal cliff debate. He says it's imperfect, but it was the result of legislative action and it did lead to cuts to the federal government. The floor manager for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., told him that the climate in Washington has been this bad before. "At the end of the day, things seem to come together," Boozman says between bites.
Back to the central question: Will it take a crisis to force Washington to function again? He says we're already in one; we just don't know it. Unfortunately, the American people — not just Congress — are simply too divided to do anything about it. "I think Congress reflects the country to a large extent," he says.
These are difficult, unsettling times, he says, where the whole world is in turmoil and the economy is changing rapidly. He visits as many factories as anyone, and it's impressive how technologically advanced they are, but it's also striking how empty they are of laborers. It's a sign of progress, but he asks, "What do you do with a high school dropout?" He and Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, are discussing forming an "upward mobility caucus" to support pro-American Dream policies.
I'm still looking for hope, not that Congress can solve the nation's problems, but that it can fulfill its duties — for example, pass a budget, which it hasn't done since 2009. What must happen for Washington to work as intended on the big issues such as the national debt?
Boozman says it starts with presidential leadership, which has been in short supply lately. As for structural reforms, he'd like to see a balanced budget amendment with built-in flexibility to allow manageable debt, particularly in an emergency. He favors a line-item veto that would allow the president to cross out wasteful parts of huge spending bills instead of having to sign or veto the whole things.
He says Congress should return to the committee system, where a bill is proposed, debated in committee, voted on by the full chamber, and then sent to the other chamber. That careful, deliberative process allows a variety of viewpoints to be considered. These days, proposed bills often go straight to the chamber for a meaningless up or down vote.
Watching Washington work, or not work, is frustrating enough. He and other members of Congress actually live and work there. I tell him I'm surprised that he's not more discouraged.
"I think that you can't get cynical," he says. "I mean, you've got to decide, is this worth fighting for or not fighting for?"
We discuss Obamacare. He's very much against it, believing policymakers' ultimate goal is a national, single payer system. It's a mess, I agree, adding that in an ideal world, what should have happened was a multi-year national discussion involving both political parties, the medical community, and others that led to a broad agreement. Boozman, an ophthalmologist, says his input wasn't requested.
He thinks more effective health care reform can actually happen. When I express doubt, he replies, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
Steve Brawner is an independent journalist in Arkansas. His email address is email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.


text:
Satch works the whammy bar on his signature Ibanez during a Chickenfoot show in Detroit in 2011. Photo by Ken Settle
When Joe Satriani returned home from the South American leg of his all-star G3 tour last October—after a nonstop year of touring that also included dates with Chickenfoot—it would've been perfectly understandable if he felt the need to take a holiday from music. But his mind was so filled with new musical ideas that he dove headlong into a project that had been on hold for months.
"Playing with three different G3 lineups—and having a meeting of the minds with incredible musicians like Steve Vai, Steve Morse, John Petrucci, and Steve Lukather—was so cathartic for me," says Satch. "A lot of things crystallized and came into perspective, and I had a much better idea of the directions that some demos I had sitting around should take."
The fully realized versions of Satriani's demos can be heard on Unstoppable Momentum, the virtuoso's 14th studio album. Like all his previous efforts, the music is something of a radical extension of the guitar-based instrumental work of the Ventures and other 1960s pioneers. But the album is perhaps more catholic in scope than most of Satriani's previous efforts.
"With [2010's] Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, I set out to make an album that was all about the band—about great players coming together to form an organic whole," explains the famed instructor of Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, and Primus' Larry LaLonde, to name just a few. "But for Unstoppable Momentum, I wanted to see if I could make a record kind of like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I like that, while Sgt. Pepper's has many straightforward rock-and-roll elements, it also has an experimental side, drawing on music from every corner of the world—from classical to Indian—and it even incorporates a little comedy. And it's just fun to listen to."
To that end, Satch put together an all-new band of players to complement his quirky ways. Time-keeping duties went to Vinnie Colaiuta, the fiendishly skillful drummer who has worked with everyone from Frank Zappa to Jeff Beck and Sting. "I played with Vinnie at a celebration for Les Paul's 90th birthday—we did just two songs—and had wanted to work together ever since," he says. "Year after year passed until I just called him to see if he was available for seven to 10 days last January. Our schedules happened to line up, and it was so great to reconnect."
After careful consideration, Satriani enlisted Chris Chaney, perhaps best known for his work with Jane's Addiction, for bass-guitar duties. "I needed to find a bass player who's steeped in rock but can play anything, and that's not as easy as it might sound," says Satriani. "I asked around and Chris Chaney's name kept coming up. It just so happens that he's not just a great rock bassist, he's a first-call session player in Los Angeles for movies and TV—a perfect fit for the record, given its range of influences."
Former Frank Zappa sideman Mike Keneally was recruited for keyboard chores. Keneally, undoubtedly more familiar to some as a guitarist, turned out to be a real asset to the ensemble's chemistry. "Mike was a no-brainer," says Satch. "I've toured with him since '96, and his musicianship is just crazy. Anything I can do on guitar, you can be sure he can play it—and faster! And he's a full-on virtuoso on keys, a very sensitive player who knows when to step up and when to step back."
Memorable Melodies
Few electric guitarists have as prodigious a command of the instrument as Satriani, with his trademark brisk legato approach, his unique interpretation of blues and rock licks, and his extreme two-handed tapping, not to mention his ability to conjure uncanny sounds such as the lizard-down-the-throat he gets via an idiosyncratic manipulation of the tremolo bar. With such otherworldly technique, a lesser instrumentalist might make music of empty calories, but for Satriani the song has always taken priority above showmanship. That's why the melodies—the hooks—from tunes like "Always with Me, Always with You" and the Lydian fantasy, "Flying in a Blue Dream," are still indelibly etched in the brains of many devout Satch fans years after first hearing them.


text: The main topic of this section is corporate sustainability management. Even though environmental or sustainability management is a large subject that includes also important issues related closely to e.g. leadership, management of change, stakeholder cooperation etc., the focus here is on the environmental, health and safety as well as quality matters. Therefore, in the first chapter, a few concrete management tools are introduced. The second chapter Environmental Accounting, in turn, aims at giving students examples of how environmental issues can be measured, evaluated and valued in companies. Different environmental management systems provide environmental managers with non-monetary information. In addition, according to various recommendations, environmental issues should also be taken in concern in company financial accounting. At the moment the ways how and why these environment related issues are handled in company accounting systems vary a lot. Therefore, examples of both, monetary and non-monetary cases are included in the chapter. Last, the third chapter Responsibility Reporting, gives some guidelines how CSR could or should be reported.


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Signia Nx provides the most natural own voice for highest acceptance
Overall audibility and a natural sounding own voice are essential for first fit acceptance. Yet many hearing aid wearers do not like the sound of their own voice. Any such negative perception heavily affects acceptance and often leads to the rejection of hearing aids. In an attempt to resolve the own voice issue, hearing care professionals can reduce gain and open the venting, reducing audibility and speech understanding in noise. Whatever they do, the result is a compromise between sound quality and overall audibility.
The world's first natural own voice
Signia Nx, the world's most advanced hearing aid platform, provides the first genuine solution to the own voice issue. It delivers unsurpassed first fit acceptance by combining uncompromised audibility with a natural sounding own voice. The world's first Own Voice Processing (OVPTM) improves spontaneous acceptance of own voice by 75% of dissatisfied hearing aid wearers.*
The key to OVP is our leading Ultra HDe2e binaural link. Its continuous full-bandwidth audio exchange enables dynamic scanning and processing of the wearer's own voice completely independently from all other sounds, including all other voices (soundscape processing). This allows hearing care professionals to fine-tune the hearing aids for optimal audibility of the entire acoustic environment without having to compromise this audibility to improve the sound quality of the wearer's own voice.
In this way, Signia Nx with OVP benefits all hearing aid wearers. It replicates the natural hearing experience to deliver the highest sound quality and releases the hearing aid's full potential for best hearing performance in any situation, even in very noisy environments.
Superior speech understanding in noise
Beyond the wearer's experience of a natural own voice, Ultra HD e2e also powers binaural beam-forming technology to provide clear speech understanding and a natural experience in all situations, even the loudest. New algorithms enable the most precise spatial awareness. Hearing aid wearers can now get an uncompromised spatially open experience with all the benefits of directionality.
For crystal clear sound, our extended dynamic range with an incredible 113dB maximum input delivers excellent signal quality in loud environments. And the powerful new feedback canceller provides the highest stable gain to protect signal quality – artifact-free. The whole system is steered by Signia's unique classifier which ensures OVP and soundscape processing work in perfect harmony to replicate the experience of natural hearing.
Ultra HD e2e plus Bluetooth – a unique combination in the industry
In addition to the world's first natural own voice, Signia Nx offers the only wireless system combining Ultra HD e2e and Bluetooth for uncompromised audiology and direct streaming in one device. Only Ultra HD e2e can deliver our patented OVP and "better than normal hearing"** while 2.4 GHz Bluetooth technology delivers the highest quality direct audio streaming from iPhone and TV.
Signia TeleCare – revolutionary remote hearing care
A further big advantage of Signia Nx is TeleCare – now with full live remote tuning after the personal first fitting so hearing care professionals can fine-tune patients' hearing aids in the real-life situations for which they are intended. Much like a virtual home visit, this enables hearing care professionals to deliver revolutionary customer care by solving issues remotely to keep the trial on track. Look out for more information about TeleCare on this blog.
* 2017 "First Fit Study" conducted at Hörzentrum Oldenburg examining the effect of own voice processing on spontaneous acceptance after first fit of hearing aids.
** Two clinical studies have shown that binax provides better than normal hearing in certain demanding environments (University of Northern Colorado, 2014; Oldenburg Hörzentrum, 2013): Speech Reception Thresholds (SRT) in cocktail-party situations improved up to 2.9 dB for wearers with mild to moderate hearing loss using Carat binax or Pure binax hearing aids with narrow directionality, compared to people with normal hearing.


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Financial pros know the importance of a good workshop. Done right, these can be a successful strategy for attracting new clients as well as keeping current clients satisfied with your services. But too often workshops become missed opportunities for advisors to gain business, client trust and rapport. Unless you convince people to actually do something differently after the workshops, all the flawlessly delivered presentations, shiny bound workbooks and savvy PowerPoint presentations don't mean anything. Some of the best workshops I've ever seen didn't even use PowerPoint, yet left the audience feeling motivated and empowered to make significant changes to their current financial situations.
I've learned this over the 13 years Financial Finesse has been in business as a financial education provider. In our line of work, high behavioral change among employees is crucial, and we've developed best practices for doing this that successfully motivate employees to take action after our workshops. After participating in one of our recent workshops, 89% of participants made at least one tangible improvement to their finances with most participants making three or more tangible improvements.
From the advisor's standpoint, there is a lot of opportunity to effect change in people's financial and investment behavior, whether it's through direct conversations with clients, workshops or planning sessions. You can apply the same concepts we've used to motivate your clients and prospects in working with you and making investment decisions. Here are the top five approaches we've found to be are crucial into motivating and effecting change:
1. Throw out the script.
At some point or another, we've all probably sat through workshops that were read nearly word for word from a script. How engaged were you sitting through something like this? Probably not very. Though you can implement some interactivity even with a script, providing a workshop this way generally misses an important factor to motivating change within participants: relating to them. Whether your audience is full of cynical investors who don't see the market improving by the time they want to retire, or individuals who are just starting out, they want to know you're human. They want to know you are facing the same decisions they face and that you'd make the same decisions about their investments as you would your own. People won't get that understanding if you read your presentation rather than share it with them.
2. Show, don't tell.
These days you're dealing with more skeptical investors, so proving yourself is even more crucial than before. A Capco/Tower study found that 75% of people surveyed said their trust in large institutions fell after the 2008 recession. Because of this lack of trust, advisors should aim to provide people with information they didn't already know in their workshops and give them something tangible to leave with. One way we do this is by using calculators in front of the group and asking them to be the ones to provide the numbers used in it. This not only gets the group to participate and to feel a sense of connection with the content and the professional giving the workshop, but it also gives them a very real look at what impact their financial decisions have on their future. This can motivate them to do something, whether it's hiring you or assessing their goals and circumstances. Either way it's a positive outcome.
3. Hit all learning styles.
We've all heard that "no one likes to be talked at." Though this is true, making your workshops interactive is only one piece to making them more effective at changing behavior. Research shows people learn in a variety of ways, which is why, based on evidence from the Index of Learning Styles, people learn better using one style versus another. We've had a high rate of success when we deliver our education in a way that reaches all learning styles. We provide visuals for those who prefer to "see" the concepts. We provide something tangible like a worksheet or workbook to allow the "doers" to go through the process of applying the concepts. Try to reach every type of learner that could be in your workshop and keep the "cone of learning" in mind, so that you maximize your chances of effecting change.
4. Get feedback and adapt.
Probably the most important component of our ability to provide effective workshops is getting feedback from our participants. This allows us to adapt our workshops to better accommodate the participants' learning needs and styles. This can be done without annoying participants if you show them you are truly interested in using their feedback to improve your services. This can also show them that you are a proactive and forward-thinking professional who will take the same approach in everything you do, including working with them. Try to adapt to your group by gauging what they want to get out of the workshop before you even start. This can be tough with a group that is not very active in participating, but it will help you determine what participants are interested in, their current level of knowledge on the topic and what issues you should cover. Talk to them beforehand. Ask them what they want to get out of the workshop and keep in mind the workshop is always about them. Be flexible, and don't worry too much if participants' questions lead you off your course—this can become a bonding experience that leaves them motivated and confident in your knowledge level and in what the relationship would be like working with you.
5. Less is more.
In my recent column, 3 Things Advisors Can Learn from Steve Jobs, I talked about how the world is moving toward simplification. Jobs was revolutionary in his approach to this idea and created a line of products that included simple devices that used only a few buttons to accomplish a variety of tasks. The same concept can apply to your workshops. Keep the text in your presentations and your materials minimal. Leave room for participants to take notes so they're actively learning and engaging in the discussion rather than focusing on all the information on the screen or worksheet. You'll find that people prefer to engage this way rather than trying to take in all the information you're providing.
Improving the way you conduct your workshops can help you address some of the major issues facing advisors these days in obtaining, and keeping, new business.


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Support for Members and Providers affected by Oregon wildfires
Support for health plan members and Medicare beneficiaries impacted by COVID-19 ›
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Advisory: Please help us limit exposure. Learn more about COVID-19 and where to go if you have concerns.
By Annie Mack, M.D., internal medicine and pediatrics, Providence Medical Group-The Plaza
If you go to the doctor only when you're sick, you'll miss some powerful opportunities to stay well. Sick visits focus specifically on dealing with the immediate health issue, but an equally valuable part of your primary care provider's role is to help you prevent illness in the first place. That's what we work on during preventive visits. Like the well-child checks that kids get, adult preventive visits are longer appointments focused on helping you avoid – or discover, control and minimize – serious illnesses and disease complications.
Hate going to the doctor? Then keeping up with your preventive visits makes good sense. When you partner with your doctor to stay up to date on key health screenings and immunizations, it's a safe bet that you'll spend less time scheduling sick visits. It may sound cliché, but an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Here are just a few preventive services that prove the point:
Blood pressure screening is the only way to detect high blood pressure before it does serious damage. This "silent killer" can ravage the blood vessels for years before any outward signs show up. Early detection and treatment significantly lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Blood sugar testing is a simple way to watch out for diabetes, another "silent" disease that can cause extensive damage well before any symptoms are noticeable. Controlling diabetes is essential to prevent serious complications such as heart disease, kidney failure, nerve disorders and other problems.
Colon cancer screening can find and remove colon polyps before they become cancerous, effectively preventing colon cancer.
Mammography can discover tiny tumors hidden deep inside breast tissue well before they can be felt by a woman or by her physician. Finding breast cancer at an early stage gives women the best chance for successful treatment and cure.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening, recommended primarily for male smokers between the ages of 65 and 75, saves lives by making it possible to find and surgically treat life-threatening aneurysms before they rupture.
Flu shots not only spare millions of people countless days or weeks of miserable downtime – they save lives. The public may not be aware of it, but when you work in a hospital, you see infants, children and older adults hospitalized with influenza every year, and some of them die from it. An annual flu shot can help prevent those tragedies.
Childhood immunizations have helped eradicate many serious diseases, but some, such as measles and mumps, are starting to make a comeback as people become more afraid of the vaccines than of the diseases themselves. Immunizations are a very low-risk way to protect children from very high-risk diseases.
Cholesterol screening for children, beginning between the ages of 9 and 11, is a new recommendation in reaction to rising childhood obesity, which is leading more young children to develop high cholesterol, diabetes and other traditionally adult diseases. Intervening as early as possible can spare a child a lifetime of health problems.
Well-child checks are important checkpoints in a child's life to make sure that development is progressing normally, and that all the vaccinations that need to happen in the first few years of life are happening on time.
Staying on top of all of the preventive recommendations – and there are many more – is probably too much to ask of most people. But it's not too much to ask of your primary care provider. That's what we're here for. Just keep up with your regular checkups, and we'll help you stay on track. Whether it's time to update a vaccination, to put on a blood pressure cuff or to prep for a colonoscopy, the benefits of prevention are clear when you weigh them against the risks they prevent.
Don't miss out on an opportunity to protect your health and the health of your family. Connect with your primary care provider for your ounce of prevention today. Need a provider? Search our directory for the care that's right for you.


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Vail Colorful Cooking column: Crack open the benefits of eggs
VAIL CO, Colorado
Editor's note: This colulmn is part of a six-week series of columns focused on chicken and eggs. Visit http://www.vaildaily.com to read the other columns.
Eggs are protein rich and a great food for weight management. One egg has 70 calories and its high protein count helps build and preserve muscle, something especially important as we age. Starting the day off with a healthy breakfast containing eggs will help you maintain your weight, increase brain function and keep you full until lunch with good-for-you protein.
Eggs contain many vitamins and minerals. They have vitamin D, which helps the body metabolize calcium. The colorful yolks are rich in vitamin A, riboflavin, choline, folate, lutein and zeaxanthin. The whites contain niacin, magnesium and potassium. To crack open the benefits of each of these vitamins and minerals, visit colorfulcooking.com/blog and I will descramble their benefits and why they are so good for you.
Pregnant women benefit from eating whole eggs. Eggs are packed with B vitamins that are good for mom (and baby) while pregnant and breast feeding. Choline contributes to fetal brain development and helps prevent birth defects. Plus, eggs are inexpensive, so eat eggs and then you'll have an excuse to buy all those cute little outfits and rattles.
Once the baby outgrows the cute outfits, check out my chicken nugget recipe that toddlers to seniors will enjoy. It's easy and healthy, especially when served with a side of applesauce, spicy sauce or pear chutney.
Egg strudel
1 puff pastry
2 Tablespoons butter
9 eggs, divided
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups mushrooms, chopped and cleaned
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cup asparagus, chopped
1 cup deli ham, diced
2 tablespoons orange juice
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Heat a skillet over medium and pour olive oil to cover bottom.
Add chopped mushrooms and onions and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain all water from mushrooms. In microwaveable bowl, place 2 tablespoons water and asparagus, cover with plastic wrap and cook on high 1 minute and 30 seconds. Drain on paper towel. Whisk 8 eggs, orange juice and cream cheese together. Cook eggs over medium low heat, stirring with heat-proof spatula. Scramble eggs 5 minutes, add mushroom mixture, asparagus, ham and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 4 minutes more or until mixed through, with eggs still soft and undercooked slightly. Refrigerate eggs until pastry is ready.
On a lightly floured, dusted surface, unfold one thawed puff pastry and roll to 10-inches-by-12-inches and transfer to parchment paper.
Trim off a triangle on each four corners of pastry, about 2-and-a-half-inches-by-1-inch.
Place egg mixture down the middle of pastry. Cut eight strips of pastry on the sides at about a 45 degree angle.
Fold top of pastry over eggs on each end and then braid the strips to cover the eggs. Beat one egg in bowl with a sprinkle of salt and brush egg wash over puff pastry.
Cook pastry on baking sheet about 25 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.
This dish can be prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly with Saran Wrap. Prepare the eggs and stuff the pastry, do not cook pastry until ready to eat.
Serves 4.
Chicken nuggets
4 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
Canola or peanut oil
Cut each breast into five to six pieces, not strips. Cutting the breast the shorter way will help it maintain its size while cooking, it will make smaller pieces that resemble store bought nuggets. Pat chicken dry with paper towel and dredge in flour, then egg, then panko. Repeat with all pieces. Heat a non stick saute pan to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil.
When oil is hot, add chicken. Do not overcrowd pan, you will have to do this in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side and reserve on plate or paper towel. Add more oil and repeat with next batch of chicken. Serve nuggets with sauce.
Makes 20 pieces.
Tracy Miller adds fruits and veggies to all her meals. Visit colorfulcooking.com for more recipes. Join Tracyat Rocky Mountain Olive Oil in Edwards for a Thai-style cooking class on Oct. 18 and at Colorado Mountain College on Oct. 19 for a soup cooking class. She shares recipes Monday's on TV8's Good Morning Vail.
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Under Maddon, Escobar thriving with Rays
Laid-back managing style suits 'zany' shortstop, who's coming up big
ST. PETERSBURG -- The double play has always been one of baseball's most exciting plays.
The pitcher's best friend can turn a potentially dangerous situation into the end of an inning with one swing. It generally requires three defenders, five hands and two exchanges of the ball. Two players are retired regardless of whether the scorecard reads "4-6-3" or "6-4-3."
Double plays are common, but on July 24 at Fenway Park, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar started one in a very uncommon manner.
With the Rays holding a three-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, Red Sox leadoff man Shane Victorino singled. Dustin Pedroia then took David Price's second offering -- a cut fastball that began to drift down in the strike zone -- and pounded it on the ground, just left of second base.
Escobar ranged to his left, scooped the ball with his glove and, in one fluid motion, flipped the ball behind his back to second baseman Ben Zobrist, who barehanded the toss and relayed it to first base. What initially looked like a base hit quickly erased both Pedroia and Victorino, and Escobar engineered it without his right hand ever touching the ball. One pitch, three hands, two outs, 6-4-3.
The Rays' broadcasters were beside themselves. Twitter lit up as bloggers scrambled in a dash to be the first to show the digital world a replay. It quickly shot up to the No. 1 play on the Top 10 on "SportsCenter" and has become a part of the team's TV promotion rotation.
Price called it the "best ever" play he has seen a teammates make while on the mound. Zobrist called it "smooth, easy and perfect."
Escobar called it, simply, "Just a reaction play."
"He plays it in his mind," manager Joe Maddon said. "He did it on a playground. He did it on some field in Cuba when he was a kid."
Maddon has often used "chrome" to describe the 30-year-old Escobar's playing style, and the double play certainly qualified.
In his first season with the Rays, Escobar already owns the franchise record for consecutive games played without an error played by a shortstop (53). After a horrid start to the season offensively, he has rounded into one of Tampa Bay's more consistent run producers. Escobar appears to have found comfort hitting ninth, where he holds a .301 batting average and often helps to turn Maddon's "swarming" lineup card over.
But the chrome doesn't end there for Escobar. He carries it with him throughout the day. Escobar drives an Aston Martin to Tropicana Field and his fashion style is unlike any other in the clubhouse.
After the uniform is on, Escobar's chrome carries itself to the dugout. He has a personalized pregame handshake routine with almost every player on the roster. Pitching coach Jim Hickey and third-base coach Tom Foley have even been in on the action recently.
"It's entertainment, man, and this guy entertains," Maddon said. "You watch before the game how he energizes the dugout before everyone takes the field. He's always up. He's upbeat. He brings a lot of positive energy to us."
Once on the field, the act picks up. Although Escobar speaks little English, he is one of the more audible Rays, the "zany" one in an otherwise calm bunch, according to Maddon.
"He's always yelling different, crazy things during games, things in Spanish that don't make sense," catcher Jose Lobaton said. "Yunel wants everyone to see him, but that's good for us.
"I like infielders talking. It makes the game feel alive. If there are thousands of people here and everyone is quiet in the infield, what kind of game is that?"
Given the way Escobar plays, his white home uniform does not stand a chance of staying clean for long, so he saves himself the trouble by taking a handful of infield dirt and rubbing it on his pants before the first pitch is thrown. He quickly sullies the grounds crew's carefully laid chalk lines at the upper border of the batter's box before every at-bat. After Escobar makes one of his signature plays at shortstop, he makes the shooting motion of a basketball jumper.
"It's just something I've been accustomed to doing," Escobar said. "It's the way I play, so I hope I'm not offending the other team, because I'm just out there having fun."
But Escobar's antics have been interpreted as more than "having fun" in the past and the implications have been far-reaching. The LBGT community will not soon forget about Escobar writing a gay slur on his eye black last season while he was with the Blue Jays. He apologized after Major League Baseball served him a three-game suspension.
Escobar has been traded three times in his seven-year career. He was dealt from Toronto to Miami during the offseason, but he never stepped on the field for the Marlins. Escobar was sent to Tampa Bay less than two weeks later after he made it clear he was not enthused about playing third base.
"We talked about the [eye-black] incident, but everything else seemed a little superficial," Maddon said. "With all our guys, I want them to feel a freedom to be themselves here. If they are, they're going to play better. There are different ways to derive discipline. It doesn't have to be by trying to control behavior. I'm so not into that. That takes way too much mental energy to even attempt to do. You're seeing him being comfortable, and when he's comfortable, he's a really good baseball player. And I believe he's going to keep getting better."
Maddon continues to preach the laid-back "Ray Way" to Escobar, and so far, Maddon's managing tactics and Escobar's playing style appear destined for each other. Without receiving the go-ahead from Maddon, Escobar stole third base against the Astros on July 13. He would later score to tie the game in an eventual Rays win.
"I feel like I can be myself here," Escobar said through a translator. "They don't downgrade my style of play as long as I'm catching the ball and hitting the ball. I'm comfortable and having a lot of fun. It's great that Joe gives me the flexibility to play the game the way I feel comfortable."
The way Escobar "feels comfortable" is turning into a thrill ride to watch. Just ask any of the 36,514 fans in attendance at that game at Fenway Park last month.


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WWE NXT Official Announcement, Image of 8 Rookies
WWE has sent out a press release for the premiere of WWE NXT, with this fancy picture:
Stamford, Connecticut – February 22, 2010 – Syfy and World Wrestling Entertainment® today announced the competitors on WWE NXT, a new hybrid live event/reality show featuring eight popular WWE Superstars ("Pros") mentoring eight WWE "Rookies," premiering on Syfy Tuesday, February 23, at 10PM (ET/PT). The winning NXT Rookie will receive a WWE roster spot. Among the NXT Rookies are the fiancé of Academy Award® winner Jennifer Hudson, a firefighter in training from New Jersey, a food eating dynamo and a former college basketball player.
NXT is a unique combination of heart-stopping entertainment and gritty behind-the-scenes reality. The Rookie stars of the series take the challenge of the Syfy tagline 'Imagine Greater' to heart as they embark on their ultimate dream quest to join the next generation of WWE revered heroes and champions.
These Rookies, who are learning the ropes, are athletes who epitomize pop culture and personify strong attributes – they are opinionated and aggressive – which means inherent conflict between Rookies and other Rookies, conflict between Rookies and Pros, as well as, conflict between Pros and Pros. The trials and tribulations of the WWE NXT cast ensure action-packed, innovative entertainment – WWE style.
The WWE Pros and NXT Rookies will be:
The NXT Rookies come from around the world with diverse and interesting backgrounds: David Otunga is a Harvard Law graduate engaged to Academy Award winning actress and Grammy Award® winning recording artist Jennifer Hudson; Daniel Bryan is a former champion on the independent scene; Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett traveled all the way from Cape Town and England respectively to make their WWE dreams come true; Skip Sheffield loves to challenge people to eating contests; Darren Young learned to be tough while training to become a firefighter in New Jersey; as a former college basketball player, Heath Slater, is looking to move from the basketball court to the squared circle; and Michael Tarver knows what it takes to be a force in the ring after growing up watching his father be the sparing partner of Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson. Theses eight NXT Rookies are looking to see if they have what it takes to become a WWE Superstar.