text:
The Parrot Asteroid Development Experience
To make up for the loss of the
SoundPool functionality, I stored the shots and booms sound effects into separate arrays and randomly selected one from each for playback when the button
OnClick event is fired. Here's a look at the main
VirtualRoadRage class:
public class VirtualRoadRageActivity extends Activity { @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.main); final int shotArr[] = new int[11]; shotArr[0] = R.raw.shot1; shotArr[1] = R.raw.shot1; shotArr[2] = R.raw.shot2; shotArr[3] = R.raw.shot3; shotArr[4] = R.raw.shot4; shotArr[5] = R.raw.shot5; shotArr[6] = R.raw.shot6; shotArr[7] = R.raw.shot7; shotArr[8] = R.raw.shot8; shotArr[9] = R.raw.shot9; shotArr[10] = R.raw.shot10; final int boomArr[] = new int[22]; boomArr[0] = R.raw.boom1; boomArr[1] = R.raw.boom1; boomArr[2] = R.raw.boom2; boomArr[3] = R.raw.boom3; boomArr[4] = R.raw.boom4; boomArr[5] = R.raw.boom5; boomArr[6] = R.raw.boom6; boomArr[7] = R.raw.boom7; boomArr[8] = R.raw.boom8; boomArr[9] = R.raw.boom9; boomArr[10] = R.raw.boom10; boomArr[11] = R.raw.boom11; boomArr[12] = R.raw.boom12; boomArr[13] = R.raw.boom13; boomArr[14] = R.raw.boom14; boomArr[15] = R.raw.boom15; boomArr[16] = R.raw.boom16; boomArr[17] = R.raw.boom17; boomArr[18] = R.raw.boom18; boomArr[19] = R.raw.boom19; boomArr[20] = R.raw.boom20; boomArr[21] = R.raw.boom21; findViewById(R.id.button).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() { MediaPlayer shotPlayer; MediaPlayer boomPlayer; public void onClick(View v) { Random rnd = new Random(); int shotInt = rnd.nextInt(10) + 1; int boomInt = rnd.nextInt(21) + 1; try { shotPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(getBaseContext(), shotArr[shotInt]); shotPlayer.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() { public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer shotPlayer) { shotPlayer.release(); } }); shotPlayer.start(); boomPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(getBaseContext(), boomArr[boomInt]); boomPlayer.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() { public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer boomPlayer) { boomPlayer.release(); } }); boomPlayer.start(); } catch (Exception e) { Log.e("Virtual Road Rage", "Audio playback error - ", e); // log the error } } }); }
Fortunately, running two MediaPlayer audio playback instances isn't too taxing on the Asteroid, even when another audio stream coming from Asteroid's built-in music app is running. The random combinations give the merged sound effects enough variety to minimize audio fatigue. Pressing the Parrot dial button multiple times queues up the
OnClick events, allowing for a continuous stream of explosive sounds. Thus, the more times the button is pressed, the more sounds are reproduced and the more rage is expressed.
Testing and Debugging
Because the Asteroid I used lacked an on-board WiFi radio, the build and debug cycle on the device itself was cumbersome. I was able to successfully connect the Asteroid to my home network via a direct Ethernet connection and a Trendnet Ethernet to USB adapter plugged into the Asteroid's USB port. Parrot's SysInfo.apk, included in the SDK, identified the IP address it picked up from my DHCP server and I was able to use the "export ADBHOST=the_asteroids_ip_address" command with the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to load and launch apps on the Asteroid as if it were just a plain old Android 1.5 mobile device. Naturally, I built a majority of the app using the emulator ahead of time since I didn't want to drain my car battery with a time-consuming debug cycle. So let this be a lesson to developers who want to build a complex app. Either develop the app on the Asteroid before having it installed in a car or buy two, one for development and one for live in-car testing.
Figure 5: Developing for the Asteroid.
Since I only had one Asteroid to work with, I did so in my car with my laptop wirelessly connected to a hub attached to a very long Ethernet cable attached to the Trendnet adapter attached to the Parrot. I could have just as easily dumped the compiled APK to an SD card, popped said SD card into the Asteroid, and selected the Install App option from the menu to test out my handiwork. But I'm a lazy programmer and prefer the less labor-intensive route.
After more than a dozen cycles, I finally had enough in the app to impress my fellow friends in tech. While it didn't live up to all my expectations, Virtual Road Rage did elicit whoops of laughter and kudos from my peers for giving Asteroid something else to do besides passive music and location detail playback. Should Parrot decide to allow accessory expansions on future iterations of Asteroid, my app would benefit from the addition of cameras to the front and back of my car not only for parking assistance, but also to give Virtual Road Rage an augmented reality overlay to heighten the realism of my virtual weapon volleys.
Thanks to Parrot, I was finally able to at least partially realize my decade-long dream of putting Virtual Road Rage into use. The perks of an all-in-one music, mapping, and hands-free phone experience were nice to have as well. But the Asteroid is still an early entry into what is becoming a potentially huge new computing application opportunity. Car manufacturers like Ford have had the SYNC product available in the cars for a while, and others are sure to follow. If Parrot wants to stay relevant in what may soon become a crowded car computing market, they need to improve Asteroid with a couple enhancements. Besides the aforementioned accessory support (better yet, offer a "Premium" model with weatherproof front and rear cameras included in the package — of course, this also means future Asteroid releases will need to support the
MediaController, and
MediaRecorder classes in their entirety) and voice recognition Intent access, increase the on-board storage capacity, and open up the device to Google's Play Market. This will allow qualifying apps that match the Asteroid's footprint and system constraints to be more easily installed. Either that, or Parrot could launch its own app marketplace, the same way WIMM did with its WIMM One. I would also like to see Parrot add a WiFi radio on-board so that I can hook up to the Internet via a WiFi-capable cellular modem, my home network, or a dynamic peer-to-peer mesh network on-the-go.
Still, for cutting edge embedded systems developers and telematics enthusiasts, the Parrot Asteroid represents a bold step toward the future and I applaud them for elevating the automotive infotainment system market to the next level toward user-empowered control of their driving experience.
Product Link:
Price: $349 US


text:
Our story
28 comments:
- maria said...
Britt, what amazing words of testimony, such power. Thank you for being so vulnerable, God is definitely getting the glory. Can't wait to hear more.
- September 20, 2011 at 12:20 PM
- Melissa said...
This is so amazingly beautiful and moving. One of my friends is in Ethiopia right now, caring for her little boy who has not yet gotten Embassay approval to come home with her, while her two older children and her husband are waiting and praying hard for their quick return. Her journey has been one of the most heart-opening experiences I've been witness to. Thank you so much for being so brave and sharing your story-- as I prayed for them last night, I was so tempted to just beg for a quick Embassy date, but after watching her on this journey, I knew the best prayer was "Thy will be done." Lucky, lucky Gus and Lula.
- September 20, 2011 at 1:18 PM
- Jenna said...
Britt, I'm in tears. To listen to how God worked in His faithfulness, giving His perfect blessings, and His perfect gifts...He is so good. I'm so sorry for the pain you've had to go through - but wow, you have a beautiful story to tell. Thanks for sharing it here. I can't wait to hear the rest of it!
- September 20, 2011 at 1:21 PM
- Faith said...
My husband and I just spent a little over a year trying to conceive with no luck. I know those feelings of pain and sadness...especially when so many around seem to get pregnant so easily. I often questioned God's goodness and sovereignty. I thought my plans were best and I wanted them fulfilled. I felt embarrassed and pitied. I was hard of heart. Then the Lord told us to stop. That's it. To be still. It has been an overwhelming journey and I am ashamed of my lack of faithfulness to Him. But He is sustaining us and revealing areas of my heart where I was pursuing good things in hope that they would fill what only He can.
I could go on and on...but thank you for this post. Thank you for your honesty and for pointing to God and his perfect timing and goodness.
"My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26
- September 20, 2011 at 1:43 PM
- JJ said...
Thank you for sharing your story -- so emotional and honest. I could relate to a lot of your feelings. So glad God has worked in your life to bring your beautiful kiddos into your family - they are amazingly adorable.
- September 20, 2011 at 1:54 PM
- MooShell said...
Ahhhh....I wondered if there was a 'story' behind the adoption of your gorgeous children... I have been following your blog since our last miscarriage (four months ago) and have loved seeing your beautiful children (and your house) flourish... a friend of mine has just published a book about infertility/adoption/childlessness etc from a Christian perspective which you might be interested in (through Amazon), my infertility story (through IVF we were blessed with a now 3 year old son) is one of the 16 chapters which I'm sure would resonate with you...
- September 20, 2011 at 2:26 PM
- -Katie Waddell said...
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting Britt!! Such a heartwarming story that completely proves what an AMAZING God we serve! So happy for you and your husband and those sweet babies!!!! God Bless!
- September 20, 2011 at 2:48 PM
- Recreation Station said...
I truly appreciate you sharing. We've just passed four years of hoping for a child and two months ago lost our first and only pregnancy. We're in the midst of all that sadness that you wrote about. Adoption has come up recently in discussion and I'm open to it more now than ever. We're still not giving up on the idea of having children naturally, just realizing that there is more than one way God can bless us with a family. Thank you so much for sharing this story because it's an incredible reminder that God's plans for us are good.
- September 20, 2011 at 4:26 PM
- abi said...
thanks. just thanks. from someone who needs the hope and encouragement.
- September 20, 2011 at 7:57 PM
- Matt&Chelsea said...
Such an incredible story, Britt. My parents adopted my youngest three siblings after years of fertility trouble. My mom always says, "If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it" Your story is so inspiring. You have a beautiful family and I love reading your blog. Thank you so so much for sharing.
- September 20, 2011 at 7:57 PM
- Stephanie Marsh said...
Britt, thank you for sharing your story. I know a few couples that are in a similar situation as you and your husband were...unable to conceive. They both have a heart for adoption. It is encouraging to see that you drawing near to God brought Him nearer to you during your struggles.
- September 21, 2011 at 6:11 AM
- Jamie Laslo said...
Isn't it wonderful how our stories not only bear significance for us, but for so many others as well? Thank you for being brave and sharing! I know over the years as I have told the stories of the many, many babies I have lost God has used the words to heal my heart and also connect me with so many other dear women. We aren't alone and in that togetherness He gives us strength.
- September 21, 2011 at 8:36 AM
- Betsy said...
As an adopted child, I know first hand how wonderful God's provision can be! I am so thankful for the way He protected my life even before my birth as He has done with your children. How awesome that you trusted Him and now get to enjoy His provision. Thank you so much for sharing, it reminded me of how thankful I am for my parents.
- September 21, 2011 at 8:58 AM
- Megan @ Megity's Handmade said...
Thank you for sharing your testimony. It's very touching. Can't wait to read the rest!
- September 21, 2011 at 9:00 AM
- Katy said...
What a beautiful story - thank you for sharing, it is just so beautiful! What a mighty God we serve!
- September 22, 2011 at 7:59 AM
- Angela said...
Thank you so much for sharing your beatiful story of faith. Your testimony of God's love is so amazing. I'm so happy for your beautiful family!
- September 22, 2011 at 1:28 PM
- Miranda said...
I love your story! I too have a heart for adoption so this whole post made my face tear streaked! Your family is so beautiful and what a blessing that you were able to see and accept God's best for your life. I sent out an email to all my friends sharing your blog because you guys are just darling! Gus falling asleep in the bouncer and Lula's poop-fest were some of my favorites! And we all adore your decor style! Love reading your blog!!!!! XO
- September 22, 2011 at 4:13 PM
- Douglas said...
Just love it. Though our journeys to adoption in Ethiopia are very different, I feel the power of the same sweet and merciful Lord. It's always a pleasure to read your blog. Thank you for sharing it with us.
- September 22, 2011 at 5:28 PM
- Tyler said...
thank you for sharing. blessings!
- September 22, 2011 at 8:39 PM
- Jessica said...
Thanks so much for sharing your story! it's not easy putting yourself out there, but what an awesome testimony of how faithful our God is! what an awesome story!
- September 24, 2011 at 6:45 AM
- Jane said...
wow thank you so much for sharing! I too long for children, but am not yet married so (whilst praying for a godly husband to come along) am thankful for the children he has put in my life, especially 2 gorgeous neices and 2 lovely godsons!
- September 25, 2011 at 11:47 PM
- AaReAn said...
what a beautiful beautiful and honest post. I love when I come across blogs like yours. Creative, uplifting and just wonderful! Thank you for sharing your story, it brought tears to my eyes...what a wonderful blessing that you have these two absolutely beautiful children in your life...they are honestly the cutest things I have ever seen (besides my baby girl of course haha) God works in mysterious ways...always for the better of our beings. Thank you Britt. And I love love your creativity! Inspirational indeed!
- September 28, 2011 at 3:59 PM
- Laura said...
Thank you for this post! I've been there, and it was horrible and beautiful at the same time. 2007 was a year of pain and sorrow for us; we lost 4 pregnancies after years of infertility treatment. I also found a sanctuary of peace with God during that year. I stand in awe of what He knows I can take, and how he guided us toward our son.
On our 15th wedding anniversary in 2008, I realized that I was pregnant. We were in the waiting stage of Int'l adoption in Kazakhstan, so this baby came without all the usual daily shots and fertility treatments. This baby, my 6th pregnancy (our first was successful, he's now 9), was a little miracle. Two days later, we received a referral of our next miracle: a blonde, blue-eyed, peachy skinned little boy.
On father's day 2008, we got custody or our baby boy, and four months later gave birth to our dauther. In a four month stretch, we went from one child to three, two in diapers. Another lesson learned: when praying, begging, and wishing for more children, be sure to say they don't all have to happen in the same year. :o)
I know the pain and loss you have been through. I also know the comfort and solace our God wrapped around each of us in our times of great loss. Thank you for sharing your story with the web, and perhaps another hopeful mother will read and find solace.
- September 29, 2011 at 12:57 AM
- Jessica said...
I found you through seeing your kitchen on YHL's blog (and then found your etsy shop and bought some art...haha!) - I've loved reading through your blog...your children are adorable! My mom grew up in Addis Ababa because her parents were missionaries there... I'm married and we have 2 sweet girls (a 2 and 4 year old) and I've been feeling lately that I really want to adopt... I know it's not the right time yet, but I'm praying that one of these days it will be. :) I'm looking forward to following your blog - thanks for sharing your story!
- October 11, 2011 at 6:32 PM
- Tonia said...
What an amazing story...and blessing. God always has a plan. Our sweet boy came exactly 3 weeks from the day we found out about him and has been blessing us ever since.
- November 30, 2012 at 9:32 AM
- Keri said...
Though we already have two beautiful girls, I just found out on Monday that I am no longer able to have any more children. I am heartbroken but I trust that God has bigger plans for our family. We have always wanted to adopt and are excited to begin that process now earlier than we had thought.. Thank you for sharing your story, it is very encouraging to me!
- December 14, 2012 at 11:00 PM
- Keaton Lovell said...
Found your blog through Pinterest. I can relate to your story. I recently had a miscarriage in late July. I have never felt God's presence and peace so much in my life. In September, God was laying adoption on my heart, heavily. Not for the first time, but for the first time in awhile. My husband and I both know adoption is what God has called us to do. I had such an urgency in September/October to turn in the application. And now, this upcoming Monday, we have our first home study :) God is good, all time. I can't wait to see what child/children will become ours. Just as God adopted us into His eternal family, we will adopt in our family. Showing the world Jesus.
- November 1, 2013 at 10:31 AM
- Keaton Lovell said...
Found your blog through Pinterest. I can relate to your story. I recently had a miscarriage in late July. I have never felt God's presence and peace so much in my life. In September, God was laying adoption on my heart, heavily. Not for the first time, but for the first time in awhile. My husband and I both know adoption is what God has called us to do. I had such an urgency in September/October to turn in the application. And now, this upcoming Monday, we have our first home study :) God is good, all time. I can't wait to see what child/children will become ours. Just as God adopted us into His eternal family, we will adopt in our family. Showing the world Jesus.
- November 1, 2013 at 10:32 AM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Krauthammer echoed misleading Bush administration claim on stem cells
Research ››› ››› GABE WILDAU
Syndicated Washington Post columnist and FOX News Channel contributor Charles Krauthammer falsely claimed that "up until this [Bush] administration, there was a ban" on federal funding for stem cell research. "The president, he broke the ban," Krauthammer said on the August 12 edition of FOX News Channel's Special Report with Brit Hume, adding that "he said that he will support with the federal tax dollars some stem-cell research." Krauthammer's comments expanded upon First Lady Laura Bush's recent claim that President George W. Bush was the first president ever to fund stem cell research.
The truth is that Bush's stem cell policy replaced a less restrictive set of rules issued by the Clinton administration, though those rules had yet to take effect. On August 10, 2001, the day after Bush's nationally-televised speech announcing his new stem cell policy, The Washington Post explained that "the new policy will replace guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health a year ago under the Clinton administration that would have allowed the first federal subsidies of human embryo cell research." More broadly, the "ban" that Krauthammer referred to did not target stem cell research specifically. Rather, in each year since 1996, Congress has passed a general ban on research in which human embryos are damaged or destroyed. But scientists realized the potential of stem cell research only in the late 1990s; Clinton's 2000 guidelines were a response to this newly-emerging field of research, as The Washington Post explained on August 24, 2000.
Krauthammer also blasted "Democrats" for "arguing that anybody who draws any line whatsoever, who doesn't give a blank check to all kinds of stem-cell research, including cloning research, is against the science or a prisoner of primitive religion." But, in fact, the Kerry campaign has offered a stem cell proposal that includes significant restrictions on federally-funded research, as Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly pointed out during the panel with Krauthammer. In an August 9, 2004 speech, Senator John Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, gave a speech laying out a detailed stem cell proposal in which he pledged to "put in place strict ethical standards for those conducting stem cell research," according to a campaign press release. An August 10 Washington Post article on Edwards's speech noted that the stem cell proposal "closely resembles the framework that the Clinton administration devised in its final two years but never put into effect" and summarized several of the ethical restrictions:
Scientists would be able to use federal funds to isolate and study stem cells from fertility clinic embryos no longer wanted by parents -- embryos, Edwards said, "that would otherwise be discarded or frozen indefinitely." Consent would be required of the parents. And proposed experiments would have to pass muster with an ethics committee at the academic or research institution where the work would be done.
Finally, Krauthammer singled out Alzheimer's disease as the topic for particularly harsh -- and false -- criticism of Democrats: "Stem cells are absolutely irrelevant to any Alzheimer's research. And the implication by Kerry and others that somehow a cure is on the way, as a result of stem cells, is the worst demagoguery. It's a cruel demagoguery because it holds out hope to people in an area, which is absolutely irrelevant." But while a Media Matters for America search turned up no instances of Kerry claiming that "a cure is on the way" for Alzheimer's, a group of 80 Nobel laureates did mention Alzehimer's among a litany of diseases for which stem cell has the potential to yield treatments in an open letter to President George W. Bush in 2001 urging him not to place undue restrictions of federal funding of funding of stem cell research.
- Posted In
- Environment & Science, Stem Cell Research
Instructions for signing up and claiming your comment history are located here.
Updated rules for commenting are here.


text:
KC man celebrates 102nd birthday flying high
A Kansas City, Mo., vintage airplane enthusiast celebrated his 102nd birthday by taking a short flight in a plane he owned years ago.
KCTV reports Dick Schauble is a former pilot and the oldest member of the local Vintage Aircraft Association. On Saturday members of VAA Chapter 16 gathered at Gardner Municipal Airport in Kansas to give him a special flight.
Schauble took a ride in the same plane on his 100th birthday when the buyer brought the plane to Gardner especially for the occasion. Schauble owned the plane years ago when he taught at an aircraft mechanics school.
His flight Saturday lasted only about 15 minutes. About half of the aircraft association's 40 members turned out for the event.


text:
The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of AgWeb or Farm Journal Media. The opinions expressed below are the author's own.
Here's your chance to share a photo of your favorite tractor.
Tractor Trendsetters: John Deere 5010
Written By Larry Gay
By the early 1930s, almost all the major tractor manufacturers had a model of tractor that was capable of cultivating row crops. These "row-crop" tractors featured one front wheel or two closely-spaced front wheels which traveled between two rows. The rear wheels were spaced wide enough to straddle two rows, with enough clearance under the rear axle to pass over the growing crop. Many of these early row-crop tractors had an adjustable rear wheel tread which enabled the tractor to have a narrow wheel tread to reduce side draft while plowing and a wide setting for cultivating.
The popular tractors during the early 1920s had the two front wheels spaced in line with the rear wheels and the wheel tread was usually non-adjustable. With straight axles and smaller rear wheels, these tractors provided adequate clearance for general work, but not for row crops. Most of the tractor companies continued to manufacture this type of tractor after the row-crop models became popular, often in the same horsepower size as the row-crop tractors. To differentiate the two types, this version came to be known as a "standard-tread" or "standard" tractor.
Most of the tractor manufacturers also built one model of tractor which was available only as a standard-tread tractor and was larger than their other models. These tractors, sometimes referred to as wheatland tractors, were designed primarily for the small grain growing areas of the U.S. and Canada. They featured wide rear fenders and panels around the front of the operator's platform to reduce the amount of dust near the operator. As the horsepower increased for the other models, so did the power of the largest standard-tread tractors.
In 1962, John Deere introduced its 5010 model as the first 2-wheel-drive tractor to produce over 100 drawbar horsepower. This giant tractor weighed 16,600 pounds and was powered by a 6-cylinder, 531-cubic-inch John Deere diesel engine. To apply this power, it was equipped with a new size of rear tire, a 24.5-32. This enabled the 5010 to pull 32 feet of disk tiller, 40 feet of grain drills, or a 7-bottom, 16-inch plow. PTO power was measured at 121 horsepower during its Nebraska test. Operator convenience features included power steering, power brakes, and the John Deere posture seat. An independent 1,000-rpm PTO, a Quick-Coupler 3-point hitch for Category 2 or 3 implements, and dual rear wheels were optional.
Larry Gay is the author of four tractor books and the "Machinery Milestones" articles in Heritage Iron magazine. To learn more about this magazine which focuses on the 1960-1985 era, go to heritageiron.com or call 1-866-552-6085.
No comments have been posted to this Blog Post


text:
Love the Police
This is something that happened to me when I attended my old Chicago inner city public school.
So there was a group of druggie friends I used to hang out with, and almost everyday we would do something that could most likely put us in jail for a couple of years. One day we all ditched our lunch period like we would always do. My friend had just bought a gram of weed, and had a bottle of whiskey. We decided to go into a nearby alley by our school to smoke the weed and drink the whiskey.
If you don't happen to know, most inner city Chicago public schools are flooded with cops and security (especially mine) . So as we made our epic journey into the back of an alley, of course a squad car had to drive down and stop us as we were walking. Soon enough after cursing us out for ditching, the officer put us up against someones garage and began to frisk us. My friend had thrown the weed before the cop got to him but my other friend was frisked and had his whiskey taken away.
"Where did you get this?" the cop asked.
"I found it on the floor".
After getting cursed out a little more and throwing other illegal belongings in the nearby bushes while he wasn't looking, the officer took us back to the police room at our school. This was where our bonding started. The officer gave us each a little questionnaire that he was going to file and started asking us questions.
"What gang are you three offiliated with?" he asked.
"Where greasers sir" said my friend and all three of us plus the cop started cracking up.
"What are your gang nicknames" he asked.
I told him mine was based god like the hilarious rapper which as soon as I said my friend told the officer that "based god fucked my bitch" the officer was even more confused and asked more questions.
"What do you play bass or something?"
"No sir its pronounced based its hard to explain but I like playing bass and baseball."
Then he felt the need to constantly ask us if we wanted some of the whiskey which I thought he was being serious about but apparently he didnt like to have any fun. After more ridiculous questions and trying to convince the officer we were alcoholic weightlifters we finally got taken to the deans office.
At the end of the day I had been suspended and had my alcohol taken away, lost my drugs, but I still became friends with an officer of the law, and realized that all cops arent that bad.
Dedicated to my tutor Micah who asked me to write this instead of homework.


text:
by Rosalyn Schanzer
To help put the right book in each reader's hands, consider the following comprehensive text complexity analyses within your instructional plans.
Standards Model of Text Complexity
Text Complexity Toolkit
Lexile Level: 980L |
Source: National Governors Association for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers.[1]
The text John Smith Escapes Again! does not yet have any
Text Complexity Qualitative Measures Rubrics filled out. Perhaps you can help.
Add your own assessment to this crowdsourced measurement.
No educators have yet completed this "grades used" section of the
Informational Text Complexity Qualitative Measures Rubric
for John Smith Escapes Again!, where they share what grades this text is assigned. Perhaps you can help.
1. National Governors Association for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. "Supplemental Information for Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy: New Research on Text Complexity," Common Core State Standards Initiative (2014): 4. Accessed August 8, 2014, http://www.corestandards.org/assets/E0813_Appendix_A_New_Research_on_Text_Complexity.pdf.
2. Adapted from the CCSSO's ELA State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards, and the text complexity rubrics used by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction ELA Team.
3. Lexile® is a trademark of MetaMetrics. Used under license.
4. ATOS® is a trademark of Renaissance Learning, Inc. Used under license.


text:
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The seamy world of the Auckland dance hall, 1925
6 comments:
Sounds a bit like dances my parents dragged me to in the sixties. By then all had cars and consumed their alcohol outside in or near their cars. I was a kid and did not see the sexual nuances or overt, but I expect they happened.ReplyDelete
Yes, the description sounds very much like a mix between the 1950s and 1960s (from what I know from vid clips etc.), rather than 1925. Maybe it was just some generic, cultural, time-transcendant thing. Put youngsters in a room with music, cigarettes and booze, and that's what they do, whatever the time period ...ReplyDelete
I did not think of modern times, but it is not so different even now.ReplyDelete
The first thing that came to mind was The Jitterbug. I thought it was more the mid-late Thirties but apparently it did start out in the early Twenties...New Zealand onto a trend that much ahead of time? Doubt it somehow...ReplyDelete
The Jitterbug stemmed from swing dancing, yes. I reckon what was going on was a kind of generic swing dance to the jazz beat of the era. Probably not a standard dance, but a series of responses to the beat. Until they introduced imported American-style Charleston stuff, and the later Jitterbug. We might have been ahead of the times, though, you never know!ReplyDelete
The whole article is great. I love the way it is written.ReplyDelete


text:
Page Not Found
We're Sorry…
We seem to have misplaced this page result in an unfortunate error: (Page or File Not Found: 404 error), Please feel free to use the search below to assist you in finding what you were looking for.
If you can't find what you're looking for, let our specialists help you
Our customer service representatives are now available to help you. E-mail us or call +31 0251-361302, on Mondays through Fridays between 09.00 AM – 18.00 PM.


text:
René Descartes, (born March 31, 1596, La Haye, Touraine, France—died February 11, 1650, Stockholm, Sweden), French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Because he was one of the first to abandon scholastic Aristotelianism, because he formulated the first modern version of mind-body dualism, from which stems the mind-body problem, and because he promoted the development of a new science grounded in observation and experiment, he has been called the father of modern philosophy. Applying an original system of methodical doubt, he dismissed apparent knowledge derived from authority, the senses, and reason and erected new epistemic foundations on the basis of the intuition that, when he is thinking, he exists; this he expressed in the dictum "I think, therefore I am" (best known in its Latin formulation, "Cogito, ergo sum," though originally written in French, "Je pense, donc je suis"). He developed a metaphysical dualism that distinguishes radically between mind, the essence of which is thinking, and matter, the essence of which is extension in three dimensions. Descartes's metaphysics is rationalist, based on the postulation of innate ideas of mind, matter, and God, but his physics and physiology, based on sensory experience, are mechanistic and empiricist.
Who was René Descartes?
What is René Descartes known for?
What was René Descartes's family like?
How did René Descartes die?
Early life and education
Although Descartes's birthplace, La Haye (now Descartes), France, is in Touraine, his family connections lie south, across the Creuse River in Poitou, where his father, Joachim, owned farms and houses in Châtellerault and Poitiers. Because Joachim was a councillor in the Parlement of Brittany in Rennes, Descartes inherited a modest rank of nobility. Descartes's mother died when he was one year old. His father remarried in Rennes, leaving him in La Haye to be raised first by his maternal grandmother and then by his great-uncle in Châtellerault. Although the Descartes family was Roman Catholic, the Poitou region was controlled by the Protestant Huguenots, and Châtellerault, a Protestant stronghold, was the site of negotiations over the Edict of Nantes (1598), which gave Protestants freedom of worship in France following the intermittent Wars of Religion between Protestant and Catholic forces in France. Descartes returned to Poitou regularly until 1628.
In 1606 Descartes was sent to the Jesuit college at La Flèche, established in 1604 by Henry IV (reigned 1589–1610). At La Flèche, 1,200 young men were trained for careers in military engineering, the judiciary, and government administration. In addition to classical studies, science, mathematics, and metaphysics—Aristotle was taught from scholastic commentaries—they studied acting, music, poetry, dancing, riding, and fencing. In 1610 Descartes participated in an imposing ceremony in which the heart of Henry IV, whose assassination that year had destroyed the hope of religious tolerance in France and Germany, was placed in the cathedral at La Flèche.
In 1614 Descartes went to Poitiers, where he took a law degree in 1616. At this time, Huguenot Poitiers was in virtual revolt against the young King Louis XIII (reigned 1610–43). Descartes's father probably expected him to enter Parlement, but the minimum age for doing so was 27, and Descartes was only 20. In 1618 he went to Breda in the Netherlands, where he spent 15 months as an informal student of mathematics and military architecture in the peacetime army of the Protestant stadholder, Prince Maurice (ruled 1585–1625). In Breda, Descartes was encouraged in his studies of science and mathematics by the physicist Isaac Beeckman (1588–1637), for whom he wrote the Compendium of Music (written 1618, published 1650), his first surviving work.
Descartes spent the period 1619 to 1628 traveling in northern and southern Europe, where, as he later explained, he studied "the book of the world." While in Bohemia in 1619, he invented analytic geometry, a method of solving geometric problems algebraically and algebraic problems geometrically. He also devised a universal method of deductive reasoning, based on mathematics, that is applicable to all the sciences. This method, which he later formulated in Discourse on Method (1637) and Rules for the Direction of the Mind (written by 1628 but not published until 1701), consists of four rules: (1) accept nothing as true that is not self-evident, (2) divide problems into their simplest parts, (3) solve problems by proceeding from simple to complex, and (4) recheck the reasoning. These rules are a direct application of mathematical procedures. In addition, Descartes insisted that all key notions and the limits of each problem must be clearly defined.
Descartes also investigated reports of esoteric knowledge, such as the claims of the practitioners of theosophy to be able to command nature. Although disappointed with the followers of the Catalan mystic Ramon Llull (1232/33–1315/16) and the German alchemist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486–1535), he was impressed by the German mathematician Johann Faulhaber (1580–1635), a member of the mystical society of the Rosicrucians.
Descartes shared a number of Rosicrucian goals and habits. Like the Rosicrucians, he lived alone and in seclusion, changed his residence often (during his 22 years in the Netherlands, he lived in 18 different places), practiced medicine without charge, attempted to increase human longevity, and took an optimistic view of the capacity of science to improve the human condition. At the end of his life, he left a chest of personal papers (none of which has survived) with a Rosicrucian physician—his close friend Corneille van Hogelande, who handled his affairs in the Netherlands. Despite these affinities, Descartes rejected the Rosicrucians' magical and mystical beliefs. For him, this period was a time of hope for a revolution in science. The English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626), in Advancement of Learning (1605), had earlier proposed a new science of observation and experiment to replace the traditional Aristotelian science, as Descartes himself did later.
In 1622 Descartes moved to Paris. There he gambled, rode, fenced, and went to the court, concerts, and the theatre. Among his friends were the poets Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654), who dedicated his Le Socrate chrétien (1652; "Christian Socrates") to Descartes, and Théophile de Viau (1590–1626), who was burned in effigy and imprisoned in 1623 for writing verses mocking religious themes. Descartes also befriended the mathematician Claude Mydorge (1585–1647) and Father Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), a man of universal learning who corresponded with hundreds of scholars, writers, mathematicians, and scientists and who became Descartes's main contact with the larger intellectual world. During this time Descartes regularly hid from his friends to work, writing treatises, now lost, on fencing and metals. He acquired a considerable reputation long before he published anything.
At a talk in 1628, Descartes denied the alchemist Chandoux's claim that probabilities are as good as certainties in science and demonstrated his own method for attaining certainty. The Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575–1629)—who had founded the Oratorian teaching congregation in 1611 as a rival to the Jesuits—was present at the talk. Many commentators speculate that Bérulle urged Descartes to write a metaphysics based on the philosophy of St. Augustine as a replacement for Jesuit teaching. Be that as it may, within weeks Descartes left for the Netherlands, which was Protestant, and—taking great precautions to conceal his address—did not return to France for 16 years. Some scholars claim that Descartes adopted Bérulle as director of his conscience, but this is unlikely, given Descartes's background and beliefs (he came from a Huguenot province, he was not a Catholic enthusiast, he had been accused of being a Rosicrucian, and he advocated religious tolerance and championed the use of reason).
Residence in the Netherlands
Descartes said that he went to the Netherlands to enjoy a greater liberty than was available anywhere else and to avoid the distractions of Paris and friends so that he could have the leisure and solitude to think. (He had inherited enough money and property to live independently.) The Netherlands was a haven of tolerance, where Descartes could be an original, independent thinker without fear of being burned at the stake—as was the Italian philosopher Lucilio Vanini (1585–1619) for proposing natural explanations of miracles—or being drafted into the armies then prosecuting the Catholic Counter-Reformation. In France, by contrast, religious intolerance was mounting. The Jews were expelled in 1615, and the last Protestant stronghold, La Rochelle, was crushed—with Bérulle's participation—only weeks before Descartes's departure. In 1624 the French Parlement passed a decree forbidding criticism of Aristotle on pain of death. Although Mersenne and the philosopher Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655) did publish attacks on Aristotle without suffering persecution (they were, after all, Catholic priests), those judged to be heretics continued to be burned, and laymen lacked church protection. In addition, Descartes may have felt jeopardized by his friendship with intellectual libertines such as Father Claude Picot (d. 1668), a bon vivant known as "the Atheist Priest," with whom he entrusted his financial affairs in France.
In 1629 Descartes went to the university at Franeker, where he stayed with a Catholic family and wrote the first draft of his Meditations. He matriculated at the University of Leiden in 1630. In 1631 he visited Denmark with the physician and alchemist Étienne de Villebressieu, who invented siege engines, a portable bridge, and a two-wheeled stretcher. The physician Henri Regius (1598–1679), who taught Descartes's views at the University of Utrecht in 1639, involved Descartes in a fierce controversy with the Calvinist theologian Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) that continued for the rest of Descartes's life. In his Letter to Voetius of 1648, Descartes made a plea for religious tolerance and the rights of man. Claiming to write not only for Christians but also for Turks—meaning Muslims, libertines, infidels, deists, and atheists—he argued that, because Protestants and Catholics worship the same God, both can hope for heaven. When the controversy became intense, however, Descartes sought the protection of the French ambassador and of his friend Constantijn Huygens (1596–1687), secretary to the stadholder Prince Frederick Henry (ruled 1625–47).
In 1635 Descartes's daughter Francine was born to Helena Jans and was baptized in the Reformed Church in Deventer. Although Francine is typically referred to by commentators as Descartes's "illegitimate" daughter, her baptism is recorded in a register for legitimate births. Her death of scarlet fever at the age of five was the greatest sorrow of Descartes's life. Referring to her death, Descartes said that he did not believe that one must refrain from tears to prove oneself a man.
The World and Discourse on Method
In 1633, just as he was about to publish The World (1664), Descartes learned that the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) had been condemned in Rome for publishing the view that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Because this Copernican position is central to his cosmology and physics, Descartes suppressed The World, hoping that eventually the church would retract its condemnation. Although Descartes feared the church, he also hoped that his physics would one day replace that of Aristotle in church doctrine and be taught in Catholic schools.
Descartes's Discourse on Method (1637) is one of the first important modern philosophical works not written in Latin. Descartes said that he wrote in French so that all who had good sense, including women, could read his work and learn to think for themselves. He believed that everyone could tell true from false by the natural light of reason. In three essays accompanying the Discourse, he illustrated his method for utilizing reason in the search for truth in the sciences: in Dioptrics he derived the law of refraction, in Meteorology he explained the rainbow, and in Geometry he gave an exposition of his analytic geometry. He also perfected the system invented by François Viète for representing known numerical quantities with a, b, c, …, unknowns with x, y, z, …, and squares, cubes, and other powers with numerical superscripts, as in x2, x3, …, which made algebraic calculations much easier than they had been before.
In the Discourse he also provided a provisional moral code (later presented as final) for use while seeking truth: (1) obey local customs and laws, (2) make decisions on the best evidence and then stick to them firmly as though they were certain, (3) change desires rather than the world, and (4) always seek truth. This code exhibits Descartes's prudential conservatism, decisiveness, stoicism, and dedication. The Discourse and other works illustrate Descartes's conception of knowledge as being like a tree in its interconnectedness and in the grounding provided to higher forms of knowledge by lower or more fundamental ones. Thus, for Descartes, metaphysics corresponds to the roots of the tree, physics to the trunk, and medicine, mechanics, and morals to the branches.
In 1641 Descartes published the Meditations on First Philosophy, in Which Is Proved the Existence of God and the Immortality of the Soul. Written in Latin and dedicated to the Jesuit professors at the Sorbonne in Paris, the work includes critical responses by several eminent thinkers—collected by Mersenne from the Jansenist philosopher and theologian Antoine Arnauld (1612–94), the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), and the Epicurean atomist Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655)—as well as Descartes's replies. The second edition (1642) includes a response by the Jesuit priest Pierre Bourdin (1595–1653), who Descartes said was a fool. These objections and replies constitute a landmark of cooperative discussion in philosophy and science at a time when dogmatism was the rule.
The Meditations is characterized by Descartes's use of methodic doubt, a systematic procedure of rejecting as though false all types of belief in which one has ever been, or could ever be, deceived. His arguments derive from the skepticism of the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus (fl. 3rd century ce) as reflected in the work of the essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) and the Catholic theologian Pierre Charron (1541–1603). Thus, Descartes's apparent knowledge based on authority is set aside, because even experts are sometimes wrong. His beliefs from sensory experience are declared untrustworthy, because such experience is sometimes misleading, as when a square tower appears round from a distance. Even his beliefs about the objects in his immediate vicinity may be mistaken, because, as he notes, he often has dreams about objects that do not exist, and he has no way of knowing with certainty whether he is dreaming or awake. Finally, his apparent knowledge of simple and general truths of reasoning that do not depend on sense experience—such as "2 + 3 = 5" or "a square has four sides"—is also unreliable, because God could have made him in such a way that, for example, he goes wrong every time he counts. As a way of summarizing the universal doubt into which he has fallen, Descartes supposes that an "evil genius of the utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me."
Although at this stage there is seemingly no belief about which he cannot entertain doubt, Descartes finds certainty in the intuition that, when he is thinking—even if he is being deceived—he must exist. In the Discourse, Descartes expresses this intuition in the dictum "I think, therefore I am"; but because "therefore" suggests that the intuition is an argument—though it is not—in the Meditations he says merely, "I think, I am" ("Cogito, sum"). The cogito is a logically self-evident truth that also gives intuitively certain knowledge of a particular thing's existence—that is, one's self. Nevertheless, it justifies accepting as certain only the existence of the person who thinks it. If all one ever knew for certain was that one exists, and if one adhered to Descartes's method of doubting all that is uncertain, then one would be reduced to solipsism, the view that nothing exists but one's self and thoughts. To escape solipsism, Descartes argues that all ideas that are as "clear and distinct" as the cogito must be true, for, if they were not, the cogito also, as a member of the class of clear and distinct ideas, could be doubted. Since "I think, I am" cannot be doubted, all clear and distinct ideas must be true.
On the basis of clear and distinct innate ideas, Descartes then establishes that each mind is a mental substance and each body a part of one material substance. The mind or soul is immortal, because it is unextended and cannot be broken into parts, as can extended bodies. Descartes also advances at least two proofs for the existence of God. The final proof, presented in the Fifth Meditation, begins with the proposition that Descartes has an innate idea of God as a perfect being. It concludes that God necessarily exists, because, if he did not, he would not be perfect. This ontological argument for God's existence, introduced by the medieval English logician St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033/34–1109), is at the heart of Descartes's rationalism, for it establishes certain knowledge about an existing thing solely on the basis of reasoning from innate ideas, with no help from sensory experience. Descartes elsewhere argues that, because God is perfect, he does not deceive human beings, and therefore, because God leads us to believe that the material world exists, it does exist. In this way Descartes claims to establish metaphysical foundations for the existence of his own mind, of God, and of the material world.
The inherent circularity of Descartes's reasoning was exposed by Arnauld, whose objection has come to be known as the Cartesian Circle. According to Descartes, God's existence is established by the fact that Descartes has a clear and distinct idea of God; but the truth of Descartes's clear and distinct ideas are guaranteed by the fact that God exists and is not a deceiver. Thus, in order to show that God exists, Descartes must assume that God exists.
Physics, physiology, and morals
Descartes's general goal was to help human beings master and possess nature. He provided understanding of the trunk of the tree of knowledge in The World, Dioptrics, Meteorology, and Geometry, and he established its metaphysical roots in the Meditations. He then spent the rest of his life working on the branches of mechanics, medicine, and morals. Mechanics is the basis of his physiology and medicine, which in turn is the basis of his moral psychology. Descartes believed that all material bodies, including the human body, are machines that operate by mechanical principles. In his physiological studies, he dissected animal bodies to show how their parts move. He argued that, because animals have no souls, they do not think or feel; thus, vivisection, which Descartes practiced, is permitted. He also described the circulation of the blood but came to the erroneous conclusion that heat in the heart expands the blood, causing its expulsion into the veins. Descartes's L'Homme, et un traité de la formation du foetus (Man, and a Treatise on the Formation of the Foetus) was published in 1664.
In 1644 Descartes published Principles of Philosophy, a compilation of his physics and metaphysics. He dedicated this work to Princess Elizabeth (1618–79), daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, titular queen of Bohemia, in correspondence with whom he developed his moral philosophy. According to Descartes, a human being is a union of mind and body, two radically dissimilar substances that interact in the pineal gland. He reasoned that the pineal gland must be the uniting point because it is the only nondouble organ in the brain, and double reports, as from two eyes, must have one place to merge. He argued that each action on a person's sense organs causes subtle matter to move through tubular nerves to the pineal gland, causing it to vibrate distinctively. These vibrations give rise to emotions and passions and also cause the body to act. Bodily action is thus the final outcome of a reflex arc that begins with external stimuli—as, for example, when a soldier sees the enemy, feels fear, and flees. The mind cannot change bodily reactions directly—for example, it cannot will the body to fight—but by altering mental attitudes, it can change the pineal vibrations from those that cause fear and fleeing to those that cause courage and fighting.
Descartes argued further that human beings can be conditioned by experience to have specific emotional responses. Descartes himself, for example, had been conditioned to be attracted to cross-eyed women because he had loved a cross-eyed playmate as a child. When he remembered this fact, however, he was able to rid himself of his passion. This insight is the basis of Descartes's defense of free will and of the mind's ability to control the body. Despite such arguments, in his Passions of the Soul (1649), which he dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden (reigned 1644–54), Descartes holds that most bodily actions are determined by external material causes.
Descartes's morality is anti-Jansenist and anti-Calvinist in that he maintains that the grace that is necessary for salvation can be earned and that human beings are virtuous and able to achieve salvation when they do their best to find and act upon the truth. His optimism about the ability of human reason and will to find truth and reach salvation contrasts starkly with the pessimism of the Jansenist apologist and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623–62), who believed that salvation comes only as a gift of God's grace. Descartes was correctly accused of holding the view of Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609), an anti-Calvinist Dutch theologian, that salvation depends on free will and good works rather than on grace. Descartes also held that, unless people believe in God and immortality, they will see no reason to be moral.
Free will, according to Descartes, is the sign of God in human nature, and human beings can be praised or blamed according to their use of it. People are good, he believed, only to the extent that they act freely for the good of others; such generosity is the highest virtue. Descartes was Epicurean in his assertion that human passions are good in themselves. He was an extreme moral optimist in his belief that understanding of the good is automatically followed by a desire to do the good. Moreover, because passions are "willings" according to Descartes, to want something is the same as to will it. Descartes was also stoic, however, in his admonition that, rather than change the world, human beings should control their passions.
Although Descartes wrote no political philosophy, he approved of the admonition of Seneca (c. 4 bce–65 ce) to acquiesce in the common order of things. He rejected the recommendation of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) to lie to one's friends, because friendship is sacred and life's greatest joy. Human beings cannot exist alone but must be parts of social groups, such as nations and families, and it is better to do good for the group than for oneself.
Descartes had been a puny child with a weak chest and was not expected to live. He therefore watched his health carefully, becoming a virtual vegetarian. In 1639 he bragged that he had not been sick for 19 years and that he expected to live to 100. He told Princess Elizabeth to think of life as a comedy; bad thoughts cause bad dreams and bodily disorders. Because there is always more good than evil in life, he said, one can always be content, no matter how bad things seem. Elizabeth, inextricably involved in messy court and family affairs, was not consoled.
In his later years Descartes said that he had once hoped to learn to prolong life to a century or more, but he then saw that, to achieve that goal, the work of many generations would be required; he himself had not even learned to prevent a fever. Thus, he said, instead of continuing to hope for long life, he had found an easier way, namely to love life and not to fear death. It is easy, he claimed, for a true philosopher to die tranquilly.
Final years and heritage
In 1644, 1647, and 1648, after 16 years in the Netherlands, Descartes returned to France for brief visits on financial business and to oversee the translation into French of the Principles, the Meditations, and the Objections and Replies. (The translators were, respectively, Picot, Charles d'Albert, duke de Luynes, and Claude Clerselier.) In 1647 he also met with Gassendi and Hobbes, and he suggested to Pascal the famous experiment of taking a barometer up Mount Puy-de-Dôme to determine the influence of the weight of the air. Picot returned with Descartes to the Netherlands for the winter of 1647–48. During Descartes's final stay in Paris in 1648, the French nobility revolted against the crown in a series of wars known as the Fronde. Descartes left precipitously on August 17, 1648, only days before the death of his old friend Mersenne.
Clerselier's brother-in-law, Hector Pierre Chanut, who was French resident in Sweden and later ambassador, helped to procure a pension for Descartes from Louis XIV, though it was never paid. Later, Chanut engineered an invitation for Descartes to the court of Queen Christina, who by the close of the Thirty Years' War (1618–48) had become one of the most important and powerful monarchs in Europe. Descartes went reluctantly, arriving early in October 1649. He may have gone because he needed patronage; the Fronde seemed to have destroyed his chances in Paris, and the Calvinist theologians were harassing him in the Netherlands.
In Sweden—where, Descartes said, in winter men's thoughts freeze like the water—the 22-year-old Christina perversely made the 53-year-old Descartes rise before 5:00 am to give her philosophy lessons, even though she knew of his habit of lying in bed until 11 o'clock in the morning. She also is said to have ordered him to write the verses of a ballet, The Birth of Peace (1649), to celebrate her role in the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War. The verses in fact were not written by Descartes, though he did write the statutes for a Swedish Academy of Arts and Sciences. While delivering these statutes to the queen at 5:00 am on February 1, 1650, he caught a chill, and he soon developed pneumonia. He died in Stockholm on February 11. Many pious last words have been attributed to him, but the most trustworthy report is that of his German valet, who said that Descartes was in a coma and died without saying anything at all.
Descartes's papers came into the possession of Claude Clerselier, a pious Catholic, who began the process of turning Descartes into a saint by cutting, adding to, and selectively publishing his letters. This cosmetic work culminated in 1691 in the massive biography by Father Adrien Baillet, who was at work on a 17-volume Lives of the Saints. Even during Descartes's lifetime there were questions about whether he was a Catholic apologist, primarily concerned with supporting Christian doctrine, or an atheist, concerned only with protecting himself with pious sentiments while establishing a deterministic, mechanistic, and materialistic physics.
These questions remain difficult to answer, not least because all the papers, letters, and manuscripts available to Clerselier and Baillet are now lost. In 1667 the Roman Catholic church made its own decision by putting Descartes's works on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Latin: "Index of Prohibited Books") on the very day his bones were ceremoniously placed in Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont in Paris. During his lifetime, Protestant ministers in the Netherlands called Descartes a Jesuit and a papist—which is to say an atheist. He retorted that they were intolerant, ignorant bigots. Up to about 1930, a majority of scholars, many of whom were religious, believed that Descartes's major concerns were metaphysical and religious. By the late 20th century, however, numerous commentators had come to believe that Descartes was a Catholic in the same way he was a Frenchman and a royalist—that is, by birth and by convention.
Descartes himself said that good sense is destroyed when one thinks too much of God. He once told a German protégée, Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–78), who was known as a painter and a poet, that she was wasting her intellect studying Hebrew and theology. He also was perfectly aware of—though he tried to conceal—the atheistic potential of his materialist physics and physiology. Descartes seemed indifferent to the emotional depths of religion. Whereas Pascal trembled when he looked into the infinite universe and perceived the puniness and misery of man, Descartes exulted in the power of human reason to understand the cosmos and to promote happiness, and he rejected the view that human beings are essentially miserable and sinful. He held that it is impertinent to pray to God to change things. Instead, when we cannot change the world, we must change ourselves.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
epistemology: René DescartesBoth the rise of modern science and the rediscovery of skepticism were important influences on René Descartes. Although he believed that certain knowledge was possible and that modern science would one day enable humans to become the masters of nature, he also thought…
philosophical anthropology: DescartesWhat did change at that time was the confidence that had resided in the representational fidelity of such ideas. Descartes's whole philosophy was based on a recognition that ideas in the mind could not guarantee that their counterparts in the world outside the mind…
history of Europe: The role of science and mathematics…was, in the words of René Descartes, "the general science which should explain all that can be known about quantity and measure, considered independently of any application to a particular subject." It enabled its practitioners to bridge gaps between speculation and reasonable certainty: Johannes Kepler thus proceeded from his study…
France: French culture in the 17th centuryThe philosopher René Descartes's doubting, rationalist approach to the fundamental questions of God's existence and man's relationship to God undermined the rigid adherence to revealed truths propounded by religious orthodoxy. The Jansenist Blaise Pascal, one of the most versatile geniuses of the century, represented and defended a…
Major Rulers of FranceDuring its long history, France has gone through numerous types of government. Under the Fifth Republic, France's current system, the head of state is the president, who is elected by direct universal suffrage. The table provides a list of the major rulers of…
More About René Descartes77 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- residence in the Netherlands
- role in the Scientific Revolution
association with
- Christina
- In Christina
- Huygens
- Mersenne
contribution to
Christian thought
- theism
- theological liberalism
- Enlightenment
- historiography


text:
Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+
This is a test of the emergency broadcast system.
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:
Track this topic
Receive email notification when a reply has been made to this topic and you are not active on the board.
Subscribe to this forum
Receive email notification when a new topic is posted in this forum and you are not active on the board.
Download / Print this Topic
Download this topic in different formats or view a printer friendly version.
Powered by Invision Power Board(Trial) v2.0.0 © 2019 IPS, Inc.


text:
The following are dialog and mission scripts as seen during "Contra-Banned" in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
Salvatore Leone: Shut up, you ungrateful bitch. I'll knock you into next week if I hear another word from you.
Maria Latore: Oh, that's right, big dick. What are you going to do? Hit me?
Salvatore Leone: Why I oughta...
Maria Latore: That's the only time you touch me these days.
Salvatore Leone: Why the fuck would I wanna touch you? I don't like used goods. You revolt me.
Maria Latore: Me? Revolt you? What?
Salvatore Leone: Yeah! Revolt!
Maria Latore: Oh please. You know what? My daddy was right when he said you were nothing but a fat slob...
Salvatore Leone: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Toni Cipriani enters)
Maria Latore: Hey, Toni... I want my money, old man!
Salvatore Leone: Get outta here, you tramp. Hey, Anthony, you're an angel of mercy. Women, what are you gonna do about them, huh? Luckily, I can trust someone in my life - you, Toni. You're very important to me. Did I ever tell you that?
Maria Latore: You can't even get it up you old bastard.
Salvatore Leone: Not for you. I don't like using public toilets, you slut! Very important. So listen - it's you and me now. We're in charge. We've got those fools on the run.
Maria Latore: How would you know? You're more interested in hanging out with men!
Salvatore Leone: And you're only happy when you've got your drawers round your ankles and your back against a wall! Christ - I've met rabbits who like to fuck less than you! So listen, this is important...
Maria Latore: Fuck you, Salvatore Leone, you no dick bullying wife beating piece of Italian shit.
Salvatore Leone: Fuck me? Fuck you? In fact, everyone has! Anyway, I got a shipment of you know what coming in. This is going to put us - you and me - on the map big time. Everything should run smooth. I just need someone - someone I trust - to take care of things for me. Alright Toni, I'll talk to you later. And another thing - I never met a girl with hydraulic underwear. It amazes me! Christ! How did I marry her? I was looking for a tramp, I married a slut! I must have really pissed someone off in my past life, I'll tell you that much.
(Toni arrives to the meeting place)
Miguel: Heeey... Ese... you were supposed to be here hours ago!
Toni Cipriani: Quit whining Miguel. You got the stuff?
Miguel: Hey, I'm a busy man Toni. Next time I'll find another buyer!
Toni Cipriani: Yeah, I doubt you'll find anyone else who pays what we do.
Miguel: Heh heh ha! I like you Toni. You got big balls - like a bull!
Toni Cipriani: ...you got our money?
Miguel: Sure...
(The police move in)
Toni Cipriani: What? You greaseball fuck!


text:
Global Ingeo Fiber Market Report gives an ebb and current flow situation, openings, restrictions, drivers and the development gauges of the market for 2018-2023. The Ingeo Fiber Market report displays a point by point examination of the business by Market Size, Growth Rate, Key Trends, Top Manufacturers, Regions, Product Types and Applications.
Global Ingeo Fiber market is esteemed at USD XX million of every 2017 and will achieve xxx Million USD in 2018 and is required to achieve USD XX million before the finish of 2023, developing at a CAGR of XX% in the range of 2017 and 2023. The report starts from a review of Industry Chain structure, and depicts industry condition, at that point examinations market size and estimate of Ingeo Fiber by item, area, and application, what's more, this report presents Ingeo Fiber market rivalry circumstance among the sellers and friends profile, in addition, market value investigation and esteem chain highlights are shrouded in this report.
FREE Sample Report @ https://marketdesk.org/report/global-ingeo-fiber-market-2018-hc/13101/#requestForSample
Prominent Ingeo Fiber Market Key Players:
NatureWorks LLC
Ingeo Fiber Market Distributed in Types:
Solution Spinning
Melt Spinning
Ingeo Fiber Market Distributed in Applications:
Global Ingeo Fiber Industry Report Splits Global into Several Key Countries, with Sales, Revenue, Market Share Manufacturers in these Countries.
** North America Ingeo Fiber Market Covers (USA, Canada, and Mexico)
** South America Ingeo Fiber Market Covers (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)
** Europe Ingeo Fiber Market Covers (France, Germany, UK, Russia, and Italy)
** Asia-Pacific Ingeo Fiber Market Covers (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia)
** The Middle East and Africa Ingeo Fiber Market Covers (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria)
Inquire About Customized Report @ https://marketdesk.org/report/global-ingeo-fiber-market-2018-hc/13101/#inquiry
For best associations, this report analyzes and dismembers the business, wage, piece of the overall Ingeo Fiber industry and advancement rate for the best players, key data from 2013 to 2018. This report also thinks about the overall Ingeo Fiber market status, contention scene, a piece of the overall industry of the general business, advancement rate, future examples, feature drivers, openings and challenges, bargains channels, dealers and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.
Ingeo Fiber Key Raw Materials Analysis:
Key Raw Materials.
Value Trend of Key Raw Materials incorporates into Ingeo Fiber market.
Key Suppliers of Raw Materials.
Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials.
Mechanical Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Involved in Ingeo Fiber Market:
Ingeo Fiber Industrial Chain Analysis.
Upstream Raw Materials Sourcing.
Raw Materials Sources of Ingeo Fiber Major Manufacturers in 2016.
Downstream Buyers.
Ingeo Fiber Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders.
Marketing Channel for Ingeo Fiber Industry
Coordinate Marketing.
Roundabout Marketing.
Marketing Channel Development Trend.
Ingeo Fiber Market Positioning.
Estimating Strategy.
Brand Strategy.
Target Client.
Wholesalers/Traders List canvassed in Ingeo Fiber market.
Market Effect Factors Analysis:
Innovation Progress/Risk.
Substitutes Threat.
Innovation Progress in Related Industry.
Shopper Needs/Customer Preference Change.
Monetary/Political Environmental Change.
Finally, This Ingeo Fiber report covers the market scene and its development prospects over the forecast, the Ingeo Fiber Report likewise concise manages the item life cycle, contrasting it with the pertinent items from crosswise over enterprises that had just been popularized points of interest the potential for different applications, talking about late item advancements and gives an outline on potential territorial Ingeo Fiber market shares.
View Described TOC @ https://marketdesk.org/report/global-ingeo-fiber-market-2018-hc/13101/#toc
Get In Touch With Us:
420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300
New York City, NY 10170, United States
USA/Canada Tel No: +18575982522
Email: email@example.com


text:
Fox's Otakon 2014 Maid Cafe Review
10-09-2014 Hits:8786 Cat & Fox Blog Cat and Fox
Since last year's Otakon maid cafe was an enjoyable and unforgettable experience, Cat and I made a point to attend again. We braved the long wait in line (about one and a half hours) to see what was new this time around. I was looking forward to any improvements or changes the cafe might have introduced this year. When we were allowed in, the maids gave their greeting of "Okaerinasaimase, goshujinsama!" (This phrase, which translates to "Welcome home, Master!", is definitely authentic to the traditional Japanese maid cafe.) The fee again this year for entry was $10, with a $5 charge...Read more
Otakon 2014 Event Report
19-08-2014 Hits:4594 Cat & Fox Blog Burr
Even though the basic concept is the same, every iteration of a convention has a different feel to it. If you read my review last year, Otakon went bigger in celebrating its 20th anniversary, pulling out all the stops in terms of special guests and exclusives, as well as taking stock of its history in inviting old friends. This year was a bit more subdued, partly because 2013 was such a hard act to follow, but also because of a major snafu to kick things off. First, let's go with what went right on Thursday, which is technically the day before...Read more
Fox's Review of the Otakon 2013 Maid Caf…
17-08-2013 Hits:9144 Cat & Fox Blog Kitsune
When I heard about the maid cafe at Otakon 2012, I was pretty disappointed that I wasn't able to attend. This year, Cat, my husband, and I made it a point to wait in line for the maid cafe's second year at Otakon. I have to admit that it was certainly worth the wait! Upon entry into the maid cafe, we were greeted by the maids, who said "Welcome home, Master and Mistress!" in Japanese! This was definitely a delightful surprise. After paying only $10 (maid cafes in Japan are typically more expensive), we were shown to our seats by one...Read more
Otakon 2013 Report
17-08-2013 Hits:10458 Cat & Fox Blog Burr
When you've been at something for two decades and only keep getting bigger and better, you know you're doing something right. Otakon has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a Days Inn in Pennsylvania, exploding from a humble gathering of 300 or so to a horde of nearly 35,000 otaku taking over its current home in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. In fact, the convention has gotten so large that Otakorp has already announced a move to Washington, D.C.'s more spacious convention center for 2017's edition, despite some sentimental reluctance. Otakon celebrated its 20th anniversary in style, for sure. They...Read more
Cat & Fox's Otakon Special!
14-08-2013 Hits:5397 Cat & Fox Blog Burr
Tune in for our Otakon special! We'll be talking about everything we saw, from cosplay, anime, figures, panels, and press conferences! We'll also be airing our interviews with voice actors Todd Haberkorn (Natsu from Fairy Tail, Death the Kid from Soul Eater) and Vic Mignogna (Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist). So be there Wednesday, August 14th at 7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific! Or check out the archive once it's posted!Read more
Cat & Fox is now on Stitcher!
25-01-2013 Hits:5239 Cat & Fox Blog Burr
For those of our listeners on the go, there's now another way catch up on Cat & Fox. We're now on Stitcher! Download the app on your smartphone and check us out at the link below: {source}<iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width:120px;height:60px;border:0;overflow:hidden;" src="http://stitcher.com/s/embed.php?eid=20799199&img=lg"></iframe>{/source}Read more
Is This A Great Anime? Yes!
06-12-2012 Hits:7928 Cat & Fox Blog Cat and Fox
We just watched episodes 5 and 6 of Is This a Zombie last Anime Night and it continues to impress! Finally we got to see Eucliwood Hellscythe use her magic and it was suitably epic. Stay tuned for more next week hopefully if it wins the Anime Vote again. :)Read more


text:
SOL REPUBLIC is global consumer electronics company dedicated to enhancing people's lives through better-sounding headphones. Founded by consumer electronics veterans Kevin Lee, Scott Hix and Seth Combs who share a vision of ridding the world of hollow-sounding headphones and to make great sound attainable for everyone. SOL REPUBLIC is comprised of music fanatics who develop products from the ground up to make headphones that look, sound and feel unlike anything else in the market. More than just a headphone company, SOL REPUBLIC celebrates the people who make music, love music and are devoted to music. We are committed to creating a community where music fans, athletes and all dreamers are welcome to put a voice to their ideas, share their sound, and be heard.
- THEMJEANS1,173 followersLos Angeles, United States


text:
Editorial Cartoon by Gary Varvel
Page loading...Page Redirection If you are not redirected automatically, please visit our Facebook page !doctype>
Monday, March 9, 2009
Revisionist Rights
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Conservative Brawler's Archive
- ► 2010 (40)
- Obama's Deficit Doublespeak
- Angry Mob
- Telegraph.co.uk: Worst 10 Gaffes by Barack Obama a...
- Glenn Beck Explains This Week's 'Smokescreen'
- Michael Steele's Rap Battle With Stephen Colbert
- Obama Says Watching Him Bowl Is 'Like The Special ...
- The Pig Calling The Piggy Fat
- Bush Kept America Safe After 9/11: And I Have 20 T...
- Obama's First Casualties
- American Thinker: What is Marxism?
- Obubble
- What the Presidential Election Says About Each Sta...
- Jihad, USA: Homegrown Terror
- Priorities
- NRO's 25 Best Conservative Movies
- Obama's Embryonic Straw Man
- Revisionist Rights
- Red Skelton Defends the Pledge of Allegiance
- Obama's Radicalism Is Killing the Dow
- The Donkey Offspring of Nero
- Newsmax: Rush Challenges Obama to Debate
- Hypocritical Elephant Earmarks
- Obama's Tax Structure Will Crush Philanthropy
- WSJ: The Obama Economy
- The 5% Affected By Obama's Economic Policies
- The Looming Threat of Another Carter-esk Misery In...
- Glenn Beck Explains Home Value Trends
- Obama's Economic Mission
- Obama Less Popular Than Bush After First Month in ...
- In Case You Haven't Noticed, We've Rebranded!
- A 13-Year-Old Grasps What Liberals Cannot
- What's Obama Giving Up For Lent?
- ▼ March (32)


text:
Ever taste nutria? Or rabbit ravioli?
You can Thursday at the 16th annual Wild Game Supper in Larose.
Ever taste nutria? Or rabbit ravioli?
You can Thursday at the 16th annual Wild Game Supper in Larose.
The fundraiser for the Larose Regional Park and Civic Center is set for 5:30 p.m. at the center, 307 E. Fifth St.
"The money all goes to our endowment fund, which is very important to us because we don't get parish, state or federal funds," said Jasmine Ayo, director of the Larose Regional Park and Civic Center. "We run solely on donations."
The supper includes a cash bar, mounted wildlife, live music, an auction and a buffet of more than 40 dishes made from animals such as elk, moose, rabbit and buffalo.
"People really enjoy the food, which is truly Cajun. But I always say we also have people come for the people. It's a good time," Ayo said. "It's the animal mounts that are exotics from all over the world. It's the different dishes."
Those different dishes that may stand out this year include ostrich, kangaroo and llama.
There was also a 2,000-pound buffalo killed just for this year's supper, Ayo said.
"You can't really find the animal mounts and the game to eat all in one place like this unless you go to see someone's private collection," she said.
The event draws roughly 1,000 attendees each year.
What draws locals to the festival is the "unbelievable taxidermy exhibit we put on," said Travis Terrebonne, chairman of the festival's planning committee.
"Just that alone is worth the price of admission," Terrebonne said. "We have animals from Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia and other places across the world mounted for everyone to look at."
The cooked game is prepared by local chefs, another reason organizers said the festival is so well received.
"There's no catering. They'll be cooking on black-iron fires and barbecue grills," Terrebonne said.
Started by the late John Brady, founder of the LaTelco phone company in south Lafourche, the supper is a fundraiser that used to be held at LaTelco.
According to Civic Center officials, the tradition started more than 20 years ago when a group of friends gathered to chat, play cards and dine on whatever they caught during the winter hunting season.
The meal originally involved only a couple of dishes, but each year it expanded until the event outgrew its warehouse venue.
After not being held for two years, the Wild Game Supper returned in 1999.
While seeing mounted wildlife and hearing live Cajun music makes for a fun evening, the fundraiser's signature touch comes from its meal, which features a buffet of exotic animals and local wildlife turned into south Louisiana-style �touff�es, jambalayas, gumbos, sausages, stews and courtbouillons.
The menu includes more than 55 dishes with names such as kangaroo stir fry, alligator Alfredo, bison loin stuffed with green onion sausage and wild boar stew.
One feature this year will be awards in divisions ranging from fin to feather to fur. The competition started in 2011.
Attendees will be given a ballot when they walk in. They'll select their favorite dishes, and winners will be announced at the end of the night, including the best overall dish.
Someone will also be named the festival's "Outdoor Icon," an annual award given to a volunteer who has made a lifelong commitment to the Larose Civic Center.
A cracklin cook-off has been added this year to the dinner. Winners will receive a plaque.
For tickets, you can make a $55 donation per person or $650 donation for a table of eight, which includes a personal waiter and a bottle of wine. A sponsored table of eight costs $900.
Donations may be sent, along with a postage-paid return envelope, to the LRP Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 1105, Larose, LA 70373. Donors receive return mailed tickets to the Wild Game Supper.
You may also visit the civic center office to pick up tickets. All tickets must be purchased in advance.
For information, call 693-7355.
Staff Writer Kris Johnson can be reached at 857-2207 or firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Three Golden Rules for Potential GPsOctober 29, 2009 at 10:01 pm | Posted in Me, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | 1 Comment
Tags: cold, doctor, fu, GP, methotrexate, MTX, R.A., RA, Rheumatoid arthritis, sore throat
1. Don't become a GP if you have the personality of a lettuce.
2. Remember that it's probably going to get pretty boring by Thursday afternoon – loads and loads of six-minute appointments seeing snotty little people who should have stayed at home – but it's part of YOUR JOB NOT TO SHOW HOW BORED YOU ARE!
3. When examining a patient it might be helpful to say things like 'I'm just going to feel your neck for glands'. Otherwise you may one day find yourself pinned to the wall at the back of the surgery by an angry young man who thought you were trying to strangle him.
Yes, you guessed it – I just saw a GP I didn't really take to. And, as you might also have guessed, I've gone down with a stonking cold, probably courtesy of hubby, although mine is NOT flu. (No, I'm not suggesting he's had 'man flu' – he had a temperature of 102 for two days; but I haven't had a temperature at all.) It went with an equally stonking sore throat. When I looked in the mirror (as you do … don't you? Well I do), I could see little red wheals right across my throat. When the GP looked he said he couldn't see anything. Hmm, that'll be because my tongue was in the way I expect. However, as he'd already decided to give me antibiotics given the fact I was on MTX for the R.A., and as we had had an instant personality clash and I wanted to get out of there a.s.a.p. I didn't push the point.
So – all the usual drugs plus paracetamol, sudafed, antibiotics (third lot in a month I think). I'm heartily sick of all these drugs … but then again, the MTX is WORKING, so who am I to complain?
1 Comment »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.


text:
Mainstream apps that realtors should use
By now you know that if you're a realtor, you need to be using social networks as much as you use direct mail, advertising, and email. The most common tools are Twitter and Facebook, and a bit of YouTube to share home videos.
If you follow me on Twitter @Melissa808, you know that I'm addicted to Instagram as much as I'm addicted to social networking. Before you dismiss it, thinking it's "another social network to worry about," let me tell you why it's easy for you.
Unlike Twitter, the feed is all photos, not text, and users can interact with each other on each photo. The application allows you to push your photo out to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, and email; a combination of any of these, or none at all (keeping the photo just in Instagram, which has its own social media community). Many people enjoy its ability to simultaneously provide a photo for their Foursquare check in, thus sreamlining their social media activity.
With 90 million active users, it has emerged as an effective marketing tool because you can enhance brand recognition and generate interest through an ongoing stream of photos that personalize you, and your business.
Here are some ways realtors can use Instagram:
1. Share photos of what you see at open house. On Wednesdays and Sundays, realtors Rick Nakama and Khai Tran often post photos of homes they see with a quick opinion and the price.
Most Instagrams show just one shot, but if you want to collage them as seen here, you can download a free app like PicStitch or Frametastic to group one property's shots together.
2. Share photos of your own listing or open house. When his company gets a photogenic new listing, realtor Jaymes Song posts a photo of it with some details and encourages people to visit the open house. That way, people can see the new listing—often before the photo appears in MLS.
3. Hashtags. Instagram stores hashtagged items more efficiently than twitter, which makes it a better venue for storing photos that relate to a specific subject. Nakama always uses #RealtyRickSees when sharing his real estate-related Instagrams; Tran, shown here, uses #RealEstate and #Realtor. This may also be why hashtags are huge in this app for garnering "likes" and, subsequently, interested followers.
4. Show real people. Since it's all photos, show some of your real customers and/or employees (with permission, of course) to make your business more tangible. Better yet, have them share their positive experience on their own Instagram account, and tag you.
5. Go behind the scenes. People love to get a glimpse of exclusive shots (even though you're sharing it with the world). Share photos of fun moments staging a home, getting ready for open house, or even meetings. Again, this humanizes your business and makes you feel accessible to consumers. It's also a good opportunity to share tips.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a good start. As you use the app more, you'll figure out best uses and how to maximize the networking benefits.
Next week: an overview of Vine, a quick video app.


text:
1. Promotion Description. This promotion is sponsored by WBRC, LLC 1720 Valley View Dr., Birmingham, AL 35209 and National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) 2305 Financial Way, Glendora, CA 91741 ("Sponsor(s)"). The promotion will be held weekdays Monday April 15, 2019 through Friday April 26, 2019. Entries must be received each day by 9:00am. Promotion is void where prohibited. By entering, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these promotion rules.
2. Eligibility. No purchase necessary to enter or win. This promotion is open only to legal U.S. residents of the following counties in the station's viewing area: Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Coosa, Cullman, Etowah, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Marion, Marshall, Pickens, St. Clair, Shelby, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston, who are 19 years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees and immediate family members of employees of Gray Media, Inc., WBRC TV, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the other Sponsor(s), and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, and their advertising and production agencies are not eligible to participate in this promotion. Only one entry per household will be accepted, and multiple entries will be disqualified.
3. How to Enter. Watch WBRC's FOX6 Good Day Alabama weekdays between the hours of 4:00am and 9:00am Monday April 15, 2019 through Friday April 26, 2019. When the "call to action" is announced, be the 6th caller into the station to win. The call-in number will be announced on air when the "call to action" is made. Entries must be received by 9:00AM each day in order to qualify. All entries become the property of Sponsor(s), and Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to use any information submitted by entrants.
Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for lost, late, illegible, misdirected or mutilated entries, including due to transmission, technical, and/or network failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any hardware or software (whether originating with sender or Sponsor(s)), telephonic failures, human error, or any other error or malfunction.
By entering this promotion, entrant agrees that WBRC-TV and the other Sponsor(s) of this promotion may provide entrant with promotional materials and that WBRC-TV may release entrant's personally identifiable registration information to the other Sponsor(s) for that purpose. WBRC-TV is not responsible for the use of entrant's personally identifiable information by the other Sponsor(s).
4. Prize(s). Ten (10) prizes will be awarded, one (1) per day. Winners will receive two (2) single day tickets to Arby's National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) May 3-5, 2019. at the Atlanta Dragway 500 E. Ridgeway Rd. Commerce, GA 30529 The approximate retail value of each prize is $152.00.
No prize may be exchanged for cash, transferred, or assigned by the winner(s). Sponsor(s) reserve the right to substitute a prize, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded.
5. How the Prizes are Awarded. Winners will be notified at the time of their calls. At the time of notification, winners must provide their correct name, address, and telephone number.
6. Odds of Winning. Odds of becoming a first prize winner depend upon the number of eligible entries received and the order in which telephone calls are received.
7. Prize Limitations: Only one (1) winner per household. Individuals are eligible to win only one (1) prize from WBRC-sponsored competitions within any 30-day period, regardless of the number of giveaways entered. Winner of the Competition must claim prize by Thursday May 2, 2019 or the prize will be forfeited.
8. Conditions of Acceptance of Prize. Alabama driver's license or other appropriate picture State of Alabama issued identification is required to claim a prize. The winner(s), and if applicable any travel companion(s), will be required to execute and return a release and affidavit of eligibility at the station located at 1720 Valley View Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209 on normal business days between 8:30AM – 4:00PM by Thursday May 2, 2019 at the time the prize is claimed, or the prize will be forfeited. A winner must take possession of his or her prize by Thursday May 2, 2019 or the prize will be forfeited.
Winner(s) will be solely responsible for any and all local, state, and federal taxes, as well as license and registration fees, transportation costs, gratuities and other items of an incidental nature. WBRC-TV will report any individual winnings over $600 (in cash or fair market value of goods or services) in a one-year period to the Internal Revenue Service. Winner(s) will receive a Form 1099 from WBRC-TV if WBRC-TV reports any winnings to the Internal Revenue Service.
Each winner agrees to the use of his or her name and likeness in publicity without any additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. By entering this promotion, each winner acknowledges that WBRC-TV, and all other sponsors and venues, have the right to publicize and broadcast each winner's name, voice, and likeness, the fact that he or she won, and all matters incidental thereto.
9. Limitation on Liability. By entering this promotion, each entrant forever discharges and releases Sponsor(s), its/their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability, claims, causes of action, suits, and demands of any kind arising from or in connection with the promotion, including, without limitation, responsibility for property damage, loss of life, or personal injury or death resulting from or in connection with participating in the promotion or from or in connection with use or receipt of the prize(s), however caused.
10. Sponsor's Reservation of Rights. These official rules are subject to modification by WBRC-TV. In the event of a dispute, all decisions made by WBRC-TV are final and binding. Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right, in its/their sole discretion, to disqualify any person who tampers with the entry process or the operation of Sponsor's/Sponsors' web site(s), or who otherwise acts in violation of these official rules. Sponsor(s) further reserve(s) the right, in its/their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, or modify this promotion if, for any reason, the promotion is not capable of completion as planned (including, but not limited to, for the following reasons: infection by computer virus, technical corruption, force majeure, or non-authorized human intervention that compromises or affects the administration, fairness, integrity, security, or proper conduct of the promotion).
11. List of Winners. For a list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 6, Birmingham, AL between April 29, 2019 and May 24, 2019.


text:
Shop Now
Starts At:
If you are interested in an engraved messaged in a language other than English or one that includes symbols please contact us  for pricing and options.
Characters left: 3
Characters left: 6
Characters left: 9
Characters left: 25
In addition to our signature packaging , we offer exclusive porcelain boxes  designed by Bario Neal and cast in Portland, OR. Our handmade enclosure protects your jewelry, through shipping and reveal, to everyday use and display. Each box fits one ring or one pair of earrings.
If you choose not to purchase the porcelain box, you will still find your item perfectly packaged in our signature paper box– both are thoughtfully designed for minimal environmental impact and manufactured in the U.S.A.
Characters left: 500
This striking ring features an ethically sourced 5mm blue sapphire surrounded by a halo of black enamel. This ring's elevated halo setting pairs well with many band styles. The setting and enamel measure 10mm long x 10mm wide x 5.3mm tall, with a square-edged band that measures 1.7mm wide x 1.5mm tall.
This ring is worn as an engagement ring, or to celebrate a milestone or rite of passage. We offer this style with alternative stones. Please see our Rings page for more details, or contact us.
See the 'Build Ring' menu for available metals.
The primary image shows the ring in 18kt yellow gold with a satin finish.
Due to the handmade nature of this item, each piece is unique & the variations are considered part of the beauty of the design. Buying handmade means that you are supporting a craft and design community.
Our diamonds outshine conflict-free. Learn more  about our responsibly mined and traceable diamonds.
Diamonds are GIA certified & will be within 0.05ct of the sizes listed.
Contact Us to request specific diamond quality or origin.
Lead time:
6 weeks + shipping. If multiple items are ordered, they will ship upon completion of the piece with the longest lead time. Contact us for details. Engraving adds up to 2 weeks after order is placed.
Rush Service: Rush service is not available for this piece.
Sizing: Please see our Resizing  page for pricing if you need to have this ring resized.
Returns: We accept returns within 30 days of receipt with a restocking fee.
Please read our FAQ for more information on lead times and returns.
Shining in Your Inbox
Get the latest on special offers, new arrivals, and events.


text:
Messinger, Berman named UAA's fencers of week
Team leaders excel at Northeast Fencing Conference meet
Senior Zoe Messinger and sophomore Noah Berman have been selected as University Athletic Association Fencers of the Week for their performances during the week of Jan. 27.
Messinger, a sabre fencer and senior captain, helped the Brandeis women's fencing team to a 5-2 week. On Jan. 23, she posted two wins in a 20-7 victory over Wellesley College. At the second Northeast Fencing Conference meet of 2012-13, held at Brown University on Jan. 26, she went 11-3 as the Judges defeated Smith and Dartmouth by 21-6 scores, Vassar by a 16-11 mark and Tufts by a 14-13 margin.
Brandeis fell to host Brown, 24-3, and Boston College, 20-7. Overall on the season, Messinger leads the sabre squad with a 45-12 record. As a team, the Brandeis women are 12-6, 9-3 in the conference. They currently are fourth and have completed their schedule. There is one more meet of some of the competing schools.
Berman, a foil fencer, went 8-2 at the Northeast Fencing Conference meet as the Judges rolled to three wins, defeating Tufts, 21-6; Vassar, 23-4; and Dartmouth, 19-8. In the toughest match of the competition, they overcame a 13-10 deficit to defeat Boston College, 14-13. Brandeis also suffered a 20-7 loss to host Brown University.
In the win over BC, with the Judges trailing, 13-10, Berman won the final foil bout of the match by a 5-3 score, allowing the sabre squad to finish off the rally against the Eagles with three more wins. Overall this season, Brandeis is 8-6, 7-3 in the conference. With their portion of the schedule complete, they are in fourth place with one more meet to go. Berman leads the foil squad with a 34-10 record this season.
Categories: Athletics


text:
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — This time a year ago Anthony Davis saw his name included in any legitimate MVP conversation. Alvin Gentry's arrival from the Golden State Warriors' championship team was hailed as the game changer for a New Orleans Pelicans squad that everyone assumed was on the cusp of big things in the Western Conference.
But as often happens in the NBA, reality interrupted that story. Injuries to Davis and others along with the transition to a new system led to a humbling season in the Big Easy.
That would explain the absence of hype and the tempered expectations for the Pelicans' 2016-17 season. Sure, there a lots of new faces (Solomon Hill, Terrence Jones, Buddy Hield, E'Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and even Lance Stephenson, for starters) and Davis is sure to return with a chip on his shoulder.
Still, there are issues Gentry will have to deal with to start his second season. He won't have veteran point guard Jrue Holiday, who is out indefinitely to care for his wife Lauren Holiday, who is pregnant and dealing with a brain tumor. Another veteran guard, Tyreke Evans, is also returning from injury.
And there is a culture change that has to take place in that Pelicans locker room, one that will rest as much on Gentry's leadership as it will that of Davis and the other veterans on the team. Joel Meyers, the play-by-play voice of the Pelicans, joins us to break it all down on Episode 249 of The Hang Time Podcast.
We also have NBA TV's Kristen Ledlow to break down the radical changes to the WNBA playoff format, unearth a big beef with NBA 2K17 (Langston Marbury in the house) and more.
Check it out on Episode 249 of The Hang Time Podcast featuring Joel Meyers.
As always, we welcome your feedback. You can follow the entire crew, including the Hang Time Podcast, co-hosts Sekou Smith of NBA.com, Lang Whitaker of NBA.com's All-Ball Blog and renaissance man Rick Fox of NBA TV, as well as our new super producer Gregg (just like Popovich) Waigand.
– To download the podcast, click here. To subscribe via iTunes, click here, or get the xml feed if you want to subscribe some other, less iTunes-y way.