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Fact Checking Thursday's Vice Presidential Debate
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
And I'm Renee Montagne. Last night brought a vice presidential debate rare in the history of such debates, that stood to make a real difference in a presidential campaign. The two candidates - Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan - sparred on a stage in Danville, Ky., and it was a lively 90 minutes.
For a close read on what was said, we're joined now by a team of NPR correspondents. And let's start with NPR's Michele Kelemen because the debate opened with a question by moderator Martha Raddatz, about the September 11th attack in Libya - now deemed to have been by terrorists - that left four Americans dead, including the ambassador. In the exchanges that followed, here's what congressman Paul Ryan said.
MONTAGNE: Michele, our diplomatic correspondent, is that what happened?
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Well, he's right that security officials who had served in Libya in the months leading up to this, said they wanted beefed-up security; and were told by their superiors at the State Department, that they wouldn't get it. And Biden was wrong when he said, "we didn't know they wanted more security." There were cables sent back to Washington.
But, you know, these security officials weren't asking for a big Marine detachment. They wanted just to keep the extra guards that they had, in place a little bit longer. And even one of the whistleblowers who testified at a House hearing this week, said that the assault on Sept. 11th was like nothing he had seen while he was in Libya; and a few extra guards, in that sort of situation, may not have been enough.
MONTAGNE: And also, during the debate Joe Biden was challenged about why the Obama administration has changed its story about what, exactly, happened that night. And here's some of what he said.
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The intelligence community told us that. As they learned more facts about exactly what happened, they changed their assessment.
KELEMEN: And at issue, Renee, is whether or not this - as the U.S. initially said - started as a protest against an anti-Islam video, and then got out of hand. The trouble is that the State Department official gave us a detailed account of that night; and said it was quiet that day, outside the consulate in Benghazi. And only late at night, when guards heard gunfire outside - they looked at a security camera, and saw heavily armed men breaching the compound. They didn't see a protest.
MONTAGNE: And there were also several exchanges about Iran. Paul Ryan, at one point, made this assertion.
: When Barack Obama was elected, they had enough fissile material - nuclear material - to make one bomb. Now, they have enough for five.
MONTAGNE: Michele?
KELEMEN: Not quite true. Iran has been enriching uranium, but there's no evidence that they're anywhere close to enriching up to 90 percent, which is what's needed for a nuclear bomb.
MONTAGNE: Paul Ryan also criticized the administration for watering down sanctions against Iran.
KELEMEN: The White House has waived congressional sanctions on countries that have cut back on oil imports from Iran. But it's also worked with Europe, in particular, on tough international sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy. Oil exports are down sharply, and the currency has plummeted.
MONTAGNE: Another country, Afghanistan, was also part of this debate. And so let me turn to you, Tom Bowman. You're Pentagon correspondent; made many, many reporting trips there. Let's hear what Joe Biden said about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
BIDEN: We are leaving. We are leaving in 2014. Period.
MONTAGNE: Well, that's the goal. Is that what's actually going to happen?
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: No. It's not going to happen. U.S. combat forces will leave, Renee, at the end of 2014. But after that, there'll be some type of follow-on American force - likely, thousands of special forces, soldiers on counterterror mission as well as U.S. military trainers. The Obama administration signed a 10-year security agreement with the Afghan government that talks about these two goals. And as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, after the agreement was signed in May, quote, "The most important point is, we're not going anyplace."
As far as the Romney campaign is concerned, the governor says it's a goal to turn over security to Afghan forces by 2014. Romney says he first wants to listen to American military commanders in Afghanistan, and then determine the way ahead. But it's important to note that both camps - both Republicans and Democrats - agree that some type of follow-on force will be needed after 2014.
MONTAGNE: And both Biden and Ryan drew some strong lines on how they differed on defense spending. National security correspondent Larry Abramson is also with us. What did you hear, Larry?
LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: Well, there's a big difference between a Romney and a Obama administration's defense budget. President Obama has introduced a half a trillion dollars in defense cuts over the next decade, and there could be more cuts on the way. Paul Ryan called the White House out about that, and said that the White House plans to cut 100,000 troops from the Army and the Marines, would weaken the U.S. military.
The only problem is that congressman Ryan, and the rest of the Congress, agreed to these very same cuts - that include defense cuts - when they voted for the budget control act last year. And during the debate, Vice President Biden pointed that out, but congressman Ryan distanced himself from that decision. The other issue, of course, is how the Romney administration would pay for these increases in defense. And basically, what they say is they're going to create a healthier economy, more jobs; and that will be more tax revenue that they can spend on defense.
MONTAGNE: Well, since we're talking about spending and cutting spending, let's talk about taxes which came up last night. There was quite an exchange about Mitt Romney's tax plan.
BIDEN: The only way you can find $5 trillion in loopholes, is cut the mortgage deduction for middle-class people; cut the health-care deduction for middle-class people; take away their ability to get a tax break to send their kids to college. That's why they're...
MARTHA RADDATZ: Is he wrong about that?
: He is wrong about that. They're...
BIDEN: How's that?
: You can cut tax rates by 20 percent, and still preserve these important preferences for middle-class taxpayers...
BIDEN: Not mathematically possible.
: It is mathematically possible.
MONTAGNE: Well, we have John Ydstie, our economics correspondent, to help us with this one. Is it mathematically possible?
JOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE: Well, Renee, the short answer is probably not; certainly not, if Gov. Romney plans to keep the other promises in his tax proposal - you know, the proposal to cut rates overall by 20 percent, and then fully pay for that by ending deductions and closing loopholes, so as not to increase the deficit. What congressman Ryan was saying is that you could preserve a couple of the very biggest deductions there are - including the home-mortgage deduction for middle-class families - and still stick to the plan, and not increase the deficit. But a number of economists have said really, the only way Romney could hope to get the nearly $5 trillion in savings he needs to pay for the rate cuts, is to end the mortgage deduction.
MONTAGNE: And what about this statement that Joe Biden made, about the president's tax plan?
BIDEN: The middle class will pay less, and people making a million dollars or more will begin to contribute slightly more. Let me get...
MONTAGNE: Now, is that right?
YDSTIE: Well, it's not just millionaires who would be contributing more. The Obama tax plan would raise taxes for individuals making more than $200,000 a year, and families making more than $250,000 a year.
MONTAGNE: Let's turn to a completely different subject that came up in last night's debate, and that's the issue of abortion. This exchange begins with moderator Martha Raddatz.
RADDATZ: If the Romney-Ryan ticket is elected, should those who believe that abortion should remain legal be worried?
: We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people, through their elected representatives and reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process, should make this determination.
MONTAGNE: Julie Rovner, you're a health-care correspondent. Talk to us about that. What does it mean?
JULIE ROVNER, BYLINE: It's pretty clear here that the answer to that question is not no, from Paul Ryan; and therein lies a problem for the man at the top of the Republican ticket, Mitt Romney. He spent a lot of time, the last month, trying pretty hard to at least appear to be moderating his position on abortion - although every time Romney says in front of one crowd, something like he'd have no abortion-restricting legislation on his agenda if he was elected, his staff then quickly walks it back.
Romney's trying to keep the votes of his anti-abortion base but win over some more moderate women, in particular. What Ryan - who's a much more ardent anti-abortion congressman - said here, isn't going to help that very much.
MONTAGNE: NPR's Julie Rovner, thank you very much.
ROVNER: Thank you.
MONTAGNE: NPR's John Ydstie, Larry Abramson, Tom Bowman and Michele Kelemen, thank all of you as well.
YDSTIE: Thank you.
ABRAMSON: You're welcome.
BOWMAN: You're welcome.
MONTAGNE: You're listening to MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Returns & Exchanges
We want you to be completely satisfied with your product and we will do our best to give you as much information about the product as possible. To avoid any inconvenience, we always recommend you to read the full product description and contact us on firstname.lastname@example.com with any questions before you purchase, and one of our team will be happy to answer your queries. Due to the nature of each product being a one off or made on order, we cannot offer a refund or exchange once the production or tailoring of your order has commenced. However, for any reason that your purchased product does not fit well, you can get in contact with us at email@example.com quoting your order number within 7 days of receiving your order. Any product purchased, which is not altered in any way can be returned for a refund or exchange within 7 days of receiving your order. The product must not be worn, washed or altered. Products purchased in the sale are exempt from being returned, unless faulty. We cannot accept any product with any indication that it was used. Please note that we have a very high quality control level when selecting fabrics, and during production. Each product is carefully checked throughout the entire process and will only be dispatched once approved. In case a product reaches you with any fault, you must inform us immediately as we cannot take responsibility of any damages followed by a delayed communication. The customer must arrange any returns and it is their responsibility to obtain a tracking number. Any refunds, will be processed via the original payment method.

subset: commoncrawl


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OpenOffice: Future Uncertain
Florian Effenberger is co-lead of the international OpenOffice.org marketing project. Our sister publication Linux-Community asked him how the deal between Sun and Oracle would affect OpenOffice.
LinuxCommunity: Will the paid OpenOffice developers become unemployed because of the takeover of Sun by Oracle?
Florian Effenberger: Very few details about the takeover are known at this time. Many analysts are of course speculating, but right now I have no information regarding developers' jobs in OpenOffice. Personally, I don't foresee any serious danger for the further development of OO.o. Firstly, and Oracle for sure is aware of this, OpenOffice has an important place in the world of free software. Secondly, there are very many free developers and companies actively involved in the project.
LC: Will the current developments influence the next release of OpenOffice 3.1?
FE: No. The current delay is because of technical reasons and has nothing to do with the takeover. The second release candidate is due to be published in a few days and shortly after that version 3.1 will be officially released.
LC: Do you personally believe in Oracle's intended financial engagement in OpenOffice or StarOffice?
FE: I think that Oracle knows how important OpenOffice is. If further development takes place under the roof of Oracle or somewhere else, however, is difficult to say at this moment.
LC: Which chances/dangers do you see for OpenOffice from the deal?
FE: OpenOffice is a free, open source software. Voluntary members will only be indirectly affected by the takeover because OpenOffice is independent and belongs to no one exclusively. Looking at things positively, the discussions about a possible takeover of Sun are finished and things have calmed down. Of course the takeover can be seen as a great chance to further the development of OpenOffice. I'm sure that all involved are aware of this and I'm looking forward to the joint future we all can share.
Florian Effenberger has been an open source evangelist for many years. He is co-lead of the international OpenOffice.org marketing project as well as a member of the management board of the non-profit OpenOffice.org Deutschland e.V. He is also a frequent contributor to a variety of professional magazines worldwide.
spellingWhen complaining about incorrect spelling, you should use the correct spelling in your request. Coud is not a word, but could is.
Oracle's interest in SunOracle's real interest in Sun was publicly acknowledged a few days ago: they couldn't afford IBM, which is a strong database player with DB2, buy Solaris, which is a very important OS for Oracle in financial institutions. So what we can expect is continued service for Solaris (probably not much more development) until linux is a real substitute, continued development for Java to make it interoperate better with Oracle's middleware.
Legalities and Shoulda CouldasOpenOffice.org is released under the LGPL. It does not need to be recreated if someone else wants to take over development. And along with that, Oracle cannot kill it, for the same reason. Oracle working with Red Hat? Read some recent history. Do a search for "Unbreakable Linux" AND "unfakable Linux". The standards are already in place. ODF has the backing of IBM, Sun, Red Hat, Novella, and a growing list of governments world-wide.
Future of OpenOffice.orgBeing an open source software package, it would not even matter if Oracle wanted to drop development entirely. Any body else can pick up and continue. The only issue would be to figure out the legalities should another group take over development. However, if Oracle would actually drop the project entirely, I'm sure they would make it easy for another group to take over. They have nothing to gain by killing it entirely. Having said this, even if Oracle killed OO, it would be quite easy for other programmers to create something similar without infringing on any copyrights (just like Linux works like Unix, but is not Unix). It might take some time, but it can be done.
Considering Larry Ellison's anti-MS comments in the media over the years (all of which were true, and which I applaud; i.e. "MS has never invented anything", I have a very strong feeling that Oracle will use Sun's products and expertise in order to put together a strong alternative to the MS world. The vast majority of the parts they need are there. However, they have to take a serious look at Linux and decide whether it stands a better chance than Solaris in competing with Microsoft. There are far more drivers available, and with an army of programmers around the world contributing to Linux, it makes development much, much easier. I'm sure Solaris has it's merits, however I don't believe it would be the right decision to use it as a competing product against Windoze. Linux is the holy grail. Oracle would also be wise to get together with Novell, Red Hat, Canonical, and others who play a vital part in the development of Linux, and figure some way to create certain standardizations that could exist across many distributions. That would give 3rd party developers and hardware manufacturers more incentive to create software and drivers for Linux. Nobody wants to modify their software and drivers 3 or 4 times over just so they can be easily installed on different distros using different package and driver managers. The big argument that comes up all the time is that it's easier to download and install software and drivers for Windoze, due to the ease of use of the installers. That's absolutely true, and what we need is a Linux environment that makes the install process just as simple. Create one standard and you've overcome one of the biggest hurdles.
OpenOffice vs. OpenOffice.orgThank you for your feedback. Our editors call "OpenOffice.org" "OpenOffice" because that's what the product users tend to call it.
Worried abt open officeAll is worried about open office.
Have been reading here for some updates:
Dear OpenOffice.getalifeCoud you PLEASE spell the word PLEASE correctly?!
Novell is also putting a fair amount into OOGo-OO is the Open-Source version of Novell's distribution of OpenOffice.org and might make a good home for OpenOffice.org if Oracle/Sun were to abandon it.
Openoffice.org and SPIIt should be noted that the Open Office project is also an affiliated project of Software in the Public Interest which will allow it to have corporate services even if Oracle screws up.
If oracle was smartIf oracle was smart and Larry Ellison bought sun for the reason he mentioned Oracle would embrace open office and they would have the complete stack from desktop integration with enterprise data through open office and using the sun/linux/oracle backend. Imagine being able to use enterprise data from an oracle backend in your open office spreadsheets, word processor, and presentations live and with the latest data.
But we will see the true reasons come out sooner or later. I hope they actually get innovative and actually do something with what they bought and not just kill projects to protect their proprietary and other companies proprietary products.
OpenOffice.orgCould you pls mention the product by it's proper name: OpenOffice.org
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Through the year I learned a lot. Usually I have to take loads of pictures from a subject/situation before I am satisfied. Now it takes me a few clicks. A lot of times I was suprised by a picture and very happy with this project because otherwise I never had taken that picture. Like this one.
To post 365 pictures in a row on a blog is also dealing with the thought what I want to share from my life with the 'whole world'. I think more bloggers are struggling with this dilemma. So I decided not to post very private pictures from my family or others.
This project gave me new friends and learn from the different way of living. My meeting with Doniene and her husband Mike was a highlight of these 365 days.
Every picture is taken on the day I posted it. Some I had to post a few days later because I didn't have connection or computer by hand. Except… and here is my confession: Day 220. I didn't take a picture on day 220. In my opinion I had to stop this project and start again. But then I thought that my readers will forgive me. Nobody is perfect. I was already so far. I took 2 pictures on day 221.
A lot, really a lot of pictures didn't make it to be posted, while they are beautiful. I had to make a choice.
Picture 365 is my camera which traveled with me in my purse to a lot of places in the Netherlands, but also to Germany, Belgium, England, France and even the US. I will miss the weight of it on my shoulders. (914 gram, almost a kilo). I love this camera.
I still want to learn more about photography so maybe I come back with a '365 days blog in black and white' or something. I have more ideas in my mind. For now I will take a time out and you can follow me on my main blog ' Quilting with the Past'. I have a photography blog. I will open it again and I will post a picture once in a while.
Thank you all for your visits, comments and emails. Your comments mean a lot to me. Thank you.
I would love to hear which picture of all 365 is favorite to you.
'Lucy's 365 days' is a diary of 365 days in my life.


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Penn National to begin work on Mass. slots parlor
Slots parlor to cost estimated $225 million
Construction is set to begin on the first major gambling facility in Massachusetts.
Penn National Gaming broke ground Friday on its $225 million slots parlor at the Plainridge harness racetrack in Plainville.
CEO Jay Snowden called it "a significant moment in the growth and future of Penn National Gaming."
Penn National was awarded the state's only slots parlor license last month by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The facility will be allowed to install up to 1,250 slot machines, but cannot offer table games such as blackjack.
In addition to hundreds of temporary construction jobs, the company says there will be 500 new, permanent jobs at the casino after it opens.
Penn National operates 26 other gambling operations in 16 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario.


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In vying for the Texas Senate seat, candidates Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst have maintained a mostly congruent position on immigration, but constituents may be watching more closely for a crack in either man's armor during tonight's Senate runoff debate in Dallas. Both candidates have spoken out against the Obama administration's new policy granting immigrant children a temporary stay on deportation since its implementation last Friday. Both campaigns said their candidates "categorically oppose amnesty."
UPDATE: Both candidates denounced immigrant guest worker programs as part of the GOP platform during last Friday's debate in Dallas.
President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romnery accrued more buzz around immigration reform when they addressed Latino lawmakers at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials this week. Both called for a "long-term solution" for a flawed immigration policy.
Trey Martinez Fischer, chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and Texas House representative for district 116, said Dewhurst and Cruz are leveraging the issue as a means of "political parsing."
"Of the Republican primary voters, a very small percentage are going to be Latinos or minorities," said Fischer. "They're fashioning their strategies to appeal to the tried-and-true voter — that profile is consistent with finding someone with a hard position on immigration, rather than a sensible solution."
Dewhurst spokesman Matt Hirsch said experience will be the deciding factor if the issue is brought forth during tonight's debate.
"He has a record of securing the border; Cruz does not," Hirsch said.
Cruz's camp released a statement calling Dewhurst a "roadblock" for reform such as the Legal Workforce Act, a bill requiring employers to verify employees' legal status through a system known as "E-Verify," during the 2011 legislative session.


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I have found it very interesting reading reviews of Star Trek Online being posted across the blogosphere (Syp from Bio Break has compiled a cross-section here). Since the NDA has dropped, I have started seeing more positive reviews – the theory being that those most disappointed with a game in beta are most likely to break NDA because they don't care about being kicked out – and that has put my mind to ease somewhat on whether there will be a sustained population to play with in the coming months. I have been reading the negative reviews carefully as well, because it often amuses me to see people criticize the very features that appeal to me most in-game.
I wonder if I should attribute my gaming preferences to my MUD background, or to having gotten my start in graphical MMOs with Guild Wars, or the fact that, unlike what seems like every other gamer in the free world, I never did get into Everquest, WoW, UO, or Asheron's Call. That very admission might be enough for many gamers to strip me of the "MMO" I place before "gamer" – when Guild Wars' rightful place in the realm of MMOs is still actively being debated today, I wouldn't be surprised if it were.* However, this background clearly indicates that while I did spend many hours chained to my computer in pursuit of the next boss drop in StrangeMUD, grinding gold to score trinkets for my house, or hanging out in chat, buying and selling items on the auction house waiting for enough players to be available for a roaming group, this is not the same experience as someone who saw the world graphically open up to them for the first time in EverQuest.
The worlds of the MUDs I played were not worlds in the same way as MMOs; even if you had to travel across the continent to reach a destination, it would always be simpler and faster to create an alias for all your w;w;w;w;s;s;s;w;d;e;e;e;u needs and set your wimpy to 50% than to physically point your avatar north and start running, dodging mobs along the way. The death penalties could be just as harsh as in MMOs of the time, the need for grouping and a player-driven economy just as prevalent, but there was arguably less time spent living in many text-based worlds than in a graphical one. I never thought of the MUDs I played as anything other than games, even as friendships were forged in-game and maintained out of it.**
And so it is that I have no desire to see hundreds of people surround me in any given location in-game; instancing is my preference because they replicate the cozy feeling I had playing MUDs where even with hundreds of players online, only a dozen at most could be expected to be in the same room as I was. I have no problem with fast travel, as I bore of riding for half an hour studying the countryside after the first time. Graphics are paramount in any MMO I play; I chose my imagination and text descriptions over EverQuest in 1999. Death penalties repulse me, for even when they existed in MUDs, the use of aliases and city recalls generally made corpse retrieval no more time-consuming than a spirit run in WoW. Funnily enough, these are traits that critics attribute to so-called "WoW-kiddies", or gamers raised on consoles, though I was making use of them in 1995.
Are these two styles of play so very divergent that we cannot enjoy the same kinds of games? Am I the only MUDder who sees the current evolution of MMOs drawing closer to her prior gaming experiences, while MMO gamers see those same games as moving away from the virtual world model that captured their imaginations?
Edit: I am aware that the branch of MMOs starting with EverQuest and those following its example are based on the DikuMUD model. I still maintain that they play differently enough to warrant asking the question.
*I choose to describe myself as an MMO gamer anyway, because it is the category I most closely identify with; I do not play FPSes, single-player games, or console games, while I have at least sampled most MMOs, and maintained subscriptions to several. Also, nyah-nyah-nyah. 🙂
**Having not played every MUD in existence, I cannot verify that no MUD exists as a virtual world. However, I'm not certain what this would look like without verging into MUSH or MOO territory.


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Young Scholars' Workshop 2013
09.00-09.15: Welcome address by Peter Tschmuck & Carsten Winter
09.15-11.15: Panel 1, Convergence, Disintermediation and New Music Practices – discussant Carsten Winter
John Fangjun Li, Macquarie University Sydney, Australia, The Influence and Role of Convergence in China's Music Industry
Andrew Batt-Rawden, University of Sydney, Australia, Australian Perspectives on Strategies for Funding New Music Commissions
Francisco Bernardo and Luis Gustavo Martins, Catholic University of Portugal in Porto, Disintermediation Effects in the Music Business – A Return to Old Times?
11.30-13.00: Panel 2: The Networked Music Economy – discussant Juan Montoro-Pons
Lorenz Grünewald, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Value-creating relationships and alternative forms of capital as tools for network analysis in creative economies
Sisley Maillard, University Telecom ParisTech, France, Consumer Information in the Digital Age: Emperical Evidence from the Spillovers in the Music Industry
Joachim Haupt, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Music Sharing Based on the Context of Its Medial Availability – A Qualitative Study on the Use of Spotify
14.30-16.00: Panel 3: The Live Music Business Today and Yesterday – discussant Dennis Collopy
Sabine Nikolay, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria, Chaos and Success: Understanding Woodstock
Lucie Šilerová, Tereza Svobodová and Barbora Štěpánková, Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Czech Republic, Analyse of Market Environment in the Field of Music Agencies
16.15-18.00: Panel 4: Music Production and Financing in the Digital Age
Ingo Buchholzer, Salzburg University, Austria, Sales Item: DATA. Artist Positioning and Sales Cycle in a Record-free Pop Music Industry
Muhammad Maraghah, University of Agder, Norway, The Future of Independent Arabic Music in the Digital Era
Robert Klembas, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria, A&R Management in the Digital Paradigm Shift


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Mozilla on Friday abruptly canceled the release of its touch-enabled Firefox browser for Windows 8, just four days before it was to ship and after two years of work.
Firefox for Windows 8 Touch, the browser destined for Windows 8's "Metro" user interface (UI) -- the part of the OS that relies on colorful tiles, mobile-style apps and touch -- will not be released March 18 as part of Firefox 28 as originally planned.
And in a strong signal of Microsoft's struggle to convince customers that Windows 8 is the right OS for the times, Mozilla blamed the operating system and its Metro mode.
"We've been watching Metro's adoption," said Johnathan Nightingale, vice president of Firefox, in a Friday blog. "From what we can see, it's pretty flat. On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we've never seen more than 1,000 active daily users in the Metro environment."
Those anemic numbers haven't been enough to properly test Firefox on Metro, Nightingale continued, which meant that bugs would invariably slip through the cracks. "That's going to mean lots of bugs discovered in the field, requiring a lot of follow-up engineering, design, and QA effort. To ship it without doing that follow-up work is not an option," he said.
And with such low turn-out for the Metro Firefox, what was the point?
"When I talk about the need to pick our battles, this feels like a bad one to pick: significant investment and low impact," said Nightingale.
The cancelation of Firefox on Metro put a match, more or less, to two years of work by Mozilla's engineers and designers, although Nightingale said that the code would be mothballed, available at some later date if Metro suddenly got a growth spurt.
Mozilla began work on the Metro edition in March 2012. It shipped a preview in October 2012, several weeks before Microsoft launched Windows 8. At that time, Mozilla's schedule said the Firefox app might appear as early as January 2013. But the ambitious timetable was revised several times, until release plans finally firmed up and the March 18 date was nailed down.
Ironically, just as Mozilla was set to ship Metro Firefox, Microsoft was preparing a second round of changes that deemphasize the touch UI. Windows 8.1 Update, a follow-on to last year's Windows 8.1, will likely launch April 8. Although Microsoft has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to Metro, the retreat from its original strategy -- to force the UI on users -- may have spooked Mozilla.
Nightingale pointed out that Mozilla had to carefully choose where it commits to compete and where does not. "We still need to focus on the projects with the most impact for our mission; the massive scale of our competitors and of the work to be done requires us to marshal our forces appropriately," Nightingale said.
Of the major browser makers -- Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Opera Software -- only Opera recorded less revenue than Mozilla in 2012, the last year that figures were available for all five. And Mozilla has dedicated considerable resources to Firefox OS, the browser-based mobile operating system that it hopes will put it at the smartphone table. Mozilla cited Firefox OS development expenses as one reason why it's considering pushing advertisements to new users of Firefox on the desktop and why it's handed its browser identity project to volunteers.
Even so, pulling the plug on Firefox Metro was a stunning turnabout for Mozilla, which two years ago said that it had play to win. "It is extremely important that we deliver an awesome Firefox experience on Metro, one that is tightly integrated with the platform, fast, and feature rich," wrote Brian Bondy, the Mozilla engineer who led the Metro development team, in April 2012, six months before Windows 8's debut. "Windows is by far the platform with the most users and which has the biggest effect on market share."
The fallout from the decision has begun: Also on Friday, Bondy, who worked at Mozilla since 2011, announced he had left the company and was joining Khan Academy, an online education firm.
Nightingale echoed Bondy's 2012 expectations Friday, but in hindsight.
"In late 2012 ... [Windows 8] looked like the next battleground for the Web. Windows is a massive ecosystem and Microsoft pushes its new platforms hard," said Nightingale.
Instead, while Microsoft has claimed it has sold 200 million Windows 8 licenses and even backed off the "let-them-eat-Metro" strategy, users have continued to pan the Metro UI, the quantity and quality of Metro apps, and Microsoft's decision to mash two UIs into one OS.
Mozilla's move will be seen a vote of no confidence in Windows 8, even though some at Microsoft may welcome the news because it leaves Internet Explorer with only Chrome as a Metro rival.
"Shipping a 1.0 version [of Firefox on Windows Touch], given the broader context we see for the Metro platform, would be a mistake," said Nightingale.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is email@example.com.
See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.


text:
This forum is closed. Thank you for your contributions.
I'm developing an add-in which supports WHS V1. The add-in will create a mounted folder. The problem is that after some amount of time sitting idle the WHS Console will add a "file conflict" warning to the Console's Home Network Health
for every file within the mounted folder.
Note, this issue occurs outside of my add-in (I can reproduce this issue by simple creating a mounted folder on WHS V1 using the MS Disk Manager from within Computer Manager) but I need some method to disable these warnings so I can complete development
of my add-in. Yes, I want to support both WHS V1 and WHS 2011.
My question is: does anyone know how I can disable "file conflict" warnings in a specific folder? Or, better yet, a method to fix these incorrect warnings?
The warnings occur because Drive Extender is unable to duplicate files and/or folders within a managed share. The only way to disable this is to disable Drive Extender itself.
If by "mounted folder" you mean a file system mounted to a folder (a "volume mount point"), with that folder in a Windows Home Server share, I don't think you're ever going to be able to get that to work with V1. Drive Extender knows nothing about your mount
point; at best it will treat it as any other folder in a share and duplicate it's contents into the storage pool.


text:
This chapter describes how to remove Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM.
Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), Oracle recommends that you use the deinstallation tool to remove the entire Oracle home associated with the Oracle Database, Oracle Clusterware, Oracle ASM, Oracle RAC, or Oracle Database client installation. Oracle does not support the removal of individual products or components.
This chapter contains the following topics:
See Also:Product-specific documentation for requirements and restrictions to remove an individual product
Remove installed components in the following situations:
You have successfully installed Oracle Clusterware, and you want to remove the Oracle Clusterware installation, either in an educational environment, or a test environment.
You have encountered errors during or after installing or upgrading Oracle Clusterware, and you want to reattempt an installation.
Your installation or upgrade stopped because of a hardware or operating system failure.
You are advised by Oracle Support to reinstall Oracle Clusterware.
If you have an Oracle Database installation using Oracle Restart (that is, an Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation for a standalone server), and you want to configure that server as a cluster member node, then complete the following tasks:
Note:This procedure uses Oracle Clusterware Configuration Wizard, available with release 184.108.40.206 and later.
Inspect the Oracle Restart configuration with
srvctl using the following syntax, where db_unique_name is the unique name for the database, and lsnrname is the name of the listeners:
srvctl config database -d db_unique_name
srvctl config service -d db_unique_name
srvctl config listener -l lsnrname
Write down the configuration information for the server.
Change directory to Grid home
/crs/install. For example:
# cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/crs/install
Stop all of the databases, services, and listeners that you discovered in step 1.
If present, unmount all Oracle ACFS filesystems.
Deconfigure and deinstall the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation for a standalone server, using the following command:
# roothas.pl -deconfig -force
Prepare the server for Oracle Clusterware configuration, as described in this document.
As the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation owner, run Oracle Clusterware Configuration Wizard, and save and stage the response file. For example:
$ Grid_home/crs/config/config.sh -silent -responseFile $HOME/GI.rsp
root.sh for the Oracle Clusterware Configuration Wizard.
Mount the Oracle Restart disk group
Enter the
volenable command to enable all Oracle Restart disk group volumes.
Mount all Oracle ACFS filesystems manually.
Add back Oracle Clusterware services to the Oracle Clusterware home, using the information you wrote down in step 1, including adding back Oracle ACFS resources. For example:
/u01/app/grid/product/11.2.0/grid/bin/srvctl add filesystem -d /dev/asm/db1 -g ORestartData -v db1 -m /u01/app/grid/product/11.2.0/db1 -u grid
Add the Oracle Database for support by Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster, using the configuration information you recorded in step 1. Use the following command syntax, where db_unique_name is the unique name of the database on the node, and nodename is the name of the node:
srvctl add database -d db_unique_name -o $ORACLE_HOME -x nodename
For example, with the database name
mydb, and the service
myservice, enter the following commands:
srvctl add database -d mydb -o $ORACLE_HOME -x node1
Add each service to the database, using the command
srvctl add service. For example:
srvctl add service -d mydb -s myservice
After installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster (Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM configured for a cluster), if you need to modify the binaries, then use the following procedure, where
Grid_home is the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster home:
Caution:Before relinking executables, you must shut down all executables that run in the Oracle home directory that you are relinking. In addition, shut down applications linked with Oracle shared libraries.
As root:
# cd Grid_home/crs/install
# perl rootcrs.pl -unlock
As the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster owner:
$ export ORACLE_HOME=Grid_home $ Grid_home/bin/relink
As root again:
# cd Grid_home/rdbms/install/ # ./rootadd_rdbms.sh # cd Grid_home/crs/install # perl rootcrs.pl -patch
As the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster owner, where Grid_home is the path of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home:
You must relink the Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM binaries every time you apply an operating system patch or after an operating system upgrade.
For upgrades from previous releases, if you want to deinstall the prior release Grid home, then you must first unlock the prior release Grid home. Unlock the previous release Grid home by running the command rootcrs.pl -unlock from the previous release home. After the script has completed, you can run the deinstall command.
With release 188.8.131.52 and later, after installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster (Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM configured for a cluster), if you need to change the Grid home path, then use the following example as a guide to detach the existing Grid home, and to attach a new Grid home:
Caution:Before changing the Grid home, you must shut down all executables that run in the Grid home directory that you are relinking. In addition, shut down applications linked with Oracle shared libraries.
Detach the existing Grid home by running the following command as the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation owner (
grid), where
/u01/app/11.2.0/grid is the existing Grid home location:
$ cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/oui/bin $ ./detachhome.sh -silent -local -invPtrLoc /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/oraInst.loc
As root, move the Grid binaries from the old Grid home location to the new Grid home location. For example, where the old Grid home is
/u01/app/11.2.0/grid and the new Grid home is
# mv /u01/app/11.2.0/grid /u01/app/grid
Clone the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation, using the instructions provided in "Creating a Cluster by Cloning Oracle Clusterware Step 3: Run the clone.pl Script on Each Destination Node," in Oracle Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide.
When you navigate to the
/clone/bin directory and run the
clone.pl script, provide values for the input parameters that provide the path information for the new Grid home.
As root again, enter the following commands to start up in the new home location:
# cd Grid_home/rdbms/install/ # ./rootadd_rdbms.sh # cd Grid_home/crs/install # perl rootcrs.pl -patch -destcrshome /u01/app/grid
Repeat steps 1 through 4 on each cluster member node.
You must relink the Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM binaries every time you move the Grid home.
Running the
rootcrs.pl command flags
-deconfig -force enables you to deconfigure Oracle Clusterware on one or more nodes without removing installed binaries. This feature is useful if you encounter an error on one or more cluster nodes during installation when running the
root.sh command, such as a missing operating system package on one node. By running
rootcrs.pl -deconfig -force on nodes where you encounter an installation error, you can deconfigure Oracle Clusterware on those nodes, correct the cause of the error, and then run
root.sh again.
Note:Stop any databases, services, and listeners that may be installed and running before deconfiguring Oracle Clusterware.
Caution:Commands used in this section remove the Oracle Grid infrastructure installation for the entire cluster. If you want to remove the installation from an individual node, then refer to Oracle Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide.
To deconfigure Oracle Clusterware:
Log in as the
root user on a node where you encountered an error.
Change directory to Grid_home/crs/install. For example:
# cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/crs/install
Run rootcrs.pl with the -deconfig -force flags. For example:
# perl rootcrs.pl -deconfig -force
Repeat on other nodes as required.
If you are deconfiguring Oracle Clusterware on all nodes in the cluster, then on the last node, enter the following command:
# perl rootcrs.pl -deconfig -force -lastnode
-lastnode flag completes deconfiguration of the cluster, including the OCR and voting disks.
deinstall command removes Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM from your server. The following sections describe the command, and provide information about additional options to use the command:
Downloading The Deinstall Tool for Use with Failed Installations
Deinstall Command Example for Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM
Deinstallation Parameter File Example for Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster
Caution:You must use the deinstallation tool from the same release to remove Oracle software. Do not run the deinstallation tool from a later release to remove Oracle software from an earlier release. For example, do not run the deinstallation tool from the 220.127.116.11 installation media to remove Oracle software from an existing 18.104.22.168 Oracle home.
The Deinstallation Tool (
deinstall) stops Oracle software, and removes Oracle software and configuration files on the operating system. It is available in the installation media before installation, and is available in Oracle home directories after installation. It is located in the path
$ORACLE_HOME/deinstall. The Deinstallation tool command is also available for download from Oracle Technology Network (OTN) at the following URL:
You can download the Deinstallation tool with the complete Oracle Database 11g release 2 software, or as a separate archive file. To download the Deinstallation tool separately, click the See All link next to the software version.
The Deinstallation tool command uses the information you provide and the information gathered from the software home to create a parameter file. Alternatively, you can use a parameter file generated previously by the
deinstall command using the
-checkonly flag and
-o flag. You can also edit a response file template to create a parameter file.
The Deinstallation tool command stops Oracle software, and removes Oracle software and configuration files on the operating system for a specific Oracle home. If you run the Deinstallation tool to remove an Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster installation, then the tool prompts you to run the
rootcrs.pl script as
Caution:When you run the deinstall command, if the central inventory (oraInventory) contains no other registered homes besides the home that you are deconfiguring and removing, then the deinstall command removes the following files and directory contents in the Oracle base directory of the Oracle RAC installation owner:
Oracle strongly recommends that you configure your installations using an Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) configuration, and that you reserve Oracle base and Oracle home paths for exclusive use of Oracle software. If you have any user data in these locations in the Oracle base that is owned by the user account that owns the Oracle software, then the
deinstall command deletes this data.
The command uses the following syntax, where variable content is indicated by italics:
deinstall -home complete path of Oracle home [-silent] [-checkonly] [-local] [-paramfile complete path of input parameter property file] [-params name1=value name2=value . . .] [-o complete path of directory for saving files] -h
The default method for running the deinstall tool is from the deinstall directory in the Grid home. For example:
$ cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/deinstall $ ./deinstall
In addition, you can run the deinstall tool from other locations, or with a parameter file, or select other options to run the tool.
The options are:
Use this flag to indicate the home path of the Oracle home that you want to check or deinstall. To deinstall Oracle software using the
deinstall command in the Oracle home you plan to deinstall, provide a parameter file in another location, and do not use the
-home flag.
If you run
deinstall from the $ORACLE_HOME/deinstall path, then the
-home flag is not required because the tool knows from which home it is being run. If you use the standalone version of the tool, then
-home is mandatory.
Use this flag to run the command in noninteractive mode. This option requires a properties file that contains the configuration values for the Oracle home that is being deinstalled or deconfigured.
To create a properties file and provide the required parameters, refer to the template file
deinstall.rsp.tmpl, located in the
response folder of the Deinstallation tool home or the Oracle home.
If you have a working system, then instead of using the template file, you can generate a properties file by running the
deinstall command using the
-checkonly flag. The
deinstall command then discovers information from the Oracle home that you want to deinstall and deconfigure. It generates the properties file, which you can then use with the
-silent option.
Use this flag to check the status of the Oracle software home configuration. Running the command with the
checkonly flag does not remove the Oracle configuration.
Use this flag on a multinode non-shared environment to deconfigure Oracle software in a cluster.
When you run
deinstall with this flag, it deconfigures and deinstalls the Oracle software on the local node (the node where
deinstall is run) for non-shared home directories. On remote nodes, it deconfigures Oracle software, but does not deinstall the Oracle software.
complete path of input parameter property file
Use this flag to run
deinstall with a parameter file in a location other than the default. When you use this flag, provide the complete path where the parameter file is located. If you are running the deinstall command from the Oracle home that you plan to deinstall, then you do not need to use the
-paramfile flag.
The default location of the parameter file depends on the location of
From the installation media or stage location:
From a unzipped archive file from Oracle Technology Network (OTN):
After installation from the installed Oracle home:
-params [
value ...]
Use this flag with a parameter file to override one or more values in a parameter file you have already created.
complete path of directory for saving response files
Use this flag to provide a path other than the default location where the properties file (
deinstall.rsp.tmpl) is saved.
The default location of the parameter file depends on the location of
From the installation media or stage location before installation:
From a unzipped archive file from OTN:
After installation from the installed Oracle home:
Use the help option (
-h) to obtain additional information about the command option flags.
For upgrades from previous releases, if you want to deinstall the previous release Grid home, then as the
root user, you must manually change the permissions of the previous release Grid home, and then run the
deinstall command.
For example:
# chown -R grid:oinstall /u01/app/grid/11.2.0 # chmod -R 775 /u01/app/grid/11.2.0
In this example,
/u01/app/grid/11.2.0 is the previous release Grid home.
You can use the Deinstallation tool (
deinstall) to remove failed or incomplete installations. It is available as a separate download from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site.
To download the Deinstallation tool:
Go to the following URL:
Under Oracle Database 11g Release 2, click See All for the respective platform for which you want to download the Deinstallation Tool.
The Deinstallation tool is available for download at the end of this page.
Oracle recommends that you run the
deinstall command as the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation owner or the
grid user that owns Oracle Clusterware.
After downloading the Deinstallation tool, ensure that:
The user running the Deinstallation tool is the same on all cluster member nodes
User equivalence is set up
To run the Deinstallation tool, follow these steps:
Download or copy the Deinstallation tool to the
grid user home directory.
Verify that the deinstall binary is owned by the
grid user.
Run the Deinstallation tool.
As the
deinstall command runs, you are prompted to provide the home directory of the Oracle software that you want to remove from your system. Provide additional information as prompted.
To run the
deinstall command from an Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster home, enter the following command:
$ cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid/deinstall/ $ ./deinstall
You can run generate a
deinstall parameter file by running the
deinstall command using the
-checkonly flag before you run the command to deinstall the home, or you can use the response file template and manually edit it to create the parameter file to use with the
deinstall command.
You can run the
deinstall command with the
-paramfile option to use the values you specify in the parameter file. The following is an example of a parameter file for a cluster on nodes
node1 and
node2, in which the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster software binary owner is
grid, the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home (Grid home) is in the path
/u01/app/11.2.0/grid, the Oracle base (the Oracle base for Oracle Grid Infrastructure, containing Oracle ASM log files, Oracle Clusterware logs, and other administrative files) is
/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/, the central Oracle Inventory home (oraInventory) is
/u01/app/oraInventory, the virtual IP addresses (VIP) are
192.0.2.2 and
192.0.2.4, the local node (the node where you are running the deinstallation session from) is
#Copyright (c) 2005, 2006 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. #Fri Feb 06 00:08:58 PST 2009 LOCAL_NODE=node1 HOME_TYPE=CRS ASM_REDUNDANCY=\ ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/ VIP1_MASK=255.255.252.0 VOTING_DISKS=/u02/storage/grid/vdsk SCAN_PORT=1522 silent=true ASM_UPGRADE=false ORA_CRS_HOME=/u01/app/11.2.0/grid GPNPCONFIGDIR=$ORACLE_HOME LOGDIR=/home/grid/SH/deinstall/logs/ GPNPGCONFIGDIR=$ORACLE_HOME ORACLE_OWNER=grid NODELIST=node1,node2 CRS_STORAGE_OPTION=2 NETWORKS="eth0"/192.0.2.1\:public,"eth1"/10.0.0.1\:cluster_interconnect VIP1_IP=192.0.2.2 NETCFGJAR_NAME=netcfg.jar ORA_DBA_GROUP=dba CLUSTER_NODES=node1,node2 JREDIR=/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/jdk/jre VIP1_IF=eth0 REMOTE_NODES=node2 VIP2_MASK=255.255.252.0 ORA_ASM_GROUP=asm LANGUAGE_ID=AMERICAN_AMERICA.WE8ISO8859P1 CSS_LEASEDURATION=400 NODE_NAME_LIST=node1,node2 SCAN_NAME=node1scn SHAREJAR_NAME=share.jar HELPJAR_NAME=help4.jar SILENT=false local=false INVENTORY_LOCATION=/u01/app/oraInventory GNS_CONF=false JEWTJAR_NAME=jewt4.jar OCR_LOCATIONS=/u02/storage/grid/ocr EMBASEJAR_NAME=oemlt.jar ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/11.2.0/grid CRS_HOME=true VIP2_IP=192.0.2.4 ASM_IN_HOME=n EWTJAR_NAME=ewt3.jar HOST_NAME_LIST=node1,node2 JLIBDIR=/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/jlib VIP2_IF=eth0 VNDR_CLUSTER=false CRS_NODEVIPS='node1-vip/255.255.252.0/eth0,node2-vip/255.255.252.0/eth0' CLUSTER_NAME=node1-cluster
Note:Do not use quote marks with variables except in the following cases:
Around addresses in CRS_NODEVIPS:
Around interface names in NETWORKS:
NETWORKS="eth0"/192.0.2.1\:public,"eth1"/10.0.0.1\:cluster_interconnect VIP1_IP=192.0.2.2


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Summerlin Peak Climber's Log
RaymondShevsky - May 30, 2014 3:56 am Date Climbed: Mar 12, 2011Good workout
Look out for the herd of bighorn sheep know to roam the summit area.
Tracy - Jan 14, 2011 12:46 pm Date Climbed: Jan 13, 2011via the more direct east ridge
I hiked/climbed this via the ridge that is just south of the ridge route described by LV Hiker on the SP page. That route had a couple of Class V sections that caused me to question my judgement for choosing that route. After topping out, I bagged Peak 5356 to the West and then descended the route described by LV Hiker on the SP page(a much better route for hikers). From the end of Buckskin Court, it took me 3 hours and 3 minutes car to car.
weeds19 - May 9, 2010 11:20 am Date Climbed: May 8, 2010Saturday workout
Came up via the steep solid slopes SE of the peak. The going was pleasant because the footing was solid and the peak offered a good way to get some exercise. Made the summit in just over an hour then continued along the ridgeline for a couple more peaks before descending through a narrow canyon.
N2aktion - Feb 2, 2009 11:49 am Date Climbed: Jan 31, 2009summerlin peak
thank you very much for the information. it's a lot longer hike than i thought,it took me 2 hours 33 minutes from horse corral off cheyenne to the top,did not want to come back down the same way, so i headed north along ridge line, big Mistake should have followed the ridge farther towards box canyon before desending.at the highest peak 5392' started heading north east down east facing slope rolled ankle at about 4800' on the loose rock.
if you get hurt up here your screwed, i limped back to truck 6 hours round trip.
next time bringing some else.
jimegan - Jan 6, 2009 5:58 pm Date Climbed: Dec 7, 2005La Madre Ridge
Hiked w/Mike from 215 and Cheyenne hoping to enjoy an epic ridgewalk and reach La Madre or even Snoopy and exit toward the Red Rock Loop for pickup. Turned out to be tough going rather than a neat ridge walk. We did a lot of small peaks along the way and after E La Madre, we dropped a bit for a traverse along the S face of La Madre. As it was getting dark, we climbed down and hiked back to our start point in a 10 1/2 hour effort. Mike later went back and climbed up the ridge from E La Madre to La Madre, so our mistake was not attacking it headon.
My other experience with Summerlin peak was several years earlier when the 215 was being built. I rode my mountain bike from home to near the base and climbed up from the south. Next day, my bike tires were flat from small cactus spines encountered on the trip. Not to be repeated!!
Also: 3/4/15
ShinLV - Nov 9, 2008 11:26 pm Date Climbed: Nov 9, 2008Summerlin Peak
1st time climbed this peak. Took the almost same pass on the map. Its bit harder than Turtlehead Peak hike. About 5.5 miles round trip, 2,000+ elevation gain.
I couldn't find the log book at the peak. I found a pencil and broken plastik bottle near the peak but book. I will bring new box and book next time I go there.
Matt Horbal - Oct 29, 2008 12:56 am Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2008Nice Cloudy day hike
Via SE ridge, definitely a trudge, but good views, and a few rare raindrops on top.
sierragator - Apr 22, 2007 2:39 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2007Sunday morming workout
Nice Sunday morning workout summiting this peak. No kidding about all the fossils in the rock. I haven't seen that many fossils since I did some part time work at a retirement home. j/k :)
Also got to see a group of 12 bighorn sheep scampering off as I topped out on the ridgeline before crossing the bowl to the summit. The weather was closing in, so that higher peak further west on the ridgeline will have to wait. A three hour round trip overall. I parked where the asphalt ends by the office park.
cp0915 - Feb 20, 2007 2:52 pmSE Ridge and NE Face
I've done this peak via two routes, the SE Ridge being the better of the two.
LV Hiker - Feb 20, 2007 8:05 am Date Climbed: Jan 10, 2007A steep hike
Well this weekends little hike really kicked my ass. I was looking for a challenge...and let me tell you...I found it.
The peak tops out at an elevation of 5082 ft.
You'll have to climb about 2000 ft. to get to the summit. The hard part is that you'll climb that 2000 ft. in only about 3 quarters of a mile!
I contacted a guy I knew online that had hiked this one before. Having done some of the other hikes he's done but never meeting him I assumed him to be somewhere around my age.
I based this assumption on the fact that I've done some of the other hikes he's recommended and they were quite a challenge.
I was quite surprised, when talking to him on the phone, to find out he was over 70 years old. WOW over 70 and he's still doing these types of hikes! I told him I only hope I can do the same when I'm his age....hell I hope I can still be doing this 10 years from now lol
For those of you who live in Vegas I'm sure you've probably seen Summerlin Peak. It's the big mountain just to the West of the 215 and Cheyenne..
I arranged to meet Bernie near the corner of the 215 and Cheyenne at 10 AM. We met up with no problems. Bernie loaded his gear into the back of my truck and we took off down and old dirt road for about a mile to where we'd start our hike.
It's funny, when you look at some of the photos it dosen't look that steep. But take my word for it...it's steep as hell. The day after hiking this my thighs were really aching.
The terrain itself wasn't harder than any other terrain I've hiked on...actually it was easier then some. It's just the continual upward trudge that grinds on you.
I always like seeing petrified seashells in the rocks around the Las Vegas Valley and this hill has quite a few. It's hard to imagine that eons ago this entire area was covered by a sea...yet today it's so barren.
Usually I look forward to coming down off of a mountain after the hike up, because it's much easier going coming down. This wasn't the case coming off of Summerlin Peak. The terrain is so steep you really have to watch every step. At one point I twisted my ankle coming down. Nothing serious, but there after I was watching my footing very closley.
I could tell my dog Hobo was having a rough time coming down as well. I noticed that at the summit she had a distinct lack of energy. Droopy eyes, wanting to lay down and nap, disinterest in her surroundings. I've seen this type of behavior from her before when she does a strenuous hike with me.
On the way down I could see her legs shaking while trying to gain her balance. And she was hesitant to jump from rock to rock where she'd normally have no problems. I could tell the roughness of the rocks were hurting her paws.I kept checking to make sure her paws weren't bleeding. They never did. Had I seen any blood I would have insisted on carrying her down so as she wouldn't tear her paws up anymore. Fortunatly I didn't have to do this. She made it down with nothing worse then extreme exhaustion. She went to sleep as soon as we hit the road home.


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Voters Pass D.C.'s Budget Autonomy Referendum, Many Ask 'Now What?'
Even though everyone expected D.C. voters to overwhelmingly approve a referendum unlinking the local budget from congressional oversight in Tuesday's special election, nobody seems to know what to expect next.
Some local officials and activists claim the measure, which passed with 83 percent, has legal standing. Others think the referendum route could run afoul of the law, making the "what comes next?" question a nonstarter.
It's "premature to speculate," was the phrase used Wednesday by both Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for House Appropriations Committee Republicans, and Caley Gray, communications director for Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Chairman Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J.
And in another wrinkle, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., claimed on Wednesday to have his own budget autonomy bill nearly ready for introduction, a measure he said could pass the House in the time it would take Congress to complete the 35-day review period of the referendum itself.
As for the immediate future, logistically speaking, there is a clear path forward.
Once the District Board of Elections and Ethics certifies the results of the vote on the referendum — which would allow D.C. to set its own fiscal calendar and approve its own budget — D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson will sign a memo to be transmitted to Congress.
That's when the countdown clock begins. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have 35 legislative days to review the referendum language; any action to overturn it must be taken during that window. A disapproval resolution would have to be passed by both chambers and then signed into law by the president.
During such a busy legislative session, however, that's not likely to happen, meaning what's known as D.C. budget autonomy would become law.
Over in the John A. Wilson Building, the D.C. Council and the mayor, along with other officials including the city's chief financial officer, will have to iron out the details of how to make budget autonomy a reality.
On Capitol Hill, the ball is in leadership's court, said a source within District government.
"The District's people have spoken," the source said. "After the 35-day passive approval period, Congress has to decide how it wants to handle this."
The question comes down to whether influential lawmakers, particularly appropriators and those in leadership positions, support not just the concept of budget autonomy — many of them do — but whether they agree with the process by which it was achieved.
Since the grass-roots push to obtain budget control began and councilmembers expressed their support for putting a charter amendment before voters, some skeptics, including Mayor Vincent Gray and D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan, have wondered whether the initiative would pass constitutional and legal muster.
They and others have also wondered whether the referendum would override the work of congressional lawmakers over the past year and a half to pass a formal budget autonomy bill through Congress, an effort spearheaded by Issa.
Issa told CQ Roll Call on Wednesday that a budget autonomy bill was almost ready to move through the legislative pipeline, but he didn't specify whether it still contained language that had derailed previous iterations: a ban on local funding for abortions.
He insisted that the bill would receive city officials' support and win the president's signature, so the District would no longer have to worry about the uncertainty surrounding the referendum.
"The mayor won't risk changing [the city's] budget. He will be advised to wait, and if he is forced to go forward, undoubtedly he'd face legal challenges," Issa predicted.
Issa also said that Congress, with its power over the District, could simply insert a rider into any piece of must-pass legislation that would simply invalidate the referendum entirely, though Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said in a statement she hasn't seen any concerted effort yet on that front.
Mendelson, in an interview with CQ Roll Call, said he was hopeful for a happy ending.
"I view the referendum as pushing the ball along," he said. "I'm perfectly fine with Congress stepping in and trying to do something affirmatively. Part of the next step is continuing conversations with various representatives and … next year, preparing our own budget."


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The tiny Chihuahua whose freeway rescue by California Highway Patrol went viral has been reunited with its owners, Contra Costa Animal Services said.
The scared dog was found stranded on a roadway median on Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek last week during rush hour. Contra Costa CHP officers tweeted out a picture after rescuing the dog, and received a slew of thank you messages from around the country.
Nobody knew at the time where the dog came from — whether she had been abandoned or escaped from her owners. Contra Costa Animal Services took the dog into their care at their Martinez shelter, saying that she would be put up for adoption if nobody claimed her.
On Thursday, Contra Costa Animal Services said that "the owners and their small children were tearfully reunited with their lost dog," whose name is "Charm."
"They had been looking for her since she escaped from their backyard," the agency added.
Now that the little Chihuahua's story has had a happy ending, the agency wants to raise awareness about the other homeless shelter dogs waiting for adoption.
"They haven't had the media attention this little Chihuahua has had, but they are just as deserving," the agency said.
For more information on how to adopt a pet from the Contra Costa Animal Services, visit their Facebook page.


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John Ayo is an art photographer with an eclectic exploratory style and a taste for photographing interesting found objects and everyday scenes. Born in New Orleans, he now lives and works in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife and son, but sometimes travels.
"My interest in photography stems from my father's enthusiasm. We always had photography magazines in the house and I enjoyed leafing through them. Admittedly it was initially for the girls, but I picked up a few things along the way and have ever since found myself trying to bring a little something extra out of each shot.
"My first SLR camera was a hand-me-down from my father: his old Exacta VX IIA, version 6 as far as I can identify from my memories of it. I definitely remember the interchangeable viewfinders and brown leather case. That and the blue strap we got at the local camera store when he gave it to me.
"I've since gone digital and have become more prolific. Join me as I explore photography's possibilities, my own creativity and vision, and the world around me, and share what I find with you here.
I have also begun to explore the world of digital art. You can find the results of that exploration in my "Oddities" gallery.
"Thanks for stopping by."
Photography by John Ayo on Facebook


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Dozens of the state's rural hospitals are protesting what they see as potentially crippling changes in the way Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota pays them for medical services.
Hospital administrators say the new calculation could reduce their payments by hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially forcing layoffs or tax increases to make up the difference in areas where residents often have to travel great distances to get medical care.
The planned change by Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurance company, is set to go into effect Wednesday. It would affect about 50 rural hospitals.
"We're more than a little unsettled," said George Gerlach, CEO of Granite Falls Municipal Hospital and Manor, which stands to lose $900,000 under the new reimbursement model. "We're running on slim margins … When Blue Cross rolls in and says we're going to cut your reimbursement significantly, it's a big deal."
Attorney General Lori Swanson has intervened after hearing from a number of hospitals, said spokesman Ben Wogsland. Swanson and Blue Cross CEO Michael Guyette met on Monday, but details were not released.
"We do have concerns and are looking into the issue," Wogsland said.
The attorney general is interested in ensuring that people in rural Minnesota continue to have access to care close to home, he said, particularly with an aging population.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the dominant health plan in outstate Minnesota, says the changes are aimed at reducing wide differences in what it pays to hospitals for similar medical care and to provide more incentive for containing overall health costs.
"We recognize there will be challenges in moving away from the status quo," the Eagan-based insurer said in a statement. "However, under the old model, variation on health care prices can be in excess of 500 percent for common procedures. This needs to change."
Payment for an appendectomy can range from $2,500 to more than $25,000, according to Blue Cross. An abdominal CT scan can range from $500 to $5,700. An uncomplicated newborn delivery: $1,500 to more than $10,000.
Blue Cross said the new payment approach is a less arbitrary and more transparent way to pay hospitals based on the specific needs of the people they treat.
"At a time when escalating hospital prices are of great concern to consumers and employers alike, we believe it's important for Blue Cross to move forward with these efforts," the insurer said in a statement.
Minnesota has 79 critical access hospitals, which are regulated by the state and federal governments and are given special designation to maintain health services in rural areas. They are reimbursed at a higher rate by the federal Medicare program because they see fewer patients.
Many of the state's rural hospitals are owned by a city or county and often are the largest provider of jobs. Those that are independent face increasing financial pressure to merge with larger systems, such as the Mayo Clinic, Sanford Health, Essentia and CentraCare.
David Balto, a Washington-based antitrust lawyer who represents 23 critical access hospitals in the Minnesota Rural Health Cooperative, called the change by Blue Cross a "blatant effort to decrease reimbursement in a severe and abrupt fashion," and said he'll consider "all of our options" to try to block the rollout.
The Minnesota Hospital Association also issued a statement opposing the move, saying it would have a "devastating effect on rural health care" and "plunge rural hospitals into the red."
Former Attorney General Mike Hatch has voiced concerns and the Minneapolis law firm where he now works, Blackwell Burke, sent a letter to Swanson last week listing 18 critical access hospitals and other rural medical centers affected by the changes.
In Granite Falls, 120 miles west of Minneapolis, Blue Cross is the biggest payer behind Medicare at the city-owned 25-bed hospital. Patient revenue, which also includes proceeds from a nursing home, home care and ambulance services, was about $17 million in 2012, Gerlach said, and the hospital lost money that year.
Gerlach said he first learned of the change on Feb. 1 and has written three letters asking Blue Cross to extend the deadline to Jan. 1 for more time to absorb the blow.
"There's no negotiation going on," he said. "They said this is the new system, we're going to do it."
Kimber Wraalstad, administrator of Cook County North Shore Hospital, said Blue Cross officials estimated the Grand Marais facility would see a 12 percent reduction, or about $275,000.
"They're saying we want to pay you the same as what we pay people in the metro area," she said. " I don't have the same volume that Twin Cities hospitals have.
"What they're proposing, frankly, would be devastating to our organization."


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Big Easter Egg Cookies
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- Yields:
- 14
- 1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds (see Note 1)
- 2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 stick butter
- c. confectioners' sugar
- c. packed light-brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp. 1% lowfat milk
Decorating Icing
- 1 lb. confectioners' sugar
- c. Warm water
- 2 tbsp. powdered egg whites (Just Whites) or 3 Tbsp meringue powder (see Note 2)
- Green, blue, red and yellow paste (gel) food colors
- Decoration: purchased Easter icing decorations (see Note 2)
- Step 1Dough: Pulse toasted almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add flour; process until almonds are finely ground.
- Step 2Beat butter, sugars, extracts and baking powder with mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg until very well blended. On low speed, beat in flour mixture and milk just until blended.
- Step 3Divide dough in half. Form each portion into a 1-in.-thick disk. Wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
- Step 4Heat oven to 350°F. Have ready baking sheet(s), a 4 1⁄2 x 3 1⁄4-in. egg-shaped cookie cutter or pattern (see Tip) and two 1-qt-size ziptop freezer bags, 1 fitted with a small star piping tip.
- Step 5On lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out 1 portion dough (keep rest refrigerated) to 1⁄4 in. thick. With cookie cutter or pattern, cut out eggs. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheet(s). Reroll and cut scraps only once.
- Step 6Bake 11 to 13 minutes until bottoms and edges just start to brown. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Step 7Decorating Icing: Put sugar, water and powdered egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed 4 to 5 minutes or until glossy, stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted. Cover tightly until using.
- Step 8Trace an outline of a smaller egg on paper. Cut out and place pattern about 3⁄4 in. from bottom edge of cookie. Faintly scratch outline of small egg with a toothpick.
- Step 9Ice and decorate: Scrape 3⁄4 cup icing into bag with star tip. Seal bag and cover tip until ready to use. Tint 1⁄4 cup icing grass-green; scrape into a ziptop bag and seal bag.
- Step 10For each color, put a 1⁄2 cup icing into a custard cup. (Keep remaining icing covered.) Adding food color a little at a time, tint 1⁄2 cup pale blue and others to desired shade. Stir in a few drops of water until thin enough to apply with a brush or icing spatula. Spread icing to edge of cookies and near outline of smaller egg. Let set about 20 minutes. Spread pale blue icing in small egg; let set.
- Step 11Following the photo above as a guide, snip tiny corner of bag with green icing and pipe "grass." Lightly press on decorations; pipe some grass over decorations. (You can pipe your own icing pictures instead of purchased.) Using bag fitted with star tip, pipe a decorative edge around small and large egg areas. Let set.
- Step 12To toast almonds, place in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant.
- Step 13Just Whites is available in supermarkets nationwide. Meringue powder, paste (gel) food color and Easter icing decorations can be foudn in supermarket baking sections or stores selling cake-decorating supplies.
Tips & Techniques
80 Tasty Easter Food Ideas
28 Passover Recipes for Your 2023 Seder
25 Elegant Easter Cocktails
15 of the Best Non-Alcoholic Wines
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- Breed: Scottish Straight
- Sex: female
- Birth date: 10/14/2022
- Champion Bloodlines: Yes
- Pedigree: Conditional (ask for price)
- Registered: Yes
- Breeding: Conditional
- Quality: Show Quality
- Color: blue tabby color point
- Price: $2250
- Pet/vet passport with all records
- Fully vaccinated required kitten age
- Deworming
- Health guarantee
- Kitten grooming
- Information and care instructions
- 7 days a week support with all kitten needs
A deposit of $400 or $500 is required to reserve a kitten. The deposit will place a hold on a kitten so it will not be available to anyone else. The deposit is non-refundable. Unfortunately, deposits are not transferable for other kittens, except the one you have chosen. The deposit is not refundable. The reason is that upon request, a deposit is paid to the breeder in order to keep the kitten for you. Arrangements and exceptions can be made ONLY if both the originally chosen kitten and the new desired one are at the same breeder, AND if the kitten is still not spayed, and the purebred certificate has not been issued under your name. The final payment due the day your kitten arrives at his new home. The deposit can be made through PayPal. Final payment upon picking up through Venmo, Zelle, or Cash. If you have any questions or concerns regarding payment please don't hesitate to contact us.
- For cat We offer Word Cat Federation (WCF) pedigree.
- Kitty can be spayed/ neutered on customer request
- Kitty can be sold with breeding rights.
- *Additional info pet request.
a.In case Pet is found unhealthy at the moment of its acquisition confirmed by the Licensed Veterinary Clinic, the seller undertakes to accept the Pet's return and shall issue a store credit of the amount been paid. b. In case of dissatisfaction of the buyer with the purchased Pet and cases of theft, problems with the toilet, appearance of allergy in the family, etc., the buyer has no right to demand from the seller a refund or any other compensation of damages. c. Seller reserves the right to the first refusal in the event that the Buyer is unable to house, care for, and maintain the Pet. d. The Pet should never be put into a rescue situation or humane society but should be returned to the seller to be re-homed if necessary without any refund.
If you would like to see some of our furry little friends just playing around, head on over to our Instagram page and show us some love! Instagram: @meowoff.us
See more


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Massive Cataclysm Badge and PVP Changes Incoming
Massive changes came down the line in a blue post last night with regard to the way we'll be buying gear in the future: almost all badges for PvE and PvP gear, and personal ratings for PvP gear will be going away. Instead, there'll be new point systems based entirely on numbers and not necessarily items that drop from bosses, for example.
Here's the skinny from Bashiok on the forums yesterday:
We're continuing to refine the badge/emblem and PvP point systems in Cataclysm and we'd like to share some of those changes with you today. Please enjoy!
Our primary goal when approaching badges in Cataclysm is to address a lot of the confusion that comes with these currency systems. To that end we're changing badges to a more straightforward point system, similar to the ones we've used for a while for Arenas and Battlegrounds. There will be a total of four types of points you can earn in Cataclysm (two for PvE and two for PvP), and these will remain the same even as we introduce new content.
Here's the breakdown:
Hero Points — Low-tier, easier-to-get PVE points. Maximum cap to how many you can own, but no cap to how quickly you can earn them. Earned from most dungeons. (most like the current Emblem of Triumph)
Valor Points — High-tier, harder-to-get PvE points. Maximum cap to how many you can own, as well as a cap to how many you can earn per week. Earned from Dungeon Finder daily Heroic and from raids. (most like the current Emblem of Frost)
Honor Points — Low-tier, easier-to-get PVP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, but no cap to how quickly you can earn them. Earned from most PvP activities.
Conquest Points — High-tier, harder-to-get PvP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, and a cap to how many you can earn per week. Earned from winning Rated Battlegrounds or Arenas. (currently called Arena Points)
When a new tier of raiding gear is released or a new PvP season begins, your higher tier of points will be converted into the lower tier. For instance, if a new tier of raid gear is released, your Valor points will be converted to Hero points, and similarly if a new PvP season begins your Conquest points will be converted to Honor points. Of course that means with these new releases you'll always begin without any of the higher tier of points, and thus be unable to stockpile them.
As noted for Conquest points, the Rated Battlegrounds and Arenas will be sharing this same point type. Because of that, it will in fact be possible to get the best PvP items without setting foot in Arena; however, more powerful armor and weapons will of course require more Conquest points, so players who win their matches more often will still gear up faster. We're removing personal rating requirements on almost all items; they're definitely removed for weapons. We might offer a few items to the absolute best players based on personal rating, largely as cosmetic or 'bragging rights' type items. And you'll have the option of purchasing the previous season's gear with the more readily available Honor points.
We do plan to have a way to convert Honor points (PvP) into Hero points (PvE), and vice versa, at a loss. The conversions will be possible, but it won't be a 1:1 rate, and you'll have fewer points after the conversion process. We won't allow the higher tiers to be exchanged for each other, however.
To explain the reasoning for the weekly cap on points for the higher tiers, this is to provide flexibility in how players choose to earn the points without feeling like they have to do all of the content as often as it is available. If your Valor income from raiding is sufficient, you may not feel the need to run Dungeon Finder every night, or perhaps even at all. Likewise, a PvP player could choose to participate in a lot of Rated Battlegrounds but no Arenas, or focus on both, and still be able to earn the points they want.
We realize that with any changes to progression pathways there are going to be questions. We're eagerly awaiting any that we may have left unanswered. To the comments!
In the end, there'll be four different kinds of "points:" hero and valor for low and high-quality PvE items, and honor and conquest for low and high-quality PvP items, respectively. No more badges, no more badge trade-ins, no more marks of honor or honor points and then arena points, no more worrying if one type of badge will be phased out in the next patch, and so on. In the end it'll be all about collecting those kinds of points by doing the activities that earn them, like heroic versus regular dungeons, arenas versus battlegrounds, and so on.
The changes should make things much simpler, but at the same time it opens the door to oversimplification – considering it's all virtual, aren't points the same as badges anyway? Even so, it'll definitely make the process of getting gear and figuring out how to acquire the gear your really want much much simpler.
What do you think about the changes? Sound it out in the comments!


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CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - A meteorite streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.
People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.
The fireball, travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away.
Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered and mobile phone networks were disrupted. The Interior Ministry said the meteorite explosion, a very rare spectacle, also unleashed a sonic boom.
"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it were day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.
"I felt like I was blinded by headlights."
The meteorite, which weighed about 10 metric tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences.
The energy released when it entered the Earth's atmosphere was equivalent to a few kilotonnes, the academy said, the power of a small atomic weapon exploding.
No deaths were reported but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.
The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass.
The early-morning blast and ensuing shock wave blew out windows on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street, buckled some shop fronts, rattled apartment buildings in the city center and blew out windows.
"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shock wave that smashed windows."
A wall and roof were badly damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said no environmental threat resulted.
One piece of meteorite broke through the ice the Cherbakul Lake near Chelyabinsk, leaving a hole several meters (yards) wide.
The region has long been a hub for the Russian military and defense industry, and it is often the site where artillery shells are decommissioned.
A local Emergencies Ministry official said meteorite storms were extremely rare and Friday's incident may have been connected with an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool that was due to pass Earth.
But an astronomer at Russia's Academy of Sciences, Sergei Barabanov, cast doubt on that report and the European Space Agency said its experts had confirmed there was no link.
The regional governor in Chelyabinsk said the meteorite shower had caused more than $30 million in damage, and the Emergencies Ministry said 300 buildings had been affected.
Despite warnings not to approach any unidentified objects, some enterprising locals were hoping to cash in.
"Selling meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk!" one prospective seller, Vladimir, said on a popular Russian auction website. He attached a picture of a black piece of stone that on Friday afternoon was priced at 1,488 roubles ($49.46).
The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a "meteorite shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.
The first footage was shot by car dashboard video cameras and soon went viral.
Russians also quickly made fun at the event on the Internet. A photo montage showed Putin riding the meteorite and Nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovksy said in jest it was really a new weapon being tested by the United States.
Experts drew comparisons with an incident in 1908, when a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia, breaking windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.
Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said that roughly 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons of material rained down from space towards the earth every day, but most burned up in the atmosphere.
"While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts."
The meteorite struck just as an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 m in diameter, was due to pass closer to Earth - at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) - than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.
($1 = 30.0877 Russian roubles)
Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Thomas Grove; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Michael Roddy
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Wolf Blitzer delivers the most important breaking news and political, international, and national security stories of the day. Tune to The Situation Room weekdays 5-7pm ET on CNN.
E-mails emerged on Wednesday purportedly from top aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that bolster the case that access lane closures to the George Washington Bridge were borne from a political vendetta against opponents of the governor, and were not the result of an incompetent traffic study as his administration claimed.
"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs, e-mailed David Wildstein, then the highest-level political appointee representing the state at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Programming Note: Wolf Blitzer will interview the Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee today in "The Situation Room" at 5 p.m. ET.FULL STORY
First we had to hear Christie for an hour and a half about this...now it's another hour and a half follow up...#what else is going on in the world?
Is this any different in character for Christie than the Trout/Barlyn Flemington/Hunterdon County Sheriff controversy illustrates?
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SystemLink is an intelligent Systems and Data Management environment that breaks down silos in your organization—from concept to manufacturing. Designed for engineering use cases, SystemLink software combines focused applications and data services that accelerate time-to-knowledge and time-to-market by leveraging comprehensive real-time information. From engineering teams to enterprises, SystemLink software helps you achieve peak performance.
SystemLink software products deliver superior situational awareness, test and measurement data analysis, and intelligent automation. With a modular and integrated architecture, choose the products that address your team's specific needs.
SystemLink software workflows empower your engineering and manufacturing groups to accelerate the NPI process and shorten the time-to-ramp to production. With better information management, efficient root-cause analysis, standardization of processes under test, automation of repeatable and time-consuming tasks, and improved yield, manufacturers gain a competitive edge. Increase your business performance across all test processes, systems, and locations with SystemLink software.
From functional test in electronics manufacturing to digital transformation in aerospace and defense, SystemLink software delivers solutions to meet your unique needs.
Explore SystemLink in these areas:
Get started learning SystemLink with on-demand access to the Using SystemLink Server to Manage Systems and Data course, which you can use to deploy software, monitor testing, manage hardware assets, and collect test results.
To expand on the skills you learned, you can also purchase courses individually using Education Services Credits or save money taking multiple courses with a Training Membership. The following recommended courses can help you learn to do more, even faster, with SystemLink.
Learn how to use SystemLink Server for advanced data analysis with various tools including Jupyter Notebook, HTTP APIs, web interfaces, and JSON files. You will also learn how to exchange data between SystemLink Server and other applications and how to manage third-party assets.
Data capital is business capital. In today's digital economy, data is a kind of capital, an economic factor for the optimal design and production of goods in an ever-increasingly complex ecosystem. Big data management represents an existential threat to organizations that don't embrace it, but an unparalleled opportunity for those that do. Given this central and mission-critical role, strong practices and robust systems are essential for every manufacturer, regardless of size or type.
Test systems management is the centralized management of a company's test and measurement assets — software, systems, and fixtures. It helps make the most of test and measurement resources by using real-time information to provide optimum system function and availability.
Test data management is the foundational system for collecting, organizing, processing, and analyzing disparate data across an organization. It makes essential test and measurement data available when and where it is needed.
SystemLink Software Specialty Partners
Augment Your Team to Drive Results
Whether you are looking to automate processes, implement proactive alerting, or develop custom dashboards, our specialty partners are equipped with the expertise, tools, and resources to help you get the most out of your SystemLink software implementation, quickly and efficiently.


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EXCLUSIVE: Nothing's official yet, but I'm expecting Cameron Diaz to have a deal shortly to star in Lionsgate's What to Expect When You're Expecting, the Kirk Jones-directed romantic comedy adaptation of Heidi Murkoff's bestselling how-to manual. The pic has a script by Heather Hach and Shauna Cross. Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites are producing, and Doug McKay is co-producer. Murkoff and husband Erik Murkoff are exec producers with Alan Nevins. The idea is to take a book that has sold north of 16 million copies, and turn into a pic in the vein of Love Actually, where five couples experience the surprises that happen when a stork visit is imminent.
Diaz just started production today alongside Colin Firth in Gambit, the Michael Hoffman-directed caper comedy that was scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen. Shooting on What To Expect When You're Expecting will begin in July. Diaz is repped by CAA and Rick Yorn.
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The epitome of elegance
The five star Egerton House Hotel is meticulously designed with traditional style and flair. This luxury boutique townhouse hotel, built in 1843, is located in one of London's most prestigious areas on a quiet tree-lined street in the heart of fashionable Knightsbridge overlooking peaceful gardens.
Guests will find themselves just a short walk from Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Sloane Street and the King's Road, making this the ideal base from which to enjoy the best of vibrant London. And for the museum lovers we are walking distance from some of London's most well known museums including the V&A, Science and Natural History Museums.