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Gates masters D.C. — and the world
Bill Gates did not make a good impression the first time he testified on Capitol Hill.
It was 1998 and the Senate Judiciary Committee was looking into antitrust allegations against Microsoft. Gates evaded the questions. He rambled. He made sure everyone knew he was not interested in playing the political game.
Story Continued Below
But Gates soon realized that approach wasn't working — and turned himself into a player.
Gates stepped down Tuesday as chairman of Microsoft, but he's only stepping up his influence in Washington.
The man who just 15 years ago couldn't be bothered interacting with Congress has learned to leverage his fortune to drive huge change in U.S. education policy. Now, he's broadening his focus to take on agricultural policy, immigration reform and even clean energy. Just this week, his foundation pledged financial support for a $25 million fund to provide college scholarships for undocumented immigrants. On the global stage, meanwhile, Gates has sharply criticized the powerful livestock industry as he talks up his vision for solving world hunger by promoting vegetarian diets.
( Also on POLITICO: Microsoft names Nadella CEO)
Few doubt Gates will have an impact in these far-flung arenas: As his work on education has shown, his priorities swiftly become state and federal priorities. His ideas spark multibillion-dollar shifts in public spending.
He does it through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he and his wife co-chair. The foundation, based in Seattle, boasts a $40 billion endowment. It awards $3.4 billion in grants each year to public health and other initiatives around the globe. About $400 million is spent in the U.S. — most of that on projects intended to transform education. Those grants go to hundreds of research and advocacy groups that often work together to amplify the foundation's voice and extend its reach into statehouses, schoolhouses and the U.S. Department of Education.
Gates and his staff at the foundation "have assembled an agenda and a mechanism to achieve their objectives, plain and simple," said Scott Thomas, dean of the education school at Claremont Graduate University.
They've shown, Thomas said, that "you can leverage foundation resources to really affect federal and state policy — and the funding that comes along with that."
( On POLITICO Magazine: What drives the Gateses crazy?)
Gates had little choice but to dive headlong into politics after the U.S. Justice Department brought antitrust charges against Microsoft during the Clinton administration. It was during that period that he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee — and was soundly rebuked by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) for his apparent disregard for the political process.
Gates learned the lesson. Microsoft dramatically increased its donations in the next election through its political action committee. The company, which at one point had just one in-house lobbyist, ramped up its Washington presence big time, bringing in big names from K Street, including taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Last year, Microsoft's lobbying expenditures topped $10 million. Among tech industry titans, only Google spends more.
Meanwhile, Gates, who started out with a single-minded focus on his software, began coming to the Capitol regularly to advise members of Congress from both parties on topics ranging from clean energy to polio eradication to science education to immigration reform. He also began traveling with and appearing alongside former President Bill Clinton; the Gates Foundation is a major donor to Clinton initiatives.
As Microsoft's political presence grew, so too did the influence of the Gates Foundation.
The foundation cannot and does not lobby. But its reach is enormous nonetheless.
Year in and year out, the foundation dispenses hundreds of grants to organizations of every conceivable size and mission. Think tanks. Advocacy groups. Teachers unions. Public relations firms. Policy journals. Political associations.
All those disparate groups, in every corner of the country, bring an enormous megaphone to the issues the Gates Foundation wants publicized. Their staffers testify before state legislatures and Congress. They publish policy briefs that get wide circulation. They're active on social media. They get heard.
In addition, several foundation staffers have moved into influential government posts. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's first chief of staff, Margot Rogers, came from the foundation. So did Jim Shelton, a top policy official who is now acting deputy secretary. Both were granted waivers from conflict-of-interest policies to allow them to continue to work closely with the Gates Foundation after joining the Education Department.
Gates Foundation veterans occupy other powerful posts in the administration as well. Among them: Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the new White House budget director, and Rajiv Shah, the administrator of USAID.
In K-12 education, Gates gets substantial credit — or in some quarters, blame — for the explosion in charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed. He's transformed the way educators are evaluated, putting much more emphasis on student test scores as a measure of effective teaching. And he's a driving force behind the Common Core academic standards, which push students to read more non-fiction and spend more time on fewer topics in math.
( PHOTOS: Playbook Cocktails with Bill Gates)
The foundation also gambles on new ideas. It has donated $1.7 million to Parent Revolution, a group that promotes "parent trigger" laws, which allow parents to band together to seize control of low-performing schools.
"Long before it had political support, long before we even knew it could work, the Gates Foundation made a big investment in us and stuck with us," said Ben Austin, who runs the group.
Austin said he sees an entrepreneurial approach and the risk-taking culture of the tech industry in the foundation's style — and especially in its continued support after Parent Revolution's first attempt at organizing parents ended in failure. "If you lose, especially in a highly public way, that ends up on the front pages of newspapers, quite often that leads to … your funding getting cut," Austin said. But with the Gates Foundation, he said, "it was not about Monday-morning quarterbacking, it was about learning. They understand there is no playbook."
When the Gates Foundation first funded Parent Revolution, only California had a parent trigger law. Austin and his peers lobbied and promoted the concept and it's now on the books in several states, including Texas and Louisiana.
Gates has been just as influential in higher education.
His foundation has prodded the federal government to support experimental "competency-based" college programs that grant degrees to students who can prove they've gained new skills, rather than those who have earned a set number of credit hours. It has launched an aggressive focus on college completion for low-income students, which President Barack Obama has picked up as a theme.


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Headache Program Offers Relief
Thelma Hammel of Allentown suffered with debilitating migraine headaches for as long as she can remember. Her headaches were so unbearable that she relied on prescription narcotics to relieve her everyday pain.
"I tried so many different medications, but I didn't want to take them," says Thelma. "I didn't want to be reliant on drugs for the rest of my life. I have an eleven-year-old son, so I don't have time to be tired."
Over the years, Thelma had countless conversations with her primary care physician (PCP) regarding her headaches. In fact, she had to call every 15 days to refill her prescription pain medication. So when Good Shepherd announced its Headache Program, Thelma's PCP was quick to refer her.
Thelma called Good Shepherd Rehabilitation – CedarPointe and was scheduled for an appointment with Cathie Dara PT, DPT, OCS, STC. "After a thorough evaluation, I gave Thelma exercises to help relieve muscle tension and increase flexibility in her neck," says Cathie. "Thelma is 100 percent committed to the program. She faithfully does her exercises at home."
At first, Thelma had to do her exercises every two hours to relieve pain, but she is able to do them less often now. She is also more conscious of her posture and positioning. "I had a bad headache a few weeks ago, but I came to therapy the next week and discussed it with Cathie," says Thelma. "It didn't take us long to figure out that the headache came right after I had gone ice skating for the first time. I was holding my arms, neck and shoulders in an uncomfortable position for an extended period of time, which caused the headache."
Seven weeks into the program, Thelma experiences headaches less often, and when she does have a headache, it is much less severe. Incredibly, she is completely off of the narcotic pain relievers. "It's amazing," says Thelma. "I would recommend the program to anyone who suffers the way I did."
"Thelma has a much better understanding of her body," says Cathie. "She is empowered to take control of her health, and that is what Good Shepherd's Headache Program is all about."
For more information on Good Shepherd's programs and services, call 1-888-44-REHAB (73422) or contact us.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gladys Elizabeth Martin will celebrate her 100th birthday with a celebration at Sunrise Hill Care Center, 909 Taylor Street in Traer on Saturday, June 25 from 2-4 pm.
Gladys was born July 13, 1911 to Margaret and Harvey Moberly in Orange Township. She had one brother, Dexter who passed away several years ago.
She married Leonard Martin on December 25, 1929 at the home of her parents in Orange Township. They farmed around Traer and Gladys worked at a few retail stores in town. She also sold Avon and spent many hours doing crochet, hardanger and quilting.
Article Photos
They have one son, Jack (Lois) of Texas, two grandsons, Rory (Cindy) of Phoenix, Ariz. and Time (Zonda) of Dallas, Texas and one great grandchild, Sara of Phoenix. They have a special niece, Naomi (Dick) Zeleny of Pueblo, Colo. and their children; Randy, Kathy and Lynn.
Leonard and Gladys celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in 2004, Leonard passed away the following spring.
Hosting the event will be Cyndy, Jackie and Gayle, her good friends and neighbors in Traer. Your presence is the only gift Gladys would want.


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Product Details:
Payment & Shipping Terms:
|Carbon Steel / Stainless Steel
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Our company mainly produces 3pcs/4pcs Fix bolts, Antiskid shark fin type anchor, Ceiling anchor, Sleeve anchor, Wedge anchor, Drop in anchor, Elevator anchor, Cut standard, Metal Frame anchor, Hex bolts, Hex nuts, Flat washers, Spring washers and so on. The standard covers ANSI, BS,DIN, GB ,UNI, JIS ,ISO.
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We sincerely hope customers to visit and negotiate business with us and create a better future!
Contact Person: Mr fan


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For a guy whose career nearly ended before it began, Deon Grant had a long run in the NFL.
The veteran safety announced his retirement Wednesday, per multiple reports.
Grant played 11 years with the Panthers, Jaguars, Seahawks and Giants. But a broken hip his rookie season nearly ended that run. The former second-round pick came back from that and played 176 consecutive games. He was out of the league last season, and decided to call it a career.
At least it wasn't a hasty decision, a la Brandon Moore.


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Siamak Shajarian born in the city of Mashad in northeastern Iran, is arguably the most accomplished Persian traditional singer living in the United States. He has performed with such masters as Jalil Shanaz, Faramarz Payvar, Mohammad Ali Kiani-nejad, Mohammad Esmaeli, and Farhang Sharif.
Shajarian's public musical life began when he was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the Arts in Mashhad at age eleven. He inherited his talents in singing from his father and in calligraphy from his mother. He studied the Persian vocal art (avaz) and its Radif with Ghafoorian and Gholam Hossein Zahiredini, and completed his studies under the direction of his brother, Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Esmaeel Mehrtash. In addition to mastering the vocal Radif of Persian traditional music, Shajarian has also studied Tar, Santur and Tombak.
In 1977, he moved to the United States. Soon after he joined Oshagh Ensemble and gave numerous concerts across the U.S. and Canada... Currently he lives in Los Angeles where he teaches Persian traditional vocal Radif. (Source)
Quite the stirring traditional Persian (by way of California) sounds. This old tape was a discerning thrift score recently mailed out west by my cousin Jess in Savannah, GA. Good looking out! Big thanks also to Mr. Saadoun Al-Bayati for the helpful phonetic assistance with the Farsi up above. 320 mp3 transfer by yours truly.
Shajariyan-Payvar Ensemble : Dashti (Taraneh Enterprises CS, 1989) *Re-upped 9/15/12


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Opera Prelude Spring Lecture Season
Where did all the semiquavers go?
- with Alberto Sousa, tenor
The technical changes in the tenor voice during the 19th century and their stylistic consequences.
Opera is for everyone whether you are new to opera or a seasoned aficionado! You do not need to be an expert to enjoy our performance based lectures. Of course, the more you know, the more there is to enjoy! With that in mind we aim to make each class informative, interactive and entertaining, offering singer's insights illustrated with live performance and well known recordings. These lectures form the bridge across the footlights, bringing you nearer to opera singers and their diverse, enriching art form; increasing your knowledge and enjoyment of opera.
No qualifications are necessary to attend. The audience is not required to sing!
- Concert Duration:
- 2 hours


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Shorthanded Crew rallies to down Cards in 11th
ST. LOUIS -- Thanks to another undermanned, extra-inning victory, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke gets a reprieve from one of his least favorite questions:
"Why can't you beat the Cardinals?"View Full Game Coverage
ST. LOUIS -- Thanks to another undermanned, extra-inning victory, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke gets a reprieve from one of his least favorite questions:
"Why can't you beat the Cardinals?"View Full Game Coverage
Well, the Brewers did beat the Cardinals on Tuesday, rallying from a three-run deficit for the second straight night and winning on Lyle Overbay's go-ahead single and Francisco Rodriguez's record-tying save, 5-4, in 11 innings at Busch Stadium. With Wednesday's finale still to play, the Brewers were assured their first series victory over the Cardinals since taking two of three games here in September 2012.
The Cardinals had won or split seven consecutive series between the teams since then, including taking two of three games at Miller Park earlier this month. Each time, Roenicke was forced to face a version of that same nagging question.
Not this time, though. Roenicke resisted the urge to say "I told you so."
"Hey, I'm happy with the way we played and won these games," he said instead. "I know you guys hammer me on that stuff, but I'm just glad we're in tight games with a great team, and we come out ahead."
For the second straight night, it was a grind. The Brewers played without their usual three-, four- and five-hole hitters, and with starting shortstop Jean Segura limited to pinch-hitting duty. Roenicke had two healthy position players on the bench and a bullpen that has been worked hard by four extra-inning games in 10 days.
"We're thinking about [being] short on the bench and the bullpen being worked a lot," Roenicke said, "but you get wins like this, and it's worth it."
Tuesday's starter, Kyle Lohse, did his part over six innings by delivering the Brewers' Major League-leading 22nd quality start, and their ninth in a row. He also chipped in with a game-tying, two-run single in the fourth inning against Cardinals starter Lance Lynn as part of a comeback from an early three-run deficit.
Carlos Gomez hit a go-ahead home run for the Brewers in the seventh, but the Cardinals answered with Allen Craig's RBI double in the bottom half of the inning against lefty reliever Will Smith, who was charged with a run for the first time this season in his 15th appearance. The teams were still tied in the 11th when Khris Davis led off against Cardinals left-hander Kevin Siegrist with a double and watched Overbay poke two bunt attempts foul before swinging away and grounding the go-ahead single over second base. It was his second RBI of the night.
"With two strikes, I'm just trying to get him over to third base any way I can," Overbay said.
Rodriguez worked around a two-out hit in the bottom of the inning for his 13th save, tying the Major League record for saves in March/April set by the Mariners' Kaz Sasaki in 2001. Tyler Thornburg was awarded the win after pitching two scoreless innings of relief.
At 20-7, the Brewers have baseball's best record by a full three games, and a 6 1/2-game lead over the second-place Cardinals in the National League Central.
"They've got a lot of confidence on their side, too," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "They've had a lot of things go their way, and that tends to help as well. But they're a scrappy club, and they're fighting. You're seeing the good at-bats. You're seeing them do the little things right. They didn't get the bunt down and they end up getting a big base hit. Those sort of things -- when they're going right, they go right. We're seeing the other side of it."
Entering the week, the Cardinals had not surrendered a three-run lead all season. Now they've done so in two straight games.
It was 3-0 by the end of the first inning, when Lohse walked Craig with one out and allowed a Matt Adams double with two outs. That brought to the plate Lohse's former catcher-turned-tormentor Yadier Molina, who entered the night 9-for-16 against Lohse with two home runs.
With first base open, Lohse intended to pitch carefully to his former batterymate. The first two pitches were sinkers down and away. The third pitch was another sinker, but this one was up and in, and Molina hit it to the left-center field seats for three quick Cardinals runs.
"I wasn't trying to do that," Lohse said. "I was trying to throw off [the plate and] in. I was really trying to pitch around him, maybe try and set up the next at-bat because, no offense to Jhonny Peralta, I'll take my chances against him rather than Yadi. The ball didn't get where I wanted it."
Lohse surrendered no more runs. He was charged with those three runs on six hits in six innings, with a walk and a season-high-tying nine strikeouts. His 40 strikeouts in April set a personal best for a single month.
Lohse also accounted for one of the game's biggest hits, his two-out, two-run single off Lynn that capped the three-run Brewers rally in the fourth inning. It came four batters after Overbay had driven in Milwaukee's first run with a single of his own.
"If you can't put the pitcher away with two outs and the bases loaded and a two-run lead, you deserve not to win the game," Lynn said.
Lohse was 0-for-11 this season before that at-bat.
"It's not like we're up there thinking we're an out," Lohse said. "We practice. We don't get as much practice as [hitters] do, but when you get up in a situation like that, you're just battling to do whatever you can do to help out."
The Brewers are 11-1 on the road this season, and they will try to sweep the Cardinals on Wednesday for the first time since June 2011.
"I've told you all year, we're just looking at one game at a time," Lohse said. "We feel good about the way we've won the last two games. We're a team that's not going to give up. We don't give in. We don't give up at-bats. We've got a bullpen that I'd take over everybody. I don't really look at the big picture right now. We're just trying to rack up the wins and keep piling them on."
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy.


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Tips & Tricks: Valentine Gifts
Personalize Your Valentine's Day Gift
Let loved ones know how much they mean to you by customizing your own Valentine's Day coupons in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Simply download the free template and open it in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Then personalize your coupons and print them out to share. Quick and easy!
Download Your Free Coupon Template Just like This One Below:
Love Coupon by Deena Wuest. Digital Supplies: Software: Adobe; Cardstock: Katie Pertiet; Flourishes and bar code: Anna Aspnes; Fonts: Avant Garde and Steelfish. Supplies: Ribbon: Offray; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Other: Altoids Tin.
Here are two more cute gift ideas to make for your someone special!
Candy Shaker Box by Deena Wuest. Supplies: Die-cutting machine and die: Sizzix; Cardstock: Worldwin; Patterned paper, letter stickers and rub-ons: American Crafts; Transparency: 3M; Adhesives and pop dots: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Font: Avant Garde; Other: Jelly beans.
Lollipop Bouquet by Deena Wuest. Supplies: Patterned paper and dimensional sticker: Little Yellow Bicycle; Die-cutting machine and dies: Sizzix; Pop dots: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Other: Tin pail, straws, lollipops and cinnamon candy.
Related Links:
Creating Keepsakes Shows Creative Ways to Give a Gift
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A Soul Taking Wing
Three days past the death of their firstborn son, Raymond and Leesa Philippon had a visitor.
A rose-breasted grosbeak, no common bird to the yards of West Hartford, stayed for a day at their feeder.
"They have a saying that when someone passes away they will come back and visit you in the form of a bird," said Raymond Philippon as he takes the photograph down from the shelf. "He's got the exact same colors as Larry's dress blue uniform."
There's more. Larry and his father had shared a love of bird-watching. Now, here was a bird uniquely marked, a blood-red stain on its white breast in the shape of a cross and a heart.
Their son, Lance Cpl. Lawrence R. Philippon, died on May 8, 2005, Mother's Day, his parents' 24th wedding anniversary.
A big, gawky 22-year-old Marine known for his smile, he was killed in a hail of machine-gun fire while kicking in the door of an insurgent stronghold in the city of Qa'im in Anbar Province, Iraq.
"Larry had been appointed team leader," said Leesa. "He really didn't want the position because he knew that he would have to appoint someone to go first ... and he didn't do that. He took that point himself."
"Which is the most dangerous, the tip of the spear, as they say," adds Raymond. "And Larry, he would not have been able to live with himself if one of his men was killed. So he took the brunt of the firepower, and three guys are alive today because of it. ... But that's just who he was."
The Marines who fought alongside him, said Raymond, "were telling us that ... as they were going into the battle, with a big smile on his face he said, 'I live for this.' And 10 minutes later he was gone."
They sit side by side on the sofa, surrounded by mementos and photos of their son. Their home is a shrine to Larry.
His combat boots, paired with his baby shoes, stand to one side of the room. His red hockey jersey — number 33 — is framed in front of the fireplace. An unfinished portrait, limned by his sister, leans against one wall.
Every wall, every shelf, every table is crowded with pictures: the soldier in desert fatigues crouched under a Humvee, grinning under mortar fire; the rail-straight Marine carrying the flag for the color guard; the 6-foot-4 goalie of his high school hockey team guarding the net; the wild and skinny boy, all knees and elbows, they used to send outside to run around in circles.
In middle school, Leesa said, 33 became Larry's number.
"When he started playing sports, around middle school, he had chosen the number 33, and we told him with our faith that that was a good number, because that was the age of Christ when he died for us, and he took that, and he had that forever on," she said.
"The night that he left for Iraq he went to have his weapon issued to him, his M16 rifle ... and he was so excited because they had issued — he had not asked — they had issued him rifle number 33.
"At that moment," she said, "I was convinced that everything would be OK."
He had always been a fearless boy, his father remembers.
"If you're a hockey goalie with pucks flying at your face a hundred miles an hour, you can't be afraid, and he didn't have that fear," Ray Philippon said.
"They called him 'Goat.' Larry was very thin but tall, and in his freshman year of high school, he had curly hair on the top and he had some facial hair coming off the bottom and a very thin face, so he looked like a goat. All the kids on the hockey team received names. His was 'Goat,' and that stuck."
Most of all, they both recall, Larry made people laugh. He recited lines from "Forrest Gump" or "The Big Lebowski" with dead-on accuracy. Even as a Marine, he would make his superiors laugh with a crisp salute and a "What up, sir!"
He had not always wanted to be a Marine.
"It was after 9/11," said Leesa. "I remember coming home, and he was just sitting in front of the TV. 'Mom, I can't believe this. Mom. Mom.' And after that, he started watching 'Saving Private Ryan' and all those old war movies, and then he just came to us one day and said, 'I'm going.' "
"The seed was planted on 9/11," Ray agrees. "You could see it. And we've heard from a lot of families where their children have joined the service, 9/11 had a major impact on them. They just felt like they didn't want our country to be attacked again. They'd rather be over there trying to defend us."
Which was why, they say, he was so unhappy with his first assignment: to serve with the color guard in Washington.
"He didn't like it because he didn't feel like he was a real Marine," said Ray. "He was trained to put the camouflage on and to fight, and he said it just wasn't him, he wasn't a pretty boy."
While serving with the color guard — he carried the flag at Ronald Reagan's funeral — Larry was in constant contact with his buddies in Iraq. He knew how bad it was there. He even was assigned to a two-week stint of retrieving the bodies coming back into Dover, Del. None of that dissuaded him. He begged to be sent to Iraq.
Besides his father and mother, he left behind his brother, Bryan, now 18, and sister, Emilee, now 21, who, even three years on, still struggle to cope with his death.
"He was their hero," said Leesa. "They loved hearing all of his stories. ... Larry's part of their identity. He was there all their lives, and all of a sudden he's gone."
And now Bryan wants to join the Marines.
"He, like many other siblings" of soldiers killed in Iraq, "wants to go in," Ray said. "They feel like they have some unfinished business."
Both parents say they often feel Larry's presence.
"At various times when I'm thinking about him a bird will come flying up wherever I am and just sit there looking at me. Is it coincidence? Perhaps, but I don't believe so," said Ray.
"It didn't turn out the way that we had hoped," he said. "But it was God's will, and we're firm believers that we all have a destiny. And when Larry and I were sitting at the dining room table talking about this — that conversation that no one wants to have — he told me flat out, 'Dad, if I'm ever gonna go, that's the way I want to go, in the heat of battle, fighting for my country.'
"So ... to me it was a win-win situation for him. If he had served and came back, then that would be the first win. And if he didn't make it back, and he went home to God, that was the second win. So either way, it was a win-win situation. And he got his wish."
Leesa Philippon said, "He was very sensitive, even though he was tough and aggressive and fearless. ... He loved the sunrises and the sunsets. He had taken pictures of those. And he taught the guys he was on lookouts with about the stars. ... He would point out all the constellations to them."
Larry told his mother to look up at the belt of the constellation Orion.
"He said that he would be looking at the middle star and that she would be looking at it and so they would keep in touch that way," Ray said.
"Orion's belt." He turns to his wife. "That's coming up now, right?"
"Yeah," she said softly. "It's out there."
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Category Archives: New York
Long Island Wine Escape
New York's hot, muggy weather required some quick thinking to escape the heat. The obvious suggestion was a trip to Long Island's wine country. Never mind that it wasn't cooler upon arrival, but sipping cold whites somehow made the weather more tolerable. Long Island's wine region … Continue reading


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I came to an interesting study, which i cannot grasp fully as it is in italian, but it brings out the same aspects, what i have focused in the ecological knowledge ecosystem framework.
Liquid architecture of thinking networks and thinking in the network
Matteo Ciastellardi
Ciastellardi writes that:
The more the body and mind extend into the world, more the world intrudes in the body and mind.
What changes in the context of current electronic forms is also a way of perceiving objects, environments, people, concepts and ideas. The book investigates the interaction between the canonical and rigid forms of a culture of information resources and networks multivocity of thought, reconstructing the paradigm of a model liquid architectures.
It is examining the particular hyper-cultural environment in a world.
The introjection of the external environment provides a sort of equivalence between matter and thought, between the outside and the inside of our body. This phenomenon leads not only to the consciousness of space, but to a different relationship that the man faces in a perspective of 'different densities' of the concept of space, and how to deploy it, and how to let explode his thoughts and actions in virtual extension.
Fluid hyper-culture is a new form of relationship among individuals, the media used, and unstructured environments and virtual network in which relations lose all sense of belonging and all forms of distance, in which thought is a place of reproduction of its reticular nature.
Ciastellardi references to Marcos Novak in his preface, that i like particularly:
Marcos Novak, "Liquid Architectures in Cyberspace" from "Cyberspace: First Steps" edited by Michael Benedikt
""If we described liquid architecture as a symphony in space, this description should still fall short of the promise. A symphony, though it varies within its duration, is still a fixed object and can be repeated. At its fullest expression a liquid architecture is more than that. It is a symphony of space, but a symphony that never repeats and continues to develop. If architecture is an extension of our bodies, shelter and actor for the fragile self, a liquid architecture is that self in the act of becoming its own changing shelter. Like us, it has an identity; but this identity is only revealed fully during the course of its lifetime." — Marcos Novak
Novak creates, in cyberspace, three-dimensional objects, specifying a scheme for their relations and proportions. A change in the parameters of this scheme results in the transformation of all objects. Those changes are responsive to the viewer; they depend on the viewer.
With "liquid architectures," the idea is to find an architecture that is based on motion; that unites virtual and physical; and that, through the use of information technology, creates spatial configurations that are constantly mutating. This advent in cyberspace has enforced the emergence of a new concept, one that characterizes the fusion of information, art, and architecture.
"Transarchitectures" is another concept created by Novak. It derives from "liquid architectures" and it emphasizes the idea of places becoming alien, of transforming themselves.
"Transarchitecture" is the intersection of information, in the form of algorithms, and the material world, as robotic prototypes. It is the intermingling of architecture and media, the combination of design and machine/computer.
Novak's architectural approach to cyberspace creates new aesthetic forms that enable
new forms of action.
Silva assumes that phenomenology and poststructuralism are the most relevant postmodern thoughts on cyberspace.
Intermingling of the bodily presence and space of lived experience enables an opening to sensory approach and revelation of a new reality in architecture: the virtual reality of cyberspace.
Ontology becomes extremely relevant in the study of cyberspace, since it has to do with the experience of things and not with the things as such. This means that one should absorb from cyberspace a new sense of "being" before questioning the nature of the space itself.
The use of the senses, in cyberspace, is externalized through one's simulated body. And it is through simulation that one deals with the metaphoric representation of space, thus with its liquidity. It is only through simulation that one can overcome the limits of space. Liquidity, or fluidity, is the metaphor used to dismantle those limits.
Another views to liquid, fluid and flowing i have briefly commented here.


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The Castelli Free 6 Cycling Sock is a cycling specific sock, with mesh construction cuff to keep you cool in the summer. The shorter 6cm cuff keeps tan-line envy from friends to a minimum.
Castelli's Rosso Corsa sock was the basis for the Free 6 Sock, but they added a new mesh construction to the cuff to make it a bit cooler for summer. The graphics look great with any Castelli product, but they were specifically designed to match the new Free Jersey and Free Kit Bibshort.
Castelli proudly produce high performance cycling apparel. Since 1876, they've been the tailor for the champions. It was their innovative mindset which brought the earliest heroes & legends like Binda, Coppi and Bartali. Castelli cycle clothing became legendary too inventing the skinsuit, the silk jersey, pockets on jerseys, and the first LYCRA® short used in professional racing.
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Robert Lepson, CFP® of Braver Wealth Management, Provides Insight in Boston Globe article "With tax rules set, the time to plan is now"
With tax rules set, the time to plan is now
February 10, 2013 • Lynn Asinof
After a long, frustrating period of tax uncertainty, people can now make tax planning decisions with a much greater degree of confidence. For some, that's good news; for others, it's a challenge.
Passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act earlier this year means those with less than $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income — $250,000 for those married filing jointly — escape virtually all of the new taxes, phase-outs, and rate increases that became effective in January and will affect 2013 income tax returns. For those in higher brackets, however, there are a variety of income thresholds that will trigger new provisions and create new headaches.
"There is a lot of confusion," says Jeff Pirner, a district manager with H&R Block in Boston. People are still trying to figure out the impact of the tax legislation, he said. Moreover, there are lots of ways for taxpayers to get tripped up as they try to navigate the new income thresholds.
That makes tax planning critical. "You may want to do tax planning on a quarterly or semi-annual basis if you expect to have a change in income," says Pirner. "You want to make sure you are optimizing your opportunities."
With the 2012 tax filing season underway, that return you are working on is a good starting place for your 2013 planning. It offers a snapshot of current finances, allowing you to make projections in areas affected by the new tax rules. To help get you started, here's a rundown of the issues you need to think about while pondering the law's new income thresholds, taxes, and tax rates.
If your modified adjusted gross income is below $200,000 — or $250,000 for married filing jointly — the most significant tax pain will come from higher payroll taxes. For the past two years, taxpayers got a tax holiday that cut the payroll tax by 2 percentage points. Now the tax has reverted to 6.2 percent, which means someone earning $50,000 will get $1,000 less take-home pay in 2013.
Those with higher incomes will face not only new taxes, but also limits on potentially valuable tax breaks. There's the 0.9 percent Medicare tax on earned income above $200,000 or $250,000 for those married filing jointly. Then there's the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on net investment income for those with modified adjusted gross income over the $200,000 individual or $250,000 married-filing-jointly threshold. And finally, adjusted gross income over $250,000 for individuals — $300,000 for couples filing jointly — triggers the phase-out of personal exemptions and itemized deductions such as mortgage interest, state income tax, and home office deductions.
Once taxable income exceeds $400,000 for individuals or $450,000 for couples filing jointly, tax rates start to go up. The top marginal income tax rate jumps to 39.6 percent, up from 35 percent last year, while the top tax rate on capital gains goes to 20 percent from last year's 15 percent.
That means many taxpayers will be looking closely at their income levels, considering ways to stay below those key thresholds. "You never want to let the tax tail wag the dog, but it's a good idea to make decisions with one eye towards tax considerations," says Dana Levit, a fee-only financial adviser with Paragon Financial Advisors in Newton.
One strategy: Be sure to make the most of tax-advantaged savings opportunities by maximizing contributions to 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs funded with pre-tax dollars. This year, new inflation adjustments are increasing contribution limits to a variety of retirement plans by $500. That means people can now contribute $5,500 a year to their IRA, while those over age 50 can take advantage of the "catch-up" limit which is now $6,500. Likewise, the annual limit on 401(k) plan contributions is now $17,500, up from $17,000.
Health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts — which are also funded with pre-tax dollars — may also make a difference, particularly when combined with other strategies.
These include paying close attention to where you hold different kinds of assets, says John Sweeney, executive vice president at Personal and Workplace Investments, a unit of Fidelity Investments.
Assets that are likely to produce taxable income, including taxable bonds and high-turnover equity mutual funds, might be better kept in a tax-advantaged account like an IRA or 401(k), he says. Tax efficient investments such as growth stocks that will be held for a long time may be better in taxable accounts.
Municipal bonds may become more attractive since interest paid here is generally exempt from federal and sometimes even state income tax. Other considerations include closely monitoring the timing of portfolio sales that could trigger capital gains and using capital losses to offset capital gains when appropriate. "Investing for an after-tax return can be much more complicated," says Sweeney, noting that Fidelity is seeing more inquiries from people interested in tax-managed investing.
Now that Congress has made permanent the $5 million estate and gift tax exemption — which adjusted for inflation is $5.25 million per person in 2013 — people will be able to tackle their estate planning with greater confidence as well, said Robert Lepson, vice president of financial planning at Braver Wealth Management in Needham.
In Massachusetts, remember that the exemption limit is much lower. The state's estate tax kicks in after the first $1 million.
Go $1 over that amount, however, and taxes are owed on the entire estate, not just the amount exceeding the exemption.
Originally published February 10, 2013 in The Boston Globe


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Sensual Jane is a Porn Star from Romania. She was born in Bucharest on July 15, 1983. She is listed on FreeOnes since 2009 and is currently ranked 266th place. She currently has 395 gallery links and 31 videos in her own FreeOnes section.
Our records show that Sensual Jane is currently retired which means she is not making movies, doing live shows and/or doing photo shoots at this time.


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I have read many articles that say the official shell in FreeBSD is
tcsh, and in Debian, its
dash. However, when I either
echo $shell (FreeBSD) or
env in Debian, it says that the shell is
csh in the first case, or
bash in Debian.
This is in fresh installations. I tested under the root account and a normal user account. Also, when I create a new account in FreeBSD, I have the choice of 3 shells;
csh or
tcsh. If I make no choice,
csh is the default for the account.
What is the official, standard shell under those systems? Is it
tcsh or
csh in FreeBSD? Is it
dash or
bash in Debian?
Is it me that does something wrong? Or are the articles and sites misinformed?
I want to learn two shells: one for Debian and one for FreeBSD, but I can't find which one I should learn, since its not clear which one is the official shell.
Also, while searching for which shell I should learn, I found this: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/shell/csh-whynot/
Is it someone that just doesn't like
csh, or should we really avoid
I'm using the latest Debian and FreeBSD versions.
I start to get lost with all these shell options, they all look the same to me (except for the syntax; I mean they all look to offer the same possibilities). It's why i want to learn the official one.


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I have 6 grown children and I can say that I don't have a favorite, but I can say that at times one child or two required more of my time than the others. Yet that changes over time and changes back again. Even now as the youngest is 40. Ha. The saying I like best came from my sister-in-lay, Mary Lou. When she was asked if she had a favorite child, she answered, "Yes, I do. Whichever one I'm holding on my lap,"
Likewise, my favorite son or daughter is the one who has my full attention at the moment. Who gets the most? I don't know. They all get my best.
Ginny D.
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The Colors of Autumn
With the coming of autumn, we witness a most interesting phenomenon. Trees' green leaves change color in a matter of a few days. Shortly afterward, all the leaves fall off and the tree branches are left bare. The tree now appears lifeless until the return of spring, because all vital functions have now been reduced to a minimum. Leaf shedding and regeneration, which reminds one of human death and of resurrection after death, as stated in a verse, is a transition during which several miraculous events take place. Allah reveals this in the Qur'an:
He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living and brings the earth to life after it was dead. In the same way you too will be brought forth. (Surat ar-Rum:19)
Before finally dying and dropping off the twig, a leaf undergoes various stages. A great many chemical compounds combine together and put different systems into action to separate the leaf's stem from where it grew. No substance is wasted as this occurs, and leaf shedding becomes a very beneficial process for both the plant and its surroundings. Not only do autumn leaves remind us of death and resurrection, they also once again reveal the infinite knowledge and might of Allah.
How Leaves Become Colored
We do not pay much attention to the green color of leaves in the summer; but when autumn comes, we suddenly become aware of color change. As leaves change their colors and fall from the trees, we find ourselves faced by the brightest of pictures. Bright green trees turn yellow, red, and brown within a few short days. But what causes this color change, and why do leaves fall from the trees?
All leaves, be they yellow, red, purple or green, are colored by the various pigments they contain. The best-known among plant pigments is without doubt chlorophyll, which gives leaves their characteristic green color and also plays a very important role in photosynthesis, as you have seen throughout this book. In moderate climates, leaves begin to change color with the coming of autumn. The yellows, oranges, reds and finally browns that replace the green in leaves are the product of the yellow and orange pigment carotene. A pigment called anthocyanin also plays a part. Together, these three pigments give leaves and summer flowers their colors.
Leaf shedding results from exceptionally complex events that occur between every leaf stem and the branch. Such shedding might appear fairly unremarkable to people without much knowledge of the subject. The fact that the same process takes place flawlessly every autumn, and has been going on for millions of years, may induce a feeling of familiarity. Yet before leaves fall, a series of highly complex chemical processes takes place. Thanks to this, a plant's nutrients are not lost along with the leaf.
1. Bud in the space between leaf stalk and branch
2. Leaf stalk
3. Separation layer
4. Fungus cells in the protective layer
The green of chlorophyll in leaves is so strong that it masks the existing yellows and oranges of the leaves. Before plants shed their leaves in the fall, they re-absorb the useful substances contained in them. One of the consequences of this is that chlorophyll begins to break down. Since chlorophyll no longer predominates at this stage, the yellow and orange pigments, which had not been apparent before, now begin to be seen.
When leaves come to the end of their life spans, the pigment anthocyanin starts to increase, turning some leaves from their normal green to a light reddish-purple. Anthocyanin pigments vary from red to purple, and the red, blue and purple regions of a plant are entirely their responsibility. When temperatures are low and plants are exposed to extremely bright light, a great many of them tend to increase their anthocyanin levels. That is why the color red increases in many plants in autumn. These pigments generally turn color, from yellow to orange and red. In addition to weather conditions, color change in autumn is to a large extent related to the individual plant species. The strikingly beautiful scenes we see in autumn are thus the work of these pigments.64
Leaf Shedding
Is there any benefit to the falling of the leaves?
Millions of leaves fall every year, and reappear with the coming of spring. At first sight, it might appear as if all these leaves fall to earth for nothing. Yet this is a misconception, because the fall of leaves occupies an important place in the ecological system. Nothing has been created for no reason. Whichever system or living thing we examine, we find a purpose and wisdom in its creation. Falling leaves are also a part of this perfect system. The largest falling leaves replenish the soil with nutrients. In addition, falling leaves help with the retention and absorption of rain by forming a humus layer on the forest floor, and many tiny living things find shelter under them. Finally, fallen leaves become a source of food for many organisms living in forests.
Every year, as the leaves fall, some 300 million tons of chlorophyll enter the soil worldwide. Every year, 900 million tons of chlorophyll are broken down in the seas, since seaweeds and algae containing chlorophyll have short life spans. Were it not for this annual loss of chlorophyll, the consequences would be disastrous. Increasing levels of chlorophyll would lead to seaweeds and algae cells able to use less sunlight. As a result, cells would receive insufficient quantities of light, resulting in less photosynthesis. Life would come to an end in the oceans, and thus in the whole world.
One of the most interesting phenomena that take place in leaves about to be shed is the exceedingly purposeful break-down/separation process. Before the leaf falls, useable substances such as protein and carbohydrate are stored in the branches or stems of the plant. Thus the leaf that is due to fall does not take these substances with it, and an important part of the materials necessary to form leaves in the future is retained. As can be seen from these examples, it is ecologically essential for the survival of life on Earth for chlorophyll to be eliminated at the correct time and for the substances a plant needs to be stored inside while it goes dormant. One of the first signs of aging in leaves is that the cells in the base of the leaves beginning to produce the gas ethylene. Shortly afterwards, the ethylene spreads to all parts of the leaf, and when it reaches the leaf stalk, small cells where the leaf stem joins to the main body of the plant, the small cells here begin to swell up, leading to a tension in the stem. The number of cells in the section where the leaf is bound to the stem raises and they begin to produce special enzymes. First of all, cellulose enzymes break down membranes consisting of cellulose, then pectinase enzymes break down the pectin layer that binds the cells together. The leaf becomes unable to withstand this increasing weakness, and the stalk starts to separate from the body of the plant.
Long before the leaf falls, a detachment zone forms where the leaf stem joins the main body. The membranes of special impermeable tissue cells known as the parenchyma begin to soften and assume a jelly-like state by passing through various chemical changes. This causes the cells to divide from one another. The leaf is soon joined to the plant's main body only by vessels that permit only fluids to pass through. Very rapid changes take place around the fissure as it continues to widen, and the cells begin to produce some kind of fungus essence. This substance gradually places itself in the cellulose in the membrane and stiffens it. All the cells producing fungus essence die, leaving a large empty space behind them. As a result, the leaf breaks off in a light breeze. However, at this point a layer of fungus develops to cover the leaf scar that has opened. These physical and chemical changes are a very carefully planned process that takes place not just in one leaf but in all of them. This system has been created to ensure that leaves fall off when the proper time comes.
64. "Leaves of green, yellow & red," http://botany.about.com/science/botany/library/weekly/aa120797.htm.


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The calendar below combines combines Seattle Public Schools calendar of district-wide events (in black) with the Thornton Creek calendar (in purple). Learn how to subscribe to the Thornton Creek calendar.
Do you want to delete all occurrences of the recurring appointment "TC PTA General Meeting", or just this one?
Delete this occurrence.
Delete this series.


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What are some of the ways you hang your quilts?
I need them (wall hangings and full size and larger quilts) to hang on the wall but be easy to take down (when they sell!) The larger quilts will need to be folded at least in half if not in thirds for the space they will be in.
Thanks for any and all suggestions


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Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a guest post to The Baltimore Sun's health blog Picture of Health (baltimoresun.com/pictureofhealth), which is reprinted here. This week, Faith Hicks weighs in on family meals.
How is it that some kids will eat whatever is put in front of them, while others live on hot dogs and chicken nuggets and have a phobia for vegetables, especially anything green?
Many adults should be eating more fruits and vegetables themselves and would like to raise their kids to have healthful eating habits right from the start. There are a number of ways parents and other adults can promote good eating habits from early childhood and throughout the teen years.
FAMILY DINNERS One of the best ways of promoting good eating habits in children is to make eating meals together a priority. This is something that often gets lost in the shuffle of soccer practice and scout meetings, but try to identify at least one or two nights a week to have dinner as a family.
Studies have shown that children who are raised having regular family meals generally consume more servings of fruits and vegetables and develop a liking for a wider variety. They also tend to have a diet lower in fat and are less likely to become overweight than children from families who eat on the run.
From the start, toddlers mimic their parents' eating habits. So a parent who includes fruits and vegetables at mealtimes sets the example that these foods are tasty and that consuming them is the norm.
There are other important benefits of having meals as a family. Children whose families dine together regularly develop may better language skills. During dinner conversation, they are exposed to a higher level of vocabulary. They become adept at participating in more sophisticated conversation.
Another benefit of family meals extends into the teen years.Teens who regularly have dinner with the family get better grades and are less likely to try drugs, tobacco and alcohol, according to a report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Mealtimes can help foster a sense of connectedness within the family, and when parents are tuned into their teens, teens are less tempted to dabble in risky behavior.
No PRESSURE Another way of fostering a varied diet is to offer new foods several times and without undue pressure. It may take more than several times trying a new food for a toddler or preschooler to accept it, so don't give up after the first try.
Place a small portion of each food that you are having on your child's plate. When they see that you eat it, the expectation is set that they will like it, too. Beware of trying too hard to persuade a child to eat because this might backfire. It can send the message that the food item is not very appealing. For example, if a child is rewarded for eating green beans by getting a cookie, the parent sends a message that green beans are yucky. The child may think, "That must not taste very good if I have to be bribed with treat." Rather, make a lighthearted request for the child to try "just a bite."
Involve the kids Children and teens are more interested in foods they have selected, prepared or grown at home. Wander the produce section of the grocery store with your children and let them choose a new vegetable or fruit to try each week.
Buy a colorful, child-oriented cookbook to provide ideas for foods you can prepare together. Cooking together provides an opportunity to learn other skills, such as fractions. Even small children can be safely involved in cooking activities such as washing produce or putting toppings on a veggie pizza.
Consider planting a small garden and check out seed displays with your child. Seed companies sell kid-friendly vegetables in packets bearing very kid-friendly pictures. Children who are drawn to miniature things may be fascinated by picking cherry tomatoes or pulling from the ground the baby carrots planted earlier in the spring. Brussels sprouts might be a little more fun to eat once the kids have seen how the sprouts appear to march in lines as they grow from the plant's stem.
The key to raising a "good eater" is having fun with food together, right from the start.


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Spare or replacement pads for Shimano 810 Saint hydraulic brakes Read More ...
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Its hard to find a bike out there without something on it that is made by shimano, and impossible to find one that does not have a shimano inspired product on it. There is only one reason for this, Shimano have been pioneering cycling components since the early days. Any thing you need shimano will be here.


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Gangnam singer Psy apologises for anti-US protests
South Korean rapper Psy, whose song Gangnam Style became an internet sensation, has apologised for taking part in anti-US protests several years ago.
He issued a statement after US media reported he had performed in concerts protesting against the US presence in South Korea and Iraq.
The singer said he would "forever be sorry" for any pain he had caused.
Psy is due to perform at the annual "Christmas in Washington" TV special.
US President Barack Obama and his family are expected to attend the concert.
Psy's hit song Gangnam Style is the most-watched video ever on YouTube, with more than 900 million views since it was uploaded in July.
However, at a concert in 2002 protesting against the US military presence in South Korea, the singer smashed a model of a US tank on stage.
At another concert in 2004, Psy performed a song that described killing "Yankees" who had tortured Iraqi prisoners and killing their families "slowly and painfully".
The lyrics were from the song Dear American by South Korean metal band Next.
"While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted," he wrote in the statement.
"I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words."
Psy, who attended college in the US, said he understood "the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world".
He added: "I have been honoured to perform in front of American soldiers in recent months... and I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology."
The singer's participation in the protests was no secret in South Korea but unknown in the US until recently, AP news agency reported.
The White House has confirmed that President Obama and his family will attend the charity concert on 21 December at which Psy will perform.


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SIDS wrap in Samoa: It really is a matter of life and death
Pacific Scoop:
Comment – By Mata'afa Keni Lesa
The urgency with which a number of challenges the small island developing states are confronted with means only one thing. That is the third Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conference, which has just ended in Samoa, cannot be treated as business as usual.
While it's easy to get lost and become totally overwhelmed by the emotions and magnitude of the issues and the personalities who have been to Samoa to talk about them, the reality of life for small island states must never be forgotten.
It's quite scary in fact. Our islands are slowly but surely sinking. Coastal erosion and sea level rise are becoming more menacing with each single day so that countless families have had to relocate or risk being swept out to sea. Read more »


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Gonta, the Warrior Savage (#P70-Y8):
* (This creature is put into your mana zone tapped.)
In its chaotic wisdom, the shattered rainbow united the power of those who would destroy the forest with those who would save it.
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I have been looking into schedules. Even when we read physics, we inquire of each least particle, What then shall I do this morning? How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2018
How We Spend Our Days: Samantha Dunn
Annie Dillard wrote, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." On the first of each month, Catching Days hosts a guest writer in the series, "How We Spend Our Days." Today, please welcome writer SAMANTHA DUNN My … Continue reading


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Present your photovoltaic plant's performance data impressively and individually. The Dashboard delivers a concise presentation of yields, CO2 savings and performance. As an alternative, we also recommend large external Solarfox® displays and the app - Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ – for mobile.
With the Solar-Log™ Dashboard, Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ L and XL provides a dynamic display of important plant information such as yields, CO2 savings and performance. The display can be set up by selecting up to any four of the following elements: Current Production, Yield History including self-consumption, Earnings, Weather, Plant Information and Environmental contribution. The Data Overview module makes it possible to even display the total yield data from several plants in one Dashboard. The Image and Text module allows you to add your own content to the Solar-Log™ Dashboard. There is the option to display up to four modules in the full-screen mode or to display the files as a slideshow.
The Dashboard is available for iOS and Android with Solar-Log™ Insight, providing around-the-clock access to your data. The PV plant's yield history, including power consumption from the grid and your own production, the current PV output and the total run time can be viewed at a glance. It also provides a quick and easy overview of your environmental contribution, weather data for the coming days and financial yields. Only possible in combination with Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ L & XL.
Solar-Log™ Insight provides a connection to the Apple Watch. This allows for a quick overview of PV plant data by just glancing at your wrist. It can display the yield history, environmental contribution, financial yields and weather data.


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My travels in Malaysia begin at the distant eastern edge of the country, in Sabah's capital, Kota Kinabalu, the strange name a reminder of the distance I have traveled from home. Meeting local folks, regional politicians, and masters of local arts and crafts, it quickly becomes evident that this ancient island, Borneo, symbolizes all the mysteries and romance of human movement through history. The people who seem settled here forever arrived one day after traveling great distances, braving the wilds and the seas. They were then the modern people who had come to an ancient land. They would soon be absorbed and become the natives in the eyes of the next wave of arrival and modern-day visitors like us.
Frederico, Vivian, Kup (a senior officer of the Ministry of Finance) and I are received at the airport at Kota Kinabalu by a charming young woman, Intan. She is tall and has a head-scarf carefully draped around her head covering her hair. Intan explains she is part Arab, part Chinese, and part Bajau, an ancient tribal people. She smiles and adds that she considers herself Bajau.
Sabah seems a melting pot of cultures and peoples of different kinds. From my hotel window I can see the ocean and on the edge of it a canopy of irregular blue roof-tops. I am told this was originally a bazaar run by Filipino immigrants. Two men sit comfortably on their haunches and chat, thereby revealing that the middle income status of Sabah is relatively recent. I am most impressed by the complete comfort with which two obviously trans-sexual students sit among the boys and girls at the art school, Kolej Yayasan Sabah, laughing, chatting and painting. This is what civilization should be judged by.
Coming into Kuala Lumpur from Borneo, the first thing one notices is the haze. Peninsula Malaysia is shrouded in a haze from burning wood and shouldering peat in Indonesia. When we arrive the "API haze count"--an index of the intensity--hovers around Italy's sovereign debt-to-GDP ratio. Make what you will of that. This gives rise to a gentle smoky aroma from which there is no escape. I deal with it by persuading my mind someone has spilled a bottle of single-malt Laphroaig whiskey in the vicinity. It works; I enjoy every moment of my visit.
My visit to Malaysia is to witness the country's economic challenges first hand, launch the Malaysia Economic Monitor (MEM), address the Prime Minister's Economic Council, explore the scope for greater interaction between the World Bank and Malaysia and meet with policymakers who've had their hand on the tiller, guiding the economy, which is now expected to grow by 5.1% for both 2013 and 2014.
According to the MEM, resilient domestic demand is spurring a recovery from a slow first quarter in 2013. Higher consumer and business spending is expected to boost GDP and the country's external sector will be a key driver, offsetting the impact of tighter fiscal policies on the domestic economy.
Yet Malaysia's trade is dominated by crude oil, palm oil, natural gas and rubber and we all know that putting all of one's eggs in the proverbial commodities basket isn't a good idea. With the demand for commodities dampened by weak growth in key export markets such as China and Europe, and an abundance of global supply, Malaysia needs to accelerate structural reforms to ensure that its economy remains diversified and dynamic.
So far Malaysia's sound policy choices have ensured that revenues from resource extraction were reinvested in the economy in the form of machines, buildings and education. This supported high rates of growth, the benefits of which were shared among the citizenry, raising the average incomes of the bottom 40 percent of rural households by 7.1 percent a year over 20 years, while poverty fell quickly.
Given the Bank Group's two new goals of getting extreme poverty down to less than 3 percent by 2030 and of promoting real income growth of the poorest 40 percent of each country's population, I am convinced more than ever that we have much to learn from Malaysia. What I did not know earlier is that Malaysia had set itself the goal of focusing on the poorest 40% of its population well before the Bank adopted this as a target.
What is most impressive about Malaysia is its effort to transform its business ethos. Government bureaucrats are repeatedly reminded that their aim is to help citizens and enable entrepreneurs to do business efficiently. One can see palpable manifestations of this in several areas of governance such as during our visit to the Urban Transformation Centre in Malacca. Passports are now issued within two hours of receiving applications.
Malaysia has formidable challenges. It is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society and will have to address the tensions and fissures that all such societies have to deal with. It has to continue to diversify and modernize its industry and, above all, build human capital and promote research and innovation.
Nevertheless, I come away with optimism and hope for Malaysia, especially so after my meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak, in his office in Putrajaya. We discuss Malaysia's economic challenges. One topic leads to another and the conversation ranges from strategic decision making in the Cuban missile crisis, through Henry Kissinger's diplomacy and British colonialism to the constraints under which even the most well-intentioned political leader has to operate and how these constraints can compel unwanted compromises. His erudition is that of a professional historian; and the astuteness with which he speaks on these varied topics makes me feel full of optimism for the world as we drive away from Putrajaya, looking like a Company-period, water-color painting in the haze.
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Thanks for sharing..
Nice candid and refreshing article. Good to see that WB is happy to learn from others. The big challenge for Malaysia, besides the vagaries of a commodity based economy is declining maritime relevance as Myanmar provides link to China, India, Thailand, Japan and the US
With due respect, you pop-in and pop-out of the country; scratch the surface shown to you by the UMNO-BN government and conclude that everything is okie-dokie. Look beneath the surface and see the decline in educational quality, the abuses of power, corruption in high office, ethnic and religious discrimination, the perversion of justice, and the hundreds who have died while in police and MACC custody. Optimism is not to be found in the government of the day; it is to be found in the majority of Malaysians who were cheated of a new government by UMNO's gerrymandering and fraud in the recent general election.
A 7.1% increase in income of the bottom 40% of the population over 20years has been claimed. Is this corrected for inflation? Also what is the % increase for the top 10% over the same period?


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Tuesday, October 27th, 6:00 p.m.
Photographer Rineke Dijkstra will be presenting at the Southeast Museum of Photography
In cooperation with the Atlantic Center for the Arts, where she has a Visual Arts Residency.
For a list of their upcoming lectures click here.
ABOUT RINEKE DIJKSTRA-(from the Marion Goodman website)
(b. 1959, Sittard, the Netherlands. Lives and works in Amsterdam.)
Rineke Dijkstra was trained at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Her first solo exhibition took place in 1984 at de Moor in Amsterdam. Dijsktra's photographs have appeared in numerous international exhibitions, including the 1997 and 2001 Venice Biennale, the 1998 Bienal de Sao Paulo, Turin's Biennale Internationale di Fotografia in 1999, and the 2003 International Center for Photography's Triennial of Photography and Video in New York. She is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Kodak Award Nederland (1987), the Art Encouragement Award Amstelveen (1993), the Werner Mantz Award (1994), and the Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize (1998).
Dijkstra is represented by the Marion Goodman Gallery


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Description:HP StorageWorks MSL4048 2 Ultrium 960 Drive Library Manufacturer Part# AG323A
Overview:The HP Storageworks MSL4048 tape library provides up to 19.2 TB of storage density in only a 4U form factor saving valuable rack space. Perfect for small to medium business unattended workgroup backup and restore or remote offices. The web-based management features reduce the dependencies on local IT resources allowing multiple sites to be supported generally.


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Egypt is a low-income, food-deficit country, with 19.6 percent of the population – almost 14.2 million people – living below the lower poverty line, on less than US$1/day.
Stark geographical disparities exist between the region of Upper Egypt, desert areas in Sinai and the Red Sea – which are some of the country's poorest areas with high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition; and between the more developed Lower Egypt region -- where Egypt's manufacturing, construction and trading take place.
WFP Egypt's 2007-2011 operation, which will reach up to 396,000 people at a cost of over US$44 million, aims to improve food security and strengthen human capital and income generation in the poorest parts of the country – mainly Upper Egypt, Sinai and the Red Sea, with a special focus on women and children.Through its various activities, WFP supports improving the nutritional status of its beneficiaries. WFP current activities include:


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If you are looking for hypnosis in Chorleywood, maybe you would consider travelling the short distance to Watford for your hypnotherapy requirements.
Dave Sabat DCH DHP GHR (Reg) GQHP of Exuberance Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis, is a Clinical Hypnotherapist who runs a busy and successful Practice and Clinic from Watford.
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The Watford Clinic hours are Monday 9.30am until 9.30pm, Tuesday 9.30am untill 9.30pm and Wednesday 9.30am until 1.30pm, all appointments booked in advance (01923 243 500).
How to find us in Watford when travelling from Chorleywood...
The Watford Health Clinic - 798 St Albans Rd, Watford WD25 9FF (Jeremy English's Chiropractic Clinic) - is situated on the corner of St Albans Road (A412) and Kilby Close. It is about 2 miles North of Watford town centre, about 1/2 mile North of the Dome Roundabout with Asda and Sainsbury on the A41. It is 5 minutes by car from either Junction 5 or 6 of the M1 and Junction 18 or 20 of the M25.
Garston Bus garage is 5 minutes walk and there are bus stops right outside the Clinic.
Watford Junction Station is just a 5 or 10 minute cab journey away.
Click here Watford Hypnotherapy Clinic for exact location details.
Wherever you will be travelling from in the UK, press the "+" button on the map below to zoom in.
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Hypnotherapy worth travelling for. People have travelled from all over the UK to work with Dave. Local areas covered include:
Abbots Langley Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Acton, Hypnotherapy Amersham, Hypnotherapist Apsley, Aylesbury Hypnosis, Barnet Hypnotherapy, Beaconsfield Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Belmont, Hypnotherapy Berkhamsted, Hypnotherapist Borehamwood, Bovingdon Hypnosis, Bricket Wood Hypnotherapy, Brondesbury Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Buckinghamshire, Hypnotherapy Bucks, Hypnotherapist Burnt Oak, Bushey Hypnosis, Chalfont St Giles Hypnotherapy, Chalfont St Peter Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Chesham, Hypnotherapy Cheshunt, Hypnotherapist Chipperfield, Chiswell Green Hypnosis, Chorleywood Hypnotherapy, Cockfosters Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Colindale, Hypnotherapy Croxley Green, Hypnotherapist Denham, Dunstable Hypnosis, Ealing Hypnotherapy, Eastbury Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Eastcote, Hypnotherapy East London, Hypnotherapist Edgware, Edmonton Hypnosis, Elstree Hypnotherapy, Enfield Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Finchley, Hypnotherapy Friern Barnet, Hypnotherapist Frogmore, Garston Hypnosis, Gerrards Cross Hypnotherapy, Golders Green Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Great Missenden, Hypnotherapy Greenford, Hypnotherapist Hadley Wood, Hampstead Hypnosis, Harefield Hypnotherapy, Harpenden Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Harrow, Hypnotherapy Harrow on the Hill, Hypnotherapist Hatch End, Hatfield Hypnosis, Hayes Hypnotherapy, Headstone Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Hemel Hempstead, Hypnotherapy Hendon, Hypnotherapist Hertford, Hertfordshire Hypnosis, Herts Hypnotherapy, Highgate Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis High Wycombe, Hypnotherapy Hillingdon, Hypnotherapist Hitchin, Hoddesdon Hypnosis, Ickenham Hypnotherapy, Kenton Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Kilburn, Hypnotherapy Kingsbury, Hypnotherapist Kings Langley, Letchworth Hypnosis, London Hypnotherapy, London Colney Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Loudwater, Hypnotherapy Luton, Hypnotherapist Maple Cross, Middlesex Hypnosis, Middx Hypnotherapy, Mill End Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Mill Hill, Hypnotherapy Napsbury, Hypnotherapist Neasden, North Harrow Hypnosis, North London Hypnotherapy, Northolt Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Northwest London, Hypnotherapy Northwood, Hypnotherapist Notting Hill, Oxhey Hypnosis, Park Street Hypnotherapy, Perivale Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Pinner, Hypnotherapy Potters Bar, Hypnotherapist Primrose Hill, Queensbury Hypnosis, Radlett Hypnotherapy, Redbourn Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Regents Park, Hypnotherapy Rickmansworth, Hypnotherapist Ruislip, Ruislip Manor Hypnosis, Sarratt Hypnotherapy, Shenley Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Slough, Hypnotherapy Southgate, Hypnotherapist Southall, South Harrow Hypnosis, South London Hypnotherapy, South Oxhey Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis South Ruislip, Hypnotherapy St Albans, Hypnotherapist Stanmore, Stevenage Hypnosis, Sudbury Hypnotherapy, Totteridge Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Tring, Hypnotherapy Uxbridge, Hypnotherapist Ware, Watford Hypnosis, Wealdstone Hypnotherapy, Welwyn Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Welwyn Garden City, Hypnotherapy Wembley, Hypnotherapist West Hampstead, West Harrow Hypnosis, West London Hypnotherapy, Whetstone Hypnotherapist, Hypnosis Willesden, Hypnotherapy Windsor, Hypnotherapist Wood Green.
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Q. Can the ground wire from a ground rod terminate in the meter socket enclosure, or must it terminate in the service disconnect?
A. Either location is fine with the NEC. The rule states that the grounding electrode conductor must connect the service neutral conductor to the grounding electrode at any accessible location, from the load end of the service drop or service lateral up to and including the service disconnecting means [250.24(A)(1)].
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Competitor Research
A strategic approach to the collation of competitor research information.
Most companies will monitor their competitor's business activities: some more than others. We provide the opportunity to enhance the competitor information that you have at hand. Our competitor research can be used as part of SWOT analysis or wider market intelligence gathering.
Competitor research answers questions such as:
- Do they cause any threat to your own activities?
- How do their activities and strategies compare with your own?
- Are their advertising campaigns effective?
- What are their weaknesses?
Competitor research will help you source data which can be easily analysed and play a significant role in tactical planning. This can help you realise a competitive advantage, over others in your field, in the future.
Mixed methodologies create a comprehensive view of business competitors allowing you to "fill the gaps" left by others, help you realise a competitive advantage and play a significant role in tactical planning.
This research can be offered as a one off project or as an on-going observation in order to monitor competitor's activities.


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Selena Gomez Doesn't Mind That Taylor Swift Thinks She + Justin Bieber Are Gross
No slapfights here.
Even though Taylor Swift is clearly disgusted by Selena Gomez's maybe-reunion with Justin Bieber, Gomez still considers her a BFF. Perhaps a forever alone BFF, but a BFF.
A source told Hollywood Life, "Selena will remain friends with Taylor regardless of her dating Justin. Selena knows that Taylor is not a threat to their relationship physically and will overall make her own decisions."
We're not quite sure what a "threat to their relationship physically" means. Would Swift kick the snot out of Bieber? Or is Bieber just as grossed out by Swift as Swift is by him so there's no concern for attraction? So many questions for this source. So many questions.
In any case, the insider continued, "At the end of the day for Selena, she knows it is best for her to remain friendly with both, because the only times Taylor will really see Justin is during award shows. Everyone can fake that they like each other for a few hours when they are in those situations."
In a recent radio interview following the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, Gomez said she thinks Swift is an "amazing person" and thinks everyone should listen to Swift's music when they're going through a breakup.
Seems like Kristen Stewart certainly agrees.
You know what they say: Chicks before, uh, Jerrys. Chicks before Jerrys.


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British newspaper The Sunday Times said on Sunday that it is suing Lance Armstrong for over £1 million ($1.6 million, 1.2 million euros) over a libel payment made to the disgraced cyclist in 2006.
The newspaper paid Armstrong £300,000 to settle a libel case after previously suggesting that he may have cheated.
But the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) subsequently found that he had led the "most sophisticated" doping programme in sporting history, leading to a life ban for the Texan, who was also stripped of his seven Tour de France wins.
The Sunday Times is reportedly demanding the return of the original settlement payment, along with interest and legal costs.
In a letter to Armstrong's lawyers, the paper said: "It is clear that the proceedings were baseless and fraudulent. Your representations that you had never taken performance-enhancing drugs were deliberately false."
The newspaper had long questioned Armstrong's achievements and in 2004 it published an article stating that it was appropriate for questions about his success to be "posed and answered".
After Armstrong's lawyers issued a writ, the newspaper settled with him in June 2006.
Copyright (2012) AFP. All rights reserved.


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Many people still question whether Linux will ever make it fully into mainstream computer acceptance. A $199 computer now available on a major superstore's shelves just in time for Christmas might change all that. Anyone who wants a computer to just to send email and instant messages and watch YouTube videos should like the Everex gPC, which is powered by a nifty Linux distribution called gOS.
I downloaded a copy of gOS rather than purchase it with a new system. It comes as an installable live CD. On the desktop is an icon that opens the installer, which walks you through the install configuration. First you choose from dozens of languages and keyboard layouts, then you prepare your partition. gOS offers to import your settings from other systems, such as wallpapers, My Documents, and Firefox settings, but I'm not sure that part is working just yet. Next, you set up a user account and bootloader. There is no package selection; the entire system is installed. Afterwards you can reboot or continue using the live CD.
The boot process is unmistakably Ubuntu with a color and graphics change. However, the desktop is a customized version of Enlightenment DR17, one of the most underrated and underexposed desktop environments available. goS puts many of its advanced options and features to good use.
The desktop and applications
The gOS desktop has areas containing panels or docks for applets called "shelves" and launchers called "gadgets." Shelves can be arranged anywhere around the desktop. Some gadgets include a clock, networking applet, battery monitor, and temperature gauge. Start, iBox, and iBar are also considered gagdets. Start is the menu start button, iBoxes contain minimized application, and iBars contain scrollable application launchers enhanced with some visual effects, such as throbbing on mouse-over and exploding when clicked.
The gOS iBar is located at the bottom of the screen and features quick launchers for many popular Web sites and services, including Meebo, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger, and Google tools such as Gmail, Docs, Maps, News, and Calendar. Some other icons open applications such as Firefox, Skype, Rhythmbox, and Xine. Their behavior is completely customizable through the My Settings -> Applications -> IBar Applications configuration. I changed my settings to remove Facebook, Meebo, and Blogger and add OpenOffice.org Writer, the GIMP, and UXterm.
The second shelf to be preconfigured is located on the right side of the screen and by default contains Exalt and Clock. Exalt is Enlightenment's answer to KDE's KNetworkManager. It lists all your network devices and allows you to configure them, then lists available connections and allows you to connect to them. Then at boot, it will connect to the last chosen connection automatically.
The simpliest way to add gadgets to your shelf is to right-click on the shelf and navigate the menu to shelf 8 -> Configure shelf contents. I added Battery and Cpufreq to monitor battery life and the speed of my CPU. Some other available gadgets include Start, system Temperature, and a Pager to navigate to other desktops.
At the top of the screen are icons and the Google Search Widget, which performs a Google search and outputs the results in Webrunner, a scaled-down browser without an address bar, icons, or navigational buttons -- which diminishes the usefulness of this applet quite a bit. Very few times have I searched for a topic and not needed the back button. It would be much more useful if the widget opened the full Firefox browser.
In addition to Internet apps, gOS comes with several nice everyday desktop applications as well. I've already mentioned OpenOffice.org, GIMP, and UXterm. There are lots of 2-D games, such as Solitare, Chess, Mahjongg, Mines, Same GNOME, Gnometris, Sudoku, and Tetravex. Mozilla Thunderbird is included for email and Pidgin for instant messaging. GnomeBaker is in the menu for burning CDs and DVDs.
I also mentioned Xine and Rhythmbox as being launchable from the iBar. Rhythmbox is a sound application for playing audio of just about any format. I was able to play audio CDs as well as local MP3s. I liked Rhythmbox because it came with some Internet radio stations preconfigured as well. All can be enjoyed with colorful visualizations.
Xine is a video movie player. I was able to play AVI and MPEG movie files. DVD decryption is not included due to digital rights management restrictions in some countries. Decryption downloads are available outside of the US and are not difficult to install.
If you want other applications, the Synaptic Package Manager is included, with Ubuntu and gOS repositories set up and ready for use. I used it to install ndiswrapper-common, ndiswrapper-utils, and restricted-manager. I used the Restricted Manager to install the Nvidia proprietary graphic drivers for my video chip and the Ndiswrapper tools to enable my wireless Ethernet chip.
Hardware support
I wasn't sure what hardware support to expect when I booted gOS. Would it have been scaled down to work solely on the Everex gPC? I was happy to find most of my HP Pavilion dv6105 hardware supported out of the box, as with any Linux distribution.
My sound worked upon boot, as did my touchpad, extra USB mouse, and wired Ethernet. My graphics adapter worked, but it was using a resolution of 1024x768. gOS provides a screen configuration tool, but it too only went up to 1024x768. To get more screen real estate, I edited my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file as I commonly do to achieve the settings I wish. This worked well, until the next boot, when the xorg.conf file was overwritten and the setting went back to the 1024x768 default. After some trial and error, I decided the best (or easiest) solution to this was to edit the /usr/sbin/xdebconfigurator file, which is a human-readable Perl script. Now, at each boot, a new xorg.conf file is still written, but it is written with my desired settings. This is the one area I predict will give new users a problem.
My wireless Ethernet setup was easy. After installing the Ndiswrapper packages, I was able to extract, load the drivers, and see my card was detected. Using Exalt, I set up the WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) type and password. It connected to my router, and, after boot, from then on.
Under gOS Enlightenment, when you insert a removable device or disk, such as a USB flash drive, an icon appears on the desktop, and you can click the icon to open the contents in Fileman, Enlightenment's file manager. I could make a directory, drag and drop my files on it, and delete others as one would expect. When I finished, I closed the window and right-clicked the icon, looking for the Safely Remove or Unmount option. They and nothing similar was there. When I started up a terminal session to manually unmount the device, I saw it was no longer mounted. It turns out that removable devices are automatically umounted upon closing the window. That's handy for new users, but there are drawbacks too. The mounted devices are give strange dynamic alphanumerical directory names, and the Fileman window must be open if you want to use a device's contents in other applications.
Another wonderful surprise found was the advanced powersaving features enabled and working out of the box. CPU scaling (reduced CPU speed to save battery life), suspend to RAM, and hibernate worked with no tweaking required.
Other system and settings tools
gOS provides several handy system tools in the Administration menu. Some of these include Language Support (many languages are supported), Login Window, Network Tools, Parititon Editor, Printing, Screens and Graphics, System Monitor,and Update Manager.
The Printing setup tool is an easy and functional graphical Python application that walks users through configuring their printers. I used it to set up a Samba networked printer. Using the scan option, it quickly detected and listed the available printers. I chose the working device, picked out the driver, and printed a test page.
The Update Manager and Notifier are the same ones found in Ubuntu. The Update Notifier informs users of system or application updates, while the Update Manager completes the upgrades. There were a few updates available during my testing period, and the Update Manager performed the Ubuntu upgrades with no problem, but the gOS repository mirrors were always down.
The distribution exposes many desktop-specific settings in Configuration -> My Settings -- a container for the modules that customize the look and functionality of Enlightenment. From there you can change wallpapers, themes, icons, fonts, and cursors. You can set up which applications are available from the iBar or started upon login. Under the Screen subheading you can set the number of virtual desktops, the screen resolution, and power management preferences. My Settings also allows changes in the menus, File Manager behavior, window functions, and more.
In the iBar is a Q&A icon that leads to a gOS Web site that's a cross between a user help forum and a wiki. It allows gOS users to ask questions and receive answers from other users. Right now there are only a few questions and even fewer answers.
I really liked gOS. It's a cute little system with lots of functionality and great looks. It works well and is fast and stable on my laptop. It should work on any computer that any other Linux supports. Enlightenment is an impressive desktop environment, and the iBar is a low-overhead way to blend cool effects with needed functionality. I think users will like it.