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[Boardwalk Empire fans, please check back, early tomorrow, December 13th, for my recap of the Season 2 Finale, "To the Lost." Thanks for your patience! :)]
Greetings, Fangbangers! In honor of the upcoming holidays, our friends over in Mystic Falls have decided to leave a very special present under your Christmas Tree . . .
Just last week, I asked you all to vote on your favorite Damon and Elena scenes from the first half of season three. And I was totally blown away by your responses. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and participated. You literally made my week . . .
So, without further adieu, I proudly present to you, YOUR picks for the Top Ten Damon and Elena moments, so far this season . . .
10. Damon Throws Elena in the Lake (1% of the Votes)
Episode: "The Hybrid" – 3 x 2
Setting the Scene:
Stefan's Tearful Phantom Breather phonecall at the end of "The Birthday," has given Elena new hope that here erstwhile boyfriend, though currently Klaus' b*tch, has not yet given himself over fully to the darkside. Armed with a longshot tip that Stefan and Klaus might be spending the next full moon tracking werewolves in the mountains of Tennessee, Elena commandeers a reluctant Alaric to join her on a little hiking field trip. But what Elena doesn't know is that another traveler is lurking in the trees, just waiting for the right moment to make his presence known . . .
Potent Quotables:
ELENA: "DA-MON! How are you even here?"
DAMON: (to Alaric) "Thanks for the tip, Brother."
* * *
ELENA: "If I get out (of the water), you're going to make me go home.'
DAMON: "Yes, because I'm not an idiot, like you."
* * *
DAMON: "What's your big plan, Elena, huh? (Joins her in the water.) You gonna walk over to a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to stop by?"
* * *
ELENA: (looks plaintively at Damon) "Damon, please."
DAMON: "OK . . . but we are out of here before the moon is full, and I'm werewolf meat."
ELENA: "I promise."
DAMON: "Unless you want to relive that Deathbed Kissy Thing."
ELENA: "I said, I promise."
Why it Made the List:
Damon's and Elena's relationship is nothing, if not antagonistic. Both are strong-willed and stubborn to a fault. And this causes them to butt heads often. Damon and Elena know exactly how to push one another's buttons, and make eachother's blood boil. So, it is no surprise that some of the most intensely erotic moments between them, are when they are engaged in heated verbal sparring matches.
This scene from "The Hybrid," starts off as one that seems to be included merely as comic relief. It's hysterical to see Elena kicking her feet uselessly, as she falls into the water. And it's hilarious how her and Damon snipe at eachother like petulant children, once she's all wet . . . with Elena pouting and refusing to get out of the water, and Damon childishly calling her an "idiot."
But when Damon wades into the water to join Elena, the scene takes a surprising turn . . .
Deep down, Elena knows that the real reason Damon came all the way out to Tennessee to find her, is that he cares about her deeply, and can't bear to see her hurt. She also knows exactly how to use this to her advantage. Just as we saw last season with her, "Be a better man," speech, Elena appeals to Damon's undying devotion to her with doe eyes, wet skin, and a plaintive expression on her face. "Damon, please," she says, her face just inches away from his . . .
From this moment on, us viewers know that the battle is over. And Damon has lost. Elena may not be a vampire, but she's clearly an expert at compelling Damon. Even Alaric finds that needs to look away, feeling as though he has wandered into an intimate moment between two lovers. After all, Alaric, Chunky Monkey that he is, knows exactly what it's like to be totally whipped by a beautiful woman . . .
Damon might have lost this battle, but he sure as hell isn't going to lose the war. He makes that very clear in his reminder to Elena of that whole "Deathbed Kissy Thing" . . .
. . . because as much as Damon love for Elena, has the power to turn his insides into jelly sometimes, she's not entirely immune to his charms either . . .
9. Damon and Elena Make Chili (1 % of the Votes)
Episode: "Disturbing Behavior" – 3 X 4
Setting the Scene:
Elena just got back from the WORST CHICAGO VACATION EVER! First, she found herself just minutes away from getting sniffed out by a psychotic hybrid. Then, she found out that her boyfriend keeps a weird diary listing the names of all the people he's KILLED . . .
And, finally, she got herself all dressed up in a cute purple dress, just to be dumped by that same boyfriend, who coldly told her, "I don't want to see you. I don't want to be with you. I just want you to go." HARSH!
But, you know what they say . . . when the going get tough, the tough . . . make chili?
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "I just don't know why you want to bring chili to a potluck. Everybody brings chili . . . Show up there's going to be nine other people that bring chili."
ELENA: "It's an old family recipe, OK?"
DAMON: "Yeah, I know. I knew you're old family. They made sucky chili."
* * *
ELENA: "He thinks I'm going to break. I'm not going to break. I'm just going to keep making chili, pretend like I didn't spend the entire summer looking for someone who didn't want to be found."
DAMON: "She's in denial."
ELENA: "I'm not in denial."
DAMON: "No? You're still wearing this necklace. Isn't this a reminder of your unbreakable bond with Stefan?"
Why it Made the List:
This small, seemingly throwaway scene, at the beginning of Episode 4, actually has a lot to say about Damon's and Elena's relationship, and how far they've come as a couple, over the course of two seasons. Damon instinctively understands that Elena is heartbroken over her "breakup" with Stefan, but is hiding it behind a facade of false optimism. The seamless way in which Damon is instantly able to intuit Elena's hidden feelings illustrates just how emotionally in sync these two are with one another. The fact that Elena is allowing Damon to support her and keep her company during this difficult time, shows what an important and integral part of her life he has become.
And of course, we can't forget the flirting over the chili. Though Damon sometimes has the unique power to make Elena furiously angry, he also has the unique capability of disarming her, and bringing out her fun-loving, friendly, and flirtatious side. This is evidenced by the way she bumps hips with him, and wags her eyebrows at him, for insulting her "sucky chili."
Damon too seems surprisingly giddy around Elena. Though his flirtation with other women, tends more toward the overtly sexual, with Elena, he is surprisingly gentle and almost innocent in his advances. This scene actually reminds me a bit of the kitchen scene the pair shared back in season one . . .
But things get really interesting when Damon challenges Elena's reasons for keeping the necklace, an object he always viewed as representative of Stefan's love for Elena. But what if it isn't? After all? Hasn't it been Damon, who has repeatedly returned this necklace to Elena, reattaching it to her neck in increasingly romantic moments, every time she loses it?
Isn't it possible that Elena is keeping the necklace, because, subconsciously, it reminds her of her relationship with Damon, just as much as it reminds her of her relationship with Stefan? The way Elena stares at Damon's lips, almost mesmerized, as he clutches tightly to her necklace, should definitely give some Delena fans pause . . .
8. "Do you trust me?" (2% of the Votes)
Episode: "Homecoming" – 3 X 9
Setting the Scene:
It's the night of the Homecoming Dance, and the Scooby Gang has big plans to kill Klaus. The problem, of course, is that too many vampires know about this plan, and not all of them can be trusted. One of these vampires who knows to much, is Klaus Barbie, herself, Klaus' little sister, Rebekah. This forces Elena to take matters into her own hands, in a decidedly un-Elena like way . . .
With a temporarily dead body on the floor, and a distraught Elena on the bed, nearby, this sounds like a job for SUPER DAMON!
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: (upon examining Rebekah's daggered body) "In the back . . . harsh . . . Hey, I'm not judging you. It was very . . . Katherine of you."
ELENA: "Not the way to make me feel better about myself, Damon."
DAMON: "It was a compliment . . . sort of."
ELENA: "Stefan's right. If someone is going to let their humanity get in the way and screw this whole thing up, it's probably going to be me. . . . I care too much. That's the problem, Damon. I'm the weak link."
* * *
ELENA: "We need a better plan."
DAMON: "I know what to do. You're just not going to like it."
ELENA: "Why not?"
DAMON: "Because when this all goes down, I don't want you having any part of it."
ELENA: "What does that mean?"
DAMON: "Do you trust me?"
ELENA: "Yes."
DAMON: "Then, you have nothing to worry about."
Why it Made the List:
Trust has played a major role in the Delena relationship, ever since that epic moment, during Season 1, when Elena put her trust entirely in Damon, and ensured him that he could trust her in return, by taking off her vervain necklace, and permitting him to compel her. Given Damon's obvious attraction to Elena, this was a tantalizing opportunity for him . . . one that, of course, he didn't take . . .
Since then, Damon and Elena have worked hard to maintain one another's trust, though there have been some notable stumbles along the way (i.e. the Jeremy Neck Snap Incident and the Force Feeding Incident, on Damon's part, and Elena's de-staking of Elijah on her part, to name a few). However, here, in season 3, it seems as though Damon and Elena have finally moved past their respective baggage, and come to a place where they can really and truly trust one another wholeheartedly.
But it's more than trust the binds these two together . . . it's respect and understanding. Throughout this series, both Damon and Elena have come up with numerous plans to defeat their enemies. Some have worked well, others have failed miserably. But never before this very moment, have the pair agreed on a single course of action.
The fact that Elena can say, without hesitation, that she trusts Damon, and is willing to go along with whatever plan he has — even if it means that she can't play any part in it — shows just how fully she has come to respect Damon's intelligence and strength. She understands, without question, that he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. And, because of this, she
wants to have sex with him feels safe with him . . .
7. Damon Gives Elena First Aid (2% of the Votes)
Episode: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" – 3 x 6
Setting the Scene:
When a compelled-by-Klaus-to-be-emotion-free Stefan moves back into the house to "babysit" Elena on Klaus' behalf, Damon and Elena plot to vervain him, and lock him up, until they've killed Klaus, thus freeing him from compulsion. The plan is for Elena to fake drunk, and take a swan dive off the school bleachers. This way, when Stefan catches her (as they all know he will), Alaric can knock him out with a vervain dart.
Meanwhile, Damon is supposed to distract Rebekah, by using his sexy man magic, and remarkable ability to make s'mores . . .
The flirtation doesn't go unnoticed by Elena, who prefers that Damon reserve his man magic for her. Plans go awry when a pesky ghost (Vicki) sets Alaric's car on fire with Elena and Stefan inside. Fortuately, everyone (except Alaric's car) ends up being OK. But Elena has an adorable little boo-boo that needs kissing. So, Damon decides to step up to the challenge and play her doctor feel good . . .
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "Elena, you almost got barbecued. The least I can do is apply first aid."
ELENA: "You played your part of the plan really well tonight . . . you had Rebekah drooling all over you and your marshmallows."
DAMON: "Yeah, before she skewered me. I thought you were too drunk to notice."
ELENA: "I was faking most of it."
DAMON: "So, was I."
Why it Made the List:
This is far from the first time Damon has tended to Elena's wounds. However, this is the first time Elena was awake (and fully conscious) to witness it, and allow it to happen. There is an openness and intimacy between these two in this scene, the likes of which we haven't really seen since the Season 2 finale . . .
Elena's willingness to admit that she was jealous seeing Damon flirt with Rebekah, says so much about how comfortable she is with Damon, and how aware she is becoming of her romantic feelings toward him. For Damon's part, he has the perfect opportunity to rub Elena's jealousy in her face, and claim he has feelings for Rebekah that he doesn't. The old Damon, from early Season 1, would have done this in a heartbeat.
But Season 3 Damon is beyond pretenses. He loves Elena, and only Elena. And he's not afraid to let her know that. Damon's also adorably thrilled that Elena wasn't too drunk to recognize him putting the moves on another woman, even if it was only as part of a plan . . .
6. "I will never leave you again." (6% of the Votes)
Episode: "The Reckoning" – 3 x 5
Setting the Scene:
If you thought Elena had a bad night in Chicago, during "The End of the Affair," that was a day in the park, in comparison to "The Reckoning's" Prank Night!
Let's see . . . Elena got man-handled by Klaus, watched her classmates get murdered right in front of her, watched, as her boyfriend literally lost his humanity, was bitten, and drained of blood to the point of unconsciousness by her ex-boyfriend, and then was taken to a hospital, where even more blood was forcefully drained from her veins. But worst of all, DAMON WASN'T THERE!
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "You know, I could help you forget too . . . at least the memories you don't want to keep."
ELENA: "No . . . no compulsion. I need to remember all of it.
DAMON: (holding up the vervain necklace) "I stole it back for you."
ELENA: "He's really gone this time. I watched it happen, after everything that we went through to help him, now he's just gone. Where were you, Damon?"
DAMON: "I shouldn't have left. I promise you, I will never leave you again."
Why it Made the List:
The previous episode,"Disturbing Behavior," ended with a fight between Elena and Damon . . . one that prompted Damon to leave town, albeit temporarily. Elena was frustrated with Damon because he acted too much like a vampire. And Damon was frustrated with Elena because she refused to accept him for who he was. Given the obvious fact that Elena really could have used a vicious-when-necessary vampire like Damon on her side, when she was battling Klaus, Damon had a real opportunity here to pour a little "I told you so," salt into Elena's gaping heart wound.
But he doesn't. In fact, Damon doesn't get any joy at all from being "right," in this instance. He loves Elena so much that to see her in this much pain, both emotional and physical, causes him great anguish. He feels so bad for Elena, and so guilty for not being there for her during this ordeal, that he's even willing to take Elena's memories of the night away from her . . . even if this means she will go back to annoyingly mooning over Stefan again. Talk about self-sacrifice!
But Elena is much too strong to take the easy way out of her pain. And Damon understands and respects that.
Of course, Elena has more to say, she wants to know why Damon wasn't at the school, while this was all happening. On one hand, it's kind of a cloying question to ask, especially since Elena knows full well why Damon wasn't there. But on the other hand, Elena's question tells Damon something he's been wanting to hear since he first fell in love with the Petrova Doppelganger. Because, what Elena is really saying, when she is asking that question is: "I need you."
Because Elena has told Damon what he wants to hear, he rewards her with what she needs to hear . . . that he will never leave her (as nearly everyone she's loved has done in the past) . . . and that he will remain by her side, no matter how many fights they get into, or how many monsters try to come between them. And really, what could be more romantic than that?
5. Damon Rescues Elena from the Hospital (8% of the Votes)
Episode: "The Reckoning" – 3 x 5
Setting the Scene:
Having been out of town hunting Mikael, Damon returns to Mystic Falls to learn that Elena is in the hospital, having suffered severe blood loss, as a result of being bitten and drained by a compelled Stefan. What he doesn't yet know (but is about to find out), is that the nurse at the hospital has been compelled to take even more blood from Elena, so that Klaus can use it to build his doppelganger army . . .
Potent Quotables:
ELENA: (whispers) "Damon."
DAMON: "Hey."
Why it Made the List:
This short, nearly silent, scene was both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The look of trepidation and anguish on Damon's face is quite clear, as he enters the hospital. We see that look change to one of relief, when he realizes that Elena is alive and well. Then, that face morphs to one of concern, sympathy, and anger, when he sees, both the bandage on her neck, obscuring Stefan's bite, and the tubes connected to her, only serving to further drain her of blood.
We've seen Damon carry Elena on two separate occasions prior to this one, giving the repeated gesture, three times as much significance as it would have otherwise. The first time took place in Season 1, when Damon saved Elena from an overturned car. The second time took place in Season 2, when Damon brought Elena home after the traumatic Sacrifice Ritual . . .
Both times, Elena awakened to find Damon hovering over her, and responded by becoming instantly relaxed and at-ease, despite the traumas she had just experienced. This time was no different, and only provides more evidence of the undeniable connection between these two individuals.
4. "Then we'll let him go." (13% of the Votes)
Episode: "Homecoming" – 3 x 9
Setting the Scene:
When a twisty, turny, seemingly fool-proof, plan to kill Klaus goes horribly awry — thanks to Stefan ultimately saving Klaus' life, so that he could, in turn, save his brother's (though Stefan's benevolent reasons for doing this are, at this point, unbeknownst to the elder Salvatore) — Damon is both enraged and utterly devastated. So, he returns home, with his tail between his legs, to bring Elena the bad news . . .
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "I had him Elena, I had Klaus. This could have all been over!"
ELENA: "Hey, Damon, hey, listen to me. We'll survive this. We always survive."
DAMON: "We're never getting Stefan back. You know that. Don't you?"
ELENA: "Then, we'll let him go. OK? We'll have to let him go."
Why it Made the List:
Back during Season 1 and Season 2, the majority of sexy Delena moments were those initiated by Damon himself. Damon was the one declaring his love for Elena. Damon was the one invading Elena's personal space, and stroking her skin. Damon was the one making the sacrifices necessary to keep Elena safe and happy.
However, this season, as Elena experiences a growing awareness of her love for Damon, we are starting to see some role reversals. In this top ten list, there are just as many Elena-initiated romantic moments, as there are ones that are Damon-initiated. But, out of all the times, Elena illustrated her love and concern for Damon this season, the moment you just watched, is arguably the most groundbreaking in terms of the path this couple is taking toward romantic (and sexual ;)) bliss.
For most of the season, we have watched Damon take on the dual role of Elena's hero, and caretaker. He's been strong for her and protective of her, when she's in danger, but gentle, and sensitive with her, when she's feeling vulnerable. Damon has also provided some tough love to Elena, when she was most in need of that. Many times throughout the season, we have seen Damon try to get Elena to face the fact that Stefan is not himself right now, and might not be for a long time.
But now, Damon needs Elena to play all of the roles he usually plays for her. Having been outsmarted by Klaus, he is feeling weak, and needs Elena to be strong for him. Devastated by the believed betrayal of his brother, Damon is feeling vulnerable, and needs Elena to reassure him. And finally, forced to face the realization that his brother might truly be lost to him forever, Damon needs Elena to tell him that everything is going to be OK, in spite of that.
Though Elena is most likely feeling just as frustrated, saddened, and betrayed by Klaus and Stefan, as Damon is, she puts all of that aside for him. When Damon lashes out angrily, by tossing a wine glass into the fire, and pushes Elena away, she doesn't shrink back in fear. Instead, she cups his face lovingly, as he has cupped hers, so many times before, and assures him confidently that they will survive this setback, along with whatever else Klaus throws in their path.
Elena also makes a point of referring to her and him as a "we." "We will let him go," she says of Stefan. I think this has much less to do with Elena thinking that either her or Damon will ever fully give up on Stefan, and more to do with the fact that Elena is ready to face up to any challenge, as long as Damon is by her side, when she does it. Elena, in a sense, is also repeating to Damon the same sentiment he shared with her, at the end of "The Reckoning." She is saying, "I will never leave you."
3. Damon Teaches Elena the Way to a Vampire's Heart (16% of the Votes)
Episode: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" – 3 x 6
Setting the Scene:
Emotion-free, Ripper Stefan is lurking around Elena, and more or less treating her like the "Human Blood Bag," he now thinks she is, thanks to Klaus' compulsion. Elena decides she needs to lock Stefan up, until Klaus is dead. This way he can no longer be a danger to himself or others, and can no longer make snarky comments to Elena that make her feel like crap. But to take down Stefan, Elena needs to bulk up, and do some Buffy the Vampire Slayer-style training, STAT. So, naturally, she calls on Damon to be her Hot Sensei.
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "What's your plan, Oh Warrior Princess?"
ELENA: "I want to lock Stefan up . . . at least until Mikael comes, kills Klaus, and then the compulsion breaks."
DAMON: "His humanity is gone . . . lights out . . . no one's home."
ELENA: "Then do it for me, Damon. Every time I look at him, I feel like I'm going to break, and I'm not going to give him that satisfaction."
DAMON: (grabs Elena's hand and puts it on his heart) "Feel that? It's the sternum . . . solid plate of bone. (fondles Elena's sides, back and boobs) Right here, just below the ribcage, is the spine. That's your way to a vampire's heart. . . . I'll do whatever it is you need me to do, Elena. No one is going to hurt you, especially not my brother."
Why it Made the List:
Whew! Did anyone else need to take a cold shower, after watching that clip? We've witnessed many an erotic Delena scene over the past three seasons. But as far as sheer sex appeal goes, this one takes the cake!
Let's get the verbal stuff out of the way, so that we can focus on the body language. Shall we?
First off, I love how Damon was the first person Elena thought to call, when she (a) was in need of a
sex partner trainer; and (b) needed to take down Stefan. I also love how Elena opened up to Damon, and admitted to him how hard it was for her to see her ex like this, in a way that she couldn't open up to anybody else.
For Damon's part, I loved the way he melted, when Elena pleaded with him to "do it for me."I also seriously dug how strong, self-assured, and undeniably sexy Damon was, when he whispered in her ear that he would do whatever she wanted him to do, and that he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, on his watch . . .
Now, LET'S TALK TOUCHING!
Damon's grabbing Elena's wrist to put her hand on his heart may have had the external purpose of showing Elena how hard Damon's
weiner sternum is, but the intimacy of the gesture, and the implication of love behind it was clearly not lost on either party. It's certainly not lost on Damon, who massages Elena's hand, and looks deeply into Elena's eyes, while he's speaking. Nor is it lost on Elena, who stares first at Damon's muscular chest, and then at his lips, as she tends to do whenever Damon arouses her, which, lately, is quite often . . .
But things get really steamy, when Damon turns Elena around, pulls her toward him, and begins gently run his hands up and down her side, while caress her chest and abdomen, all as he is explaining the way to a Vampire's Heart. As if that wasn't enough, he's directing the entire speech toward Elena's ear and neck, both of which are clear erogenous zones for Elena, as is evidenced by her gasping for breath, and allowing her eyes to roll back in her head, as he works his magic on her.
Well played, DAMON! Well played, indeed!
2. "I want you to remember the things you felt." (17 % of the Votes)
Episode: "The Hybrid" – 3 x 2
Setting the Scene:
Damon's decision to follow Elena and Alaric to the mountains of Tennessee to rescue Stefan from himself, proved to be both a dangerous, and an eye-opening journey for Damon. It was dangerous, because Damon, once again, was almost bitten by a werewolf / hybrid. And it was eye-opening because Stefan was the one who saved his life, thus proving that he still has some good left in him. Damon also noticed that Elena was surprisingly willing to give the Stefan Search Party early, when it became apparent to her that Damon's life was in danger. This gesture gives Damon pause . . .
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "I'll help you bring him back."
ELENA: "Thank you."
DAMON: "But before I do, I need you to answer one question. What made you change your mind?"
* * *
ELENA: "I didn't want to see you get hurt, OK? I was . . . I was worried about you."
DAMON: (smirks) "Thanks." (turns to leave)
ELENA: (calls after him) "Yes, I worry about you. Why do you even have to hear me say it?"
DAMON: "Because when I drag my brother from the edge and deliver him back to you, I want you to remember the things you felt when he was gone."
Why it Made the List:
Ahhhh, Elena's bedroom. Why is it that all the best Delena moments take place there (or in Damon's bedroom?)
What is interesting here is that this particular scene contains the same basic structure of both the hideous Jeremy Neck Snap Incident from "The Return" (which likely explains why Elena asked Damon if he was drunk), and the glorious Delena love declaration of "Rose."
In fact, I'm pretty sure she's even wearing the same pajamas! In both previous scenes, like in this one, Elena enters her bedroom to find Damon standing by the window, waiting to have a heart-to-heart talk. However, where as in both of the aforementioned scenes, Damon wished to speak to Elena, but not necessarily to hear her respond. (In "Rose," he compelled her to forget he was there, before she even had a chance to process the information.) This conversation is all about Elena, and her feelings.
Damon is about to once again, do something extremely self-sacrificing for the woman he loves . . . something that, as far as he is concerned, may result in her being lost to him forever. But before he does that, Damon wants to make sure that Elena is honest with herself about her feelings for him . . .
When Damon forces Elena to admit that she worries about him, and abandoned her own mission to save his life, he does it less because he needs to hear her say it, and more because she needs to hear herself say it out loud. However, since our girl Elena can be a bit dense sometimes about her feelings for Damon, the Elder Salvatore brother, with Elena's encouragement takes things one step further.
Cupping her face in his hands, and lovingly running his fingers through her hair, Damon looks deeply into Elena's eyes, and plunges headfirst into the depth of her soul. The words he says to her in this moment, based on her response, only further cemented Damon's place in Elena's heart, providing assurance that, no matter what happens between Stefan and Elena, Elena will never truly be able to get Damon, or the journey that he and she underwent together, during Stefan's absence this season, out of her mind. And that, my fellow Delena, fans is a tremendously good thing . . .
And that brings us to . . . DRUMROLL PLEASE . . .
1. Damon and Elena Sleep Together (35% of the Votes)
Episode: "Ordinary People" – 3 x 8
Setting the Scene:
Damon and Elena have both had busy, and disturbing, but oddly productive days, on the "Kill Klaus" front. After an extremely heated exchange with Rebekah, Elena finally managed to convince her that Klaus killed her mother in cold blood, and has been lying to her for centuries. As for Damon, he broke Stefan out of vampire rehab, got him high on blood, and had a run-in with Mikael. The latter got Stefan to break through enough of his compulsion to save Damon from getting his heart ripped out, and to agree to help Mikael kill Klaus, so that he no longer has to be his b*tch.
Needless to say, these two have a lot
of great reasons to make sweet, sweet love to one another to talk about, when they reunite at the end of the evening . . .
Potent Quotables:
DAMON: "Go ahead, kick, yell, scream. I'm sure you've been planning your rant all day."
ELENA: "I'm not going to yell at you . . . I'm not mad. I'm just. I'm tired, I wanna go to bed."
ELENA: "I think we got Rebekah on our side too."
DAMON: (impressed) "Really? What did you learn?"
ELENA: "I learned that she's just a girl . . . that she lost her mom too young, and she loves blindly, and recklessly, even if it consumes her . . . you know when all is said and done, there is nothing more important than the bonds of family"
DAMON: "Tell that to my brother."
ELENA: "I'm not mad at you for letting him out. I think you're the one who's going to save him from himself. It won't be because he loves me, it will be because he loves you."
Why it Made the List:
Damon and Elena SLEPT TOGETHER! Damon and Elena SLEPT TOGETHER! (takes breath) OK, so they didn't exactly join together, in the carnal sense, but, in a way, the bond illustrated between Damon and Elena in this scene, was arguably more intimate, and special, than even the most erotic sex scene. When Elena entered her room, and found Damon in her bed, she felt completely comfortable with him being there, and never even thought to kick him out. (Who would?)
Rather, she crawled right into bed with him, so that the two could eagerly share with one another the events of the day.
When Damon and Elena related to one another in this scene, it was without judgment, or argument . . . they related as equals, friends, and, yes, lovers. They rejoiced in eachother's victories, and shared eachother's successes, as all good couples do. Then, Elena turned out the light, and snuggled up next to Damon, as she told him about Rebekah, a woman who loves recklessly, even though it consumes her . . . a trait she shares in common with both Damon and Elena.
But perhaps the most poignant part of the scene was when Elena admitted to Damon that it would be his love that saved Stefan, and not hers. This is a huge step for Elena to take, admitting that she doesn't come first in Stefan's heart . . . that she might not be the one most capable of saving Stefan's soul. It also shows how much she trusts that Damon will be able to do just that.
Damon is noticeably touched by Elena's words, and how much she believes in him. Elena's confidence in Damon helps him to believe more in himself, and his capacity to save his little brother. Damon is also deeply affected by the way Elena closes her eyes, and goes to sleep, allowing Damon to snuggle up next to her, impliedly letting him stay the night. The scene ends with Damon contentedly watching Elena sleep, his eyes filled with love, adoration, compassion, and, most importantly . . . hope.
Sweet Dreams, Delena fans!


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Hi, I was looking through some of my old junk and I was noticing how the only figures I keep around are from video games so what are your favorite video game lines ?
Personally I think
Neca's Player Select is probably my all time favorite.
They gave us Castlevania figures.
Square Enix's Play Arts is also one of my favorites.
I really enjoyed the Dragon Quest 8 figures and FF12 figures.
Sota's Street Fighter line was a big hit with me.
I was very happy to get a gen and guile.
and last but not least even though they came with brittle accessories and lack of articulation I liked Mcfarlane's Metal gear 1 & 2 lines.
My all time favorite video game figure is Earth Worm Jim
But My Current top 5 favorites are
1.Dead space Isaac Clarke With Plasma cutter
2. Castlevania Simon Belmont
3. Ninja Gaiden 2 Ryu Hayabusa
4. Castlevania Alucard
5. Hk-47 B-A-D wave
So what are your favorite lines and figures?

subset: commoncrawl


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There are many secrets cosmetic companies intentionally keep from consumers. Thousands of toxic chemicals abound in lipsticks, fragrances, shampoos, and eye shadows being sold in the United States and beyond. Take one look at the Cosmetic Safety Database and you'll see for yourself that we're literally killing ourselves for the sake of beauty.
For this reason I made a pledge at the start of the year to dump all of my artificial makeup and skin care products and start over with natural cosmetics. I'll admit that January was a difficult month. I went shopping and had a very very difficult time finding products that fit my high caliber expectations.
Having worked as a professional makeup artist in the past – I know firsthand the magic of a good cosmetic. That's why when I was tossing one of my most prized bottles of cheek and lip stain I did everything short of weeping when the item hit my waste bin floor. But now – after much searching and experimenting – I have created my very own concoction that is free of pthalates, fragrance, and other toxic ingredients. Plus – it's so natural you can serve it for dessert!
So if you too are looking for a simple and effective cheek and lip stain that will give you that come hither glow – give the recipe below a try. Who knows – you too may be inspired to purge your makeup kit too!
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Honey, 1 Beet
Step 1) Cut your beet in half and trim off the skin. Chop into tiny pieces.
Step 2) Add all your ingredients into a food processor and blend until liquefied. Strain to separate liquids from solids.
Step 3) Pour the liquid stain into a glass jar or other air tight container.
Step 4) Using a lip brush or cotton swap, slide the stain over clean, dry lips.
Step 5) Using the same tool, dab three dots of stain onto the apple of your cheek. Smile to help with placement.
Step 6) Blend onto cheek with circular motion until skin absorbs the stain. Repeat on other cheek.
Step 7) When done, store in refrigerator for up to four weeks or in the freezer for two months.
If you love the idea of a cheek and lip stain but want to experiment with other colors – try different fruits like cherries, strawberries, or raspberries. To give the stain a darker hue add a touch of espresso to the mix. You'll find that there are tons of different ways you can experiment with natural, edible ingredients that will not only make you look healthy and flushed – but will also nourish and moisturize your skin.
What are your favorite natural cosmetics? Do you have any that you make on your own?


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U.S. federal prosecutors are fine with Megaupload users recovering their data -- as long as they pay for it.
The government's position was explained in a court filing on Friday concerning one of the many interesting side issues that has emerged from the shutdown of Megaupload, formerly one of the most highly trafficked file-sharing sites.
Prosecutors were responding to a motion filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in late March on behalf of Kyle Goodwin, an Ohio-based sports reporter who used Megaupload legitimately for storing videos.
Goodwin's hard drive crashed, and he lost access to the data he backed up on Megaupload when the site was shut down on Jan. 19 on criminal copyright infringement charges.
U.S. law allows for third parties who have an interest in forfeited property to make a claim. But the government argues that it only copied part of the Megaupload data and the physical servers were never seized.
Megaupload's 1,103 servers -- which hold upwards of 28 petabytes of data -- are still held by Carpathia Hosting, the government said.
"Access is not the issue -- if it was, Mr. Goodwin could simply hire a forensic expert to retrieve what he claims is his property and reimburse Carpathia for its associated costs," the response said. "The issue is that the process of identifying, copying, and returning Mr. Goodwin's data will be inordinately expensive, and Mr. Goodwin wants the government, or Megaupload, or Carpathia, or anyone other than himself, to bear the cost."
The government also suggested that if Megaupload or Carpathia violated a term of service or contract, Goodwin could "sue Megaupload or Carpathia or recover his losses."
The issue of what to do with Megaupload's data has been hanging around for a while. Carpathia contends it costs US$9,000 a day to maintain. Megaupload's assets are frozen, so it has asked a court to make the DOJ pay for preserving the data, which may be needed for its defense. So far, the issue remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is free on bail, living in his rented home near Auckland and awaiting extradition proceedings to begin in August. Dotcom along with Finn Batato, Julius Bencko, Sven Echternach, Mathias Ortmann, Andrus Nomm and Bram Van Der Kolk are charged with criminal copyright infringement and money laundering.
The men -- along with two companies -- are accused of collecting advertising and subscription fees from users for faster download speeds of material stored on Megaupload. Prosecutors allege the website and its operators collected US$175 million in criminal proceeds, costing copyright holders more than $500 billion in damages to copyright holders.
Send news tips and comments to firstname.lastname@example.com


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Jussie Smollett of 'Empire' writes song for the oppressed
NEW YORK — While TV star Jussie Smollett was in the recording studio working on his own music apart from "Empire," set for release later this year, he couldn't help but write a song about what's going in the world, from injustice to President Donald Trump.
That's when he penned "F.U.W.," short for "(expletive) up world," around President's Day and immediately directed a music video to bring his words to life. The clip debuted late Wednesday on his YouTube page.
The black-and-white video features men and woman of various ethnicities and highlights injustices, from human and LGBT rights to religious and racial prejudices. A woman wears a hijab in one scene, a boy wears a hoodie in another and four women put their fists up as they stand in front of the words, "My body, my rights."
"This song is for the oppressed. That's why I feel like people will connect with it because it is very broad, because oppression is so broad," he said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.
In another scene, a man in a wheelchair runs over a Donald Trump mask.
"That mask is a representation of this false idea of patriotism. And that mask is a representation of this idea of white male privilege," the 34-year-old Smollett said. "It's so much bigger than him. It's what he represents, and it's because of that representation, that's why he's the president of the United States currently."
"It's our opportunity to take those masks off and shatter them, so that's what I did," he added.
Trump's apparent mocking of a disabled reporter was widely criticized last year. Some of Smollett's "F.U.W." lyrics focus on Trump and his administration: "Why are we back in the past?/ It's the same script different cast/ All of these alternative facts/ Catch me outside how about that?/ Why is it so hard to keep hope?/ Who got that popular vote?/ Was the whole thing just a joke?/Was the whole thing just one big joke?"
On Wednesday, Trump fired back at rapper Snoop Dogg days after the release of a music video in which he points a toy gun at a clown dressed like Trump and pulls the trigger.
Trump tweeted: "Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!"
The White House did not immediate return a request seeking comment about Smollett's video, which also features a black man standing in front of a noose, images of barbed wire and two water fountains with "white" and "colored" signs above them.
"We had written so many other great songs for my album, but this just felt like 'I can't wait for the album, I can't wait for a single,'" said Smollett, who plans to release an official single this summer. "You couldn't follow, you know, normal rules or normal protocol with this, you just had to get it out and luckily Columbia (Records) stood behind me."
During the presidential campaign, Smollett and other "Empire" cast members appeared in an ad endorsing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Smollett, who was one of the kid stars of "The Mighty Ducks" film, is set to appear in Ridley Scott's science fiction film "Alien: Covenant" this year. He said it was "freeing" to release a song apart from his "Empire" persona, and he challenged himself by directing the video.
"Because the song means so much to me and the message means so much to me, and what we're going through right now means so much to me, I wanted to do it justice. And I knew what was in my mind would do it justice," he said.


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Supergen Fuel Cell Consortium - Fuel cells - Powering a Greener Future - CORE
Lead Research Organisation: Newcastle University
Department Name: Chemical Engineering & Advanced Material
Zhao Y (2011) Comparison between two optimization strategies for solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid cycles in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Zhao Y (2011) Optimal integration strategies for a syngas fuelled SOFC and gas turbine hybrid in Journal of Power Sources
Zhang X (2011) A new analytical approach to evaluate and optimize the performance of an irreversible solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid system in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Zhang M (2022) A symmetric direct ammonia fuel cell using ternary NiCuFe alloy embedded in a carbon network as electrodes in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Zhang M (2021) An Efficient Symmetric Electrolyzer Based On Bifunctional Perovskite Catalyst for Ammonia Electrolysis in Advanced Science
Zhang M (2020) Electricity Generation from Ammonia in Landfill Leachate by an Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell Based on Precious-Metal-Free Electrodes in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Zalitis CM (2013) Electrocatalytic performance of fuel cell reactions at low catalyst loading and high mass transport. in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Zalitis C (2017) Design principles for platinum nanoparticles catalysing electrochemical hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions: edges are much more active than facets in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Yufit V (2011) Development and application of an actively controlled hybrid proton exchange membrane fuel cell-Lithium-ion battery laboratory test-bed based on off-the-shelf components in Journal of Power Sources
|The Supergen fuel cell consortium brought together four academic partners with three of the UKs' leading industry players, and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), to tackle some of the key research challenges underpinning the development of fuel cell technology, specifically in the areas of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) integrity, performance, durability and fuel flexibility. Fuel cell technology is now commercially available in a number of early markets, for example battery chargers, fork lift trucks, and scooters. And fuel cell technology is close to market in a number of mainstream applications, for example back up power supplies, and residential combined heat and power systems. Substantive technology demonstrations are also taking place in the transport sector, including both fuel cell powered cars and buses. All of this is contributing to an improved understanding of the types of failure modes and performance limitations within current fuel cell devices, and highlighting the need for greater scientific understanding to address these failure modes.
The research needs of the fuel cell industry therefore shifted from a focus which, emphasised new fuel cell designs and materials, to a research focus on developing an improved understanding of the behaviour and performance of those fuel cell materials now going into commercial operation. Thus, as the technology is maturing, the fuel cell research community needs to place increasing emphasis on improving its fundamental understanding of materials behaviour under realistic operating conditions and duty cycles, especially where this relates to failure modes, and materials/cell degradation. As such, the Supergen fuel cell consortium was well placed to meet this need, operating as it does with close ties between industry and academic partners. The consortium focussed on essentially generic and fundamental research, but targeted onto real problems identified in discussion with our industry partners.
|Exploitation Route
|The transition in the research fuel cell landscape has been reflected in the changing emphasis of the consortium over the course of its first phase. Early work in the consortium emphasised areas such as novel cell processing, nano-particle fabrication, high temperature MEA development, and new SOFC anode and materials, alongside some novel experimental and theoretical developments in the fields of SOFC electrolyte sintering and electrode characterisation.
The outcome of the SUPERGEN consortium have been taken forward via:
• >£1.5M of new research funding has been received from industry partners to extend the work of the consortium.
• 31 peer reviewed papers and 37 conference presentations have been delivered by the consortium.
• The consortium worked in collaboration with the SHEC Supergen consortium to deliver the Foresight report on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells for the UK Government (www.foresight.gov.uk/Energy/Reports/Mini_Energy_Reports/PDF/hydrogen_and_fuel_cells_towards_a_sustainable_future.pdf).
• Development of methods which allow us, for the first time, to measure stress during the constrained sintering of a ceramic film. This has relevance to all applications involving thick film ceramics processing. Ceres Power are now applying this methodology to the study of technologically relevant SOFC electrolyte processing.
• We have identified that the impact of sulphur on nickel anodes in SOFCs will vary within a stack, depending on local temperature and gas atmospheres, and we have proposed operating strategies which could help mitigate sulphur impact for collaborating industries Rolls Royce Fuel cells (RRFCS).
• Our work on the ceramic mechanical reliability assessment (CARES) methodology for failure prediction been applied to selected SOFC components, and successfully transferred this to RRFCS. RRFCS have tested adopted this approach for failure prediction of RRFCS ceramic support tubes in large multi-kW stack tests.
• A new approach for the preparation of SOFC anodes for direct hydrocarbon oxidation has been developed in collaboration with Univ. Pennsylvania. This has demonstrated good performance for the direct oxidation of methane.
• We have optimised a novel anode material (LSCM) and have worked with RRFCS to successfully integrate this material into the RRFCS cell design.
• New methods and models for SOFC electrode characterisation have been developed, allowing the quantification of percolated triple phase boundary lengths within composite electrodes.
• Two open events have been held to disseminate consortium outputs.
• A dedicated training course has been developed and made available to all research staff and students within the consortium. The course addresses the policy drivers behind fuel cells, the technology of both PEMFCs and SOFCs, as well as commercialisation issues.
• A school on high temperature fuel cells for PhD students was held at Newcastle Univ. in March 2008.
• The consortium organised a COST 543 workshop and provides the Vice-chair of this action on bio-ethanol in fuel cells.
|Research from the programme was taken up by a number of industry partners, including Ceres Power, Rolls Royce, Johnson Matthey and Intelligent Energy. This has enhanced the ability of these companies to develop a strong technology base, and all continue to be successful in developing fuel cell technology, working with UK and international partners.
|First Year Of Impact
|Impact Types
|Data File For Paper "The Intriguing Poison Tolerance Of Non-Precious Metal Oxygen Reduction Reaction (Orr) Catalysts" Doi: 10.1039/C5Ta05794A
|Data file containing data for figures and supplemental information for the paper The intriguing poison tolerance of non-precious metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts D. Malko, T. Lopes, E. Symianakis and A. R. Kucernak published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA05794A
|Type Of Material
|Database/Collection of data
|Year Produced
|Provided To Others?


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It was another busy weekend for Google's algorithm.
Penguin 2.1 rolled out and frustrated even more website owners who lost traffic.
On the flip side, others celebrated gains after recovering from previous penalties.
If you're having trouble keeping up with all the Google changes and what they mean, this post will catch you up.
1. Inconsistency is the New Constant
This following comment from Search Engine Land's post about Friday's Penguin update summarizes what a lot of people are noticing…
In case you haven't figured it out, Google wants to keep everyone guessing in order to prevent abuse and manipulation.
What works for one site may not have the same effect on another. I wouldn't even be surprised if they had different algorithms depending on the competitiveness of the niche.
Also, have you ever wondered why a certain site ranks above you when it has fewer quality backlinks and hardly any social media love?
Well that's the era we're in now with search engine optimization. There are so many on and off-page criteria that determine where a page ranks, and it changes constantly.
Moz crafted an excellent article on search engine ranking factors and explains how they correlate to one another. This is definitely one for the bookmarks!
2. Penguin Strikes Again, But Wait… There's More!
As I already mentioned, another Penguin update rolled out last Friday.
This particular update is always about the quality of the links pointing to your site and nothing else.
So if you were caught buying links or obtaining links from places Google doesn't like, they may lower your rank or drop your site out of search altogether.
Just remember, that doesn't mean there weren't other updates that The Big G didn't disclose.
So if your site got slapped and you weren't doing any so-called shady link building, there could be other undisclosed updates that Google never announced.
3. Yes, Google's Algorithm is Still Flawed
Google is constantly emphasizing that quality matters and black hat techniques (link buying, schemes, etc.) will be punished.
For the most part this is true, but no one exposes the weaknesses of Google's algorithm like Glen Allsopp, and he's done it again with this post.
No doubt Google has cleaned up a lot of mess in the SERPS, but low quality content still finds its way into the top 10 quite often.
And there's nothing more frustrating than seeing your hard work outranked by some low-quality site with spun or scraped content.
Even after all the Penguins, Pandas and now the first Hummingbird update, there's still work to do.
So don't be surprised if a scraper site still outranks you. Remember, Google is not human, it's run by an algorithm. And unfortunately people will always find ways to exploit it.
4. Manual and Algorithmic Penalties Require Different Actions
Sometimes Google assigns manual penalties to websites that they believe are engaging in activities that violate their guidelines.
If you get slapped by a manual penalty, you will receive a notification via Google Webmaster Tools.
Your next step is to review the notice, fix whatever you did wrong and then apply for a reconsideration request.
Penguin, for example, is an algorithmic penalty, so submitting a reconsideration request does you no good here.
You need to clean up your backlink profile and use the disavow tool to tell Google to ignore those "bad" links.
Next step… wait it out. When the next Penguin update rolls around, you will find out if your actions were fruitful.
5. How The Hummingbird Update May Affect Your Site
You've probably heard about Google's Hummingbird update by now, but you may not really understand how it could affect your site in the long run.
Well here's the gist of it…
Google is now relying more on the intent and semantics of search, rather than just the keywords used in the query.
Here's an example…
Say you do a search for best hamburger. Years ago that query may have revealed different articles that earned a rank by optimizing for that phrase and having the right backlinks.
Today, Google will try to understand your intent behind that query to serve up more useful results.
Maybe you're performing this search via voice-command from your Google mobile app. So Google assumes you're looking for a good hamburger place in your area and uses your current location to show restaurants that have "best hamburger" in various online reviews.
So if you have a hamburger recipe website that ranks for best hamburger, you might see it competing with more local results.
This is one example of how Hummingbird could impact your site.
Google has been leaning this way for a few years now with search, but the Hummingbird update just fine tuned this technology more than ever as Google aims to get smarter.
Does this mean that on-page criteria, backlinks and social shares no longer matter? Of course they still play a role. This is just another enhancement to the algorithm.
6. Google Will Start Hiding Keyword Referral Data
Pretty soon when you log in to Analytics, you will not be able to see what Google keywords people are using to find your website.
It will just show a total number of keyword referrals and the words "Not Provided."
Bummer, I know!
You can still use Google Webmaster Tools to see your average rank and Google AdWords customers will have access to this data too, of course.
So why is Google doing this? Is it really about security like they claim?
Do they want to make keyword manipulation even more difficult?
Are they trying to force more people to use Google AdWords?
My answer to that is simply yes, yes and yes! 🙂
Remember, Google is a business and they are always going to do what's best for their bottom line.
7. Quality Content Has Been Re-Defined
Are you tired of hearing phrases like "content is king" or "quality content always wins" yet your original, hard work never seems to be rewarded?
Here's the deal. Quality content does still win, it's just that the bar has been raised significantly.
In 2008, quality content for search engine optimization purposes was simply an original article that targeted a specific keyword.
In 2013, that same kind of article may not perform nearly as well if no one is sharing or linking to it. And it's not just about anyone sharing it, but the AUTHORITY of the person linking to or sharing the article.
And you better believe authority is a metric that will constantly be re-defined over and over again. Just because you have 50,000 Twitter followers doesn't necessarily make you an authority anymore.
Why? Because that metric can be gamed and so can things like social shares.
I got an email from a blogger who didn't understand why her article with 56 Facebook Likes and 23 Tweets was being outranked by other sites that had almost no social media shares.
Yes, those shares matter, but Google also knows that this can be easily exploited by people joining blogging networks to gain shares or paying for likes through a site like Fiverr.
So it would make sense that they would look at the bigger picture and also take into account the quality of backlinks, the person's individual AuthorRank and so much more than just one or two signals to determine a page's rank.
Gone are the days where you can look at a site's ranking and understand exactly how it was earned. Sure, you can still use certain tools to get an idea, but Google is definitely shaking things up!
If you get nothing else from all these updates, SEO is becoming increasingly complex and Matt Cutts warned us that it would.
8. SEO Scams Are an Even Bigger Business Now
It never fails. At least once a month I get an email from someone who has been scammed by some SEO service that makes ranking promises they can't deliver.
And the scams seem to be getting worse as SEO continues to evolve, so please be careful.
These people prey on individuals who are new to Internet marketing and don't how the search engines work.
The only real SEO experts are the ones who work on the Google search team. And the last time I checked, they weren't for hire.
Now, that's not to say there aren't reputable people and companies who can guide you. Just be careful and get a recommendation from someone you trust.
Arm yourself with education by subscribing to reputable sites on SEO like Search Engine Land, Moz and Search Engine Watch so you at least understand the basics and keep up with the latest news.
Need a crash course on how SEO has evolved? Check out my video from earlier this year.
So What About You?
What are your thoughts on all these updates? Were you impacted? How will it change your strategies? Looking forward to hearing from you!


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Who am I, and why should you care?My name is Pim van Pelt, born of Dutch parents in The Netherlands in July of 1976. On these pages, you can get to know me and the stuff I've done in the past and plan to do in the future. This is actually version four of my homepage. For the older ones, I suggest you take a look at the Internet Archive or my own history pages. They didn't amount to much (and to be honest, neither does this one) and all of their useful content has been rolled up into the website you see in front of you today.
To your right you will find a picture of me, taken in Haarlem, NL during the Christmas holidays in 2001. Note the cute furry Sun Microsystems santa-hat I'm wearing. Click on it to produce an even larger mugshot of me.
Pim van Pelt <firstname.lastname@example.com>
What will you find here?Just some of my dabblings as a person and as an engineer. If you'd like to know who I am and what I've done, you can take a look at the navbar of this website. I have written several open source projects, and worked at several companies (small and large). The software projects I have opened up to the public (using for example a GPL, BSD or Artistic license) can be found in the Projects section. Most of them are hosted at Sourceforge.
I like movies and film. Please check out my (personal and subjective) favorites in my film section.
My other passionate hobby (since ~2007 at least) is playing with RC models. I own a significant collection of planes, helicopters and trucks. If you are willing to tolerate my materialism, please take a look at my fleet.


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Thursday, November 22, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving From The Greedy Pinstripes
We wanted to take a minute to tell all of our readers, which we consider to be our extended online family, a very Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at TGP. Bryan and I have been only blogging for less then a year but we have been greedy Yankees fans our whole lives so thank God for that. Hope everyone has a great day full of fun, family, football, and being thankful. Have a great holiday guys!
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Cup final spot hinges on Game 7 for Blackhawks, Kings
CHICAGO – Jonathan Quick would rather be resting up than staring at yet another seventh game.
There's not much he can do about that now.
A wild and memorable Western Conference final between the Los Angeles Kings and Blackhawks comes down to a win-or-go-home Game 7 in Chicago on Sunday night.
"I guess we can get used to it," Quick, the Kings' goalie, said after a 4-3 loss in Game 6 on Friday night in Los Angeles. "We don't want to be used to it. If you play Game 7s throughout the whole playoffs, it is going to be pretty tough on your body. Whatever. We're in this situation. Before the series if we were asked, 'Would you want to go to Game 7 against Chicago?' and be put in that spot, a one-game thing, I think we would take it."
It'll be the third Game 7 of the postseason for the Kings, who dropped the first three games in the opening round against San Jose and then went the distance with Anaheim. They blew a 3-1 series lead to Chicago, and now, it comes down to this.
The winner hosts the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night.
While the Kings tried to put aside their frustration after missing out on two opportunities to clinch the series, the Blackhawks were breathing a little easier after taking Game 6.
"It's nice to see that resilience not only in this game but in this series so far," captain Jonathan Toews said. "We're giving ourselves a heck of a chance going home for Game 7."
The Blackhawks were just about out of it after dropping Game 4. Back-to-back losses in Los Angeles left them in a 3-1 hole and on the brink of elimination after knocking out the Kings in the conference finals last year on the way to the championship.
Instead, they jumped back into it with two thrilling victories.
There was that epic double-overtime victory in Game 5 at home with Michal Handzus scoring the winner, and Game 6 Friday was about as tense. The Blackhawks survived thanks to a late surge by Patrick Kane after the teams traded leads in the third period.
Chicago led 2-1 after Kane and Ben Smith scored in the second. But there were two big swings in the third.
The Kings looked like they were on their way up 3-2 after Drew Doughty beat a screened Corey Crawford with a wrist shot for his third goal in four games to tie it and fed Alec Martinez for a score.
Kane, whose career has been defined by big plays at the biggest moments, wouldn't let the Blackhawks fade. He set up Duncan Keith for the tying goal with 8:26 left and fired in the winner from a patch of ice near the painted Stanley Cup logo with 3:45 left.
So the series comes down to a Game 7, the third of the postseason for the Kings, who are 6-0 in elimination games this year. The Blackhawks have won nine of their past 11 elimination games.
"We know that we can still beat this Chicago Blackhawks team," Doughty said. "But we also know it's not going to be easy either. They're going to have their best game in this Game 7, especially in their home rink."
It would help if they contained Kane.
He has come up big in the past two games with seven points after being held to just one in the first four games. He had two goals and an assist Friday and four assists in Game 5, compared to just one assist through the first four games.
He's been able to find at least some open ice, something he wasn't able to do earlier in the series, and the Blackhawks are feeding off that.
"There's still not much room out there in this series," Kane said. "Right now you have to take advantage of your opportunities when you do get space. Playing with two hard workers that work really hard to get the puck back, have made my life a lot better as far as getting the puck in good areas where I can make plays. I give the credit to Saader (Brandon Saad) and Shawsy (Andrew Shaw)."


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Bill's been sanding floors. It is hard work, he reports. Teo and I stay away those long hours he's sanding. When Bill's day is done he's covered in wood-dust, coated like a soft fawn. These days, when it's just Teo and … Continue reading
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College of Arts and Sciences
306 Kuhlin Center, 419-372-8349
The Department of Communication's mission is to generate and share knowledge about human communication in a variety of social contexts and to teach applications for ethical and effective interaction in personal and professional settings. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in organizational settings, responsible citizenship, critical thinking about communication phenomena in society, as well as advanced studies in the field of communication. We offer courses covering human communication in a variety of contexts, which are reflected in the department's four areas of emphasis: 1) Relational Communication, 2) Organizational Communication, 3) Intercultural and Global Communication, and 4) Advocacy.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the baccalaureate degree, students in communication are expected to:
- Recognize the importance of communication across four related areas of emphasis: a) relational communication, b) organizational communication, c) intercultural/global communication, and d) advocacy;
- Understand core communication theories and concepts and be prepared to apply them in their daily lives;
- Demonstrate competence in theories and concepts from one of the four areas of emphasis (i.e., relational communication, organizational communication, intercultural/global communication, advocacy) and be prepared to apply them in their daily lives;
- Evaluate communication research studies critically;
- Research, develop, organize, and deliver effective and ethical written and oral presentations.
Major, Bachelor of Arts (36 hours) - minor required - 2.5 GPA and C grades or better required for Major Requirements, Area of Emphasis, and COMM Electives - Spring 2018 course requirements
Major Requirements (18 hours)
Area of Emphasis (choose one for 9 hours)
- Relational Communication
- Organizational Communication
- Intercultural and Global Communication
- Advocacy
COMM Electives: 9 hours of COMM coursework (excluding COMM 1990, 3060, 3990, 4890, 4900, 4910)
Minor (21 hours)
- COMM 1020 and COMM 2010 (6)
- THFM 2020 or TCOM 1030 or COMM elective (excluding COMM 1990, 3990, 4890, 4900, or 4910) (3)
- COMM electives (excluding COMM 1990, 3990, 4890, 4900, or 4910) (12)
Major, Bachelor of Arts in Communication (48 hours) - 2.5 GPA and C grades or better required for Major Requirements, Area of Emphasis, and COMM Electives - Spring 2018 course requirements
In addition to satisfying the degree requirements of the B.A.C., students in Communication must complete the following:
Area of Emphasis (choose one for 9 hours):
- Relational Communication
- Organizational Communcation
- Intercultural and Global Communication
- Advocacy
COMM Electives: 18 hours of COMM coursework (excluding COMM 1990, 3060, 3990, 4890, 4900, 4910)
Additionally, each student must complete a career focus (24 hours) with a grade of C or better in each course taken as part of the career focus. The specific courses used to fulfill the career focus must define an occupational area. Career foci have been developed by the Communication faculty, and may be reviewed on the department's website. Students may also design their own career focus with the approval of their advisor and the department. Students may include one course for their major in groups IV, V, or VI.
Students enrolled in the Communication B.A.C. major must earn a grade of C or better in each Group I course to remain in the program. Students must also complete COMM 1020 before they can take most other COMM courses. Students must also complete COMM 2010 before they can take most 3000- and 4000-level courses. These requirements apply to majors and non-majors on the main campus, with the exception of communication majors in the Colleges of Education and Human Development and BGSU Firelands, unless they seek admission to the Communication program on the main campus.
Updated: 03/23/2018 03:21PM


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ORLANDO, Fl: Lockheed Martin marked the delivery of the first Target Sight System (TSS) production unit at a ceremony held at its Orlando, FL, facility today. The TSS is the multi-sensor fire control system for the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1Z Cobra helicopter.
The TSS integrates state-of-the-art sensors, providing Cobra pilots with enhanced capabilities to acquire, track and designate targets. The system provides superior imagery through a highly-stabilized sensor suite that includes a laser designator, color TV and a third-generation, mid-wave, forward-looking infrared sensor with advanced image processing.
"Lockheed Martin has worked hard to deliver a superior targeting system capability for the AH-1Z Cobra," said Col. Harry Hewson, U.S. Marine Corps Program Manager Air 276. "TSS allows Warfighters to see farther with greater precision, enabling mission accomplishment and safe return to base. We are looking forward to deploying this capability in the field."
The Naval Surface Warfare Center awarded the initial TSS production contract in March 2008. Production will take place at Lockheed Martin's facilities in Ocala and Orlando, FL. Delivery of the 16 systems contracted will be completed in 2010.
"We are committed to providing the U.S. Marine Corps with a sensor solution that provides outstanding value through high performance, reliability and combat survivability," said Mike Inderhees, director of Turreted Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "With TSS, Cobra pilots can now identify a threat from significantly increased standoff ranges, allowing them to accurately engage the enemy at maximum weapon ranges."
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.


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Clarksville-Montgomery School District (TN) (#04-10-5003)
The Clarksville-Montgomery School District submitted an agreement to resolve a compliance review that OCR initiated that focused on whether the District was discriminating on the basis of disability by not appropriately evaluating students with food allergies, diabetes, asthma and other health impairments with Individual Health Care Plans (IHCPs), by denying them the opportunity to receive related aids and services.
Prior to the conclusion of the investigation, the district entered into a voluntary resolution agreement with the department. Under the terms of the agreement the district will contact the parents or guardians of all students to inform them of the district's obligation to evaluate students who, because of disability, need or are believed to need special education or related services. If a student currently has an IHCP, the district will provide parents or guardians with information regarding the student's possible rights to evaluation, placement, and procedural safeguards. An IHCP for a student who has a qualifying disability is insufficient if it does not incorporate these rights. In these notifications, parents or guardians are encouraged to address inquiries to their school counselor. Further, the district will revise and implement policies and procedures to ensure appropriate and prompt identification, evaluation, and placement of students with disabilities, including students with health related concerns such as food allergies, asthma and diabetes and other physical or mental conditions which may impact major life activities. Finally, the district will provide mandatory training to all district personnel involved in the referral, identification, evaluation, and placement of students with disabilities under Section 504 and Title II.
Read the Resolution Letter PDF (275K) | Read the Compliance Agreement PDF (126K)


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I have a certain...reputation around Ars as a sort of black hole for old, decrepit Apple hardware. This is an aura which I have admittedly done precious little to dispel, and this post probably won't help things in that regard. For people like me, Ian Page has updated his tremendous Mactracker application to version 5, bringing updates to various recent Mac / iPod models along with iCal support for tracking warranty coverage information and better Leopard compatibility. Mactracker is essentially a database of Apple hardware dating from the 128K Mac to the Santa Rosa-based MacBooks (as of v5), including system specs, supported OS versions, and introduction/discontinuation dates. Ironically, the PowerCD accompanying this post is not in the database. Yet.
Do you need to know what resolution the QuickTake 200 supported? Can you not recall how much memory a PowerBook Duo 2300c can hold? Just how heavy is a Newton MessagePad 2000? Does a LaserWriter IIg really draw 900 watts of power? How many FireWire ports are there on a slot-load Xserve? What does the startup chime for a Mac TV sound like? How many keys are on an Apple Adjustable Keyboard? Mactracker knows the answers to these questions and more. (It will probably surprise no one who knows me at all that I own one of everything mentioned above—except the Mac TV, because Jeff won't sell me his. Damnit.)
For anyone stuck administering a fleet of ancient Apples—I'm looking at you, NIH Mac admins—or for people curious about some of the more esoteric products from Apple's past, Mactracker is a must-have. It's even free, although you really should donate something to the author. Money, not hardware, that is. That, you can send to me.


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After months of warnings about drought and tinder-dry forests ready to blow up in flame, the idea that rains would drop as much water over two or three days as falls in a typical year seemed fanciful when this week began. But after multiple fatalities and thousands of evacuations across a 150-mile swath of Colorado, the reality of another historic flood has left its tragic, lasting mark.
Our hearts go out to the families who were displaced by the floodwaters and who must now begin to clean up what the torrent left behind. Fortunately, local, state and even federal officials are prepared to help, and we have no doubt that this state's impressive roster of volunteer organizations will rise to the occasion as well.
Some people find it hard to reconcile floods with Colorado's arid reputation, but they are a recurring problem. And as the Colorado Water Conservation Board notes, "flood-prone areas have been identified in 267 cities and towns and in all … 64 counties."
Indeed, many of the dams best known to Colorado readers were built with flood mitigation as a major goal.
This week's floods recall some of this state's historic flashflood tragedies, several of which actually took many more lives. The Big Thompson flood of 1976 was the deadliest, killing 144 and leaving many others injured.
Flood mitigation and communications have improved considerably since then, but not enough to overcome the brute force of nature. So the latest floods will be a learning experience, too, that hopefully can be put to use the next time the long rains arrive.


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The Canadian government launched the Circovirus Inoculation Program (CIP) on Nov. 15 to help pork producers affected by disease-associated mortality losses.
"We are committed to helping Canadian hog producers combat disease and increase profitability in the hog sector," says Christian Paradis, secretary of state. "That is why we are committing immediate financial assistance of $25 million to producers to test and vaccinate hogs in Canada and will continue to work with industry to ensure the long-term viability of the sector."
Earlier, the Canadian government announced the availability of $76 million over four years to combat disease and enhance prosperity and stability in the hog sector.
CIP is the first phase of this overall initiative that allows farmers to be reimbursed up to 50% for diagnostic testing and vaccination of hogs exposed to porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD).
The four-year assistance program covers four areas: vaccination, research, biosecurity and development of best management practices.
Application forms for CIP are being mailed to all Canadian pork producers identified through industry and government client lists.
The deadline to apply for CIP assistance is Dec. 31, 2008.


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Cars We Remember: Reader recalls his first new car: the 1964 Chevelle SS
Q: Greg I read your car articles every time my newspaper publishes them. I find them very interesting and nostalgic for an old guy like me. Our newspaper is 'The Hawkeye' published in Burlington, Iowa.
In April 1964, I ordered a new 1964 Chevelle SS at Pine Motors Chevrolet in Wapello, Iowa, and I paid $3,061 for it. I took delivery in June of that year and my Chevelle had no options except a 327 cu. in. V8 engine and Muncie four-speed on the floor. Earlier in 1963, I read an article in Hot Rod Magazine about a '64 Chevelle they tested and was equipped with a 365-horsepower Corvette 327 engine.
So, I ordered my Chevelle SS with that 365-horse engine. After a month, a GM representative said the 365 engine was no longer available but I could have a 300-horsepower 327 instead, which I finally accepted. The exterior color was Azure Aqua with an all black interior. Around Burlington it was the only Chevelle SS that had the "327" front fender emblems (the "V" with flags). My '64 Chevelle was a great car that I drove to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, when I was in the Army and I drove it on many vacations including way out to Long Island, New York, and also Niagara Falls.
Because of my "street racing" and drag strip forays, I did have the clutch replaced once and used cheater slicks for the drag strip. Because of the smoky tire burnouts, my car was known as "Ol' Smoky" at the strip in Kahoka, Missouri, and I sure miss that car.
The Kahoka Drag Strip was an eighth-mile track and I remember my car ran in the eight-second range at about 80 mph. My eight-inch wide cheater slicks would smoke at launch and I remember a guy running an Oldsmobile who complained about my tires to no avail probably because I always outran him.
I kept that '64 Chevelle for more than five years with nary a problem. Of course I had to replace the rear tires quite often. I read years later that GM made 206 of the 365-horse 327 Chevelle but can't be sure. I did locate my old Chevelle but it was in a junk yard and not restorable. Those first Chevelle SS's were often overlooked because Pontiac came out with their GTO that was similar but had the 389-V8 with 3-two-barrel-carbs. Regards and thanks for your great columns.
— Tom Jacobson, Burlington, Iowa
A: Tom, thank you very much for your interesting emails and kind words. That 1964 Chevelle you purchased sure brings back some great memories on my side, too.
First, I would opine the reason you weren't "preferenced" on your 365-horse 327 order was due to a General Motors mandate on high-performance and its exit from organized racing and building fast cars. (At least that's what they agreed to. In reality, they never stopped high performance applications). The 365-horse 327 appears under Corvette engines but does not appear on the "official" 1964 Chevelle engine list while the 300-horse version does.
However, this doesn't mean Chevy didn't build a few 365-327 Chevelles as your investigative work implies, but cannot be fully documented. The 365 does appear in '64 Chevelle manufacturer literature as a "JS" code engine but without production numbers.
Now for some memories. One of my best friends in high school was Dave Dannenhoffer, he a car crazy guy just like me. His brother John, several years older than us, had a 1964 Chevelle SS and decided he was going to turn it into one of those 365-horse Chevelles that GM was going to build.
John ordered a 327 L84 Corvette crate motor from GM, less intake and induction that was rated at 375-horsepower. It was the same engine used in the fuel-injected Corvettes although John used a large Holley carb. I remember seeing the bright yellow engine sitting in the crate as John removed the 300 horse 327 engine in the Chevelle. He dropped in the L84 375-engine, attached it to the Muncie four-speed and then added a set of 5:13 rear gears to make it one very fast vehicle, at least on paper. (John was way ahead of the curve!)
The year now is 1966, when all those 389-GTOs. 442 Olds, 390 Mustangs, and SS396 Chevelles roamed the boulevards. The small block Chevelles, meanwhile, were overlooked when it came to competing against the big-block Chevelles … that is until the night John took on one of the fastest 396-375 horsepower, four-speed Chevelles in the area.
The stage was set for what many thought would be a major beating of a small block '64 Chevelle against the new '66 SS396. Although I do not endorse any type of street racing these days, I remember the night at desolated Union Road, not far from my home in Vineland, which led to the shore points of south Jersey.
It was late September and a big crowd showed up, bonfires and all. It was the feature race of the night, one run, no excuses. All the money was on the big-block Chevelle and some even gave odds.
With open headers bellowing and slicks mounted, the starter dropped the flag. Next thing you know, John is out on the 396 by two car lengths and then extended the lead to over five cars at the finish. This proved to me right then that a well thought out combination is hard to beat, regardless of fewer cubic inches. I feel the 5:13 gears proved the big difference as the 396 had 4:10 gears.
Thanks so much Tom for the wonderful memories and I hope you one day find a '64 Chevelle that you can again park in your garage. I've run out of space so I have to stop and remind my readers again to never street race.
— Greg Zyla writes weekly for More Content Now and other Gatehouse Media publications.


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Not too long ago, deconstructing and analyzing DNA codes took scientists several years and enough chemistry and computer hardware to fill the entire floor of a building. Now, a genetic sequencer the size of a washing machine can do the work in a couple of days.
Thanks to a $750,000 grant from the Cullen Foundation awarded to the University of Houston's Institute for Molecular Design (IMD), researchers will be among the first in the region to use this cutting-edge device. Headed by B. Montgomery Pettitt, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, professor of computer science, physics, biology and biochemistry, and associate dean of research for the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the IMD also recently received a $500,000 grant from the M.D. Anderson Foundation for construction and build-out costs associated with the Science & Engineering Research and Classroom Complex (SERCC).
A complex of three main structures, SERCC includes a five-story laboratory building with more than 150,000 square feet that will accommodate an estimated 40 research labs designed to support interaction. Among the building's features are labs opening up to other labs with few walls to isolate them, as well as a dedicated, full-service "clean room" with a non-vibration floor, static-free environment and special air filters to remove virtually all dust particles. These new capabilities will allow for more collaborative, cross-disciplinary research among UH faculty in addition to benefiting local academic and industry partners who participate in the university's research efforts.
Set to arrive by December, the $500,000 DNA sequencer made possible by the Cullen Foundation grant will help make UH a major player in genetic science by allowing the analysis not only of whole organisms but also of sampling with many organisms mixed together.
"An organism's genome can contain the equivalent of millions of pages of data," Pettitt said. "Breaking up the astonishingly complex genome into smaller chunks for study and then piecing it back together is an arduous task, but this high-powered sequencer can perform large, rapid scans of genetic material. Scientists can have the initial data in couple of days with this technology as opposed to years."
The sequencer will be only the second installation of its kind in Houston. There are plans for the UH sequencer to be used for stem cell research, Pettitt said.
Whether it's zeroing in on the slightest hint of virus or bacteria from a mouth swab or constructing an ecological profile of an area by studying remnant DNA molecules that could be millions of years old to see what was there so long ago, the sequencers will help researchers in a number of groundbreaking endeavors.
It also will help scientists and students engaged in synthetic biology – the creation of new functions and even life forms with synthesized genes.
"Although life forms from scratch are still a ways off, the sequencer opens up new possibilities in genetic analysis that can lead to a profound change in how we do biological science," Pettitt said.
The remaining $250,000 from the Cullen Foundation gift will be used to finish outfitting research labs in SERCC. Similarly, the funds from the M.D. Anderson Foundation grant will be used to build out space on this research facility's fourth floor. The grant will directly impact the completion of lab space to be used by the IMD, which is currently planned to be housed on the fourth floor of SERCC, allowing for more rapid and efficient collaboration to help advance the IMD's research most effectively.
For more information on the Institute for Molecular Design, visit http://www.chem.uh.edu/imd/.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.


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NASCAR: Gordon overtakes Logano to win at Michigan
BROOKLYN, MI - Jeff Gordon got out in front of Joey Logano on a restart just inside 20 laps to go in the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday and remained up front the rest of the way to claim his third win of the season.
BROOKLYN, MI - Jeff Gordon got out in front of Joey Logano on a restart just inside 20 laps to go in the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday and remained up front the rest of the way to claim his third win of the season.
"It wasn't easy," Gordon said. "It's never easy to win at any of these tracks, especially when aerodynamics and track position mean so much. I thought we learned a lot the last time we were here on track position. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) just called a perfect race. I kept getting on that inside lane and just not getting very good restarts."
The win was Gordon's first at Michigan International Speedway since 2001.
Logano got back beside Gordon right after the restart in an attempt to retake the lead, but Gordon got a push from Kevin Harvick to maintain the position, and Harvick got by Logano to take second.
"Our car handled great all day; we just didn't have the speed that the No. 24 (Gordon) had," Harvick said. I felt like we could race with the No. 22 (Logano), but just not with the No. 24. But all in all, it was a good day for the Jimmy John's Chevrolet."
Logano also lost third to Paul Menard for a time, but recovered to take back the spot for a top-three finish.
"I had a bunch of good ones," Logano said about his restarts. "The last one wasn't the greatest. I got through the gear box good and had the 24 cleared, and I should have pulled down in front of him and got that draft, but he got up next to me and pulled me back so hard that I couldn't get away from him. He was able to get position on me into one and once he got that clear air. I knew I had one more shot. I knew I was really good into one and that was his week point. I drove it off there and got him wiggled a little bit getting underneath him and cleared him again, but he was able to pull me back again off the corner and then I got loose under him trying to maintain what I had and came in third."
Gordon and Logano were mainstays at or near the front throughout the race after starting on the front row, with Gordon on the pole and Logano starting second. Logano was the laps leader for the day, leading 86 of them. Gordon led 68.
"Whoever got out in front had such a huge advantage," Gordon said.
Logano took the lead from Gordon at the start of the race, and Gordon settled into second. Varying pit strategies came during a caution on lap 20, with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton up front after staying out, while Brad Keselowski was third on the restart after pitting for fuel only.
Those varying pit strategies then resulted with Logano back up front, with Harvick in second and Gordon also in the top five for a restart following a debris caution on lap 36.
Ryan Newman led laps in the second half of the race by getting himself off sequence from the regular front-runners. He pitted on lap 122, and his team then planned only one more stop through the remaining distance, while everyone else would need two additional stops.
Gordon and Logano, along with most of the race field, pitted around lap 139. Then, when Newman made his final stop on lap 162, Gordon, Logano and company then followed a few laps later with their final stops.
After those stops, the sixth caution of the race came on lap 168 and somewhat pushed the reset button on the race with Gordon and Logano up front with everyone on the same pit sequence.
Kurt Busch was able to get ahead of Gordon on the restart, just in time for another caution. Gordon retook second on the next restart, and the eighth and final yellow flag of the race flew soon afterward on lap 178.
With the exception of one caution at the halfway point of the race, the middle portions of the event ran green, with cautions littering the opening and closing segments of the race. The first four cautions came in the first 50 laps, while the last three came in the final 50 laps of the 200-lap race.
Menard finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth. Clint Bowyer was sixth. Denny Hamlin seventh, Brad Keselowski eighth and Jimmie Johnson finished ninth, despite battling with a broken shifter lever early in the race. Greg Biffle rounded out the top 10.
NOTES: Jeff Burton substituted for Tony Stewart, who missed his second consecutive Sprint Cup race. Burton wound up in the garage with an electrical issue. ... J.J. Yeley drove the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota normally driven by Ryan Truex after Truex suffered a concussion in practice on Saturday. Yeley finished 30th. ... Jeff Gordon's pole winning lap of 206.558 mph was a track record and the seventh-fastest pole lap in NASCAR history. ... Joey Logano won the 2013 Pure Michigan 400. ... Jimmie Johnson was the winner the last time the Sprint Cup Series visited Michigan in June. ... Kevin Harvick's second-place finish with his fourth straight runner-up showing at Michigan.


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National shuttler Ng Tze Yong with his silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The world no. 42 lost in three sets to India's Lakshya Sen. – AFP pic, August 8, 2022.欧博allbet注册(www.aLLbet8.vip)是欧博集团的官方网站。欧博官网开放Allbet注册、Allbe代理、Allbet电脑客户端、Allbet手机版下载等业务。
NATIONAL shuttler Ng Tze Yong, a last-minute inclusion into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games squad, clinched a silver medal after losing to India's no. 1 player Lakshya Sen in a thrilling final.
Ng, in his debut Games, was defeated 21-19, 9-21, 16-21, but can now look forward to the World Championships from August 21-28 in Tokyo, Japan with much confidence.
Ng had replaced the country's top player Lee Zii Jia, who withdrew from the Games.
"I did not expect to win (silver medal). Honestly I am happy with this Commonwealth Games because I feel I am in top form here.
"I am not sure whether I can do so (maintain performance) in the next tournament but I do hope to carry this good run into my first World Championships as I believe this silver medal will definitely motivate me to compete in Japan," he told reporters after the medal ceremony in Birmingham today.,
The world no. 42 also hopes to improve his stamina, and gain more experience by playing against top-ranked shuttlers.
In the meantime, the 22-year-old is setting his sights to break into the top 30 by the end of this year.
The Johor native said helping Malaysia to wrest the gold medal from India after winning 3-1 last Tuesday, was indeed a memorable achievement.
Ng thanked Malaysians who rallied behind him in his ups and downs, as well as the coaches and his family members for their unrelenting support.
Ng previously stunned reigning world champion, Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 15-21, 21-14, 21-11 in the quarter-finals last Saturday, and India's Srikanth Kidambi, ranked 13th best, 13-21, 21-19, 21-10 in the semi-finals yesterday. – Bernama, August 8, 2022.